An interview with the Methopia group

Unfortunately, I met the group Methopia, that is, to be more precise, I discovered it only recently.  And that's only thanks to a friend from Poland - Jacek radioSOK.  Which alerted me to this very interesting band, playing a mix or if you want a hardcore/metal core form with a mix of other metal influences.  Hard, strumming with female vocals.  Well, after listening to their work, I realized that it's damn good.  So if you don't know them, come and meet them.  It comes from the Voivodeship of Lower Silesia.

Alan – Hi gang.  Who are you, where are you from, and how long have you been playing?
Roman - Hello, we are Methopia, we're from Poland, Wrocław city. We like to say that we are covid band, because the idea of forming the band came with pandemia of covid. It means that we are young band, but it's only partially true, we know each other from previous projects easily from 2005, yet the Methopia came to life from 2019/2020.
Justyna - Hi, as Roman said, we have been playing for a long time in many projects, we can say that 'recently together'. The band was formed in Wrocław, however some of us come from other cities.

Alan – Regarding your work, it is not simple, you have music with different kind of generas.  So what do you actually play?
Roman - Well, I don’t know the correct genre, we are playing what we are feeling and really trust me, it's easy to compose music when You feel and really believe in work that You are making. I can say we play metal music, but what subgenre it is, I don’t know.
Justyna - I couldn't agree more. I have to say that we play what we feel in our guts, in our hearts.

Alan – You have two albums out.  Which are they, where did you create?  And it's been a long time since the albums came out.  What are you preparing for 2024?
Roman - Well, we don’t have two albums, one album(Mr. Serious) and one EP(rec.over)Still, as I mentioned, working with those musicians is pure pleasure so we are preparing another LP, maybe a couple of singles, so we are busy right now.

Alan – Plaid shirt alla France punk 80 years.  Is that your brand?
Justyna - No way! It was an experiment, but hey, sometimes you need to try different styles to have your own.
Roman - We wanted to look different on stage so we started to play wearing shirts, maybe to have a little grunge or early 90’ style. Now We have changed the stage image to more 'our own' style and, in my opinion, it's better than before.
Justyna - We constantly search what can we do better.

Alan – How are you received in Poland and Silesia?  Because your work is very good and suitable for both metal concerts and festivals.  So on to the hardcore focus.
Roman - That's really good question. Here in Poland we are playing all kinds of concerts, with hard rock bands, some melodic metal or even hardcore gangs… it's difficult to put us in a „genre box” and I find this more good than bad option.
Justyna - I think the reception is rather positive, but considering the listeners in Poland (no offense) and the scene, let's call it a metal scene not so big and popular it's hard to get more reception. That is why I think it's worth trying outside the borders.

Alan – What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?  Or achievements.
Roman - That we didn’t kill each other (hahaha). In my opinion our biggest achievement is not so good LP, or some big gigs, but making music that we truly believe in. We didn’t change much from the start and we are putting all of our hearts and experience that we gained through all those years. Of course, the concerts are great and the response from the fans is also very good, but the biggest success is that we are still together.

Alan – I assume that you have crossed Poland and Silesia.  Other countries?  States? Continents?
Justyna - Not yet with Methopia but as I said before It's worth a try. We have played with our other bands in other countries before, but mainly in Europe like the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, France, Romania, even Turkey. We want to go on tour and hopefully get some kind of contract, then it will be easier.
Roman - Yeah, for now we play only in Poland but we are considering a few options for playing outside Poland, but for now is still only a plan.

Alan - What if they wrote about you in zines or said something funny on the radio?  What surprised you the most?
Roman - When You work in showbiz it’s good when they talk about You(hehehehe). But really, I don’t listen to the radio very often, it's really really a lot of very good music to listen to on the internet or from spotify/iTunes, etc. than listen to mainstream radios.
Justyna - I would be surprised that they would write or say anything at all hahaha but if they do seriously I wouldn't be surprised because I know our let's call it possibilities. Besides, we're funny and super friendly so I think you will probably be more surprised than us.

Alan – Who influenced you as a band to the work you play?  From Poland, Silesia, and abroad at all?  Bands?
Roman - Well… Methopia is four guys and one lady, every single one of us is listening to something else, from soft pop rock to really heavy and dark music, too many band names to put here (hahaha).
Justyna - Everyone of us has common bands that evolve us as musicians but at the same time we're listening to so different kinds of music, so for me it's hard to name the bands then and now. I think that I have to thank all the guys with whom I had the pleasure of working at materials in every band I've played. They showed me different bands that of course 'I should listen to and know'.

Alan – Will you be incorporating other instruments into your work?  Ukulele for example?
Justyna - Ukulele no way! Maybe when I'm drunk hahaha I've tried to play on everything, for example on spoons ;)
Roman - At the moment I can’t tell, making music experiments it's always good to experience . If we make something that will, in our opinion, be good to give to fans, we will do it, if not- we will stick to what we know we are good at. After all, it's too early to consider if we’ll have some extra instruments on the album.

Alan - Thanks for the short interview, and with the new record, with the new album, we'll meet again for some interview.
Roman - Thanks for having us, I hope we will meet somewhere live, to see our show live on stage. Take care and stay safe ! Cheers from Poland !!!
Justyna - Also we want to thank all fans and readers for support. Stay tuned!  Kisses to all!
www.methopia.com
www.facebook.com/methopia
www.youtube.com/methopia
www.instagram.com/methopiaofficial
www.methopia.bandcamp.com