- So, after more than two years, I am sending greetings from Slovakia to Saratov again. Yes, it’s been two years since we talked happily. There’s been a lot of water flowing in the Volga, but I see you haven’t been idle and your musical appetite was not killed by Corona, ha-ha. And I hope the sense for humor.
Denys: Cheers from Russia! Our appetite is eternal for sure!
Druknroll: Hello! The water-level in Volga river just had fallen thanks to local drinkers. We wrote all the material before coronavirus outbreak, that is why our minds didn’t suffer that much within this album. But while writing new songs during the pandemic at its highest we literary went nuts. Here’s some lyrics: “My mind has been captured, they made it burn with rage! My mind was wired up, connected to high voltage!”
- 1so after 2 years you release next full length album „Freakingface“, where we can hear another new faces, Oleg Kireychuk or Alex Knip. Are they new band members or they were just hosting on new album? How did they get into the band?
Druknroll: No, they are not really new members. Alex Knip worked with us for a long time, he just didn’t advertise that. He tracked the band, did mixing, played some instruments. Now he is doing only vocal tracking. Oleg Kireychuk took his place and now he is working on new Druknroll album – tracking, mixing and playing on everything that sounds or not.
- I want to ask about Maria Shamayeva, she has been mentioned on various recordings since 2012, but I have never seen her with you in photos, nor has she ever been written as a band member, so how is it with her?
Druknroll: She is fine. She just takes complex songs of Druknroll and makes our music more diverse. Because our vocalist Horror annoyed everyone with his screams and growls. And suddenly you hear mellow female voice!
- In may 2019 and April 2020 you released 2 mini albums „Doomed Love“ a „Dead Phone“, both contain 3 songs. Was this songs released also on physical media or only digitally?
Druknroll: These EPs we released not only digitally but also “physically” – as vinyl magnets. Super limited edition of 12 copies! 13, exactly, because one is already on my fridge.
- All songs from this two minialbums we can found also on new album „Freakingface“, so doesn’t this make new album a bit of a compilation album?
Druknroll: Perhaps. We wanted to put out the album in spring but due to the pandemic and the lockdown the release date was postponed till summer. Then Anatoly, our chief at Metal Scrap Records, suggested we make another digital EP so we did that. If the lockdown didn’t stop we could also put out EPs like
“Doomed Phone” or “Dead Love”. By the way our label Metal Scrap is distributing our music worldwide for a decade already.
- Is there between songs from minialbums „Doomed Love“ a „Dead Phone“ and songs from new album any difference, or the songs are exactly the same?
Druknroll: Of course there is, they are not the same on the EPs and the album. They are completely different. And the main distinction is that I used 0.9 mm picks while recording the EP and 0.7 mm picks while recording the album.
- The other four songs were composed after both minialbums? Did you have more composed songs and you choose this four or you had only these four songs?
Druknroll: We had 79 songs written, we spent 79000$ for 7,9 years of recording. Then some wise old woman said – hey, don’t waste your time, leave just 2 songs, the others are shitty. We agreed and left 10 songs instead of 2.
- Is it some king of rule that you releasing a new album every two years or it’s just a coincidence?
Oleg: We are quite busy and we are engaged in other musical projects, so 2 years is just a coincidence!
Druknroll: It’s no coincidence but effective management. For a year and 11 months you just fuck around and then do an album in 4 weeks! Like diarrhea!
- Do you plan to write and release a song in the Russian language again, for example as a bonus or EP?
Druknroll: There are no such plans but who knows? When we run out of rhymes like “girl – world” in English then we do a Russian album with the same lines “devka – mir”. It’s not a rhyme but sounds great.
- Your album “Freakingface” is again diverse and very colorful in style. I have to admit that when listening to individual songs; it seems to me that every song was written by a different artist. Where do you still get inspiration or what motivates you to compose such songs?
Oleg: We just listen to a lot of different music and it is interesting for us to experiment with different hot and musical ideas. If it sounds good, then it has a right to exist. In addition, we all have a different musical background and this has its impact.
Denys: All of us (Druknroll) are pretty unique people and we’re understand that our listeners are too. So we aimed to give all kinds of emotions to them. I think we done our job well.
- What are the lyrics about?
Druknroll: I am always afraid of this question. First I have to get inside my mind, delve into it thoroughly and take out the most secret, often dirty, thoughts. Then lay them all on the floor, squeeze them with hands and feet, then embrace and warm up. Only after that if I am lucky the lyrics are born that would be placed on music.
- Where have you been recording the new album? How long did it take and how satisfied are you with the result? Did there be any problems or complications during the recording?
Oleg: We recorded it at the Saratov live line studio. Where I am a producer and chief sound engineer. So the choice of the recording location was obvious. We wrote it down pretty quickly and were very pleased with the result. Long years of work give a positive result.
Denys: Personally I did my recording session in a comfortable way just sitting in my house. The conditions were so nice and relaxed that sometimes I had to push myself to get solos done.
- The cover is very interesting, what should it express?
Druknroll: The cover depicts our entire lives – diverse and thrilling!
- Do you still have a violinist, flutist, accordionist, balalaika and a guy with a triangle in the band, haha? Did I hear that a guy with a gusle and a gudok was added?
Oleg: Of course. And I combine all these roles as a multi-instrumentalist. I actualy use virtual instrument
Druknroll: We can play not only gusli, we went further. Now we are working on a track with a one-string guitar, drums with no drumheads and synthesizer with the keys chewed by a hamster. The hamster is the singer by the way.
- I used to know more about what was going on in Russia (in the Soviet Union) than in the next town, haha, so I want to ask you how it looks like it there now not only in the Saratov region, but throughout Russia. I know that the Covid-19 pandemic once hit your country hard, but now I am not following it at all, I have my opinion on that. Nothing new in our country, only politicians are arguing and they blame each other who killed how many people, a lot of fun.
Druknroll: Fuck politics! Druknroll is a politics-free band! Fuck COVID-19, by the way the virus is also politics-free. We live in the age of Internet where any sane person can find the truth about anything he or she cares about.
- How strong COVID influenced Russian culture, music and of course metal or rock separately?
Druknroll: It is not clear. In winter 2020 I went to an In Flames gig in Moscow that was packed with hundreds of people who sang all the lyrics with the band. A week after the whole country was locked at home and yelled Druknroll lyrics drinking beer and vodka.
- So last question at the end – will we wait another two years for a new album? Ha-ha. And do not forget, send vodka and matryoshka dolls, ha-ha!
Druknroll: Of course! Expect another full-length in two years. While this year we are planning to shoot a new video and to release an EP “Doomed Dead”, ha-ha! Sent you some vodka and matryoshka riding a bear who can play balalaika as we do. See you!
Miroslav „Kremator“ Galgánek