Winterdemons Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the reunion?
1. (there was not a split and no reunion, I will explain in Q 4)

2.For those that have yet to hear you, how would you describe your musical sound?
2. It is black metal in the footsteps of the good, traditional black metal of the early 90s.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3. Most of the lyrics are about places and situation that has to do with the Winterdemons. It is a combination of real facts and places and things of our “real” fantasy, our world. Some songs talk about how the demons are rising, to conquer or destroy the worlds, and others about the darkness and blackness that comes to end our lives.

4.The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
4. The band was never broken up. In 2008, Morgoth had a car accident and he did an operation to his knee. So we were put to ice until he was ok to start again. We just waited for Morgoth to recover. During that time, some of the guys-bands that I tell you about in Q9 started all this. Especially one guy wrote in Metallum that Winterdemons split up. We corrected it. Then he wrote that Sargon was kicked off the band. We corrected it too. And then he wrote again that the band was no more. And we were tired with the situation and we left the things as they were. If anyone wants to listen, learn news, or just talk to us he can and he will via email or facebook.

5.According to the websites the band refers to itself as the only true traditional black metal band in Greece, Greece does have a history with black metal bands which I have also covered quite a bit on here so can you tell us a little bit more about the tag?

5. As far as I know there are no bands that play this style of black metal in Greece. I don’t know the new bands but I am sure that if there was another traditional band I would knew it. By the term traditional we mean all this package of riffs, drumming, vocals and generally the atmosphere. Most of the bands here in Greece follow either the steps of Rotting Christ or Darkthrone. But it is very difficult to play like them. Although Darkthrone have simple riffs mostly, the atmosphere and the feeling that they make is the real big thing. I can recommend Plasma and Exiled Shadow although the bands exists no more, but they were really good.

6. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Winterdemons'?
6. One of the bands that inspires us, maybe the “basic band” of our inspiration is Immortal. As you know there is song from “Battles In The North” that is called “Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons”. We also had interest for the spirits and staff so the story about the three demons from the world of eternal cold was formed.



7.Has the band done any live shows and if so what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
7. We did only three live gigs until now. In Thessaloniki(GR), Athens(GR) and Torino(IT). I can not describe it. We are just doing something we like because music is our life.

8.Recently Night Birds Records re-issued your 2006 album on cassette, what are your thoughts on the final product?
8. We think it is very good. It turns that after all these years there is still interest for this album. Not only for the re-issue but for all these people that still support the tape format. This is a very good thing.

9.Over the years how have black metal fans reacted to the musical style that you play?
9. In Greece there are not so many people that listen to black metal. And I mean really listen to it and understand it especially in our hometown Thessaloniki. The Greek way of thinking is that they all want to “eat” you. For example, in 2006 when we made the record deal, most of the other bands in Thessaloniki didn’t have a contract at the time. When they learned about it they were jealous. In front of us they were saying good words but behind our back they were saying “These bastards. How they did it. They are not worth” and things like that. So we decided that we should stop to deal with the local scene, because there were not any audience that could appreciate and understand our music. Outside of Greece people were far more capable to understand it and we had a lot of supporting messages.

10.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?
10. There are some projects. We all participate in a band (no name yet) which will be dedicated to Quorthon and the music style is like the “Nordland” album. There is a death metal project (no name yet) with Morgoth and some other guys and we have some songs of our own and we do some covers from bands like Death, Pestilence, Obituary etc. There is also another one that is called The Scumfucks with Morgoth and Son of Man from Plasma the music style is a bit more old-school speed-thrash. I also participate in Omega.

11.When can we expect new material and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
11. We started the recordings for the album in November 2014, but it didn’t work out with the guys from the studio. It is a real problem here in Greece that there are no sound engineers with the knowhow of extreme metal, especially black metal. The sad thing is that they tricked us and a large part of the budget was spent for nothing. We hope that we will be able to finish the new album in four or five months from now. There are no special plans for the future. We just want to play black metal for as long as we can.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
12. Mostly our influences come from the Norwegian scene and some bands from Germany. Bands like Immortal , Darkthrone, Mayhem are the basic for the music part, and Moonblood was the my influence for the vocal style. We listen to many things generally, not only black metal. We are very much into heavy metal from our youth (I, personally like very much Motorhead), also death metal, speed, rock ‘n’ roll. Some other non-metal stuff like Diamanda Galas who was also an influence for the feeling-atmosphere.

13.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?
13. We had an interest in the occult at the beginning but know we are not into it. We are just doing it our own way. We don’t want anyone to tell us what or how. Winterdemons are not into any religion or politics.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
14. Well we hope that things about black metal and the scene will get better here in Greece. We would like to thank every one who supports us. And thank you too for your interest. Stay tuned for the upcoming album.

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