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S: As far as I know, since the new album has been in the stores only one and a half month, we have sold 3000 copies. We are steady, more or less, to the sales as a group and I know that each album sells about 7000 or 8000 copies, with the exception of the album “Crystal Tears”, which sold about 10000 or 11000 copies, but then was a different period. Generally, if we are able to sell 7000 or 8000 copies we are pleased. What we want is to have a good promoter so as to arrange interviews and things like that, a good budget so as to record our albums as we want and then if we can sell many copies we are more pleased.
Now
all the members in the group are from Greece. Is this something you have
done on purpose, in order to move back in Greece your seat? S: In any case this was made on purpose, because we were bored of traveling all the time from Rumania to Greece, it was difficult for us to make rehearsals. We were somehow separated as a group, cause every album was made by Chris (guitars) and me, and all the other members had only to play their own parts. Now we work 100% as a team, we make many rehearsals, we compose the music altogether and every idea that someone may have is worked out in the studio. I believe that now we are in the best period as a group, cause when we were in Rumania it was very difficult for a live appearance in Greece: we had to arrange how the members from Rumania would come, we had to pay the visas, tickets and many more things. Now we work as more as a team, we are friends for many years and we are really nice.
Do
you have any contact with the members that are not in the band anymore? S: Yes of course, with the exception of Elena Joanna Doroftei (the two sisters that made some vocals on the “Crystal Tears”) because they have moved permanently to America. With all the other members we are still friends, cause we didn’t spit up in a hostile way, but as I told you before we came back in Greece and we wanted the best for the group, so we had to split up.
How
did you feel during the recordings while you were not the vocalist, as
you used to be in the past albums? S: Well to be honest with you, I believe that my vocals have limited capabilities if we compare it with Mina’s vocals. I can do very well the brutal vocals or vocals like Paradise Lost used to have in their past albums, but the melodic lines that Minas voice has is something beyond me. Minas has studied what he is doing and he was the best solution for the band, cause we couldn’t go any further by using four or five different vocalists and repeating ourselves. So when we were thinking the possible solutions for the vocals, Minas, whose voice was what we where looking for, came up and we resulted to the line-up we have today. We were in the search for the appropriate vocalist the past two or three years and you know that the most difficult thing in Greece is to find a vocalist with a good accent.
What
are your influences as a band? S: We are steady to our hearings. Since we were younger we loved death metal, grind core and things like that, but atmospheric metal was what we loved most. We are never going to stop listening to groups like Paradise Lost, Lacuna Coil and Anathema. Apart from those bands we listen to many other things such as classic rock and bands like Deer Purple, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, some new post-rock groups such us Mogwai, although that we don’t appreciate very much the new English groups like Radiohead, because we believe that they contributed to music through their fist or second albums and they are now repeating themselves.
Did
you like the last Radiohead’s album? S: I haven’t listened to it because I like to listen to groups that can impress me. The last albums of Tool, Perfect Circle for example, impressed me. They gave something different to music as far as I believe. Also System Of The Down, which may be the only group of the new American sound that creates great music: riffs, vocals etc.
Tell
us a few things about the lyrics of the new album. S: Our lyrics had always referred to emotions; ideas, dreams and I have to tell you that we were a little bit general in the past while writing the lyrics. This time there is a main character, and that’s why the album is titled “Egocentric”, and all the emotions, pictures and everything mentioned in the lyrics concern this egocentric character. So we can say that this is a concept album, which also includes many personal ideas and experiences.
As
far as I could understand, cause I haven’t read them, they must be
gloomy enough. S: Yes, that’s true, but you know we were never composing optimistic music or writing optimistic lyrics and this was something natural for as since we were not doing these in purpose. Maybe melancholy suits as better, because it forces us to think more, compose better music.
Now
I would like to tell me about the first track of the CD “Life Can”.
I think it is very catchy and can become your “hit”. Are you going
to release a single or maybe a video for this track? S: I don’t think we are going to release any single at all, cause we oppose to the release of singles and I think that our label wouldn’t do something like this. As far as it concerns the video you mentioned, we are going to release one in about two or three weeks but it is for the fifth track of the album (“Luck In Resorts”). Everything is upon the budget that we can have. One of the reasons that we left from Holy Records was that they couldn’t give us the money to release a video. I think that it was inconceivable for a group like us, which had released five studio albums, not to be able to release a video. We argufied with Holy Records back then, although that we are now friends and we decided to find a new label.
Are
you satisfied with Black Lotus so far? S: We are very pleased with Black Lotus, because it is a label that supports us economically and morally, especially for the new album. I believe that this was the best choice we had after leaving Holy Records. Besides you can see that also Nightfall signed with Black Lotus and maybe another great band will sign with them. I believe that Black Lotus is a great prospect for the Greek scene.
So,
you are not looking for a label abroad? S:
We had an offer from a big German label, but they wanted to sign us for
five or six albums something that we didn’t like at all. We like to be
free as people and as musicians and we are not very interested in big
labels, cause we like to play music for our own satisfaction.
Tell
as a few things about the production, which is very good. S: First of all I must tell you that we separated he production in two parts. The first part included the recordings in the studio where we had two producers, George Simatos (studio producer) and Panagiotis Kouvelis. We begun the periodic recordings in October 2002 and we finished in May 2003. When we finished this part we sent the recordings to the Fredman studios where Fredrik made the mix and production. I think that the result is great and I believe that this is the way we will make the production to our albums from now on.
