Q&A with Diaries of a Hero

Jimmy talks to Mat of Diaries of a Hero about their new album.

After giving a ridiculously positive but deserved rating in our review for the upcoming self-titled album from British rockers Diaries of a Hero, we were presented with the opportunity to interview the guys who had done a wholly efficient job of rocking off our socks..

Obviously we said yes.

Mat was kind enough to answer some of our questions so be sure to check out what he had to say below.

Diaries of a Hero

1. Hey Mat, how are you doing?

Great thanks! Very busy getting everything ready for the new album release.

 

 

2. Tell us a little bit about the album.
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What we have here is the result of the past year’s work. We had only just finished the Motorhead and Anthrax Tour and went straight back into the studio.

It felt we had a very clear idea of what we were going for, in every single aspect. We wanted to maintain absolute creative control: we chose to work with Igor Rogovic, a young producer who gave a new / fresh approach to recording our music.

We already knew that the mastering was going to be taken care of by Acle from Tesseract (who we really admired for what he did with Altered Stated) that again felt like “a new / young pair of ears” to add to our work.

Same approach when it came to the artwork: Juan Blanco is a young visionary artist who gave his final touch. Take a look at that front cover while listening to the opening intro and you’ll get the vibe…

 

 

3. After the first album, how did making your self-titled second release compare? How come it’s taken three years for the follow-up?

Diaries of a Hero
The first album was very fun to make, I have nothing bad to say about it. You can however perceive that there was a sense of trying to find an identity. We all come from different backgrounds: “Behind The Mask” was basically the 4 of us putting together what we had. I think the experiment worked great.

Our second self-titled shows the same 4 people looking towards the future (“imagining cosmic shores” Carlo would say…).The chemistry between us is now well tested, we know what we are capable of.

I don’t think we are trying to be particularly clever in this album. The songs are direct, they have balls and attitude.
I never thought I’d actually headbang to our own music, but I do.. .even on my own. Hmm, not sure if that’s embarrassing, is it?

 

 

4. Where are you most looking forward to playing over the coming year?
We’re currently discussing about a tour in Eastern Europe, where we know the crowds go completely nuts. I’m really looking forward to that.

5. If you could give any advice to any bands just starting out, what would you suggest?
Make sure you have some good friends amongst the people that represent you. It will always pay off…

6. What would your three desert island discs be?
Well, I’m talking for myself here: Operation Mindcrime by Queensriche, Blackwater Park by Opeth and Rust In Peace by Megadeth. I expect the boys would say something completely different..

7. And finally, why should we all be listening to Diaries of a Hero?

Why? Cos we’re brilliant! Ok, seriously now…

We want to leave our mark, bring new life to a genre that seems to reach a saturation point more or less every 10 years (have you noticed?). So keep an eye on us, we’re here to stay!

 

Diaries of a Hero’s New Album Will Available from all Good Stockists from the 26th of May.

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