Grond. Interview with Kist

Interview by Olga Schneider

1. First of all, I’d like to say thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. Actually it’s been a while since I planned to do that. How is the band feeling now after all these COVID restrictions? Were there many concert that were postponed without even being announced?

Hi, Olga! Thank you for your interest for our band! COVID was really something crushing for all our concert related plans. Lots of shows were canceled without even being announced, sometimes after being announced, sometimes couple days before the event itself. Sometimes it was like at the very beginning of these restrictions we had to refuse to play in St. Petersburg, but couple days after that the promoters had to cancel the event itself and postpone it for a year; so the year passed, and couple weeks before that long-waited trip our drummer Kadath got diagnosed with CV. But since I used to play the drums in Grond years ago, we played a show that included lots of old material, and while that show I took both drums and vocals parts. But in general, everything is not that bad. We got able to play some concerts, and that was really cool.

2. You’re currently having some changes in your lineup again. So what was the reason for Daemorph to leave the band? And of course we’d like to get some more detailed information about your new bassist.

Okay, let’s say I can’t say for Daemorph, but it wouldn’t be completely correct to say “he left the band”. February 24 became the day when our world drastically changed. Each of us sees and feels the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine so clearly, and these concequences will be lasting really long for sure. Daemorph is a citizen of Ukraine, so he decided to leave our country. We’re supporting our contact, and now everything is fine with him (as fine as possible in the current situation in fact), but his further participation in Grond has become impossible for him. Of course it’s a big loss for us. Daemorph was not only the bassist, but also one of the band’s composers and the author of all our arts/ album covers. But sometimes life dictates its own conditions to us, and not always we do like them. But now about the new bassist. It’s Sarghas who has taken this mission. We have already worked with him (also with Daemorph) in the Death Black band named Kadavereich where we had a great experience working together, so the reasons of choosing him are evident. Sarghas is also the vocalist and the bassist of the killer Black Metal band Gwarloth (as Bonecrushing Apocalypse), he also took part in lots of projects in the past. He’s a great dude and musician, and we’re planning to start recording our new album with him soon.

3. Years ago you rewatched your role in the band as well if I might say so. If years ago you were both the drummer and the vocalist, then now you’re only taking the vocal part.

How has the feeling of being on stage changed with that? I mean, not only technically (of course it’s easier to do one work than two at the same time), but also mentally. Wasn’t you feeling any mental discomfort for a while, at least cause now you’re 100% in the center of attention? :)

Yeah, that’s a really good question. First of all, when we decided to find a new drummer, there wasn’t any rush at all, and the main criterion was the high skill level, way higher than mine. Now, as you can see, we have found such a musician, thanks to the blind gods of chaos! And of course I was thinking a lot on the fact that it’s way harder to play the drums and sing at the same time, and that being a “free” Death Metal singer is nothing more than full relax and pleasure. I was so deadly wrong. There are lots os nuances of being right in front of the audience. Opportunities for vocal expression and for the show are greatly increased, but the responsibility has also increased a lot, and you have to work it out to the fullest. Now, of course, I’m used to it, but at first I didn’t even know what to do with myself. It felt so easier before, like you should just sit, rape the drums and yell, so you would get away with everything, haha!

4. It’s been a while since you released your latest album, and now you’re actively working on the new one. What should we expect from it? Are you gonna follow your old traditions or are you planning lots of experiments?

In August of this year we go into the studio to start recording the new album. I can say with no doubts that musically it’s gonna be different from everything we’ve done before. First of all, this is due to the fact that the main composers are other people now. Also, there was an opinion (both the audition’s and our own) that the last album was a bit messy. This is not surprising, since the gap between composing of some songs was very long (up to several years!), and some songs (Kronos the Devourer and Below the Thunders) took on their final form in just some days before recording. Now we’ve decided to make the new album more structured. By the way, that’s gonna be our first true comceptual album, and that’s gonna be represented not only through lyrics, but also music wise. It’s not so much about any experiments, but rather about a bit different approach to composing music. Anyway, now all that is just words, it’s a bit hard to take an objective look at what we’re doing. Let’s see what the audience is gonna say.

5. Do you have any plans of promoting the new album abroad, when it gets way wasier to organize some abroad tours? You definitely want to show the whole world that Extreme Metal in Russia is alive, don’t you?

So far, we don’t have any specific plans for foreign tours. The situation in our country and in the world in general is not conducive to travel. But we don’t rule out such a possibility. In a word, there is certain wish and aspiration to actively join the Western Metal community, since the world knows that Metal is alive in Russia, now our common task is to show that it’s not dying. The best way to do that is to keep doing well what you’re doing.

6. What can you say about Metal community in Russia generally? What’s changed most of all since you started getting into it, in your opinion?

What changes can you call killer, and what changes are extremely negative?

