Swedish metal innovators, Pressure, have unveiled their
latest single, "Demon Warrior," a genre-defying masterpiece that
marries metal subgenres with unparalleled creativity. The track blends the best
elements from heavy metal, Viking metal, power metal, gothic metal, melodic metal,
and hard'n'heavy, resulting in an exhilarating musical odyssey.
"Demon Warrior" delves into the theme of unity
against evil with remarkable storytelling. The song rallies a prejudice-free
metal horde to combat demonic forces, resonating deeply within the metal
community and igniting empowerment and camaraderie. Pressure's exceptional
vocal arrangements, featuring an impressive vocal range, intertwine seamlessly
with intricate instrumentals, creating captivating soundscapes.
The single serves as a prelude to their upcoming EP,
"Demon Warrior," and solidifies Pressure's stature as a force of
innovation in the metal realm. The band's dynamic progression and expert
musicianship shine throughout, offering both existing fans and newcomers an
unforgettable listening experience. "Demon Warrior" is now available
on all major streaming platforms. Don't miss out on this remarkable release, as
Pressure continues to push the boundaries of metal and captivate audiences
worldwide.Bas du formulaire
Maximilian Wentz Unveils Debut EP "Memories 1: The
Storm" – A Raw and Introspective Metalcore Journey
Topsfield, MA – Heavy metal artist Maximilian Wentz has
unleashed his highly anticipated debut EP, "Memories 1: The Storm,"
on July 14, 2023. Departing from his previous work, this release marks a
powerful shift toward a heavier, more metal-oriented sound. Recorded at On the
Fringe Studios in West Newbury, MA, the EP expertly blends raw emotion with
technical precision.
Comprising four tracks, including "Fangs of the
Beast," "Devastation," "Beyond Comprehension," and
"I Never Thought," the EP explores themes of turmoil, abandonment,
and inner struggle. Maximilian's vocal prowess shines as he navigates between
soaring melodies and gritty power, accompanied by blistering guitar riffs and
thunderous drums.
"Memories 1: The Storm" represents the first part
of a trilogy, offering listeners a glimpse into Maximilian's childhood and
young adult experiences. With an engaging and enigmatic style, Maximilian Wentz
cements his status as a distinctively unique performer in the metalcore realm.
His introspective lyrics and dynamic soundscapes resonate deeply, leaving a
lasting impact on audiences. The EP is a testament to Wentz's boundless
creativity and passion for pushing musical boundaries.
Bas du formulaire
Track Listing:
1 Devastation
2 I Never Thought
3 Fangs Of The Beast
4 Beyond ComprehensionBas du formulaire
Introducing Tomb of Oedon: Unveil the origins of this
deathcore band through the words of Colin and Billy. Delve into their creative
evolution, milestones, horror-inspired sound, and future aspirations. Explore
their unique blend of influences and experiences in the metal scene.
1. Can you tell us about the origins of Tomb of Oedon?
How did the band come together and what inspired its formation?
● Colin - I had been wanting to start a deathcore
band for a while and had just not found anyone that really wanted to do it. I
met Billy when we were both going to SAE in Atlanta to learn how to record and
mix music. We were really the only two people there that both liked heavy
music. We started doing songwriting projects together and we were always the
only ones that would do any type of metal or heavy music together. I talked to
him about doing a new band together, he wasn't sure if he wanted to do a new
band though, he was in a band for a while years ago and did not know if he wanted
to again. He always helped me with writing songs though.
Eventually I started writing what would become “Martyrs” and
it was the first thing I felt proud enough as a song to actually release so we
did and then continued to try to make it as part of an EP. One of my close
friends, Duncan Cameron, has been a huge help with helping achieve our artist direction
for the band, from helping with lyrics and shooting the covers for the first
two singles as well as doing almost all our promotional materials.
● Billy - As far as the original inspiration goes, I
do not know. When Colin and I met we were both going to SAE for audio related
studies. I told him originally I just wanted to do a small project and not be
in a band.. And then one day he said “I’m starting a band and you are my other
guitarist” and I said “Okay” and here we are beating the shit out of seven
strings.
2. Starting in 2021, how has the band evolved since its
inception? Are there any specific turning points or milestones you'd like to
share?
● Colin - I think we have grown as songwriters and
getting new members that have the same vision is helping us evolve into a
better band. As for milestones for me when we released “Martyrs” as a single
last year. That was the first time I had ever released a song into the public.
Also when we found our current lineup, finding a group of guys that care about
this band as much as us was a huge challenge. And of course releasing our EP,
it took us way longer than expected because we had a vision that we wanted to
complete and we did not want to settle on it.
● Billy - I would say our biggest turning point and
or milestone was when we hit the gas and finished writing the EP. We wrote
Martyrs first but we were stuck for some time. We kind of just picked some
things we wanted to do and tried to incorporate that into music. Terrifier was
based off of triplets and triplet counts and we knew we wanted it to be eerie
since Art the clown is menacing as hell, so I came up with the piano intro with
the little circus sounding snare rolls and at the end I played the piano part
in reverse (It’s not one hundred percent accurate i had to shift some notes
around and take some out).
3. The band's name, "Tomb of Oedon," is quite
intriguing. Could you shed some light on the meaning behind it and how it
reflects your musical style?
● Colin - The name “Tomb of Oedon” came from one of
my favorite games, Bloodborne. It is the area in the game where you fight the
second boss “Father Gascoigne”. I wanted a name for the band that was based off
something that I already loved and Bloodborne seemed perfect for it and I chose
that area and name just because it seemed badass.
● Billy - Inspired by Colin’s favorite game
Bloodborne and I liked the idea of Oedon being in the name since I’m kind of a
norse nut.
4. Deathcore is known for its intense and diverse sound.
How would you describe Tomb of Oedon's unique take on the deathcore genre?
● Colin - I knew it would be harder for us to stand
out because we are not as good of players as so many bands in this genre.
● Billy - It’s hard to really be totally unique and
authentic in this genre since there are MANY great musicians backing it. For
the EP we just chose to dive into our favorite horror movies and tried to
capture the scenes in a way that fit with metal. The album we are writing has a
new theme and in my opinion way more of a traditional Deathcore sound.
5. Atlanta, GA, is a vibrant musical hub. How has the
city's environment and culture influenced Tomb of Oedon's music and artistic
vision?
● Colin - I don’t think Atlanta’s culture impacted us
at all, It’s just where we happened to be.
● Billy - It taught us everything that we didn’t want
to do.
6. Building a band with a shared vision can be a
challenge. How did you meticulously select members who aligned with Tomb of
Oedon's goals, and what qualities were you looking for?
● Colin - We went through a few different people who
seemed really interested at first and then would just do nothing or try to
change what the band is and what we wanted from it. Eventually we found Ben who
would immediately start writing “Cannibal Holocaust” with me the second day I ever
met him. Knighton was all in from the start too, he has been very helpful for
the next project we’re writing for.
● Billy - We found a couple dudes who ended up being
extremely flaky and did not contribute to any progress. We shit on those guys.
After them we decided to vet people way more seriously and it worked very well.
We love our lineup now. Those other dudes can eat shit.
7. You collaborated with Samuel Bassani and Renan Azevedo
from the Brazilian deathcore band "Calma'" during the band's
formation. How did this collaboration come about, and how did their
contributions impact your sound?
● Colin - Billy was in some facebook groups looking
for a session drummer for our song “Martyrs” and found Sam in there. We started
working with him and the whole process of working with him was so easy and
great. At some point during doing drums with him he told me his vocalists of
his band would be interested in doing vocals on it if we did not have anyone which
we didn’t at the time. He showed me the songs they had released at the time and
I thought he sounded great and we happily accepted. We kept working with both
of them for the rest of the EP.
