Metal Music Interviews

Interview Interrogation: De Profundis (England)

27/5/2016

For a band who has only released four albums as of 2015 and have only been going 11 years, De Profundis have been making more than just waves happen from the backyard streets of blackened London. Having stamped their mark on Bloodstock Open Air back in 2014 and taken their name from a song by the Swedish outfit Abruptum (although we suspect Oscar Wilde's letter entitled 'De Profundis' (from the depths) is more credible), De Profundis have established themselves as one of those involved in the new wave of British Black Metal.

For this interview, a candlelit room provided the perfect setting for which Shoi (Soikot Sengupta) entered and placed his guitar down on the table... this was going to be one interesting talk.

"Metal is a global music hence why I find the whole extreme right wing affiliations of certain bands even more disturbing for a genre that actually has no boundaries"

Recently times have been great for De Profundis, in 2014 you played Bloodstock and last year you released your fourth album "Kingdom Of The Blind". Now you're playing in September with Egyptian Death Metallers Scarab, surely this tour is going to be one of the best you've done?

"We always look forward to being on the road and playing with bands we haven't played with before so yes we are looking forward to it. Hopefully the turnouts will be great and therefore the tour will be great too."

Will you be playing a mix of songs, some from 'Kingdom Of The Blind' or the majority coming from the album?

"As co-headliners we will have a longer set which means we will mainly play tracks from "Kingdom Of The Blind" but also from "The Emptiness Within" and "A Bleak Reflection". We've been doing that lately on recent shows like at Incineration and it's been working great. The material from "Kingdom Of The Blind and the "Frequencies" EP is fast and brutal, so its cool to bring more mid paced atmospheric songs from our old catalogue to balance the set. That's when we realised that we are in a great position to have such a great back catalogue. A lot of people have actually commented on how nicely the old songs sit with the current set, it's like as if they have been given a second life."

British Black Metal is in a newfound form of renaissance, would you say it's stronger than ever and establishing a unique identity?

"I am going to be honest here I don't follow the British Black Metal scene at all. Our guitarist Paul is in a Black Metal band, so he probably follows it a lot more. In fairness I wasn't too keen on the whole nationalistic theme that some English Black Metal bands have started bringing in as it was often accompanied with dubious and extreme right wing ideologies which I obviously wouldn't be comfortable with."

Regarding Scarab, when you first heard about them, was you surprised about a metal scene existing in Egypt? What are your thoughts about metal's spread across the globe?

"I wasn't surprised at all about the presence of a metal scene in Egypt or anywhere else in the world. Hell I even know a couple of metal bands in Caribbean. Metal is a global music hence why I find the whole extreme right wing affiliations of certain bands even more disturbing for a genre that actually has no boundaries. As for Scarab I have followed them from a distance for some time. You know the funny thing for me is ever since I turned pro I have been listening less and less to music, just through the lack of time really. But from what I have heard of Scarab I do like."

Be there or be square.

On this five-date tour, will there be any new venues / locations you will be visiting? If no, when did you last play in these locations? Will there be a EU tour after the September UK run?

"We've never played in Selby which will be the Warhorns Festival and we are very much looking forward to that. Otherwise we've played all the other venues or cities at some point. Besides London, Plymouth is always a highlight with a highly energetic crowd. We're also playing the Hordes Of Belial festival in Dundee (not with Scarab), we played there last in 2013 so it will be a blast to get back there. The organiser Paul MacMillan does a great job for metal in Scotland. With regards to the EU we are doing a run of 3 shows next week in France and Luxembourg with our friends Nemost. We're hoping for a full EU tour at the end of the year."

What are the biggest challenges for bands in general these days in your opinion? What about challenges facing unsigned bands? Is it better to start your own label rather than seek a deal with an established label?

"Man there are so many challenges. You know if it was just the issue of downloading and all that we could work with that, but when politics gets in the way it's so frustrating. It's less and less about talent but about who you are drinking mates with. De Profundis generally doesn't hang around in the usual London haunts because we are all professional musicians with busy schedules and if we have time we'd rather write music or something. Setting up a label isn't a bad idea but to really make it viable you need to have a critical mass of fans otherwise you will struggle. An established label will always be better I think."

What plans have you got for the rest of the year?

"Well apart from playing shows, we are going to be recording album 5 in August, we've had some downtime lately which we used to write the follow up of "Kingdom Of The Blind". We are really looking forward to that because the new material is absolutely KILLER!"

Have you got any hello's and thank you's you wish to send out?

