JUPITER ZEUS (Eng.)

1- Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What are you guys currently up to?

Michael : We’ve just finished recording an album titled «On Earth» which is a follow up to our previous EP «Green Mosquito» We had an amazing amount of positive feedback from «Green Mosquito» so «On Earth» is a natural follow on from that. It really is cool that people from all over the world have really got into what we’ve been doing and I still have no idea how people have been discovering us. The internet is an amazing place. We’ve hooked up with Magnetic Eye Records in the US which is run by Mike Vitali from Ironweed and Greatdayforup (which are both fkn awesome). Ironweeds «Your World of Tomorrow» is one of my all time fave albums so its cool being on the same label them.

Simon : We are keeping a relatively low profile at the present moment after a long recording process (6 months plus), but we are all very excited about the release of our new album.

2- First off, could you make some history of the band?

Michael : We are from Perth, Western Australia which has the unfortunate honour of being known as the worlds most isolated capital city as well as having the dubious distinction of being the cover band capital of the world. There is really not much of an original band scene here at all (compared to other places in the world). Simon, Aidrian and Jeremy have been playing together for maybe 20 years? I joined them relatively recently about 5 years ago. Many years ago they used to be called «Nebula» and did quite well in the Perth, Western Australia area but then another band appeared with the same name and a major label record deal which put an end to that. I used to play in a thrash/punk band called «Moth» when Nebula where around and we used to do gigs with them all the time and Ive been friends with them ever since.

Simon : Our history goes back more than 20 years ago when we formed a metal/thrash band called Nebula in 1993. We released a demo tape and an album but broke up in 1999. Since then we have stuck at it with different line ups and band names until we settled with the name Jupiter Zeus at around 2008. Since then we have released a demo cd called ‘Antiquity» and an ep titled «Green Mosquito’.

3- How could you describe your sound?

Michael : For the «On Earth» album we tried to get the biggest sounds we possibly could get and I think we succeeded in alot of ways. Some of the guitar sounds are just fkn enormous. Simon also put huge layers over vocals and melodies etc which gives it its own unique sound. We have been described as «Psychedelic Space Rock» probably because of all the difference sounds and styles we incorporate. I just consider us a rock band with lots of big riffs. When Simon and I play some of the riffs together at the same time it really does sound enormous.

Simon : I would describe us as a heavy rock band with loud distorted guitars and chunky riffs, and also having plenty of melody especially in the vocals.

4- What are the band’s main musical influences?

Michael : Everything including but not limited to Black Sabbath, AC/DC, The Beatles, Pink Floyd. At the end of the day anything that sounds good and grabs your attention is an influence. I personally listen to everything from death metal to girly pop music to hardcore drum & bass and everything in between. I have a new favourite album every 2 days haha

Simon :There are numerous influences to speak of, but the major one would be Black Sabbath. Other bands would include the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, the Ramones… It would be to say that we have a bit of a love affair with groups from the 60s/70s era.

5- How is the feedback for your new album being?

Michael : Its got an amazing amount of love in a very short time. Everyone who listens to it seems to have a different favourite track. People who like big loud guitar riffs love «Co-Creators, Psychotic Seeds, Divinity & I am, whilst others who like more experimental lighter stuff really like «Talkback Caller» and «Cosmic Rays. «State of Mind» (the last track) has all sorts of stuff going on in it. The instrumental part at end of it is the perfect way to finish an album.

Simon : Early days yet because ‘On Earth’ has not yet officially been released, but we are confident that it will make waves throughout the rock world and boost our profile significantly.

6- And are your personally satisfied with the final outcome?

Michael : Absolutely. Theres very few things we could do to improve upon it. It came out pretty much exactly how we wanted it to sound. It really does sound incredible when played really loud through a big sound system. We had it mastered by Leon Zervos who did the Muse – The Resistance so it sounds pretty good on just about anything.

Simon : We are very satisfied with the sound of this album. We were fortunate to have a bigger budget and therefore were able to spend more time on it especially in the post production side of things. Simon Mitchell (engineer/producer) did a fantastic job.

7- How could you describe this opus in just 3 words?

Michael : Big Monsterous Sound

Simon : Heavy Melodic Emotional

8- How has the production process for your new release been?

Michael : All the songs where written ages ago. The hardest bit was deciding what songs to put on it and the after it was recorded what the song order should be. We ended up starting the album with a longer epic type song (Waves) and going against the usual thing of putting your most commercial songs up first. The whole album really should be listened to from start to finish in the correct order (well thats the idea anyways lol)

Simon : The production experience was amazing and a revelation. It allowed us to really explore and fine tune our songs. Simon (producer) encouraged me to sing lots of harmonies and I think it has worked out quite well.

9- And how do you use to work on the songwriting?

Michael : I come to band practice and the songs are already written! All I do is try and make them sound as big as I possibly can on the guitar. Simon(vocals/guitar), Jeremy(bass) and Aidrian(drums) have been writing songs together for 20 years and have at least 5 albums worth of material written and not recorded so I don’t really need to do much except make it sound as good as I can .

Simon : I write the majority of the songs/tunes and regard myself as singer/songwriter. Each member of Jupiter Zeus contributes in many ways. Passion and self belief are in abundance.

10 – Finally, what are you near-future plans?

Michael : We are doing a heap of promo at the moment. It would be good to do a bit of touring either in the US or UK/Europe with some similar bands to us. We live on the far side of the world in the worlds most isolated capital city (Perth, Australia) so touring here isnt really a good or sensible option so we are more focused on Uk/Europe and US. Anyone interested in lining stuff up send us an email! We are open to almost anything!

Simon : Promoting our new album, recording film clips for a handful of the songs and if opportunities arise doing some shows in America/Europe and beyond.

11- That’s all from our side, thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.

Michael : Have a listen to some album clips right here http://youtu.be/imqgsbpdDYA . If anyone wants to contact us for shows/tours etc send us a message through our website www.jupiterzeus.com We would love to do some shows with some cool bands in some random places around the world. Send us an email if you prefer at jupiterzeus@live.com.au Make sure you like our facebook page www.facebook.com/jupiterzeusrock