Defiant-Leonardo Markovic interview by Noel Smart of

Sickdrummermagazine.com 1/29/14
Defiant-Era of Substitution
1.How important are your kick pedals to your playing?
Naravno da je lake svirati na kvalitetnim pedalama, ali trebalo
bi probati I one manje kvalitetne, za vjebu, jer svatko moe
neto odsvirati na skupoj pedali I dobro bi zvualo, ali ne moe
ba svatko to odsvirati I na looj pedali a da zvui isto.
2. How do you prepare yourself before a show and
recording?
Lagano rastezanje, single and double strokes.

3. What kind of practice routines do you perform when you

practice by yourself? Do you practice with a metronome?
Paradiddle, single and double strokes.some improvisation I onda
u laganom tempu zadanu pjesmu I ubrzavanje do pravog tempa.
Naravno, metronom je jako vaan za dobivanje osjeaja tempa.

4. Did you ever take drum lessons? Do you play any other
instrument? Can you read music like drum notation or guitar
tab?
Ne samouk sam, nisam uzimao nikakve lekcije,eventualno koji
savjet od drugih bubnjara. Sviram jo i klavir,gitaru,tamburu
(narodni instrument) I nedavno sam poeo I violinu. Naravno,
studiram na glazbenoj akademiji, mogu itati bilo koju vrstu
notacije.
5. What kind of gear do you use such as pedals, sticks,
cymbals, hardware, and heads?
Najvie sam se pronaao u Iron Cobra pedali, 5A and 7A drum
sticks, Alpha Paiste cymbals,and Sonor hardwere and heads. Ali
zbog ogranienih financija nemam identinu opremu.

6. Do you have any touring planned for your latest release

Defiant-Era of Substitution and if so with who and where?
Imali smo turneju prole godine sa bendom Mardraum iz
Osijeka. Turneja se zvala Road to perdition
11.04.Szeged(HUNGARY)
12.04.Sosnowiec (POLAND)
13.04.Brno (CZECH REPUBLIC)
16.04.Pirmasens (GERMANY)
17.04.Mechelen (BELGIUM)
18.04.Birkenfeld (GERMANY)
19.04.Beverwijk (NETHERLANDS)
20.04.Liege (BELGIUM)
21.04.Berlin (GERMANY)
23.04.Klodzko (POLAND)
24.04.Hradec Kralove (CZECH REPUBLIC)
25.04.Komarno (SLOVAKIA)
( Zadnja tri datuma su bila otkazana u zadnji as)

7. Where did you record your latest album Defiant-Era of

Substitution?
Snimili smo ga u studiju Armageddon u Osijeku( Hrvatska),
recorded,mixed and produced by Eldar Ibrahimovi.
8. Do you use triggers in the studio or live? Whats your
opinion about using triggers and drum modules?
We used triggers on our last studio album but mainly to supplement sound
of microphones and for gating. Kick and toms were 50% sample replaced
and 50% mics while snare was only 20% sample and 80% mic. Jai h
osobno ne koristim. Ne volim ih, onda bubanj zvui
preumjetno.
9. What band or drummer influenced you on your latest
recording Defiant-Era of Substitution?
Well, najvie su me inspirirali Trym from Emperor ,Nicholas
Barker from ex Dimmu Borgir,Old Mans Child I Arin van
Weesenbeek.
10. What are some of your main drumming influences today
and back when you first started? Do you listen to different
styles of music outside of the metal realm?
Glavni utjecaji se nisu promijenili -jazz I metal glazba.Volim spoj
metala i jazzerskih fora, Arin van Weesenbeek to radi na
jako zanimljiv nain.
Ne ba, klasinu glazbu I metal sluam.

