SOURCE – Voices of the Kronian Moon is the second album for Nite. Beyond the circumstances of the pandemic shutting down live gig/touring opportunities, how would you assess the development of the band on this release compared to your Darkness Silence Mirror Flame debut two years ago?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – The most significant thing that happen to us in the meantime was that we got to know each other better. When we first started we had all just met. Getting to know what we all like and feel comfortable with, be it on stage or in songwriting, made a big difference. Other than that having a debut to base our statement on was also very different. When we released Darkness Silence, we did that on a blank slate. Everything we did in Voices would make a different statement as we now have 2 points of reference in space and time. A line is defined by 2 points kind of thing. That was challenging but I’m very happy with the direction we took in Voices and how everything came out. Makes point 3 very exciting to me. The trajectory is open moving forward and the possibilities endless.
SOURCE – What are your goals and expectations for the album?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – One of our goals for this album was to drop our guard in a way, move past our horror dwellings and explore areas of songwriting without limiting ourselves to what is common in the genre. We wanted to break free from what felt comfortable in other words. We tried to not be too judgmental of songs and directions that felt unusual and just try to go with it and see where it takes us.
We knew that Season of Mist was going expose the band to a much larger audience compared to our debut outing. For most of you out there it would be the first time you would be coming across our music. It was risky for us to go all experimental at such a moment but we had to do it. Freedom of exploration is close to our core.
SOURCE – What do you think are some of the biggest challenges NITE currently faces in establishing yourselves more within your genre and building up the following of the band on a global scale?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – One of our biggest obstacles I believe is everyone’s attention span. We are all bombarded with a million moving images and sounds every second we look at our phones and screens throughout each day. It’s very hard to break through that noise. Getting our music in front of people’s faces and getting them to actually listen for 30 seconds is the toughest part the music world faces nowadays if you ask me.
Most of us won’t even bother to listen to a band we’ve never heard before. Thankfully we are a band that has grown a lot through word of mouth. Even with the exposure we are getting from Season of Mist, it’s word of mouth that is getting people curious about us.
That’s not the only challenge of course. Keeping it together, making sure we all get to pay our rents on time, go through life challenges, health issues etc. and still be able to continue to make records, going on tour and not dying by hitting a freaking dear, struck by a tornado or getting all our stuff stolen in the process are a few of our other challenges. And do all that before we get too old. The odds are against us for sure! (Laughs)
SOURCE – How would you describe the band chemistry between the four of you? Do you share any interests outside of the music you work on?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – Our love for heavy metal is the number one thing that binds us together for sure. But close second is our love for horror and sci-fi. Especially 80s sci-fi I would say. Three of us grew up in the 80s so there’s that. Another thing that the rest of the gang is really into, excluding me to be honest, is their extensive knowledge of literally every underground band out there. I’ve heard names that I would guess are made up. These guys are so passionate about underground metal to say the least. I listen to Iron Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth. (Laughs) Joking aside I do appreciate that as through the guys I’ve been exposed to a ton of underground metal bands that I would have never heard before. Talking about my own attention span now…
SOURCE – In a time where streaming and digital consumption of music is more the norm than owning physical releases, do you believe that great artwork is still crucially important for albums?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – Absolutely. Even in a sea of Spotify album lists, a great cover still pops out. It’s a shame that Spotify and all the other platforms can not spare a few kilobytes to add more images in their artworks, like the back cover for starters or even the whole booklets and liner notes. Someone in there has to care about music more than they care about money in order for that to happen. Judging about the way they treat musicians it’s safe to say that they firmly lean towards the money side of things over there.
The artwork of an album completes the picture. It’s the spark for your imagination to fill in the blanks. A starting point. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent looking at the cover of Powerslave, Somewhere in Time and the rest. Holding that big vinyl cover while listening to the music was one of the best parts of heavy metal when I was growing up. That’s what we were after with Voices too, and the artwork truly looks glorious in the big vinyl format.
SOURCE – If you had the chance to impart specific words of advice or thoughts that younger musicians should pay attention to in order to advance their work and careers in the best manner possible, what would you like them to think about and consider?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – That’s a tough one. I feel great responsibility answering such an important question. Trying to be concise I’d say, make sure you love what you are doing. The only person who has to like what you are doing is you. Make sure you follow your gut and not do things just for others. If you are not doing something that feels right to you, it will sooner or later die out. Forget about trends, forget about being cool, about fitting in and do you. And in the words of Frank Zappa “Don’t stop. Keep going.”
SOURCE – Some say that live streams are the next best solution to enjoy live music. But while this is not ideal, and while we would love to be at a show in person, do you think that there are, or have you experienced any benefits with setting up a live stream show?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – I don’t really see any difference between live streams and pre recorded shows. I definitely prefer a nicely edited and fully produced live show video to a live stream show of lesser quality. That said I don’t think that this is ever going to be even remotely close to he experience of a live show you attend in person. In a similar manner to a FaceTime or Zoom call being the same as being in the same room with someone. As much as I love technology I think we are really far away from that and even me with all my adoration for Somewhere in Time and Back to the Future movies I don’t really want to experience a world where wearing a Facebook Meta suit and attending a virtual concert is the only way to go.
SOURCE – What’s the message you want to bring out?
Van Labrakis (Vocals, guitar) – We are all one and we should treat each other as such. That’s what we are about. Peel through the layers of ego and get to know yourself, understand your shortcomings and find peace and harmony in the process. We have a long way to go as a species to get there but have courage and strength. Don’t give up, stay strong and keep going.
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