Interview with: DemUnillusions
In order of their upcoming new video, DemUnillusions was more then happy to do an interview for us. here’s what the band has to offer for you, and how they made it to where they are today.
If you like what you read, be sure to add the 14th of April to your agenda cause that’s the day their new video will be released.
Interview with: DemUnillusions
1) Introduce yourself shortly:
DemUnillusions: We are an orchestral metal band from the far north of the planet. The actual date of the band’s formation can be considered January 1, 2020. There are only 3 of us and we consider ourselves a homeless band.
2) Which genre do you play?
DemUnillusions: We describe our sound as orchestral metal. Of course, symphonic metal is more common, but this genre has adopted so many clichés that have nothing to do with us that people often draw the wrong conclusion about the band before they hear it.
Each of our tracks includes a complete and self-contained symphony, not just symphonic metal accompaniment.
3) Have you done many gigs already?
DemUnillusions: Unfortunately, with this line-up we haven’t been able to do any gigs yet, as it’s almost impossible for us to do so where we are. So, we started recording and filming live sets from our rehearsals to show that we are the real deal.
Previously, before the formation of the actual line-up, the band gave shows.
4) Do you make your own music, or do you play covers?
DemUnillusions: We create entirely original music and lyrics. We have one licensed cover of Sound of Madness by Shinedown.
5) When playing covers, do you give them a little twist of your own and how do you do that part of the job?
DemUnillusions: If we take on a cover, we completely rework the track as if we had written it ourselves originally. We keep the basic melody, the lyrics and the construction of the track. Everything else is new. We write a full symphonic version to the metal.
6) What has influenced you to start playing the instrument you’re playing? (Each person can answer this question personally.)
Thomas: When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I first heard metal grown up and smarter than that in my country. A little later, my father gave me an electric guitar, which he himself had assembled from his friend’s broken guitar.
Ayracsana: Thanks to my mother, I ended up in music school. She put me in the piano class, but I particularly enjoyed my choir lessons. I really enjoyed singing and was good at it, so I was placed in trios, duets and solos, which involved me even more in the process of singing. By the age of 18 I had graduated from music school with the idea that I wanted nothing more than to sing.
JK: I watched famous bands, particularly drummers, and the magic they did when they were sitting at the drum kit. It made me want to join in and learn the craft.
7) Who are the artists that you admire most and did they have any influence on your choices, in both your personal life and the musicians world?
Thomas: For me, it’s certainly timeless Tobias Sammet and his Edguy and Avantasia, Tuomas Holopainen and Nightwish. And also, Roy Khan and Kamelot, Brent Smith and Shinedown, Avatar, Halestorm. Marco Hietala, Victor Smolski, Howard Shore, John Williams.
Ayracsana: I’ve been interested in vocalist Floor Jansen and the band Nightwish for several years. I’ve always wanted to be able to sing: classically, rock and extreme, Floor has an excellent command of all three types of vocals and inspires me to develop. As it turns out, she and I are similar on a personal level as well, I am also crazy about horses and dream of having my own little stable.
My real taste in music has been greatly influenced by my husband, for which I am grateful.
JK: One day I came across the band Godsmack by chance and started listening to song after song. After a while I watched the band live on YouTube, and from the first frames drummer Shannon Larkin grabbed my attention. He’s like a fish in water, his delivery, energy even from the monitor’s screen is overpowering. Thanks to him I understood that just playing a drum kit is not enough, because it’s boring, you need drive, you need to rock, you need to share the energy with the listener. He also taught me that you shouldn’t be ashamed of your emotions when you’re playing, if you’re really high, there’s nothing wrong with that, because it shows that you really put your heart and soul into it.
8) How have you met each other? (Band question)
DemUnillusions: We were just in the same music field in our town. And it just so happened that our aspirations, our hard work and our goals were the same.
9) Where do you get the inspiration for writing your songs?
DemUnillusions: The themes of freedom and madness seem to be close to our hearts. But you can’t say that inspiration comes from any source. It’s more like unexpected flashes that just have to be caught. They can be related to anything or nothing at all.
10) Are you going to festivals or concerts just for and enjoying to see other bands play?
DemUnillusions: This happens very rarely and only if we want to support someone we know or a friend. And the reason is more because the industry is not developed where we are.
11) What if someone invites you to play a gig in another country? Would you consider playing in another country?
DemUnillusions: Definitely yes!
12) What is your opinion about today’s music?
Thomas: Perhaps there is a problem with over-commercialization, although this is not difficult to understand. It’s very appealing to bands that are creative and not afraid to experiment.
Ayracsana: There’s a lot of different kinds of music coming out nowadays and I’m finding myself in something, for example I like The Bridge City Sinners, I like their crazy vocals and I’m also interested in the gypsy punk genre. A lot of experimental, a lot of old stuff that sounds new and good, but also a lot of totally obscure and brainwashing. But I think it’s been like that at all times.
JK: I can’t answer that because lately I’ve been listening to albums by bands before 2015. Listening to modern albums of bands that started their career back in the 90’s I noticed that the songs are becoming more pop in terms of trying to make the song “hook”, even in metal. I get the impression that that metal (heavy, brutal, with crazy drums and solos) has become more niche entertainment.
13) What do you think of the older music, bands, musicians, that our parents or even our grandparents grew up with?
Thomas: The music here is very different from what the world is used to. All I can say is that most of what I’ve heard is too boring for me and uninteresting in most cases.
Ayracsana: I don’t know my grandparents, but from my mother’s words, I know the music they listened to. It was classical romances with deep (sometimes not so deep) lyrics, but beautifully performed. I’ve spent a lot of time in classical music myself, and this kind of music gives me goosebumps. But I was not previously so familiar with the genre in which I now sing myself, and that genre touches me more to the core.
Most of the musicians and bands that my mother listened to, in my opinion, had nothing useful, deep and beautiful to them, they were just for clubbing.
JK: Neutral. I have nothing to say here, as my mother didn’t listen to music and I only listened to what I could get from friends.
14) What’s your opinion about other music genres, other then the ones you are playing or listening to?
Thomas: I really like the mix, so I’m interested in a lot of what I can hear. there are some genres that don’t get to me at all, but they’re a minority.
Ayracsana: I respect anyone who genuinely creates and loves what they do, but there are things my ears can’t stand. But for the most part I really enjoy listening to different genres.
JK: I don’t like rap and pop, for example, because in our country these genres are used as if only to make money and it’s repulsive… But on the other hand, if it’s done well, why not? And so, it is in my case for the rest of the genres.
15) What useful information would you give other starting bands about the life of a musician?
Thomas: Don’t stop; improve; do what you like, not what is expected; don’t form a group with friends – this will lead to failure, but become friends with those who get into the group; disinterested people should not pull you back.
Ayracsana: Groups must go towards their dreams despite all the difficulties, because it is not for nothing that the phrase “through thorns to the stars” is used. We have not yet reached our success, but we are slowly and surely going towards it, precisely because we do not give up, even if we sometimes want to. The main thing is to listen to ourselves and not to go against ourselves.
JK: Never stop doing what you love, no matter how bad things get. There are times when you catch yourself thinking that there is no progress – that’s not true! Even if you practice for 15 minutes with an instrument, or even if you don’t play a song or an exercise, you are moving forward anyway, just at different speeds.
16) To wrap it all up: What are your goals and what would you really wanna achieve as a musician?
DemUnillusions: We really want to get into the music world, to show what we are all about. To make a mark, to find an audience and to make music.
To find out more about the band, check following links: