Algebra Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

Tony: We practised a lot in order to support our upcoming release live in a correct way, because it has a lot of complex technical parts.

Edy: From my side, the main update is that I am no longer part of Algebra since a few days and therefore this will be my last interview in order to close off this 7-year first chapter. It was a funny/strange day that I will remember: I arrived at the rehearsal room, went for my amp to turn it on and heard Tony say: “Not so fast, you are out of the band so you may wrap it up and take it home”. Although the way it happened on July 23rd may sound harsh, it is not as bad as it seems. Tony and I have never really gotten along and it only got worst with time. I was also thinking of quitting since over a year, but on the other hand thought: “let’s do one more album and a tour, then we shall see…” On top of that, we ended up getting signed by a great label. Although I would perhaps have waited until a few months after the release, it was good that Tony took the decision now to put an end to our awkward relationship. I still admire him and keep respect, but sometimes people cannot understand each other even after trying very hard.

2.You have a new album coming out in September, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have release din the past?

Tony: The basic musical elements remain the same: speed, aggression, versatility. Regarding the changes, we try to build our songs in an even more furnished way as far as it goes for all the different instruments: solos, clean guitar, double vocal harmonies, bass, etc…

Phil: It differs by an increase in work put into the record. At all levels, I believe that this album is more mature. A more coherent way of songwriting and a better job technically speaking. Regarding the style, I think it’s totally in the vein of what we’ve produced until now… It’s what we like, that’s all.

3.Your music is heavily rooted in the old school thrash metal style but on the more heavier side, what was the decision behind playing this style as opposed to a more modern musical style?

Tony: For me, it’s basically a sense of logic. Do you prefer playing interesting riffs, singing lyrics that you hold on to, because you believe in them and do you play music in order to express yourself, what I’d call the “Metallica Way” or do you rather want ot play crappy riffs, add some horrible drums to it and some weak lyrics, which I’d call the “Thrash Revival” movement?

Phil: It’s not really a decision we made. When we started the band we mostly wanted to play music. Because we listened a lot to thrash, we were naturally inspired by bands such as Sepultura and Forbidden in our songwriting. We ended up being more aggressive through the miracle of time. The modern styles of metal, as you call them, don’t move me and I don’t want to play music just to follow a current trend.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Tony: All of them. Human relations, internal conflicts, the current state of the world, memories, etc, etc…

Edy: To summarize, the first album “Polymorph” was mainly an observation of human survival through adaptation and simulation or, metaphorically, our capacity to “change forms” according to our environment. The new album “Feed the Ego” discusses the mechanism of ego, its fundamental role in human survival and its consequences nowadays on oneself, each other and our surroundings.

Phil: I don’t write many lyrics. But the topics I like to explore are mostly concrete themes such as inequalities and our vision of this world. I like it when the lyrics concur with what the band members think. Talking about Satan doesn’t really match with us.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Algebra'?

Tony: Really ? None. In the beginning, we said to ourselves: “Damn, we need a name that ends with an A and that’s one word, just like “Metallica”. And because we had an alcoholic math teacher in high school, we thought that Algebra would be a good pick. Furthermore, the name wasn’t taken yet..

Edy: At first it was a joke between Phil and a friend during math class when he thought how cool “Algebra” sounded as a thrash band such as Sepultura, Pantera, etcetera. They decided to use it. The crazy thing is that on the other side of town, a friend and I once looked for a band name and I came up with “Algebra” for the same reason, but we kept it as a joke. A few years later, I heard about this band in my town actually called Algebra and couldn’t believe it. A friend showed me their first instrumental demo and I thought it was brilliant. They ended up needing a singer/guitarist and somehow we got acquainted and I joined. We could argue the name then took a more “scientific” connotation with our personal observations and studies of humans and society in the lyrics. In that sense, all humans are scientists.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Tony: For me, the best experience was MetalDays in 2011 (called Metalcamp back then). I like to play festivals where conditions are extreme, where everything goes really quick and where your professionalism is noticed if you’re well prepared. For our live performances, there is only one key word: Intensity!