"I'd like to thank Global Metal Apocalypse for their support through the years. We also want to tell the UK metalheads to turn up in masses at the shows in September."

http://www.facebook.com/deprofundistheband

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Interview Interrogation: Gone In April (International)

26/5/2016

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Gone In April started in 2011 through their debut album "We Are But Human", culminating in the band playing across North America and Asia; the latter seeing this group co-headline 'The Great Indian Octoberfest' held in Bangalore. They also headlined the WaveTransform Festival 2014 (North America), as well as other events in the USA.

Following Gone In April's second album "Threads Of Existence" which saw new members joining from the USA and Canada, and another appearance at the WaveTransform Festival, GMA decided it was time to collar this group and excavate the facts behind this multinational facade.

So we bound Julie to a chair in a leather catsuit and placed Yanic in confinement, at least that way they could not escape... mind we did not give Julie the catsuit in the first place... another story for another time. Read below to see how it went.

"It is nice to see the diversity and unity continue to grow within the metal community" (on metal music)

Firstly, how did Gone In April come to prominence and how do you maintain communication? Seeing as it's key to an international band / project, what limitations have you overcome?

Yanic:

"Yes, some aspects of international projects are indeed managed a little differently than bands whose members all reside within the same region, however, many aspects are not any different at all. In terms of communication, my belief and experience over the last decade is “if there is a will, there is a way”. Communication between Gone In April team members is very efficient. Through emails, text messages, video chats, etc, we typically get replies from musicians within 24 hrs, which enables us to move forward with our planning efficiently."

Julie:

"Writing new material is an aspect which is managed a little differently. Since writing is not done during rehearsal with all musicians in one room, each musician writes his parts in his home-town, and sends recordings of his parts by email. One of us will start to work on new material, and send audio files to the other musicians. Then, another musician will work on the material in his home-town, and send his parts to the others, and the work continues in that fashion over a period of several months. All musicians work separately, listening to the other musicians’ audio files, focusing on, and analysing, the composition, and providing feedback to other team members. Once everybody has reviewed and approved all the parts, the official recording begins and all parts come together. Some musicians record in their studio, and some travel to the studio where the majority of the production is taking place, which in this case, is WaveTransform Recording Studio in Knoxville, TN, USA."

"When it comes to band rehearsals and live performances, we all rehearse in advance by ourselves, and the group meets in the same city for rehearsals a few days before the series of live performances. Working with musicians from different countries also requires travel (flights, lodging, etc), as well as working with immigration organizations to get work visas for the musicians which are not citizens of the country where performances are taking place. Therefore, there is a bit more administrative work to be done by the band, however, once a band has experience with international management, international touring becomes a much easier task and many opportunities open up for the band.

For example, Gone In April had the opportunity to travel to Bangalore, India, to perform as a metal co-headliner, alongside Children Of Bodom, at The Great Indian Octoberfest 2012, a 3-day festival with a typical 60 000 attendance. This opportunity might not have been possible without the international management experience of the band. The band also performed at the WaveTransform Festival, in Knoxville, TN, USA, in 2014 and 2016, as well as for other dates in the USA between 2012 and 2016. These international concerts have helped the band get more international visibility. In addition, getting amazing support from magazines, webzines, etc, from various continents, through album reviews and interviews helps a great deal as well. Global Metal Apocalypse is a great example of that! Thank you!"

Having played in India, would you say that metal music unites the world regardless of social, political or religious differences?

Yanic:

"Yes, from my experience, the metal community is a very diverse community. I believe the diversity promotes a sense of open-mindedness, unity, and adaptation. I have had the chance to perform in North America, in Europe, and in Asia, and fans have always been very supportive, regardless of social, political or religious background. In addition, metal musicians are constantly pushing the limits of music composition and performance, and the diversity of the metal community has contributed to creating the sub-genres of metal. I believe that musicians who have contributed to creating sub-genres of metal have come from several different backgrounds, have been exposed to and have had interest for various cultures, which has led them to be interested in several styles of music, and hence, help create a new blend. It is nice to see the diversity and unity continue to grow within the metal community."

You recently released your second album 'Threads of Existence', could you give us a break down of what each song means? What did you do different on this album in comparison to your debut 'We Are But Human'?

Yanic:

"The concept of the 1st album focused on the psychological evolution of a 13th century warrior. The concept of the 2nd album focuses on survival of an individual, or a group or a society within various environments and situations, through its existence, hence the title “Threads of Existence”."

The Curtain Will Rise:

An individual, whose goal is to climb Mount Everest, begins his climb after having trained for years for this challenge. On the way up, the climber faces mental and physical challenges, and wonders whether or not the top will be reached, or if death will be faced. If the top is reached, the curtain will rise to reveal the achievement.

