Zisis Petkanas and Rock Overdose conducted an interview with KREATOR's quitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö! Enjoy it!
Rockoverdose.gr: Good afternoon Sami and welcome to Rock Overdose.gr. How are you?
Sami: Thank you very much, I'm so glad I'm talking with you. I'm very well and I'm waiting for the release of our new album in 1 June. There is only one show left for our previous album, in Rock in Rio in Lisbow in a few days. Apart from those, I'm relaxed, thank you.
Rockoverdose.gr: Let's begin with your past. How do you feel being on of the most important thrash metal bands from Germany?
Sami: Hahahaha, thank you very much for this! I 've been in Kreator for 11 years, the first album I recorded with them was "Violent Revolution" back in 2000 - 2001 and all we are fine untill now and can't wait for the release of the new album. Everything goes great.
Rockoverdose.gr: You must very proud of being a member in Kreator.
Sami: Thank you very much, I don't feel it every day, but now with the new album I start believing in it.
Rockoverdose.gr: Now about the new album. What should we expect?
Sami: There is already the called single - track which is not exactly a single, but it worts a lot promoting and it's called "Phantom Antichrist". There is also and a video for this song and you can check it in YouTube. It shows how the album is, it contains 10 or 11 songs according to the edition and mainly this is the style of music that is heard. We worked a lot on it for a long time and all are excited.
Rockoverdose.gr: I think it's a classic sound of Kreator, classical heavy sound.
Sami: Yes, of course and it will be a wild album because it comes from Kreator. We recorded the basic structures of the songs live and so there is a common feeling. That's what happened the previous Janouary in Sweden with producer Jens Borgen, a greta producer who made us do our best. That era was very strong for us.
Rockoverdose.gr: Also you covered Iron Maiden right?
Sami: Yes. Metal - Hammer magazine from Germany because of the 30th anniversary of "Number of the Beast" they asked us covering this song for the CD which will be given in the next issue. When it was heard by the men of Nuclear Blast, they though it would be good as a b - side with the single. So in the vinyl of "Phantom Antichrist" there is that song on the other side of it. That means it won't be in the next album.
Rockoverdose.gr: Nice, so it's only in the issue of the single as a bonus track. Was it your desicion or was it proposed to you?
Sami: Mainly no. It was proposed to us by the Metal - Hammer magazine since we told them we would like to do a cover like that. in the beginning I though it was a silly idea because it's a so classic song that nobody should cover it just like "Highway to Hell" or "Hell's Bells". These are too "sacred" songs to be captured by someone. But we gave the chance to ourselves and when we realized that it wouldn't be embarrassing and that also our personal seal was in it, we said it let's release it.
Rockoverdose.gr: What was the reaction of the fans and the media?
Sami: I don't know. I just know that this song is in YouTube and finally there are some nice comments. In general there were many comments, but I would propose to the people not to take it for granted, it won't be in the next album. It's just in the single as a bonus track and became as an idea for the 30th anniversary of "Number of the Beast".
Rockoverdose.gr: Of course, one of my favorite albums and not only for me.
Sami: Of course a classic favorite album that changed many lifes.
Rockoverdose.gr: Let's go bsck to the new album. About the video - clip of "Phantom Antichrist" was it a hard work until the final result?
Sami: There is a combany of producers from Poland called Grupa 13. We saw some videos they made for some bands and for example a really good video was for Behemoth, a great band that I really like. We thought that by the time we wanted to do a video - clip we should do it on the right way. There aren't many people who do nowadays video - clips because the whole business has disappeared and some are not sure if it worths, but Grupa 13 is the "Last of Mohicans" which does this for the metal bands and this is good. So we called them and their work was fantastic. The shootings of the video for us lasted only one day, but the work after it for the rest parts of the video and till the edit and the final result lasted one month.
Rockoverdose.gr: It lasted one day for the shootings?
Sami: Yes it wasn't something difficult. We just went to Vrotoslav of Poland and we spent just one day there, it wasn't difficult for us and we picked our instruments together. When you are doing a video - clip, you are not playing the song, it's playback. So you don't have to concentrate on it.
Rockoverdose.gr: Will we see and another video from the upcoming album?
Sami: There aren't any plans for the rest songs, but in the special edition with the DVD there will be some live clips from the last year in Wacken and some video - clips from 2006. There will be also and a documentary, but nothing has been heard for a second video, I don't think that it would interest someone, we will see.
Rockoverdose.gr: Why not? You have played in Wacken several times right?
Sami: Yes, the last 11 years I am in the band we are there every two or three years. I really like, there is a lot of people and the DVD is always fantastic, makes you have a lot of feelings. It's really good for a band to release a DVD from Wacken. This year we are not going to be there because of our show in Metalfest in Europe. The first will take place in Austria the last day of May and there will be many of this in the rest Europe but unhopefully not in Greece. It will take place in Helvetia, in Germany and goes on. These festivals are unique for those countries and as a result we won't available for Wacken this year.
Rockoverdose.gr: Which will be the rest bands of Metalfest?
Sami: Megadeth will be headliners of the second day, we the first and Blind Guardian the last day. but there are also great bands taking part just like Swallow The Sun from Finland and Ensiferum. Many and good bands. This festival usually last tree days.
Rockoverdose.gr: I understand that it is too difficult to see a festival like this in Greece, but it's easier to see only you, Kreator in our country. is greece in your touring plans?
Sami: It may be because our last tour with Exodus last December, while it should be in Greece, it didn't make it because of some problems that the americans bands of the fest faced. We just had 3,5 weeks to do that tour and we didn't even get to Finland, something it wasn't good for me as I am from there and I live there. Our next European tour will begin on 2 of December, nothing has been announced yet and it will be a tour of two months. i haven't seen the schedule yet but Greece must be inside, we always have special shows there and we haven't played in your country for a long time.