● Billy - I was a part of some metal community groups
for mixing, mastering and collaborating projects. I met Sam there and he was
originally our session drummer that we paid him to record (and do some writing)
the drums. Eventually we made the decision to hire him as our mixing and mastering
engineer as well. Renan was a friend of sams so we went with Renan as a session
vocalist as well. Both are super cool dudes and both are very good at what they
do. Check their band “Calma” out.
8. Let's talk about your current lineup. Could you
introduce each member and share a bit about their role within the band?
● Colin - Ben Connell joined us first in this current
lineup. I was living in Nashville for a while at the start of the band and met
him there, he just moved down and started working at the same AV company as me.
I heard from some of the other guys that he listened to the same music as I and
was doing vocals for his solo project called ICON/CREATOR. He agreed to join
us. He and I wrote the lyrics for “Cannibal Holocaust” together and he performed
on that song with Renan. Billy was looking for a drummer on some Atlanta metal
pages and Knighton reached out, we met up with him soon after and he joined us.
He and Ronnie had another band they were writing for together which Ronnie
played bass in and I asked Knighton to talk to him about doing bass for us too
and he said yes.
● Billy - They aren’t important. I just asked my 1
year old daughter this question and told her my answer and she just laughed so
I guess it was the right answer.
9. Your debut EP "Horrors You Only Dream Of"
has a fascinating concept, drawing inspiration from horror movies like Martyrs,
Terrifier, and Cannibal Holocaust. What drew you to these particular films, and
how did they shape the thematic content of your music?
● Colin - When I was shown the movie Martyrs years
ago I immediately thought “This is metal as fuck, I’m going to write a song
about this one day”. I already loved horror movies especially the over the top
violent ones and these movies are definitely over the top violent. At some
point in the writing process for “Martyrs” we talked about turning it into a
short EP showing off some of our other favorite movies and we chose “Terrifier”
and “Cannibal Holocaust”. We decided to add the intro and outro later on to fill
out the EP more.
● Billy - I’m already a massive horror movie fanatic.
Colin introduced Martyrs and Cannibal Holocaust to me and I fell in love with
the films. I picked Terrifier. Each was uniquely gruesome in their own way, but
if I had to pick a favorite overall movie I would have to say Martyrs. But my
favorite character is 100% Art the clown.
10. The EP features an Intro, an Outro, and tracks named
after the movies. Can you walk us through the creative process of translating
the essence of these films into your music?
● Colin - We tried to use storytelling and samples
from the movies to help give the songs the same type of emotions that the
movies give you.
● Billy - Terrifier is more about Art the clown
himself and less about the movie per se. Martyrs is basically a scene by scene
play through in the song. Cannibal holocaust is basically putting the movie
into a fantasy styled rewriting in the Villagers point of view. Intro and outro
are essentially just that, but we sprinkled a little something something with
horror in there.
Intro has an audio sample from the movie “The Devil's
Rejects” and Outro isn’t necessarily a full on horror movie, but it is some
spliced up audio samples from “Apocalypse Now” and the speech is this whole
spiel about horror so it just kind of fit.
11. Sam from "Calma'" mixed and mastered your
debut EP. How did this collaboration enhance the final product, and what did
Sam bring to the table?
● Colin - I think that Sam really understood what we
wanted to do for this EP. He really helped us accomplish what we had set out to
do with this EP.
● Billy - Sam brought the EP’s sound to life. He
gathered some info on what kind of sound we like and he put it to work.
12. Lyrically and thematically, could you elaborate on
how each self-titled track from your EP corresponds to its respective horror
movie inspiration?
● Colin - For “Martyrs” I wanted the song to follow
the story of the movie. There’s a part of the movie where the main character
shifts to someone else and I wanted the song to also shift to a different
perspective at that same moment. The song opens up with a sample from the very
beginning of the movie and right before the breakdown at the end there is
another sample from the end of the movie. The lyrics for Terrifier were mostly
done by my good friend Duncan Cameron. I helped guide how I wanted it to sound
and he really helped figure out what I wanted from this song. This song doesn’t
really follow the story like “Martyrs”, this song more shows the helplessness
of being in a situation like this while describing Art The Clown himself and
how terrifying he can be. “Cannibal Holocaust” was pretty much all done by our
new vocalist Ben, and while I helped guide, it was pretty much all him.
● Billy - I played zero part in lyrics as I am
linguistically challenged when it comes to lyrics.
13. Deathcore lyrics often delve into dark and intense
themes. What messages or emotions do you hope your listeners take away from the
EP "Horrors You Only Dream Of"?
● Colin - What I wanted most out of this EP is a
scary soundtrack to some scary movies. I wanted the songs to be just as dark
and fucked up and the movies themselves.
● Billy - I just hope they enjoy the music and like
how we artistically and musically portrayed the movies.
14. Looking ahead, what are Tomb of Oedon's aspirations
and goals for the near future? Are there any upcoming projects or performances
you'd like to tease?
● Colin - We have a lot of new songs that we are
working on with Knighton that we want to finish up and we want to finally start
playing some live shows coming up soon.
● Billy - Our biggest goals to hit first are to start
playing live shows and to get some demos of our album finished so we can make
final decisions on it.
Our long term project is to get a music video together.
15. Finally, as a band with a unique blend of influences
and experiences, what do you believe sets Tomb of Oedon apart in the larger
metal and deathcore scene?
● Colin - Our mix of influences from all eras of
deathcore for me and Billy’s love for 2000’s metalcore helped us create
something really cool on this EP. Knighton’s influences of some more
progressive music have been pushing us for this next album and are helping us
play and write in ways we don’t usually write to really expand our sound.
● Billy - For Colin and I he is way more into
traditional deathcore heavier music. I love it too, but as far as inspiration
of what I play, I come from more of a 2000-2012 metalcore background. Like old
school miss may I, as I lay dying and All That Remains. I am not nearly as good
of a guitarist as any of those dudes, but you can really hear the influence in
it. Trying to getthat influence into a heavier styled music is a challenge, but
ultimately I think that’s what helps us stand out because our sound isn’t just
a one trick, it’s a mesh of multiple styles that has been made even more
intense since Knighton joined the band. We have some bangers in the next album that
we can’t wait to share.
Unveiling The Burning: From chance encounters to zombie
metal, delve into their macabre world fueled by horror films, intense rhythms,
haunting vocals, and a fiery stage presence. Evolve with them.
1. Can you tell us how The Burning
came together as a band and what inspired the choice of zombie metal as your
genre?
Funny story actually. It was back in the day when you still
had to queue up for tickets when bands came to town. Pantera was coming to
Perth and we were still like 15 year old kids at the time. I’d gone to ticketek
the night before tickets went on sale to queue up over night and that’s where I
met Richard who said he was a singer. We worked out we had a mutual friend that
night so a few days later I got the mutual friend to get me his number and we tee’d
up a jam. Rich knew a bass player and I knew a drummer and that was the line-up
of the burning for the first year or so until we lost the drummer to religion
(long story) That’s when Shaun came in and the rest is history.
2. Your music is heavily influenced
by cult classic horror films. How do these films impact your songwriting
process and overall artistic direction?
