Anyone who knows me will know that I attended 2024’s Mad With Power festival in Madison, Wisconsin for one reason: Fellowship. While the opportunity to engage in lowercase fellowship with various friends and colleagues was enticing, I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to experience the Fellowship: England’s rapidly up-and-coming power metal band, and an act that has been very special for me since their earliest days, performing their first-ever show in North America. Likewise, I wasn’t about to miss my chance to sit down with Matthew Corry (vocals and lyrics) and Callum Tuffen (drums and songwriting) and pick their brains about what makes Fellowship tick. On the day prior to this interview, I was fortunate enough to witness the band debut three new songs alongside the cover art and tracklist for their upcoming sophomore record, The Skies Above Eternity, which gave us much more to talk about than I had anticipated.

I was escorted backstage to meet Matt and Cal (by none other than Ty Christian, vocalist of Lords of the Trident and founder of Mad With Power), and was genuinely surprised to find that Matt, the little hobbit man who lives in my phone and sings directly to my soul through my earbuds, is basically as tall as I am – and I’m 6’3”. He and Callum greeted me as warmly as one might expect from a band famous for songs of camaraderie and self worth. When I told Matt that he and I had spoken on occasion through Twitter DMs, he responded with a delightfully genuine “Oh, right! Eldritch Elitist!” in what might be the highlight of my tenure at this blog. We then shuffled into a small, hot interview room; what follows are Matt and Cal’s own words, lightly edited for the sake of clarity and flow. I began by asking Matt and Callum how they came to headline an overseas festival with nothing but a debut LP under their belt.

Callum: “I spoke with Ty a bit about this. They like to bring in the bands that haven’t really “made it,” so I think that’s part of it. We’ve known Ty for quite a while, and he’s probably one of the most supportive guys in power metal today.”

Matt: “From what I’ve heard, a couple of years ago, shortly after our Fellowship EP first came out, people were already trying to get Fellowship over here. They saw Ty as “the method” for getting Fellowship over here within a couple of years, as opposed to having to wait five or six years for us to get big enough to be viable. They just kept poking Ty, and Ty, being the wonderful human that he is, said ‘you know what? Let’s try it.’ He emailed us and asked ‘are you guys up for it?’ And hell yeah, we were up for it!”

Callum: “I always had this fear that it wouldn’t actually happen, but here we are.”

Ty himself had actually covered Fellowship’s “Glint” on Lords of the Trident’s YouTube channel, long before they had signed to Scarlet Records or recorded their first LP. Matt has a small cameo in that video, so I’m curious whether that video happened before talks began for Fellowship to join the Mad With Power roster.

Matt: “Yeah, that was way before. After ‘Glint’ came out, Ty messaged us, initially saying how much he loved the song, and if we would mind if he did a cover of it. I sent him some files and he did the cover, which blew us away. I think that was the first…”

Callum: “It’s just crazy good, isn’t it?”

Matt: “Yeah, so good, and it was the first sort of ‘proper’ vocal cover of any of our stuff – which is difficult stuff. So there were immediately ‘buds for life’ kind of vibes. And then he started talking about the New Wave of Nice Metal Buds, which is so our vibe: positivity, support, all that jazz. And after that, I did a little opera video with him, for fun, and I got to show my cat to the internet. Around a year later, he emailed us saying ‘it’s time.’”

The New Wave of Nice Metal Buds that Matt refers to is Ty’s code of conduct, by which the festival is operated. It was created to promote kindness, inclusivity, and mindfulness within the Mad With Power community, and applies to the bands and fans therein. While it’s difficult to say whether this code of conduct is responsible for the festival’s atmosphere, it should be noted that the Mad With Power experience is indeed one of utmost positivity. In other words: The vibes are on point.

Since Fellowship’s inception, I’ve found it remarkable how well they balance their atmosphere of utmost sincerity against the cheese and excess of power metal, especially when similar bands – most notably Twilight Force – conduct themselves as if they are “in” on a shared joke with their audience. Cal and Matt had clearly considered this contradiction, as it stems from their unique songwriter-lyricist partnership.

Callum: “So… When I say Twilight Force is a huge inspiration for me, they’re not the only ones. In power metal, yeah, of course, they’re an inspiration for me. But I take a lot of inspiration from other bands. I don’t know if you’d pick up on the influence from our songs, but there are elements from bands like early Avenged Sevenfold, and a lot of older pop stuff, like Elton John and ABBA. I try to get across that it’s never meant to be ‘jokey,’ but at the same time, I wanted to make people feel happy, the way that kind of music makes me feel. All I can do is put out the best stuff I possibly can, that makes me feel good, and hopefully, it comes across that way to everyone else.”

Matt: “I think lyrically, this is one of those unique musical combos that I don’t think either me or Cal really expected, or would have sought out naturally. Cal’s music is not the type of thing that I would ever write, and I don’t think my lyrics are really the type of thing that Cal would immediately go for. But once we ended up putting them together, it became this symbiotic marriage. We never thought it would go crazy the way that it has, we never dreamed of coming to the States or anything when we first collaborated. I think the first thing we ever did together was record ‘Glint.’ That was almost like my trial for the band, in a way. And after the day of doing it, we just sort of sat around a pub. None of us had a drink, we just sat around a pub.”

Callum: “I think that was in London.”

Matt: “Yeah, that was in London! And we were just like… ‘Yeah, we made something really cool, didn’t we?’ When I first came into power metal – because I wasn’t into power metal, I am now, but I wasn’t at all when I joined the band – the music that everyone was making, and that Cal had sent me, was just so fundamentally uplifting. I didn’t want to take anything away from that. Cal has such a unique ability to convey really complicated emotions. There are a lot of really happy bits, and really sort of tense bits in Cal’s music, but because it flows so freely between them, it feels like just giving it one emotion would cheapen it somehow. So that desire to take it seriously, I think, is where we really align.”

I am intrigued by Matt’s mention that the recording of “Glint” was his first act as a member of Fellowship, and wonder aloud whether that recording was the version that made it onto their EP, and eventually their debut LP.

Matt: “Yep.”

Callum: “Mmm…”

Matt: “No?”

There is a bit of back and forth between Matt and Cal at this point about whether the adjustments made after the initial recording constitute a “different version” of the song, but their ultimate consensus is that what we hear on the record is what was recorded on day one. What’s even more interesting is that the rest of the band had never met Matt before that day. The official recording we have of “Glint,” as I see it, is the true beginning of Fellowship as we know them today.

Looking from the past to the future, I steer the subject to the newly announced album, The Skies Above Eternity. Specifically, I was curious about the press release’s mention of direct inspirations from the Japanese power metal scene, and how those ideas were incorporated while staying true to the Fellowship sound.

Callum: “So obviously, being such a huge power metal fan, I stumbled deeply into the Japanese realm, and I grew to love a lot of what they do harmonically. In my opinion, they do things quite differently from European and American power metal. They do a lot more intricate things, and they also delve further into neoclassical elements. I wanted to take a lot of influence from that and try to apply it to our sound without it being forced, if you know what I mean. And it wasn’t only power metal. I was listening to Japanese pop, and weirdly enough, they also do the same sort of harmonic things that are done in Japanese power metal; bands like YOASOBI, and other J-Pop artists. I tried to apply that harmonic style to our sound. We do it especially in ‘Hold Up Your Hearts (Again),’ and in ‘The Bitter Winds.’ That’s a real Galneryus-style song.”

