Achren Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

After the recording, we did a Scottish tour then spent most of the winter writing; there’s a great residential studio in the hills we started going to which meant we could work towards mild insanity in isolation and jam 24hrs a day.  Since the release, we did a UK tour last month, with the last gig so far being Beermageddon next month;  we might do a couple more dates after that but then it’s back to writing for the next album.  We’ve hit a bit of a creative spell recently so we’re looking to build on that and get everything down while it’s still fresh.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

The White Death EP is somewhat majestic and mournful as the sound goes; it’s still rooted in that death/black/thrash style but there’s a certain fatalistic melody going on which seemed to connect it to the whole “most kills” sniper concept.  Terrible but necessary death. Compared to the last album, the songs have a lot more “breathing space”; whereas before we would cut right in and bash the hell out of it, there’s more dynamic flavour in the new EP.  The musical ideas take time to progress and there are more variations as a result.

3.You label your music as 'blood metal' can you tell us a little bit about the tag?

That originally came about because we didn’t fit into either the death or black metal categories; it’s a reference to the iron in our blood and relates to metal in our hearts through that.

4.Your lyrics cover death, war and torture, can you tell us a little bit about your interest in those topics?

A lot of it is based on the idea of triumphant misery.  Gorification and revelment in the undesirable yet ultimately inevitable.  Our interest in the subject is entirely recreational.

5.One of your songs was about the Finnish, are the band members interested in Finnish Mythology?

We all fell in love with Finland when we first went there; it’s probably the most heavy metal country in the world, and it has a lot of parallels with Scotland in terms of the darkness and depression, the alcoholism and the rivalry with larger neighbours.  I became obsessed with Finland for a while, with its history and people;  I learnt the language and watched documentaries about their creation mythology and their wars, and really Suomen Susi was my tribute to Finland and their people.  The more you learn about them the more you find they are an incredible people, and so distinct from the rest of Europe.  The melody actually came to me in a dream, and in the lyrics I ran through some of my experiences there and the wisdom of some good friends I made there, as well as touching on the historical content of the winter war.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Achren'?

“Achren” is the old Celtic otherworld; it’s a parallel world where the “others” live- the Sidhe.  It made sense for me to take something from Brythonic (Welsh) Celtic, because although Scotland is associated with the Goidelic (Irish) Celtic people, the lowlands were really Welsh blooded.  I read up on a lot of history and mythology and between that connection and the whole idea of being part of another world seems to fit where we as a band are.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

For me Metalcamp in Slovenia was a special one, mainly because it was the biggest stage we’d played on up to that point, and the crowd was something we’d never really experienced before.  In general our shows involve a lot of sweat and fury.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Next up for us is Beermageddon in August in the English midlands.  After that we’re pretty much into hibernation til the next album out, although there might be the odd special show in the meantime but nothing confirmed as yet.

9.Your releases have came out on Ceol Dorchas Productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Ceol Dorchas is my vehicle to release our music;  there isn’t much in the way of music industry for metal in Scotland so this was the best option for us in terms of control and promotion. In a lot of ways, the industry has changed and it can be a good option to keep control of the release process and split off the other parts of band "management"; it's worked out well for us so far.

10. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death?

So far it’s been confined to Europe mainly, but it’s been really good.  We have some real hardcore supporters in Scotland here and down South, plus Germany and Finland- the countries made of heavy metal.

11.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects?

Creatively Scott has his own dark ambient project to give him an outlet for that side.  Myself and John don’t in a writing sense but we do a fair bit of session stuff for various bands; we both played in an Argentinian folk metal band called Skiltron last year; John works in a music shop here so he always ends up doing bass or guitar work for some local celebrity at some point and I’m just back from playing a show with Destroyer 666. I’ve also done some bagpiping for a few bands, metal and otherwise, over the years.  I love playing with other musicians because you’re never done learning and it’s the only way to do it but in a creative sense Achren is the king.

12.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Well, we should have the next album recorded by the end of the year.  How long it takes after that is anyone’s guess as usual but we’re definitely planning to get back out on tour as much as possible next year.

