Ramiur Sekh
Blind The Eye
There was and always are doubts that Blind the Eye can hold together. Rui Rocha and I have been the pillars that support this project, during the pandemic we were put to the test, with a new album to be made and without a rehearsal room, and with the members living far from each other, it was a difficult process... However, we had in mind what we wanted to achieve, and we fought for it.
The pandemic didn't affect me much, at the time I was in a difficult time on a personal and professional level, so the pandemic even brought me something good. With the restrictions I let go of bad habits, I took more care of my health and things that were really important, and it gave me time to work on the album. In my opinion, the way in which governments and the media dealt with the pandemic was a little ridiculous, there was a positioning at the extremes and the logic and common sense were exchanged for greed and fuss. There was a lack of honesty and true seriousness in approaching the situation.
When we released "Arise to Theta State" there wasn't much expectation, we had good themes but at that time we were just three musicians, me, Rui Rocha and Dário, there was no idea of a "band" but just doing that, proving to ourselves that we managed to make the music we like. Without much publicity we had good reviews and it was an album that guaranteed us almost twenty concerts between Portugal and Spain. We started to believe and Nuno Rodrigues and Ruben Oliveira also believed and joined the band. We wanted more, we even received some proposals from publishers, but they didn't have the slightest bit of credibility, we know how the market works today, nobody gives anything to anyone, but there has to be a minimum of logic in this type of partnership.
The Tripolarity EP was the first work I did with the full band and Bruno Silva (producer and manager) believed that we would stand out more, and looked for potential partners to help us promote the future album. El Puerto has shown interest and credibility, having proven that it is not in this just to use and abuse the bands. So far we are happy with the work that has been done.
"The Lion of Lions" is a conceptual album that approaches the supremacy and western imperialist vision in a romanticized way, so to speak, seeking nostalgia for the times of the Roman Empire using passages and characters from that magnificent empire. The title of the album represents exactly everything that the album encompasses, and Blind the Eye being a band that is attentive to what is happening in the world, through the attacks and challenges that Europe has faced, this work tries to symbolize its heyday.
I won't explain as it is obvious, what each theme represents, since that would make this text extremely long, but I can point out two themes that I really like "The Roses Of Heliogabalus" that uses the scenario of the homonymous painting by Lawrence Alma- Tadema to describe the opulence, arrogance and god syndrome that we find in current leaders and "Imperial Thunder" that addresses everything that the Europeans conquered, dominated and taught over the millennia, having been the reference at a world level.
Easy... we should be proud to be Europeans, both in the mistakes of the past and in the right decisions that changed and shaped the world for the better, it is part of the of the evolution process... We should have a more united identity. The European nations should unite to face the challenges of the new times. Europe's cultural beauty and grandeur must be taken seriously and I believe that together we would be "The Lion of Lions". This is not because I think we are superior to other cultures, but I think that Europe has been neglecting its ancestral interests...democracy, philosophy… philanthropy....
The theme of the album cover was designed by me and drawn by the talented bharaduur's hand. It represents Mars accompanied by Phobos (fear) and Deimos (terror) stepping on the skulls of defeated enemies. we can look at this conjuncture as the predator - supreme warrior, the supreme ideal, the supreme will with all its voracity "The Lion of Lions"
We are technically more advanced, and more experienced, we feel capable of surpassing ourselves and of raising the bar in future work. This album is the most melodeath work of BTE... as the compositions basically came from me and Rui Rocha and with the deadlines getting short, my melodeath vein was very evident. Fortunately, in the few times we were able to be together, both Ruben and Nuno contributed to the process. But there's no guarantee that the next album will be like this or the other way around... let's see.
Already in the eighties bands used riffs influenced by bands from previous decades, this album sounds like melodeath is a fact, it's a style very rooted in me and which I like a lot. the album was being built song by song and it seemed good to take this line in this work. with the theme fits like a glove in our opinion. However, in the future we will be able to approach the riffs in another way if we want... on this album it happened this way.
We like choruses... I think going to a concert and even without knowing the band going out with a chorus in your ear is the way to go. However, I'm aware that it's not the only way to make music, not the only one I like. On this album it sounded good to us to do it this way. There are some structures that if it were now maybe we would do different, I don't know if it would be better or worse but time was short and we can't work in a band and experiment with time in different ways. In the future we will certainly have other conditions
Dario had just become a father at that time, and unfortunately he couldn't be present in the studio to record his voice in the timing necessary to meet the deadlines. The pressure rose and eventually there was a rupture. The option was to record the voice myself, which I didn't want, since I felt that I was already exhausted enough to seriously dedicate myself to the voice or get someone to do a good job. I already liked Ricardo's voice in Moonshade and it was the most logical option for the job. He was invited and accepted. For the time he had, I think he did a good job.
It was an important contribution, since Ricardo was one of the vocalists with the timbre for this work. And most importantly he is perfectly in this style. It was a natural choice to voice the album. And he realized what we asked for, that was important.
The way I see and hear the album is different for those who are not aware of its conception. vesta's fire was something that came naturally, it was my most basic influences and tastes that led to its creation. the producer gave some ideas in structural terms and that's how it came about. the impact it has on the album... I really don't know what to say....
I like it a lot, short direct and musical. I think it symbolizes strength, brutality with subtlety and class...as a true leader should be. It is an ode to absolute power both physically and culturally.
We are organizing to present the album, this year is ending, and there are an absurd number of concerts happening. Three, four months are needed for people to listen and internalize the album and for us to analyse the best way to present it.
Lior Stein it was a pleasure. Obrigado!
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