Here we go again… Last year we covered every band on the Hobgoblin New Blood and Jagermeister stages in the run-up to Bloodstock 2015. This year, we’re going one better and aim to have interviews from all the bands on those two stages as well as all of those on the SOPHIE stage prior to the event kicking off on August 11th. That’s almost 100 interviews to get online for you lucky people over the course of the next couple of weeks. I bloody love this job, but you lot owe me a beer at Catton Hall, right?
Thanks to all the bands who’ve taken the time to respond!
Zlatanera – Jagermeister Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Belfast (and surrounding areas) in Northern Ireland.
How did you meet?
Each of us has been a part of the local rock/metal scene for many years. Willie, Andrew McCallister and myself (Anthony) were in a band together previously. Keith and Andrew Campbell, we knew well from having shared the stage many times with their respective former bands. When Willie, Andrew McCallister and I began putting together what would become Zlatanera, we already had a fair idea as to who would fill the drum and vocal positions.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
The complete line up has been together for just over 4 years.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Basically, we were stuck for a name. Everything we thought of had been taken. During a conversation with our friends, Slomatics, one of them showed us an article about a word that had just been added to the Swedish dictionary. That word being Zlatanera, which means ‘to dominate’. It is derived from a pun that was made on the name of the footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A reference to him being such a dominant force on the pitch. Ironically, three out of the five band have no interest in football, but we all liked how the word looked and sounded. Also, we figured it was a new word so it wouldn’t be taken yet!
What are your influences – individually or as a band?
As a band, I’d say our main influences would be Black Sabbath, Clutch, Cathedral, Corrosion of Conformity. There’s also a bit of Entombed and Celtic Frost in there. Individually though, we all listen to very, very different things!
Describe your music – What makes you unique?
We’ve been described as stoner, doom, groove rock. I suppose we have have elements of each of those along with a few others.
With regards to being unique… We are aware that we’re not doing anything drastically different. However, we do try to mix things up a bit and we’re not afraid to try new ideas. Our attitude has always been – If you’re songs are good enough and you play from the heart, with conviction, people will pick up on that and the question of whether you’re 100% original or not will become irrelevant.
What’s your live show like – why should the baying hordes troop over to the stage you’re playing on to watch you?
Our shows are always energetic. We all love what we’re doing and I think that comes across when we perform. Each member becomes immersed in the music and just goes for it. If people see you getting into it then I think they’ll feed off that and get into it too and vice versa. We also like to keep an element of dark humour in there, for example, the spoken word intros that link the three ‘Devil’ songs. Anyone who comes to see us is guaranteed a memorable, high energy and darkly humorous performance.
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
One of the organizers heard through a mutual friend and offered us the gig. Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity! We’ve known about it for a couple of months now but we were only able to announce it officially a few days ago.
What sort of set list can we expect?
The set will be made up of songs from Legerdemain, which is being released the week before Bloodstock. We’ve picked five songs from the album which we feel best represent the different aspects of our sound and which will have the most impact. We only have half an hour so it’s important that we make it count.
Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Well, for me Mastodon and I know Willie is a big Paradise Lost fan, although, if you were to ask each member you’d get five very different answers!
What are you working on at the moment?
We have quite a lot coming up later in the year. In October we’re playing Distortionfest in Belfast and the Siege of Limerick in, you guessed it, Limerick. Then in November we will be playing some mainland UK shows. We’re always working on new material also and, at the minute, we’re well on our way to having enough for our second album.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
Haha… Well, we all enjoy a drink and everything but it never gets too out of hand. We’re not the hotel room trashing types. We have witnessed some pretty strange things though, like one of the of a band we were touring with smoking crack through an apple!
What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?
Practise a lot! Enjoy what you’re doing regardless of what other people think or say and, even if you sell out some local rock club or sell x amount of albums, don’t become big headed.
If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!
Well, we’ve already been lucky enough to play with Corrosion of Conformity, who we’re all big fans of. So I’d say Black Sabbath, ourselves and Belfast stoner legends Bad Boat.
What stage / time are you playing at Bloodstock?
We will be playing the Jagermeister Stage at 15:40 on the Saturday.
