Hello Lior it is an honor for me to answer your questions again. At the moment everything is going very well as I just released new albums with WARWOLF and VERITATES. It's always exciting to wait for the reviews and hope that people like our music.

Apart from that, this year was finally a year of concerts again. Besides the first Warwolf gigs and the gigs of my cover bands, I could also be a guest singer at the anniversary concerts of Grave Digger. But we also notice that it's getting more difficult to get gigs and the number of visitors is decreasing.

Well, it goes like this, on the one hand VERITATES was more of a project at that time, before we decided to make a band out of it in the middle or end of 2021 by adding a permanent solo guitarist and a drummer who would always be available live.

But due to the pandemic we were only able to play live once which was great and very well received, there we also tested 3 songs from Silent War. Actually Veritates was not meant to be a live band, because we live far away from each other, and the fees that an underground band gets would not cover this effort. Whereas the sales of the first album went well, also because of the positive reviews in the online and print magazines.

For me, not much had changed because everything continued in my job, as a craftsman we even had much more work than the years before.

What really bothered me was the social media, or the media in general, with daily news and new horror scenarios. I felt like I was surrounded by complete idiots, all these lateral thinkers, conspiracy theories, vaccination opponents, etc..

In extreme situations, such as the pandemic or currently the war in Ukraine, most people show their true colors, and I can only say that stupidity is always the loudest, in short, mankind has fucked up, ha ha

We could have released the new album on Pure Steel, but there was a restructuring there that was not acceptable to us, especially because they are now working without distribution and are focusing mainly on the digital market. However, physical media and especially vinyl were also important to us. Already the debut album was released exclusively on vinyl by Doc Gator Records.

We had several offers from small labels, but in the end Tom had the last word because he was financially the most involved. It's not about the size or popularity of a label, it's about what they can offer a band. Doc Gator Records is a label made by metal fans for metal fans, and for that reason they are making not only the vinyl version but also the CD version this time. The vinyl is available in 6 different vinyl colors, even if they are not as large distribution as other labels, so here is the product quality in the foreground and who wants to buy it can do it anyway, I think the record will sell very well.

Interesting question, actually it's much more banal, you have to consider the album was made in the middle of the pandemic. Tom read somewhere the 2 words: SILENT WAR. It was clear to us that this would be the title of the album, it is the best synonym for the pandemic situation. At that time it was not clear in which musical or lyrical direction the album will develop.

Honestly when we start making the music, or even afterwards when I write lyrics to the songs, we didn't have a master plan or a concept in mind. I think we just let ourselves be guided by the current situation and the emotions it brings. For us it was always important that lyrics are sophisticated and we will not serve metal clichés. And the music of Veritates has always made me personally write melancholic gloomy but never hopeless lyrics. On the new record there are some fictional dark stories but most of them, even if I repeat myself, refer to the depressive mood of the pandemic.

Partial. On the one hand songs like "For My Thoughts" or "my own way" offer a lot of strength not to have to justify oneself for everything and to go one's own way even if it is stony, but songs like "Mirror" or "Alone" are just deeply sad. And songs like "Evil" or "Fear Sells" just convey hopelessness, others like "Lies" and also "thoughts" of boundless rage.

I am a person who always has to appear self-confident, energetic and friendly, but in me there is also a deep darkness that is partially self-destructive. But also these emotions belong to life and also these help us to get through difficult times.

Yes, the artwork was a thing, in the beginning we had a cover from Blackart Designs which we thought was perfect but also very bright in color, after the music and lyrics became darker and darker, both the label and our producer said that it would not fit, and it must be somehow recognizable that it is metal.

We let ourselves be persuaded after weeks of hesitation and were actually not entirely happy with this decision. After we had rejected at least 20 artworks, we got from MS Art Design the image with the girl, what we liked well, however, was the optics with the archway overlooking a cemetery, but with the lyrics it has actually not much to do, it was rather an emergency plan. But with a little distance I think it fits very well because it describes a bit the darkness of our souls, apart from that pastes the blue wonderfully with the colored vinyl. ha ha.

First of all, I must tell you that your description could not have been better. That's exactly how I try to describe the style of the new record to other people. In the beginning we only had the typical long Veritates songs, I just realized that these lyrics can't be sung in a powermetal way like on the debut, that would have sounded emotionless, there had to be a mixture of clean vocals and more aggressive vocals, For a long time we thought about whether I should sing it clean or harder.

Towards the end we realized that we also needed two shorter songs that also radiated power, I wrote the music and lyrics for "For my Thoughts" on my own, Tom then added "My own way" with these wonderful guitar riffs. So the hardness of the music changed on its own.

Because of my harder vocals, comparisons to Wolfen came up immediately, although I don't see it that way because I vary a lot more here. And when I sing hard, I just sound like old Wolfen songs or Matt Barlow, which can't be that bad.

No basically nothing has changed in the songwriting process. Tom wrote the music, which we then edited together, which, as usual, was very easy for us because we are absolutely on the same level.
The only difference is that this time there are two songs by me and one song by our new guitarist Frank. In addition, we gave Frank a free hand with the solos

We need a permanent lead guitarist, and it had to be someone who actually only contributed the solos to the new songs, since all the songs were already written. But of course he also had to play the rhythm guitar live. Why not get someone on board who I've been making music with for almost 25 years, and he also contributed a song that goes very well with the album

It came about by accident, after producing the WARWOLF album, he suggested me to work on VERITATES as well, at first I was skeptical as I didn't know if he could handle a more modern sound, but the result shows he can do it perfectly. He was a great help as he joined us during the songwriting process and gave us a lot of tips.

It was just before we finished all the songs, we needed something catchy, and I was having a bad day, so I grabbed my guitar and started trashing it. After half an hour the music was ready, Tom then put everything in the right direction. Out of my frustration, the lyrics only took 25 minutes, I was just fed up with the politically correct do-gooders trying to tell me what I can and can't say. But one thing you can't take away from me is what I think, or what I think about. A short journey into my dark soul

I have no idea why I sang so emotionally that day, it's a snapshot. First I should sing it a little softer again, but my opinion was that the song needs it exactly like that, for whatever reason. Basically it was never intended to change the band's image or style, it just came about that way, maybe we would make progressive metal on the next album, however I see silent war as a logical continuation of Killing Time, the Anger has grown, and sadness has also grown, but we've grown too, and have opened new doors for us, but we're just only take a look into the new rooms, the style that Tom and I have determines the overall picture

I don't know I haven't thought about that, it would be a nice idea if the singer could manage it. haha

At the moment there are no requests, we're just one of many underground bands, but we're trying to play at least a handful of shows next year, you're welcome to support us to get gigs.

All the best Lior you are always welcome

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