BIOMECHANICAL
It seems the Greek metallers
abroad of our country are doing a terrific job. After Mario's great album
with NIGHTRAGE, it was time for John and BIOMECHANICAL to makes us bang
till final drop. An album with many qualities that will surprise and excite
the demanding metallheads. If you like PANTERA and JUDAS PRIEST, then this
band is made for you...
1.SO WHAT HAPPENED TO BIOMECHANICAL
FROM THE RELEASE OF THEIR DEMO/PROMO WORK (THE ONE I GOT) TILL NOW? IF
I AM NOT MISTAKEN IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR. WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO RELEASE
THIS FULL LENGTH ALBUM?
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After the demo EP was released I took
it upon me to promote and manage the band. The decision came after I stopped
collaborating with Steve Brown. The procedure of getting a deal is the
same however you choose to do it: Send CDs to the A&R guys and wait
for the reaction. I was very surprised to find out that a lot of great
companies replied to my letters. After the initial reaction I handed over
the management of the band (it was getting a bit too much for me-you know
John K: Singer / Songwriter / Producer / Manager / Pizza maker / Cappuccino
Frother¦what the fuck!!!J ) to a string of managers including Paul
Pullen, Ivan Gunn, Eddie March. Finally we got a management deal with Vince
Brotheridge (AMUST4MUSIC) and from then on things started to slowly happen.
We found a UK label who believed in us very much. That was Revolver records
who came back to us straight away and offered us a deal and the rest is
histogram!
2.SOME OF THE SONGS WERE IN THE PROMO
I GOT BACK THEN. BY LISTENING TO THE ALBUM NOW I REALIZED THAT THE SOUND
HAS CHANGED A BIT. I THINK NOW THE SOUND IS A BIT DARKER THAN ON THE PROMO.
DID YOU DO THAT ON PURPOSE AND IF YES WHY?
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It is a different sound no doubt about
that. The perception of what I wanted to hear from the final product is
captured on the album disc. It's a dark sound with lots of space reflecting
the mood of the story. I didn't try to replicate the demo sound.
Instead I produced something new in terms of approach and feel (in all
honesty the album sound was something that I had in mind all the time)
3.YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCTION
IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO DO THE PRODUCTION? IS IT
PERHAPS THAT BIOMECHANICAL ARE YOUR OWN VISION AND YOU ARE AFRAID THAT
ANOTHER PRODUCER MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FULLY CAPTURE WAHT YOU ARE TRYING
TO ACHIEVE WITH YOUR MUSIC?
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I have to say that so far I had nightmare
relationships with producers. Unfortunately it's their job to be intrusive
and to try and change everything about your songs, it's just how it goes.
I worked with a few producers before Biomechanical and I decided (after
I learned a few things from them) to take it upon myself and produce the
demo and the album. Plus it would insure that the final product would be
exactly what I wanted to hear as I had a certain vision of how the music
should sound like. It was a long road I have to say. But having people
telling you good things about the album makes all the hard work worth while.
4.TELL US A FEW THINGS REGARDING THE
LYRICS OF THE ALBUM "EIGHT MOONS" AND WHAT MADE YOU NAME THE ALBUM THIS
WAY? WHICH ARE THESE EIGHT MOONS? DOES THE ALBUM HAVE A DEEPER CONCEPT?
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The concept of the album is about fear
and our ability (or lack of ability) to fight against it. It goes through
human emotions and describes a life of a down and out guy who is waiting
for a painless death to be freed from his human shell. On the verge of
death he finds hope in a small dark place of his mind he has called the
world of Eight Moons. There he fights his fears as a biomechanical creature
and lives for one more day until he is overcome with desperation that draws
him back to his world to fight once again, and to live once again.
I wanted to find a metaphor for the everyday horror we call "life". It's
about the fight of your darkest fears i.e. drug addiction, abuse, and if
you think about it we all live under different circumstances that define
our universe. A problem to me could be how to sort out my bills in time
were someone on the other side of the globe is dying from starvation or
torture. It's a harsh example but it shows you the different extremes that
create very different perceptions of life and even almost create two different
worlds. The songs go through the state of mind of the character with "The
Awakening" which brings him to his world . The album progresses to the
point were in the end he becomes human again seeking a way out of
this hell with "Save me" and going on the verge of complete desperation
with "The Point of No Return?". I wanted to talk about real human emotions
and being a sci-fi fan all my life I found no better way to describe the
story.
