Interview: Mystic Prophecy: Moshing in front of the mirror - STALKER MAGAZINE inside out of rock´n´roll

Mystic Prophecy: Moshing in front of the mirror

"Satanic Curses" is the fifth album of Mystic Prophecy, and a quite good one! That´s a reason to meet the native Greek Lia, front man of this German band, totally in Rock´n`Roll style, namely in a Nightliner that has already hosted the almost-Black-Sabbath line up of Heaven and Hell.

Lia, let´s talk about your new album. Where are the differences between ´´Satanic Curses´´ and the previous album ``Savage Souls´´?
I think that our new album is more mature and diverse. We included many facets into our sound: Melodic Metal, Thrash Metal and so on.

What is the story behind ``Satanic Curses``?
Our guitarist Marcus (Pohl, the ed..) and I wrote this album. We meet, we record our ideas with Pro-tools, program the drums and so on, and then we put it away. If you still get goose flesh listening to it again after two weeks, then you know that you are heading to the right direction. The songwriting took about four months, the production process another two or three weeks. For this we travelled to Sweden to work with Frederik Nordström. I have my own studio, too, but we wanted to have a producer from the outside.

With your new CD comes also a download code and a recordable CD...
We wanted to offer our fans a little bonus. We decided to choose the download option because it has the appeal of something illegal for many. And it will have more people checking out our home page and learn more about our band, for example where we are going to play live. Perhaps we come up with something else the next time. Perhaps next time we add a washing machine or a DVD player.

Since ``Savage Souls`` Matthias ``Matze``Straub (Drums) has been part of the team. How does it work out for him, playing in Mystic Prophecy, Sacred Steel and having a job?
Unfortunately Matze is no longer with us since the tour started. For 6 weeks we have been playing with our new drummer Stefan Dietrich (ex-Saidian). When Matze began playing with us he was a student and had much more time. Now with his job and cannot handle two bands any more.

How does a typical day on tour look?
You go to some city. Then you wait to be allowed into the hall, you eat something, you do the soundcheck and so on. Then you go into town, or you give interviews, like now. The stupid thing is only that you cannot get much sleep on a night trip into the next town. The bus is moving, you have some short naps. Day-Offs are rare. The bus costs 1000 Euro for every day, and you don´t make money when you don´t play.

What is for you the best music on the road?
The best is old Rock `n Roll. Gotthard or Poodles. This is nice to relax to. And other stuff like Pink Floyd or Rush.

Are there still situations that get you excited like a child?
I have a son who is three and a half years old. When I watch him grow up and when I hear that he speaks more and more, that really gets me excited. My family is most important for me.

Is there an instrument you would like to learn playing?
Guitar and of course Bouzuki (traditional Greek instrument, the ed.) Somehow back then I always wanted to play guitar. When I was moshing in front of the mirror I always imitated to play guitar, not singing. That seemed cooler somehow. But still I turned out to be a singer. It seems I had more talent for that, haha.

Let´s talk about your home country Greece: Greek Metal fans are said to be the best i the world...
They are the best in the world! It is simply the temper. In Greece there´s nothing like this luxury here. When Greeks go to see a concert they enjoy it a 100 %. In Germany it is sometimes that a lot of people come to a gig and buy a ticket, but during the show it seems that people fall asleep. This is not the case in Greece. There every song is welcomed like their favorite song, no matter if people know it or not. This is really great!

Which Greek bands should be known? You have any tips?
You should definitely know Firewind (the new band of former MP-Guitarist Gus. G, . Verf.), Nightrage, Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh. More tips are Chrystal Tears, who were guests in my studio, they play pure Power Metal. Descending are another nice tip. Those guys are all about 19 or 20 and really good! They just signed a deal with Massacre.

What can you recommend for the next holiday in Greece?
In Greece you can go anywhere. It´s sunny everywhere! Moreover, people are very friendly everywhere, they don´t care where you´re from and they are always in a good mood.

Author: + photos: Timo Päßler, transl. K. Weber
Date: 2008-05-28

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