Pantheist
I think that almost all
human beings have a natural inclination towards their dark side and comprehending
the obscure and the mystique. We usually tend to become introspective after
we've been through a difficult phase in our lives or whenever we are at
the verge of making significant changes or important decisions. However,
what would you think if I told you that there actually exists a band that
can, let's say, motivate and awaken these phases and processes through
their music? Yes! You got it right! I'm talking about Pantheist. So, if
you want to learn more things about them, here's your chance...
1. CONGRATULATIONS ON “THE PAINS OF SLEEP”!
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? ARE YOU STILL CONTENT WITH THE FINAL RESULT?
STERGHIOS- All things considered (new lineup,
Nicolas having to visit from Belgium for rehearsals, minimum preparation
time before recording ever) "The Pains of Sleep" has been an extremely
successful and hugely motivating EP for us. The two new tracks presented
on the EP reflect perfectly the new direction the band is taking in terms
of musicality and lyrical perspective, and along with the Katatonia cover,
they form a tribute to some of the most influential artists that have spurned
the creative power of Pantheist. Coleridge's poem has always rankled our
imagination as to how we can best present the auditory and visual (I have
many ideas for a video for this song) synesthetic emotions those elegant
words generate - let's just say though that we hope we've done justice
to it. Monty Python is an all around favourite and we could not avoid paying
tribute to them in some way either. The idea of a doomy side to "Bright
Side of Life" has been kicking about for years, but now we had the opportunity
to set it in stone, we found ourselves compelled to do so. Katatonia has
been a great influence as it is one of those bands in Heavy Metal that
encompass you lyrically and musically, need I say more? The well-received
"Pavor Nocturnus" track is also a new direction for us, the equivalent
of free-form doom. Everyone contributed pretty much equally in the composition
and arrangement of the song, and it was the catalyst that allowed the new
lineup to gel together in remarkably little amount of time. The bonus material
on the EP, a re-mastered release of our Demo material has been requested
by fans for years and is also a tribute to the founding members of the
band. We decided on the remaster of that material to improve the quality
of the production and bring it as close as possible to that of the EP recordings.
The Russian mastering studio did a fantastic job at that, achieving a remarkable
sound quality out of our early fumblings on the mixing desk.
2. I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU POINTED OUT
THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY TILL NOW. PLEASE PRESENT
THE CURRENT LINE UP AS WELL.
KOSTAS- The recording of our first demo in
an obscure attic in Belgium in the autumn/winter of 2001; the Funeral Procession
Tour (the first of that sort) we did in West Europe with Skepticism and
Until Death Overtakes Me; our gig at the renowned Doom Shall Rise festival
in Germany; but also the recording of a 76-minute album (‘Amartia’) in
a short period of time with a temporary and unrehearsed line-up were some
of our more remarkable moments.
As for the current line-up, this includes
the following persons:
Andy-vocals
Ilia- guitars
Kostas- keyboards, vocals
Mark- bass
Pete-guitar
Sterghios- drums
You will find all of us involved in several
other local bands and projects that are too many to mention here. An overview
can be found in a topic on our forum.
3. YOU PLAY FUNERAL DOOM. I WANT YOU TO TELL ME
IN A FEW WORDS WHAT FUNERAL DOOM STANDS FOR TO YOU. WHAT KIND OF MUSIC
WOULD YOU HAVE PLAYED IF PANTHEIST HASN’T EXISTED?
STERGHIOS-As we say on our site (www.pantheist.co.uk)
and myspace page (www.myspace.com/pantheistuk),
funeral doom perhaps does not describe Pantheists' musical interests and
directions. Clearly our origins lie in that field, however all members
have interest in other Heavy Metal sub-genres, most of us in fact play
in other bands ranging from extreme doom to power metal. We have found
our new material to be encompassing these interests and influences, and
consequently we have some (hopefully pleasant) surprises in store for our
next album. As our musical skills also increase, we have chosen to retain
the character of our music and explore how it works with other themes and
directions. We are looking forward to the gigs lined up across Europe in
autumn, and even more so returning to the studio in the next year to get
some recording done for the new album.
