VOICES
OF SILENCE
VOICES OF SILENCE ARE VERY
INTERESTING POWER METAL BAND. THOUGH THE HAVE TO FACE GREAT OBSTACLES,
MANAGED TO RELEASE A VERY INTERESTING ALBUM THAS HAS NOTHING TO ENVY FROM
OTHER RELEASES OF MAINSTREAM METAL BANDS. NOW IT IS YOUR CHANCE TO DISCOVER
THEM AND YOU CAN MAKE A START WITH THIS INTERVIEW...
1.FIRST OF ALL POINT OUT THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY. WHICH IS THE CURRENT LINE UP?
The current and final lineup is:
Varga "Bandi" Andras-lead vocals, Vincze "Slowhair" Szabolcs - guitars,
Esztergar "Lo" Zoltan - bass, Gindele "Gabica" Gabor - drums, and myself,
Ercsey "Boozoo" Feri. I said that it's the final lineup, because I just
can't imagine myself playing with other guys, and this is absolutely mutual.
I don't think that there is such a thing as a "most significant moment"
in the band's history. You have to work all the time, pay equal attention
to everything. Every detail is important, every show is a great occasion
to show what you can do, no matter if the audience is large or not.
2.WHY DID YOU NAME THE BAND THIS WAY?
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST WITH IT? DON’T YOU THINK THAT THE BAND NAME
SHOULD BE SOMEHOW AN INDICATOR OF THE MUSIC?
There was a time, - in '95 I think
- when we were thinking really hard, howw too name the band. We definitely
didn't want something wild and bloody, like most bands do, instead we were
looking for a name that would define the contradiction between power and
sensibility that can be heard in our music, and in the same time is kinda
misterious. I think it is an indicator for our style, but not a direct
one. I really wouldn't like to have some kind of "label" on my album cover,
to let everybody know everything. I think one must never tell everything
at first. Let people discover you slowly, get something new with every
song. Of course, things must be coherent, but every song, the details of
the cover, the band name, a.s.o. must cast a different light on who you
are, and what do you think of the world we're living in.
3.I HAVE NOTICED IN THE SONG “THUNDERGROUND”
SOME CLASSIC AND FOLK ELEMENTS. DO YOU LIKE SUCH MUSIC? ARE YOU THINKING
OF EXPLORING IT SOME MORE PERHAPS IN THE FUTURE?
Oh, yes, I am studying classic
music at the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy, and I love to combine classical
elements with power metal. The folk thing just happened to fit there in
the song. We were working with the solo parts, and I just began to improvise
with that theme. It ended up as you can hear it. Of course, I'd like to
explore the classical domain, but in Romania we really don't have the means
to do that as it should be done. For example, I lead a student's choir
in my town, and I could easily compose songs with choral parts, but there
is always the question of the technological background. I don't think
that in romania any underground band can afford to do a show with a choir,
or a symphonic orchestra. It's way too expensive for us, and I'm kinda
frustrated because of this. Well, maybe once, ....
4.HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
NAME SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED BANDS AND WHICH ALBUMS CAN BE FOUND AMONG
YOUR INFLUENCES?
Well, we used to say, that it'
progressive power metal with symphonic elements, but I think we have songs
that don't fit in this "box". We never try to respect some stilistic elements,
or something like that, we just play whatever that sounds in our heads,
and that's all. Our main influence is Savatage. This is like some alpha
and omega for us. But we also listen a lot of proggresive music, Dream
Theater, Shadow Gallery, Royal Hunt, Iced Earth and some classic heavy/speed/thrash
metal, like Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, Black Sabbath, a.s.o, and of course
classical music.
5.TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT YOUR ALBUM
THAT IS ABOUT TO BE RELEASED SOON. WHO WAS THE PRODUCER, HOW LONG DID IT
TAKE YOU, WHERE WAS IT RECORDED? ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH IT OR IS
THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
In matters of sound, I think this
is the best one can do right now in Romania. We had a damn good sound engineer,
Vegh Oliver, we worked in the best studio this country has: Glas Transilvan,
the producer was Nelu Brandusan, from PROMUSIC Productions. We spent more
than 100 hours in the studio. If you're asking about my opinion, well,
I really don't know what to say. Right now my head is so full with it,
I can't say anything. I like the way it sounds, I love the songs (since
they're mine...)... Maybe after 3 or 4 months I'll hear things differently,
but right now I can't tell you.
6.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
FROM WHICH FIELDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION? ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF REAL
LIFE STORIES OR IMAGINARY SITUATIONS?
They're all real life stories,
or questions I used to put to myself. For instance, once I spoke to an
american journalist, who tried to convince me, that globalization is the
best thing in the world. Well, I'm not saying that it's the worst, I'm
neither for it, nor against, but I still have some unanswered questions.
