The Honeycut – Splatterpvnk Talks Upcoming Saidan Tour, The Latest Album and More

Originally published March, 2025

Introduction to Saidan

A few months ago, my best friend and resident black metal expert, Scotty P, sent me a song by the band Saidan. To call them simply a black metal band is selling them short, as they incorporate many different elements, not only into their music, but also into their visual presentation. We were both immediately hooked, and I’ve been listening to them nonstop for the past few months. Needless to say, I was stoked when the driving force behind the band, Splatterpvnk, agreed to an interview with me. 

Interview with Splatterpvnk of Saidan

This interview has been edited for clarity.

R. Jacob Honeybrook: In May, you’ll be going on tour with Volcandra in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. How excited are you to get out on the road and play your music live, many places for the first time? 

Splatterpvnk: I can’t wait! This year we will be doing more shows than we’ve done in the past four years combined. We’ve only played in seven or eight states so far. This will be a huge step up from that. I personally love traveling around, so getting to do that and perform every night is going to be exciting.

RJH: What can people expect from a Saidan live show? 

Splatterpvnk: It’s hard to say honestly. We have a very punk attitude towards shows and we like to play fast and loud. This year we plan on changing some things up, that will hopefully enhance what we’ve been doing for the last couple of years. I don’t want a Saidan show to just be, play one song, introduce the next song, repeat. It needs to be more than that.

RJH: You wear corpse paint, black leather, spikes, and spit blood on stage. Your music videos are made in the style of early 90s black metal videos. In a time when so many bands just wear black shirts and jeans, why did you want to go the extra mile with your aesthetic and theatrics? 

Splatterpvnk: I think that comes from the stuff we liked when we were kids. I’ve never liked boring or plain aesthetic bands. I always gravitated towards bands like KISS, WASP, and Cradle of Filth. The more over the top, the better. Usually in a live setting, we all try to wear stuff that’s somewhat comfortable to play in. I've always been of the mindset that if you’re going to wear a plain shirt on stage, at least spice it up haha.

RJH: You put out your third full-length album last year, “Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity.” What do you want people to know about this record?

Splatterpvnk: I think if you’ve never listened to us before, this would be the record to start with. A lot of what we’ve been trying to do sonically from the beginning is on this album and I'm proud of that. This album was a nightmare to make. So, the fact we finished it, and people seem to actually like it is crazy to me. I really appreciate it.

RJH: My friend first sent me your song, ‘Sick Abducted Purity,’ and described your sound as, “One of the freshest takes on black metal… massive energy, raw production… super melodic with soaring, catchy choruses, plus sick solos and great drum work.” I’m interested to hear your reaction to this. Also, how would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard Saidan? 

Splatterpvnk: That might be a good way to describe what we’re trying to go for haha. Usually when people ask me this question I just say, melodic black metal with punk parts. It’s hard for me to say what we actually sound like, because the band is a mashup of different influences. 

RJH: “Catchy” and “black metal” aren’t words you often hear together. How do you make this type of extreme music so… catchy? 

Splatterpvnk: The black metal fans won’t like this, but I’ve always tried to listen to a broad amount of music, including different eras of popular music, and pull from them. Take a group like ABBA for example. Many of their biggest songs have an insane number of hooks throughout. Without a hook, the song dies. In heavy music, most bands consider ‘the riff’ the hook, which is partly true. But usually once they have a riff, they neglect the rest of the song. AC/DC had tons of great riffs, but they also had songs that were more than just ‘the riff’. In my opinion, Children of Bodom were the best when it came to catchy metal with hooks and riffs.

RJH: The parts that stood out most to me when first listening to Saidan were the sections that could be in a punk, or even pop-punk song, only played heavier with harsh vocals over it. Then I read that you think of Saidan as more of an extreme horror punk band. How do you blend black metal and punk together so seamlessly, and why do you think they work so well together?

