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Интервю със Стела Атанасова за DonMicrofon, с Евелина Илчева!

Красива, вдъхновяваща, пленителна, епична. Музиката на група Metalwings и нейният лидер и фронтдама Стела Атанасова. Чувствен и нежен глас, електрическа виола, симфоничен метъл, позитивни текстове, клипове с действие, развиващо се в красива местност някъде в България. Във видеото към Monster In The Mirror, първата песен от новия албум  A whole new land това се случва в резиденцията Евксиноград.

  • Издавате нов албум. Разкажи повече за музиката в A Whole New Land

Това е едно епично пътуване между класиката и метъл музиката. Исках в този албум да обърна малко наопаки стереотипите и да създадем албум, в който да преобладава класическата насоченост, но подплатена с тежки китари и барабани. Обикновено от това, което се създава в последните години в нашия стил музика, много групи се наричат симфоник метъл, като просто добавят един трак пиано в песните си, но за да се наречеш симфоничен метъл, трябва доста повече да се потрудиш. Аз исках да покажем на света красотата на този стил, който много хора вече приемат за остарял и изчерпан, а всъщност е точно обратното. Стилът е необятен и именно възможността да съчетаеш класика с метъл, го прави толкова интерес и интригуващ. Моята идея, която успяхме да реализираме в този албум е да имаш усещането, че слушаш класическо произведение, но подплатено със средствата и похватите на тежкия метъл. Във всяка една песен има различна история, която разказва за обратите в живота, за предателствата, за загубите и победите. Не бих могла да си представя по-добър начин да разкажеш за живота и света, в който живеем, от това да създадеш един великолепен албум, който да остане години занапред в мислите и сърцата на хората.

  • Как се справихте със записите в условията на пандемия и неизвестност?

Пандемията не ни спря нито за миг да спрем да работим върху албума. Всъщност започнахме работа върху него през зимата на 2019 до есента на 2020, когато всъщност влязохме в студио, за да го запишем. По време на пандемията заснехме и видеото към песента ‘Monster in the Mirror’. Ние, артистите, не трябва да се пречупваме и поддаваме на каквито и да било страхове. Не трябва да се крием и изолираме, защото това ще ни погуби, като личности и артисти. Ние трябва да даваме кураж и воля за живот на хората. Затова пандемията по никакъв начин не ни попречи да осъществим целите си и да го направим по най-добрия начин. Ние не обичаме да с оплакваме и да занимаваме феновете си с проблемите си. Всички имат проблеми. Ние искаме да даваме решения и да даваме глътка свеж въздух на тези, които жадуват за нея.

  • Обложката на албума изглежда доста интересна. Постапокалиптичен свят, различен тип животни и малко момиченце.

Да, това е едно пророчество, предадено от пророка Влайчо на майка ми преди много години, според което когато всички хищници заживеят в мир със своите жертви, на земята няма да има граници. Много години носих това в главата си и исках по някакъв начин да го предам на света, а вече всеки един да го тълкува през своята призма на съзнание. Обсъдих идеята за хищниците и детенцето, заедно с нашия дизайнер Ясен Денев и измислихме тази концепция, която да въплъщава идеята на новия свят, който идва след като нищо друго не е останало след нас и действията ни. Защото на края ще останат само нежността, интелекта и красотата. А това момиченце носи промяната, обединявайки силите на природата, за да спаси света или поне това, което е останало от него.

  • Правите малко концерти, но пък добри записи и видеа. Разкажи повече за начина на работа в Metalwings

Правим малко концерти, защото сцените, на които можем да свирим в България са много малко, а за да направим турне навън, са нужни много средства. Затова правим това, в което сме най-добри – хубави албуми и прекрасни видеа. А междувременно работим за деня, в който ще имаме възможността да правим периодично големи международни турнета. Честно казано, не пилеем енергията си просто да свирим където и да е, на всяка цена. Това някак уморява публиката, както и самите музиканти. Ние се целим нависоко и работим всеки ден, за да ставаме все по-добри във всяко едно отношение. Когато времето дойде, ще сме готови да направим своя лъвски скок, но здраво стъпили на земята. Славата и фалшивата популярност могат много бързо да те замаят и да те накарат да разпериш ръце над пропастта, мислейки, че можеш да летиш. Ние проправяме своя път, със съзнанието, че можем да летим, но понеже често са прекършвали крилете ни, много внимателно преценяваме всяка своя крачка, преди да решим, че сме готови да полетим.

