Before anything else, please enlighten us on the origins of your band.

When I was a sophmore or junior in high school I got into industrial music after hearing about it from the whole Columbine incindent. I bought KMFDM just so I could see how someone could use that kind of music as a reason for violence. That's pretty much the same way I got into Manson earlier too, was by reading about someone who comitted suicide after listening to one of his songs. Anyway, I discovered Front Line Assembly while searching for MP3s online of this kind of music and started listening to it religiously every day. I remember constantly walking back from school alone to the bus station with my headphones on just listening to that for about a year straight. Right about the same time I discovered FruityLoops and books like 1984 and Neuromancer and it all came together for me in terms of writing music and that's where it started. Before I knew it, I was signed to Metropolis and Dependent and had a release out. Then I went into college and my mindset changed. I rediscovered NIN and found that it was the first time it actually spoke to me. That's how I started writing PostNuclear, is by dropping out of classes and going to my bedroom to record PostNuclear. I don't feel like doing Dismantled is really a choice for me, it's more like something that I'm forced to do to deal with certain things.

Who are the other members of Dismantled? Do they only play during live performances?

As of now, they do only play live for me and have no involvement in the music although that might change in the future. James Kurczodyna is someone I met in high school and knew about Dismantled from the start so he's the longest running live member of the band. He plays bass so we toyed around with the idea of forming a live band. At first we practiced with a couple of other friends in a garage and did our first shows ever around the West Coast. We got a new drummer in the process but in the end it just wasn't cutting it and we realized we needed to change things. Then I got in contact with Adrian White, former FLA live drummer who I thought would be perfect for Dismantled and I asked him via email if he wanted to do it. He was down and it just clicked from there. Thus, our first ever major tour came together and Chris tagged along at the last minute as the keyboardist because everyone else flaked out on us. So we had about a week to get the set down and we spend night after night in Vancouver jamming until we went ahead and did the US tour. So it's been a long road but I am happy with the live band as of now.

Give us an idea of what your music represents inside and out, including the genres that you incorporate into your sound.

Dismantled is a constant evolution in sound and the debut what the start of that evolution as it was very mechanical and inhuman. But as my feelings changed so did the music and the new album reflects that. I think I try to fuse as many genres as possible into the music, including Front Line Assembly, Haujobb, Hybrid The Cure, Bright Eyes, NIN, Download, Marilyn Manson, Radiohead, and lots of trance music. This will continue to change over time as I get a new feel for the sound so it can go any direction as long as it still has that edge to it.

How did you come up with PostNuclear for the album title? Does it suggest anything at all about the lyrics inside?

PostNuclear is the aftermath after the first album. The apocalypse described there was massive and global but PostNuclear is an introspective album, more to do with picking up the pieces and seeing how you can relate to them on a personal level. It's a much darker and desperate album lyrically and is a personal apocalypse for me in that sense because it lets out lots of tension about what I was feeling those first years in college. It was just something that I had to express and it's a shame that it had to be promoted much in the same way the first one was because it was a completely different album with lots of depth and challenge to it.

I really enjoyed listening to the song, "The Swarm" and currently you're holding a remix contest. How is it doing so far? And does it have anything to do with your winning the re-mix wars for Wumpscut’s "Wreath of Barbs"?

I've gotten some good entries and some not so good ones but the song itself is kind of hard to take a stab at but at the same time, the only one that I could see remixed because of the nature of its lyrics. I always try to add a new depth to a remix when I do one and that's what I was going for in the Wumpscut remix. So that's what I'm hoping I'll hear in this remix contest as well.

I have observed that some of the raw and edgy bands have gravitated towards a more relaxed vocalization and trance-based sound, are you also heading the same way? What is your perception of the industrial scene nowadays?

I think I would go for a more sarcastic sound gravitating around that trance sound that's popular these days but not completely stripped to just your basic beat and synths that most bands do these days. I don't follow much of industrial nowadays anyway and can never say that I did much in the past since I was mainly just into Front Line and Haujobb. Everything else just seemed not on par for me. I can stand some of the synthpop stuff these days but it's ridiculous how much attention that kind of music is getting whereas music that actually has depth and innovation is just ignored because it's harder to promote and sell rather than the "oonz oonz oonz" that's so easy, mindless and instantly gets a reaction.

You've just finished touring and playing live in front of your fans and listeners, was it your first time to actually make contact with them? How did it feel and affect you? When are you going to be on tour again?

