“Everything new is not good, but the old that has not been forgotten is very good!”
“There is no general template for success. Everything is individual.”
“We just want to make heavy music!” – only Pushkin could say that!
Interview with DRUKNROLL
The scary Saratov experimenters from DRUKNROLL have long been famous for their unconventionality and originality in the interpretation of extreme heavy metal, and they did not change themselves this time either. Although someone may say that their newest disc is a continuation of the previous opus “Unbalanced” and logically follows from it, these two releases have very little in common. The guys decided to play musical chameleons again, once again disassembled their iron hodgepodge down to the last screw and put it back together, simultaneously re-cutting and remaking everything. Clear, tough, targeted, energetic and unpredictable – that’s how “Freakingface” sounds now, and how it happened and who to thank for it, I tried to find out from the band members, inviting them over for tea yesterday on a harsh January midnight.
Where did such a strange and outlandish name come from?
Druknroll: The name came from somewhere above, it just fell on my head! What it means, no one knows, but it is reliably known (I don’t know where from) that it is closely connected not even with the word, but with the great concept of ROCK`N`ROLL!!! (But this is not certain!)
Actually, I meant the album title. Who or what is “Freakingface” dedicated to, what kind of freakish face is this and is it worth looking for and finding the word “king” hidden there in the album title?
Druknroll: “Freakingface” is not dedicated to anyone in particular, it is rather a collective image, but each of you probably knows who it is addressed to! Yes, you can look for the word “king” in the album title, but it is better to look for the encrypted word “f…king” hidden there, I wonder where you can insert it?
What was the most difficult thing while working on the album?
Oleg: For us, the most difficult thing is the texture of the composition, the idea and the transfer of the concept. We thought a lot about the message in our music. Judging by the feedback, our listeners resonated with our music.
In general, was it easier or harder to work on “Freakingface” than on “Unbalanced”?
Denis: For me personally, it was harder. For me, this is the second album in the group, and I had to demonstrate progress in solo parts. I wanted to fit the solo into the compositions more organically, to emphasize the mood of the song. I hope that the listeners appreciated the work we did.
Oleg: Each new album is difficult in its own way. The concept and bringing it to the final product, when all the little puzzles fit into the overall picture, are difficult.
Did you have any specific and conscious motto while working on the new album? Maybe something like “Don’t overload the tracks with ideas” or “Everything in moderation, but at the core – a clear riff and a memorable structure”?
Oleg: I wouldn’t say that this can be a motto. Although, it can all be combined into a general idea “make music with taste”. After all, the right arrangement is 70% of the success of any composition. We have enough experience and we can hear what works and what doesn’t. There is no general template for success. Everything is individual. Music created according to templates quickly gets boring and seems too predictable. We wanted our music to sound fresh. If we needed to focus on the guitar riff, then we tried to make the rhythm section and other elements enhance the overall effect.
In what mood were the solos recorded for the new album? Can they be called calmer or even dreamy?
Denis: Each track created a certain mood, in response to which I tried to resonate. The main goal of my solos is to give the listener a breath of air after the wall of riffs that literally fall on him!
Oleg: On the contrary, it seems to me that the solos are more energetic and driving. I wanted to experiment with various exotic scales and rhythmic patterns.
While listening to “Freakingface”, it seemed to me more and more often that the bass is trying with all its might to take the leading position among all the instruments and lead the guitars and drums behind it, do you think it is possible to say this and characterize the situation in such terms and expressions?
Oleg: It seems to me that the bass is in its place in the mix. It helps to create a more aggressive and dense sound. It provides the main harmonic basis. Bass always has a dominant position in modern metal.
Do you agree with the characterization of your new creation as a continuation of “Unbalanced”?
Oleg: No, this is a completely new concept. New mood. New story!
Druknroll: I agree with Oleg, everything new is not good, but the old that has not been forgotten is very good!
And what about the reproaches and comments that “Freakingface” has become more straightforward and simpler than its predecessor?
Denis: Simplicity should not be perceived as something bad. We have only expanded the area of i
nteraction with a potential listener, providing him with a more understandable final product. And straightforwardness demonstrates the seriousness of our intentions to achieve our goal in winning new listeners 🙂
Oleg: And what is the problem, actually? We are not Dream Theater and are not obliged to make each album more sophisticated than the previous one. We just want to make heavy music!
Druknroll: “We just want to make heavy music!” – only Pushkin could say that! I subscribe to every word!
Do you think you’ve managed to successfully reorient yourself to a foreign audience, changing the language of performance from Russian to English, and conquering picky Western listeners?
Druknroll: Yes, I’ll be honest, with English lyrics and thanks to our beloved label Metal Scrap Records, we’ve pushed our music not only to Europe! Now our albums are sold all over the world, including both Americas and Japan!
What is the point of using computer drums? Why do you continue your journey without a drummer?
