MARCH 19th 2026
PARALLEL MINDS EXCLUSIVE
Interview By: Metal Mom Rita
MetalTitans had the opportunity to chat with Greg of Parallel Minds, a French Progressive Power Metallers blending the rigor of Thrash, the harmonic richness of Prog and the majesty of Power Metal.
MT: What made you form this band ?
Our mutual passion for music. Steph and I are cousins so we’ve known each other all our lives. We grew listening to a lot of the same stuff and we found, almost by accident one day that we had a great chemistry in terms of songwriting. We started slow and the project eventually
became a real band.
MT: How did you come up with the name Parallel Minds ?
This is the name of an album from one of our favorite bands, Conception. It sounded cool and fit with the overall vibe of what we were going for. It symbolizes both our visions that go in the same direction.
MT: Tell us how Stephane Fradet (vocals), Gregory Giraudo (bass/guitar), Eric Mannella (drums), Fabien Peugeot (bass) came to be with you?
Steph and I formed the band. It was mainly a studio project for a while, but around 2015 we hired Eric on the drums because we wanted to play live. There was a lot of difficulties in finding a permanent bass player, but we finally found Fabien at the end of 2021. The band has
been doing great since then.
MT: Who creates the lyrics for your music, and where does the inspiration come from?
Greg : Steph is the one responsible for the lyrics.
Steph : I'm the man ^_^ I have a never ending document with tons of sentences, news, weird facts, sad news... Each time I read something that impacts me, I note it and it may become a future song. I love writing songs based on something real, even if they end to be fictional.
This time we elaborated a list of countries / cultures who would be interesting to have on the album from a musical point of view. Once we've decided, I just picked among my huge amounts of material, although I already had ideas for songs about Phobal accident, or middle east
confilcts before.
MT: Does everyone do their own music, drummer does his, the bass creates his sound, guitarist his own riffs and such ?
Greg : Steph and I are the main songwriters. We work together on the demos and when we feel like they are good enough, we let Eric and Fabien rearrange their own bass and drums parts so that they can add their own sensibilities as well.
MT: There are so many riffs in the world, how can you make sure that you don't accidently sound like others ?
Greg : We don’t really think about that to be honest. There are a few riffs and melodies in our albums that sound close to other people’s work but it’s really not made consciously. Sometimes we don’t even realize it right away. But hey it is what it is, let’s call that an influence :D
MT: You are about to release a new album "Cairn" on March 10th, you have also just released the first single "Sufero", and how has the response been for that first single ?
Greg : The response has been good really, people seem to really enjoy it and that’s great. But Sufero is just the tip of the iceberg believe me ;)
MT: How did you pick CAIRN for the album title, and does it have a special meaning for you ?
Steph : For this world tour album, we had to have a strong concept about travel. But since we're interested in human histories, it had to be deep and meaningful as well. The Cairn sums up perfectly the variety of countries and cultures, and the fact that people leave cairns on their way. Now it's for fun, but for many centuries it was a way to help other travelers and help them to find the right way.
At the same time it has a strong connection with a deeper human aspect. A human being is like a pile of stones, building step by step his personality. Sometimes, the cain is destroyed, but we still manage to build it again, sometimes with new stones, sometimes with the same ones put in a different way.
MT: How many songs are on it ?
Greg : 10 songs !
MT: Do you have a favourite, and if so why that one ?
Greg : It’s hard to pick just one. But right now I would say Trail of Tears. It’s a very emotional, epic track.
Steph : Orisahs for me, definitely a banger, with both emotional and heavy sides.
MT: Do you remember your first concert as Parallel Minds, were your nervous, and how did you cope if you were?
Greg : Our first show was in Toulouse in early 2020, a few weeks before the pandemic. I remember it really well. I personally wasn’t super nervous, just very excited to be able to play with Parallel Minds for the first time ! The show was ok but not the best we’ve done of course.
MT: Will you be planning a tour once the album is released ?
Greg : We do have a few shows planned for the year. Not a tour per say.
Steph : We all have families and day jobs, so we try to have 10-15 shows a year, which already is a lot for us.
MT: Who was the last band you saw at a concert ?
Greg : An Ayreon show last September in Netherlands along with Steph ! It was fantastic !
MT: Do you remember the first concert you ever saw, and who was it ?
Greg : Yes. It was in 1997 in Bourges, France. There were 3 bands playing : Vanden Plas, Angra and Dream Theater. I was very young and it’s a moment I will never forget.
Steph : Scorpions 1993. Fave band at that time, I was 16 and I was blown away.
MT: Do you have a band you listen to that people would be surprised by?
Greg : I’m not sure. Something maybe unexpected for a Metal guitarist …Lara Fabian :p Love her voice and her charisma.
Steph : I'm a real child of metal, so I don't give a sh*t about Lara Fabian ^_^ But I can easily listen to traditional music, which not surprising now Cairn is out ^_^
MT: Is there anything I might have missed asking, that you think people should know about you ?
Steph : Cairn is a really deep and demanding album. We write albums like we liked to listen to them back in the 80's / 90's. Full stories and not bunch of singles. So if you take the time to dive into it, you may be rewarded. ^_^
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/parallelmindsofficial