PAGAN RAGE!

GEASA

ONE OF THETHINGS THAT MAKES ME HAPPY AND GIVE ME THE MOTIVE TO WORK IN BEHIND THE VEIL EZINE IS THE OPPORTUNITY THAT GIVES ME TO KNOW MORE ABOUT METAL SCENES THAT I KNEW FEW THINGS ABOUT THEM OR EVEN NOTHING AND TALK WITH SOME INTERESTING PEOPLE. DRAIGHEAN GAVE SOME VERY INTERESTIN ANSWERS TO WHAT I ASKED AND IT'S A LIVING PROOF WHY WE STILL CONSIDER IRELAND AS THE LAND OF THE FAIRIES AND GREAT STORYTELLERS. NO MORE TO SAY... READ THE INTERVIEW

1. FIRST OF ALL POINT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY UP TO DATE AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE READERS.

We've been around for a while now but since our start in the mid-nineties. I suppose the important events in the bands history have been the releases we've had. Firstly we released a demo "Starside" in '95 followed by "Angels Cry" a full length album in '99.Then followed a break to start a rehearsal/recording studio and write something new which is starting to become available now, namely the "Fates Lost Son" e.p. with "Starside" re-mastered and a full length album we're trying to release now.We are a four piece from Dublin, Ireland and play metal obviously with some Celtic influence and we haven't changed our line-up since 1998 with me (Draighean) vocals/bass Phil White guitars Steve Maher guitars and Simon O'laioghaire on drums. That's the basics.

2. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT “FATE’S LOST SUN”. ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH IT? WHICH ARE THE MAIN SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IT AND “ANGEL’S CRY”? WHY HAVE YOU ALSO INCLUDED YOUR DEMO “STARSIDE” REMASTERED?

Fates Lost son was a long time in the making.We didn't really have a plan after Angels cry was released, our label didn,t seem too interested in tours or promotion so we eventually recorded something ourselves which became F.L.S.The e.p. has five new songs and our demo for the first time on c.d.The new songs are pretty heavy and dark, which maybe shows a bridge that we had to make between our first album and the more solid, thought out songs we do now(I don't want to say we're more mature now!) I'm still fairly happy with the e.p. I was never truly pleased with it, or anything we've recorded for that matter, but I think if I ever record something that I can say I'm 100% happy with I wouldn't know what to do next. I see problems with things I write that nobody else would, It must be the same for any musician or even anyone who has a certain level of involvement in what they do. Fates Lost Son is quite different than Angels Cry which was a lot different than Starside and our next album is a lot further away from F.L.S.We change our sound with pretty much every new project we do but we do keep certain aspects of our past, like themes and attitude, subject matter and introspection etc.This is pretty noticeable when the demo and e.p. are heard together on c.d. and, as the demo was only limited to about 300 when it was released, it will be new for most people which was the main reason to include it.

3. YOU USED TO BELONG IN SEASON OF MIST’ ROSTER. WHAT MADE YOU LEAVE?

Seasons of mist hmmm. Seasons of mist didn't seem too interested in us. We had no real promotion from them. O.k. the label gave us our first chance in releasing Angels Cry so that is something I can never be pissed off about, but after the release there was nothing, no follow-up, no tours, no correspondence between the label and the band and even now there hasn't ever been an account of how many units we sold and no payment to the band. It was like Seasons took a chance on some recordings and picked whoever they wanted to promote, leaving the other bands with no support. Anyway, it didn't work out but the design and manufacture of Angels Cry is excellent, another reason why I thought we should have been pushed more. We all know what power a record label can have. We learned by this experience and mostly try to be as independent as we can. Our music, our work and fuck anybody trying to get rights to our songs.Seasons of mist own rights to all our songs off that album in any form until 2009.

4. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST WITH THE TITLE OF THIS ALBUM? WHO IS FATE’S LOST SON?

I suppose the titles I use are generally aiming for a paradox, light/dark, good/evil and so on. The most nightmarish thing we can have is some sort of grotesque beauty with the extremes heightening our sense of wrongness. Fate/lost, Son/sun, lost sun=darkness. I live in paradox, the title can be interpreted a hundred different ways but yes it is about me.

5. BY THE WAY WHAT DOES YOUR BAND NAME MEAN? IS IT A CELTIC WORD AND DO THOSE CELTIC SYMBOLS YOU HAVE ON THE CD HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING?

Geasa or a Geis is an old Irish word for like a spell or prohibition, curse or a promise. It was taken very seriously and a Geis was never ignored. We do use quite a lot of Celtic imagery on our things but I think that was more in the past, we're always proud of where we come from but we don't want it to look like that's all that we are.Unfortunately, with music now, people expect an image, so we're from Ireland, people like to see that we're from Ireland, it gives us some form of identity that people can understand but art work on an album shouldn't be too closely linked to the actual album content, we just use traditional art to help with delivering the songs and the image of the band. No occult interpretation I'm afraid.