Цялото интервю можете да прочетете тук!

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Why did you choose to include as much music as possible, almost 70 minutes, which is not the norm nowadays? Did you feel so confident about your new material?

If I wasn’t convinced of what I was creating, I wouldn’t be trying to make music at all. The truth is that in recent years everything in music has become easier, more uniform. There is no fire, no passion. Everyone follows a successful formula – I’m talking about the most famous bands and relies on the fact that whatever they release, fans will accept it. I do not accept such things. To call yourself an artist, you have to have the courage to be yourself and do what you love, not just release album after album in which you have not invested anything. This album consists of 70 minutes of love for music. We put our hearts into this album. I cannot doubt even for a second in our hearts. Whether our fans will like it remains to be seen.

How did the pandemic affect the making of the album and the promotion of it?

The pandemic slightly delayed the recording and release of the album, but in no way prevented us from creating what we wanted.

How is it being a woman in a “man’s world”? Did you ever feel that people underestimate you as a woman in a heavy metal band? Have you felt/faced any kind of discrimination?

So far, I have not felt for a moment any kind of discrimination or underestimation, because I am a woman in a metal band. I don’t pay attention to such things in general. This is a kind of chimera that is time to unravel and forget. Women are wonderful creatures and can only create beauty. How could anyone dare to say that because you are a woman, you have no place on the metal scene. This would be a very limited person. I do not know such people personally and I hope not to meet them in the future. The fact that years ago there was such a term as ‘man’s world’ – it is only the fault of women that we allowed it and paid too much attention to what men say.

What are your future plans? What do you plan to do to promote your new album?

In these strange times we live in – I do not plan anything. I let things just happen. Most importantly, we managed to record and release this amazing album, in the midst of a crisis and a pandemic. We work with a great press promoter Mike de Coene, which helps us a lot to promote the album. We hope that if not this year, next year we will have the chance to do a long tour to promote our album live.

Follow the link to read the full interview!

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The history of the Bulgarian band Metalwings dates back to 2010, when classically trained Stela Atanasova had the idea to combine elements of classical music with Melodic Metal. Soon she found like-minded comrades-in-arms. But the band had the same problems as many other smaller bands, there were many changes in the line-up. So today only two musicians from the early days are active in Metalwings, the singer herself and keyboarder Angel Kitanov. So it is not surprising that in these more than ten years only one EP and two studio albums were released. Recently, “A Whole New Land” was released. Reason enough to ask the singer some curious questions.

You have played many live gigs, including at various festivals. But the first EP was released in 2016 and the debut album “For All Beyond” followed in 2018. Why did it take you so long?

Good and real things happen just when they should – not a day sooner or later. I understand that our fans would like to release an album every year, but what most of them do not suspect is how difficult it is for an independent band like ours to release quality albums with good material and quality sound. It is almost impossible financially, but we do it despite the difficulties. With each new album, with each new video – we raise the level and prove to the world that even an independent band from Bulgaria can achieve the level and quality of famous bands and not be broken by problems and obstacles. In addition, it is very difficult to create music with the wrong people. In order to present your work and make people love it, you must have created it with love and created it with people who also invest 100% of themselves. And until I find these people, this core of the band – time has passed. The important thing is that the core of the band is present. When it is there, even if there are some changes, things are fixable.

I’ve never set a goal to just cover a norm for the number of albums released – the important thing for me is that they be meaningful, experienced, suffered and to touch people’s hearts. It doesn’t matter how many albums you have created, but how long the creation will continue to be listened to. Some of our songs will stay in people’s hearts forever.

