ARCHONTES
Exclusive interview with Andrey Archont for MetalKings.Ru (08.05.2001)
MetalKings.ru: Hi, Andrey. We haven't interviewed Russian bands for a long time. And it's especially pleasant that now we have the honour to talk with the person that can be considered a founder of the power metal movement in Russia. First let's talk about your plans, as you've just said from the stage that your band is going to record the new album. At what stage is the work at the moment? As far as I know you have planned to start the recording yet in April 2000.
Archontes: The work is in progress, but it's too early to speak about any specific dates yet. But I think that it won't take very long.
MetalKings.ru: What label will release this album? Don't you have plans to release it in the West?
Archontes: Our both albums have been sold in the West, but as export only. We have some offers of this sort now but we will speak about it when something is known for sure. As to a Russian label that could release our album, I'd like to rely on the current partnership relations but our choice will primarily depend on the degree of labels' interest and on seriousness of their offers.
MetalKings.ru: Will the disk contain any cover versions? Don't you plan to make a studio recording of the cover-versions that you currently play live?
Archontes: Those covers that you can hear live - certainly, no. And in general, if there are any covers they will be on the Limited Edition only (as it happened on the second album).
MetalKings.ru: Will the new album have any concept? Have you already chosen the title for it?
Archontes: Yes, the disc will have a concept but at the same time it will be possible to consider the songs as separate pieces because there will not be a strict order of them. It's too early to talk about the name of the disk, we do have several ideas, but a lot will depend on the final result as far as both the music and the graphic design of the album are concerned.
MetalKings.ru: There are a few persons who helped write the lyrics of Archontes in various periods of time (Tim Sparrow, Blackjack, Timophey Vorobyov). Who is the best to work with? Who helped you write the lyrics for your new album?
Archontes: Tim Sparrow and Timophey Vorobiov is the same person and on the new album we work only with him.
MetalKings.ru: Do you plan to sing in Russian some day?
Archontes: No! Archontes has a very strict concept and one of the main components of this concept is the English vocals. If I decide to write songs in Russian I'll never perform them as Archontes.
MetalKings.ru: Why don't you hire a keyboard player for live shows anymore?
Archontes: I record keyboards in the studio myself and that's why there is no need to have a keyboardist as a permanent band member. But the lack of keyboards is obvious at live shows, we've tried a few different variants, including the use of a sequencer but we have to reject all these things at this moment, so you'll see a new session keyboardist again very soon. And I play the bits that my role of vocalist allows me myself.
MetalKings.ru: Who plays guitar in Archontes now? Can the current line-up be considered permanent?
Archontes: I'm very afraid a lot to make any statements concerning this as Archontes is notorious for its regular line-up changes. It has always been this way since 1993. I love and respect all the musicians I've ever worked with but I'd like to stress that I had developed stable immunity to personnel changes.
MetalKings.ru: Do you take part in any side projects? There have been reports about your live performances with Four Of A Kind and about your plans to record a solo album. It was mentioned that you took part in Tsvety group as well, do you have any memories about that period of time?
Archontes: I work as composer at the Nival company, write music for computer games. Until recently I worked as a keyboard-player not in Tsvety, but in the band of Alexander Losev (ex-vocalist of Tsvety)... It was very cool, I enjoyed very much playing the music I've known since childhood, especially as the rest of the band (the drummer and the guitarist - Dima Krivenkov and Slava Moltchanov) are good friends of mine. It was wonderful, we travelled a lot and generally had a good time. But I want to say right away that I did it for money. Some time ago I decided not to continue it. As for my performance with Four Of A Kind, this guys haven't found the singer yet and I only helped them to play a couple of concerts, as a friend.
MetalKings.ru: Don't you intend to shoot a video, taking into account that there is an opportunity today to broadcast it on TV, for example, in hard_zone@mtv.ru?
Archontes: This question has been in the air for a long time. We've reached concrete agreements long ago but this work doesn't progress. I hope that in the near future we'll sort it out 'cause I consider this problem to be one of the most important ones.
MetalKings.ru: Tell us about the listeners' response to "The World Where Shadows Come To Life" album. Was it sold in the West? Are you satisfied by the sales?
Archontes: As for listeners' response, you'd better ask the listeners themselves 'cause I'm not competent in this issue. The question about the sales of our albums in the West should rather be addressed to Valiant Music Productions 'cause I'm not aware about the functioning of their distribution network. I know that Italians are the most active buyers. As for sales figures, of cause I want them to be higher. But again, unfortunately, this question is not to me.
