Emperium

Emperium is a Black/Death metal band that is currently rising from the darkness of Johannesburg South Africa. Brutal vocals and heavy riffs… need I say more?

Interview by: Scream

Emperium Are:

Stan Vagionakis – Rhythm / Lead Guitar
Dylan Meiring – Lead / Rhythm Guitar
Jacques Mynhardt – Vocals
Justin Nel – Bass
Cameron Zuccarelli – Drums

Headbang Today: Okay, to kick this interview off, we’d firstly like to acknowledge the fact that you’ve got some decent heavy shit on your Myspace page… and also obviously a lot more to offer during your live performances. Since you’ll be playing at MotherFUDD 2010… we would like to know which song out of your set will most likely get the masses to headbang ferociously alltogether? Is it even possible that you have a song that’s heavier than The Sapien Holocoast?

Emperium: Thanks for the compliment! Oh yes we do! For sheer ultra-brutality, we offer “Victory”, but for fuck-heavy-head-banging, we suggest you listen out for “The Earth”.

Headbang Today: To be dreadfully honest, I personally haven’t heard of Emperium before up until this interview. On behalf of all the other lost souls that haven’t heard of you guys before, I’m going to have to ask you tell us a little bit more about yourselves. Your biography is lenthy, as is any respectable band’s. But a brief introduction will suffice nontheless.

Emperium: We are 5 fairly different guys that obviously share a love for music and entertainment. Pushing the limit and doing the best we can, while always having a blast, is critical. Our main challenge is to allow every member to bring in their own style and preference. This way we keep it personal and dynamic. Between the 5 of us there is NOT ONE international band we all like. We’re from varied backgrounds but we’ve coalesced into this beastly unit that is Emperium. And we are opinionated like bastards.

Headbang Today: Have you Headbanged Today? As Bile Of Man stated, headbanging should be like having your cup of coffee in the morning…

Emperium: Agreed. Banging head in traffic – just this morning!!! It’s like Prohep for the soul.

Headbang Today: When can we expect a debut album from Emperium?

Emperium: Well we are in the process of putting the very last finishing touches to our EP. Once that is launched I am sure an album will be on the cards. Then as soon as Cameron has recovered from his shoulder operation we will continue writing new songs, and when they’re ready, we will unleash our latest dose of whatever it is we unleash upon the unsuspecting public…

Headbang Today:How often does Emperium get together and tell us a bit about what usually goes down at your jam sessions…

Emperium: Rehearsals are scheduled weekly. Sessions include song conceptualising, riff-and-lyrical tennis, paralleled with fistfuls of jibe and then it’s FULL FUCKIN METAL.
Majority of the time this is followed by a socially lubricated braai. We are all good friends outside of the band, so we see each other quite often. Jam sessions should be relaxed but productive.

Headbang Today: Your sickest gig ever was when…

Emperium: The first proper blood-spilling mosh-pit may have been at the Black Dahlia, however some serious blood-letting occurred at a fest recently, leaving the stage drenched in blood. One of the most brutal shows was in, of all places, Rustenburg. We played face-to-face to loyal home-town fans at a Hockey Club that was packed wall-to-wall. It ended with blood on the cymbals. Let’s admit that we have come to rate the success of a show to litres of blood lost.

Headbang Today: Tell us a bit about the groupies in the black/death metal scene… is it true that they smell like cookies?

Emperium: Our girlfriends are probably a frontline defence against groupies. But were there cookie-smelling ones, surely we’d have to give ‘em a sniff for the sake of social-science. Shouldn’t they smell like beer or whiskey though?

Headbang Today: When will we have Emperium down in Cape Town?

Emperium: We have heard great things about the CT audience, so as soon as we have our full members list back and kicking we will definitely be there. We were actually in the planning stages of a tour to the Cape, but due to circumstances we have postponed til later this year hopefully.

Headbang Today: Being a part of a festival as immense as MotherFUDD 2010, nerves are bound to quiver in its own wake… What are your pre-show rituals on an individual basis? How do you fire yourselves up before hitting the stage?

Emperium: Most of us don’t seem to get nervous at all. It feels like we walk on stage play 3 fucking notes and then the set is over. Everything is so saturated with high energy that nerves dissipate instantly. A good warm up is vital though. Maybe have a drink. Once we are all fired up, and the crowd is going berserk, it’s just awesome! We love watching live metal bands, so we are stoked performing live!

Headbang Today: What can the headbangers that’ll be attending MotherFUDD expect from Emperium?

Emperium: 1. A high-octane performance. Alot of headbanging. Good energy. And a VERY sweaty vocalist. Note: Breakdowns are not included.

Headbang Today: Last but not least, it’s a well known fact that a lot of bands don’t initially succeed due to the harsh nature of the world’s metal scene(and music scene for that matter). If you could give a piece of advice to any young band out there, what would it be?

Emperium: If it ever stops being fun, LEAVE! Metal bands in South Africa should play for the right reason, for the love of the music – from there everything will follow. Jumping on a bandwagon and doing it for money and minge, is not the right way to go. There is some serious talent, but there’s also a lot of pretentious shit going around. To us, it’s survival of the sincerest.

Headbang Today: Any last words?

Emperium: We’re really amped to be playing MotherFUDD and looking forward to meeting alot of interesting people that love Emperium.