Interview with Slovakian Melodic Metal Band ‘Within Silence’

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WS_logo_silverStrong musicianship and the ability to write interesting songs with memorable melodies makes Within Silence a band to be reckoned with for years to come. Within Silence is a young, promising melodic metal band that are ready to make an impact in the metal scene with their debut album “Gallery of Life” which was released earlier this month through Swedish label Ulterium Records. So I think it’s time for a closer acquaintance with the gentlemen of Within Silence.

TMR: Hey guys this is ‘The Metal Resource’ from Holland, how are things going there in Slovakia ?

Filip Andel: Hey Eelco, thanks, everything’s going fine as it should be… We’re rehearsing for summer gigs and we are really looking forward to them

TMR: How did you get into metal?

Martin Klein: My first experience with rock music, when I´ve paid more attention to this music, was when I heard Limp Bizkit´s song called take a look around. I was around 12 years old and this song was starter on my rock path. Then I was looking for other stuff and it really did not take long time when I started listen bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Europe, Kiss etc….Here I felt that I am on right adress concerning my music taste.

Filip Andel: Back in 2007 I accidentally attended Helloween´s concert. Afterwards I realised I really like that kind of music.

TMR: What is your musical background ?

Martin Klein: I´ve started play on guitar when I was 13 years old as autodidact and later I took some hours at music school too. Then I was focused on metal style of guitar playing and played it some local bands. I also played drums or bass guitar and had some tries with singing but nothing seriously. The change came when I met Richard on university and found the band with him. From beginning I played drums but later I moved to singing. From this point I´ve started work really hard and also I took singing lessons on music school for 3 years.

Martin Cico: I´ve started play the guitar at the age of 14. It was acoustic guitar, which I borrowed from my friend. It took some time to convince my parents that I want my own guitar, because I don´t come from a family of musicians. But I was persistent, and soon I learnt my first chords, which convinced my family, so they bought me my first electric guitar. At the beginning, I was learning songs from the internet and by myself, but later on I started to take classes at the local music school.

within Silence bandTMR: Tell us the brief history of ‘Within Silence’.

Martin Klein: From very beginning in 2008 when I and Richard agreed to found band I would never said that we will bring it to the current stadium. I mean, when Richard comes with idea to play in band I was little bit sceptic as I had some experiences and thought that it is not so easy as it seems. But thankfully, for Richard it was first band and his fire burn my simmering spark too and after 6 months of rehearsals we started thinking about do music more seriously. In that time we had some first ideas and started worked on them but we had problem to find the right voice to sing them. We tried some singers and from beginning we wanted female but when we heard it recorded we realized that it has to be singed by male definitely. Then I tried to record some vocal lines and when we heard it we decide that I should left drums and instead of this start to sing. From this point I´ve started to practice singing and Richard started to train guitar, both of us really hard as our goal was to reach needed level of musician ship to be able make appropriate performance for making arrangements and of course for recording of the album. It took ca 3 years when we felt that we were ready for recording and to start play live but we had another problem and it was to find right person for our full-time band. After many attempts in 2013 we finally established complete line-up which is actual till today. Finally we could start to play shows and also entered the studio to record our debut. When I look on this topic now, I really have to say that there are 2 main factors which keep this band alive. At first it was and still is Richard´s passion for this band as he was main motor which always organized everything in order to move this band further especially as I mentioned from very beginning and second big impact are all our little steps forward (growth of our musicianship, songwriting, recording of our demo in 2012….). Always when we were frustrated or tired from this band, something was happened or some little success came and we get new power to continue. Last time it was definitely when we signed with Ulterium Records which we really appreciate.

(not so brief but important we think : ) )

TMR: Why the name ‘Within Silence’ ? Is there a story behind it ?

Martin Klein: When we started to consider new name for our band we knew that it has to cover or be to close to the original idea (Rightdoor), That is to be band which are not only about music but will share positive message to the listeners. So this we kept on our minds during we were trying to figure out new band name which would fit to us for both purposes perfectly. After many different combinations we agreed on my idea Within Silence which sounds good and bring mysterious feelings (only within silence you can find the truth and truth is your right door to follow your own path through life etc… )

TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in ‘Within Silence’ ? … how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?