At this point, I can’t help but remark that Galneryus is my favorite band, and – having heard “The Bitter Winds” live the day prior – that there are moments that remind me of Galneryus tracks like “Angel of Salvation.”

Matt: “Every time we’re in the car together, Cal tries to get me more and more into Galneryus. And every time we leave the car, I do add a Galneryus song to my Spotify playlist. I haven’t gone hardcore yet, but at the rate we’re going, I’ll get there. ‘Angel of Salvation’ was the first one Cal showed me where he was like ‘THIS.’

Matt makes an enthusiastic hand gesture to express Cal’s intensity towards Galneryus, implying a level of excitement with which I am all too familiar.

Branching off from our discussion of Japanese music, I ask Matt and Cal if there are any ideas on the upcoming album that feel risky, or that fans might not be expecting.

Callum: “Yes.”

Matt: “Yeah, definitely. I think after album one, we really wanted to make sure that… personally, I really don’t want Fellowship to be one of those bands that finds success with a sound and then never moves on. But I really want to make sure that we always have that fundamental joy that pervades the sort of “core” of what we do in everything. And I want – just personally, lyrically – I would love for each album to have just a slightly different ‘flavor’ of how we convey that joy, like ‘what’s an element of that joy we’re really tackling?’ The first album was very much about self-affirmation and self-discovery, finding oneself. This album is a lot darker. We have a song called ‘Victim,’ which, I think a year ago, no one would ever have predicted as a song title coming out of our band.”

EE: “It stood out to me when I was looking at the tracklist.”

Matt: “Yeah. This is ‘Light through the darkness,’ essentially. If I were to say there’s an overarching theme to this album, it would be that you can find joy in every situation, no matter how bleak it is. And finding that joy is worthwhile in and of itself, no matter how hard it seems, or how hard it is. Life is worth living, shortly. And ‘Victim’ is one of the songs where it most paints a picture that is very bleak, but finds a sort of ray of light in the middle of it.

After Matt remarks on finding different “flavors” (or “flavours,” as he puts it) of joy, I ask about the contrast of the bright, orange cover from The Saberlight Chronicles, and whether the darker, purple cover of The Skies Above Eternity was an intentional choice to help fit its more dour lyrical tone.

Callum: “There are a couple of things I wanted on this cover. I wanted… I wanted a…”

Cal pauses in search of the right words.

Matt: “Can you tell these were long conversations?”

Callum: “I wanted a cool looking castle, in the background -”

Matt: “He’s obsessed with the castle!”

Callum: “In the background! I also wanted purple – it suits the sound. I don’t really know why, I just feel like it suits the sound.”

Matt: “He’s not actually synesthetic, but Cal has so much color association. He’ll make a song and I’ll have a first pass, lyrically. Often, we end up in a conversation – I think it happened two or three times on this album – where something was close to the vibe, but it didn’t quite match what was in Cal’s head. And pretty much every time, he says “this song is blue,” or “this song is purple,” and that actually really helps me in terms of finding that vibe. The album art was very much a reflection of that. We actually had two passes of the album art this time, so if you buy the vinyl, you’ll see an early attempt at sort of finding the right vibe on the inner sleeve.”

Callum: “I just absolutely love this album art. To me, everything matches.”

Matt: “Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s amazing, Péter Sallai’s work.”

Callum: “Going back to the question, though, you obviously had ideas for the album art as well.”

Matt: “Yeah. There is a story behind every Fellowship album, and I’m hoping that I will find the time that there always will be. I obviously want the songs to stand on their own. But if we can have little bits of the lyrics which find their way into the creation of the front cover, and we combine that with the vibe that Cal can create with the music – which is very purple on this album! – we get that. You’ve got this really cool magic star thing being shattered by a warrior. It’s very evocative of a ‘battling against something difficult in a wasteland’ kind of emotion. We’re really excited, it’s really cool.”

I agree with Matt and Cal that the art is fantastic – to the point where I had bought a shirt featuring the album’s artwork the day before, without having heard a single note of it. As Matt touched on the story for the new album’s concept, I ask if there would be any extra media materials accompanying the record, such as the novella Matt wrote to accompany The Saberlight Chronicles.

Matt: ”There will be a novella for every album that we do. I am committed to saying that. I really mostly say that just to make me do it. But yeah, there is a novella coming for this album. It’s going to be very, very different from the first one. The band hasn’t read it yet, because it’s not finished yet, but… it will be! As soon as I can, I’m finishing it. It’s pretty much done.

“Everything in Fellowship… firstly, it is worth saying that all of the story stuff is very consciously in the background. The origin of the novella is as a writing tool, to keep album one lyrically fresh, and it just sprawled into a novella. I love that idea, so now we’re doing it every time. Everything exists in the same universe, where the characters of Fellowship are represented in the prologue and epilogue of every book as storytellers. Each album is then a story that we tell, which will have unique characters, and will have unique ideas. And the bookends are the tale of the Fellowship itself, which is a set of immortal storytellers, cursed to tell every story from history, that they experience whenever they are asked.”

I had planned at this point to ask Brad Wosko, the band’s lead guitarist, about the challenges that come with adapting the guitar parts of former lead guitarist Sam Browne (who is still a studio member, but no longer performs live) to his own playstyle. It says a lot about how in sync the members of Fellowship are that Matt is able to provide a detailed answer on Brad’s behalf.

Matt: “Firstly, huge props to Brad, he’s worked so hard over the last couple of years.”

EE: “I could tell.”

I’m referring here to Brad’s performance at Mad With Power, where he played most of the solos with incredible accuracy, in relation to how Sam Browne recorded them on The Saberlight Chronicles.

Matt: ”Nowadays, Brad is our lead guitarist, for sure. In the studio, Sam plays the lead on his songs, and Brad plays the lead on all of Cal’s songs. That’s the division. A lot of the shapes that Sam chose to play for album one, because they suit his fingers, don’t suit the way Brad plays, so he’s had to move things around a lot. And some things are really awkward for him, whereas they were okay for Sam. And some things that were awkward for Sam are really fine for Brad. One of the things he’s talked about specifically was the solo for “Saint Beyond the River,” which was the song that I wrote. I’m not a guitarist, and the solo that I got Sam to play was, note for note, what I wrote. And when Sam did it, he said “You’ve not written a possible part, this is the closest I can get.” And that’s because the shapes just weren’t what Sam is used to, it’s not how Sam plays. But weirdly enough, it is exactly how Brad plays. That was one of the solos that he took like a duck to water. So stylistically they’re very different, and Brad has had to adapt to a lot of those shapes on the guitar.”

To follow up, I ask whether Brad’s taking of the lead guitarist role had any impact on the writing of the new record, as it sounds like that might be the case.

Callum: “Actually, it hasn’t. We knew long ago that Sam wasn’t playing with us live, before we’d begun writing album two. I wrote the solos for my songs for most of album one, and that’s kind of applied to album two. I haven’t really changed anything.”

Matt: “There are little bits and ideas that Brad has contributed.”

