If yo
u’ve never heard of Crystal Viper, its about time you got a history lesson in metal! Formed in 2003 by the singer Marta Gabriel, Crystal Viper was still in its chrysalis stage. Fast forwarding three years found the band growing into maturity with the additions of Andy Wave (Lead Guitarist), Tommy Roxx (Bassist – playing only on the band’s 1st album and leaving quickly after the album premiere) and Tomasz Dańczak (Drummer). In 2006, the band recorded their debut album, The Curse of Crystal Viper, which launched the following year under the German label, Karthago Records. After the release Tommy Roxx left the band, but the magic kept slithering forward with Dee Key on bass.
In 2008, the EP, The Last Axeman, was released with Peter Brzychcy and Vicky Vick as guitarists.
On February 1st of 2009, their second album, Metal Nation, was released with various guest musicians such as Manni Schmidt from Rage, Lars Ramcke, among others.
In early 2010, the band released their first live show album, Defenders of the Magic: Live in Germany and in late 2010, the studio album, Legend.
The studio album, Crimen Excepta, launched in April 2012 and featured none other than David Bowie and Piotr Pawel Wiwczarek.
One and a half years after Crimen Excepta, Crystal Viper are laying it on heavy with their latest and greatest, “Possession” – concept effort about young girl named Julia. The band thanked their most loyal supporters by inviting them to take part in the recording session of the album, using their screams, resulting in 50+ person series of screams used in the final mix of the album.
RockRevolt caught up with Marta, and we bantered back and forth about EVERYTHING!
How did the band get together? How did you guys meet and decide to play together?
Crystal Viper started in 2003, but the real line-up established in 2006, and the same year we recorded our first album, which got released one year later. We met on different occasions, be it because of common friends or online. Most important is that we have similar music taste, and have common passion, which is music. In private life we are also good friends, and it looks like we are together for good.
Tell us about your band’s sound. Which bands were the biggest influences?
I listen to really a lot of different music. I finished music school in grand piano class, so I listen to a lot of classic music – Mozart, Strauss, Wagner, Chopin, Paganini and so on. I love movie scores, I love Mike Oldfield who always had huge influence on me, and of course I listen to a lot of Metal, from hard rock bands such as Scorpions, through classic Metal such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden, the whole New Wave of British Heavy Metal, lot of U.S. Metal bands such as Virgin Steele, Manilla Road or Omen, up to Black and Death Metal, where I would list bands such as Dissection, Vader, Nifelheim, Destroyer 666, Cannibal Corpse, Immortal or Watain as my favorite ones. Everyone in Crystal Viper is a huge metal fan, we all love metal, and we listen to different kinds of metal, starting from Hard Rock up to extreme Death Metal acts. So I guess some of these influences are heard in our music, and this mixture, which come out at the end, is what Crystal Viper is all about.
How does it feels to be loved doing what you love, without having to change to become what the media expects you to be and sound like?
It feels great, as I compose music that I really feel, enjoy, and like to listen to. There’s nobody around me who forces me to compose songs like “this” or like “that”. I’m totally free in what I do, and I hope it will never change. I’m also extremely happy that music I create is something that other people want to listen to, it gives me strength to continue.
If your band didn’t exist, what professional careers would you have pursued?
I wanted to be a surgeon! I was thinking very seriously about it in the past, but every time I was thinking about my future, I couldn’t imagine life without music, so music was the winner every time. Even if there were no Crystal Viper, I would be a singer or a musician, maybe in an opera, or theater.
What inspired you to write the songs for the new album?
Every time it’s something else, once it’s a good movie, music album or a book, the other time it’s a view through the window, weather, my mood or my imagination. I’m like a sponge, I absorb everything I watch and listen around, and usually I find ideas for music, which usually come totally unexpected – this is why I always keep, in my pocket, some recording device, on which I can record the ideas that “play” in my head, to not forget them.
What is your favorite song from the new album?
It’s “Prophet Of The End“, I think. I can’t tell you why, maybe because of the melody, maybe because of the lyrics, I don’t know… But the truth is when I listen to “Prophet Of The End” I feel that this is the best song I ever composed. I remember the moment, when I was creating this song, I was playing it on my piano, and already back then I knew it will be a special song for me. I was right.
Why did you decide to create your own clothing line?
When I started performing on stage with my band, I couldn’t find clothes I liked in stores, in my wardrobe there was also nothing I could wear on stage, so I started to make clothes for myself, and later for my band mates. From time to time my friends asked me if I could create something for them and later, from one word to another, strangers started to ask me about custom clothes, as they’ve seen something cool that I’ve made for others. As there were more and more requests, I decided to open a company, and create a clothing line, Thunderball Clothing, where each cloth is designed and made by me. And I think I found another amazing way in my life, as designing and making clothes is next opportunity to make an art, which of course is inspired by music. It’s fantastic!
Is expanding Thunderball Clothing in your plans for the future?
I hope so! I won’t stop until I make clothes for KISS, Judas Priest, and Immortal! (laughs)
Do you consider opening a physical store or selling your clothes to already existing physical stores in the future?
I don’t think it’s possible, because I make clothes usually in only one copy, there isn’t something like wholesale when we talk about Thunderball Clothing – each cloth I make is unique and one of a kind. Except a few items that you’ll always find in my webshop, I mostly work on custom orders, so if someone is interested in something totally extravagant, then they need to get touch with me, and I create a costume for one specific person. A physical shop wouldn’t make any sense in my case.
Watch CRYSTAL VIPER’s – Prophet Of The End (2013) Official video – AFM Records
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When are you guys taking the songs from the new album to the road?
We already did – last week we played a charity show here in Poland and were playing songs from “Possession” – it looks like our fans liked them in live versions, and it was great. We played “Julia Is Possessed” and “We Are Many” – my second favorite song from the new album.
What new countries are you guys most excited to play in?
I would rather say, that there are no countries that we are not excited to play, as every time we’re on the road we can’t wait to stand on stage in front of our fans, wherever it is! But we would love to play finally in America, or in Japan, it would be something… But personally, I’m always delighted when we play in southern countries, as there’s usually awesome weather, sun, and nice temperatures, and I love when it’s warm.
What was the craziest thing that ever happened on tour?
Oh, I would have a lot of stories. Maybe this one… I think it was in Spain, we were in a hotel, and in the morning we went to our drummer’s room to wake him up for the breakfast. But the doors were broken and there was no one inside. We were standing there thinking what the hell happened, and then came a girl from the reception, and asked us if we can pick up our friend. So we followed her, and we found Golem sleeping half naked at the reception, on a beautiful medieval-style couch, I think it was some kind of antique from 18th century. It was so funny that we, of course, firstly did pictures, then we woke him up. Of course nothing bad had happened: he couldn’t enter his room in the night after returning from, let’s call it “a walk”, as there was something wrong with the lock in the doors, so the guy from the reception helped him to break in. We just don’t know why he landed on this antique couch in another part of the hotel. (laughs)
What are the band’s aspirations for 2014?
Touring, playing, composing, enjoying life. And I wish you the same!
Thank you!
Thank you for making this interview, and for your support – we are Metal Nation!
~Victoria Oliveira, RockRevolt Contributor
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