Agankast
- Allan
A while ago we had an interview
with Rob, Agankast's mainman, who was also a member of the legendary Atomkraft.
So, since that interview dealth with both bands, which means past, present
and future, without focusing in particular to any of these eras, we thought
that we should do another interview. Only this time we'd interrogate Allan
Scott, the band's vocalist, who incarnates here for us the present and
future of this band. Let's hear him out...
1. HELLO ALLAN! SINCE YOU ARE THE SINGER OF
AGANKAST CAN YOU TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF? HAVE YOU SUNG IN
OTHER BANDS BEFORE AND HOW DID YOU COOPERATE WITH ROB AND THE OTHER GUYS
THAT FORMED AGANKAST?
Hi mate, my name is Allan Scott and I've been
working with Rob putting the Agankast project together for the last year!
I had only been in one band previously but when Rob let me hear some of
the stuff he had put together I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to be
part of this.
2. YOU HAVE ALREADY RELEASED YOUR FIRST ALBUM.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT AND WITH WHICH CRITERIA HAVE YOU CHOSEN THE SONGS
THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN YOUR NEW ALBUM?
I am very pleased with the finished album.
In total I think we recorded about 25 songs but I think the strength of
the songs grew as me and Rob got to know each other better. We toyed with
the idea of having about 13 songs for the album but decided to trim it
to nine and went for the heavier tracks that we felt had a slightly darker
feel. Saying that, some of the songs that didn’t make the album remain
my favourites, "The Butcher" and The Clown being one, but overall, delighted
with the album.
3. YOUR MUSIC IS AN AMALGAM OF N.W.OB.H.M., CLASSIC
METAL AND THRASH. DO YOU AGREE? HOW EASY DO YOU BELIEVE IS FOR THE YOUNGER
METALHEADS TO “RECEIVE” AND “ACCEPT” YOUR MUSIC…
Yeah I agree with that, I think music from
bands like Priest, Maiden, Metallica and Slayer will always be around.
There are a lot of great heavy bands around nowaday’s but I don’t see them
making as big an impact or leaving the lasting impression that the bands
I mentioned have. I remember playing Metallica’s damage inc to a young
metalhead once and he thought it was a remix! Lol It's all metal at the
end of the day and although you will never please everybody, we have had
a great response from younger fans so far. And I doubt there would be many
complaints if there was a sudden surge of classic, old school style metal
bands….!
4. THE WAY THAT YOU SING SOMETIMES BRINGS TO THE
MIND OF THE LISTENER THE WAY THAT CRONOS SINGS IN VENOM. DO YOU AGREE WITH
THAT? WHICH ARTISTS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR WAY OF INTERPRETING THE SONGS?
I actually feel I sound less growly live,
James Hetfield has been a huge influence on me. I've been listening to
Metallica since before I can remember and I think his vocals, particularly
on the early albums are amazing. Full of bite and aggression but he’s not
just screaming his head off! I like vocalists with a unique sound, guys
like Phil Anselmo and Peter Dolving of The Haunted, it just makes the record
sound unique.
5. CAN YOU NAME 5 OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE METAL
ALBUMS? HAVE YOU ALSO LISTENED TO ANY NEW METAL BANDS FROM GREAT BRITAIN
THAT DESERVE OUR ATTENTION?
My five faves would probably be….Master of
Puppets, Rust in Peace, Screaming for Vengeance, Ride the Lightning and
Seasons in the Abyss, in no particular order! The new wave of American
heavy metal seems to have grabbed all the headlines recently so there are
probably loads of good British bands not getting the recognition they deserve,
but they don’t scare us…..! lol
6. YOU ARE MUCH YOUNGER THAN ROB, I THINK, SO
HOW DO YOU “SEE” HIM? HOW DO YOU FEEL BEING WITH HIM? IN WHICH WAYS DOES
ROB HELP YOU WITH HIS PREVIOUS BAND EXPERIENCE?
Rob’s been brilliant, it's been an absolute
pleasure working with him but I haven’t seen him drunk yet! Lol! He’s always
giving advice and his vision when we are writing is amazing. I think its
great for Ciaran too because he’s got so much potential, working with Rob
will just help him fulfill that.
7. ALLAN, I WANT TO KNOW WHETHER YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED
(BESIDES SINGING) IN ANY OTHER WAYS IN THE SONGWRITING OF THE ALBUM OR
NOT. IF YES AND HOW?
Rob starts all of his songs with a Songtitle
and then writes and records a demo version of the song with a vocal track
and Melody on it before putting it to me... sometimes I will write the
Lyrics to a song other times Rob, it depends on who's into whatever song...sometimes
as in the case of Suffocator we wrote 50/50. We get down a good demo and
the band re-records everything tightening the whole thing up.
8. I’VE JUST CHECKED YOUR SITE OUT AND I SAW THAT
YOU HAVE ALREADY SHOT A VIDEO-CLIP. CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INFO ABOUT IT?
WHICH SONG HAVE YOU VISUALIZED AND WHO IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE VIDEO - CLIP?
We had just brought Ciaran and Drew back into
the band and decided it would be a good way of introducing them on the
website so we did a video for Suffocator. Our Webmaster Scott Redhead(RedD)
was the Cameraman and Director..Scott's a really creative guy and has some
great ideas for the Band. He told us of an old castle here in the Scottish
Borders called Tillmount Castle. Apparently the story goes it is Haunted
by Two children who were Murdered (Suffocated) by their Father who was
the original Lord of the Castle and Local land owner ...we thought that
would be the perfect location for our song "Suffocator" a bit sick I know
Lol.….Very pleased with the result and we are planning to do another one
soon....Maybe "100 years from now"...Scott has told us of a Mountain
that has five Rusted old cars at the top of it... from like the 1950s,
how they got there we don't know, but that sounds like a perfect backdrop
for that song.
9. I THINK THAT YOU ARE IN SEARCH TO FIND A LABEL
TO RELEASE YOUR DEBUT ALBUM. DID YOU HAVE ANY PROPOSALS SO FAR? WHAT EXACTLY
DO YOU WANT A LABEL TO OFFER YOU IN ORDER TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THEM?
We have had a few glimpses of interest which
is amazing considering we haven’t played live yet! Our gigging will start
in October and we don’t plan to stop! I think enough money to buy a big
Harley Davidson, a guitar shaped swimming pool and house on the coast in
Mexico would do me! Lol Seriously though, I think security with a contract
for a few albums at least is the main factor for me.
10. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS SHORT INTERVIEW!
THESE LAST LINES BELONG TO YOU…
No probs, just looking forward to getting
out onto the road and playing some old school metal to as many people as
possible! Our new album will be onsale through the website soon, check
it out, and we will see you on the road….
Allan
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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