Machinemadegod - Entrevista

Machinemadegod: Machinemade God has a lot of different meanings, for example:
People worship things and media more than their gods, morals and their own lifes.
They depend on things like Television, Internet and other not important things.

Machinemade God was found in 2003, from the beginning on we took the band serious and we wanted to be more than a fun project, so we pushed the band as far as possible.
In 2004, after several successful shows, we recorded a selfproduced, four-track demo cd, to sell at shows. In 2005 we recorded our debut full-length “The Infinity Complex” which was released by Metal Blade Records, where we signed in 2005. We did some tours, i.e. a full European tour with Evergreen Terrace and played some shows and festivals. When things went more professional we had to replace our guitar-player due to personal reasons. We also were in the writing process for our second full-length “Masked”, which will be released via Metal Blade Records on the 24th of August.

Writing process: When we went to the studio the first time, we actually just recorded our songs.
This time, with “Masked” we really produced an album for the first time. We really thought about how the new songs and the record should sound like. We did a pre-production to make sure the ideas and the songs really work out.
We spent a lot more time while recording our album, to make sure everything turns out exactly the way we want it to. We didn´t want to just bring out an follow-up record which is basically the same record with another title, like some other bands do. We wanted to prove that we are able to write a really good record, that stands out and is totally different to the debut without losing our sound. We think that “Masked” is a 100% progress for Machinemade God. Technically on a higher level, mature songwriting and really diverse record.
We rehearse about two times a week and sometimes more before shows.
Metal Blade is treating us really good and I guess there´s nothing to complain from our side. They work really good and very hard for all their bands, and as far as I know there´s no band on the roster that is unsatisfied with Metal Blade.

Lyrics: A lot of the lyrics I write are personal related, cause that´s the easiest for me to write about me and my feelings and/or experiences I made in my life. I wanted to go further this time and write the lyrics more diverse.
Nemesis for example is about mankind exploiting the earth, polluting nature and about the loss of morals and wrong politics.
Voices is a song about never giving in, even though everything around you seems to break. For Those Who Care is one of my favourites. Cause of the band I didn´t really had the time to be there for my friends as much as I wanted to. Still there were certain people who always stuck with me and cared about me and about what I am doing, over years without complaining about me not being there for me. This was a way for me to give them something back, a small “thank you”, to show them that I don´t take everything for granted.

Album Cover: The Artwork was done my Magdalena Nowak from hellucinations.de . It actually shows a Mask, which represents the Album Title pretty well. It s all in Black and red/brownish colours. We wanted something that looks mystic, dark but not really evil. I think she did an awesome job with that one.

Live tour to promote the new record: We def. wanna tour as much as possible, not just to promote the new album, also because playing shows is what we really wanna do. There´s s something in the works, but nothing really confirmed yet, so I guess I leave it that way.
But mentionable is this years Summer-Breeze-Festival, where we appear.
All other dates will be posted on our website, Metal Blade´s website and on our MySpace page. So check back to these sites every now and then.

Musical (and other) influences: There´s no special band that influences our sound or the lyrics. I guess the main influence is life and the current moods of us while writing music and lyrics.
All of us have a real diverse taste in music.

Metalcore. Your opinion: Is a blurry, worn-out term without a real definition.

Final Message: Thanks for reading and remember to support your local scene!


Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Flo Velten – Vocals

Machinemadegod: http://www.machinemadegod.com/

Metal Blade: http://www.metalblade.de/

Three - Entrevista

- Three (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):

3 is a concept. We live in a 3 dimensional physical space, on the 3rd planet from the sun, experiencing time as past, present and future, in a form that consists of mind, body and soul. 3 is the apex of the triangle, the transcendence of our dualistic “good versus evil” view of life. 3 is evolution. 1(thesis) + 2 (antithesis) = 3 (synthesis).

3 is a band apart: Dark yet uplifting, spiritual without any connection to religion - theirs is a sound that transcends the genre conformity of modern pop culture. Rapid-fire acoustic guitar infused with dynamic percussion, animated drumming and thunderous bass culminate in a listening experience that is at once accessible and unique. Polyrhythms pulse within a symphony of driving guitars and melodic vocal acrobatics. 3 offers musicality without pretension.

3’s DISCOGRAPHY:

“Paint By Number” (2000) is a very melodic and diverse collection of songs. The producer chose to focus more on our pop sensibilities than our progressive ones but the music is still intricate and powerful. This record features the original line up of “3.” Chris Bittner on bass, who went on to co-produce all of Coheed’s records to date, and Josh Eppard who went on to be Coheed’s drummer. This record can be purchased online at http://www.planetnoiserecords.com/

“Half Life” (2002) was an attempt to capture the live energy of the band and add some studio polish. Most of it was recorded live in Kingston, NY. There are several other live tracks from radio and television performances as well. There is a good chunk of improvisation and this was also the funkiest era of the band. I had been touring with George Clinton a lot and it had a big impact on my writing. This record can be purchased online at http://www.planetnoiserecords.com/

“Summer Camp Nightmare” (2003) Our second official studio release, this record put the focus back on our deeper songs. It was a return to our Pink Floyd influences and also an evolutionary leap for the band as we really began to cultivate our own sound out of the myriad of diverse influences. This record has a very vintage sound as we used all old tube gear and removed all computers from the studio because we didn’t like the vibe. This record can be purchased online at http://www.planetnoiserecords.com/

“Wake Pig” (2005) By 2004 I had finally put together my dream line up including key members of the very band who’d influenced 3 in the early days, Peacebomb. The project had come full circle, making a matured return to our progressive roots. With the new team in place we took matters into our own hands, setting up a studio and recording our self produced Metal Blade Records debut. This is the record we’d always wanted to make. This record can be purchased online at http://www.metalblade.com/

“The End Is Begun” (2007) After touring Wake Pig for the last couple years we were good and ready to come home and create a new masterpiece. We had over 30 song ideas to choose from and eventually paired it down to 13. This time around our compositions are a bit less orthodox, there are also more progressive elements. TEIB has a bigger and more classic sound to it. It was mixed by Toby Wright, where as I mixed Wake Pig. This album has the feel of 2 different sides as well. The first half is very different from the last. This plays into the duality that we wanted to portray on this album. This is some of our best work to date. This record can be purchased online at http://www.metalblade.com/

“The End Is Begun” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
In general we were very inspired during the writing process. I think all the touring, all the places we’ve seen and people we’ve met serve to inspire us. I think the biggest challenge was working with a deadline. This one came down to the last minute. As usual they had to drag me out of the studio kicking and screaming. We recorded most of our record at Jerry Marotta’s studio right in our home town of Woodstock, NY. Because of limited resources, (time and money), I had to work on vocals at home while the band was finishing up other tracks at Jerry’s. When I had a large amount of work completed, I would return to the studio to back up all I had done. Well, there was a point where we had about a 2 week hiatus from Jerry’s, so I had built up quite a bit of work that needed to be backed up and transfered in to the main session. When I plugged in the hard drive to do so everything had disappeared. All the vocals I’d recorded, about 5 songs worth in total were missing. We were very close to the deadline so I was pretty much losing my mind. We ended up using a special file recovery program which recovered over 5,000 unnamed audio files from the drive. I spent the next 24 hours sorting through these files to find the vocals I had lost. Fortunately I found them all.

Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
Conceptually, much the album deals with the archetypal struggle, that final epic battle that looms upon the human horizon. The twist is that this battle takes place within us. All outer manifestations of it can be traced back to this inner struggle. . “Still I know you must continue, trying to win the war waged within you.” (from “Battle Cry”) Other songs, such as “Live Entertainment” touch on the irony of reality tv’s growing popularity amidst a population of people who avoid being conscious of their own realities. This record is a hybrid of melancholy and hope rising up out of the ashes of our self-destruction / deception. Perhaps the most meaningful song for me is “The Last Day” which reveals a positive spiritual outcome for all our human suffering. “Its the last day of the world, all the stars fired up to unfurl. Gonna meet you in the space within. You and I, we’ll race the light and win.”

Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
Our cover was designed by Damn Engine. We gave him some ideas and he took it and made it brilliant. He was listening to rough cuts of the record when he designed it, so it just feels right with the music. The cover is made up of two very different elements. A dark foreboding landscape, ravaged by some great war and a young girl holding 3 blue balloons looking out across the scene. I think they both represent important aspects of who we are as a band. Some of the darkest, most aggressive and technical musical moments on this record are balanced with soft and often sweetly simple vocal melodies. This is part of our duality, our paradox. That is what excites me as an artist, dark and light combining to create something new. The girl represents hope; she is the future, the next step in our evolution. Through her we can experience the end as a new beginning. The balloons are souls; she clips their strings and releases them from their earthly bonds.

Live tour to promote the new record:
We’ll be touring with Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater at different times throughout the next year. Its Rock ‘n’ Roll so anything can happen!

Musical (and other) influences:
Musical: the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Primus, Pink Floyd, The Police, Genesis, King Crimson, Rush, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Ojos de Brujo, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Radiohead, Stevie Wonder, Ani Difranco, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Elliot Smith, Imogen Heap, and many, many more...
Other: Rudolph Steiner, David Icke, Zechariah Sitchin, The Master Cleanser, Spacekateers, herbal remedies, Thoth, The Flower of Life and many, many more...

Final Message:
Thanks to you and to your readers! Be well, - Joey Eppard / 3
http://www.theband3.com/
www.myspace.com/3
www.myspace.com/joeyeppard
http://www.metalblade.com/
http://www.planetnoiserecords.com/

Ravencult - Entrevista

Ravencult (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
RAVENCULT exists since mid 2001 and we’ve been delivering straightforward oldstyle Black Metal ever since. Released a couple of demos, a vinyl EP and a full-length album called “Temples Of Torment”. RAVENCULT is a live band and has done gigs both in Greece and abroad while the music is similar to the first and second generation of BM; maybe a bit more varied though. About the name; the raven is a dark figure connected to pestilence and death throughout history. The “cult” word is a connection to the dark side. Uniting those two you get something that reflects a morbid aura, so you know what the band stands for; and that is Black Metal.

“Temples Of Torment” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
The album was recorded in mid-2005 at Molla Studio in Norway. We recorded it with Knut M. Valle of Arcturus as a producer. He’s a great guy and has a lot of experience by working for bands like Aura Noir, Mayhem, Ulver etc. The Dark Essence records guys offered us a deal after they received a promo copy of the album.

Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
Usually some negative vibes or antireligious thoughts.

Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
It’s created by Stephen O’Malley of SunnO))). It’s a continuation of the album title which is actually an obvious statement concerning organised religion.

Live tour to promote the new record:
Hopefully next season.

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Musical (and other) influences:
Violent, old style morbid stuff.
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Final Message:
Bangyourhead!
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Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Stefanos (Guitars)
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Ravencult: www.ravencult.net / www.myspace.com/ravencultbm

Karisma Records: www.karismarecords.no

Dark Essence: www.darkessence.no

SoulTakers - Entrevista

- Soul Takers (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
Jari: The name of the band was chosen – as a joke - quoting an old b-series horror movie. We still like the idea of capturing someone’s soul, though. Not many of them, maybe, but every soul that recognizies something deep and involving – and not only interesting or ‘fun’ - in our music, is a personal success for us.
Soul Takers were founded in 1998 by Francesca and Federica, shortly followed by the singer Dino and the drummer Mauro. The core of the band began to create its particular style, with a prominent piano sound and genuine classical influences. Bass player Andrea was the next to join in and in 2002 Soul Takers recorded their first promo-cd, “Through the silence of words”, with another singer, while Dino dedicated to opera studies. Violinist Jari Pilati joined the band and and after Dino’s return, the band signed with Northwind records and recorded its first full-length, “Tides”, published in the first months of 2005. Now we’re out again with “Flies in a jar”, after signing with Dragonheart records.

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“Flies In A Jar” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
Jari: Writing songs for us is a process of ‘making’. One of us generally proposes a melhody and the whole band ‘builds’ a song around it. The result is often significantly different form what the first proposal indicated, with scorn of the proposer ;). It took us about one and a half years to get over this mountain. That is...to hunt these flies and force them into the jar. It has been such a hard work one could not imagine. In terms of time, energies, obstacles...if there is something we feel free to say we deserve, is respect for our work. We may not have talent (anyone can judge on that) but we really gave it all for this cd!
As regards recording “Flies in a Jar”, it was an exhausting as well as satisfieng experience that lasted a whole month at Luigi Stefanini’s New Sin Studios. The label supported us on all sides but left us completely free to refine our cd as we hoped, with no ‘market-compromises’, showing confidence in what we were doing and freedom of views. Luigi helped us find the best musical solutions to carve the sound we were looking for and producing a clean, effective musical impact on us, before than on the other listeners.

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- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
Jari: The idea represents a human version of a fly in a jar. We didn’t waant to be ‘didascalic’ and, some way, this in angel is far sexier than a mosquito, you’ll agree on that! Flies are simple being. The are annoying, they don’t think, they buzz...This is an angel in captivity! The artwork was crafted by Felipe Machado, a Colombian guy who simply picked up the idea of what we wanted and realized it in a way we would have never succeeded in doing it...

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- Live tour to promote the new record:
Jari: We’re going to play live on the 29 th of July in Milan, in an acoustic version. It is a dimension that enhances our musical qualities, even if it sounds ‘weird’ to listen to a metal band playing with classical instruments. We’ll try not to lose our ‘metalness’, though! We’re also planning a real series of dates in Automn around Italy and hopefully, as soon as we can, abroad. Not a proper tour outside Italy, but we’d like to widen our possibilities and ‘take’ more and more souls.
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-Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
Mauro: All lyrics written for this album turn around the main idea express in its name: we are all flies trapped in a jar. We tried to express this feeling through different approaches such as: the spiritualistic-religious in “Heaven’s Pillars”, the intimist one in “Belied”, the political one in “The Silent Empire” and so on. Anyway every lyric is linked in different ways to the general topic that gives the name to our album.

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- Live tour to promote the new record:
Andrea: We have planned an acoustic gig on the 29th of July in Milan at spazio Oberdan. we are now trying to plan new gigs after the summer to promote "Flies in a Jar" but we haven't planned a tour so far. On Spetember we’ll have a clearer idea about “Flies in a Jar” general sale rates so that we can plan some more gigs.
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- Musical (and other) influences:
Dino: We have all different influences inside the band. First of all it’s impossible not to notice the huge influence classical music has on our music both on the harmonic point of view and because we use piano on every song. Then we have to add all our metal influences to this main influence and every one of us has its own favourite bands and style that we try to melt in our sound. So, generally speaking, I think we can show gothic, prog, heavy, and classical music influences in our songs.

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- Final Message:
Federica: Thank you for this interview, I invite all the readers to visit our website and download some mp3s form there so that they can listen to our music.
Hope to see you on tour.
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SoulTakers: www.soultakers.net / www.myspace.com/soultakersmetal
Dragonheart Records: www.dragonheart-records.com / www.truemetal.org/dragonheart-records

The Blackout Argument - Entrevista

The Blackout Argument (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):

The Blackout Argument started in late 2005 from the Ashes of Paint the Town Red and Flyswatter. The main concept was to write heavy yet melodic songs and to push the band forward. Within a short time span we released a MCD on Engineer Records (Munich Angst), which has been re-released by Bastardized Recordings in 2007, another MCD (Munich Valor) on Bastardized, played an endless amount of shows, toured with Boy Sets Fire and have the release of our debut-album (Decisions) scheduled for September 2007. The name is based on a fight / quarrell I had with a close friend of mine that totally escalated and resulted in a furious blackout on both sides.