Martin Klein: I am the main composer of music and lyrics but also Richard comes with some nice themes and he also wrote the whole song anger and sorrow. Regarding the mood for writing normally idea comes naturally and it does not matter where I am or what I do. I never writing song in that way that I am sitting with my guitar and I am trying to write something because it is simply forced. Really good idea comes on my mind for example when I am walking from the job, relaxing on the sofa, I am in the shower J or I am just playing the guitar and if I get some nice riff or melody I record it and come back later. This is big advantage of this century, you have mobile still available so I can record new ideas anytime and anywhere so it really helps. Sometimes I write almost whole song from such idea and sometimes I use only best part from it.

Regarding the lyrics the main influences is life, everything what I´ve experienced and what is around us, relationships, faith etc…

TMR: What are some key principles or phylosophies that you hold onto as foundational stones as who you are as a person?

Martin Cico: I like the saying : „Where there’s a will there’s a way.“ I try to stick with it,because it always motivated me to face challenges in life.
Peter Gacik: Nothing is impossible, just keep doing the same things again and again, result will come sooner or later :).

TMR: Is there already a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of ‘Within Silence’?

Yes, there is. I´m not with the band since the begging, like Richard or Martin, but I still remember the first time I´ve come to the rehearsal with the guys. We were playing some covers, I think it was something from Iron Maiden, and I was stunned when Martin started to sing. He sang the high notes with such confidence. It was pretty amazing.

Peter Gacik: The day when Richard and Martin told me : “You are in! “.

TMR: And the worst thing were ? (if there is one) [for everyone personal]

Filip Andel: Once we made a power cut out at a gig. Suddenly there was a darkness and silence in the middle of a gig! It was creepy.

TMR: So what makes you laugh?

Peter Gacik: Jokes and situations that life can bring.
Martin Klein: I like parody movies, Jim Carrey comedies, Simpsons etc…

TMR: What is your biggest fear ?

Peter Gacik: My biggest nightmare is that I will not able to play due to any reason.

TMR: What are some of the things you like to do away from the band?

Expect the music I spend most time with my family and also trying do some exercise J

Filip Andel: Most of the time I am educating myself in music production,mixing, mastering and so on. Also I like electronic stuff, building or repairing amplifiers etc. Of course hanging out with friends or sometimes hiking.

TMR: Speaking of recording, your debut album “Gallery of Life” was released in Europe on May 8th, what can you tell us about the album [such as: the recording proces, the songs etc].

Martin Klein: Lyrically we are trying to show people world in different perspective to move from materialism, egoism, boast to other values like helpfulness, love or grace and and also to bring them start think not only about life on this earth but that there is something more after we finished our path here.

gallery of life (2015)TMR: About the cover artwork. Do you think it is as important as your music? Does it visualize the lyrics of your songs or what’s the actual story behind its concept?

Richard Germanus: Artwork is very important in my opinion. Life consists from gallery of different situations,our feelings and decisions. Simply , it´s “Gallery of Life” which we can visualize with pictures on the wall or statues like we have on our artwork.

TMR: The album was released through ‘Ulterium Records’, how did you get signed by them ?

Richard Germanus: Theocracy played at the show called “Call for Eternity” as headliner in 2013. This concert was in our hometown Kosice, Slovakia, and we played there with them. The organizer of this show, Laci Bitto, sent our promo song to Emil Westerdahl (Ulterium Records) and he said that he liked our song. It was the first step and good sign but everything was opened since he heard only one song from us. In the end of 2014 we sent our debut to Ulterium Records and response was great ! Early 2015 we signed with them. So now we are the part of Ulterium family and we are proud of it ! Communication with Emil is really great and we feel strong support from him. Thanks Emil !

TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?

Richard Germanus: We have really strong support from Ulterium Records with these things. We have our website and you can find us on facebook of course.

TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?

Martin Klein: People in Slovakia largely listen to the same English-speaking pop music as in other countries I think. Despite the dominance of English-speaking music within pop culture, Slovak-speaking music has become quite popular as well. Especially pop-rock bands. And besides the pop or pop rock bands here in Slovakia is very popular rap music. But of course we have also rock and metal fans so regarding the metal music in general we have quite lot of extreme metal bands and few melodic metal bands like Signum Regis, Sinners Moon, Ravenclaw or Anthology…. Here we can see some progress because in comparison to the past where we abcent such a bands… So it is looks more optimistic now in melodic side as these bands are quite active and produce really good stuff.

