Aditya Varma: The band has been on hiatus for a while; how long has it been since you first hit the scene up ‘til the time you stopped?

Reuben Lalchuangkima: The first performance we had as Third Sovereign was in 2003. There were a few problems we faced regarding our studies and stuff; like, even now I’m going back and doing my own stuff and also working on my research right now at Mizoram University. There were also a lot of line-up changes; we started off in Aizawl, our hometown, after which we shifted the band to Delhi back in 2005, where also we had a number of line-up changes. Along with the whole process of recording the album, the EP and all that stuff, I think we stopped playing sometime in 2011. After that, the first gig we played was again here, in our hometown at a youth festival. We played with the same line-up we had back then; me, Jonah, Benjamin and Vedant were there and we’ve pretty much finished our recordings.

AV: What made you guys decide to get back together and start playing again?

RL: Actually, the band has always been there, it’s just that we stopped playing. I went back home the year before last for my research and Benja was still in Delhi, Vedant was in his hometown in Assam and Jonah was here with me; so we started building a studio which is also functioning as a school right now. So Jonah and I were busy building the studio, and after some time, Benja came back home from Delhi and joined us, so now we run the studio, called Vortex, together. So we got busy with that, then we contacted Vedant and called him back to Aizawl and started recording again. As a matter of fact, Vedant was the first to finish the whole set.
 

AV: What is the band up to at the moment?

RL: See, right now the album is pretty much ready, Jonah has to throw in some bass again and the album will be done. The drum recording is finished, guitars are about 70 percent done and the vocals are done. But, we’re not planning on releasing it too early; we are looking for the right time. Before that, we plan to release a single with a video of the song.

AV: Do you feel things are much different now as compared to before; both in terms of the sound and the band dynamics?

RL: Yeah, it’s always been kind of stringing along here and there, during the whole journey actually [laughs]. Sometimes, we kind of get to play a big stage and sometimes we play small stages, and all the line-up changes have had an effect on the music. And also the music scene…I don’t really know these days, but, it’s not up to the mark, since you can’t play a pub gig anymore, even in Shillong. Our music is more brutal now and the sound also is really good, especially working with engineers I know. I don’t even decide my own drum sound; it’s the main guy at the desk that does that. And he’s doing a great job.
 

Destined To Suffer (2008) via Demonstealer Records

AV: The band is basically delving back into the scene after a long time; what are the anticipations like?

RL: Uh, actually we don’t really know what there is and how we’re going to deal with it but the main thing is: since this is our profession, we just try to keep moving ahead, it’s not like a money-making machine for us but we also have to get something out of it. Since each one of us has a day job here and there, we can’t sacrifice all the money we make just for playing. It is a passion that we keep moving ahead with; we just love to play and it’ll be here as long as we are here.

AV: What are the band’s plan for the future?

RL: It really depends on the scene. We are giving 100 percent from our end and, once we release the album, hopefully it will be up to the mark, and not just in India. We are really excited with this new album.