written by Marko Jakob | 12.05.2022 |
Pix666: Hello and thanks for your time. How are you doing these days? How are the other guys from Peace Is Just A Break?
Oscar: Hello, thank you for your interest! The last few years have been quite complicated, but now we are starting to release new songs and we will start playing shows again soon so we are doing well and we are looking forward to the things that will happen in the future!
Pix666: Please introduce your band to the readers in a few short sentences. Where are you from and what kind of music do you make?
Greg: We are Peace is just a break, a melodic death metal / metalcore band from Lausanne, Switzerland. We are much inspired by bands like Trivium, As I lay Dying, In Flames. We aim to play classic melodeath/metalcore with a modern touch and electro elements.
Pix666: Recently your new single ‚Alone in this war‘ was released. How have the reactions been so far?
Oscar: We had only good feedback, people seem to have appreciated the song and the video. Some of them even identified with it, which makes me really happy because for me music is above all about sharing feelings and good moments with people. The feedback we got for this song makes me really happy because it’s a very personal and important song for me and I couldn’t hope for anything else but that people would like it.
Pix666: Last Christmas you released the song ‘Can’t Run Away’ and announced the release of an EP for 2022. Will the new single also be part of the EP and when can fans expect the release?
Oscar: The two singles are indeed going to be part of it and we will release another one before the EP. We’re looking at releasing the EP next fall. So be ready!
Pix666: How do you create your songs and what are your lyrics about?
Oscar: Each member comes up with ideas, riffs or even almost finished compositions and we work together to finalize the songs and make sure everyone likes them. The lyrics are often about war, but we don’t want to limit ourselves to one subject, so if someone wants to talk about something in particular we are happy to write about it.: So our lyrics change according to the mood and the inspiration of the members.
Greg: I wrote almost all the lyrics to the first album. Lyrics-wise, I like to approach introspection-based themes such as depression, pessimism, and the impact of such way of thinking on ourselves. We also talk about war, which is a gimmick with our band name. We take a critical and cynical side on it, with some irony and humor. But we are not politically engaged. The point is telling that making music, sharing it and having fun is a better way to celebrate life than conflicts and war.
Pix666: Did the Corona Pandemic influence your way of working and were you allowed to play concerts during the pandemic?
Oscar: The pandemic allowed us to take time for ourselves and to work on our EP without stress. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do any concerts.
Greg: We parted ways with our previous singer Matt back in 2019, and we took advantage of the pandemic – so to say – to work the new material with Oscar, the new vocalist.
Pix666: How frustrating is it for a band when you are not allowed to perform live for almost two years?
Oscar: It’s very frustrating to not be able to share our passion with people and to simply not have human contact. As I said before, this led to a loss of motivation and therefore also a lot of time loss.
Greg: But as I said, on the other hand, we had time to work on new songs and we already have some material and ideas in the oven for the next cycle.
Pix666: Let’s stay on the topic of touring and live concerts. Are there already plans for concerts in 2022?
Oscar: Of course! I’m organizing a festival with some friends, the “Burning Virus Festival” in Cully, Switzerland. And we will play there with Peace is just a break and seven other bands. I’m really excited about it! We are also going to do some gigs after this event but we are not booked to play in other festivals for the moment.
Pix666: You have released a video clip for each of your new singles. Where did you shoot the clips and how long does it actually take to shoot such clips?
Oscar: For ‚can’t run away‘ we shot play throughs while we were recording in the studio so it didn’t take us any extra time to do it. For ‚Alone in this war‘ we went to a movie studio with a whole crew and shot for a whole day.
Greg: We have also shot a new video the last couple of week which should be released this summer. There will be 5 songs on the EP and we plan to record a video clip for each song.
Pix666: Greg, you’ve been on the road with Peace Is Just A Break for more than five years now – what have been the most memorable experiences with the band so far?
Greg: We have been able to play in a few European Countries, such as Czech Republic, France and Belgium. We did play with France metalcore band ETHS and at the Metal Assault Festival alongside band such as Dyscarnate, The Resistance and Hour of Penance back in 2013. We did’t have much opportunities to tour and play big stages as we were all quite busy in our personal lives, but now we have more time and plans to conquer the world, muahahaha !
Pix666: Do you have any dreams and wishes for the future – maybe a gig at a certain festival or a tour together with your favourite band?
Oscar: For sure, to be able to play on beautiful stages or to tour with a big band is a dream for every musician. For the moment I’m looking forward to the moment when we can finally start playing again. But if I had to give one of my dreams I would say it would be to play with While She Sleeps or Wage War.
Greg: I would love to tour the US one time in my life, but not in the project right now. And I would pee my pants playing with Trivium or Devin Townsend.
Pix666: As a musician, you surely spend most of your time creating music – but what else do you do in your free time when you want to distract yourself – are there any interesting hobbies you pursue?
Oscar: I do devote a lot of time to music but apart from that, I’m a video student and I make music videos as a job. In my free time I either make music or go out with my friends.
Greg: I enjoy most of Nintendo games (Zelda, Pokémon, Metroid, etc…) as a casual gamer, and having fun with friends playing Mario Kart or Mario Party is always a good blast ! Besides that, I enjoy swimming and cycling.
Pix666: Do you have any other news about PIJAB, that you would like to share with the fans?
Oscar: As Greg said earlier, we recorded a music video that is going to be amazing. I think it’s the biggest video project we’ve ever done.
Greg: And some new singles are about to drop, So stay in tune and follow us on our social medias ! And thank you Pix for your time !
Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting answers – Good luck and stay healthy!
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