Neon's Metal Madness

Interview with Tornado


Neboysha Tasich (NT) and Dr. George Letich (GL),

Guitarists and composers of Tornado

By Neon Blonde

October 4, 2002

web site


 
Q: Where and when was Tornado created?


NT: "Triumph of The King" is the first Tornado album,
but we - members of Tornado band - are real veterans of the Yugoslav hard rock and heavy metal scene.
George Letich is a mastermind of the Armagedon
Project, he has two recorded albums. Philip Zmaher is simply the best Yugoslav lead vocalist ever, and well-known artist in Russia and Ukraine! He has the great long-time experience, many projects and international gigs, sold out "the best of" album, and with his excellent combination of Bruce Dickinson - Eric Adams - David Coverdale styles we have got fantastic possibility to make great things in heavy metal music!
All we are long-time friends and co-workers with the most important Yugoslav heavy metal musicians.  Naturally, after all these years of playing hard rock and heavy metal, we have united all of our personal forces to realize a new album under the new firm: Tornado. Under the name of Tornado we wish to realize the best possible result for the Yugoslav/Serbian heavy metal ever. We wish to realize an international artistic career.

GL: We have started as a new formation in 1998. All of our previous experiences are united in Tornado music.
This is really "premier representation" of Serbian heavy metal. "Debut album" is only for Tornado firm, but not for the members of this band! We have 5 realized projects and sold out albums behind us! Our history is full of hard work and the fight for heavy metal music here in our country. Steven Bukvich and Neboysha Tasich are real guitar wizards, and I am very happy now about our Tornado Company. Our way to the international record deal in previous 3 years is not easy way. After the recording of "Alone In The Dark (Midnight Prayer)" in May 2000. We have decided:
Philip Zmaher is the best solution for the position of lead vocalist in this band. Finally we have got our spirit and right unique force in his voice. The record deal with German label Angular Records is the most important moment in our career! Finally, we have got the right chance to present our work to the world!



Q: What has been the response to a band like Tornado in your homeland?


NT: Simply, Tornado is the most popular and most important heavy metal band in Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) today.

GL: Tornado members are the veterans of heavy metal, but we are also in some kind of the underground position here! You wish to produce good high-class music then you must have the money for that job. Ruins of the former music industry in Yugoslavia are not interested in hard rock and heavy metal bands now. We have not the managers and professional record labels for heavy metal music here. But, with support from the Western managers, promoters and label record companies, we can expect a better situation in the future.
 


Q: "This CD is surely among the best power metal releases this year"-says Behind The Veil Webzine, Greece. How does hearing this make you guys feel?


NT: Nice feeling. We hope, real heavy metal fans will love our album. We are NOT some fucking posers, or clowns for the circus. We play real solid music. A
Human Music. We wish to be serious artists and composers. We play TRUE HEAVY METAL, not some cheap trickery with modern technology and expensive idiotic production. We have the humanity, and our artistic level. We have our philosophy, our heroic saga, and our epic poem. We believe in our destiny of metal warriors.

GL: We have our potential. We know that, people will love our album because we have our SPIRIT, our SOUL, our HUMAN EMOTIONS. We have the power and technical skills. You can hear that in each single second of our album. We are practiced and experienced musicians who care for significant trademarks such as professional, well worked-out songwriting, compository progress.


 

Q: Two of my favorite songs off of Triumph of The King are "Coming of The King" and "Triumph of The King".
How do you guys feel about your choices of songs that you put on the album?

 
NT: So, We always think about integral European musical experience, from the medieval period until today. All of our songs are different experiments. We try to provide melodic vocal parts with strong refrains. Our main principle is: keep the melody in metal!

GL: Our album is NOT the cheap "deja-vu" collection of metal stereotypes. We have our own original approach to the heavy metal music. Our vision, our story. You can remember Tornado songs very easy, because our songs have emotions and fine-strange-catchy melodies.
The essential composition on the album is the 19 minute long track "Heavy Metal Symphony: Eternal Mystery + Epitaph". But we have also that kind of catchy metallic hymns like "Coming of The King", "We
Must Revenge" and "Triumph of The King", hymns for all heavy metal listeners.


