Interfector
Arcana Noctis: Greetings! Please start the interview with a brief introduction to Interfector.
Apeiron: Hello and thanks for your support! We are Interfector, Serbian extreme Metal band with progressive, Ethno influences (and many others as well). We came from the city of Banja Luka, which is a capitol of Republic of Srpska, a Serbian entity in Bosnia, much closer to Serbia anyway. So, Interfector is a part of Serbian Metal scene. Our band started in December 2000. And by now, we have several demos recorded, and a full length album called "The Force Within", released in 2004 by the best Serbian Metal label Rock Express Records. There are 4 of us in a band: Carcass - vocals, bass guitar, Invictus - guitars, back vocals, Apeiron - drums, Antares - keyboards.
Arcana Noctis: I gave your debut album "The Force Within" a score of 9/10, which is a good score by anyone's standards. Since I rarely read other zines, tell me what the feedback has been like so far.
Apeiron: Yeah, thank you very much for a high score! Since our album was released, we know only for a good or even great reviews all around the world (for example, Metal Storm webzine - 8/10, Metal Observer - 8/10, Axa Valaha (Romania) - 5/6, Nocturne Zine - 10/10) which is pretty great, knowing that's our first album, and a fact that we aren't from Norway or Sweden, but from a country like Republic of Srpska. Sure we have to work harder in a future with a second release, but we are satisfied for now.
Arcana Noctis: Your debut was recorded at the end of 2002, so it's already quite an "old" recording, in that you surely have some new material ready by now. How is work proceeding on a new recording?
Apeiron: Yes, we have several songs finished already. We perform them live since the beginning of the year 2005. "Burning Horizon" and "Immortal Pride" are the real examples of Interfector's current sound. Black Metal is no longer important part of our music. We are much more oriented at progressive extreme Metal streams, and Serbian Ethno as well (something like we already did with a song from our first album - "Mother Serbia"). We hope that we will be able to record it with traditional instruments to reach a better, folkish, unique atmosphere. As for the vocals, we are in the experimental process, making cleans, growls, screams, even female Ethno voice something like that doesn't exist in Serbian lands, so we will try to create an interesting combination for both Serbian fans and for the rest of the world as well. Our historical tradition is very important to us, so lyrics are in the same mood as our music - patriotic.
Arcana Noctis: How is the Metal scene in the former Yugoslavia? I looked on the Interfector site and you've played quite a few local gigs, how is the crowd reception there? Do you sell many CD's on home territory or are they mostly selling to foreign countries (like England) :) ?
Apeiron: OK, let's see Serbian Metal scene is the strongest one, with some really great bands (Consecration, Abonos, Draconic, May Result, Sacramental Blood); Croatian scene looks pretty weak even there are several good bands, and a lot more concerts. Slovenia is a strange country, they have concerts and festivals all the time, with the biggest Metal names, but they don't have many bands to be proud of. Bosnia is the weak spot of the ex Yugoslavia (along with Macedonia) even though there are a couple of great bands (Southern Storm, Toxic Death). Yes, we have had great number of concerts around here, in Serbia mostly. They all went in great atmosphere. As for the selling points, I think it's normal that we sell more CD's around here, since we are still young and pretty unknown band to the rest of the world. I'm not familiar with the quality of our distribution around the world (although I know for some distro labels here and there with our album in their catalogue), so I can't tell anything more. We really hope that our next album will be released outside this territory, for a record label that will be able to make a better promotion of Interfector's music.
Arcana Noctis: I believe some of you also play in other bands; please tell the readers something more about them.
Apeiron: The other bands. Yes, our keyboard player is a member of modern Metal act Draconic (really great band, with Soilwork/In Flames touch), our guitarist plays in a traditional Heavy Metal band Parastos, and that's it. We have played in many bands around here in the past, but we are focused on this one right now. Maybe in the future we will try with some other projects, but not right now anyway.
Arcana Noctis: There are a lot of different influences in your sound, which I think is uniquely Balkan in flavor. I guess you don't just listen to Venom all day; there are a lot of folkish sounds and even some Jazz in the drum patterns...