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Right now I’m listening to Nachtmystium’s Assassins.  That’s probably about as recent as it gets;  to be honest I think a lot of new metal is way too overproduced- every album has the same drum sound, everything is note perfect.  I’m not interested in that- you need some kind of raw edge to express the personal style of the musicians across.  Too many bands right now sound like their record label or producer.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?

Stereotypical stuff really- motorbikes and engineering.  Nothing better than some kind of machine designed to  travel fast as hell.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

  Fuck it hard.  Always.

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The Wolves Of Avalon/Boudicca's Last Stand/SixSixSix Music/2014 CD Review

   The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Boudicca's  Last  Stand"  which  was  released  by  SixSixSix  Music.

  A  Celtic  folk  music  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  flutes,  violins,  and  acoustic  guitars  and  after  a  minute  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  album  also  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  melodic  and  the  vocals  also  sound  very  aggressive  while  also  having  a  melodic  tone  to  them  at  times.

  Keyboards  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  along  with  some  clean  singing  female  and  male  vocals  and  the  heavier  parts  bring  in  the  pagan  sound  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  popping  in  at  times  and  the  guitar  leads  are  very  melodic  sounding  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  aggressive  vocals  start  bringing  in  more  elements  of  black  metal.

  Their  is  a  good  mixture  of  both  heavy  pagan  metal  and  soft  folk  music  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  also  alternates  between  slow  and  mid  paced  sections,  a  good  amount  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  have  Thurios  from  Drudkh/Astrofaes  and  Hildr  Valkyrie  from  Folkearth  doing  some  quest  vocals  on  some  of  the  songs  and  there  is  also  a  good  usage  of  mandolins,  cellos  and  accordion's  being  used  throughout  the  recording  and they  make  the  music  have  a  more  medieval  pagan  feeling  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Enslaved's  "Essence"  which  also  has  a  quest  vocals  by  Miria  of  Sigh.

  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  creates  a  very  interesting  style  of  pagan  metal  that  takes  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  Celtic  folk  music  and   the  combination  sounds  very  great  and  epic  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Celtic  Pagan  and  Boudicca  a  queen  who  took  a  stand  against  Rome  after  the  great  druid  sanctuary  of  Ynys  Mon  was  ruthlessly  destroyed.

  In  my  opinion  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  are  a  very  great  sounding  pagan/folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Sky  Goddess"  "Bonded  by  Blood  And  Sword"  "Iceni  Queen  Unfurl'd  In  A  Tempest  Of  Crows"  and  "Cold  As  Mouldering  Clay".  8/5  out  of  10

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Achren/The White Death/Ceol Dorcgas Productions/2014 EP Review

  Achren  are  a  band  from  Scotland  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  which  they  call  blood  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "The  White  Death"  which  was  released  by  Ceol  Dorcagas  Productions.

  A  very  melodic  and  old  school  melodic  black/death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  blast  beats,  powerful  bass  lines  and  a  good  amount  of  thrash  elements  before  adding  in  some  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  There  are  a  great  amount  of  melodic  and  guitar  solos  throughout  the  ep  and  the  fast  parts  have  a  Swedish  black/death  metal  feeling  to  them  and  on  the  second  track  they  start  out  with  some  slower  riffing  before  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  and  they  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  an  epic  feeling  to  the  last  track.

  Achren  creates  a  very  catchy  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  with  their  musical  which  is  very  heavily  influence  by  the  old  school  Swedish  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  war  and  torture  along  with  one  the  songs  covering  Finnish  Mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Achren  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death,  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Suomen  Susi(The  Finnish  Wolf".  8  out  of  10.  

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Bjarm Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Hello, we are “Bjarm” from Severodvinsk, the north of Russia. The band was founded in 2009 by Egor Vorobiev, Oleg Ivanov and Alexey Miroshin. Andrew White and Anastasia Angie joined us later.

2.Recently you have released your first full length album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it differ from the demo you had released in 2010?
It’s hard to say, most likely the new album is a mix of several genres. The sound is now more diverse, the emphasis is on keyboards. Guitars are purposely taken away into the background, they mainly add volume. The demo was a bit simplier and more even.

