Even though Steel Prophet have been around for almost 20 years, it seems like they are one of the well-kept secrets of US metal scene. Formed by guitarist Steve Kachinsky under the name Hard Prophet, they became one of the leading power bands in the world. Their talent and devotion to metal music was rewarded with a Nuclear Blast contract, under which their carrier took off to another level. Although I didn’t receive their new "Book Of The Dead" album in time for the interview I had a chance to talk to Steve about the history of the band and the future plans of Steel Prophet as well as get his opinion on general metal scene related questions. Here’s what he had to say...

Chris


Well I guess we will be talking about a pretty good album... most reviews I’ve read for "Book of the Dead" were very positive...

Yeah, so far it’s been very good. It was on album of the month in Rock Hard from Germany and couple of few other top magazines over there. It seems like people like it so far.

What’s your gut feeling about this album?

My gut feeling is that it’s a good album but fans that liked our previous album might not like this one as much.

And why is that?

It’s a little different. It’s not following this same formula or anything like that and it’s got a little bit more variety. I mean it depends on your point of view, either you think that metal fans like variety and embrace different things or you think they always want this same thing in which case they might not like it as much.

Tell me about the "When Six Was Nine" lyrical concept?

It’s a little hard to describe, man. It’s got to do with schizophrenic people. They think they can affect the world around them just by their thoughts and the song just explores that idea.

From the research I did it seems that people have problems understanding the idea behind "Oleander".

Yeah, we wanted to have a song with just pure melody. Rick, our singer sings a four-part harmony and there is no instrumental backup for it. The melody is very simple it’s almost like "Marry Had A Little Lamb" or something like that and it’s the last song to close out the album just after the song "Anger Seething" which is very aggressive, heavy and angry sounding song. It makes a good contrast when people hear that really sweet almost child like melody line after that.

I noticed that you guys don’t like the power metal label on your band. How would you describe your style then?

Well, I guess Steel Prophet incorporates a lot of elements mostly from a traditional heavy metal like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath but we also have elements from thrash like from Metallica, from death metal we use some blast bits like Napalm Death or stuff like that. It’s a kind of a wide variety adding in to it. What people call power metal nowadays it’s more like a Helloween influenced bands. Originally, the term "power metal" first came out it was a term that Metallica used to describe its album "Ride The Lightning". When asked what would you call you music they said we will call it a "power metal" because it so powerful. If you want call our music a power metal because it’s powerful, it’s fine. I think we have more in common with Metallica than with more what people call it nowadays.

Do constant comparisons to Iron Maiden bother you?

Not too much. I think if you listen to our albums close there are a lot of differences and you’ll notice a lot of elements that we do and Iron Maiden doesn’t do. Any band that has harmony guitars and has king of galloping feel to it sounds like Iron Maiden, and we definitely have a lot in common with them. And you know, Iron Maiden is a great band, so it’s not so bad being compared to one of the greatest bands that ever existed.

Have you ever thought of playing a different style?

Oh yeah sure. I like different kinds of music and I do play other kinds of music for my own enjoyment and amusement but I wouldn’t play that kind of music and call it Steel Prophet music. Steel Prophet has to remain heavy metal and if I want to play other types of music I can get together with friends on jam sessions. I don’t need to force it down underneath people’s throat and call it a Steel Prophet.

For almost 20 years you have stayed in a power-heavy whatever you call it style. Does your longevity surprise you? Was it worth it?

Well first of all I think that the bio that you are reading it from is a little wrong. I would say the band is closer to 13 years old than 20 years old unless you count the years from the time I made up the name when I was in school. As for as longevity goes I’m pretty happy that we stuck with it this long and play the kind of music that we like.

On the other hand, have you ever thought of ending Steel Prophet?

Yeah, I thought about it sometimes. Sometimes when things go bad you think maybe it’s time to throw in the towel but you know, bad things are always going to happen and there's no point in stopping the band because you have some setbacks.

What’s your opinion on the huge amount of new power metal bands popping up in recent years? Do you listen to any of them?

Yeah, it’s like with any scene or style, there is a cream of the crop and a lot of imitators. Like in power metal scene I think the band Edguy is really great and couple more that I can’t think of the top of my head but there are also hundreds of bands that just are copying each other and don’t sound too original to me.

