Interview: Illusions of Grandeur (Written)

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life bring you an interview with the theatrical hard rock/fantasy metal band, Illusions of Grandeur.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

Illusions of Grandeur “I.O.G.”, is a Theatrical Hard Rock/Fantasy Metal band based in York, PA. I.O.G. has been touring in both the United States as well as across the UK, Germany, France, and the Ukraine since 2015.

I.O.G. have made appearances at various festivals including Sav Fest, Dewey Beach Music Festival and Witney Music Festival. I.O.G. has shared the stage with artists as varied as DOPE, Motograter, September Mourning, New Year’s Day, Puddle of Mudd, Stryper, República, Stitched up Heart and Otep.

I.O.G. ‘s Live show The Siren Saga is a story of the journeys, perils, and triumphs of the Siren and her warriors. The story mixes facts and fiction combining Greek and Norse Mythology, Sirens, Gods, Archangels.

Illusions of Grandeur’s fierce and energetic live show has gained them a legion of fans dubbed “The Siren Nation” who follow them worldwide, at live shows, and on social media.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

Illusions of Grandeur’s influences come from many genres of course starting with metal; like Korn, In This Monet Metallica, Avatar and evanescence. Each member draws off their individual influences as well which are varied from The Siren’s love of Classic rock like Janis Joplin and heart to CM’s love of The Smiths, Supertramp Soundgarden.

IOG feels this just adds to the sound and allows the band to explore a lot of themes in their music. The idea of Illusions of Grandeur is to create a world and tell the story of “The Siren” and her journeys.

IOG’s love of both history and Greek/Norse Mythology felt that this was the best medium way to create a world for “The Siren Saga.” IOG feels that when listening to music or seeing a live show you should be able to immerse yourself in that moment and take a journey of your own with the band.

3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.

Yes, we recently released a new single “Midnight” it is the next step for Illusions of Grandeur, the 1st single from the forthcoming album “The Siren Rises” which the band hopes to have in release by early 2024. “Midnight” again takes the band musically into unfamiliar territory.

Illusions of Grandeur new single is on all streaming platforms and available on CD single at shows – https://songwhip.com/illusionsofgrandeur/midnight.

4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?

Touring and connecting with our fans and meeting new people worldwide, traveling is the best experience I feel you can have. During Illusions of Grandeur’s “The Songs of The Siren Tour 2019” the band played a few weeks in the Ukraine.

One of those shows was in a small town called Smila in the Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine. What we thought was a festival we were playing on, turned out to be a small festival built around IOG headlining. It was pretty crazy they turned the central park of the town into a festival ground with a large stage and it seemed like the whole town came out for the day. It was an amazing experience.

5. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?

The music industry is ever changing, the use of online “social media” has been a blessing and a curse. While it allows bands to reach far beyond their “local” scene, it has created the modern expectation of constant information and posting. We love sharing new music and news with our fans and friends online, but do not feel any pressure to do so. What IOG does is a natural progression and has really worked to help us grow our online fan base.

6. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?

Well, I am sure most musicians might agree but streaming services is a huge issue as far being paid properly Every time you listen to the radio you’re partaking in the exploitation of musicians.

That’s the basic message of the group music FIRST, which is pushing the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, and one of whose members, the Recording Academy, brought a coterie of musicians to Capitol Hill last week. The United States is one of the few industrialized nations that does not compensate performers for performances played over the radio, and this coalition of musicians and record labels wants to change that.

Some very basic background on an overly complicated system is in order.

Songwriters — the people who write the lyrics, compose the melodies, etc. — are compensated by AM and FM stations, but those who sing the words and play the instruments are not.

These terrestrial radio stations have a special carve-out: Internet radio stations such as Pandora provide royalties for performers, as does satellite giant SiriusXM (albeit at a special, cheaper rate).

Seeing that worked out would be amazing.

7. Where can people find you?

Illusions of Grandeur’s “The Siren Tour” continues through the remainder of 2023 into 2024. IOG are currently while tour producing their 3rd album the next story in The Siren Saga “The Siren Rises Part 1 & 2” which the band looks to have out in 2024-2025.

We recommend you check out the album on out Bandcamp site here.

Illusions of Grandeur is available on all social media and streaming platforms:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok

Go to www.iogmusic.com to purchase CD’s directly from the band!

Video Links:

Midnight: https://youtu.be/vLNdfUGkbQM?si=VjVAypv_QqrF-jOT
Demons: https://youtu.be/50N6tSUvgI0
Take Me Alive: https://youtu.be/W_HVQRJM7-8

Other Videos and Singles from the album “The Siren” (2021) and “The Songs of The Siren” (2019):

Take me Alive (shot live The Vanguard, Hampton, VA): https://youtu.be/W_HVQRJM7-8
Upon My Life: https://youtu.be/4mxM48hRjs8
A Silence: https://youtu.be/mdwT9s6jJA4
The Prophet: https://youtu.be/J0SXboqpLjE5
DOWN: https://youtu.be/JwGIc4BWJKw
The Wolf: https://youtu.be/X06SJXjYDWE
Crossing Over: https://youtu.be/yQRY2PImA0M
Silent Suicide (Live Rok Bulava): https://youtu.be/toUB7z1dcms
Mayhem: https://youtu.be/okBVVThQr9c

New Album- The Siren: (Links) https://songwhip.com/illusionsofgrandeur/the-siren?fbclid=IwAR3W34VLIkESHzPHyC6C7PRj74t5_doGhF-llI3KZWEPixrN-8TdF_AcQZQ