SVINIBROD: “We’re Still an Underground Band” – On Their Own Identity, New Music and BoneGrinding Night

SVINIBROD belongs to the Czech metal underground, building its music above all on its own identity, the natural process of songwriting and the energy of live performances. In this interview for Rebel Sound, we talked about the band's development from its first EP War for Resources to the current Division: Hell, as well as lyrics, social media, the members' experience and the BoneGrinding Night event. We also discussed the band's current plans and the new material it is gradually working on.

Over the years, SVINIBROD has built a distinctive position on the Czech metal scene. When did you first feel that the original project was becoming a band with its own identity and a stable audience?

Hi, first of all, greetings to all Rebel Sound readers, and thank you for inviting us to this interview.

Thanks a lot for the compliment, but "a distinctive position on the Czech metal scene and a stable audience" are rather relative terms when it comes to us. We do have a certain circle of, let's say, regular fans whose support we really appreciate, and with occasional breaks we play shows more or less all over the Czech Republic, but we're still an underground band whose greatest recognition is mainly around the Nymburk area, where we're "at home", so I'd be careful with comparisons like that.

I think SVINIBROD has always had its own identity. A band's identity starts to take shape once the line-up settles, new songs begin to emerge and live shows start adding up all of that gives the band a face, or an identity, if you like. Over time, of course, everything can change as the band develops.

 There is a noticeable shift in both sound and atmosphere on Division: Hell. How would you describe the band's development from its earliest songs to your current material?

Yes, the current EP sounds different from the debut, and I think it's right for every release to have its own specific atmosphere. What's more, the first EP, War for Resources, contains some songs that were originally written for DKV, but we didn't manage to finish them under that name. So they were reworked into a slightly more "death metal" form and recorded for SVINIBROD. On Division: Hell, all the songs are purely "Svinibrod" material, and therefore perhaps more authentic as well.

For the final sound, and to a certain extent the atmosphere of the current EP as well, we mainly have Martin "Holly" Hollandr to thank, as we recorded the record at his Hollysound studio. Holly is undoubtedly among the very best in his field here today, and readers can hear the proof not only on our current EP.

Every band is influenced by a range of musical inspirations. What do you think makes SVINIBROD's sound unique, and what sets you apart from other bands on the Czech scene?

Our music comes together spontaneously, according to how we feel at that particular moment, and we create the vast majority of it together in the rehearsal room. If some noticeable outside influence, or perhaps something less usual for us, finds its way into a song, it always happens through the natural composition process it simply comes out that way. We don't force anything. We do have certain boundaries within which we want to operate as SVINIBROD, but first and foremost we want our songs to be enjoyable for us, we aim for a certain variety, and I don't think we're particularly strict when it comes to genre either.

On stage, we always try to be intense so that our songs really move along and people can go wild in front of the stage. Of course, there are more bands like that here, but I'd say our originality – or rather our distinguishing feature – probably lies precisely in this.

Metal music is constantly evolving and changing. How do you view current trends, and how important is it for you to preserve your own identity?

The development of metal, and music in general, naturally reflects the times we live in. Although I think metal is one of the genres least affected by trends, certain changes undoubtedly happen here too. To be honest, though, we don't really concern ourselves with that. We make our music as well as we can and in a way that keeps it enjoyable for us. If that then connects with someone who enjoys listening to it, that's pretty much the ideal scenario.

Social media and online promotion play a major role today. How difficult is it to combine making music with the demands of presenting a band in the modern world?

You can't really do without social media today if you're not there, it's almost as if you don't exist. That's simply how it is. We obviously try to promote the band online as well, and although we're not the kind of band that churns out "stories" every day and so on, anyone can find all the essential information about us on our profiles, and we try to keep them up to date. Personally, I'll always prefer standing on stage to making reels, but if you want to stand on that stage, every now and then you just have to play the fuckin' influencer too.

SVINIBROD grew out of the members' previous experience in other projects. What are the most important lessons or experiences you brought into the current band?