4. DESCRIBE “THE PAINS OF SLEEP” IN A FEW WORDS.
LET’S SAY THAT YOU HAD TO WRITE A REVIEW FOR IT. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, TRYING
TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE?
STERGHIOS- If one decided to describe the
"Pains of Sleep" in literary terms, it would perhaps be best reviewed as
summary and preface. The EP commences with a powerful and illustrious song
lyricising S. Coleridges homonymous poem, "The Pains of Sleep". This is
followed by the intricate and explosive track "Pavor Nocturnus" which clearly
describes the new era of Pantheist and the influence of the new members
in the direction of the group. The EP is concluded with a cover of Katatonia's
"For Funerals to Come" which is a tribute both to one of the most influential
bands in the Doom Metal sub-genre, and to the vocal capacities of Pantheist's
singer Andy Semmens. The EP also contains a remastered version of the bands'
"1000 Years" Demo, which has been out of print and highly sought after
for years. The demo gives a great insight into the origins of the band...
5. “THE PAINS OF SLEEP” IS A RE-MASTERED EDITION
OF YOUR ONE AND ONLY DEMO “1000 YEARS” PLUS A LIVE VIDEO-CLIP OF THE SONG
“ENVY US”. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RE-MASTER AND RELEASE YOUR DEMO WORK AND
NOT ANY NEW SONGS?
STERGHIOS- Well, the EP actually consists
of 3 new tracks, and contains as a bonus material both the remaster of
the demo and our live video...
6. WHICH ARE THE MAIN SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN “THE PAINS OF SLEEP” AND YOUR PREVIOUS WORK “AMARTIA”?
STERGHIOS- Amartia was a concept album that
opened a new era for the band, mainly propelled by the recruitment of Andy
Semmens on the vocals. His voice introduces a great new element to our
music, and this is further explored in the EP. The contribution of the
new line-up to the creation of our music is also introduced in the EP,
especially with "Pavor Nocturnus".
7. WHAT KIND OF PROCEDURE DO YOU FOLLOW WHILST
COMPOSING YOUR SONGS? FUNERAL DOOM IS A DIFFICULT GENRE. SO, HOW DO THINGS
WORK IN THIS GENRE?
STERGHIOS- The fact that Kostas, the only
founding member of the band is still present today clearly indicates that
he is also the main driving and composing force behind Pantheist. However
the music is not written in a bedroom and demanded to be executed by other
band members in studio or on stage. Rather the music is worked and re-worked
collectively, each trying ideas and contributions until we collectively
reach an agreement as to how each song is best arranged. Some times will
leave parts to random factors; some times we follow very strict arrangements.
What is however most different compared to other genres is the amount of
time required to complete a song. For starters, our rehearsals last a whole
day - 8 hours on average, and not all the missusses like the idea of having
us for half the weekend! This is necessary when a 2 hour set consisting
of plenty of songs in the excess of 10 mins need to be played, and new
material be worked upon. The music also requires significant amount of
concentration. Anyone attempting Doom Metal for the first time is surprised
at how improvisation is limited, as arrangement and orchestration become
very prominent by the pace of the music. So hard, careful and imaginative
work, and good things come to those who wait...
8. DO YOU WANT TO FILL US IN LYRIC-WISE ON “THE
PAINS OF SLEEP”? WHICH ARE YOUR SOURCES OF INSPIRATION?
KOSTAS- The lyrics of the title track are
taken from a poem of Coleridge, as stated earlier. Pavor Nocturnus’ lyrics
are written by Andy, and describe some of his nightmares. The lyrics of
the ‘1000 Years’ demo however are an entirely different matter and have
been written by myself in a period of mental isolation, resulting in bleak
anthems to solitude, isolation and silent suffering.
9. WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH THE ALBUM TITLE, “THE
PAINS OF SLEEP”? DO YOU IMPLY THE DIFFICULTY IN RE-ENTERING REALITY WHEN
WE WAKE UP OR DO DREAMS AND SLEEP PAIN YOU? IF YES, COULD YOU CARE TO EXPLAIN
IT FURTHER FOR US?
