Third interview up, this time featuring Chris from Unveil. If you get a second check this amazing band out keeping the 90s xvx sound alive at http://www.myspace.com/xunveilx if you like what you hear you can hit them up or suss our distro at www.waitingonrevolutiondistro.bigcartel.com. This interview is a teaser for our new split issue with Torched which will hopefully be out in the next couple of months.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Hey, can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do in Unveil?
Hi, my name is Christian, I’m 22 years old and I sing for UNVEIL.
What are the main influences on Unveil? Both musically and lyrically?
Musically, we’re obviously inspired by some 90’s hardcore bands with metallic influences. To mention some names: Unbroken, Trial, 108, Undertow, Earth Crisis and so on. On the other hand, we try to do something authentic. We want to sound like UNVEIL and not like Unbroken. I’d say we are pretty open for every kind of influence.
Lyrically I’m not inspired by a certain band or something. I just write down what I think and what I consider important.
How would you describe Unveil to someone that has never heard you before?
We’re a four-piece vegan straightedge hardcore band from Switzerland influenced by the aforementioned bands. We still give a fuck about veganism and politics.
Being from Switzerland, could you tell us a bit about how things are over there? What are some bands people should be checking out?
Switzerland has a lot of talented bands, playing very different but good music. You should definitely check out DEADVERSE, BEGGARS & GENTRY, SEED OF PAIN and since we live next to the border to Austria, also check out our homies in EL CAMINO CAR CRASH and WITHIN WALLS.
You have put out two releases on Germany’s Start A Fire records, how did you get to touch with them?
We just recorded our first 7” and we were looking for a label to put it out. Somehow we got in touch with Danny SAF and it worked out great. The second 7” was a split release with SAF and Take It Back, another small but very dedicated label from Germany. Danny SAF and Kiki TIB are adorable persons and working with them was all through a positive experience.
Your last release you titled Hypnopaedia, what does that mean to you and can you tell us about the release?
I was inspired by the book “Brave New World” by A. Huxley. The book is about an utopic society where people are oppressed and brainwashed by the powerful. They use drugs, religion and other methods to keep the masses satisfied. People are forced into a cast system, to guarantee the most possible productivity for the state. You have to read it; it’s a very good book. It’s kinda comparable to Orwell’s 1984.
From birth, members of every class are indoctrinated by recorded voices repeating slogans while they sleep (called "hypnopaedia”) to believe that their own class is best for them. They are brainwashed by the system. Look at the society we live in – it’s more or less the same way of keeping people down and exploiting them while they think the live an ordinary life.
On your split with Deadverse, your song >Snowlion< talks about the conditions of workers and humans leaving in Tibet and China, could you tell us about it for those who don’t know what is happening?
Back in the 50ies, the Chinese “liberation army” occupied Tibet. Over a billion people (mostly Tibetans) died as a result of this war. It’s an example of how easy the powerful countries/parties/people can occupy, oppress or kill others without any consequence. China is still a very controversial state. Freedom of speech and religion are still not allowed. Human execution and extreme exploitation of workers is daily routine. When I wrote these lyrics I was very into this conflict and took part in some actions for Tibet. Furthermore, this song is about any kind of oppression and occupation, not only about Tibet / China.
With all you’re merch shirts being sweat shop and fair trade, why was this so important to the band?
I am kinda outraged about the fact, that we’re nearly the only hardcore band doing this. If you talk about human and animal rights on stage and sell sweatshop shirts – wouldn’t that be total bullshit? That’s where we draw the line and pay 3$ more for a shirt. Fuck exploitation. We don’t make as much money as other bands do with merchandising but who cares. We don’t have a band to make money, we want to make good music and represent a message of peace and equality. Especially some bigger bands should really think about this option, cause they are making a lot of money with merchandising.
The song >The lie of supremacy< deals a lot with the concept of national identity, what’s you’re view on the issue? Especially in contrast to the immigration laws of the European Union?
It’s pretty easy to get my point of view if you read these lyrics I guess. National identity is a stupid concept which leads to patriotism and often to nationalism. Why do people identify themselves with such a stupid and arbitrary thing as the nation they were accidentally born in? I love living in Switzerland, it’s a beautiful country, but man, I’d never be proud of being born here – that’s just stupid. I think most patriots have a hole to fill cause they never do something by themselves that makes them proud. The European Union and Switzerland as well are fucked up and egoistic assholes. Fuck immigration laws and fuck national pride.
What does the future see for Unveil?
We take it as it comes. Currently we’re writing new songs for an LP which will hopefully be out in fall 2011. Touring and playing shows is fun – so we hope to do that as much as possible in our near future.
What legacy you would want to leave as a band and as an individual?
I don’t really think about legacies. I try to make this world a better place by my own actions and my own consumerism. We try to give something further as a band. We won’t change the world but we can save lives and help people.
Any shout outs or thank you’s?
Thanks to you guys, you asked some good questions! J Go vegan, get some silly tattoos and check our pages:
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