Artist: Winter's Verge



Genre: Melodic Power Metal

Label: Massacre Records

Link: http://www.wintersverge.com

Bandmembers:

Vocals - George Charalambous
Guitar - Harrys Pari
Bass - Miguel Trapezaris
Drums - Chris Ioannides
Keyboard - Stefanos Psillides

Time For Metal / Maddin:
Hi Winter's Verge,
I'm very pleased that you're giving me and our readers the chance to ask you a few questions. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers and especially to those, who don't know Winter's Verge yet?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Hello, Miguel here! I play bass. There are some other guys in the band as well, we have a singer called George, a guitar player called Harry and a drummer called Chris. Oh and a keyboard player called Stefanos. We come from Cyprus, and we play... well, I think we play power metal but I'm not sure sometimes! We do some epic stuff as well, maybe progressive as well but when you say 'progressive metal' people think of Dream Theater and stuff and we're not really much like Dream Theater. Anyway. The band started in 2004, and after a few lineup changes here we are in 2012. We've been busy with making music, drinking beer, playing shows and trying to rock out as much as we can. We are signed to Massacre Records, so it's nice to do all this as part of such a great family of metal bands.



Time For Metal / Maddin:
You've just released your third record Beyond Vengeance, which sounds much like records from Sonata Arctica or Stratovarius. How's the feeback for your album so far?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
So far the reviews have been very good! There have been a couple of people who weren't excited by it, but nobody that I know of has really disliked it and most people seem to really enjoy what we created, which is always cool. We've played a couple of shows in Cyprus with the new material and people seemed to enjoy it and rock out while we were playing them which was also awesome to see.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
The first impression your listeners get from your new release is the artwork. What do you want to tell your listeners with this piece of art?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
We were in the middle of recording the album when we realised we needed an idea for an album cover. So we looked at the songs we'd written, and after discussing we figured it would be cool to have something with angels in battle on the cover, based on the song Angels of Babylon. We passed this on to Jonas the graphic designer, with some ideas about the sea as well (based on the previous album's cover, and because we always have a song about the sea on each album) and he came back to us with the cover you see now. Well okay not exactly that cover, it was a bit different, but generally the same and we thought it rocked. So he altered it a bit, and there is the story of the cover. It's very rich and detailed and eye-catching, for sure.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Where has Beyond Vengeance been recorded and did you have a fun time doing it?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
We've recorded all three of our albums at Music Factory studio in Kempten in Germany. (In Bavaria, actually, which according to some people is a different thing but I didn't really get why) so yeah. We had Christian Schmid engineering, and he really knows his stuff... a lot of bands have recorded their albums there and it was nice to add ourselves to the list. Producing was RD Liapaki of Mystic Prophecy, another guy who really knows his stuff and has a lot of experience with ideas and stuff for songs, so the two of them together helped us make the album what it is. It's always fun recording, also because we're in a different country which is interesting and cool to experience. Germany is becoming like a second home to us... after all, we record our albums there and our record label is based there, so I guess we're part German in a way!


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Are you satisfied with how your new record sounds? What kind of music do you listen to for yourselves? And what does music in general mean to you?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
If we weren't satisfied with it, we would not want to release it and I think Massacre wouldn't want to release it either. It is impossible to be honest with releasing an album if you're not happy with it, so we're very happy with what we did. Of course it's not perfect, and you can always think of things you'd like to change afterwards, but it's definitely almost there for us...

The people in the band listen to different things. I listen to a lot of classical music, black metal, power metal, epic stuff and some Scandinavian folk music when I'm drunk. I also like Slayer. Chris likes glam metal and classic rock, along with some blues. Harry listens to Pantera, Killswitch Engage, Metallica, and occasionally Slayer. George is a big fan of all the classic power metal bands like Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Rhapsody, Kamelot and so forth. Stefanos listens to... uh... well, nobody really knows. He writes good songs though.

Music is a language. Like all art, it is, for me, a form of communication. One of the most important, powerful and instinctive forms of communication that we humans possess. I try to think of my life without music and I can't, I really can't. I hear music in my mind all day, every day - either things that I was listening to earlier in the day, or even shit off the radio, or new ideas for songs, or some of my favourite tracks... sometimes a mix of everything. It's such a vital and integral part of my life and has been ever since I can remember. Music can express what words never can, in ways a thousand times more powerful. It's something that can bring people together, and help people connect even if they don't speak a word of the same language. Is it the most important thing in the world? No. One of the most important? Yes. It is a living, breathing, evolving signiature of our existance and a record of our history.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Are there any live shows planned in Europe / Germany in the near future?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
We're trying to plan shows all over the place in the near future. We really want to play in Germany, as it is such a special place for the band. Watch this space!


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Do you have a special ritual to get ready for a show?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Well, other than a beer to calm down and some warming-up, not really. We just get ready to rock out.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Is there any special place, where you want to play some day?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Personally, I've always wanted to play at the Electric Ballroom in London. We've played in bigger places than that (like basketball arenas on the Stratovarius tour) but it's a very special place to me because it's where I saw my first 'real' metal show when I was younger. As I live in London, I go to the place a lot for metal nights and so forth, so to play there has been one of my long-standing dreams. Other than that, we'd love to play in Germany, France, and South America... even Japan. These are places that big metal bands always go to and we want to follow in their footsteps.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
So.. One question, which is always interesting to know about bands: What are your favorite drinks?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Beer! We love our beer, especially the beer we get in Germany. Free beer is also nice wherever it's from. I had a bad experience with tequila recently after a lifetime of fun, but I'm sure we'll kiss and make up soon.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Will you release a single and a video from your new record?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Certainly, we already have: it's called Not Without A Fight and it's on YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzexYI_EjLI check it out and have fun! We might make another music video for this album, time will tell.



Time For Metal / Maddin:
Today, the internet is the first place to find news about bands etc... how can our readers find you in the world wide web?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Well if you're one of the 800 million people who uses Facebook, you can find our group and page on there with a quick search. We also have a Myspace page but I don't think anyone really uses Myspace anymore... http://www.myspace.com/wintersverge and we also have our own dedicated home on the web, www.wintersverge.com. We're up to date!


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Speaking about the internet in today's society, how do you think about illegal sharing of music, movies etc.?

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
Here's the problem. Is the key aim of making music to make money, or to express oneself artistically? If it's purely the second, then illegal sharing of music and other media should not matter. However, money does have to be made... the companies that make all this stuff possible, like record labels, movie studios and the like, need an income... and the majority of that income is derived from sales. Artists themselves very rarely make much money from album sales, so it doesn't make much of a difference to them, but if the companies die (and several have already, like Sanctuary, SPV and others) then what happens to the artists? These are questions with no easy answers and I have a feeling that, in the next 5 years, we will see what will happen.


Time For Metal / Maddin:
Thank you all for taking the time to answer us these questions. I'm wishing you all the best for your future plans.
Finally, the last words belong to you.

Winter's Verge / Miguel:
We want to say a big HELLO to all metalheads out there, especially the ones who buy our albums, listen to our songs and come to our shows, because it's all for you. We can't wait to get out on the road again, play for you all and have some beers too. Stay heavy and stay true!