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 EMBRACED BY THE TWILIGHT AND SHADES OF GRIEFShattered Hope is one of the most promising newcomers in this year, thus is their debut release which was reviewed by highest grade (10/10) on our web-zine, and considered as something which won’t be forgotten for a long period of time. With one of the main members, Thanos (guitarist), I’ve spooked about creation of Shattered Hope, current situation and crisis in Greece, and many other things related and non-related to music. Big thanks to Thanos for giving us possibility to have an interview with him. I hope we’ll meet again when opportunity arises.
Your debut is released, how are your impressions as you holding your first album in your hands? Unprecedented impressions I would say Vladimir, if you consider that it’s our first full length album. We are always excited when we release something new (demos, promos etc.) but the release of an album is quiet different. We worked a lot on this stuff and wanted to achieve the best result that we could. Finally, I think we made it and we are very satisfied of the sound and shape that the songs are listened. In “Absence” new and a few old songs, recorded on a little bit different way from what they used to sound, are included. We wanted to be sure that the music of the album wouldn’t be boring or uncompleted, so we rehearsed many times each one of the songs and performed them live too a couple of times. When we thought that all the songs had their final “shape” as we wanted it we entered the studio to record them. Quiet slow and long process but I think it deserved all this anticipating. How formation of Shattered Hope came along, can you share with us, who were the main wheels that started the whole story of this band? About 7 – 8 years ago, if I remember well-enough on July 2002, me, George (drums) and two other friends, Pete on bass and George on the other guitar, decided to make a band and compose music on the atmospheric doom /death way. However, George (guitar) didn’t stay a long time in the band and after many line-up changes (quiet difficult to play doom in Greece hehe!!) we began composing our own tracks about 2 years later. Up to then we were only performing some covers on bands like Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Saturnus, My Dying Bride, Anathema etc. and working on some ideas only. That was the time that Sakis and Nick joined us with another friend on guitar named Nontas. Under this stabilized, finally, line-up (me, Pete, George, Nontans, Nick and Sakis) we recorded our first demo named “A View Of Grief” on 2005. Some time passed and Nontas left the band, Sakis replaced his position on guitar and left keyboards for Eygenia who joined us. Under this line-up we recorded “Promo 2007” and some months later Pete left also the band. Vassilis came to the band for some months and later bass was replaced from Thanasis. This is the line-up that we still have and with which we recorded “Absence”. Many changes and hard to find the appropriate members as doom is not so popular. How much hard was for you to create this album, is sounds very hard, fully emotional and complex? Did you spend much of time during writing and recording process? As I told you before, we spent many hours rehearsing, changing and re-composing the songs. Some of them more and some other less. Everyone gets impressed on a new song but you always have to check it many times until you can be sure that sounds as you really want to. Two of the songs that are included in “Absence” are old and are included in our demo and promo but they sound different on the album as we changed them, because after many rehearsals we decided that they didn’t sound as we wanted to. This is an example of how the album took its final shape. Checking every single riff, every word of the lyrics until the final emotion is achieved. Lyrics are strong, as I can feel from my point of view, but how about you? What inspired you for the lyrics, how much of your personal lives turmoil can be noticed in lyrical concept of your album? Well I’m not the right person to talk about the lyrics as Nick writes them. I used to write them only on our first demo. From that time and on, I’m confined only to a few song titles or nothing at all. But from my point of view, I think lyrics are emotional and dark. Not always positive or negative, depends on how everyone reads them. Actually, every different person “translates” lyrics on his way. Reads and sees something from his personal experience, life, thoughts, feelings etc. whether if it is something positive or negative. So I think that you’re right as my personal live turmoil can be reflected on some parts of the lyrics and that’s the way I think Nick writes the lyrics, from his personal experiences. Always his writing is inner and strong and he knows how to use it. Something that I think is the appropriate way for this kind of music. This time around Greece has much of the inner problems on economical basis, how that reflects on your life, and how hard is hitting on young people in Greece? It sucks!!! Things over here are getting really hard. The more time passes the worse everything turns on. The economical crisis is huge in Greece and the number of unemployed people every year bumps up. Really difficult times, every week demonstrations of unemployed people or the ones whose salary was brought down to cover up the incomprehensiveness but the governmental responsible for this don’t change their tactics, that lead the country to the depth despair and destruction. This is how reflects on my life and how is hitting on young people. We see no light on the end of the tunnel and we have to pay country’s debt with an income that is brought down and outgoings that are growing. It sucks!! What’s the musical education of band members, it’s visible that music you provide has much of experienced tonality and arrangements that are technically demanding? Our musical education is not as advanced as you think ha-ha!! We have some basal musical knowledge but what you listen is basically a result of our experience. None of us has a musical certificate. Our experience of playing music since we were thirteen or fourteen years old made this experienced tonality and the technically demanding arrangements. About your music, I noticed that pretty much of your sound on this album is somehow