Exclusive interview with the president/Organiser of Metal Against Child cancer

Most metalheads now are fathers or mothers and know the awesome feeling of having kids. Many metalheads have suffered from cancer and know the pain of it. That's why Mr. Brecht Debrouwere (who suffered from cancer as well) decided to create this festival! Metalitty Webzine had the honor to interview Mr. Brecht Debrouwere and learn more about this event.

1. M.A.C.C. (Metal Against Child Cancer) is a benefit festival for the Belgian Child Cancer Foundation. Let's talk a little bit about the idea behind this festival!

   Hello Roufaïda. To respond to your question, the idea of M.A.C.C. is to raise as much money as possible to donate to the child cancer fund. At the same time, we prove to outsiders who are not metal-minded that we are not all evil, that metalheads also have good hearts in the right place.

2. How did it all start?

   It started back in 2008 when I had cancer myself. During my recovery, my youngest son came to visit me at the hospital. This made me think about “what if he was lying in the bed and I was on the doorstep?” So I started gathering information about children and cancer. The Belgian child cancer fund seems to depend on gifts. As a metal musician, the decision to organize a benefit metal festival was made. The first festival was in December 2009. I thought it would be only one festival, but the bands, crowd, media, etc. were so excited that I decided to go on with a second festival. And it seems like the train is still thundering over the rails.

3. How many editions have you done so far?

   The first edition was in December 2009. Now on November 7, we will have the 7th edition. Even 7 years later, bands still send emails to me to let me know that they want to play at M.A.C.C. We have had international bands on our stage such as Izegrim, Diary About My Nightmares, Messenger, and Persistence, to name a few.

4. Are you thinking about making it worldwide? Are you thinking about making donations to child cancer foundations in other countries?

   Like I said, I started it in 2009. Now the festival has grown to a well-known name in the metal scene in Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France. Because we got bigger, I needed help. For a few years now, we have had three people organizing the festival. On the night of the festival, there are 16 volunteers handling the bar, backstage, parking and security, merchandise, etc. But we are not able to organize festivals for charity in other countries. We hope that we inspire other metalheads all over the globe to organize metal festivals for charity.

5. Let's now talk about the 2015 edition, which will be held on November 7, 2015. What can you tell us about it?

   Well, 2015 will be like 2014. This means that there will only be Belgian bands on stage. The headliner is Ostrogoth. Maybe you know this band. Great band and great guys. It’s an honor for us to have them on our stage. The co-headliner is Fireforce. They played at the first edition of M.A.C.C. and when I asked them if they wanted to play again at M.A.C.C. 2015, they agreed immediately.

6. Where can people get their tickets?

   People can make reservations or get pre-sale tickets on our website: www.metalagainstchildcancer.be and on Facebook. Pre-sale tickets are 10 euros, and at the door, they are 15 euros. So it is very cheap for 7 bands.

7. Thank you again, Mr. Brecht Debrouwere! Anything else you would like to add? Any specific message to our heroes, those who are fighting against cancer?

   Come see, listen, and be surprised. We will keep the flame burning because every child deserves to live!

Hideous Divinity - Cobra Verde ~ Album review

The Italian Metal scene has always been a mystery to me; it didn't seem to go through the typical stages of development before becoming so strong. Italian Metal bands, especially the technical ones, suddenly made their appearance in the early 2000s and brought a unique touch to Metal. Initiative and creativity are two characteristics you'll always find in Italian bands, just like Hideous Divinity, who emerged in 2007 with their demo "Sinful Star Necrolatry" in Norway, even though all the members are Italian.

Later in 2012, after returning home, they released their first full-length album "Obeisance Rising," marking their name among the great Italian bands.

In 2014, the band made another significant step by releasing their second album "Cobra Verde."

This album is so complex in its composition and writing. It opens with "In My Land I Was A Snake," the longest track on the album and, in my opinion, the best! It starts with an epic intro, followed by some fantastic riffs in the middle, and a kickass outro! Immediately after that, the technical side of Hideous Divinity starts showing up. The whole band has done some excellent work; the riffs, solos, and breakdowns are just stunning. Both Enrico and Antonio did a great job! Giulio's drumming added an amazing touch to the mix—fast and so technical! I also loved the bass lines! Stefano is such a talented guy indeed! And what I loved even more are the vocals! Enrico H's growls and grunts make you feel the song. Speaking of vocals, I'd also like to mention that the track "The Alonest of the Alone" features Dallas Toler-Wade from Nile! This collaboration added a great touch to the song!! Loved this one as well!

What more can I say? I strongly recommend this album to technical death metal lovers! If you haven't listened to it yet, do it now!

                                           Rating : 9/10

Interview with George Kollias.

-First of all, we would like to congratulate you on joining the "Season of Mist" family! Your first solo album "INVICTUS" will be released on May 18th! Can you tell us more about this big step and your first solo album?

Thank you, yes this is a big moment for me, and I am super excited that my first solo album is a reality! This is an album with songs I wrote for myself, just for my personal joy. After posting demos of these songs online as drum videos, the fans started pushing me to do a full album and release it, which I did. So to begin with, this is an album I did because fans asked for it.