There are a lot of symphonic metal bands.  Many also with women on the microphone. How do Metalwings differ from other bands of this genre?

Each band has its own distinctive feature. We are distinguished by our wonderful melodies, beautiful lyrics, epic orchestrations, the sound of the viola and last but not least, the fact that we do not compromise with a single tone in our music. We are perfectionists and we want to create only the best we are capable of.

Read the full interview here!

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This time the interview is with metal-heads.de.

Some excerpts from it:

Thanks to Crying of the Sun, the world learned about us. Until now, no metal band from Bulgaria has gained such popularity and has not reached literally all corners of the Earth. We got a great chance and the most important thing is that it motivates us to work even harder to prove to our fans that we are not just a successful song, but we are a metal band that states categorically its place on the map of metal music. 

As for the music business – I honestly don’t like what’s been happening to music in recent years and how spectacular, vision-like, but completely devoid of talent, bands and performers are being launched, while those who really deserve to be heard are ignored and suppressed deliberately. I hope that sooner or later this system will break and as many independent artists as possible will have the opportunity to play at major festivals and make successful international tours without being dependent on anyone. An artist without wings is not an artist, but a bird in a cage.

Doors that open easily are also easy to close. We do not dream of easy fame and false popularity. We fight for every single fan. We try to make different, interesting and captivating music. And if we manage to win the hearts of true music connoisseurs, then we’ve done what is necessary and what we have set as a goal.

The music industry can make you famous for a day without deserving it, but it can also destroy you for a moment, even though you’re making great music. So it is very important to know exactly what you want to achieve and find the best option to do it. (Stela Atanaosva)

Follow the link to read the full interview!

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Pix666: Your new album ‘A Whole New Land’ will be released in June. What can fans expect on the album? What makes the album different from your previous releases? Is it already possible to pre-order the album somewhere?

Stela: Our fans can expect a very different album in every aspect – that’s why the name of the album is ‘A Whole New Land’. Our songs are much more complex, from a musical and compositional point of view. The arrangements have much heavier guitars and drums. Last but not least are the beautiful orchestral arrangements, as well as the inspiring lyrics. Yes, the album can now be pre-ordered via iTunes.

Pix666: When you release an album, you want to get out on stage right away and blast the songs at the audience. …but the pandemic unfortunately still has us in its grip. Despite everything, have you already made plans for a record release show or a tour?

Stela: We are already planning a show on June 11, where we will present our new album live to all our fans, here in Sofia. After that we have an invitation to participate in a festival here in Bulgaria. We are expecting other dates in the summer, when I hope we will have the opportunity to present our new songs live.

Pix666: Do you have any wishes and dreams for Metalwings for the future – in which countries would you like to play, which festivals or locations do you miss and with which bands would you like to go on tour or share a stage?

Stela: What I wish for myself and Metalwings is to get the attention of true connoisseurs of metal music. We do not strive for quick popularity, but we strive to win people’s hearts. Of course, my biggest dream is to start doing longer tours, to more destinations and one day, to start receiving invitations from big festivals to share the stage with bands like Nightwish, Dimmu Borgir, Epica.

Pix666: As a musician, you certainly spend most of your time creating music – but what else do you do in your free time when you want to get your mind off things – are there any interesting hobbies that you pursue?

Stela: Apart from the obvious things you listed – I like to read books, walk in nature or just sit on the beach, in my hometown Burgas and enjoy the sea. It charges me and inspires me the most. I use my little free time to remain silent and enjoy the moment.

Pix666: Do you have any other news, that you would like to share with the fans?

Stela: Be prepared for something new and truly epic – our new land is coming on June 11th and I’m sure it will take you on the wings of music, to fabulous lands and forgotten dreams.

Follow the link to read the full interview

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Have you ever thought about giving up your music career? And if so, what prompted you to keep going?