We all used to go out and get wasted watching
other local metal bands. Typically, I’d end up back at Rich’s house after a
night out watching B-grade horror movies at 3 in the morning - like Army of
Darkness or Night of the Living Dead. - We’d usually pass out half way through
the movie then wake up in the morning going “I’ve got an idea for a song” and
that formed the basis of many songs on the album to be honest. Then we’d jam
with the band, refine it, and go from there. Now it’s just the done thing.
Watch horror movies, write riffs / lyrics jam repeat.
3. Richard Clements, your vocals
are often described as a "haunting and guttural narrative." Could you
elaborate on the emotions and themes you aim to convey through your unique
vocal style?
At the forefront of their spine-tingling sound is Richard
Clements' vocals that are a haunting and guttural narrative, channeling the
very essence of the undead.
4. Nat Miller, your guitar solos
are known for summoning the spirits of ancient darkness. How do you approach
creating solos that complement the band's eerie and intense atmosphere?
The virtuoso guitar work of Nat Miller, whose skin shredding
solos summon the spirits of ancient darkness.
5. Shaun Hack, your drumming is
often likened to a heartbeat from beyond the grave. How do you achieve such a
powerful and haunting rhythmic presence in your music?
Anchoring the rhythm is the thunderous drumming of Shaun
Hack, pulsating like a heart from beyond the grave.
6. Damon Zomer, your basslines are
said to resonate like an ominous incantation. Can you shed light on the role of
the bass in creating The Burning's overall sound and atmosphere?
Damon Zomer's basslines resonate like an ominous
incantation, grounding the band's unearthly melodies.
7. The Burning's music seamlessly
merges thrash and death metal. How do you balance these elements to craft your
distinctive sound, and are there any challenges in combining these genres?
So these questions have been derived from a
Biography that was written for us. We told the biographer to write whatever he
wanted but to talk in the same way our B-grade horror movies talked when they
described killers, zombies, monsters etc. When we got the first draft we loved
it. It was b-grade as hell but it also summed us up as a band. Richards' vocal
range for a death / trash metal singer is insane, man. He is a master at what
he does and as much as we all have a shit load of fun with the band, he always
brings a level of professionalism that keeps the rest of the band in check.
Shaun’s drumming speaks for itself and you can really here that on the album
with his constant tempo changes that keep an audience entertained. Zomer is
brilliant to play with too. The most down to earth mutherfucker you’ll ever
meet and he plays this amp that’s an absolute weapon. We call it the
cube-of-death. When we plays live he could set the volume of that thing to 4
and drown out the drums if he wanted to. As for me on guitar I just love to
play man.
8. Your band's name, "The
Burning," suggests intense and fiery imagery. How does this name
encapsulate the essence of your music and the themes you explore?
Thanks man, love the question but there’s a way
simpler reason behind the name. Back in the early days when we were writing our
first songs, we tried different names. We were actually called Cadaver
Incavation for a few months but we didn’t like it. It didn’t suit us. One night
we were drinking at a house a few mates shared, and we were talking about band
names and one of our mates picked up a horror movie that was on the table and
he said. “Fuck, it could be something as simple as The Burning” and picked up
the DVD. Me and Rich looked at each other, laughed and said that’s it!
Ironic we ended up so influenced by horror movies in
songwriting and the band had been named after one of our favourites.
9. Horror and metal seem to
converge in your music. Could you delve into the thematic connections between
these two seemingly disparate yet complementary artistic realms?
We always felt these two just went so hand in
hand. So many metal bands spend time writing about blood guts, gore, battles,
and we loved that shit. Old school horror movies, to us, were just the visual
to the audio. It seems very natural to watch Army of Darkness and think there’s
a fucking song in that. Bringing back demons from the dead! Hell Yes!! And from
there Demon Resurrection was born which is about Cthulhu and the
Necronomicon (the book of the dead).
10. Australia's musical underground is known for its
diverse scene. How has the local music scene influenced The Burning's journey
and the development of your signature sound?
Perth Australia has always had a brilliant
metal scene. We’ve been very lucky here. Since the likes of Allegiance, we’ve
had Enforce, Pyschonaught, Pathogen and now newer bands like Rich’s other band
Ashen that are really taking the scene by the balls and bands are keeping each
other to a really high standard. It’s fucking great. I think bands here have to
perform at an extremely high level if they want to be noticed because Perth is
literally the most isolated city in the world. We’re closer to Singapore than
our next nearest city, so if you want to make it out of Western Australia you
better produce a fucking good product.
It’s getting easier now with social media, Spotify, Itunes
etc. But the culture of producing good metal has been here for a long time.
We’re very lucky.
11. As a band with a strong visual and auditory
identity, how do you envision your live performances? How do you aim to immerse
your audience in your macabre world on stage?
Live is where a band gets a chance to give an audience a
show and not just songs to listen to.
We’ve done shows with girls dressed in nothing,
dancing in cages then being brought out by a demon that sacrifices her on
stage. That’s the shit! That’s our own personal b-grade horror movie we get to
perform in front of people. For anyone who listens to the newly released album
“The Living Dead” you’ll get a gist of that with Act 1, and Act 2 (tracks 1 and
8) where we brought actors in to the studio and recorded our own short horror
movie introductions to The Living Dead Pt. 1 and The Living Dead Pt.2. It gives
the album another dimension to it, again trying to create the visual in the
audio.
12. Looking ahead, what can fans anticipate from The
Burning in terms of upcoming projects, releases, and your evolution as a band?
The next step is about intensifying the live performances
even further. Put on a visual show that really incorporates the horror scene
into the set. Zombie dancing girls and zombie metal heads, chainsaws,
explosions, fire, etc. we have some ideas that are works in progress but It’s
all about the execution of those ideas now.
I’ve been in contact with some prosthetics companies so
there’s some stuff in the works but all I can say, if this seems like your
readers kind of thing, is to keep watching this space for what we do next. Cos
we want to take the visual aspect to the next level and its going to be fucking
insane. It will of course be recorded and posted everywhere as it will be a
spectacle that needs to be seen.
Meet DONEFOR: Blending Metalcore and Pop Punk into Energetic
Harmony. From humble beginnings in Fort Myers, this upcoming band's recognition
from The Call Radio has propelled them. Dive into their genre fusion, intense
live energy, and their diverse upcoming album 'SLEEP ON IT'
1. Congratulations on being named "The Call Radio 2023
upcoming artists of the year"! How does this recognition impact your
musical journey?
The Call is a great non-profit radio station in Fort Myers Florida that has
helped us more than we can explain. The station really helped us start our
career and we are very thankful for their support!
2. Your music seamlessly blends Metalcore and Pop Punk. How do you manage to
strike a balance between these two genres in your songwriting?
We enjoy both of the genres alot, so it really is about combining our likes. We
write our lyrics and theme of the song then really pick the genre that fits it
best.
3. Your live shows are known for their high energy. How do you maintain that
level of intensity night after night?
We love music, so if we are doing
something we love then it is just easy and natural to have all of that energy
flow for us. We also feed off the crowd so the more they interact the more we
feel it.
4. "SLEEP ON IT" is your upcoming debut album. Could you give us some
insights into the themes and emotions listeners can expect from this album?
This album is 1.5 years in the works with some of the songs coming from our
lead singers solo career. We built off those songs, remixed and remastered many
tracks as well as loaded in our new material to create an album that goes from
metalcore to alternative rock to even acoustic tracks. The album varies greatly
so we hope everyone can find a song they connect to. Whether the emotion that
arrives is one that makes you want to jump or sit in a cold shower, we hope
that we find our audience with this album!
5. DONEFOR's sound has been described as reminiscent of 2009 Hot Topic and a
California skate park. What draws you to these influences and how do they shape
your music?
