AEONS CONFER

• AEONS CONFER WITH THE DARK METAL THEY PLAY IN THEIR NEW DEMO - MINI CD INVITES YOU FOR A TRAVEL TO THE UNIVERSE. THIS TRAVEL WILL ALSO HELP YOU DISCOVER YOUR DEEPEST AND DARKEST EMOTIONS. ARE YOU READY FOR IGNITION?

1.FIRST OF ALL GIVE US A BRIEF BAND BIO AND NAME THE CURRENT LINE UP.

• AEONS CONFER was founded 1997 in Hamburg/Germany, by Simon and Nils. They are brothers and share the same musical visions, so they started the band to play what we by now entitle "Modern Symphonic Dark Metal". In 1999, the band did a recording of the song "A Fallacy Of Faith", which appeared on a black metal sampler called "Furor Teutonicus". Since then, the band had some line-up changes, which were mostly situated around the keyboard and 2nd guitar position. In early 2002, I (Alexander) snatched the position of the 2nd guitar player, and soon afterwards Dennis our keyboard master came along. We have a great line-up and I hope it will stay that way forever:
• Tim - Vocals
• Simon - Guitars
• Nils - Drums
• Dennis - Keyboards
• Martin - Bass,
• Alexander - Guitars
• In late 2002, we started working on our current first Demo cd, "The Soul Of The Universe". We invested alot of blood, sweat and time... and it was worth it. We are getting very good responses all over the world, and right now we try to get some gigs done and promote the name AEONS CONFER as good as possible.

2.YOU HAVE A WEIRD BAND NAME. HOW DID YOU SELECT IT AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

• We´ve chosen the name AEONS CONFER because it is supposed to reflect a kind awe-inspiring feeling for time itself. Time is an ultimate, unstoppable force according to human awareness. You can´t act against it, yet understand completly what it is.

3.YOUR MUSIC IS AMAZING AND MY CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR CD. IT'S VERY PROFESSIONAL. TELL US A FEW GENERAL THINGS ABOUT IT. WHERE WAS IT RECORDED, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU, WHO WAS THE PRODUCER? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO CHANGE?

• Thank you for the kind words about our mcd. Well, we started recording in late september 2002 I think. We actually did alot of recording in the rehearsal room, drums and some keyboards were done there. Then we took the tracks to a small studio here in Hamburg called "Klangsalon", and did guitars, bass and vocal tracks there. We didn't have any producer or engineer helping us. We did the whole production and mixing by ourselves. Mastering was done at Simon's home! He worked at a studio fulltime, so he knows how to turn the knobs to get the best results. He's really    gifted with that I think. The whole process of conceiving the mcd took us four months. All of us     have fulltime jobs and/or studies at university, so we had to work at night. Also, we had some problems with the studio schedules. We didn't need to pay for studio time, but we had to look for time when no one else was working there. Sometimes the studio was just blocked or whatever, so   we had to wait until we could get in there again. Hmm, something I would like to change ... maybe adding a little extra texture by doing some more guitar solos. We have that in the title track "The Soul Of The Universe", but I miss this aspect with the other tracks.

4.NAME SOME OF THE BANDS INFLUENCES AND SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED ALBUMS. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSICAL STYLE?

• I think "Modern Symphonic Dark Metal" does it when it comes to describing our music style. Complex songs with fast guitars and drums, majestic keyboard orchestrations and aggressive       vocals. We are for sure influenced by bands like Emperor, Sirius, Dimmu Borgir, Arcturus,         Zyklon, stuff like that. Each band member differs alot concerning personal influences, so             we take all that and try to create something new out of it. Emperor's "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk" is an album the whole band loves, as well as the Arcturus stuff. Personally, I enjoy listening to those swedish "guitar-metal" bands like Arch Enemy on "Burning Bridges" and Soilwork's "Natural Born Chaos". I love this style and the guitar solo thing.

5.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT? WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE THEM?

• I interpret the lyrics in the way that they deal with the human race being weak and ignorant. They do not see the paths that lead to many mental and physical powers, which are hidden inside of them. "The Soul of the Universe" is regarded the center of enlightment and absolute knowledge, and the lyrics describe the hard way of becoming an ultimate being.

