Interview with Czech death metal band HYPNOS.
- answered Bruno.
- translated by Markéta, thank you!
- translated by Markéta, thank you!
Ave HYPNOS! You are
realising your new album “The Whitecrow” in March. What can the audience
expect? I have heard two of the new songs live and they both were slower and
colder. Please, introduce the new album from your point of view.
Hi, Jakub. It is hard to judge when I am the
one who put the album together, recorded it and has been listening to it for
almost a year now. So I cannot be very objective here. However, if I had to
evaluate the album, I would say that it differs from the previous ones. Perhaps
it stepped out of the classic death metal template although I think death metal
is still the majority of this album. It is more atmospheric and definitely
slower – which is probably something faithful fans were worried about. Overall,
for me it feels more “softer” with some subtle references to black metal and doom
metal but also (oddly enough) to doom metal. That is something I did not
expected. The sound is great and for me even better than in the previous
albums. It is very raw and has almost rock´n´roll feel with a minimum of
digital sounds. Even the drums (except the bass drums) are not sampled. Every
listener has to say for himself if he likes it or not but I have no doubt that
the range of opinions will be very broad. Besides, that is the destiny for all
musicians – to go out on a limb. We were aware of some risks but we also want
to reach up other regions of music. We would not enjoy playing the same
template for 20 years. This is fresher and more interesting…
I think that “The
Whitecrow” is a great name for your album. It is clear, concise and at the same
time mysterious and appealing. But what does it mean? Is it a story? Any theme?
Or who is “The Whitecrow”?
Although there is no direct link among the
lyrics, there is one main subject of all main topics of each song. It is about
positivity so I would say that the album is monothematic. “Whitecrow” is a
young guy who doesn´t want to follow majority opinions and ideological clichés.
He wants to break out of the bad moods and opinions and even focus his life on
positive things, go out and be beneficial for people around him. It may sound a little complicated but it is
very simple. We don´t have to automatically accept everything which is
presented to us. We can use our own brain to influence the quality of our life.
Take it or leave it – and that is something which cannot be taken from us.
Bruno, you are like a
captain in HYPNOS. You are the person who is noticed by everyone. Pegas is in
the back, playing the drums so he is not that visible. But you are both the
main duo in your band. I have seen you play with Igor Hubík (with the guitar)
and with Canni and Vlasta and recent years. Who is a permanent member of the
band and who participated in the recording of “The Whitecrow”?
Igorr decided (at his own request) to leave
HYPNOS after the tour with AMON AMARTH in 2014. He wanted to focus mainly on
ROOT. Canni had already occasionally played instead of him so he was the first
choice for us. Since then he has been a permanent guitarist of HYPNOS. Vlasta
has been playing with us since 2010 and we don´t even have to talk about Pegas.
I have to admit that this setup is very nice. There are no problems among the
members which is very important. There is a good atmosphere in the band and I
don ´t have to deal with any personal matters. I can fully focus on our music
and the support of HYPNOS respectively the associated activities.
How did you compose
your songs for the new album? I have read somewhere that the album will have 50
minutes. That is a lot of material. How do you feel about it? I mean when you
compare the new songs with your older records – what is the advance for HYPNOS?
Exactly, it is 50 minutes (with a few seconds
more). That is our personal record so far. I was quite natural. Although we
have a ritual of composing 8 songs per album (which was mainly for KRABATHOR),
we did not try to make it longer just because. Also there are 3 acoustic songs
from Igorr and a spoken word by Paul Speckmann. And as a whole it feels very
compact. We all feel very good about the album and we are looking forward to
see our fans reactions because it has been one year exactly since the album has
been recorded so we are quite impatient.
There is one thing
which I always appreciate on HYPNOS: everything sits in one piece. Your
concerts, the look of your albums, merchandise – everything has one single
manuscript. It looks like it is very important for you (and that is great). I
was wondering, who does that? It feels like there is some artist behind it –
someone who looks after “your brand”. Do you have someone like that?
What do you think?:)
Speaking of graphics
and looks of your albums, who did your cover for “The Whitecrow”?
I had a basic idea how I wanted the whole
graphic to look like. I wanted it to be white, simple and should include a
motive of plague doctor who cures people from anger and hate plague…I had
someone to sew a mask for us, we did a photoshoot with Frodys from
AWRIZIS/POSTCARDS from Arkham. We sent it to Joseph Mercieca from Malta who
did the graphic for “Heretic Commando” which we really liked. Jo sent us a few
drafts from which we selected the final one. Unfortunately, Jo was not able to
finish the graphics on the album because he was really busy. So Frodys helped
us with the deadline and he did the whole booklet for the CD and for our LP
version. Moreover, we have 3 music videos which we are working on and one of
them has been already published online (it is the pilot song of the album). We
will start to film the second one this Saturday and I am so curious about it.
