Slavior
Mark Zonder is a
living myth for the heavy/progressive music and it was a dream come true
for me having the chance to talk with him now concerning the release of
the debut album of his new band, Slavior... If you are interested in finding
out what we talked about, well here's your chance...
1. HELLO! HOW ARE YOU? HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW
THAT THE DEBUT ALBUM OF SLAVIOR IS FINALLY OUT? WHICH ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS
FROM IT?
I think we did an excellent job at creating
a very unique sounding album. I am very proud of the guys in the
band and engineer Joe Marlett as this album stands up with any other of
the albums of today. We are hoping that it will be the beginning
of a long Slavior career with many albums and tours.
2. NOW LET’S TAKE THINGS FROM THE START. IS IT
TRUE THAT THE BAND WAS CREATED BY MARK ZONDER AND THAT YOUR FIRST NAME
WAS TEMPLEWITHIN? WHAT MADE YOU CHANGE THE BAND NAME?
Yes, I started the band. At first, when
we only had a few songs and were not sure of the direction of the band,
Wayne came up with the name TempleWithin. As time went on, and different
songs were written and the direction of the band was changing, this name
did not seem to fit as much. Greg had written a song with the title
Slavior and we all liked it and decided to name the band. It is a
strong, modern name that gives you an idea of what the music will be like.
3. YOU HAD SIGNED A DEAL WITH BLACK LOTUS
RECORDS FROM GREECE, WHICH DOESN’T EXIST ANY MORE. DID THIS ADVENTURE WITH
THE LABEL MAKE YOU MORE HESITANT CONSIDERING YOUR AFFAIRS WITH LABELS?
DID THIS FACT ALSO INFLUENCE IN A WAY THE IMAGE THAT YOU HAD FOR THE GREEK
PEOPLE?
I have always had great respect for the Greek
people. Just becasue a business deal goes bad, is no reason for me
to change my opinion. Some of the best fans, and shows that I have
played were in Greece. I have great memories. Also in 2002
when Warlord played Wacken in Germany, we had great Greek fans come to
see us.
As far as labels, if you want to get your
records out to the public, you need to find the best label possible to
do this.
4. I BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THAT WILL
READ THIS INTERVIEW AND WON’T HAVE A CLUE OF HOW YOU SOUND AS A BAND. SO
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC IN A FEW WORDS AND NAME SOME OF YOUR INFLUENCES?
We are considered a Modern Heavy Rock
band. We are not a prog band, even though some of those influences
show up. We like big choruses, memorable hooks and big solid grooves.
We are a band for the masses, not just a select group.
5. SINCERELY NOW, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT IF MARK
ZONDER WAS NOT BEHIND SLAVIOR YOU WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO CUT A DEAL SO
EASILY WITH A SUCH GOOD LABEL AS INSIDEOUT?
I am not sure. Since I knew the people
at IO, I am sure it helped. But if the band was not good and the
label did not believe in the band, I am sure there would have been no deal.
I have went to IO with other bands, and they were not interested.
So I am sure it opened the door for us, but did not close the deal.
6. WHO WRITES THE LYRICS IN THE BAND? WHAT KIND
OF THINGS INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE LYRICS ABOUT?
Gregg writes all of the melody lines and lyrics.
I know that he uses his personal experiences for his lyrics.
7. I WOULD LIKE TO STAND A BIT ON THE COVER ARTWORK.
I BELIEVE THAT IT SHOWS AN EGG CELL ATTACKED BY SPERMS. AM I RIGHT? WHO
IS THE ARTIST OF THE COVER AND HOW IS IT CONNECTED WITH THE MUSIC OF SLAVIOR?
Gregg again did the album cover as he is a
very good artist. The main focus of the album is the symbol that
is in the middle. It is a symbol of three elements locked together,
which represents the three guys in the band.
8. WILL YOU DO ANY LIVE SHOWS IN ORDER TO PROMOTE
YOUR NEW ALBUM? IS IT POSSIBLE TO SEE YOU HERE IN GREECE?
We are currently planning out touring.
I would love to come back to Greece as I always have great shows and love
the people. So yes, we are planning to tour.
9. IMAGINE THAT YOU HAVE A BIG BUDGET IN ORDER
TO CREATE A VERY EXPENSIVE VIDEO CLIP. WHICH SONG OF YOURS WOULD YOU LIKE
TO VISUALIZE AND WHY? HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT?
I think several of the songs would make good
videos, but "Another Planet" could be done with a lot of special effects
and really create a small movie.
10. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! I WISH YOU THE BEST
OF LUCK WITH YOUR NEW BAND. THE EPILOGUE OF THIS INTERVIEW BELONGS TO YOU…
I have always had a special place in my heart
for Greece and the fans from this wonderful country. I plan to bring
Slavior to Greece and hope the fans embrace me like when I was there with
Fates Warning and also the love they have shown for Warlord. Thank
you.
Mark Zonder
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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