Callum: “Yeah, he has. There’s a few little bits he’s added, but the majority, 90%, is the same sort of thing I was doing before. I just gotta write what sounds good to me.”

I had also intended to ask the band’s new bassist, Ed Munson, about the role he played in shaping The Skies Above Eternity. From my perspective, Ed’s energetic stage presence bolsters the Fellowship ethos of joy and camaraderie, so I go ahead with asking Matt and Callum about the ways in which he had impacted the band’s compositional and studio practices.

Matt: “I don’t think we can actually answer this question.”

EE: “Okay.”

Callum: “I can say something. It’s a similar thing to Brad’s solos; he’d get the songs, and he has added his own parts. There are things that I, not being a bass player, would not know. So he would add slides and these little intricacies across the songs, which I wouldn’t even think to do.”

Matt: “They give the songs life, y’know. More life.”

Callum: “Yeah, for sure. I think he has, especially with the songs I’ve written, one hundred percent improved them with small, little bits. Any small improvement is a good thing.”

Matt: “There’s also just the fact that Ed is a joyous human to be around. He’s such a friendly guy. Most of the time, it’s just sort of me and Cal in the studio, we do a lot of that stuff together, as a symbiotic pair. But he’s just so happy and fun that it makes being in a band easy a lot of the time. I think that does probably have some effect on the music. Where I can’t tell you.”

At this point, I ask Matt and Cal if they can speak for a moment on their experience working with the late Phillipe Giordana of the French power metal band Fairyland, a band I’ve been listening to for as long as I’ve been a fan of the genre. Giordana passed away in 2022, after having contributed keyboards to “The Frozen Land,” the Japanese bonus track from The Saberlight Chronicles.

Callum: “He… yeah, he was such a friendly guy. We were a new band in the scene, and he stumbled upon us from ‘Glint’, from our EP. And he would just be messaging us all the time, even at 2 AM, just to have a conversation about anything.”

Matt: “He was the first person who was in power metal proper to really believe in us, other than Lynd¹, who you sort of knew beforehand.”

Callum: “Yeah.”

Matt: “And that enthusiasm is so infectious. And he was so kind and lovely, and one of the first things he ever said to us was ‘If you ever need a keyboard player, I would be beyond honored to do something.’ We’d written the entire album at this point, and then we realized we needed a Japanese bonus track. We didn’t know this beforehand. We wrote the Japanese bonus track, and we said ‘we gotta have Phil on it.’

Callum: “He just wanted to collaborate so badly, and we said “this is the perfect song,” with the dueling solos between him and Sam.

Matt: “We gave him the song, and he got so excited. I get really emotional talking about that, because… Yeah, he was just, I’ve never seen… We didn’t speak to him in person or anything, but he was so excited, like a child in a candy shop kind of excitement. And he blew it out of the park, and he kept talking about it afterwards, the year on.”

Matt and Cal’s memories of Phil are genuinely touching, but I steer our chat back to lighter topics, as the last thing I want is to cast a rain cloud over the day of two musicians who I massively respect. I ask them whether there are any guest collaborators on the new record.

Matt: “No, I don’t think so.”

Callum: “No, there actually isn’t.”

EE: “Okay.”

Callum: “It wasn’t a thing where we said ‘we don’t want any guests.’ I guess we…”

Matt: “I think this album kind of – stop me if I’m going off-patch – but for me I felt like this album needed to be a statement from us, in a way, where album one did really well and came out of nowhere. I think we very much wanted to prove something with album two.”

EE: “That it’s not a fluke?”

Matt: “It’s not a fluke, absolutely. And I think that just made us dive into ourselves, as it were.”

Callum: “You mean, don’t rely on someone else to prop ourselves up.”

Matt: “Yeah, exactly.”

On that note, I ask Matt and Cal whether they had a wishlist of musicians they would like to collaborate with, encouraging them to dream big.

Callum: “I would love for Lynd to do a solo on a song, from… well, ex-Twilight Force. Syu from Galneryus would be awesome. We were in contact with Herman Li² for a little bit, a few years back. We haven’t heard from him in a while, but that would be awesome.”

EE: “He left a comment on your original music video, I remember that.”

Matt: “Yeah! He watched it on stream, we were honored. It was so cool.”

Callum: “I’ve said three, Matt.”

Matt: “Yeah, I think from my perspective, there’s a load of vocalists who I would love to work with, who would add something – maybe like a character or something on a future album, who I think would just mesh really well with my voice. I would probably go a little bit outside of power metal to find some of those voices. So, I’m not sure it’s ever happening, but someone like Maisie Peters, who’s a… real shot in the dark, off the wall. I just really like her voice. Moron Police are my favorite band of all time, so I’d love to work with their vocalist, who’s also an incredible guitar player, by the way. And then within power metal, I’m super good friends with Sozos Michael, so I think that’s the one. If anything’s going to happen, it would be with him. I’m doing stuff with him on Eons Enthroned, and I would just love to have him on a record sometime.”

EE: “Gotcha. Is there…”

Matt: “And Cal has no idea who the first two people are.”

Callum: “No, not a clue!”

Continuing the topic of dream collaborations, I ask Matt and Cal whether there are any artists who they would love to tour with someday.

Matt: “It’s really typical to say DragonForce… It’s not because they’re huge, but because we’ve spoken to Herman. He seems super chill, and he’s been really supportive of us, and it would just be nice to actually support him – like, literally support him in return, and do what we can. That would be really cool.”

Callum: “A band that’s recently started touring the world – which is awesome, I love it, because it doesn’t usually happen with Japanese bands – Lovebites. That would be awesome to do, because I’m quite a big fan of them. They’re a bit more on the thrash-y side with some of their stuff, but you don’t really see Japanese bands coming out to tour the world. But they’re doing well, and that would be great.”

Matt: “That would be such a fun concert, I think.”

To get a bit more granular with a subject they had briefly touched on already, I ask Matt and Cal how they balanced challenging themselves creatively with The Skies Above Eternity, while still delivering more of what people love about Fellowship’s first album.

Callum: “I always challenge myself by, for example, when I was talking about the Japanese style of music – not necessarily even power metal, as I said, with bands like YOASOBI – trying to incorporate that sort of sound into power metal, where it hasn’t necessarily been done. Some Japanese power metal bands, like Galneryus, obviously, already do that. But outside of Japan, you don’t really hear that sort of thing. Once again, with ‘Hold Up Your Hearts (Again),’ there’s a lot of harmonic aspects in that which were a bit experimental, but I think it’s worked out.”

Matt: “The pre-chorus harmonies that you wrote, they’re really cool and different.”

Callum: “I mean, the whole thing, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in there.”

Matt: “I just have a really long list of cool words I want to use on my phone.”

The three of us burst into laughter at this – Matt being the first to laugh, in self-deprecating fashion.

Matt: “I think I’ve said this a bunch of times in different interviews, but for me, the thing that is most important when I approach a song, is marrying the narrative and lyrical content to the music. It’s very much about how the music is the core of everything, and everything I do is a reaction to that, so that it meshes, it flows, it works together. And this means that the first thing I do, before I’ve started any words for a song, is think about how that song thematically evolves, just purely musically. And I think that sort of keeps things fresh. Because as long as the music is evolving, then I will evolve with that music. And I think Cal, in that sense, pushes me a lot…”

Callum: “Yeah.”

