Sakahiter, formed in 2002, has carved a unique path in the black metal scene, embracing their Samnite heritage. Hrim discusses the band's 23-year journey, the meaning behind "Samnite Black Metal," and their dedication to the underground spirit. Despite numerous challenges, Sakahiter remains a testament to perseverance and a fierce devotion to their art.
Serial Metalbums: Sakahiter was formed in 2002, making it a band with over two decades of history. What were your original ambitions when you started, and how have they evolved over the years?
Hrim: As usual, it all started almost as a game. But already after a couple of months we started writing our first songs. Shortly thereafter we decided to get serious and released the first demo “Lex Sacrata”.
From the moment we made this decision, everything changed its aspect, the commitment to the band was always maximum, despite the endless problems we encountered along the way. This stubbornness and perseverance led us to the release of the full length “Samnite Black Metal” and still being here to be able to answer your questions, after 23 years of the band's life.
Serial Metalbums: The name Sakahiter carries a strong sense of identity. What does it represent, and how does it tie into the themes and vision of your music?
Hrim: Sakahiter is an Oscan term, the ancient language spoken by the Samnites, the people who lived in our lands in ancient times. It means ‘let him be sacrificed’.
When we started composing our own songs, we wanted to stand out from the crowd. At that time the themes of black metal were related either to Satanism, which never interested us as such, or to Nordic peoples, toward which, however, we felt no belonging. Hence the choice to delve into the Samnite culture and make it our own, in the iconography, in the lyrics, in the name of the band.
Serial Metalbums: Your first recorded release dates back to 2003 with Live in Montenegro Metal Fest. Looking back at that live album, how do you view that early stage of the band? Do you still recognize yourselves in that performance?
Hrim: Officially the first release is the demo “Lex Sacrata,” that live show is just a bootleg recorded during that festival... Listening to it again now arouses both pride, for what we managed to do then with the few means we had at our disposal, and amazement, because we realize the giant strides we have made from then to now.
Leaving aside the differences between the line up of that period and the current one, the band has really grown in every way, as compositions, as experience, as technical skills. On the other hand, twenty years have passed, it would be strange otherwise... What has remained unchanged in all this time is our attitude.
Serial Metalbums: With two EPs (Omnes Eiura Deos in 2005 and Legio Linteata in 2022), it took a long journey before releasing your first full-length album, Samnite Black Metal. Was this a conscious decision, or did circumstances dictate this timeline?
Hrim: It was not our choice. As I anticipated before, our path was very troubled, full of lineup changes, because every time someone left, we had to start from scratch with newcomers. All this slowed us down so much and made the time dilate. When we were one step away from recording, something unexpected would happen. Fortunately, despite all these problems we always managed to keep our live activity constant, otherwise we would have been dead for years already.
I have written it before, if there is one word that can best describe us it’s perseverance, it’s this that has allowed us to still be here and release our first full length, albeit after all these years..
Serial Metalbums: What does Samnite Black Metal symbolize to you? Is it merely a description of your sound, or does it carry a deeper historical or cultural meaning?
Hrim: It means everything to us! We have embraced Samnite culture for more than twenty years now, and we are proud of it. The Samnites were a people of simple farmers and ranchers, contemporaries of the Romans, but they were also very belligerent, proud and stubborn, think they even managed to defeat the Romans in the famous battle of the Caudine Forks.
They were savage, violent, animalistic, don’t you find all that very metal? That is precisely why about a couple of years after our birth we coined the term ‘Samnite Black Metal’, to find something that could describe us in the round, and also to distinguish us from other black metal bands of the time.
Serial Metalbums: When crafting Samnite Black Metal, did you revisit elements from your past works, or was the approach completely different from your previous releases?
Hrim: The songs featured on “Samnite Black Metal” are all previously unreleased. Some of them are older, we have been working on them for several years, while others were conceived especially for the full-length. Stylistically they are an evolution of what we have done throughout our career, and they best represent what Sakahiter is in 2025. Compared to our previous releases this is absolutely a more mature and complete work.
Serial Metalbums: Could you walk us through the songwriting process for Samnite Black Metal? Did the tracks come together organically, or was there a defined concept from the start?
Hrim: The compositional process of “Samnite Black Metal” is the same, identical process that we have been carrying out for 23 years now.
Hirpus, the singer, is also the composer of the songs. He structures them from the first to the last riff, and when he thinks he has arrived at a satisfactory result, he brings the song to the rehearsal room and we all start working on it together as far as the arrangements and the parts of the individual instrumentalists are concerned. He does the bulk of the work, however, since the band's inception.
Serial Metalbums: Black metal has always had a strong connection to heritage and ideology. Do you see Samnite Black Metal as a tribute, a statement, or something else entirely? some bands use black metal as a tool for aggression, others for atmosphere, and some for narrative expression. Where does Sakahiter place itself within this spectrum?
Hrim: Our “Samnite Black Metal” is a combination of things. It’s respect for the black metal tradition, but it is also a statement of intent, both ideologically and musically. By not setting ourselves compositional limits and mental cages, we have tried to take our style to a higher level that gathers, simultaneously, violent parts, melodic parts, mighty and epic parts, eerie atmospheres.
Definitely our spectrum is very broad, as it contains a black metal framework, soiled by the ferocity of death metal, the restlessness of doom metal and the immediacy of thrash metal.
Serial Metalbums: The black metal scene is known for being deeply rooted in its underground identity. Do you feel that the spirit of the underground is still alive today, or has it been diluted over time?
Hrim: In the underground, the real one, still alive and well, things have not changed that much. It would be foolish, however, to claim that the scene is like it was twenty years ago. Things have changed, in my opinion for the worse.
They were already slowly taking a different turn when metal was cleared through customs and everyone started listening to it, but the coup de grace came with the advent of the Internet, first, and social media, now. Fortunately, I repeat, you can still find a lot of bands in the underground that continue to embody the original spirit of metal.
Serial Metalbums: Legio Linteata came relatively close to the release of Samnite Black Metal. Did it serve as a bridge to the full-length album, or do you see it as a separate artistic statement?
Hrim: As I mentioned to you earlier, unfortunately during our history we had to deal with quite a few lineup problems. Because of this, our record releases have been somewhat thinned out. The release of “Legio Linteata” served us to get back on track, to let everyone know that we were by no means dead. To do this, it seemed appropriate to release an EP, so as not to risk thwarting the release of the full length, and also to release what, at the time, were our most dated songs, and we did not see well within the full.
Serial Metalbums: Lastly, your music has reached those who appreciate both the atmosphere and the extreme side of black metal. What would you like to say to your listeners—myself included?
Hrim: The fact that you tell us this means a lot to us, because it means that we have succeeded in our intent. In the meantime we thank you for this space you have given us. If you want you can find our album on all major digital stores, otherwise follow our news about the tour, who knows we won't pass right by your city soon.