Interview With Roman Koester

First off, I just wanted to say well done on the success of Boris The Blade over the past 12 months. How did you end up joining the band for those who don't know?

A long time good friend of mine CJ, from ‘Thy Art is Murder’ gave me a call to come lay down some guest vocals on a new and upcoming bands E.P. This turned out to be Boris The Blade. After working on the track with CJ, I was very interested in the band. It turned out they were after another guitarist and because I had actually worked with some of the boys when recording their earlier bands, it was just a great fit and seemed like the right decision to join from all parties involved.

A lot of people know you from The Red Shore who built up quite a large following, is there a big difference from being in TRS to being in BTB?

There are a lot of similarities between the two, but the biggest difference is in the way we approach song writing. TRS was always about pushing ourselves to the limit no matter what the cost. Now with Boris, we are still most definitely doing this, but have also taken on some of the more traditional songwriting values. In that we aren’t just trying to write for other musicians out there. We are hoping to achieve a balance of very technical, intelligent music, but also catchy, grooving songs that can be enjoyed by all lovers of metal.

The Red Shore's third and final album 'The Avarice Of Man' was an amazing Technical Death Metal record, your guitar work especially was a standout. Will you be bringing a similar style to the new Boris The Blade material?

Absolutely. We always try to take our playing to the next level and I believe in constantly trying to learn from and improve on the past. Josh Lording, Boris’s other guitarist is an amazing musician, both technically and composition wise. He has the same vision I do for the band and its music and we are really happy with how the new stuff is progressing.

You're the owner of Complex Studios in Melbourne, what are some of your favourite bands that you have worked with and produced over the years?

Other than the main artists that I had a lot to do with (TRS, Deez Nuts etc) I would have to say Adelaide’s ‘Far West Battlefront’, ‘Psycroptic’, ‘Agents of Abhorrence’, ‘Whoretopsy’ and a good friend of mine ‘Dylan Jarrad’.

If you could choose any 3 bands in the World to play with live, who would they be?

As lame as it sounds, ‘Metallica’. I grew up listening to them and other than the obvious massive crowd we would have (hahaha), I actually respect what they have done for the heavier genre’s. ‘Misericordiam’, because of the shear brutality and ‘Justin Bieber’,  just to see the look on the faces of all the 12 year old girls.

When you're not listening to or working around Metal, what do you like to throw on the CD player and chill out to?
 

Anberlin, This will destroy you, any film score by Clint Mansell. Jon Gomm and Andy McKee

Do you have a favourite album of 2012 so far?

Thy Art’s ‘Hate’

What can we expect from the highly anticipated Boris The Blade debut album and what sort of sound do you want to achieve?

Hopefully a more mature sounding album that is heavier, faster, groovier and more catchy. We are all about sticking to our guns and not following the trends, so we would rather go the opposite of Djent to be honest.

It was just announced recently that you'll be playing some shows with American Deathcore band Oceano, are you excited about that?

Absolutely! I had the privilege of playing with them in the states with TRS and they don’t disappoint. They are all very nice down to earth people also, which goes along way! The Aussie scene is lacking punters, so everyone should get behind these international tours that come here. They all basically play for free and if people don’t come, then they wont anymore!!!

I just discovered Whoretopsy who recorded at your studio, brutal stuff I must say. Got any other Aussie bands that readers should check out?

For the softer side, ‘Dylan Jarrad’, he has the voice of an angel, ‘Distress Signals’ and for the heavier stuff, ‘Farewell Fairytale’ have some new tracks in the works that are killer!

Thanks a lot for taking the time out to answer these questions, I know all of your fans and myself included are eagerly awaiting some new material from Boris The Blade, any final words?

Thanks so much for the support! Come out to a show and have a chat! We are all grateful for your time and appreciate it when everyone supports one another!

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