Diablo

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Interview : MARKO (lead guitar) of "DIABLO"

When and how was your band created?
The roots of Diablo go back to 1987 when I met Rainer in Kalajoki (our home town on the west coast of Finland). We started to play together since the musical interests seemed to be the same. At that time we played thrash-metal. After many years of rehearsing and a couple of changes in the crew the style of Diablo developed to what it is currently. The first album
Elegance In Black was recorded and released in 2000. On that album we had Timo Kemppainen in drums. The latest change in the crew happened then after Elegance In Black session. Heikki Malmberg replaced Timo. Currently we are satisfied with the band and there's definitely no need to change the players.

Were is the name of the band coming from?
There was a gang called Diablos in Hill Street Blues which is an old TV series from the 80's...

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I started to listen to metal at the age of 10 (in the early 80's). The first influences came from bands like Iron Maiden. Then speed and thrash metal changed totally my understanding of good music. Bands like Sepultura, Metallica, Slayer and Testament were among the favourites. I listened also some death metal bands. The only good bands from that scene were actually
Death and Pestilence.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
To be honest, I don't know any positive things… Negative things in being a musician in finland is at least that the market is so small that it's hard to make your living out of playing this kind of music.

How could you qualify your style of music?
I don't know any of the categories in metal that would describe Diablo's music well. It's not thrash and not nu-metal… In my opinion Diablo plays modern and yet melodic stuff.

Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music?
We've always played the kind of music that we've wanted. We haven't had to compromise on anything that is related to the style of music we play. The purpose is not to try to play the music that is IN. We want to be honest to ourselves and play the music that we like. So the answer is definitely NO.

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Well, this is a hard one. The lyrics come out from subconsciousness.
Basically, they are about everyday life. It's described in a sarcastic way though. The lyrics shouldn't be taken literally…

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
There are many of them… My personal favourites are Icon of Flesh and Creatures of Deception. They work on stage.

Do you tour regularly?
We haven't done any tours yet.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We definitely like to perform live. That's why we do this. Actually, I think Diablo is famous for the energetic live show that we manage to put on every time we walk on stage.

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
The best moment is, of course, when you work at home with guitar and PC and realize that you've just composed a good song.

Why?
The feeling is hard to describe. You'd just want everybody the hear the song immediately…

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
I don't buy or listen a lot of music nowadays. When I have a moment I prefer to sit down with my guitar and try to make some new stuff. The bands that are currently on my playlist are Soilwork, Paradise Lost and Korn.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song? Why?
This is TOO DIFFICULT. There are too many good songs. It's impossible to try
to put them in order.

Internet is something interesting for musicians because it gives them the opportunity to touch a larger audience but it is also a threat for them (regarding the copyrights). What is your opinion regarding this medium?
Well, for Diablo it's only a good thing because our records are not distributed outside Finland. It would be shame if people outside Finland didn't have any chance in trying to get hold of our albums. Of course, I understand more famous artists because they loose a lot of money…

What are your actual and future projects?
Currently we are writing material for the third album which will be called ETERNIUM. We are supposed to star recordings in the end of august. At this point most of the music is already composed. I can thell you that the new album will be the best Diablo album ever…no surprise there. That's because we've had enough time in writing the songs. Basically it is the same band that you hear on Renaissance but the structures are more carefully considered. Eternium should be out in the beginning of next year. There has been discussion that we might release a single already in the end of this year. Probably in late October or early November.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois / 2003