Friday, June 13, 2014

Hard Tension Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a band of four friends who found their musical inspiration when listening to old school heavy metal bands from the 80's.
One day we just started combining the sounds we enjoyed hearing with elements of classical music and fast electric guitar riffs and decided that we should play live. And so we did.


2.So far you have released 2 ep's, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction the band has taken on both recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

Yes, we have released two very different EPs. In the first one, entitled "Perception", the majority of the tracks were instrumental and the guitar played a big role on the Ep's overall sound.
On the second EP, "Fear and Guilt" we experimented with a more current type of sound, but always keeping in mind the old school 80´s style.
The second EP is very different from the first one because we are now trying to explore themes that are important to us. The vocals in this EP are stronger and play a bigger part in our overall sound.
This way, the sound we experienced in "Fear and Guilt" turned out to be a good mixture of heavy aggressive sounds and rhythmic clean elements.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

We take inspiration for the lyrics in the world around us, from every day events to situations that spiral out of our control.
We aim to inspire the people who listen to us to reflect about their life journey and tell them to always try to be better.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hard Tension'?

Hard Tension are a type of classical guitar strings which are very resistant and are used for maximum sound projection.
We very much liked the name and adapted it for ourselves. And also because we like it hard :).



5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We enjoy playing everywhere. What we value the most is providing the people who come to listen to us with worth wile entertainment.
Most of all we like to have fun on stage and engage our audience. Although we tend to have the most fun when the sound is too loud and we have our faithful jack daniels bottle by our side.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Yes, we do. We have just finished the first part of our tour in Portugals's Santa Maria Metal Fest. We will be back on tour on late september, because right now we are working on our first full length album.


7.Currently the band is unsigned, are you looking for a label or do you feel that they are out of date in the modern world?

We were not signed with any label before because we wanted to experiment with sound in our own way. But we still think that a record label still plays a big part in todays musical industry and we still consider that a possible option for the future.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of power metal?

The feedback has been quite good actually, we got a lot of support from many radios worldwide that want to play our music.
Also, we have received many invitations to play at heavy metal festivals, so we are pleased with how everything turned out so far.


9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

You can expect a full length album by 2015! We are now experimenting with a more heavy sound, with elements of hard rock, speed metal.
Overall the sound is more progressive and experimental, with longer riffs.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We listen to all types of music. We take inspiration from the most diverse musical backgrounds, from the old classics such as Bach and Paganini, to the first Stratovarius albums, as well as Helloween, Gamma Ray, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy or Jimmy Hendrix.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We very much enjoy the long sunny days we have here in Portugal, our beaches are exquisite :)


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

We want to say thank you to all of those who follow us and we hope to continue to have your support!

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