1. Your Vkontakte page states that the band was founded in 2006. DRUKNROLL can hardly be called a young and beginning team. But we know that there were other projects. Tell us about them.
Andrey: No, DRUKNROLL is something like a “stubborn” tank – slowly but surely, it pushes towards its goal no matter what! Another thing is the musicians of DRUKNROLL. Denis makes great covers of different bands, Petr, who spent more than 7 years in our team, and vocalist Alexander are busy in the group Svartstorm, Oleg and Dmitry work in several projects at once, including cover bands, in short, a normal live ball!
2. You recently premiered the video “Zero” which was made, so to speak, in the universe of the popular cartoon “Metal Family” Tell us the story of the creation of this release, how did fate bring you together with the creators of the cartoon
Andrey: It’s simple, I came across a cartoon on the Internet, something touched me, I wrote to the creators of the series and everything started spinning! At first I offered them to make the cartoon themselves, but they referred to being busy and eventually agreed that we ourselves cut the video from their series and launched the video!
3. Where and how do you record your songs, is it a home studio or do you record somewhere on the side? How does the creative process happen, what interesting cases happened in the process of creating music?
Oleg: The last few albums were recorded at the Saratov studio Live Line Where I am also the sound engineer, which is very convenient for the group. At the moment in Saratov this is one of the most technically advanced studios in Saratov. We have a good selection of microphones and guitar amps that help us create that very wall of sound that you hear on the albums.
Denis: I record at home in a comfortable atmosphere for myself. The creative process, in my case, begins only when I find a compromise with myself, pull myself together, take the guitar in my hands and start improvising on a given topic.
From an interesting point: I like to write a solo in one take and often the first take is not always successful. It takes at least ten, and sometimes more, takes for me to be satisfied with the result. So, on the 8th take, you begin to move away from the invented and given concept of the solo, add different techniques, moves, notes and with such “embellishments” you record the final version.
4. How do you like modern music? What do you listen to, who can you mention?
Denis: Naturally, I listen to modern music. Of the less known, but very interesting, I would like to mention Befell.
Dmitry: When it comes to modern music, many people immediately think of modern pop stars. But modern music is not limited to this. There is an underground that is blooming and smelling. There are many new phenomena in modern black metal. For me, Imperial Triumphant was a big discovery. There are many interesting things not only in metal. For example, the electro-jazz Sungazer
5. Should you write songs when they are written or should you still try, even through force, to respond to current topics?
Denis: I have never been a supporter of violence against oneself. There is enough violence in everyday life. Why introduce it into the creative process? Creativity should be enjoyable, because it is fun!
Oleg: Writing songs is almost a job. I am a professional musician and songwriter. Working in music means that it is daily work. And you should not wait for the muse. You must not slow down, otherwise you can write albums for years. We want to do this regularly.
6. How many songs does DRUKNROLL release per year and how many end up in the repertoire?
Dmitry: On average, about 10 songs. All of them end up on the album. We always try to refine ideas and put them into finished compositions.
Andrey: Yes, we can’t afford to, like DEEP PURPLE, kick people out to football and then make an album in a week, 1 track takes 2-3 months, including recording, we don’t have any extra songs, everything is for the cause!
7. Nowadays, music TV channels and radio stations are filled with downright mediocre music. Why do you think there is so much bad taste in modern creativity?
Denis: These are side effects of the power of money. Only with their help can we hear bad taste in rotation on TV and radio.
Dmitry: Is it only now? Music has always been a one-day affair and it will always be. Most people are brought up in such a way that they think that what is popular is good. But it’s not that simple. Black Sabbath was also not very popular with critics. Now it is a classic of world music. At least 10 years must pass to say about any artist whether it is bad taste or a breakthrough. Let’s see who will be remembered in 2032.
8. What direction in music is the most popular in Russia right now? Does heavy music have a chance to win back the positions of the 90s, when it was almost the main world genre?
Oleg: Fashion is cyclical. It is difficult to predict
Andrey: Rather metal, that’s how it is written, that’s how it is played!))) But seriously, here we are fighting for the main world genre, you can even chop off the motto of the paratroopers – “Nobody but us!”
9. Should rock music be protest or is it better for musicians nowadays to abstract themselves from this and do pure art without reference to time?
Denis: If you want to remain in history, you need to write about the present or the eternal.
Dmitry: There can be no art divorced from its time. It is always tied to it and closely associated. We associate Thresh with the 80s and Deathcore with the mid-00s. Protest is a desire to go beyond the existing attitudes. These do not necessarily have to be political attitudes, but also musical ones. Going beyond the usual is always at the heart of any real art
10. When will we be able to see DRUKNROLL on stage?
Dmitry: In the current epidemiological situation, it is difficult to talk about live performances, we are preparing an online concert something in the spirit of BEHEMOTH In Absentia Dei!
11. What else do you have time for, besides music, do you have any other hobbies?
Denis: Procrastination, yes.
Andrey: Alpine skiing
12. Was the release of “Zero” a new stage for you or confirmation of something already passed?
Dmitry: For us, every new release is a new stage of creativity.
Andrey: This is a new stage of confirmation of something passed or confirmation of a new stage that has already been passed or a new confirmation of a passed stage or a confirmed stage of a new passed one!
13. What is more important in songs, form, content or energy? Try to choose one thing.
Denis: Content. This is the most universal value that a mass listener can appreciate.
Dmitry: What is meant by form? Usually this means the structure of the composition (for example, sonata form). If we talk about us, then our form is quite standard: intro / verse / chorus / solo / outro. If we talk about the content of our lyrics, then it is intended more for nerds. We do not sing about love and other banalities!
Andrey: Energy moves everything forward!
14. Can you name three main facts about yourself that no one knew until now?
Denis: I listen to golden era hip-hop, I don’t eat pork and I play guitar very little.
15. Do you have songs in both Russian and English? Is this an attempt to expand the audience or is there another meaning?
Dmitry: Yes, we are trying to expand our audience and it worked. We receive positive feedback from many corners of the world
Andrey: Our label Metal Scrap Records confidently promotes our work all over the world, so we also had to be closer to the people and we changed the language to international!
16. Speaking of festivals, how often did DRUKNROLL have to perform at mixed festivals and what events could you highlight in particular?
Oleg: What festivals, when there is death and plague all around us. We locked ourselves in the studio and write songs!
17. And finally, tell us how DRUKNROLL is planning to spend 2022?
Denis: We would like to increase the number of our listeners and sign a contract with a major label 🙂
Oleg: We are going to take tents and go on vacation somewhere in the south! They say this time of year is good in Afghanistan!
Andrey: Stop! Stop! Stop! What Afghanistan, and who will work on new songs? After Afghanistan, we will only collect our thoughts for a whole year! Of course, we will lock ourselves in the studio again and make new material, yes, now about the main thing! At the end of January, our new EP “Zero” will be released on the Metal Scrap Records label, consisting of 3 tracks, and in the spring our new full-length album will be ready from (guess it right?) – that’s right, from 10 jaw-dropping tracks! Metal to all, friends!
