Koronzon
Koronzon is one of the
biggest hopes of the underground metal scene in Greece and it's a real
blessing to come across them, if you listen to death/thrash metal, cause
they will offer you such a sensation that few bands manage to create to
us nowadays. This is a band that must stand out and of course we all have
to support them. How can we do that? Get in touch with them, get their
CDs and finally read this very interesting interview!
1. FIRST OF ALL, I’D LIKE YOU TO TELL US IN
A FEW WORDS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND AND YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS
TO DATE.
The Band was formed in 2000 by Phil, Alex
(ex Alfa), Aris (ex Alfa) & Minas. After some months of existence Pantelis
(ex Alfa), joined the band and in 2001 we recorded our first mini cd, “Festival
Of Blood”. A year later, we got a deal with a label, but we broke the contract
with them after a year because they couldn’t release our cd or any cd at
all. During these five years we had some live appearances with bands from
our country and abroad.
2. I THINK IT’S NOT AN EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT
THERE ARE NO GREEK BANDS THAT HAVEN’T FACED ANY PROBLEMS DURING THEIR EXISTENCE
OR CAREER IF YOU PREFER… I MEAN THAT IT’S VERY DIFFICULT FOR A GREEK BAND
TO WORK ON A PROFESSIONAL BASIS AND BECOME FAMOUS ABROAD. WHY? WHICH ARE
THESE REASONS ACCORDING TO YOU?
First of all, the most important reason in
my opinion are financial problems that every band faces, you must have
a regular job so to support your band, let’s not forget that we do not
live in a country that supports new musicians especially in this kind that
our band belongs to. Secondly, we must deal with the military service problem,
by the way our bass player has joined the army a couple of months ago.
I know it sounds funny but these problems and others make it worthy after
all.
3. IF A METALLER CAME ASKING YOU TO DESCRIBE KORONZON’S
MUSIC, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL HIM? WHICH WORDS WOULD YOU CHOOSE? COULD YOU
PLEASE NAME SOME OF THE BAND’S INFLUENCES AND SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED
ALBUMS?
Anger, Rage, Pain, Strength, Thrash Death,
that’s a good description for Koronzon’s music. Influences & Bands,
Motorhead Slayer, Testament, Candlemass, Symphony X, Pantera, Sepultura.
My most beloved albums: “Painkiller”, “The Divine Wings of Tragedy”, “The
Gathering”, “Damnation and a Day”, “Into the Grave” & “You will never
see”…
4. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART IN
YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU? WHERE DO YOU NEED FURTHER IMPROVEMENT?
In our first cd the need for improvement was
obvious but now we are totally satisfied how the new cd sounds it’s exactly
how we like to play and perform. I mean I am sure in the future there will
be a progress in our music, but for now we are trying to give our best
for the people that support us.
5. WHICH ARE THE MAIN SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN YOUR 2 DEMOS? IN WHICH WAYS HAVE YOU ALTERED AND IMPROVED YOUR
SOUND? IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO CHANGE OR ADD SOMETHING NOW, WHAT WOULD
THAT BE?
Firstly, we have changed production, studio
and sound engineer that’s why the new cd sounds more heavy, fast and angry.
After that, it’s because we had stable line up for over two years so we
had the chance to be more united as a band. We don’t want to change anything,
we are satisfied with the final result.
6. YOU HAVE A SITE. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT
IT. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE INTERNET? ARE YOU FOR OR AGAINST IT? DO YOU
THINK IT’S A USEFUL TOOL THAT WILL HELP YOU BECOME EASIER AND FASTER KNOWN
TO A WIDER AUDIENCE? PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED IN 2 MAIN OPINIONS. WHERE DO YOU
THINK LIES THE TRUTH?
Unfortunately, internet is the most useful
tool nowadays that helps anyone who wants to be known to a wider audience
in short time. I think if you use it appropriately, it is very helpful
to all kinds of ways.
7. NOW TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE LYRICAL
CONTENT OF EACH SONG. WHICH THINGS INSPIRE YOU?
Our lyrics are inspired by all the battles
that man must give each day in all personal levels. Based on true thoughts
and feelings.
8. ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FEEDBACK YOU’VE GOT
THIS FAR? WHAT WAS THE BEST AND WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT YOU’VE EVER
HEARD? ARE YOU ANNOYED BY A BAD REVIEW OR DO YOU “USE” IT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE?
The feedback to our first cd was really something
we didn’t expect. We knew that it was something far less than our potential,
so we didn’t expect such good comments. We haven’t heard bad comments so
far, but the best came from a journalist who called us The ‘Testament from
Thessaloniki’. We know our weaknesses, we know our faults, so a review
which points them, helps us improve ourselves.
9. HAVE YOU SENT YOUR PROMO TO ANY LABELS? WHICH
WERE THEIR REACTIONS? ARE YOU UNDER NEGOTIATION WITH ANYONE? WHAT WOULD
YOU LIKE A RECORD LABEL TO OFFER YOU SO YOU CAN ACCEPT THE DEAL?
A strong record label is something that every
metal band dreams of. We didn’t send our new promo to any label yet but
we’ll start soon and if there are any offers we’ll choose the best of them.
10. PLAYING LIVE IN GREECE IS A HARD ISSUE. WHAT
MAKES ME ANGRY IS THE FACT THAT TICKET PRICES ARE TOO HIGH AND PEOPLE PREFER
TO SEE LIVE THE SAME BANDS AGAIN AND AGAIN. MOREOVER THEY DON’T SHOW AS
RESPECT AS THEY SHOULD TO THE GREEK METAL BANDS. WHY? DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS
FOR LIVE APPEARANCES? YOU KNOW IT’S A PITY BECAUSE I’VE SEEN YOU PLAY LIVE
AND YOU ARE A TRUE LIVE BAND…
We don’t complain about the fans so far for
our live appearances. They support us in all ways. We have plans to make
some lives during May but it’s not official yet.
11. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD
IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
Our music is a mixture of many emotions such
as hatred, anger and pain in a romantic way of course, (if you can understand
what I mean), as for the painting, you must see our artwork in our next
album (by Nick Garas).
12. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO INVITE FAMOUS MUSICIANS
TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR DEMO WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Lemmy (Motorhead) for his ‘melodic’ voice,
Tom Araya for his killing bass & Dimebag Darell (RIP) for his threading
riffs.
13. IF YOU COULD BE A FAMOUS PERSON FOR A DAY
AND HAVE A TASTE OF HIS/HER LIFE, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE AND WHY?
Personally I would like to be Lexington Steele.
As for the others they want to be just ME mouahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha………….
14. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT ELECTRICITY CEASED TO EXIST
ONE DAY…WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO METAL MUSIC AND KORONZON? DO YOU THINK METAL
COULD BE TRANSFORMED OR ALTERED AND STILL MAINTAIN ITS MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS
OR WOULD IT DIE?
I don’t think we could ever be so lucky to
see that day, but the only metal band that will survive is SoulFly for
sure. They don’t need electricity most of the times.
15. WHAT DO YOU AIM TO ACHIEVE AS A BAND? WHICH
ARE THE REASONS THAT LED YOU TO FORM A BAND OF YOUR OWN? WHAT DO YOU THINK
YOU WOULD DO IF YOU WEREN’T ABLE TO EXPRESS YOURSELVES MUSICALLY?
We play music that we like to hear as if we
are the fans, we play to express ourselves and playing that kind of music
is in fact a way to avoid taking a gun and shoot everyone till someone
shoots you down.
16. BY THE WAY THERE ARE SOME BANDS WITH A SIMILAR
MONIKER…FOR EXAMPLE THERE IS A BAND CALLED CORROSION AND ANOTHER ONE CALLED
KORRODED, ETC. WHICH ARE SIMILAR SOUNDING NAMES. DON’T YOU THINK THIS MIGHT
PROVE TO BE A PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE OR NOT?
You have forgotten to mention a band called
Choronzon from America. This name means a lot to us, we have chosen it
among thirty other names. It sounds good it is unique and has many explanations.
We still gather information about that particular demon.
17. THANK YOU! IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE
TO MENTION?
We thank you all for your support, hope to
see you in one of our lives, you are all invited in Rosemary’s baby sacrament
(don’t ask more it’s a surprise).
Christine Parastatidou
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