Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
Line Up:
Thanos Zabetakis On Vocals
George Zikas On Guitars
Nicholas Dhamo On Guitars
Michael Pouliezos On Bass
Lyo Panagiotopoulos On Drums
We speak again of our newsroom, where in a little while, we will have, in all its emotions, the interview 143 of the Aristocracy.This time, we speak with a band that weave a progressive soundscape occasionally leavened with hints of grunge, thrash and nu-metal. It’s a sonic mix for sure, but over and above and that, it’s also one that survives repeated revisits with the songs revealing more of themselves each time you listen.In short, we will talk to the Greek band Spektrvm. They show us their full album titled Blood For Heaven. Watch now the full version of the album. But, before that and we start our interview, we thank the band for answering our questions. , let's go to the full album and their answers.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Blood For Heaven?
Spektrvm:The composition of this concept album took a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of tweaking and fiddling. In order to stitch all the pieces that led to this Heavy/Progressive/Doom Metal outcome, changes were even made, during the actual recording of the songs in the studio.
A2:Is the fourth song a thinly veiled reference to the angel of satan?
Spektrvm:Short answer,No.Leviathan does not remotely revolve around religion or superstition. It is a parabolic cautionary tale, against human vanity.The “Monster” itself Leviathan is that Vanity.
A3:How is politics addressed in this album?
Spektrvm:The most obvious way that this album addresses politics, is by pushing us to accept our part of the blame, through voting or abstaining from voting/running for office and then trying to shift the blame around, just like politicians do,through the last song, Rotten World. But you will see more discreet mentions, Blood for Heaven and church politics,through War of Chameleon, first chorus of Rain Fire and also, the anti-racism homage Without Borders.
A4:Who would be the green god that the band talks about in their eighth song?
Spektrvm:The “Green God” is money.The actually, worthless paper/digital currency,that a capitalistic society has assigned in the position of the highest power and control.
A5:Some literature or film inspire the band?
Spektrvm:No conscious inspiration from any specific literature piece has been drawn into the creativity of the band. However, there is no parthenogenesis.Surely, unconsciously,we have all had one or at least a few of those, affect us in our creative process.
A6:Why does the band have this name?
Spektrvm:The songs of our band, each have a deeper relatable meaning, other than the obvious. There is also a wide variety of musical tastes between the band members, and that shows both in the inclusiveness and also the diversity of the songs and the fans/people who will relate with those.One other thing is that the subjects of our songs speak as much of the present, as for the past, trying to possibly avoiding it becoming our future as well. Thus Spektrvm came pretty naturally as the name for this group, inspired by the “Old-English” or Anglo-Saxon if you would, which was the earliest recorded form of the English language, where this is how the word would actually be spelled.
A7:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Spektrvm:The task of creating the artwork for “Blood for Heaven” was beautifully handled by Remedy Art Design. What happened was, the artist asked us to forward our work to him, he would listen to it, and by hand, he would translate the feeling and vibe that he received from the full album and also from different songs in it. And we just loved the outcome. It was raw and powerful, and very much relatable.
A8:Can we say that the sixth song has a double meaning?
Spektrvm:Rain Fire is a song that speaks about violence. And we all know that violence breeds more violence. Even though, as a mindset,we are anti-violence, we had to also express this side, because it is a human instinct as well.It speaks about specific attitudes and actions that we condemn and would just like to eradicate, in any possible way.
A9:How is Spektrvm different from your previous bands?
Spektrvm:Each of us on our own, might sound closer to a specific something or someone. And that’s alright. Rather than trying for the band to do the same though, we mix all of our things, into an original outcome, pushing each other outside of their comfort zones, evolving as units and also as a whole.
A10:Who are the chameleons that the band refers to in the third song?
Spektrvm:War of Chameleon speaks about how “war” is in the human nature, no matter how far back you go, and we should try to fight off our urges pushing us towards it. As human societies are evolving, so does the art of war. War can be fought with weapons, money, emotions or more. Chameleon is just used to show the adaptability to different situations.
A11:What kind of subject don´t deserve a Spektrvm song?
Spektrvm:Probably love and heartbreak and stuff, is not a theme that you will see coming out of our band. At least for now, hopefully ever. It’s just so overused and commercialized. A cheap shot. Everyone and everything pushes that, because it sells. So why be one more?
A12:Is it true that the band believes in the afterlife?
Spektrvm:The beliefs of each individual are personal. As a band, we do not engage in the “supernatural” matters of writer’s nightmare “organized religion’s books”. So in no way is there any such belief represented in our work.
A13:This album is conceptual?
Spektrvm:It is indeed. Each song speaks about faults and errors in human societies, through our perspective of course. Be it greed, vanity, denial, manipulation, war, racism or any kind of violence, it is included and frowned upon.
A14:What doe the band mean with Modern Metal?
Spektrvm:Modern metal, like Modern rock, is an Umbrella term, usually used for bands with a more "modern", current sound. Genres considered part of Modern metal include melodic death metal, metalcore, cyber metal, djent and sometimes progressive metal.
A15:What is the most inspiring atrocity on this album?
Spektrvm:We would have to go with the church’s faith manipulation, which gave birth the Blood for Heaven song and became the title of the whole album. All of the mentioned attitudes and actions are unhealthy, but throughout history, you can tell that this has been the most damaging one.
A16:Even angels have evil plans? If so, what are they in your opinion?
Spektrvm:"Good" and "evil" are nothing but the most subjective value judgements humans attribute to certain thoughts, feelings and emotions, for the sake of giving a sense of direction to their own lives and being able to judge others. If you want to fit into a society you have to follow the general rules that sustain it. All actions have consequences.