All three videos will be connected and it will be like a musical trilogy.
Our previous album
“Heretic Commando – Rise of the New Antikrist” has a great, big, cold and dark
sound. You recorded in Shaark Studio in Bzenec and the sound mixing was done by
the master Børge Finstad. I have read somewhere that did the same with “The
Whitecrow”. You did not want any change? Was there any old album which inspired
you? I have no idea about your studio work but I image you standing there and
saying: “Put the guitars more in the old MAYHEM!”
But you have looked the name Børge Finstad up online right? Just in case? It was written in a different
font :). We did not want any change because we were
satisfied with the previous album´s sound. The chosen system is right on the
edge of our financial possibilities. We say that you do not change winning
team. I believed that working together before would give us the possibility of
making the production even better and we did. I always aspire to make our
records competitive on an international level. And although we have great
sound-masters, I can´t help myself but think that you can hear the handicap of
the Czech “tail” and I did not want that. You cannot really copy sound of other
band because each band plays and composes in its own way and each sound is like
an imprint of band´s personalities. That is why we did not compare our album
with a different one or with our own albums. We wanted to make as great sound
as possible this time.
There will be a lot of
guests on your new album. Santura (DARK FORTRESS, TRIPTYKON), Martin Missy
(PROTECTOR), Paul Speckmann (MASTER), & Christopher
(KRABATHOR). What kind of “hosting” is it? Are there only vocals or also solos,
etc.? How did you picked up your guests for the new album?
I think it is clear that you are inviting
people on your album to increase the attractiveness of your record and its sale
force. On the other hand, there is a lot of personalities or bands I would like
to work with in the future. And that was this case and I am glad that it worked
out. There are solo guitarist on the new album: Victor Santura and Børge, Paul Speckmann did the narrator, Martin Štědroň did the incidental
music, orchestration and effects, Igorr from ROOT did acoustic guitars. There
were some singers like: Martin Missy, Christopher, Zuzana Jelínková from DYING
PASSION and Skuny from SHATOON. It is like a small opera:).
Bruno, you have
mentioned somewhere that death metal has been past its prime for like 20 years
already. The truth is that I listen to the 90s albums also but death metal went
to a completely different direction. Today it is played more technically and
even beyond human possibilities. Music is often supplemented by computer. What
do you think about technical brutal death metal? Are there any new modern bands
which have caught your attention?
I remember the interview when I mentioned that
and I am so sorry that the title was so badly chosen. It was quite out of
context. However, I definitely emphasized that although I believe that the peak
of death metal was like 25 years ago, there is still a lot of albums which are
exceptional. The truth is that the supermodern technical bands do not interest
us because we think it is more like a sport. They only care about how much BMP
per minute you play and they forget about the song itself. Who will have it
stuck in his head, who will remember the song in 10 years and who will make it
happy when he plays it in his head? For me, the musical art should be just a
device which helps to create the final songs. But I am not here to criticise
other creators – everyone can do what he wants and the market will determine
who will be successful. For me the most interesting bands on the field of death
metal are the Polish HATE and Fisher´s TRIPTYKON but our interest is very broad
and does not include only metal.
I have read your book
REVOLTIKON like 10 times already and it looks like you are also a good writer. Some
people might argue and comment on it but the book is easy to read. Have you
ever thought about doing a sequel? In REVOLTIKON you nicely described “the old
times” but what about the present? Has it appealed to you?
It has appealed to me and I already planned it.
But I need the time to go by so I have something to actually write about. And
there is also time – you need to have time to write but I have been in a time
pressure in the last few years. I want to write the book before my fiftieth
birthday which is in 3 years, but that is too soon. :)
I always liked to read your reports on
Volumemax. It was really interesting to see the musician´s point of view – the
opinion of someone “who works in the industry”. For us, the fans, these
articles were the ones which we literally devoured. I expected to see a report
from your autumn tour with DEBUSTROL. Why have you stopped writing reports?
I do not even realize why I have stopped but
probably because of the lack of time. I take care about the mucis, booking,
management, merchandise, everything around the new HYPNOS album, I go on our
concerts, do promo, interviews, etc. In addition I go to work every day. I need
days to have more hours. I sometimes found myself being angry but at the same
time I really enjoy this and no one is forcing me to do it. Another thing is
that we have stepped back from the fame and do not go abroad that much to play.