All musicians who put their soul into music had moments when they wanted to give up. Music is a blessing, but it can also be a curse. Especially when nowadays you see how stars are created in days and real talents are neglected and forgotten. There is no artist who loves works in the dark. Everyone wants attention, contact with the audience and their music to see the light of day. But in fact, instead of making it easier, it has become much harder for real artists because they don’t have the energy or time to be assertive, to be online and to be so social. The real artists don’t have the desire to shoot constantly for dozens of social networks and to show what they eat or what they do. This is exhausting for a real artist. A real artist just wants to make music and share it with the world. But the world has changed and cruelly oppressed those who are not ready for change. At the moment, the chances of becoming popular because of how you look are much higher than becoming famous because you make great music. There are only a few people who will appreciate your music. Millions are those who are impressed by the external, spectacular and easy to perceive. As for how I manage to move forward – I’m a scorpion, I don’t give up easily. The harder I work, the more I pull forward. Besides, music is my life. I don’t make music to impress the whole world. I make music to be heard by those who have the hearts and minds to appreciate it. Our music is boutique – it is only for connoisseurs. I am happy for every fan and every positive comment, because for us everyone is valuable. When someone take the time to hear our songs, to write us a comment – this means that we have already achieved our goal. So, the music industry brings both a lot of joy and can kill you. It is important with what expectations you pass through the door of fame.

How has your experience been as a woman and being in the music and metal scene?

I don’t think we should divide musicians into men or women. We are all the same. If so far there has been a feeling that women are neglected and not accepted in the metal scene, it is because women have paid too much attention to men’s opinions. I already think that has changed and women have gained much more confidence that they are no less good than men on the metal scene. I personally feel great being part of the metal scene and showing the world how amazing we women are in every way.

 Finally, what message would you like to leave to all those women, and people in general, who still do not dare to play an instrument and form a band due to fears, prejudices and insecurities?

I want to say that we live in a small country – the poorest in the European Union. We do not have a developed music industry. The media does not support local bands. No organizer of major festivals here wants to open his eyes and hear something different from what he has already heard. The battle is fierce and unjust and will always be so. I don’t know how it is in other countries, but it is like that here. We have achieved everything so far on our own. Do you know why? Because we didn’t give up and didn’t pay attention to anyone who criticized us or betrayed us. We always stand up and move forward. Don’t let anyone take away your dreams and break your wings. Life is only yours, and the world is huge and waiting for you to concure it. Do not waste your time in fears, do not put up with crumbs. Always strive for more, for a higher, for your better self. And forget about those who don’t like or disapprove of what you do. You have your own path and destiny – just follow it.

Read the interview here

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Here are some excerpts from the interview:

“The dreams do not come alone, on the wings of a white dove – they come with a lot of work, faith and passion” – Stela Atanasova.

MG: You combine classical elements with operatic vocals, which may sound pretty old school, but the album sounds really fresh, with a lot of powerful, dramatic and dynamic moments. How did you manage to achieve this sound? What was your goal with “A Whole New Land” soundwise?

Stela: Thank you very much for your positive opinion. This means a lot to me. It is true that combining classics with opera vocals already sounds old school, but when you do it with passion and are not afraid to use different elements or experiment, you will always sound different and fresh. There is a huge potential in this style of music and I am happy to be part of the world of symphonic metal.

In my personal opinion, all artists and bands must strive for constant development and change. We must constantly provoke ourselves to do what we are afraid of and never stop looking for new techniques and means of expression in order to make as real and beautiful music as possible.

The sound we achieved with our new album is not accidental – from the very beginning, when we started discussing the new album, I gathered the guys and told them what my vision was for it. I wanted everything to sound more complex. I wanted heavier guitars and drums, as well as much more epic orchestral tracks. Then I decided that in order to present our songs in the best possible way, we should mix and master them with already proven names. That’s why I chose Jens Bogren. I didn’t just want to release another album – I wanted to release one of the best albums of recent years, which will be listened to for years to come. And I am convinced that we succeeded. We are very pleased with the sound we achieved, thanks to Jens, and that our album sounds amazing as a whole concept in musical and dramatic terms. But of course, the best indicator of that is our fans, so I can’t wait to hear their feeling and opinion about our album.