Oleg: Nowadays, it is more the rule than the exception. Technologies have become such that it is almost impossible to distinguish live drums from sampled ones. As I said before, arrangements are very important in our music. And with programmed drums, we can achieve more interesting and technical musical solutions, expand the sound palette. Unfortunately, in our environment there is no drummer who could bring our ideas to life. In case of concerts and tours, there are musicians from other cities who can join and support us on stage.
Without a doubt, the most amazing and strange composition on your newest album is “Forever Young”. What inspired you to write such a lyrical and sentimental thing?
Druknroll: Age (here a terrible hellish laugh was heard)!?….?!…!!! Seriously speaking, it was necessary to dilute the rapid-fire compositions with a slow one, and the acoustic guitar had already begun to delam
inate from being idle, and now, finally, it has waited for its hour! Denis’s psychedelic solo in the second part further enhanced the state of touching eternity!
Do you often think about the paradoxes of time and how good and wonderful it would be to remain forever young?
Oleg: We remain forever young. After all, the main thing is not to grow old in soul.
Denis: Undoubtedly, youth is a wonderful state and it is not tied to the physical shell. Our enthusiasm and audacity, splashed out on the album, only confirm the fact that we remain young inside ourselves.
Yes, yes, as they say, the main thing, guys, is to pepper… oh, sorry, not to grow old in heart. And can the avant-garde cover design by Mosa Eye now be considered part of the special style of DRUKNROLL?
Oleg: I wouldn’t say it’s avant-garde, more like abstractionism. Everyone should see something of their own!
Druknroll: And why not! We, like Mosa Eye, like avant-garde-abstract faces, we’ll definitely throw in a line about the cover of the future album!
And what’s the point of performing such unbalanced and chaotic music? Is it an attempt to be original and stand out from the seething whirlpool of metal novelties or an organic need of the soul, the result of self-expression?
Oleg: Unbalanced and chaotic? Maybe we can seem like that to schoolchildren listening to “Kis-Kis”. Our music is for an understanding and searching listener, for whom this is not chaos, but a carefully constructed structure of a new reality, opening up a new meaning in the realm of feeling!
What function does the female vocal play in the general musical hodgepodge of “Freakingface”?
Oleg: It adds timbre to our music!
Druknroll: Yes, as soon as you start to get fed up with our vocalist Uzhas, who sings with a hellish scream, here you go, Maria, who will hook any music lover with her angelic voice!
And what do you think is more in your music: weird modern metal, freedom-loving MDM, otherworldly mate metal, furious post-groove thrash or something else?
Oleg: Defining subgenres is the job of journalists. We don’t care who exactly we’ll be put on the shelf with in a music store. Everything you listed has very vague stylistic definitions. All this relates to metal. Our musical language is a reworking of the ideas of the classics of the genre.
In support of your new album, you shot two videos, and which one do you like more?
Druknroll: I can’t single out one of the videos, we made them with inspiration, a lot of work was put into them, I think they both turned out well!
Is the idea with the manic phone ta
ken from reality? Do you notice any paranoid thoughts about your gadgets?
Druknroll: Yes, everything is from real life, and the worst fear is that at some point a small gadget will crawl from your phone into your ear, hack your brain and control you! (This is already the script for the new video…)
Were your own rare phones used in the video?
Druknroll: Of course, what can I say, surely each of you has the same box with a dozen of these phones, and you know deep down that you will definitely need them someday! I found them useful and there are even some left!
Were the allusions to classic Metallica ballads in the guitar strumming of “Dead Phone” conscious and purposeful?
Oleg: It has nothing in common with Metallica. They don’t have a patent for using pure sound and chromaticisms. Musically, it’s closer to the music of Death!
Is the plot of “My Doomed Love” somehow connected to reality and your everyday life? And should we understand the idea of the video in the spirit of “all evil comes from women”?
Druknroll: The plot of “My Doomed Love” is not connected to reality, it was specially written for the video, and the idea is a little broader, not only all evil comes from women, but also all good, and for this we (men) live!
You appear so often on the “Breakthrough” compilation that I just can’t help but ask: do you think your breakthrough to your listeners has already happened?
Druknroll: Rather, we are in a creative impulse for a breakthrough and it will be better, I think, if this period lasts as long as possible! Without an impulse there will be no breakthrough, the main thing is that the impulse does not end! (I’m so sick of these puns!)
In your native Saratov, do they recognize you on the streets yet?
Oleg: Of course, our friends will recognize us. But we are just four not very handsome men to rush to us for autographs.
Druknroll: They will recognize us and swear!
What are your plans for the near future?
Oleg: Perhaps, to shoot another video and organize an online concert.
Druknroll: And we will definitely make an EP!
What question were you most looking forward to today, but never heard?
Oleg: What place does black magic occupy in our work?
Your final words to all lovers of dark and unconventional music.
Oleg: There is no god but man. Do your will and listen to good music.
Druknroll: And our traditional message: Druk’n’F … n’Rock’n’Roll!!!
Thanks for the interview!
Alexey “Astarte Eel” Irineev
http://astartaview.ru/vse-novoe-yeto-ne-khorosho-a-ochen-khor/