Splatterpvnk: I think without punk, black metal wouldn’t exist. Or at least not in the way it exists now. Most of the black metal bands that I enjoy have punk intertwined within their sound in some form or another. But I think most of them are pulling from the hardcore scene of the 80s, rather than what we’re pulling from, which is mostly 90s skate punk and bands like The Misfits, Balzac, Bad Religion, etc. 

RJH: When you were getting into heavy music, and eventually creating Saidan, were there any bands that made you say, “Man, I want to do that?”

Splatterpvnk: There’s a ton of bands I could probably mention. But I saw Gene Simmons spitting blood when I was very young, and that was probably the moment for me. I never really wanted to do anything other than play music after that.

RJH: Many of your lyrics center on Japanese horror and folklore. What drew you toward this, as opposed to other themes?

Splatterpvnk: Something I noticed in the USBM (United States Black Metal) scene was that a lot of bands focused on European themes, and as cool as those are, it wasn't something that interested me in terms of writing. I’ve always loved Japanese horror and folklore and thought it’d be cool to explore those ideas, even with us not being Japanese. I wanted to tie those themes into local southern U.S. folklore. Our album “Onryō II” was an example of that. Our latest album strays away from the Japanese themes for the most part, mainly because I’ve started to enjoy coming up with my own horror stories.

RJH: Those Japanese tales have many tragic topics, such as suicide and sexual abuse/assault. To me, your raw, intense music gives a voice to the inner pain left by these traumas. It’s really powerful. Are these topics you think about when writing the lyrics, or is it more a byproduct of the Japanese lore?

Splatterpvnk: Sort of a mixture of both. I try to walk a line where we don’t get too edgy for the sake of being edgy, if that makes sense. Our song “Girl Hell 1999” was one, where early on, people took as us trying hard to be edgy. But I just wanted to write the song from a perspective that the movie it’s based off of didn’t really touch on. “Sick Abducted Purity” from our latest album is a song where a lot of those same themes pop up again, but it’s a song based on real events. My approach to the lyrics was to tell the story for what it is, without sugarcoating the things that happened. But I also wanted to respect the victim at the same time.

RJH: You’re a horror fan. I’m a horror author. This is a horror and metal site. Let’s talk some horror! What got you into the genre? Have you always been drawn to the darker things in life?

Splatterpvnk: I remember being a kid and living for autumn, because I knew Halloween was around the corner haha. Shows like “Goosebumps” and especially “Scooby Doo” were probably the introduction of horror for me. Anything that had a darker aesthetic always appealed to me and still does.

RJH: Do you have a favorite subgenre of horror? 

Splatterpvnk: You would think with my name I would lean more into splatter punk, but I love really garbage and campy slashers. That’s what I’ve tried to model our band around in some ways. The more camp the better!

RJH: What are some horror movies that you recommend readers check out? Any that capture the spirit of Saidan?

Splatterpvnk: If you combined the essence of “Perfect Blue” and “Slumber Party Massacre 2,” I think that would capture our spirit pretty well! I highly recommend both of those. Also, random shout-out to “Bad Moon” from 1996. I recently watched it, and by no means is it a good movie, but something about it is incredible.

RJH: What does Saidan mean to you? And what’s the main thing you want people to know about your band/music?

Splatterpvnk: Saidan was originally an emotional outlet for me. But now, after nearly five years, and hearing fans tell me what Saidan has meant to them, that has changed what this project means. I want Saidan to be an outlet for people that can hopefully let them get away from whatever is going on in their life for a moment. We have dark songs and songs with deep emotions and messages. But if all anybody takes away from us is “Saidan are fun,” then I think that’s perfect.

RJH: Is there anything you’d like to say to the readers who may not be familiar with your music, as well as your fans?

Splatterpvnk: If you like melodic music with a heavy metal/punk edge and lyrics about ghosts, blood, and people getting cut up by a teen-girl serial killer, then check us out. For any fans reading this, thanks for the support! We hope to see you on the road soon!

With three albums under their belt and an upcoming tour, Splatterpvnk and Saidan aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Listen to Saidan on any of your preferred streaming platforms. Check them out on Bandcamp.