All questions were answered by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Saku Rekonen.
(1)Could you tell our readers about your band Krateros?– What kind of music do
you perform, when was it established, etc.?
The band was officially formed in 2023, as that was the year we established the lineup we have today. The music we play is slightly difficult to label, but it combines influences from thrash metal and progressive metal, as well as small traces from melodic death metal and metalcore. We like a lot of variety in our music, and we find joy in our songs being quite different from each other, which is why we don’t want to be pigeonholed into too restrictive genre labels. I personally also feel that in general, Finnish metal bands rely too much on the old “winter, darkness, and melancholy” cliché both in their music and aesthetic, so we try to stay away from it as much as
possible.
(2) Which bands or artists inspired you to play music?
I can obviously only speak for myself, but I was exposed to a lot of rock and old- school heavy metal from an early age, since my parents listened to that type of music and my dad plays different instruments. Music was never forced on me, but it must be in my DNA since I got excited about guitar on my own after realizing how cool of an instrument it is from playing Guitar Hero. The first metal band I really loved was (not surprisingly) Metallica, but I quickly discovered other thrash metal bands like Exodus, Annihilator, Megadeth, Evile, and Sepultura. From there I
branched out to all kinds of different metal and more contemporary acts like Machine Head, Trivium, Devin Townsend, and Freak Kitchen. I still keep finding new stuff all the time to inspire me.
(3) Who came up with the cover art for the album Lost in Translation?
The cover art was done by All4band Design based on a concept I came up with. The idea behind it was weaponized outrage, or a witch hunt, and the artist executed the idea amazingly. You can’t really tell if the speaker on the stage is inciting the crowd towards violence or if the crowd is angry at the speaker, which ties nicely to the
album title “Lost in Translation,” which originates from the lyrics of “Linguicide.”
(4) Who wrote the lyrics for your new album Lost in Translation, how did they
come to be?
All the lyrics were written by me, as it only makes perfect sense for the singer to doit. There is no central theme to the lyrics this time, but I might write more wide-arching concepts in the future. The way I approach lyric writing varies, as inspiration can come anytime or anyplace if one just keeps their eyes and ears open. For example, the song “Uticensis” was inspired by some philosophical texts by Seneca the Younger that I read, and “Linguicide” concerns self-censorship and the state of an increasingly divided world, while “The Performer” and “Comatose Waltz” are more up for interpretation.
(5) Who created the logo for the band Krateros, and who takes care of the
graphics and the website?
The logo was done by Thermometer Arts. All other material on our social media aside from the album artwork is done by the band, so if they look bad, you know who to blame. All publicity is good publicity anyways, so make sure you share it with your friends too.
(6) How many Shows have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer,
whether (Venues or festivals) and which of your performances would you
consider as the best?
We haven’t played any shows yet, as we just released our debut EP, and the search for a second guitarist has so far proven to be more challenging than anticipated, and we don’t want to rely on backing tracks. All of us have plenty of experience playing different kinds of shows regardless, but I personally don’t really have a strong
preference if the crowd is enjoying what we are doing. It is fair to note that here inFinland, outside shows are fairly unpredictable, since even during summer the chances of getting cold/windy/rainy weather are quite high, unfortunately. So as long as we are not dodging blizzards and snow monsters, we’ll play anywhere!
(7) What is your songwriting process for the album Lost in Translation?
I write the music almost always before the lyrics. I usually don’t sit down to write anything but accidentally stumble upon something cool while playing the guitar. Usually, it’s a riff or a chord progression, from which I start to expand by writing more parts that fit. That comes fairly easy, but the challenge is arranging all the parts
and riffs into a complete song that makes sense and hopefully has some kind of dramatic arc. I almost see it as one big puzzle that requires solving, but gladly it’s a puzzle of the most fun kind! Sometimes it might take months to finish writing a single song, and sometimes a full song manifests in one sitting.
(8) Who would you most like to collaborate with?
It would certainly have to be someone completely outside of metal! There is this French jazz singer called Zaz who has a tremendous voice, so if she wants to duet with me on any of our tracks, she can DM me anytime! I’ve also had the idea for years of having a saxophone player do a solo on a metal track. Our bass player Roni
has a history of playing the instrument, so I should probably start pestering him about it.
(9) Do you have endorsements that you want to talk about or share?
We currently have no endorsements, so if anyone would like to send us free (or highly discounted) instruments or gear, you’d have our utmost gratitude. I personally am also very fond of long drinks, cheese, and olives, so those will do as well.
(10) Would you like to share any shows or festivals coming up?
We’ll have to find a second guitar player first before we can start booking shows, but hopefully that day is not too far away.
(11) How and where can your fans contact you? What about you and social
networks?
We have a presence on most of the major social media. Kraterosband on Facebook and YouTube, and krateros_official on Instagram. Our music can be found on most streaming services, and if anyone would like to support us more directly, you can buy it on Bandcamp and order our merch online at Uno Mas Collection. We are also planning on shooting some guitar and bass playthroughs for our YouTube channel, so all you musicians are going to be in for a treat!
