interview with Anmasker

Have any of you played in other bands? Yes, we all played in different bands, but for the most part they are not worth mentioning, since these were novice bands that did not reach a high level. And in Anmasker we began to go out to a new level as musicians and as creative personalities.

How is it that you started playing music? It so happened that we were looking for the right line-up for Anmasker for a long time. And since there are practically no like-minded people in the city in which we live and in general people who are well versed in such music, we have been faced with line-up problem for many years. But it was precisely love and just an incredible interest in such music that caused us to play too. All these bands, magazines ... we started to get involved in it in teenager age, and this turned into an irresistible desire to play as well. And in the end, it turned into a dream that we didn’t get out of my head and which we follow to this day. We started learning to play as a teenager and became musicians. And we continue to learn)

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? There are three participants in the band: Andrey Kachanov / vocals (Lead), bass / 30 years; Sergey Belikov / guitar, vocals (backing) / 24 years Alexander Hubko / drums, vocals (backing) / 27 years.

Have you had other previous members? To put all the points and understand how Anmasker became a classic thrash metal trio, we need to tell the story of the band’s creation) The band precursor Unmasker was created in November 2012 by two members - bass player Andrey Kachanov and drummer Alexander Hubko. Soon the third member of the band was found - Yevgeny Lisogursky (vocal/guitar), with whom they worked for only a few months, after which in March 2013 he had to leave the band due to life circumstances. Then begins a long search for new members, stretching not for one year, because for a long time no one stayed in the band for a long time. While drummer Alexander Hubko simultaneously teaches drumming, Andrey Kachanov joins the local band Psychosis in 2014, where he meets vocalist Stanislav Mishchenko, but in September 2015 the project officially closed. And the search for musicians in Unmasker is still going on, but now with the vocalist. So, in November 2015 Andrey Budnik joins the band (rhythm guitar), and in March 2016 - Sergey Belikov (solo guitar). After several rehearsals, in connection with a new page in history, on April 6, it was officially decided to slightly rename the band's name on Anmasker (deliberate distortion of the word for artistic purposes). After work at the rehearsal studio, the first concert was held on December 24, 2016. In early 2017 a few more local concerts were played, after which on August 8, 2017 it was officially decided to reorganize the band to reach a higher professional level. Since that moment Anmasker continues creative activity in the form of a quartet without the participation of Stanislav Mishchenko, and later - without Andrey

Budnik, already in the form of a trio, where the leading vocal (along with the bass guitar) took over Andrey Kachanov. This is such a difficult process of formation, but it happens to many groups and this is normal)

Did you make music even when you were young? Each of us started to write something from the very beginning, as soon as we learned to play the first notes, but this is a completely different story))

Where are you from? We all come from Ukraine. Born and raised in the city of Zaporozhye. Here we live.

What year did the band form? As stated above, the band precursor Unmasker was created in November 2012, but on April 2016 it was officially decided to slightly rename on Anmasker)

What's your style of genre? Anmasker playing American-European thrash metal of the old school and will definitely appeal to fans of the 80s, as well as fans of modern, powerful metal!)

What inspires you? We are inspired by other great bands, the world around us. Inspired by each other... Inspires our own world, which we created in a Anmasker, it warms us, inspires us, and here we become real.

How often and where do you reherse? We usually do rehearsals every two days, that is, several times a week.

How have you developed since you started with the music? If you are seriously engaged in music, then you develop in many ways. And there is no limit. You learn something all the time - you try to play better, learn more, hear more, see more. From all this our own creativity flows, therefore we develop always.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Music and Anmasker is our main interest which takes a maximum of free time from work. On everyday things it makes no sense to focus. We are all versatile individuals with different interests - one of us is fond of literature, someone is watching football or boxing ... But all this makes us what we are. It makes us what we are in life and in band.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? At the moment we are interested in major festivals, but we are also interested in solo tours, but after recording a studio album, which we will release this year. And then we will see.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? At the moment we are very interested in this, as now we are in the process of recording a studio album and are looking for a good label that could provide good album promotion, its release and quality organization of tours in support of It. It’s not so easy to find such a label, because it's not the year 1985, the times and requirements have changed. It is difficult for young groups to reach a really high level in our time. But we are not in a hurry, we are sending letters to different companies and we hope that we can find what we need.

What made you decide to make this music? We didn’t come to this music right away, but after visiting different bands of different directions, something happened in us that it’s impossible to explain - we wanted to create just such a band and with just such music. We don't care about fashion and current trends. We just love our music. And we created Anmasker. Although we love and listen to many other musical directions and maybe someday we will create another group with a completely different music)

What are your songs about? If in a nutshell - on the upcoming album all our songs are devoted to traditional military-political themes, themes of social and intrapersonal problems. And since the album is being prepared traditional in its genre, the themes for this album are traditional.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? The work in our band is structured in such a way that Andrey Kachanov creates the basis of the whole song - the main riffs, couplets, choruses and the whole skeleton of the song, Sergey Belikov comes up with solo parts for the guitar, and Alexander Hubko writes drum parts and lyrics. Andrey Kachanov also sings the finished text on a fully written and performed song.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Always first appears the basis of the song, then the idea for it, and only then the text. We have long come to this method of work and it is very suitable for us. Although ideas for songs are often born in advance.