6. WHERE ARE YOUR LYRICS REFERRING TO? DO THEY REFER TO SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR OR IS THEIR MAIN PURPOSE THE CREATION OF FEELINGS? WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE LYRICS?

I know what I mean in songs. Maybe the best way I can explain my feelings is by scraping away the outer coating and laying them simply and bare in a song. I want to give people a bare emotion that hopefully they will relate to. The lyrics will always refer to something in particular in my life but it's not supposed to be a concrete translation. The creation of feelings,yeah that's what it is.Geasa takes you where they want to go. See what I see. Feel what I feel. Be what I am.

7. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR A LIVE SHOW? DO YOU REMEMBER ANY FUNNY OR WEIRD INCIDENTS OCCURRING TO YOU WHILST YOU WERE PERFORMING LIVE?

We play live in Ireland, maybe not as often as we should (Irish venues are pretty shit and we always lose money playing here, although there has been a lot of great gigs here)We have some gigs here arranged for this year and a weeks tour in Portugal in November but we're always looking for foreign gigs, maybe Greece?Funny incidents? There's quite a few but one I'll never forget was finding myself as a young Black metal superstar playing in a church hall when I was maybe seventeen, wearing corpse-paint, spikes etc and watching the audience of old folks dancing to blast-beats in an attempt to raise money for the church organ. Pretty disturbing.

8. YOU HAVE SOME NEW SONGS READY FOR AN UPCOMING ALBUM. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THEM? WILL YOU RELEASE IT FROM ACHERON RECORDS OR NOT? WITH WHAT CRITERIA ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR A RECORD LABEL?

Right now we want a label to release this new album, It's recorded, mastered, finished we just need packaging and distribution. The album has nine songs; all new and professionally recorded it's about 40 minutes long and is fucking amazing. What more can I say about it ? Labels can contact us and we'll send them a promo if they're interested. We've sent quite a few out already and have some interest, also the deal we had with Acheron was for one release but we'll see how they do with F.L.S. and see what we're offered by other labels. Nothing is certain.

9. YOU IRISH HAVE A VERY INTERESTING MYTHOLOGY WHICH IS DARK BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT REVEALS A GREAT LOVE FOR MOTHER EARTH. WHY DO YOU THINK NOWADAYS PEOPLE TREAT NATURE SO BADLY?

One answer (and there are so many) is People don't think that they need nature anymore; they need a car; they need a computer, they need all these fucking things to keep economies going and they don't think long term, and, the funniest thing about that, the real comedy of it all is that people know what they're doing, the governments, the beggar on the street they know they 're killing their home but they just don't give a fuck, what they want now is more important than anything. Isn't humanity great? That's the type of question that I cant answer in short; modern life, religion, human nature or a mix of those reasons and some I forgot I don't know people are shit, whatever.

10. SO, AFTER ALL DO YOU THINK THAT HAPPINESS IS GREATER THAN THE PAIN WE FEEL DURING OUR LIVES?

Happiness is great, I'm all for it, but pain seems to cut deeper and last longer.

11. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?

What drugs it took when it created humans and can I have some?

12. 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?

Most periods of history sound pretty shit, maybe some tribal civilisation when everything was superstition and the wheel was new technology, pagan, innocent, and ignorant bliss.

13. IF YOUR MUSIC WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF IT WAS A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?

Any art can force emotion from an audience, music is living an emotion and painting is observing a feeling. I relate to miserable music and disturbing art so everything I appreciate is a part of what I do. Our music becomes twisted and painful emotions and the picture it represents is the most tragic thing in your life and you can't, no matter how hard you try, stop looking.

14. YOU ARE GRANTED ONE WISH. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO WITH IT?

I'd wish for all the secrets of the universe and when I understood them all the pressure in my head would probably cause blood to run from my mouth and eyes but it wouldn't matter because as I died I'd know everything and want no more.

15. WHAT MADE YOU REALIZE THAT YOU WANTED TO PLAY MUSIC AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN’T ABLE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF THIS WAY? WHICH MUSICIAN “INSPIRED” YOU TO PLAY MUSIC?

I started playing bass when I was about 13 and it has to be said I really looked up to Steve Harris of Maiden, what a bass player! I wanted to be in a metal band!I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't in a band or doing something related to music. I've chosen this as my life no matter how hard or depressing it is sometimes. To think that someday I may do something else is too alien for me to even try and imagine. Maybe I'd be involved in some other art form, like rebellion or serial killing or even genetic engineering (the world's first worm/cat.maybe)

16. WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?

How about "PAGAN RAGE" ; up close and personal with the most evil man in Ireland? Maybe not.

17. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?

No, that's it. Thanks for the time and if anyone is interested in contacting us its [email protected] If you're feeling pissed off and lonely, talk to us. We promise to make you feel ten times worse.

CHRISTINE PARASTATIDOY

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