Interview with Drazen
http://masqueofbetrayal.xmgfree.com

Masque of Betrayal is a melodic progressive death metal sextet from the Balkan state of Serbia. The band is in a process of recording new demo material. In the days of preparations to this interview I discovered more how great this unit is. Their music is so intense and filled with energy that you feel like blown away. I urge anyone to read this interview carefully and give this young & productive band a chance to prove what they are capable of. You won’t be disappointed.


MR: Hey MoB; how are you doing and what’s been up in Masque of Betrayal camp?
Drazen: Hey Bato! Thanks for asking, I'm doing fine these days despite the fact that Masque of Betrayal parted ways with drummer Ivan Bajovic few days ago. He left band because of many personal reasons, but main reason was that he wanted to pursue his own interests. He was never very interested in this type of music that we play so we knew that this was coming, it was just a matter of time. But no matter what, we want to thank Ivan for being our drummer all this time and we wish him all the best in the future! Also I want to announce that MoB has found a new great drummer, who will be rehearsing with the band very soon! After few rehearsals we will see if he should become new member of the Masque of Betrayal crew.

MR: OK, I didn’t know that. Please introduce your band shortly, current line-up and discography so far?
Drazen: Masque of Betrayal exists since winter of 2004, and from then we had a lot of gigs and participated in many events like “Gitarijada” across Serbia. Our discography isn’t so big, we have some demo live recordings from our rehearsals and from “Gitarijada”, but our first better demo is currently in recording phase. Two songs are finished and you can hear and download them from our MySpace page.
Since 2004 we had changed three members. Long ago MoB parted ways with Slobodan Zarkovic (bass), Bozidar Miladinovic (vocals) and as I mentioned these days Ivan Bajovic (drums) left the band.
So current line-up is :
Branislav Avramovic - vocals
Drazen Djordjevic - guitars
Boško Bajovic - bass
Mitar Pejovic - guitars
Borislav Kuga – keyboards

MR: How would you describe your music? I mean it is obvious that you’re playing death metal, but how about sub-labelling your music? You have some progressive and melodic elements in your music as well, right?
Drazen: Yes, you’re totally right about that! It is obvious that we have death metal as a firm foundation to our sound, but we never limit ourselves in making music. I would describe our music as some kind of melodic/progressive death metal. That’s because every member has his own style of metal that is his favourite and they are all different. Besides that, all members are open minded to other music that isn’t metal, like progressive rock, grunge, jazz, alternative... and that is our progressive part, that open mind-ness. I think that this is very good because then we can break the boundaries of death metal and make music that will be easily distinguished and recognized as Masque of Betrayal style!

MR: I know you’ve played some gigs? I have also seen some pictures from “Gitarijada”. For our foreign readers and your future fans would you explain what this “Gitarijada” really is and what memories you have from that particular show?
Drazen: Well, “Gitarijada” is something like “Battle of the Bands” competition around the world but the difference is that it is happening here in Serbia in Zajecar city. Also there are some other differences but the main goal is the same, only one band can win “Gitarijada”. This event in Zajecar has a long history and last year we qualified in ¼ finals of 40th “Gitarijada”. I can say that it was great to play with thirteen currently best bands in Serbia! Everything was cool, and we gave audience (which heard us there for the first time) all our energy and a show they can’t forget. I was very pleased to hear great feedback after we played our songs. After that MoB gathered a lot of good reviews and comments. That live appearance in Zajecar gave us a lot of experience and credit later on.

MR: You’ve also played Novi Sad, right? How many gigs have you played so far and can you choose the best one?
Drazen: Yes, recently we played in Novi Sad, the place was London Underground club and the crowd was great! We were the main event of the evening and we gave audience almost 2 hour gig. We played all our songs and some covers. So far we’ve played around twenty gigs across Serbia. The best one in my opinion was our appearance at Zajecar, it was hot as hell on the stage!

MR: It is funny that usually I contact the bands but this time around you came to our forum and posted news about your band. How did you find about us at first place and what do you think of our work?
Drazen: (Laughing) I am so committed in promoting Masque of Betrayal and I go to various web sites, forums and promote MoB in every way possible. This is very essential if you want to be heard by others. How did I found out Metal Revolution zine? I was browsing MySpace pages and stumbled upon your profile, I liked it and after that I automatically went to visit real web site. Metal Revolution zine web site has a great design, always fresh news and great reviews and that’s why I made a topic about MoB in your forum. Great work! Greetings to everyone who is involved in Metal-Revoultion.com !