related to ’96 – ’97 era of metal, when in those times, many of death and black metal bands mixed their styles with gothic and doom influences, that’s also visible in your approach, what you can say about that, even production, from my point of your touches that nineties times. For sure the ‘90s metal music has influenced us a lot. Especially the British scene on the beginning of the decade with the trinity of Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. Really difficult to play doom/death and avoid them ha-ha!! I don’t think that we have any gothic influence, but this is just my subjective opinion. About the production you’re right too. It was our goal to touch a production style that our beloved bands used to have. We like how their albums are sounded (not all of them, some productions are impossibly bad) and brought some albums to the producers to take a taste on how we wanted our album to sound. So, by and large, we achieved it. Your main instrumental focus on the album is lying in piano…while guitar haven’t so accented role, what’s your statement upon that? I agree and disagree too. Usually every song is composed firstly by the guitars and when the guitars are ready all the other instruments write down their parts. Keyboards are the last ones, by this way their parts are not insipidly and they write only inspired parts, where these are needed. From this point of view I wouldn’t say that we focus on the piano. But sometimes we let the keyboards to have a more leading role, by letting them play some more emotional piano parts for example. By this point of view I think you’re right and we focus on the piano. Depends always on every part. Eygenia knows where to write her parts or not to play a single note, she has an absolute esthesia of the whole music. How much you playing live in Greece, and how strong local fan base you have? Our first gig was on 2004, so it’s been six years that we play live here. In the beginning, as happens to every band I guess, only friends supported us, until we started to play more and more lives and people learned about us. The fact that the last 2 years we have shared the stage with well-known bands (Mourning Beloveth, Saturnus, My Dying Bride etc.) in Greece, helped us a lot and this is the fact that made a local fan base around us. We try to grow over and over this base by playing more and more live gigs and performing as better as we can. Also, how much is vital Greek metal scene? The Greek metal scene is really vital. There are many bands, especially in Athens and Thessalonica. Some of them are really great and some other contemptible. Most popular of all the Greek metal bands are Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh. The problem here is that the crowd doesn’t listen or support the small bands and many times they criticize them on a really bad way, something that clips the wings of these bands. Only the big names are supported here and that’s a shame because some bands have great music to offer!! How you reacted on deaths of Peter Steele, Ronnie James Dio and Debbie Abono? About Peter Steele I checked firstly if it was true this time. I had seen live Type O Negative three years ago in Athens. Nice gig. He was a great front-man, unique. A sad loss. I don’t think that I have to say something about Dio, great loss!! The best singer of heavy metal scene. I have listened (and I still do) hundreds of times his albums, the ones he made on his solo career and the ones he made with Black Sabbath. A great figure and performer!! About Debbie Abono, I never was an Exodus big fan and didn’t know actually that she died. May all of them rest in peace!!  What you think of Joey Belladona’s return to Anthrax, and do you attending to see ‘’Big Four’’ during this summer, anywhere on ‘’Sonisphere’’ traveling ‘’circus’’? Well Anthrax is a great thrash band!! I had seen them in Athens on 2005 if I’mright and they had blown me away!! Powerful performance!! It’s really nice to see their former singer back on stage with them. Sonisphere will travel to Athens on June 24th but I don’t know if I’ll attend. Have seen live Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. I’m not into thrash so much anymore. For sure I can say that Slayer and Anthrax are awesome on stage. True and anti-social he-he!! Have you heard of any Serbian, or ex-Yugoslavian metal or rock bands? No, I’m afraid I haven’t .I don’t know much about your scene. I onlyknowabout a great fest that takes place (or it used to) somewhere near Belgrade, called Castle fest if I’m right. What have mainly motivated members of Shattered Hope to becomemusicians? Our passions to create I guess. It’s brilliant to create every form of art, and especially music is something unique. Turn feelings into music and save themon every note. Our beloved bands and artists influenced us, some more and some less, and inspired us to draw round together and create our own music. What’s the range of ages in the band? There is a variable of ages. From 24 to 29 years old. At least not a big difference!! Besides music, what else you’re doing in your life? Studying, working, or both of them. Also concerned on other kinds of art too, but not something special. Music and the band is one of our main priorities. What’s next for the Shattered Hope, any plans, live gigs, recording of new album? At the moment we are confirmed for the second edition of Dublin Doom Day. You can check it here: http://www.myspace.com/dublindoomday It’s a great doom fest and this year’s line-up is really interesting, so I suggest to everyone who is into doom to attend. The only confirmed gig up to now is this one. Also, we are in search of label to release the album and we compose some new stuff. That would be all for this interview, thanks for your time. Last words areyours. Thanks a lot for the interview and your interest Vladimir!! It was really nice to have this small talk. Everyone who is interested into doom can check us at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/shatteredhopegr Or at our website: http://www.shatteredhope.gr/ Or contact us via e-mail: shattered_hope_@hotmail.com Everyone can download our first demo “A View OF Grief” and “Promo 2007” for free on this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/notes/shattered-hope/free-downloads/424265249965 DOOM ON!! Answers by Thanos |
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