Interview with
Justinas Jakubauskas - Stranger Aeons, December 2010

 

Stranger Aeons, a new band to me and quite possible to most our readers as well - could you please introduce yourself and tell a bit about your background?

Stranger Aeons - (Justinas Jakubauskas, drums/percussion, harsh vox) We are a progressive metal band from Lithuania. Actually, the roots of the band reach out as far as the year 2002. However, the band title, members and musical style were all really different back then, so we'd like to consider 2009 as the birth year of STRANGER AEONS. This is the year we finally left all the musical characteristics and influences of our previous band behind and stepped onto the road of progressive music. Of course, we started writing progressive stuff in 2008 or so, but 2009 was like a breaking point - new band title, record deal and a couple of changes inside the band.

What kind of hopes and expectations do you have for "eNneagon"?

Stranger Aeons - The main purpose of music is to be heard, and that's where our hopes and expectations for "eNneagon" lie - we sure hope it will be heard and appreciated by as many listeners as possible. It looks like the guys from "Ledo takas" are working their arses off to achieve this goal :)

If you were to single out one song from the album that is a favorite which one would it be and why?

Stranger Aeons - All of us agree that the best track on "eNneagon" is "Welcome to Your Humble Nightmare". It's diverse, complex and kinda embodies what progressive metal is all about. I myself, however, prefer "Why Raise Them?". For me it has this PORCUPINE TREE meets SAXON feel that sounds great. It's not too heavy, but it has a great message behind it and I like it a lot. Plus, it's fun to play live ;)

How does the final result compare to the idea you had going into the studio?

Stranger Aeons - Most bands seem to praise their new/upcoming albums as their best ever. We'd like to leave it to the listener. Of course, we like the work we did here, but every artist must raise the bar after each achievement in order to produce something better. So, we like the result, but our next album's gonna be way better ;)

Stranger Aeons - any deeper meaning behind the name?

Stranger Aeons - The band title itself is kind of spawned from these lines of  H.P.Lovecraft: "That is not dead which can eternal lie / And with strange aeons even death may die.", though it is not a straight derivation. The title kinda reflects the strangeness, crookedness and deformity of our age (i.e. aeons). Still, I guess, anyone can interpret the title in one's own way.

What do the words Progressive Metal mean to you?

Stranger Aeons – Somebody once said: "If you can define progressive - it ain't progressive any more".
To me, progressive metal or rock isn't just about odd time signatures, weird harmonies or long songs. It's more like thinking outside the box, making the music the way you want it to be, not the way it is supposed to.

Name five albums that have made a big impact on today’s scene and you personally...

Stranger Aeons - It is very difficult for me to tell what bands or albums influenced today's progressive scene, but I can certainly tell you what influenced me. My favourite albums would be "Animals" (1977) by Pink Floyd, "Awake" (1994) by Dream Theater, "The Human Equation" (2004) by Ayreon, "Carved in Stone" (1995) by Shadow Gallery and "Milliontown" (2006) by Frost*.

Stranger Aeons isn't taking all of your time (I assume), what other project are you spending your time on?

Stranger Aeons - Our main projects beside Stranger Aeons are our jobs and studies. Our two youngest members study at universities (the keyboard player has actually just graduated from music conservatoire), rest of us have jobs that are related to music in one way or another.

Besides that, me and Kostas (our guitar player) are currently working on an album by death metal band D.A.R (hopefully it'll be out this year;))

Thank you very much for answering my questions. Do you have any last rants for our readers?

Stranger Aeons - Live the music and prog on!


Interviewed by Kenn Jensen

Stranger Aeons - eNneagon

Album available on Ledo Takas Records.

Link: www.myspace.com/aeonslt.