Our Future Line:

A young boy’s family passes away in a tragedy. The boy is brought to a guardian. The guardian, who owns a sawmill, treats the boy as a slave, does not provide proper food and shelter. As the boy faces these challenges, he becomes stronger and eventually takes ownership of his future time line and makes changes to his life, by confronting the guardian, and freeing himself.

Remember The Days:

A group of sailors leave their home country to travel overseas, to a land which they believe will be filled with better opportunities. The sea is a challenging environment. The group struggles, and, in their fight for survival, many of them die of malnutrition. Sailors remember the old days in their former country and wonder if they took their life for granted. In their search for greener pastures, they might not survive the trip, and if they do, they hope it will be to find a land that contains opportunities which were worth risking their lives.

As Hope Welcomes Death:

Soldiers are injured at war and are taken to the infirmary. Although they are now on safer grounds, another battle begins: a battle for survival. Medical staff do their best to take care of soldiers, and keep their spirits up. Some soldiers hope to make it out alive and fight daily for survival, and others wish for death in order for their suffering to come to an end.

Julie:

Embracing The Light:

At the end of his life, an older gentleman holds his grandson in his arms. While his own life bleeds away, the baby’s life is just starting. The old man passes down his knowledge to the boy, telling him all he knows about this world where beauty is weaved with horror, where time stretches forever, and then suddenly flies away. He hopes that he will continue to live in the memory of his descendant once he draws his last breath.

Yanic:

A Million Souls Gather:

Cancer begins to grow and invades the body. After much growth, the individual feels symptoms and finds out about the cancer. Treatment is necessary. The patient will fight for survival alongside powerful allies: technologies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The treatment begins as the allies, the million souls, gather and begin the annihilation of cancer.

Relentless:

There are 16 personality types per the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. One type, the “ENTJ”, is organized, productive, motivated, with high willpower, determination, and leadership skills, has vision and a desire to achieve. The “ENTJ” will not sit back and see what life brings, but will proactively make things happen and relentlessly work to achieve its goals. It takes many types of personalities for a society to survive and be healthy. The lyrics present the world in the eyes on an ENTJ personality type, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the personality type.

The Great Contemplation:

An author’s inspiration is constantly challenged throughout his lifetime, hence his survival is threatened. At the start of the author’s career, all ideas for the first publication are fresh as the author has not yet written and released any works. As the author grows, he gets challenged to find new ideas for the new publications, as to not repeat or release the same content as the first books. The author evolves and develops new tools and ideas to generate inspiration.

The Will To End A Life:

A fighter pilot during war has 2 choices: kill to survive, or be killed. Although the soldier fights to rid the world of evil, the soldier realizes that “overtaking evil begins with the will to end a life”, and that “evil begins with the will to end a life.” Survival sometimes involves surrendering to evil. The soldier begins to questions his actions.

Regarding your new album, have you got any plans to take your album promoting shows to Europe? The UK?

Julie:

"We are currently working on dates for the North America, Asia, and South America for autumn 2016. We look forward to opportunities in Europe in late 2016 or 2017."

You played the WaveTransform Festival, what can you tell us about the festival? Are there any more festivals near to where you are situated?

Yanic:

"The WaveTransform Festival is a series of prominent music concerts presented at one of East Tennessee’s theatres, the US Cellular Stage at the Bijou Theatre. The line-up consists of artists from WaveTransform Recording Studio. The festival features events which cover several styles of music, and which include both local artists and international musicians. Gone In April was fortunate to perform at the last 2 festivals, and we look forward to the next festival. Another great festival in the area is Progpower USA in Atlanta, GA, featuring national and international acts."

What hobbies does the band have outside of playing music? Do you have any pastimes you indulge in?

Julie:

"I play with symphony orchestras, sing with opera companies, and teach voice and violin. When I have a little bit of time, I enjoy hiking, crossfit, D&D, as well as spending time with friends.

Marc teaches music in college, and outside normal hours, is hired as a session guitarist for live and studio. At the moment, he is doing a Masters degree in Music, therefore, most of his spare time goes to academic work for his studies, and rehearsing. He enjoys watching movies and playing video games.

Steve spends most of his time on tour and in studios, away from home, but to answer the question, he just texted and said his hobby involves “trying to play bass half as good as Yanic does air-bass”.