3.This is the first release that has been released by the band since 2010, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time period?
We had several concerts for supporting our demo album. Also we were making the new material. After that we were recording Imminence and shooting video clip. Moreover we had photo shoot that time. The recording needed more time than we expected mostly due to the lack of experience. But as we believe, we succeeded in making Imminence.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
As for the lyrics, the new album continues the tradition of demo-forerunner and evolves the theme of the fatalism’s grave philosophy. It’s told here about the price of life and will, immortality and omniscience. The basis consists of ancient Scandinavian myths which were rethought religiously.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Bjarm'?
When we were thinking about the band's name, there were a lot of versions. Were looking for a short and memorable name. It turned out to be not so easy. After long-time discussions we have chosen “Bjarm”. "Bjarmia" was the name of our region at the Viking Age. "Bjarm" is a native of this territory.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Probably the first one was the best. We were preparing for it very thoroughly. That was the first live show for most of us. We were worried a lot but everything was great. In fact we try to make every live show better than the previous one.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Yes, we planned European tour this summer, but unfortunately we could not go there due to technical reasons. We are going to have several live shows in Russia this autumn. But we are not sure about them yet. Follow the band's news.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic black metal and death metal?
Reaction of the foreign listeners is very positive. But in Russia this genre is not very popular, that’s why we found more good opinions abroad. Of course there are some shortcomings in our album, we will take it into consideration in our following releases.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?
Andrey Vait sings and plays guitar in one more project. The rest of band members have no other musical projects.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Good question! We want to create high quality music and convey it to the huge number of people. We suppose every musician wants to do the same thing.
Hope we can do it soon.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
At the first time Dimmu Borgir, Graveworm, Amon Amarth, Septic Flesh, etc. had a strong influence on us. But there are no preferences now. All band members listen to different musical genres.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Egor is occupied with video editing and graphics. Anastasia's hobbies are roller skating and foreign languages. Alexey likes cycling and travelling.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks to everyone who supports Bjarm, hope to see you at our concerts soon!

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Nothgard Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the old album?

First of all we’ve had some changes concerning the line up. We’re now playing with three guitars as Skaahl from Wolfchant joined the band in 2012. We were also playing a lot of shows in Europe and took our time to write and prepare for the new album which was some intense and hard work.

2. In September you will release a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from from the previous full length and demo you had released in the past?

There is definitely a big difference between „Warhorns Of Midgard“ and „Age of Pandora“.Soundwise, „Age of Pandora“ sounds way fresher, clearer and more powerful, but not just because of the three guitars. We have tried out a lot of stuff during the songwriting process and only took the best ideas which are hearable on the new album. The songs are more technical, include lot’s of powerful orchestral/symphonic elements and feel faster. Also we went more in the direction of epic melodic death metal on the new record.

3.Your lyrics cover some Pagan topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your views on Paganism?

As we´ve changed our musical style into Epic Melodic Death Metal, the new lyrics don´t include much concerning paganism. But there are topics which a influenced by nature and spiritual issues.

4.The band was originally known as Nordavind, what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nothgard'?

We’ve changed the band name into Nothgard as Nordavind was unfortunately already used several times by other bands. The name Nothgard refers to the word „nothgarde“, which also means striking out for a counter attack in sword combat.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

That’s a tough question. We’ve had some great shows in England where we’ve had fans singing along to every song, knowing all the lyrics and partying hard during the show. Shows in the Czech Republik are also always fun as the people are always having a big party. We also love playing festivals, where we get the chance to perform our songs to people that may have never heard about Nothgard before. The show we’ve had a few weeks ago at the „Runen der Nacht Festival“ has also been a blast!
In general it’s always a pleasure and a lot of fun for us, and that’s what we’re showing on stage during our shows. You can see that we enjoy being together on stage.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

Yes! We are going to have a tour in September in Spain, which will be called „Black Clouds Over Iberia“. We also have plans for another tour, but right now we can’t tell you any information's about that ;)

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been so far to the newer music by reviewers of extreme metal?

Until now we haven’t received much feedback from reviewers, because the promotion has just begun, but what we have got by now was really good. For example, we received a very positive album preview in the German metal magazine „Legacy“ and in general a lot of positive feedback from the few other people who have heard the new stuff.

