DARK
VISION
From
far beoynd the darkness a Nocturnal Prowler confessions.
1.FIRST OF ALL POINT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT
MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S LIFE TILL NOW. WHICH IS THE CURRENT LINE UP?
The most important moment was the
release of our debut album FULL MOON SHINES because it came afer
a lot of effort and patient until it goes to the fans and the market.One
more important is the live show with MAYHEM it was great experience to
play with Hellhamer and the other guys.About the current line up of DARK
VISION is : Nicolas s.i.c. Maiis(vocals),Mike (lead guitar),Thanos (guitar),Gogas
(bass),John (drums)and Kyriakos (strings) which all except John and Mike
are new in the band.
2.WHY HAVE YOU NAMED THE BAND DARK
VISION? WHICH IS YOUR OWN DARK VISION?
It was the first thing that it
came to our heads when we were thinkin about a name that could express
our music, our feelings and it came like a flash in our minds that simple.
About our Dark Vision is something that we can’t specify yet because things
and contitions are changing very fast and we have to wait to see more clear
in the Dark.
3.THE COVER ARTWORK IS DARK AND MELANCHOLIC.
DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME WHAT IT SHOWS AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE IN MIND WHEN
YOU SELECTED IT? WHO IS THIS PERSON IN THE LEFT SPACE?
It shows a woman with dark thoughts,like
she is afraid something and waiting for someone to show him/her darkest
thoughts.It is most sentimental contition the layout and it have diferent
explanation for every man. We were had in mind excactly what you mention
something dark, something to be free anyone to combine things from
his self and the layout in order to find similarities.And about the person
of the album is noone particiulary !
4.HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
I FOUND QUITE MANY SIMILARITIES MUSICALLY AND IN THE VOCALS IN SOME PARTS
WITH THE GOOD OLD ROTTING CHRIST. WHICH OTHER BANDS ARE LISTED AMONG
YOUR INFLUNCES? NAME SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED ALBUMS.
I will describe our music as heavy-black
metal with one word.But in more specific way I would told you that roughness
and melody are two things that DARK VISION want to combine each one with
the right way. Some people have told us that we have some similarities
but it is natural to a point if you think that Rotting Christ it is one
of the most big band in extreme music and it was one of th groups
that make the crowd in Greece to listen black metal. As band members had
also influense from classic heavy metal and I say had because the synthesis
of the DARK VISION is new at 2/3. Some of my favorites albums are
:Thy mighty contract-Rotting Christ, Abducted - Hypocrisy, A blaze in the
Northen Sky-Darktrone, Clouds-Tiamat, Turn Loose the Swans-My Dying Bride,
Slayer all!!!,Quod Superius-Sicut Inferius-Astarte and many,many more.
5.GIVE US SOME GENERAL INFO ABOUT YOUR
ALBUM "FULL MOON SHINES". HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO RECORD IT, WHO WAS
THE PRODUCER, WHERE WAS IT RECORDED, ETC.
The recordings started at
summer of 1999 till after february of 2000 but not continiously because
it was self-finance.The recordings was made at Airways and Kakophonix studios
and the music producer was Panos Andreou(Zephyrous).
6.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
ARE YOU DEALING WITH REAL LIFE SITUATIONS AND HUMAN RELATIONS OR WITH IMAGINERY
WORLDS?
The lyrics are more imaginery they
talking about the dark side of men like the Awakening Of a Dark Soul,Nocturnal
Prowler, some others have more epic lyrics like Black Knight,Full
Moon Shines and Passing the Gates.At Crusaders of Death and Velvet Sky
it is about the revenge of a demon that he was betrayed by men and now
hunting them!!
7.BESIDES "FULL MOON SHINES" DO YOU
HAVE ANY OTHER RELEASES (DEMOS INCLUDED)? WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THEM?
Yes of course, we have released
2 demos Nocturnal Prowler and Liberate Inferno with new layout.Recently
we have released Black Knight(Far Beyond Darkness) promo with new vocals,strings
and mix.Also we are prepering new songs for a split-cd with our music label.
The new songs i hope to surprise you (in a good way)because they will be
different from the album in style and production.
8.ARE YOU SATISFIED BY YOUR LABEL?
ARE THEY TRYING TO PROMOTE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO IN THE FUTURE?
ANY PLANS FOR LIVE APPEARANCES? ARE YOU TRYING TO APPROACH THE METALLERS
ABROAD AS WELL OR ARE YOU FOCUSED IN GREECE?