While we are not punk enough for the skate park or emo enough for a Hot Topic,
we try to blend both those feelings together to make music that really pays
homage to songs from these eras but with a modern twist.
6. Your ability to play alongside diverse bands, from trap metal to hard rock,
is impressive. How do you adapt your performances to cater to such varied
audiences?
With being such a varied band with our songs we just cater our
setlist to the crowd that is there. We have songs that work in almost all
aspects of rock so no matter what we can try to fit in, just a little bit, to
almost any genre!
7. The transition from heavy breakdowns to catchy choruses is a hallmark of your
music. Can you walk us through your creative process in achieving this balance?
The best thing with music is the ability to feel. So creating moments is what
we are about, especially for the live setting. We like making songs that
incorporate movement with solos or breakdowns and then building up to a strong
chorus or hook that everyone can sing to the top of their lungs. These are
things crowds remember and as music fans ourselves, live for.
8. Your songs have achieved FM radio play and number one spots on local radio.
How does it feel to see your music resonating with listeners on such a broad
scale?
We try hard to be a personable band, one people can talk to, meet, and this has
allowed our name to spread a bit easier as some really nice guys in the scene.
We really just think people like us and the music we create so we thank
everyone who takes a few minutes of their day to enjoy us.
9. As a band hailing from Fort Myers, how has your hometown influenced your
musical journey and the sound of DONEFOR?
Fort Myers has in no way shaped our music. In a city of people more inspired to
listen to Bon Jovi Cover bands we try to break the mold and make a scene for
the area. We create the shows, make the lineups, set up events. We want a scene
here so we are tasking ourselves with being the change we want to see.
10. "SLEEP ON IT" is about to drop. What excites you the most about
this release?
Just to celebrate having a work we can be proud of. Being able to
show that we have more to our catalog is going to be nice as well.
11. Could you share a memorable fan interaction or fan-favorite moment from
your live shows?
When we opened for Buckcherry we saw such huge support. From
the presales to people in the crowd with posters, singing our songs and meeting
us after, it was an amazing moment for us to see/feel the love from our
community.
12. With the music industry evolving rapidly, how do you see DONEFOR
contributing to the evolution of Metalcore and Pop Punk?
We listen to new
tracks all the time and think “Woah, that is so sick, we need to add it to our
music!”. I guess we will just become products of the time as other bands do,
just with our twist.
13. What challenges have you faced as a band, and how have they contributed to
your growth and resilience?
The lack of a scene has been hard as well as a year
of trying to find our recorded sound. This allowed us to work on our promoting
skills as well as creating some great friendships on the way.
14. The album's title, "SLEEP ON IT," is intriguing. What's the story
behind this title and its significance to the album?
Parker originally had a
name and forgot it overnight. His friend suggested the name "SLEEP ON IT”
and it stuck.
15. National radio airplay for your album's songs is a big achievement. How do
you hope your music will connect with listeners on a personal level?
We make
music to relate to so hearing from these people that these songs meant something
to them will be nice. We hope that the heavy songs reach that fanbase and they
take the positive words from.
16. Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations for DONEFOR in the
coming years?
We want to continue to latch on to bigger shows with touring
bands as well as creating a bigger name for ourselves. We want to evolve more
into heavier tracks as well as creating some solid pop punk tracks. We hope
that you all give us a stream or two to get us there. Let’s Get Rowdy.
Discover the journey of Numidian Killing Machine, a band
that infuses Extreme Metal and Speed Metal. From hardships to triumphs, explore
their unique blend of history, dystopia, and their unwavering commitment to
their musical identity.
Congratulations on your recent full-length release! How
does it feel to have your music out there for the world to hear?
At first it’s a deliverance, because we put a lot of effort
and energy into this release, we’ve been working on for a long time with many
difficulties that plagued us, but that’s a great feeling to have the metal
world discover our band and hear how we sound like, what we’re made of, and so
far we got a great positive reception upon release.
Numidian Killing Machine is quite an intriguing name.
Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the band's name and its
significance?
First of all i grew up with Judas Priest and the name is an
obvious reference to their album « Killing Machine », but this isn’t
the only reference, being a fan of old Bolt Thrower especially the three first
albums there are some tracks like « Profane Creation » whom the
lyrics inspired me deeply, i added Numidian to the name because we deal with
themes and topics of the antique history of Algeria when it was called Numidia,
wich isn’t talked about often in cultural works and artistic pieces.
L.I.V.V, as the driving force behind the band's
inception, what motivated you to start Numidian Killing Machine and blend
Extreme Metal and Speed Metal?
I was off from the metalscene for approximately 10 years
busy with many events, then i was done and resolved my professional goals i
returned to music, i wanted to from aproject that will honor all my musical
influences, because when i was with my Black Metal project in the past i
haven’t the possibility to do so, having a great number of bands and metal subgenres
i loved mainly in the old school such as German Speed Thrash to Black and Death
Metal so i went on with this new project.
The journey from auditions to a stable formation must
have been quite a ride. Can you share some memorable moments or challenges
faced during this period?
It was quite a difficult Journey because many of the
musicians in our scene are not familiar with dark or speed stuff, most of them
are based in melody like Iron Maiden and it’s derivative bands or whatever
mainstream stuff, in addiction to the misunderstanding and hate for Extreme
Metal because many think that it doesn’t go with our social traditions, but
they tend to contradict theirselves by playing oriental stuff wich really
doesn’t relate to the north african part of the continent we’re living in, the
first professional line up that pushed things forward featured Lamine A.
(Lead/Rythm Guitars), Abdou M. (Lead Guitars) (may he rest in peace), Abdou Y,
(Drums) wich played on my old band, in fact my comrade and friend Lamine A. was
supposed to join from the begining but he couldn’t because of his heavy
schedule so he finally joined around one year later, we worked for some time on
the songs but we couldn’t find a competent vocalist to perform the sound
exactly as they sounded so i decided to contact you for the vocal parts of our
album, a decision i’m far from regretting due to the amazing job you have done,
then after the passing out of our brother Abdou M, who done a great job, some
of his work is featured on the album by the way, i took the decision to replace
him with a new guitar player Fares B, wich is also a talented and professional
person, Abdou Y. left the country to pursue his own objectives led us to
recruite S.Blaster wich also played in my old band and other internationally
known bands such as yours namely Lelahell,
Your music is known to incorporate themes from Numidian
history, as well as fictional dystopian and post-apocalyptic futures. What drew
you to these particular themes for your lyrical content?
I had the idea to mix our Numidian history and the themes that
are related to old school Extreme Metal and also found on certain genres of speed
metal (first wave of Black Metal bands are also musically related to speed
metal) so i divided my lyrical concept in two parts, the first part is about
the Antique Numidian history and the events occuring back then such as wars,
alliances, known figures such as kings and sovereigns, as the second part takes
place in a post apocalytical future in a fictional land called Neo Numidia wich
features a chaotic evolution of events that lead to nearly total destruction.
Algiers, Algeria, isn't often associated with Extreme
Metal. How has your local environment and culture influenced your music and
artistic direction?
First of all and in contrary of my generation of metalheads
and musician i was more on European Metal than in U.S metal or the big four
thing, bands like Venom, Bathory as well as german Thrash bands wich many were
considered as Black Metal act with their early stuff such as Kreator, Sodom,
Destruction, had a maggior impact in my interest into Extreme stuff i landed up
on all this bands mainly because i was initiated to metal with bands such as
Judas Priest and Motorhead wich in their classic releases favored Speed stuff,
ieven loved European Death Metal and scandinavian Death Metal bandssuch as
Unleashed and Grave, nack in time it was difficult to find people who share the
same tastes as you on our environement mostly were on Cannibal Corpse like
stuff when it comes to extreme stuff, for the culture at first i didn’t
consider including local cultural elements on my old Band, but having extended
my knowledge in our Amazigh Chaoui culture and Numidian history i began aware
of what i could do with such historical concepts and ideas.
