Kashey: Hi! This is Kashey from Chernivtsi. Let's begin...
Sergey: Hi...
Kashey: What are the latest news from INEXIST?
Sergey: Last weekend we celebrated two birthdays at once — guitarist Jackson's and drummer Tepesh's. It was a nice party. We're trying to finish some new songs for our second album now and have simultaneously started recording a single called "Tapiola," which we have high hopes for.
Kashey: Who handles promotion, and who's the leader of the band, if you can put it that way?
Sergey: I'm the main guy in the band. I handle management, promotion, booking shows, and solving organizational issues. The promotion of our first album was weak — I sent out 50 tapes and 30 CDs across russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Kashey: What role does the internet play in the band's development?
Sergey: It's basically the main one, since all our communication goes through the internet.
Kashey: Why does your band play melodic (Swedish) death metal?
Sergey: When we were a bit younger, we were into power metal, especially Helloween. But then we heard IN FLAMES' "Jester Race" and thought: this is it! I don't think I need to explain what happened next. This style is one of the younger and more promising ones, as we see it. Besides, it features the most harmonious combination of death metal's power, power metal's melody, and thrash's aggression. In short — the ideal.
Kashey: What bands influence the band's music? Tell us more about the musicians' musical preferences.
Sergey: Besides the fact that we all like Soilwork, IN FLAMES, and ARCH ENEMY, elements of later Amorphis works are starting to show up, as well as nu-metal. I love all metal, plus some alternative, instrumental guitar, and electronic music. My favorites: Helloween, Stratovarius, Edguy, GAMMA RAY, Savatage, IRON MAIDEN, Skid Row, Blind Guardian, Labyrinth, Darkseed, Anathema, Amorphis, MDB, Death, DIMMU BORGIR, Gardenian, DARK TRANQUILLITY, Kalmah, Throne of Chaos, and much more. Tepesh is into basically the same stuff plus t.A.T.u., Gosti iz Budushego, Via Gra, Christina Aguilera, Milene Farmer, and so on. Osminog likes all metal too, but leans more toward Slipknot, Korn, etc. Pepper is a fan of instrumental guitar like Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Morse, John Petrucci, and progressive stuff like Dream Theater. Jackson is more into System of a Down, Linkin Park, and Nightwish.
Kashey: Do you try to emulate any famous musicians on stage?
Sergey: I imitate Anders Friden, Pepper imitates Satriani. The rest — I don't know.
Kashey: What well-known bands have you already shared a stage with, and who would you like to play with?
Sergey: We've played with Catharsis, Merlin, Rossomahaar, Kuvalda, and Rogatie Trupoedi. Mostly we play with local unknown bands. We'd love to share a stage with IN FLAMES, SOILWORK, HELLOWEEN — and really, with anyone.
Kashey: Is the band your main source of income, or do you prefer earning money another way?
Sergey: It seems to me that not every member of even a Western band can brag about earning a living from music. So what chance do we have... Of course, everyone who can works a regular job.
Kashey: Are band members still studying? Can anyone boast a music education?
Sergey: I'm in my fifth year at a commercial college, studying management. Jackson is in his second year at the academy. Pepper is trying for the second time to get into a music school. Osminog and Tepesh tried studying, but it wasn't for them, so they work now. If Pepper doesn't get expelled, we'll have one member with a music education.
Kashey: Don't you want to change your musical style in the future, maybe to make money? Or will you stay true to your traditions? What do you think about such changes?
Sergey: It's already evolving (and definitely not for the sake of making extra money). We're starting to form our own style. There are new elements — electronics, samples, vocal experiments. But all in moderate proportions. There's no point in replaying the classics of the style now. It's just a waste of time — the classics have been played, and nobody will play them better than the founding fathers. But going in a new direction, searching for something different — that's much more exciting and interesting. There are no frameworks, no restrictions — it's freedom! Such changes are almost always a good thing, especially for musicians, I think. Fans always resist them — some people like it, and others will say it's total crap. But we play for ourselves first and foremost, and then for others.
