Warlock A.D. returns with "Book II: The Valley of Vâgené," building on the epic fantasy saga with intricate storytelling, rich characters, and symphonic metal mastery.
1. Congratulations
on the release of "Book II: The Valley of Vâgené"! Can you share
how this album builds on the story and themes from "Book I: The
Reserrection"? What can listeners expect from this new chapter in the
Warlock A.D. saga?
Thank You
so much! When we wrote Book I, we were definitely still finding our feet. When
it came to an overarching story that was definitely an afterthought. The first
album can be split in two; the “Main quest” side of things with “The Fall of
the Æfintyr”, “Rise!” etc whereas “Skyrimming” and “Judge Judy Executioner” for
example felt like little side stories. The character Whiteacre the Warlock from
the first album reappears in album two and much of the very limited world
building we did is vastly elaborated upon in a full blown concept album
following one story!
2. Your
music often blends elements of fantasy storytelling with orchestral and folk
metal. How do you strike a balance between the musical complexity and the
narrative depth required for such epic storytelling?
For album
2, we first came together and settled on what the story of the album would be
and the titles of the songs. Everything is built around those things at the
core so for every decision made musically we first address the question of
“what are the characters feeling, seeing and experiencing” - for example the
battle between the heroes and Flüffir the Storm Dragon felt like a sort of
“final boss” fight for the album so we took a lot of inspiration from JRPG
soundtracks whhich nowadays often incorporates that blend of Heavy Metal and
Symphonic elements.
3. The
characters in your albums, like Whiteacre the Mighty Warlock and Ahriman
Cullblade the Shadow Assassin, are full of rich backstories. How do you develop
these characters and incorporate their personalities into your songs?
Each
character on the album actually has their own musical motifs which are repeated
through key moments in songs. For example, Prince Quinn’s theme is the chorus
from the track “By The Path of the Exiled” which is even repeated in a minor
key during one major moment in the story. Another example is through the use of
differing vocal techniques/accents for different characters - for example any
vocals that represent the Evil Dwarf Emperor are growled.
4.
"Rothgar Warsong," one of the key tracks from the new album, heavily
incorporates folk instruments like bagpipes, mandolin, and hurdy-gurdy. What
inspired you to feature these instruments in this track, and how does it add to
the story of Rothgar Warsong?
We wanted
to create the atmosphere of a nordic folk party as we felt that sound best
represented the nomadic tribe of Half-orcs. We wanted to make the impression
that the “War song” itself was being performed by the tribe itself.
5. The
album’s narrative involves a vast quest through Brittanni, a battle with the
Half-orc barbarians, and a tyrannical Dwarf Emperor. How do you approach
creating such vivid, immersive worlds through both lyrics and music?
We actually
write a LOT of lore which is shared between the band members. We are big
D&D and RPG Video Game nerds so we are no strangers to vast fantasy
characterisation and storytelling. We often had to return to these writings
during the lyric writing process to ensure the story we were telling was as
sound continuity wise as possible.
6. With
titles like “The Golden Showers of Prestønia” and “The Sacred Spears of
Brittanni,” your song names have a mix of grandeur and humor. How important is
humor to Warlock A.D.'s overall aesthetic, and how do you maintain that balance
in your music?
So this is
actually a huge point of contention with a LOT of Power Metal fans. The humour
side of things has resulted in us being labelled as cringeworthy or dumb. A big
misconception is that we try to shoehorn in jokes or comedy for the sake of
shock or “haha anatomy funny.” But our approach is this - anyone who has ever
played a (fun) D&D campaign with friends will get the humour. Chaos and
unhinged approaches to quests/battles is what we emulate with our humour. The
“Bard tries to seduce the dragon” mentality is our bread and butter - and it
translates amazingly live too. We are not setting out to be the next Rhapsody
or Twilight Force; we just want to make people smile and have a good time -
which is what we feel makes us a very accessible band even if you aren’t
normally a fan of Symphonic metal.