Could you elaborate on your songwriting process? How do
you approach creating music that incorporates such diverse themes?
As i always said, we are not a traditional metal band or a
band that include folkloric elements we’re a pure metal band and we’re not
considering changing our direction, so when writing a song that corresponds to
what we feel at the moment and of course corresponds to the genre we’re in, we
listen to it and try to get it as one with a specific thematic of our concept,
if it corresponds to a historical fact or an imaginary adaptiation of a story, in
the album tracklist we tried to maintain a certain homogeneity throughout the
songs, some are brutal others less and some are mid tempo or slow paced, of
course we can do far more extreme and brutal than this but we aren’t feeling
about it right now.
Mixing Extreme Metal and Speed Metal is a unique combination.
How do you balance these genres to create your distinctive sound?
It is clear that we put a step forward into honoring our
influences and paying musical tribute to bands that made us what we are now and
this combination of styles is more than appropriate to do so, by Extreme Metal
we mean subgenres such as Death and Black Metal, we take the energy of both
this genres to recreate for example a brutal battle that lead to tragic events
as well as athmospheric and dark stuff, Speed Metal intervene in the way the
songs are fast paced with alternate and tremolo picking and this element is
present on all the songs thus creating a certain homogeinity, wich give you the
auditive sensation that all genres are working together as one entity.
Tell us about a specific track from your recent album
that holds significant meaning to the band and the themes you explore.
If i had to choose a track, i’d go with « BLOOD AND
IRON – THE REBORN KREATION » because it works a s a summary of our concept
and music, it relates historical facts of the past and their projection in the
post apocalyptic future, and the track is also an excellent opener to the album
and an introduction to the band.
Your lyrics delve into Numidian history. How do you
research and incorporate historical elements into your music in a way that
resonates with your audience ?
I’ve read many books about our history in particular, and
never miss an opportunity to go to the Auressian landscape, i’m there on every
celebration of the Amazigh new year « Yennayer », i learned a lto
from the population there and the nature, i sat there on the highest peaks of
the Auressian mountains observing from a far the ancient Numidian ruins
imagining a kind of soundtrack to all of that, you know it is difficult to get
all of this together when you’re into a pure metal act, every musician would
have gone into traditional and folkloric stuff with instruments such as
« Derbouka » and « Karkabou » or worse into oriental stuff
wich i consider a total lack of respect to our antique culture.
Then we have the second part of the work of the concept where we project all of
that in this post apocalyptical future thing, reimagining how those past
personalities are recreated, or the ideological remnants of their passage.
When it comes to our audience, we put many elements and influences in order to
make them feel home when they listen to our work, and by doing that they will
consequently develop an interest to our message, and sit there with the lyrics
to understand history, by the way on our lyrics that are mainly in english we
use some of the Chaoui variant of the Amazigh language wich is the closest
dialect to the Amazigh Numidian Language, well the audience definitely don’t
have to worry about our musical direction in the future we’ll stay faithful to ourselves
and our culture.
Dystopian and post-apocalyptic themes often reflect
contemporary concerns. How do you infuse these themes with your personal
perspectives and messages?
Of course we do so, we have this eternal wandering of «If
this remained like that » or the « If history continued as it
was »and this wandering led us to develop a lyrical concept based on
relativity on how we establish a relation between the thematics, and in every
lyric we find a role to ourselves in story, so the thematics are automaticly
infused by a personal view, we dont limitate ourselves to relate only what
happened, we also adapt it to our music and this creates a sufficient personal
view to the genre.
Musically and lyrically, who are some of your biggest
influences as a band?
Some old German Speed/Thrash such as (Old) Kreator,
Destruction, Exumer and mainly the so called first wave of Black Metal that musically
was mainly Speed Metal pushed to limits, with bands such as Venom, (Old)
Bathory, Sodom, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, (Early) Samael as well as second wave
sucha s (Old) Mayhem, (Early) Immortal, (Old) Emperor, Setherial, (Old)
Sacramentum, (Old) Dissection, we are also into old school death metal such as
(Early) Bolt Thrower, wich the three first albums are a significant influence
both musically and visually for the artworks, also Morbid Angel, Possessed, and
the mighty swedish Death Metal acts such as Unleashed, Grave, Dissmember, God
Macabre, Centinex, Sorcery.
Live performances are a vital part of a band's journey.
What can fans expect from a Numidian Killing Machine concert?
A lot of energy, and NO COMPROMISE !!!
Numidian Killing Machine's visual identity, including
album artwork and stage presence, is striking. How do you conceptualize and
execute these visual elements to complement your music?
Well i studied in hig school of arts in Algiers, and both of
my parents are in culture and arts and i got in touch with arts at an early
age, i also practiced photography and participated to some renowed exhibitions
so i was thinking about this concept since the early stages of the band
developpement, i had some difficulties with the past musicians trying to
explain them because you know, in our country, visual concept and image are not
understood among metal musicians due to their 90’s mainstream metal influences,
but this was resolved when we found the first official line up that allowed
this shoots and visual identity you saw, when talking about conceptualizing i
already have an image when i write the lyrics and the graphics are only a tool
to materialize the whole idea.
The Extreme Metal scene can be intense and demanding. How
do you manage to keep the creative fire burning and maintain a strong sense of
unity within the band?
Since we got into the first official line up that gave birth
to the album, every new member is carefully selected, for good level of
playing, his work, his dedication to the project and of course his musical and
mental maturity, for example our beloved departed brother Abdou M. was a great
example of courage, and even when he was overidden by the sickness he always
asked us about how the mix sounds and how he can help reworking his parts, and
he was considering participating more on the music even on advanced stages of
illness, that’s the kind of musician we always needed, and i think our new line
up fully understand this commitment, because despite all the difficulties we’ve
had, and i honestly think that we’re the Algerian band that holds the record of
difficulties over the years we managed to get it all together and finish this
release thus reaching a stage of stability, we lost time and energy with non
serious musicians that have no « Musical » discipline and we do not
have interest on « Social Media » musicians or individuals that only
talk for years about projects that never materialize and couldn’t even get it
into three rehearsals, this « Auto-Sufficient » phenomenon rendered
the Algerian scene inexistant in the international.
The music industry is ever-evolving, especially with the
rise of digital platforms. How do you navigate the challenges and opportunities
presented by today's music landscape?
Well, if it’s about the digital platforms, it helped us a
lot, and we got many encouragement messages and even messages from record
labels interested to sign us, and i think that continuing on that way can be a
very rewarding experience, in the past it was very difficult to distribute
one’s music if the project was in an independt circle, but now everyone can be
the record label of himself, except if you’re on pure metal and have an
inconditional love for physical copies or LP’s such as myself (laughs)
Collaboration is often a catalyst for innovation. Are
there any artists or bands you'd love to collaborate with in the future?
There are many artists and to be honest i don’t have
somebody in mind in particullar right now.
Looking ahead, what are Numidian Killing Machine's
aspirations and goals in the coming years?
For a start, a second release hopefully, show dates, touring
(why not), and also growing our fanbase
Finally, is there a message you'd like to convey to your
fans and listeners who are experiencing Numidian Killing Machine's music?
