Συνέντευξη με τους Ιταλούς METHEDRAS
- METHEDRAS has been active since 1996. Looking back, how have you seen the evolution of the band over the years, both musically and personally?
Speaking about the music, It has changed so much since the first albums, we started with a thrash/death metal arriving to “Human Deception” which is full of orchestra, electronics and so on. We always felt the desire to experiment album by album putting new elements at every step, and especially in the last 3 albums we developed more and more the electronic parts in our songs, because we wanted to add some fresh and unsettling ingredients that could make the music different than what came before. On the personal side, the band has changed a bit also, first of all because there are different members, and also because during 28 years of existence you grow with the band too, so it’s natural to change bit as a person during the years.
- Your latest album, “Human Deception,” has received significant attention. Can you discuss the themes and inspirations behind the songs on this album?
The lyrics of the album are inspired by the covid era, in which there was a lot of hate and anger on socials, and a lot of fake news and comments were running all over the web. All these things are in songs like “Know it All” , “Enraged”, “A New Deal”, mixed with more personal themes like “Psychotic” and “Another Fall”.
- How does the writing process for “Human Deception” compare to your previous albums? Were there any new approaches or collaborations you ventured into this time?
Basically the way we decided to work on it, this time more focused on the rehearsal room to jam all together on new riffs than the past, giving to the songs more “live attitude” and sharing more our ideas in the room, and not from home. It has also a more specific orchestral stuff which gives to the music more variety.
- The band has a reputation for its intense sound and powerful lyrics. What do you hope listeners take away from your music, especially in “Human Deception”?
Two main things: the energy that we share in our music, and the new ingredients that we added in this last album that makes it be probably the most modern one from our discography in terms of sound and compositions.
- Can you tell us more about the creative decisions and production behind “Human Deception”? Were there any challenges you faced during this album’s development?
The most difficult part of it was the covid era, we started to compose it during that period so at the beginning we couldn’t meet ech other, so we worked from remote, better than nothing but not exactly like jamming in a rehearsal room, and also this was affecting a bit the “rehearsal room jam project” to grow the album physically all together as we decided from the beginning.
- METHEDRAS has released six albums over its career. Is there an album or song that holds a special place in your heart, and why?
I personally joined the band in 2014, so without speaking about the recorded stuff with me, I have to say that I’m bonded to a couple of songs from “System Subversion” which are “Subversion” and “You Got It”, those songs remind me the period in which I was studying to join the band.
- You’ll be heading out on tour in Greece with PIRANHA for the “ETERNAL DECEPTION” tour in 2024. What are your expectations for this tour, and what does it mean for the band to play in Greece?
It’s very special for us to play there, we never toured in Greece so we’re very excited about it and we can’t wait to burn the stage with our music and to meet new fans there! We all know that in Greece there is a very hot metal scene, and that for us is a great reason to be and play there.
- How does the Greek metal scene differ from other European scenes you’ve experienced, and what do you look forward to about connecting with Greek fans?
We still don’t know it for sure because we’ve never played in Greece before, I think that we’re going to meet a lot of passion from the crowd!
- As seasoned musicians, what advice would you give to emerging bands trying to navigate the ever-evolving music industry today?
To rehearse a lot, and to be able to use all the tools that we have nowadays with the technology, it helps so much to grow the music you have in your head, for sure!
- Thrash metal often addresses heavy topics. Can you share how current global events have influenced your music and lyrical content recently?
Definitely a lot, because most of the lyrics from “Human Deception” are affected from the recent events happened in the world like the covid era and all the bad that it took with it, and probably also the music because some riffs were born during the isolation period, so for sure more suffered than ever!
- What can fans expect from METHEDRAS in the future? Are there any upcoming projects or releases you can hint at beyond the Greek tour?
We’re looking forward to 2025, there will be great news about gigs so stay tuned! In the meanwhile we’ll continue to promote “Human Deception”. Thank you so much for the opportunity!
