Cataract
Cataract is a powerful
hardcore combo from Switzerland that intends and actually assures us that
they will bring forth everything negative or mind troubling and will provide
us with an outlet and a means to get all the steam out of us. So, channel
your aggression with the Cataract batlteforce, enjoy a great album and
get informed from this very interesting interview with Simon.
1. First of all congratulations on “Kingdom”!
Are you satisfied with how it turned out to be or is there anything you’d
like to change now?
Simon: Thank you very much! We are totally
happy with it. There is nothing we would change on it right now. WE love
the songs, arrangements, the balance of it and the production. Everything
basically turned out better than expected. I listen to it for like 3 months
now and I still think its perfect for what we stand for now. Probably you
should ask me this again in a few months and you will get a different answer.
2. So, what happened in the Cataract camp from
the release of “With triumph comes loss” till now? How has your previous
album been received by the fans?
Simon: Well “With Triumph comes loss” has
gotten very good to excellent reviews. We still are and were totally impressed
how well received this record was. We hoped it would kick some serious
ass but didn’t expect so many people to like it. So because of this we
were able to tour a lot. We started off with our own headlining tour in
nov/dec 04 with our friends in maroon. The turn out was great and a lot
of fun. It was quite adventurous to do a headlining tour first but it worked
out amazing. After that we basically toured our homeland and eastern Europe
in Jan/Feb 05. In March we were asked to join the NO Mercy Festivals! That
was crazy. You know, we were the first band of this kind of music joining
such a metal tour. And let me tell you: it rocked! Fantastic bands, totally
great audience. It was tough sometimes but mostly just great. After that
we took a short break from playing because we already had some songideas
in my mind that we wanted to work on. During summer we were touring again
in between the big European festivals including UK and tons more.. That
also brought us down to Greece! In August we then joined Amon Amarth for
a shorter stint of show. Great experience too. That was a tought crowd
to play to, wow! After that we right started writing songs again. In Fall
we did a lot of weekend touring including the 10 years Metal Blade party
show!!! What an honor. I have to say we are blessed with what we could
do after releasing “With triumph…” The rest of the year and beginning this
year we wer rehearsing and recording. Everything is like a dream come true.
3. You kicked off as a pure hardcore act in
the first years of your existence, but later on you expanded their sound
by enriching it and mixing it with the thrash, death and metalcore scenes.
Why? Was this evolution natural or was it “required” by Metal Blade?
Simon: Well, we started out with what we could
play best. You know, when you are younger you can’t play your instrument
so good and second we totally grew up in the hardcore scene even though
everyone in the band has always loved and listened metal since the 80s.
So it was clear to us to start out as a more hardcore oriented band than
a metal band. We weren’t also very happy with the look of most metal bands.
We are more the kids from the street and back then that wasn’t really appropriate
in metal. ?. We soon enriched our sound that’s true but it all came natural
as explained. We love all kinds of really hard music so we just developped
as a band in this direction. Nothing was ever required by any label we
are or were on! Otherwise we wouldn’t have signed. There were some that
would have loved to sign us but said “well, you should put more of this
and that to your sound, blablabla” That was exactly when we slammed the
door. We are Cataract and no clone. That’s what makes the band what it
is. And to top it off. Integritiy is what a lot of people lack today. We
don’t.
4. Let’s suppose that you were asked to write
a review about “Kingdom”. What would you say trying to be as objective
as possible?
Simon: That’s a tough question! But I’ll try.
I guess this record is a hard as fuck in your face album of a band that
goes on with what they started. Don’t give a shit about what the trend
is. Even setting new trends. It’s thrashy and breakdown orientied with
lot of hooks and a good flow. It’s 41Min. of pure heaviness with good and
intelligent lyrics. Probably you have to get used to the new vocals here
and there but that doesn’t mean he isn’t singing well or anything. Brutality
is the key here.
5. What’s the best and what’s the worst part
of your music, according to you? Are there any elements you’d like to add
or experiment with in the future?
Simon: The best thing is that we just do what
we do. We don’t care about any trend or anything. We are Cataract and will
always be Cataract. We are here to make a statement. That what I like most
about it: No compromises. The worst part…uff, hard to say. Probably that
we love Slayer, ahahhahahaha.
Well, not right now. We are happy with how
we sound now, but I can assure you that when we start writing a new album
there will for sure be more and other stuff on that record than on that
on. We progress from record to record without losing what we are, so this
will also be the case next time, but what exactly I don’t know. First things
first you know.
6. What kind of procedure do you follow whilst
writing and recording the songs? Is the final result a team-work? Do you
have a say on the production and the album’s sound or do you trust your
producer?
Simon: Well it's all a total teamwork. Usually
it's me and Greg coming in with some riffs and stuff. Then we sit together
with the drummer Rick and we arrange the basic song. We then practise and
rearrange it for a couple of weeks till we add the bass. Then again some
work on it before Fedi kicks in with lyrics. That’s when the hard part
comes, because sometimes we have to totally rearrange songs. That’s how
we usually work and love to work. This way we can assure that the best
out of every riff comes out. This time we even added a new “flavor”. Tue
was involved in the whole writing and preproduction process. So he had
an opinion on some riffs and songs too that we tried out before entering
the studio. That was new to us but very challenging and good for the songs!
He helped us also on the sounds on the record and the overall feeling to
it. It’s a total teamwork as said and we are happy about that. It makes
it more like a family. We like that.
