1. Sacred Gate was born from the ashes of Made Of Iron (great record, by the way). Can you quickly explain this metamorphosis and introduce the musicians in Sacred Gate?
- Made of Iron existed from 1999 until 2005, there were some differences
between some band members and so it came to the split. In 2008 me, Jim and
Holger, all Made of Iron members, got in touch again and we decided to make a
new start, under a new name so we formed SACRED GATE. Unfortunately Holger left
the band in 2010 but we found very fast a replacement. The line up at the
moment consists of Jim Over on the vocals, Peter Beckers on the bass, Chris
Wolf on the drums and me on the guitars.
2. The debut album “When Eternity Ends” was just released. Tell us a little bit about the whole process (composing, recording, production).
- We had some songs from the Made of Iron era, for example ‘’Burning
Wings’’, but also some new material. We began with the recordings in November
2010, at the Metallurgy Studio which is in the middle of the city where we
live. We recorded the album in 12-13 days and we had another 5-6 for the the
mix and mastering. It is a classic metal album, I would say something between
Iron Maiden and Iced Earth. Of course we want to create our own style and sound
but in the beginning everyone compares you with some famous bands.
3. How did the collaboration with Italy’s Metal On Metal take place and how is it going so far?
- We sent emails and CDs to a lot of labels, and actually Jowita from
Metal on Metal records was the first person who replied. She said that she
liked the songs a lot and she wanted to offer us a deal for the release of the
album. We heard good things about Metal on Metal so we signed to them. We had
another 3 offers but this one was the most serious and the best for the band.
Everything goes very well so far, they are doing a good job and support all
their bands the best way they can.
4. The lyrics are always an important part of Heavy Metal. Would you like to highlight and explain some of the lyrics in “When Eternity Ends”?
- I write all the lyrics, and I like all of them, but the best ones for
me are those of ‘’In the Heart of the Iron Maiden’’ and ‘’ Vengeance’’ which
are very dark and mystical lyrics about an alchemist who is arrested, tortured
and killed by the Holy Inquisition. And also the lyrics of the song ‘’When
Eternity Ends’’ which is an anti-war song about some leaders of big nations and
their buddies from the industry who don’t care about the lives of innocent
people or their own soldiers, sending them to wars, just for their own
interests, or ‘’Creators of the Downfall’’ which is about the decline and fall
of our civilization by self destruction. ‘’The Realm of Hell’’ has also some
very interesting lyrics about a man who dies and goes to hell, very typical
heavy metal lyrics.
5. Playing this type of traditional Hard ‘N’ Heavy, which is not trendy or commercial, what are your thoughts on the current Hard ‘N’ Heavy scene? Are there any new bands that you like or you just stay faithful to the old school stuff?
- The most not-commercial bands in the heavy metal scene are in the
underground, many of them change their style when they sign to bigger record
companies, maybe they think they can sell more records by doing that... The
thing that matters is not if their sound is old school or modern but the music
itself. When I listen to music at home, I listen most of the time to older
albums. The bands that I like a lot at the moment are Grand Magus, Wizard, Amon
Amarth. The new Kreator album is also a great one.
6. Is there a tour already aligned to promote this record?
- No, there will be no tour, only some concerts. A tour is too expensive
for a new band and you need a very strong financially record company.
7. What are your plans for the nearest future?
- We are recording at the moment the next studio album that will be
released in 2013. It will be a concept album about the 300 Spartans and the
battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. It will be a very epic, heavy but also
emotional album. We are in contact with a lot of promoters to play next summer
at some festivals, something that is not so easy as every band wants to play at
festivals, and we are organizing by
ourselves some gigs or with some friends of ours who play in other bands.
8. Thanks a lot for your time. Do you want to leave a final message to the Portuguese Metal fans?
- Thank you very much for this interview and your interest in SACRED
GATE. I want to say to all the metal fans in Portugal to continue supporting
all the bands they like, to buy their CDs and go to the concerts to keep the
metal scene alive, even if there are hard times at the moment, especially in
your country and my country Greece.
Interview by: Ricardo dSdS
Answers by: Nicko Nikolaidis (guitars) http://www.sacredgate.net/ / http://www.myspace.com/sacredgatemetal / http://www.facebook.com/sacredgatemetal / http://metal-on-metal.com/bands/sacred-gate/
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