BB: Welcome to Brutal Basarabia and thanks for taking the time to talk with us.
Pavlos: We thank you for the opportunity you have given us to present our work / material through Brutal Basarabia zine.
BB: For those who don’t know about Slavebreed can you shortly describe your band?
Pavlos: The band started in late 2004 by Pavlos and Kostas, from the remains of Pavlos' older deathcore side-project band with the same name. After some line-up changes we ended up as we are today, having released two full lengths, one split, a demo rehearsal and have taken part in some compilations and tributes. Right now we work on new material for two split 7” releases coming up soon.
BB: The album „Dethrone the Architect” was released last year, can you tell us about the writing/recording process of your material? ( who write the lyrics and the music? )
Pavlos: We all work together and take part in the preparation of new material. We are 5 people with different taste in music and various influences. That, in combination with the fact that we have known each other for many years, generates the result reflected to each of our releases. As far as the lyrics concern, that is our singer's job, Lambros. We totally trust him on this task, as he perfectly represents our restless minds and beliefs with whatever he has done up until now.
Pavlos: We all work together and take part in the preparation of new material. We are 5 people with different taste in music and various influences. That, in combination with the fact that we have known each other for many years, generates the result reflected to each of our releases. As far as the lyrics concern, that is our singer's job, Lambros. We totally trust him on this task, as he perfectly represents our restless minds and beliefs with whatever he has done up until now.
BB: What inspired you play grindcore?
Pavlos: Many inspirations, but mainly the recent situation occurred by economy crisis that has affected everybody's lives around the globe. As in all kinds of extreme sound, similarly in grindcore scene there are messages and themes that diverse. Those who listen to grindcore music know exactly the situation evolving in this certain scene.
BB: How your local grindcore scene looks like? Can you recommend some grindcore bands from Greece?
Pavlos: Greece has always had many good bands, but they used to move mostly between brutal death metal/black metal/thrash metal areas, not many people were very familiar or too passionate about grindcore. This situation has been altered through the last few years. Many awesome bands made their appearance, committed to create music that follows the "grind way" and that seems to be partly a result of the (social/political) pressure we have experienced until now from the very-well organized game of media and global economy crisis. The best case is to check on the extreme sound of Greek scene, like I said there are many remarkable bands that deserve your attention.
Pavlos: Greece has always had many good bands, but they used to move mostly between brutal death metal/black metal/thrash metal areas, not many people were very familiar or too passionate about grindcore. This situation has been altered through the last few years. Many awesome bands made their appearance, committed to create music that follows the "grind way" and that seems to be partly a result of the (social/political) pressure we have experienced until now from the very-well organized game of media and global economy crisis. The best case is to check on the extreme sound of Greek scene, like I said there are many remarkable bands that deserve your attention.
BB: Besides your musical activity what do you do?
Pavlos: As it is common, besides the band, we all have our jobs and work virtually the entire week. Unfortunately it is unthinkable (I would say nearly impossible) to earn your living or even cover your basic needs through grindcore. After all we play grindcore for our pleasure, we do it because we enjoy it, and that’s more than enough for us, no questions asked. Only behemoths of the genre as Napalm Death have achieved that! hahaha!:)
BB: Do You have any plans for touring in 2014? Would you like to make an East European Tour? Maybe a concert in Chisinau, Moldova?
Pavlos: From the summer of 2012 and after the release of "Dethrone the Architect" we have been doing as many tours as feasible to present and support our material. There are already some scheduled plans for 2014 and of course we are more than willing to play anywhere we are invited, as long as the cost of gas for transportation is covered. Moldova is a country we've never been before and is surely included in our future plans.
BB: Can you tell about a funny or crazy thing happened to you in a tour/concert?
Pavlos: I don't know about funny, but it sure was crazy, weird and totally unexpected...It happened a few weeks ago, while heading on a mini tour in Netherlands-Belgium-France, we encountered a problem with the car rental company of our van. We weren't allowed to pick up the car because of "bureaucratic problems". Needless to say that we ended up waiting for 9(!) hours after our arrival at the airport of Amsterdam, before we managed to solve the problem and get ourselves behind the wheel. Eventually after a lot of effort, broken nerves and swearing(!) everything went well. I cannot speak about a specific funny incident, as they are too many to choose from! One of the best things about touring with your band is that fun and laughter is always flawless, like it should be of course in such cases and events.
BB: What’s the last album you liked very much?
Pavlos: Normally I should say:"there are many amazing albums out there...bla...bla...bla..." BUT, who cares! The best release for 2013 as far as concerns the extreme sound is "This world is dead" of French BLOCKHEADS!!!
BB: Except the grindcore, what kind of music do you like? For example when you’re on the road to the concert what do you listen?
Pavlos: Like I mentioned before our influences and preference in music vary. Music goes along with mood and emotions and vise versa, mood and emotions can be carried away by music. Depending on the mood, we listen to whatever music pleases us best while on tour and not only.
BB: Thank you very much for talking to us! You have a message for metalheads from Moldova?
Pavlos: Thank you from heart for this interview. Support the small bands because they really deserve it. Hope to see you soon in Moldova! Cheers!!!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slavebreed
Nick aka Fieldy
