1.Hello please introduce yourselves to the readers?
Hello. My names is Alexander. I’m a member of Reido, where I’m mainly responsible for guitars and vocals.
2.When did you first get the idea to form Reido and how did you choose Reido as the name of the band?What is the current line-up of the band?
The idea to form a band came about 20 years ago but the band was formed in spring 2002. We were students at that time. The name appeared later, after the first album was recorded. We were trying to choose something that matched the music and its atmosphere. I also wanted to have a short and simple name, easy to read and pronounce. I had been learning Japanese and had some dictionaries, so I looked through them hoping to find something. As a result, the band got the name Reido. The first track on “F:\all” was “Zero Level Activity”, so the idea of “zero temperature” turned out to be quite appropriate.
Currently there are three musicians in the band. Anton and I are the former members of Reido, whereas Dmitry joined us remotely to record the drums for the third album. He lives in Moscow, so we rarely see him. But we’ve been friends since 2006 probably. By the way, he has his own musical project, Vnezemie. Dmitry formed this word himself from Russian “Vnezemnoy” (Unearthly). So it’s something like “Unearthliness”. He completed the album “Raspad” (Decay/Fission) in 2015, but it wasn’t promoted properly, so very few people heard it. It’s some kind of cosmic funeral doom/dark ambient, and I can recommend checking it out.
3.Who would you say are Reido's biggest influences over the years?And for the readers who have never heard the band how would you best describe the bands musicial style?
It’s hard to name our biggest influences, the more so because they change from time to time. Funeral doom, traditional doom, dark ambient, the second album was partly influenced by Celtic Frost, Tool, Meshuggah. I can’t name any serious influences on the third album. I didn’t listen to much music in the period of working on it.
To those who have never heard the band I would say that it’s slow and heavy music. Probably, an extreme form of doom metal containing the elements of funeral, sludge, ambient and something else.
4.Anatman is the bands third full length release how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release?How long does it usually take to complete one song?
I suppose it took us 5-6 years to make “Anātman”. But we didn’t start it immediately after releasing “Minus Eleven” and finished last year, there were pretty long breaks during the record sessions, so as a result we have 8 years between the albums. Of course, if we only count the time we spent on making the album, it will be much less. Some songs are composed really quickly. If I catch some good idea, even one riff, it is often enough to make a song around it for several hours. However, sometimes I stop at some moment and don’t feel what to do next. Feeling the music and its spontaneous intuitive development is the main approach I use. If I stumble and begin to think how to continue this part, in most cases it means that the feeling left me. So I’d better stop and come back later in order to try and catch it again. Rarely does puzzling over music produce a good outcome.
5.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some topics you all wrote about on Anatman?Which usually comes first the lyrics or the music?
The lyrics are written by me. “Anātman” is mostly based on Buddhist spirituality, as one can guess from the name of the album. This topic has always been present in Reido albums, but “Anātman” goes much deeper into it, since it became an especially important part of my life a number of years ago. In some lyrics I’m sharing some of my personal experience.
6.Besides the new release Anatman are the bands previous releases still available for the readers to purchase?Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise to buy if yes what is available and where can the readers buy it?
I’m not sure if “F:\all” is still available on CD. Solitude Prod don’t have it at least. I saw some links in the Internet where it was on sale but didn’t check them. “Minus Eleven” is still available on the website of Solitude Prod/Slowburn Recs. We are considering some merchandise like T-shirts, because we received some requests from listeners so perhaps there will be something. Anyway, if something appears, it will be available on reido0.bandcamp.com.
7.Does Reido play live very often or do you prefer to work in the studio?What have been some of the bands most memorable shows over the years?
Reido has never played live. Every time we release an album, this question arises because we get some invitations from organizers. However, we could never recruit all the musicians we needed for a concert lineup. There were 2 members in the band but we needed at least 4 or even 5 and all the attempts failed for one or another reason. We were just unable to prepare in time.
Now we don’t even discuss the prospects of playing live, even though we have a drummer. He lives far from us. Maybe it would be nice to play a few concerts a year, I don’t know. Anyway, I wouldn’t like to go on tours for a series of concerts. I think that’s not my cup of tea.
8.Are their any shows or tours planned in support of the new release?If yes where will the band be playing and who are some bands you will share the stage with?
Probably this question makes no sense after the previous answer
9. Reido comes out of the doom metal scene in Belarus what is your opinion of the doom metal scene in Belarus?
I’m not sure if there is a real doom metal scene in Belarus. Talking of old examples, I would name Gods Tower “The Eerie”, but it was many years ago. Some other Belarusian acts that I would like to mention are Woe Unto Me (doom death/experimental band from Grodno), Coat (trad/stoner doom in the vein of Electric Wizard), Longa Morte (funeral project in the vein of Thergothon) and doom death/funeral act Fading Sun with its EP “Yawning Void”. I think they are worth checking out. I don’t know what else to mention.
10.Who are your all-time favorite bands coming out of Belarus and are their any new bands you feel the readers should check out soon?
I can’t name all-time favorite Belarusian bands but apart from the above mentioned projects I would like to recall black metal bands, such as Pestilentia, Kruk, Niezgal, black-death project Doomslaughter. These are good examples of underground metal and they all have the true spirit of such music.
11.Besides Reido do you any of the members currently play in any other bands or solo projects?
No, we have no other projects.
12.Thank you for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thank you for the interview. Just listen to our “Anātman” if you haven’t done it yet. I think it’s worth checking out. That’s all I wanted to say.
Band Contacts
Label Contacts
