Kashey: What have you recorded so far, and how's the promotion going? Do you have any contracts with labels?
Andrew: We've recorded about 90 percent of our album (still need to add some keyboard parts here and there, bass, and do the mixing). To be honest, we're tired of this recording because it's been dragging on for over three years. We couldn't finish our work because sometimes we had no money, sometimes we were doing renovations on our studio, sometimes other stuff got in the way. That's why we haven't been contacting labels.
K.: Do you have any influences on your music? Any bands or writers? Or maybe an influence from your hometown Chernigov?
A.: When writing music or lyrics, we don't draw influence from Chernigov, although we all love our city and are proud that we were born here. Some bands have influenced our music, though: Malmsteen, Dream Theater, Kreator, Slayer, SYMPHONY X, Amorphis, Therion.
K.: What style would you say your music belongs to?
A.: You know, it's hard to describe your own band's style. That's what you journalists are for — it's your job.
K.: It would be interesting to learn about the jobs or studies of the band members.
A.: OK, let's start with me. I'm finishing a management degree at the university, in that same specialization. I work at the "Fabrika Zvuka" shop as a salesman. Our guitarist and keyboardist study at the music school — they're in their third year. The guitarist studies violin and the keyboardist studies piano. Our second guitarist sings in a choir at the philharmonic. The drummer and bassist study at the institute.
K.: What language do you write your lyrics in?
A.: In russian, and then they get translated into English for us.
K.: When creating songs, do you look up to any legends of heavy music?
A.: No.
K.: How are the responsibilities divided in your band? Who sings, who composes? Who writes the lyrics?
A.: I'm the vocalist and manager of our band. The guitarists and keyboardist write the music, but when possible the rest of us also take part in the process.
K.: What bands do you guys like?
A.: They're all different. I listen to brutal stuff — usually CANNIBAL CORPSE, Deicide, DYING FETUS, and so on. Also Malmsteen, Nightwish, Kreator, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT. The keyboardist and guitarist listen to progressive metal — Dream Theater, SYMPHONY X, Malmsteen, and so on. The bassist listens to some black metal and brutal death. The second guitarist is into Extreme, Mr. Big, progressive music, and solo projects by various guitar virtuosos, plus jazz. The drummer is into thrash, heavy, and power metal.
K.: When and why did the idea of forming the band come about?
A.: The idea came about in 1997, when I was singing in the death metal band Welsewool and my acquaintance Anton Kaplin was playing guitar in the doom band Necromancy. Both our bands rehearsed in the same building as Necromancy's keyboardist. Anton and I weren't happy with what we were doing in our bands, and after some rehearsals we got together, talked it over, and decided to combine our musical talents. The bassist from Welsewool, Victor, came along as our drummer — he later went on to form his own band Natural Spirit — and the keyboardist from Necromancy, Sergey, joined too. That was the beginning.
K.: Where did you get the band's name, and what does it mean?
A.: I got the name from some book — I can't remember which one exactly, but I think it was "Man's Dealings with the Devil" (a really cool book, written in 1901 — I recommend it to everyone). The name means "Superiority of darkness over the world."
K.: What do you think about commercialization, when bands try to earn more money and their music becomes simpler? Could you make such concessions?
A.: That's each musician's own business. You know that playing metal doesn't earn you money in our country. If we wanted to play pop and make money from it, we could do it — the professional level of our band members allows for that — but we don't want to. We play our music because we love it, not for the money. You have to earn money elsewhere.
K.: When and where would you like to play in the near future? By the way, what were your impressions from the last concert in Kyiv (March 29, 2003)?
A.: On April 30th in Kyiv with Mental Demise, Rossomahaar, and some band from Kyiv. I have great impressions from the last concert in Kyiv — a special thanks to the Mental Demise organizers and their manager Add.
K.: What's your opinion on the development of metal music in Ukraine and the CIS?
A.: It's getting better and better. A lot of cool bands have appeared that play on par with their western counterparts. The sound quality of our bands has improved significantly. Lots of magazines and webzines have popped up, which help young bands get noticed.
K.: Which famous bands would you like to share a stage with, and which have you already played with?
A.: We've played with Gods Tower, Nokturnal Mortum, Mental Demise, Flying, Te Deum, Unerase, Via Dolorosa, Kamo Gryadeshi, and about ten other bands from across Ukraine. Personally, I'd love to share a stage with CANNIBAL CORPSE, Amorphis, or Therion.
K.: Have you heard anything about bands from Chernivtsi?
A.: No.
K.: I hope your favorite drink is Chernigov beer?
A.: Yes, we drink it by the liter — it's our hometown brew. We're patriots of our beer, and during the concert in Kyiv we were drinking Chernigov beer.
K.: A few words for our readers.
A.: Listen to metal, drink plenty of beer, and you'll end up just like us. Ha-ha.
K.: Thank you for the interview! Best of luck to NOCTURNAL DOMINIUM!
A.: Thanks to you too for the interesting questions. Good luck!