Author: Rok Klemše
Interview date: 24.03.2007
Gonoba is one of Slovenia’s most promising metal bands. We did the interview in a super relaxed atmosphere, with beer of course… What kind of metalheads would we be without beer 🙂 The guys, who are incredibly devoted to their band, bolted straight after the interview to go to rehearsal.
Rockline: Hey guys! To kick things off, tell us a bit about the band. How long have you been around, lineup changes, that kind of stuff.
Gonoba: We’ve been playing for about two years, and in this lineup for about a year, so we’re kind of celebrating an anniversary right now. We had some trouble with the lineup, mostly because people weren’t serious enough. Now it’s finally settled: Matjaž (lead guitar), Mitja (rhythm guitar) and Rok (drums) are the founding members, then Brane (bass) joined, and last of all singer Matic. The band’s one big flaw is that the drummer doesn’t drink beer (laughs).
Rockline: The new lineup brought a new musical direction too. You started out more in heavy metal waters, and now you’re playing thrash/death.
Gonoba: Yeah, when we ended up without members, we didn’t really know what we wanted to play. When Brane joined, we kind of steered toward thrash/death metal, and that’s what we’re sticking with for now. But our music hasn’t fully developed yet.
Rockline: Brane, you used to play in Crossbreed, right?
Brane: Right.
Rockline: And you brought a new direction and some freshness to Gonoba?
Brane: I guess so. I came to Gonoba because I just had to play somewhere. I left Crossbreed because I work in Kamnik, and just with the commute I was losing a ton of time and money. Like I said, I simply have to play somewhere, and that’s how I landed in Gonoba.
Rockline: What about influences? What do you listen to, who have you learned the most from?
Gonoba: Ugh… everyone’s got their own. That’s also why it was hard to agree on a style. But no doubt Iron Maiden and Metallica, like probably most bands. And Death, of course. We learned the track Misanthrope from them, and we play it at gigs all the time.
Rockline: How are things with gigs? Do you play a lot?
Gonoba: Yeah, it kind of took off now that we’ve recorded a demo. In less than a year we’ve got fifteen gigs behind us.
Rockline: Where was your biggest show?
Gonoba: In Velenje, for the Helloween party. Tons of people who totally lost it. Kranj and Kamnik were great gigs too. There are just more and more good shows.
Rockline: Is this your first demo?
Gonoba: There was one before it, but that was recorded with a single mic in the middle of a regular room.
Rockline: Did you spend long recording this second demo?
Gonoba: No, over a weekend, in two days. A buddy and I were trying out a mixing desk, and we recorded a demo while we were at it.
Rockline: So will a debut album follow soon? And what are the plans for the future?
Gonoba: We’ll see. This year we’re hoping to get into Metalcamp. We applied and we’re waiting for an answer. Most likely more demos will follow first. Renting a studio is a huge financial burden, so we do everything in-house.
Rockline: A lot of people just roll their eyes at the name Gonoba. What does Gonoba even mean, and how did you come up with such a “weird” name?
Gonoba: Gonoba is an old Slovenian word, and if you ask your grandmas they’ll surely know what it means. Basically it’s another word for doom or destruction. We borrowed it from Gradišnik’s translation of The Lord of the Rings, where he translated Mount Doom as Gora gonobe.
Rockline: Do you plan to take on the international scene too?
Gonoba: We’re not exactly planning it, but if the chance comes up, great. It’s definitely a new opportunity and a new experience, and you see and learn something new.
Rockline: How come you went for thrash/death in particular? Personally, you remind me of the excellent German thrashers with a touch of death metal, Dew-Scented.
Gonoba: Thrash/death is pretty versatile and you’re not boxed in. Black metal is pretty limited, and the same goes for the more brutal styles, as long as it makes a racket (laughs). It’s just fun to play, and we don’t like whining or playing simple chords over and over.
Rockline: Does the whole band write the songs?
Gonoba: Yeah, we lean that way. It works best when everyone adds something of their own. If only one person writes, the others might not like it, and conflict comes quickly. That’s exactly what matters most in a band: everyone’s on the same page, and everyone knows how to give a little.
Rockline: Are the lyrics only in English, or do you try writing in Slovenian too?
Gonoba: We’ve tried Slovenian lyrics too… (laughs). Lyrics in Slovenian would definitely be cool, it just doesn’t work… Or rather, we’d have to try harder. Slovenian is a pain with its syllables and it’s harsher than English, even though harsh languages, like German and the Scandinavian ones, fit metal insanely well.
Rockline: And your take on the Slovenian metal scene?
Gonoba: Well… it’s developing. If you just look at the metal-archives site, there are 107 Slovenian bands listed, and probably 80 or 90 of them are active. There are tons of smaller, local bands that the wider public doesn’t know. We’ve already played shows with Inmate and Penzigiate. And we lend our gear to several bands too.
Rockline: How’s rehearsal going?
Gonoba: Mostly twice a week, sometimes more, sometimes less if we’ve got other obligations. When we skip a rehearsal, you can really tell.
Rockline: What’s the deal with these camels (laughs)?
Gonoba: Honestly, nobody knows, but there has to be a camel. The camel is cool (laughs). The camel is like sex: you know you’ve got to do it, but you don’t know exactly why.
Rockline: Thanks for the interview, guys! One last word for Rockline and our readers?
Gonoba: Thank you! Keep doing what you’re doing!
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