 
Q: Have you guys had any offers to tour or go to any
of the Metal Fest or Festivals that they have in
Europe?


NT: No, not yet. We have NOT expensive management. We have only support from our label Angular Records; they are independent progressive label from Germany with low budget. They have NOT the big money for expensive promotion. They can NOT support our tour, our concerts, unfortunately... But, we will search for our "place under the sun”! We will try to get our chance. If you have NOT the money, then you can't do too much... about promotion and performing live shows...
Music industry is very very CRUEL AND BESTIAL. That's why we love to work with small independent label rather than with a "big sharks". We know, its not easy way, but that's the way we do. Also, some metal magazines are so stupid... with their hypocritical politics and double standards... They don't want to write about new bands from small independent labels...
Unfortunately, 90% popular bands are "in the business" only for the big money. They don't care about music.
They don't care about the people, about the kids, about their listeners. Ugly politics from the big labels and from the big magazines.

GL: Only the big companies, big labels, can provide live shows for their bands on the important festivals, and tours across the countries. That's the "big fucking business". We have NOT the money. But, we will NEVER SURRENDER! Even, without the big money, we will try to do something in the near future. 1000 Tornado CDs are sold out in Yugoslavia (2000/2001) before, and now 1000 CDs are sold out in Europe, Japan and America, only for the five months (May – September 2002). We hope, we will get some earnings and we will improve our financial status soon... and then we will be able to do more serious things.
NT: Now, we must spread the word about Tornado the band, mostly via INTERNET! We must talk to everybody everywhere on this Planet Earth: HEY PEOPLE, LISTEN TO OUR ALBUM! You will find many interesting things on our CD! We don't have other solution in this moment.
We are NOT a product of the big music industry. We have NOT expensive propaganda anywhere.

GL: We have not the money for all these things which are usual for a many bands from the Western Europe andAmerica. Also, we have not here expensive high technology for providing fantastic production.
Position of hard rock and heavy metal musicians here in Yugoslavia is not easy. We have not any institution or managers for any kind of support here in our country. Recording of our album is completely self-financed! Really miracle!


 
Q: Do you think you might come to the United States? Sometime?


NT: WHY NOT??? We wish to do that. Really. But... Who will organize and pay our live shows, concerts? Who will pay our U.S. management? Who will arrange our U.S. concerts, our visit there? This is serious question. WE NEED serious efficient American management! We need serious promoters and managers in U.S.A., if we think to get attention from audience... and to play live shows some day.

GL: Come on, "big managers"... Are you there? Can't
you see "the next big thing in heavy metal music" after METALLICA??? Ha ha ha ! TAKE YOUR FIRST MILLION WITH TORNADO! Ha ha ha!

NT: We can play also classic 70s hard rock and classic 80s metal for American audience. Not only "modern power metal" from the early 21st century. We don't want to be a boring stereotype/pattern. We are artists and living souls, not the machines or robots. We love to play all that excellent melodic heavy music from 1970. Until today. We love old traditions.



Q: What kind of a response have you gotten from the USA or other countries regarding Triumph of The King?

 
NT: The first pressing of 1000 CDs for the countries outside of Yugoslavia is SOLD OUT, after 5 months.  Now, we hope we can get a better score, better result; we can take more attention from the audience. We have our power and strength, but somebody must TELL TO THE PEOPLE: HEY THERE, LISTEN TO TORNADO MUSIC! We have that "promotional problem".  We have received a TON of emails... from our fans and listeners... from Europe,
USA and Japan...  All they say: Tornado is really good. We feel, we can make great things in that kind of music... but we must have serious promoters, serious managers behind us. Also...
We often receive the messages from Europe and America like this one: "This is the first Serbian band that
I've ever heard. I know very little about this country and its history." So, people from the Planet Earth, people from Europe, people from America: now it's the time for you to discover Tornado! The greatest heavy metal band in the near future!

