Sam Astaroth 
Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by Trap Metal Arsenal.
1. What are the tough life circumstances that pushed you to become a musician? What philosophical or belief system changes have you had after becoming a musician at heart?
During the early years of my life ages (9-15) in Cincinnati, Ohio’s harsh metropolitan area—as in any inner city—I yearned to avoid becoming another victim of the city’s shockingly high crime rate. Music, which provided me with a creative and constructive outlet when I needed to flee harmful influences, is responsible for my success in avoiding problems.
I channeled my skill and aspired to become famous in order to replace my low-income living situation, but music has always been a constant in my life. When you hear your favorite musician so frequently, you begin to wonder if you can do what they do.
As a student of metaphysics and hermeticism, I hold the firm belief that “The mind is all the universe is mental.” If, as the saying goes, “your mind is in all that you do,” then whatever I set my mind to, including my artistic goals, I can bring to fruition.
2. How did you get into the trap metal scene? Who are your biggest influences? Would you ever branch out into other genres?
Traditional hip-hop and rap music really stifled my creativity; I’ve always been a fan of death metal and nu metal, and I’ve often wondered what it would be like to combine their intense vocals with trap instrumentals; the problem is, I have no idea where to find an audience that would be interested in hearing it.
I get inspiration from Corey Taylor, Jonathan Davis, 36mafia, Manson, Lord Infamous, Cam’ron, Dipset George Fisher, and a bit of manga and anime, which I additionally include into my compositions. In the past, I’ve experimented with different genres with Singles like “Psychopath” (dark techno) and “Dissociation,” which was more of an industrial hard rock track. However, I still don’t like being limited to just one style, and I want to play back the incredibly chaotic symphony that’s playing in my head.
3. How long have you been making music? Will you continue making music no matter what? Do you have any other passions or interests outside of music?
I’ve been making music for 19 years and still using the same recording DAW, Mixcraft Acoustica, which has a simple interface and has been in my possession for the past nineteen years (wow, that’s a long time!). I started creating and mixing my own music when I was fourteen years old.
Even when life gets hectic, I will always find time to compose music. Every single moment, I can’t help but think of a song. Especially with the music I’m making right now, I really adore making things. Finding new challenges that push me beyond my comfort zone is something I’m constantly doing. As I indicated before, my academic interests lie in philosophy and metaphysics.
On occasion, I also find joy in practising martial arts and callisthenics. However, lately, I’ve been focusing primarily on binary options and forex trading, with the goal of using these markets to help grow my music and take it to levels I can only dream of.
4. What is the best advice you can provide to a struggling artist that is met with a lot of negativity in their environment and is second guessing if they could ever make it in the music industry?
You must understand that when you deliberately make up in your mind what you want to do and what you want to be you are already a success your commitment to the path you choose will produce results regardless but you must embrace the journey your story will hold significant value that will inspire or save the lives of others don’t let external opinions be the definition of a world that is personally yours.
5. What kind of message do you wish to spread through your music? What kind of role model do you aspire to become as a musician? What symbolism does your music represent?
You should not feel the need to apologise for who you are and should fully embrace yourself as a whole, both positively and negatively, because your characteristics play a significant role in the perfection of what is already in you, and you. Fuck whoever does not like it. In all honesty, I do not intend to serve as a model for others; rather, I have a different objective in mind.
I want other people to observe how I accept myself and encourage them to follow in my footsteps and replicate the activity that I have done. I have the impression that everyone is an excellent person; all they need is a shift in their perception in order to recognize their own excellence. My music is a representation of chaos, and it should not be misunderstood as mayhem; rather, it is more of an unlimited potential that cannot be contained; its nature is continual evolution.
6. What is your favorite thing about making music? Lyrics? Vocals? Do you play any instruments? What is your song writing process like?
Particularly when it comes to lyrics and vocals, I take pleasure in self-fanaticism. Simply getting excited about a line to write and strategize how I am going to deliver it verbally is my favorite thing to do. The instant I piece together punchlines and metaphors, I say out loud things like, “damn, I said that damn .”
I go off the feeling of the instrumental if it feels depressing I may have a depressing subject matter if it’s fierce I may go aggressive but I usually just freestyle or imitate a style I am going to do without saying actual words until I come up with a chorus which usually sets the tone for me on what to say in a verse and boom I have a song done which at minimum only takes me 20 minutes to write minus editing how i write the lyrics to get them lines to match the beat. I did teach myself how to play a six-string guitar, but now, it’s accumulating dust, and I think I only remember a few chords. My poor Ibanez is getting rusty on the strings, which is a joke.
7. Who do you have to thank for getting you where you are now in life and in your music career? Are your day 1s still there or have you found a brand new community?
I would like to express my gratitude to myself, the God who dwells within me, and the immovable force of will that enables me to persist and remain consistent. There are still a few people who are still present and who are supportive, and because of this, I would like to give them a special shout out.
They are in the shadows. These individuals are aware of who they are, and the majority of the time, they contact with me by sending me direct messages. However, I continue to have the objective of broadening the breadth of my community by bringing together the individuals who have been a part of it since the beginning of my journey and uniting them with the newcomers who will follow the sound in the future. This is something that I want to accomplish.
8. Can you tell us about the music scene in your hometown? Who do you fw? Do you have any show or tour plans? If so then who makes it at the top of your list?
At this point in time, I do not know a great deal about the music culture in my area; nevertheless, there is a band that I can say I rock with, and their name is “The world I knew.” They are a trap metalcore quintet, particularly the lead vocalist Young Mosh, bro has some sick vocals.
The drummer was actually responsible for mixing a prior project of mine called “Fxck That $hit.” At the moment, I do not have any plans for a tour or a show, but I am aware that this will change in the near future.
9. Who are some of your favorite artists and producers you have gotten to work with? Which are the artists and producers you are looking to work with next?
Exormusic is one of my favorite producers that I’ve had the opportunity to work with this year. They are responsible for the production of Hypnotherapy & Yazukashi, but I haven’t heard from them in a long time. However, they are also responsible for the production of Devilman, Nu Beast, Kreep, and Horrid.
From this point forward, I would like to collaborate with Goodjohn Productions and Blackfire Productions. I have released 72 singles so far, and I can only know who I will work with based on my own exposure, I assume.
My favorite collaboration this year was with my boy Sam Astaroth. The energies just matched on our project, “Ring The Alarm”. I don’t have any artists to name, but I really want to get something done with a metal female vocalist.
10. Thanks for supporting Trap Metal Arsenal. What are your artistic goals for 2024? Anything big you wanna accomplish?
I am looking forward to creating merch from scratch as well, so keep an eye out for that as well. I would like to see if I can compose a song that has the potential to reach my first million streams and land on the top 200 of the metal charts & Billboard 200. Additionally, I would like to continue to add songs to my bi-weekly playlist, which consists of my side projects that are not related to my main song releases.