11. How long did it take you to record the drums for? Where
did you record the drums at? Who recorded the album? Were
you happy with the final product?
Trebalo mi je oko 7-8 sati, zbog odreenih okolnosti bubanj se
morao snimiti u jednom danu. Snimio sam ga u Studiu
Armageddon, snimio ga je Eldar Ibrahimovi. Jako smo
zadovoljni.
12. Did you record the drums to a click track in the studio? Do
you find playing to a click track challenging?
Naravno uz klik. Ne nalazim nita izazovnog u tome, to je
osnova.
13. How often does the band practice during the week? How
often do you practice by yourself weekly?
Nemamo esto probe jer nam je nezgodno, veina nas studira u
drugim gradovima pa je teko napraviti probu zbog obaveza,
najee imamo dan prije nastupa probu a preko praznika
ee. U gradu gdje studiram nemam bubnjeve pa ne mogu
vjebati, ali svakodnevno uzmem palice I sviram na suho.
14. How were the drums recorded in the studio and with what
kind of gear did you use to record them with? How did you
create the drums for the new Defiant-Era of Substitution? How
long did it take to record the drums for the latest album
Defiant-Era of Substitution?
In terms of equipment Drums were recorded in pretty much
standard way. Drumkit was miced with usual set of microphones
and all the shells had triggers on them. Also we had some room
mics and lots of overhead mics. We were limited in terms of
quality by the space where we recorded drums. It was an old
atomic shelter and not a real studio. But we tried to get most of
what we had. Drum kit was Sonor Force 2007 birch set with
Paiste Alpha cymbals. Bubanj sam smislio tako to sam nakucao
kostur u gp5 I pustio u program uz demo snimku gitare koju je Kristijan
snimio da ujemo kako bi to otprilike zvualo, a zatim sam uz
vjebu I probe to doraivao to krajnjeg rezultata.
15. What blast beat method do you use?
Najvie koristim tradicionalne blast beatove, I bomb blastove.

16. What are you kick pedals set at?

Srednje su oputene, a ponekad dok vjebam vise ih zategnem
jer je onda tee udarati a to je dobro za dobivanje izdrljivosti.

17. Do you use doubles, triplets, or a combination of both?

Combination of both.
18. Do you blast with one foot? If so, how did you learn this
technique?
Da sviram, dolo je samo uz vjebu, bitno je da se noga ne
ukoi I da glenjevi budu sredje oputeni.
19. What kind of double bass technique's do you use? Such as
swivel etc?
I use swivel and slide technique.
20. How do you recommend drummers build up there
endurance and speed? What did you do personally for yourself
to enhance both of these areas?
Metronom I lagani tempo je baza svega. U laganom tempu uz
metronom treba svirati jedan ritam I to oko 5-10 minuta, I onda
postepeno poveavati tempo dokle god si u mogunosti
odsvirati, I s vremenom e se dobiti brzina I izdrljivost, tako
sam ju ja dobio.
21. What sort of tension do you have on your snare? Do you
leave it loose or do you tighten it all the way? Do you use
anything like Moongel or anything else on your snare? What
size is your snare?
Malo vise je zategnuta ali ne skroz, ali nekad za vjebu vise
opustim jer je tako tee udarati. Nemam ba Moongel, ali
uvijek stavim nekakvu homemejd varijantu na tomove, ali na
snare dosad nisam stavljao. Veliina snarea je 14 x 5.5.

22. Do you think the size of your snare affects the velocity of
your blast beats?
Da, to je veliina manja, blastove je lake svirati, na veim
veliinama je tee.

23. What sorts of gripping technique do you use?

Koristim Matched grip tehniku.
24. What would you do if you couldnt play drums? Do you
have another profession besides being a musician?
Svirao bih instrumente koji su mi ostali haha. Nemam, to mi je
profesionalno zvanje.
25. What are some the albums you are listening to now?
Emperor-Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, Cradle Of Filth-Dusk
And Her Embrace, Old Mans Child- In Defiance Of
Existence,Dimmu Borgir-Spiritual Black Dimensions, Katatonia-
Brave Murder Day, My Dying Bride-Songs Of Darkness Words Of
Light, Watain-Wild Hunt, Satyricon-Dark Medieval
Times,Immortal-Sons Of Northern Darkness, Dark Funeral-
Secrets Of The Black Arts, Dark Fortress Eidolon, Naglfar
Teras,Opeth-Deliverance

26. How supportive are your family concerning your

drumming?
They are very supportive, especially my mother. Da nije nje, ne
bij bio u mogunosti svirati.
27. What would you say to drummers out there that are just
starting off and want to become professional?
Ako se pronalaze u sviranju bubnjeva, vole svirati I imaju
osjeaja za ritam, neka nikada ne odustanu.
28. Any tips for drummers who live the tour life?
Puno odmora I spavanja xD.
29. Why do you use the specific type of module and triggers
you use now? How did you find out which were the right kind
for you.
Ne koristim ih.