“Decisions” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):

We started writing the songs for “Decisions” in Spring 2006 already. We wanted to have a large amount of songs to select from to make sure the album becomes a close concept. In Summer 2006 we finished a 5-song pre-production and sent it out to a couple of labels that already showed interest earlier, amongst them was Lifeforce Records. Lifeforce is a well-respected and hard-working label and we happily decided to sign with them in late 2006. The Songs were already recorded by then and we started mixing and mastering “decisions” at the Kohlekeller Studios under the direction of Kristian “Kohle”. We are very happy with the result and “Decisions” turned out to be exactly how we wanted it to sound.

Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):

All our lyrics can be traced back to experiences we made, so most of them are kept very personal and often emotional. However “Decisions” is not about telling other people how much we suffer or how many hard times we’ve been through. The lyrics are honest and always show both sides of the coin. Life is about making decisions and dealing with the consequences. There is no “right” or “wrong”, no “good” or “bad”, just different paths to follow.

Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):

The artwork was created by Aaron / Sons of Nero who did an amazing job! Everything is kept in a pretty dark Frank Miller-Like comicstyle and reflects the album-concept of making decisions and facing their consequences.

Live tour to promote the new record:

We are planning to tour Europe in September or October in order to introduce “Decisions” to as many kids as possible. We’re really looking forward to this!

Musical (and other) influences:

Hard to say… we all got totally different musical backgrounds and draw our influences from all kinds of styles: rock, hardcore, emo, metal, pop, even country music…

Final Message:

Thanks for your interest in The Blackout Argument. Feel free to get in touch!

Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Chris Z.

The Blackout Argument: www.theblackoutargument.com / www.myspace.com/theblackoutargument

Lifeforce Records: www.lifeforcercords.com

Man Must Die - Entrevista

- Man Must Die (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):

Man Must Die – are from Glasgow – Scotland and formed in 2002. We released our debut Album on Retribute Records called ...Start Killing in 2004 and have just released our second CD The Human Condition which is our Relapse Debut. The name Man Must Die came from a news reel i was watching years ago , when some womans son had just been murdered and she was screaming “that Man Must Die” about the murderer it was really hard hitting so it was perfect for the name of the band, so we rolled with it.

- “The Human Condition” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
We had a great feeling from the start of writing the songs for the human condition, everything seemed to take on a different feel and had the aggression that we really wanted to capture in the music, when you are rehearsing your tunes with your teeth gritted you know you are onto something haha, once the songs were written we headed over to Canada – Montreal and recording the CD with Jean Francois Dagenais (Kataklysm) we had a great time there and the recording went really well, was cool to sample recording life in a different country, really added to the feel.

- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
The Lyrics on The Human Condition are very important to the Album, they encapsulate the anger to its maximum, the meaning of the songs on the CD have hit notes with people from all over, so many people have met with the lyrics on a personal level which is unusual for an extreme metal band, we write about the experiences in life, all the dark ones, the ones that really fuck us off at times, the lyrics on the cd are just as important as the music and should be checked out.

- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
The artwork on The Human condition was done by an Iranian artist called Omid Nemalhabib, his artwork had caught our eye online and we got him to do the artwork on the CD which turned out nice and dark the way we wanted it, it all fits in with the overall feeling of the album too, which is cool.

- Live tour to promote the new record:
We are looking to tour as much as we can over the coming months, we start off with a small UK tour with Kataklysm and Aborted in October which will be a riot, and we are really looking forward to getting out to as many countries as we can, we are trying our hardest to make this happen, we feel its very important to promote your CD via touring so rest assured we will be out there as much as we can. Be great to meet some of the cool people who like what we do, buy our CDs and shirts etc, thatd be cool.

- Musical (and other) influences:
When it comes to musical influences with all four of us, we all love the extreme but the other influences are quite bizarre, dany our bassist is a massive folk/bluegrass lover and is an awesome acoustic guitarist, john (drummer) is a massive death metal fan, if theres a death metal band on the planet johns heard of them and has their CD, Joe our vocalist is a massive slayer fan, and also loves queen and iron maiden, and i love heavy metal/power metal and really extreme metal, but all in all the nucleus of MMD is pure steel haha, we all love the anger and rage that MMD produces and thats not gonna stop, if anything it`ll intensify.

- Final Message:

Just want to say a huge thanks for taking the time out to read this and hopefullu check us out, we love to hear what people think so get in touch, hope to meet you all at a show sometime soon, stay cool.

Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Alan McFarland

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Relapse Records: www.relapse.com

Man Must Die: www.manmustdie.net

Somniae Status - Entrevista

- Somniae Status (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
First of all thank you guys for support you’re giving us and of course thanks to fenixwebzine friends.
With SOMNIAE STATUS we mean a sort of “state of imagination”, the meaning well fits our personal approach to themes and lyrics as well to the music of course. We couldn't find a good solution in English so we thought to Latin.
Somniae Status formed in 1996 by Randy Mion, Fabio Tumiati and myself. But we completed the line-up only in 1999 with Breeze Danieli and Andrew Vekk. In 2002 we recorded our debut album “Cassandra”, co-produced by Alex De Rosso and us. The album was released in 2003 by Adrenaline Records and it received very good feedbacks from press and audience attending to our gigs around Italy. Just before the tour ending, Breeze was replaced by Ivan and in the meantime we have been doing some promotional activities with gigs and demonstrations for the companies we have endorsements with, in particular B.C.Rich guitars and Hughes&Kettner amps. In 2004 we recorded a cover version of Queensryche's “I don't believe in love” released through Steelheart Records, and we started writing “Echoes” with our producer Pat Scalabrino, still continuing performing live around the country. We recorded Echoes at the New Sin Studios with Luigi Stefanini and Dragonheart Records offered to us a deal for this new album Echoes. And today, we are proudly supporting and promoting this album!

- “Echoes” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
Echoes is about moods and feelings, an introspective trip through everyone’s own experiences. We started writing Echoes after a while from our first album Cassandra. During that time we were gigging a lot, and many early ideas came out during sound checks or somehow doing stuff all together. At that time we also met our producer Pat Scalabrino, and we started writing tons of material, his support and supervision were absolutely fundamental.
Echoes was recorded, mixed and mastered by Luigi Stefanini at the New Sin Studios, where other bands like Labyrinth, Vision Divine and Domine spent some of their recording sessions. Luigi is a very professional and good guy, we made a wonderful work with him. We fixed some ideas and rearranged some passages during the recording sessions, and I think that Luigi’s contribution is a additional magic for the final result. Indeed, we came up with a co-production of Pat and Luigi!
We knew Dragonheart records since several years ago, since they have a very good exposure in the scene. Then, our producer Pat Scalabrino got in touch with Enrico Paoli at Dragonheart, introducing Echoes and ourselves. Dragonheart liked the album and they offered to us a deal. We have to say that Enrico and all his staff are very good guys, and we are doing a very good work with them regarding the promotional activities.

- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
I have to say, we all have an insane dark nature. The lyrics of the songs walk through introspective themes leaded by various states of mind. There is a common thread along the lyrics, moods recall to mysterious trips through the feelings that people experience while questioning about his existence. Life choices that come back from the past… Echoes, indeed!

- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
We found an Italian artist by browsing the DeviantArt repository. We were searching for the right designer and we definitely got it! His name is Nicola Coin and his artwork is simply amazing, he caught exactly the spirit of the album, the right contents with textures that perfectly fit into the music.
When we first met him, he was given the music and the lyrics and we said to him “go for it!” and we definitely got it!

- Live tour to promote the new record:
We're hard working on it 'cause live stage is our natural habitat, and hopefully we should gig a while after the summer..

- Musical (and other) influences:
Within the band and yet within ourselves there are a lot of different influences. The earlier influences started with our passion for prog-rock bands like Yes, Kink Crimson, Fates Warning or Queensryche, moreover our thrash love for Slayer or Anthrax and finally we're also fashinated by hard rock bands like Whitesnake.
On the other hand, we all currently appreciate Nevermore, Stone Sour, Sevendust and many other bands that are more influencing the general sound of our songs. I hope these influences have somehow helped us find our personal sound!

- Final Message:
Thank you guys at fenixwebzine and all the friends of the zine for support, we'd love you to get in touch with us through our site www.somniaestatus.com and www.myspace.com/somniaestatus

Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistados: Alex Danieli & Randy Mion

Dekapitator - Entrevista

- Dekapitator (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
Dekapitator formed in the late nineties as a result of the burgeoning vinyl collections and distate for modern metal that were building amongst myself, Dan Bulldoze and Andy Maniac. The band skipped the demo process altogether and recorded a split 7" w/Nunslaughter in 1997. That was followed by the "We Will Destroy... You Will Obey" full-length in '99. The band tried a few different 2nd guitarists, and was largely inactive while the members pursued other projects. After settling on a new 2nd guitarist, D. Attacker, Dekapitator reconvened to start writing in earnest for the new album in '05. Now it's out - poseurs beware!

- “Before The Calm” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
A couple of songs were written quite a while ago, but the newer ones were almost all worked out in the rehearsal room by Hellfiend and Maniac, just jamming and creating hellish crossfire from scratch. The recording was a bit more convoluted, with tracking sessions in San Francisco and San Jose, and mixing in Arizona. But the album still sounds nice and mean. Relapse had been longtime collaborators with myself and Andy, so it was a no-brainer to get them to put out the record. Everything has been smooth and simple in working with them as always.

- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
Our lyrics are about World Wars III, IV, and V, and their respective aftermaths. The message is, all this stupid shit could end at any time, to so fucking rage, thrash and get drunk while you've got the chance! They're influenced by Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller High Life, Jameson's, Absolut, Duvel, Spaten, Coors Light, Jagermeister, Sake bombs, Thor's Hammer vodka, and the Oakland Raiders.

- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
The cover conveys a lot of our lyrics, the chaos and destruction, the ravening dogs of war, tanks crushing mountains of corpses, you know all the great things in life.

- Live tour to promote the new record:
Probably nothing too extensive, but we hope to play as many shows as possible!

- Musical (and other) influences:
See above for most of them... but musically, Venom, Slayer, Sodom, Metallica, Kreator, Exodus, Violence, Exciter, Dark Angel, Priest, Angel Witch, Mercyful Fate, Discharge, The Accused, Anti-Cimex, Agnostic Front, D.R.I., Onslaught, Maiden, Megadeth, Laaz Rockit, etc. etc. etc.

- Heavy / Thrash / 80s revival. Your opinion:
It will destroy... poseurs will obey!

- Final Message:
Give me a beer!!!!!

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Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Matt Harvey

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Relapse Records: www.relapse.com

Dekapitator: www.myspace.com/dekapitator

Fueled By Fire - Entrevista

- Fueled By Fire (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
A. Fueled By Fire... At first it had no meaning, it was just a cool name that nobody else had. Now it has alot of meaning, and it's the whole thrash scene the fans, the pits the music the excitmentt of the shows, it's litteraly "Spreading Like Fire".
First we have Carlos Gutierrez - Drummer (he started the band) Then we have Jovanny Herrera( we call him "Gio" for short) He is our Lead vocalistand Lead Guitarist, Ricardo Rangel (Rick for short) also Lead Guiatar, And Anthony Vasquez - he's our Bassist.
We are all old school friends, except for "Gio". When we first started we were a five piece band which included Sal Zepeda- who started the band with Carlos and another vocalist. We met Gio when a couple of us went to see another band practice, and Gio was there, they got to talking and Gio mentioned that he had been trying to put a band together and he mentioned he also sings. Not long after that we kicked out the singer we had cause he could'nt handle the stage and contacted "Gio" and asked him if he would be interested in trying out for the spot with "FBF". So we picked him up at his house, brought him to try out, he brought his guitar cause he said he felt more comfortable singing with his guitar and he sang a song he wrote and there was no question about it. "Gio" would be our singer and now our third guitar, A year later Sal decided to go his own way and leave the band, and we decided that we would keep it with the four of us remaining. We have remained tight "LIKE BROTHER'S" ever since and it's working out GREAT!
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Discography:
Two Track Demo:2004
1. Death Rides a Horse
2. In the Evening We Fight
Six Track Demo:2004
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FBF Live at Hoguebarmichaels
1. Metal Forever
2. In the Evening We fight
3. Clash of Irons
4. Death Rides a Horse
5. Killers (Maiden Cover)
6. Hallowed Be Thy Name (Maiden Cover)
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Four Track Demo Entitled: 2005
Life...Death... and FBF
1. The Metallion
2. Final Prophecy
3. Screamer
4. Merciless Blade
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Self Released Album: 2006
Spread The Fire!!!
1. Ernest Goes to Hell
2. Thrash Is Back
3. Striking Death
4. SPread the Fire!!!
5. Betrayal
6. Massive Execution
7. Metal Forever
8. Dreams of Terror
9. Command of the Beast
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Re-Release - Metal Blade Records 2007
Spread The Fire!!!
1. Ernest Goes to Hell
2. Thrash Is Back
3. Striking Death
4. Spread the Fire!!!
5. Betrayal
6. Massive Execution
7. Metal Forever
8. Dreams of Terror
9. Command of the Beast
Bonus Tracks
10. Chaotic Punishment
11. Put To Death!
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- "Spread The Fire" (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
A. We write all our songs as a group we all have input on the lyrics,and the msuic.We rehearse three times a week in and when we have shows we try to squeeze in a few more rehearsal sessions to practic our set. We recorded this cd in several different recording sessions. We would go into the studio to record every time we finished a couple of songs.til we ahd enough for a full length.
Well what can about the label it speaks for it self...It's "Metal Blade"
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- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
A. Lyrics - In this album most of the songs are about the scene, the fans and killing poser's and we say "FUCK POSER'S"
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- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
The artist is a guy by the name of Desmond Ambrose, because we like his artistic style.
The meaning of the cover is "Thrash is back and we are killing all the poser's who think they know what real metal is.
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- Live tour to promote the new record:
We are currently still working on a tour.
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- Musical (and other) influences:
IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ARMORED SAINT, DIO, RUNNING WILD, EXODUS, ANTHRAX, ABATTIOR, AGENT STEEL, EVIL DEAD, DEATH, DEATH ANGEL, DARK ANGEL, FORBIDDEN, PESTILENCE, HEATHEN, HIRAX, PHANTASOM, VIO-LENCE, LAZZ ROCKIT, SEPULTURA, RAZOR, ONSLOUGHT, SACKRIFICE, M.O.D., S.O.D., D.R.I., L.W.S., WHIPLASH, VIKING, SLAYER, METALLICA, MEGADETH, VENOM, TESTAMENT, POSSESSED, DARKNESS, EXCITER, HOLLOWS EVE, SODOM, DESTRUCTION, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, SABBATT, NECRONOMICON, SKULL, BATHORY, MESSIAH, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, SACRED REICH, OVER KILL, EXUMER, VIOLENT FORCE, KREATOR, METAL CHURCH, CORONER, MORBID SAINT, MORTAL SIN, SADUS, KORZUS, MUTILATOR, DEMOLITION HAMMER, DETENTE, LIVING DEATH TANKARD, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, NO MERCY BEOWULF, DEVASTATION, REPULSION, MORBID ANGEL, INFERNAL MAJESTY, AGGRESSION, CELTIC FROST, MERCILESS, PENTAGRAM(TURKEY) IRON ANGEL, MASSACRE, RIGOR MORTIS, MORBID SCREAM, AND MORE
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- Heavy / Thrash / 80s revival. Your opinion:
We weren't here for the eighties but We are sure that The energy, the spirit and aggression of the whole thrash scene as it was is growing at a fast pace.
-

- Final Message:
KEEP AN EYE WE'LL BE COME TO YOUR TOWN SOON!!!
THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!!!
SPREAD THE FIRE!!!

