INTERVIEW WITH METALSTEEL

Questions answered by: Alex, Matej, Rok, Beni, Jaša
Interview took place on 1/3/2002 in Medvode, Slovenia
Interview prepared by: Anja

Metalsteel is a Slovenian band from Medvode, near Ljubljana. It consists of five young guys aged 12 and 14. I know, I know, the first thing that jumps into your mind is - Deathkids. But Metalsteel don't play Death Metal. They are more into Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. I caught them during rehearsal in their home town. This is what they told me:

Tell me something about your history. How did you get together?

Rok: At first it was only me and the vocalist. We were playing together and we wanted to form a band. Then we found Beni, our solo guitarist. At that time we were playing Iron Maiden's songs. We also had some songs of our own. We exercised in my room at first. Then we had to move to our singer's garage because we already had too much equipment.
Beni: We found the bass player and the drummer through one of my schoolmates.
Rok: At that time Alex left the band and came back latter as a singer.

Who encouraged you to start to play seriously?

Alex: Jadran.
Everyone: No, actually... the music itself... and our parents... they have helped us a lot... but we decided ourselves. We are very grateful to our parents.

Which bands do you listen to and which bands have influence on your music?

Alex: Cradle of Filth.
Matej: Guns n' Roses and Iron Maiden.
Rok: Manowar. I'm a big fan of Manowar.
Beni: Children of Bodom and Metallica.
Jaša: Metallica and Dissection. And The Doors.

How do you come to an agreement when writing music?

Matej: Everyone does his own part.
Beni: I write a song then we work on it together.

Who writes the music and lyrics?

Beni: I write the music. Drummer and bass player do the lyrics... and singer, also.

You did some concerts already. What was the response like?

Together: Good...
Rok: We had the best response in Škofja Loka, in Rdeča Ostriga.
Alex: And in Loka pub.
Rok: These two concerts were the best.
Matej: The atmosphere was great, people were really into it.

Do you have any problems at school? I mean, because of your appearance and all?

Matej: No. Our principal is a biker so...
Beni: And we all have good grades.
Alex: We only get teased by the others.
Everyone: Yeah.
Matej: Here in Medvode it's like... everybody support us...

What are your plans for the future?

Beni: We'll record a song for a certain compilation. That will happen next week.
Rok: We're gonna play for bikers, for Satan's Brothers. We're also gonna play in Orto club in Ljubljana on March 18th.

Where do you see yourselves in ten years?

Jaša: On American tour...
Alex: On tour all over the world.

Is there any band you would really like to play with?

Everyone: Yeah!
Rok: With all of our favourite bands. We'll be on tour all over Slovenia with a Slovenian band Requiem in September and October.

I heard that the guys from Requiem wrote a song for you...

Rok: Yes, they wrote "Novi svet" which will be on that compilation. They will write us two more songs. We really appreciate that.

What would you like to say to Slovenian metal fans?

Matej: Don't give up.
Alex: They should multiply!
Rok: Don't change. That's the only thing that counts.
Matej: We have to support each other.
Alex: Stay heavy!
Jaša: And without drugs!