Matt: “… to come up with new things and interesting ideas.”

Callum: “I’m always coming across new artists that I like, and as I said, it’s just trying to take some ideas from what they might use, which you don’t typically hear in power metal, and trying to fit it into power metal.”

EE: “Yeah, inspiration can come from anywhere. I mean, what is power metal if not just metal with more pop in it?”

Matt and Callum: “Yeah!”

EE: “I almost didn’t ask this question… but I’m going to, just for fun.”

Callum: “Go.”

During the previous night’s show, while Fellowship were three songs deep into their set, Matt made an unfortunate flub when he addressed the crowd as “Michigan,” rather than “Madison.” He immediately caught and corrected his error, and proffered an apology to the audience after the song had ended, claiming that he had failed out of geography in school. I decided to offer Matt an opportunity to redeem himself while having a little fun in the process.

EE: “Matt, did you really fail out of geography?”

Matt: “Uh, I… I didn’t actually get an F, but I got such low grades consistently that my teacher disliked me, to the point where she actually said in a class that she would not accept me taking geography at a GCSE³ level. That is not something that teachers are supposed to or allowed to do! I really annoyed my geography teacher, because I just… it was not my bag. Was not my bag. So no, I did, genuinely. I grew up thinking that Dover was North of where I live, and Dover is literally the lowest part of England, so…”

Callum: “Is this why you’ve learned so much about American states now? We were coming here, so you just learned…”

Matt: “Yeah, yeah, it is. I don’t know which one I’m in, but I know enough about them.”

Callum: “Okay, Mister Michigan.”

Matt lets out an exaggerated wail of social anguish at Cal’s jab.

EE: “I was talking with Angry Metal Guy after your set – who I think you met yesterday – and he said ‘I feel so bad for Matt, because Matt’s probably going to be thinking about that once a week forever.’”

Matt: “Yeah, yeah. There is literally a Simpsons joke about somebody doing that, and… grr. I can’t get over that one.”

EE: “From the perspective of an audience member, and all the people who were around me, everyone just thought it was super funny and a very honest mistake, and no one thought anything of it.”

Matt: “I’m really, I’m really… really glad. If I made that mistake in England, I would probably be booed off stage.”

With a band-aid slapped on Matt’s wounded pride, I proceed to wrap up our chat in an unpredictable, innovative fashion: By asking about Fellowship’s plans for the foreseeable future.

Matt: “So, we have a couple shows booked later this year. We’re doing another sort of mini-tour in the U.K., and we’re headlining this time, which should be super fun. We’re playing Edinborough… and two other places which I could look up, but are not in my brain right now. I want to say Manchester and London.”

Callum: “Yeah, that’s correct.”

Matt: “Yeah, it is Manchester and London.”

Callum: “We’ve got two German festivals.”

Matt: “Just after Christmas?”

Callum: “Yeah.”

Matt: “And then we’re playing Epic Fest next year, which we have been re-booked for. Which is such a cool thing for us, because we played there this year, and we were on such a small stage that a lot of people were disappointed they couldn’t see us. So they’ve booked us again for next year on a bigger one! Which is really, really cool, and just validating for us, I think.”

Callum: “We also have… I’ve started, I’ve got ideas already for album three.”

Matt: “Oh, don’t promise that so soon, Cal!”

Callum: “There’s ideas in the bank, there’s some ideas already. They’re not finished, but the base stuff is there.”

Matt: “We’re gonna start getting the “When’s album three” cries before we’ve even dropped album two!”

With that, I thanked Matt and Callum for their time before being given the friendliest handshakes I’ve ever received. If you’d like to hear an utterly wholesome and genuine power metal record that combines elements of Galneryus, YOASOBI, and ABBA, you can catch The Skies Above Eternity, releasing on Scarlet Records on Friday, November 22nd. Fellowship’s third album will follow shortly thereafter. Cal promised.

The post Interview with Fellowship’s Matthew Corry and Callum Tuffen appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

One gloomy evening in early April, I sat down for a Zoom call with German black metal machine, Noise, the mysterious creative mind behind Kanonenfieber, Leiþa and Non Est Deus. As something of a fanboy—Kanonenfieber’s outstanding

And what, you ask, did I learn from an hour or so chatting with Noise? Well, certainly not his real name. I did confirm that he is, indeed, German and originally from Bamberg, though no longer lives there. Where he lives now … no idea. I still don’t know what he looks like as I was, of course, greeted on Zoom by a black screen that stayed resolutely blank throughout our chat. I know he used to have a day job (as what, I couldn’t tell you) but now he doesn’t and makes music full time. When he plays live as Kanonenfieber, he has a band, obviously, and he has known some of them a long time, some for a shorter time but I don’t know who they are. I learned that he in fact released at least five albums before he adopted the “Noise” moniker for Non Est Deus’ 2018 debut, The Last Supper, but I can’t tell you anything about those earlier records (other than Noise’s summary, that they’re “not that bad”), nor where you might be able to listen to them. Seriously, this guy really—I mean, really—values his privacy.

But he has his reasons, which we discussed. We also talked about the pressure Noise feels writing the next Kanonenfieber, coming off the success of the incredible Menschenmühle, as well his collaboration with the late, great Trevor Strnad. We talked about Nazis, sexual abuse committed by the Church, as well as the new Non Est Deus—Legacy is out on May 12th on Noisebringer Records—and what would have happened if you stripped the Holy Spirit out of the Old Testament. I learned that we can expect a new Kanonenfieber EP and live album this year but will have to wait until 2024 for the next LP. We also talked about the recent Noisebringer Fest and whether we’ll see other bands on Noisebringer Records any time soon, as well as about producing your own records and whether Noise gives a shit about reviews. Oh, and I got a few record recs.

So, here is my conversation with Noise.

“The Nameless Soldier”

Greeted by that unflinchingly black Zoom screen, I start by asking why Noise places such a high value on his anonymity. For him, it’s the “nameless soldier thing, you know? I want to create that because I don’t want to give the music a face. It’s like Cannibal Corpse, you listen to Cannibal Corpse and you always have in mind an image of Corpsegrinder screaming into his mic.” Noise wants people to see the music, not have a mental image of his face as they hear him scream.

Hailing from the small Bavarian town of Bamberg—much better known as the home of the delicious smoked beer Schlenkerla¹ than as a hotbed of metal—Noise was 11 or so when he set out on the path to becoming, well, Noise. An older friend, who he “was a little scared of at first,” introduced him to the likes of Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and Finntroll, and the rest, as they say, is history. For Baby Noise, it was “straight into black metal, the underground brutal shit from the local scene”.

As for actually playing metal, although his mother offered him the chance for piano lessons when he was about 4, Noise points first to his uncle, who bought him a drum kit aged 14 or so. “That was when it all started,” he says, “I built the kit in my room and played drums all day, dawn till dusk”. When a band at school needed a bassist, adolescent Noise bought himself a bass and learned to play that too. Scroll forward another six months, and it was time to buy a guitar, “a flying-V, Alexi Laiho-style, cheap metal guitar”. After that, all he did “for the next three or four years was play drums, bass and guitar every freaking day … for hours, that was all I did outside of school.”

