AEONIC – Interview with Mate, Beni and Jernej

Slovenia, small country as it is, offers some quality metal music. This time I decided to put some attention into a very promising young band Aeonic playing technical Death Metal with oriental influences. For such a young band their approach to music is serious which is noticeable in their first demo release so far. More info below.

Give us a short preview on the band's history. Who are the band members and what have you released so far?

Mate: It all began with the breaking up of a former band. Me, being a guitarist, together with Benjamin on guitars and vocalist Jure, wanted to continue with a new band. Thus we started looking for additional band members and a fitting name for an yet unnamed project.

Benjamin: I immediately thought of a suitable drummer Dani Garghuf Robnik, so we contacted him and he was very eager to participate. Some time passed and we still haven't found the right bass player so Dani brought in a friend from another band Jernej, who proved himself as a great asset to the band.

Mate: At that point all we needed was a keyboard player, so we asked Diana (from the previous band) to join and the line-up was complete.

Jernej: Things started to develop really well and after six months of rehearsals we were ready to release a demo and perform live.

Mate: The line-up lasted until recently, when Dani had to quit due to his agreement to record and play for Enthroned (Bel).

Benjamin: So technically we don't have a drummer and are looking for his replacement.

You are all very young and you already create such quality music. Song structures seem difficult and demandable to play. I've heard that some band members are also musically educated. Tell us something more about it.

Benjamin: Yes, me and Mate are both musically educated. I completed the primary music school for guitar, while Mate, on the other hand, studies piano since he was six. First at the primary music school and at the Music high school Department for Jazz, afterwards.

Mate: Currently I am studying music composition at the Music Academy in Ljubljana.

Benjamin: Consequently, the songwriting is less conventional, more complex, varied and dynamic.

Who writes the music? Who writes the lyrics?

Mate: I write all the music, while the lyrics are partially written by me, partially by Jernej.

Themes in your music (and also some melodies from European point of view) are influenced by oriental cultures and art. How come? What is your main interest in those cultures?

Mate: The music and the melodies got their oriental substance somehow naturally and maybe even subconsciously. I just find it very attractive.

Jernej: Lyrics reflect some motives from ancient and oriental cultures that have been great interest of mine and correspond with the music very well. They can be intriguing, dark and mystic and overall they build the foundation for the band's visual imagery and expression.

I would say that in your music there are some Behemoth and Nile influences. Is that correct and from where do you get your inspiration for creating music?

Mate: We definitely like Behemoth and Nile without any doubt. While there are some definite similarities between us and the two mentioned bands, we do not try to sound like them. It's just the consequence of the oriental approach to the songwriting, while we all are still trying to create something original.

Are you content with your 2009 demo release? Why are there programmed drums on the recording if you have/had such an excellent drummer?

Benjamin: Sure, I think we are all very satisfied by the way the demo turned out. I think that the production quality is above average for a demo release from a young band.

Mate: Since it was only a demo release, we didn't intend to invest too much resources into making it. So we couldn't afford a studio to record the drums.

Where was the demo recorded? Who did the cover art?

Benjamin: Guitars and bass were tracked individually at home, while the vocals and acoustics were recorded at our friend Ane Rozman's Deep Water Studio.

Jernej: The demo was released exclusively in quality mp3 format. Because there was no physical release, there is no real cover art. The one that was published was merely symbolic.

Do you intend to create the music in the same way or planning some changes? When can we expect any new releases?

Mate: For now we are not planning any major changes, however, some minor development can be expected.

Benjamin: At the time being a recording session is in progress, again at the Deep Water Studio.

Jernej: This time we are planning a physical CD release with full artwork (Made by iga Kroflič: http://www.myspace.com/z1x0n), containing five tracks.

Mate: The release is due in winter 2009.

What about live performance? You have already appeared on-stage in Slovenia. Are any further gigs planned?

Jernej: so far we played two live shows. The debut was in Maribor with our colleagues Neurotech. The second one we played in Ljubljana's Orto bar, supporting Origin (US). In late summer this year we had 2 booked concerts, but were forced to cancel them, due to line-up changes.

Would you like to add anything, something I did not mention above?

Mate: Thank you, check us out at the Aeonic official myspace at www.myspace.com/aeonicofficial.

Thank you for the interview, good luck and see you on your gig soon.