As it seems to me, at the times when we started (the middle of 2000s), underground Metal scene in Russia was absolutely numb. There was an impression of some kind of global extinction of Metal organisms at that time. There was a feeling that we were starting some new era. This feeling has intensified over time, due to the fact that the number of truly worthy bands (I can say primarily about Death & Black metal, but not only) started to noticeably increase, and their existence time also grew up, and this fact inevitably led to some healthy competition and the growth of the fan base here in Russia, and, as a result, to some strengthening of Russian Metal community in general. Then we felt a fresh breeze from the Death metal cemeteries, so we tried to inflate the sails stronger: I started organizing concerts (the first PYRE gig in Moscow, Faces of Death festival with Asphyx, Flashcrawl), the release of the compilation Faces of Death consisting of those Russian Death Metal bands which were the best at that time in our opinion, GROND’s trip to the Netherlands, and so on. After that time, there was a slight decline in the activity of the Death Metal scene, many bands splat up or changed musical directions. And now, as I see it, there is another rise. Lots of great festivals are appearing (Shallow Grave, Metal Over Russia), new bands are getting born and taking root. All the negative changes relate to foreign and domestic politics, but our Metal community is getting stronger, if I may say so. Being an optimist about this is already a lot.

7. Why, in your opinion, our Metal scene is not that popular in the entire world? And what can we do to fix this fucked up situation?

First of all our Metal scene is very small compared to the European and American scene. This is an obvious fact. In the West, some traditions, culture and history of the Metal culture has been existing for a very long time. We cannot boast of this. The good thing is that it’s been a while since our Death and Black scene started being able not to parasitize on Western ideas and create something of its own, of course, based on the foundations laid by the luminaries of the genres.

This is probably the answer to the second question: skill, originality, visual component, perseverance - these qualities help some of our bands to gradually become noticeable on the Western stage, even with huge competition! Competition always motivates to move forward, especially when it comes to Metal underground. If you’re ready to understand and accept the culture, in every sense of the word.

8. Has the availability of everything that is possible in the modern world affected the audience at concerts?

If we’re talking about first of all Moscow and St. Petersburg, then for sure, lots of concerts of any kind, instant availability of any kinds of music cannot be here without leaving a trace. As lots of the modern achievements, these also have two sides. As it seems to me, nowadays the audience at concerts has become way more picky. I used to notice before that lots of people were way less picky regarding concerts and music in general, so the came just to rock. This tendency also strongly depends on the place: the further from the center of the country it is, the less picky the audience is. Since concerts in provincial cities are less frequent, the variety of bands there is less as well (once we went to a small tour in Russia, and I saw it personally). Now the situation is changing for the better (largely due to the activities of some promoters), but, unfortunately, unevenly. For example, everyone knows about frequent Metal fests in Arkhangelsk organized by Maxim Ice, and Kazan has practically got out of that, although it used to be much louder. I’m not claiming to have a high degree of awareness on these issues! It’s just how I see it now.

9. Last year you took part in the Shallow Grave fest which is famous for its truly extreme conditions. What was the most memorable part of this trip? Do you want to repeat? Or do you rather prefer the big city conditions?

I was a part of the audience at Shallow Grave 2020 and went there as a musician in 2021, so I can say that I definitely liked the both times. Best regards to the promoters of this amazing event. There was a lot of interesting stuff, I don’t even know what to highlight: great sound, the way of organization, the location - everything was providing us to ROCK!

And the audience of course. I’ll definitely try hard to visit Shallow Grave this summer.

10. Do you currently have any plans about concerts at least in Moscow and Moscow region while recording the album?

The recording is the priority at the moment, and now we don’t have any concert plans. Time will show if the situation changes.

11. What were your main sources of inspiration at the very begin ning and now, after 20 fucking years? How has your attitude changes with the years?

My main source of inspiration both at the beginning of the journey and now is the Sea Element, its various aspects. This includes various sea myths, Lovecraft, the fleet and various naval battles, submarines, marine cryptozoology, spirits and deities of the ocean, various fiction, paleontology. The new album, as I said, is gonna be a concept album. Thematically, it’ll be a symbiosis of two stories: the real history of the military deeds of the German waterman during the First World War, Captain Otto Weddigen, and the events described by Lovecraft in his story named The Temple. This sea theme has always interested me, although I try not to get too hung up on the topic. The main thing is doing your stuff with pleasure, and therefore - sincerely.

12. And now the final and traditional question. What can you say to our readers and crew in the end of this interview ?

Thanks for your interest in our band. And thank you for helping to move the rusty colossus of underground Metal music in our country! Together we make the engine of this submarine work! Readers both from Russia and from other countries are strongly advised to immerse themselves in the study of modern Russian Underground Metal music, probably very pleasant discoveries are awaiting! Cheers!