And that first band, was it a precursor to his projects today, I ask. “No, it was Rammstein covers band,” he says wryly. A guilty pleasure for me, as I have disclosed in my AMG bio, Noise agrees: “come on, everyone likes Rammstein in some way, just no one wants to say it out loud.”

So how did we go from Rammstein covers to where we are today? I had been laboring under the impression that 2018’s The Last Supper by Non Est Deus was the first album Noise released, so I am surprised to learn that The Last Supper was simply the first LP he released anonymously, as Noise. There were five albums that he put out in the years before that. When I ask if anyone can actually get hold of those earlier albums, Noise replies rather cryptically, “well, I mean, they are out there.” I expect him to tell me he wants to keep it that way because they were not up to his current standards but instead he says, “they’re not that bad to be honest. I mean, I don’t like listening to my own music but my first real output a few years back, when I released like three albums, it was OK … if they were anonymous, I would put them out on Noisebringer because I’m still kinda proud of them.” That said, “recording those records today, it would be a totally different approach to writing them but they’re a part of me, right?”

“The trenches just terrified me”

Turning to his current projects, I want to understand what inspired Noise to write about the Great War for Kanonenfieber: “Living in Germany, World War II is everywhere and the Great War is totally forgotten. History class at school doesn’t talk about it” but, for Noise, “the idea of World War I is way more terrifying. Being trapped in the trenches, living in the mud, the sickness and … you know, World War II was awful for the mass murder but the trenches just terrified me.” Originally, in 2016, he envisaged it sounding something like Dying Fetus but the idea was soon forgotten amid his other projects and only resurfaced years later, sitting with a friend called Dani B., who’s written about the Great War and was into old school death metal, the likes of Kreator, Morbid Angel and Hail of Bullets. Together, they plotted what would become Kanonenfieber because, when it comes to the topics those other bands write about, Noise says, “we always felt they somehow glorified this stuff, you know? You look at, like, Marduk, Endstille or even Sabaton, war is presented as something majestic and glorious … almost celebrating the topic.”

As Noise and Dani sat there, they envisaged something different, “something authentic, showing the horrific side of war, teaching about the terror and sadness of real war.” So they drew on original source materials for the lyrics, using “letters from the front, those deep, sad letters back home from men crying and yearning for their children and their families, their homes, as they died in the mud.”

This all makes perfect sense to me and was how I understood Menschenmühle from the first but then, I have read a lot about 20th-century history, particularly 1910 to 1990 or so, and I am also a German speaker. I wonder though, given all the associations of black metal with fascism—that vein of NSBM in black metal that most of us try our absolute hardest to avoid—did Noise worry about the potential for blowback as a German, releasing a German-language record about war? There’s a long pause, then Noise says he needs to “take a step back. Initially, no, that never bothered me because I didn’t really think anyone would even listen to the music. I thought I’d make, like, 300 CDs and sell them over five years, like usual, and that would be that. Fine. OK.”

But it quickly became apparent that Kanonenfieber was different and it hit Noise “like a hammer to the face” because almost overnight “everyone was saying ‘this guy’s a Nazi, he’s singing about defending the Fatherland’, even though I’ve said over and over, in interviews, wherever, there is nothing right-wing about this. It’s just historically accurate, authentic and correct lyrics set to blackened death metal. Most of the time people get this.” Noise sighs deeply, “I mean, if you’re a little bit aware of your history, you know that fascism started with Mussolini in the 1920s, there was no national socialism during the Great War, you just can’t relate that to NSBM.” Noise isn’t trying to deny the obvious historical path from World War I to II but “how far back do you want to take it, dude? Bismarck, Napoleon … ?”

“This guy’s a fucking legend”

Leaving one difficult topic for another, I turn to Noise’s collaboration with the late Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder) on “The Yankee Division March”. I don’t know what I was hoping for here but Noise tells me “it was pretty simple actually … Trevor was just strolling about on my social media and posted some skulls under a picture of mine, and I messaged him back, you know, saying he’d made my day because I’d been a fucking huge fan since I was like 14 or whatever. He told me he’d already ordered a CD and a shirt … I was like, ‘what the hell?’ but there it was on my Bandcamp: Trevor Strnad, New York, his address, we’d already shipped it … I was just amazed!” A few months later Noise was toying with an idea for a song, half in English and half in German, taking two opposing reports from a battle at Saint-Mihiel in 1918. Then Noise’s friend, Dani suggested asking Strnad to sing the American part and “I was like, ‘no way, this guy’s a fucking legend, how can I just ask him to do this?!’” But Noise was talked into it and, after sending the message, got a reply from Strnad within about 20 seconds just saying “I’m in.” That was it. Noise sent him the music and the lyrics, and about two weeks later, Strnad sent him the vocals.

“For my part,” says Noise, “I’m pretty sure it was the last thing Trevor recorded. There was another LP that came out later² but it was recorded way earlier … I released “The Yankee Division March” like two weeks after I got the vocals back and very soon after, he sadly, sadly passed away.”

“I’ve written the album four times over”

As for when we’ll get the next full-length Kanonenfieber, well, Noise says he is “having some struggles with it. I’ve written like 50 songs for it, guitars parts, structures but no lyrics and … I don’t know, I’ve written the album four times over now but somehow, I just don’t like any of it.” It’s clear this is a first for Noise, someone who usually writes albums very fast. It’s also clear that he is feeling “a lot of pressure on this next album, there’s a lot of expectations. Then Der Füsilier also did very well, and that hasn’t helped!” Noise doesn’t think that he’s going to finish that record this year but he expects to be out on the road some more (even hinting he might make it to the soggy, failed state of an island, just off the coast of France, that I live on) and also has another EP and a live album (coming pretty soon!) in the works.

By contrast, when Noise writes for Non Est Deus, there’s no pressure and “no expectations. I just write it, I don’t overthink it. There it is, take it or leave it.” Although Leiþa is a very different project again, it’s the same story when it comes to writing those albums. That shows, says Noise, “if you compare the two Leiþa records, Sisyphus and Reue, they are like two different bands, you know? I just write it, let it out. It’s cathartic. But I just can’t do that with Kanonenfieber because people now have expectations for the sound, what’s happening.” Clearly more conscious of this than he’d like to be, Noise goes on that now, in trying to satisfy people’s expectations, he’s got inside his own head in a different way and “now I’m scared that I’m just going to repeat myself and write “Grabenlieder 2.0”, “Die Schlacht bei Tannenberg 2.0”, you know?”

While I can think of plenty of things worse than getting “Grabenlieder 2.0,” I see where he’s coming from. Whenever an album hits me like Menschenmühle did, I’m always torn on what I want from the follow up, more of the same, incredible quality, or for the band to take some risks, avoid repeating itself and see what happens.

