GREYSWAN
Finally, here is a gothic
metal band that never forgets to be metal. When other bands of the same
genre try to create atmosphere by adding non metal elements to their sound,
GREYSWAN do the same by playing only the classic rock/metal instruments.
They create dark/melancholic atmosphere without exagurations. Somehow,
they managed to create the perfect symmetry in their sound... So check
out what the singer of the band Oscar had to say about the beautifull album
they released.
1) HELLO! I AM NICK FROM BEHIND
THE VEIL EZINE. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER ME, BUT WE HAVE DONE AN INTERVIEW
FOR YOUR PREVIOUS DEMO A WHILE AGO. WHAT HAS CHANGED IN GREYSWAN FROM THE
RELEASE OF THAT DEMO TILL NOW?
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Many things have changed: three of
the members that were with us at the period of our demo went their way.
Now we have a new bass player, a new guitar player and we have become a
group of five members, without a permanent keyboard. From the personal
and musical point of view I think we have grown very much in this period
of time.
2) I READ IN THE BIO THAT YOU HAD THE
ABILITY TO CHOOSE AMONG LABELS. SO WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO SIGN WITH EBONY
TEARS AND HOW DO YOU FEEL BEING THE FIRST RELEASE OF THIS LABEL?
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We have decided for Ebony Tears becouse
we have known the leaders of CBI personally and they seemed to be very
reliable people, we are confident of the choice we made. Our future will
depend on the results we’ll get.
3) MOST OF THE GOTHIC METAL BANDS TODAY
EXPERIMENT WITH ELECTRO OR AMBIENT MUSIC. YOU ON THE CONTRARY HAVE VERY
HEAVY GUITARS. AREN’T YOU AFRAID THAT SOME PEOPLE MIGHT CHARACTERIZE YOU
AS OLD FASHIONED OR DO YOU AIM ON THAT?
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For now we have not to trouble about
the public. Music is , first of all, a true passion for us, we play what
we like most and in the better way we can. To be considered different from
all the other contemporary production makes us fell very satisfied. The
choice of the sounds depends on the fact that, in our songs, all instruments
have the same importance; we think that the choice we have made lets each
of us express himself and create a compact sound, which, anyhow, makes
each instrument be clearly recognizable.
4) I READ THE LYRICS AND I THINK THAT
YOU GIVE GREAT IMPORTANCE TO THEM. AM I RIGHT? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM
AND CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT KIND OF THINGS INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE ABOUT THEM?
HOW DO YOU COMPOSE? DO YOU FIRST WRITE THE LYRICS AND THEN THE MUSIC OR
THE VICE VERSA?
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I write the great part of our lyrics
myself and then I talk about them with the other members. They usually
come out after music, or rather they are the results of the sensations
the other members of the group make me feel through notes, together with
my own vision of life. I think the most important thing is to manage to
create a symbiosis between words and notes.
5) ONE OTHER THING IS THAT THE COMPOSITIONS
ON YOUR ALBUM ARE SO WELL WORKED THAT ARE ALMOST PERFECT. HOW LONG DID
IT TAKE YOU TO COMPOSE THEM? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO CHANGE ON
THE ALBUM?
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It took a long time and a hard work
in the sound studio, and most of all, it took great passion. If we had
had a higher budget, we could have taken care of the arrangement a bit
better, but just now we are satisfied, anyway.
6) HAVE YOU INCLUDED ANY SONG FROM
THE DEMOS ON THIS ALBUM OR NOT AND WHY?
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We have included a re-recorded version
of Sleepless Nigh becouse not only it is a beautiful song, but it's also
a sort of bridge between the old and the new Greyswan.
7) ALSO THE COVER OF THE ALBUM IS VERY
GOOD. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT REPRESENTS? DOES THE MAN IN THE FRONT COMMIT
SUICIDE AND IS THE WORD HOPE WRITTEN ON THE SAND? HOW ARE THE LYRICS CONNECTED
TO THE COVER?
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The cover was created by a French artist,
The Lull; after he read our lyrics he rendered in an image what we want
to communicate with our songs. I think this is a beautiful cover, expecially
becouse it can be interpreted in different ways, according to each person's
mood. Even suicide may be the extreme means to reach freedom and salvation,
so...
8) IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO CREATE A
MOVIE BASED ON YOUR MUSIC AND LYRICS, HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE? WHO
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE THE DIRECTOR?
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This is a very interesting question...I'm
a great lover of cinema of any genre; anyway, I must admit that none of
us would have the ability to create the sequences in order to express our
music, at least as far as technique is concerned. I'd like our movie had
the surrealism and the symbolism that are peculiar of Jodorowsky's works,
and the tenseness of David Lynch's movies, maybe with white and black “brutality”
of “Eraserhead”.
9) DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS?
WHAT SHOULD THE METALLERS EXPECT FROM A GREYSWAN LIVE SHOW? SHARE SOME
OF YOUR EXPERIENCES FROM YOUR LIVE SHOWS WITH US...
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We hope to have tho possibility to
play in a stimulating environment; unfortunatly this is very difficult
in our country, bands play little and badly and the best stands are only
for the big bands. In our live shows we always try to create the right
atmosphere, but somethimes this is not an easy result to achieve, though.
With this album we hope to play all aroud Europe, perhaps with bands that
can teach un something.
10) 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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You know, music is such a subjective
thing that it's very difficult to define it properly. The only thing I
can say is that whoever is interested in something sung with passion and
which breaks with the fashion should not miss Greyswan.
11) IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION,
WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
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It woulb be a human being, the incarnation
of all the deepest and strongest existing feelings.
12) 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?
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As far as the word is concerner, it
would be GREY, the colour contained in onr name, the situation in the middle
between the purity of white and the decayed black. The author can't be
but the greatest Italian poet,Giacomo Leopardi; his vision of life is timeless.
This is obviously my own personal opinion; the other members might have
mentioned other great artists who excite particular feelings in them.
13) IN WHICH MOVIE SOUNDTRACK WOULD
YOU LIKE TO HAVE TAKEN PART OR HAVE COMPOSED?
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There is a beautiful Italian film "La
stanza del figlio" (The son's room), that is very sad, but at the same
time also very realistic. I thinkI would have been a stirring experience
to set those sequences to music. May I give you a piece of advice? See
this film!
14) THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO
ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
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Thank you so much for this interview.
I hope to play as soon as possible in Greece because Greyswan knows your
great rock/metal scene. We leave our contacts, in case someone wanna get
in touch with us:
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[email protected]
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www.greyswan.com
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www.ebonytears.com
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Cheers, Oscar
Nikos "William_Kidd" Parastatidis
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