I understand that Nuclear Blast had a great deal of influence on how "Dark Hallucinations" turned out, asking for a Hammerfall sound. Do you feel that you were pushed into a direction other than where you wanted to go with "Book of the Dead"?

When we did "Dark Hallucinations" they didn’t like the sound quality of it and they didn’t like the production and they wanted us to remix it. Also when they’ve heard the album they said, "What is this, we don’t understand, where are the catchy songs?" So they told us "You must write catchy songs" and I said, "What is a catchy song" and they go "I don’t know, just catchy" and than I said, "OK, We’ll write some of those". Then we did the album and they go again "Where are the catchy songs?" and I said, "I don’t know, you didn’t tell us what a catchy song is, how do we know? It’s catchy to us."

Are you satisfied with anything NB has done so far?

Yeah, I think they’ve done a good job, especially in Europe they are like the biggest independent metal label and with the smallest bands they do a promotion that’s better than what other labels can do for a band. Here in US they just joined with Century Media and I think that’s really going to help the label out over here and I think that’s going to benefit us too.

How long are you going to still make music, release albums, and play live shows?

I think, definitely for at least another two years or so. I mean I can’t see anything changing within the course of two years unless somebody dies. And then, as long as things are going pretty good I can see us going on for a quite long time. I like that kind of music and I don’t think I’ll run out of ideas any time soon and we could very easily play for another 10 years or so.

What are the tours plans for this year?

Nothing is booked yet but we are trying to set some plans for Europe and US pretty soon.

Somehow there are not too many Steel Prophet interviews in metal magazines or on metal webzines. Is this a bad promotion or you guys don’t like doing them?

I don’t know. We don’t have any problems with doing them. I’ll do an interview with anybody at anytime just to promote us as much as possible. I guess it depends, like in Europe there are so many interviews that happen. Rick (Mythiasin - vocals) just got back from Europe where he did 100 interviews in four days. In US there is just less interest in the band because this kind of heavy metal is not so popular anymore. So we do as much as we can but is hard to say why.

How much of the promotion do you do yourself after promotional blitz dies down and after the end of a possible tour?

Mostly it would be like in a form of fanzines coming in, doing e-mail interviews answering fans questions. Almost every week somebody asks for an e-mail interview and of course we are going to promote the new album with the live shows too.

What do you do outside of Steel Prophet?

Nothing, it’s my only job.

In October 2023, Within Temptation returned in full force to the music scene with "Bleed Out," which explores global injustices and the tumultuous state of the world. In this exclusive interview, vocalist Sharon den Adel shares insights into the creative process behind this intense and politically engaged album. With a more aggressive and dark musical approach, the new work marks an innovative phase in the Dutch band's trajectory. During the conversation, Sharon reflects on the unexpected ease in writing "Bleed Out" due to the proximity of the themes to her own emotions and experiences. The band addressed issues such as the war in Ukraine and the fight for women's rights in Iran, transforming their concerns into powerful and impactful songs. The interview also details the band's involvement with Music Saves UA, an organization that supports Ukrainian musicians and offers humanitarian aid to refugees in the country.

Marcelo Vieira

"Bleed Out" explores global injustices and the tumultuous state of the world. How did this approach impact the band's songwriting process and musical choices?

I think the sound is more aggressive, and the emotions are a bit more intense. I believe this is the most intense album we've ever made. We'll never be as heavy as Sepultura, but in our own way, it's the heaviest album we've produced.

What were the main challenges in creating an album with such intense and politically engaged themes?

Surprisingly, this album was remarkably easy for us to write because it was very close to our emotions. We just let our frustration and emotions flow. The album was written in a very short period, about two and a half months, although it was spread over an entire year since we were touring and doing other things alongside. But every time we got together, new songs always came out, and there was a lot to write about, of course. So, there weren't many challenges, to be honest. Of course, we wanted a specific sound and had to experiment a lot in the studio with drums and guitars, making them more interesting, heavier this time. That was a musical challenge for us, as there are more [sonic] possibilities nowadays. 

How did you balance the need to talk about these topics with producing music that is also accessible and catchy?