GL: I hope so! Ha ha ha!



Q: This question is for any of you guys to answer:
What's the first rock or metal concert that you went to?

 
NT: Ha ha ha! Excellent question! Can you imagine???  SLADE in 1979. !!! Really fantastic experience!!!
Really fantastic rock'n'roll band SLADE from England
!!! CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE!!! Ha ha ha!!!


 

Q: Your music is described as "best
Yugoslavian/Serbian heavy metal band ever, with components of old Serbian/Byzantine Medieval (X-XI
Century) music, Renaissance and Baroque neoclassical music!"  How does it make you feel to hear this?


NT: We try to compose interesting things. We have great diversity of songs, from melodic speed metal to acoustic instrumentals. Really, we play that old medieval music mixed with renaissance and baroque music sometimes... We try to give a "thousand years" of the South-East-European musical experience to the people. You can hear in our music not only the standard heavy metal, but also the melodies from the past ages.

GL: We have a classical foundation. We don't care about today's trends and about stupid MTV shits! NO
PUNK. NO RAP. NO TECHNO. NO HIP HOP. NO SHIT. FUCK THE
TRENDS! WE LIVE JUST A REAL TRUE HEAVY METAL IN EACH ATOM OF OUR LIFE.


 
NT: We can say this: WE ARE NOT ANOTHER CHEAP COPY OF IRON MAIDEN! But, all Iron Maiden, Manowar, Dio,

Helloween, Gamma Ray, Steel Prophet and Angra fans and listeners will find out in our music exactly what they want, with our original South-East-European approach to the immortal heavy metal music.

GL: Now, for this first Tornado album "Triumph of The
King" try to concentrate on our music. Meaning and substance of our music, our feelings and our expression, are more important than all technical details of recording and production. Another important thing: we are really happy about great and fantastic cover and booklet of our album, masterpiece made by Bane Kerac "HM Baker", the best Serbian painter. Now our medieval and renaissance musical-epic-poem has a real visual performance for reflection about life and death, about immortality of epic heroes.


 
Q: You list Deep Purple, Rainbow, Iron Maiden,
Manowar, Metal Church, Helloween, and Gamma Ray as some of your influences. Who would be some others?


NT: Our most important musical influences are: Deep
Purple, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Manowar, Accept, Dio, Metal Church, Helloween and Gamma Ray. That's the fact. For me, they are the best artists ever!


GL: But also some progressive and hard rock bands.
Yes, Jethro Tull, E.L.P., Uriah Heep, UFO, Michael
Schenker Group, Rush, Yngwie Malmsteen,... We try to compose and play real true heavy metal, but we have also that strong progressive component in our music.
Today, you can describe our style as: power progressive true heavy metal, if you need right "modern description" for the kids.


 
The floor is yours! If there is anything that you would like to say to the people out there here's your opportunity! Thank you so much for doing this interview with me and much success for Tornado!!!
Hails!!!


NT: Hey NEON BLONDE! It's amazing... This is our
FIRST AMERICAN INTERVIEW EVER! Can you believe in that? Really fantastic! Thank you very much for your interest in the band Tornado!  Thanks for Your support!  We will remember THIS MOMENT of our life. We hope people there will love our music, soon or a later. We hope we will play LIVE one day our music in America.
For all our Friends there, on the other side of the
Atlantic sea. For American kids.


GL: Give us a chance, and you will never make a mistake! Ha ha ha! Tornado is really fantastic and twisted thing!

NT: God bless You all, our American Friends! We wish
You All the Best!

GL: Thank You, NEON BLONDE! Thank You, American
Friends, for Your Great support! All the Best! Bye
Bye!

KEEP ROCKIN'! 

If you would like to contact me for interviews or reviews, email me at the link below and I will get back with you as soon as possible.
E-mail: Neon

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