Airged
L'Amh
AIRGED L'AMH exist as a
band almost 10 years now. From the first time that I've listened to their
song "The Wedding" on the first Metal Invader compilation CD, I knew that
this group had it's own personality and can give a lot of things to the
metal scene. So, the release of the astonishing "The Silver Arm" album,
gave me the chance to do an interview with them. My friends go on read
the interview and drift into the mythical world of AIRGED L'AMH...
1.HELLO GUYS AND CONGRATULATIONS FOR "THE
SILVER ARM" ALBUM. FINALLY I’VE MANAGED TO FIND YOU AND DO AN INTERVIEW
WITH YOU. SO AS A START I WOULD LIKE YOU TO GIVE US A FEW INFORMATION ABOUT
THE BAND’S HISTORY...
George : The band was formed in 1994 as “Ragnarok”.
The epic style has been there from day one and from the original line up
only two of the members are part of “The Silver Arm” as here in Greece
bands tend to change members a lot. We changed the name because of the
existence of two other bands with the same name and in 1996 we released
“A Vertigo Edda Arised” a demo which went very well globally and there
are a lot of fans remembering us even from then. It was re-released as
a vinyl in 2002 including 2 new promo recordings .Today’s line up of the
band is: Steve Venardo: Vocals, Alexander Vasilopoulos: Guitars,
George Sofikitis: Guitars, John Tsimas: Bass, George Thanasopoulos: Drums.
2.IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN YOU HAVE RELEASED ONE DEMO
AND SINCE THEN WE DIDN'T HEAR MANY THINGS ABOUT YOU. WHY SUCH A TALENTED
BAND LIKE YOU FOUND IT SO DIFFICULT TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH A LABEL? IS
IT TRUE THAT FOR SOME TIME THE BAND WAS "DORMANT"?
George : Well I said before we faced many
problems…First the typical ones Greek bands have(our duty in the military,
difficult day jobs and schedules etc…)..And then we are trying to be first
friends and then bandmates ..And that is very difficult to find. But with
this line-up it seems that this work’s perfect because we enjoy it very
much…So when everything was finally right we managed to focus to our target
which was to compose, record and release this album…
3.BEFORE YOU RELEASED "THE SILVER ARM" ALBUM YOU
HAD RELEASED ON VINYL YOUR DEMO CD WITH 2 SONGS THAT ARE ALSO INCLUDED
IN YOUR NEW ALBUM. SO CAN YOU TELL US FEW THINGS ABOUT IT? WHO PROPOSED
YOU TO DO SUCH A THING? HOW HAVE THE METAL FANS ACCEPTED THIS ALBUM? DID
THE VINYL SELL ANY COPIES ABROAD?
George: At that time we had a contract with
Metal Reunion Records…They proposed the release and it proved to be right.
It was a limited edition and I think it sold out… People saw it as a collector’s
item because the demo had made such a good name, so they bought it…As for
abroad I think that yes, it did sell some copies..
4.NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR DEBUT ALBUM "THE SILVER
ARM". I THINK THAT IS A CONCEPT STORY AND SINCE I DON'T HAVE THE BOOKLET
(YOUR LABEL JUST SENT ME THE CD), I WOULD LIKE YOU TO TELL ME A FEW THINGS
ABOUT IT. WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LYRICS?
George : Haha…It’s all in that booklet mate...It’s
a story based on a Celtic legend for the domination of Ireland.. It tells
us how the tribe of “Tuatha de Dannan” and their king Nuada fight against
the “Fomorians” and Balor Of the Evil Eye…And we have tried to bond the
music with the lyrics and the parts of the story…There are 13 songs and
over 1 hour of music…
5.BLACK LOTUS RECORDS, I THINK IS THE BIGGEST
METAL LABEL HERE IN GREECE AND LATELY SIGNED SOME "BIG NAMES" OF THE HEAVY
METAL MUSIC AND I AM INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW DID THEY SHOW INTEREST FOR
A CULT UNDERGROUND BAND LIKE AIRGED L'AMH. I AM SAYING THAT CAUSE USUALLY
BIG LABELS CONSIDER EPIC METAL A GENRE THAT DOESN'T SELL.
George : You are right…As for Black Lotus
they just listened to the album said they liked it and since we didn’t
find any better proposal from any other record label here or abroad , we
did sign with Black Lotus and we feel very proud about that, because as
you said they are the biggest label here in Greece..
6.SINCE THIS IS OUR FIRST INTERVIEW, I ALWAYS
LIKE TO ASK THE BANDS WHICH THEIR FAVOURITE GROUPS AND INFLUENCES ARE.