8.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that some of the band members are involved with?

Dom R. Crey has just joined Equilibrium and is currently playing some big shows with them. He is also a member of Wolfchant. Same goes for Vik S. and Skaahl. Wolfchant is currently recording their new album which will definitely be another killer release.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We definitely want to develop our self's and become more technical in the future. But right now, we’re very happy with the current music style and want to stick to it.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on 'Nothgard'?

There are several bands, which have had an influence on the music style, especially because they affected the guitar, bass and drum style, which our members have now and which are hearable in the music or rather songwriting. To mention some of those bands, there’s for example Children of Bodom and Arch Enemy but also Hard Rock, Folk and classical stuff.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

It depends. Most of our spare time we use to develop our skills on our instruments. Otherwise we like hanging around with friends, partying, listening to music, visit concerts. Also all of our members are busy with studying and working.. Random stuff ;)

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

We want to thank EVERYONE out there who supports us and visits our shows. If you are interested in listening something new, fresh and powerful, you should definitely check out our new album „AGE OF PANDORA“, which will be released on the 12th of September 2014. We keep you updated on our social medias like facebook and also our official homepage. For those who can’t wait until September, we will release some snippets of the new stuff over the next weeks.

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Nothgard/Age Of Pandora/Trollzorn Records/2014 CD Review

  Nothgard  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  black,  death  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Age  Of  Pandora"  which  was  released  by  Trollzorn  Records.

  Epic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  nature  sound s which  gives  the  music  a  feeling  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  samples  can  be  heard  briefly  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  black/death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls,  screams  and  blast  beats.

  Synths  are  still  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  side  of  the  bands  musical  sound  and  they  bring  the  folk  metal  elements  to  the  music,  clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  have  a  pagan  metal  feeling  to  them  while  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  the band  use  are  a  lot  more  closer  to  traditional  and  power  metal.

  After  awhile  the  synths  bring  in  more  of  a  symphonic  side  to  the  bands  musical  style  which  they  also  mix  in  with  their  black  metal  influences  at  times  while  also  going  for  a  more  prog  style  of  synth  playing  on  some  of  the  later  songs  and  they  also b ring  in  a  brief  use  of  horror  movie  samples  on  one  of  the  tracks  and  throughout  the  recording  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  last  track  sees  the  band  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  gutiars.

  Nothgard  create  some  very  interesting  music  that  combines  black,  melodic  death,  pagan,  symphonic  and  folk  metal  with  a  touch  of  prog  and  the  song s are  very  catchy  and  display  a  lot  of  talented  and  skilled  guitar  solos,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nothgard  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  mixture  of  black,  melodic  death,  pagan,  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Of  Light  And  Shadow"  "Black  Witch  Venture"  "Wings  Of  Dawn"  and  "No  One  Holds  the  Crown".  8  out  of  10.

Website: http://www.nothgard.de/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Nothgard

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Nothgard

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Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nothgard/ 

Metal Archives: http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Nothgard/3540325606

Bastion Interview

Answer: Dmitry (vocals, horns), Ivan (drums), Yuri (vocals, bass), Alexander (keyboards, accordion)

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Dmitry: After the release of the album several concerts in Moscow were played to support it. We also recorded a new song "Sumetskaya" based on an old Russian folk tune for a fight, and made live video for this song. We are going to present them in the near future. At the moment, we took a long pause to determine the further development of the concept and vector group.

2.Recently you have released a new album can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Ivan: we approached more responsibly to the record of a new album with a sound concept of music and visual album design. The first album is good in his own, but due to lack of experience, many errors were made during the recording process we tried to avoid on the new album. Music is fundamentally different, which is understandable since there were important changes in the band: in fact, composers were changed. New members added the diversity of folk instruments.

Alexander: and technically the group does not stand still. We wanted to play harder and more varied, while retaining the folk component, which is eventually happened. Besides lyrics also undergone a change in the direction of greater linearity and stiffness corresponding to modern realities. Everybody went all out and that is happened - the best at the moment that our group can offer.

3.In the beginning the band played in a more power metal direction, what was the decision behind going into a more heavier and darker direction?

