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| Interview by Burt Wolf with Dol, drummer for PANCHRYSIA. Interview done 9-20-05. |
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| PANCHRYSIA HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 1998. CAN YOU GIVE SOME OF THE BANDS HISTORY UP TO NOW? HOW YOU GOT TOGETHER? ANY PREVIOUS BANDS? SIDE PROJECTS? We've been marching on these hellish playgrounds since the winter of 1998. A rapidly growing fan base & 2 high quality demo tapes "NIMISQUE INHUMANE" & "EXALTATION" has brought us under attention of Belgian companies. We've recorded for labels such as LSP COMPANY & SOUL REAPER RECORDS, resulting in 2 excellent albums. "IN OBSCURE DEPTHS" (2002, LSP COMPANY), their first positioned them as a talented new comer & transformed them from an 100% underground band into a professional 4 piece. "MALICIOUS PARASITE" (2004, SOUL REAPER RECORDS) marked a step up to ultra intense, uncompromising & hyper fast Black Metal. Full of cold December chords, this album takes you on a journey through fear, desperation & aggression. We all live in the same area so we knew each other as we all were in other bands going from old school Hardcore to technically Death/Black bands. Members of PANCHRYSIA were found in INFURIATED, VICTIMS OF SOCIETY, END OF ERNIE, DARKNESS BY OATH, PRIAPISM & KELTGAR. WHY WAS THE NAME PANCHRYSIA CHOSEN AS THE BANDS NAME? Our original singer came up with that name, it means everything in gold & we liked the sound of it. WHO OR WHAT HAS HELPED INFLUENCE YOU IN CREATING YOUR MUSIC & IN LIFE IN GENERAL? Nobody had a real influence on my life, I still do things I like, like I always did. Musical influences: the moon fog bands, SATYRICON, DISIPLIN, THORNS, DARKTHRONE, but also the big classic bands like IMMORTAL, EMPEROR, MARDUK & so on. HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE STYLE & SOUND OF PANCHRYSIA? Tough one. Our music recalls the grim artics of DARKTHRONE, the urgency of SATYRICON, served with the tightness of EMPEROR (to name some). And deep down under, you may find a small hint of CELTIC FROST. |
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| I ONLY HAVE YOUR DEBUT CD "IN OBSCURE DEPTHS", WHICH HAS BEEN OUT FOR A WHILE NOW. HOW WELL DID THIS CD DO? WHAT HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN LIKE TO THIS CD? The "IN OBSCURE DEPTHS" opened many doors for us as we took our first steps into the underground Black Metal scene. The CD sold very well, expecially for a new Belgian Black Metal band & the responses were mostly positive. THIS CD WAS PUT OUT ON LSP COMPANY. HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH THEM? HOW'S IT BEEN WORKING WITH THEM? |
| There aren't many labels in Belgium & we choosed not to do it all by ourselves, so when LSP COMPANY offered us a deal, we immediately signed it. It wasn't easy to work with them because they signed lots of bands & couldn't promote their stuff in the way it should be. YOU HAVE A NEW ALBUM OUT NOW CALLED "MALICIOUS PARASITE". HOW HAS THIS ALBUM BEEN DOING? IS IT ALSO PUT OUT ON LSP COMPANY? No, it's out on SOULREAPER RECORDS. (also a Belgian label) & again it selled pretty well, but again in the promotion of the album it all went the wrong way as SOULREAPER is a sub label of GOODLIFE RECORDS amajor Hardcore label, so we've got stuck in the wrong magazines & so on. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT PANCHRYSIA HAS IMPROVED OR CHANGED FROM YOUR FIRST ALBUM TO THIS NEW ONE? The sound improved a lot & it's a more aggressive album than "IN OBSCURE DEPTHS" WHAT IS SOME OF THE SUBJECT MATTER IN YOUR SONG LYRICS? All of our lyrics are written by our singer/guitar player Zahrim, most of them tell us views on modern society. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEWER MATERIAL IN THE WORKS? Yeah, we recently recorded 3 new songs as a try out, which will be used to contact new labels. DOES PANCHRYSIA PLAY OUT A LOT? WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU'VE PLAYED? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU'VE SHARED THE STAGE WITH? Most of the time we've played in Belgium, but we've also played some X-mass fests in Holland, France, did a tour with MALEVOLENT CREATION in Holland, Germany & Swisse, recently did a tour with MARDUK & MYSTIC CIRCLE in France, Spain & Portugal. Played with bands as NARGAROTH, CORPUS CRISTI, GOREROTTED & so on at Barrosellas Metal fest in Portugal & we've shared stages with bands like CANNIBAL CORPSE, VADER, NAPALM DEATH, RAGNAROK, RED HARVEST, HYPOCRISY, CARPATHIAN FOREST, ABORTED, ENTHRONED, ANCIENT RITES & so on... |
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| ARE THERE ANY OF YOUR SHOWS THAT STAND OUT FOR ANY REASON? ANY INTERESTING BAND STORIES YOU COULD SHARE? All the shows we've done so far are for the promotion of our band & Black Metal in general dude & I can tell you, we've had a great time so far, so we'll continue on this path. WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE BEST 7 WORST PART ABOUT BEING IN A BAND? Best: Able to be at places where I wouldn't be if I wasn't in this band. Worst: Are there? WHO DO YOU FEEL ARE SOME OF THE BETTER BANDS, LABELS, ZINES, ETC... IN YOUR SCENE? Pfff, too many to mention. HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE THE BELGIUM SCENE TO THE SCENE HERE IN THE U.S.? I don't know the scene in the USA, but the Belgian scene is growing strongly the last years (for example ABORTED!), all though it's more Death Metal oriented, we surely can't complain with our position in the Belgian scene. |
| ARE YOU INTO ANY OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOUR CURRENTLY INTO? Yeah, I also like a few Belgian bands like NOVASTAR or OZARK HENRY, which is more a chilly style of music, just to relax on, but most of all I listen to Black Metal. WHAT WAS THE FIRST ALBUM YOU EVER BOUGHT? WHO WAS THE FIRST BAND YOU SAW IN CONCERT? Must be GUNS N ROSES or something. First band must be NOFX in 1992 I guess, during my Punk period. WHAT DO THE MEMBERS OF PANCHRYSIA DO WHEN NOT DOING ANY WORK FOR THE BAND? JOBS? HOBBIES? ETC...? I work in a big bus constructor factory. Zahrim for Belgian television. Web for a chemical factory. Joris tries to be awake the whole night at his PC. Web has a kid so he doesn't have much time besides PANCHRYSIA & family life. I cycle a lot. Zahrim likes to play some snooker. Joris: graphic design, 3D, modeling, nature. WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOU? See previous question. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE NEXT FROM PANCHRYSIA? I hope some new material brought to you by a new label. |
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| WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE THIS INTERVIEW? WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW THAT IT'S DONE? Eating. Sleeping. THANX FOR DOING THIS INTERVIEW. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY OR ADD TO CLOSE OUT? Brave black world, behold, as for these 4 iconoclasts worm their way to the fore ground of contemporary Black Metal scenery. In an era where superficiality rages & the disadvantages of devastating technology (for nature as well as for culture) becomes clearly visible day by day, these 4 men grasp the banner of revolt & move forth in the battle against modern day alienation. |
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| PANCHRYSIA_devil@hotmail.com www.come.to/PANCHRYSIA ALL GRAPHICS & PHOTOS COURTESY OF PANCHRYSIA INTERVIEWS MAIN PAGE |