MARC MUCHNIK - THE NIGHTMARE STAGE
- HARDROCKHEAVYMETAL
- 21 mar 2019
- Tempo di lettura: 4 min

💿 Hi, it’s a pleasure for us to have on Hardrockheavymetal Marc Muchnik of THE NIGHTMARE STAGE!! Welcome!! Thank you so much for having me. 💿 Your new full-length called WHEN THE CURTAIN CLOSES is finally ready. It will be available on April 26th! Can you tell us somethin’ about its composition process? We had the pleasure to listening to it in preview and we were really impressed!! Thank you again for your kind words. The new album took about four years to make from start to finish. Similarly, the process for Free Admission took about three. You could say we take our time with new music. We have never been under pressure to complete something by a certain date. When you are not operating on timelines aside from your own, it allows you to really dive deep into the song writing aspect. We feel that the finished product presented is truly the best representation of our creative abilities. There is absolutely no filler here! Our guitarist Craig and I are the nucleus from where the music emanates. I write many of the guitar riffs on the piano or keys, and then show it to him. He, in turn brings his own riffs to the table, and actually came up with the piano line in the intro to “Curtain Closes.” It can be challenging because the piano is such a different instrument from the guitar. I may envision something slightly different from how Craig would interpret it, while he may present a riff to which my first thought is, “where I POSSIBLY would put keys over this!??” (laughs). Afterwards, Rob will jump in on drums and once musical backbone is established, Scott will go to work with the vocals, and he is also our ace in the hole when it comes to structuring the songs. Daz (Anthony Dazzo) joined the fray once everything was written, and his bass work really elevated the material and were the finishing touch. You can hear the difference from the first album, when Craig did all the bass, and for the most part it just follows the guitar lines. 💿 Nine years between your debut FREE ADMISSION FOR THE DAMNED and this follow up..What's the matter for this long break? The long gap between albums could be attributed to the fact that all of us have careers separate from music. Also, Rob joined the band on drums in 2014, which really began The Nightmare Stage Mach 2. What’s difficult in a band situation is that when everyone is not on the same page as far as working towards a common goal, little gets done. Rob joined with a hunger that reinvigorated us. We wrote the entire album in the year that followed. 💿 Can you tell us somethin'about the birth of your passion for music? Which bands and artists have influenced you the most? We always had a piano at my house growing up, so I was messing around as early as I could walk. My mother was an inspiration for me as a vocalist and pianist. Music was always encouraged. When you ask about influences, what’s funny is that people always say to me, “Oh you’re a keyboardist, you must love Dream Theater,” but honestly I have always been a much bigger fan of guitar driven metal.
Discovering Nevermore and Candlemass were huge. I would say that once I heard Symphony X , that was a big moment. Kamelot during “The Black Halo” era is also a reference point. However, I also like to think that our style is unique, in that it is very orchestral and percussive, and the keys are utilized more like a second guitar rather than background. 💿 Your new album will be out via Pure Steel Records. Can you tell us somethin' about the partnership with them? Yea, that was due to our singer Scott’s previous association with them and George Neal from Halloween. They have been incredibly gracious and easy to work with. It has definitely been a shift for us, as we’ve always gone by a DIY ethos, handling everything in house from the recording to the packaging. Letting go of that process was a little scary, but also very exciting. Ultimately, it’s been an awesome ride and we are having a great time with it. 💿 The real “news” in music industry is the return of vinyl and cassette; what’s your feeling about these classic format and the current music “business”? Vinyl was big before I really got into music and I never picked up on the recent resurgence. Cassettes hold a special place in my heart. I’ll never forget picking up a used copy of “Nightfall” by Candlemass for two bucks. That being said, I don’t think I could ever go back to them. If you’ve ever gotten a cassette tape stuck in your car stereo, you’d would know what I’m talking about! 💿 Can you tell us somethin’ about your next live projects? Are scheduled any gigs? We are scheduled to play 89 North Music Venue in Patchogue, NY on August 3. I just had my second child so I have to ease myself back into the live thing.

💿 Amazing cover for WTCC!! Can you tell us somethin'about? I absolutely had a vision for what I wanted the album art to look like. I am not impressed with much of the album art I see these days. It just seems so computer generated and soulless sometimes. I came across a piece entitled “Nightmare Theatre: Act 1: Sandman of Slumberland” through a Google search and I was like, “this is it!” The detail is extraordinary and you can really see how much effort was put into it. I contacted the artist Natascha Friis and told her I really wanted it to be the cover of the new album. It perfectly embodies the idea behind the band’s name. The fact that it is panoramic and wraps around the entire package was a cool feature that we discovered later. 💿 Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal! A: Thank you!! #pics Pure Steel Promotion
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