Interviews : 06/07/2007
Band :
Nile
Interviewed :
George Kollias
Interviewer :
Alorchi Samir
Language :
ZT-webzine : Hi. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Nice talking to you man.
ZT-webzine : When did you start playing drums? Have you ever taken any lessons?
I started when I was 12, I didn’t took lessons the first 5-6 years or so; I am mostly self taught working and learning by ears but I did took lessons later on. Mostly to improve my technique and get some more education about music, I was getting more and more into jazz and other styles so education was really important.
ZT-webzine : What's the idea behind the title of the last album? Have you got what are you looking for in this new album ?
We wanted to use Ithyphallic as the album title for Annihilation of the Wicked, our previous album but Relapse didn’t liked the idea so much and we changed it. Our new label, Nuclear Blast, agreed for this one so we used it for the new album. We think the title represents our music, our fans on the Nile Board were talking about this a lot saying that we play Ithyphallic Metal and we liked it.
I am 100% satisfied with our new album, I believe this is the first time I am so much happy with an album after doing more than 20 albums in my life. We all believe this is the strongest Nile album, our songs are more mature and the musicianship got better too. We were very positive about getting these results since we worked more this time, I remember we were recording the new songs in the practice and then go home and listen to them a million times. Next day we were doing changes on parts, just to get the best out of it. So, the pre-production helped us a lot too…
ZT-webzine : When did you start recording "Ithyphallic" ? Have been any difficulties when you were writing those songs? What's your opinion about this release.
We start rehearsing and composing Ithyphallic around November 2006, then we took a short break and got back to work in January. After working for about 4-5 months we got in the studio.
The new songs are so challenging, I mean, we always had challenging songs but the new stuff is insane! ...When we first started composing the album we were talking about bringing the band a step up and write even better songs as well as play the best we can. So we practice a lot and had so many new ideas to add in there.
Karl started bringing songs with some insane riffs on weird time signatures in first place so I knew this is going to be something different and very interesting. Dallas did the same too, so we started working together and build up some songs which will have our mark on but will be include all these new ideas as well. As I told you, the new album is definitely challenging like never before…and for our opinion this is the best Nile album ever!!
ZT-webzine : what's the difference between "Ithyphallic" and another albums ?
I think Ithyphallic is a more “mature” album, which makes total sense since we are together for a long time but it’s also more challenging than the rest. We always keep pushing our limit, that’s the way we will keep working in the future too, you will never hear and “ok” album from Nile…
I believe this album contains new elements which are really nicely worked up together to fit the song and our vibe as band. Also this time we managed to get a stronger feel out of the songs, you can hear some of the fastest and complicated songs as well as some really slow and doomy parts with all this dark vibe in there, most of the times on the same song which is extremely hard to do.
ZT-webzine : the best song on "Ithyphallic" and why?
You know this might be a very typical answer but I love all our songs the same…true! Each song on Ithyphallic has its own feel, we wouldn’t keep any of them if we didn’t believe that these are the ONES! ... Now, just a few days before Ozzfest it’s so hard for us to get a set list and choose which songs we are going to play from Ithyphallic …So we picked up more than half of the album and we are still feel bad about the rest of the songs that stayed out…
ZT-webzine: How are fans responding to the new material? Are the fans enjoying the new songs in concerts?
Oh yeah, we played 2 of the new songs on our tour in Australia/N.Zealand and the fans loved them! Even from the reviews there are great comments about Ithyphallic so far and I believe we are going to hear even better things when people get into the album more.
I believe this album is a classic one; it needs much of listening for you to get into it, especially if you are not familiar with Nile’s albums. But when you get into it you will never go away….
ZT-webzine: What are your touring plans?
We got Ozzfest for this summer which starts this week and it’s going to last for 2 months along with our Headline shows that we’re doing on the Ozzfest day offs. Then we have a European Tour with Six Feet Under and Marduk for November, the dates will be up soon for this also, and then we’ll have some more in 2008 like Japan, South America etc. The touring schedule is going to be huge, Nile is a live band so we want to tour as much as possible.
ZT-webzine : What is in the future for NILE? Are there things that the band wants to achieve that you haven't achieved yet?