Apeiron: Yes, we are pretty much open-minded when we speak about the music. I myself work as a journalist with the best Serbian Metal magazine Butcherian Vibe and that gives me the chance to listen to thousands of bands every month. We are familiar with every Metal subgenre and with some non Metal as well. Progressive, Avant-garde, Death, Black, Power, Folk Metal. Our bassist like Jazz music a lot and our keyboard player listen to electronic stuff, so because of that, we are able to make original music, and that would be our main goal. Maybe this will sound strange, but we don't listen to a Black Metal that much, even there are elements of it in our music. For example, my actual playlist is a combination of Sieges Even, Riverside, Arcturus, Nevermore, Machine Men and the latest Depeche Mode full length.
Arcana Noctis: Is Serbian history much of an influence on you? How can history and myth affect modern day attitudes?
Apeiron: Yes, definitely! I guess that you are familiar with a war affairs around here, Serbs fighting Croatians, Croatians fighting Serbs and Muslims, Muslims fighting Croatians and Serbs so we are pretty much connected with our history as a nation in order to secure our survival. History can affect modern day attitudes - history is responsible for all the problems around here. Even though many people doesn't hate each other, because of constant blood spilling through our entire history, we can't forget it and simply move on like nothing has happened.
Arcana Noctis: Technically, Interfector are a band from Bosnia & Hercegovina. Yet you hail from Banja Luka in the Republika Srpska, which identifies more with Serbia than the modern Bosnian state. Is this true for you also?
Apeiron: I think I have answered this question already. Yes, Interfector is located in Bosnia, but our true connection lies with Republic of Srpska and our motherland Serbia. Bosnia is a failure, a country where you have three hostile nations and armies, three different police forces, different governments, and no president. Bosnia is an experiment of the foreign politics, and a country with no future, if you ask me. I simply can't imagine how our children can play together after years and years of wars in a past. So the answer to your question would be: we are Serbian band. Simply as that.
Arcana Noctis: A common theme in the lyrics is one of abandonment and alienation. Are you talking about the concerns of your nation or is it something more personal than that?
Apeiron: I can't speak about the lyrics, because they were written by our vocalist and a guitar player. But I can tell you that they are personal, some of them are love poems even though they don't look like that when you read it for the first time. We have shown our national pride through "Mother Serbia", "Alienation" is a song that speak about the false religions and gods, "Temple Of Desire", "S Druge Strane Svjetla" (From The Other Side Of Light) and "The Lightbringer" are all love poems (sounds strange when extreme Metal band sings about love, but here it is :))
Arcana Noctis: In the song "Mother Serbia" there is the line "Your western lands are beyond the reach / And the south is closing in". Where in particular are you reffering to?
Apeiron: "Western lands" are the Republic of Srpska Krajina which has been lost in a past war. Serbs are no longer there and Krajina is inside Croatian borders after the war. Actually, "Mother Serbia" is a sad song in a way, speaking about all the problems within Serbian nation. Kosovo, and even Montenegro are the main problems right now, not to mention Republic of Srpska where about 90% of all population are Serbian, and no matter that, we can't rejoin with the rest of Serbia (the act of foreign politics, again), so we are forced to stay in Bosnian borders. These are really dark times for our people, and nobody can tell what will happen in the future. But, we will stand proud no matter what (hell yeah!)!
Arcana Noctis: Would you say that religion is the main thing that divided the former Yugoslavia?
Apeiron: Yes, I think that's pretty much the reason of all the wars around here. We all know about the Islamic religion and their aggressive attitude towards the rest of the world, Croatians are Catholics, Serbians are the Orthodox Christians... three different religions divided nations here in a very rude way. A war happened every 50 years or so. That stupid things hold us back, with a really small chance of moving forward in a brighter future like other nations in Europe are doing as we speak. I'm not an optimist, anyway, so I can't tell about the future, weather it will be good or bad. Hope we will still be around to see for ourselves...
Arcana Noctis: That's all from me, many thanks for the interview and good luck for the future! The last words are there for you...
Apeiron: No, no - thank you! Thanks for giving us a chance to promote our work (very nice questions, btw). To all your readers - Metallic greetings from Serbian extreme Metal band Interfector, check out our website, download some mp3's, and sign a guestbook, if you have some time to spare. Raise the Serbian Metal!!!!