Yuri: It was a natural desire of participants, which just went from the inside. Times change - changing ourselves. Events around us getting tougher and we react to them through our songs. Besides striving to give people a boost to opposition negative factors around us, and more hard music contributes a much better motivation!

Alexander: Probably heavy hammer of the current sound is better able to reach the minds and destroy the gate of indifference inhabitant than the previous chaotic whistling in the air power metal sword.

4.While there where a few demos released in the early 2000's the band waited until 2011 to put out their first album, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?

Ivan: As often happens - the young guys get together, with the idea to play a definite music, creativity abounds, but the case itself, which for some then becomes a matter of life, not yet filled with that sense and awareness that appear later with experience. Parties are formed around, people come and go and everything is fun. In such circumstances demo are being written, creating something which happens naturally, and the recording quality in mind - this is not working as recording full-length album. And then serious changes begin, time shows - what is the most important for someone. In our case, the whole complex of these problems is the reason of a temporary abyss. In fact, the tracks presented on "Dawn of Svarog" were written by different people of the first casts started recording the album some, already finished the others. In any case, the first release - it's important theme for us - we summed up the first step of forming a "Bastion" and paid tribute to the first participants who have at one time a huge contribution to the team.

5.The lyrics cover Slavic Paganism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Yuri: Actually it is not only about paganism. For us paganism - is primarily one of the pages in the history of our nation, undeservedly forgotten and rejected by modernity.

Alexander: This topic is, unfortunately, almost no coverage in the official history, though an integral and a very large part of it. This is done on purpose, because the modern religious system which promotes slavery, humility and non-countering to all the negative that we have now is beneficial to the state. While Slavic paganism promotes freedom and harmony with the environment, which is lacking in modern humanity.

Ivan: All this talks and debates about the validity of certain beliefs already pretty bored. I personally absolutely non-religious person. Paganism for me is a way of learning about the world, do not allow limitations. As a creative person, I want to breathe and absorb everything that gives us around the world - with its light and dark sides. Everything is subject to a single space, and feel one with it - that is my spiritual path. Everything else - the profanity and fictions of people wanting to subdue the crowd. If we talk about the topic of paganism in the works "Bastion", it gives us a basis for a deeper dive into a folk soul, not yet tainted by foreign elements, true love for our fatherland and unbreakable bond with her.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Bastion'?

Ivan: It's actually quite banal. Title was invented in the beginning and did not change. And then it was important to pick up a resounding suitable word for executable  music (power metal). Looked everywhere, thought, discuss different options were ... until at one point in a dictionary, it has caught the eye of "Bastion". We decided that it is well suited for it and stopped. Surprisingly, until now, given all the changes in our sound and style - it does not lose relevance. "Bastion" as used to stand, despite all external attacks, and will stand on its promise and carry listeners.

Yuri: "Bastion" is a serf fortification. That's you will not pass by our group so easily and not overcome hurriedly. In addition, as it is a defensive structure, as we stand on guard for our traditions and history.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Dmitry: For me, the best concerts were in Minsk (Belarus) in 2011, the same year in St. Petersburg, together with Skyforger and the presentation of the new album in Moscow in February 2014. Our performance was described once the publication Casus Belli Zine as "Krasnoznamensk’s ruffians " (we are from a town called Krasnoznamensk). This definition accurately describes our behavior on stage: unbridled energy and conduct, which gets all the spectators and puts in a slam and mosh. We behave on stage completely uncharacteristic of typical pagan metallers. It is worth a look!

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Dmitry: No plans for performances, because, frankly, no one is calling us to play)). And especially not arranges tours. Promote our own music as we can.

9.The new album was released on Der Schwarze Tod, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Ivan: Der Schwarz Tod - this label of Nebokray’s (Небокрай) vocalist, whose participants are also some people from "Bastion." Our first release, by the way, also came out with the help of this label. At this stage, we are completely satisfied with the cooperation with them, label does not stand still, builds momentum, increasing the number of released versions, well, then we all communicate closely, so we do everything together (for details on the release and distribution of Der Schwarz Tod you can learn here - https://www.facebook.com/DerSchwarzeTod).

