Interviews: Paragon Collapse

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Doom Metal/Death Metal/Progressive Metal band Paragon Collapse from Romania. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

PC: At first the name of the band was The Endless Dream (an actual song name from our first album - The Dawning), but after a while, we felt that we needed to change it to something else, and after brainstorming, one of our former members (Vadim Puscas) proposed the current band name - Paragon Collapse, which we all agreed that it was a better choice and this name was more representative and closer to our music.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

AL: Being the only composer for the band, I didn't want to stick to a specific genre necessarily, but I guess the music background (music school and favorite bands) played its role in defining the composing and respective playing style. Also, all of us are really comfortable with this genre and it feels great and somehow natural to play it.

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

AL: Ion (riff guitar) and I were friends for about a year before the band was formed. We shared common ideas about guitar playing and we had pretty much the same taste in music. In 2009 I met Veronica (vocals/violin) and at that point, the idea of forming a band became more clear. Shortly after, we managed to find two more members for bass and drums and that's how our journey began.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

PC: We don't have a single favorite band, but there are some of the names: Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, My Dying Bride, Funeral, Ava Inferi, To Cast a Shadow, Daylight Dies, and a lot more...

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

AL: There isn't a thing or a state that can inspire me, it's different every time. Usually, melodies just come into my mind without any premise and I try to transpose them as fast as I can on a musical instrument (usually guitar or bass) just not to forget them. After a while (sometimes it takes years) I come back to them and try to arrange everything in a logical structure. But sometimes the full song is playing in my head and I just need to transpose every instrument in its place.

6. Where was your last gig? 

PC: Our last show took place in Iasi, in March 2023, when we released our second album - "Winds of Silenced Voices". We shared the stage with our friends from Kistvaen, a suicidal black metal band from Bucharest. It was a great show! We really enjoyed playing our new songs along with some of the old ones from the first album. It was really pleasant to see a lot of friends, familiar faces that we recognized from our previous shows, but also there were lots of new people, which was an amazing experience.

7. Where would you like to act?

PC: We don't have any preferences at all. We just like being on stage and bringing our music closer to our listeners. Any stage whether it's big or small, it brings the same amount of satisfaction for us.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

PC: We don't think we have a specific preference. It would be amazing to perform with any band that shares the same musical style. For us is very important to learn new things, gain stage experience, and also simply the pleasure to perform in front of an audience.

9. Whom not? 

PC: Don't have a name, but generally it wouldn't be appropriate to perform with someone that approaches a totally different style of music.

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

PC: We would call it rather concerns than stage fright. It happens to work with different sound engineers, venues, and equipment that could potentially fail and ruin the entire show. However, when the show starts, there is some frightening, but it goes away as soon as we hit the strings and we hear each other. For beginners the most important tip is to be prepared before the show, to rehearse enough to be confident on stage, and to take care of the instruments/equipment, a detailed technical rider is also important, this way, the technicians, the sound and light engineers would understand better what the artist wants.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

PC: They are our favorite bands mentioned earlier, even if some of them approach a totally different genre/style, but they had their role in our music.

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

PC: Fortunately, it didn't happen (yet).

13. What do you think of your fans? 

PC: We really appreciate that people support us, come to our shows, and enjoy our music along with us. This is the most important thing to us and we are grateful for this.

14. Something to add? 

PC: Sure! We would like to thank you for this opportunity, we really enjoyed answering your questions! Keep up the great work you're doing!