5.YOUR MUSIC ACCORDING TO ME BEARS
THE TRUE ESSENCE OF THE TERM PROGRESSIVE METAL. IT'S WEIRD, ORIGINAL AND
INNOVATIVE. DO YOU AGREE? HOWEVER, I CAN SAY THAT YOUR MUSIC BELONGS TO
THE BROAD HORIZON OF MODERN POWER METAL. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?
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I would just describe it as Metal.
There is no point to try and label the music. In the end of the day there
is a 25 to 30 year history of solid metal. It wouldn't be creative enough
for me at least to sit down and consciously write a style that would be
instantly channelled in to the description of melodic metal or death metal
or anything else. Lets just say that musically I want to keep my options
open J
6.MANY COMPARE YOU WITH NEVERMORE,
BECAUSE OF THE DARK ATMOSPHERE AND FEELING YOU HAVE. DO YOU AGREE WITH
THAT? IF YOU ASK ME I THINK THIS DESCRIPTION IS TOO LITTLE AND YOU DESERVE
MUCH MORE. WHAT DOY OU THINK OF THE LAST NEVERMORE RELEASE?
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Man this is weird. The thing is that
I have never listened to a single Nevermore track up until very recently
when I heard a track on the radio. Please don't think I am a complete dick
J. I honestly never have had a chance to listen to the stuff. Reason being
that I took a massive break from metal from 1994 to 1998 as I lost interest
on the new releases and for some reason I totally missed Nevermore on their
initial stages. When I started getting involved with metal again I was
busy writing the album and running like a blue arse fly trying to get a
deal. So my idea of metal derives from classics released from giants such
as Maiden, Priest, Pantera etc etc. When I wrote the album I had no idea
about Nevermore's style and the same goes largely for Dream Theater (another
band we have been compared to). I heard a great deal of their work from
our guitarist Jamie Hunt who is a huge DM fan. So I can't really see how
the styles would be the same but hey, what I heard was awesome so we are
honoured to be compared with Nevermore!!
7.I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE CURIOSITY TO
FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF PERSON AND MIND AND UNDER WHICH CIRCUMSTANCES CAN
WRITE SO INCREDIBLE, SENTIMENTAL, DARK, BITTER BUT YET BEAUTIFUL MUSIC.
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH YOU? DO YOU HAVE TO BE IN A SPECIFIC MOOD IN ORDER
TO COMPOSE?
-
I suppose you think in a certain way
when you conceive something, but I have to say that the creative process
as usual doesn't allow you to escape from the mood that each track puts
you through. On the other hand you could lose your way looking for that
something extra. So I think it's a fine balance of writing technique and
interpretation of the meaning of a given track. I got involved in a few
short films and being a massive film music fan I almost approach the same
applications of writing, including the fact that you simply have to sit
down and write no matter what. It does sound a bit cold but I think if
done right there is a lot of space for the emotions of the given track
to bleed in to the writing process. So the truth is that I don't have to
be in a specific mood to write (other than to have a clear mind) but once
you start working then the music takes over and inevitably you are drawn
in the mood of the track. Then you apply a bit of crack cocaine on the
table and lovingly create five lines with my 3.000.000 Barclays credit
card,¦no dudes just kidding, this is a no drugs zone J
8.HOW IMPORTANT IS IMAGE, PHILOSOPHY
AND IDEOLOGY BEHIND A BAND? WHICH IS THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND BIOMECHANICAL?
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As I said before this album is about
destroying fear from within, so having the message encrypted in the album
is very important to us. The image of the band comes with the name but
without overdoing it, and the philosophy of the band collectively is to
have fun for as long as we live on this spinning rock
9.DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS?