Enjoy what you’re listening without any moderation,
otherwise it would elad to your termination (laughs), behalf of my bandi would
like to give our special thanks to all those who supported us over the years
and the difficult times, allthose who gaved a sense to our cause and music, and
who definitely encouraged us to go further and never give up, cheers^^
After a
decade supporting underground bands, the move to a solo act arose from the
scarcity of like-minded musicians and a torrent of musical output. The blend of
song-based noise and immersive sound characterizes "he didnt,"
influenced by diverse experiences and musical epochs. Exploring tension, dissociation,
and elation, the journey weaves through electronic nuances and rock
foundations, as live performances harness pedals' improvisational power. The
moniker derives from Soundgarden's witty track, inspiring moments of creative
daydreaming. Amidst myriad projects and releases, "he didn't"
continues its artistic odyssey.
After spending a decade supporting various underground
bands, what prompted you to transition into a solo act?
The straight answer is I couldn’t find anyone else in the
area I live in who wanted to play the same kind of music as me..! But also I
have quite a high output of music so working with other people sometimes slows
things down – though I still do remixes and collaborations. I’m usually way
behind on tracks to be recorded and released. If I had the £££ I could release
2 albums between now and Christmas plus some noise EPs.
Your background includes supporting bands like The Telescopes and The Magic
Numbers. How have these experiences influenced your current musical direction?
The Telescopes are great because across their career they
have moved from intense noise to calm and back again. Seeing them live was a
lesson in that you can do what you want and people will still be interested
even if you change from one album or song to the next. Plus they aren’t afraid
to do long hypnotic challenging noise. I usually learn something from every gig
I go to even if sometimes its what NOT to do.
Moving from the bustling atmosphere of London to the tranquility of
Oxfordshire must have been quite a shift. How has this change of environment
impacted your creative process?
It allowed me time to get back to thinking and engaging with
myself. London is a great city but it can be debilitating and intrusive after a
while. I think the move has let me develop my ideas more and actually hear what
I’m doing. There’s also less pressure as you don’t feel like you’re on display
as much as in London.
Could you describe the signature sound of "he didnt" for those who
might not be familiar with your music?
Song-based noise or noise-based song. Rolling distortion and
immersive sound in search of the other side of the void. Repetition of
ideas/riffs and loops to try and achieve decompression. The aim is usually
tension or tension/release.
What's your approach when it comes to integrating guitar pedals, drum
machines, and other equipment into your live performances?
I initially used a drum machine but found it too restricting
as it was something else to carry and worry about going wrong so now I just use
lots of pedals to create the sounds and rhythms. The main pedal is the looper
pedal which records the sound as you play it and repeats it ad infinitum. You
can layer other tracks over it so the sound evolves and builds. I also use a
delay pedal to get oscillations which can be controlled but give out fierce
noise and feedback. I like to improvise at points so the pedals are a
necessity.
Your music seems to combine electronic elements with more traditional rock
sounds. How do you strike a balance between these two aspects?
There is defo an electronic influence but I don’t use any
laptops/synths etc live – its all guitars/pedals. The recorded stuff I usually
upload to a studio and manipulate the sounds/cut/edit ideas and move things
around to make it more abstract. Of course this means I cant play everything I
record live – at least not the same versions – but I view live and studio as 2
separate disciplines and the songs are fluid. The electronic influence is from
people like Underworld whose songs evolve and mutate over lengthy periods so
you can really get into what they are doing. That is what I try and do.
Obviously, noisier Industrial bands are an influence as well in their attack or
wall of sound.
What themes or emotions do you often explore through your music?
Mainly tension but more recently dissociation as getting
older I have recognised things in my behaviour. Exploring the sound that
connects with these feelings is liberating and cathartic. Though I would add
elation is also in there somewhere – especially during the longer songs live.
Are there any specific artists or genres that have had a significant
influence on your musical style?
Early 80s industrial/electronic music – those really cold
harsh sounds. Sludge/doom/metal like Sunn and Electric Wizard. Shoegaze stuff
like MBV, Spacemen 3 and loads of Liverpool/Manchester bands . Tense bands like
Swans and Slint.
I trawl
twitter/bandcamp and am continuously finding new music to listen to and be
influenced by.
How do you typically begin the songwriting process? Do
you start with lyrics, melodies, or something else?
It usually a guitar riff or chords. Something that connects.
I’ll then jam out the idea and see where it goes before recording a rough
version and writing down how to play it so I can remember! Sometimes I don’t
know what to do with the idea. I used to spend more time on words and try to
write music for them but cant seem to do that anymore so now the words are
phrases or a few lines.
Could you share a bit about your creative routine? How do you keep the
inspiration flowing?
See previous answer. Inspiration is everywhere when you’re
feeling inspired. Once it goes it can be hard to find again so when this
happens I’ll go back over older ideas I havent finished to try and get back in
the routine. Nick Cave has an office in Brighton that he goes to every day
between 9-5 and works on ideas. I never understood this before but now I see
creativity can be like a muscle that need exercising regularly so I will play
for a few hours every Friday and Saturday (when I’m not at work) without fail
even if I only come up with one idea. Any progress keeps things moving - a
line, a new way to use a pedal, re-working an older song. It’s a discipline.
Your
project's name, "he didnt," is intriguing. What's the story behind
this name choice?
Its a song by Soundgarden, off their debut album
“UltramegaOK”. People missed their sense of humour. The lyrics go –
“He did
nothing perfect, He did nothing quite well, He did nothing perfectly, much
better then anyone I've ever seen”
It made me laugh. I always make sure I have a few hours over
the weekend to do absolutely nothing but daydream.
Live
performances are a unique challenge for solo artists. How do you ensure that
your complex sound translates well in a live setting?
Rehearsal, improvisation and volume! That’s one thing about
music that is sometimes free-form – no-one knows when you make a mistake and if
you do make a mistake you can just go with it and see where it leads. I’ve
written a few songs from mistakes.
Your
journey through different musical roles and bands must have brought valuable
experiences. Which experiences stand out as particularly formative for you?
Playing live, mainly. Loud music filling a space is a
uniquely powerful thing and I feel it when I’m playing. I may be making the
noise but i’m also listening to and experiencing it alongside the audience.
When I make a cool sound I don’t think “Wow I’m amazing” I think “Wow what a
cool sound!”. Also seeing how some other bands are professional and friendly.
Both of these things are massively important and its amazing how many other
bands/musicians lack them and think its cool to be a useless arsehole.
In an era of streaming and digital releases, how do you
see the role of albums and singles in your artistic expression?
No idea. The amount of releases I do and the length of them
is pretty much defined by how much money I have to put towards them! I cant be
worrying about if some kid only listens to music via a 10 second advert on
tik-tok and will that affect whether they like me or not. Spotify can fuck off
though. I dont think people who pay for that service realise how much they are
ripping off the artists on there. I wont be on there.
What's on the horizon for "he didn't"? Are there any upcoming
projects or collaborations that your fans can look forward to?
I run a label – https://dronealonerecords.bandcamp.com/ –
and I’ve got a few releases coming up in the next 3 or 4 months so any spare
time will be on them. I’ve done a few remixes of some local artists in Oxford,
a collaboration with a poet and will maybe be releasing an album by an
experimental band from Swindon (they havent finished it yet so I havent heard
it) plus I’ve finished the next he didnt release. If I get any extra time I’ve
got a sludge/metal project that I need to record. There is never enough time!
