NEURONIA (Eng.)

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

Tektur (vocals): Hey, thanks for the questions, we are always happy to answer! Right now, we are preparing new material – we want to record our third album next year, it will mark the 10th anniversary of our band’s existence. We have also shot some scenes for a video clip for ‘Alone in the Dark’, the first track of our latest release, the clip is bound to have a premiere very soon, so remember to check our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/NeuroniaOfficial.

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

T: Neuronia was founded in December 2003 by Misiek (guitar) and Chief (drums). This was mostly a rock jam-band at the time. In 2005 Radek joined on bass and vocals. This line-up recorded two demos: ‘Neuronia’ and ‘Wedding Day’ in 2006. At this time, the band played metal-influenced rock music.

Radek left the band in the same year and was replaced by Domo on bass and Acid on vocals. It was then when the band shifted towards heavier and darker sounds. The 2007 ‘First Blood’ promo EP and the 2008 debut album ‘The Winter of My Heart’ reflected that change.

We have had major line-up changes from 2009 and 2011 – Lewy joined us on lead guitar, we changed drummers three times (subsequently Thor, Deviant and Lukas), Beton replaced Domo on bass guitar and I’m doing lead vocals since Acid left in 2011. In 2010, our second album ‘Follow the White Mouse was released, with a more melodic sound.

Right now, we have stabilized our line-up with Misiek on rhythm guitar, Lewy on lead guitar, Beton on bass and backing vocals, Lukas on drums and me on lead vocals. We have released our latest EP ‘Insanity Relapse’ in May 2012 – it can be downloaded for free from our BandCamp site, Last.fm etc.

During all these years we have played many gigs with bands like Sodom, Tankard, Sabaton, Paul di’Anno, Lizzie Borden, Torture Squad, KAT, Corruption, Quo Vadis and many others.

3. How could you describe your sound?

T: It is kind of hard to describe it, as we are influenced by various genres and bands. I would say that it is a mixture of classic heavy metal melody with the energy of thrash with a little melodic death metal on the side… but I wouldn’t be telling the whole truth. There are black metal blasts, there are doom metal moments, psychedelia… It’s really hard to classify our sound.

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

T: Oh, this is a very hard question, because there are so many! Misiek likes classic thrash, psychedelia and punk rock. I am from a punk rock background myself, but I listen to lots of good music, from classical music to black metal. Beton is a death metal freak, but he also listens to lots of progressive music and loves Pink Floyd. Lewy loves classic rock, but also thrash and progressive metal. Lukas really listens to all kinds of metal music.

If I would have to tell you all the band names, this interview would take me all day… and more! : )

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

T: Very satisfying. We still get rave reviews from media in Poland and around the globe. We’re especially proud with getting great reviews from Germany – German critics did not like our previous albums, but this time they were very satisfied with what they heard, or so it seems J We get lots of good feedback and support from all over the world, and we’re thankful for it!

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

T: Very much. Not only did Janos – our producer – manage to get out the best of all of us, but he also added depth to our sound and our tracks. What is the most satisfying part, is that we made all the arrangements together and anyone had their say. It wasn’t always like that – some former members of our band weren’t often interested in composing the tracks.

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

T: Eclectic insane metal J

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

T: It ran very smoothly. Janos is a top-notch producer and a great motivator. Thanks to him, it only took us a few days to record the tracks and the mixing and mastering process went very fast too!

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

T: Like I said before, we work on it together, all five of us. One of us supplies a riff or two and we take it from there, adding solos, vocals, beats and other elements along the way. That doesn’t include the lyrics, as the guys leave it to me to write them.

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

T: We’re hoping to release our third album next year and go on a tour around Poland, and maybe go abroad for the first time. In the nearest future, we want to release our newest video clip.

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.

T: Thank you for the interview! Keep supporting the local music and metal scene, and a big shout out to all readers of Queens of Steel!