About the label,I think that a
small label can’t do very much in general but it is a start for something
better.The promotion I think that it could be better in many ways but like
I said it’s a start. Now we are writing new songs for the split cd and
we trying to play as many possible live as we can.We have allready close
to play at Gagarin Festival (8-9-10 March), at 1st Dark MetalFest (15 March),at
Larrisa City (16 March)with Septic Flesh and with Kaamos (23 March) at
An Club for now.We have allready done two lives with Deviser at Stigma
Club and Aeras Club.Also we have played with Mayhem and Ancient Rites and
participate to many underground festivals. The aproaching is the same where
ever you go if you offer them good music they will response and fans will
be interest for your music. In Greece if you make good lives the
people learn you very fast and they will aproach also. If your album it
is recorded abroad or mixed then pay more attension because they expect
more quality but this is not real all the time.At abroad you don’t have
the chance for live so the only way to know you is with your work and
the continiously information from magazines and e-zines.
9.WHY DO YOU THINK GREEK METALLERS
DON'T APPRECIATE AND HELP THE GREEK METAL SCENE? HAVE YOU FACED PREJUDICE
TILL NOW?
I don’t think that , my opinion
is that they don’t suport the bands active, like to take a cd of Greek
band or to go to a live with Greek band.I think the production of Greek
scene in releases is very low. There are many underground bands but few
with contracts. There are people which they think that only them is the
right one’s and judge bad other groups but the point is to prove what you
worth and not to gossip what others do!
10.WHICH WAS THE BEST AND WHICH WAS
THE WORST REVIEW YOU RECEIVED?
The truth is that personally avoid
to read the reviews.We have are own opinion about us .We take ofcourse
all the mentions that someone tell us but now there are thousends zines
and opinions and it’s a bit dificult to consider them all.
11.IF YOUR MUSIC WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE?
I can’t say something specific
because some songs give the feeling of sadness and others are more
rough .I would say that is a a mix of feelings and not one feeling particularly.
12.ARE YOU ANNOYED BY PEOPLE THAT JUDGE
THE ARTISTIC VALUE OF A BAND BY THE NUMBER OF CDS THEY SELL?
Yes,some times, because there are
bands with not large sells that worth 50 times more than some groups that
sell many copies and sucks. From the other side for the bands which they
had worked hard is a reckonition from the fans and the acceptibility of
the people seem by selling a big number of copies.
13.YOU USE CLEAR VOCALS COMBINED IN
SOME SONGS WITH BRUTAL. WHY? DO YOU WANT TO CREATE A DIVERSITY OF FEELINGS?
WHICH IS YOUR AIM?
The clear vocals has to do with
the heavy metal influnces that our band have and as you can see they giving
a diferent feeling between brutal and clear vocals .
14.YOU HAVE ALSO SOME GREAT MELODIC
MUSICAL THEMES. DO YOU THINK MELODY IS IMPORTANT EVEN IN EXTREME METAL
BANDS? WHY DO WE OBSERVE THESE PAST FEW YEARS MORE AND MORE A LACK OF MELODY?
Personnaly I like melodic and extreme
music and in our band we try to make this mix to satisfy all our
needs.I think melody depends from band to band and their infuences. Bands
like In Flames, Dark Tranquility show that you can combine extreme metal
with rhythm and melody. As it concairns the lack of melody it is
because the last years the people hear the same melodies from several bands
and they are tired with this situation,they just want something inspired
not a copy from an other group.
15.WHICH IS MAN'S BIGGEST TEMPTATION?
Temptation is our own fantasy.
Also everything that it is forbitten it can be a great temptation. Last
I will say that a big temptation is the unknown. That can be translated
as a human being, as a place, as taste. Human is a person that conquers
and creates demands. This can lead to extreme results. Temptations are
always into our ways but we have to take them until the point that they
will not misslead us or untill the point that they will not affect the
general man’s evolution.
16.IF TIME TRAVEL WAS POSSIBLE, WHICH
HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT? WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST
FROM OUR TIMES?
Strange question,well,I would like
to go back to the ancient Greece to see how was the things back then. I
would miss all the things and persons that had a real sence into my life.
I would not miss all the things and persons that were just a bad habbit.
17.WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE DO YOU WANT
THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?
DARK AT HEART as a title and as
it concern the prologue From far beoynd the darkness a Nocturnal Prowler
confessions.
18.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
I want to say thanx to all the
people that suport our band and the one’s that giving us the chance
to prove our worth.Support the underground whith every way you can because
from there are the future bands of Greece and everywhere. Stay s.i.c as
I hope you are and don’t forget that We are all NOCTURNAL PROWLERS.
Christine Parastatidou
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