Yan from Dissector have answered my questions and he have done that all the way from Russia. It´s also the first interview which is done in 2016 . January-2016

Please tell me a little bit history of the group?

– The history of Dissector  started in October 1992 in a small city called Magadan, in Far North in Russia. The first live line-up was called Distimiya, we played several concerts and recorded one demo. After one year we changed line-up and the name of the band. Our music also changed those days, we started to play fast melodic-death metal with influences such Entombed, Dismember and Massacre. In 1997 I put a new version of Dissector together with members of local bands such Black Mesa and Vivarium. We played very often live and regularly recorded demos until 2002. Then I moved to Saint-Petersburg, where played with Inside and Tartharia, and organized the project The Lust. In 2007, living in Moscow and making a new album for The Lust, I recorded with session musicians some new material for Dissector and released it by myself as the EP “Cry For Me”. In 2008 old members from the very first active line up of Dissector reunite as a studio project. First of all I have compiled the collection of unreleased demos and songs on “Not Like Before”, dedicated to our 20-year jubilee. Than we recorded album “Grey Anguish” and EP “Pride And Hate” together.

Please tell me a little about every member in the group right now, age, family, work, interests and something bad about everyone? Earlier bands?

– Every bad thing we will keep in the family :))). Well, there are three core members in Dissector now – bass-player Oleg Aleshin, drummer Andrey Glukhov and guitar/vocalist Yan Fedyaev. I(Yan) and Oleg are 42 years old; Andrey is 40, we are no teenagers anymore! Oleg is a programmer in banking sector, has family and two sons, the rest has no families and children as far as I know. Andrey is a lawyer; I have worked many years as freelancer, translator and content manager. Dissector was and is our main place of creation and musical activity. Andrey played drums for a short time in a local band in his town Vladimir somewhere in 2000´s. I have beside Dissector another active studio project since 2003 – The Lust. I have also recorded guitars for two projects from Saint-Petersburg – Tartharia and Satanation. In 2004-2005 I was also a part of synthpop duo Green Brothers, we released one album called “Not Of This Place”.           

I can hear much different influences but mostly death metal and similar music? Favorites from the past?

– Now is really hard to say something about my personal music influences in the past because that depends of my age. I personally listened to everything from Italian pop music and AC/DC to everything from heavy metal and glam rock, everything which was available in my living place those challenging years. If we talk about Dissector’s influences in general, so did we start to listen to extreme music round about the same time – old school evergreens like Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Metallica, Megadeth, Overkill, lots of thrash and death bands starting with Sodom, Destruction, Entombed, At The Gates, Edge Of Sanity, Dismember etc, which were very popular at the beginning of 90´s, and some brutal stuff of course as Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Napalm Death, Brutal Truth…

Dissector are you satisfied with the name? How did it came up? You weren’t afraid that some other band would be named like this? Which is the best bandname you know?

– Well, as we came up with this name in autumn 1993, after some exploring in some anatomy books and several variants, we didn’t know any band with the same name, and something tells me, that they don’t exist. We didn’t have Internet these days; we had only fanzines and from time to time German metal magazines like Rock Hard and Metal Hammer. Now we have about ten Dissectors on the planet, it’s no secret, but we will never change the name we are satisfied with. What the hell? We have been running long enough to be proud with our name!

What´s the best thing with playing live?

– I think the best thing is an exchange of energies between musicians on stage and audience in hall. You can’t have enough of this unique feeling, which is quite different on every concert.    

And where is best to play? And the worst place?

– When Dissector was an active liveband we played only in venues in our home town, so most of them were unfit for extreme music. But we didn’t give a shit, of course – we were young and wanted to play live as much as possible without thinking much about sound conditions in clubs. Now we don’t play live and acts only as a studio project, trying to concentrate on quality of our music.   

How is to play this sort of music in Russia right now? Which types of bands do you have concerts together with?

– We played live in all possible style combination, from local festivals with very different styles of music and supporting bigger acts, to 3 hours solo concerts. I don’t see many problems to play metal in Russia for many years. Ok we have here from time to time crazy examples of religious or political obscurantism (also with bands from abroad), which is partly a consequence of the policy of social dumbing-down and arbitrariness of authorities on all levels. But there are still big and small rockclubs in big cities and lots of options for rehearsal and recording, if you have money. And lots of rock/metal enthusiasts too.     

How would you describe your music in three words?

– It’s just metal: heavy, melodic, and easy-structured.

When you did all the remixes, how would you think your fans would react?

– Well, with this EP “Pride And Hate” with several remixes we have a couple of goals to reach. We wanted to do EP with additional stuff, we wanted to have something experimental in our discography and last but not least we wanted to do a physical release for our friends which do electronic music and also support us from time to time with remixes, which we normally use in our digital releases. As for me, I have nothing against this remixthings, even if most of remixes in metal music are disputable, you know. It’s something more for the popculture. But so far we are an independent band, we do and will do what we want and hold to be correct.  

