METAL VOX - Interview

1. Hello Luca welcome to Metetalvox.com.br please introduce ICON OF HYEMES to our readers...
Hi all! And thanks for interesting in our band! I.O.H. was born in 1999 by drummer Matteo & vocalist Pillo from December's band (R.I.P.) that have reclutated a guitar player, Vincio, and a bass player, Seba, to make a new band called Alphard, after a year of activity I've joined the band as lead guitar's player and then band's monicker as definitely changed on Icon Of Hyemes. We did a few concerts in our city and we are going in studio to record our first mini cd called "Gift" which has obtained good feedbacks despite the production was really raw, because we have recorded it in two days of live session. We have made a lot of concerts aroud Italy with this first stuff, and we had played also as support to some Italian great bands such as Infernal Poetry, Natron, Theathres Des Vampyres and Undertakers! In september 2002 we came back in studio to create our new mini cd "Unpopular" with five more aggressive new songs with a really good production!Now we are in tour to promote this album, and we are playing all over Italy and beside that we are making a video clip for the opener song of cd: "Start to blame"...What about next future?!...we hope to record a full leght on next september and to find a label for a good distribution. Finger crossed!
2. How is going the promotion of "Unpopular"? How do you describe your last work?
I think that "Unpopular's" promotion is going very good...We are making an italian tour and we have just come from a Slovenian mini-tour...but at the moment we are not sending many CDs to labels...because actually, labels prefere full leght records and not mini-cd like our stuff...we hope for our next release (a full leght one) to find a label for a good distribution. "Unpopular" is a personal very fast mixture of swedish & american death metal. This time the concept is more aggressive than Gift!Lyrics talk about our sick world, a sort of our public accuse! There is a perfect integration of lyrics and music which follow a single atmophere during all leght of cd!We are really proud of this stuff!But you all must hear it...because it's not easy to describe!
3. What does your monicker means? Tell us about the lyrics of "Unpopular"...
Our monicker literal means "image of winter/storm", "hyemes" is an english archaic term... We choose the name "Unpopoular" as title of our cd because it clearly explains the deep meaning of our work, what is unpopular is something that creates a breaking, a distinction, the rage against falseness, hypocrisy of our society, in fact lyrics are easier, more direct and less introspective than our first work "Gift".
4. You have also a label/distro called ATC prod. What is your philosophy? Where we can find your catalogue?
Yes I've a little label/distro...I try to spread all over the world italian underground metal bands without an economical profit! I've in my distro a lot of italian underground (and not only) valid bands! But I've also great bands all over the world...I've started my activities for gore/grind music only...in fact most of my stuff comes from this genres, and on my first five releases there are gore grind bands only! You can visit www.atcprod.cjb.net to download my distro's list and read more about my productions, I think that a "CD-r" production is cheaper to produce and easyer to spread! I also cooperate with "il male production" that is a webzine/label/promotion agency...i take some cds in my distro from their rooster and i write in the webzine to review all death/thrash/gore/grind stuff.
5. Italian underground : some words about it.
I think that in Italy there are a lot of great bands...but we have here too much competition not co-operation! "Metal Mine" and "il male production" are two of the few good reality!!! While a big part of the rest is only business!!!
6. Do you play in other bands too?
Yes, now I play in others bands like ATRESIA: this is a demential misanthro-sexist grindcore one man band (me only), all instruments are playing by me and my influences come from bands as Cripple Bastards and Bathtub Shitter. I've three self produced CDs and a 4-way split produced by an italian young label! I play also in a noise grind combo (like Anal Cunt) as bass player called DVA MINUTA DREKA, that in croatian language means "two minutes of shit". With this band I've made a lot of promos and splits...and now we are waiting for our last seven inches split with UMIGLIAZIONE (italian grind core/crust band).
7. What do you think about bands like Ephel duat, Dillinger escape plan, candiria…etc etc? Death metal must be always the same or do you like mix between Metal Jazz and Hard core?
You have mentioned my favourite bands at the moment!!! I like very much Ephel Duath's musical proposal (they have recorded their last album in our same studio...just after our unpopular's session!), but Dillinger is now my best font of inspiration!!! I've seen also one live of them...and I think that is the best think that I have ever seen! I think that this mixture is the only way of evolution in extreme music! I like very much also Naked City, Painkiller, and all infinite projects from Mike Patton like Phantomas, Tomhawk, Mr Bungle...
8. Do you know some Brasilian Underground band? I know some grind bands like M.D.K., and NEW YORK AGAINST THE BELZEBU (from this band we play a cover with 2 Minuta Dreka...)
...but i can not remember more at the moment...
9. What are you Plans for the future?
We hope to find a label (as I've already said many times in this interview!sorry!) and I hope to make a lot of live gigs abroad!
10. The interview ends here…. Last words?
Thanks very much for this interview! I think that your country is very expert and enthusiastic in this kind of music! We need some of you here! J Bye to all....and...."enjoy the invisible army of gorevolution"!