I am not going to write another introduction for this talented band from
Greece... Just to say that : as the "Words Carved Within" album is a masterpiece
of epic and emotional metal, DREAM WEAVER had to be interviewed a second
time for Iron Wolf... So here it is... George answered my questions...
Hello George, how are you? Today, what albums did you listen to?
Hello Patrick, very good thanks. Right now in my
cd player is Iron Maiden’s “Dance of death” (average & surely not equal
for Iron Maiden). Before this, I was listening Sanvoisen’s “Soul Seasons”
(great album) & Jag Panzer’s “Mechanized Warfare” (also a great album)!
Let’s talk about “Fantasy Revealed”. It is sold out in the Secret Port
distro. How many copies the mcd was pressed? Are you satisfied with the response?
And thinking back, are you also satisfied with the mcd?
Fantasy Revealed was sold out in the first six months
since it’s release. It pressed in 1000 copies and we are very satisfied with
the response. I’m very satisfied with “fantasy revealed” and I love each
one of the songs. If I could change something in the mcd, that would be the
production.
Bassist Michael Kypreos has been replaced by Takis Fytos. Do you feel
it’s a stable line-up now? Is it hard to find good musicians for a metal
band in Greece?
Yes, the present line-up it is more stable and creative
than ever. Finding good metal musicians in Greece is not the most difficult
thing. The most difficult thing is to devote and dedicate themselves in a
band, because metal in Greece does not offer money. So, they prefer to play
with some artists of the folkloric scene as sessions and play in a metal
band just for fun…
In 2002, Eat Metal Records released the “Soul Searching” 7’’. How did
you get in touch with this small label? It was only a deal for this 7’’,
because your label is Secret Port, isn’t it? How many albums is the deal
with Secret Port?
The guys from EMR are very good friends of us. So,
when they told us their idea for a 7” release, we agreed with it immediately
because we are big fans of vinyl! The deal was only for Soulsearching 7”
single.
Is the 7’’ sold out? What were your feelings seeing two DREAM WEAVER songs
on godly vinyl? Will the B-side song “Voice To Run The Miles” stay exclusive
to the 7’’?
I don’t know exactly, but I think that it is almost
sold out. As I told you before, we are all great fans of vinyl in the band,
so our feelings were great when we layed our hands on the 7” single for the
first time! Yes, “Voice to Run the Miles” is an exclusive song just for this
release!
You supported bands like BROCAS HELM, MANILLA ROAD and JAG PANZER when
they came to Athens. Is it good memories? Do you know what these bands think
of the Greek bands?
Playing with bands that are some of our main influences,
is a big event. I believe that gigs was the best moments of our band and
of course we have the best memories. As for the second part of your question,
I don’t know the answer because I never ask them…
You were part of the Heavy Metal Assault Festival in Athens in September
2002. How is the experience to play in a festival? Do you prefer concert
or festival? By the way, OSTROGOTH and ELIXIR were also on the bill, how
were their gigs?
Playing in festivals is a great experience. Having
to choose between concerts and festivals, I prefer a single concert because
you have more time for sound-check, more attention by the sound engineer
etc. As for the second part of your question, it was like watching a real
metal gig/party somewhere in the ‘80s. Great feeling!!!
The « Words Carved Within » cd was recorded at Reflection
Sound Studio in Athens. Is it a good studio for the recording of an album
by a metal band?
Reflection sound studio is one of the few in Greece,
which is specialized, strictly, in Heavy metal recordings. Moreover, is owned
by Stathis Pavladis the guitarist of Reflection, so he knows well the heavy
metal sound.
You did the cover artwork and the layout for the album. Do you like making
cover artwork? Is it important for you to keep control also on the DREAM
WEAVER artwork?
Artwork and graphic/web design in general, is my
main occupation. This is my job and the way to earn my living. Of course
it’s very important for us to keep the control on artwork too, because it’s
the better way to express the meaning of the album’s title in combination
with the emotions behind that.
The new album is excellent, delivering wonderful epic metal. It is really
an album, which makes the listener going in the (metal) dreamlands. What
are your feelings about this album? Do you think it’s the best creation by
DREAM WEAVER?
My feelings about this album are the same I had
for “Fantasy revealed”. Each new release is like the first one. I believe
that “Words carved within” is by far our best work up to now and the most
complete in all levels.
DREAM WEAVER is not only epic metal, there is more… I mean the emotion
and the melancholy that can be found in the songs… How do you write a song?
Do you need a particular state of mind or do you just let the ideas come
and write the song?
Thanks for this remark you are making. It is really
wonderful to be able to feel our songs. This is our purpose. For the
writing of a song we usually just let our ideas come out and then we jam
on them until the song reaches its final shepe.
You re-recorded two songs, “Soul Searching” and also “Bright Fading Past”,
a song from the ’95 demo. I think the 2003 version is superior to the one
from ’95. So, considering there are other great songs on this demo, it is
possible to see other songs from this tape re-recorded in the future releases,
isn’t it?
Thank you for your good words. There are some songs
from this Demo that we also like very much and that the sound of the the
tape devaluates. So 1-2 more songs from that period are likely to be recorded
again with new orchestration in some of our future releases. Maybe “Thunder
and Lightning” or/and “Dream Weaver” will be included in our next cd.
Will the “Words Carved Within” album be available on vinyl later?
We are discussing this possibility with SPR and
hopefully it will be released in limited vinyl edition sometime in 2004!
Have you already given some concerts for the album? Have you planned a
little tour?
Yes, we already gave some gigs for the new album
and the reaction of the audience was really great with the new stuff. No,
we don’t have plans for touring at the moment, but hopefully this time we
are going to visit some towns of our country for one-off gigs!
If you were offered a European tour, for which band would you like to
open?
Iron Maiden or Jag Panzer!!!!!
Thank you for the answers. If I forgot something or if you want to add
something, feel free…
I would like thank you very much for the very interesting
interview and for the support in our band throughout the years. Good luck
with the cd version of Iron Wolf. (unfortunately, the cd-rom version will
not happen, - Patrick) Check our website for news and all the activities
of the band: www.truemetal.org/dreamweaver
Interview by Patrick Lefevre
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