Edy: Looking back, my favorite shows were those in the sweatiest most confined clubs or even the ones in our own rehearsal room, especially when we started playing. I remember really having a blast with the audience made up of friends all acting carelessly retarded. That’s when I felt the most release from the audience and us.

Phil: Whatever the show may be, we always give everything we have, at least we try, haha! We’ve had the opportunity to play different kinds of stages and it’s not necessarily the biggest stages that I prefer. The proximity with the crowd is important and adds a more special energy.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

Tony: Not yet. We have get a lot of stuff together because the band just separated ways with Edy. But don’t worry, we want to be back on stage real quick, because it’s very important for us to share the music with the fans and listeners.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of thrash metal?

Tony: Excellent ! Our first album ‘Polymorph’ was self-released. Therefore we did all of our promo ourselves (DIY). Currently, of the 1000 copies, we still have about a hundred left. I spent a lot of time promoting the album online, making fan packages and sending CD’s almost everywhere (Europe, Russia, South America, Canada, etc…), what just shows that you don’t need to lose your time and money sending your album to Nuclear Blast, the basis are the FANS!!!

Phil: Generally speaking, we have received very good reviews for our latest album. Even if our sales do not reach the number of a bigger band, we still managed to send quite a lot of copies worldwide. Mostly thanks to requests sent by e-mail, etc.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Tony: We’ve always moved forward, and it’s currently happening because of Unspeakable Axe Records who will allow us to have better exposure in the USA. Regarding myself, I have always dreamt of playing Japan and Asia.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Tony: The classic Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Forbidden, Dark Angel are a never ending inspirational source for thrash, concerning myself, and will always be. When you look at the musical quality of an album like ‘Distortion’ or ‘Time Does Not Heal’, you say to yourself that these dudes put all of their guts into it and that they never had the praise they deserved, no problem, because for a few people they released the best albums on the planet. Currently, while answering these questions, I’m listening to “Queen Of Siam” by Holy Moses, besides that, with summer at the doorstep, my favourite album still remains ‘Sound Of White Noise’ by Anthrax. John Bush is a genius and it’s sad he’s not in the band anymore. Regarding other genres than thrash, I love death metal (God Dethroned, Nile, Suffocation, Dying Fetus), and I’ll add that my favourite band is Bon Jovi.

Phil: Like I said before, it’s mostly thrash bands and i twill remain that way. I listen a lot to Darkthrone lately but that doesn’t make me want to change our style.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Tony: Porn, food, drinking. No, seriously, is there anything else than music on Earth ? It sucks to go to a museum on a Sunday. I’d rather chop my dick off and jump from the balcony…

Phil: Difficult to answer, I like travelling and hiking. Mostly in untamed places. Putting up a tent and cook pasta with a gnarly old portable heater.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Tony: Thanxxxx A LOT for this interview. And to all the fans and readers, feel free to write to us if you have any questions or something else to talk about, we love talking to people about music.

Edy: It has been a pleasure to spend these years with Mat, Phil and Tony, making songs, albums and shows together. Time for us all to move on, so I wish them only the best and see a lot of potential in this new fresh start with a different dynamic.

Overwind/Illustrator/M & O Music/2014 CD Review

  Overwind  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  modern  form  of  progressive  metal/rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Illustrator"  which  was  released  by  M  &  O  Music.

  A  very  heavy  and  modern  prog  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  electronic  music  in  their  sound  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  also  use  some  aggressive  parts  at  times  and  the  music  would  be  a  perfect  it  for  mainstream  rock  stations.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  brought  into  the  music  they  bring  a  classic  and  melodic  metal  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  an  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  80's  style  progressive  rock  and  metal  are  added  into  the  songs  on  a  more  regular  basis  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  adds  in  more  modern  metal  elements  as  the  album  progresses  as  well  as  a  few  seconds  of  death metal  growls  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  utilize  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  at  times  and  towards  the  end  of  the  album t here  is  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  along  with  a  power  ballad  and  the  last  track  is  all  instrumental.

