Metalcore band "Blinded Memory": „Alternative scene in Riga is definitely changing, from loads of underground bands 7 years ago to just a handful now“ (video)

Links:

http://www.blindedmemory.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BlindedMemory (from 2010 01 09)

http://www.twitter.com/blindedmemory

http://www.youtube.com/blindedmemorytv

New EP "From The Ashes" on Bandcamp - http://goo.gl/HOSWlS

Members:

Eric Novikov - Vocals / Programming

Anton Polskikh - Guitar

Aivars Lietaunieks - Guitar

Andrey Nikitin - Bass

Alexander "Rick" Kudryavcev – Drums

Interview with BLINDED MEMORY:

Could You please tell more about Your project, how it began? What albums, collaborations are/were the most interesting to You? What albums do You personally consider the best?

Blinded Memory started up in January 2010, Eric is the only founding member that is still in the band since then. During the time of our existance, we’ve released 2 Ep’s (in 2010 and 2013) and one digital single (in 2011). It’s hard to pick which one of them is the best, they all are a part of our history, and are important to us.

What does band's name mean? What is the message behind it?

There is no really big message behind our band’s name, in our opinion it just reflects pretty good the controversial parts of our music.

Could You please tell about Your main influences. What music, books, films, other things impress You?

Aivars  - Personally for me – as I lay dying, unearth, metallica. From my perspective – the x-files, into the wild, conspiracy theories and ufo stuff J

Eric – I was influenced a lot by bands like Linkin Park, Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Parkway Drive, A Day To Remember and many more. Talking about books – i mostly prefer fantastic and fantasy stuff, for example „Legend Of The Seeker” by Terry Goodkind, or „The Vorkosigan Saga” by Louis Bujold, to name a few.

What is God/Gods to You? What is Your religion, philosophy, worldview?

Aivars - As a non believer I believe in one thing – self-improvement is the key to achieving excellence.

Eric – I’m a non believer too, and my philosophy is pretty easy – you choose your own path, so working hard, and treating others the way you want to be treated is the way to be in harmony with yourself and the world around.

How do You exactly call Your style?

Our earlier stuff was melodic metalcore, but the new material is different, but has the same melodic spark, that differed us from other metalcore bands in the past. So now we tend to call our genre Modern Melodic Metal, influenced by many other genres.

Is our civilization still going down and down? Do You believe in any possible end of it? What could that be?

Aivars – Well, actually life is getting undeniably better, if we look at the statistics, the average life expectancy is greater than ever in history, we have new medicine and versatile government support. The few things that should be worked on is political incompetence and self-awareness on a global scale t.i. awareness of our place and impact on the planet as such.

Eric – I’ll agree with Aivars, if people would think more about others, rather than just themselves, and if governments will start taking care of people, instead of their own pockets – life will become way better for everyone.

When I first heard Your music, it impressed me so much I can’t still forget the impression. What are the main concepts of Your band?

Thank you for the kind words J We don’t have any specific concept, we just write the music we would love to listen to ourselves, and if other people like it as well, that makes us happy.

How did You like Your show in Vilnius 10th of October, 2014 (with Lithuanians - Red Carpet Disaster)?

It was pretty awesome, we’d definitely love to come back once more.

Tell us more about alternative music life in Riga and whole Latvia.

Alternative scene in Riga is definitely changing, from loads of underground bands 7 years ago to just a handful now, a lot of people are working abroad and that is definitely taking away the musical resources of our country.

Thank You for Your answers! Last question for now – Your future plans and what do You think about music’s future?

Our future plans are pretty simple – right now we are taking a small break from playing live shows, to concentrate on writing some more new songs, and then we’ll continue to tour as much as possible. It’s hard to predict music’s future, we can just hope that things will keep getting better, and musicians will be able to make a living out of music and follow their dreams.