Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Interview with Grailight prod.done by patrick.

hails!!!
here is a new interview with the russian based label grailight prod. this is a new label but i have been lucky enough to hear some of the mentioned releases.and let me tell you they are HIGH QUALITY if you are a fan of atmospheric black,death,some doom or folkish metal.then this is a label you must check out!!!
as always thanks to everyone who stops by and comments,cudo's or emails,etc the support is over-whelming and i thank you!!!!
best regards,
patrick and winter torment web-zine
http://www.wintertorment.com

interview with demether g, owner of grailight prod.and vocalist for the bands arcane grail,and skylord done by patrick

1.hello Demether, how is your weekend been going? please tell the readers a little about yourself.
Hi, Patrick!) Holidays pass off not bad. I have a rest at home, it is rare I have such happens - usually holidays few, always any business, for my own bands, a label, daily work (which connected with music directly too) - a free time few. About itself? Well, I’m the Russian metal-musician and, so to say, the figure) Singer in bands Arcane Grail and Skylord, I supervise over label Grailight Productions, I am engaged in journalistic activity for a site www.heavymusic.ru.

2.when did you first start listening to metal? who were some of the first bands you heard? who are some of your "current" favorite bands?
I have started to listen to metal in 16 years old. The first heard groups were Rammstein, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Manowar, Helloween. First I listened only power metal and thrash metal, but have a year later I heard black and doom and have fallen in love with these styles much more. In any case, I have usual favorites: Therion, Cradle of Filth, Rhapsody, Kind Diamond, Bal-Sagoth, My Dying Bride, Cannibal Corpse.

3.what gave you the idea to create Grailight prod.? how did you come up with the name for the label? are you happy with how things are progressing so far?
I have a desire to create a label during last several years, despite of gradual and all greater decline of all of it all over the world and especially in Russia. Well here simply it would be desirable also at all. And in this year I have ripened, so to say. I have thought up the name almost instantly, it very much is pleasant to me - it simply superb, in my opinion. Magnificent Russian artist Pablo the Elephant has created a magnificent logotype. Master Alexander Mayhem Gluhov has created the most beautiful myspace-site for my label. All meshes is very class, in my opinion! Business goes on not bad on the one hand, though sales, certainly, are strongly insignificant and from the other hand all stands on pure enthusiasm and patronage of arts...

4.i know you already have released quite a few great band. can you please tell the readers a little about your releases?
For half a year I have released already 9 releases. The Ukrainian command Letargia, playing atmospheric doomish melodic death, Belarus dark-black metalheads Aeon Noctis. Muscovites Astel Oscora, playing most beautiful atmospheric black. Band Torsense, combining brutal death. melodic death, sympho black, brightest melodies, growling and female mezzo soprano. Innovators Ruthless Order, my oldest friends, playing a mixture a hard-rock and melodic death (yes!) with a touch of progressive-metal. Opening of year in the world, as I consider, Belarus pagan melodic death Drygva. Crude but very powerful and competent sympho black from Neron Kaisar. Very beautiful sympho-gothic metal from Ukrainians Mizantropia with unbelievable smart female vocal. Well and the last while - cult Moscow sympho blacksters Stigmatic Chorus with new 4-th album on which I and my vocalist from Arcane Grail Natalie have sung.

5.besides your "current" releases are u planning to release more bands/releases in the near future? if yes please tell us about them band/release names, release dates{if they are set} and any info you think the readers should know.
Yes, certainly, I plan to continue further activity of a label and to release out even more releases.
Precise plans while such: debut of Portuguese gothic-blacksters Darkside of Innocence, debut of my second band Skylord, debuts of Russian sympho-black metal Artania and Twilight.
Also I can preliminary tell, that releases Arcanorum Astrum, Atoll Nerat, Atra Mustum, Epitimia, Black October are possible - all is beautiful extreme metal from Russia. And it is not all… Quite probably, these releases will be issued all in this year!

6.are you currently looking to "sign" any more new bands? what do you look for when "signing" bands? also if any bands or labels are reading this what styles of metal do you trade for//carry in the Grailight distro?
I look for new groups for a label by myself, because I know sympho-blackish and an adjacent scene very well, and it is the extremely complex to surprise me with any unknown to me already band. Main my criteria - beautiful music, availability of an extreme vocal, desirable powerful qualitative record and beautiful professional registration. Popularity of band is not important at the moment of signing the contract. Anyway I prefer sympho-black on the first seat, melodic death with keys, pagan metal with elements of symphonies, sympho-doom.

7.what do you feel is the easiest and the hardest part about running a label? do you have any advice for anyone who might be thinking of starting up a label?
Yes, undoubtedly I consulted with the senior counterparts on a common cause, considering, that I am personally familiar with all labels in Moscow. And about most easy way - to not despond, continue to work despite of everything, and to do all in the promised timeframes, precisely and responsibly, to not deceive the band and distributors.

