Ukrainian melodic death metal project Anger Outburst was born in Kherson in 2022, with its debut album written under Russian occupation.
The project is the work of Sergiy Nikolaienko, who turned to music as the one form of resistance left to him.
He now continues from Hamburg, and with a video selected for the Berlin Music Video Awards and a second album on the way, we caught up with him to talk tanks outside his window, a tense border interrogation and why he isn’t taking a break.
Who are you and where are you from?
My real name is Sergiy Nikolaienko. I’m from Kherson, Ukraine. Before Anger Outburst, I was primarily a vocalist in different bands, from melodic death metal to nu/industrial metal.
How did Anger Outburst begin, and how did you find your sound?
My first four songs that later ended up on the first Anger Outburst album (‘Through the Dark Times’, ‘Gather the Fools’, ‘What Does It Take’ and ‘Free We Are’) were originally written for my previous band, Amental. But since my bandmates were not musically active because of the start of the war in Ukraine, I decided to proceed alone. As music was the only option to express myself freely and let my anger out, I decided to give it the name Anger Outburst.
I didn’t plan any particular sound for the project; it came out naturally. I wrote music I liked: melodic but aggressive.
How would you describe your music to someone discovering you for the first time?
I would describe my music as a combination of Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy and Soilwork. Depth, fighting spirit, low-tuned guitars and lots of guitar melodies like in Amon Amarth, the aggression and power of Arch Enemy with a strong voice like in Soilwork, but with my own approach. Something like that.
You started the project in Kherson in 2022 and wrote your debut album under occupation. How did that experience shape the music?
Music was the only option for resistance when other forms of resistance were impossible. Kherson was occupied by Russians during the first two days of the war. I saw tanks passing by outside my window. Every night, they took someone from their apartment. They destroyed schools with tank fire. They destroy, as they cannot create. And I couldn’t do anything about it. I put all this anger and helplessness into my music and expressed it in my lyrics. Yes, it definitely shaped my music.
What has it been like continuing the project from Hamburg?
Everything has remained the same. I still feel this anger, and I still express it through my music. But I can do it freely.
What’s the story behind your latest single ‘There Is No God’?
I think that God is a combination of yet-undiscovered scientific facts and the reluctance of people to take responsibility for their lives. There are billions of suns with trillions of planets in endless space, and we still think that some God came to our small planet and died for our sins? Not to mention the hundreds of errors that were made in every religious book, as they were written by pretty limited people long ago. The chorus of this song says that man created God, not God man, as man had failed to explain facts.
The video for ‘Feel the Fear’ was selected for the Berlin Music Video Awards. Can you tell us about making it?
It was not easy. As a solo musician, I had to find musicians who were ready to learn their parts and film themselves in front of a black screen with pretty much the same lighting. Fortunately, my editor made everything look just like it was filmed in one room. You can see the result.
What can you tell us about the second album so far?
I’ve already released six of the ten songs from the album. But I still have four very cool songs to release that will see the light of day in the coming months. I will have a beautiful melodic death metal ballad, one very fast and dynamic song, one dark and very heavy song, and one with Ukrainian lyrics. I can’t wait to share them; they are very cool. I’ve also written nine songs for the third album. So you won’t get any break from me.
Can you tell us a funny, emotional or dramatic story from your time making music?
I guess music helped me the most during the occupation. I poured out my anger and let it out. When we decided to leave Kherson, I was interrogated at the border with Crimea. They asked me about my music. Fortunately, they didn’t find out what my songs were about.
Where can people find and follow you?
You can find Anger Outburst on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.