WHAT SHOULD THE METALLERS EXPECT FROM A BIOMECHANICAL LIVE SHOW? SHARE
SOME OF YOUR EXPERIENCES FROM YOUR LIVE SHOWS WITH US...
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We have a few shows on the UK as part
of our UK tour. Hopefully we will play Europe and US @ some point. The
Biomechanical live sound is more heavy and raw than the album recording.
Best live so far for us was the Bloodstock 03. It was a pleasure seeing
some kids going mental!!
10.WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME TO GREECE?
BY THE WAY YOU USED TO SING IN DECEPTOR WHICH IS CONSIDERED TO BE A CULT
GREEK METAL BAND. DO YOU THINK THAT GREECE DEVOURS ITS CHILDREN WITHOUT
LEAVING THEM THE CHANCE TO SHOW WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF DOING? ARE THINGS
BETTER FOR YOU NOW THAT YOU LIVE ABROAD? YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLE AND ENCHANTING
VOICE AND THIS MAKES THE SITUATION WORSE...
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Glad you like the Vox!! Yes I used
to sing with Deceptor. Unfortunately what is happening with Greece is that
it has it's own inland music industry that makes good cash so there is
no reason whatsoever to invest on an English singing band and to try and
export it as they know the competition coming from abroad is vast. So the
Greek Metal scene is reduced to a few independent labels. Saying that I
know a lot of awesome Greek bands that have broken through (prime example:
Rotting Christ). Things are better for me from the point of view that I
have the industry right next to me. Also I was fortunate enough to meet
the band members, Jamie Hunt (introduced to me by Steve Forward-the guitarist
I first collaborated with-), Chris Webb (got together with him after I
was looking franticly for a guitarist on the net for months!!!) and Jon
Collins on the bass (very glad to meet the guy, again through the net)
and Matt C on the drums of whom I met on the same week with Jon Collins
after of months of search for the rhythm section!!!
11.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THAT
DOESN'T KNOW YOU, IN ORDER TO INTRIGUE HIS INTEREST? WHICH IS YOUR MOST
APPEALING ELEMENT ACCORDING TO YOU?
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I am what I am and I do what I do I
suppose that's enough for me. If somebody like me for it cool if not then
fair enough.
12.HAS IT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU TO DREAM
OF A MELODY AND SUDDENLY WHEN YOU WAKE UP TO HAVE FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT IT?
WHAT DID YOU DO AND HOW DID YOU FEEL IN SUCH A CASE?
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I don't remember that happening many
times. In fact it only happened once many years ago. It was probably a
crap melody.
13.IF YOU HAD A PROPOSAL TO DO A VIDEOCLIP,
WHICH SONG OF YOURS WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?
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I would love to do Distorted as a video
because it's a very dark song. But the finances don't allow it for the
time being. We are in the process of putting a video together. It should
be ready soon and hopefully it will be played in Greece as well!! We chose
"The Awakening" which will feature the band performing.
14.IF WE ARE ALL JUST A WORD IN THE
GREAT BOOK OF CREATION, CAN YOU SAY WHICH WORD COULD DESCRIBE YOU BETTER?
CAN YOU ALSO IMAGINE WHAT KIND OF AUTHOR WOULD BE THE CREATOR OF THIS BOOK
AND WHY?
"Insignificant". Author: Unknown
15.DO YOU THINK THAT PERHAPS GOD GOT
SO FRIGHTNED FROM WHAT HE CREATED THAT HE MOVED TO HEAVEN IN ORDER TO KEEP
DISTANCE FROM HIS CREATIONS? :))
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God didn't move to heaven, he went
to Detroit.
16.IF YOU WERE A FLY, WHERE WOULD YOU
LIKE TO BE AND WHY?
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Definitely not on a turd!! I would
like to be on John Williams's piano when he is composing. The guy is great!!
17.IN WHICH MOVIE SOUNDTRACK WOULD
YOU LIKE TO HAVE TAKEN PART OR HAVE COMPOSED?
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I would like to have contributed in
some way on the production of "The Empire Strikes Back" which is one of
my favourite soundtrack of all times!!
18.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
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Just to say thanx for the Interview
and your great support! Metal On!!!!
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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