1. Congratulations guys for the release of your 5th album! The Dawning of the Son has just been released. What is the first feedback you get for the album?
Thank you very much! We are very happy that we can finally share it with our friends because it's a child of the quarantine and we are sitting on it for a while now! All the first impressions and reviews are excellent! We are all finally coming to an agreement.. it's out best album!!
2. Please tell us more things on the making of the album including the original song ideas, the recording sessions and production.
The first ideas for the album were born even before the release of our previous album "Of fire and stars". That's why in my mind it's a continuation and completion of what we started with that album, and I mean a more melodic and more epic approach. The whole production (recordings, mixing) took place almost entirely during the global quarantine and it was certainly a different and more difficult procedure..
So for various reasons I ended recording not only the bass for the album but also all the rhythm guitars. Of course this resulted in a more consistent outcome between the original ideas and the final version of the songs. Because I write most of the songs and usually when the one that records the guitars is not the one who wrote them something is always lost in translation for good or bad!
3. The Dawning of the Son is released from the German label Boersma Records. How did you make this choice? Are you satisfied with the way the album came out?
It was simply the better offer and we are very satisfied with the release and the cooperation so far!!
4. Give us some more info on the lyrical content of the album.
Ok.. It is again a concept album (It's becoming a habit of ours) and It's based on the first three books of the "Red Rising Saga" by Pierce Brown. I was reading the books during the time I was writing the songs for the album and they somehow blended together on my mind!
I don't want to be super analytical about the plot.. anyone can find everything with a few clicks, but with a few words it's a sci-fi story placed almost 1000 in the future where humanity has evolved but has not changed. It's still a slave to its very nature and the people are divided into casts based on color, race, and birthrights.. sounds familiar right? And then inside the deepest caverns of Mars an act of unnecessary violence will be a waking call and proof that by changing one life you can change the world.
5. Do you think there are changes in the music style of the band in the new album compared with your previous releases?
Yes and no! I don't think there's a big difference from our last album, it's just better! (At least in my ears!) But in general we are more self-confident and rely on our melodies and not in a constant sonic attack and a wall of sound. Don't get me wrong, the melodies were always there and the melody is the identity of a band, their DNA if you want, but now they are the main protagonist of our songs!
6. Desert Near the End play a certain, own style of power metal mixed with thrash metal. Is there a scene in Greece at the moment in your style? How do you evaluate the Greek scene in general?
We play some sort of Power Thrash which is the music we grew up with in the 90's! I have to say that, although Greece has an extensive scene in every aspect of the heavy sound, Power Metal and Thrash metal including, there's isn't a band that sounds quite like us..!
Apart from that the metal scene in Greece is doing great and I think that the Greek underground especially in extreme metal is one of the best! I'm a bit biased of course!!
7. Which are your favorite new bands and which are your favorite classic bands?
Ok.. was ready to answer your question but suddenly I realized that that the bands I was going to mention are not "new" anymore! I suppose I don't have any favorite new bands.. I even checked with my MP3 player (yes I have one of those, I'm not talking about my phone!) Bands like Heaven shall Burn or Trivium are not new by any standard! I suppose the newest bands that I love are Atlantean kodex and Desert near the end!! (I can say this right?)
As for favorite classic bands I would say Manowar, Maiden and Metallica! But the title of my all time favorite bands and the basic reason behind my involvement with music goes to Blind Guardian and Iced Earth!
8. Which artist would you invite as a guest in a Desert Near The End album and why?
Easy! Hansi Kursch! And the reason is (apart from being a God!) That I can't think anyone else that can be aggressive, melodic and at the same time able to take you to another dimension just by the sound of his Voice! (I think I'm a fan!) For me he is the Dio of our generation!
9. What do you think of the modern ways in recording, distribution and promotion of music? Do you miss the old analogue days or you just go with the flow?
Sometimes I miss them but at the same time I realize that it made anything easier for anyone and that's a good thing, at least when it comes to the art side of music!! You can express yourself, create, record and communicate your art in good quality without the economic restrictions of past decades! Literally from your house!
But there is the catch.. sometimes I think that there are millions bands out there and they are all good! (At least they sound good!) You can't hear them all.. you can't even "check" half of them.. so much good music is destined to be ignored. And when it comes to a band unfortunately there are other things also apart from creativity, we don't live in a bubble.. we need the interaction and the feedback (not to mention the fuel that this can be to a person! And I don't mean money!) And we can't all of us have it!
10. How can we order The Dawning of the Son and any other Desert Near The End merch available? Thank you for the interview, and best of luck with The Dawning of the Son! We really enjoyed this fantastic album!
Thank you for the nice questions and we're really happy that you enjoyed our new album!
The Dawning of the Son can be purchased through the usual channels from Boersma Records and of course from us! Our bandcamp page has all our albums! Thank you again and as we always say: Follow the path across the desert!
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