There are some bands who fly to another continents to play (CULT OF FIRE,
TORTHARRY, INGROWING, CONTRASTIC, FLESHLESS,…) and right now they have
definitely more experiences than us. Also, printed media are declining and
extreme metal is not in the centre of attention any more. We do not have Rock
Report, Bang, Whiplash and I have to admit that it is inefficient to use so
much energy on writing one article which will be read by only 20 people on a
website.
How did you perceive
current metal scene in the Czech Republic (and in the world) when HYPNOS came
back and survived the initial shock and excitement? The internet has a massive
impact, young fans perceive music differently. Today, you just make a few
clicks, one listening and also deleting. Everything is faster and less
personal. Does all of this have any influence on attendance at your concerts or
selling of your albums? How do you, as a musician and creator, feel about music
today when you compare it to your beginnings?
Basically, yes. I agree with you but the world
has always been changing. If a band wants to survive it have to know how at any
time. There has always been a competition and tough conditions and the best of
the bests are always on the top. Nothing is for free and sacrifice is always
required. Today, when you look at BEHEMOTH or GOJIRA you can see that you can go
really high even on the extreme metal field.
HYPNOS will publish
the new album “The Whitecrow” by the German Einheit Produktionen. It looks like
they did a good job with your previous album. What is the label´s job for you?
What do they do for you? Do they just publish the album or they do your media
promo, distribute CDs for reviews or arrange concerts?
The truth is more prosaic. There is not a lot
of labels for our success level and if there is the do not want to work with
us. Everyone wants a profit from their investment and I totally understand. I
wanted to publish the album abroad so we ensure at least a basic media service,
reviews and interviews in the most important (especially) Western magazines
(Rock Hard, Metal Hammer, Legacy, Metallian, Deaf Forever, etc.), global and
good European distribution (e.g. Soulfood) etc. All of this is perfectly done
by Einheit. They do not take care about concerts which is too bad but I am very
glad that they supported us in everything else, again. Although concerning the
sales we are one of the worst bands at this company. In our defence, Einheit is
focused on pagan, folk and black metal so our position is not so easy and we
are like a “white crow”. Me and the boss Olaf have a long friendship which
definitely plays a role. He has stood by us since the mid-nineties and I really
appreciate it. Let´s hope that we can improve the statistics with our new
album.
“The Whitecrow” will
be released as CD, LP and digital download. The last time we did an interview
together you said that you sell more LPs on your concerts than CDs. That was
five years ago. Do people still buy LPs? Where does band like HYPNOS sell the
most records? On concerts or through an ordinary distribution?
People are no longer interested that much in
LPs. I think the whole selling situation has been rolled over by the internet
and particularly by the possibility of free downloads. We sell roughly half and
half – at home and abroad. Let me just add that the distribution of our CD and
limited digipack with DVD is done by Mystic Production, again. Monster Nation publishes the LP and their e-shops work great.
Finally, there is the
most important question: What are HYPNOS´s plans for the next few months? Where
can we see you play live?
In the near future we will shoot our second
music video for the song “One Flesh, One Blood” and then concerts which you can
see below:
17.3. AUT Wr. Neustadt SUB Club
18.3. CZ Dolní Němčí u UH Robfest
24.3. CZ Praha Nová Chmelnice
25.3. CZ Brno Brooklyn
8.4. CZ Ostrava Barrák
26.5. CZ Lesnice u Zábřehu Hřiště
27.5. CZ Krnov Kofola
3.6. GER Gahlen Moscht festival (Spremberg)
17.6. CZ Czech Death Fest Červený Kostelec
1.7. CZ Basinfire festival Spálené Poříčí
15.7. CZ Týnec nad Labem Týnecký Mazec
22.7. SVK Gothoom festival Žarnovica
16.9. CZ Kyjov/Sobůlky Sportovní hala
27.9. CZ České Budějovice Velbloud
28.9. CZ Praha Modrá Vopice
29.9. CZ t.b.a.
30.9. CZ Pardubice Ponorka
20.10. GER t.b.a.
21.10. GER Berlin Blackland
15.11. SVK Bratislava Randal
16.11. SVK Banská Bystrica Tartaros
17.11. SVK Košice Colloseum
18.11. SVK Celestial Helpfest Bánovce nad Bebravou
22.12. CZ t.b.a.
23.12. CZ Uherské Hradiště Mír
Thank you so much for
the interview and I wish to your album “The Whitecrow” to fly around the world
and to sell well. And also I wish you and the whole band the best on stages but
also in your personal lives.
Thank you so much, Jakub!
.JPG)