7. The
album features guest narrators and voice actors for characters like Æliána the
Eternal and Rothgar Warsong. How do you collaborate with voice actors to bring
these characters to life? Do they influence the way you write the music?
Over the
years we have made a lot of very close friends, some musicians and some not.
Rothgar Warsong for example is about a D&D character created by the
Half-Orc’s actor Scott who is a very good friend of ours. Then, characters like
The Heavy Metal Battle Wench (aka Gertrude Chesticles) is inspired originally
by our friend Charlie who would attend our early shows in full cosplay ready to
wage war - with the character being voiced by Jade Maris of Vanitas who made
the character her own and actually embodies the character on stage whenever we
perform on the same bill together!
8. Your
style seems inspired by bands like Feuerschwanz and Turisas. What role do these
influences play in shaping the sound of Warlock A.D., and how do you make sure
your music stands out in the fantasy metal genre?
With
absolutely 0 disrespect to other acts who would be deemed as “Power Metal” we
try to stay away from a lot of the genre staples like the machine
gun drums for 6 minutes, seemingly endless 589 notes per second solos and clean
high pitched vocals. Instead we focus more on telling a story than showing
instrumental virtuosity. The symphonic elements play less of a “backing for the
guitars” role and are absolutely integral to the full scope of our songs. Also
as previously stated, our music has a comedic aspect to it which we feel is a
fairly untapped area in the Symphonic Metal scene other than acts like our
chums NanowaR of Steel.
9. From
the album cover to the music videos, the visual aspect of Warlock A.D. seems
very important. Can you tell us more about the artwork for "Book II:
The Valley of Vâgené" and how it complements the story?
Our
resident illustrator Ryve has always done a fantastic job of giving us that
JRPG Concept Art flavour we go for with our releases - we wanted the album to
LOOK like it could be an entry into the Guild Wars or Final Fantasy or Dungeons
and Dragons franchises. We did go a little more experimental however with the
artwork for “Techno Wyrmhole” - we wanted a late 80s/early 90s video game look
which fits the more synthy feel of the track.
10. The
track "Ancient Dragon of Storms Flüffir Mighty Guardian of Valley (Techno
Wyrmhole)" blends techno with your signature orchestral metal sound. What
led you to explore this hybrid of genres, and how do you make it fit within
your epic fantasy narrative?
Honestly,
we sat down and listened to the new album by Angus McSix and said “Could you
imagine if we made arguably the most important lore drop of the album an
absolutely ridiculous synth fest” and along came “Techno Wyrmhole” - The chorus
vocal line/lead synth line from "Techno Wyrmhole" then returns in
full bombastic symphonic glory as the verses for the track
"Stormbreather".
11.
You’re known for creating grand, interconnected musical motifs throughout your
albums. Can you give us insight into how you develop these motifs and use them
to enhance the storytelling across multiple tracks?
We wanted
to really exaggerate the “one narrative” feel of the album so we decided on
sections from songs to act as our individual character themes and brought them
back throughout the album in an almost “Soundtrack” fashion. For example the
moment where Horatus tears down the city of Obolique in “Sacred Spears” we
brought back his motif from “Strange New World”, and again in “Stormbreather”
during his spellcasting. One fun nod we make to album 1 is the reprisal of
“Rise!” heard briefly during “The Sword of Cühm”.
12.
Finally, what can we expect next from Warlock A.D.? Are there plans for Book
III or other future releases that will continue this fantastical saga?
We actually
have already started work on Book III and have plans for a further 2
“Books” beyond that! Book II ends with Whiteacre and Ahriman leaving
Brittanni behind and returning to Whiteacre’s original universe - which is all
we are willing to tell you about that story for now. But rest assured, Books
III, IV AND V will be JUST as, if not more, Cringeworthy, Dumb and
unapologetically Fun and Epic as Book II.
Post a Comment