“Fighting inner demons”

A very different project from Kanonenfieber, for Noise, Leiþa is about “fighting inner demons, you know? It’s a cathartic project to me. That second album, Reue, was a lot more direct, a lot more honest and open than the last album.” Of that first record, Sisyphus, Noise draws the surprising comparison to everyone’s favorite guilty German pleasure: “that was more the Rammstein approach, you know, writing lyrics that people maybe don’t understand but you yourself know what it means. Reue is a lot more personal.” It sees Noise dealing with, and drawing on, not only his own past but also that of his friends and family, where he slips “into character sometimes because someone I know had these feelings or these experiences and I try to speak for them, give them a voice.” As for what that first track on Reue, “1.9.2015,” is about, Noise doesn’t want to be drawn: “It was a really deep and sad subject for me and … yeah, I’ve said my piece on the album, let’s leave it there.”

And Noise certainly did say his piece on the album. Looking back at my review of Reue, which I gave a 3.5/5.0—or a ‘very good’, if you prefer our word scale—I am pretty sure I underrated it. In fact, Angry Metal Guy, in awarding Reue Record of the Month for January 2023, was clear that I’d underrated it (not an accusation he’s ever leveled at my reviews before), saying Leiþa had “wrought a masterful platter of great (4.0)—potentially even excellent (4.5)—black metal that deftly balances the genre’s past and present.”

While he says he was honored by this, I wonder does Noise really care? Does he take note of reviews, critiques, fan responses? “I would love to say I don’t follow it all but, honestly, I read every review, I’m interested in every comment on the videos and what people think … I read everything. I try not to then think about it when I’m writing the music, you know, but that’s the problem of social media, you kind of get dumped into the middle of everything.”

“I guess you can call it disgust”

If the Great War inspired in Noise the horror to make Kanonenfieber, what is it about religion that drives him to write Non Est Deus – maybe hate, I wonder? “I guess you can call it disgust,” says Noise. “I’m a fan of history, mainly modern history but also going back to the Middle Ages and the Church over that period has had such value, such power in society and they did so much …” There’s pause as Noise searches for the right words: “cruel bullshit,” he almost spits. And even with all the scandals about pedophilia, sexual abuse and rape of children by Catholic priests, “the Church still continues to have that power … no company on the planet could have done what the Church has done and still have a voice, still talk to people, still influence society as it does.”

Although Noise has his camera off, I picture him shaking his head at this point, as his tone softens slightly and he says, “so, yeah, I guess that’s where all the disgust built up because there’s so much fucking wrong on this planet and most of the problems are caused by religion.” Noise is clear that he’s an atheist and Non Est Deus is an expression of his fear of the pure power that organized religion wields: “It’s not anti-Christ, nor is it satanism, it’s anti-fucking-religion”, a phrase he emphasizes every word of, giving each a very hard edge. “All these inverted crosses and all this stuff that happened back in Norway or whatever, that was just a stage act.”

The new Non Est Deus, Legacy, which is out on May 12th (on Noisebringer, of course), offers a re-imagining of various tales from the Old Testament. “Basically,” says Noise, “I took some of those stories and turned them around. You know, you have all these problematic topics, like in the tale of Lot, where two angels arrive in Sodom and Lot takes them in. Then, when an angry mob arrives demanding Lot turn over his guests, instead he offers them his two daughters but the angels stop the mob from taking them … well, in my version, I take out the holy spirit or whatever, and imagine what would really have happened, so Lot’s daughters are raped and then murdered by the mob.” So, basically, on Legacy, “everything goes to shit … it’s the story of our legacy, our religion and what came with it.”

“That would be my dream”

Even allowing for the speed at which Noise often works, this guy puts out a lot of music. By my count, since 2018, he has put out six full-length records, plus a handful of EPs, with the new Non Est Deus about to drop and the second Kanonenfieber in the works, plus another EP and a live album. Where does he find the time, alongside holding down a day job? “Well,” says Noise, sounding slightly gleeful, “I used to have a day job but since summer last year, finally, finally … I’m a full-time musician and that’s just what I do now.” What did he use to do, then? “That’s something I’d rather keep for myself,” he says.

Alongside turning out a lot of very high-quality black metal, Noise also manages his label, Noisebringer Records. Thus far, it’s been a vehicle for his projects alone. “At the moment, we don’t have the capacity to do more than that, there’s only three people working at the label doing everything from shipping, marketing, management, website and stuff,” he says. “As everything’s progressing though and my projects get a little bigger, there will come a time where I won’t keep saying ‘no’ to other bands.” So other bands have shown an interest in joining Noisebringer then? “Oh yeah,” says Noise, “some good friends of mine from pretty well-known bands asked about it, mainly because I’m very open about how much things cost and how much money I’m making, you know, complete transparency.” A lot of labels, Noise suggests, just aren’t that honest with their bands and he would “love to set up Noisebringer as an artist-friendly, very honest label that pays musicians in the right way. That would be my dream but it’s probably still a way off.”

Although perhaps organizing events like Noisebringer Fest, which took place in Bamberg over two days in March, suggests that the dream isn’t as far off as Noise believes. The line-up for that two-day festival, featuring the likes of Belphegor, Grima, Hideous Divinity and Kampfar (as well as Noise himself, in his Kanonenfieber guise), shows he already has a fair amount of influence. “It was really crazy actually, both days of the festival sold out completely and suddenly I had these bands I’ve admired for years sitting in my backstage, drinking my local beer, you know, that’s a pretty amazing experience.”

For anyone who’s not been to the north Bavarian town of Bamberg, it’s not the first place you would look for a black metal festival but “everyone was amazed how kind all these dark metalheads were, as well as how much they could drink … the venue had to keep hauling in more and more barrels of beer because they drank the place dry. The owners of the venue had no idea what was about to happen to them and they were terrified as people started to arrive but by the end everyone was super happy! It was all just perfect.”

Although writing and making the music is a solo pursuit for Noise, going on the road as Kanonenfieber, as he did for 15 straight nights in March, Noise has to draft in support: “Otherwise, what, it’s just like me with a guitar in hand, drums on my back, a monkey on my shoulder and a pig running around behind me, or what?” Having clearly amused himself, Noise giggles for a moment before turning serious again. His live band is made up of really close friends, some going back a very long way. The rhythm guitarist he’s known since they were kids and together they started Noise’s first extreme band. The Kanonenfieber bassist played in that band too, while the lead guitarist is one of his best friends. Even the drummer, a more recent addition whom Noise has only known a few years, has fitted in well and “the chemistry is perfect, it feels like just friends hanging out, having fun.”

“I just pay for the electricity”

One of the things that sets apart Noise’s projects from many other black metal outfits is the production, which is pretty much flawless. Handling both this and the mastering himself, Noise is, I discover, completely self-taught in this field too. During an illness a few years ago that left Noise bedridden for six months, he just had his laptop for company. “So,” he says, “for a half a year straight, I just tried to figure out how to make music sound good and after that, I still sucked at it but got less and less shitty from LP to LP.” Because Noise does everything himself, from writing and recording to producing, and all on his own label, he doesn’t face some of the pressures other bands do. “Nikita Kamprad from Der Weg Einer Freiheit,” he says, “you know he’s a great, great producer and he’s mastered some of my work before but that guy mixes a song in like two days! As I’m an amateur, it takes like four weeks for me. I am very slow, as I look at every detail, take a lot of references from bands or albums that I like, and try to match it in places. I might mix an album 20 times or something before I am satisfied enough to release it.” As a fully-DIY musician, “I just pay for the electricity … everything else is just my time. But I invest a lot of that. Otherwise, I would just sit around and watch Netflix, and my wife would kill me.”

