Alex, PANDEMIA


1.Tell us little about bands history,who formed the band and why ,when was band formed,also where are you from?
Well, we've been playing this music since '94. First we called ourselves Suffering btu in '95 we changed the name into PANDEMIA which fits better to the music we play and the seriousness of the path we want to follow. We've recorded three demo tapes ("The Dust on the Eyes" '95, "Dance in Vicious Circle" '97, "The Message from the Death Metal Empire" '99) and in December '99 LOST DISCIPLE RECORDS from USA released our first CD entitled "Spreading The Message". Pandemia played many live shows, over 200 so far. Some of them were just separate, some of them were part of a tour or mini tour. The last big tour we did was big European tour in June/July this year with Vader, Vital Remains,. Fleshcrawl and Rebaelliun. We are coming from the Czech Republic (formerly known as Czechoslovakia).

2.The bands line up,did you changed it since beginning or are you planing to change it?
We had to change the line-up twice. First it was in November '96 when we parted the ways with our singer and then
in April '97, right after our first mini tour with Vder we kicked out our drummer as he was far from the maniac we need to play this music, to spread this death metal message. The current line-up is: Alex - guitars, Jarda - bass, Tom - drums, Michal - vocals.

3.Who gave the name to the band,and did you changed name since early beginnings?
It was our first singer's idea to call the band as PANDEMIA. He brought a lyric called like that and we decided that this is the right name for the band, better than Suffering. Besides that there was already a Norwegian band called like that, so we had to change the name anyway.

4.Can you describe your music and compare it to some similar bands?
I don't know what our music sounds like. It definitely is Death Metal with some influences of the bigger bands of this style. It's better to listen to it and make an opinion yourself. I'll just say we live for this music and it means to us more than a stupid hobby, it's our lifestyle and we would die for Death Metal, so strong we love this music. I hope you can feel this from our music.

5.What is your favorite band?
Morbid Angel, Psychotic Waltz, Dream Theater, Luciferion, Malevolent Creation, Vader... There are many bands I really like. What I prefer is that the music must include something more, not just a perfect instrumentality or sound but also a special feeling, something more profound making it far from the averige stuff you can find.

6.Who writes the lyrics and can you describe them?
It's all our singer's work. He is taking the inspiration from many sources, but especially from his dreams and experiences of his life. These lyrics don't contain the frequent themes like death, gore, killing... They are more abstract with a message that you can find reading between the lines. Everyone who is interested in knowing more of our lyrics should check out our website at: www.pandemia.cz     

7.How many times did you played live,do you have some special act when you are on stage,and what was you best concert?
Yeah, we have our own specific show with an intense headbanging and we all are wearing black. Every live show is kind of a ritual for us and we always give our best from us. It's a death Metal show the way it's meant to be. Concerning the best gig I would pick up the show we played in Minsk (Belarus) where we played one date of the June tour . That was really cool, about 800 people and all crazy to hear Metal! That was just great.

8.Can you tell us little about your local underground scean?
The scene isn't as strong as it would seem to be. It's true that there are many bands playing here, most of them are in the Grindcore vein, which I don't prefer that much. Some good Metal bands are: Root, Krabathor, Hypnos, Fleshless, Godless Truth, Arakain... Also, there are a few really good labels like Obscene prod., Shindy prod., Leviathan recs, Redblack prod., Epidemie recs... and some good magazines like: Payo, Morphia, In Deed Hell, Parambucha, Unblemished...

9.Your discography and can you tell us something about your latest material,is it deferent than the old one?
Of course our music has changed during the years. The songs are better composed, even the instrumantality is better than in the beginings. The music has especially changed in the variety, the songs are faster and more intense. Now we are working on the new songs for the upcoming album and they are again one step further. We want to develop our music as much as possible and we are working on it.

10.What do you think about death metal from the 80's and 90's,which and which one is by your opinion batter?
I like both the 80's and 90's as well. Bands from the 80's have some special feeling, specially due to recording in analog atudios and working more with the animal power in the songs. On the other hand, bands from 90's are sounding much stronger, the sound has developed a lot and their skills are also really high. As I said I like both and we are taking inspiration from all the Death Metal history.

11.Plans for the future?
To play as many live shows as possible and to prepare our new songs till the end of summer next year. We also plan, hopefully, to come over USA to promote the album. We will see, the main thing is that we will keep up playing this deadly music and we shall spread the message about true and pure Death Metal.

12.Say something for the end?
I hope we will meet some of the Yugoslavian Metal heads soon. If there is anybody ready to organize some shows for, just get in touch. Anyway, thanx for this interview and keep supporting the true music. Death Metal forever!!!

13.Your Contac info:
Alex Marek
Lesni 7
350 02 Cheb
Czech Republic,

E-mail: alexpandemia@hotmail.com    
Web site : www.pandemia.cz