Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.Grace Disgraced was founded in 2004 by Polina Berezko, its permanent female vocalist. As all the members were very young and inexperienced then, and just wanted to play aggressive music, the early years of Grace Disgraced were not very productive. And on the way of maturing and forming the style, members came in and left the band. Guitarist Aleksandr Klaptsov joined the band in 2005 and became the main composer. Andrey Ischenko (drums) is with us since 2010. He is the most popular metal drummer in Russia, a real drum master! And the newest member is Andrey Andreev (since 2012) who formerly played bass in Scream in Darkness
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We believe we play death metal. Some say that it is oldschool death metal, some characterize us as technical death metal. The reviewers often note Death influences in our music but beside them and other death metal monsters there are heavy metal bands which we adore such as Iron Maiden, Manowar.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
First of all the metalhead who buys our album will find interesting compositions, rich sound, strong conception and a detailed layout with all the lyrics and beautiful artwork, illustrating each song. I think it is worth paying some 6-7 euros to have a materialized product of high quality. Besides, that’s a tribute to the band which play the music you like.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
Our very first steps were made in 2005 when we self-released our demo "Natural Death”. But first really serious recording was EP "Materialized Expectation” 2009 which was released by Russian label "Morehate Productions”. All the songs there were composed by Aleksandr Klaptsov who is now in the backbone of GD. The first full-length album "Enthrallment Traced” was released in 2012 in Russia and in 2013 in Italy. That work caused some public response from all over the world. We got very high or neutral ratings. A lot of metalheads have got interested in our band since the release. Not to disappoint them we are planning to release our second album in the beginning of 2014. It is already recorded, mixed and mastered.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?Yes, we are an active band, we give shows in Moscow and other Russian cities. From the time being we have shared stage with Cannibal Corpse, Sinister, Desecravity, Diabolical, Psycroptic. In 2010 we participated in international open-air festival "Metal Heads’ Mission” at the Black sea shore. In 2012 we had a tour with 2 Italian bands in Ukraine. In the beginning of this year we had got a Russian tour. Now we want to expand to Europe.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
They should know that Grace Disgraced is beyond modern tendencies in music. We play what we like and we really enjoy doing it. Death metal is in our hearts and we do our best to keep the bar high.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
First, we will release our second album and will promote it, trying to capture the whole world. We are already preparing new songs, so the third album is on a waiting list. As far as live shows are concerned Grace Disgraced plan to go abroad – now we are basting a European tour.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can visit our pages on Bandcamp, Facebook, Reverbantion and MySpace. Here are the links:
Some stuff is presented there for sale. For those who don’t need CD-disc, digital streams are available.
November 2013