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O nosso próximo álbum abrirá certamente um novo capítulo no mundo do metal sinfónico.

A afinar uma sonoridade distinta desde a sua concepção em 2010, os Metalwings prometem agitar as águas da cena metal sinfónica. A Metal Hammer Portugal dá a conhecer o colectivo búlgaro.

“For All Beyond”: «Quisemos com este disco apresentar ao mundo um trabalho conceptual dentro do estilo do metal sinfónico, que traz a beleza a este género musical, reforçado pelo poder das orquestrações, dos elementos clássicos misturados com as guitarras e do som da viola com os vocais angelicais da Stela Atanasova.»

Temática: «A temática de “For All Beyond” é construída em torno da árvore da vida, que está representada na capa deste disco. Todos os temas são diferentes mas estão, ao mesmo tempo, ligados à ideia de fluidez e da energia da vida que nos rodeia. Tudo gravita à volta das nossas raízes, sonhos, medos e esperanças. Este disco simboliza o ciclo da vida, o princípio e o fim, a luz e as trevas. O elemento que liga todas as nossas músicas é a bondade, a fé e o desejo de encontrar a luz e a felicidade.»

Evolução: «A evolução da nossa sonoridade começou com a mudança de alguns membros. Cada músico trouxe a sua energia e deu um sentido à música. A beleza da música será sempre uma prioridade para nós e estamos agora à procura de novas formas de expressar, enfatizar e fortalecer o seu impacto. O nosso próximo álbum abrirá certamente um novo capítulo no mundo do metal sinfónico.»

Aquilo que os distingue: «Quisemos impor o nosso nome e criar uma distinção no nosso estilo. Como sabemos, cada banda é única naquilo que faz. Todos somos fãs de bandas diferentes mas o nosso desejo é criar a nossa própria identidade no mundo da música e isto não acontece se imitarmos os nossos ídolos. Só acontece se acreditarmos em nós próprios e ouvirmos a música que toca nos nossos corações.»

Metalwings: há beleza no metal

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Posted by Ivona Bogner

I have met Stela Atanasova in the beginning of 2017. She was too kind to come to my hotel in Sofia where we had friendly conversation at the hotel lobby. She is one of the kindest persons I have ever met. Friendly, calm, eloquent, intelligent, respectful… Her band Metalwings released “For All Beyond” album in April last year, so now you can read what Stela has to say about it and lot more. I hope you will enjoy in this interview as much as I did.

Metalwings are back from the first interatonal tour. In March you have been playing in Romania and Austria. Tell me something more about your impressions?
This tour was a real pleasure and a test for us. I am very happy and satisfied that it happened because it is a very important step from the path of every band. We had the opportunity to meet and play with great bands and musicians. We met many of our fans from abroad who had traveled for us from other countries. For example, in Bucharest we were surprised by fans from Israel who had come to hear us live and in Vienna came our fans from Germany. I felt great all the time on the tour but the best moments were those we experienced on scenes where I could feel the energy of people and see the glitter in their eyes. It’s an incredible experience to be on a tour. I would make it permanent.

The band has been playing lots of concerts in Bulgaria. This was the first time the band played on international stages. Now, when it is over, can you tell me good and bad sides of touring?
Even though the tour was short, I got some idea of what to expect next time on a longer tour. You definitely do not have to go with great expectations. You have to take everything with a smile and calm because the tension is huge and people with a weaker psyche would not stand. The good sides are the fans – this is the most precious thing. Meet them, talk to them because it’s a dream come true for them to touch you. Also win new fans, meet new musicians. We also got experience from working with different teams on different scenes. We have seen how clubs working outside of Bulgaria and I can only say that I have not met such a professional attitude for a long time. If we can talk about bad sides- first, it’s the financial part. We faced conditions that would be tough for many of the bands that rely on their own resources, as it was with us. Every day we had to travel vast distances between the towns and immediately without any rest to unload all the equipment, to set it up, to perform concerts and then to load everything again. We slept every night after 2 in the morning and we had to get up at 6 to head to the next town to be there in time. But I can say boldly that it was worth every sleepless night and hardship because it all disappeared the moment we were on the stage. Maybe there are no good and bad sides. Everything is part of the game and who is strong enough and motivated to jump deep, must be ready to experience all this with good and bad. Besides, such a tour is a great test of the will for everyone. Not all of them were mentally prepared for the difficulties and this tour has helped me to find out who I can really count on in the band.

How hard is to be a main composer, lyrics writer, producer?
Depends on the viewpoint. From my point of view this means freedom. The more independent I am, the more certain the band will survive. I have long understood that the less the future of the band depends on people’s inconsistency, the easier it will be to move forward. I’ve always loved writing music and lyrics. I know how my music should sound – so naturally I became a producer of our albums. I think about everything in the band, find the right people and pull the band ahead and hope when I turned back to see people who don’t travel for free. I just want to see people who truly believe in what we are doing together are ready to go this way with me. Of course, it’s hard to be all that stuff, but music makes sense of my life and everything I do for it makes sense. I can’t afford to leave my happiness in the hands of other people. They will always be able to destroy it.

Let′s talk about your videos… How do you choose locations?
“Crying Of The Sun” from previous EP “Fallen Angel In The Hell” was filmed in Belogradchik and “Fallen Angel In The Hell” in Prohodna (The Eyes Of God/God’s Eyes) Cave. Where was filmed “For All Beyond”?

“For All Beyond” was filmed in several locations. This time we changed the concept a bit, because we do not want to go into clichés and every time to rely on some natural landmark. But again we used beautiful places in Bulgaria to emphasize the meaning of the song. For example, at the beginning the video is shot down to a century-old tree, which is one of the last trees left by the Great Bulgarian Forest. The band was filmed in a military unit. The building was very beautiful, but unfortunately it is now ruined. The destroyed building embodies the past, the ruins we leave behind and the lost hopes. Towards the end of the song we shot the scenes over the Ropotamo River and the place where the Veleka River flows into the Black Sea. It was an epic film production and here is the time to thank the whole video production team who made this music video reality.

Follow the full interview: