VIGILANCE - INTERVIEW

OCCULT SPEED HEAVY METAL FURY FROM SLOVENIA

I have the pleasure to talk with Gilian Adam; the leader and guitarist of the Slovenian occult heavy metal group Vigilance. Gilian, please introduce Vigilance to those who may not know you yet and talk us a little of your past and how Vigilance were formed.

Hello! 

Well, to sum it up nicely, we are a four-piece heavy metal band from Slovenia and we play loud and fast haha.

The band was formed on Walpurgisnacht 2010 and we have since then released a demo, an EP entitled “Steeds of Time” and we are currently heading to the studio to record our first full-length album, which should be out somewhere in the beginning of 2013.

The idea for a band like this was in my head long before I actually formed Vigilance, but it is very hard to find people who are both into this kind of music and have the right talent and dedication. In 2010, when I disbanded my previous band Rager, I met Tine and we started jamming just for fun. We covered some Iron Maiden songs, some old Rager tracks and before we knew it we were already writing new stuff. Anžo, who was Tine’s old band mate joined on bass and that was it. We recorded a three track demo entitled “R.O.D.” with me on vocals and later asked Jakob to join first as a singer and latter also as a guitarist.

I heard some rumors that you will release on vinyl and MC format the already sold-out EP entitled "Steeds of Time" so talk us a little about this release and on which label will be released.

You are very thorough with your research I see! It is true, both the LP and the MC version of “Steeds of Time” will be released in the near future, the first via Dying Victims Productions from Germany and the latter by WAR records from Portugal. I can’t give you any details about the release dates, as it is all “T.B.A.” for now, but I guess both will see the light of day before the end of the year.

All the other details will remain a secret for a while longer, but do expect some bonus tracks and a few goodies!

A random one - is Gilian Adam your real name? And if so how the hell your parents managed to give you such a name?

Believe it or not, it actually is. That I have asked my old folks quite a few times, but they never really uncovered the whole back story. I think it had to do something with an obsession with Deep Purple and possibly alcohol haha.

Your new album will be released in early 2013 via Metal Tank Records. Shall we expect the same old school spirit as on "Steeds of Time" or shall we be prepared a more darker approach to heavy metal? Also, what would be the name of the new album?

Yes to both actually. It is still the very same good old heavy metal which was featured on our EP, but with a much more personal and darkened feel overall. We really took the time to write the material for this one and I would dare say, this is a big step closer to our own unique sound and feel. 

We did not settle for a title yet, we like to have the things recorded and mixed first so we can sit down, listen to the songs and get the vision of what they represent to us in their whole.

This question is mainly related to the 4. one. From "Steeds of Time" era to nowadays I saw that the band visual presence darkened and flow into more occult waters - is just me or there is something that is changing in the overall band visual expression?

Well, we started the band two years ago with the intention to play the music we all love and have pinpointed the general borders of what we want music wise and how we want to sound but you still develop and grow as a musician and as an artist as the time goes along.

Personally, I have always been fascinated by mysterious and dark things, be it history, magick, war or just everyday life. For me it was natural to let this fascination sort of influence my music and appearance but it needed time to develop, grow and become something that is a part of everyone in the band.

I don’t know somehow but this occult flow and feeling in rock and metal groups reminds me of some "dark expects" of the hippie era and of course at the abuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances - is this also the case of Vigilance? Is your music and the creation of it also fueled and made by the help of such addictive products?

Obviously one thing leads to another and one can clearly see that the 60’s and 70’s acts such as Black Widow and Coven had a huge impact on latter rock/metal both musically and in terms of attitude, so the connection is rather obvious to me.

As for the second part, we don’t really need any drugs to be what we are as most people who know us personally would agree that we’re already mental naturally haha. So, the answer would be no. Our music comes from ourselves and from what we stand for and believe in.

With that said, I do have to say we do like to drink a few good ones and personally have nothing against drugs and alcohol hahahaha!

Going back to the music solely. When can we expect to hear a preview from the upcoming album?

I hope it will be available as soon as possible, but again I have no exact answers. If everything goes well it might be out somewhere in November or so...

What are the bands that influenced the most the sound of Vigilance?

There are many, but to just name a few, I’d say Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Running Wild, Pentagram and Candlemass.

Oh, and Dissection! Ha!

Any final words for the readers of Blasphemic Zine?

Listen to loud music and worship the Devil. Oh, and to all the girls who read your website; When Vigilance come to your town, be sure to lock in your mothers!