After Evolution and its War of Worlds
Symphonic and gothic rock from the depths of Czech Republic
Hello After Evolution! How are you? Happy New Year and a pleasure to interview you! How has the pandemic been taking you all this time?
Hello! I am great thank you! Hope you are great as well! The pandemic was kinda hard for us because we were not able to play live etc. but we got through those hard times and we are stronger than before!
According to your bio, the band emerged in 2013 so you’ve been together for a couple of years now. How do you feel so far?
Me and guys feel just great! Adam (bass) and Vic (drummer) are not that long with us in a band but me and Michael started our band in 2013 so for us it is a long journey since the very beginning. We had a lot up and downs but we grew stronger from it and here we are! We are really proud that we made it so far and we hope we will grow more and more!
Since the very beginning (2013) we have grown as a band a lot and I personally learned a lot and Mike as well as musicians, organizers etc. I learned also a lot as a singer and a composer as well. Adam I think grew as well as a performer and Vic is not with us that long for me to be able to notice some changes etc. but we all grow with every day and trying to get better and better!
How much has the band and each of its members grown? Talking more about the band. How did the idea of creating the band come up?
I wanted to have my own band since I was a child. But I didn’t know how to do it to be honest. So I joined few garage cover bands and we have never played live. And I was kinda sad about it but in 2013 I met Michael and I told him about my idea to have my own original band and he told me that he would love to learn some music instrument. So this is how everything begun! He learned the bass guitar and I composed the music and together we found the rest of the members.
Who are its current members?
Me, Nikolette Olsson — singer, composer, pianist, Michael Matzner — growling, guitar, ex — bassguitar, Adam Bittó — bassguitar and Vic Janas — Drummer.
How would you define your musical style?
If I would have to call ourselves not so specifically I would say symphonic/gothic metal/rock. But we are combining a few music genres together so very specifically it is Epic orchestral metal music because we combine epic orchestral game and film music with metal and rock elements.
What would you mention as your main influences?
It would be Audiomachine, Thomas Bergersen, Hans Zimmer, Two steps from hell and all the wonderful epic orchestral game and film music.
Let’s talk about “War of the Worlds”, the band’s most recent musical work. How was the editing and recording process?
The recording process was quite good even if it was the first time for us in a professional recording studio. We had everything ready, we were prepared so we just recorded the parts we had already composed except the drum parts. The drums had to be composed on the place because out ex drummer left the band in a very short time before we were about to head to the studio so we had to hire a studio drummer. But even like that it was very good! About the mix and master, I don’t know much because it has been done when we left the studio and we were discussing the sound with the producer and manager online.
How many songs does it include and what is it about?
There are 11 songs in total. It is about post-apocalyptic world far far away from us in the ancient times where the planet is ruled by the magic and demons. This all happened because of the great war between the human kind and the demons, the spirit world. People lost the war so they had to go and hide themselves in the underground and live like that for centuries. The story is about a girl who is about to go on the surface after a hundreds of years and restore the balance and harmony again.
Do you have any audiovisual material?
Yes, we have! Right now it is only one video clip but we are planning much more audiovisual material! Our video clip is named after the album and the very first song “War of the Worlds” and you can find it on YouTube!
Have you been able to show it live?
Yes, we have been. We played those songs live even before we have released the album few times and also we already had a concert last year in December and we also plan more of the concert this year and we are really looking forward to it!
How has it been received in general, both by the public and by the specialized press?
The reviews on our album were really amazing! Very great and positive so it just inspired us to continue with our work and people just love it which is so amazing and I really appreciate it to be honest. It is always nice to see that people loves the music you do and support the music!
Where is it possible to obtain a copy of it?
You can buy it online on our websites www.after-evolution.com or on the websites of our label WormHoleDeath
Currently the band belongs to the Wormholedeath label, of which I know the great work they do. How do you feel working with this label?
I feel great we were able to work with WormHoleDeath because everything we need we get and if we have any ideas we are talking with our manager Carlo Bellotti about realizing them! So I am happy we’ve chosen right and we didn’t choose any other label!
What are the advantages they have offered you?
I mean when you are signing the contract you never exactly know how will everything work and you have to believe to reviews of others and check who they are etc. In general, WormHoleDeath offered us the best conditions and we accepted them and it is that simple. Other labels we were in touch with just wanted to take all the money and give us from our music almost nothing which is not good for us anyhow. So that’s why we have decided to work with WormHoleDeath.
I noticed that you are from the Czech Republic and I think little is known about the rock scene there. Could you comment on that?
Our rock and music scene is not that wide as in the other countries to be honest. We have few good musicians and bands but they mostly write music in Czech language so they are not world known which is a pity because they do a very good music. But it is their choice and I respect that and even if they write they music in our native language the music is still very good!
Is there a variety of bands?
There is a big variety of bands for sure! If you live in Czech Republic and you are bored, you can be sure that near to your place plays some metal or rock band and it doesn’t matter if it is metal or rock! You have a lot of the bands to choose from!
Do you have support from any agency or everything is on your own?
We have got support from the WormHoleDeath label, they do for us management, press, CD manufacture and some advertisement as well etc. For the booking we are just looking for some good booking agency and until that we are managing our own shows.
Back to the band. What are the most immediate plans?
Now we are planning new video clip and some more audiovisuals. We are now also composing a new album we are about to record soon and we are planning some concerts for this year and some marketing strategies etc. So still a lot to do!
Do you already have upcoming shows planned?
We do not have exact dates but yes we do. We will update the dates on our websites and Facebook pages! Unfortunately, it is planned only along the Czech Republic for now!
Well After Evolution, that’s all. Thank you for your time and wish you all the best of luck and success. Before we finish, something you would like to say.
I would love to thank you for your time, I really enjoyed this interview and I would like to thanks to all the readers that read everything until the very end and I would love to ask you to check our socials and video clip and if you like our music give us a follow or some feedback and I hope we will see you soon on stage!!
Follow the band at:
https://www.instagram.com/afterevolutionofficial/
01 -War Of The Worlds
02-The Path
03-Cursed
04-Librum Fortitudinis
05-Once Upon A Time
06-Final Hope
07 -In The Chains
08-Dark Side
09-Infinity Flames
10 -Nothing Left But Pain
11-The Victory
