The Metal Crypt - Invidia Interview

Interviews

Interview with Invidia
Interview conducted by 4th Horseman

Date online: April 22, 2004

Invidia are 5 piece hailing from New York City and play a hybrid of Thrash and Death Metal. The band currently has a demo out consisting of 5 songs and a review of it can be found on this site. I got a chance to speak with 4 out of 5 members here (Riyaad Edoo - Bass, Michael Bergin - Vocals, Kenneth Poveda - Drums & Lukasz Gunia - Rhythm Guitar)….

4th Horseman: First of all, could you start by giving a short history of the band and how it came to being?

Riy: Me and Luke started out, I had a band on the side and I wanted a more interesting side project that I can be a bigger part of, music that I was into a little more. We then picked up D'Andrilli and stayed that way for a while, and finally we got Bergin and Ken when it all came together.

Ken: I was the last person to join the band because all the other drummers that they tried out before really sucked ass or some bullshit with schedules clashing. At first I was very intimidated by the music because it really sounded impossible to play and it was pretty overwhelming, but either way when I first tried out I didn't join because there was too many complications in my life with people dying and shit so I decided it was too much for me to handle. But then came around like end of January or beginning of February, Riyaad asked me to come back and join again, and obviously I decided to go give it a try because things had calmed down a bit so I did and there you go.... I was in the band. Yay!

4th Horseman: Where did you get the name Invidia from? And what does it mean to you?

Riy: Me and Luke found it online in a dictionary. It's a Latin term meaning envy, jealousy or hatred.

Ken: I didn't know where the fuck they got the name from, I thought it was the graphics card at first, but they explained it to me. In the beginning I didn't even like the name, in fact I thought it was one of the worst names I ever heard, but then we started doing the music. The name grew on me and started to make sense for the band. Now I wouldn't change our name for the world.

4th Horseman: "Reflections of the Shattered Glass" seems to deliver a mix of Thrash/Death/Black Metal. In what direction do you see Invidia inclining and heading more towards?

Riy: What's cool I think is that we already found our sound, and this is it. We definitely have a lot more material than on that demo, some more mid-paced stuff, some insanely melodic stuff too. We fool around with more harmonies now than when that was written, the drums get more complex and the bass is always changing to add more. So it's definitely the same style, but you'll hear greater variation, we have some real insane and really epic sounding stuff written, some of which we play live already. You'll hear it if you come check out a show.

Luke: I don't have a clue what will happen, we shall see. As long as it isn't as bad as new In Flames, I'm good.

Ken: Well I'm hoping we don't stick to anything and I hope we hop back and forth between different types of metal and even going into flamenco, jazz, and blues. I think every song we make if different and we can't be classified as one straightforward style of metal.

(Hmmm……)

4th Horseman: Is power metal fucking great or what?

Riy: Power metal is fucking amazing, holy shit. I'm such a sucker for it. I thought I really liked it before, but I gotta say, a friend of the band, Baer showed me so many more amazing bands now, I'm in love with it.

Luke: Blind Guardian rules.

Bergin: There are some good bands that I'll admit too, they can't be cheesy like Hammerfall though (though they rule)

Ken: Eh, it depends.

4th Horseman: Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera?

Riy: Christina Aguilera definitely, 30 lbs. ago.

Luke: Britney

Ken: Why can't I just fuck 'em both? If I gotta pick, then Christina.

Bergin: I pick the secret third option, the threesome.

(Who said I was talking about sex? Hehe! ;)

4th Horseman: What is your favourite song off your album?

Riy: Keeping the Faith...

Luke: None of them, I'm sick of them. My favourite song is the new one Slay Those Who Slew.

Ken: Decay of Perception

Bergin: My favourite song is probably Decay of Perception, just because it's such a diverse song.

4th Horseman: What is the coolest (or worst if you like) thing that has happened to you during a live performance?

Luke: Coolest - When I see someone that I know no one in the band knows head banging.

Riy: We played with Dimmu Borgir, Nevermore, Children of Bodom, and Hypocrisy. It was a really long night and I was tired, and on top of that, right before the last song I pulled a muscle in my leg. It hurt like a motherfucker and I was trying not to be a bitch about it on stage, so I ended up sitting on the drum lift for the rest of the set.

Bergin: I'd have to say it was opening for Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom, Nevermore, and Hypocrisy. It was such an awesome show and we got to meet so many great people, it was great to be a part of it.

4th Horseman: Could you tell us something about how an Invidia song gets written?

Riy: It's such a long process because no one person writes. We would each write a whole song, or basically, and then we'll show the other person and the whole thing is torn apart, and everyone adds riffs and arrangement ideas, and by the end it's a totally different song and is taken to another level. And that's just bass and guitars, then Ken comes in and it goes through the same process, so it takes long, but in the end, everyone has their shit in there, and we're all happy with it.

4th Horseman: What are some of the lyrical themes in your music? I can hardly tell.

Bergin: I can hardly tell. "Rise of the of Unborn" is basically influenced by the movies Rosemary's Baby and the First Omen movies, "Keeping the Faith" basically is about a fallen angel that is sacrificed to walk the earth. My original title that I had before I entered the band was called "The Forsaken Soul" but the lyrics seemed to fit the song and title. "Apophis" is basically an eternal struggle with yourself and our own inner turmoil that is hell. "Decay of Perception" is about the Lord of the Rings mainly the Two Towers and about the Wars of Middle Earth.