The core of SVINIBROD essentially developed out of the Nymburk thrash metal band DKV. Three members of the current SVINIBROD line-up played in it (Hynek, Roman and Sůča). In 2023, I replaced the original vocalist Pavel, and last year, in 2025, Nende joined the band, replacing the original bassist Matěj, who, by the way, now plays bass in another Nymburk band, SLEDGEDOWN.

After some 20–30 years of playing, there's quite a lot of experience, and the most important thing in my view is that you simply have to enjoy it, because if it doesn't make you a living, then there's really no other reason to do it.

 Is there a song that has become an inseparable part of your live set over the years and that fans ask for at almost every show?

SVINIBROD isn't exactly a hit factory, and you definitely won't find catchy stadium choruses in our music, but judging by the reactions at live shows and the numbers on streaming platforms, I'd pick "Bully" and "Obliteration of Mankind".

Your lyrics often reflect society and human behaviour. Where do you look for inspiration, and how do the themes of individual songs come about?

Hynek and I take care of the lyrics in the band, and usually it works in such a way that the lyrics are written separately first, and then the music is created around them according to the theme or atmosphere.

It's a bit of a cliché by now, but lyrics about the topics you mentioned practically write themselves, and you don't even need to follow every news channel – that would drive you fucking insane after a while anyway. You really only need to look around at how people behave and what they do, and there's so much material that it could easily fill a concept album.

If you had the opportunity to perform with any band from the history of world metal, which one would you choose and why?

It's hard to choose just one, but if I had to, probably BLACK SABBATH, because that's where the foundations of everything metal contains can be found.

BoneGrinding Night has earned a firm place among fans of heavy music. What does organising it and developing it further mean to you personally?

Thanks for this question – I'll use it straight away for a little bit of promotion. BoneGrinding Night has been connected with SVINIBROD, and before that with DKV, more or less from the very beginning. In the past, the events were held irregularly, and the first one, still under the name "Bonegrinding fest", took place back in 2008, so you could say it has already become quite a traditional event. I've only been involved in co-organising it for the last three years, and personally I'm definitely glad that we've managed to keep things going along the established path. There can never be too many good metal events.

In recent years, we've also given BGN a certain regularity, with it taking place twice a year – a spring edition around Nymburk and an autumn edition in Prague at Modrá Vopice. This year's autumn edition will also be the twentieth anniversary event. We've increased the number of performing bands to five, and the evening will be headlined by Czech thrash legend SHAARK. Another little interesting detail is that the guys told us that in roughly 35 years of playing, they have never performed at Modrá Vopice. So I'd like to invite all readers to Vopice on 31 October 2026 from 6:00 p.m., not least for this major premiere.

Is there a particular moment or concert that you consider a major milestone in SVINIBROD's history?

I'll come back to BoneGrinding Night here. Two years ago, we held the release show for the EP Division: Hell at this event at Modrá Vopice, which I'd say was one moment worth remembering because the event was very successful. I'd also mention the release of the second EP itself, which moved us forward musically and, in fact, shaped us into the form we have today.

Imagine that a documentary charting the band's history is made a few years from now. What message or story do you think it should capture above all?

Thrash, death, beer and weed .

What are SVINIBROD's current plans for the future, and what can fans look forward to in the near future?

At the moment, we're in the final stages of preparing the already-mentioned event at Vopice on 31 October 2026, and once again we'd like to invite everyone. We're also trying to write new songs, which we'd of course like to record again afterwards. Some material is already finished, but there still isn't enough for a full record. We need to keep working on that, but you'll definitely hear some new material from us live at future shows.

What would you like people to think of first when they hear the name SVINIBROD many years from now?

… probably nothing in particular; it's enough if they remember us at all.

SVINIBROD continues to follow its own path and, alongside preparations for the twentieth anniversary BoneGrinding Night, which will take place on 31 October 2026 at Modrá Vopice in Prague, is also working on new songs. We thank SVINIBROD for the interview and wish the band plenty of energy both on stage and in its future work.

Denča