The whole process of the recordings was the fun part. Being so busy with my band Nile and my drum activities, I was recording in between breaks from work. It was insane but still fun! I finished the drums in 2.5 days and then went off to tour, came back and finished my first book, did some clinics, and then did the guitars…and so on. It was a hell of a recording schedule. The actual recordings didn’t take much time, but it was the limited free time I had that made the whole process take about a year. There was always talk about doing it, but like I said, if you see my schedule every year, you will get scared hahaha…

After I completed all the recordings and mix, I posted a first teaser online for the fans to listen to. I was super nervous to hear what they thought, you know? This is all about them anyway, so their opinion counts a lot! The feedback was insane…it made me really happy that people dig my music! The first announcement I made months ago for this album was to be a free release, having it on my website so whoever wants it can go there and just download it for free. That was my plan. Then after the teaser got online, everyone was asking for physical CD copies, vinyls, etc. That’s when I started thinking about finding a label, and Season of Mist was my choice to go with. They are doing an incredible job so far, I am really blown away by how smoothly things are going and how well we work together. Having said that, I’m still sticking with the free release plan as well because I have promised the fans, so everyone will have very easy and legal access to get the album, listen to it, and enjoy it, and decide if they want to have the actual CD copy afterward.

-What made you choose "Invictus" as the title of the album?

Haha, I simply liked the title and used it for a song; it’s the opening track of the album (after the intro “Echoes of Divinity”). Then I thought to use it as an album title as well because it’s a very strong title. It’s short, easy to remember, and epic, so I think it was a good choice. You are not going to hear crazy stories about the theme of the album from me; all my lyrics are some sort of “short movies” I have in my head—no messages or crazy research behind them. I like to talk about either fantastic stories or real situations of our life; that makes more sense to me.

-You just finished tracking drums for the new Nile album! Can you tell us more about this upcoming release?

I can’t tell you much about it because nothing is officially done except for the drums. Right now, we are tracking guitars just so you understand how early it is. I finished my drums about a month ago and I’m happy, but it’s way too soon to give more details about it. What I can say though, is that this album will be different from the others. We focused a lot on the compositions and kept things a little simpler in terms of songwriting so people can understand what we are doing better. There are still blazing fast moments and complicated ones too, but I think the songwriting on this one is more mature than ever.

-Let's go back a bit to the past! You played the drums on the debut EP of Contrarian featuring some great musicians! Were there some specific reasons behind it, or do you believe in multiple experiences?

Contrarian was not that long ago; I did their album last year. Right now, I am working on their next EP too, which so far I can tell you is much better than the first one. I have known Jim (Tasikas) for a while now; he is also from Greece, and we are good friends. Jim loves music and he is a smart guy too; he knows how to move things around and get the band going, and he really loves what he does. It’s a fun experience working with them; I really enjoy it.

Session recordings are part of my job too; I do about 4-5 albums per year for other bands apart from Nile or my solo stuff. I really enjoy recording for other bands, especially bands that are way out of my style because it gets a little more challenging for me. Not challenging in the technical aspect that much, but in general. If I record for a power metal band, for example, I try to sound like a good power metal drummer. The same goes for a hard rock band and so on. This is extremely challenging and I have so much fun with it. There is no point for me to work with bands that sound exactly like Nile, because that’s what I do every day of my life. But when it comes to really different styles, it takes a lot of work to reset your brain and deliver a very different drumming style. For some, this is extremely difficult; for me, it’s one of the most fun parts of music!

-Talk to me a bit more about Drum Clinics and your upcoming dates.

I haven’t booked much for this summer, although I do clinics like crazy…I love them. It’s such a pleasure for me to get out there and teach, perform, and interact with the fans; it’s really awesome! Drum Clinics and Workshops are a big part of what I want to do in my life and I try to do as many as I can. Even from the first one I ever did back in 2015, I knew this was something I really wanted to do.

What I do in every clinic differs so much from the rest; each one is really unique in my opinion. It goes from the educational point to entertainment, since I teach and perform at the same time. Usually, I go with what the fans want. Sometimes they want to see me performing more than talking, and other times I get dozens of questions from drummers who want to get to the next level. It’s fun, relaxing, and intense at the same time. Like I said earlier, I get the chance to meet the fans, talk to them, get some pictures, etc.

-Thank you, George. Do you have anything else you would like to add?

I would just like to say that everyone should check out “Invictus.” I think this album will surprise them in a positive way…This is a complete album, a band album, not a solo drum project, so give it a go!

Contrarian - Predestined ~ EP review

Have you ever wondered what kind of music a Progressive Avant-Garde Death Metal project with the mighty George Kollias on drums could produce? What if I told you that it actually exists, and it's called "Contrarian"?

The project was created by Jim Tasikas (Delirium Endeavor) and Brian Mason (Sulaco, BML) on guitars, Ed Paulsen (Delirium Endeavor) on bass, and Ryan Michael (Gutted Alive) on vocals. As I mentioned before, the drums on the EP were recorded by George Kollias (Nile), and the solos were done by Leon Macey (Mithras).

"Predestined" is the title of their debut EP, released in March 2014. It consists of three songs, starting with "Predestined," a track that "progresses" as the guitar lines merge with the tempo, creating an atmospheric vibe.

Next is "Libertarian Manifesto," the shortest yet most atmospheric track. What attracted me most in this track is the awesome bass line, which suddenly disrupts the cleanliness of the guitar.

The end of "Predestined" couldn't be more perfect; "Diogenes at Delphi" is indeed the perfect track to close such an album. The melodies, the bass lines, and the drums all contribute to making a "peaceful" and awesome outro that blows the mind away!

Contrarian is one of those bands that were able to add a unique touch to their prog death metal without ruining it! Everything about this EP is philosophical—the lyrics, the music... even the artwork.

If you're a fan of Avant-Garde Progressive Death Metal, DO NOT MISS IT! Check it out!

                                      Rating :9/10