Nebojša "Apeiron" Lakić & Interfector
Apeiron: Hello and thanks for your support! We are Interfector, Serbian extreme Metal band with progressive, Ethno influences (and many others as well). We came from the city of Banja Luka, which is a capitol of Republic of Srpska, a Serbian entity in Bosnia, much closer to Serbia anyway. So, Interfector is a part of Serbian Metal scene. Our band started in December 2000. And by now, we have several demos recorded, and a full length album called "The Force Within", released in 2004 by the best Serbian Metal label Rock Express Records. There are 4 of us in a band: Carcass - vocals, bass guitar, Invictus - guitars, back vocals, Apeiron - drums, Antares - keyboards.Arcana Noctis: I gave your debut album "The Force Within" a score of 9/10, which is a good score by anyone's standards. Since I rarely read other zines, tell me what the feedback has been like so far.
Apeiron: Yeah, thank you very much for a high score! Since our album was released, we know only for a good or even great reviews all around the world (for example, Metal Storm webzine - 8/10, Metal Observer - 8/10, Axa Valaha (Romania) - 5/6, Nocturne Zine - 10/10) which is pretty great, knowing that's our first album, and a fact that we aren't from Norway or Sweden, but from a country like Republic of Srpska. Sure we have to work harder in a future with a second release, but we are satisfied for now.
Arcana Noctis: Your debut was recorded at the end of 2002, so it's already quite an "old" recording, in that you surely have some new material ready by now. How is work proceeding on a new recording?
Apeiron: Yes, we have several songs finished already. We perform them live since the beginning of the year 2005. "Burning Horizon" and "Immortal Pride" are the real examples of Interfector's current sound. Black Metal is no longer important part of our music. We are much more oriented at progressive extreme Metal streams, and Serbian Ethno as well (something like we already did with a song from our first album - "Mother Serbia"). We hope that we will be able to record it with traditional instruments to reach a better, folkish, unique atmosphere. As for the vocals, we are in the experimental process, making cleans, growls, screams, even female Ethno voice something like that doesn't exist in Serbian lands, so we will try to create an interesting combination for both Serbian fans and for the rest of the world as well. Our historical tradition is very important to us, so lyrics are in the same mood as our music - patriotic.
Arcana Noctis: How is the Metal scene in the former Yugoslavia? I looked on the Interfector site and you've played quite a few local gigs, how is the crowd reception there? Do you sell many CD's on home territory or are they mostly selling to foreign countries (like England) :) ?
Apeiron: OK, let's see Serbian Metal scene is the strongest one, with some really great bands (Consecration, Abonos, Draconic, May Result, Sacramental Blood); Croatian scene looks pretty weak even there are several good bands, and a lot more concerts. Slovenia is a strange country, they have concerts and festivals all the time, with the biggest Metal names, but they don't have many bands to be proud of. Bosnia is the weak spot of the ex Yugoslavia (along with Macedonia) even though there are a couple of great bands (Southern Storm, Toxic Death). Yes, we have had great number of concerts around here, in Serbia mostly. They all went in great atmosphere. As for the selling points, I think it's normal that we sell more CD's around here, since we are still young and pretty unknown band to the rest of the world. I'm not familiar with the quality of our distribution around the world (although I know for some distro labels here and there with our album in their catalogue), so I can't tell anything more. We really hope that our next album will be released outside this territory, for a record label that will be able to make a better promotion of Interfector's music.
Arcana Noctis: I believe some of you also play in other bands; please tell the readers something more about them.
Apeiron: The other bands. Yes, our keyboard player is a member of modern Metal act Draconic (really great band, with Soilwork/In Flames touch), our guitarist plays in a traditional Heavy Metal band Parastos, and that's it. We have played in many bands around here in the past, but we are focused on this one right now. Maybe in the future we will try with some other projects, but not right now anyway.
Arcana Noctis: There are a lot of different influences in your sound, which I think is uniquely Balkan in flavor. I guess you don't just listen to Venom all day; there are a lot of folkish sounds and even some Jazz in the drum patterns...