So,
you didn’t go to the Fredman studios? S: No. Every instruction was given by phone or by mail.
Are
you going to make any live shows in the future? What are your next
plans? S: We will try to take part in the Rockwave Festival in Greece this summer and maybe we are going to give a show in Turkey and in Rumania. Also if our label can arrange for us to play in a big festival it would be really nice. If any other live appearance comes up it will be nice, because as you know we make many live appearances in Greece.
Ok.
Lets go to past now. I would like to tell me which of your albums do you
consider to be the most important and why. S: I believe that “Crystal Tears” is the most important album, because we used, for the recordings, violins and keyboards and the result was a very interesting atmospheric-melancholic sound. Also it was the album that made us more popular to the world. I can also say that it was our third full-length album and the most critical, because I think that no group has its personal sound on the first or second album.
What
is your opinion now for the first album (“Sounds Of Beautiful
Experience”), that you released almost a decade ago? Could you imagine
back then the progress that you have made today? S: The first album was just a nice start for the band. I can assure you that we didn’t except to make such progress and we believed that we would always play atmospheric death metal in the style of (old) The Gathering with many keyboards. I guess that the fate of all the atmospheric death metal groups is to turn their sound, after some years, to the melodic vocals and to create atmosphere by using the guitars. This is something that it is not happening on purpose, because as I told you before we were never in the need to sell many albums and I think that it is a natural progress.
Is
the group your main occupation or it’s just a hobby? S: We have our jobs and the group is a hobby, but we work on such high professional level and we like so much what we are doing that I can’t say it’s just a hobby or that we expect to make profit from the band. I prefer the past days with the tape trading, the passion and the time you loved spend for the music, which were more pure. I have to tell you that if I were able to live those days again I would do it without second thoughts!
What
are your targets as a group? S: Generally our target is to create nice music. After this, if we can sell many albums or sign with a great label it will be very nice. Also our dream is to give a live show in a very big festival, for example the Wacken festival.
What
would you say if you were characterized as the Greek Katatonia? S: I would accept with great pleasure this characterization!
What
is your opinion for the Greek metal scene? S: I must say that recently the Greek metal scene lost one great group, Septic Flesh, which I believe it was the best Greek group. The split-up came because while the group was at its best period with an excellent last album, had many sales abroad and much popularity, the response from the Greek fans was not very big. That is a bit strange, because when they had big response abroad the response here in Greece should be greater. Beside this split-up, many new groups are formed and I would also like to see what will Rotting Christ do now that they are leading the Greek scene. Rotting Christ is a cult group but there are many other great bands like Nightfall and Necromantia.
Tell
as about your music style. Do you believe that it will change again in
the future? S: I can assure you that we are not going to change our sound to the next album, cause half of the album, which we are going to begin recording it this summer, is ready and has the same style with “Egocentric”. Maybe it will be more aggressive.
So
you are not going to use your brutal vocals again in the future? S: No way! Maybe I will sing in a project that we are preparing with the previous name of the band, Phlebotomy. The problem is that we must find the appropriate time to record this album…
Now
let me ask you some more general questions. What are your favorite
bassists players? S: I loved the bass sound in groups like Atheist, Nocturnus and generally the technical death metal bass sound ala-Florida. I also liked the bass of Suffocation and Autopsy. I generally listen to the bassist players who are able to create many different sounds with the bass. I also like the bass that it is played with the fingers and the pick in the same track.
Which
are the best albums that were released last year in your opinion? S: First of all I would say the album of Katatonia , “Viva Emptiness”. Then I think the albums of Anathema, A Perfect Circle, Mogwai, and The Gathering were very good.
Would
you like to share with us a funny event during the recordings or
something weird from a live appearance? S: I will tell you about a funny incident that happened when we were in Kozani (Greece) in order to give a live show together with Septic Flesh, Horrified and some other Greek groups. After the live show we were told that we would rest in a camping. When we reached there the temperature was five degrees below zero and we were in a tent without heat, trying to get some sleep, but we got frozen! The other weird thing was that the place we were giving the show had many tables and chairs for the audience, although that we believed we would play in an empty club!
Tell
us your experience from the live appearance with Dream Theater and other
great bands in the Rockwave Festival of Greece. S: The groups that played that night in the Rockwave festival were: our band, Septic Flesh, In Flames Dream Theater and Iron Maiden, which didn’t give a show that night because one of the guitarists had broken his arm. When we heard that Iron Maiden were not going to play we decided to play a cover from their new album, “Virtual XI”. So, when we were on stage we started playing some notes from the Iron Maiden track and the people started screaming, but we didn’t continued playing it because we thought that some fans would be dissatisfied.
Do
you know any Greek band that can rule the Greek metal scene the next
years? S: I want to see what Astarte will do in the music part and especially their image, after their reunion. Naer Mataron also impressed me, because they are really good and seem to be true for the music they play.
Ok
Stefanos that’s it. I want to thank you for your time and I wish you
the best for your new album. The last words belong to you. S: Thank you very much for the interview and continue what you are doing, because it’s the best for the music and reminds me of the past periods. I wish you the best!
by George Kouvelis |
Hello
Stefanos and congratulations on “Egocentric”! What is the response
to the album from the media and the fans so far?