While the third album of the Russian project DRUKNROLL, titled “Boiling Point”, is being prepared for release on the Metal Scrap Records label, our magazine decided to talk to its members, who revealed some secrets of the new work.
Interview prepared by Thrashmentorterroraiser 57
1) Your new album “Boiling Poin
t” is coming out soon. What will it be like? How is it different from the previous “On the Blade of a Knife”?
Druknroll: Yes, the album will be released this spring on Metal Scrap Records. We took the best from the previous album, screwed it all up and recorded it in the studio. In the new album, we tried to preserve the “modernity” (I myself did not understand what it is) of the written material, although the sounds of the classical orchestra, acoustic guitar, which are present in the new material, will always caress the ear.
Peter: Well, first of all, it is distinguished by much greater emotionality of the lyrics and some kind of malice, if I may say so. During the time we were making it, a lot of events happened in the country, around us, in our lives, different and not always very pleasant. And often we ourselves reached some kind of boiling point, when the roof literally blew off, fortunately, we found the strength to calm down. So, I can say that to some extent this album was hard for us, hence the name – at least for me, other musicians may have a different version. But, nevertheless, we tortured it, suffered – and now it is ready.
Horror: Firstly, it is new!… Well, in general, it turned out more melodic, but, at the same time, no less driving than “On the Edge of a Knife”.
2) What is the main theme of the lyrics of the new album? What recent events have influenced the content of your songs?
Druknroll: There is no theme for the songs, it’s just that first an idea, a line, comes up, and then it all develops into lyrics. We’ve already covered some topics in previous albums, for example, about submarine sailors, but this is a sacred topic for me, because I spent three years on a submarine in Kamchatka. Also, Dmitry Tolgaev, who wrote such excellent lyrics as “Samurai”, “White Death”, “God of the Seas”, is collaborating with us for the third album.
Peter: Well, a lot. I won’t go into details, because a lot of what happened is very personal. Yes, most of the lyrics were rethought and metaphorized. There are no traces of real events in them, but one can only guess what really took place. And so, the theme of the songs is something that cannot leave you indifferent, something that evokes emotions.
3) Where and how did you record the new album, has your approach to the recording process changed compared to your previous studio sessions?
Druknroll: The new material was recorded at our own studio in Saratov.
We recorded our previous material there as well. Our approach to recording hasn’t changed, we work on one song for 2-3 months, do it completely, and then work on the next one. We can’t take on several things at once. As a result, there are songs that were recorded 2 years ago, and they can’t be redone.
Horror: Our approach to recording hasn’t changed since recording the last album, we began to take it more seriously, thoughtfully, trying to correct and not repeat the mistakes and shortcomings of previous recordings.
4) This will be your third full-length album, and the second for Metal Scrap Records. Can we conclude that you are satisfied with your cooperation with this label?
Druknroll: Metal Scrap Records is just a godsend for us. We are completely satisfied with the work of the label. We just write songs and send them to the label, and in the end we get everything: licensed CDs that are sold in Russia, Europe and America, advertising in the press and on the Internet, interviews and reviews in magazines and on the Internet, all kinds of merch and a bunch of invitations to tour. It’s just cool!
Petr: Yes, quite. The Metal Scrap Records team is very professional and always takes care of the
ir charges. We like it.
5) It’s been two years since the release of the previous album, “On the Blade of a Knife”. What has the band been doing during this time – have they toured, played separate concerts?
Druknroll: We don’t play concerts yet, we don’t go on tour. We are exclusively recording new material, shooting videos.
6) By the way, you already had a number of video clips. Will there be new videos for the songs from the new album? What attracts you to work in this direction?
Druknroll: We had 5 videos in our arsenal, and in support of the new album we released 2 more – “Samurai” and “Oborona Sevastopolya”. Working on videos takes a lot of time, because we do all the work ourselves – from the script to editing.
7) Your group comes from Saratov. Are you interested in what is happening on your local scene? How do you assess its condition? Can you recommend any groups from your city?
Druknroll: As in any city, there are better groups, there are worse, but in Saratov, on the heavy scene, such groups as Fatal Decay, Svartstorm, Duhi Predkov, Radioaction and others give it their all.
Petr: Well, personally I am interested, of course, because I am actively involved in this crowd, and I am always interested in what is going on. And so, we have a lot of interesting things going on, a lot of movement. Regarding activity – recently archivists calculated that in Saratov, at the moment, there are more than 100 groups existing and active. But, in fact, there are 10-15 groups that write albums, are published and go on tour or simply, at least, have concert activities outside of Saratov. We have an annual compilation “SIM”, which, as it were, sums up the results of each year, we have been participating in it since 2009. So there are very few groups that are consistently visible on the compilation. Many have already sunk into oblivion. And those who participated in all the compilations – only a few. I can recommend friendly teams: Svartstorm, Radioaction and Duhi Predkov, well and Sgian Dhub, Fatal Decay, Gonnalon. I guess that’s to my taste.