Review Fix Exclusive: Battlex’s Simeon Garkov Talks Future and More

Review Fix chats with Battlex’s Simeon Garkov, who discusses the band’s original, new album, “Imminent Downfall” and goals for the future.

Review Fix: How did you guys get together?

Simeon Garkov: Filip started the band with two of his friends, Simeon and Matej, our then-vocalist. Shortly after, Filip’s friends left and the band needed a bass player and a rhythm guitarist back in 2010 to record our first EP, The Point of no return. Blaž and I came in, recorded the EP and did a few gigs. After that, Matej left the band, I eventually took up the role of vocalist in late 2010 and we’ve been a four-piece ever since.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Garkov: Usually Filip and I come in with at least half a song, sometimes more, sometimes less. All of us then figure out the arrangement together and the vocals and lyrics usually come last, although recently I’ve been writing the lyrics together with the riffs. We also tend to let songs “ferment” for quite a while before coming up with the final version. Sometimes you get used to something you might find OK and don’t even think about it until you’ve had some time off from the song. We’ve made some good songwriting choices that way, so it works (although it is a bit time consuming).

Review Fix: What do you think makes this band special?

Garkov: I think there are a lot of bands that go to extremes on the “old school vs. modern metal” spectrum, which results in things sounding either forced or rehashed. We try to blur the line between old and new as much as possible.
As far as live performances are concerned, we also try to put in the hours and make everything sound precise and punchy without sacrificing an energetic performance. I’d rather make a part simpler, catchier and easier to play so we can play it properly than fill it up with notes and rhythms we can’t really execute unless we’re bolted to the stage.

Review Fix: How would you describe your style?

Garkov: It’s say it’s thrash metal with some heavy metal tropes and a few modern elements to spice it up.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this album?

Garkov: We tried to compile a varied album that many metal listeners will be able relate to on different levels. I think we’ve proven we can handle things ourselves, both music-wise and production-wise. You can buy it and listen to it on http://battlex.bandcamp.com.

Review Fix: What’s the standout song? Is there a story behind it?

Garkov: Although I think the title track is great both in terms of lyrics and music (and it contains my favourite riff on the entire album), for me, the standout song is Whispers in the Sand. That song was something I had been sitting on for a long, long time, at least a year, maybe because it was in a different tuning than the rest of the album (drop D). The only thing I had was the intro and the first riff after that. One day, I was fooling around with the intro and this deep, warbly sound just jumped into my head and wouldn’t leave me alone. I took my BOSS GT-6 effects processor and screwed around with the phaser and delay it until it sounded right, and I remember thinking “that high-pitched ‘whoosh’ kind of sounds like whispers”. After that, it just snowballed. I think this was the first (and only) song on that album that had the lyrics first and then the music; I wrote it all in one sitting. I added the ending build-up part a bit after. I remember we actually played a very early live version without that part.

The lyrics are about a certain part of the world that has been torn by war since the beginning of civilization. The players change, but the game remains the same.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Garkov: Right now, we’re trying to play live as much as time and money will allow. We also have a new video in the works for “The Abyss”, which will appear on the new album, for which we hope to land a record deal as soon as possible.