Yes, we always have goals and we will always try to get the best we can. Like I told you before, Nile is a band that goes for the best, this is the reason we play in this band… So, on the next album you will find the band pushing the limits more.
ZT-webzine : How do you look at the music you play? Is it just extreme music? Do you think about the technicality at all?
Yes, it’s technical as hell…….ha ha, but it’s metal 100%, even if you have the skills to get there you got to have the feel too, there is no other way to do it I am sure. So yes, I believe we belong to the extreme side of metal and needs a lot of work to be able to keep up…
ZT-webzine
: Tell me something about your story with "Sickening Horror". and differences
between it and Nile?
I left Sickening Horror since February so I can’t tell you much….ha ha. There is nothing similar to Sickening and Nile, its 2 different bands, completely.
ZT-webzine : What can you tell us about 'When Landscapes Bled Backwards'. How did you develop the songs, what inspired you?
Well, nothing and all. I mean, I am listening to any style of music and I get what I believe it’s good for my music each time. I am not copying any particular things, just let the music flow and do the best for the songs.
ZT-webzine: When you joined Nile? Did you find "Karl" or did he find you? How did it all happen?
I join the band around summer 2004. Karl and Dallas saw some of my videos online and they thought I was the right drummer for Nile so they just asked me to join them. I was a big fan of Nile for years so that was a great surprise for me. Derek Roddy was the one who recommended me to the guys, since Derek is a very good friend of Nile and a great drummer the guys trust him a lot. Then I flew to the States and started working on the new material non stop and that’s it. Since then the band is a unit, we have a great vibe in the band and we are working really well together.
ZT-webzine:
how do you think the band has evolved musically and personally?
I think we flow at the same concept about making music, even from the first time we jammed we knew this line up will match really well; we compose all the songs together and each one brings his own ideas on the table.
Our relation outside the band is awesome too, we never had any kind of problems and we are really good friends. For me it was always important to have a great communication between the band members and we are definitely like this now.
ZT-webzine : Where do you get your inspiration from to create the music of Nile ?
I listen to everything and I use whatever fits on my musical taste, there isn’t any particular source to give me the inspiration I need, I get inspiration from everything good I hear. And mostly for our music, most of the times the ideas are coming so naturally because the song “asks” for it, you know?
About my parts now, I am very much into Modern Drumming a lot, I listen many great players out there and practice as much as I can. For Ithyphallic, I remember me watching Marco Minnemann’s and Thomas Lang’s latest drum dvds so I think I got some more stuff from them in my playing for this album.
ZT-webzine : Do you play any other type of music besides Death Metal? If yes which one?
Yes, I am always trying to play any style so I can make myself a better musician. I spend a lot of time playing along to different music and jam with some people as well.
ZT-webzine : Have you ever been to Morocco?
No but I know many things about your beautiful country; I would love to visit Morocco soon though!!!
ZT-webzine : If you 'll be invited to playing here in morocco, do you accept about this invitation?
We never had an offer to play in Morocco, we would love to get there and play for you guys!
ZT-webzine : Which shows have marked your mind the most?
I think my first US Tour was the most important for me, It was the harder tour so far because we did it on a van so we had to drive ourselves to each venue as well. I remember myself carrying and setting up my drum set, do the show and then drive for 5-10 hours non stop. Really tough but these tours always leave a great memory. I also met so many people like some of my drum heroes which was just amazing!
ZT-webzine
: Can you tell any interesting or funny stories concerning NILE, maybe about
your life or on the stage ?
I remember in Seattle while we were playing Cast Down The Heretic my right trigger got fucked so I had to pull all these blasts with my left foot and I did it fine! I do this pretty often but Cast Down is a very fast and long song….after that day I came up with some exercises for left foot, ha ha ha, you never know what you have to do to keep the show going on….
ZT-webzine : Do you have anything you would like to say to the readers of Zero tolerance webzine ?
I want to thank Zero Tolerance and you for the nice talk, I hope everyone will get a listen to our new album and hope they’ll like it! See you all on the road, don’t miss the chance to watch Nile this year!
ZT-webzine : Thank you for taking the time to do this interview.And let the Metal Flow
Thanks Samir, all the best!
George Kollias
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