Now you know Yanic enjoys to air-bass…! Yanic works over 100 hours per week. He is a Physicist and Engineer, and designs nuclear medicine scanners, and also runs a recording studio (as an engineer and session drummer) and event management company. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” This applies to Yanic’s crazy lifestyle. He loves what he does, so everything is like a hobby. He does enjoy watching movies and TV shows to relax a bit before his little amount of sleep.

Aaron likes to spend time with friends, watch movies. He also plays in another band, produced at Yanic’s studio, so he spends time writing and performing for his band."

What plans does the band have for the rest of the year?

Yanic:

"As mentioned earlier, we are currently planning live performance dates for autumn of 2016. We look forward to growing our fan base, and meeting a lot of fans on the road who support the band."

Finally are there any hello's / thank you's you wish to send out?

Julie:

We would like to thank all the fans who have supported us throughout the years. We look forward to meeting many of you on road! If you would like to see Gone In April perform in your home-town, contact us and let us now! We will be glad to pursue opportunities within your region! Many thanks to you, Rhys, from Global Metal Apocalypse for all the support!

https://www.facebook.com/GoneinApril

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Interview Interrogation: Red Sun Rising (USA)

26/5/2016

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So whilst Hard Rock / Post-Grunge / Metal outfit Red Sun Rising are in the midst of their US / Canada tour, GMA decided to catch them off guard on route 66 and interrogate them by the wayside.
Not only are they touring, but there latest single 'Emotionless' is now out for your listening pleasures.
So here is how the interrogation went, suffice to say it was less horrific than interrogations undertaken at Guantánamo Bay.

"I do think that everything is cyclical and the time may be now for a revolution for these types of (metal & rock) music"

Guys you have a huge US tour ahead of you, how will you prepare for this? Can you give us a background report on how bands in the USA deal with touring?

"Well at this stage of the game touring changes from day to day and week to week. Budgets are up and down because we are a new band. So on some runs we can afford to be a little more comfortable and some we have to penny pinch. This could mean the difference between a bus, RV or a van. That sort of inconsistency can be really tough when it comes to being organized which becomes frustrating. It's one thing to live out of a suitcase but when it's 24 degrees and snowing and your suitcase lives in the trailer it just makes a simple task a lot of work. Thankfully we are coming up on the warmer months."

How long can UK / EU fans wait before you reach our side of the Atlantic?

"It is getting to be about that time isn't it? We are definitely actively pursuing opportunities to get there and we cannot wait to play there. So my answer would be as soon as possible."

Please give us the low down behind your phrase 'we are thread'?

"Thread was sort of an 'anti-genre' genre that we created. And in many interviews because we are a new band we are asked what our influences are and how we would describe our sound. We realize that our influences were a wide variety of genres, styles and from different eras. Anywhere from The Beatles to Soundgarden. So we like to take a little bit from all of these influences and thread them together to create our sound which focuses heavily on the melodies, structures and thought provoking lyrics of the songs. The core of the song we call it. We feel these ingredients have been missing in modern rock. So we didn't want to just be a rock band or a metal band we wanted to be our own thing which is Thread. Thread it represents the fact that we do not put a label or a limit on our songwriting we just write songs that we love the sound of no matter what genre it may fall in."

What challenges do US rock / metal bands tend to face these days? Have you had any yourselves?

"I think the challenge right now for a rock or metal band is that rock and metal music have both been kind of suppressed for the past 15 to 20 years. There hasn't been a big movement for rock or metal since really the grunge era in my opinion. However we see in other countries that are music is sometimes appreciate it more and we don't know why that is yet because we have not played in those countries. But I do think that everything is cyclical and the time may be now for a revolution for these types of music. Can only hope that we are on the forefront of that. But I think us not writing for the genre but rather just writing good songs will help break the stale rock airwaves of the US."

On your forthcoming tour, will there be any cities you will be playing at for the first time? Do you suffer from jet-lag touring the country?

"Yes actually we have never played Orlando and we get to play Earth Day birthday which is a festival that we are looking forward to playing. Of course when you think of Florida you always think of vacations and tropical weather but being able to play outdoors at a festival in these types of environments is much better than any vacation you could ever take. We have been pouring pretty extensively in the US so there are a lot of cities that we have already played that we are repeating but that doesn't make it any less exciting. There'll always be new faces."

How has the American media reacted to your new single and debut album? Have you had any international reception?

"It's really cool to watch the growth of the band because we had our first single go to number one. So basically many people were kind of blind-sided by that because they had never heard of us. So of course that put more pressure on the second single because people wanted to see what we could follow that up with. Thankfully in our case we believe that the second single was the right choice and has been received very well, even better than the first one. Yes we have seen definite growth internationally via social media and we think the second single which is Emotionless is even gaining more traction internationally, making it even more and exciting to get overseas."

