To start I
will ask you the worst question: what does your name stands for? I know what is
"grief" and what is "emerald", but your meaning?!
I think the
band name sucks ... It goes back long ago before I joined ... They were called
Emerald then ... I suggested a name change but they wanted to keep Emerald in
the name, so it turned out to be GRIEF OF EMERALD… We were thinking of maybe
changing the name after the "Nightspawn" album to NIGHTSPAWN but
after some conversations with our label we decided to keep the name …I don't
think the name is that important anymore, it's better to have a good reputation
than a good band name.
I think you
are a rather young band and you have a great future. You surely want to become
first on metal scene or maybe famous?
Well new… We
have been around since 95 but due some problems with another label we got
delayed and stuff like that; it wasn't before we signed with Listenable recs.
things started to happen. Well I think it's important to stick out a little
bit… It doesn't help if you are the best band in the world people must notice
you too. I would like being famous…
Do you want
to be considered as shocking and abrupt band?
Yes, but for
our music and for the fact that we are a good live band... Nothing else … Let
us talk about "Malformed Seed". What style we can find in there? I am
not sure, but sympho-black (with a few elements of death and doom metal
sometimes). How do you consider this album? I think it's a good (better) follow
up of our previous work ("Nightspawn") but this is maybe a more
mature album... We have grown since last …A better production and a little bit
more heavy approach… the styles you can find on this album are maybe something
like: MORBID ANGEL meets SAMAEL, DIMMU BORGIR… I don't know, you tell me.
For this
reason I would like to know your attitude about different styles such as: doom,
gothic, black, death metal, neo-symtho-black-death…
Brutal music
that is good… That's what I like… I'm always open minded when it comes to
music… I always listen to the music before I decide if I like it or not... I
have to say that sometimes I judge before I've listened but if I'm wrong I'm
man enough to say so… Even if it hurts, haha. I think you can find a lot of
influences in al kind of music…
How about
live shows? Where have you played your latest stuff?
Well we have
been in South of France, Belgium, Holland, Germany to promote the new CD… We
are maybe going to Finland in august for a festival and to Germany for the
Partysan Open Air along with THE CROWN, MARDUK, AMON AMARTH etc… The summer
looks kind of weak for us, but in the same time that's good because then we can
finish the new album… We already have 75 % ready to record… I will do the
recording next time to and we will use a REALLY big studio 53 channels!!! It's
going to be massive I can promise you that…
Do not you
know why people listened to extreme music? What is so attractive in brutal
tunes?
It's maybe
like drugs… You start soft and then you want it harder and harder… After that
you can't go back… I think many people can identify with the brutal tunes and
what they feel…
How do you
think: what is underground now? What is his role for metal music?
I don't
know really nowadays the underground is... I remember when the underground was
big… Hell, we could have started a war. People all over the world were
connected like brothers. I think the underground have made this music style
this big (as it actually is) without it the scene would be dead and forgotten
years ago… Hell, look at punk rock, maybe not so big but it's still alive and
that is all thanx to the underground… As long there is some money involved
companies will release albums… And why is there any money involved??? Thanx to
the underground!!!
How does it
go with Swedish metal scene, by your mind? Is it stronger than ever, or maybe
something is wrong?
We have some
good bands but the scene sucks or at least did… If you play at a gig there will
show up 30-50 people maybe in best cases 100… If there isn't a big band like
CANNIBAL CORPSE or something then there will show up some more…
Who is the
best on your metal scene for the moment?
Don't
know…GRIEF OF EMERALD!!! Hahaha… I like MUTANT and THEORY IN PRACTICE a lot… Hell,
they rule, great musicians…
Do you know
the reason of extreme music popularity in your country? So many brutal bands
was born in this land…
I don't know…
Really, many freaks!!! Hahaha… is there so many nowadays?? Maybe there is… I
don't have a clue actually... Inbreed??
Simple one:
What you like and what you hate?
I like
playing music, record music, playing live… Hate: Christianity, false people
that don't have the guts to say what they think straight in your face…
Some bands
pay much more attention to the religion than to the music. This orientation is
worthy of it?
I pay more
attention to the music… That's all I can say...
Maybe
Satanism gives needful aggression to black metal bands?
Yes I think
so… Sometimes but there isn't many bands that sing about Satanism, there are
mostly so called "self-styled Satanists" that think: Well I hate
Christians so well I'm a Satanist… You can hate a religion without being a
Satanist... Atheist maybe… But that doesn't sound so cool compared with
Satanist…
What is your
religion? Any comments?
No religion,
no comment
And will you
comment on the song called Nightstalker (pentagram warrior)? I mean pentagram
is not an ordinary sign…
IT'S A
TRAFFIC SIGN!!!! Hahaha…well the song is about a serial killer called Richard
Ramirez, I wrote the lyric after reading a biography of him… and he carved
pentagrams everywhere with his knife… I think you know a 5-pointed star with a
circle around… Hehehe.
A question
about girlz in metal... Does woman attract new fans for the band? Do you like
any band with female vocals?
If they are
nude they do! Why is there so little nudity on stage?? I think recruit a woman
that sings naked… What do you think? Hell, we don't even have to turn on her
microphone, hahaha... Now seriously, I think many times the female voice adds a
really great atmospheric feeling to the music… Maybe CDs with sexy girls on the
cover are more commercially successful? Sometimes, well I mean I know I pick up
a CD with a sexy girl on it …at least to watch the cover, and then that CD
automatically have got a little bit more attention than the others. Final words
or a message to your Belarussian and Russian fans, please… Hail the metal
troops around... Would like to play in your area. Thanx for the interview and
make sure to check out the "Malformed Seed" album, it slice and slay!
Hey! Do you know anything about Belarus? Not a damn shit! Do you know anything
about Uddevalla? Hehehe…