Shatterpoint
Shatterpoint is the
kind of band whose music can simply be described as sheer power and emotion.
They are the kind of band, whose music speaks straight to your heart and
that's because these guys love what they do and they are absolutely devoted
to what they are up to. Having released just a while ago their new album
"Dead Precedence", we thought it was a good chance to get to talk with
the band about their present and future goals. Let's hear them out...
1. HELLO! HOW ARE YOU? AFTER SO MANY YEARS
OF HARD EFFORTS, HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE RELEASED YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL
FULL – LENGTH ALBUM? WHICH ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THIS SPECIFIC RELEASE?
It was a huge undertaking for us to put out
this new CD, because we wanted to make sure it was the absolute best CD
that we could put out at that period in time. We wrote the album in about
3 months and took a month to record it. The artwork was a huge undertaking
as well because we had a strong vision as far as what we wanted to do.
There were a few delays due to the artwork but once it was all said and
done it was totally worth it, I am really happy with how it all turned
out.
2. BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT THE NEW RELEASE, I WOULD
LIKE TO ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: IN OUR DAYS, IF YOU HAVE A GOOD PC
YOU CAN EASILY RELEASE A DECENT ALBUM, SOMETHING THAT WASN’T THE DEAL IN
THE 80’S, SO WHICH ARE THE BIGGEST DIFFICULTIES THAT A BAND HAS TO CONFRONT
NOWADAYS?
I think the biggest challenge for any band
is to get from the basement recording phase to the step of getting on a
label and playing shows and tours. The trouble is that because having a
good computer and producing a do it your self CD is so tempting many bands
to stay away from bigger, better studios, which in the end prevents them
from moving forward. Your recording is your bread and butter, and not something
to screw around with, or to cheap out on. We got to BWC studios, with producer
Greg Dawson because he is a genius, and knows how to capture tones and
get a particular sound that no amateur could dream of. I think that the
cheap recording devices are great for gathering ideas and composing songs,
and even good for preproduction, but my advice would be to save up some
money and get your self a quality, pro level recording, because it will
put your release above the others in your local niche and hopefully give
you an edge over other bands.
3. LET’S TALK A BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM “DEAD
PRECEDENCE”. FIRST OF ALL WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY WITH THE TITLE?
The album “Dead Precedence” and all its songs
and associated artwork is a representation of the world around us, how
we see it. "Dead Precedence" simply states that the precedence of the moral
underpinnings of previous generations is gone, and corruption and money
is king. We see it everyday, it's all around us, and we don’t challenge
it because we are so used to it. And when people do speak up and challenge
it, they are either shut up by positions of power, OR made to look insane
by the general media, to discredit any claims. It's pretty fucked.
4. CAN YOU TELL US IN A FEW WORDS, WHICH THE MEANING
OF EACH SONG THAT YOU HAVE INCLUDED IN YOUR NEW ALBUM IS?
That would be a better question for Shane
as he writes most of the lyrics. For the most part they are about the topic
explained above. Some songs are pretty open ended and difficult to determine
what they are exactly about, while others are a bit easier to figure out.
I'd prefer that people read the lyrics for themselves and developed their
own interpretation about them. I know I hate it when I love a song and
then find out that it's about something totally different than what I had
thought, kinda takes the coolness out of it, especially if it's about something
less cool or interesting ahaha.
5. FROM THE 14 COMPOSITIONS THAT YOU HAVE INCLUDED
IN YOUR NEW RELEASE, WHICH WAS THE EASIEST ONE TO COMPOSE AND WHICH ONE
TOOK YOU MORE TIME AND WHY?
That’s a tough question; sometimes a song
just comes together no matter how difficult they are to play. A lot of
thought goes into each song, however I would say that the song "Dead Precedence"
is the toughest to play, and has the most changes, so I would have to go
with that one.
6. ON THE COVER OF YOUR ALBUM YOU HAVE A MAN WITH
HORNS DRESSED IN SUIT. DO YOU THINK THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT CHASE MONEY
ARE THE ONES THAT CREATE EVIL? DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL EVER LEARN NOT
TO CHASE MONEY AND SEARCH FOR DEEPER MEANINGS IN LIFE?
That’s exactly it man, good for you for figuring
that out, lots of people look at it and are like, what the fuck does that
mean. There are 2 covers for this album, the one has an old fashioned doctor,
who represents the old way, where people did things for reasons other than
money, the doctor is entering the new modern world, once he crosses the
threshold he is transformed from the doctor to the ambitions business man,
who has ditched values, morals, or social responsibility, for the search
for money. Of course there is hope, this is merely one aspect of life,
mainly portrayed in the media, and by people with power. The average everyday
people you will meet in your life, no matter what country they live in,
will be a good person, who would bend over backwards for you. Not all people
with money are corrupt, but I think that this world in general is going
to shit because of economic ambitions.
7. WILL YOU DO ANY VIDEOS FOR YOUR NEW ALBUM?
IF YES WHICH SONG WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO VISUALIZE AND WHY?
We will be doing a video for the song "Dead
Precedence", to me that song sums up the vibe of the album really well,
plus it's short and to the point. The lyrics in that song are easy to figure
out, and it will be very easy to put images to that song. It just seems
to make sense.
8. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT YOUR COOPERATION
WITH POWER PLAY RECORDS. HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO SIGN WITH THEM AND ARE YOU
STILL SATISFIED?
We were looking for a hard working label that
had time to focus its time and energy into the artist. With Powerplay Records
we get a company who works their ass off for their bands, and gets great
results due to that hard work. We have a great relationship with the head
of the Label Jim Benton, and it's very helpful to be able to call up the
president of the label directly if there are any problems or questions
we have. We were interested in building a solid fan base all around the
world, and PPR is doing a great job helping us achieve that.
9. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU MEET THE DEVIL AND HE
ASKS YOU TO BARGAIN YOUR SOUL TO DO YOU A FAVOR. WOULD YOU BE TEMPTED TO
DO IT? WHAT WOULD YOU ASK AS A FAVOR?
HMMM, well I suppose I wouldn’t sell my soul
for anything really, I'd prefer just to get off my ass and get shit done
myself. But, if I did I wouldn’t mind going on tour with Metallica ahaha,
but who knows, someday maybe it’ll happen.
10. HERE I GIVE YOU THE CHANCE TO ADVERTISE YOUR
ALBUM, SO WRITE A MESSAGE IN A FEW WORDS THAT YOU THINK WOULD MAKE THE
METAL FANS GET INTERESTED IN YOU…
Well, if your looking for pissed off heavy
music, with crazy riffs, ripping solos and angry vocals, in package which
offers a variety and doesn’t get boring then “Dead Precedence” is for you.
Each song was written with the intention to stand alone, as a different
statement from the next, this way each song offers something different,
and takes on a different style to keep it interesting.
11. WILL YOU DO ANY LIVE SHOWS? WILL YOU COME
OVER TO EUROPE? WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME FOR SHOWS HERE IN GREECE?
We are working on getting on tour as we speak.
Right now we are working on putting together some North American dates,
but of course we are very interested in getting over seas and rocking out,
because everyone knows how much Europe loves fuckin metal.
12. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS!
THE LAST WORDS BELONG TO YOU…
Check out the new CD online as www.myspace.com/shatterpointmetal
there are some new tunes up, and if you like what you hear you can either
order it online, or head down to your local music store and order it in.
Leave us a message on the site and let us know what you think, we are a
band for the fans, with out the metal fans we are nothing, so we love to
hear feedback and get involved with our fans.
Nick “William_Kidd”
Parastatidis
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