Croatian four-piece Kevlar Bikini’s self-released Explodisiac album received a very good review here at Metal Revolution so we decided to exchange few words with this interesting band, who despite being unsigned has somehow managed to tap some of the heavy weight producers to mix and master their album. How did they manage to do? Get the answer and much more in this interview with band’s guitarist Mario.

Metal Revolution: Hi guys, can you tell us bit more about the band for those of our readers who might not know you?
Mario: Hi, for that minority of people that don't know about us yet , haha, KB is a quartet from Zagreb, Croatia .We've been together since 2010 and we are trying to create the kind of music that us, ourselves, want to hear; a blend of  hardcore, metal, punk, rockabilly and bad, filthy fun.

MR: How did the band come about in the first place?
M: The band started out of desire to do something creative, a need to say some things and let out some of that build up energy...nothing noble ...but pure as it gets...haha

MR: Why did you choose name Kevlar Bikini for the band?
M: Well, the thing is, when we were choosing the name a lot of the songs were already finished along with the lyrics...so we wanted to choose a name that will fit in the whole story style-wise.

MR: You debut album Expodisiac was very well received here at Metal Revolution, can you tell us bit about how did this album come about and can you explain the title.
M: The album contains 10 songs that are kind of chronicle of the things happened to us in the year, or so, while we were making them. It sounds how we felt at the moment. "Explodisiac" is the word we kinda invented, it's a mixture of explosion and aphrodisiac. To us it means something that excites you, something that'll make you explode... in any way...haha...

MR: Where was the album recorded and how long did the whole recording process take?
M: The album was recorded in the Akai studio in Zagreb, we recorded it for about 10 days cause the guys in the band that have a steady jobs could record only in the evening and as you can imagine ones concentration is not exactly on top of its game after 8-hour work day. When I think about it, I remember a lot of sweat, beer and insults ...haha.

MR: Where does inspiration for your music come from?
M: Uff, that's a hard one...I don't really know...and I prefer it that way, haha...I can only tell you that the inspiration for the lyrical part comes from things that are in my sight at the moment.
We got this vision of what the music should be: pure, exciting, energetic, original, self fulfilling and we are always trying to live up to it.

MR: Explodisiac is self-produced, but it was mixed by Tomas Skogsberg (Entombed, Refused, Hellacopters, Katatonia, At The Gates etc.) and mastered by Pelle Henricsson (Meshuggah, Refused and In Flames). How did you come to work with those guys and what was it like?
M: The plan right from the start of the recording process was to record songs in Croatia and have them mixed somewhere else.  Neither of us was ever completely satisfied with the mixes of our previous bands so we decided to do an experiment and send the material to some well known producer. Tomas was our first choice so we contacted him and send him our demo. He liked it and that was it. Working with him was an honor,  we exchanged like 666 e-mails and I can say he is a man of few words but we understood each other perfectly. Awesome experience, and most important the result is exactly what we hoped it would be. Story with Pelle was similar... we tried some other mastering studios first but they butchered the mix, added to much bass or just killed the dynamic, so we said "if we can choose anyone to do the mastering ,who it would be?"...and by the power of the internet it was done. Another great honor.


MR: What do you think about those bands these guys have worked with?
M: The bands they worked with are the reason we wanted to work with them!
Refused, Entombed, Hellacopters = pure awesomeness.

MR: Did you have chance to play the new material live? How was that?
M: Yeah,well the material is not exactly new to us. All the songs from the album we were playing live for quite some time...the only new thing is that they are recorded now. The "NEW" new material we are not playing yet, those are the songs for the second album...haha.

MR: Can you tell us about your gear and  is there a difference between your studio and live gear?
M: Of course we borrowed some pieces of equipment from our friends for the studio experience; it was a better version of the instruments we usually play. We like to keep our rig simple and are not really gear nerds. We wanted it to sound raw and natural so we did not use any fancy pedals or additional equipment, other than POG pedal and some drive for bass guitar, just guitars, amps and drums, pretty basic. We did not even use any studio "magic" other than overdubbing. That's how we prefer it, maybe that will change with time but that's how we roll for now.

MR: What are the future plans for Kevlar Bikini?
M: We are currently in the process of video shooting, if all goes according to plan it should be finished in about one month and it should be an asskicker. So be sure to check it out. The rest of the  plans are finding the record label, promotion of the album, touring till our limbs turn to spaghetti and our blood turn to beer ...and then recording new songs and doing it all over again...

MR: Do you have a message for the readers of Metal Revolution?
M: Do whatever you want as long as you don't hurt anybody who does not want to be hurt...haha.

MR: We would like to thank you for taking time to talk to us and we are looking forward to following your career in the future.
M: It was my pleasure, thank you for the opportunity and interest in our music.
Cheers!

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