Serbian band Deadspawned has begun to spread its demonic wings toward the most ancient layers of the death metal underground. So if you prefer the old-school mix in this beloved genre, then it's worth keeping an eye on this excellent quintet in the future! Milan Dobrosavljevic (guitar) was very kind and responded quickly to my questions, so now it's your turn to dive into his interesting answers.
Hails Milan! There is a new Deadspawned song circulating on the internet called "Demonarch". Since a music video has also been made for it, please tell us more about the musical concept, lyrics, and overall purpose of the song.
Hell-o Kornel! Greetings to you and your readers. Yes, one month ago we released our first studio demo (single) "Demonarch". We recorded it in order to promote the band and to book/promote our shows easier. We also wanted to test the studio, which we usually use for band rehearsals, and check if we can record our debut album there. In the end I used opportunity to try my hand at directing/editing a video for that song, as we prefer this kind of videos to lyrics videos. Although the topic of the "Demonarch" lyrics never gets old, it has been very topical in Serbia for the last year, dealing with dictators and marionette systems. I think the plot of the video reflects the lyrics of the song very well, heralding the end of a dark era in my country.
You have defined your musical style as old school death metal. Indeed, I can sense the influence of bands such as Six Feet Under, Bolt Thrower, Hail of Bullets, and, when it comes to melodies, God Dethroned, but please tell our readers why you decided on this musical direction.
That's where are the roots of my musical background. I started listening to death metal through bands like Obituary, Pestilence, Morgoth, Death, Sepultura and after 20+ years playing brutal technical death metal with Sacramental Blood it felt refreshing to go back to where it all started. I still love bands like old Monstrosity, Sinister, Suffocation, Luciferion... but it feels great going back to what started my journey through death metal waters 35 years ago.
In addition to the current single, there was also a 3-song live demo from 2025 titled "Afterlives". So the question arises, how many songs do you have in total, and when do you plan to record your first full-length album?
We have 8 songs completed for our debut album (plus 2 more for the next one) and the plan right now is to enter the studio somewhere around May/June and start tracking it. "Afterlives" was not part of initial plan. We wanted to record just one song from the album, to let more fans know about us and then record the whole album, but there had been some delays with mixing of "Demonarch" and when we heard a few songs from "Afterlives", we decided to put them on our bandcamp page and buy us some time until we get proper mix of "Demonarch".
Speaking of which, you guys are pretty active with your live performances, so what kind of setlist do you usually come up with? Are there any cover songs in there? Where are you going to be performing live in the near future?
So far, due to time constraints at the shows, we were not able to perform the complete upcoming album live. As a new band we usually have 30-35 minutes for our set, so we could play only 6 of our songs, which is around 28-29 minutes. With only 1-2 minutes left we could only do 1 short cover and that was "Corpsegrinder" from Death/Massacre. On March 27th we will play in Belgrade at Serbian Black Metal Assault III (they will announce it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow) and I believe we will play there the same short set, but in April we will finally play 3 smaller gigs in Serbia and Hungary, with Hungarian band Atrox Trauma and there we will be able to play the whole set. We are also booked to support Devangelic in Skopje (Macedonia) on 17th April and after that we will focus on preparations for the recording of the album. I should also say that we were offered to open for Pestilence in July and The Stone in May, but schedule conflicts forced us to refuse those offers.
Deadspawned was formed in 2022. What is the story behind the band's formation, and who are its current members?
Actually we started the band in May 2024. I wanted to start the band in 2022, right after I left Scaffold, but at the time I couldn't find a drummer, so I had to wait for 2 years to bring Deadspawned to life. In 2020 with the pandemic outburst, we had to put Sacramental Blood on hold, as we had international line-up. I had a lot of spare time and I accepted the call to help my friend and join Scaffold on bass guitar. I spent year and a half in Scaffold and I had real blast playing old school deathrash with them, but I realized that we were not compatible as we work at different tempos and have completely different working ethics. I had already composed 2 songs for them, but when I quit I realized they will probably never play those songs again, so I decided to start studio project and record those 2 songs plus 1-2 new songs. However, once I started writing new songs I really exploded with ideas and in a month and a half I finished the complete album. Playing these songs made me realize how much I enjoy playing old school death metal, so I decided to turn this into a full time band and it just took me more time than planned to put the whole line-up together. Current line-up consists of Jovan Josipovic (vocals), Nemanja Bubalo (drums), Marko Blagojevic (bass), Slobodan Vukotic (guitar/backing vocals) and myself, Milan Dobrosavljevic (guitar).
As I see it, all members also play in other active bands, such as Sacramental Blood, Haste, Aura Mortis, Anality, Light Denied, Vergel, Toxic Trace, Flesh Cult, and Mortuary Hearse. What's new with these bands?
Guitarist Pavle Bojkovic spent only 2-3 months with the band, so we have no connection to bands like Aura Mortis, Mortuary Hearse, Flesh Cult and Anality anymore. Right now the most of our other bands are not active. Sacramental Blood didn't have a drummer for a few years and then our guitarist/vocalist decided to move to Brazil, so right now my focus is on Deadspawned (although I reactivated recently Bolt the War – Bolt Thrower tribute band). Drummer Nemanja plays shows from time to time with his metalized punk band Agitator. Bass player's Vergel recently released an EP through Ukrainian label Archaic Sound, but they are also not active. Toxic Trace will probably get back together for a few live shows, but I am not sure if they have any other plans than live shows.
There are certainly many excellent death and thrash metal bands in Serbia. But which bands would you personally recommend to our readers as essential listening?
My favorite Serbian albums were released in the first half of the 90s, so I suggest you to start with those bands/albums. My all-time favorite is old school death metal Necrophobia "Impotence by Sickness", followed by Dead Joker "Venture" (death/grind) and Rapid Force "Apotheosis of War" (thrash metal). That is my holy trinity of Serbian metal. I also recommend Bloodbath "Traumatic Memories" (death metal), Wolf's Hunger "Zemlja Moja u Plamenu Je..." (black/thrash), Blasphererion "Apocal Ur-Chaos" (death metal), Stone to Flesh (now The Stone, black metal legends) demos and their debut album "Some Wounds Bleed Forever", Acroholia (grind core) Demo 1 & Demo 2, Scaffold "Codex Gigas" (deathrash), Vergel "Hermetic Aspect" and Sacramental Blood "Ternion Demonarchy". Some other bands that are not really my cup of tea, but deserves your attention would be Terrörhammer, CMPT, Infest, Quasarborn, Šakal, Dawn of Creation, The Bloody Earth, etc.
What are you listening to these days? Are there any new albums that have caught your interest? If so, please list them here.
I have been listening a lot to Nevermore lately. Ever since they announced the new line-up I can't stop revisiting their albums. The best news this year for sure. Marko's Vergel "Hermetic Aspect" really surprised me – very good mix of black metal and Swedish death metal. Not so new, but not something everyone knows is Italian Blasphemer "The Sixth Hour". Goatlord Corp. "Temple of Serpent Whores", that one is a must. My AOTY 2025.
Finally, please tell us about Deadspawned's plans for 2026 and send your regards to Ukrainian death metal maniacs!
I hope we will record the album this year and play as many shows as possible. We have already started 2026 with bang, sharing the stage with Blaze Bayley, Brainstorm, Mastic Scum and Powersurge at Eternal Flame festival in Bosnia. Many shows in Serbia, Hungary and Macedonia will follow. We are open to playing everywhere, so don't hesitate to contact us and drop your offer for show. And message for fans in Ukraine: Persevere! Survive! We know what you are going through. I just hope your hell will end sooner than later. Regards!!!
