AFTER DUSK Interview

Genre: Heavy Metal

Country: Greece

Questions by: Nick Parastatidis

Site: Homepage

1. Hello! First of all congratulations on “The Character of Physical Law”. I think that it is a great album. How do you feel about it? Whichareyourexpectationsfromit?

Bill: Hello Nick, glad you liked it! It's a complete masterpiece for those who love powerful, quality music and have damaged brains. We expect people who are fed up with the crap the media serves them, to show some love for REAL HEAVY METAL MUSIC!

2. When you finish the production of your new album, do you listen to it immediately or do you avoid doing so? Also when you listen to it do you do it in order to correct things for the future or just for pleasure?

Bill: We usually listen to the album intensively before we finish the production, both for correction and pleasure. And my advice on that is simple make an awesome record so you don’t get bored while listening to that, over and over, until the production is done!

Paminos: I didn’t hear anything, until we got to the mixing phase. Then all of us had to listen to the songs many times because we had to give George feedback on the mix. Minor tweaks though, we make most of the band’s sound during recordings and George really knows what he’s doing.

3. When we create something we love it and it is hard for us to accept a review that is not so positive. What do you think about reviews? Are they  instruments that can help you improve? Also how do you manage to deal with a bad review?

Bill: Every review has a different amount of gravity. 8 out of 10 I don’t really give a fuck about what they say. Reviews mostly are an instrument in the hands of big record companies and they act most of the times like the fake exit polls during elections. I don’t have to deal with a bad review, it is what it is!

Paminos: I don’t see how you can improve yourself musically from a review. Either you got it, or not. What you can improve is your skill in your instrument. Practice makes better, as everybody knows. But the talent to write good or bad music is a constant, I think. Also inspiration comes and goes without any warning, it's almost supernatural. This means that a true review is just a description of an album. A translation of sound into words. And if the song I wrote sucked dick, I would have thrown it in the garbage can myself. But if my whole band concluded that the songs are great and they are worth the trouble of producing, no review will ever convince me otherwise. Maybe I am extra skeptical with reviewers because in the past they have made me buy albums labeled as great that were completely shit!

4. It took you 5 years from your previous album. Why is that? What happened in this time?

Paminos: First of all we had two new members since “The Devil Got his Soul” was recorded. We wrote many songs during that time, but we went to the studio only with the best of them, when we felt ready. There is no reason for us to rush things.

Bill: Generally the delay is due to lack of time and money, but we have many ready songs waiting the line to be produced!

5. Which is the most recent and which the oldest song that you have included in your new album?

Bill: I think the oldest are “The Character of Physical Law” and “Even the Sun Must Die” (2013)!

Paminos: The newest is “Take the Bitterness away”, if I remember correctly.

6. I believe that your new release comes as a natural continuation of your previous albums. So, I want to know what you did differently this time and which the new elements that you have introduced to your sound are.

Bill: We just did what we wanted to do musically.

Paminos: I think this is the most diverse album we ever made. It has heavy, thrash and black metal elements, as well as rock and classical stuff. The music was composed equally by me, Theodore and Bill and the songs were arranged by all five of us together. Now as far as sound goes, the band always sounds pretty solid, but it's up to the engineer to put that on a record. And Mr. George Emmanuel did surpass himself this time, even though he didn't have all the goodies big studios have.

7. Your sound is not something that we often listen to in the traditional heavy metal sound. How has this helped you? Also does this bring you difficulties to reach out more metal fans?

Bill: The sound combination we did is rare indeed, but I don’t think that plays a big part in reaching fans nowadays.

Paminos: I don’t think we are a “traditional heavy metal band”. We just are NOT what is considered as “modern metal”. This is a bit confusing, but if someone will listen to a song, the confusion goes away. Either he’ll like it a lot or not at all.

8. Lyrics always interest me. So, please give us some hints about the lyrics of your new release.

Paminos: Dark thoughts about the nature of the universe, heart attacks inflicted by erection pills, epiphany through debauchery, extinction, pyroclastic flows ruining your honeymoon and other delightful stories. Some of them are true, some might happen.

9. The cover artwork is also great. Who is the artist and how is it connected with the lyrics and the music of your new album? Did he listen to your music before creating it?

Paminos: His name is Othon Nikolaidis. I explained to him what the title is about and gave him some vague insight on what we wanted. I think he listened to some of the old songs when he was making it, as the new ones were not ready. I think we only had the drums when Othon started working on the cover.

10. Once again you will release your album on your own. Why is that? Are there any plans to print your new album on vinyl too?

Paminos: The best proposals we had would really do nothing more than what we can do on our own. And most times this is the best case scenario. We will print it on vinyl, if there is a demand for it. We are big vinyl lovers ourselves and we’d like to see that happening.

11. You have created your own label. Do you plan to release from it any other bands besides yours? Also do you plan to re-release your previous albums?

Bill: We do not release any other bands than AFTER DUSK and MOTHERFASTER for now. 

Paminos: We will re-release our first album “The Witch’s Pact” (2006), after we remix and remaster it. Nothing will be recorded again of course. Maybe this will happen next year.

12. Give us some reasons why people, according to you, should check out AFTER DUSK and the new release.

Bill: Because it kicks fuckin ass and we are always true to what we do.

Paminos: The best reason I have comes from a fan. He told Jim that he had many years to just listen to an album and like it that much. And after it was finished he just wanted to listen to the whole thing again.

13. Thanks for the time answering these questions. I wish you all the best. The last lines here are yours to use…  

Paminos: “Live your life and enjoy the ride. Time runs fast and even the sun must die”