Ajna Offensive Artist Weapon Interview is up 12/14/2010
1. I know very little about Weapon tell us a bit about this Blackened Death/Thrash force..
Weapon is a Satanic Black / Death metal band from Edmonton, Canada. I started the band in early 2003 and thus far we have released one Demo tape, two 7” EPs and two full-length albums.
2. I just received your album " from the devils tomb" its bombastic, haunting and melodic all at the same time. Have you always had that strong Thrash element in your Black metal sound?
Personally I don’t hear a thrash element in our sound. If you’re referring to our usage of palm-muted, down picked riffs, that’s mostly derived from Florida DM bands. There is a strong sense of melody in our music, which mostly comes from our appreciation of bands like Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest etc.
3. How did Weapon come to work with the mighty Aina Offensive? A label that is very select on who or what they work with?
I had contact with Ajna back when we were signed to Full Moon Productions. They bought some EPs from me and that’s how our correspondence started. Indeed, Ajna is a highly selective label regarding what bands they work with. Such a work ethic is to be admired, indeed.
4. There is a strong eastern element to your music as well if I'm not mistaken. Is this an important part to the over all sound?
It’s one of those ‘unavoidable’ things due to my background and the band members’ collective appreciation for Eastern music. It is important in that we use that element in the right way without turning it into a gimmick. We are a Metal band, above all.
5. You worked with Full Moon Productions for while how was that. I've heard mix stories from bands with FMP. Is Ajna a better home for the more avant sound you create?
There is no comparison between the two. The Ajna Offensive is the epitome of a professional yet idealistic record label. Full Moon Productions were reputable at one time, but nowadays they have nothing going for them whatsoever; it’s their own fault for not being able to adapt to the business and not being professional when dealing with their bands.
6. Does Weapon like to perform live? I just read you had to cancel a tour is all ok on the band front?
We really enjoy playing live but are selective about the gigs we play. As for what you are referring to, we had to cancel our headlining appearance at a festival in Texas, which was due to some visa issues.
7. You have a very impressive website http://www.weaponchakra.com/ most just live with myspace. Tell us how it came to be and its very informative thank you for that.
A comprehensive website is important for Weapon. Myspace is fine for giving people a chance to listen to our music, but at the end of the day most people use it is a social networking site, and we aren’t interested in that and we certainly don’t use it for that purpose. Ultimately, all these things are mere tools to spread the word and attain more exposure.
8. On " from the devils tomb" is there a theme or story line or is it just a collection of Dark Metal Hymns?
There’s no story line per se, but the overall theme in every single Weapon release is that of Satanism and various Left Hand Path traditions. We don’t make concept albums, yet our entire discography is part of the same concept – discussing, analyzing and dissection the tenets of our god and our religion.
9. Will there be any professional videos or Dvds made for Weapon as your atmosphere and themes would really fit that format as well?
When the time is right, yes. We are still a fairly young band so I think it would be a tad premature to plan a DVD release at this stage. Once we have a respectable amount of tours / gigs under our belts, we will definitely look into releasing a DVD. A video may happen sooner than that, though. Watch our website for news on this.
10. Do the members of Weapon create or work in any other projects (Metal or Non) just curious?
Every member of the band has very diverse musical interests but we don’t have any other projects going on at the moment. Weapon is our number one priority and it takes up a lot of time.
11. What are your thought on the digital music and media age? does it upset Weapon as band or do digtal audio, webzines and myspace just help get the band ideal and sounds out there?
Nothing in life is free, so on that basis alone I am strongly opposed to the free downloading of music. Digital formats are part of the paradigm right now, so I don’t have a problem if people are paying for the music that they secure digitally. Personally I prefer to have the real thing in my hands, but adaptability is key in ‘making it’ in any industry. Regardless, we won’t compromise our beliefs and musical style to fit into anything.
12. Is there any thing musically Weapon would like to incorp into its sounds that just haven't had a chance to or maybe it didnt work?
Anything we have experimented with thus far has worked in our favor. I can’t give away any secrets regarding what we have planned for future releases, so you and everyone else will jut have to wait and see what we have in store.
13. The music it so layered on CD is it hard to match this live?
Only the parts that feature organ / keys and the vocal choir are missing from our live set; every thing else we are able to pull of live. Weapon is definitely a 2-guitar band; it would be near impossible to execute the music live with one guitarist.
14.Thanks for the time any closing thoughts here.
We are only getting started. Hail Satan.
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