4th Horseman: Your demo starts off with a great yet rather unorthodox instrumental track. Where did you get the inspiration for it and how well has it been received so far? Have you played it yet on a live show?

Riy: It does seem to be, there's always a difference between what a band would play on electric guitar and the kind of music that they would play on acoustic. I think the thing with this track, that instead of a traditional acoustic piece, the acoustic guitar plays riffs and melodies that more people would reserve for an electric guitar. Mike played it by himself, when I told him to write an acoustic piece for the demo, he showed me one, which was cool, and then by time we got into the studio, it changed a lot.

Ken: Hmmm.... well the thing is that I didn't even know about it until it was being halfway recorded at the studio. I came in the mixing room and there it was.... being recorded and me being very happy that it was gonna be on our demo. Mike D. really surprised me with that one. I think almost every person who's heard the track loved it and wanted to hear it over and over... and no we've never played it live, but one day I would like to play rhythm guitar for it live.

4th Horseman: Where do you see Invidia 10 years down the road? Are there any specific goals that the band seeks to accomplish?

Luke: Hopefully on the fucking road, Europe would be great.

Riy: I think any death metal band is looking just to be noticed and appreciated in the scene. We're not looking for Arch Enemy notability, sure if it happened it would be awesome, but just to be able to have fun doing it and have a shit load of people enjoy it. I'd love to tour the world but I think playing metal right here at home for the North American fans would be much cooler.

Ken: 10 years from now is a bit of a long, long way, but I do see us being very successful. As a personal goal of mine and as the group's goal, I think that we would all like to grow as musicians (not in that Metallica way or anything), learn more scales, fills, discover new voices, etc...

Bergin: In ten years I'd like to see us be on a couple of big tours, and definitely hit Europe quite a few times; and of course hoping to release some killer albums.

4th Horseman: How did you get exposed to metal and which one band would you say has influenced your music the most?

Luke: My brother used to be a metal head, and Metallica was the earliest memory of metal I have, "Kill 'em All" and "Ride the Lightning."

Riy: An ex girlfriend of mine introduced me to underground metal, and that's been my biggest influence, Carcass, Dark Tranquility, bands like that. As far as myself as a bassist, Sharlee D'Angelo, Martin Henriksson, Jaco, Eric Langlois, Chris Richards, Alderate, Jason Newsted and David Ellefson have all really helped shaped my style.

Ken: I didn't even listen to metal until my freshman year of high school. I can't say that only would band really did it at all, but I would say a mix between Death, Opeth, and Dream Theater.

Bergin: My cousin introduced me to Metallica in the early 90's which blew me away. By time I was 13, 14 I got into stuff like Anthrax, Slayer, Sepultura, and Pantera. It wasn't until two years later that I'd listen and get into the heavy stuff, like In Flames, Death, Soilwork, and At the Gates. Those we my main influences. As far as vocally, Tomas Lindberg, I love his voice. Lord Worm from Cryptposy as well.

4th Horseman: Suppose Metallica breaks up tomorrow, opening a spot in their band for whichever instrument you play. You have been offered the gig. What would you say?

Riy: Bah

Luke: Before "St. Anger", yes, now, no.

Ken: Suck my left nut you fucking pussies!

Bergin: Fuck, if James went back to drinking, I'd take his place and turn those guys into a Melodic Death Metal band, that's if Lars can keep up with the drumming.

4th Horseman: One notable aspect about Invida is how young you guys are. Other than music, what other priorities do you guys have in life?

Riy: Yeah, we need fucking jobs, because we lose money in this things like you wouldn't believe. I'm also still in school, so that comes into play.

Luke: Guitar building.

Ken: Hectic schedule, I've got a job for 24 hours a week, sometimes even more, then I go to college on top of that, and then the girlfriend, which is like 5 jobs in one, but very worth it though. Also my family is another priority.

Bergin: I'm in a union and I'm trying to finish the apprenticeship. It's a pain in the ass but the rewards are at the end of training.

4th Horseman: What do you know about Canada?

Riy: A lot, I've been there quite a number of times and I have a massive amount of family there. They have this thing on Tuesdays in Toronto, and everything is 2 bucks, movies, food, which was cool. They've also got a shit load of hot chicks. They're much more liberal than our government in the U.S. is now which is awesome, and they shell out the extra cash to use different color inks on their money.

Luke: 18 Years to drink.

Ken: That weed isn't really a big deal there which is awesome. Also as soon as you move there you get free health insurance which supremely awesome and crime there is almost non-existent. They tend not to kill people for no reason does like the U.S.

Bergin: The true Canadian sport is hockey, it's brutal for my tastes and I play it here and there.

Bergin: I hear the job situation isn't much better than here, but the government is way better and the cities are a lot cleaner. Metal is awesome there too, Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, Stapping Young Lad, Gorguts, Voivod, all kick ass.

4th Horseman: Ok then...Is there anything else you would like to add?

Riy: Yeah, your site rules and thanks for all of this. Also, check out www.invidiatheband.com

Bergin: Yeah thanks for all of it, and enjoy the demo. Keep it sick anf brutal!

Other information about Invidia on this site

Review: Reflections of The Shattered Glass