Interview with Blind Saviour, Power Metal Band from Malta

Interview with Blind Saviour, Power Metal Band from Malta

Blind Saviour is Power Metal Band from MAxxar, Malta. They're Karl Friggieri - Bass, Robert Friggieri - Drums, Aldo Chircop - Guitars, Campos Gellel - Guitars, and Rachel Grech - Vocals. Blind Saviour gave us some information. Check it out.

Tell us about Blind Saviour? (RACHEL)

We are a female fronted power metal band hailing from the Mediterranean island of Malta. Blind Saviour was born from the ashes of another band - Phantom Lord, which featured Robert on drums, Karl on bass and Aldo on guitar. Later I joined on vocals and Campos was recruited on guitars in 2013. Since then we've been having a blast recording and playing together at various local metal festivals and on our mini UK tour this July.

What are lyrical themes of Blind Saviour? (KARL)

The ‘Master Plan’ is a concept album, containing 11 tracks written round a story-line I wrote a few years ago, featuring fictional characters and places in a post-apocalyptic setting;

The year is 2229. The place - Snadeton-on-Thys in the Lands of Horiulle, somewhere in what used to be Central Europe. The world has changed considerably - humanity has long destroyed itself and the world it inhabits.

What remain today are various scattered groups or clans; survivors of the War of the New Order which started years back in 2117. This brought about the sudden rise of the Robot Clans. For humanity this was the beginning of the end. What came after was a series of bloody wars for survival, spreading over a number of decades; nothing but last ditch attempts by the humans to try and salvage their patrimony and their own existence…

Throughout the album one finds a few of the popular themes associated with this musical style - a clearly defined good vs evil plot and the inclusion of epic battles between surviving human clans and their robot oppressors. The hero of the story is Blind Saviour himself, a character who remains shrouded in mystery throughout the course of the saga. His quest is clear - to defeat his nemesis Lord Jackson Trukx and his Robot Rulers...

What are your influences? (ROBERT)

All members have different musical inspirations though we all agree and push towards a fast-paced, powerful yet melodic style. Aldo, Karl and I have known each other for quite some time now and we immediately sought out to play something which is directly associated with the broad heavy metal genre. However we realized that we faced quite a daunting task to actually understand what each one of us really liked and what we really wanted our music to sound like. ‘The Master Plan’, is characterised by catchy melodies, power and speed. These ingredients transcend from the music which we have always listened to; bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Helloween & Rhapsody of Fire, to name a few.

Can you tell us about Metal Scene in Your Malta? (ROBERT)

Well, we come from a very small island in the Mediterranean and it therefore goes without saying that our local metal community is also very limited. Additionally, as you would expect, this community is again split into sub genres and sub groups which make it even smaller. It is also true, however, that members are quite faithful and loyal towards the bands they support and follow.

How were the songs written? (KARL)

When I had shown the story to my twin brother Robert and Aldo, we immediately discussed the possibility of working on a concept album and Aldo got to work soon after, writing all the tracks with the exception of Dawn of Victory, which was co-written by Aldo, Robert and myself.

The 11 tracks on the album are pretty much key moments within the storyline, which could easily be adapted to chapters within this epic tale. With this brief Aldo set to work, creating the songs and taking a direct inspiration from what each chapter was about; whether it was the mounting tension and uncertainty of the intro – ‘Beyond the Portals of the Four Winds’, the exasperation expressed by the human survivors in ‘Brink of Destruction’, or moments of reflection conveyed in ‘The Day After’ or the fast paced aggression and optimism that come out in tracks like ‘The Episode’ and ‘Dawn of Victory’…

I think ‘The Master Plan’ is an adrenaline rush, which should go down well among fans and followers of the genre.

How did the recording process go? (ROBERT)

The album is self-produced and was recorded at three different locations, over an extended period of time. Aldo, who wrote almost all the tracks on the album had initially sent us pretty much finalized demos of the album. There were some discussions and some tracks were tweaked accordingly, after which we proceeded to record our individual performances; drums and bass at my home studio, while all guitars and keyboards at Aldo's place, using his own setup. Vocals were finally recorded at the band’s rehearsal space at another studio.

Putting it mildly, I’d say the whole recording process took quite some time – just over a year in fact. The subsequent mixing and mastering process took a fair amount of time, therefore postponing the album release even further. However, it is also true that we had agreed that this project was to be strictly self-produced, including the artwork for the CD itself. This decision including our, at times, very laid-back approach, also meant that we could fine tune as we progressed. With the benefit of hindsight though, we are determined that our second album will be recorded, mastered and released in a different manner, making it feel less of an ordeal and hopefully making it possible for the band to release more material with a shorter turnaround; yes, we have loads of ideas brewing for further releases!

What are you future plans? (KARL)

The official album launch here in Malta, is imminent so we are busy planning for this event, after which we hope to be able to secure a couple of festivals abroad to continue promoting our debut record. This summer we played 3 gigs in the UK – this was our first tour away from the island and we all had a great time, meeting fellow metal bands and quite a few enthusiastic metal heads who liked the music.

Our aim is to keep working on the musical direction we have established, most probably carrying on along the lines of the epic tale that is the setting for our debut album. After all, when I wrote ‘The Master Plan’ I envisioned this to be the opening chapter of a much longer saga…

Then again, it might be the first of a trio of albums or it might be a one-off, stand-alone kind of work, who knows? Time will tell… At this stage we are happy to have successfully completed work on our debut album and we are looking forward to promoting it as much as possible.

One thing’s certain - 2017 will definitely see us working on new material for a follow-up to ‘The Master Plan.’ Personally, I’ve got a lot of new material, some of which, I hope will feature on the new record. So, watch this space!

Are there any countries you’re interested in touring or performing in? Why? (KARL)

Hmmm… That’s a good question! Well, I think that it is already really cool and pretty awesome to have the opportunity to travel abroad in order to tour and play in another country. Although we have only toured once, it was a truly unforgettable experience because it makes you realise that you’re  doing something you love and also having the opportunity to meet new bands and to perform in front of fellow metal heads from another country, who although might not speak your language, still share something in common with you – and that is the music you are playing. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind performing in countries like Italy, Germany or Japan where power metal is pretty big! Any country in South America would also be amazing!

What bands would you like to play alongside? (ROBERT)

There are numerous bands we would all like to share the stage with, especially if this happens to be one of our favourites. It would indeed be a dream come true and a lifelong accomplishment to have such an opportunity! However, I think sharing the stage, even with less known bands and fellow musicians is always an honour and it really makes the whole experience worthwhile.

Any last words? (RACHEL)

Well, we would like to say a big thank you to BDP metal for giving us this interview and to your readers. You can log onto our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/blindsaviourbandmalta/ for more news about the band and our debut album ‘The Master Plan’, which is available for digital download from i-tunes, Amazon, Google play, Spotify and other on-line stores. The CD and other merchandise items are available directly from the band or from our page on Bandcamp. Alternatively, one may contact us via messenger or on our email address blind_saviour@yahoo.com. Stay Metal!! \m/