What plans have you got for the rest of the year? Do you have any hello's or thank you's to send out?

"Nothing like to thank all the fans and keep supporting us and spreading the word about us because we are seeing the shows grow and we are seeing more people sing the songs back to us and that is such a surreal feeling that could never get old. And for the rest of the year we plan to continue to tour on our record however we are continuously writing new music so I am sure we will be back in the studio no later than early 2017."

Finally, how heated do the American elections get out there?

"They can usually get pretty heated especially with social media. I used to be a little more active in speaking my voice but now I just voted and exercise my rights as an American citizen and keep my opinions to myself because I realize that it's really not worth arguing with someone about it because you are very unlikely going to change their mind. But let's just say this election has been sort of a joke here."

https://www.facebook.com/redsunrisingmusic

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Interview Interrogation: Berserker (Lithuania)

24/5/2016

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Lithuania despite it's relatively well-positioned geographical position, seems to have a metal scene devoid of western attention with the exception of a few metal bands. One band who fits that category is Blackened Thrashers Dissimulation, whilst on the other hand of the spectrum it is arguable that Žalvarinis is another band who has garnered attention outside of Eastern Europe. But what about the new generation?

Well, with the latest news concerning Berserker's signing to Sliptrick Records the future looks bright for the Lithuanian Metal scene. This female-fronted melodic metal outfit have been around since 7th March 2009 and are set to release their latest offering and debut album "Dark Worlds Collide" this year. Having already performed in Latvia, Estonia, Belarus and Poland, it's only a matter of time before they reach British soil.

But before they get that chance, GMA decided it was only fair to give the two ladies and four gents a brush over and interrogate them...

What does it feel like signing to US label Sliptrick Records? Where does this go in terms of the bands achievements?

"Dark Worlds Collide“ is our first released album. Our debut album, the digital version of it was released after 6 years since the band was founded. We gathered old songs, wrote new material, arranged intros and interludes. Now that this task is behind us, we are excited to have the opportunity to release this album not only in digital format, but also in physical format together with Sliptrick Records. We believe that this is only the beginning and with the help of Sliptrick Records we can further develop as a band, and share our music with broader audience.

Could you give us a brief background history of the band?

Berserker was founded in 2009 by classmates Romeo (bassist), Krzysztof (guitarist) and George (drummer). Over the years we as a band suffered line-up changes that held us back from playing more gigs and finishing the record earlier. Our current singer Agnieška and second guitarist Mažvydas joined the band in 2013, Kristina – keyboardist in 2015. Now we can say that we have a stable line up.

The Lithuanian Metal scene appears to be very small (from a UK perspective), what can you tell us about the scene? (can talk about clubs, labels, media, successful bands, public perception of metal, etc.).

There are a lot of interesting metal bands, playing and incorporating very diverse styles into their music. The Lithuanian metal scene is quite small in terms of places to play in / at. There are a handful of clubs and a couple of festivals where you can play such music. Therefore bands tend to write English lyrics and share their work with audiences in other countries.

With Eurovision 2016 have been and gone, has Berserker ever considered (or thought about considering) entering the contest? What are your thoughts on it?

We have not thought about participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. For now we have many other
goals to achieve and to grow as musicians. Maybe we will when we get older.

Track-list

1. Intro
2. Dark Worlds Collide
3. Warhell
4. Madness Machine
5. The Day Human Died
6. Wolf
7. Prelude
8. Viking Ship
9. Mūšis už Žemę

Kristina & Agnieška, what are your thoughts on female musicians playing metal? Would you agree that the stigma towards female musicians in metal is not as oppressive as once was? Would you agree that modern society is more appreciative of having diversity in music be it gender, race, religion, etc., that there is very little oppression towards the mentioned traits?

Agnieška:

I believe that gender does not matter in music nor that it ever did, female musicians can be as good as their male opposites. Although sometimes female musicians do not get a whole lot of respect from some metal fans, there are a lot of strong and respected female-fronted bands out there. I always felt good being a female singer in a metal band, for me it is fascinating to be a part of a band playing strong music.

Krisina:

Metal music lets you express your inner energy, spiritual power, emotions and rebellion – traits, which every person has, regardless of their gender. Of course, not everyone can play this kind of music, but if metal is not only in your ears, and makes your heart beat faster and lets you feel the passion, it means you play the right music – that’s what I feel. Modern society is very diverse, meaning its tolerance to a wider spectrum of music styles, I believe, that we are living and playing in the right time, when people want diversity, when it is pursued to be tolerant in all of aspects, because it gives a freedom of choice and actions. I can’t argue, there is always some disapproval, but without it, it would be harder to improve.

