Interviews: Anima Tempo

In this new occassion we have had the opportunity to interview the  Progressive Death Metal  band Anima Tempo from Mexico. Check out the interview and this band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, did you plan it or it just came out like that? 

The time came to evolve and start out a new and more consolidated project. We were at a party and just thinking about names and concepts. For us, "time" is an essential part of life and music, so we wanted to take that concept into the new name. Also, we wanted to reference the emotions and feelings when composing or writing lyrics as well as all the concept that our souls built our music. In the end, we came to the words "soul" and "time." In short, to sound more interesting, we turned those concepts into Latin and ended up with Anima (soul) and Tempo (time). And well, that sounded cool for us. Straight, solid, and most important, with meaning.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

We have always loved rock, metal, jazz, progressive, and sincerely all kinds of music, so when it came to write, we try to blend and combine the genres we love but with a base which is metal. The new waves of sound and styles also are part of our music to keep it fresh and modern. So, the djenty, deathcore parts and the trans-synths are the modern side with influences such as Animals as Leaders, Born of Osiris, and believe it or not, K-Pop. The orchestral and progressive parts are the ones that come from the bands we have always admired like Symphony X, Seventh Wonder, Dream Theater, and other prog metal pioneers. 

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

Gian and Dante are siblings so, they've known each other for a while. On the road, the search for stable and compromised musicians lead to Antonio becoming part of the band without knowing them before. Daniel has been a friend of Gian and Dante since he was 13, so thats more than 10 years. Pavel was part of different bands which we played alongside for many years at different festivals and we built a great friendship. When we were looking for another bass player, there was no question he was the one to fit the place.

4. Each band member's favourite band? 

This is a tough question. As I mentioned, everyone has different tastes besides metal but Antonio's favourite band is Cultura Profetica, but also loves the classics like The Beatles, Dream Theater, Disperse, and more. Gian's favourite band is King Crimson. Dante loves Symphony X and shares his love for Circus Maximus with Daniel. Pavel's favourite is Rush.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Everything that happen to our lives, from good and bad situations, as well as what happens around the world and society. Our songs serve to express the way we see life and what we can change to be better, to improve, and to evolve. Caged in Memories is a concept album that talks about a claim to society. The theme is about when a person is corrupted by power, greed, and money, including all the actions that the person makes to reach that power and the consequences of them. 

6. Where was your last gig? 

Our last gig was in Costa Rica. It was a three date tour, which felt great to be back there and hang around with old mates and make new ones.

7. Where would you like to perform? 

We have always been fans of big festivals such as UK Tech Fest, Be Prog! My Friend, Wacken, etc. We accomplished a dream by playing in Euroblast back in 2016 with great bands and in Hell and Heaven Fest in Mexico, the biggest metal festival in Latin America. We are looking forward to catching an opportunity in the UK Tech Fest as our style and live performance fit incredibly well there.

8. Whom would you like to collaborate with? 

We have collaborated with so many great Mexican and Finnish musicians, but wow, if we dream big, maybe Tommy Karevik of Seventh Wonder and Kamelot or Diego Tejeida from Haken. That would be super kick ass live.

9. Whom not? 

We have never thought about people to not collaborate with. I think life puts the right people in the right place and time and we feel very fortunate to have collaborated with the ones we have. And we have our arms wide open for more to come if the time, place, and situation fit for it.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that? 

When the band started, of course we had many bad gigs when the sound was awful and you can't hear yourself and that frustrates you; as a consequence you feel uncomfortable and even can fright you on stage. The tip might be to prepare as much as you can. Prepare all of your gear, make a good quality soundcheck, and of course, rehearsals are a key point. Practice your musical performance as well as the stage movements as they are key to making the performance fluent and alive.

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

As I mentioned before, our music is a melting pot of different styles and genres, so bands and artists who have inspired us are Symphony X, Dream Theater, Periphery, Hans Zimmer, Jakub Żytecki, Seventh Wonder, Born of Osiris, Animals as Leaders, Hiroyuki Sawano, and the list goes on.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? 

Once in Japan, a fan told us that our music was excellent but he told Gian, "Yeah. yeah, nice tunes but, what about singing mariachi music, can you do it?" That was the weirdest and unexpected thing a fan asked. 

13. What do you think of your fans? 

For us, the word "fan" works differently considering that our first fans were our family and friends. Then the new ones became friends as well. So, fans for us are family and good friends who we share our passion and music. We are in a close and constant contact with them in concerts and social media.

14. What do you think of our site?

It is incredible that sites like this are turning their ears and eyes to new and fresh metal music from Mexico. It is quite an accomplishment to be taken in account and man, we are so happy that the music is reaching this magnitude and boundaries. We are so thankful for you and for giving us the chance to meet your readers and audience. 

15. Anything else you'd like to add?

Now we are touring our country, Mexico, and Costa Rica. In September we'll hit Japan, but we are so excited and looking forward to reach our fans in the US for the first time and head to Europe again. If you like our music, it'll be great to be part of the Anima Tempo Family. Check our social networks as well as our new single "Primal Symmetry," which we are happy to announce that was released with Famined Records. We hope to be in your city soon and have a blasting time together.