KOSTAS- I can not give the definite answer
to this question, and neither can the person who wrote the poem on which
the title was based as he has died several centuries ago, although your
interpretation is very interesting. As far as I know, the poem describes
the author’s mental state after the consumption of opium (to which he was
addicted) and the resulting inability to sleep in peace is one of the symptoms
he is describing.
10. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART
OF YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU?
STERGHIOS- I would rather define elements
of any music as appealing and unappealing, which in essence elicits the
question of musical preference. In this context, there is no accounting
for taste, but what perhaps can be ascribed as one of the most difficult
aspects of this type of doom metal is tempo - our slowest song is around
22 beats per minute (that’s a beat every 2-3 seconds), and our fastest,
well, listen to Apologeia, it has a few blasts in it... Not everyone listens
to music as an opportunity for philosophical exploration and looking into
oneself, so not everyone is capable of sustaining this kind of concentration.
So it came as no surprise that a friend claimed our music would make Death
(the guy with the scythe and the scary grin) abandon all hope. On the other
hand, we have received letters from fans that describe our music as "revelatory"
or "inspiring" and we were humbled by one particular letter from a fan
in Greece with significant health issues that wrote to us of how Amartia
helped her maintain her strength and will.
11. WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU RECEIVED THIS
FAR? WHAT WAS THE MOST FLATTERING AND WHAT THE WORST COMMENT YOU’VE READ
ABOUT YOUR MUSIC?
STERGHIOS- Well, I suppose the previous answer
covers this question, but being described as able to make Death cry is
certainly not bad, it just put a wicked smile on our face. Perhaps you
should ask some emo kid to listen to our stuff and let us know what he
thinks?
12. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? WHAT
SHOULD THOSE ATTENDING YOUR SHOWS, EXPECT TO EXPERIENCE?
STERGHIOS- Well, indeed we have been invited
to play in various gigs across Europe and the latter part of 2006 is going
to be fairly busy for us. In October we'll be playing The Frontline at
Gent, Belgium, which is where some of our first ever gigs took place, and
where the video included in the EP was recorded. In December we'll be doing
a mini-tour of Holland (more details on our site). In the new year we have
so far one gig confirmed for Manchester in England, and we are currently
processing a number of invitations for other countries which we would love
to play at.
13. YOUR MUSIC IS UNDERGROUND. IT’S DIFFICULT
FOR THE MASSES TO LISTEN TO FUNERAL DOOM, SO WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE
WITH PANTHEIST?
KOSTAS- We want to change the face of western
music as you know it. However, if we don’t succeed, we will settle for
drugs and rock ‘n roll. And perhaps some garlic bloodshots in between.
14. I’M REALLY INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT HOW YOU
SELECTED THIS SPECIFIC BAND NAME. DOES IT HAVE A CERTAIN MEANING FOR YOU?
KOSTAS- The term ‘Pantheist’ is very dear
to me as it allows for an all-encompassing view of musical open-mindedness,
as well as indicating a certain mystique and spirituality which is nowadays
so much missing from the metal scene (and life in general). Pantheist means
being free and in tune with the world around you, and this to a much higher
degree than ‘atheist’ or ‘satanist’.
14. I THINK MUSIC FIRST AND FOREMOST IS EMOTIONS.
THAT’S THE DEAL WITH YOUR MUSIC AS WELL. SO, IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION,
WHAT WOULD IT BE?
STERGHIOS- Introspection.
15. IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
KOSTAS- In an old interview, I replied to
a similar question that the ideal painting representing our music, would
be a monstrous hybrid of the majestic, baroque grandeur of Rembrandt’s
paintings and the anxiety and anguish expressed by Edvard Munch’ ‘The Scream’.
I think my original view still stands.
16. WHAT TITLE DO YOU THINK IS SUITABLE FOR YOUR
MUSIC AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR?
KOSTAS- ‘Mystical but not incomprehensible’.
17. THANK YOU! IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE
TO MENTION AND I FORGOT TO ASK YOU?
KOSTAS- Not really, thank you much for the
time to construct your challenging questions and I hope to see you around
soon, if we manage to get some gigs in our beloved Greece!
Christine Parastatidou
|