6.ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FEEDBACK YOU GET THIS FAR? HAS ANY LABEL CONTACTED YOU YET? WHAT ARE YOU SEARCHING IN A LABEL?

• The feedback has been very good so far. I didn't really expect that much enthusiasm, and it is a great feeling to hear that peoples are into your music. We have some label interest, but I guess we will wait until we have really enough material do pick out the best songs for a full length album. I hope this one will be recorded by the end of the year, and maybe we have a label with us then. A label should believe in its bands and what they do. They should not only look on commercial      aspects, but respect that they put out music which means alot to those who created it. If the label does that, and is able to promote the band properly and distribute their release well, it is a good one.

7.HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR MUSIC IS "EASY" TO BE PLAYED LIVE? IN A FEW WORDS DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE CROWD CAN PARTICIPATE AND "UNDERSTAND" YOUR MUSIC?

• We started doing live shows this year. I don't think that the music is that easy to play live. There's so much stuff going on with the guitars, drums, keyboards. We have to be very tight, that's why we rehearse four times a week. Having the routine, it feels more comfortable going on stage and rock your ass off. Still, the music and all the techniques we incorporated is very demanding. I definetely think that the audience can easily access our music. Although we have all this technical stuff going on, we try to make song structures understandable. There's alot of melody going on, and patterns which are recognizable, so there's space for the crowd to participate.

8.WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS BAND AND YOUR MUSIC? WHICH IS YOUR BIGGEST DREAM?

• I think the main goal is to achieve musical perfection, and create songs we would consider being   perfect. And AEONS CONFER dominating the world is a good thing as well. Personally, my biggest dream would be playing in front of thousands of peoples and pulling off a guitar solo that would make Yngwie Malmsteen quit his job!!

9.WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST AND WHICH IS THE WORST PART OF YOUR MUSIC? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU NEED FURTHER IMPROVEMENT?

• Of course we need to develop as a band. If we were perfect musicians already there would be no    need to continue playing. We need to improve in the way that we incorporate all ideas of each member more adequately. We are still in the process of getting to understand each other. It is difficult to judge the music, since I'm so much entangled with it. I love the depth we have in our songs, they feel so right to my ears.

10.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A METALLER TO CONVINCE HIM TO BUY YOUR RELEASE INSTEAD OF SOMETHING ELSE?

• Hey, you already have 10 Manowar albums, it's time to try something new!

11.WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC?

• Playing video games and "Starcraft" on PC all day.

12.IF YOUR MUSIC WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

• Love.

13.LATELY MORE AND MORE BANDS ADD IN THEIR SOUND THE USE OF KEYBOARDS AND SYNTHESIZERS. WHY DO YOU DO THAT? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ADD IN YOUR MUSIC IN THIS WAY?

• Keyboards and synthesizers are great to include new and uncommon sounds in your music. You can do whatever you want with electronics, and spice things up. I think more and more bands see that opportunity. In our songs, the keyboards add those majestic textures. Dennis creates so much   atmosphere with his synth, sometimes I really believe I'd be playing with a full scale orchestra! It's amazing really.

14.YOU ARE GRANTED ONE WISH. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

• Absorb all the talents of the guitar players I adore ... hmmm, no, then I would have no fun practising anymore. Maybe an evening with Michelle Hunziker? :-) I don't know really ...

15.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?

• Hey weirdo, why did you create that blue ball over there and all those crazy humans that live on it?

16.IF YOU COULD BE A HISTORICAL PERSON FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE AND WHICH PERIOD OF HIS LIFE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?

• Leonardo da Vinci, the day he started painting the "Mona Lisa".

17.THERE IS A BLOODY AND CATASTROPHIC WAR GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN IRAQ. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US...

• Oh, that's difficult. War never is a good thing, and the Iraqi peoples are the ones who are really suffering at the moment. But, it is evident that Saddam Hussein is a dictator who ruined his own country and tortured its citizens endlessly, so it is at least a good thing to see him go. I hope that peace down there will be restored asap.

18.WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?

• "The band of the universe"!

19.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?

• Actually yes! We have a website WWW.AEONSCONFER.COM, so be sure to check it out! We offer the whole demo "The Soul Of The Universe" for free download, and that's only the       beginning! Thanks for the interview! Stay dark - Alexander

CHRISTINE PARASTATIDOY