LUNATIC GODS
- INTERVIEW
LUNATIC
GODS is a legend in european underground, their music are a unlikely mix of
atmospheric, melodic, technic and brutal death metal, creating dozens of
climates with epic and chaotic touch. The new album “The Wilderness” are a
real test of the growth of that band and it places LUNATIC GODS in the list of
the best bands of the style, and perhaps the best revelation of the metal coming
from Slovakia. Krepuskulum interviewed Hirax (guitars).
KREPUSKULUM - The interesting name LUNATIC GODS is a good label to define the
exquisite music of the band, Who did baptize the band?
HIRAX - I have invented the moniker and the guys liked it so we kept it.
LUNATIC
GODS exist since 1993, and we already record 3 CDs, 1EP and 1split CD. Talk us
about the band history and the metal scene in your country before the communism
and now.
We came to being as BESTIALIT. Under this moniker we released a split CD with
DEHYDRATED, our half was called "Fuckland". The CD is sold out, but a
re-mastered version is now available for download on our webpage www.lunaticgods.sk,
section 'download'. The we changed the name to LUNATIC GODS, also due to the
shift in style as we switched from brutal death / grindcore to more atmospheric
and technical music. We released the following three albums: 1 - "Inhuman
and Insensible" (Polyphemus Records), 2 -
"Sitting by the Fire" (Metal Age Productions) , and the third and the
last one "The Wilderness" (Shindy Productions). Before the third one
we also had a vinyl 7" "Cuckoo". As for the communism era, we
were only starting to play then, there were worse conditions for getting round
equipment, organising shows as well as simply buying records. Mind you,
communists took metal as a western thing so
they were not happy about young people loving it. Luckily after the fall of
communism we started to build the name for EDITOR (together with the drummer
Psycho) and everything started to grow back then.
The Wilderness? is a great album with a good production, talk with us about
the record sessions and the mix process.
The album was recorded in the best Slovak studio Exponent, that is, best metal
studio. It took one week, mixing was done within one day. Mastering was done by
myself in Rebeca radio where I work. I'm stated as a producer but I owe a lot to
the sound engineers from the studio for their experience.
The cover art of the album is very curious, it remember the cover of the
first LP of canadian thrashers EXORCIST (RIP) and also the climate of zoombie
movies from Italian director George Romero. We are right?? What are the meaning
of the illustration?
Yes, EXORCIST, I had a tape back when I was young. Pretty strange music for the
time. But back to our cover. To tell the truth, we are not 100% content with the
result. The lying person pondering this world should have been larger. The
zombies are actually evil spirits talking him into doing evil. The granny is a
symbol of what happens with him if he succumbs. We always had strange covers,
but with this one we look like some cliche stuff. A lot of people bitch at us
for it.
Many of "The Wilderness" lyrics speak about the horrors of the war,
why do you decided to talk about that subject? It is curious because the lyrics
were written before the episode of World Trade Center attack...
War is one of the greatest proves of human stupidity. Humankind as a whole will
never learn, that's why we have to keep returning to these shaking proves not to
make people forget, in order to wake up love and in everyone, the fellowship
with other living beings, else the killing, doing harm, humiliation and
suffering will not stop.
In your albums you use fabulous instruments like sitars to create beautiful
and dramatic atmospheres, talk to us about the creative process behind the
LUNATIC GODS musics.
All we do comes to existence quite naturally. Such is the case also with the
sitar on our last album. Jirko Dohnal came to our radio for an interview and
when I saw and heard him playing, I knew I must get him to participate on our
album. And so it happened. Jirko prepared nothing, he didn't even know what kind
of music we play, I just told him which passages he should play. The intros were
improvised impromptu. That was no problem for him.
The famous sitar player Jirko Dohnal was only a special guest or did it
create the parts that he played in the album?
Jirko was one of several people who helped record the album. Another one was
Natanael, a didjeridoo and drumble player. He also wrote some lyrics for us and
corrected the English pronunciation, so he had to be in the studio. And the
keyboardist Lu is also stated as a guest, but at the moment she is a regular
band member and we hope she'll stay so till another album.
Two male vocalists is one of the interesting personal marks of LUNATIC GODS
music, Do you already think in include a third female voice?
We don't avoid the idea. When the band was founded, every other band had a
female vocalist and as we wanted to be different, we used clean male voice. But
maybe one say we shall also have a female singer.
This
question we liked to do the whole ones the interviewees: In your opinion what
are the best 10 albums of the metal music history and what are the 10 best metal
bands now?
I grew up with the 80-s thrash metal era. I won't list the albums, I'll just
mention some bands, so definitely old things from SLAYER, INFERNAL MAJESTY,
VIOLENT FORCE, FIRST S.O.D., TERORRIZER, DEATH, RAZOR, PILEDRIVER, POSSESSED,
WHIPLASH, DEATHROW, old school as you see. I can't of course forget new things
like EMPEROR, CRADLE OF FILTH, FLEURETY, SADIST, VADER, CRYPTOPSY...
Talk to us about LUNATIC GODS gigs? Did you play with great names like King
Diamond and Vader.
These were just solo gigs the big bands playe here in Slovakia, so we are just a
local support. We should be playing with KREATOR and EDGUY so we shall see if
this happens .
The album is divided in two parts: "Circles of Blindness" and
"The Wilderness", which is the reason for that?
It's because of the title track, which is so different from the rest of the
material, that's why we put it with the sitar intro and outro in the end and
split the album into two parts.
In our opinion "Fallen Beauty", "Mystic Way" and the
fabulous title track are the best songs of this CD. Do you agree?
Each review praises different songs, e.g. you named the slowest songs on the
album. That's why I'd say you prefer melodic metal above brutal styles, don't
you? I can't say objectively which songs are the best, but I feel the title song
"the Wilderness" is really strong and we all love it best in the band.
Thank you for the interview. Give a final message to LUNATIC GODS fans from
south america.
I also thank you a lot, be all free and fine.
-------------------------------
All
correspondence concerning LUNATIC GODS should be directed to:
LUNATIC
GODS
hirax@stonline.sk
/
www.lunaticgods.sk
c/o
Pavel "Hirax" Baricák
Jána Martáka 33
036 08 Martin 8
Slovakia
Label contact: shindy@telecom.cz
/
http://www.shindy.cz/
SHINDY
PRODUCTIONS
c/o Martin Brzobohatý
Sadová 17
Adamov
679 04
tel./fax.: 0506/446700 / mobil: 0777/666 169