Alternative metal band 7 MAZES has been around for a short while, but have released a handful of content, ranging from 2 albums, 1 single, music videos and even lyric videos! Perhaps some new content is the works, there is no telling from the so called 7 Mazes Camp! Plan for now is something way bigger intended for the summer and rest of this year! Find out more from the band and their say in the discussion at hand about the music that they make.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members?
Well, the story of the band begins shortly after the sudden end of Max's father's life. Max Roxton: "This stroke of fate made me think about giving up music, for a short time in my life. But fortunately I didn't do so in the end. Instead, I wrote some songs to deal with my grief. These songs represent the beginning of the band and you can hear them on the first record. The first album, I recorded with our former drummer "Daniel". Shortly afterwards I met "Bo", who at that time, after a break of many years, had just started playing bass again and joined the band shortly after. "Davy" joined the band via a Facebook ad. With this first line-up we released our debut album in May 2017.
In January 2018 the first US tour followed and shortly after that the recordings for the second album. After the recordings for Album II (Revelations) “Daniel" left the band. In January 2019 he was replaced by "Val Pine", who has been our drummer since then. In June 2019 Davy" left the band and was replaced shortly afterwards by "Stef Rockfall", who completed the current line-up with his entry. I met "Stef" in 2016 at a festival and asked him already then, if he was interested in a new band. At that time, however, he was temporarily prevented by his studies. So after "Davy" left the Band, my first idea was to ask "Stef" if he wants to join in. All the more reason for me to have him on board today. The current line-up of the band consists of "Max Roxton"; (vocals/rhythm guitar), "Bo Jahson" (bass), "Val Pine" (drums) and "Stef Rockfall" (lead guitar/support vocals).
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Max Roxton: „The number 7 is mentioned in many historical texts, cultures, beliefs, etc. declared over and over again as a lucky number. Just as it was for my father. Furthermore, this number has
something magical for me. The combination with the word „Mazes" as another word for „labyrinth“, denotes several different aspects. On the one hand it stands for a kind of „emotional labyrinth" in which I found myself after the sudden death of my father. On the other hand, it also refers to the social labyrinth in which we all live our lives. Forever in search of individual fulfillment, we all run through the mazes of our society. The original idea was that the 7 should be a good luck charm and a signpost. In a way, the name means that we represent a light in the darkness and want to open people's eyes. This is also one of the reasons why our songs work very strongly with a dark and melancholic mood, but still have a positive effect.“
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?The Band startet in Burghausen/Bavaria/Germany, but we all come from different places. Max is the only one grown up in this area. Bo comes from Duisburg/Germany. Stef and Val come from smaller
villages near Passau/Germany. The music scene is good so far and there are a bunch of good Bands
to recommend. An outstanding example are our good friends from "The Sonic Brewery", who we have with us as support on some of our shows this year.
4. How would you describe your style?
To put it in a certain genre, Alternative Rock would actually cover everything. We move in several styles and combine everything to a rock mix strongly inspired by the post-grunge of the early 2000's with metal and conceptual film music influences. We like to work in self contained album concepts regarding sound, degree of hardness of the music, mood etc. Consequently, our style could also be called conceptual alternative rock.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
So far we have released 2 albums, 1 single, 2 official videos and several lyric videos. The first album (Stronger in the End) is very much about the loss of a loved one and how to deal with such an
experience, or rather what you can make of it. The sound is very rocky and reminds of a mixture of "Mark Tremonti, Alter Bridge, Foo Fighters and Linkin-Park". The second album (Revelations), as well as the single (My Shadows) are mainly about fear, doubt and insecurity and how to face these
mostly unpopular and suppressed feelings in order to get them under control in the end. From the second album on, our sound became way harder and got much more metal and prog influence. Comparable would be, for example the current "Tremonti" or "Alter Bridge" sound with elements of "Linkin Park". New listeners can expect fresh, catchy rock with metal influences, great hooks and recurring familiar elements of the last 20 years of rock and metal.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Some say we do, some say we don’t. We say: "That is a well kept secret in the 7 Mazes Camp."
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We are constantly planning and playing shows this year. But to be honest, we are planning on something bigger for this summer.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Well, that would go beyond the scope of this interview, but be sure we are constantly working to push our career as a band.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?Everywhere. Spotify, Deezer, Amazon, Google Play, Apple etc. To buy our stuff, just shoot us a message on Facebook and we will send you everything you want, as long as available. But we are working on our online-shop. So, in the near future you will be able to order anything on our official homepage.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Well, actually everything about our sound. Whether it's the unique voice of our singer, the untypical bass runs of our bassist, the driving beats of our drummer, the rhythmic, oppressive guitar parts or the
catchy solos. In our opinion, the mixture of all these elements gives our sound its depth. And exactly this musical depth in connection with the lyrics of our songs should remain in the memory of our listeners. But to describe a feeling that we would like to evoke in our listeners: We want to show people who don't feel understood that there are people out there who understand them. We want to convey that everyone out there should believe in their dreams. No matter how crazy they seem. We want to comfort people in their darkest hours and be a light in the dark for them. Because at the end of the day we play for the outsiders out there, to whom we ourselves have always belonged.
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