Interviews: Malignant

In this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the  Metallic Hardcore/Beatdown band Malignant from Greece. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that? 

Aimilios (vocals): I was fucking around with Mario(our guitarist) trying to find a name for the band and I remembered a song by Traitors called Malignant and we liked the idea and the sound of the name so we stuck with it.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We've been involved with the hardcore scene since our early teen years in many ways, and it was always a genre whose music, community and messages spoke to us. We love hardcore and what it stands for, so it was rather natural to write music within this genre.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

We've all been friends for years, so this band made total sense when we decided we wanted to make this happen.

4. Each band member favourite band?

Aimilios: I have a lot of favourite bands. At the moment I really love Brutality Will Prevail and some others I like are Desolated, Malevolence, Turnstile, Knocked Loose, STYG, Jesus Piece, Vein, Code Orange and Full of Hell.

Mario (guitar): I'd say Being As An Ocean, they've always meant a lot to me. Their music and lyrics speak to me on a very personal and intimate level that never fails to touch my emotions. Next in line would be Stick To Your Guns, Have Heart and Vein.

Paris (drums): It's very difficult for me to mention only one band but if I had to pick one it would be Stick To Your Guns because that band made me wanna be in a band and their lyrics have helped me through some rough times.

Michalis (bass): Probably Bullet for my Valentine, they are the reason I started listening to heavy music.

Giorgos (guitar): My favourite band is Slipknot, it is the band that got me into heavier music and I have much respect for their music. I believe it is the perfect band that combines heaviness, melody, sadness and their sound in general is so unique.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Mario: Pretty much everything that happens around us works as an inspiration. Make it be bands we love, or what happens in our society, in the world, in our lives. Everything that is important to each of us can fuel the flame behind a song.

Aimilios: Mario is the brain behind the lyrics but I would also like to write more about suffering, mental illness and give a dark vibe to our stuff.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Mario: Our last gig was our first show out of town, at an Antifa Festival in Patra. We went there with out brothers in Bellum Veritas and had so much fun, the place popped and everything went better than how we imagined it to be.

Paris: Also, it marked one year of us playing together in a band, it was the fist time we played with two guitar players and we played many new songs for the first time. So yeah, a lot of 'firsts' came with this show.

7. Where would you like to act?

This is a really tough question. Lots of places. It would be really cool to play anywhere outside our city and country. Venezia Hardcore Fest would be insane too. If we're talking about our wildest dreams, events like Sound and Fury, Fluff Fest, Outbreak Fest, and of course This is Hardcore. Honestly, anywhere in Philly would be legendary. At the end of the day, we would just love to travel outside of our country, meet new people, see new cultures.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Mario: Since the very inception of this band, I had a list of some of my absolute favourite guests for this band. Lots of people would be sick, some favourites are Anthony DiDio, Peter Rono, Keith Buckley, Connie Sgarbossa, Tyler Mullen, James Pligge, Jess Nyx and Aaron Heard.

Aimilios: Really good question. I guess Jesus Piece or Varials for the rawness, also bands like Mortality Rate or Venom Prison for the diversity they'd give to our sound.

Michalis: Generally, we would love to get members from bands that really inspired us. But we would also love to collaborate with our brothers in Bellum Veritas, so look out for that in the future.

9. Whom not?

This is a rather odd question as no one specific comes in mind. We wouldn't like anyone with views that are opposite than ours to feature on our music as that would tarnish the message we're trying to spread, so basically anyone that supports any kind of racism or fascism with their words and actions, or people that care about money and not the music.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?  

Being a very new band we're still trying to figure out on how to get over stage fright, but some good tips are definitely to take deep breaths, try meditating or exercising a bit before going on stage, and just imagine that you're just jamming in your garage. Also, don't let a single mistake ruin the rest of the set. 

Giorgos: Stage fright doesn't really go away, you just learn to manage it. 

Aimilios: Overprepearing is bad and just try to not think of it as a gig but more like a usual day of practice with the band. It works for me at least.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?  

This is a very difficult question, as countless artists come to mind. Mainly bands and individuals that work incredibly hard and truly love what they do. Anyone from Vein and Harms Way to Jesus Piece, Foundation, Incendiary, One King Down, Racetraitor and so many more.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

We've not had anyone ask for anything weird, at least not yet.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We appreciate so much anyone that supports us. We have been a band for a very short period of time and the amount of love, support and help we've received so far has been beyond overwhelming.

14. What do you think of our site?

We think that what you and many others do is very important in supporting the underground scene on a worldwide level. Sites like BTC help so many bands spread the word of their music to people that wouldn't have a way of knowing them otherwise.

15. Something to add?

We just released our very first PROMO and it's up on Bandcamp and youtube. The main inspiration behind it has been the massacre of the elephants of this world. Yet another one of the animal species left on this earth is being wiped out by us and there are not enough people with power doing something to fix this. The atrocities we bring upon this planet will be irreversible if we don't do something about it collectively and fast. All of the online proceeds from the SATAO PROMO will be donated to the Big Life Foundation to support their elephant conservation projects, in an effort to do our part in fixing this. Check it out if you're a fan of furious metallic hardcore. You can also find our merch on Bandcamp. We would also like to add that we have new songs written for our first EP and we have some shows scheduled that we are very excited about. Also, a quick shoutout to some bands from our scene: Bellum Veritas, Kin Corruption, Mavro Gala, Never-Trust, Slowheart, TripNote, My Turn, Kalpa, Insect Radio, Blame Kandinsky, Con Artist, Senserase.

Lastly, we'd like to thank you guys for having us and giving us your time.