Hail and welcome to Iron Backstage! Before we begin the interview, could you please introduce yourself to our readers and provide a brief history of your band?
Greetings to you and the readers! I’m Peter from a small town in Hungary, and I love slow and heavy music. I’m over forty years old, but for some strange reason my musical career has only started to unfold in recent years. My main band is called Leiru, which is more riff-based and experimental compared to Sír. The band’s name is Hungarian; it means grave, but it also has another meaning: cry. This is a solo project that I started because I tend to be impatient when I want to realize a musical idea, and since I don’t have fellow musicians in the town where I live, I don’t have to wait half a year for a rehearsal. It’s a DIY band.
How would you describe your music, and which bands have been your biggest influences?
I wanted to create a more or less traditional doom record that also carries elements of early ’90s romantic death metal. From the latter, Katatonia – Dance of December Souls had the strongest impact, though those influences appear only in segments—overall, I follow my own path. The traditional doom aspect shows more in the sound itself. I wanted warm-toned, less layered, natural-sounding songs. Traditional blues can also be traced in the music, in a way similar to how it probably influenced Black Sabbath. The guitar riffs still build from that foundation. At the time of the first demo, however, the main influence was Departure Chandelier.
How many albums or demos has Sír released so far, and which ones are your personal favorites?
So far there has been one demo and, with the new record, two full-length albums. I have favorite tracks on each release, but more often what crosses my mind is what I would do differently now. I’ve always left room for experimentation, and sometimes time proves that certain things might have worked better another way. At the moment, just for my own amusement, I’m re-recording or remixing old songs, and these will likely appear in the future as digital releases on Bandcamp.
Has Sír's music evolved over the years, and if so, how?
In the beginning, raw mid-tempo black metal was the main direction. Later, rock elements entered the music, and now death/doom is the most accurate label for the primary style.
How long does it typically take for Sír to record an album?
When I’m caught in the fever of songwriting, I usually finish within a few weeks—that’s the least of the problems. But sometimes I re-record a song ten times if I don’t feel its resonances are right, and I might still tweak the mix a year later. Between finishing an album and its release, a year or more can easily pass, and that’s already out of my hands.
Can you tell us more about your latest album, Unreachable Mountain?
Everything I’ve ever written has been deeply personal, but never more so than on Unreachable Mountain. I often describe it as my breakup album, similar to Katatonia – Tonight’s Decision or Slow, Deep and Hard by TON. Of course, I like to wrap everything in deeper metaphors and more universal themes. Destroy your own life = Your Star Will Collapse, and so on. This time I envisioned more of a romantic painting with paradisiacal landscapes observed from within your own concrete prison through scratched glass panes. There is no solution. But those who have heard it have often shared their own journeys with me, and I’ve heard interesting stories. I sincerely hope that Unreachable Mountain will bring positive experiences to some listeners.
What's next for Sír? Are you working on any new albums, and if so, can you give us some details?
I have a few new songs, but at the moment I’m focusing on fixing older ones as I mentioned, and I might also release a cover. For now, the plan is to put out a digital release later this year under the title Machine/Pleasure. As for the future direction of the music, I don’t know yet.
Are there any plans for Sír to play in Europe or the USA in the future?
I operate completely as a solo project, and while there would be the possibility of putting together a band, I don’t currently feel like doing that. Too much to lose, nothing to gain. I don’t really enjoy going to concerts either, and I’m not interested in entertaining people. If the moment ever comes when I feel that playing live could truly bring joy, then we’ll see.
What is your opinion on the current metal scene in Hungary?
The truth is, I don’t deal with it at all—I’m only interested in the music itself. I have friends in the scene, but these are real friendships, not just bonds based on liking the same style of music. That would be quite a teenage thing. Of course, it can be a good way to meet people within the subculture, but in the end, that’s not what matters.
Do you have any messages for our readers?
If possible, listen to CDs, LPs, tapes—anything. Not to support the musicians, but for yourselves. There’s nothing wrong with streaming on Spotify or YouTube—I do that most of the time too—but it will never give you as much as when you sit down with a real physical release, like in the old days. And if you have good hi-fi equipment, then it’s incomparable. These days I can’t even tell who performs some of my favorite songs, because I just make a playlist with 300 artists on it. It’s sick. But for a romantic evening, vinyl is indispensable. That’s it.