Where has Berserker got lined up to perform in support of the album re-release (via Sliptrick)? Is the UK on the table? (in contention).

We did a "Dark Worlds Collide“ tour in Poland, performed in Latvia, Estonia, Belarus and of course Lithuania with the purpose of promoting the albums digital release. Now the planning stage concerns
how can we support the re-release and find time to work with new material and other projects. Gigs
are being planned in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland and we can say, that the UK is planned for November. With proper support there is a bigger chance we will actually do it!

What would you describe your sound as without using genres in your answer? What sets you apart from other similar bands?

Our music combines epic melodies, apocalyptic lyrics to bring every listener to his own unearthly, magical, fantastic reality.

Finally have you got any hello's, thank you's etc you wish to send out?

We would like to thank all the people that support us, that attend and have fun at our shows. This is the main reason that pushes us to go forward and create music.

"Dark Worlds Collide" is out via Sliptrick Records date tba

https://www.facebook.com/BerserkerOfficial

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Interview Interrogation: The Dreamer from Old Corpse Road (England)

24/5/2016

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English Black Metal is seeing a strong revival with bands up and down the country laying down their own perception of the genre and making the sound their own. From the WW2 addicts Eastern Front and Stahlsarg to the folkloric bards of the heathen lands Winterfylleth and Fyrdsmann, now Old Corpse Road are ready to join the celebrations.

Having recently released their new lyric video 'Herne Of Windsor Forest', Durham's sons of nature-based Black Metal Old Corpse Road are going places with their second album 'Of Campfires & Evening Mists' due to drop 27th May via Cacophonous Records.

Therefore GMA decided it was time to hunt down these beasts of the forest, pin them down to the mushroom-engulfed forest floor and interrogate them in their own backyard. Four members escaped with only The Dreamer giving into mercy...

Guys, how does it feel to be releasing your second album "Of Campfires & Evening Mists"?

The album has been a long time in the making so it is fantastic for it to finally about to be released.

Also, how does it feel to be releasing your first album via Cacophonous Records, of whom have a long-standing record of supporting Black Metal?

The band grew up listening and following Cacophonous, as teenagers we idolised everything they brought forth. This period was a special time and Cacophonous was responsible for cementing Britain's name in the Black Metal history books, so to be connected to this is very meaningful to the us. I still remember journeying to Newcastle HMV to purchase Cradle Of Filth - the Principle of Evil Made Flesh shortly after its release.

The dedication and support from a legendary label is incredible. For Cacophonous to have faith in our vision and music is a humbling experience. It is a great honour for the Old Corpse Road moniker to sit alongside many of the bands that inspired our journey. The Cacophonous label history speaks for itself, but to be part of its future and to be joining our brothers The Infernal Sea and The King is Blind in the next chapter of the label is a truly incredible opportunity. We hope our partnership with Cacophonous proves to only strengthen the burgeoning UK Black Metal scene.

Since you sing about British Folklore, and bands like Winterfylleth, Cnoc An Tursa, Wyrdsmann, etc sing about very similar topics, could it be said that British Black Metal holistically is finding a newer refined identity?

There is definitely a historical and heritage aspect to all of those bands, however there are many British bands representing other aspects of black metal, be it misanthropic, satanic or esoteric. The wonderful thing about the British scene is the lack of a uniform identity, for example there is no defining sound (as you may find with the classic Swedish, Ukrainian or Norwegian sounds). The uniqueness of British bands is our identity, and has in turn lead to a more unified scene as there is a lack of competition.

Could you shed light on the inspirations behind "Of Campfires & Evening Mists", what have you done different? How did you go about the writing process?

The album came about as a natural reaction to our previous album 'Tis Witching Hour'. Where 'Witching Hour...' focused on the dark and gothic, 'Of Campfires and Evening Mists' is an illuminating album drenched in autumnal evening glow. The key to the album is summoning the primeval awe within our listeners, where the spiritual effects of campfires and evening mists upon those gathered is given life. To this end the music, artwork and album title have been created and adapted in such a way as to present this theme in a cohesive and unifying manner. Natural colours, earthly tones and a simple lyrical narrative are key features of the aesthetic.

