Hi guys! How is it going in…LA??? Or…not in LA? Hehe!
Haha, well L.A. is just a couple…of thousands of miles away, but that ‘vibe’ is always in our hearts, so…Everything is fine on our ‘camp’, thank you! We wish it’s the same for you, too.
You have a great new album out there, the third in a row, with the title “Amalgama”. First of all, what’s the meaning of Amalgama?
To begin with, thank you very much for the kind words on our new album! There is a whole story behind the name/meaning of it.
In Ancient Greece, the Alchemists, whose symbol was the Caduceus of Hermes, used to create alloys by mixing mostly Mercury with other, different metal elements. A mixture like that was called "amalgama". So, that was the inspiration behind the title of our 3rd album, describing our effort, our try to adequately mix all the "metal elements" each of us had and blend them with the Hard and Sleaze Rock legacy of Cyanide 4, eventually leading to the 'natural evolution' of our 2nd album “Nekyia”! So..."AmaΛgamA" it is!
As I mentioned, this is your third album in 10 years. What are the main differences you see in yourselves and the band in these years?
The band’s sound is way more ‘mature’ now, let’s say, than what it was 10-15 years ago. Our playing skills have improved, our composing skills have also improved and that can be clearly seen (or better…heard) on our new album and of course on stage.
What’s the process that leads to a new Cyanide 4 song? Who is responsible for songwriting and who is for the lyrics?
The songwriting on ‘Amalgama’ was mostly done by the guitarists, but the rest of us put a little ‘touch’ where and when needed. Most of the lyrics are Sinn’s duty, but Adrian had contributed, too.
Speaking of lyrics what do you like to talk about? Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll or there something deeper?
Well, when we were younger, there were also songs talking about those topics…but, well, generally we don’t follow any particular patterns or paths. We just write lyrics for anything that’s inspiring and the most inspiring topic is life itself, I guess and any kind of feelings. We have written lyrics based on historical facts, too.
Let’s see the production now. Where did it take place? Are there any changes in the recording process through these years?
Haha, there’s nothing different regarding the process, it still takes a really “looooong” time! But, let’s be more specific…The album was recorded at Soundgarden Studios, Athens (GR) between Spring and Summer 2019, mixed by Lambros Kritsimas, also at SoundGarden Studios, Athens (GR) between Autumn 2020 and Spring 2021 and finally mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering, Madison (WI - USA) in Summer 2021. The man responsible for the cover art, booklet and all graphics-stuff is Ethan Tziokas.
Do you watch the current hard rock/glam scene? Do you feel a part of the revival of this sound?
Of course we watch the scene, we love that sound and we try to be as informed as possible, always checking on new bands, new music, etc. Well, we started back in 2007-08, when that revival wave “broke-out” mostly in Scandinavia and later on in Europe, so, in a way, we feel as part of that revival sound, although we never had strong “bounds” -mostly, due to distance…- with that part of our scene. But as mentioned before, we try to ‘evolve’ our band’s sound, not following the typical sleaze/glam patterns.
All your releases are out by the US based label Perris Records. How did that happen in first place? I guess you must be happy of them and the way they treated your releases all these years, am I right? Have you ever thought of moving in a different label?
Well, Perris Records is one of the -I’d say- ‘historic’, independent, US labels that focuses on our sound, having released many albums by great 80s’ bands/artists. The offers we got each time, for each record were good, the cooperation between us and Tom is also on the right direction, so, everything works fine!
We guess a deal with any major label, any of the “big” ones, is what every band dreams about, but that needs lots of effort, luck, etc. It’s multifactorial, I’d say.
Of course, no offense to the relationship between us and Perris by mentioning that...We guess, any “transfers” like that are also good for the “smaller” labels, because people get to know them, too.
Any plans for live gigs? I know you love playing live!
WE “F@%$in’” LOVE playing live, indeed! Currently, the situation is a bit complicated, but we try our best booking some shows in Greece, as soon as possible and hopefully, by late October/early November, we can go for our 1st run of shows through Europe. We are already in talks about that, we are also in talks for some Summer-fest appearances…We hope to be back on stage really soon!
Guys thanks a lot for this interview! Last words are yours.
Thank you very much for the hospitality! Crank some Cyanide 4 up and rock on!
Cheers!
