Custard
Well, Custard is a band
I truly love, follow and support many years now! I like them not only because
they release quality works, but because of the way they treat their music
and the fact that they keep the same high standards on every release of
theirs. Such a thing is rare to find in the nowadays saturated heavy/power
metal scene, don't you think?
1. HELLO! FIRST OF ALL I HAVE TO SAY THAT
I AM A BIG FAN OF THE BAND AND I HAVE ALL OF YOUR ALBUMS. HOWEVER I DON’T
KNOW MANY THINGS ABOUT YOU. SO SINCE THIS IS OUR FIRST INTERVIEW I WOULD
LIKE YOU TO GIVE US A SHORT BIO OF THE BAND SO FAR AND ALSO TO POINT OUT
SOME OF YOUR IMPORTANT MOMENTS.
Hey Nikos! Great to know, that you like the
stuff we do and that we have plenty of fans in Greece also. We are not
really what you call a newcomer band. Our roots go back to the late eighties
as we started the band as a Fun-Thrash thing without any knowledge what
to do. Just bought some cheap instruments to make some noise and to get
some beer together. After all this years we turned to a professional working
band with good musicians and we have some success with it. Just to name
a few points we played the Wacken Open Air Festival, we did some interesting
tours with Skyclad and Goddess Of Desire as well as we play some really
good festivals every year. But the most important thing never changes since
we started up: we are kind of friends in the band who want to have some
fun.
2. IS IT TRUE THAT CUSTARD STARTED AS A BAND BACK
IN 1987? SO WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG TO RELEASE YOUR FIRST WORK?
Yes, that is true. Well, it always takes some
time for a band to find a certain direction, write good songs, record them
and release them. Especially at an early stage things develop not that
quickly. So I think it is a normal process to take some time and then come
up with some work that you can be really proud of. So many bands throw
their stuff at people after a couple of weeks, when they had better locked
themselves in their rehearsal room for some more time in order to come
up with something decent.
3. NOW THAT YOU ARE IN MAUSOLEUM RECORDS, WHICH
IS A QUITE STRONG INDEPENDENT LABEL, DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO RE-RELEASE YOUR
PREVIOUS ALBUMS AND ESPECIALLY YOUR FIRST MINI-CD “GOD OF STORM” AND THE
ALBUM “KINGDOMS OF YOUR LIFE”? I SAY THAT, BECAUSE IT IS VERY HARD TO FIND
THEM IN THE MARKET…
Yes, we have thoughts in that direction, especially
for the prevoius album "For my King", which is very often asked for by
fans. It is still a very strong album, but unfortunately it is sold out,
and we don't even have anything more but our own private copies. Sometimes
you can make a bargain at eBay and get the above mentioned releases for
little money. But even those numbers are decreasing. There are numerous
things concerning the rights of the album that have to be clarified before
we can actually re-release it, but we are working on it.
4. SO NOW LET’S COME TO YOUR NEW ALBUM. HOW LONG
DID IT TAKE YOU TO RECORD IT AND IS IT A CONCEPT ALBUM?
The recording didn't actually take that long,
but the writing did! ;) I would guess that the actual recording time comes
down to 4 weeks. It was spread over a longer period of time, because we
had longer breaks in between the recordings, since we all have daytime
jobs, and also the producer had to do a lot of live-jobs. But once
we were working, it all went quite well. No, it is not concept album. However,
one could say that the words "Time" and "Change" are some kind of a headline
to every single title on the album. The CD does not tell a story, like
e.g. "Operation Mindcrime" but still every track revolves around changes
and time moving on. This can be all sorts of different changes. "One step
too far" and "Sunrise" for example are dealing with how mankind has changed
our environment for the worse in a very short period of time. Other
songs are very personal, like "Inner Void" and "Escape Reality" which describe
changes in a private person's life. "Wheels of Time" tells us that you
cannot stop time and that there is no use lookimg back at things the could
have been. Don't live in the past, look to the future! Time does not obey
us, we have to adapt to the times changing.
5. IF YOU COMPARE IT WITH YOUR PREVIOUS RELEASES
WHICH ARE THE SIMILARITIES AND THE DIFFERENCES THAT YOU CAN FIND?
For me that is quite difficult to answer because
I wasn't a member of the band when "For my King" was written and recorded.
I think "Wheels of Time"shows a growth in songwriting. To me most songs
on "Wheels Of Time" have more depth than the material on "For My King".
Maybe this is due to the lyrics that have completely moved away from the
fantasy stuff on "For My King". That was ok at the time, but now our singer
Guido is responsible for the lyrical side of things, and he is more into
realistic, down to earth kind of words, rather than Kings, Warriors + Wizards.
As far as the music is concerned, this will be answered in the next question.
;)
6. MUSICALLY, ALTHOUGH YOU MOVE ON THE PATH OF
THE TEUTONIC POWER METAL, YOU ALSO HAVE INFLUENCES FROM THE U.S. METAL
SCENE. DO YOU AGREE? CAN YOU NAME SOME OF THE BANDS AND ARTISTS THAT HAVE
INFLUENCED YOU AS A GROUP?
Yes, absolutely! I'm glad you have noticed
this and I take it as a compliment. When I joined CUSTARD as lead-guitarist
it was the most natural thing to bring my influences into the band and
the songs. And I am a huge fan of US Power-Metal-Bands. Here we go: Leatherwolf,
Vicious Rumors, Abattoir, Savage Grace, Fifth Angel, Helstar, Jag Panzer,
Warlord, Iced Earth.. to name but a few! I love those bands, and I think
you can tell that the the songs have slightly moved into that direction
but still having having this typical German approach to Speed- and Power-Metal,
which is a very good mixture. Luckily we are not the only ones who think
that this combination is working very well!
7. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOUR LABEL DECIDES TO RELEASE
A SINGLE IN ORDER TO PROMOTE YOUR NEW ALBUM BETTER. TELL US 4 SONGS FROM
YOUR NEW ALBUM THAT YOU WOULD CHOOSE TO INCLUDE IN THAT SINGLE AND WHY.
1) Wheels of Time - Because it is the title
track. Short, fast and powerfull!
2) One step too far - By far the catchiest
song on the album, we call it "the Stratovarius"-Song! ;))
3) Chance - It includes everything that CUSTARD
stands for: Great melodies, twin-guitar leads, catchy tunes, fast parts,
grooving parts, powerful drumming, superb singing. It is like a summary
of what CUSTARD is about. One of my favourites!
4) Lost forever - The perfect song to perform
live. It just works so well in a live situation. It is quite a simple song,
but it has got this great memorable opening melody and a perfect singalong
chorus, but still it is heavy and pounding.
That is of course my personal choice. The
other guys might have chosen different tracks of course.
8. I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE READ IN SOME REVIEWS
PEOPLE TELLING THAT YOUR MUSIC IS NOT SO ORIGINAL. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO
ANSWER TO THAT?
That they might be right! But who cares? It
is not our aim to revolutionize the Heavy-Metal-Genre! We know where we
come from, we know what we are good at, and we we try to play our style
in the best possible manner. We don't have the ambition to create something
that has never been heard before. When it comes down to it, we just want
to entertain and write good songs that kick ass on stage. It is not about
being the best musician and writing the most complicated songs. It is all
about fun and positive energy.
9. WHICH ARE IN YOUR OPINION THE EMOTIONS THAT
THE MUSIC OF CUSTARD CREATES TO THE LISTENER?
Everybody has to answer that for himself,
but one thing is certain: It is positive emotions! There is no space in
the music of CUSTARD for gloomy and depressive moods and feelings. There
is other bands that can do that, and a lot of them are fantastic, but we
are a positive band. Especially on stage we are always having a lot of
fun. Something that fans keep telling over and over again, and which is
a great compliment, because this is how it's got to be. If somebody is
interested in the lyrics and it makes the person think about certain things,
then that's great. If not, that's great, too. In that case just come along
to our show, sing with us, party with us, drink with us, just have fun!
10. DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO SHOOT ANY VIDEO-CLIPS
FROM YOUR NEW ALBUM? IMAGINE THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO DO AN EXPENSIVE
VIDEO-CLIP. WHICH SONG WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT?
No, currently there are no plans, for the
simple reason that there is no money to shoot it. And even if there was
money, who would play it? But to answer your question, we would probably
kill each other over the choice of a song, haha..! I could imagine "Lost
Forever" would be the one song we all could agree on. What would
the clip look like? Good question! Since we love performing live I could
imagine it being a classical "fake" performance clip in some cool setting
like that old steel-works where the photos for the album cover, booklet
and our homepage were taken. This is actually just outside the door. I
can see it when I look out of the window. Yes, I like that idea. Again
nothing revolutionary, but who gives a toss? As long as it looks cool..
Do you think we're boring? ;)
11. LATELY WE HAVE SO MANY POWER METAL RELEASES,
BUT THE QUALITY OF MOST OF THEM IS NOT SO GOOD. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS HAPPENS?
DO YOU THINK THAT THESE RELEASES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE “BAD” NAME THAT
THE POWER METAL GENRE HAS LATELY?
Yeah, maybe! Yes, I do think that the lack
of quality and the amount of releases makes people become fed up with the
genre. Then again it is not a specific "Power-Metal" problem. Every genre
has to go through phases like that. But at the moment it is really bad.
Even bands like "Gammy Ray" play in front of only 400 people in Germany
at the moment. I was at the Gamma Ray show in Osnabr?ck, where they were
supported by "Nocturnal Rites" (brilliant band! I love 'em!) and the place
wasn't even half full. That is really sad. I think the market is saturated.
Fans don't know what to buy any more. It is impossible to keep track of
all the bands that are popping up every month. There is so many of them,
too many.
12. WILL YOU DO ANY LIVE SHOWS? IS IT POSSIBLE
TO COME HERE IN GREECE FOR LIVE SHOWS, SINCE THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE HERE
THAT LIKE YOUR MUSIC?
We will always do live shows, because tha'?s
what we love to do. Just there is one problem at the moment: Our guitarist
Karsten will be leaving us soon due to family-business. He has got a little
boy of 4 years already and now there are two more coming! Yep, twins! This
responsibility will make it impossible for him to continue with the band.
We are all very very sad about this fact, but in the end could there be
a better reason for quitting? There you are, we are looking for a new guitarist
at the moment. Some shows that are already confirmed we will of course
play. We know that especially in Greece, but also in Spain and Italy there
is quite a good fanbase for our music. We would love to play Greece, Italy,
Spain, Portugal and France... more than anything! But we really depend
on the financial support of our label, and as we have just found out, times
are bad at the moment.
13. IT WAS GREAT DOING THIS INTERVIEW WITH YOU!
THE END OF THIS INTERVIEW BELONGS TO YOU…
Thanks for the opportunity to "talk" to our
supporters in Greece, and sorry that it took us so long doing this interview
and sending it to you! We want to thank and greet all our fans in Greece,
and let's all hope that some day we can come to your beautiful sunny country
and play some shows for you guys! Can I please have some red wine then?
I love Naoussa!
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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