  Overwind  plays  a  very  modern  style  of  progressive  metal  that  has  enough  catchy  hooks  to  be  played  on  the  radio  while  also  having  enough  heaviness  to  appeal  to  extreme  metal  fans  and  they  also  have  a  great  amount  of  80's  and  90's  meal  influences  in t heir  musical  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  philosophical  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Overwind  are  a  very  great  sounding  modern  day  progressive  metal  band  and  if  you  are   a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Giant  leap"  "Daily  War"  "Myself"  and  "Crystal  Prison".  8  out  of  10.

  

Under Attack/High On Metal/The Aftermath/Iron, Blood & Death Corporation/2014 CD Compilation Review

  Under  Attack  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  heavy  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  ep's  "High  On  Metal"  and  "The  Aftermath"  which  where  both  re-issued  as  a  compilation  album  by  Iron,  Blood  &  Death  Corporation  in  the  year  of  2014.

  A  very  heavy,  dark  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  first  ep  along  with  some  guitar  leads  and  solos  and  after  the  intro  you  can  hear  sounds  of  thunder  which  leads  up  to  a  very  old  school  and  epic  heavy  metal  sound  along  with  some  power  metal  style  vocals  which  also  combine  the  roughness  of  thrash.

  The  music  after  awhile  becomes  a  mixture  of  heavy,  power  and  thrash  metal  and  there  are  also  some  viking  chants  being  utilized  at  times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  black  metal  influences  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  the  music  starts  adding  in  a  more  heavy  style  of  thrash  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  The  Second  ep  starts  out  with  a  riff  that  combines  thrash  and  heavy  metal  together  and  a  few  seconds  later  power  metal  screams  and  aggressive  vocals  find  their  way  into  the  music  and  the music  is  more  raw  and  heavier  than  the  first  ep  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  black  metal  in  the  vocals  at  times  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  on  this  ep  are  in  a  more  traditional  heavy/speed  metal  direction .

 Under  Attack  remain  true  to  an  80's  style  mixture  of  heavy  and  thrash  metal  with  their  musical  style  while  also  adding  in  a  more  update  sound  to  this  musical  genre,  the  production   sounds  very  heavy  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  war,  metal,  fighting  and  Norse  Mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Under  Attack  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Hammer"  "High  On  Metal"  "Knee  Deep  In  Blood"  and  "Issues  With  The  Fists".  8  out  of  10.

       

Straightline/Alteration Of The Rules/2014 EP Review

  Straightline  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  melodic  skate  punk  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Alteration  Of  the  Rules".

  A  very  melodic  thrash  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  powerful  sounding bass  guitars  and  blast  beats  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  pop  punk  vocals  find  their  way  into  the  music  along  with  some  back  up  shouts  and  aggressive  screams  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  find  their  way  into  the  music.

  A  good  portion  of   this  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style  of  pop  punk  but  with  the  heaviness  of  thrash  and  a  few  touches  of  more  emo  and  screamo  touches  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  also  show  a  slight  death  metal  influence.

  Straightline  play  a  style  of  pop  punk  that  was  done  quite  a  bit  in  the  mid  90's  but  with  more  of  a  metal  and  thrash  influence  being  added  in  and  while  the  music  is  not  completely  original  the  songs  are  very  well  executed,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Straightline  are  a  very  decent  sounding  melodic  skate  punk,  melodic  thrash  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE    "Blind  Leading  the  Blind"  and  "Wake  Up  Call".  7/5  out  of  10.

    

Johnny Touch/Inner City Wolves/Shadow Kingdom Records/2014 CD Review

  Johnny  Touch  are  a  band  from Australia  that plays  a  mixture  of  heavy  and  speed  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Inner  City  Wolves"  which  will  be  released  by  Shadow  Kingdom  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  melodic  80's  style  traditional  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  with  some  guitar  leads  and  vocals  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  spoken  word  parts  become  a  part  of  the  recording   and   the  music  also  shows  a  great  amount  of  NWOBHM  and  1982  U.S  metal  elements.