Initially inspired by a Wiccan Beltane gathering at Thornborough henge the concept has grown from a simple pagan ritual into a full concept. Using the principle of the druid rites as an analogy to those who gather in the wilderness and share tales of old, the album is broken into 3 parts. In terms of what we would do different I don't think there is anything that comes to mind. Due to the amount of time it has taken to complete the album I believe we were able to evolve and modify the music until we were entirely happy.

The writing process is very organic in the band, we tend to jam ideas and bring songs together in our rehearsal room. In all of our creativity we let the music tell us where to go, riffs lead comfortably into other riffs, ambient sections grow and expand as we play them. Where most bands processes can be very formulaic we tend to rehearse songs in a live environment for months modifying and evolving the structure until completion. Although the themes and atmospheres were very obvious from the outset, the ideas evolved steadily as the music grew and this is a very slow but enjoyable process, lacking in any dramatics. We found, as with our past works, that as we prepared and researched ideas they came together in a very organic way.

Relating back to question 3, could you argue that your music can be used to educate people, especially those studying British Folklore and / or mythology?

Our approach to our lyrics relies heavily on remaining true to the tale. We avoid poetic license as much as possible and for this reason our lyrics can be used effectively as a teaching tool. A strange aspect is that we are carrying on the folklore tradition by passing on the stories as our ancestors did albeit in extreme musical form rather than spoken word.

Assuming there will be a tour in support of the new album, are you looking to target new areas to perform? Perhaps continental Europe?

We are always open to playing new places in support of our music. The band would love to break into Europe and will be taking any opportunities we get.

What would you say is the greatest challenge for any unsigned metal band to overcome at the moment? (Feel free to use your own experience(s)).

With the advent of easy home recording and the ability to collaborate and share music online the musical landscape has changed a great deal since our first experiences of being in bands. Along with this dramatic change has come a whole new raft of challenges for bands. Some of these are simple such as trying to stand out in a scene that is flooded with artists, others are far more damaging. The biggest one for Old Corpse Road is trying to stay afloat financially. The growth of downloading and streaming services has made a huge impact on physical sales. Although we all support the digital era, it is hard to deny it is not having an effect on bands. There no doubt need to be a shift in the current systems that allow greater rewards to bands and allow them to continue.

Finally are there any greetings, thank you's, etc you wish to send out?

There are way too many people for us to thank easily, as we have been fortunate enough to have met so many incredible and dedicated people. In keeping with the new album it is perhaps easier to say Hail and Farewell to all those that have ever supported us!

'Of Campfires & Evening Mists' is out 27th May via Cacophonous Records.

https://www.facebook.com/OldCorpseRoad/

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Interview Interrogation: Staif from Eths (France)

9/5/2016

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"French bands are now playing they own style of metal..... now we can feel the “French touch” in metal"

Having set the French Metal scene alight with their brandished form of 'experimental metal' to say the least, let's face it mixing together Groove Metal, Nu Metal, Alternative Metal and in later releases Deathcore into one sound, is a bold statement, not only for craving creativity but also sticking up the middle finger towards convention.

Now with their own signature sound echoing across Europe like a air-raid siren, it was about time GMA contained this unrelenting beast of a band, strap them down and give them our own form of grilling. Unfortunately all except Staif managed to escape, so he was forced to answer our questions, here they are:-

Staif and the beautiful Rachel, who else?

Your new album 'Ankaa' is now out, where would you place this in your discography? Would you say its the best one you've done to date? How is it different?

I guess that each band is pretty proud of its brand new album and thinks it's the best. Personalty, I'm really proud of "Ankaa", it was a huge work and I learnt many new things while doing it! It's my favourite for sure, I contributed my entire self in it as I composed the songs, wrote the lyrics (except 3 lyrics I wrote with my friend Faustine Berardo), engineered the parts and produced the album. I mixed many new styles with our metal and I think the result is described as “Modern Metal”, crossing between violent and ambient parts, but especially I believe it's a sincere and unbending opus. There is more electronic parts and more guests on it, that helped us to give a new vision of what can be ETHS. I tried to keep the essence of the band but, in the same time, to bring it in places where we never been. Each song has its own universe and I have built this album as a walk through these different atmospheres, like a passage from the oppressive darkness to soothing clarity.

French Metal music certainly seems to becoming more recognisable outside of France, could you please comment on what you've noticed regarding this?

I feel that French bands are now playing they own style of metal. For many years, the bands tried to imitate the US bands but now we can feel the “French touch” in metal, I'm really glad of this! We always had great bands who played all over the world (like Loudblast or Mass Hysteria) but since Gojira exported themselves, that, for sure, opened a door for all the other French metal bands playing good stuff. It's like if every one in the world was saying: “hey, French Metal bands can also make good metal, let's listen!” Many thanks to those bands who opened the path for the French Metal over the world!