8.besides running Grailight productions, you are also the vocalist for the bands "Arcane Grail" and "Skylord". When did you form/join these bands? What releases do the bands have available? for the readers who have never heard these two bands how would you describe their music?
Yes, first of all I’m the metal-vocalist in bands ARCANE GRAIL and SKYLORD. I have based ARCANE GRAIL in 2001 year, we play Symphonic Extreme Metal Art, with screaming, growling and a female soprano. We have released two albums "Mysteries of the Ancient Charnel" (2006) and "Arya Marga – The Ninefold Path to the Innocence" (2009) on Moscow label Musica Production. Also, the second album is available on ITunes. To listen to us it is possible here – www.myspace.com/arcanegrail
In SKYLORD I have come to sing in 2008 year, we now record our debut album. We play very high-speed and very beautiful sympho-black metal with elements of melodic-death and power metal. Wait!

9.when did you become interested in singing? who are some of your influences/favorite vocalist?
Beside of that I have learned in musical school in the childhood on class of baritone (instrument) and drums, when I started to listen to the metal I was liked very much in extreme singing and decided to sing, not play on some instrument. My favourite vocalists in metal are: Kind Diamond, Dani Filth, Fabio Lione, Alexi Laiho, Mille Petrozza, George Fisher.

10.do you do anything special to keep your throat/voice healthy? what other instruments do you play?
I have learned with jazz-vocal teacher, but, unfortunately, enough less. Undoubtedly, I have been rehearsing at home promptly; I don’t smoke and drink alcohol. Maybe, few beers sometimes:) I don’t play other instruments nowadays, on piano and drums a very little more.

11.you live in the mighty country of Russia. it seems like Russia has a fairly strong metal scene would you agree? what is your opinion of Russia's metal scene?
In Russia, in the last five years, the dawn of metal has begun at last. There were enough very decent studios owing to which now it is easy to record at the European level. But the deal is not only in sound. Really, there were many of the most worthy bands playing high-quality, interesting, and original metal music. It would be desirable to name the following bands:
Ambehr – Majestic ethnic melodic death with screaming and soprano
Blackthorn – All-female symphonic dramatic black metal, beautiful and haunting, with a unique soprano
Atoll Nerat – Unique epic sympho-black with an atmosphere of Indian Toltecs
Non Immemor Mei – Amazing original post-doom
Kartikeya – Brutal death on the basis of the Indian music
Dorgmooth – Superb melodic death
Astel Oscora – Beautiful and magic sympho-black with the atmosphere of Alice in Wonderland
Welicoruss – Magnificent epic sympho-folk-black
Tantal – They can easy outdo Arch Enemy and The Agonist
Little Dead Bertha – Fine sympho-black/melodic-death with screaming and a stunning soprano
Wine from Tears – Excellent doom-death
Id:Vision – Absolutely mad industrial-techno-black
Atra Mustum – Perhaps, one of the best representatives of gothic-sympho-blacks in the world
Diathra – Excellent gothic metal band
Scrambled Defuncts – Improbable sympho-brutal-death
Crystal Abyss – Mystical sympho-black
Solerrain – Children of Bodoms, playing better than Laiho and company a hundred times
Arcana Imperia – Very interesting avant-garde sympho-death
Ordalion – Original and very might Russian sympho-black
And, certainly, it is possible to list much of our most interesting pagan metal bands, which similarities in the world are not present: Arkona, Butterfly Temple, Nevid, Severnye Vrata, Smuta, Natural Spirit, Temnozor, Nebokray, Tverd, Svarga, Kroda, Alkonost and many others.

12.who are some of your all-time favorite Russian bands? are their any new bands the readers should watch out for?
My favourite surely are: Arkona, Ambehr, Blackthorn, Abstract Spirit, Butterfly Temple, Temnozor, Nokturnal Mortum, Ea, Welicoruss, Stigmatic Chorus. Many…:)

13.besides bands are their any good/honest labels or zines in Russia you would recommend? are there a lot of clubs/places for metal bands to play live?
Good labels surely are: More Hate Productions, mighty Solitude Productions (benefactors of doom metal), Coyote Records and Soulflesh Collector (hellish pits with mead for brutal death metal collectives), Stygian Crypt. Its all. The best our zine is Dark City. About clubs better to gig in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, and Ekaterinburg. Best clubs of Moscow are Tochka, X.O., Plan B. We haven’t much clubs, unfortunately. We have much very good bands, labels, studios, but also we have many problems with concert stages, promoters and the general – people in metal-shops and on gigs…

14.in your opinion what is the best and worst thing about the metal underground? and what does the term metal underground mean to you?
The best thing I think is the metal unites the people, gives them the power, ideas, will to live and to create. The metal is good!:) The worst are the lack of money, prohibitions in some countries, incomprehension of society, and sometimes disrespect between bands and listeners, foolish enmity between genres. I’m really in metal underground, and I think that all bands, except maybe only Metallica and Iron Maiden, in underground of world music – and, hm, I am more free and honest and my brothers and sisters at arms of metal too. We’re really the soul of this world, I’m proud of it!

15.well, my friend we have reached the end of the interview. thank you for taking the time to fill this out. good luck with your label and bands and looking forward to see what you release next. do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thank you very much for this interesting interview. And my words for all are: love the relatives, hate the enemies, do not cave in under the modern world, be free, do not allow anybody to manipulate your consciousness, and, certainly, listen to good music – metal, the most strong and honest music in this sublunar world!

to contact demether and grailight prod pls.check out the "official" page here for all the current news,releases,etc..
http://www.myspace.com/grailight