SO NAME A FEW AND 5 OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE ALBUMS. IS THERE ANY OTHER
NEW RELEASE THAT YOU 'VE LISTENED TO LATELY AND LIKED A LOT?
George: Since the other guys aren’t here with
me, I will tell you some of the bands we listen when we meet….Judas Priest
, Iron Maiden , Cruachan , Skyclad , Manowar and so many others from many
different genres of metal or not…As for the albums: 1)Painkiller,
2)Sign Of the Hammer, 3)Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 4)Master Of Puppets
and 5)The Last in Line . The most recent album that I’ve listened to and
I like is the latest release of Nocturnal Rites.
7.RECENTLY YOU HAVE PLAYED HERE IN THESSALONIKI
AS A SUPPORT BAND OF DISTANT THUNDER. WHICH ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS ABOUT
THE FANS HERE IN MY TOWN? IS THERE ANY CHANCE TO COME AGAIN HERE AND PLAY
A LIVE SHOW?
George: We’d love to come back and play in
Thessaloniki…We did play and even though we faced some technical problems
(bad sound etc) we thought it was awesome.. And because lots of fans asked
us after that gig to come and play again we shall plan to come again…
8.HOW DID THE PRESS ACCEPT THE NEW ALBUM AND THE
FANS, ESPECIALLY ABROAD? DID YOU HAVE ANY OFFERS TO PLAY IN A FESTIVAL
OUTSIDE OUR COUNTRY?
George: Though it’s a bit early to tell, fans’
reaction was fantastic…We receive so many e-mails from everywhere...And
the press too, has accepted the album very well…From all the reviews that
I’ve read from the press globally I’d say we have an average around
8 which is at least to say impressive…
9.ON THE VINYL YOU HAD A DIFFERENT SINGER AND
NOW YOU HAVE A NEW ONE WHO IS VERY GOOD. CAN YOU TELL US WHY DID YOUR FIRST
SINGER LEAVE? DO YOU STILL HAVE GOOD RELATIONS WITH HIM? DID YOUR NEW SINGER
HAVE ANY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN OTHER BANDS?
George: Well John had several problems with
his time schedule and it was difficult to follow…So we decided to split
and hire Steve in his place…He’s a good singer too, and also had experience
before arriving in Airged L’amh. He played with a band called “Verdict”.
And of course yes we still do have good relations with John..
10.I KNOW THAT IT'S A LITTLE BIT EARLY BUT HAVE
YOU COMPOSED ANY NEW SONGS AND WHEN DO YOU PLAN TO RELEASE YOUR SECOND
ALBUM?
George: Yep…We are already in the process
of composing new songs and we plan to record the new album in 2005...The
release must be expected somewhere early 2006..
11.THE COVER ARTWORK OF YOUR CD IS SIMPLY AMAZING.
CAN YOU TELL US WHO DESIGNED IT AND HOW IT IS CONNECTED TO THE STORY OF
THE ALBUM? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE AWARE OF IT, BUT THE PAINTING REMINDS
ME A LOT OF THE DRAWINGS OF THE COMIC SLAIN...
George: Alexander(Guitars) is responsible
for the cover of the album (he has also designed the cover for another
Greek band “Battleroar”). It’s certainly connected to the story as it depicts
king’s Nuada newly made Silver Arm that helps him scatter the Fomorians
and earn back his throne…And of course SLAIN is one of our favourite comics…
12.DO YOU READ BOOKS? WHICH IS YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE
BOOK AND AUTHOR? WHICH BOOK THAT YOU'VE READ WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE
CINEMA?
George: My dream has already become true with
“Lord Of The Rings”.
13.I'VE NOTICED ON YOUR ALBUM THAT YOU USE A LOT
OF FOLK AND MEDIEVAL MELODIES. DO YOU PLAN TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN
THE FUTURE? WILL YOU ADD ANY ELEMENTS OF THE GREEK FOLK MUSIC AS WELL?
George : I must say that we had a lot of ideas
about the album that finally didn’t make it to the final version. I am
talking about some female vocals and also some Celtic instruments (violins,
flute etc). And yes we are planning to retain all these and even enrich
our ideas with these elements.
14.THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS INTERVIEW. THE
LAST LINES ALWAYS BELONG TO THE BANDS, SO TELL US WHATEVER YOU WANT...
George : Thank you for this interview…STAY
METAL!
Nick “William_Kidd”
Parastatidis
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