There is no exact date to know when the Greek scene became the powerful and
talented scene we know today, but year after year the bands have been
expressing their talent, let me say, in some cases almost poetically, releasing
excellent albums (jewels). This time is the turn of AGATUS, with its
magnificent new album “The Eternalist”, in my opinion one of the highlights of
the year. Here is an interview with Eskarth The Dark One, talking about his
music and ideas. Fly into forever…with Agatus…
Greetings, We are indeed
quite pleased with the outcome of TH ETERNALIST both in terms of
compositions and production as well as album art representation. The idea was that through this album we will
pick up where we left off with The Weaving Fates and introduce further
compositional elements to best suit the music and reflect facets of our musical
development in whatever that encompasses.
How long did take the process of writing and recording. Did you pass for difficult moment during the
process?
I had started
recording the initial ideas of this album in 2006, however songs such as ‘Perils
of The Sea Pt. II – At Dusk I was Born’ where composed almost in their entirety
from as far back as 1996-1997. It wasn’t
until 2013 that I felt I wanted to awaken the dream of Agatus and create THE
ETRNALIST that proved to be a challenging piece of work for me, in terms
composition, since I had decided to introduce new elements (stylistically
speaking) which were direct results of my inspirations. This decision however, would potentially
‘make’ or’ break’ the album. I must
admit that to date, trying to blend old with new whilst maintaining the
signature sound of Agatus has surely been one of the biggest challenges
faced.
Recording at our own respective studios, Vorkaath and I were able to indulge in experimenting a little more with compositions and ideas that significantly contributed to the distinctive sounds of THE ETERNALIST.
I spent many months going over and over the material until I was satisfied with all compositions. Looking back at the endless hours of work put in this album I feel they we were well worth it.
Recording at our own respective studios, Vorkaath and I were able to indulge in experimenting a little more with compositions and ideas that significantly contributed to the distinctive sounds of THE ETERNALIST.
I spent many months going over and over the material until I was satisfied with all compositions. Looking back at the endless hours of work put in this album I feel they we were well worth it.
What are the influences, or the main source of inspiration that
have evolved on this trip to what is AGATUS music today?
I have tried
to emphasise my own personal style as a guitarist and as composer whilst trying
to maintain the identity of Agatus. Part
of my inspiration has come from bands such as Eloy, Marillion, Al Dimeola,
Michael Schenker, Rainbow, Bathory and many others.
I must say that the album surprised me gratefully, not only for
being something "different" or uncommon among so many releases, but
not for being different makes the album good, It´s not the style but by the
quality of the music that makes the album outstanding. How do you think or
expect that this album is received by fans and media in general? What are your expectations as a musician, once
the album has been released?
Thank you for
your kind words.
In making THE ETERNALIST I aimed at creating something that would be well
blended in terms of old and new whilst maintaining the drive and identity that
Agatus are known for.
It was a conscious however difficult decision to further experiment with the direction and the sound of the album as it forms a detachment from the band’s past and extends into a new territory and opens new horizons.
In my opinion, the quality of the music comes through maturity and understanding and how well one connects with their creation and surrounding elements.
Reports and feedback on the album have been overwhelming and this could be seen as indication that it is well received and hope to see this response continue on.
As a musician I would like for my new work to be heard and to reach many new fans.
THE ETERNALIST is as an album that will appeal to fans from a wide array of music genres as it has strong hard rock/ heavy metal moments, progressive feel whilst maintaining some extreme metal feeling. Heavy Metal and beyond!
It is easily remarkable that the production has been worn out carefully, I would dare to say that there´s a work of maturity, "clean" but without losing heaviness, something noticeable in all the instruments, both in the melodic as well in the aggressive parts, embracing the dramatic or theatrical aura of the songs. How would you define or describe the production and the sound achieved?
It was a conscious however difficult decision to further experiment with the direction and the sound of the album as it forms a detachment from the band’s past and extends into a new territory and opens new horizons.
In my opinion, the quality of the music comes through maturity and understanding and how well one connects with their creation and surrounding elements.
Reports and feedback on the album have been overwhelming and this could be seen as indication that it is well received and hope to see this response continue on.
As a musician I would like for my new work to be heard and to reach many new fans.
THE ETERNALIST is as an album that will appeal to fans from a wide array of music genres as it has strong hard rock/ heavy metal moments, progressive feel whilst maintaining some extreme metal feeling. Heavy Metal and beyond!
