Skylla’s Revenge was formed in July 2011, since then they have recorded an EP, played the annual Elements of Rock Festival in Uster, shared the stage with Breakdown of Sanity, Here comes the Kraken, Promethee, Exhale, Madison Affair, Vanitys Fair, All Faces Down and many more. Their debut album “Parallels” has been released on 14 May 2015. Recently we spoke with the lads of Skylla’s Revenge:
TMR: Hey guys this is The Metal Resource from Holland, how are things going there in Switzerland ?
Mischael: It’s going pretty good. There are currently a lot of cool heavy bands that release good music and play solid live show. There is a positive vibe in the scene!
TMR: Will you Introduce yourself and the band please !
Mischael: We are Skyllas Revenge from Thun, Switzerland. I play the guitar, write the songs and the lyrics. Then there is my brother who plays the drums, Sivan on the vocals and Luca on the bass. Josh is currently filling in on the guitar.
TMR: How did you get into metal?
Mischael: Me, Jona and Silvan grew up in the same neighborhood and have been best friends for many many years. I remember that Jona was the first who came up with some heavier stuff while I was still listening to My Chemical Romance. But somehow we all ended up listening to the same music. Parkway Drive was one of the first metalcore shows where we went to together. We all have a similar taste in music. We also enjoy some softer bands. For example Deaf Havana. We currently listen to them all the time.
TMR: What is your musical background ?
Mischael: We started as a school band when we were 12 years old. Silvan used to play the guitar, I played the bass and Jona the drums. We all took lessons on our instruments. When we finished school, we started playing in bands together and I switched to the guitar. Somehow we realized that Silvan has pretty heavy screams, so he had to do the vocals.
TMR: Tell us the brief history of Skylla’s Revenge.
Mischael: Well it started when we finished school. We played in some different bands that sounded horrible. Sometime we decided to make a new, better band that we called Skylla’s Revenge. We had a few changes in the line up over the years but me, Silvan and Jona have always been in the band.
TMR: Why the name Skylla’s Revenge ? Is there a story behind it ?
Mischael: Yes there is! Skylla is a monster in the Greek mythology that was a pretty furious beast! You have to imagine a woman that has six dogs instead of legs. She is out for Vengeance and eats Sailors that pass by her hideout.
TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in Skylla’s Revenge ? … how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influenced you for writing music and lyrics ?
Mischael: I write all the music and lyrics. In the beginning we tried to write music together but that didn’t work for us. Often I have an idea in my head and then I try to record and pre produce it at home. I often rearrange a song about 10 times until I am happy with it. Then I show it to the band and rearrange it again. It takes quiet a long time to finish a song. The lyrics are inspired by personal experiences, social injustice and matters that affect me deeply. For example our newest song Old Soul is about leukemia. That is a matter that has been on our minds for a long time. We want to spread love and hope for those affected and their friends and families. I think that lyrics are extremely important. I love songs with a deep meaning!
TMR: What are some key principles or philosophies that you hold onto as foundational stones as who you are as a person?
Mischael: I think I can speak for everyone in the band when I say that love, respect, social justice and equal rights are pretty important for us. We reject violence in any form. Then we are a funny bunch of dudes and we always have a good laugh. I think we also have a lot of respect and love for other bands and musicians. We love to share the stage with inspiring and interesting people!
TMR: Is there a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of Skylla’s Revenge ?
Mischael: I remember when we filled in for another band on an open air. We had absolutely no expectations and then it turned out to be one of our favorite show ever. The spirit was extremely positive and we were treated so good.
TMR: And the worst thing were ?
Mischael: There was a show where our notebook decided to do updates during our set instead of playing our backing tracks. It was horrible! Then we tried to jam but it didn’t work out at all. We were all mad at each other and gave the fault to each other. Then we had to drink some beers to love each other again… ;D
TMR: What is your favorite drink and food ?
Mischael: We drink a lot of beer! My favorite non alcoholic drink is ginger tea. We all love Pizza, actually our rehearsal room is stuffed with empty pizza boxes!
Jona: My favorite is Pizza and Indian food and I love lemon tea.
Silvan: My favorite drink is beer too. And I love lasagna.
TMR: So what makes you laugh?
Mischael: Going out with our best friends, being silly and having a great time makes us laugh! Then there is this movie called “hot rot”. We watched it so many times and still think it’s pretty funny. I highly recommend you to watch it!
TMR: What is your biggest fear ?
Mischael: Hmm that’s a difficult question. I think if something bad happens to anyone that I love, that would be hard for me! Not being able to make music would also be very difficult. Playing the guitar and writing songs is extremely important to me. It’s like an outlet for all the bad emotions!
TMR: What is the last album you bought?