How do you see on downloading, mp3 and that stuff?

– It’s a dead ender, with no concrete answer. And I don’t have it. I don’t accept seriously digital music and prefer to have physical formats. Of course, I understand that there are some positive, comfortable moments in legal downloading and sharing of mp3-files in some spheres of life, for getting to know oк if you are too far from the civilization. But the resulting effect of this damned digital machinery is fatal for music. The digitalization and almost uncontrolled sharing have not only opened all gates to stealing the intellectual property. They have ripped to shreds with the whole meaning “music”. Now music is something like chewing gum for 3-5 minutes. What? Pay for music? Are you crazy? I can get it for free and better buy a beer or order some idiotic shit on Internet. I don’t wanna speak about industry in general now, though we have many injured parties in this total crisis situation. Ok, CD and vinyl cost too much in our progressive time, though the production of one CD or DVD cost cents. To pay 15-20 euro for one new CD is for young generations absolutely unacceptable and impudent. Yes, everybody understands it. But it wasn’t and isn’t musician’s fault, you know. Musicians (not divas or kings) didn’t get much money from every sold unit before Internet era (50 cents or 1 dollar from every CD was a fantastic deal). Now after bankruptcy of thousands labels/traders, and while streaming and marketing (stealing) music in Internet musicians get fuckin nothing at all and try to replace the whole industry by yourself. That is unreal, and the result is zero. People don’t buy not only CD’s nowadays; they don’t buy digital releases much either. Maybe they visit concerts from time to time, not often because of ticket’s prices. They lose interest to music because of huge amount of offers, secondariness of the music itself, free accessibility to it and psychology of modern gregarious society, who is unable to focus on something longer than advertisement. I don’t speak about big and classic names on the scene and music which is milk cows with big adult audience, just about independent and passionate bands, who invest everything they have in audio- and live quality. 4-5 world concerns determine what music and in which way the planet will consume, and easily kill lots of really innovative, creative artist and labels.       

How is it to live in Russia now? Politically?

– I think, as in every country during crisis or other turbulent time – common people live less and worse. Well, people can have correct or incorrect opinion about foreign and domestic policy of the government, they can hate different sides of conflicts, but in fact most of them don’t give a shit and are interested only in their own life and in quick going down health and wealth of their families during mentioned crisis. People don’t follow or understand what happens really, and why government does this costly shit or that costly war. Life is getting worser after these decisions – that’s it. Ok, that depends of social positions of specific people, - as you understand rich people near state pork barrel are getting only better and are less fucked up with all these current economic sanctions, so far there are lots of voiceless common people and lots of resources to rob in Russia. People here will live worse so far families of Russian oligarchs and politicians, which together with Federal Security Service absolute rule the country, live in Europe and America in clover. And so far their children continue studying in European or American universities and won’t ever come back to Russia to live, and kind of civilize and human European and American authorities with elbow deep in blood are so cynically tolerable to money, which Russian oligarchs and their friends in policy are keeping in European banks. It allows them in fact with conduit arrangement to buy biggest properties, yachts, islands, key figures in governments etc. And they don’t give a shit about anyone’s sanctions. Nobody knows it? Fine! Russia is not the only country on the planet with such a situation. I don’t understand much in policy and as inhabitant to hold all oligarchs and politicians for corrupted liars and thieves, who change fundamental laws as they want and steal the future well-being of our children. But I can estimate what happens in my country on my low social level. To say in short they just methodically make people poorer, ruin everything in social sphere, medicine and economy here. So far I don’t see any optimism matter. But I think governments of many other countries, including Europe, do the same shit, maybe in smaller measures. They do a lot of things against their own nations, because of corruption and cowardice, hiding behind big messages of well known double-faced democracy. Though I know personally some sincere optimists who think we will have paradise in Russia in 2017. Maybe African kind of, who knows. Well it’s only my subjective opinion; I don’t impose it to anyone.

