Temtris Interview With Metal Gods TV

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Iron Mathew caught up with Temtris for an email-based Interview:

Hello, I’m Iron Mathew from the website Metal Gods TV. How are you?

Hello Iron Mathew. It’s winter here in Australia, so we are all busy tuning up our live show ready for the warmer months ahead. Everyone is in good spirits.

Which band/bands first introduced you to Heavy Metal?

Fox began listening to Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc… in high school at a time when metal was really growing in popularity. Genevieve started with AC/DC, Guns and Roses then progressed to Iron Maiden, Metallica and Black Sabbath. Wayne began with Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Hoff AC/DC, Buffalo, Sabbath, SLAAAAAYEEEERRRR!!!!

At what age were you when you first started listening to Heavy Metal?

We were all around 13 or 14 years of age, except Hoff. Hoff was 7.

If you had to pick an artist or an album that has influenced you and the direction Temtris has taken, who/what would that be?

Fox is particularly fond of Flotsam and Jetsam’s songwriting, and as a guitarist likes the work of Marty Freidman and Alex Scholnick. Genevieve loves the vocal work of Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate, Ak Eric and Doro Pesch.

The new album ‘Enter The Asylum’ has just been released, what was the concept behind the album?

The idea of this album was to take the audience on a guided tour of a mental hospital, each song tells the story of one of the patients. We had songs like The Summoning and Empty Room written before we realised we had a theme going, but by the time we had completed Enter the
Asylum (the song) we knew where we were headed.

The cover artwork is instantly recognisable as “heavy metal” – who came up with the idea, the design and who drew it?

All the members of Temtris contributed to the idea of the ‘creature behind the door’, it was bounced around in discussions as the recording progressed. Then we went looking for an artist who we felt could match the ‘mood’ and quickly found Daz Death of Not So Fine Art. His style
was perfect, he has a real brooding mental darkness to his works in general. We pitched him the ideas and he really got it. He checked in regularly as the artwork progressed (you can see the artistic progress of the album on his facebook page) and delivered an amazing painting at the end.

Who are the musicians you admire, and are there any that you aspire to be like?

Fox appreciates musicians who are able to go beyond just playing the notes and deliver musical performances with skill and passion. Wayne likes Dave Lombardo’s aggression. Genevieve admires Doro Pesch’s dedication and long career in metal.

What was the latest album/albums you purchased?

Fox: Iced Earth
Wayne: Hellyeah
Hoff: Painkiller
Genevieve: Metal Church

And, who are you listening to right now?

Wayne: Metal Church
Hoff: Helloween
Fox: Primal Fear
Genevieve: Metal Church and Anthrax latest releases

Might be a bit early to think about your next album, but how was the recording process for ‘Enter The Asylum’ and would you do anything differently for the next one?

Writing has already begun on the next album, and that’s all we can tell you at this stage. We will be looking to spend a little more time on the final editing and mixdown stage as there were still things that we wanted musically for Enter the Asylum that were not able to be completed
because of a very tight production schedule which our producer Peter Wuth handled extremely well, as we had him under a lot of pressure.

Unfortunately, Adam your bass player has decided to leave the band, what are doing to replace him?

We were very sad to lose Adam, but unfortunately ‘life happens’, as they say. We have had a great deal of interest regarding filling the position of bass player for our next project. We will be working with a good friend and very talented musician to complete our current tour commitments and we will be auditioning over the next few months until the best replacement can be announced.

And, moving forward, where do you see Temtris heading?

We’ve already mentioned another album in the works. We have also reached a limit with what is possible musically in Australia and our main goal now is to get Temtris overseas. We would love to get some management and the support of an international label. Battlegod Productions handles all of our distribution currently, and they do a great job, but everything else including balancing the financial side of things is done by ourselves. There is only so much we can do as a band and to have the dollars behind us to to produce bigger albums and tour overseas would be amazing.

If you could play anywhere in the world, at any venue, or at any festival – where would it be?

Wayne and Hoff: Wacken
Genevieve: 70,000 Tons of metal festival at sea!

When fans attend a Temtris gig, what will they experience?

A powerful show, performed by musicians who can really play their instruments, that tells a story and drags the audience into the party we have on stage. Then join us for a drink at the bar after the show!

During a live performance, should any of you make any kind of mistake, how do you handle it?

Live music is a performance, not a quest for perfection. Our priority is to make sure the audience is having a great time, not worrying about who missed the last note. Fox in particular has had his fair share of technical issues on stage, you learn to stay calm, get it sorted and get on with the show.

And finally, where can fans keep up to date with Temtris news and also purchase a copy of the new album?

Temtris has a website @ www.temtris.com our album is available there but it also has our distribution links which are worldwide. You can also join our mailing list also.

Horns up and Cheers \m/
Temtris

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