Once Upon the End delves into post-apocalyptic themes, warning of a future shaped by environmental crises. Their music blends raw energy with melodic strength, promising darker, proggy sounds ahead.
1. What
inspired the concept behind Once Upon the End, exploring themes of a dystopian
near-future and the collapse of civilization?
We are all
fans of dark fiction (hence our name) but the reality of our world, in terms of
environmental and biodiversity crisis, drove us to embrace our
post-apocalyptic, dystopian and sci-fi inspirations (The Road, Mad Max,
Silo, Dune and even 1984…). We mean it as a way to warn about what the
world could look like if we don’t act now to tame humanity’s greedy nature. We
embody five modern bards wandering through the ruins of a shattered world,
seeking relics of the last age to share them as songs with any group of
survivors we meet.
2. Could
you tell us about the evolution of your sound from your debut album to Archive
200, particularly with the addition of Ezalyr on vocals?
As for
vocals, Ezalyr has more of a clean singing background so the idea was to
incorporate them in the music when it fits, as it offers quite a large palette
as to what we can do melodically. Musically we wanted to show how much we have
progressed since we first recorded those songs back in 2019.
3. The
lyrics of "We Are The Dead" resonate with post-apocalyptic themes.
How do you approach crafting such impactful and immersive lyrics?
Each song
brings a new light to the post-apocalyptic world as we imagine it, whether it
is about how survivors might feel in this shattered world, how groups of
survivors organize themselves, the dangers they face… The lyrics of We Are the
Dead really resonate with the song Hollow, which was on The Next Chapter album,
released in 2021. The title is also a quote from Orwell’s 1984 where people
lose their humanity in the end.
4.
Archive 200 features re-worked and re-recorded songs alongside new tracks. What
was the process like in revisiting and reinventing your past classics?
Three songs
on Archive 200 were present on our first EP Prelude. The process wasn’t the
same for all the revisited songs. On the one hand, we have Dying Concrete which
was still on our live setlist, and as songs evolve with time, it was mostly
taking a new snapshot of the current way of playing the song. On the other
hand, there are Moon Scavengers and The Old Ones. The overall structures of
these songs weren’t modified, but the fully reimagined drums and Ezalyr’s vocal
style bring a whole new dimension to the songs. In addition to that, the guitar
and bass riffs were slightly changed here and there to add more color. Groly
started playing saxophone a few months back, and bugged us enough that we let
him record a part on The Old Ones.
5. How
do you balance the melodic strength of your music with the raw, caustic energy
that defines your sound?
We love
heavy music, that’s obvious, but we also love music in general! We never
hesitate to add more atmospheric sounds or inspirations from other genres and
always try to make our most brutal riffs at least a bit catchy. What’s
important for us is to have songs where the energy comes in waves and can
surprise the listener just a bit. Also we have lots of fun mixing things the
way we want but in a subtle way not an experimental one.
6. Could
you share insights into your collaborative songwriting process? How do each
band member's contributions shape the final songs?
The
guitarists often come with song structures (you know, cool riff, chorus, verse)
and give them to the whole band to work on. It’s a collaborative process, with
all members being able to make suggestions and compose their parts. The song
called We Are the Dead was initially composed by OUtE’s former lead guitarist
but was never recorded. So we worked with him to finish it at last! He does
guitar and growls, credited as Claustra, his own one-man DSBM band.
7. Your music is often described as blending elements of Arch Enemy, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Soilwork. How do you navigate paying homage to these influences while maintaining your unique identity?
This is
quite funny, because while we enjoy these bands, I think no member of the band
can be said to be a huge fan of them. Our music is too heavy to be called
anything else than Death Metal, yet tries to stay melodic so the genre fits
even if we don’t do it on purpose. To keep our identity, we simply do our own
thing, with each member of the band bringing their own - sometimes very
different - influences in the songs. In Flames could be the backbone of a
creature called Once Upon the End, with Opeth and Avatar as arms, Cradle of
Filth legs, a Death head with a Jinjer eye and an Igorrr tumor.
8. What
challenges did you face during the production of Archive 200, and how did you
overcome them?
For the
four of us who were already in the line-up, there weren’t any big challenges
for Archive 200, as we already knew the songs, and just raised the bar. We
really enjoyed revisiting our old songs. For Ezalyr though it was the occasion
to prove she could bring something different that fitted well with the band,
and Seditius had set the bar quite high in terms of vocal technique, so it was
more of a challenge to her.
9. The
EP's artwork is striking. How does it reflect the themes and mood of your
music?
The idea is
quite straightforward. Cassette tape is something of the past, and we thought
it would suit well for this EP as it features some older songs. In our
universe, this simple rubbish found in the dirt among dead leaves becomes a
treasure for bards like us to entertain groups of survivors!
10. What
can fans expect from Once Upon the End in the future, both musically and
conceptually?
We are
currently working on a new album. We still have a long way to go but some songs
are already ready and we even tested some of them live. As a reflection of the
state of the world and humanity’s current course, it will be darker, leaving
aside the epic feel of songs from The Next Chapter. The last song of Archive
200, The Old Ones, opens the way to what’s to come: something more Blackened
Death Metal with proggy feelings. But we won’t drop melodies!
(30) Official Once Upon the End Channel - YouTube
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