MR: Thank you very much brother. Who would you mention as your biggest influences? I mean what bands and artists inspire you when playing metal music?
Drazen: That’s always a tricky question for me... I like so many styles of music and in every style I have some influences and artist which inspire me a lot. But I’ll try to answer as shorter as I can. There’s a great influence by swedish melo-death scene and bands like Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, At The Gates. Then I am also inspired by a lot of other bands like Dream Theater, Evergrey, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Paradise Lost, Pain of Salvation, Iced Earth, Edge Of Sanity, Skyfire, Cannibal Corpse, Eternal Tears of Sorrow... I should also mention Michael Romeo, Marty Friedman, Dan Swano, Joe Satriani, Tony MacAlpine...

MR: What about lyrical part? Where do you find inspiration when writing lyrics?
Drazen: When it comes to lyrics I find inspiration from my personal emotions mainly, but I also like to explore human thoughts about life and death. That inner struggle, and that psychological state of human mind in certain situations is so interesting for me and I like to incorporate that in lyrics. Also I like to write them in my own style which involves symbols and a slightly brutal style. Sometime lyrics come as influence of some book that I’ve read or a movie that I’ve seen but not so often.

MR: I feel like Serbian metal scene is really becoming stronger for each day and your band is proof of that. How do you look at your domestic scene? Any bands you listen to and maybe are friends with?
Drazen: This is a common question these days and I will tell you that Serbian metal scene is really becoming bigger and stronger! That’s great because it will somehow raise the quality of Serbian metal. With so many good bands and a lot of competition it is normal that one band will tend to be better than others. I like this kind of “productive competition” which will push all bands to give all they got and of course to give great music to fans. There are a few bands that we are friends with and that like to listen - Anguish Sublime (melodic death metal), Through Art (modern death metal), Antologija (power progressive metal)... check them out if you can!

MR: I will for sure, or you can always guide them to metal-revolution.com. So there isn’t much competition between the bands or…? How do you see your chances of getting a deal with some minor metal label abroad?
Drazen: Yeah there is great competition here as I said earlier and that’s good. I see Serbian metal scene as strong Eastern Europe scene. We haven’t given any thought about any deals because we want to finish this demo first. MoB is focusing on the current situation and after that we may consider sending demo to some minor metal labels abroad. But that is just a future plan. We’re taking everything step by step and there’s no hurry.

MR: Do you have the support of your family and friends? What do they think of your musical career? Are they supportive at all?
Drazen: This is a good question! When I started to play I haven’t got a lot of support from my parents. That’s because I was starting my studies and they feared that I will focus more on guitar playing and the band. But I’ve managed somehow to play and study without affecting each other. Now when band had a lot of success and great gigs, my parents are giving me much more support than earlier. I will be honest with you, I have never thought about my musical career. I play metal music because I love to play it! And that’s the same thing with all band members. If you believe me, this is the only way to play metal in Serbia.

MR: So what are your future plans? After releasing new demo I guess you’re ready to present your music live. Are you planning on going to present your music in other ex-YU countries?
Drazen: We would promote our music live for sure! We are promoting it whenever we can. Until now MoB had some invites to play in Croatia but that is all for now because I think that we’re not ready for abroad gigs yet. Maybe in the future it would come true, but for now we will play just in Serbia.

MR: Do you know anything about Danish metal scene?
Drazen: Oh yes, I listen to a lot of great Danish metal bands! Some of them are Illdisposed, Mercenary, legendary Pretty Maids, Raunchy, Royal Hunt, Saturnus, Manticora, ex-Iniquity... Danish metal scene is strong and healthy in my opinion.

MR: I see, you have big knowledge of our scene. Would you like to play here once when/if you get the chance? What do you think of when someone mentions Denmark?
Drazen: Of course we’d like to play in Denmark if we got the chance! That would be so great! And also to drink some of famous Danish beer like Tuborg or Carlsberg! When someone mentions Denmark I think of 1992 year when former Yugoslavia qualified for the Europe Championship and Denmark was second in the group. But due to Yugoslav wars, Yugoslavia was disqualified and Denmark took part in the championship, and later won the title! And I also think of Hamlet’s famous line: "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark!" But first thing were those fine beers. (laughing)

MR: After 14 years of living in Denmark I agree with you. Tuborg is my absolute favourite. So, any message to your old and new fans here in our Kingdom and across the world?
Drazen: Take a chance and listen to our music! We will keep on making good metal and play it from the heart, because there's no other way! Stay original, stay metal, stay yourself!

MR: Thank you. It was my pleasure to feature another strong and upcoming band from the Balkans.
Drazen: Thanx! Pleasure was all mine! I wish you all the best and keep on supporting metal!