Well, I think that in terms of sound, combined with my type of voice, there's always a certain softness. But the music, of course, was louder and more aggressive. And this combination of softness and aggressiveness has always been present in our type of music, more or less. So, the pieces always fit together, in my opinion.

Among the complex themes addressed in the lyrics are the war in Ukraine and the fight for women's rights in Iran. How is it for you and the band to take a stand on these issues through music?

We've always been politically involved, but we used to use metaphors, like in "The Heart Of Everything," which talks about William Wallace; some historical events that can also be seen happening in everyday life. The song 'The Howling' was written when far-right groups were gaining strength in our country in 2004, just as [the album] "The Silent Force" was also inspired by it. However, the influence of the far-right was already present before that, with [the album] "Mother Earth," with some turbulence in that area. So, many songs have been politically motivated and engaged over time, but we never talked about it so clearly unless someone asked us, which rarely happened. So, people always thought our songs were about fantasy stories, which, of course, was the image we conveyed visually on stage. But in reality, we often had a political engagement [behind the scenes].

Now, we feel we are older, and the threat of Russia is approaching Europe. It's only a two-hour flight from where I live to Kyiv and realizing that this war is happening in our backyard makes us feel that we need to be clearer about our position. I applaud anyone who does that because it's necessary for us, as Europe, to unite and confront Russia's aggression and help Ukraine because, at the moment, the situation is not favorable for Ukraine.

With "Bleed Out" being so diverse in terms of musical styles and themes, is there any aspect related to the album or the creative process that you would like to highlight?

Well, as I said, the way we wrote this album was a bit different from usual, with different types of guitars, which gave me the possibility to do more vocally and resulted in a song like the title track, which is more experimental than we've done before. That was something I really wanted to have, more experiences, a more experimental approach. For us, it's already something experimental to try to take a new step forward.

In the past, I was very limited with my vocals because I have a range, but I will never sound like a man, of course, and with the same aggressiveness. However, with the guitars now having more strings, we can go lower than before, and that allows me to sing in different registers. It's a challenge for me and also for the guitarists, who had to play guitar lines on the keyboards and then transfer them to the string instruments.

We would tell the band's musicians: 'Okay, now you play this on the guitars.' And they would ask: 'How? That's not possible.' But we can do it, even if we can't do that, you know? Sometimes it's easy for us because some of us don't write so well on the guitars, and it's easier on the keyboard [emulated] with guitar sounds. But then it's impossible to play because you need to stretch your fingers to a certain point, and there's a limit to that. So, we had to work together with the guitarists to find a middle ground in the guitar sound, and it worked perfectly for me.

You mentioned living in Yemen when you were a child. How have your personal experiences in the Middle East influenced the lyrics of "Bleed Out" and the way you approach social and political issues in your life as a whole?

Although I enjoyed my time in Yemen, even being so young, only six years old, I studied at an Arab school for a while. The people were super friendly to me, but I always noticed, you know, the things people don't say, the way they looked at me as a girl in general, not just at me, but at girls in general. It was a world very different from where I came from, the West. And at six years old, I already felt that difference. The way people dressed was different, and you can also feel something even without people saying it.

I always felt that women were oppressed because it's a different culture, a very male culture, where men can hold hands, but women can't do anything. It's so strange. For me, it was like seeing the women in Iran, but also an entire generation, especially the younger ones, trying to break the regime. They want more freedom, while the older generation and the regime, especially those in power, want to keep everything the same, even though the people's voice is saying something else.

If you want to continue with your way of life and are happy with it, that's fine with me. But if many people want a different way of life, more democracy, or more freedom to perceive religion, I support the voice of those people. I think everyone should have their own voice and be able to choose what they want to wear or how they want to present themselves, but that comes from the West, of course, and I acknowledge that. However, when I lived there, I really felt that there is a big difference between men and women.

It is necessary to recognize the power of women in taking a stand, knowing that they could be imprisoned or even die for it. Many men also composed songs in honor of their sisters, mothers, and ended up being hanged just for making music, for talking about what is not acceptable there. When I saw the news about Mahsa Amini's death, it touched me deeply; I was very sad. It immediately inspired me to compose 'Bleed Out,' which talks about this girl knowing she is doing something good for the last time, conscious that she won't survive but doing it because she knows it's for a good cause and for other girls after her. That is very inspiring.

