Shapeshift
Shapeshift comes from Germany,
one of the biggest metal scenes in Europe and they deliver a hybrid of
progressive and nu metal. See what they answered us in the questions we
asked them and make sure you listen to their demo release.
1. Hi guys, please tell to us in a few
lines the history of Shapeshift.
Shapeshift was founded in 2002 by Jossi, Jochen
and Sebastian. The first half year of the band's existence was stamped
by the search for an appropriate rehearsal room, the whole next year by
the search for an appropriate singer, which was finally found in Bernd.
Meanwhile we released the Mini-CD "Confusedated" and played some great
gigs. At the moment we are working on new songs.
2. Could you inform us by giving us some details
on the recording sessions?
The recordings were all done by ourselves.
Sebastian was the mastermind behind the CD and did all the mixing and mastering.
Shortly after the first release he did a complete remaster of the CD to
further (and greatly) improve the sound. Most probably we will record our
next album the exact same way, because in this way we stay independent
and of course it is also much cheaper. We think, that for a totally self-made
CD the sound is quite good. And anyway: Don't listen to the sound, listen
to the songs!
3. How are the reactions so far for your demo
CD?
The reactions of the people who saw us live
and/or bought the CD are really great. We already have some really great
fans. On the other hand, the reviews are quite controversial. We really
got some bad critics already, but also really good ones. But anyhow, isn't
that what a musician wants to achieve? The people should think and discuss
about what they hear ;)
4. Can you describe your music to someone who
hasn't heard it in order to make him create a picture in his mind?
That's a question, we ask ourselves all the
time. Every new song is a big surprise for ourselves, too. But a description
which fits quite well would sound like this: hard progressive metal with
some modern influences. The best thing is to download the mp3s from www.shapeshift-music.de
and get your very own idea of what we sound like. If you like it, you can
also buy our CD for 6 € via our homepage.
5. Why did you choose this cover for your demo?
The cover typifies the title very well, this
wordplay of "confused" and "sedated". But we didn't choose it. It was the
other way round. We gave the artist Jens Reinhold ([email protected])
, a good friend of ours, the title and an early version of the songs, and
he let himself be inspired by this input. He then showed us an early version
of his work and explained his ideas, which again we liked very much.
6. Do you have any plans to support your release?
We sent it to several Webzines and Magazines,
mostly in Germany. The song "Principles" will be released on the Portuguese
Compilation "Kingdom of Glory II" under the label of Enclave Records in
some weeks (no final release date yet, more info on our homepage). And
we try to do as many live gigs as possible, because we think that's the
best way to give people a better understanding of our music.
7. Have you already played any gigs?
Yes, of course. Since the release of "Confusedated"
we played several local gigs, where the audience showed quite good reactions.
The most mentionable milestone was the support gig for Morgana Lefay in
Ingolstadt on their comeback tour in May 2005. At the moment we are working
on new material, which we will present in autumn and winter this year,
hopefully together with a full long-player CD.
8. Tell me your influences…
Our influences are very diverse. They go from
old school thrash-metal, over Dream Theater, Metallica, Nevermore and other
"classical" metal stuff, to bands like System of a Down, Porcupine Tree
or Pain of Salvation. Each one of us hears a whole lot of different styles
and music.
9. Thanks for your time and close the interview
as you want!
Well, we thank you for the interview and the
interest in our music. We will definitely let you know about any further
releases. To all the Greek metal-heads out there: We hope that sometime
we will also be playing in Greece and rock you all! Stay tuned!
Antonis Maglaras
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