CONQUEST
OF STEEL
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It's
really sad to know how many great metal bands existed in the 80's and never
received the success, they deserved. One of these bands are CONQUEST OF
STEEL from England. From the first time that i listened theur split work
with EVANESCE, their music stuck in my mind... Yes it was love at the first
sight. Now CONQUEST OF STEEL are back and preparing new material, so give
a chance to this great band and you can start by reading this interview...
1. MAN WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING FOR
SO LONG? YOUR MUSIC IS REALLY GREAT! NOW CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME INFORMATION
ABOUT THE BAND HISTORY AND PRESENT US THE CURRENT LINE UP? HOW MANY ALBUMS
HAVE YOU RELEASED?
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I can assure you we’ve not been hiding
but lets just say events transpired against us. The band released
their first album in 1981 (Conquest Of Steel) before finally calling it
a day in 1989 shortly after the release of their 8th album (In The Valley
Of the Kings), although one more album was released under the Conquest
moniker it only involved the ex-guitarist and as such shouldn’t be counted.
2. CONQUEST OF STEEL STARTED BACK IN
THE 80S. ARE YOU PLANNING A REUNION? IF YES, WILL IT BE THE ORIGINAL LINE
UP? HAVE YOU COMPOSED NEW SONGS? WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT A NEW ALBUM?
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The band finally decided to get back
together in 2000 when they released the Priests Of Metal MCD… the response
was excellent. Since then all of the original members have rejoined the
fold and are currently working on brand new material for an EP early next
year. In the meantime they’ve just released the S.O.S split 12” as
a treat for the fans and are about to re-release a re-mastered version
of the debut album. Let me assure you things are as busy as ever
in the Conquest camp
3. TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH MANY 980S
BANDS THAT REUNITED HAVE DISAPPOINTED ME WITH THEIR NEW RELEASES. THEY
TEND TO ADD MODERN ELEMENTS IN THEIR MUSIC. WHAT ABOUT CONQUEST OF STEEL?
DO YOU INTEND TO KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL MUSICAL STYLE OR DO YOU THINK THE ADDITION
IF NEW TOUCHES IS INEVITABLE?
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The first thing we released
after reforming was a MCD comprising 4 brand new tracks and a live bootleg.
The reason we didn’t choose to just re-release some old material was to
prove that Conquest remained a force to be reckoned with not a band living
off past glories
As for the Conquest
sound I can assure you what you get when you buy a Conquest record new
and old has always been the same, pure unadulterated ……….Heavy Metal!
4. HOW HAVE YOU DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE
IN A SPLIT RELEASE WITH A DEATH METAL BAND AND NOT WITH A CLASSIC HEAVY
METAL BAND? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF EVANESCE MUSIC?
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Conquest first met Evanesce when they
played a few shows in England together, despite not being massive death
metal fans Conquest were impressed with the power of the music and the
band’s no bullshit attitude. When the label approached them with
idea of doing a split both bands jumped at it seeing this as a perfect
opportunity for them to spread the word of metal together.
5. WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO INCLUDE
LIVE VERSIONS OF PREVIOUSLY RELEASED SONGS AND NOT NEW OR RARE ONES? WHERE
HAVE THOSE LIVE SONGS BEEN RECORDED? ARE YOU PLANNING TO RECORD A FULL
LIVE ALBUM IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
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First and foremost most people have
never heard live recordings of these songs because they never made it onto
Supremacy Of Steel (the band’s double live album released 1986).
As a result we thought it would be a real treat for the fans and a great
way for new fans to understand what the band is about live.
The next plan is to
re-release the debut Conquest Of steel which will be closely followed by
a concept EP (in the vein of Storm Sword) early next year. Initially we
wanted to release the new material first but the writing process cannot
be rushed after all it must live up to the legacy of the steel!!
6. I THINK THAT YOUR MUSIC IS CLOSE
TO WHAT WE CALL EPIC HEAVY METAL. DO YOU AGREE? YOUR MUSICAL STYLE IS CLOSE
TO BANDS LIKE IRON MAIDEN, THIN LIZZY AND RUNNING WILD. WHAT DO YOU THINK
OF THESE BANDS? WHICH OTHERS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR STYLE?
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I like your description but the band
has always liked to keep it simple with just Heavy Metal!! When Conquest
first started they listened to Zeppelin, Sabbath, Deep Purple that kind
of stuff, as the scene grew they listened to other bands but not to copy
only to enjoy. The Steel sound has always been compared to bands
of that era just as I’m sure they get compared to us
7. FROM THE LETTER YOU’VE SENT ME I
UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU AREA FAN OF VINYLS. IN WHICH WAYS DO YOU THINK VINYLS
ARE BETTER THAN CDS?
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When you play a piece of vinyl you’re
playing a piece of history, you need to treat it with respect and care.
A CD is a piece of crap you stick in the player before squinting at the
artwork in a vain attempt to enjoy it. Unfortunately not everyone today
has got the sense to own a record player so for these posers you must release
on CD.
8. ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS IS “WENCHES
CAN BE WARRIORS” AND IT’S FULL OF THE WELL KNOWN BRITISH IRONY-HUMOR. AM
I RIGHT?
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You certainly are, we wrote that song
just to say thanks to all the people who spent their time moaning about
our album sleeves and the song titles and just about anything else we ever
did. As a band we certainly do dig women and we have a lot of female
fans who aren’t offended so this was really for them.
9. HAVE YOU HEARD ANY NEW RELEASES
THAT YOU REALLY LIKED? IF YES, WHICH ARE THESE? DO YOU KNOW ANY NEW INTERESTING
HEAVY METAL BANDS FROM ENGLAND?
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The last thing I bought was a CD called
Forged Of The Sacred Steel by an underground band called Phallicide, it’s
actually death metal but it’s very cool. Apart from that I think it was
a Wasp album, not as good as their early stuff but very cool.
10. U.K. WAS THE COUNTRY THAT GAVE
BIRTH TO HEAVY METAL. WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT AND METAL STOPPED BEING
FAMOUS THERE? ARE THINGS IMPROVING LATELY?
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Things in England are getting better
the underground scene is full of great bands (The Enchanted, Tefra, Disarm
Goliath etc.) but for the man on the street Linkin Park are the most metal,
now we are back perhaps this will change?
11. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE
CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?
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Why do guitars only go up to 10….no
only joking I would probably just ask him why he hasn’t bought our vinyl..
12. WHICH IS THE SILLIEST THING YOU
DID IN ORDER TO WIN A WOMAN’S ATTENTION?
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I think forming a band must come pretty
high up the list!
13. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME
WHICH HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT AND WHAT WOULD YOU MISS
THE MOST FROM OUR TIMES?
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I think it would be pretty cool being
a knight dealing out a bit of justice with a sword, I think I’d probably
miss electricity most, after all how loud can acoustic guitars go.
14. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION,
WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
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Music is an emotion and ours is the
purest emotion of all anger Metal!!
If we were to be a picture I think
something simple but beautiful would be best perhaps a finely crafted sword
stood alone against the elements that would be pretty cool.
15. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO
ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
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Cheers for the interview keep
supporting the world of metal and to all your readers get in touch check
out the website and remember
“None can face the steel live
and survive”
www.conquestofsteel.co.uk
Nikos
"William_Kidd" Parastatidis