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Entrevistador: RDS
Entrevistado: Carlos, Anthony, Gio
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Fueled By Fire: www.myspace.com/fueledbyfire
Metal Blade: www.metalblade.de

Evergreen Terrace - Entrevista

- Evergreen Terrace (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
Our name is from the Simpsons. We have been around a long time and seen a lot of shit. It has and still is fun. We have released a bunch of records but the only one you need to know about is Wolfbiker. The highlight of this band is when we hung out with Vanilla Ice, my life has not been the same since.

- “Wolfbiker” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
We practice a few times a week and worked on writing when we had new material. We wrote about 8 songs and then realized that they sucked ass so we started the writing process over. It took about 4 months to write and record Wolfbiker. Theses songs seemed to pour out of us for the most part, nothing was really forced, we just wrote what we liked and hopefully others will be into as well.

- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
The lyrics are written about life and how we feel about life. From politics to religion to relationships to struggling in this world; they are all real and straight from the heart.

- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
Shaun Thurston did the artwork, he is a rad local artist in our town and it was a pleasure working with him. He did a great job capturing the feeling that they music produces.

- Live tour to promote the new record:
We are about to head out with August Burns Red, The Warriors, and Casey Jones. Then in Sept go out with Strung Out and then in December hit up Europe with Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Ignite and more on the Persistence Tour. Then in Jan/Feb we will be out with As I Lay Dying.

- Musical (and other) influences:
Willie Nelson

- Final Message:
Leave it at the beep.

Entrevistador: RDS
Entrevistado: Joshua James (Guitar)
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Evergreen Terrace: www.evergreenterracehxc.com / www.myspace.com/evergreenterrace
Metal Blade: www.metalblade.de

Cephalic Carnage - Entrevista

- Cephalic Carnage (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
The name cephalic carnage means to slaughter the brain, we've been around since the beginning of 1997, me on vocals, zac and steve on guitar, john on drums, various bass players til now we have nicko on bass, we have the following cds, ”conforming to abnormality”, ”exploiting dysfunction”, ”lucis interval”, ”anomalies” and now xenosapian on relapse records, the highlights of touring have been going to amazing countries and seeing awesome crowds, smoking the finest grass the world has to offer, and playing big fests in europe.

“Xenosapien” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
Four months of practice, the same way we've have done every other album, we write stuff on our own the show the rest of the guys everybody add their own mark to it and that is that, I will title and write the words, we record with dave otero here in denver at flatline audio and our own studio hybrid studio, lots of blood and sweat, we are on relapse records in case you didn’t know.

Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
Life in general, life is too short we should learn to get along.

Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
That’s up to the listener, you make your own analogy on this that’s what its about your views on what you see about this, I don’t care to comment on it, buy it and see what its all about , to me its pretty self explanatory.

Live tour to promote the new record:
Tour the world if we can, for now tour with shitty metalcore bands.

Musical (and other) influences:
Heavy metal period, hockey, weed, the air, he sun, woman, life in general, living aal inspires.

Final Message:
Don’t let your meat loaf or your pussy willow. buy the new cephalic carnage cd, hopefully we can come to Portugal to play some shows for the freaks, but until then we will just try to be metal, thanx for the interview and the support.

Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Leonard Leal

Relapse Records: www.relapse.com

Cephalic Carnage: www.cephaliccarnage.net

Last Winter - Entrevista

- Last Winter (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, .):

We get that one a lot, which is weird because I read a lot of interviews and there are some bands out there with crazy names and they never get asked that. Well, we all grew up in Florida where it's 90+ degrees about 9-10 months out of the year. The only change in the weather is around Wintertime. It such a small time, but a special one. It just seemed like aperfect fit for what we were trying to do musically.

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- "Under The Silver Of Machines" (rehearsing / writing process, recordingprocess, label, .):
About half of the album is new material. Some of it was taken from a Japanese release through Fabtone records, but there are tracks that no one has ever heard. I'd say our newer tracks show a little more maturity than our past ones. We have developed a writing style that allows us to experiment, but still not stray too far from what we are trying to do. "Under the Silver of Machines" sounded like a great Sci-Fi movie. Haha. We just wanted a title to represent the wonder of space and with all the satellites and machines orbiting us all the time, it just fit. We actually ended up using samples of radio signals broadcasted in the 40's that have made their way back to our satellites. Very cool.

I definitly learned a lot recording the album. I experimented with some very unorthodox techniques, and tried alot of new things. I also had some help from James Wisner... I do a lot of tedious work for him in my spare time, and he was kind enough to let me bring some tracks over once in a while and utilize some of his most valued equipment. He also pointed me in the right direction everytime I lost my mind and my ear. It takes a rare individual to be a producer full time. A psycho you might even say! Love you James.

We are good friends with fellow label mates Hand to Hand. I believe they gave a cd to Lifeforce and we were contacted by them about a year or so ago. Lifeforce was looking to branch out into the "rock" genre and we were going to be their first band. After a couple of months of chatting, we realized this was a great opportunity for us. We knew we would stick out from the rest of the roster like a sore thumb, but it's just the kind of attention we were looking for.

-

- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, .):

We always like to write about things people can relate to. Everyday life. Every member of the band contributes to our lyrics. As a result of our sick obsession with space, lines like "M31 will guide me there" make it in to our songs occasionally. Look it up. We all learn something new everyday. The lyrics to "The Violent Things" we're influenced by negative some of the negative (yet necessary to learn from) experiences we've been through during our journey thus far in the music industry.

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- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, .):

We went for a darker, industrial feel with the artwork (courtesy JohnRadford) because we thought it went well with our album title. All the album art goes along with that same theme. Spacey/Industrial/Dark. We thought it was a nice balance paired up with the music.
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- Live tour to promote the new record:

We are doing two cd release shows in Orlando, Fl. One on the 24th at Virgin Mega Store and then another one a week later, which should kick-off our tour. We are finalizing the US tour as we speak. A European tour can be expected in the near future as well!
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- Musical (and other) influences:

Our musical influences truly span across the spectrum. All of us are huge fans of all the 80's bands. Of course, we went through the Grunge Era (which some of us still haven't let go.... Fro). I'd say the biggest influences, musically, would have to be Hum, Def Leppard, Smashing Pumpkins, Dredg, and The Used. As far as other influences, I'd say the biggest would have to be Space. Everyone in the band has a fascination with it and we use it as a constant theme in our lyrics. While most bands have arguments about which part goes where in a song, we have arguments as to which constellation we are looking at. Wow! We're really not that cool...

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- Final Message:

Whatever you do, do it twice!

Thanks Fenix!