I think it gave me more confidence in the project, we definitely had a good turnout at most of the shows I've played and it was a big suprise to see people screaming along all the lyrics. But it was still weird because normally tours are publicized and given more attention whereas we had no external publicity for the tour which made it feel like we never toured in the first place because there are no reviews or usual feedback that you would get from a normal tour where publicity is extensive and you're in all the proper publications that help get the name out. That just didn't happen for this tour but still it was a very positive experience and we will tour the next chance we get.

Namedrop your influences, eversince you developed a taste for music. Did you also play instruments when you were young?

I played the piano when I was a child growing up in Russia and my family was talented when it came to music so it was only natural for me to feel music and compose it from the start. But I'd say my influences are more traditional than classical like Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, Manson, Depeche Mode, New Order, Radiohead, etc..

When did you start getting serious with Dismantled? ? I heard you used to introduce your music through mp3 dot com.

I never really thought of Dismantled in that light of "serious" or "not serious," I just wanted to get songs to a point where I could listen to them in my head and feel like I've done enough to make it a full song and that's the attitude I had with all the songs that I write to this day. I did start out putting it on MP3.com and got really great feedback from it and I loosely envisioned myself putting out an album and being signed to a label and all of that kind of worked out by itself in someways and I felt I achieved the goal I had in mind for the music. But I never had that "serious" feel for it, it was just all a matter of putting what I had in my head into reality and that's what ended up happening.

What's new with your upcoming album, "Standard Issue"? Is it a totally different album compared to your earlier releases? What is the overall theme then?

I think it will be more in the vein of the track The Swarm combined with more electro elements rather than organic ones like on PostNuclear. I see it as being upbeat and more electronic and sarcastic than PostNuclear while still having some of the same feel in ways. But I'm focused on doing my pop rock project Aerodrone for now so the new album will have to wait until that's realized.

Have you been compared to other bands? Which ones? Do you think there are similarities between your music and theirs?

I've been compared to Skinny Puppy a ton although I don't see how we are related because Skinny Puppy is very unmelodic while melody is what I strive for in Dismantled so it's weird to be compared to that. I think NIN would be a good comparison because their music is very dynamic and captures lots of influences which I think Dismantled also strives for. I think it's definitely gone beyong the FLA label that everyone at first wanted to put on it or the Wumpscut/Suicide Commando/Hoccio label which I'm very happy with shaking off with this new album.

You've done remixes for a few other artists like :Wumpscut:, Madonna and the Nine Inch Nails. The latter two being big mainstream reputations, would you grab any opportunity of commercializing your music on a bigger scale?

Who doesn't want to reach a wider audience? I would certainly feel better if the music was exposed to more than just the people who get into it through the internet and "dark" industrial sites and stuff like that. That would be a big change for me because it would realize my vision on a much bigger scale. So far Davey Havok has been supporting me by wearing the Dismantled shirt in interviews. I guess the only time Dismantled was on television was when Davey was wearing a shirt on Australian TV and it was just amazing to see him supporting the band like that. I've heard that Dismantled might make another tshirt appearance on the MTV Cure Tribute event, so let's watch out for that!

Are you updated still with the scene in Russia? Can you mention some noteworthy industrial bands from there? After your nationwide tour in the states, are you gonna be paying your motherland a visit soon?

I don't have any plans to visit Russia at the time and never got into industrial in Russia. Industrial was purely something that I got into in America and after living in the rainy state of Oregon for too long so I don't think any of it applies to Russia. I would definitely tour over there if given the opportunity but highly doubt it with the recent terrorist events there and the way the whole country is changing because of that to improve security, which I think is a good thing.

You have a huge following in your Official Discussion Board. Do you interact with your fans/supporters regularly?

I love answering questions about the band and the lyrics and whenever they come up I try to be as responsive as possible. I think I am lucky to have some of the most supportive fans, I even got a birthday card for my birthday from one and they keep on supporting me even when it seems the odds are against them which is more than anyone could ask for in a fan.

What other things do you busy yourself with when you're not working on Dismantled?

I try to study and finish school although it's something that I can really picture in my head at this point of my life yet. I love being around friends and going to clubs and dancing. I live in Eugene which is far away from any of that scene bullshit and I dress the opposite of what I convey in Dismantled. It's great to be around people that understand, support you, and respect you as it's all you could ever hope for because people like that are rare. I also like driving to random places as well as playing tennis and swimming at times. I dislike going to college though because it always brings out this tension in me that I can never seem to get out no matter what I do.

In a short span of time, we've seen a lot of Dismantled. What can we expect from you in a couple of years?

Expect to see more styles of music covered because I do not close off myself from other types of music and love to do as many styles as possible. Definitely look forward to Aerodrone which is going to be as poppy and accessible as I can possibly get.

Your final words.

Don't limit yourself to any one type of music, always expand, expand, and expand!

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. ABORTED LIFE