Interview with Impious

Impious is a band that grew up constantly and developed its sound from a more aggressive way of expression towards a more melodic, catchy and opened approach. Since they have a new album in stores, there was the time Metalfan.ro made a step in their direction and the guitarist Valle Adzic was there to answer our inquiry. 

Metalfan: Hello and welcome. Can you please try to sketch a brief Impious history, mentioning some highlights of your activity so far?
Valle: Hello! We started out in 1994 and since then there have been many highlights. Every step when climbing up the ladder has been a highlight at that point. But if I have to pick a few I would say the times we have been to Japan were highlights, and also our European tours.

Metalfan: What are your most important achievements as a musician, after a 13 years career?
Valle: I think the most important thing we have done, was to change the line up from a 4-pience band to a 5-piece.

Metalfan: There were 3 years between Impious was formed and your first demo in 1997. What have you been doing in that period?
Valle: Actually we released our first demo “Infernal Predomination” in 1995.

Metalfan: Your first deal was with Black Sun Records, a Swedish label for which you have released 2 studio albums. Let us talk a little about that. What is your opinion about those 2 discs, looking at them retrospectively?
Valle: To be honest, I personally think we were too green and inexperienced. Especially on the first album. There are definitely some great songs on those albums, but the albums could have got better with some good arranging and producing.

Metalfan: After the contract was fulfilled you chose to sign a new deal with the Dutch label Hammerheart Records, which resulted in a full length and a MCD. Tell me more.
Valle: Yeah, that was the first time it felt like we were going somewhere. We did a cool tour with Necrophobic and our album started reaching out to the European masses. We released the MCD only as a support for that tour.

Metalfan: There is a passage in your bio on the Metal Blade website saying that when Impious signed with Hammerheart things started to happen for real. What do you think that means?
Valle: This means that we started to gain a fan base, and we started to make ourselves a name in the metal scene.

Metalfan: You have started as a deathrash metal act and, as time passed by, your music became more and more melodic and catchy. Even though I am quite sure you hate labels, how would you describe the music Impious plays?
Valle: I would describe Impious as a deadly tank of doom… but instead of shooting missiles, it’s shooting chilled beer cans! ;)

Metalfan: How did you drive Metal Blade’s attention and what did signing with one of the most important record labels mean to you?
Valle: When we toured with Necrophobic they came and saw one of the shows. They were blown away by the show, so afterwards the boss came to us and asked if we were interested in a deal. The rest is history.

Metalfan: Now let us approach nowadays. You have released a new album, Holy Murder Masquerade. How were the reactions from the press and fans so far?
Valle: It has been very good actually. People really seem to like it.

Metalfan: What is the thing you love the most about your latest album and what is the thing you hate the most about it?
Valle: I love that it’s a concept album, and that the whole story is explained in the booklet as a comic book in 28 pages. The thing I hate the most is the production. It’s very good, but not as good as it could have been.

Metalfan: Can you share some funny studio recording moments with us? How is a recording day for Impious?
Valle: I don’t have any real funny stories, but when I have most fun is when we’re very creative. Me and Martin had many long nights when we wrote the lyrics for the new album. That was fun and inspiring. I have my own studio, so recording is pretty calm without stress. We don’t have to think about the clock ticking away, so we have time to try out many things.

Metalfan: Can you please describe the way of composing a song? What happens with those that do not make it to the album?
Valle: Usually I write the songs at home and record demo version. When I have about 3-4 new songs I burn the on a CD-R and hand them to the other band members. They listen to it for a week or so, and then we start to rehearse them. That’s a good thing, because since everybody has listened to the songs for a week, we don’t have to put so much time into learning them. During rehearsals we all throw in all kinds of ideas. Sometimes we change quite a lot from the original version, sometimes we don’t change anything.

Metalfan: Do you consider yourself lucky to be on the same roster with bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Fleshcrawl, Bolt Thrower or Vader? Have you ever got the chance to play live with any of them? If your answer is yes, could you please tell me what important things you’ve learned from these bands?
Valle: From the bands you mentioned, we’ve played with Cannibal Corpse twice. Nothing special to say about it really. It sounds boring, but that’s how it is.

Metalfan: What do you love the most about being in a metal band and what do you hate the most about it?
Valle: What I love most is traveling the world and hanging out with my band. We have so much fun! What I hate most about it is that we still can’t make a living out of it. There always has to be compromises because of our normal jobs.

Metalfan: I am pretty sure you don’t make a living out of music and you still have to keep your daily jobs. What do your bosses say when facing with an imminent Impious tour?
Valle: It gone fine so far, but I’m sure problems will come. We’ll have to solve them when they come up.

Metalfan: 2007 seems to be a very good year for metal releases. Can you please say a few words about the latest albums from Candlemass, Annihilator, Dark Tranquillity, Dimmu Borgir, Immolation, Machine Head, Mayhem, Paradise Lost, Rotting Christ, Samael and Type O Negative (provided you’ve got the chance to listen)?
Valle: To be honest, I don’t listen to music much. I either work in the studio the whole day, or I write music for Impious. So there is not much time in my life where I don’t deal with music. But, I do listen to music when I drive my car. Candlemass – Never been a fan. Annihilator – Very good. Dark Tranquillity – Very good. Dimmu Borgir – Very good. Immolation – Okay. Machine Head – Very good. Mayhem – Not a fan. Paradise Lost – Okay. Rotting Christ – Not a fan. Samael – No longer a fan. Type O Negative – Very Good.

Metalfan: Now let us talk a little about your future plans.
Valle: Right now we’re preparing for a couple European summer festivals. After that, I hope we’ll tour in the fall. I also think there is a mini tour planned in January. After that it’s time to write the next album, and I think it’ll be released after the summer in 2008.

Metalfan: Thank you very much and good luck. Share a thought with the Romanian metalfans.
Valle: Thank you very much for the support! I hope we will get to play in Romania one day! Stay metal and take care of yourselves. Cheers!