Interview prepared by Alexander Okhota rockcor 02 2013
Answer by Druknroll – founder and leader of the band
-Hello! Tell us how the idea o
f creating DRUKNROLL came about? How did it all start, and what was the main impetus for creating this creative unit?
It all really started in 2006 with the release of a trial single “Metal Night”, and the idea itself had been in the air for about five years before that and kept demanding implementation. As assistant musicians, I invited vocalist Alexander and drummer Peter, who played in the Saratov band “Prince of Darkness” – and they are still involved in all of DRUKNROLL’s work. And a couple of years later, we officially signed up guitarist and special effects master Alex Knip, although he had been actively helping us before that. That’s how the core of the band was formed, which exists to this day. DRUKNROLL is still a project at this stage. But that doesn’t mean we’re not ready or, for some reason, don’t want to perform. We’re always ready for concert activity, it’s a matter of a month of rehearsals. We’re just waiting for a more suitable moment. And it’s not even about the lineup. First, we need to record, release and promote the studio material, including the new one, and only then will it be time for concerts. And there will be an absolutely killer setlist!
-You have a rather uh-uh, undefined style, in which you can hear anything. It may seem strange, but in your band you can simultaneously hear elements inherent to the “Finnish” scene, and, according to some observers, elements inherent even to such a controversial phenomenon as “Russian rock”. How would you describe the style of DRUKNROLL?
Well, it’s impossible to define the style of DRUKNROLL unambiguously, we ourselves have repeatedly racked our brains over this. Of course, we all love Finnish metal, and any other, let’s be honest. But we also listen to other music, which leaves its mark on our creativity. That’s why it’s hard for us to characterize our direction. Modernized and sophisticated metal is probably the best definition of the style in which we create. Other composers also compose for DRUKNROLL. True, their participation in the project is episodic, but they manage to fit in with the general style.
-Despite the fact that DRUKNROLL was initially conceived as a project, you already have, it seems, five videos to your credit. And the videos, I must admit, are not the cheapest. I’ll ask an immodest question. Where do hungry metalheads from the CIS get the money for these videos? Especially considering that even “bearded” foreign bands are not very willing to shoot videos today. There are suspicions about belonging to such a typically “our” phenomenon as “oligarch metal”, whose representatives in the person of AnZh and Piligrim are well known to everyone. And to what extent, ultimately, is it justified. I mean the shooting of all these videos…
Of course not, we do not belong to the “oligarch metalheads”, everything is much simpler. As they say, if there is a desire. The guys and I actually do everything with our own hands and brains – we write the script, deal with the props, shoot and edit the videos. Our friends also actively help us. After all, for us this is an interesting and exciting process, especially since with a competent approach to the matter, the costs for the video are minimal – in fact: gasoline, consumables and operator services. Therefore, we try to approach the shooting as prepared as possible so that everything takes a minimum of time, since all people are quite busy. And since we do not have concert activities yet, then the production of videos is a great way to declare yourself.
-What can you say about the current trends of the domestic heavy scene? What are its positive trends (if any) or, on the contrary, negative?
As for the positive, I will say that the most important thing is that this scene exists at all and is trying to develop. But about the negative – this is how: our metalheads are starting to save so much that they want to record an album at home on a computer, and at the same time they believe that they will achieve awesome quality of both playing and sound, which supposedly no one has been able to do before them. And then they want to release the “result” – there are no other words – on a decent label in a circulation of 10 thousand copies. And completely for free. Nonsense…
-By the way, I will ask the same question, applicable to global trends in metal. And, in your opinion, is there anything in common between the domestic and foreign heavy scenes?
The most important thing that was, is and will be is the highest quality of playing on the instrument. If it suffers, then nothing sensible can be achieved in metal either here or abroad. Thankfully. There is a complete order with this for the most part, which is why it is pleasant to listen to foreign groups and see them on stage. Well, and the talent of a composer is not unimporta
nt.
– Don’t you think that the modern scene, especially the post-Soviet one, is literally overflowing with hopeless empty stuff? Have you ever thought about this problem?
This is not a problem, but a real catastrophe. People don’t want to sweat and work, composing and playing quality heavy music. Learn 2 chords and go ahead, you’re a genius guitarist. Buy some sticks – that’s it, you’re a cool drummer, all the women are yours. A nightmare! There is so much empty stuff that I only choose music to listen to based on recommendations from friends. I don’t really want to dig into all this “variety” myself, it’s just a waste of time.
-What do you think about the current stagnation of physical music media? How noticeable is it to start a new project in the midst of such a crisis? And should we expect that one day all music will be exclusively in the shitty MP3 format?
Yes, modern trends are somehow unreasonably leading us to MP3 and other electronic formats. Using so much expensive studio equipment so that a person can listen to your songs through cheap headphones is somehow strange and unfair. And the matter is, for the most part, in elementary greed – it is easier to steal music for free on the Internet than to pay 200 rubles for a disc and humanely support the musicians. Of course, there is no escape from this and you need to somehow adapt, but I think that you need to record the material in such a way that it is immediately clear what you are listening to – a crappy MP3 or a full-fledged track on a good medium. And the disc will never die thanks to the efforts of musicians – you will not be ashamed to show it to your friends. In the end, an album should be an album. It is a work of art, and not an alternation of zeros and ones.
– Your wishes at the end of the interview. Or, if you don’t want to wish for anything, you can, without unnecessary modesty, figuratively speaking, give someone a real slap in the ass. Which is also no less useful than showering them with cherished gratitude over and over again…
Listen to music and keep your fingers crossed for domestic musicians, otherwise they’ll all go abroad. And let those who think that free music on the Internet is normal give themselves a hard slap in the ass. Rock and roll will not die!