INTERVIEW WITH THE AGONIST
«We considered many known singers but couldn’t find that balance of all the aspects we were looking for. We ended up seeing Vicky’s YouTube channel, and once we heard what she could do with new The Agonist material we really knew how perfect the match was.»
Canadians THE AGONIST have jsut released their fourth long play, the first with their new vocalsit Vicky Psarakis, entitled “Eye of Providence”, an album that have received very good criticts and reviews in all international media and in which Chris Donaldson handled production duties. We’ve been talking with the band about this new album, their tour plans, about Alissa’s departing and some other things. Enjoy the interview:
What can you tell us about the new album?
It is called Eye of Providence and is officially out worldwide now! It is The Agonist’s fourth album, and our debut with vocalist Vicky Psarakis.
Why is your new album called “Eye of providence”?
The Eye of Providence, or All-Seeing Eye, has a long mythological and religious history. But with advances in technology we are seeing this All-Seeing-Eye as more of a reality. We give up so much of our privacy and security in the name of technological process. This is the main theme that runs throughout this album.
How was the recording process? How long did it take you?
We were the most prepared we’ve ever been recording this album. It was great! We recorded with our friend and producer Chris Donaldson at The Grid. It took about 2 months to complete.
What’s your favourite track of the new record and why?
That’s an impossible question, as it changes all the time. Right now I will say “As Above, So Below”. But I just answered the same question last week and it was “Follow the Crossed Line” LOL
Any anecdotes working with producer Chris Donaldson?
Hmm One was captured on one of our Studio Update videos. Chris left the room for a while and Simon decided to jump into the vocal booth and record his version of “I Endevour” (without any lyrics and all in one take). We have the full song recorded and still laugh about that now!
Another fun story would be when we took a break and went to Montreal’s Beerfest with Chris. We had joked throughout the whole recording process that we had enough empty beer bottles from our favourite local brewery St Ambroise that we should be sponsored by them. Haha Chris had a photo of the empty beer cases that had accumulated from the 2 months and decided to show it off to the St Ambroise beer tent. He got a free beer out of it! Haha
Why should we buy “Eye of providence”?
We’ve put our all into this album, and I think it shows! Give it a listen!
Vicky, How does it feel like to be the only female in the band?
It doesn’t really feel like I’m the only girl in the band. We’re all friends and we’re all really supportive of each other. Being the only girl isn’t something that bothers me.
Take us through the process of finding a new singer after Alissa’s exit from the band:
We considered many known singers but couldn’t find that balance of all the aspects we were looking for. We ended up seeing Vicky’s YouTube channel, where she had some covers and original material posted. We contacted her and it was only once we heard what she could do with new The Agonist material that we really knew how perfect the match was.
How was the actual decision made to select Vicky?
After she sent us some recordings of what she could do on our new material (which later became Danse Macabre on the album), we spoke with her a lot on Skype. We spoke a lot about it with our record label and we decided to fly her in to Montreal. We spent the next few months writing together, and it couldn’t have gone better!
How has your North America tour been going so far? How does the new tracks sound live?
We are currently on a European Tour, and we had a European Festival Tour last summer as well. The response has been fantastic, and we couldn’t be happier!
Very soon you will be touring with Otep and Ferium through Europe, anything you would like to tells us about this tour? Surprises?
We are currently headlining this Europe tour with Ferium. I guess you could say Otep dropping off the tour with a last minute surprise! Perhaps not a good one at first, but we are really happy to now have a headlining slot to bring more of Eye of Providence to the world!
Besides this tour, do you have any other dates in mind in Europe? Maybe some summer festivals and a headlining tour? Will we see you in Spain?
We don’t currently have anything for Spain, but we’d love to in the future.
How is the canadian scene doing now? Are there many new bands coming form there?
Great! It’s where we got our start and the Canadian scene, specifically the Montreal metal scene, has always been really supportive!
Some see you as the next “big thing” in the style within a few years, how do you feel about this?
That’s great! I hope so too! Haha
How important is the Internet for a rising band nowadays?
Very important. Social media and the internet in general is how you interact with your fans and get the word out about your tours and plans. We are really involved in our social media, and we have fans tell us how happy they are about this all the time. We’re on there, we read comments, we respond! Our fans are very important to us.
Anything you would like to say to your European fans?
Thank you so much for your support! We’re so happy to finally have Eye of Providence out for you and I hope to see you on tour!