Apeiron: Yes, we are pretty much open-minded when we speak about the music. I myself work as a journalist with the best Serbian Metal magazine Butcherian Vibe and that gives me the chance to listen to thousands of bands every month. We are familiar with every Metal subgenre and with some non Metal as well. Progressive, Avant-garde, Death, Black, Power, Folk Metal. Our bassist like Jazz music a lot and our keyboard player listen to electronic stuff, so because of that, we are able to make original music, and that would be our main goal. Maybe this will sound strange, but we don't listen to a Black Metal that much, even there are elements of it in our music. For example, my actual playlist is a combination of Sieges Even, Riverside, Arcturus, Nevermore, Machine Men and the latest Depeche Mode full length.
Arcana Noctis: Is Serbian history much of an influence on you? How can history and myth affect modern day attitudes?
Apeiron: Yes, definitely! I guess that you are familiar with a war affairs around here, Serbs fighting Croatians, Croatians fighting Serbs and Muslims, Muslims fighting Croatians and Serbs so we are pretty much connected with our history as a nation in order to secure our survival. History can affect modern day attitudes - history is responsible for all the problems around here. Even though many people doesn't hate each other, because of constant blood spilling through our entire history, we can't forget it and simply move on like nothing has happened.
Arcana Noctis: Technically, Interfector are a band from Bosnia & Hercegovina. Yet you hail from Banja Luka in the Republika Srpska, which identifies more with Serbia than the modern Bosnian state. Is this true for you also?
Apeiron: I think I have answered this question already. Yes, Interfector is located in Bosnia, but our true connection lies with Republic of Srpska and our motherland Serbia. Bosnia is a failure, a country where you have three hostile nations and armies, three different police forces, different governments, and no president. Bosnia is an experiment of the foreign politics, and a country with no future, if you ask me. I simply can't imagine how our children can play together after years and years of wars in a past. So the answer to your question would be: we are Serbian band. Simply as that.
Arcana Noctis: A common theme in the lyrics is one of abandonment and alienation. Are you talking about the concerns of your nation or is it something more personal than that?Apeiron: I can't speak about the lyrics, because they were written by our vocalist and a guitar player. But I can tell you that they are personal, some of them are love poems even though they don't look like that when you read it for the first time. We have shown our national pride through "Mother Serbia", "Alienation" is a song that speak about the false religions and gods, "Temple Of Desire", "S Druge Strane Svjetla" (From The Other Side Of Light) and "The Lightbringer" are all love poems (sounds strange when extreme Metal band sings about love, but here it is :))
Arcana Noctis: In the song "Mother Serbia" there is the line "Your western lands are beyond the reach / And the south is closing in". Where in particular are you reffering to?
Apeiron: "Western lands" are the Republic of Srpska Krajina which has been lost in a past war. Serbs are no longer there and Krajina is inside Croatian borders after the war. Actually, "Mother Serbia" is a sad song in a way, speaking about all the problems within Serbian nation. Kosovo, and even Montenegro are the main problems right now, not to mention Republic of Srpska where about 90% of all population are Serbian, and no matter that, we can't rejoin with the rest of Serbia (the act of foreign politics, again), so we are forced to stay in Bosnian borders. These are really dark times for our people, and nobody can tell what will happen in the future. But, we will stand proud no matter what (hell yeah!)!
Arcana Noctis: Would you say that religion is the main thing that divided the former Yugoslavia?
Apeiron: Yes, I think that's pretty much the reason of all the wars around here. We all know about the Islamic religion and their aggressive attitude towards the rest of the world, Croatians are Catholics, Serbians are the Orthodox Christians... three different religions divided nations here in a very rude way. A war happened every 50 years or so. That stupid things hold us back, with a really small chance of moving forward in a brighter future like other nations in Europe are doing as we speak. I'm not an optimist, anyway, so I can't tell about the future, weather it will be good or bad. Hope we will still be around to see for ourselves...
Arcana Noctis: That's all from me, many thanks for the interview and good luck for the future! The last words are there for you...
Apeiron: No, no - thank you! Thanks for giving us a chance to promote our work (very nice questions, btw). To all your readers - Metallic greetings from Serbian extreme Metal band Interfector, check out our website, download some mp3's, and sign a guestbook, if you have some time to spare. Raise the Serbian Metal!!!!
Nebojša "Apeiron" Lakić & Interfector