Answers by Csiszár Gellért - guitar, founding member
1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
A: We are a metal band from Cluj (Romania), formed in late 2007. The decision to start a band (during one of our usual drunk weekends) was made by myself, Szabi – guitar and Huni – vocals. After some initial member changes, the band reached it’s current line-up with the arrival of Pista – bass and Csaba – drums . We were most active between 2008-2011, followed by a hiatus that lasted until late 2017. In January 2018 we officially reunited and now we continue from where we left.
2.In March you had released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on this recording?
The ‘Grim New World’ EP is a collection of the songs recorded (but never officially released) in the 2008-2011 period. Came the reunion, we wanted a proper closure for that era, hence the EP. The musical style on these songs contains multiple genres, the biggest influence perhaps being Opeth but the there are also traces of Nevermore, Dream Theater, Death, Evergrey and many other bands from which we knowingly (or unknowingly) drew inspiration from. If we were to define our music, we’d say ‘progressive-death-doom’.
3.The band has been around since 2007 and waited until 2018 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the earlier years?
The band has three distinct periods so far: the early years (2007-2011), the hiatus (2012-2017) and the reunion (2018-). In the beginning we all lived in the same city, we hung out together almost every weekend, regardless if there was band related activity or not. We were more like a group of friends who also made music together. We didn’t have any clear direction or set goals. We didn’t really care if people like our music or not, as long as we were happy with the result. Things were good, even if not great, and we slowly progressed as a band. But various circumstances led to me moving away to another town and the 250km distance proved to be too much to go on and eventually in 2012 we ceased activating as a band. We remained good friends however through the hiatus years and I for one, never really could let go of the band.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores on the recording?
The way we do things is that first we write all the instrumental parts and then our singer Huni writes the lyrics. Sometimes we talk about what we were thinking about when we came up with a riff or a theme and often he’ll base the lyrics on that. The most common topic is misery, suffering, sadness, anger and such. We write about stuff that affect us, so the lyrics too are very personal even if it isn’t too obvious. It is our way of releasing the negativity in our lives.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Illusion Of Control'?
After a few months of rehearsal we eventually came to a point where we needed a name. There were a few ideas kicked around, some better others not so much. While trying to come up with a good name, I went to Wikipedia and started hitting the ‘random page’ button, and the 5th or 6th result was ‘illusion of control’. I liked the sound of it immediately, and it’s meaning too. It is about a certain human trait and how people need to feel in control of things even when they are not. I made a little research and didn’t find any other bands using the name, so I put it up to debate with the others and it went through.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the recording?
Needless to say, we paint a not so bright picture of the future and the artwork bears the same theme: a decaying, grim world, brought on by the greed of those in charge. We know we are not the first, nor the only people with this message, but we feel like this all the same. The picture itself is from around 2011, with a little artistic work by our bassist Pista. I have to admit though that it isn’t a very professional artwork, mainly because we aren’t professional graphic designers. Hopefully our next one will be better.
7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
One of our best shows was our very first one, perhaps because it was so unexpected for us. After we recorded our first song, we submitted it in a local talent contest hoping to get some fair reviews. To our biggest surprise we ended up on the 4th place from almost 50 bands, which meant a live gig in the semifinals. We didn’t win in the semis but the gig was awesome all the same, the place was packed, the crowd was cheering, it was awesome. There were some objectively better shows after that, but the first one is the one that stands out in my memory. Regarding our stage performance, we don’t really jump around the place, however we do some headbanging when the music calls for it, but all in all our playing style is pretty relaxed. Except for our bassist, he’s a freaking party animal.
8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
No, we don’t have any touring plans. Due to the distance between us, family obligations, jobs, other activities, we decided to take some time off from live shows. Also as we don’t have a manager, I took it upon myself to organize the past few gigs, but it proved to be a lot of work for very little payoff and it led to some tension between us. We agreed in the beginning that friendship comes first, the band second.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic and progressive death metal?
I don’t think we have much fans worldwide, but the few reviews that we got were mostly good. Maybe because we are such an unknown band, I appreciate every positive feedback immensely. Perhaps we’d got some more reactions if we wouldn’t suck so bad at self-promotion. I personally have a very strong dislike for this new trend of ‘like-begging’ and shameless online advertising. I am aware that this is the new way to go, but I can’t bring myself to do the same.
10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We already started writing new songs and now that we don’t have to prepare for live gigs anytime soon, hopefully we’ll be a little more productive than usual. In contrast with the past, now we have a very clear goal and that is to release a new material (EP, or even better an LP) in 2019. I don’t know yet what direction we’ll take musically but I’m pretty sure it will be of the heavy kind. Maybe we’ll shoot a video too, who knows.
11.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?
Wow, too many to count. There are some bands that we’re all fans of, but some bands are liked only by a few members. The two single biggest influences are: Opeth (the most major influence on our song structures, clean/harsh vocals) and Nevermore (they inspired the seven string Schecter guitars, the half-step downtuning). Beside them we are fans of death metal, power, doom, thrash, progressive, and we also like some stuff beside metal. The thing I like about metal is that there are so many different genres, and what I listen in any given moment depends mostly on my current mood.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Motorcycles, engineering, sci-fi movies. Most of the band members are medium-to-huge nerds, myself included. We can discuss movies for hours, on and on. And we are pretty big philosophers when the circumstances are right.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interest in our band and let’s hope you’ll hear from us in the near future.
