Metal-Roos: You have travelled half the world. Which tour was the most memorable? Were there any crazy situations during the concerts?
Well, half the world is a big word. I think a significant part of Europe, but certainly not more.
Crazy situations always happen on tours, each time something happens both funny and sometimes scary. For some reason, I remembered the case when we played in Oldenburg (northern Germany), and there was a team before us playing grindcore. Their vocalist, a kind of bald two-meter guy, before the performance undressed to his underpants, and then put on a small pink dress. We were delighted, took pictures with him, laughed. But at the same time, our tour drivers, two simple guys from Western of Ukraine, sat very quietly in the corner and just looked dumbfounded at us and then I realized that their life would never be the same again. .. and they had to ride with us two more weeks…
MR: For many artists quarantine broke all the plans. What have you been doing all this time?
Fortunately, this did not affect us much, the specifics of the main work allowed, so to speak, to remain in service, but the concert plans, of course, were overset. So far, all the agreements have been postponed to next year, we will see then. We are slowly sorting out new material and enjoy life.
MR: What is the difference between the first performance and those that are now?
I think now we get more pleasure. Previously, we were more focused on some technical issues and performing skills. And now we just enjoy the whole process. And, of course, we began to play better))) And are better recognized. The last mini-tour with Rotting Christ, was absolutely divine)) Earlier, we wouldn’t kick it that good.
MR: You recently celebrated the band’s 15th anniversary. How do you feel, what are the emotions?
A lot has been done. After all, we are a family, and not every family is able to live through such a period of time. But at the same time, for some reason, we are in complete confidence that the best album has not yet been recorded, and the best show is yet to come.
MR: What would you say to yourself now if you returned to the time when the group was just starting? What should not be done, and vice versa – what is necessary?
It’s hard to say… Surely there were steps that were not worth taking. But if we had not done them, there would not have been the experience that we have now. Therefore, I would not want to regret anything, and this is wrong. Better try not to repeat the mistakes.
MR: Drymba, sitar, throat singing … Where did such experiments come from, and how difficult is it to enter them?
Probably these are the stages of our natural development as musicians and composers. Sometimes ideas arise right in the studio, sometimes during writing, some kind of musical arrangement with one instrument or another is formed. This is always a very interesting experience, and in our new album, we went even further. There are even more experiments and a variety of tools. Probably, having started to move in this direction, we just can’t stop) Here in the new album, Anton recorded a lot of parts on an acoustic guitar in flamenco style. It fit very well into our material. Also used a lot of percussions, which certainly added the spirit of shamanism to the album. Also, I will tell you a secret, there is even a choir in several tracks.
MR: In one of the interviews, you said that you “overplayed in Ukraine, so now there is a maximum of 1 concert per year at home.” That is too damn little. Did you not change your position?
Unfortunately, today the situation is such that even one concert is a lot, I mean the situation with COVID 19. Let’s see what happens next, but we’ve been thinking about a full-fledged tour for a couple of years. Perhaps with the release of the next album, it will be possible to do something next year after quarantine. Perhaps it can also be noted that the country’s music infrastructure is not ready for such tours. We have very few good sites and reliable promoters. You can argue for a long time why it happened so. But it is what it is.
MR: What should a band consider before embarking on a tour of Europe? What are the pitfalls?
First of all, be patient. This is a unique experience for bands that have never travelled there. There will be many difficulties, problems. Ideal if you have your own transport and backline kit. If not, then this is still an adventure. But we started that way, so go ahead!
Interview Date: 2020-07-17
Interviewer: Yulya Toponar