I wrap up the interview on a selfish note by fishing for recommendations of recent releases that I should check out. Noise reaches for his phone—at least he tells me does, obviously I cannot see him—“I’m terrible with names,” he says. I am not disappointed as he reels off a number of records for me to check out, some I know already, many I don’t, including Antrisch’s EXPEDITION II: Die Passage, Dust by Thron and Hunter by End, which are the picks of the bunch for me (plus the likes of the excellent Afsky, which is already well-known to the denizens that lurk on this blog).

I spent an hour and change chatting to Noise, and although, in one sense, I don’t know much more about him than before—at least not in terms of hard facts—I do have more of a sense of him as a person. He is a thoughtful and relaxed guy, with a wry sense of humor, who is just loving the fact that he can now focus exclusively on doing what he loves: making music. That, in turn, makes me even more excited to see where he goes next and I won’t have to wait long because, as soon as I finish writing up this interview, I need to turn to reviewing Non Est Deus’ Legacy.

Noise is on the road across Europe with Kanonenfieber from May to August this year, with further dates to be announced. For more information and tickets, visit Noisebringer Records.

The post Interview with: Noise of Kanonenfieber, Leiþa and Non Est Deus appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

On a video call from Tucson, with her playful dog Kansas and a huge Visigoth poster in the background, Alicia Cordisco filled me in on what she’s been up to. A prolific metal guitarist and occasionally, singer, with plenty to say, she’s a joy to interview, speaking extemporaneously on her community within the metal scene, the joys of Manilla Road (“they’re the greatest band ever and I will accept no other option”), and the challenges of coming out and of living as a trans woman. We covered too much ground over an hour to fully reproduce here (and my questions were embarrassingly inarticulate), so the interview below is mostly in Alicia’s own words, pulled from our conversation and then lightly edited for clarity and flow. I’ll let her introduce herself.

“I’m a 32 year old transgender woman and I’ve been playing heavy metal… oh goodness… 20 years now. I started playing thrash and punk when I was a little kid – 13 years old. Probably my best known work is with a power metal band called Judicator that I was in for almost a decade. I started in my early 20s and released 5 records, the most recent of which was on Prosthetic. I did end up leaving that band slightly over 2 years ago and these days I’m doing at least 3 projects right now. I’m in a funeral doom band called Wraithstorm, a very angry, very, hah, very queer thrash band called Transgressive. Probably the most high-profile of the three right now is called Project: Roenwolfe, a band I actually started before I was in Judicator but was broken up for a long time and recently reformed.”

Power metal is Alicia’s bread and butter, and she was drawn to it from a young age, drawn by both the music and the sense that people who loved metal would accept her.

“There’s a reason that so many women, so many queer people, so many of different groups of marginalized people are drawn to metal. I like to think of heavy metal as a subculture that very much embraces the DIY perspective of being a lower-class musician. We don’t have the fancy tools of rich millionaire musicians. People just went out there and made DIY labels and fucking hand-drew flyers and copied tapes and did what they had to do and it was rooted very much in punk. But there’s a reason that that sense of being othered by mainstream society reflects that sense of being accepted in metal, and for me, that was what initially drew me to the genre. I always felt that there was this sense of wrongness in how I was in the world. For a long time I blew it off as pomp and ego – which I guess it is to a point – but there was more to it – my queerness. And those messages and that kind of ‘ragtag group of outcasts that will accept you’ mentality really appealed to that part of me.

It was disappointing to get older and find that some of that sentiment was false. Some of it was just people play-acting, some of it was to sell records, a lot of it is to chase clout. But a lot of it is genuine. Especially on the more underground level, a lot of it is genuine. And for me pre-figuring my queerness out, music, and particularly heavy metal music, was the language I used to speak to the part of me that I didn’t know how to explain yet.”

“The thing that really appealed to me in power metal was the escapism,” says Alicia, “And it’s the same reason I like fantasy. Because yes, it may not be directly political or directly allegorical, but the cool thing about power metal is that it explores those themes of being in a situation or world or society where there is some kind of evil or corrupted power that feels unconquerable or all-encompassing, and it gives you a safe place to explore what it would be like to overcome that. I really love that empowerment because it’s often not true in the real world. We often feel, or at least I often feel, hopeless as an individual. I sometimes feel there’s nothing I can do and what I do doesn’t matter. But the cool thing about power metal is, even in non-specific messages. Even if I’m listening to Dragonforce or something, which is really vague in what it’s talking about. It hits on those themes in such an easily consumed way that it’s just very empowering and pleasant to listen to; it’s motivational. It’s a pick me up, honestly. It’s a way to explore those things in a way that makes you feel better. It’s like the audio equivalent of watching Lord of the Rings or reading Lord of the Rings. That sense of “we can do the thing and little, insignificant people matter, too.”

When asked about her musical influences, Alicia goes straight after the AMG favorites; “If we just talk to my tastes,” she says, “my current favorite band is Manilla Road and they’re the greatest band ever and I will accept no other option. You know, I heard of them a long time ago but they never really clicked for me until a couple of years ago but once I really got into it and I was like ‘Oh, these 17 albums plus the 2 Hell Well albums plus Mark’s solo album, this is the greatest discovery I have ever heard. Please inject this into my veins every single day.’” In the same vein of pandering to AMG management, Alicia Outed herself as a huge Opeth fan – perhaps unsurprising for listeners of Project: Roenwolfe.

“I found them as a wee little babe: around when damnation came out. I’ve just always appreciated Mikael Åkerfeldt’s chord theory and the way he can construct layers and compose songs, too, and keep them interesting. Definitely a huge, huge influence for me.”

As if that weren’t a compelling enough endorsement of her refined tastes, Alicia traces her aggressive riffing style back to Danish thrashers Artillery.

“The number one influence on my playing is a record I have hanging right there in front of me, and that’s By Inheritance by Artillery. I worship at the feet of By Inheritance. That is my fucking Bible. I love all other Artillery too, but that album changed my entire outlook on guitar playing, from how just completely off the wall the rhythm playing is to the melodic construction of all the riffs, all the counterpoint in it and how the melodies interact, and then the insane vocals on top of it. That definitely runs through Project: Roenwolfe the most. All the tight picking interlaced with the little, you know, legato leads and things like that in my playing, that’s like 100% just me really liking By Inheritance.”

When I ask her about her current thrash band, Transgressive, with former Judicator Guitarist Josh Payne and Leona Hayward of Skelator and Northern Crown, Alicia smiles.

“We’re a bunch of commie trans women” she says, “And we want music that is made by and for that crowd and also related crowds that represent our friends and our families.”

“Well, our lead guitar player (Josh Payne) – he’s not a commie trans woman but he’s a dear and we love him.”

Transgressive is just one of the vehicles by which Alicia and a growing community of trans, nonbinary, and queer metal musicians are making a space for themselves using the music they love.