It is easily remarkable that the production has been worn out carefully, I would dare to say that there´s a work of maturity, "clean" but without losing heaviness, something noticeable in all the instruments, both in the melodic as well in the aggressive parts, embracing the dramatic or theatrical aura of the songs. How would you define or describe the production and the sound achieved?
Indeed the
idea behind the production is to ensure that all instruments are heard as
planned during the composition. We aim for
a warm and balanced sound and production and I am confident that once again we
achieved this on this Agatus album.
Heaviness comes through composition so it won’t be lost. During the
composition and the production process there is a lot of emphasis given to
making parts sound as intended, by using the necessary space, the right effect,
the appropriate timbre and so on.
Without having any interest in putting labels on the musical style, I would like to know from your point of view, as a composer, how would you describe the music and style of Agatus?
This album is
very much on the heavy side of things so I haven’t shifted entirely away from
the metal genre, however I made an effort on THE ETERNALIST to musically
distance myself from the confines of Black Metal and further develop the music
into other styles that best represent my ideas for this album.
There is a
strong Heavy Metal flavour blended with Hard/Prog Rock and a slight Black Metal
touch.
I have been influenced by so many artists and genres that I personally don’t want to put one particular label to this release and would prefer for the listener to interpret what they hear.
The vocals are one of the highlights of the album, which contribute to a great extent this dramatic touch, to which I was referring earlier, of the songs. Have you been inspired by some style in particular?
I have been influenced by so many artists and genres that I personally don’t want to put one particular label to this release and would prefer for the listener to interpret what they hear.
The vocals are one of the highlights of the album, which contribute to a great extent this dramatic touch, to which I was referring earlier, of the songs. Have you been inspired by some style in particular?
Thank you.
No style in particular, instead I tried singing where I felt I could comfortably weave in and out from in terms of timbre and range. With the vocals I took on something new that again I felt were best suited to the compositions. For example I composed At Dusk I Was Born in 1996 and I sung it on the album exactly like I use to sing it at rehearsals back then. You can hear something similar to that vocal style on Conqueror of Fear from the Weaving Fates, so this direction was a natural development.
No style in particular, instead I tried singing where I felt I could comfortably weave in and out from in terms of timbre and range. With the vocals I took on something new that again I felt were best suited to the compositions. For example I composed At Dusk I Was Born in 1996 and I sung it on the album exactly like I use to sing it at rehearsals back then. You can hear something similar to that vocal style on Conqueror of Fear from the Weaving Fates, so this direction was a natural development.
Why did
you decide to include the song Gilgamesh, released four years ago in the 7· EP
with same name?
Both songs from the Gilgamesh 7EP were
re-recorded during this album session, however Gilgamesh was chosen since I
wanted to record it again with all its new parts as well as making reference to the two greatest epics the world
has come to know (Iliad and
Gilgamesh).
Tell
us about the lyrical content. is there any concept running through the title “The Eternalist” Are the songs linked between themselves somehow?
THE
ETERNALIST is not a concept album
however there is a link between the songs in terms of the lyrical concept
. In this album I make references to the
dreaming and the voyage of the soul, the state of consciousness and the essence
of existence - completion.
Themes are taken from Sumerian mythos and Hellenic philosophy whilst other
parts are simply my way of interpreting and externalizing some of my own
thoughts and concepts.
Please
explain the meaning of the wonderful cover artwork, was it designed and drew from
an idea or vision of yours?
I feel with
this great piece of artwork the album is complete and well presented. Obscurity as expressed here by Robert Cook is perfectly balanced with
enlightenment and the entire impression of this piece perfectly aligns itself
with my own the interpretation and feel for this album.
Although it has a harder edge, I
consider the artwork a great companion evoking dark feelings and breathing life
through the music of THE ETERNALIST.
Since
“The Weaving Fate” the music of Agatus was evolving to a more traditional Heavy
Metal sound, something that continued in the two EPs released later. Is the
work on “The Eternalist” just a step ahead in search for more evolution in your
style or is it the final result that you were looking for?
I would like
to consider it as evolution – I couldn’t settle for stagnation in music and art
in general. I have already composed new
material for the next album which is also quite different to THE
ETERNALIST. For some keeping to a recipe
works well whilst for others exploration is key in development and expression.
On the other hand, THE ETERNALIST has become what it was initially
intended to become and personally I will use this release as a stepping stone
to create something equally as expressive in its own right.