With Eurovision coming up, have you ever contemplated playing the song contest for France?

No, I don't think we fit with the kind of music they're looking for! You can notice that no metal band has ever played for France in Eurovision. By the way that would be great to prove that France has got talent in Metal, but in France, Metal bands are seen like strange people who like to scream, the path is still long to enforce metal presence in French mass media's...

What language are you singing on your album? Could you give a brief summary of what each song means?

We are mostly singing in French, but also in English on two tracks and some parts are sung in Arabic. The name of each song give a good understanding of the lyrics, and I don't really like to explain song by song. I prefer let everybody find its own interpretation, we always wanted it like that but there are many keys in the lyrics and the artwork. "Ankaa" is the brightest star of the phoenix constellation, it's an idea of rebirth (for the band but also me personally) and in a way, a cyclical vision of time, “we go where we came from through the scale of the universe”. But it's also a vision of the human being, who can be as wonderful and creative than harmful and destructive. I find that pretty disturbing, for example, the song 'Nixi Dii' talks about infanticide, I just can't understand how a parent can kill his own child... some of my lyrics are quite violent because I need to externalize what bothers me.

Eths, leading the French 'Metal' Revolution

How was it working with Soilwork's Dirk Verbeuren? Could you see yourselves working with him again?

That was really great, Dirk is a drums genius, it's so easy to work with such an awesome musician! He fed the drums parts and the songs with his incredible musicality, I was really happy each time I received a new song, he gave to 'Ankaa' its final touch. If we have the opportunity, that would be pleasure to work with him again! But I have to say that we also are really happy of our new drummer R.U.L who is doing a great job on stage.

Will you be undertaking a UK / EU tour in support of the album? Or have you got any dates already confirmed?

We deeply hope to make an 'Ankaa' UK / EU Tour as soon as possible! It's on booking as the album was just released one week ago. We have many shows in France for the first step and then we'll go everywhere we'll can to come present our brand new opus. I hope to quickly come in the UK because I really like to play there!

What song is your favourite firstly and for those new to Eths, what song would you recommend?

Hard to say, it's like choosing one of your children, but I would say “Anima Exhalare” which is on our second album “Tératologie”, I wrote the song and the lyrics, it's a part of me and of my story... On 'Ankaa', I like pretty much all of the songs but my favourite is the end triptych “Alnitak Alnilam Mintaka”, the lyrics mean a lot for me and the music is really a new step in our discography, a brand new horizon for the band.

Finally have you got any hello's and thank you's you wish to send out?

First, thank you for your interview and I deeply thank all those who helped us to make this album! I also really thank all of our fans that keep believing in the band despite hard times and all those who gave a chance to 'Ankaa' and listened to it. We hope to meet all of you on stage for the 'Ankaa' Tour!!!

'Ankaa' is out now via Season of Mist

https://www.facebook.com/EthsPage

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Interview Interrogation: De Profundis (England)

"Metal is a global music hence why I find the whole extreme right wing affiliations of certain bands even more disturbing for a genre that actually has no boundaries"

Interview Interrogation: Gone In April (International)

"It is nice to see the diversity and unity continue to grow within the metal community" (on metal music)

Interview Interrogation: Red Sun Rising (USA)

"I do think that everything is cyclical and the time may be now for a revolution for these types of (metal & rock) music"

Interview Interrogation: Berserker (Lithuania)

Interview Interrogation: The Dreamer from Old Corpse Road (England)

Interview Interrogation: Staif from Eths (France)

"French bands are now playing they own style of metal..... now we can feel the “French touch” in metal"

© 2011-2022
Global Metal Apocalypse

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Interview Interrogation: De Profundis (England)

"Metal is a global music hence why I find the whole extreme right wing affiliations of certain bands even more disturbing for a genre that actually has no boundaries"

Interview Interrogation: Gone In April (International)

"It is nice to see the diversity and unity continue to grow within the metal community" (on metal music)

Interview Interrogation: Red Sun Rising (USA)

"I do think that everything is cyclical and the time may be now for a revolution for these types of (metal & rock) music"

Interview Interrogation: Berserker (Lithuania)

Interview Interrogation: The Dreamer from Old Corpse Road (England)

Interview Interrogation: Staif from Eths (France)

"French bands are now playing they own style of metal..... now we can feel the “French touch” in metal"

© 2011-2022Global Metal Apocalypse

Archives

Categories

© 2011-2022
Global Metal Apocalypse