Interview to Greg Maupin of Archaic Winter

Interview by Luis Landeo
Welcome my brother, Archaic Winter recently finished and released their second full length album entitled "Esoteric Doors". What does it mean to you and how does it feel to release another album in less than one year of work?
Indeed! It feels awesome! Archaic Winter has come a long way in a very short amount of time. All the hard word and dedication has resulted in an album that we are proud of. This album means a lot to me. More than words can say.

This new album shows the evolution of Archaic Winter‘s sound. Many of the songs have a great combination of metal styles. For example, the second track “Left Hand Path” has a notable influence of Thrash Metal and the track "Esoteric Doors" is a great song that explores the dark essence of Black Metal yet it has elements of Groove Metal. What was the musical influences in this full length? What equipment did you use to tape this great full length?
The influences are many. I love musicians like Tony Iommi, Richie Blackmore, Steve Morse, John Lord and early Dio. And Black Metal bands like Immortal and Dissection. I also love old school bands like Celtic Frost and Holy Terror. And death metal like Death and Obituary. I try not to put any boundaries on my playing so I am not afraid to incorporate many different sounds and styles into my playing. For equipment I use B.C. Rich guitars, Peavey Amps and Boss effect pedals. The album was recorded on a old Tascam 424 MKIII tape machine in my home studio.

Well, it is true Archaic Winter never went to a studio to record the tracks. The vocals were recorded by using only the microphone of a Mini Compaq HP net book. And the music was taped on the Tascam tape recorder. So technology helped Archaic Winter a lot (laughs). What is your opinion about the expense of recording in a studio? And what can you recommend to the new bands who want to tape their music in good quality?
Well, the equipment used in studios is very expensive and it takes great skill to use it so I understand why it costs a lot of money to record in a studio. I recommendation is that new and young musicians should learn how to do their own recordings. Buy as much equipment as you can afford and LEARN how to use it hahaha. Record everything you do and realize that your engineering skills will improve as time goes by.

The lyrics in this full length are about Black Magic. In archaic times many people was involve in Black Magic rites. We live in a modern society that has evolved not only in technology but in ideas too. But people are still involved in magic rites. We find magic in many religions. For example, Wiccans, Vudu and Satanist still practice magic. In Venezuela they have the cult Maria Lionza, What is your opinion about black magic and the people still involved in magic?
This is a difficult question for me because I practice magic. But only simple spells that are not self-serving and I only cast spells when they are needed. As you were saying, magic is part of many religious ceremonies and will always be a way of life for many people. It is not for me to judge these people but I do hope that they practice the magic responsibly and I hope they do not use Black Magic foolishly.

Archaic Winter is now signed with an Italian label “Warhell Records“. How does it feel to have support from an European label?
Oh it is AWESOME! It means a lot that the good people at “Warhell Records” is giving us this opportunity. Many hails to them! They seem to be strong supporters of the underground. Archaic Winter is proud and thankful for everything they do for us.

Many people think Archaic Winter have released 3 full length albums. But "The Psychology Of Death" (2006) and now "Esoteric Doors" (2013) are the only official full lengths. But people think Archaic Winter released a full length entitled "Blood Of The Priest". It is time to clear things. Why was "Blood Of The Priest" never released?
I recorded the album shortly after the release of the “The Psychology of Death” album. I was not happy with my vocals and nothing about it felt good to me. I ran into some personal issues and some health issues so I basically stopped playing music for about 2 years. I did release a few CDR copies of the album but the album never received a proper release. I hope we can rerecord the songs and release them on a future album.

What difficulties did you encounter while taping this new full lenght?
Nothing I do happens without some sort of difficulties. We actually taped the entire album twice because the first recording did not capture the atmosphere that I wanted. It was time consuming but it was worth it. We were suppose to have had a guest guitarist but egos got in the way and therefore the guest guitarist WILL NOT appear on the album. Initially, I sent the final mixes to the label with the guest guitarist but after some difficulties I decided to delete the guest solos. We had to contact the label and ask for more time so that I could remix the songs without the guitar solos. It is not worth talking about any further. After so many delays this album is a reality and that is all that I care about. I play music for myself and for the love of metal…the difficulties that we encountered only made us stronger!

I mentioned the evolution of Archaic Winter’s sound. Last year the band released a demo. What was the biggest goals and faults of that release?
The goals was to simply resurrect the band. Any faults are now in the past so it does not matter. The great thing is that the demo received many great reviews and was very well received by the underground community! I am very proud of the demo! Its great reception helped fuel my desire to write and record the new “Esoteric Doors” album.

The art of the full length is amazing! It is simple and looks great for a tattoo (laughs). The art represents some kind of door. The Oruroborus is the symbol of immortality, the zodiac like everybody knows is the key of time and future. And the skull is death. The door to other worlds is found with the use of Black Magic. What message or concept gave you this art?
Well, all the lyrics are centered around Black Magic. Some of the lyrics are based on historical facts and the art is good representation of the lyrical concept.

One of the most popular Archaic Winter songs is: "I Am The New Antichrist". The new album features a new version of the song with a special guest vocal appearance by Caluco Roldan (Priorato). This song has a lot of power and isn’t only a song of Black Death Metal. What other elements did you use to create the sounds of this song? And where did you get inspiration to compose the music?
Believe it or not that song was a direct result of my blues influences. The guitar solo was taken from influences such as Richie Blackmore and Tony Iommi. The middle section where Caluco sings is a riff that is from the Black Sabbath school of thought. The other parts of the song is Black Metal in the style Immortal and other 90’s Black Metal bands.

This was a great interview Greg! Any last words to end this interview?
Many thanks for another interview! And many thanks to all the supporters of Archaic Winter! The “Esoteric Doors” album was released this March 2013 so please give it a listen! Stay Metal for Life!!!

To know more about Archaic Winter:
https://www.facebook.com/ArchaicWinter