Is there
something left of the Black metal Spirit from the early days in the current
essence of Agatus?
In retrospective, how do you see now the first album and the early demos? How do you look at the early days nowadays?
From the perspective of a musician and specifically on the technical aspect and
my ability to perform my instrument, to put it mildly, there was room for
improvement.
From a
compositional perspective I can hear how I conformed to certain standards in
terms of music form; however I also feel that I offered something different
given the era and the circumstances surrounding a want-to-be musician and feel
that those that listened to our music embraced these attempts, as they
themselves were open and ready to receive this music. Nowadays I don’t really think works the same
way as there is an abundance of everything and people possibly hardly find
something that moves them or even worse, they settle for anything.
I guess that after many releases and studio hours shared with your brother Vorskaath it should be easy for you to understand each other during the recording sessions, mostly when you both are so skilled and talented musicians with such good taste in music. Do you have any ritualistic or a strictly methodic way to work in the studio?
I guess that after many releases and studio hours shared with your brother Vorskaath it should be easy for you to understand each other during the recording sessions, mostly when you both are so skilled and talented musicians with such good taste in music. Do you have any ritualistic or a strictly methodic way to work in the studio?
I highly
enjoy working with my brother despite some of the epic arguments we have during
some of our sessions.
We have spent endless our in the studio together and made tones of recordings
apart from Agatus and Zemial and this experience has enabled us to understand
how each other works during recording sessions and how to identify the best way
that we both produce our most positive and creative output.
We go through quite an extensive program to identify the instruments we are going to use depending on the song or vibe, drum skins and tunings, what microphones and the placement of those mics, the preamps we are going to use and what instrument to run into each preamp and so on and so on. It is a long and demanding process, however it is always exciting and serves a real build up towards the actual recording.
We go through quite an extensive program to identify the instruments we are going to use depending on the song or vibe, drum skins and tunings, what microphones and the placement of those mics, the preamps we are going to use and what instrument to run into each preamp and so on and so on. It is a long and demanding process, however it is always exciting and serves a real build up towards the actual recording.
Will
you take part or contribute in the next Zemial album? What do you think about
Nykta. In my opinion it was the best album of 2013 and since then no other album
was as good and strong (Imho) well, maybe “The Eternalist” can dethrone Nykta
this year :)
At this point
in time I could probably and safely say that I think my ‘hands on’
collaboration with Zemial is over. I
helped my brother a little bit in the studio with the ‘The repairer of
Reputations’ however not in the way of recording.
Through NYKTA Zemial really expressed a change of direction and demonstrated
ability of a band that has explored extreme metal from its raw stages to a band
that smoothly moves into musical realms without losing expression and
intensity.
I had an involvement in NYKTA in terms of singing, guitar soloing as well as composing some ideas for the album.
I had an involvement in NYKTA in terms of singing, guitar soloing as well as composing some ideas for the album.
It was a
great album and I know NYKTA is a strong competitor to THE ETERNALIST although
its not fair to compare albums of different bands that were recorded under
different circumstances. Composition
wise, NYKTA is brilliant and it opened the way for the next big step in the Zemial
camp which is ‘Lurking’ around the corner…
Discussions
have recommenced for an Alpha Centauri 7EP
so we may some news on that soon.
With Raven Black Night, there is a possibility for live show next year, however
that also remains to be confirmed.
Are
there plans to put the music of Agatus on stage to support the release of the
album?
Quite possible, however not until next year.
There are already offers and we welcome any interested organisers to get
in touch.
You
came back to Greece a few years ago, after living in Australia nearly for two
decades, how was your experience there? Why did you move to Australia back
then? Would you consider the possibility of living abroad again?
Australia is
a great country and I had a very positive experience living there. It is my
birthplace so similarly to the past I still consider it a suitable destination for
settling there. I am currently living in
the UK.
Are
you still in touch with members of other bands such as Varathron, Necromantia, Rotting
Christ or Thou Art Lord?
Occasionally
with Sakis and Themis from Rotting Christ.
What´s
the strangest place and the most shocking one that you´ve been?
A strange place I have visited is The FeldKapelle in Germany
Luckily I
have not come across a shocking place in my journeys.
Thank you for the dedicated time! End this
interview as you want...
Thank you for the great interview and your support!
Look out for THE ETERNALIST on October 9th
and prepare for some serious headbanging!
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