Location: Rock Cafe / Postojna / Slovenia
Interview date: 07.01.2010
Eternity are a six-piece from Nova Gorica boldly following the well-worn path of the pioneers of symphonic gothic power metal, à la Nightwish, Within Temptation, etc… The guys and the girl took a few minutes for a quick interview right before their set at Rock Cafe in Postojna, as part of the “Epic RockLine contest”. The band recently put out their first demo, or EP, “What Keeps Us Alive”, and they’re boldly hammering out their first studio album, which should come out later this year.
RockLine: What drew you to the Epic RockLine Contest?
Samo: More or less, the urge to play a gig. For us it’s a chance to land an extra show. And if we happen to make it through the first round, even better. But like I said, the main goal was to secure a gig. That’s how we rack up the mileage and experience we need.
RockLine: You’re the torchbearers of symphonic gothic power metal from the Goriška region. What’s the metal scene like out there, and is there any other band similar to Eternity?
Samo: For now, Eternity is the only band in this part of Slovenia playing symphonic gothic metal. The Goriška region is more into thrash metal and metalcore at the moment. Genre-wise, we’re really the only ones from this corner of the country.
RockLine: And what about interest from the home crowd in Goriška? Your grannies probably don’t listen to you, but what about everyone else?
Samo: We’ve kind of got a fan base already. And the number of people interested in our music grows day by day. We notice it especially from gig to gig.
RockLine: How come you decided to have two guitarists in the Eternity lineup?
Gregor: At first we thought a single guitar would be plenty for the band. But it later turned out our music needed an extra guitarist. A lead guitarist, mainly. That way our sound is fuller and Eternity’s music has even more quality to offer.
RockLine: How happy are you with the new guitarist?
Gregor: Our Tomi has played one show with us so far, and he really proved himself. Tonight is his second, and he’s sure to blow us all away again.
RockLine: And you, Tomi? Would you agree?
Tomi: So far everything’s going okay, and I hope it stays that way. I’m already really looking forward to more Eternity gigs.
RockLine: Jasmina, is it ever hard getting along with this whole horde of guys in your band?
Jasmina: Not at all. They say I’m “a dude with boobs” anyway….
(everyone: roaring laughter)
Jasmina: … so I fit right into the situation. In that respect, there’s no “panic” for me.
RockLine: Is Eternity working on adding backing vocals to your music, so Jasmina doesn’t burn out on you?
Samo: So far we haven’t put any special emphasis on backing vocals, but we’re planning to get into that in the future. We’ll definitely see where our musical ideas take us. We’ll definitely start using them in certain parts of our music to fill out the sound even more. But not in overly big doses.
RockLine: You recently released your first demo, “What Keeps Us Alive”.
Samo: Yes. It’s got four tracks. We’ve got 10 original songs written altogether. Four of them are on the demo, but we’ve recorded six so far. The two songs we left off the demo got enough promotion before the demo came out. Since they’re already well known among people who come to our gigs, we decided not to put them on the demo. So we gave priority to the songs we recorded around the time of its release.
RockLine: So a studio debut probably comes next?
Samo: That’s right. If everything goes to plan, Eternity will start recording the album in March 2010, and we figure the recording will be done sometime around the start of summer 2010. You’ve got to add some time for mixing and mastering. By autumn we hope to get our studio debut out.
RockLine: Will you record the album right in your studio, Samo?
Samo: Yes. Right in my studio.
RockLine: Do you think it’s an advantage for a band when one of its members is also the producer of its music?
Samo: Absolutely. Right from the start I roughly know what sound each person in the band wants, what they actually expect from the sound. And it’s also really important that if we record ourselves, we can take our time. Because these days, if you go record in a studio, renting it can cost anywhere from 300.00€ to 400.00€ a day. If you’re pressed for time, that can be a big problem. Especially for young bands that are still finding their feet. It’s a lot harder for a young band to get a quality album down on tape in just 14 days than for a seasoned crew that’s already put out, say, three or four albums. This way we won’t have to stress about time, and we’ll have enough time and space to polish all our arrangements down to the last detail. It’s those finer touches that can make the decisive difference between an average, a good or an excellent product.
RockLine: Given your style, many people already compare you to Nightwish. Does that get on your nerves, or do you feel honored? After all, Nightwish are a huge band.
Gregor: I think each of us has some role models. For me personally, since the very beginning, they’ve been bands like Nightwish and Within Temptation. But once you start creating your own original music, you end up finding your own path anyway. Those two bands will always be a kind of example for me personally.
Samo: Each of us has, and I’ll put the word in quotation marks, some “idols”, but we don’t copy anybody. In my opinion, every band in the world has its own recognizable style and sound. So I don’t believe anyone can just say that one band is the same as another. Or that there’s no difference between them in sound and style. Would I say that Eternity are the same as Nightwish in that context? Not a chance.
RockLine: You and Jasmina are also involved in the G.U.A.R. project (Gorica Underground Allstar Rage ed. note). How are things looking for G.U.A.R.?
Samo: In the beginning Jasmina and I had quite a lot of problems. There was a lot of sacrificing, and sometimes, I’ll admit, some pretty ugly words too. But things turned in the right direction, and the recording is slowly coming to an end. We’re mixing the material right now, and the plan is for the CD to finally come out sometime in May this year. Along with the release, we’re planning a show at Goriška Mostovna. If all goes well, there’ll also be a bonus “making of” video, giving people a closer look at how the music behind this project comes together.
RockLine: What are the future plans for Eternity?
Samo: We might play in Florida. Sounds weird, I know. Of course, that depends on whether we can afford the trip. But we have a friend from Italy, DJ Nico, who’s already planning to move from Milan to Florida to be with his girlfriend. If he makes it onto FM Radio, he promised to invite us to Florida to play live on his show.
Gregor: Definitely, going abroad is on the horizon for us.
Samo: Let’s hope so. One step at a time. It’s not smart to rush up the stairs. You can trip and take a hard fall.
RockLine: In that sense, being close to the Italian border probably helps you. Italy has quite a lot of interest in the kind of music Eternity play.
Samo: To tell you the truth, not really. So far we haven’t had any special contacts with Italy.
interview by: Rok Klemše & Aleš Podbrežnik
text edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos by: Mojca Perdih
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