"Masquerade? They are the most authentic modern goth/post punk act to come out of the wood work
- Betsy Heavens Death WOG
- Oct 31, 2018
- 4 min read
"Masquerade? They are the most authentic modern goth/post punk act to come out of the wood work since the likes of Cinema Strange, Christian Death, S&B, Bauhaus Etc. Period. End of story. They made me believe in goth again....they made many goths believe. They have inspired and influenced us." -WORLD OF GOTH MAGAZINE
Suzi Sabotage : vocals Jacques Saph : bass William Freyermuth : drums
UPCOMING SHOWS
09.02.2019 GLASTONBERRY, MOSCOW, RUSSIA
GIGS: Email: info@masquerade.fi PREMIERE: “RUSSIAN ROULETTE” VIDEO
A brand new song and music video are here! Filmed on the bands journey to Tokyo, Japan “Russian Roulette”
Our Cover Feature:
Suzi Sabotage Front Woman Born on July 27, 1992
In bands Masquerade (front-woman/vocalist) and Virgin in Veil (keyboardist/backing vocalist), also a solo artist, songwriter as well as an independent model.
2012-present: Masquerade, vocalist and founder 2015-present: Virgin in Veil, keyboardist and background vocalist 2017-present: solo artist
Born in 1992, Suzi Sabotage got involved in musicianship at 16-years-old, forming her first band (hardcore punk). In late 2012 she made her long-time vision of a post-punk band true, beginning the life of Masquerade.
In 2015 she joined deathrock group Virgin in Veil as the keyboard player and backing vocalist. Early in 2017 she released the first time music as a solo artist, composing, recording and mixing her own music.
She resides in Helsinki, Finland and is married to Jacques Saph, fellow band member.
Influences Solo influences: t.A.T.u., Geisha (FIN), EVA (PL) The Vanishing, Ryann Donnelly / Lyons, Oto (FR), Siouxsie and the Banshees, Siouxsie Sioux, The Creatures, Sleeping Children, Nina Hagen, Danielle Dax, Edith Piaf, X-Mal Deutschland, Lydia Lunch etc.
THE BAND
Genre: Goth Rock/Post-Punk Band Members: Suzi Sabotage : vocals Jacques Saph : bass William Freyermuth : drums Record Label: Danse Macabre Records Current Location: Helsinki, Finland
Masquerade began in late 2012, founded by vocalist Suzi Sabotage and then-bassist Sebastian Holm. Before the end of 2012, Masquerade was quite a long time a vaguer post-punk project with no specific name, riddled with temporary musicians who changed frequently. The first shows were set up under these circumstances, which included playing at Finland’s most famous goth festival, Lumous, the next summer which the band was accepted in already on the basis of a rehearsal room recording of Play Dead (first song Masquerade ever wrote), featuring a drum machine.
The first solid line-up consisted of Markus on drums and Joel on guitar at the beginning of 2013, which both were part of creating Masquerade’s distinct sound. The band started to evolve as a whole followed by such early songs as Needle Through a Bug, Cuts and All Things Hurt. Group soon gathered interest in Finland and even abroad despite having no recorded music or video, ending up on national television in August, new shows conjuring up. Helsinki’s most significant punk venue Lepakkomies held their first official gig, and the event was sold out.
Their first release was a promotional demo on internet consisting of three songs. They were praised and widespread overall expectations and brought Masquerade a lot of additional attention, i.e. being listed in Cvlt Nation’s six best releases of 2013. The first music video was one hundred percent self-made clip for Needle Through a Bug, in which they already had a new bassist. Early in 2014, they got a proposal from Fight Records for a maxi-EP, which they went to record to a studio in Kouvola, Finland for three days in February. After that Masquerade was set for March tour in their Finland, England, and Sweden.
A music video for All Things Hurt, the second song on the upcoming record, was released in spring, following the departure of Joel and Markus. In July song Cry Like Birds was published to promote the record. October 2014 held finally the day when the maxi-EP Blood is the New Black was released, and also got a distributor in the USA, Mass Media Records. In January 2015 our current bassist Jacques Saph joined in. On March 8th the band was seen on MTV3 channel as guests in a programme
called Tähdet, tähdet. In April the band took William Freyermuth in drums and Anton Välimaa on guitar.
June 2015 saw the band’s first Russian gigs and in August they embarked upon their first journey outside of Europe: the U.S.A. and Mexico. Shortly after that, they started to record and mix the upcoming album, releasing a new digi-single Panic Paranoia. In June 2016, the guitar was taken over by Rudy Soininen. Their latest album, Ritual, saw daylight on 15th July 2016, including ten tracks. Aside of songwriting, the band produced the mixing, mastering, and artwork of this record.
In August 2016 the band signed a contract with Danse Macabre Records, who later released Ritual in CD format. In September 2016 Masquerade set upon a Europe tour which conquered two new countries, Italy and Austria.
In June 2017 the band performed at the legendary Wave Gotik Treffen festival, and released their fifth music video, Too Depressed to Dance.
In June 2018 Masquerade played their first ever shows in Tokyo, Japan. The following August they released a new song Russian Roulette, along with a music video that was filmed in Tokyo.
@SUZI.SABOTAGE BUY MUSIC: HTTPS://MASQUERADE.FI/ HTTPS://WWW.DISCOGS.COM/SELL/RELEASE/6253341 HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MASQUERADEPUNK/ HTTPS://SUZISABOTAGE.BANDCAMP.COM HTTPS://MASQUERADED.BANDCAMP.COM HTTPS://VIRGININVEIL.BANDCAMP.COM HTTP://WORDSWITHOUTMELODIES.BLOGSPOT.FI HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/CHANNEL/UCIE5AAEFHM0TTSLTPIFZCUW
Photos Credits: © Leo Krechmer, March 2018 (Helsinki, Finland), © Julie Dahlgren, May 2017 (Helsinki, Finland), © Suzi Sabotage, December 2016 (Helsinki, Finland), © Cristina Ornellas, October 2016 (Helsinki, Finland),© Tino Vaittinen, April 2015 (Helsinki, Finland), © Heavy Fog Studios, June 2014 (Helsinki, Finland)
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