IMR: THE KISSING FLIES will feature two guests namely Murari Vasudevan(RAT KING) and Niklas ‘Viper’ Stålvind(WOLF). What was the main reason behind introducing these guest musicians?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): I started ALBATROSS because I was sick of the music scene and the kind of music that was being played across India. I’m always a Metal fan first and a musician second. And two of the musicians we at ALBATROSS really look up to are Niklas and Murari. They understand our style of music, and the fact that the storytelling is an integral part of the music; translating the same into spine tingling musical ideas. The product is going to be insane!
IMR: Okay, tell us about the recording process and how problems you met did reshape a face of the album? Who is producing, where it is getting recorded and when can we actually expect it to be hitting the stores?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): The EP has almost completely been recorded at DEMONIC STUDIOS, Mumbai. The album will be mixed and produced by Niklas Stalvind in VIPER STUDIOS, Sweden, mastered in UP STUDIOS in the US by VESTAL CLARET guitarist Simon Tuozzoli. It should ideally be out by March 2012. Errr…we faced no problems at all!
IMR: Can you compare this new split with the previous one, DINNER IS YOU(E.P). May be you guys changed something in sound or lyrical themes?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): In terms of sound, both ALBATROSS and VESTAL CLARET are simultaneously working at creating a fucking awesome sounding product. We’ve made songs which are darker, slower and more brooding; and VESTAL CLARET is writing more progressive music in line with our sound. This EP is also not about cannibals but kissing flies so the lyrics will obviously be different.
IMR: One thing that really kept running in my mind was that, this is a split album between two bands dealing with different themes. Tell us, how does the title and cover-art suits the entire concept of the album for both the bands?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): To be honest, we’re thematically quite similar. The songs are all horror stories- maybe VESTAL CLARET’s horror isn’t supernatural, but horror doesn’t need to always be about ghosts. The title you’ve seen is just the ALBATROSS promo bit of it. The final product will have a different cover.
IMR: Well, as stated ALBATROSS is a band which combines bone chilling stories with bone crushing metal. Where do you think ALBATROSS's biggest influences come from and can we direct towards any one specific sub-genre or there are even more genres to highlight your kind of music?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): We all have our own individual influences, but there are many genre do’s and don'ts in ALBATROSS. The essential genre is Horror Metal- whatever genre of Metal needs to be played to tell our story. But we all have varied individual influences. I guess we’re all influenced by the legends- IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA, MEGADETH, WOLF...as well as individual influences such as KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, BRITON RITES, CELTIC FROST, TRIPTYKON, QUEENSRYCHE for me; DEATH, BLOTTED SCIENCE etc. for Vignesh; TWITED SISTER, BON JOVI, QUEEN, ICED EARTH for Biprorshee; NEVERMORE for Nishith; and DREAM THEATER for Jay. We might experiment, but we never stray too much into a genre of music we ourselves wouldn’t enjoy.
IMR: Dr. Hex, you’re an avid reader, so how does it reflect in your music?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): Well, concept albums are the rage these days. But what I see most bands doing is making a half baked concept. In ALBATROSS, I always have a story in place even before the first note is written. The band makes sure that the 5 of us enjoy the story at least; and since we’re big horror fans ourselves the end product is generally good. If you enjoy Poe, Lovecraft, Dean Koontz, King Diamond, Peter Straub, China Mieville, etc. there will be elements in our lyrics which will appeal to you.
IMR: According to you, which problems do you think any Rock/Metal band is bound to meet? What, obstacles do our Indian Metal bands usually face in the scene, I mean take a look what the Swedish/ Norwegian/Finnish have done!
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): The only problem in the Indian Rock scene is treating the band like a hobby. Once this stops, every other problem will be sorted.
IMR: I don't know about others but yes I am definitely expecting ALBATROSS to come up with a music video sometime. Do you have any plans to come up with ALBATROSS's music video soon?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): Yessir. Soon.
IMR: You already have released an EP last year DINNER iS YOU and this year you are set to release the next EP, THE KISSING FLIES, so do you hope to find some new fans with the split, THE KISSING FLIES and how do you think your fan should look like?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): Yes, we do. Like Jessica Alba.
IMR: Does ALBATROSS have any plans to work on an full-length album in future as you guys would be already having an E.P and a split to your name?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): Good question. Not really haha. I personally want to do 2 more splits before some major international label signs us and we create a full length album which destroys the world like Abigail did. But until then…!
IMR: When ALBATROSS is not gigging or jamming what the members do in their free time?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): Eat human flesh.
IMR: Modern technology has changed the music industry radically in several ways. Today, it is said that bands can get a good sound recording in their bedrooms. How much does this affect the overall role of the producer?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): We shifted from a bedroom recorded sound on DINNER IS YOU to a much clearer sound on this record, because we recorded on an analog setup in DEMONIC STUDIOS. The more you spend on your album, the better it’s going to end up sounding. Working with Sahil is awesome since he lets us do our own thing, as opposed to the ‘producer interruptions’ I’ve come to dread. And the ideas he gives within the context of the song are pretty kickass.
IMR: Now, this one goes a bit out of topic. In future can we expect those "epic" lyrics of WORKSHOP?
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): In Albatross? Hell no!
IMR: Okay, so here we come to an end of the interview, tell us something spine-chilling! Also, is there any final prescription to the patients from Dr. Hex? Thank You!
Riju Dasgupta(ALBATROSS): In ancient Egypt, reportedly bodies were beheaded while being mummified and replaced with the head of animals, so that when bodies arose again they’d assume the role of demigods- half man, half beast.
Final Prescription- Stay away from 8 string guitars. They’re bad for health.
