Recently I have been searching for decent bands to interview and review on MySpace. I'd sent out various bulletins asking for bands to step forward and then one did... and it was a band I was already familiar with (which was lucky!). That band was the mighty Artisian.
I sent the questions to Iain the night after they'd shared the stage with the legendary Gorgoroth in London. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the gig (due to lack of funds... I'd searched down the back of the sofa and everything!), but I did get the chance to get Iain to answer my questions.

Lou: Hey Iain, thanks for agreeing to this interview! How was the gig with Gorgoroth last night? I feel a bit silly for not asking for a place on the guest list now!

Iain: No problem, you know for next time.

Lou: Are you big fans of Gorgoroth and do you feel that they've influenced Artisian's sound?

Iain: All the band members are aware of who they are, and have some of their cd's. I have the first 2 albums, and really like the very early sound they had. They arent a major influence, and wouldn't say they influenced our sound really, but they are a great band.

Lou: You're going to be touring with Marduk very soon. How did that tour come about and where will you be playing?

Iain: We get our tours through our booking agent.

05.01 SLOVAKIA Liptovsky Mikulas,
06.01 HUNGARY Budapest,
07.01 ROMANIA Cluj Napoca,
08.01 ROMANIA Bucarest,
09.01 BULGARIA Sofia,
11.01 TURKEY Istanbul,
12.01 TURKEY Eskisehir,
13.01 TURKEY Izmir,
15.01 GREECE Atheens,
16.01 GREECE Thessaloniki,
17.01 MACEDONIA Skopje,
18.01 SERBIA Belgrade,
19.01 CROATIA Zagreb,
20.01 SLOVENIA Ljubljana,
21.01 AUSTRIA Graz,
22.01 AUSTRIA Wien,
23.01 AUSTRIA Salzburg,
24.01 CHECZ REP Pilsen,
25.01 GERMANY Bischofswerda,
26.01 GERMANY Berlin,

Lou: What has been your biggest gig so far?

Iain: With Artisian, it is the Gorgoroth dates. We have all been in bands before where we have done some massive shows, but as the music we do now is so extreme, and the band is still young, we will need to wate on things building up.

Lou: Which other bands would you really like to share a stage with?

Iain: Immolation, Deeds of Flesh, Immortal, Motorhead, Cannibal Corpse... We all really love these bands, but to be honest, there are too many to mention, too many great bands and if we get a support with great musicians, thats all that matters.

Lou: Do you have any interesting stories from your life on the road that you would like to share with the readers of Loucifer Speaks?

Iain: No majorly intersting stories really. We have have had some really good times and some other shit times, we got in a fight in Glasgow the night before Gorgoroth, and I cut 2 guys really badly with punches and kicks, but the Police were cool and lets us go. But I was worried I'd get lifted and not get to play the show, but the pricks asked for it. Other times we end up in strange places thinking WHAT THE FUCK???? and sometimes you really want to kill an asshole promoter or a useless sound guy. But 80% of the time we play a good show, and have a good time as band mates.

Lou: You guys seem to be a very hard working band - you're always touring or promoting your music. Do you feel that it's important to maintain your presence in the music scene?

Iain: Yes.

Lou: For the benefit of those out there in Internet Land who may not already know about Artisian, please could you briefly describe the kind of music you play?

Iain: Its a mix of black and death metal, but its our interpretation of extreme music we want to have ur own sound and not sound like a lot of rather bands that follow a blueprint and are as good as covers bands. As a musician its your job to experiment and create something of interest. Listen to it and make up your own mind.

Lou: I know this is a question that you've probably been asked a thousand times before... but... where does the name Artisian come from?

Iain: It comes from the French, to create something by hand, and as we are all craftsmen in creating the music and playing it. It fits well.

Lou: You've released a few albums now, which one would you suggest folks to buy first? (Don't say 'all of them' - that's cheating!)

Iain: The 3rd one is the most up to date obviously with the best production and more polished musically. If you you buy it from the website having read this...put it in the email, I will give you album 2 for free.

Lou: ...and where can we buy them from?

Iain: www.myspace.com/artisianmetal
www.infernusrex.com

You can buy via paypal or cheque/postal order.

Lou: Where do you get the inspiration for your music and lyrics from?

Iain: Rage, Anger, frustration, mood swings, crushing lows, depression, people, society...everything that really fucks me off.

Lou: From a lyrical point of view, which song are you most proud of and why?

Iain: There are certain parts of songs I am really pleased with, certain passsages, or part of a verse or something. But no particular single song, some have a memory attached, some work really well with the music, either in melody or the punctuation and helps the riff. Many diffrent reasons.

Lou: What do you feel is Artisian's biggest achievement so far?

Iain: Keeping going in the face of advertisty, and we have had plenty.

Lou: If you could change anything from the band's history, what would you change?

Iain: Not one single thing. Nothing!

Lou: Since the band's formation in 2004, have there been many line-up changes?

Iain: Yes, and they were all for the best, each time there has been a change it helped the band build up more and step up a league, the line up now is perfect.

Lou: What do you think of the extreme metal scene at the moment? Are there any other bands out there that we should check out?

Iain: www.myspace.com/gillabruja
www.myspace.com/korvus
www.myspace.com/corpsing
www.myspace.com/oriondevilworship

Lou: Which 3 albums could you not live without?

Iain: Sepultura - "Arise"
Dark throne - "Under a Funeral Moon"
Immolation - "Here In After"

Lou: Which albums, in your opinion, have been the best released this year?

Iain: Immolation - "Shadows in the Light" is really good
Severe Torture, cant remember the title, but its really good
and
Artisian - "Seartge le reothadh"

Lou: What's in store for Artisian in 2008? World domination?

Iain: We are due to support Mayhem on a couple of dates after we come back from Europe with Marduk, and we are working on our 4th album. We have Vincent Locke who does the Cannibal Corpse album covers desigining the next sleeve, so its going to look really good - www.vincelocke.com. We will probably go out on tour with another good band at some point, but nothing is booked up yet.

Lou: Remember: Keep reminding me when your gigs are and I PROMISE that I will get myself along to one!

Iain: No Problem, thanks for the interview and your support, see you soon.


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