Mischael: All Hell by Vanna, even though it is already out for a year. It’s such a good album and I love the lyrics. I have a lot of respect for Davey Muise and the things he went through. He is an inspiration and he touched the heart of a lot young people who are struggling with them self.
Jona: Fools and worthless liars by Deaf Havana
Silvan: The last record I bought was All our gods have abandoned us by Architects!
TMR: What are some of the things you like to do away from the band?
Mischael: I love ice hockey, it is a big thing in Switzerland! I enjoy going to the hockey games and playing by myself. Then I love inline skating. There is a beautiful lake where we live where you can skate around. I also like having barbecues!
Jona: I want to go surfing!
TMR: Speaking of recording, your latest album “Parallels” has been released on May 14th 2015. what can you tell us about the album ?
Mischael: We wrote the songs about a pretty long period of time and I think you can hear that. We recorded the album by our good friend Luca from Armada recordings. We love to work with him. He has always been a big inspiration and an even better friend! We recorded it piece by piece over a long period of time. In the end we tracked all the guitars again under the same conditions to have the same sound for the whole album. The concept is that all the songs have two meanings. They all tell a story and draw attention to a general topic that we think is important like social injustice, war and so one. That’s why the album is called parallels and all the songs have two titles. The second titles are from the Greek mythology to match our band name.
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?
Mischael: The artwork shows the Metatron’s Cube which is a sacred geometrical symbol that forms a map of creation and it is this ‘map’ that the mystics, sages and ancient civilizations have revered throughout the ages of time. Then you can see a lot of water on the artwork. This and the cube match pretty well to our band name. We wanted to have something with water, something geometrical and something from the Greek mythology. The metatrons cube was designed by platon so we thought that would be a good option.
TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?
Mischael: Like many other bands we use social media a lot. Somehow it became the standard in the scene. But we also print flyers!
TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?
Mischael: I really love the local scene in Switzerland. There are so many talented bands with very cool people around. There is also a lot of respect between the bands what is great too. You don’t see arrogant bands often. Then there are many fans that go to the shows and support the local bands, this is really important! We always want to encourage people to go especially to the local shows to support the bands from tomorrow! We are really thankful that we have such a positive scene here in Switzerland!
TMR: How do you prepare for a show?
Mischael: We all need some calmness and silence before shows. We do some exercises on our instruments and warm up our bodies just before going on stage by doing some physical exercises.
TMR: What is your favorite Skylla’s Revenge song to play live?
Mischael: My favorite is Sea Burial and Old Souls. They both have that melodic hardcore groove! A lot of people know the lyrics to sea burial and sing along with us, that’s always very cool!
Jona: I love to play felony.
Silvan: My favorite Song to play live is the River.
TMR: What is your favorite concert that you saw and what made it so good?
Mischael: I’m a big fan of landscapes. Every show that this band played is somehow special to me. The emotions, the performance, they are all my favorite!
TMR: What is the most embarrassing music on your phone or in your collection and how do you justify it to others?
Mischael: Hahaha that’s probably “I’m always here” by Jim Jamison. It’s the Baywatch theme song, I love it!
Jona: Everything by Suicide Silence and Emmure. I don’t listen to them anymore but I’m too lazy to delete it from my phone.
Silvan: Uncover by zara Larsson.
TMR: If you could pick a band to tour with, who would it be? And where would the tour go?
Mischael: I would love to tour with architects. They are a big influence to me and I think they are extremely nice people. I would love to tour in Australia. I have been there before and it is such a special place. Also the heavy scene is pretty cool there!
Silvan: I would love to tour in Australia too!
TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked?
Mischael: What would you do if you were a girl for one day hahaha.
TMR: What are the biggest obstacles for bands ?
Mischael: There are a lot! There is always too little time and money. Then there are so many good bands out there. I think you have to work very hard and have a little bit of luck to get recognized…
TMR: As a band today, what do you think is the biggest challenge you face?
Mischael: As I said before, there are s many good bands with good music, it’s hard to get recognized. And you can’t live from just making music, you don’t earn much money, even if you are famous!
TMR: Any plans for the near future ?
Mischael: We are currently writing and recording new songs, stay tuned!
TMR: Guys thanks for your time and the interview. We wish Skylla’s Revenge all the best… Is there anything you wanna say at last ?
Mischael: Thank you too, it was an honor! Keep on with the good work and maybe somewhen we have the opportunity to come to the Netherlands and play for you!
Band members
Silvan – Vocals
Mischa – Guitar
Jona – Drums
Luca – Bass
Discography
“Parallels” (2015)
‘Old Souls’ Single (2017)
Upcoming Shows
Weblinks: Facebook / Instagram / iTunes / Twitter
Video for ‘Old Souls’
Video for ‘The River’