PLUTONIUM Interview
Category: Interviews Published Date Written by Christine Hits: 164
Genre: Industrial Black Metal
1. First of all I’d like you to fill us in on what’s happening in the PLUTONIUM camp at the moment.
Not that much actually! I try to promote the album as much as possible, while studying and working full time... so there ´s much to do all the time. But I have prepared a couple of new songs. However, the album has only been out for 7-8 months or something so I’m in no hurry really...
2. Please point out the most important moments and experiences you’ve had with the band thus far, be them good or bad.
The most important moment must have been when I realized I could do PLUTONIUM all by myself. These days I wonder why I even bothered to have band members... also the recording and release of “Devilmentertainment Non-stop” was a great moment, since I felt it was doomed thanks to certain record labels. But I won the struggle!
3. Can you present “Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” to our readers in a few words? Give reasons to our readers to check your work out. What will they find in it?
“Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” is an album full of extreme, and extremely varied, metal with industrial overtones that hopefully will send shivers down your spine! I am very proud of it, being the sole composer and musician, and Lou at Louciferspeaks.com wrote there is something “agonizingly personal” about the album and she is spot on there – the album was created during a very hard time for me. So my advice to all your readers is to check out the album if you like aggressive, cold yet emotional and extreme music.
4. In which ways does “Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” differ from your debut album “One Size Fits All”? How and in which ways has the band’s sound evolved and progressed all these years?
First of all, “One Size Fits All” had a crude and noisy soundscape, which can be said about “Devilmentertainment non-stop” as well but not as extreme as on “One Size Fits All”! Second, I think the musical specter of “Devilmentertainment Non-stop” is wider in a sense that I tried to include more experimental stuff in the album. On “One Size Fits All” I actually excluded some stuff that I thought would be to soft and out of context, but this time I thought I should let the PLUTONIUM universe grow like big bang, in all possible directions. And I will keep that attitude for coming releases as well. The third thing I´d like to mention is that the lyrics are a bit more personal this time. If there is something that “Devilmentertainment Non-stop” lacks, it is guitar solos, something that were more frequent on “One Size Fits All”. But I´ll keep that in mind for the next recording!
5. How would you describe your sound? Which are the bands and albums that made you realize this is the kind of music you enjoy playing the most?
I use to call it extreme industrial metal, but I can´t deny the fact that black and death metal have influenced me a lot for PLUTONIUM. One could try to come up with all kinds of adjectives or superlatives, but what´s important is that one can hear that everything I do is an honest expression. It is hard to point out any specific release or album that made me want to express myself in this way, I guess it was more of a process. However, when I heard MYSTICUM the first time it made me realize that there were different ways to making extreme music, and their “In the Streams of Inferno” is definitely one of my fave albums. Later on albums like “Rebel Extravaganza” by SATYRICON and “666 International” by DHG became some of my faves, and I lived in Norway when those were released so the experience of those albums probably was a bit special. But I guess my favorite album from that era is MAYHEM´s “Grand Declaration of War”. It really grew on me! I mentioned industrial music as well, so I better mention a couple of albums that made an impact on me to all you metalheads who would like to explore some different music: “Enter to the Realm of Satan” by NO FESTIVAL OF LIGHT, “Children of God” by HAUS ARAFNA, “Take Care and Control” by DEATH IN JUNE (one of my all time favourite bands)...
6. What do you believe you can offer to the metal scene?
I don´t know what I could offer... I mean the metal scene is bigger than ever and definitely over saturated. But you can trust me on one thing: I will never release anything mediocre or something I don´t believe in. There is no use for music without meaning or passion. Too many bands make a Myspace/Facebook-site with sound clips from their second rehearsal... and who cares? I will never release anything I can´t stand for. I will only offer music that is written with 100% honesty.
7. Which song or songs do you think are the most ideal to represent the whole album’s essence?
That is one hard question. Maybe the title track “Devilmentertainment Non-stop” or “Zero Swarm” are pretty representative since they include all the contrasts and different moods I like to express in my creations. However, I think the best way to experience PLUTONIUM is to listen to the album from the start to the end. An album is a kind of context if you ask me, the same way as a good movie or a great book.
8. Which are your sources of inspiration when it comes to the lyrics? Which are the main topics you deal with?
In the beginning I took influences from dystopian novels like “1984”, “Brave New World” and “Fahrenheit 451” and from history, mostly from different totalitarian countries, but for “Devilmentertainment...” I started to look at myself and my experiences, although mixed up with the aforementioned themes and everything that I come in touch with. I read a lot and watch as many movies I can, and I guess that influence me more these days than music do. When I was younger it was definitely the other way around!
9. Why did you name the album “Devilmentertainment Non-Stop”? That’s a really crazy title! Perhaps the weirdest I’ve ever heard, so what do you mean with it?
It is the title of the second song on the album and I wanted something unexpected and unusual for a band in the extreme metal field. The word devilmentertainment is actually two words in one, a combination of “devilment” and “entertainment”. The lyrics to that song is mirroring some things that happened around the world when I wrote it (if you study the lyrics there are certain keys to find…) and also my view upon the world and how the world is portrayed by the media in the western society. Most of these lyrics came to me pretty spontaneously… it just flowed out of my cynical state of mind. They are probably the most abstract lyrics on the album. The purpose with the title is not to bring out a message, more like a mirror or a snapshot of a state of mind or state of the world according to my mind. If you think it´s weird it´s a good thing – the title caught you off-guard apparently!
