Interviews: Caelestia

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Death Metal band Caelestia 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 plan it or come out just like that?

First of all, thank you very much for the interview opportunity. “Caelestia” is a Latin word for all things heavenly. It makes a sharp contrast with the dark lyrics and the current extreme musical direction of the band. It was conceived back in 2013, by one of our former members. It came out as a result of searching, in the context of the aforementioned contrast between heaven & hell, light & darkness, and all things similar.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We have come a long way since our early days. Each official release was a step in this process. We began with more orchestral parts and female vocals (alongside brutal male vocals), and more complex song structures. After the line-up changes, the whole process of songwriting also changed; as the sole composer, my influences are more guitar-oriented and rooted in the traditional death and extreme metal genre, rather than the symphonic one. Of course, the matter of the style change was discussed and agreed upon by all members. Hence came about the change in direction, something which suits us more as a band, in my opinion.

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

Most of us knew each other, being members of similar bands in the Greek metal scene. So, more or less, we had established friendships, which later became band partnerships.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Nice question, we will quote two favorite bands of each member: Vassilis Thomas (At The Gates – Morbid Angel), Pantelis Daskalelos (Cradle Of Filth – Malevolent Creation), Stelios Tragos (Death – Atheist), Marc Reign (early Death – early Morbid Angel – early Iron Maiden).

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Inspiration comes from a variety of things, such as a state of mind, a feeling, a certain event, or just listening to new music or going to concerts and interacting with other musicians. In our case, the guitar riff is the cornerstone of every composition of the band. Each song is based on guitar riffs that are relevant and coherent to each other, and then the other parts of the song come naturally, such as the chorus or interludes. We often change keys and tonalities between different song parts, something that makes the overall structure more intriguing.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was at a mini festival in Slovakia.

7. Where would you like to act?

On the biggest stages possible, we’d say ;).

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

First of all, everyone whom we state as our musical influence. And secondly, any other musician who wants to collaborate with us and we appreciate their work. 2 

9. Whom not?

The ones we do not appreciate, apparently.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Everyone who plays their music in front of an audience has stage anxiety of course. Our first appearance was at a small stage in our hometown Athens, among other new bands, and our last stage appearance was at a mini festival in Slovakia, as I mentioned earlier. The best thing one can do to avoid stage anxiety is to practice as much and thoroughly as one can. Practice makes perfect, and it is often what distinguishes bands that stand out.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

We can state the whole extreme metal scene as our influence, reaching from old-school death pioneers to modern death and extreme metal bands. As far as individual musicians who inspired me as a guitar player and composer, I can easily name Chuck Schuldiner, Trey Azagthoth, and Ihsahn. Our favorite bands range from Death, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel & Emperor to modern bands like At The Gates, Amon Amarth, Kataklysm, Atheist, Unleashed, and Vltimas.

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

We haven’t had any such requests yet; We don’t know what the future holds. We guess we’ll have to wait and see. Nevertheless, we think that the extreme metal audience doesn’t have the tendency to ask “weird” things from their favorite bands. Just to play their music as well as they can.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Fans' and fans' reactions are the cornerstones for every band that wants to make a difference out there in the European and international metal scene. So, we highly respect our fans and we try to give them the best of our effort, each time we release new music or each time we play live.

14. What do you think of our site?

We happened to browse it, and it’s really rich in content, and the format is great and user-friendly. We were astonished by the immense number of featured bands, interviews, and news. Keep up the good work supporting the international modern metal scene…!

15. Something to add?

It’s been quite a journey so far, and we still feel that we have the same (and even more) passion to do things, as we had in 2013, when we were starting up. We will continue to improve our songwriting and overall music. We are entering a new era as a band, and we can say that we have lots of good things in store for the future, and we can’t wait to share them with our listeners…!