Synthetic Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The band was formed in 2014 and two years later released its debut album by the tile Here Lies The Truth. Our music is a hybrid of melodic death, progressive and classic heavy metal bringing together elements from the Scandinavian, British and American scenes. During the creation of our debut album we were fortunate enough to collaborate with major established figures such as Ettore Rigotti of Disarmonia Mundi and Dirk Verbeuren of Soilwork who is now the permanent drummer of Megadeth. The band is currently performing live as much as possible and we are in the process of putting together our second album.

2.So far you have released one album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
We had a wide variety of styles packed in the first album, which inevitably added a lot of intricacies and latent qualities in the sound. There are a lot of atmospheric and dark moments delivered by the extensive use of keyboards and epic, symphonic choruses, and on the other hand you will find a number of more direct and edgy elements bordering with thrash and death metal. That’s why we recommend that new listeners play the album through their headphones the first time, there’s a lot to discover. 

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We pay a lot of attention on our lyrics, we believe they are part of a complete music proposition. We mostly write about inner self battles, society issues and politics. We try to portray our views of the world and the individual, in an admittedly dystopian manner, drawing inspiration mainly from personal experiences. The words may be carefully crafted but they come straight from the heart rather than being the result of a mechanical or tactical process. We urge the audience to read our lyrics as they travel through the music, give their own interpretation and experience a holistic journey. You will see parts of you somewhere in our words, no doubt.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Synthetic'?
The literal meaning of the word ‘synthetic’ comprises terms such as manufactured, processed and unnatural. Although from a branding perspective we are not doing ourselves a favour by using those connotations, our belief is that today’s world and society are unfortunately built on those negative principles. Our food, our clothes, our music, our relationships even, are synthetic. As a band we digested that, but we do not accept it. So, our name is an attack to the system acting as constant reminder and alert, hoping that one day the human race will wake up and realize that we are being subjected to in our daily lives and eventually revolt. 

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We have played in some great festivals in the UK so far and shared the stage with some amazing bands. Our latest appearance in Cambridge for the Daze of the Tron Festival was by far the most memorable to date – the venue was packed, everywhere we looked there were people wearing Synthetic t-shirts, many of them knew the words to our songs, that’s an incredible feeling. Our stage performance is something we constantly work on to improve further. We are now tighter than ever and a lot of people say to us that we belong to bigger stages. We feel that as and when we hit bigger stages our shows will become even more spectacular and energetic as we will have more space to move and to bring additional props, such as banners, lights, guest appearances etc. 

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We have a number of gigs planned in the UK in the next few months. No major touring plans so far. We’d love to tour widely and visit countries outside the UK but that’s not as easy these days. We will probably stick around the UK for the next year or so where people know us better and the logistics are easier. Unless of course we get an invite and a deal that we can’t refuse. 

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about 'Access In Music?
We decided that it was the right time for us to get a band management company onboard to support us with our continuous marketing efforts. We had a look around, we spoke with a few companies and in the end we felt that Access In Music was a better match for us. We are pleased with our choice so far and we are only in the beginning. We are convinced that this relationship will flourish and that both parties will benefit from each other.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme and melodic metal?
We have received a plethora of positive comments from around the globe and our album has travelled as far as Japan. We see a lot of support coming especially from Greece, the UK, the USA, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Russia. It seems that people appreciate the hybrid nature of our music and see it somewhat refreshing. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone in our album and we believe this brings people together and that we can reach a wider audience as it’s hard to pigeonhole our style. 

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We will definitely retain a good balance between melody and groove. Perhaps we will push for a slightly more unified style next time. Generally, we will try to keep all the good elements of our debut album and discard the not so good aspects. You should certainly expect influences from Scandinavian and British metal but the bottom line is that we play what we feel sounds right to us at that given moment. One thing we can promise is that we will always sound like Synthetic.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Each one of us has different influences to bring to the band. Some of our main influences though include bands such as Soilwork, In Flames, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden amongst others. The list is too long really. Overall, we are huge fans of the Scandinavian soundscape and the classic British metal and rock sound.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
We have people in the band who are keen photographers, video makers and game designers. Others are fitness enthusiasts and others love to travel. All of us are in full time employment and we love our jobs too. So, quite busy lives outside music.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We’d like to thank you ever so much for the opportunity to be featured in your pages. We need the support of people like you and we deeply appreciate it when we get it. We would like to say a warm big ‘thank you’ to all the fans who invested in Synthetic so far, either by buying our album and merch or attending our shows. For the new potential fans, we can only promise better music, better videos, and better performances in the future. We would like to invite every metal fan out there to become part of the Synthetic family. We encourage everyone to find us on Facebook and other social media platforms and interact with us. Let’s connect and spread the word together!