Peruvian Metal Music have recently conducted an interview with Jim from Sirocco.
• Hi there, tell to the readers of Peruvian Metal Music something about the band
> Hails Guillermo. Thank you for the interview opportunity.
> We are a 4-piece metal band from the south of Ireland, with influences
> from many different styles of metal. We formed in 2003 as a heavy metal
> band, and have since progressed to our current sound - A blend of
> thrashy rythms, melodic and sometimes familiarly celtic lead lines,
> powerful bass-work and intricate drumming.. complete with maiden-esque
> dual guitar harmonies and old school heavy metal solos! We like to call
> it "Celtic Thrash".
• Has anyone of the members played for other bands before joining Sirocco?
> We have all played in previous bands before forming Sirocco, but none
> were very serious, and I don't believe any studio recordings were ever
> produced from any of these bands. We all grew up together in
> the same small town, so it was quite imminent that we would end up in
> a band together at some stage.
• What bands were influencial to you in the making of your first album?
> The first album was a collection of both old and new songs, some of which
> had been written up to 2 years beforehand. So the influences are varied
> from song to song. Of course, we had common influence from bands like
> Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden and Slayer.. And as we progressed, you can hear
more of that "celtic" sound, which I guess was influenced by bands like Bathory,
Mael Mordha and Belinus.
• Do you just play live concerts among folk metal bands?
Although there are so many folk metal bands in Ireland (Mael Mordha,
Waylander, Runecaster, Old Season to name a feW), we rarely have a
chance to play on the same show together. In fact Runecaster are the only band
from that list that we have shared a stage with so far. We hope to play some pagan
metal festivals in the near future though.
• Where and when was your most memorable gig?
> hmm... We headlined a sold out 500 person venue in our home town of Cork in
> August 2005 which was very special to us. It was our first headlining show
> ever, and to see all those people singing along to the guitar melodies was
> phenomenal!
• Favorite bands
> Ciaran (Bass & Vocals): Megadeth.
> Jim (guitars): Rotting Christ, Katatonia.
> John (guitars): Emperor, Amon Amarth.
> Rob (Drums): Tool, Iron Maiden.
• How is the scene in Ireland? Is it growing?
> The scene here at the moment is healthier than it has been in years.
> Many international bands that previously would have made only 1 stop
> in Ireland now stay for 2 shows. Particularly here in Cork, where Slayer
> have recently made their first appearance. There also seems to be an
> influx of new bands popping up almost over night. We have several small
> metal festivals which are now in their second year (Winterfest, Whiplash,
> Mysterious Wounds), as well as the Day of Darkness festival, which this
> year will host the likes of Entombed, Candlemass, Sabbat and Skyforger.
• Is the band a full time job or is it a part time job?
> I would not classify Sirocco as a job.. Its something that we all love
to do. If we can sell some tshirts and cds along the way, or maybe even reclaim
travel expenses, great! But we are perfectly happy to just play in front of
people who enjoy our music. Maybe one day we will be in a position to afford to play
full time, but for now, we all have "day jobs".
• Is it difficult to record an album in your area?
> The recording process itself is not a problem. There are plenty of great
studios here, and we have a great engineer, who is very patient with us. The
difficulty comes in having to self-finance the album, as we currently do not have a
record deal of any type.
• Have you played outside Ireland? If so, how is it like?
> We have yet to play outside of Ireland.. We have found it difficult to
garner the interest of any promoters in the surrounding countries, but we hope to
secure some shows in Scotland and the rest of the U.K. for October and November
to support our forthcoming album, "The March Through Crimson Frost".
• Do you know something about Peru?
I know that it is located at 10° 00 S, 76° 00 W ;)
• What are your plans for the future?
> Well, we have just finished recording our second album, and will be
releasing
> it on October 5th here in Ireland. Plans for the immediate future would
most
> definitely include securing a good label, and playing some shows throughout
> mainland Europe. I guess we will see where it goes from there.
• Are there rip-offs in Ireland?
> Rip offs? I guess you mean bad promoters? sure! there are bad promoters
everywhere,
> but we just try not to make those mistakes. And if we do, we will learn
from it.
• Is there support for sirocco at the concerts?
> Most of the time! as long as our shows are properly advertised, we will
always see
> a lot of people at our shows. As I said, we love to perform in front of
a big audience :)
• Favorite food
> Meat.
• well, thanks for your words. Want to give some last words to the
readers?
> Sure! Thanks for reading, and make sure to check us out on our website,
and add us as your friend on myspace! With your support, we will play in your country
very soon!