15 years of Queens of Steel: Jan (AGATHOCLES)

-We Queens of Steel have been annoying people for 15 years now. During these years a lot of albums have been released. What albums do you specially remember or are your favourites of these last 15 years? Those you have pretty much worn.
From these last 15 years? So that means since 2005 …. Lets see, I loved the full albums of the USA band HAGGUS such as “Gore gore gore and more gore”, “The leather sessions” and “The plausibility of putidrity”. MOBCHARGE “Apocalyptic horror” 12”LP and DISPUTA “Ultimo reducto dis” 12”LP, both from Spain, are killer as well and have been played many times here. And there are so many other great records made these last 15 years by bands such as ARCHAGATHUS, SKUNK, UNHOLY GRAVE, INTESTINAL DISEASE, GI JOKE, FIGHT BACK, IGNORANTES, BEER BELLY, ….. Too many to mention.

-Even some new bands have born. Which ones are your favourites?
IGNORANTES from Chile and HAGGUS from USA are pretty new bands which are really amazing. But so many other great bands have started since 2005.

-And the split up you regret the most?
The split up of VIOLENT HEADACHE from Barcelona, Spain in March 2013. It’s real sad that they don’t play anymore. Such a great band which had been active since 1988.

-All of us tend to attend gigs, festivals… During 15 years we’ve spent a lot of time in airports, trains, cars. What is the show or festival you recall with special affection?
Since 2005, AGATHOCLES has done some really intense touring in countries such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Finland, Sweden, Argentina, Mexico, USA, Canada, Indonesia, Japan and many more countries in- and outside Europe. It’s hard to pick one show as best, because every show/tour brings up nice memories.

-They are a lot of years if you think about it. Which would be your most memorable moment(s)? A milestone or achievement, on a personal and/or musical level.
This is also difficult to say. There are so many nice things that happened for AGATHOCLES since 2005. But lets pick a very sad moment, and that was in August 2008, when Tony (our bassplayer at that time), killed himself. We had just recorded the GRIND IS PROTEST full studio album and played at OBSCENE EXTREME FESTIVAL 2008. Two weeks later, Tony hung himself. A real sad period. Cheers Tony, keep on making noise wherever you are now.

-Everything evolves (involutes sometimes) with time, so does the Metal «community». What do you believe has been the biggest change the Metal scene has experience or is experiencing during this time? For the better or for the worse. Because if we stop and think about it, not even Spotify existed 15 years ago!
The digital revolution and social media found its way into the metal/punk community. I do not think all this is all good, digitalism and social media go also together with bad things like spreading more lies, gossip, fake news,…. I prefer the old school way like analogue recordings and writing paper letters with people, but well, I have to keep with today’s technology, I guess.

-Looking to the future, what would be the best possible scenario for you if you think about the next 15 years?
The best scenario would be like the last 15 years, I think. We will just keep on making noise, release records, spreading the DIY-ethics all over the world, have fun, taking it easy, enjoying life and friends around. And having a good health without problems, so we can keep things going with full energy.

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