Since The Baboon started we’ve been able to witness massive amounts of good Death Metal coming out of Russia. Demon Project, from Siberia’s capital of Novosibirsk, is a band that delivers such material, but it differs from most others in that it has made extensive use of electronics and synths in its songs. Now, I don’t normally like that too much, but Demon Project really manage to do it masterfully!

I’ve asked the band’s Dmitry Novokhatski, guitarist, vocalist, programmer and founding father, about the band’s musical endeavors. You’ll also find a track off their new album, Faces of Yaman, which is only released in Russia and other CIS Countries, inside.

By Niek

Q: Dmitry, first of all thanks for taking the time for this interview! You started out in 1999 with this band, that now has three members: a drummer and two guitarists of which you also take care of the vocals and programming. When you started out, your band had only two members, including yourself. Did you perhaps start with these programmed synths and electronics as a means to compensate for the lack of a drummer and bass player?

A: In 1999 Demon Project was a personal side project. I never thought it would be anything more, as I had a main metal band that I played in and wrote music for. That was a straight Death Metal band and we were sure that experiments could ruin the “true” Death Metal sound, so no fresh musical ideas were used there. Actually all the songs that I wrote for Demon Project at that time were like small emotional blasts. I desperately needed to turn my inspiration in some forms different than Death Metal. That’s why Demon Project in 1999 sounded like the opposite of heavy music; it was light and emotional. As for the musicians, yes, at first we thought that electronic pads could be used instead of a bassist and drummer and it actually worked out. Audiences were happy, but our first shows were more like hard disco parties as there were almost no musicians on stage. That was quite disappointing, as I wanted to generate more live action in front of the people. That’s why right now we show up with a live bassist and drummer.

Q: Are they live session musicians only?

A: We have a live session bass player. The drummer, Miha, is a permanent member since 2005. It is an optimal balance so far, but I’m also looking forward to find a good keyboardist for live performances.

Q: You released your first album in 2000. Then followed years of nothing and then in 2007 you came with the Fear (Is My Rage) EP, featuring three tracks. These three tracks can also be found on the subsequent Kara Ora full-length album (2009). What was the reason for this long hiatus between 2000 and 2007 in which the band did not output anything? What did you do in the meantime?

A: Many things happened in my personal life between 2000 and 2007. I got married, my first child was born, I got a new daytime job that needed much time. So I had less time to do the recordings, but we still showed up a lot in the clubs of Siberia. We also made a couple of new demos but none of them were good enough to be released. Finally, in 2004 our guitarist got married and decided to finish up with music and with our project, so I had to find new musicians. In 2005 Demon Project reincarnated into an absolutely different band. It became more professional and the style became heavier. We released Fear (Is My Rage) in 2007. It was actually a promo CD that we sent everywhere. We received a lot of good reviews of this EP and that inspired us to continue with a full album.

Q: The fact that with Kara Ora you set out to take serious steps with this band again is illustrated by the fact that you just released Faces of Yaman, the third full-length. There’s one track off that album on YouTube with a music video; I Lead You. What has been your goal for this album? How did you want it to be different from Kara Ora?

A: Kara Ora’s lyrics are based on the Siberian legends. The main theme is vision of today’s world through the eyes of the ancient tribes. The vision of the world that shows no respect to the traditions, to the nature and its spirits. The cover shows a black shaman that arises from the ashes on the altar of the modern industrial world.

I Lead You was the internet single of 2009 and we also decided to shoot a video for it. This song is actually a bridge between the two albums. The single and video that we released were about the voluntary submission of humans. It was about the weakness of people in a modern world, in countries like Russia, where the majority of people want powerful leaders instead of their civil rights.

Some critics claimed this video as propaganda for BDMS (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission). They just did not see the core. This song is included in the album, but the major idea of Faces… is different. “Faces of Yaman” can be translated as the “Faces of Evil”. The ugly faces of modern politics and big business, covered by fancy entertainment. In the musical way this is more of a rock album. Many synth parts were excluded during the recording and mixing session, so the music became “dryer” and easier to listen to, thanks to Jens Bogren – the best producer we ever worked with. This album is also a bit heavier and it is definitely not industrial. I’d say we moved to something like melodeath with electronics.

Q: So you do nothing in seven years, throw out a promo EP and an album and then manage to get the renowned Jens Bogren (Opeth, Soilwork, Amon Amarth, etc.) to produce your second album. How the hell did that happen?

A: We had a lot of problems with the recording of Kara Ora in our hometown Novosibirsk ‘cause we wanted it to be perfect. But the local studios and engineers were not good enough, so it took about a year to record and mix the album. Finally we sent this mix to Jens Bogren for mastering as I thought he was one of the guys that could do it perfectly. I heard a lot of his work before and I wanted to work with him. He did a great mastering and we started to discuss the possibility to record our next album with him. We were actually the first band from Russia that he ever recorded so he was also excited to work together. The whole recording process was quite fast and professional, and the result was just great, so we were totally satisfied with Jens’ work.

Q: Back to I Lead You. You mentioned it is like a bridge between the two albums. In what way is that?

A: I Lead You has a quite a lot of synth tracks; fewer than any Kara Ora song, but more than any other song on Faces… It is something in between rock and industrial. Also, the idea of the I Lead You single is to show that after a long history people are still ready to be slaves, because they are afraid to be responsible for their own lives. The theme of personal voluntary slavery mentioned in Prison of Me and other songs in Kara Ora progressed into the idea of the world slaved by business and politics in Faces… That’s why I call I lead You a small bridge between the albums.

Q: Now, I’m quite in love with your song Prison of Me. The rhythm section in the intro is very tasty and the whole thing just sounds somewhat magical. Does Faces of Yaman feature any new gems like that?

A: Faces of Yaman is a different album. There are fewer drum solos, fewer melodies, it’s a bit faster and a bit heavier. But, if you like Prison of Me I’d like to draw your attention to the songs Saturn and Burn. These are heavy, emotional tracks, and they mean a lot to me personally.

Q: Why is that?

A: Saturn and Burn are similar in structure – the base part has hard riffs, but the chorus is melodic and light. It’s like our lives, the good and the bad times alternate. Saturn is about the relations of the generations. It is partly based on the famous Greek/Roman myth of the god that ate his children because he was of afraid, that they would overthrow him. Burn is about the severity of losses, about how fragile our lives are and about the lives of the people that we love. These are quite personal things that I think are also close and understandable to any of us.

Got interested in Demon Project’s albums? So far Faces of Yaman is available in Russia and CIS Republics only, but it should be out in other countries as well before the end of the year. Practice patience a bit. Their earlier album Kara Ora can be found on iTunes

Niek
©Deathmetalbaboon.com, 2010
Helping people get deaf since 2009

Tags: death, electronic, Interview, melodeath, melodic, Russian

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 11:24 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.