Is there any good bands from Russia now? Is the metal scene big? How is it in your hometown? – I have left my hometown Magadan in 2002, at that time we had about 10 metal or rock bands (120 thousand inhabitants). Not much, but try to imagine where this place is situated. Yes, the metal scene is big, maybe less that earlier because of different social and economic reasons. I don’t have so much contact with Russian bands, only with those musicians I personally know. Some Russian bands make tours through Europe, make appearances on festivals and release albums on small labels in Europe and America on self-released level with zero distribution. But I’ve never seen some really serious input of Russians bands in modern metal culture, let’s say the last 15 years. I see and feel mass ignore of Russian music in big European, British and American music press, both printed and digital. Only small zines and blogs. Ok, for 15-20 years we could speak about lack of producing, quality, originality etc in the Russian metal scene. I don’t deny it. But qualities, they are changing, you know. Now many Russian bands record/produce their albums in Europe with a good producer and good quality and release hi-level formats with best printing, even vinyl. Some of them release it by themselves because of the fact, that small independent labels in Europe are unable to release something bigger than cheapest jewel-case or bad quality digipack without proper advertisement or distribution. But even they release something - it’s a drop in the ocean to be seriously noticed. Small labels have no money to push the band forward. Russian bands are kind of one step behind all the time, and this state of things doesn’t change much because of constant changing of music markets. Russian bands (with multi-album back-catalogues, good musicians and expensive productions) still can only hope to get a deal with tiny label which will ask musician for life-long rights for their music and money to release their album in Europe. Or to be reviewed in international music press as demo (sick), together with cheap self-releases. Sure, they’re some exclusions from time to time, and the last longplay of Dissector has got super reviews in German Rock Hard-magazine, for example. But after 25 years getting in contacts with different European labels, zines or publishers I can say that European school metal from garage played with one finger will sound to European reviewer or manager much better than a really good product from an intricate or frightening country. You will not like the reasons I suppose they all have.

What do you know about Sweden?

– Well, I have never been in Sweden, hope to visit at least Stockholm one day. So I can’t judge the traditional character of  the Swedish people, because I have Swedish friends only in Facebook and don’t know them in everyday life. But I know a lot about Swedish metal music, of course. I can say it was a part of my music education and a part of forming my music taste. In the earlier 90´s albums of Swedish (and not only) gothic or melodic death metal bands were like ray of sunshine in my living place.        

Have you heard any good bands from Sweden?

 – I don’t personally follow the modern metal scene, not only in your country, but for sure I heard almost everything what was released internationally in 90´s and partly in 2000´s. Hypocrisy, Edge Of Sanity, Grave, Entombed, Dismember, Unleashed, Cemetery, At The Gates, Dark Tranquility, In Flames, Theatre Of Tragedy, Arch Enemy and many more. Sure I listened to the new albums of them, who are still alive. And I have almost all releases of Katatonia, Haunted and Nightrage in my collection – the coolest Swedish bands now for me.    

Your lyrics, who does them and what influences you? Is it easier to do lyrics now or was its easier to do it when you was younger? Never in Russian? Why or why not?

– I did lyric much more and easier as I was young when Dissector made the first demos and DIY-albums. I had never problems with lyric and wrote it in English, German and Russian. But I sang primary in English. Other languages were more like experiment and not in a big amount. Now I do lyric seldom; can’t answer why. I have tons of inspirations and new experiences all around every day. But last years I have composed music much easier than lyric. So, on last releases of Dissector we use mostly lyric by my friends, musicians or just creative people with their own opinion.    

Is there any subject that you never will write anything about?

– I try to write lyric or use someone’s lyric which has something in common with my current mood at that particular moment. Dissector is not a conceptual band; we can use different themes  in our songs on one album . But these days I have no wish to sing about guts and ripped corpses, dragons and wizards, cosmic mushrooms or other fantasies; as far as I remember I’ve never used or written such lyric, maybe partly allegorically. I also don’t like to sing lessons how to live or what exactly to do, politically or pedagogically. I have no answers to many really painful questions in life, unfortunately, just my inner feelings or visions. And they are sometimes quite tangled, restless, confused, angry or nervous.      

Politic and music, does it goes hand in hand? Which is your most political song?

– As musician I prefer to avoid mixing of politic and music, just because of the fact that it hides a lot of shit from every side, in my opinion. Though as a common man I hate all these morons in government’s machinery all around the world, which mostly try to hold their nations in medieval conscience. Sure I have enough of their daily bitchy lie, theft of own country, war, manipulating, destroying economy, education, medicine and social institutes, obsessive greed and making laws for idiots they industriously bring up for their goals. Our most and I think the only one political song is “True Conqueror”. The song has a guest text about last war conflict.     

Best political band/artist?

– Frankly speaking I don’t follow this theme in music at all. Of course there are plenty of such bands and artists. One of the best examples of such a band for me is Napalm Death.    

Do you think that music (lyrics and so on) can change anyones life, I mean people who listens to music?

– Sure music brings lots of different energy in one’s life. That depends of the style of music of course. At some point in some condition under influence of music people can make some decisions or deeds. It can make them feel better or worse, and I can judge it by myself. I’m not quite sure about lyric in details, I personally don’t pay too much attention to the lyricside of a song, I prefer to accept music first of all as one energetic unit. As for me, some key sentence or phrase together with good riffs can impress more that the whole text and the whole song.   

Your cover on your CD looks really nice, is it important to have a record cover which shows people which type of music you play? Your favorite record cover? Who does your covers? And do you have any good record stores in your hometown?

