interview with Mind Terrorist
How was the band formed? The band was formed before three years in Greece, from two people (Mike - guitars, bass, Kostas - drums, vocals), the idea was to create a studio project and release a full length album, expressing our musical and lyrical point of view.
Can you tell about your band? Two albums so far, "Once upon a hearbeat" (2012) and "Fragments of human decay" (2014), lots of good reviews worldwide, now the band has a full line up, consisting of 5 members, and we keep going...
Where are all band members from? Who does what in the band? We come from Larissa, Central Greece. The members of the band are Kostas (vocals), Mike and Zach (guitars), Greg (bass) and Orestis (drums).
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Hmm, to make an album, combining heavy with more alternative influences. To try something new, because all of us already had previous experience, playing in other bands.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? / What genre do you feel you are? The two albums have a lot of differences. But in general it is heavy as metal, taking influences from metalcore, crossover things and melodic death.
Where was your first gig? Our first gig was in Rome, Italy, before two months.
Where was the latest gig? Actually this was also our latest gig... We have played only once, due to the fact that the band had not a steady line up. Now we are ready for more.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Music is written from our guitarist Mike and lyrics from Kostas.
What's good/bad with the band?
A good point is that our productivity is at high levels. It's not so easy to release your first two albums in almost three years! A bad thing is that we are not so flexible to play whenever, wherever...
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We mainly play our own music. But okay, a cover of a great song is always on our minds.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, we have one official lyrics video so far, for the song "Stop the Abuse".
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Next one will be in Greece, we are looking forward to do it.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Mainly to promote our newest album, released this year. Some live gigs are on the way.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? It's a funny situation, when you watch it from a corner. It's like entering a battle. Having some walks around, workouts, fitness exercises etc.
What are your goals with your music? Extrenalise metal, making good albums, playing from our hearts and giving to people food for thought, music is a weapon for free minds!
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? It's always giving respect to the older ones, but being also aligned to the new trend is also important. I think that it's good to keep the balance.
What are your sources of inspiration? Simple things, everyday life, society, nature, human relations etc.
What's the first step when making a new song? Hmm, I would say "composing the drums"!
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? Some people call it "evolution" and that's the easy way, I think that downloading is killing our music. Simple as that...
What would be your dreams for the band? My personal dream is to see some of my music idols holding one of my albums and saying to me that they are impressed from my music.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? A variety of things, starting from pop/alternative rock to black metal. Good music is everywhere, from U2 to Taake. It depends on the mood and time.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? To review things and decide that playing with our band is not worth anymore. To lose our energy and enthusiasm.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Personally I always have fear to not convince the audience, to see an audience without interest to what is going on on stage.
Have you been in any other bands? Yes. We have played and still playing in other bands. Angelknight, Ira Diaboli, Blustery Caveat are some of them.
What would you do if there was no music? Well, nothing at all... I would have no idea what the hell is music!
How often do you rehearse? Almost every week, once a week.
Where do you rehearse? In Mike's studio.
Name two of your own songs you like at the moment? "Blind at heart" and "Awakening".
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Dream Theater.
Do you have any webpages? Sure. Official one www.mindterrorist.gr and our facebook profile www.facebook.com/onceuponaheartbeat.
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Make it come from your heart.
Would you like to add anything else? Thank you, it was a nice face to face interview!