From
the lands of Athens, Greece comes a highly depressive emotional
band called ON THORNS I LAY. When doing a review
on Egocentric I rated ON THORNS I LAY
as an excellent band and was up most privileged to ask them a
few questions. I was rather excited when I got a chance to interview
this incredibly talented group of individuals. These gentlemen
who have evolved and changed from their early days along from
previous albums have surely proved that they are a remarkable
noted band.
Stacie:
How long did it take to record this album, and was there any hardships
you have endured during the recording process?
Minas: The recordings took place from November 2002 until
September 2003, 10 months. However, we used to go to the recording
studio on weekends so, it didn’t actually last 10 months.
You see it’s our professions that keep us away from each
other. I live in a town far from Athens and so do Chris and Stefanos.
I am a chemist and they are chemical doctors and the only free
time for all of us is weekends. The only lucky one is Fotis who
lives in Athens and he didn’t have to travel at all. I guess
that distance was the only problem in recording of Egocentric.
Sometimes one of us couldn’t be there and some other times
we felt tired because of the traveling. As far as the music is
concerned we had everything ready and we were prepared. The only
last minute changes were made on the lyrics.
Stacie:
With a new singer for this album has it changed the band'ss reputation
or fan following?
Stefanos: There are a few disappointed fans but there
are some new ones also! The same happened with Angeldust
and the previous albums. You see, we are a band that loves changes
and many people don’t accept or are afraid of that. There
were some mails from disappointed fans, as expected, especially
from the ones that stay loyal to hard, heavy and aggressive expression
in music. I think that they don’t understand that our music
is still deeply metal no matter if we change the style. The sure
thing is that we are getting better and Egocentric
is our best work so far.
Stacie:
Are there any plans to do a tour in the near future? If so, whom
would you share the bill with?
Chris: Well, as we said before there is not much free
time left for us so we haven’t agreed upon a certain plan,
yet. We usually play with bands bigger than we are and we ‘d
like to go on doing that. We really loved playing with Katatonia
and The Gathering…
Stacie:
With the current line up, do you think ON THORNS I LAY is more
progressive than it has been in the past?
Stefanos: ON THORNS I LAY are a quartet
now. Until Angeldust Chris composed
the music and I wrote the lyrics. This didn’t happened with
Egocentric because we worked all together.
Minas and Chris worked mostly on the music but Fotis and I contributed
also especially inside the studio when we played all together.
We have more ideas now to work on and that’s what makes
our compositions more colorful than previously.
Minas: Fotis is always yelling at us because
we tend to suggest simple drum rhythms and he likes multiplicity.
I think that the golden mean is the solution we come up to and
at the same time is the best think we can do for our compositions.
Stacie:
Who are some influential bands that have contributed to the sound
of Egocentric?
Fotis: Porcupine Tree, Metallica
Stefanos: The Gathering, Anathema
Chris: Opeth, Katatonia
Minas: Staind, Alice in Chains
…:)
Stacie:
ON THORNS I LAY is a unique name, who came up with it, and is
there a significant meaning to the name?
Chris: Efthimis from the band NightFall inspired our
name! It means that we are restless cause of all these depressive
emotions that pinch us all the time. This melancholy is caused
by the way of living today and by the nostalgia for beloved memories.
There is a lot of trouble in our life and we won’t stop
singing about it.
Stacie:
With seven previously released CD’s, the band seems to keep
fairly busy. Are there any side projects?
Stafanos: Chris and I are working on a new Phlebotomy
creation. When we first created the band the name was Phlebotomy
and then it was changed to ON THORNS I LAY. We
used to play Black Metal then and that is what we want to do now…
Minas: I am working on a brand new project with
our co-producer (Panagiotis) that combines brutality and industrial
(Brutastrial). We name it Blindfold.
Stacie:
What can one expect while listening to Egocentric?
Minas: Nothing. I think that the listener needs to be
open minded and not prepared. Let them decide after they listen
to it
Stefanos: it is supposed to be a metal album
full of melody and passion. An ON THORNS I LAY
thing that is on the road created by The Gathering, Katatonia
and Opeth but still authentic. I am not sure though if its important
what we think of the album. The important is what the people receive
from our music.
Stacie:
Is your music correctly labeled when it is called depressive,
emotional melodic metal? How would you describe your music to
someone else?
Chris: Yes, it is all that. I think that these are the
characterizations that we ‘d use. But words are never enough,
are they? I mean talking for all the groups. We believe that labels
should not exist after all.
Stacie:
The album cover art, what was the concept on that and who designed
it?
Minas: We are inside an abandoned factory exploring the
ruins. The place symbolizes the empty parts of our hero’s
soul. You see, Egocentric is a concept
album. We have created a person depressed, alone and afraid who
talks about his emotions through our songs. So, we are inside
his mind and searching his forgotten memories. The pictures were
taken by Lida and Set<h’> did the artwork.
Stacie:
Any final words or thoughts?
Minas: Thanks very much for the interview! Stay cool!
Stefanos: Hope to see you soon in a gig over
there!
Chris + Fotis: Thanx. Keep asking for Egocentric!
Stacie: Thank you very much for this time. |
