Ελληνικά
Hello Knox, from Athens, Greece! Hope you’re holding on there, given these crazy times … How are things in US as we speak?
Hey there! I’m doing good considering everything… What about you?
I’m managing, thanks! Your first release – “At the Walls” – was pretty much an effort of putting up together your former demo tapes, along with a couple of extra songs. I think we‘re actually talking for your first, rather than second, record, given the fact that “Kill Grid’s” material is all in all brand new! Would you consider this album to be more professional in a way, I mean sticking to details and trying to get out the best outcome?
Yeah, actually we tried our best to do it right this time and we had a rather different approach than the one we had on our first album. It was a more conscious effort to get everything perfect. We didn’t really change the recording process though. Bob Quirk and Ricky Olson are the guys who were in the studio capturing all the sounds for us for this album too. I think the main difference with this one would be just us being focused a little bit more.
“Kill Grid” is about to be released in a week or so. Same lineup, different label though! You chose to go along with legendary Century Media. How did that come out? Are you guys satisfied so far with your collaboration?
Yeah! I mean they are great. We had a lot of help. They‘ve been a huge asset and they have been very helpful in every step along the way. Actually, they found us through bandcamp, I think in 2019 or something. So, yeah … it’s been a wonderful experience overall. We really felt a lot more comfortable going about it. Century Media has been very accommodating. They were very supportive and easy going, so it’s been a great experience overall.
How was the recording process this time? You recorded through pandemic I guess …
We recorded the album right before the pandemic started, in the US at least. So, I was finishing up the vocals by the time pandemic started. We were kind of fortunate enough to be able to do that before. Everyone went into panic mode afterwards. I would say that we did spent a lot of time on the songwriting and we really focused on getting the best possible outcome and really forced ourselves getting there. We took a lot more time in the studio and we were able to record it without any interactions. All songs are better structured than the debut album.
Apart from your well known “smart crossover” musical stamp, should we expect something even more powerful in this new album, we already caught some Slayer influence right there, isn’t that so? From were derives your inspiration anyway?
I think Slayer is always an influence for us, but I think the sound is more powerful and heavier in a way because we bought better instruments so that we can play harder, we can play fast, and we can kind of push ourselves to speed and intensity level. It’s the instruments that helped us come out with a faster and harder album. Of course bands as Demolition Hammer, Cannibal Corpse and Slayer, were always a strong influence for us.
How did you take advantage of your two – year gap between your two first albums? How profitable was this time off individually, both in a personal and musical level?
Actually we weren’t exactly off. We did a lot of touring, as much as we could, with “The Walls”, and were meeting people from the industry. Even when we were off touring we spend lots of time writing. Since “At the Walls” came out we‘ve been composing “Kill Grid” album, so we were working on this one all along.
What exactly do your lyrics mirror in the present album? Was pandemic also a source of inspiration? There’s no doubt that society changed a lot due to this phenomenon…
I wrote all lyrics before anything concerning pandemic really happened. Well I actually wrote them on winter 2019, so I was not prepared for anything like this. I mean, I wasn’t excepting this for sure. Lyrics in “Kill the Grid” album are based on how much cheaper has human life become in the past few decades or at least in the 20th century. Actually, the album talks about how expendable human life has become and how disgusting that is.
Punk, hardcore, and metal, characterizes you the most so far! Do you think you’ve already found your exact music identity as a band, or are there more to experiment with before you end up in the band’s trademark sound?
I think we are really getting close to it. In “Kill Grid” I think we did find and solidified our sound. Of course in the future there might be some musical progression here and there, but I think we did found our sound.
Are there any specific touring or concert plans?
No touring at the moment. There are some ideas going around, maybe a live stream show, but I’m not sure yet.
The floor is yours… Any special message for your fans in Greece?
Thank you all so much for listening and following the band. I hope to see you again and meet you in person one day.
Thank you too Knox!