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Entrevistador: RDS
Entrevistado: Cameron
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Lifeforce Records: www.lifeforcerecords.com
Last Winter: www.lastwinter.com / www.myspace.com/lastwinter

Malsain - Entrevista

- Malsain (meaning of the name, short bio, discography, highlights, …):
“Malsain” is French for sick, disturbing. That’s the word that describes best the ambience in our music and that’s why it was chosen when I started the band in late 2001-early 2002. We come from Bergen, Norway which is a town who has seen the genesis of many big metal bands like Immortal, Enslaved, Burzum and Gorgoroth.
Our demo was released in January 2004, and we signed a contract with Dark Essence Records (Taake, Aeternus, Helheim,…) the same year. We released “They Never Die” in May 2005, and now “The Disease” in May 2007 both with Dark Essence.

-
- “The Disease” (rehearsing / writing process, recording process, label, …):
The album is a fine mix of new and older songs. It’s still extreme-metal with strong claustrophobic ambiences and raw female vocals, but the album is much longer and way better produced than the previous one. There is also more variations and more surprises throughout the opus.
The writing process was like on They Never Die: I composed the songs and then we arranged them together with the band to bring them to life. The recording and mixing process was quite long and took almost a year to complete. Herbrand Larsen (Enslaved) is a skilled producer and musician, that’s why he is very busy. But we are very happy with the result. The Disease sounds great!

-

- Lyrics (influences, subjects, ideas, messages, …):
We have never been into all that “Satan” concept and our subjects are usually the darkest corners of the mind, tainted with strong horror references. In “They Never Die” we chose very simple lyrics with a big touch of sarcastic and black humour. It seems like few understood the irony in them. “The Disease” is much deeper on the lyrical side, with more advanced texts and without any obvious meaning. Most of the songs here can be interpreted many different ways, and I don’t wish to explain what I meant when I wrote them in an interview. It could be an interesting discussion topic, though.
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- Album frontcover / artwork (who, why, meaning, …):
The cover and artwork is a bit like the lyrics and the title of the album: it’s possible to understand it many different ways. Inside the booklet, everything is disease-related with background pictures of DNA samples, and with our profiles being presented as if we were part of the hospital staff. The general impression you get is a very cold one. The front cover and title is very simple but at the same time very strong and claustrophobic. Everybody knows about the symbolic of the light at the end of the tunnel, so in that sense “the disease” could be death. But a so simple picture actually contents several other hidden symbols and references that can give the album’s title a whole different meaning. As I said before, it’s up to you to find out about it.
-

- Live tour to promote the new record:
We’re actually working on setting up an European tour. We’d like to visit countries like France, Germany, England, Holland, and probably some others. Portugal will be nice! If some booking people read this, don’t hesitate to take contact. Keep checking our websites for updates on that matter anyway, as there is no concrete date right now.
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- Musical (and other) influences:
Extreme-metal seems to be our main musical influences, even though we also listen to classical and electronic music. The 80’s and 90’s have been very innovative periods, so we prefer listening to metal from those years. There is not many bands today who come with something new, refreshing and interesting. So long this year, only 4 new albums really gave me something: the ones of Shining, Samael, Dødheimsgard and Abigor. The rest seems like a repetition of what has been done before, and even if it’s very good I’d rather listen to older records.
-

- Final Message:
Thanks for the interest, and see you on tour if we are so lucky to be playing at a place near you!

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Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Tenebres (Bass)
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Malsain: www.malsain.no / www.myspace.com/malsain

Karisma Records: www.karismarecords.no
Dark Essence: www.darkessence.no

Powerwolf - Entrevista

1 – This new album is more into classic 80s Heavy Metal than the previous one which was more dark and filled with “spooky” melodies and passages. The gothic / vintage horror ambiences are still there but now it seems that you’re more focused into the harder side of your music. Did it just came up like this or did you really wanted to write music in this direction?

It developed. We never plan anything. It happens. You´re right, Lupus Dei is much more heavy and more metal than our debut. And it´s more catchy and striking, even though we still love Return in bloodred. I think a band should never record the same album twice.

2 – Are you satisfied with this new album, the songs, the recording process, production, final product?
Absolutely. We love it, it´s exactly what we had in mind, and right now I don´t know how we could top this one, haha…

3 – The lyrics in Powerwolf are as important as the music because it manages to parallel the visual side of the band. What kind of subjects influenced you to write the lyrics for “Lupus Dei”?
There´s a concept making the album a full circle: in the introduction “Lupus daemonis” the wolf, who´s the protagonist of the concept story, looses belief in everything, he struggles with god and finally descends. He becomes an evil creature being greedy “We take it from the living”, signs a contract with the devil “Saturday satan” and believes in nothing but blood anymore “In blood we trust”. During the album he starts seeing rays of light again, realizing the misleading practice of some religious groups “Mother mary is a bird of prey”, and finally witnesses god in the final “Lupus dei”.

-

4 – The cover artwork for this record is simple but awesome. Who is responsible for the frontcover and what does it mean?
The front cover was done by Niklas Sundin, I think he did a killer job! We wanted to envision the wolf in the moment he witnesses god.
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5 – You recorded some parts of the record in a chapel built in the 12th century. How did you came up with this idea? Did you wanted to capture the “spirit” of such an old place in your music?
Well, a good friend of us offered us the chance to use a small church built in the 12th century for some recordings. That church was located in the middle of nowhere in a forest, and the atmosphere was haunting. Exactly the surrounding we needed for an album like Lupus dei. You can´t compare recording in a studio to recording in a church – it´s so atmospheric and special that it can only be highly inspirative… the only disadvantage was that there was no heating system in the church and we recorded in January, with snow outside and temperatures at minus 10 degrees…

6 – You also recorded a couple of tracks with a 30 piece classical choir. Can you tell me about the experience? In which manner did the choir’s contribution added a new dimension to the music of Powerwolf?
It was fantastic, I mean, it´s an overwhelming moment when you´re standing in an empty church and 30 people are singing your songs – it was shivers down our spines the whole time we´ve been there. I think the choir really adds a new dimension to some of the songs. I mean: a lot of bands simply use samples or keyboards for that, but you can never reach the atmosphere and the density of a real choir singing your songs with that. It was a lot of work to get the choir convinced to sing for a heavy metal band, but it was definitely worth all the work!

7 – Do you have a tour prepared to promote the record?
We´ll play on some of the summer festivals now, and then play shows together with Grave Digger in Germany in autumn, and right now we´re into negotiations for a full European tour which should happen in autumn also – so watch out for the wolves!!!!!

8 – You can leave now a final message if you want to.
Thanx for reading – and prey for heavy metal everybody!

-

-

Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Matthew Greywolf

Metal Blade Records: www.metalblade.de
Powerwolf: www.powerwolf.net

Montreal (Argentina) - Entrevista

- Biografia resumida, Discografia:

CV: La banda está compuesta por Gustavo Ruben en guitarra, Claudio Vattino en la voz, Gustavo Acosta en el bajo y teclados y Matías Pena en la batería. Gustavo Ruben es el único miembro original y los comienzos del grupo se remontan a mediados de los ´90.
GR: Luego de muchas actuaciones y algunos demos en 1999 editamos el CD debut, llamado MONTREAL, en el 2000 el Video Home llamado PRESBICIA, en 2002 HARD ´N´ HEAVY que es un vinilo doble bajo un sello de Brasil, en el 2004 nuestro segundo CD ENTRE E BIEN Y EL MAL, en el 2007 POST-CRUCIFIXION y además hemos participado en innumerables cantidad de compilaciones, tributos y video clips.