MetalKings.ru: Why wasn't "the World…" released on tapes? Andrey, don't you think that because of this you music become inaccessible for a major share of your potential audience, especially in the province?
Archontes: Yes, I think so. Release of the cheap variant of the CD for Russia is the best thing that we have done in this sphere. Unfortunately, it's not me who settles this matters and I'd like to note that it is not the matter of tapes only, it's the matter of possibility to get even the CD in the province. It's the one of the main questions that will be discussed at the negotiations on the conditions of our third album's release.
MetalKings.ru: Did you play in some other projects before Archontes?
Archontes: No. Everything I did before Archontes was unprofessional, I was too young, after all, so everything that I did at that period of time slowly turned into what we now call Archontes.
MetalKings.ru: Could you tell us in detail how the band was founded? Most of your fans know only the date of its foundation.
Archontes: There is not much to tell. I tried to gather a band since the beginning of my music career and in 1993 I managed to do it, at least partially, and the name that you know now appeared then. The name of the band has Greek roots and its original meaning is "seniors, sovereigns". Old Russian princes were also called "archontes". In fact, the group's establishment started before 1993 and continued without interruption after that. So this date is more of a symbol than the real fact.
MetalKings.ru: Who is Mike, whom "Quest For Glory And Might" was devoted to?
Archontes: It's my deceased cat, but it has no connection with the idea and the spirit of this composition.
MetalKings.ru: Is it possible to get your early demos at present?
Archontes: It's very difficult now because they all exist only on tapes and in awful quality because of frequent copying. We've recently checked our archives, found a few listenable songs, sent them for mastering and are going to release a Limited Edition (I mean very limited) for the members of our fan club only, because the quality of those early songs does not match our present quality standards. I have to admit though that I still like some of those ideas.
MetalKings.ru: Archontes has existed for eight years. How much has the Moscow metal scene changed during this period of time? Are there any improvements?
Archontes: I don't know. I can't add anything to this. Generally speaking, it's better to discuss such questions in the kitchen after midnight after you've finished the second pack of beer. Very lively discussions on this issue can take place in such situations. It's impossible to give any specific answer to this question, and there's no need in it.
MetalKings.ru: What do you think of tribute mania that had overwhelmed Russia lately ("Moscowallika", the tribute to Aria that will be out soon)? Don't you want to take part in one of such projects?
Archontes: Everything depends on whether such projects is interesting and of a good quality. The wave of Western tributes had already set my teeth on edge, but sometimes you can find very interesting pieces in it. As for our participation in such projects, first of all it's a matter of time because sometimes we physically can't record useful material and of course, a matter of interest. Maybe we'll do something later, I don't know yet.
MetalKings.ru: Is the Internet important for the band's promotion?
Archontes: The Internet is very important! It's silly to ignore it. We've used the Web in a variety of ways for a long time and I can't see anything but advantages in it.
MetalKings.ru: Can you name the best and the worst live show in the history of Archontes?
Archontes: No. I can't name the best show for sure. Each gig has its own atmosphere, which is just one of a kind, and it's quite difficult to compare them. As to the worst show, I'm afraid there've been too many of them in the eight years of the band's existence. The most important thing for the is to learn from mistakes and to make the next show better.
MetalKings.ru: Who's your favourite singer and who influenced your singing?
Archontes: Wow! Your server won't have enough space to post the entire list! But seriously, I hit my first high note under the influence of Ian Gillan having just heard "Jesus Christ Superstar". Other influences are certainly Freddie Mercury, Joe Lynn Turner, Tim Nilley (from the Jesus Christ Superstar movie) and many, many others. However influences are OK, but I'm singing as I can, so my vocal chords are the major influence on my voice.
MetalKings.ru: Do you consider Archontes a fans-only band or can its works be appreciated by just anyone who loves heavy metal? What prevents metal bands from reaching the level of Aria, Master or E.S.T.?
Archontes: I'm against dividing music into metal and non-metal. I believe that a man cannot set up any limits for his taste, especially those that depend on the sound only, not on melodies. Probably I may seem too self-assured, but I believe that reaching a broader audience does not depend on music as much as on promotion. This problem is very painful, especially these days. I'd like to hope for the better, but I guess you know that it takes a lot of efforts. Maybe they will pay off one day, who knows?
MetalKings.ru: Thank you very much for the interview. Can you please say some final words for our readers?
Archontes: Thanks for the interest in this band. Thanks to everybody who reads this interview. Come see or shows, visit our official web-page at http://archontes.com.ru, listen to Archontes if you like it. Because we are doing it for you.
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