k0sty4

Hello Ben and welcome to Metal Devastation!
Hello Metal Devastation and thank you for having me!

Let's start with the history - Tell us about Age of Disclosure first days
The beginning of this Swiss Heavy Metal project dates back to spring 2015, when I had the idea to professionally record some of the many songs I'd written in the past ten years. My friend and Bass player Adriano Troiano (Distant Past, ex-Emerald) then helped me to plan the recordings. We were later on happy to win different gifted vocalists for the project, namely Orlando Skrylls (Skrylls, ex-Draven), Jvo Julmy (Distant Past, Lucid Dreaming, ex-Emerald), Roman Burri (No Reward, ex-Scream your Name), and Syn Schütz (The Hunt, ex-Draven). Last but surely not least, Buddah Craven (Underskin, ex-Acidcell) gave his okay to play the drums on our debut album “To the Universe”.

Which bands have influenced you the most?
“To the Universe”contains a richly varied collection of songs, which reflect the diverse musical influences of myself and the other musicians, ranging from bands such as Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Metallica, Savatage, Megadeth, Iced Earth, Killswitch Engage, Fates Warning, Alice in Chains, to Kiss or the Scorpions. No matter if you look for „good old“-heavy metal songs, tracks with a thrash or a hard rock vibe, a power ballad, or even an instrumental, you’ll find it on To the Universe!

What is the main idea behind your song lyrics and what message you wanna send to your fans?
Pondering on my lyrics which often address themes and questions about human existence in the postmodern era, I had the idea of the project name Age of Disclosure. As far as the concept of the project and the album are concerned, the lyrics mainly revisit questions such as for example: Who are we humans really and where do we come from, or what – if anything – happens after we die? Is there a 'big plan' for us? How is the world we live in functioning and who (really) runs the show? Looking at trends such as leakage of confidential information or the arising of whistle blowers and alternative media, the project name could be understood in the sense of a further question: Is this the Age of Disclosure were are living in?

The band’s debut album “To the Universe,” was released few month's ago. What can you tell us about its writing process?
As I have mentioned in the beginning of this interview, the songs on “To the Universe” were mainly written up to ten years ago by myself. In the beginning of this century, I got music recording software for my computer, and since then I can write songs by making demos by recording the guitars, the bass, and doing some vocals and programming drums – I think I am not the only person on this planet who loves being able to write songs / make demos in this way!

Tell us more about recording sessions…
The songs where recorded at different locations in Switzerland: After I had laid down the guitar tracks in my home studio here in the city of Bern in summer 2015, the drums where recorded at vocalist Syn Schütz‘ Roar Recording Studio in early 2016, followed by the bass and the vocals, which were both recorded at Adriano Troianos Kayfabe Studio later in 2016 – both studios are located in the Canton of Bern. Sky van Hoff – who had before worked with bands such as Kreator, The Sorrow, or Caliban, and who was working with Rammstein in May 2017 – then found the perfect guitar and bass sound for the tracks and mastered them in Germany, after Syn Schütz had done a great job mixing the songs in winter 2016/2017.

What do you expect from your fans, now that the album is out?
Well, we all know how oversaturated the music market is ... so I just hope that as many people as possible who like traditional heavy metal (but with a modern sounding / intense production) will listen to the album! You can listen to it for example on Spotify or on youtube for free!

Thanks so much for the interview! Any last words you wanna say to our readers and to your fans?
Thank you again for having me! Yes, I wish to greet all you readers / lovers of heavy metal music – we all know that „our“ music will never die!