My guest is AMETHYST, a heavy metal band from Switzerland, and it is my pleasure to introduce them to you.
Amethyst is one of the bands that has impressed and excited me the most in recent times, and I have not hesitated to say so.
Let’s begin…
Hello, thank you very much for accepting my interview invitation. Let’s start with a classic question: how are you doing nowadays?
Hello Ersoy! First of all, thank you for your interest in Amethyst! Thank you, I’m doing great! We are currently playing a lot of shows to promote our latest album, Throw Down the Gauntlet.
How did you guys come together? Can you briefly tell us about the formation of the band?
We’ve known each other for a long time, and I had already made music with two members of the band (Freddy and Yves) before Amethyst. We were active in the heavy metal band Midas Touch from 2015 to 2017. In 2020, Yves and I came up with the idea of starting a heavy metal band again. After a while, Ramon joined us as a second guitarist. In the beginning, I had to play the drums instead of the bass because we couldn’t find a suitable person for the position. During this phase, we wrote Nightstranger (our very first song) and Embers On The Loose, at that time still in a slightly different version. Freddy was supposed to be the drummer, but I had the idea (or to say it correctly, my wife, who is also one of our managers now) that he should try doing the vocal part for the band. I knew he had potential in singing, but at the time I didn’t realise how much talent he actually had haha. The decision to hire him as a singer was therefore quickly made. And again I was stuck behind the drums …
In the winter of 2022, I was hanging out with Eldo backstage after a concert of a friend’s band, namely Demon Head, and asked him if he would be interested in playing drums in Amethyst. I think it was also my wife me to ask him, admittedly. Now I recognise a pattern haha. Even then, I had no idea how many talents this guy had, haha. Beside druming, he also recorded and mixed the EP and album and drew the Amethyst logo. So, now we had a drummer and the band was complete (including me on bass). Finally, each member was placed in the right position, and together we wrote and recorded our debut EP, Rock Knights, in autumn 2022.
Let me tell you that I am very fond of old school metal. I get a lot of this taste in your EP and album. I wonder who Amethyst follows in the footsteps of, who inspires them. The sound gives us clues: Status Quo, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, etc. Etc. … What about you?
So are we! With Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy, you are absolutely right. In addition to this main influence, we also incorporate a lot of NWOBHM into our music.
One thing I often notice with new bands is the rapid evolution of their sound. For example, some bands begin with thrash metal and, after two or three albums, move toward death metal. You have released an EP and a full-length album so far. Do you see yourselves continuing in the same musical direction in the future?
I don’t want to commit myself 100% here and speak for myself when I say that we will certainly stick to the existing sound, but that we will keep our options open so that we don’t stagnate as artists and are open to new, additional elements in our music. I can say one thing in advance. We will certainly never become a speed metal, death or thrash band. That would also be unrealistic. The good thing nowadays is that we can do what we love and we don’t have to submit to the music industry to get ahead, like it used to be in the 80s and 90s.
Speaking of which, do you have a date in mind for the new album?
As we are currently playing a lot of concerts and have a new guitarist, we don’t want to commit ourselves to a specific time period yet. However, I can tell you that we are already in the process of writing songs for the second album. And we are making good progress.
There are bands similar to your style from Germany, Sweden, Greece, and other countries. Would you consider this a return to the roots of heavy metal?
Well, we’ve seen this development since the beginning of the so-called new wave of traditional heavy metal and the 70s/occult rock thing in the early 2000s. I think everything that’s happening now is a logical development in our music bubble. And I’m glad to see that it’s not coming to an end. Musicians and fans seem to be insatiable, which secures this music and scene for the future. And we all want to listen to good music in the future, don’t we?
I get very positive feedback from the people I share with. I also have an Amethyst t-shirt, and people ask me a lot about it (regarding Güray Tekstil :D). What kind of feedback do you get from the audience?
First of all, thank you very much for sharing/recommending our music (and thank you, Güray, for great work on the shirts)! We get mostly positive reactions. Two years ago, we would never have thought that we would touch so many people positively with our music. We are extremely grateful for all the positive reactions/feedback, and it motivates us to continue as before and to go one better. Thanks to all our fans! But we don’t always get positive feedback either, which is normal, I guess. You can never please everyone.
How have the concerts been going so far? I can imagine the excitement of those who experience this magic live, while I follow it with great enthusiasm from afar.
It always depends a little on where we play. Sometimes you can estimate the audience from the start, and sometimes it’s a surprise. But no matter which audience we play in front of, we always give 200%. For those who already know us and for those who get to know us. I would say that you can see that we are authentic, have fun and give everything on stage to put on a good show. Playing this music live and interacting with the audience means everything to us!
As a small example. Last spring, we played at the Eros At Arms festival in Zurich in front of an audience that was mainly interested in extreme metal. We didn’t know whether we would fit in there at all, but the reactions were consistently very positive, and we had a great time!
You released a tour schedule in early January. Will new countries be added to the tour?
Yes, two to three more countries/cities will follow. Unfortunately, I can’t say any more at this point, as our booker and management are still in the middle of negotiations. And if we get an invitation for Turkey, it will be our pleasure to play a show for the Turkish audience.
With Throw Down the Gauntlet, you carried forward the momentum established on Rock Knights and took it to a new level. Don’t you think that Take Me Away in particular sounds very much like a Steve Harris–inspired composition? Come on, admit it.
Thank you! Haha, you almost got us! No, it is definitely our own creation, heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, Gotham City and Judas Priest.
I seem to see this interview as an excuse to praise you. I think this much praise deserves a concert in Turkey in the future. Maybe it will take place in Adana, where I live, what do you think?
We are very open to doing it. If we get an offer, we will be in for one or more shows in Turkey.
While there are many strong bands like yours, how do you evaluate the frequent repetition of the same names in festival and concert lineups? Heavy metal is a vast ocean, and it feels like a missed opportunity when organisers stay close to the shore instead of venturing out to discover new sounds.
A lot is going on in the underground scene. Dying Victims Records, for example, doesn’t do the label only. Florian (the label owner) also promotes some great underground festivals with old and new bands. Check out Dying Victims Attack and Battle Cry, for example! But you’re right if it comes to bigger festivals and tours with well-known bands. Speaking for so many new bands like us, I can say that we’re the new generation and definitely deserve more attention beyond the underground.
The year 2025 will also witness the last Black Sabbath concert with Ozzy Osbourne. It’s hopeful for us to see bands like Amethyst picking up where they left off and carrying the flag.
Thank you for your words! We’ll see what the future brings. Play it loud and play it proud!
Miguel Sanchez from Amethyst
Thank you very much for the chat. Hope we can have a live interview soon!
Until then, take care. – Ersoy Cem Yıldız
Thank you Ersoy! If we have the possibility to meet in real life at a Amethyst show, we are open for a live interview.
Take care
This interview was conducted towards the end of 2024.