30. Did you try a lot out or just settle with what you could get?
As I said I never used them.

31. How important is it to your drumming to know the basic 40

drum rudiments?
Jako je vano, jer je to osnova sviranja, bez toga nema
napretka.
32. Do you use a metronome when you practice alone?
Da, obavezno.
33. Do you have any problems or have issues with your less
dominant hand when drumming?
Da, denjak sam pa nekad imam problema sa lijevom rukom,
posebice kod blast beatova, ali uz vjebu I ona postane kao
desna.
34. Do you use a practice pad when practicing? What kind of
practice set up do you have?
Practise pad ili kuni namjetaj xD.

35. Do you practice using the Traditional gripping at all?

Ne koristim traditional grip at all. Takav poloaj nije prirodan za
ruku.
36. Do you go to drum clinics in your area? What sort of
materials do you use for practice? Any certain book's or videos
that you watch? Any certain Youtube sites?
Nisam nikada iao, a I nema u blizini drum klinike.
Ovo su stranice koje pratim
http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.php
http://www.drumeo.com/
Ostalo je vise maje po sluhu to ujem u pjesmama.
37. What are some of the new tecnique's your after finding out
there on drums that you would like to get to know better at?

Trenutno sam zainteresiran za heel-toe tehniku.

38. How do you get a endorsement?
Nisam imao iskustva s time jo.

39. How do you count when your playing a piece of music with
your band? How important is counting to your drumming?
Ovisno u kojoj sam mjeri brojim dobe, ali kad se upoznam sa
pjesmom onda lagano I po osjeaju krenem.

40. Do you do any cymbal chokes in your playing?

Koristim ih, najee kad I gitara ima topanje.
41. Do you use ghost notes in your playing?
Of course, they sound awesome iks de
42. How do you usually come up with drum fills when playing a
original song?
Pokuam ih otpjevati, ne doslovo, ali kad osjetim da na
odreenom mjestu trebaju biti, smislim ih, ovisno o kakvom se
riffu radi.
43. Do you make use of parradiddles, polyrythms, various
stroke rolls, etc? Da, jako.
44. What do you wear on your feet when you play double bass
drumming?
Snickers (converse)
45. How do you keep your drum patterns original and
innovative?
Sluam razne bubnjare, ne samo metal bubnjare, I od svakoga
se nae neto korisno I to pokuam intrepetirati na vlastiti
nain, I dobijem neto svoje.
46. How important is it for drummers out there to support
they're local scene of metal?
Pa vano je otii I podrati kolege, ili posluati neke mlae
generacije ili neto to je zanimljivo, naravno da nee nitko otii
na neto to ne slua, ali je lijepo ponekad podrati I takvu
scenu.
47. Do you have any favorite grooves/rhythms when playing?
Rosanna Shuflle
48. Whats more important to you having your drums sounding
sick and fast or having character?
Ne volim samo prazno nabijanje ravnjaka, I osnovnih ritmova,
pogotovo u death I black metal pjesmama. Po meni bi bubanj
trebao zvuati kao neki mix brutalnog sa zaimljivim karakterom,
da se osjeti da je to neto moje.
49. Tell us about the recording process of the album
Oktagramm 1999?
To nije na album?
50. Whats the difference between Defiant-Era of Substitution
album and The End of Beginning 2006?
Pa u prvom planu postava. 2006 je bila orginal postava, a na
zadnjem albumu je samo Kiki ( guitarist) ostao orginal clan, dok
smo svi ostali pridolice u bendu. Bend se bio raspao, ali je Kiki
okupio novu postavu s ciljem da radimo nove, bre,brutalnije
pjesme od onih iz 2006, I tako je I bilo.