TMR: How do you prepare for a show?

Martin Klein: Just little warm up with my voice and trying to concentrate on the show, that´s all.
Filip Andel: Nothing really special. It´s good to have enough sleep the night before and not to drink before the show, just a beer or two is okay.

TMR: What would be the ultimate cover tune for Within Silence?

Richard: Hmm, really hard question. We never thought about it. We want to play our own music : )

TMR: What is your favorite concert that you saw and what made it so good?

Martin Klein: Definitely Iron Maiden at Rock in Rio. There you can see euphory of crowd from Bruce and Adrian come back, great atmosphere and energy. That concert was part of their tour to support the one of their best record Brave new world and I really like the live version of songs from that album.

Peter Gacik: My first concert I saw was Nightwish, and it was first, it tells everything : ).
Martin Cico: My favorite concert was definitely a Helloween Show here in Slovakia back in 2011. They opened for Stratovarius, so it was like my two favourite bands on one stage at the same evening. The best thing was that they played my favourite songs. But the whole show was brilliant and I really enjoyed it from the start to the end.

TMR: What is the most embarrassing music on your phone or in your collection and how do you justify it to others?

Peter Gacik: I have good story but it’s from my early years, i was 7 years old and teacher from prmary school gave us the homework “learn the poem”. I was lazy so I record myself on the tape to learn it based on listenning it over and over again. After some years my father play this tape because it was a tape of his favorite band and in the middle of the chorus of song “An Angel from KELLY FAMILY band”… my recorded poem for my mom, explanation was not needed : ), everyone was laughing : )

within_04TMR: If you could pick a band to tour with, who would it be? And where would the tour go?

Martin Klein: If I can dream I pick 3 bands instead of only one. Theocracy, Hammerfall and Amaranthe and we should go through Europe, South America, North America and Japan !

Richard Germanus: Yes but there are many bands which we like and would like to perform with them. For example Iron Maiden, Stratovarius, Nightwish, Helloween, Edguy, Avantasia, Unisonic and we can continue till the end of this day, haha

TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked?

Peter Gacik: I think there is no stupid question, just stupid answer.

TMR: What are the biggest obstacles for bands ?

Martin Klein: At first if you keep yourself motivated to continue on your path, then no obstacle can play big role in your plan. Motivation is biggest influence which always helps me hold on even I am confronted with for example lack of time, money or personal problems.

TMR: As a band today, what do you think is the biggest challenge you face?

Martin Klein: The market is really tough and biggest challenge for us is definitely to establish solids fun base which will be support us! Everything concerning the next success of the band starts right here…with our fans!

TMR: Any (tour) plans for the near future ?

Richard Germanus: We are confirmed for big summer festivals in Slovakia and Czech republic: Made of Metal, Topfest and Rock pod Kamenom. The headliners for these festivals are bands like Epica, Within Temptation, Stratovarius & Gamma Ray… We hope that later we will play some shows in foreign countries.

Martin Klein: Yes, we want to play shows as much as possible and to bring new record to fans as soon as possible

TMR: Guys thanks for your time and the interview. We wish ‘Within Silence’ all the best … Is there anything you wanna say at last ? [any final statement ?]

Richard: Thank you for this interview and for your wishes. We hope that we will play in Holland soon, It could be great. We wish you and your readers all the best and hope they will enjoy our debut album.

Upcoming Shows:
06.06.2015 – Melodic Metal Night, Banska Bystrica – Tartaros RC, Slovakia
26.06.2015 – Topfest, Piešťany, Slovakia.
07.08.2015 – Rock pod, Kamenom, Slovakia.
16.08.2015 – Made of Meta Festivall, Czech Republic.

Within Silence is:
Martin Klein – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Richard Germanus – Lead guitars, Growls, Backing Vocals
Martin Cico – Rhythm guitars
Filip Andel – Bass, Backing Vocals
Peter Gacik – Drums

Discography:|
“Gallery of Life” (2015) [review]

Weblinks: Facebook / Website / Bandcamp

Video below for ‘Silent Desire’

Video below “Gallery of Life”

Lyric video ‘Road To The Paradise’

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