- Momentos Altos:
GR: Y aparte de la alegría al terminar cada CD nuestros mejores momentos siempre son los shows hemos recorrido gran parte de nuestro país, en el interior de Argentina los shows más espectaculares los tuvimos en Trelew, provincia de Chubut, en Santa Rosa, provincia de La Pampa y en Concepción del Uruguay, provincia de Entre Ríos. En general el público del interior de la Argentina es muy caliente y siempre dispuesto a ver las bandas que van desde Buenos Aires. También tuvimos la suerte de poder salir del país y tocar en Montevideo, Uruguay. El conocer lugares y gente es algo muy fuerte que nos da la música.

- "Post-Crucifixion" (composición, grabación, edición, etc):
GR: Se dieron un montón de cosas en la realización de este álbum, muchos nos pedían un CD con los temas de los tributos y compilados donde participamos y a la vez habíamos grabado material en vivo y bue… Nosotros ya teníamos temas nuevos también para entrar a grabar, se armó todo un combo que quedó muy bueno, muy rocker y a la vez muy heavy…
CV: Por diferentes razones mucha gente no tuvo acceso a los temas de los compilados, eso sumado a la necesidad que teníamos de mostrar el material en vivo y las ganas de grabar covers como el de Black Sabbath (The Mob Rules) por ejemplo nos decidió a sacar este álbum.
GR: El CD fue grabado, mezclado y masterizado por Axel Sierra Bas en el Estudio Digital KSB. Estamos más que conformes con el trabajo que él realizó junto con nosotros, entendió de una el sonido de la banda y el concepto que tratamos de darle al álbum. Salió por el sello Metal Sin Records, que nos está dando una mano más que importante. Nosotros tuvimos la suerte de poder grabar los shows que hicimos en Jockey Discoteca de Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina. Estamos eternamente agradecidos con el público de Santa Rosa que nos trató re bien y nos hacen el aguante cada vez que vamos… Los temas "Entre El Bien Y El Mal/Heaven And Hell", "M20/10", "Rocker" y "No Se Banca" son los que elegimos ya que tienen la magia de lo que fueron esas noches en el Jockey.

- Proyectos para el futuro:

CV: Mirá se van a venir una seguidilla de shows por todos lados, estamos cerrando fechas en estos momentos, ya hicimos la presentación oficial de POST-CRUCIFIXION en Buenos Aires y ahora realizaremos fechas por la gran parte de la provincia de Buenos Aires, en septiembre u octubre vamos a presentar el CD en Santa Rosa y a partir de julio seguiremos con más fechas por Capital y Pcia. de Bs. As.
GR: En estos momentos estamos terminando un par de clips de éste álbum y para fin de año o principios de 2008 iremos armando la preproducción del cuarto CD, del cual ya tenemos mucho material y es más algunos de esos temas ya los estamos tocando en los shows.

Mensaje Final:
GR: Que sean fieles a si mismos y larga vida al heavy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Respuestas por GUSTAVO RUBEN & CLAUDIO VATTINO

Contactos del grupo: www.montreal-metal.com.ar / montrerock@hotmail.com

Union Mac - Entrevista

1. Brief History:
Kristoffer and Mikael met in a mutual project called Mixtur wich was a production group designed to write and produce music to different events. In this project we were going to make a modern sound 80ies rock for a record company but instead of doing that “Union Mac” was created…

2. General Concept:
The idea of Union Mac was to have a red line of inspiration from everything through the 70, 80, 90ies rock era but with a more modern touch and some kind of unik sound to it.
We wanted to shake up the konventionell sound a little bit so to speak.

3. Bands / projects, previous / present:
Kristoffer have been working a lot with different bands and projects along the years souch as Prisoner, Rainmaker, Sayit, Radioactive, etc, while Mikael mostly have been working with his own ideas and participated on different local projects in Sweden.
For now we are headed towards our second album with Union Mac.

4. "Lost In Attraction" (comments):
The process has been quite long since we both work in different areas and have familys etc to take in to consideration but it also has been a creative journey to remember and to be inspired by for the next album.

5. Lyrics:
The lyrics are intended to effect people in a positive way by saying that life is hard but you are not alone in it. I have tried to reflect on feelings that we all struggles with in the ordinary life.
Why? Well my philosophy on this is that if you are going to take time out of your life to write something you should have something of importance to say and at least try to do it right (don’t know if i succeded).
Influences therefore are everything and everyone, we are all influenced by each other I think.

6. Live Shows:
None so far, but you never know.

7. Future Projects:
Union Mac 2 for now then we´ll see.

8. Final Message:
We only hope that we can spread some joy to the rock-audience out there and thank everyone that support us by buying the album.

_

Entrevistador: RDS
Entrevistado: Kristoffer (Vocals, Keyboards)

Escape Music: www.escape-music.com
GerMusica: www.germusica.com

Sonic Reign - Entrevista

1 – This debut album “Raw Dark Pure” was released through your own label Sovereignity Productions but now it’s being re-released by Metal Blade Records. How did you ended up signing with them?
We had big problems in promoting the album ourselves and also could not find a distribution partner to work with. Just when we were thinking of how we could get the album the attention it deserved Metal Blade called us. They somehow got a copy of “raw dark pure” which was strange for us since we did not send any promos to any labels. Well to cut a long story short, they were amazed by the album and offered us a deal right away. We had big discussions inside the band and also with the Metal Blade staff since we needed to make sure to have absolute degree of freedom in all creative issues. They included everything we wanted to the contract so we signed.

2 – Are you satisfied with this new album, the songs, the recording process, production, final product?
Absolutely. Only the recording process sucked pretty much. The recordings endured over one year for diverse reasons and we also faced many technical issues since this was the first real big production we did in our studio. But when I listen to the album now I know that it was worth every fucking minute in the studio.

3 – Your approach to Black Metal is similar to the early Satyricon, and we can even read in the MB website “Sonic Reign pick up were Satyricon left off after Rebel Extravaganza“. Are you ok with this kind of comparisons?
Labels and fans need comparisons, especially when a previously unknown band such as Sonic Reign is promoted. That is ok for me although I think we have a lot more to offer than just a Satyricon influence. Everyone listening to “Raw Dark Pure” will agree to that.

4 – What kind of subjects influenced you to write the lyrics for “Raw Dark Pure”?
I am influenced by what's happening in the world, by what lies behind the masks we're all wearing, by what drives us to act as we act and by the vast field of existentialism. I don't like fantasy lyrics, I am not interested in a “reality” that has nothing to do with the reality we're all living in.

5 – Do you have a tour prepared to promote the record?
No. We don't have the time for such an undertaking. It is not easy to find the time to rehearse with Sonic Reign, so we can't waste it on touring, we keep creating music, that is much more interesting for us right now.

6 – You can leave now a final message if you want to.
Thank you very much for the support. Cheers go out to our fans. We salute you!

Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Ben (Vocals / Guitars)

Metal Blade: www.metalblade.de

Sonic Reign: www.sonicreign.de

Cloudscape - Entrevista

1 – This new album is more into Progressive Metal than the debut, but also more melodic. It just came out like this or did you really wanted to write it this way?

We didn´t have a certain formula for “Crimson skies” except for making it a bit more progressive, dynamic and varied. In general I think “Crimson skies” is more melodic, atmospheric and progressive compared to our debut. I also think that we have created a unique sound for Cloudscape with “Crimson skies” that resembles our musical base. However, I think and hope that the people and fans who liked our debut will like “Crimson skies” as well.

2 – “Cloudscape” included some songs from your early days as a band, but this new record was entirely composed now. Does this affected the way you composed the songs and how the final product sounds?