– Almost all artworks and design of our merchandise are done and designed by our friend and country-man Pavlik Antonov (https://www.facebook.com/pavlik.antonov?fref=ts). We like his creativity and fresh ideas very much. Good cover is important for every release, and of course it should be signaling for the type of music. I speak about good metal music - time-consuming, hard, collective and expensive thing, which demands much passion, patience, investments and personal sacrifices. In our customer-related time an unpresentable cover can kill all strains of musicians. I live in Moscow at the moment, I think a couple of CD-stores are still alive here, but many are closed or sell some electronic or digital non-music stuff. I personally prefer to buy all CDs abroad or order it in Internet.     

Is it important to get out physical records of your stuff? Why or why not?  

- 100% YES – it’s important for me to have our songs physically released. First off all because besides concerts, CD, cassette or vinyl are no less than the proof of physical existence of an artist. It’s an subjective feeling but I think people don’t accept digital music as something serious, which can cost money it costs in reality with all sacrifices every good musician does. Digitalization and unbounded sharing of music in Internet have devaluated largely the work and job of musicians. Artwork, special editions, booklet content, packages are also part of this important feeling and necessary support of music.      

How does your audience look like? Which people do you miss on your concerts? Which is the biggest band you ever have played together with?

– We haven’t played live for many years, but I think our audience would be older than teenagersJ. Dissector has never played with famous bands together on one stage. My personal achievements are very humble – as I played with Tartharia in Saint-Petersburg, we supported Dark Funeral and Impaled Nazarene in 2004.

 Please rank your five favorite records, five favorite concerts and five most important things in life?

 – I have to say I didn’t visit much concerts in my life because of many different reasons. But I have seen Rage and Paradise Lost five or six time every band in Russia and Germany, for example. So better is to rank metal concerts I would like to visit – Carcass, Haunted, Nightrage, Katatonia (one more), Napalm Death (but please next time with material from 90´s) and maybe some of thrash-metal titans. I can’t choose five favorite albums, it’s too hard. Only favorite discographies, in no particular order – Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Nightrage, Carcass, Ludovico Einaudi. And of course – everything I have done with Dissector and The Lust. Important things in life are banally evident – my mom, music, health, wealth, friends.   

Is it boring with interviews? Is it much interviews?

 – The question sounds like a compliment, lol! Well, Dissector is not a big band yet to get many interviews and to be soooo busy with promoting. Not boring at all!

If you could choose five bands from the past and the history and nowadays and both dead and living bands to have a concert together with your band. Which five have you been chosen?

– You speak about support or festival? Well, festivals and support are always good things for a small band to collect negative and positive experiences. But I prefer not to play with big bands on one stage, but to see them live and to travel with them in tour bus and talk about their concert and road experiences, mistakes and contacts in music businessJ. Well, I’m not into old bands really, but it would be cool to hang up with bands which music I like and collect – Paradise Lost, Haunted, Carcass, Nightrage, Katatonia. It’s not about their sizes or coolness, it’s about composing music and many related things I’d like to discuss with them. This list should be more than just 5 bands - also Rotting Christ, Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil, Entwine, Metallica, Rage, Rammstein, Moonspell, Soilwork and many more.        

Is music a good way to get out frustration and become a nicer person outside the music?

– I hope so. Of course, it’s not a rule for every musician, but it works for me partly. On one hand music helps me to struggle with depressions, and makes me more relaxed and positive in the everyday life. But I don’t listen to cheerful music at all, so at the same time music can make me deeply sad. And I don’t know sometimes – if it is better than just an inexplicable depression because of the general shit around. But this art of grief or sadness can be very creative and can bring some ideas for a new song. The choice is evident for a musician.      

Which is the oddest question you ever have got in an interview?

– Can’t remember such a thing really. Everything is quite normal, and it’s Ok. But I have nothing against odd or unrelated questions at all.   

2Which is the question you want to have but you never get. Please ask it and answer it?

– Let’s make another interview with more questions about our music, future album of Dissector and maybe other projects!

Future plans for the band?

– Our future plans for this year are bounded with new songs and making more promotion for the band. Members of Dissector also record a new album of the project The Lust with a new female singer and do some joint-tracks, so we have a lot to do and to invest. I think we will be busy with recordings till summer. I can’t tell about concrete time limits, formats or collaborations yet, but I will.         

For yourself?

– To have less stress, to keep my job, to have less time to regret about the past and to earn money for making better and bigger music. Well, I have destroyed enough good things and relationships in my life because of different reasons, including music. So now music keeps me to stay hearty alive really and in the form of ready song it brings most of positive emotions.     

Wisdomword?

– Hang out more with relatives, parents (or children) and friends – not with the computer. Live real life – not a virtual one. Do something good everyday for yourself or those close to you. Don’t know, is it wiselyJ?

Something to add?

– If you like music – support musicians.