IMR: Hails “ARTILLERIE”! I must admit that after listening to your E.P "NEW OFFENSIVE" for the very first time, I was really perplexed to believe that you are a "Delhi" based metal band because it took me only few minutes to realize the spirit of the album and I was completely fascinated with the quality of the sound. How does this sound to you guys?
Artillerie: Well thanks a lot IMR for liking and appreciating our stuff. You see the metal scene in Delhi has been constantly progressing over the years. There are some promising metal acts that have come from here, like “UNDYING INC.”, “3rd SOVEREIGN”, “NARSIL”, “ACRID SEMBLANCE”, etc. The rising scene here eventually led to a handful of guys seriously taking on the art of recording and producing metal music. We worked with Anupam Roy on our recordings and production. This greatly worked to our benefit, considering what even you earlier commented about being “completely fascinated with the quality of the sound”!
We are really excited about the growing metal scene not just in New Delhi, but all over India. This may sound like a crazy dream, but we feel that the trajectory on which the Indian metal scene is right now will soon catapult it to global recognition. We would just really love to be around when that happens!
IMR: Describe the E.P "NEW OFFENSIVE" in brief? Any of your personal favorites from the debut release that one should look out for?
Artillerie: This EP holds an incomparable relevance to all of us in the band. Firstly, considering this is our first EP ever! And secondly this EP is something like our initiation into a newer and greater level of creativity in terms of making music and purposeful songwriting. Personally we like all the songs on the EP, but I guess we have somewhat of a special connection with Song of the Trodden and New Offensive. Both these songs demanded quite a bit of our time both in terms of music and conceptualization. If you hear these two songs in succession, you will actually see that New Offensive is like a sequel to the Song of the Trodden.
Song of the Trodden deals with the subject of an individual losing his identity to the one that the world created for him by telling him what he should be like, and what he should do to ‘make’ it in life. In the end, he just finds himself broken, lost and completely confused about his identity and the purpose of his very existence. New Offensive, on the other hand, calls for individuals, like the one in the Song of the Trodden, to rise up and take a stand for themselves and reclaim their identity and find the purpose for which they were originally created.
IMR: Nearly, every composition in the E.P is quite catchy with heavy guitar riffs accompanied with painful vocals, but presented in a boisterous manner. Is there any message behind the title of the E.P or any vision that you had for this debut release, and how much of that did you manage to achieve?
Artillerie: Well thank you very much once again! Yeah that is true that the vocals of Luke are so “painful” that even our neighbors get pretty emotional and join the chorus when we jam! LOL. Jokes apart, we did envision a message behind our EP. The title New Offensive is really about a call to our generation today to rise up and take a stand for themselves, and find their individuality, their potential and realize the uniqueness in which they were created, as opposed to the fake, manipulative doctrines and ideologies the world offers. It is like a new kind of rebellion, a new offensive which rests on the whole idea of logic and reason.
We wanted this EP to be a form of a new beginning for all of us in terms of music and song writing, and while we are definitely satisfied with the way the EP has turned out, we don’t consider this to be the end of the line. We are sure that we are still going to evolve further as musicians, and we are more than bloody excited about the way ahead!
IMR: How much time did you guys spent in the studio, and which are your best memories while recording the E.P? Could you list down some of the bands that have influenced and inspired you to create your personal sound?
Artillerie: We spent roughly 14 sittings of 3 hours each over a span of 3 months. This was mainly because all of us are working with "respectable jobs" and so we had to make that extra effort to come to studio after a long day of work. Besides, it was also another issue to get dates in the studio (That is of course, as you are already aware, because of the lack of “competitive studios” in our country which can produce metal albums!) We however cherish every moment and fondly remember them for some good laughs now and then.
As a band, our style is influenced by bands which we like both collectively and individually. This allows us to work in tandem but at the same time bring something new to the jam room based on our personal influences and inspirations. The bands that we however consider as some of our major influences collectively are Megadeth, Testament, Pantera, Lamb of God, etc.
IMR: While writing down the original anthems, do you compose them considering the fact that how will they eventually sound on a live sage? Let us know, which are the elements that our readers can find in bands debut released E.P "NEW OFFENSIVE"?
Artillerie: Well yeah, in a way, we do write our songs with the live performances in mind. I mean we make songs that we enjoy. If we get all kicked up about a song in the jam room, and go all out crazy playing it, then that's it, that's our song. As for the elements that our songs contain, we really sincerely appeal to the readers of IMR to listen to them and let us know what they find!
IMR::What was the most challenging thing for"ARTILLERIE" during the making of the E.P "NEW OFFENSIVE"?
Artillerie: Hmmm... in retrospect we feel that we have gone through the same complications that most struggling bands go through: juggling the music as well as regular full time jobs, family obligations, and an attempt at a social life; saving up the money needed to log time in a studio; and finally even getting into the studio at times. But in the end of course it's all worth it when you hear the finished product come to life.
IMR: the recording of the release is quite appreciative both on speakers as well as on the headphones, which we hardly find with any of the Indian bands. Which is the record label that you have tied up with and are you planning to continue with the same in the near future? Any compromises as far as your music is concerned with the label?
Artillerie: Well we are indie at the moment, so no questions about a record label prodding our creative controls! However we are not unnecessarily skeptical about anything, and would love to consider working with a record label which would respect our music and be genuinely inclined towards the promotion of independent music.
IMR: Thanks for the interview; we will keep our ears open to have a splitting blast with your killer music in the near future. Now the space is all yours, any message to the bands fan base?
Artillerie: No problem! And we're as grateful to you for interviewing us and showing us your support, it means a lot to us. To all those who have heard our music and liked it, we're really thankful for your support. We'd really like to hear from you. You can drop in a line on our recently set up myspace page (www.myspace.com/artillerie) if you wish to give us your feedback or simply get to know us better. We're working on putting up a website soon, but it's not up just yet. Oh, and also, please buy our CD whenever it comes out or we'll all probably starve to death, LOL!
* Good luck!!!
Pravin Prajapati(LordMessiah)