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of underground, extreme, pagan and folk metal?

Dmitry: At the international level only positive feedback there are. And ordinary listeners and music critics have praised our effort and work.

http://www.metalhead.it/?p=27511 (7.5 \ 10 from Italy)

http://www.folk-metal.nl/2013/12/bastion-vremya-borby-2013/ (7 \ 10 from Netherlands)

http://www.metalsoundscapes.com/archives/12137/bastion-vremya-borby (9 \ 10 from Greece)

http://nocturnemagazine.net/recenzije/1704/- #. Uxn8cND. (8 \ 10 from Serbia)

5 \ 5 from Dark City magazine (leading magazine about heavy music in Russia)

11.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

Dmitry: Guitarist Konstantin involved in the group Lepta (Лепъта) and has recently been helping our friends from the group Krada (Krada). Ivan and Yuri are permanent band members Nebokraj, just as I wrote Flute for Nebokraj on a new mini-album. Personally, I'm studying ancient Russian traditional music and have a project under this "Kudeyar» (Кудеяр).

Ivan: Just trying to help our friends and colleagues on the stage - this notorious group Temnozor, Krada Moscow, there was collaboration with a group of Wolf Cross and other groups.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Yuri: First of all of course it is the traditional Russian folk music and our folklore in general. Then folk metal and black metal. Not without modern alternatives (hardcore, rapcore). I always like listening to The Exploited and Oi, RAC, melodic death, pagan metal.

Ivan: I've been listening to different music at different stages of my life, so that all affected little. Recently returned to the nu-metal and alternative - Limp Bizkit, Korn, Soulfly ... Before this was mostly hardcore. Quoted old Black Sabbath - the greatest band of all time! At one time the strongest influence was the Norwegian black metal - in the face of all known, the brightest of its representatives. If we talk about the lighter characters, the Iron Maiden - always on my top list! Guys from Manowar - just to display .. always appreciated the music drive and some wildness or atmospherics and some detachment. Here it all and entwined.

Alexander: Everything, classic rock, pumping heavy music, all that helps to push, tug, squat and run.

Dmitry: First, there was punk rock, then grew up on classic heavy metal, then symphonic black metal, nu-metal, alternative, hard core. Now I listen to any good music, be it pop, elektro, rap or metal. I generally like music as itself and no matter what style it is. Among the groups in my track sheet are always 3 Doors Down, Limp Bizkit, Chimaira, Nickelback, Drowning Pool, Hatebreed, Deftones, Dry Kill Logic, Creed, Devildriver, Deadlock, Lamb of God. Lately listening downtempo, melodic drum'n'bass, embient, and of course the Russian ethnographic folklore.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Ivan: Besides music, are actively engaged in sport - gym, martial arts, boxing, football. Participate in mass jogging and other sports promotions aimed at the proper development of young people. Interested in car and motorcycle industry. Course literature - both classical art and popular science, mostly historical. Just interested in the issues of doing business in the Russian complex realities. Besides all this, everyone has a basic work, half of a group have family with young children - so do not have to miss.

Alexander: HLS (healthy lifestyle): rocking, girls, bike, skiing. J

Yuri: I think the consensus is said rocking. With regard to myself, rocking, history of his native country, its peoples, politics. About family and parenting does not say that because even though it takes the lion's share of the time, it can not be called hobby. This is the fucking life!)

Dmitry: each participant involved in sports, as possible participate in public life. I love an active lifestyle, cars and motorcycles, guns, outdoor recreation, longer hikes, literature, in general, all that fills life with colors and what you feel truly alive.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Ivan: Thank you for your interesting questions and interest in our creativity! Do not forget your roots, fully develop, get better every day and then do not have to complain about the negativity around - create your own reality!

Yuri: Keep yourself healthy, get exercise and learn the history of your country. All that you need to raise a healthy generation. Be patriots of your fatherland.

Alexander: Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth!

Dmitry: Thank you for showing interest in us and really interesting questions. Salute Portugal from Russia. Listen to our music and watch the news on the official pages:

http://bastion.kroogi.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bastion.pagan

https://vk.com/bastionpagan