  On  the  following  tracks  speed  metal  elements  are  mixed  in  with  the  bands  old  school  sound  along  with  some  power  metal  style  vocals  which  also  get  aggressive  at  times  and  all  of  the musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  band  also starts bringing  in  a  few  long  and  epic  songs  as  well  as  adding  acoustic  guitars  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  couple  of  power  ballad's  towards  the  end  of  the  album  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  which  displays  a  very  powerful  guitar  solo  before  going  into  a  more  heavy/speed  metal  direction  on  the  later  tracks.

  Johnny  Touch  play  a  very  classic  mixture  of  heavy  and  early  speed  metal  with  their  music  sounding  like  a  band  from  1982  but  are  actually  a  younger  band  and  they  got  the  retro  vibe  down  perfectly,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  everyday,  and  heavy  metal  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Johnny  Touch  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  and  speed  metal  an d if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Metal  Embrace"  "End  of  A  Daze"  and  "Black  Company".  8  out  of  10.  
     

Lehmann/Lehmanized/Massacre Records 2014 CD Review

  Lehmann  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  heavy,  progressive,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Lehmanized"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Electronic  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  up  to  an  atmospheric  groove  metal  sound  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  parts  are  added into  certain sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  starts  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  On  the later  tracks  elements  of  progressive  rock  and  thrash  metal  become  a  part  of  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the guitar  solos  and  leads  the  bands  use  are  in  the  traditional  metal  vein  and  the  music  also  utilizes  elements  of  power  metal  in  the  vocals  at  times  and  they  also  bring  a  hard  rock  approach  to  metal  in  their  musical  sound  at  times.

  As  the  album  progresses  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  some  of  the  later  songs  show  a  more  symphonic  metal  direction  to  them  and  there  is  a  great  amount  of  diversity  throughout  the  album  and  all  of  the  songs  sound  different  from  each  other  while  you  can  still  tell  it  is  the  same  band  playing  all  of  them.

  Lehmann  creates  a  very  original  and  diverse  sound  with  their  music  combining  heavy,  thrash,  groove  and  progressive  metal  together  along  with  a  great  amount  of  symphonic  and  electronic  music  to  make  the  album  sound  very  diverse,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Lehmann  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy,  progressive,  symphonic,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Secret"  "Let  Me  Pray"  and  "Laid  So  Low".  8  out  of  10.  

Unherz/Sturm Drang/Massacre Records/ 2014 CD Review

  Unherz  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Sturm  Drang"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Dark  sounding  synths  which  also  bring  a  symphonic  feeling  to  the  recording  and  clean  playing  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  after  a  few  seconds  which  leads  to  a  more  hard,  heavy  and  melodic  direction  which  combines  mainstream  hard  rock  with  metal  and  after  awhile  hair  metal  style  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  bands  musical  style.

  There  is  a  great  mixture  between  clean  and  heavy  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  after  a  few  tracks  the  band  brings  in  elements  of  punk  rock  and  ska  into  their  musical  sound  and  the  vocals  also  have  a  power  metal  feeling  to  them  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  also  bring  in  a  couple  of  brief  power  ballads  before  returning  back  to  a  harder  direction  on  the  following  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  band  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  rockabilly  elements  and  the  last  2  songs  are  bonus  live  tracks.

  Unherz  create  a  very  original  sound  with  their  music  taking  a  melodic  form  of  metal  and  mixing  it  with  the  energy  of  punk  as  well  as  the  catchy  structures  of  mainstream  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  which  is  both  old  school  and  modern  all  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  real  life  and  rock'n'roll  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Unherz  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  rock  and  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Der  fir  Duch"  "Ein  Lied  fur  unsere  Feinde"  "Viva  Rock'N'Roll"  and  "Minerva".  8  out  of  10.