Kashey: How do you feel about musicians who cut their hair? Is long hair an obligatory attribute of every metalhead for you?
Sergey: It's a personal choice. If the person doesn't change along with the hairstyle, then it's fine. But still, long hair looks way cooler on stage.
Kashey: Tell us, when did the idea to form the band come about? And would you like to reach the top of the world's metal scene?
Sergey: In the fall of 2000, I posted an ad at a music shop about starting a band in the melodic death style, and then I pretty much forgot about it. Eight months later, some guy called me (that was Pepper) about the band thing. It took me a while to even remember the ad... We met up soon after, he started playing, and I was blown away by his guitar technique. He was only 15 at the time. So in the summer of 2001, we formed INEXIST (him, me, and my cousin Tepesh). We'll do our absolute best to achieve our goal.
Kashey: Why "Inexist," and what does it mean?
Sergey: INEXIST is a word made up of two words: "inner" and "existence." And I don't want to explain right now what it means to me. It's very personal...
Kashey: Your band plays music that sounds similar to IN FLAMES, doesn't it?
Sergey: That was true of the first album. We borrowed a lot from them back then and added our own ideas (check out the track "EXIT"). Any band starts out under the influence — bordering on total fanaticism — of certain music they listen to. All musicians at the beginning of their journey have certain idols they want to emulate, but after some time that either fades or it doesn't. It all depends on the creative potential of the band members. Now we're growing as musicians and gradually moving away from the IN FLAMES sound. By the way, a lot of people don't like that.
Kashey: Are you happy with the sound on your latest album "Evidence," and are you working with any label?
Sergey: We weren't entirely happy with the sound on "Evidence." But it was our first studio experience, after all — we didn't know or understand anything and had to figure it all out ourselves. But the sound engineer Roma (a great guy) helped us a lot, and we have huge respect for him. And I'm confident that not every band can boast a great sound on their first release. Unfortunately, we're not working with any label right now. There were offers to release the album on CD, but the sound quality wasn't up to their standards for a CD release. So we're free agents at the moment.
Kashey: When can you please your fans with new material?
Sergey: As I mentioned, we're currently working on a single, and we'll have it printed by the end of autumn and put it up as MP3s on our website. The album will probably be ready by spring.
Kashey: How are duties divided among the band members — who writes the music, who writes the lyrics, etc.?
Sergey: My only designated responsibility is the lyrics — I handle those completely, with help from my friend and website designer, Igor "Miv" Myachin. Pepper writes most of the music. However, if someone has ideas, melodies, or riffs, that's always welcome — but the final version comes together at rehearsal. By the way, our drummer Tepesh composed a complete song for both the first and second albums.
Kashey: You surely know MIND ECLIPSE, another band from your city. Who's considered cooler in town — you, them, or maybe Tumulus?
Sergey: We don't consider ourselves cool, but we're growing. MIND ECLIPSE is the face of the metal scene for russia and the neighboring countries. They're workaholics — all bands should take their example. If they did, the scene would rise much higher.
Kashey: Could you share your perspective on the development of russian metal? And can you say something about it in Ukraine?
Sergey: There's been significant development in terms of the metal industry and business. Things are much worse when it comes to the originality and quality of bands, as well as live activity — we're lagging behind Western bands by 5 years or even more, continuing to play music that was played about 10 years ago. As I see it, it's much the same in Ukraine. I think Belarus is the most advanced in this regard. There's a real movement happening there.
Kashey: What major festival would you like to play?
Sergey: DYNAMO and WACKEN — those are the ultimate dreams. But basically, we're ready to play at any metal festival.
Kashey: And to wrap up, a few words for the fans and readers...
Sergey: I want to advise people not to limit themselves to just metal, because there's a lot of good and interesting music out there. Be open-minded people. By the way, visit our website — there's a lot of interesting stuff there. Thanks for the interview. Stay metal.