This is what "New Fate" is about. Or, to give you another example, once
it happened to have a fight with some friends (nothing serious), and I
really wanted to talk to someone who would understand me, but nobody was
around. I went home, and wrote "Seeds". "Garden Of My Pains" and "The Jester's
Requiem" are also from my personal experiences. "Run" is about war, the
way the victims see it. I was thinking about Chechenia. There's an ancient
culture, which is deliberately destroyed by the russian army, and nobody
cares, because the chechens don't have oil, they're not in Europe, and
they are not christians. In the Rwanda civil war more than 400000 people
died, and nobody gave a damn. "Splendour" and "Flower Of Smile" are obviously
love songs, Tomorow is a second part for "5319 Today", a song on our first
EP. It's about the way this world seems to be, and the direction we took,
and still keep. It's full with melodic quotes from Beethoven's 5th symphony.
7.HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS? CAN
YOU SHARE SOME OF YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH US?
One of our greatest shows was the
one we did in the summer of '99 at the seaside, in Costinesti. It was a
huge open air scene, with unbelievable lights and a fantastic sound. There
was a giant volume, and the crowd was great. We did many shows , especially
in 2000 and 2001. Last year (2002) we were focusing more on the recordings.
8.WHICH IS THE BIGGEST DREAM YOU WANT
TO MAKE TRUE THROUGH YOUR MUSIC? HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?
I'd like to make the music that
sounds in my head. This is the only thing I really care for. I don't care
if there are three people in the audience or 30000, if I manage to give
them something of what is me, I am more than satified. I'm not looking
for money or fame, since I'm a happy man. I have my job, my vocation, my
love, my band, my faith, my music, my present and my future, and I just
couldn't ask for more.
9.WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST AND
WHICH IS THE WORST PART IN YOUR MUSIC? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU NEED
FURTHER IMPROVEMENT?
I definitely need to improve my
technique. I'm not a good piano player, I'm not into scales and figures,
I just play what I hear with that inner ear, which is tha main instrument
for every composer. The best is, I think that I have the theoretical training
to do a good job anyway: I know the rules of harmony , counterpoint, orchestration,
and the other things that are necessary for me, to do my part in an original
way.
10.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A METALLER
TO CONVINCE HIM BUY YOUR CD INSTEAD OF ANOTHER RELEASE?
Good question. I really don't know:
I'm not into the advertising business, to say the least. I guess, I'd invite
him to a show...
11.HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR A BAND FROM
ROMANIA TO STAND OUT AMONG THE OTHER BANDS? I MEAN THE METAL SCENE THERE
IS NOT THAT BIG. ARE THERE ANY OTHER GOOD BANDS YOU COULD POINT OUT FOR
US?
There are many gifted musicians,
but given the harsh conditions, very few of them really make it to their
first album. I remember, the first two years , when if we went to a show,
we payed everything: our transportation, our food/beers, hotelrooms, but
we took it as a hobby, we didn't quit (as many bands do), and slowly we
became enough important to get serious offers from serious people. Of course,
many bands don't make it, and the struggle is hard. Still there' s a good
atmosphere between members of different bands. We normally (with a few
exceptions) like each other, and when we're going to a major festival,
I'm eager to meet those guys. The bands you should cast an eye on, in my
opinion, would be: Psycho Symphony ( a strong mixture of Voivod/Coroner/Psychotic
Waltz + a great deal of originality !!!), Indian Fall (strange kind of
black metal with lots of easy moments ) Hathor ( best in black metal),
Taine (100% death) Acvila (best newcomers , alternative rock with a GREAT
female voice), Interitus Dei (Nightwish-like music), and maybe Trooper
(heavy metal, Maiden/Priest style, good instrumental parts).
12.YOU ARE GRANTED ONE WISH. WHAT WOULD
YOU LIKE TO CHANGE IN THE WORLD?
I'd like to change the direction
we took in everything. I think we're heading for disaster and a total collapse
in everything: economy, politics, culture, technology, a.s.o. We replaced
with money everything we had valueable, and we're giving up everythig with
increasing speed. Very soon nothing else will matter, but money,
and we'll not be able to face that, and still be human. Yet I think, we're
not supposed to change things by wishes. It's in our destination
to struggle against things, even against our own nature.
13.IF SUDDENLY ELECTRICITY CEASED TO
EXIST WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN TO HEAVY METAL MUSIC? WOULD IT BE
FORGOTTEN OR TRANSFORMED?
It wouldn't be heavy metal anymore,
but we'd soon find a way to create something similar, without electricity.
I think the attitude is more important than the sound.
14.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE
CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?
He's not a creature. I don't know
if I could ask Him anything. I would feel too small, too dirty, and insignificant.
15.IF YOUR MUSIC WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE?
The one emotion you can only feel
standing face to face to God. Listen to J.S.Bach's g minor fantasy and
fugue, or the last part from Rossini's Stabat Mater, and you'll know what
I mean.
16.WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW
TO HAVE?
"Thunder from the underground"
(?)
17.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
Thanks for your questions.
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