by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

HH: This is Snake Eye's second release, but your first on Kivel Records. How did you hook up with Kivel?
Boban: Well, we sent the teaser edit of the album to several record companyies all over the world, but John Kivel really convinced us, with his determination and the ambitions he had for the band. So I said to him, "OK, John, let's do it."

HH: Snake Eye is from France, and this kind of metal isn't typical of what the industry has come to expect from European metal. How long has the band been together and how did you guys come up with the Snake Eye sound?
Boban: I formed Snake Eye somewhere in 2002, with Rickey the bass player, and I contacted some friends of mine, a guitarist and a drummer, to give me a help for the creation of the song material. In three months, we wrote, recorded, mixed and mastered the first Snake Eye Wild Senses. I really wanted to create my own project 'cause I spent a lot of time with bands that had not the same motivation as me to make something serious and professional. After all, it was time for me to find the Snake Eye line up 'cause the guitarist and the drummer went on to their other projects. So I contacted Dom first. I knew him from years ago, but we hadn't had the opportunity to play together. He liked the material very much and told me that he was ready to play. He told me also that he knew a fucking talented gutitarist called Xavier. So, when we first met each other at the rehearsal room, it was magic - the energy was so good that I decided to keep this line up. We've been together since 2003. Our influences are very different. Also, it was very difficult for us at the beginning to find an interesting record deal. I produced the first album and it was also my first experience as a producer. I had just a little budget to realize Wild Senses and we were obliged to record quick (3 weeks). I think I took only three days to record the vocals. And the result was not perfect but that's life. We had the opportunity to play some good opening gigs for Freak Kitchen, Paul di Anno, Mike Tramp, Europe ... and two headlining gigs. And it's very difficult to find gigs in France when you play US melodic hard rock. For the second album we really knew about the sound we wanted. All the band members produced Ritual Instinct, which means, more time, more money, and a good engineer. We really wanted a sound between the first FIREHOUSE and XYZ releases. And here we are!

HH: As a singer, you've been compared to Sammy Hagar and David Coverdale, to name a few. Who are your influences as a singer?
Boban: Well , I can say that my favourite singer is David Coverdale, but I like also Ronnie James Dio and Geoff Tate from Queensryche.

HH:Your guitarist, Xavier Paladian, is amazing, and it's surprising this is the first I've heard of him. In fact, he had a guest spot on the new Ted Poley release and I think he had the most impressive solo on there.
Boban: Don't tell him about it! He'll catch a "big head" (French humour). Ha ! Ha ! Ha! All these fucking guitarists want to be divas or something! Pffff ........ Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! It's great to have him on the band; he's like my brother and we have the same astrological sign. We really appreciate each other and when he realized that he'd play on the Ted Poley album, I never saw him so happy. I think it was one of the more beautiful days in his life. He's a big DANGER DANGER fan.

HH: Will Snake Eye be playing any live shows in the near future?
Boban: Yes, we'll play in a French festival in Caen (June 24) with Jaded Heart, and we're waiting for answers about other gigs. We're ready to roooooooooock !!!!!!

HH: I've read some reviews that point back to your first release and wonder how the band has made such strides in so little time. The first CD seemed to get lukewarm responses, but Ritual Instinct is blowing people away. What would you attribute that growth to?
Boban: Everyone in the band works very hard on the instruments. I personally changed my way of singing. I worked not just to sing the harmonies well but also with the intention I wanted for the songs.

HH: Let's get into the songwriting. For me, "Queen of the Night" is one of the best hard rock songs I've heard in the past couple of years. How does the band compose music? Do you have a main songwriter, or is it a team effort?
Boban: Before we went to record, we composed most of the material in the rehearsal room. It was really a team effort. Except for one or two songs and for the first album, it was just the effort of two people - the first guitarist and me. So, we prepare all the work together in the rehearsal room and we knew exactly what we wanted to do when we came to the recording studio. We composed "Queen of the Night" very quickly one day in the rehearsal room. Xavier came with an idea of a riff and everyone had the inspiration at this moment to compose. It took me something like 30 minutes to find the definite vocals for "Queen of the Night." Sometimes it's magic. Sometimes not. We're just human beings, not robots. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! But I'm the only one who wrote lyrics in the band.

HH: "Fire" is another great track. Where "Queen of the Night" is heavy, "Fire" has more of a pop sensibility, almost like Hagar-era Van Halen.
Boban: It's another side of SNAKE EYE's music. As I told you, our influences are different, and for me "Fire" sounds like a White Lion song with a little bit of Sammy Hagar in the voice. He's one of my favourite singers also. I love you Sammy! Ha ! Ha ! Ha !

HH: Describe a little bit about the cover art, that horned chick with the mischievous grin … and horns, of course.
Boban: We had no idea for the cover art, and John Kivel proposed to us that horned chick. The first time I saw it, I told myself: "Oh, my god! What is that?" And a few hours after, I made up my mind and I found that it was very catchy, mysterious and that if I saw that cover art in the musicshop I'd take it immediatly to know what' behind it. Bingo! Great job John!

HH: What's next for Snake Eye? Tours, DVD, video … ?
Boban: Like every band, we would like to play more gigs, as many as possible. But we're waiting for some answers from the promoters.

HH: Well, I'd just like to say that I haven't heard such a complete melodic yet heavy hard rock album since Dokken's Tooth and Nail. Makes me wonder if my 8.4/10 rating was high enough, hahaha …
Boban: It's too baaaaad ! I think the real rating is 9.5/10. Ha! Ha! Ha! Anyway, thank you very fucking much indeed! We never expected that. God bless you!

HH: Is there anything I left out that you'd like to leave with our Hardrock Haven faithful?
Boban: Thank you very much for the interview with me and I hope we'll soon be in the USA for gigs. ROOOCK ON!!!!!

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