Follow the link to read the full interview here!

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A few days ago, you released your new single “Still Believe In Us”. The song is inspired by what has happened to our world over the last three months. How do you feel about this single? Do you believe that your song spread the message that you’ve wanted to express?  

I am completely convinced of that. This is a very special single because it reveals our love and empathy for all people around the world. Our role as artists is to lift the spirits of people, not only during concerts, but when they have fallen. In this strange situation in which we lived for several months we saw how the will of the people was crushed and replaced by fear and obedience. But all people need is someone to tell them – nothing is over. The good is yet to come. Our vocation as artists is to show the real side of life. To rebel against fear and irresponsibility. Artists should not close their eyes when facing the truth. A true artist must stand boldly in front of people and clearly state his position. Everything else is vanity and theater on wheels.

How do you spend your time through the pandemic of COVID-19? Do you meet each other for rehearsals, or the pandemic slow down your future plans? 

These were strange times. People have changed. Fear took over. Music saves us as always. As for our plans – all evil for good.We stopped rehearsals for a while, but we realized that was not the way to go. The musician’s job is to make music. Not to hide and wait for the storm to pass. We are a band – such events cannot break us because we are together in this. After all, when we begin to think that we are all one and together in all this, our world will have no boundaries.

Follow the full interview

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written by Ivona Bogner 

In Corona Corner, we are asking musicians how the outbreak has effected them, how did they adapt to the situation, what did they learn. Amazing Stela Atanasova, mastermind of Metalwings, shares her quarantine story with our readers.

Hi! How are you doing during corona outbreak?
Hello! Thank you very much for this interview. We all feel good. We can’t wait to get back to a normal life, namely to make music without restriction and to prepare our next album safely.

What have you cancelled/postponed due coronavirus?
What we had to postpone due this virus is the shooting of our next official music video, which will be the single of the album. Most likely this will happen by the end of summer. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the band’s creation. We intend to celebrate this fact with the release of this single and the official video for it. So, the best is yet to come.

How the global coronavirus pandemic is directly impacting bands?
What made the pandemic was that it divided people, divided bands, families. Everyone had to find a way to get through this. Many of the bands failed to do tours, concerts, to release albums. But this is not the end of the world. We just got a chance to restart. We got time to create new songs, to think about our priorities, to dream. Nothing fatal happened to the bands. Most independent bands like us have seen much worse than that. We are not afraid of such things. We survived all the time, with no support other than our fans. So we can handle it. For the rest bands, I can say nothing. I guess their labels will help them deal with this situation. Bands will survive. But it is important to say that bands, especially rock and metal, at such tough times should give the most support and courage to their fans. This is not a time to complain, but to give strength and hope to people. Our fans are the ones who need us more now than ever. It should not be the opposite.

How are you keeping your fans during this chaotic period?
As always – with music. We’ve created a brand new song “Still believe in us” – dedicated to people who still believe in goodness and are fighting for a better world. We do what we are best at doing – making music and giving hope.

What will metal look like when we re-emerge from isolation?
I sincerely hope it will re-emerge more authentic and wilder. Such as the spirit of metal in the 70’s. It is time to bring back that sense of freedom and change. Definitely it’s time for a change.

Who will suffer the most after all: musicians, organizers promoters…
What does suffering mean? That they lost money? That the tours were delayed? It’s nothing – it’s just a wind. Many people did not survive. They lost their lives, lost loved ones, lost their jobs. This is a real loss and suffer. The other is a vanity and comfort that many of us are used to and cannot accept that they can lose it. I would like to recall in this connection Darwin’s words: “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”.

What is your isolation soundtrack?
I can’t wait to wake up in the morning, open my window and hear the birdsong. I’ve never heard them sing so beautifully and fabulously. The best singers in the world. I would get at least a hundred guest musicians from them in the band immediately. This is how my soundtrack sounds in isolation. With the voice of nature.

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