German Black Metal outfit Groza are set to release their third album entitled Nadir on September 20th. The band’s vocalist/guitarist P.G. took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about their upcoming album, growth within the band, their upcoming European tour with Ellende, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Your band, Groza, are set to release their third album entitled Nadir on September 20th, what can you tell fans about the upcoming release?
P.G.: We feel like we have reached a new level of honesty with this album, it feels like the most personal and deep output, that we have had in our history.
A lot of very emotional and personal things have made it unto this album and I think / hope, that you can hear and feel it while listening. It is our strongest album yet, in my opinion.
Three singles are out right now, “Dysthymian Dreams”, “Daffodils” and “Deluge”. Feel free to listen and make your own opinions.
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being your band’s third album?
P.G.: Pretty much the same as on our last record. We write mostly by ourselves and gather ideas that way. Sometimes, we also write together in a room in a rehearsal jam situation.
Once we have gathered enough material, I usually make a rough demo by myself, where I piece together the riffs that I think would fit together well.
We then revisit these demos and work on details together. Once the song is finished musically, I then write lyrics and arrange the vocals. That’s about it.
Regarding recording, we have also gone the same path as with the last record. I did most of the recording (except for drums) all by myself, also the mix. Mastering and drum recording was handeled by our friend David Pilz.
MER: Do you feel there’s been growth within the band having three albums done together?
P.G.: Absolutely. The more you get to know each other (personally and creatively), the better the collaboration, I think. Everyone knows their function and their strengths in this band by now, so working together goes a lot more easy than in the beginning. Apart from that, I think that we have also grown musically quite a bit.
While the first record is mostly Mgla worship in my opinion, over the course of the last two albums we have found elements, that define a sound of our own.
MER: You recently released a third single from the album entitled “Deluge”, do you feel “Deluge” along with the other two songs give fans a good idea on what to expect from the album?
P.G.: Yes, obviously. That’s why we picked those songs in particular. All three of them represent different facettes of the sound of the new album and give the listener a good idea of what the whole record will be like.
MER: You’ll be touring Europe this fall along with Ellende, what are your expectations on the upcoming tour?
P.G.: We are looking forward to finally presenting the new songs live. That’s why we are there. Also, being on tour with friends should be fun, we’ve known the Ellende guys for quite some time, so sharing the stage with them and being able to watch their set every night will be great for sure.
MER: Recently you played a number of festivals along with bands such as Carcass, Ensiferum, and Varg, how were those experiences for you and your band?
P.G.: It was great. We also played some new tracks on this festival run and got to experience the crowds reaction to those for the first time on crowds that big. So that was interesting for sure.
MER: What do you see as plans for you and your band after the tour with Ellende?
P.G.: We will try to push forth and remain present as a live band to present the new record to as many people as we can. I am really proud of this record, so obviously I want people to hear it. And I think playing live is one of the best ways to achieve that. Other than that, we will just see, where things take us.
MER: Is there anywhere you hope to play live that you haven’t?
P.G.: So many places. USA, Scandinava, South America, Asia, Africa. List goes on. I’d love to play anywhere that has passionate people for music and arts in general.
MER: What have been some of your favorite releases of 2024?
P.G.: Firtan, Cold Cell, Ellende, Houle, Agrypnie, Servant, Dödsrit are the ones I listened to most.
MER: Out of your band’s three albums, what is one you would suggest to a new fan and why?
P.G.: Nadir, I think we have really reached our full potential on this one.
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