Well, we composed the new songs for “Crimson skies” the exact way like on the debut but, we have found ourselves musically and we feel more comfortable in our songwriting now. We were also more inspired in the studio during the recordings of “Crimson skies” because of the fact that all songs were “new”. On the debut there were as you say a few songs that were quite old and, we were kinda tired of those songs due to all years of rehearsing. They did turn out great in the studio and we are very satisfied with them but, it´s funnier to perform those songs live compared to playing/practising them in the rehearsalstudio.

3 – How would you say this new album differs from the debut?

The musical style is the same but, “Crimson skies” is more thoughtout, varied, melodic and dynamic. Still as heavy as the debut thou.

4 – The cover artwork was once again made by Mattias Norén. Did you loved the debut’s artwork and wanted him to do the new one, or did you wanted to maintain a sense of continuity with a similar artwork?

We love all of Mattias work so, choosing him to do our new artwork was obvious. We will most likely hire him to create our third album artwork as well.

5 – You are also preparing a side project called Planet Alliance to be released soon through Metal Heaven. How did you started it, what kind of style has the band and who is in the band?

The style is also melodic metal but, not as progressive as Cloudscape. In general I think fans of Cloudscape will like the “Planet Alliance” album as well. It all started by German label “Metal Heaven” contacting Anders “Theo” Theander at Roastinghouse productions and asked him if he could put together a projectband with me on vocals. Me and Theo discussed what musicians we wanted to include in the line up so, me and Magnus Karlsson started to compose songs for the album and Bob Daisley and Janne Stark provided with a few songs as well.

The line up in Planet Alliance are:

(Me) Mike Andersson (Cloudscape)

Magnus Karlsson (Allen/Lande Project, Starbreaker)

Bob Daisley (ex Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore)

Anders Johansson (ex Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Hammerfall)

Carl-Johan Grimmark (Narnia, Rob Rock)

Magnus Rosén (Hammerfall)

Janne Stark (Locomotive Breath, Overdrive)

Jaime Salazar (Allen/Lande Project, ex Flower Kings)

And special guest: Mattias “IA” Eklundh (Freak Kitchen).

6 – What kind of subjects did you used for the lyrics in this record?

Everything, hehe. There´s no red thread on the album lyrically. Each song has it´s own story. The song called “Hope” is about how a parent survives the loss of a child. “Psychic Imbalance” is about a person who suffers a mental breakdown. “Shapeshifter” is about humans living side by side with replicants/aliens but, without being aware of it. The lyrics I write are often about things that people can relate to while Roger Landins lyrics are more “fantasy/horror”.

7 – Do you have a tour already prepared to promote the record?

Not really. We have a few concerts booked but, no tour confirmed yet. A German booker is trying to organize a small tour in Germany later this year but, that ain´t official yet and we don´t know whether it will happen or not right now. We really hope that we will get the opportunity of touring in as many countries as possible to promote “Crimson skies” so, we have to keep our fingers crossed;).

8 – Nowadays the heavy and power scenes are stronger, with lots of new bands, the older ones are reuniting again. What would you say that Cloudscape have to offer that some other Heavy Metal / Power Metal / Progressive Metal bands can’t?

New fresh metal, hehe. Basically our music is influenced by the metalbands from the seventies and eighties but, we do it more “updated”. Francly, I don´t see “music” as competition since it is based on “moods” and “emotions”. We compose the music we love and hope that our fans and listeners will love it as well so, I think it is up to our fans to figure out what Cloudscape can “offer” that older bands don´t;).

9 – Do you want to leave a final message to your fans?

Absolutely, I´m delighted to!!We love you all. Without YOU this would be meaningless. Thanx for all Your support and keep up supporting us:) If you have missed out on Cloudscape please check out our new album called “Crimson skies” and our self-titled debut released in 2005. Please visit us on the internet and say “hi”:

www.cloudscape.se / www.myspace.com/cloudscapemetal
Cheers and stay metal….SPREAD THE WORD!!!
Yours sincerely: Mike Andersson

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Entrevistador: RDS

Entrevistado: Mike Andersson - Vocals
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Metal Heaven: www.metalheaven.net
Cloudscape: www.cloudscape.se
GerMusica: www.germusica.com

Symphorce - Entrevista

1 – The new album is more diverse than the previous records. We can listen to the usual Symphorce style but some tracks are way more Thrashy, some are more melodic with a traditional Hard Rock approach and we even have a couple of Gothic Metal oriented tunes. Did it just came out like this or did you really wanted to write this kind of eclectic songs?

We didn’t plan the sound of our new album. We all wanted to record a new Symphorce album and like you wrote, we did. You can hear it in every single song. We’re Symphorce, we’re back, and we’re gonna kick some ass…. But we didn’t remain standing. We’ve never been a band who let sound one album like a previous one. Listen to the last 4 Albums and you will see an evolution. This record is the result of it. Everybody of us has a different and wide spreaded taste of music. If something sounded well, we took it. Why should we limit our music? Metal is a style with a lot of influences. We took most of them…

2 – Are you satisfied with this new album, the songs, the recording process, production, final product?

Yeesssssssssss… we are. This album includes everything we felt: Rawness, aggressions, sentimentality. I like the mixture between the smooth electronic parts and the brutal guitar riffs. Even the preproduction sounded very well. The sound was terrible, but you could feel the result. Right after that, everything went very fast. The studiojob wasn’t easy going, we recorded as fast as possible, but everybody did a great job. I think, more time would not lead to a better sound. We’ve been prepared very well and everything succeeded.

3 – Once again, like in the previous record “Godspeed”, Dennis Ward produced the album. Why did you decide to work with him again?

He knows exactly what he’s doing… and the recording process with him was amazing. He is so fast in recording that the musician can work concentrated only on his own playing. You have nearly no time between the single takes. And if You listen to “Godspeed”, You’ll understand why we choose Dennis once again…

4 – There were some line-up changes and now you have a new drummer, Steffen Theurer. What happened and how did you found this new member?

Sascha wanted to concentrate on his new drumschool. He is living in a small town near Paderborn, It took a lot of time and money to come for rehearsels, photoshootings, recording sessions etc. So it was the only way for him to realize his school. There is no struggle and the whole band whishes him the best. Steffen is a good friend of mine since years. He only played in a cover band and wanted to make own music. The other band members knew Steffen as well. So we decided to let him play a part of the Budapest show (a good friend of the band played the first part of the show). He did a great job. He got one week to learned the songs and no rehearsel. We had a lot of fun on stage and it was interesting how the songs sounded in another new drum version… hahahaha…

5 – The cover artwork is in the same vein than the previous records so, this is already a Symphorce trademark. Who draws the cover artworks?

Travis Smith… he send us this cover and it fits really good to the music… I love it…

6 – The lyrical side in this record seems way darker than before. What kind of subjects influenced you to write the lyrics for “Become Death”?

Andy wrote the lyrics. I‘m convinced that he was influenced from the music, which is much darker than the songs so far. Andy always wrote lyrics about live. Things that happened in his live. Note: It was not easy for the band in the last few years. Our music is not made for narrow-minded people. You said in the first question that our music is diverse. Yes, it is, and it always was. It is still Symphorce, but it involves a lot of influences and styles.Andy agitated a lot for the band. Often he told us what he wanted to do but that’s not possible because of some businessman who “be aware of everything about music”… This might be a reason for the dark lyrics…

7 – Do you have a tour prepared to promote the record?

Not yet. We’d be lucky to present the new record live. We’rer checking a few options, keep an eye on our website. If not, we’re gonna play some single shows…

8 – You can leave now a final message if you want to.

For all the metal fans: Stay open minded. Don’t believe everything the Medias wants to tell you… We can change and reach a lot. And we should!!!

Entrevistador: RDS
Entrevistado: Markus Pohl - Guitar

Metal Blade Records: www.metalblade.de / www.metalblade.com
Symphorce: www.symphorce.net