How has the response from fans been to this new album?

Most people really liked it. And, of course, it's a slightly different sound again, so sometimes people need to adjust and really get familiar with it. But, for the most part, it's been very positive. In my opinion, people also know that we change a bit with each album, and it becomes a little different. Sometimes it's difficult for people because often, of course, also for me, when I hear an album that I really love, I identify with the music I listen to. And if the next album is very different, I also need to get used to the new sound of the band I like so much. So, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work as much.

What do you hope they take away from "Bleed Out" in terms of message and musical experience?

What I hope is that what I wanted, what we wanted to do with this album. We are storytellers and bring news, inspired by things happening around us, inspired by our own lives. Many things. But especially when we talk about Iran or Ukraine, it's important for us that people realize that a news story is forgotten the next day and life goes on, which is natural. I do the same thing.

But if we really want to change things and support certain people in certain countries, we need to keep talking about it and bringing these issues to light. By writing songs about it, I hope that people start to think a little more about these issues and maybe do something, like donating or even talking with friends about the same topics, to keep these themes alive, because people in those countries won't feel so alone. We need to support each other in that direction, I believe. And not just a little. We need to really support each other, and together, we can make that change. Sometimes, they also need external help.

The music video for 'A Fool's Parade' was shot on the streets of Kyiv. How was the experience of filming in important landmarks of the city during such a delicate moment for Ukraine?

I couldn't fly in because there were no commercial flights. So, we flew to Poland and then took an overnight train to Kyiv. It was a long journey to get there. And when we arrived, they immediately gave us guidance to download the air raid alert app on our phones and set it up for the region we were in. So, every time there was an alert, we could get to a shelter safely.

These things are a bit strange when you come from the West, where you live a normal life. You immediately realize you're in a different country, which is at war. We had to seek shelter a few times while we were there.

I felt many emotions being there: sadness, but also admiration for the people who are so resilient and united in fighting against the Russians. Every person I spoke to had lost someone in the war, but also everyone had their own story about something that happened to them. Additionally, everyone is doing their part, volunteering, and donating money to the army. They are very united and understand the need to donate money because they know it's the only way to win the war.

In many moments in Ukraine, they lack ammunition to fight back because there isn't enough ammunition. These situations make us realize that they are on the verge of losing the war if they don't receive support, not just from me, but from everyone. They need support, they need money, they need more advanced air defense systems than they already have to stay safe. They also need ammunition.

It's simple things like that. They can't defend themselves on certain days and just let it happen because they know they can only use it once and only when it's really dangerous, and not when it's far away. That brings the war closer to us, affects us deeply. Although I stayed there for only a few days, it changed something in me and made the experience more intense, in my opinion.

The band announced that all royalties from 'A Fool's Parade' will be donated to Music Saves UA. How and when was this decision made?

We have made donations in other ways to Ukraine, but since we were going to make a song about this war along with a Ukrainian singer [Alex Yarmak], we got in touch with the organization. We felt it's a good organization because they try to help musicians in Ukraine, but also because music is very important in these difficult times for them. And sometimes, music is all you have when you feel sad.

What they do is use the money to help refugees in their own country, providing clothes, food, and other special needs they have. The money is also used to build shelters for the refugees. They also try to help musicians continue playing, holding shows in underground venues for people in need. Moreover, they organize classes for children with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]. They do many good things with this money. So, we think it's a good organization to donate our money to.

To wrap up, the previous single from 'Bleed Out,' 'Ritual,' is described as inspired by the movie "From Dusk Till Dawn." Is it your favorite Tarantino movie?

It was the first film I saw of his. And it was the biggest shock I had. Like, "Oh my God, what's happening?" At first, it seems to be an adventure movie, and suddenly, everything turns into chaos, and everyone turns into vampires, which I didn't expect because I didn't read about it before watching. I loved it. It made me fall in love with his films, and I watched all of them. And yes, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Which one is your favorite, then?

Oh, God! It's "Django." But I must say, they are all cool. And "Kill Bill" was, of course, amazing. But honestly, which one isn't good? That's a better question. "Which of his movies don't you like?" [Laughs.]