Crossover
Crossover is according
to me one of the most special and unique Greek black metal bands. It is
a band that never settles and in fact they are in a constant search of
new musical expressions and enrichments. Zion, the band's mainman proves
once again his restless spirit in the interview that follows...
1. HELLO ZION, YOUR NEW ALBUM REALLY SURPRISED
US CAUSE IT IS VERY DIFFERENT IN COMPARISON TO YOUR DEBUT ALBUM. PLEASE
TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT IT. DID YOU WORK DIFFERENTLY FOR THIS ONE?
Hail to you all! Well, the new album “Dogma”
is indeed a different kind of work from the debut album. We decided to
improve the orchestrations for the new songs and thus deliver the concept
of “Dogma” in a superior way, with the extensive use of keyboards. The
magic hands of MichayeL and Tasos Karapapazoglou of Nemesis Studios in
Kavala have done a powerful work on the keyboards and the general atmosphere
of the album. We are very pleased with the final result, to say the least.
2. IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN THE BAND’S LINE – UP CHANGED
ONCE AGAIN. WHO LEFT AND WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? HOW THIS CHANGE INFLUENCED
THE MUSICAL DIRECTION OF THE BAND? DO YOU STILL HAVE GOOD RELATIONS WITH
THE MEMBERS OF THE BAND THAT LEFT?
The line up of the band changed just before
we were ready to enter the studio for the recording of “Dogma”. This means
that all the new songs were already there when but the old crew decided
to go, purely for personal reasons and under totally amicable conditions.
So at that stage, we got two new members (MichayeL and George), plus the
addition of old member Savas on rhythm guitars, and with that line-up,
we recorded “Dogma”. The relations with the old members are always the
finest and as a band we are very happy and proud of that.
3. THE TITLE OF THE ALBUM IS “DOGMA” A SIMPLE,
BUT FULL OF MEANINGS WORD. SO IS THIS ALBUM A CONCEPT AND HAS IT HAVE TO
DO ONCE MORE WITH RELIGIONS? PLEASE TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE LYRICS…
The album’s words progress in my trademark
lyrical style, and they deal with the everlasting narrow-mindness of all
religions, since the beginning of time. The lyrics were once again written
under heavy emotional filtering and express my personal feelings and views
on organized and unquestioned systems of massive beliefs. Additionally,
Marietta Malta has greatly contributed with her powerful lyrics, based
on personal thoughts and experiences. It’s worth mentioning that the tracks
she’s written lyrics for are the most ‘catchy’ ones!!
4. LET’S STAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE TITLE OF
THE ALBUM AND TELL ME YOUR DEFINITION ABOUT THE WORD DOGMA. WHICH IS YOUR
PERSONAL DOGMA?
The dogma we believe in is that there should
be no dogma at all! We believe in the lack of any prejudice and the freedom
of thought and expression by all men. The fanatical and narrow-minded behavior
of most people has never brought any good upon the fate of the rest of
mankind. This reflects my own personal dogma too.
5. THE DEBUT ALBUM WAS RELEASED FROM DEADSUN RECORDS
FROM FRANCE AND THE NEW RECORD IS RELEASED FROM SLEASZY RIDER FROM GREECE.
SO, WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR PREVIOUS LABEL AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SLEASZY?
IT’S KIND OF BIZARRE, CAUSE MOST OF THE BANDS IN GREECE SEARCH FOR A CONTRACT
WITH A LABEL FROM ABROAD…
The contract with Deadsun Recs., was for 1+1
records. The main reason for us not to renew our deal with Deadsun was
the poor distribution of “Debauchery” in our homeland Greece and some serious
communication problems. After some extensive research we decided on Sleaszy
Rider Recs., securing both national and international distribution of “Dogma”.
Also, a very important positive factor for Sleaszy Recs., was the very
good and old personal friendship with Tolis Palantzas. The relations with
our current label are excellent and we are going to release our new album
with Sleaszy Rider in 2006, called “Pythagorized”. Watch this space!
6. HOW DID THE PRESS AND FANS RECEIVE YOUR NEW
EFFORT? WHICH WAS THE MEANEST REVIEW YOU READ? HOW MANY COPIES HAVE YOU
SOLD TILL NOW?
The reception of the new album was very passionate
from both old and new fans of the band. One might think that old die-hard
fans –from the “Over The Cross” days- would be negative towards a more
atmospheric album and the use of many keyboards, but “Crossover” are in
essence a band that is not afraid to experiment between different genres
of the dark metal sound, and even push the boundaries further, based on
total freedom of musical expression and open-mindness. If “Crossover” are
true to themselves, then the music is true too, and the aural satisfaction
of all fans is guaranteed! Concerning the other part of your question,
we are not aware of any mean or bad reviews on “Dogma”. As for the sales,
from what we know they’ve been very good but naturally we can’t reveal
any figures.
7. THE DEBUT ALBUM WAS MORE INTO BLACK/THRASH
METAL AND ON YOUR NEW RELEASE YOU HAVE MANY SYMPHONIC ELEMENTS. HOW DO
YOU PLAN TO COMBINE THESE 2 TOTALLY DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERES IN YOUR LIVE
SHOWS?
We’ve done live shows with and without the
use of live keyboards, and the result has -in both cases- been very interesting.
With the use of keyboards the overall sound is obviously more atmospheric,
but without the loss of the dynamic and brutality of the songs. On the
other hand, our most recent gigs in Athens and Nicosia in Cyprus were done
without any synths, yet the energy of the new songs from “Dogma” was fantastic!
After all we don’t believe these are two totally different atmospheres.
In both cases we’re still cruising within the extreme sound. We have no
problem playing live either way. It’s all about crossing over different
areas of the dark metallic sound, as the name of the band suggests!
8. SO DO YOU THINK THAT WITH THIS NEW ALBUM THE
GROUP HAS FOUND ITS PERSONAL SOUND OR SHOULD WE WAIT THINGS THAT MIGHT
SURPRISE US ON YOUR FUTURE RELEASES AS WELL?
As a rule I think Crossover will never cease
to amaze their audience by developing their sound and taking it to new
levels of both evil ambience and dark sonic viciousness. I am confident
that the next record “Pythagorized” will be a positive shock too!
9. ON YOUR NEW ALBUM YOU HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT
GUEST… SO TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT HIM. IN WHICH SONGS DOES HE PARTICIPATE
AND HOW DID THIS COOPERATION OCCUR?
We caught up with Lord Kaiaphas, at a reunion
gig of Ancient, in the August of 2003 in Salonika, where Crossover played
as a supporting act. Afterwards he enjoyed our hospitality in our hometown
Alexandroupoli, for a couple of weeks. During that time we had the chance
to know each other a lot better on both a musical and personal basis. Lord
Kaiaphas is an outstanding musician and a very nice person. He participates
on the title track of the album, as well as the intro and outro tracks,
plus a hidden track.
10. THANK YOU FOR THIS INTERVIEW!
LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE TO THE READERS OF BEHIND THE VEIL AND FINALLY MAKE A
WISH FOR THE NEW YEAR THAT WILL START VERY SOON…
We personally thank you very much for the
interview and the chance to project our views to a wider audience. Black
salutes to all your readers and to our fans that have been true and very
supportive from the beginning. Email: [email protected]
Stay true & keep the black flame burning! Vomit the cocksuckin’ Holy
Mother!
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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