Интервю с ELIMINATOR

Let’s begin with the most logical thing: would you present Eliminator to our readers?

– Eliminator is a heavy metal band based in Northern English city of Lancaster. We are comprised of of Seb Overton – Vocals, Matt Thomas – Guitars, Jack MacMichael – Guitars, Jamie Brandon – Bass & Dave Steen – Drums.

How did you decide to form Eliminator?

– Matt & I (Jack) initially formed what was to become Eliminator in our first year of university in 2005. We had both moved to Lancaster to study and happened to be in the same college. As we both played guitar we decided it would be a good idea to jam together to pass the time and we decided we should find other musicians to form a full band. Eliminator didn’t really come to be until 2008.

How would you describe Eliminator to someone who so far doesn’t know about you?

– I would say that we play music mainly influenced by the hard rock and heavy metal bands of the 70’s & 80’s and that we aim to capture the feeling of that era in our music.

Why did you choose Eliminator for the name of your band? I suppose you know already that there are some other bands with the same name?

– I actually really regret calling the band Eliminator, I don’t care for the name at all. It happened because in the very early days of the band we had booked a gig, but we hadn’t even decided on a name yet. We’d had some other ideas of band names, but they were all awful, but when Eliminator came to mind it seemed the most acceptable of all the other ideas. I guessed that there would be other bands with that name, it is hardly original, but we needed to produce posters for the gig quickly, so we didn’t have to time to come up with something better. The name just stuck with us after that show.

What are your biggest musical influences? Would you name some?

– We take influence from many hard rock bands from the 70’s and 80’s. Of course we are all influenced by the greats, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Blue Oyster Cult, Rainbow, Dio, Thin Lizzy etc, but we also like to daw influence from other lesser known acts from the same era that never really became well known. Scandinavian heavy metal bands such as Mercyful Fate, Heavy Load & Gotham City are big influence on the music we have written lately.

A lot of people find similarities between Eliminator and Iron Maiden (with Paul Di’Anno). Where do you think are the intersections between you and Iron Maiden(with Paul Di’Anno)?

– That is a very flattering comparison! Personally I don’t think we sound too much like Iron Maiden, but I suppose there are certain similarities. We do like to use a lot of guitar leads harmonized in thirds which is an obvious homage to Maiden, but we certainly not the only heavy metal bands to do this!

Do you have future plans for the band? How will you develop Eliminator in future? Do you have plans for a full – length album?

– We put as much as we can into Eliminator, but it is not always easy. This is only a hobby for us and we have full time jobs and lives outside of the band that we all have to manage, so unfortunately sometimes the band does have to take a back seat, However, of course we do intend on releasing a full length album and there is a great deal of new material prepared that will end up on this album. However, we would rather take our time and produce an album that we can be proud of rather than rush something out just for the sake of it.

We also really enjoy playing live and after our visit to Sweden in 2012 we have developed a taste for traveling to other countries to play, so hopefully we will get to perform many gigs outside of the UK in the future!

I noticed that in every cover so far you mentioned that the music and the lyrics are written by Eliminator. So could you tell us who is the mastermind, responsible for them, or how you come up with an idea for a new song?
– There is no mastermind, all the musicians have their input. For example, I may come to rehearsal with the skeleton structure of a song and then we will learn it together and everyone else will other ideas on how to develop the idea. This is what will usually happen, somebody will present the band with a basic idea and then we work together to make it into a fully fledged song.

Are you planning to record some songs with a historical thematic like The Warrior… Of The Sky and Danger In The Skies or you’ll concentrate on the fictional lyrics like Lost To The Void, Echoes, and the new ones from the single The Seer?

– Danger in the Skies is actually fantasy, it’s about a UFO pursuing a pilot, although it’s certainly feasible that life exists on planets other than our own, the truth is out there, ha!

There will be a mixture of lyrics on forthcoming material, we haven’t decided on an specific direction that lyrics should take, although I really want to write some more science fiction lyrics! I have ideas for lyrics influenced by the movies Blade Runner & Videodrome which I will put towards the band if we produce some appropriate music.

Considering how fast Eliminator gains popularity are you willing to take the risk of becoming professional musicians and quit your regular jobs?

– That would be some kind of a dream! Who wouldn’t love to quit their job so they could play in a band exclusively?! Unfortunately for us I cannot see that happening ever, Eliminator is our hobby, it would be cool to play music for a living, but it is very unlikely!

I know that you are on the hunt for a new vocalist. Could you tell us how the auditions are going? Any chance of surprising your fans with some good news soon?

– I must first apologies for taking so long to answer this interview as this question is no longer relevant as the auditions are over! We settled on vocalist, Seb Overton after auditioning a few other people. So far he has played three gigs with us, including the Full Moon Dog Festival in Leeds, which went very well!

We know that it is hard for a new band to record an album. What were the main difficulties that you have to deal with while recording We Rule The Night and The Seer?

– We Rule the Night was a real challenge to record as we did it all ourselves. The whole thing was recorded in Jamie’s apartment, which he has since moved out of and I am actually living in it now. Mercifully, the apartment is above a shop and there are no neighbors nearby, so in the evenings we could make as much noise as we wanted.

The recording was difficult as we had limited technical knowledge, so a lot of the process was trial and error. However, we could take as much time as we wanted, which was a huge advantage. There wasn’t the pressure you’d expect in a studio you’d paid for, no deadlines, we set our own goals. Plus, we were really close to the pub, so if we got bored or stuck we could go for a drink and then try again later!

The Seer was a lot easier to record as our friend Dave Mackness, who is a graduate of Lancaster University with access to their recording studios, produced it for us. There was a lot of expensive high end equipment to use there and he knew exactly what he was doing. Recording the music was easy as we were really well rehearsed, so it took barely any time. The vocals however were a major struggle and took a very long time, this was one of the things that unfortunately contributed to Tak leaving the band.

Is there any chance that we could see you one day in Bulgaria?

– Absolutely, book us and we will come!

What’s the most remarkable Eliminator show so far?

– Muskelrock, without a doubt. It was a great gig at the world’s greatest festival. I urge you to attend if you can, it has the best atmosphere of any festival I have ever attended.

What’s your point of view on the condition of the heavy metal scene today?

– I guess it is stronger than it ever has been for years. I don’t pay a huge amount of attention to new bands but some have caught my eye and it’s great to see really good new bands out there making a name for themselves playing great heavy metal as it should be!

What’s your opinion on the free download and the bills such as ACTA and SOPA?

– I don’t know much about them, or care to know much about them. I do download music by old bands who’s records I will never have a hope in hell of finding. I will always pay for physical copies of albums from bands I like, especially active bands that need the support. I know a lot of people make a fuss about the horrors of downloading music, but I don’t object to people downloading music to see what it’s like and then paying for it if they think it’s good!

How can someone buy an album of yours?

– They can email us at eliminator_band@hotmail.co.uk, but they’d be wasting their time as we’ve sold out of everything! You can still get t-shirts & patches from us though. If you want to get the records then I’d try contacting Heavy Forces Records or Death Rider Records. They should be about to sell you a copy.

Well it seems that unfortunately our little chit-chat is at its end. Any last words?

– Alas, the end is here. Thanks for taking the time to send us these questions. I must again apologies for the massive delay in responding to you, but life has a been a little crazy for me over the last few months!

Expect to see some more activity from Eliminator in 2013, we have new songs, some great gigs coming up and we hope to make some good progress this year!

Thank you for the interview! I wish you all the best and good luck!