10. Who created the cover artwork? What does it show?
It is my friend Magnus Hagerman who made both the cover and the layout for the album. “Devilmentertainment Non-stop“ has a hanger made of barbwire on the cover. A hanger was a very common tool for poor girls in the beginning of 1900 to use when making an abortion which was prohibited back in those days...and the Swedish word for hanger is the same as gallow (which you can find on the cover of “One Size Fits All”, so you have a certain ambiguous connection between the albums. Magnus is a good friend of mine and he has been doing different kinds of artworks in different contexts, but I guess I am the only metal-related person he´s been working with. And I like that, since I want to break from the traditional metal cover. I have recently become more interested in graphic design and related things, so I have now a clearer view upon such concerns. If you are interested in the art of Magnus Hagerman you could check his site out here, although the art on that site is a bit old… http://hem.passagen.se/mhene/
11. Have you got any plans for live shows? How easy is it for you to play your songs live? Do you have to be in a certain state of mind in order to create the right atmosphere and feeling?
I would like to play live, but it would take too much time with rehearsing and finding the right musicians and so on. For the moment it seems impossible but maybe sometime everything will turn out alright, and then I will hit the stages. I guess I would have to be in a certain state of mind to do a great live show, but since I´ve never entered the stage with PLUTONIUM, that question is impossible to answer.
12. Have you made any video clips? With YouTube I think videos have started becoming a necessity for bands again. How helpful is the Internet?
The Internet can be very helpful. I mean, you can put out your stuff anytime for free for the most. The downside of that is that everybody puts out their stuff and it becomes too much for the regular listener. As a band you are almost doomed to drown in the flood of music which is accessible anytime and anywhere. I have thought of video clips, but if I should do that, it has to meet some standard, no b-movie stuff!
13. What kind of feedback have you received thus far? Can you mention a comment, be it positive or negative, serious or funny, that impressed you?
Mostly the album has been well received! The ratings have been between 7-8 out of 10 concerning the grades and I have to be very satisfied with that. I have already mentioned the “agonizingly personal” remark I´ve got from Lou on Louciferspeaks.com which is a comment which I really appreciated. Generally it seems like the reviewers are impressed by the fact that I´ve done everything on my album all by myself (well, except the psychedelic solos in “Unintelligent Design”), and that´s something I like, I mean I´ve been playing guitar since the late 80´ies so it feels great that I still can develop!
14. Do you think that the contemporary metal scene has a place for record labels? I mean more and more bands do everything on their own and more and more labels don’t support the bands or pay them any money… What’s your view on this phenomenon? Would you like to be signed to a label?
I guess this question is pretty relevant, since I released the album myself. Well, the reason I decided to release the album was that I got fucked by almost three labels in a row. I have talked too much about a certain German label so I won´t mention them again. But I came to a point when I realized that there would probably be no album out at all if I didn´t release it myself. Also, I had already begun composing new material, and it felt like the “Devilmentertainment” stuff was there like some kind of unfinished chapter. I was so satisfied with the recording that I couldn´t imagine it not being released. So I decided to investigate what it would take to release it on my own. Not that much as I saw it so I decided to have a go! And after that decision everything happened really fast. However to answer your question: there is definitely room for record labels. I mean I am one person promoting the album all by myself, I have a full-time job as well as studies... promotion takes a lot of time, time that could be spent on making new music and recordings. That´s a label´s job, and I could definitely need some help there. Also a problem I´ve noticed: the labels (especially the big ones) are always first in line for magazines and webzines. I have sent many copies to different zines but it seems like some just don´t give a damn if you´re not backed up by a label (not you obviously!). So it has both pro and cons releasing albums by yourself: of course you have total control and you get in touch with people directly, but if you´re not part of the mainstream metal business you have to fight hard to be seen. Now it might seem that I´m whining, however I never regret releasing the album myself! I can definitely think of working with any label that´s interested, but since I´ve had some bad experience I will be very careful. I don´t want to waste more TIME or WORK!
15. What kind of feelings and thoughts do you think your music creates to your listeners?
I do want to bring a feeling of a cold world where you can trust no-one but yourself. The most important thing for me, except for writing powerful and memorable songs, is to bring some kind of feeling that grips you and never leaves you. I can´t know if I have succeeded, but hopefully some people enjoy it. It is dark music, I hope people can relate to it in different ways....ecstasy, aggression, depression...whatever...
16. By the way how did you choose your moniker? Why did you choose to name your band after a radioactive chemical element?
I wanted something very straight forward, Plutonium is one of the most dangerous materials you could be exposed to. It´s used in nuclear plants etc. I just thought it fitted the music and the lyrical concept very well! I´ve heard some people think it is quite a silly name, and maybe it is. Try to view the name with a bit of black humor...
17. Thank you! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Well, nothing else than thank you for this interview! All you readers out there, get in touch with me if you would like to know more about PLUTONIUM! Cheers Christine!
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Christine Parastatidou