Fury of a Dying Planet, a solo project born during Covid
lockdowns, fuses progressive and metal elements to address urgent environmental
issues. Doug Rimington's intricate songwriting, fueled by Netflix's
"Seaspiracy," culminates in music that aims to provoke thought, spark
change, and honor the planet's unsung heroes.
1. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the
formation of Fury of a Dying Planet?
FoaDP originally came about during Covid as I had time to
write new songs, in fact I had written all 6 initial tracks as instrumentals before
the theme came together. As FoaDP is a solo project, I wrote and recorded all
music myself throughout lockdown.
2. What was it about the Netflix documentary
"Seaspiracy" that sparked the creation of the band?
Simple, seeing
dolphins and whales being slaughtered by inhuman monsters sparked the anger
that brought FoaDP to life.
3. Could you elaborate on the process of transforming your
earlier demos into the prog-tinged metal sound that defines Fury of a Dying
Planet's music?
I got to track drums with Chris Allan, a professional session
musician, who helped me craft organic drum rhythms, inspiring both melodic and
brutal instrumentation to wrap around it.
4. How did the collaboration between you, Doug Rimington,
and Paul Brigstock come about?
Well I was lucky as Chris knew him and I was in
a bit of a bind trying to find a commited singer who had their own recording
equipment.
5. What motivated the inclusion of hard-hitting eco-minded
lyrics in your music?
I believe music must be true and full of passion. I hate
pop music, all that auto tuned rubbish. I have to write something honest and
true. The fate of the planet and the creatures that roam free is something that
weighs heavily on my mind all the time, every day.
6. Bec Dennison's artwork plays a significant role in your
band's image. Could you share more about the meaning behind the fading life
motif in the logo and the 80's themed poster designs?
The original logo design
was to represent the fading life on our planet and it was styled in the same vein
as movies like The Thing and horror films of the 80's.
7. Your latest release addresses the disconnect between
trivial concerns and the urgent need to care for our planet. How do you hope
your music will impact listeners' perspectives on this issue?
To be honest, I
am not sure my music will have any impact, but I hope that those who listen or
watch the video will open their eyes and maybe try a little harder each day to
do something positive for the planet.
8. Could you walk us through your songwriting process? How
do you integrate the layers of melody and texture that characterize your music?
It's not too complex, I start with guitar and bass, then using Roland V Drums I
write the demo drums. Once those are edited, I hit the studio and record the real
drums. Once those are back I re track all bass and guitars to the proper drums.
Production and padding I add to fill out the song to give it body. Then I write
the lyrics and record the vocal melody demo's which I send off to the singer to
track.
9. Considering that all music has been written, performed,
and produced by Doug Rimington, could you share some insights into your
production methods and techniques?
I use the tools I have at hand, nothing too
fancy. All guitars, bass are tracked through Reaper using Neural DSP guitar
plugins. Synths and padding is mostly through Spitfire VST's but I also use
some samples from Ghosthack as they supply high quality stabs and bass drops.
10. The album's drums were engineered and mixed by Chris
Allan, with final mastering by Justin Hill. How did their involvement enhance
the overall sound of the album?
Chris helped bring the music to life for me
very quickly. Justin Hill is a well known producer and his mastering skills
gave the songs the proper balance polish so they can sit amongst major lable
releases without being drowned out.
11. Incorporating elements of both prog and metal can be
challenging. How do you strike a balance between these genres in your music?
It
just comes down to when I write, one moment I'm playing hard hitting thrash
riffs, then I change direction to make sure each song has strong dynamics. It
can't all be 100mph and at the same time, it can't too full of complex time signatures
that no one can follow the theme or feel a groove!
12. Your music touches on urgent environmental issues. Do
you see yourselves as advocates for change beyond the music?
I hope so! If the
social media reach can be grown, I hope to be able to share eco news both hard
hitting and positive. On top of this, any profits raised will be donated to
environmental charities.
13. Can you describe the emotions and messages you hope to
convey to your audience through your live performances?
I hope to raise awareness
of the environmental issues the world faces and maybe inspire some people to
look into these things more. I am still surprised to find those who don't know
about the slaughter of dolphins and whales in the Faroe Islands!
14. Are there any specific bands or artists that have
influenced your sound and approach to music?
Oh yes, Machine Head, Devin
Townsend and Killswitch Engage are probably 3 of my biggest influences - Thrash
Metal, Prog Metal and Metalcore!
15. With the growing concern for our planet, do you envision
future albums or projects continuing to explore this theme, or do you foresee
evolving into other areas?
FoaDP will always be eco minded but not all songs
will be from a negative perspective, although it's hard for me to write positive
songs, I have at least one completed that celebrates the heroes of the earth.
16. What can fans expect from Fury of a Dying Planet in the
near future? Are there any upcoming projects or performances you'd like to
share?
No performances as FoaDP is a solo project, unless something amazing
should happen that allowed funding of session musicians. However a full album
is in the works and will be released before the end of 2023...
Introducing VESSSNA: A project with a rich
history in Russian Rock/Metal led by founder Marianna Lukyanova. From learning
guitar at 13 to becoming VESSSNA's vocalist and guitarist, Marianna's musical
journey has spanned genres. She discusses her evolution, influences, and the
emotional depth behind VESSSNA's captivating music and visually stunning
videos. Aspirations for future releases and performances add excitement to the
road ahead. Learn more about VESSSNA's unique blend of creativity and
introspection in this interview.
VESSSNA is a relatively young project, but its
founder, Marianna Lukyanova, has a rich history in the Russian Rock/Metal
scene. Can you tell us about your journey from learning to play the guitar at
13 to becoming a vocalist and guitarist for VESSSNA?
At first, I generally only wanted to sing and
write lyrics. I also liked the bass guitar. But in the music studio where I
went to study music, they didn’t take people to learn bass playing from
scratch, and they told me to take some guitar lessons for at least half a year.
In general, I quickly forgot about bass and vocals. Since childhood, I tried to
compose songs, and when I more or less learned to play and learned the theory,
I began to actively look for a band where I could apply my knowledge. At first it
was a lot of one-day heavy and punk bands, mostly girly ones. I had a more or
less serious band only at the age of 18, we played doom-gothic metal. After the
collapse of this band, some people stayed with me, and it so happened that I
became the main composer, and the vocalist also persuaded me to sing, since we
could not find female vocals for a long time. This is how the Fright Night band
appeared, the line-up and style of which subsequently changed many times. I
have always written songs for male vocals, and for a long time we worked
closely with vocalist Alexei Ovsienko. Then, when he gradually began to retire,
I wrote several tracks with only female vocals. When Alexey left the band, I
decided to take a break - at that time I was studying at a music school, I
didn’t have the strength and time for the band. Well, I wanted to stop, think,
to understand what to do next. As a result, I decided to make a "project
named after myself", where all the musicians will be on a session basis.
Your project has evolved from being a part of
heavy metal bands to creating music with gothic darkwave and gothic metal
influences. How has this musical journey shaped the sound and identity of
VESSSNA?
I believe that any musician should be able to
play music in different styles, especially when he is just learning. I believe
that my teachers instilled in me a good taste. I still listen to classic rock
and metal. Of course, gothic is more to my liking, but, for example, in the
song "Beasts and Monsters" you can hear a lot of guitar passages, in
style suitable for Ozzy's songs, for example. The wider the horizons of a
musician, the more music he listens to and performs, the more interesting his
compositions will ultimately be, because all the best bands have always worked
at the intersection of styles. And besides traditional metal, we have elements
of a lot more - both progressive and folk. I also played for a long time in the
darkwave project Mea Vita with my keyboardist Marina, which also undoubtedly
left some imprint on my work.