7. Lyrically you are a band dealing with issues
such as wars, inner struggles, etc. What’s the case with “Kingdom” lyric-wise?
What were your sources of inspiration?
Simon: That’s true. It's our hardcore roots
I guess. We don’t wanna talk about stuff that don't exist and is just fantasy.
We always wanted to make a statement and make people think. On “Kingdom”
we are as direct in your face as never before. The lyrics are more dark
and negative. It just happened in the process of writing them. We draw
the inspiration from what's happening around us and on this planet. It's
just fantastic how we ruin our own ground, planet earth. So we have to
speak out about that. In the end we can say that most lyrics deal with
wrong religious beliefs and intentions, war and econimics, as well as personal
experiences.
8. What kind of thoughts and emotions do you
want to create to your fans with your music? What are your feelings whilst
composing?
Simon: We want to make them bang their heads,
to feel alive. To not give a shit about what's going on. Just be themselves
and follow this path till they drop. We want to give them an outlet for
their aggression and some lyrical input for their minds. I feel very relieved
when I write a song. It's very satisfying. It's like your would give birth
to some special art. You breath life into a riff. You try to make music
part of your body, heart and soul. I don’t know, writing music is an outlet
and creative part in one.
9. The CD is also enhanced with a bonus CD
in a digipack format. Since you moved from Lifeforce to Metal Blade you
keep offering bonus material. Why? Is it something you label decides? What’s
the deal? Please also tell us what it contains…
Simon: That’s true. With the special edition
you get a 2nd full length basically for free. It was something we decided
to do, nobody else! It contains 4 old songs re-written, re-recorded and
mixed and some live songs – one of those songs was never released in Europe
before – from the 10 years Metal Blade Party. Very good quality! It's great
to hear our raw live side on a record. I guess it gives the fans an impression
what we are live like.
Why we chose those old songs? Well, because
we still play them live from time to time and we felt that with this cd
kids can get an idea how our way to “kingdom” was. It features one song
from every cd we put out before but we rewrote all the songs as we would
want them to sound in 2006. We invested a lot of sweat into it. I love
it. It’s a special gift to all from us.
10. OK now! I found your cover artwork extremely
beautiful and I think it’s mostly due to the use of the golden colours.
Who is responsible for it? Is there a connection among the lyrics, the
artwork and the album title?
Simon: The guy who did it is just great! www.soc8y.de
is his site. His name is Christoph and he has done a lot of other things
before, but I must say he totally created a great design for our music.
I wrote the whole concept for it and he designed it. You have to see the
final editon that hits the stores. I can assure you, you have never seen
this before…or at least once only or so. The whole layout is a “suit” for
the lyrics and the music. It's all based on the good/bad or jing/jang theme.
Even the layout itself has two sides. It's crazy I can tell you and we
are proud of it as on the music and lyrics. It all makes sense together
and should be seen as a piece of art. It's hard to explain but you have
to get it for yourself. There will be a special edition digipack which
is sick! And the regular jewelcase is in the same style. The booklet is
also in a special theme cut and stuff. Christoph did a masterpiece of art
with it. The whole cover is only part of it. As said, get your copy and
you will see what I mean. The title of the record sums everything up. It's
our kingdom.
11. Do you have any plans for live shows? What
should the fans expect to experience in a Cataract show? Any chances to
visit Greece?
Simon: We will be touring a lot! First we
will start out with some smaller touring right after the release of the
CD. Then summer festivals come up till the end of July. In Sept/Oct we’re
part of the “Hell On Earth” festivals in fall, and then the “X-Mass” festivals
in December. So those two tours will lead us up and down the continent
and at least one of them also to Greece we hope! We’re looking forward
to all those shows as this is a great chance to get to places that we normally
don’t play as they are just too far away for a weekend trip. We are also
working on a headliner tour, but that’s scheduled for 2007 and probably
a bit early to talk about it. Greece is planned too as said, but we don’t
know when we are coming down exactly.
12. What’s going on in the metal scene in Switzerland?
It’s not very famous or big, but you have some really great bands over
there. Are things optimistic lately? Any other bands you think deserve
our attention?
Simon: Let me tell you we have a very strong
scene. The metal scene in Switzerland rules! There are very good bands
like Requiem. Their new CD on Massacre rocks! Disparaged is also another
very good old school deathmetal band. Then Celtic Frost are around again!!
Yeah! Also smaller bands like Censored, Dark Day Dungeon or Despise that
are more playing our style of music rule. We have a lot of good bands and
the best fans around, well one of the best! Every show is packed. We have
a lot of metal fans here in Switzerland. It’s crazy but when we play we
regularly have at least 300 kids every show. And we are not the biggest
compared to Celtic Frost or Gotthard. I love Metal-Switerland!
13. What title would you like this interview
to have? What’s the most suitable title that could sum up the whole Cataract
essence?
Simon: Hmm, that’s a good question honestly.
I would go for “Enter thy kingdom” or “March with the Cataract battleforce”
for example. I always liked titles that are linked to the band or their
actual CD. To top it, it has to be brutal and demanding so that everybody
reads it.
14. Thank you! Is there anything else you’d
like to say and I forgot to ask you?
Simon: Thank you very much for your time and
the interview! Greece rocked last year and we will come down again to tour.
Keep up supporting Metal and Hardcore. It’s important. Feel free to visit
www.cataract.cc
for any imformation about touring and stuff.
Christine Parastatidou
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