Do you compose in a certain inviroment? It is best to write in a calm setting, where no one bothers. But it happens in different ways, often ideas come at the most unexpected moments and in different places) The pace of our life does not give us too much choice)

Have you done any covers live? Yes, we always play some covers on our shows. Usually this “Black Magic” (Slayer) and “Iron Fist” (Motorhead). A certain tribute to history and traditions)

What language do you sing in? We use exclusively English.

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Now not too many people attend concerts, especially local and in small clubs. This is a problem of many. Therefore, always the more people, the better)

What ages are most of your concert attendants? Ages are very different - from teenagers to mature people. But it does not matter, because music has no ages.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? There is a main program, but we always try to add something new to our set list.

Do you have a regular place you play live often? For the most part during the year we try to perform in different places.

What was your first gig like? The first concert Anmasker was held in the terrible local club, with a terrible sound, and in front of ten people)) But it seems that the audience liked us too)

What was your latest gig? Our last gig took place in mid-November in Ukraine, in the rock club «MADiSAN» (Krivoy Rog city), after which we started working on a single that we released at the end of December 2018.

Have you had to cancel a gig? Of course it happens. Most often this happens if someone in the band is seriously ill. Most recently, a number of autumn concerts had to be canceled due to a serious injury to Sergei’s arm, and then because of Alexander's pneumonia. But this is life, we are all people, and there is no getting away from it.

Where have you played live this year? It is still only the beginning of the year and we are still planning some performances. Moreover, while we are seriously busy recording the album. But already announced one of our summer performances in Ukraine at the festival The ZhyTTya. Rock Fest.

Where do you plan to gig the comming year? It depends on how things go after the official release of our album.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Again, we will work closely on this with the release of the album) We want to do everything at a high level.

Where can people buy your merchandise? We hope that soon in all parts of the world) In the meantime, we are dealing with this issue.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? It seems to us that in our time there is no getting around this. These are modern realities, the modern era of the Internet, and you need to accept everything as it is. But this is a huge plus - we can get acquainted with any music, get a lot of interesting information. But it is very important that people do not forget to buy CDs of their favorite artists. Perhaps sometime music on carriers will be appreciated again, as before, because in the world almost every year something changes.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Of course, everything has changed in recent decades. Now you can easily watch a concert on YouTube and go nowhere, download the album and not buy it in the store. Of course, in the age of the Internet, the music industry has changed dramatically, the discs are not sold as they used to, and it’s impossible for a band in the modern world to record a platinum album. Changed and the perception of all this, there is no former magic what was, for example, in the 80s.

What do you think of my work? You are doing a wonderful and very important job! The mass of information about the bands reaches the masses. Such things are very important for bands.

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? We hope that thanks to you and this interview we will be able to attract more people who are interested in our work. Without fans, the band will not be able to exist.

Do you have any role models or idols? Oh, there are too many of them to list all their idols. This is the whole universe)

Why do you think that they exist? In general, why is there rock and metal? Probably because it is one of the art forms.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? We find inspiration in old and new bands. In each generation there are many original bands in different directions, and if you are seriously interested in music, listen a lot and listen carefully, understand directions, study the history of all this, then it is impossible to be inspired. This is what makes us special. Thanks to which we become real, despite all the contradictions of life.

What have been your biggest obstacles? There are obstacles always and everywhere, at every step. But in the case that we deal with, the biggest obstacle is financial difficulties, because you have to do everything on your own. Never enough finance to translate all ideas as quickly as possible. Music is an expensive pleasure.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Never give up and firmly go own intended way. If you listen to your heart, you will definitely understand the rest.

How do you get psyched for a gig? These are special feelings that are impossible to convey. The energy of the scene is special. When you step on the stage, your blood boils, you psychologically tune in and dissolve in this atmosphere. These are always special feelings.

Do you have any new material? As mentioned earlier, we have fully prepared material for the whole album, which we are recording now. This will also include songs that we have not performed at concerts.

What are your web sites? At the moment, we mostly use social networks, but in the future we also plan to create an official website.

What are your plans for the future? This year is scheduled to release a studio album, collaboration with a foreign label and concerts in support of the album. All the nuances will be known throughout the work. Next year we will expand our horizons, advance to major festivals and raise the bar.

Do you have something to add? Thank you for your attention to our band! Listen to only good music, wait for our album, which will be called “How much is your mask?”. We will be glad to receive good offers from the labels for releasing our album! And follow the news on our pages on social networks!

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