1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
False Reality: In the present we’re rehearsing, preparing for our album release shows that will start in winter. The rehearsals are very important now also because we’ve recently had a line-up change, Marc becoming our new bass player after Radu left False Reality. We also have an incoming photo session and we’re planning our expenses with the new album.
2. You have a new album coming out at the end of October, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
False Reality: Our new “End of Eternity” album has 7 songs that are pretty long, by normal musical standards, the average length being somewhere over 7 minutes. The musical sound is both aggressive and melodic, wrapped around death metal, black metal, doom, progressive and even some other genres too, with both growls and clean vocal parts. In this material you definitely can feel a more mature approach to music compared to our past creations. First of all, the sound quality is a lot better, since we had a very good sound engineer, Robert Cotoros, who took care of all things from the recording and mixing to the mastering and the production of this album. We think the sound of this album is different from other productions out there because we did our best to use real instruments rather than digital VSTs, the sound being thus somehow warmer.
In this new material we didn’t take a very distinct path, musically speaking, from the older songs. This album still has a touch of the old False Reality vibe and way of making music, that being to the fact that six of the songs were composed from 2011 to 2013, while the first track, “Bewitched”, is an inheritance from our first period of activity.
3. This is your first release since 2002, can you tell us a little bit more about the 14 year wait?
False Reality: The main issue to talk about is the 8 years break we took since spring 2003 until spring 2011. It was a tough time for us, but our dream of making music didn’t die and after finding the right people to fill in the vacancies, we embarked on our second journey as a band. Since then, we took our time to develop the right musical and human relations between us, but of course, the financial part is also a big factor to take into consideration for the long time between releases. We started recording this album in august 2014, but we didn’t have the financial power to release it ourselves. Without the help of Loud Rage Music I think “End of Eternity” would’ve been released even later, so we’re glad and proud to finally have the band’s first LP, after almost 18 years since False Reality started its journey. We’d like to say a huge “Thank you!” to all who helped us and believed in us throughout the years.
4. What are some of the lyrical topics the band explores with the newer music?
Lucian: The lyrical topics have remained more or less the same in our newer music, covering love, death, nature, passage, sadness, supernatural, struggle, the darker side of things and souls and so on, usually based on inner feelings and emotions metaphorically expressed through means of external events and actions. Each song was individually composed, but in arranging them to form the album, we discovered a hint of a story throughout our material, a tragic story of impossible love, a journey filled with rites of passage and transformations, which all eventually lead to the end of everything, an ending seen as another beginning both in regard to our story and to our band’s journey. If I were to cite any influences, I’d say Mihai Eminescu, Nichita Stănescu, Gheorghe Tomozei, Isaac Asimov, Therion, Dream Theater, Samael and the list could go on and on.
5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'False Reality'?
False Reality: The main inspiration for our name is the power of music. It can take you in unreal places you’ve never been before, in supernatural worlds born from fantasy and from the emotions conveyed by this very powerful tool mankind has - musical and lyrical creativity. Of course, each and every one of us has had his own personal experiences and musical journeys that ended up defining us as musicians and as music listeners, so in a way, music is a very personal experience, a means of escape from the mundane reality, namely a False Reality.
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?
False Reality: Our biggest gig so far was during the first edition of Rockstadt Extreme Fest, in Râșnov, near our home town, and it was a great experience, opening for bands like Carach Angren, Napalm Death and Gojira. We’ve also been the support artist for Arkona’s concert in our home town and we fondly remember our experiences at almost every edition of Rockstadt Fest (indoor fest with rock/metal bands from our home town only) and also on the Extreme stage of Revolution Fest in Timișoara and many more.
There were also some very nice shows that we definitely didn’t expect to turn out that way, considering the venue and the small number of people in the crowd, like in Turnu Măgurele or in a very small club in Bucharest, but those types of shows are different, since there is an air of intimacy about them and it really connects you a lot better with the audience. Of course, playing in our home town is always special, both due to the location - the amazing Rockstadt Club and due to the support of our friends.
When it comes to stage performance, we don’t usually rehears that part, there isn’t any choreography there, it’s just us, playing from the soul and enjoying the moment, each in his own way. Being on stage is like a drug to most musicians, since the energy that is going back and forth between the artists and the audience is really one of the most beautiful experiences we’ve personally had.
7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
False Reality: Yes, we’re planning a number of shows in Romania starting in January 2017, and we hope to reach a lot of locations. We might even reach neighboring countries, most likely Bulgaria, but this is for now just a small possibility.
8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your recordings by fans of extreme metal?
False Reality: We haven’t received much attention worldwide yet, but usually we’ve had positive feedback and people from around the world have liked our Facebook page (no, we didn’t invest money in that, it’s just organic reach). Just recently a metalhead from Brazil contacted us for an appearance of our new album on his online channel and also declared himself a fan. We’ve had feedback from South America, Central America, North America, Europe, and also the Far East, but we’re hoping that with the launch of our new album we’re going to attract more attention to our music. We’ve already received some great reviews for our “End of Eternity” album from a couple of metal oriented webzines and we’re expecting even more of them.
9. Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
False Reality: Half our band has connections with Hteththemeth, another band from our city of Brașov. Codruț and Lucian are full members, while Marc is a session member, filling in whenever the bass player or a guitar player are missing.
10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
False Reality: Well, this is mostly a mystery to us too, since we don’t plan the musical style of our compositions, we’re just going with the flow. Yes, it’s definitely going to be metal and it will most likely still be rooted in melodic death metal. We really want to keep the melodic aspect of our creations and we might even go further in that direction, and we’re even considering adding more instruments to our sound. I guess time will tell.
We are currently thinking about doing a reissue of our 2002 EP - “Tales of Eternity”, also including two old songs that haven’t been featured on any recorded material so far. Moreover, we’ve partially figured out the main concept for another full length album, but we’ll take it step by step. Our main priority now is promoting “End of Eternity”.
11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Ioan: I enjoy listening to old metal bands like Samael, Opeth, Behemoth and others, so they are also my main musical influences.
Lucian: I enjoy a lot of artists from a lot of genres, classical music, jazz and blues, electronic music, flamenco, pop, rock and all the way to metal. I really think you can be influenced by some genres that have almost nothing in common with what you play, since it’s all about the music and the feelings. For me, the list of influences is huge, but I feel I must include the following: Dream Theater, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Therion, Queen, Crematory, Vanghelis, Chopin, Vivaldi, Portishead, Ennio Morricone, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola, Vicente Amigo, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Norah Jones and many more. When it comes to Romanian music, Phoenix have been a great influence in my forming years as a musician, but I also enjoy Tudor Gheorghe, Nicu Alifantis, Taine, DorDeDuh, Luna Amară and a very deserved mention to The Bipolar Disorder Project, a solo endeavor of our friend, Robert Cotoros.
Silviu: My musical influences come mainly from the metal and rock area, with artists like Dream Theater, In Flames, Samael, Opeth, Death, Conquering Dystopia, Hypocrisy, Arch Enemy and many others.
Codruț: I have a huge background in listening to music from very different musical genres, like rap and hip-hop, pop, pop-rock, electronic music, all categories of rock and metal and so on. I’ve been listening to music my entire life and I think this is not going to change much. Lately I found that I’ve become very selective in my musical choices, the new discoveries that I’m enjoying right now being Leprous and The Bipolar Disorder Project (solo musical project of my friend, Robert Cotoros).
In my forming as a musician I’ve been greatly influenced by Anathema, Lake of Tears, Metallica, Manowar, Cradle of Filth, Era, Enigma, Guns N’ Roses, L.A. Guns and many more.
Vlad: I have been mostly listening to melodic death metal, black metal and progressive. Some of the bands that inspired me for this album are Opeth, Dream Theather, Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom, Samael and In Flames.
Marc: I’m trying to expand my musical horizons as much as I can, so I always try to take some time to experiment with new stuff that I find. My playlist varies from progressive metal, sludge to witch house, jazz and anything that catches my attention, e.g. Neurosis, Between the Buried and Me, Nava Mama, oOoOH, Erik Satie and many more.
12. What are some of your non-musical interests?
Ioan: I enjoy skiing and hiking in the mountains and also meeting with my friends and drinking beer, but a lot of my free time is devoted to my family and especially to my two children.
Lucian: Although I don’t really have a lot of free time, reading takes an important part of it. I enjoy mostly literature, but I also have an interest in history. I like to watch movies and play board games with friends, but I also like to go swimming, biking, hiking in the mountains and also playing a number of sports like football, tennis, badminton or basketball. I am a fan of our local ice hockey club - Corona Wolves Brașov, so whenever my schedule permits it, I go and see them play (not as often, sadly).
Silviu: I love my job in web development and usually in my free time I’m doing some freelance work. I could say that one of my hobbies is to get wasted by drinking beer while doing some barbeques with friends.
Codruț: My main non-musical interests revolve around sports, since I’ve practiced football all my childhood and I’ve finished a sports oriented high-school. I also enjoy traveling, but my life has completely changed since the arrival of my new full time job - my son Eric, which I adore. I want to say that I am very lucky to have the full support of my beautiful wife, since my musical and artistic activities can keep me away from home more than usual. I also am part of a fire juggling group called Hyponsis Fire Show, with whom I participated in events all over the country and also abroad.
Vlad: I`m a big fan of technology, video games and IT related activities. I also like mountain bikes in general and I occasionally enjoy video production, photography and stage light arrangements and effects.
Marc: For me personally, music is a secondary activity, since I just graduated from medical school and currently I’m going through the last steps of becoming a doctor. I just hope it won’t interfere too much with the band’s plans.
13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
False Reality: First of all, thank you for the interview, it was a pleasure! We have just one message for all those who enjoy music: support the underground! The mainstream music has proved to be mainly business time and time again (or just business), so if you find underground artists that you like, try so support them as much as you can, since without that support it’s incredibly hard to keep going.
False Reality
Ioan Crișan Alexandru - vocals
Lucian Popa - guitars and vocals
Silviu Stan - guitars
Vlad Amariei - keyboards and vocals
Codruț Costea- drums
Marc Spedalska - bass guitar
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