Rockoverdose.gr: The Greek crowd is from the best as many bands have mentioned.
Sami.gr: Of course, for Kreator we have done our best live in Greece, much succeded shows that stay in mind for a long time after the shows. Fantastic crowd. Therefor I say it was a big mistake we didn't play to you in our last tour, the schedule and the bands were restricted generally.
Rockoverdose.gr: Your next tour will contain and other bands or will you be on your own?
Sami: It will be a tour on a "package", the company that arranges the bands, Rock The Nation usually has three bands with a good name and another one upcoming. We aren't certain which bands will be there but it will be something that worths for the people to be there.
Rockoverdose.gr: I have heard something for Hyprocisy, not as scheduled.
Sami: There has been scheduled something like that but it's unable to happen because they are an american band. Nothing is certain yet and it would be silly of me to say something without knowing of. I could say many things but it would be stupid if nothing happened.
Rockoverdose.gr: Do you like to get experimented with your music just like in "Endorama"?
Sami: Of course, but Kreator is an old band, lives more than 25 years and also we know what's the best we can do and this is tough thrash metal. On this we mainly based but in every album there is a different kind of experimentation, every new song is an experiment. We are always careful not to repeat ourselves something that is difficult to avoid, but I think we did it on the next album.
Rockoverdose.gr: So you think that the difficult way is the best for your music, you don't have to be more relaxed. Because the fans know Kreator as they are now.
Sami: Yes, that's true, with Jurgen "Ventor" clobbering his drums and Mille singing, it's aytomatically something tough and wild in music. It's physical that our music goes to this way.
Rockoverdose.gr: We have seen many bands changing their way of music just like Paradise Lost, Megadeth through "Risk", Metallica and others. Why do you think is happening this, changing their style and sometimes radically?
Sami: Sometimes it's very important for a band when it feels repeating itself and recording the same album again and again because it's tired. The musician as every artist shoyld try and find what else there is so that he will be experimented in his music. Sometimes this may be wrong. "Risk" for example was something wrong, a bad risk. I just prefer "Peace Sells".
Rockoverdose.gr: Is there any other song or band in general you'd like to make covers of in the future?
Sami: With Kreator, I'm not so sure. And that's because everyone here in the band have a genuine idea about our instruments, and not so compromising, I could say. To cover other bands isn't the right way for Kreator to work; "Number of the Beast" was an exception and it was very fun, but we have the problem that we have lots of albus and lots of tracks that we have to leave out of the live shows and we thought it'd be good for us to play them. There's no time for much else. We've played some tracks in the studio for fun, but that's it.
Rockoverdose.gr: What is your opinion on covers? Many pop singers cover metal songs.
Sami: There are good and bad opinions on that subject; you can't have a general opinion. You can only have an opinion on specific covers. In general, if someone wants to honor someone else and cover one of their songs, then there's no problem.
Rockoverdose.gr: For example, Celine Dion covered AC/DC. You can find it on YouTube.
Sami: Oh, I'm not sure if I even want to hear that. I doubt if it would be interesting to hear. But, Tori Amos covering Slayer was also boring and very weird. Sometimes though, it might be a success. For instance, there's an American band covering AC/DC. They sound good, but I had some issues while listening to the album. I could say it was different and fresh.
Rockoverdose.gr: During your time with Kreator, which could you say was the craziest moment there, and which was your worst?
Sami: My best times will always be the live shows we give. The shows in Greece are always special, and we played "Phantom Antichrist" for the first time in front of a crowd at Metalfest in Chile a few weeks ago too. That was an awesome moment. As far as the worst times are concerned, anything can happen when you're on the road; buses and cars break down, you get delayed at airports, and that's all very tiring at some point. It's not the easiest thing. But in general, I don't have something specific to remember.
Rockoverdose.gr: That's really good. Let's move on to the last two questions. Which would you say is the key to success in the albums "Pleasure to Kill" and "Hordes of Chaos"?
Sami: When you talk about underground success that led to mainstream success, I haven't played on "Pleasure to Kill", and when I listen to it today, what I find interesting and awesome is, first of all, the clean aggressiveness and ferocity that it brings out, and even though it hasn't been played right, it's been played with lots of enthusiasm and anger and restlessness and we don't care if we're playing it right or how it's been written. That's what I believe "Pleasure to Kill" is. As far as "Hordes of Chaos" where I did play, I don't have much to say, but I gave it my all.
Rockoverdose.gr: Which is your favorite Kreator album?
Sami: When you're right before releasing a new album, you're always really excited about it. I'll say that I'm really happy with the production and the new tracks and that we're just waiting for it to be released. So I'll definitely say the new one. I know everyone says that, but I really mean it.
Rockoverdose.gr: How is the Press reacting to the new album, if they are?
Sami: I don't think there are any reviews around, since no one's really listened to all of it. As a musician, you do what you think is best in the studio and the music that comes out is beyond your control; you can't do much else than hope people willlike it.
Rockoverdose.gr: Before we end the interview, would you like to announce anything else special?
Sami: Around December we'll come to Greece, so come to the show, and in general just go to gigs and buy metal albums and keep the scene alive.
Rockoverdose.gr: I believe that metal music today is evolving more and more, and into something better. We're not in the '80s, but at least we're trying for the best.
Sami: Yeah, hopefully, we're all trying for the best.
Rockoverdose.gr: Thanks for the interview! We hope to meet you in Greece. Say hello to Kreator!
Sami: Thanks a lot, have a great weekend, and thanks for your interest! Bye!
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