In the mid-2010s, you transitioned from Fright
Night to VESSSNA as a solo project. Could you share the reasons behind this
shift and the decision to focus on completely Russian-language material?
I am very tired of people for whom music is
not the main thing in life. Yes, there were those who really helped me, but in
fact I always completely wrote music, was in charge of all organizational
aspects. I didn't feel like using the word "band" anymore, and I
didn't even want to ask anyone's opinion on important matters.
As for the Russian language - our lyrics in
Fright Night were originally written in Russian by me, then Alexei translated
them ... it was very strange. Then I thought that gothic metal in English
sounds more organic, but later I changed my mind. I think that I write lyrics
and poetry really well, and when I sing in Russian, I can express my thoughts
more sincerely and more clearly with vocals. Well, and ... probably, there's no
other place in the world where compatriots reproached so much the local
musicians for using the English language as it's going in Russia. Alas, this is
the reality, and many of the bands that started with us at the same time
eventually figured it out.
Your 2018 full-length album "Almost
Saint" received positive feedback. How did the creation of this album
differ from your previous musical endeavors, and what themes did you explore in
its songs?
There was Vesssna's first EP "Smile of
Freedom" released between the Fright Night's last album and "Almost
Saint". There we tried to work with Max Chai-Van-Sebi, who had previously
mixed songs for us with the Mea Vita project. At that time, he had very little
experience with rock and metal bands. I doubted for a long time, but I did not
regret it. Professional session musicians were invited for bass and drums
recording. I really bothered with the arrangements, watched the video, read the
articles. In principle, the same scheme was on the album "Almost
Holy" - the music is completely mine, Marina and Max helped me with the sound
and keys, session musicians on bass and drums. The arrangements have become
even cleaner, Max also bought a lot of additional equipment. So the result was
even better than on the EP.
As for the music itself, I can say that there
are very interesting folk things in this album. As well as even small
borrowings from the classics. I composed these songs when I studied academic
vocals, so the album turned out to be quite "correct" from a
classical point of view.
The main themes of the album are experienced
betrayal and spiritual rebirth. Some kind of rethinking of your life
experience. I would say it is dedicated to all the people who have ever hurt
me. It is no coincidence that the internet edition of the album depicts a girl
wounded by many arrows.
"Beasts and Monsters," your second
full-length album, was released in 2022 after several years of preparation. How
did the process of creating this album compare to your previous works, and what
inspired the album's themes and title?
In general, the work of creating and recording
this time did not differ much from the previous one. Basically the same people
were involved, so everything turned out even better. In addition, this time I
prepared all the vocal parts together with my teacher. So, probably, my singing
wasn't so well as on this record.
As for the themes: the theme of violence and
cruelty is widely touched on the album - merciless, senseless. We all
understand that there are sadists, maniacs in the world, there are cruel
people, but the worst thing is when you realize that your loved one is capable
of this. There are a couple of songs about difficult abusive relationships, and
the last song was composed during the general quarantine of 2020, therefore it
reflects the hopelessness of the situation...
VESSSNA's music is known for its epic and
visually striking music videos. How do you approach the visual representation
of your songs, and how important is storytelling in your videos?
It happened that the same person makes all the
videos for us - Anastasia Krutova - a professional director and a big lover of
gothic and electronic music. We have a lot in common with her, for example, we
both love the videos of Mylene Farmer, Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage. I think
the result of our joint work is getting better every time. Anastasia loves very
complex, intricate plots with a great deal of surrealism. And this is what
distinguishes her style from everything that other Russian and foreign bands
shoot. Many people tell us that each clip is like a small movie, and it really
is. We try very hard every time to do everything with the highest quality and
monitor every detail.
As the founder and driving force behind
VESSSNA, how do you balance your roles as a guitarist, vocalist, and
songwriter? What challenges do you face in managing a solo project?
I've been doing this for so long that it's
natural for me to combine everything. I would say that for me this is the only
possible way to achieve a result, since it is difficult for me to trust
someone. The composer in me is always in the first place, then he "shares
the parts" to the guitarist and vocalist, and they work on them. A certain
band manager also does not allow them to relax and makes them meet deadlines
:). As for the promotion of the project and external communications, well, it is
easy for me to communicate with strangers and advertise something, so this is a
natural process for me.
"Smile of Freedom" was an Internet
release with four songs in 2017. How has your music evolved since then, and
what can fans expect from your upcoming EP?
I still like the songs that were included in
that EP, they are very sincere, and I did it with a great spiritual uplift.
Over time, I improved in arrangements, in
vocals, in playing ... the music became more and more complex and
"progressive". After the prog and very sophisticated album
"Beasts and Beasts" I want to take a break and go back. Therefore,
the new EP will have only one new song, quite simple - it's called
"Consolation", the EP itself will also be called this title. The
remaining 3 songs that we plan to include in it are songs from the second
Fright Night album, but now they are in Russian, only with female vocals and
re-arranged. it was important for me to do this, since I consider this material
to be undeservedly forgotten.
The Russian Rock/Metal scene has its unique
characteristics. How has this scene influenced your musical style and
songwriting approach?
Russian metal and gothic bands understand that they are in a deep underground.
And since they won’t be popular, then they can play anything at all, mix
different styles, add unusual instruments, arrange mini-performances at
concerts, release their music only online and without labels, as they want it
and when they want it. There are, of course, bands that, apart from some kind
of vulgarity, can no longer attract attention to themselves, but there are also
really original bands. In Russia, the audience is very much following the
personality of the artist, and even among the underground you can only become a
star if you represent yourself as a person. There are no labels, almost no
magazines, no metal radio stations - in short, the listeners themselves find
the music that interests them. And, in fact, people in recent years have become
much better at supporting local artists. The main thing is to “hook” the
listener with something, to find some kind of your chip. But I never think
about it in advance ... sincerity is important to me and that I myself like the
end result.
Your music often delves into emotions and
complex themes. What do you hope your listeners take away from your songs and
performances?
Yes, probably, my
music is quite emotional, but I just talk about my feelings and thoughts, and
often in a very metaphorical and veiled way. It is not always immediately
possible to understand what this or that thing is about. I remember one of our
listeners told me about one of the songs that every time he hears it live, he
cannot hold back his tears. For me it was very unusual. So I realized that
being "on the same wavelength" with the audience and conveying
emotions is more important than just telling some stories in the lyrics or
calling for something. On the other hand one fan of mine from Chile once wrote
that he listens to my songs on the way to work, and they are very encouraging,
although yes, he understands that in fact the lyrics are rather sad. So let
everyone perceive my work in their own way.
The live performances of VESSSNA have been a
captivating aspect of your artistic expression. Can we expect more live shows
in the future, and how do you plan to bring your music to the stage?
Yes, I would really like to have more
performances, but it just so happens that, since all my musicians are session
ones, performances also require financial investments. Therefore, recording and
filming videos are in the first place for now, but in terms of concerts, I
would like to do something interesting in the future. In Moscow, I often
organize festivals myself, inviting like-minded bands.
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and
goals for VESSSNA in the coming years? Are there any particular collaborations
or projects you'd like to explore?
Of course, things are very unstable at the
moment. But I would like to hope for the best. I'm planning to release an EP
before the end of the year, and I'm already writing songs for the next
full-length release. Filming of two new videos is also planned. It is possible
that there will be some joint work with our underground colleagues , it is
still difficult to say. Well, I would also like to turn Vesssna into a more
live project.
Thank you for sharing your journey and music
with us. We look forward to hearing more from VESSSNA in the future!