“One thing that me and Leona were talking about is; when we think about queer metal or female metal or transgender metal we don’t really have a lot of examples. There are certainly queer, female, and transgender artists that play metal, but there aren’t a whole hell of a lot of songs that we were aware of that speak specifically to those experiences. We honestly can only think of one metal song offhand that’s by a popular artist that is even about LGBT rights and it’s that Kreator song (“Side by Side” from Gods of Violence) – which is a great song. Something needs to be outspokenly about these things because that’s what heavy metal is a lot of the time. It’s outspokenly about whoever is playing it. Whether it’s about D&D or Ronald Reagan (or if you like Blind Guardian, that’s on the same album). So we wanted to really make something that nailed down that specifically, from the name, to the album art, the execution, even the very nature of how the band is operated.

It’s a charity project, it’s completely grassroots; all proceeds are going to funding abortion funds. Last year we raised about $500 off a 2-song EP and right now we’re working on another EP and an album. You’ll have to pay for them, but all the money goes to that charity as well. All the lyrics are very angry, some of it is satire, some of it is definitely not, but it should be a good time and I’m sure it will make a lot of people a little cross with me, but that’s part of the job.”

That element of provocation sets Transgressive apart from much of Alicia’s other work, but it fits nicely within the community of artists she’s part of.

“It’s kind of funny; we mentioned like, if you’re a trans woman in the metal scene, you probably know all the other trans women in the metal scene, and you know all the trans men, and you know all the nonbinary people. While it’s not explicitly true, it’s true enough.”

“If you went back in time to about 2011 you would see me, Lux (Edwards, of Soulmass and in Wraithstorm with Alicia), Lorelai (Laffey, of Steamforged and keyboardist for several Judicator and Project:Roenwolfe releases), and several other people that have been in associated projects, and you’d probably see a whole lot of straight dudes. Fast-forward ten years later, we probably put out two, three dozen albums between myself, the aforementioned friends and our extended social circles, and so many of us have come out as trans, as queer, as bi, as ace, as demi; you name it. It’s kind of funny, because we didn’t do that on purpose. We all sort of somehow found each other. Back in the day we had this community called Masters of Metal Productions, which was just a bunch of these straight dudes making metal together and now it’s a lot of the same people that we go to for help on our different projects, but we’re all different brands of queer. It’s cool that we have that friendship and that safety and that community through music. To safely come out and explore those things. I don’t know if I would have been able to feel that safety and that sense of connection to come out without those friendships and without those partnerships, or feel the ability to continue to make music without those partnerships, without those friendships. When you see one person doing it, that gives you the thought; I can do this too. And even if every other person leaves me at least I’ve got them.

I was probably one of the late bloomers in my circle, honestly. Around 2015 some of my friends started to come out. Other musicians. I knew a few who were closeted and just gradually, over the years, one by one, into the dozens, that started to happen. The notion that we’ve all gotten to with this is – and I know a lot of my friends in my queer circle would agree – it’s not about trying to take out the bigoted or problematic parts of the metal scene and making it a space for queer people or a space for trans people. It’s about making our own scene. At the end of the day we have to protect us and we have to define our own boundaries and we have to define our own scene. Fortunately, metal is an expansive and creative enough medium that you can do that within it and people will generally accept that. If you run into people who won’t, you can make your own space and your own scene away from that. We really focus on cultivating our own spaces, cultivating our own craft, cultivating our own music, and if other people want to be a part of that, cool. If other existing systems, people want to be a part of that, awesome. If they don’t: fuck ‘em. We’ll do it anyway.”

While coming out among that scene was a largely positive experience, Alicia has still encountered much of the same discrimination and many of the same hardships that are unfortunately inherent in the trans experience in America.

“Coming out was very hard. I, unfortunately, lost most of my extended family in doing so. My immediate family have been supportive even though they come from a very different background and it hasn’t been the easiest for them or for me, but they are supportive. I definitely lost a decent amount of friends both in the metal scene and in my personal life from coming out. Not even necessarily from them being actively bigoted but when you’re the first trans person somebody knows there can be a lot of tension and a lot of things can go wrong. And unfortunately, some of those things are irrecoverable.

I was pushed out of one job when I came out. It was very clear they saw my transition as a disturbance to them. I did leave that job before anything happened but they made it very clear what their intentions were and I was in a state with no employment protections so I didn’t have a lot of recourse. I had to relocate and had a very uncertain 6 months or so where my immediate future was definitely not guaranteed

From a social standpoint – I don’t want to get too into the nitty-gritty details – but definitely, there are some complications and some unpleasantness when it comes to like socializing and certainly dating or even just going out in public. I don’t live in the best area. It’s very much Trump country out where I’m at and as somebody who definitely does not pass in cis society, I stick out like a sore thumb in public. I don’t mind it from a personal standpoint, but it definitely has led to some not-so-fun situations for me. Nobody has physically gotten into an altercation with me or anything like that, but there has been harassment, unpleasantness, and it has made me very careful about my choice of job – I work from home now and I’m not advocating violence—merely being ready for the kind of violence we unfortunately face, and my choice of friends and my willingness to meet strangers and to go places alone, that sort of thing. That’s a very different dynamic, even for somebody who is traditionally a homebody.

There’s a whole other layer of tension and anxiety, whereas being online it’s fairly easy to slide into a community that is accepting and you know you won’t have much problem. You can run around metal twitter all day and you know everyone is really friendly and really polite and you know you won’t get into much trouble. Whereas if I want to go to a bar on a Saturday night, I need to have a safety plan in place.”

That safety plan means many things to Alicia. When I ask her for advice for people coming out, she stresses physical safety first and foremost.

“Honest to God my first advice is if you don’t know how to handle a weapon and you’re not armed you need to be. As a queer person in this country you should understand self-defense and you should understand the 2nd Amendment and you should understand everything there is to know about that. And I’m not advocating violence: merely being ready for the kind of violence we unfortunately face. Times are getting worse, tensions are rising. The last two years have been the most dangerous to be a trans person. Prepare yourself to be able to handle yourself.

That is of course if you have the ability to. And it’s OK if you don’t, and it’s OK if that doesn’t appeal to you. If it doesn’t, my other advice – and I follow this more – I’m not a fighter to be honest. I do what I can to keep myself safe but at the end of the day, I know my limits. So when it comes to the second bit of advice, it comes to communal safety. Have a plan, know the places you’re going to know the people you’re going with. Have accountability. If you’re going on a date with a stranger, make sure a friend knows, have a friend drop you off. If you’re going to a bar, don’t go by yourself.

Research places, especially when it comes to your medical care. Medical care is the place where you are going to encounter the most bigotry on an interpersonal level and there are resources online to find places that are safe. I know in Arizona El Rio Health Community is a very safe place to seek treatment. Planned parenthood is a very safe place to seek treatment. Know that those places are going to be good to you and make an effort to find them. People have been to them before, there are tons of discussions online. Vette everything you do so that you’re not surprised or caught off guard. It won’t prepare you completely but there’s never too much safeguarding when it comes to your own health and your own life.”

As for safeguarding the health and life of others, Alicia returns to community commitment. When I ask about her advice for allies, she stresses action.

“I don’t want allies, I want accomplices.”

“If you’re going to be an ally you have to be actively involved. That means not just educating yourself and ideologically accepting someone, that means being able to put the work in to changing your behavior and how you treat someone. That applies to race, gender, sexuality, ability, neurodivergence, everything. You have to respect people as the people they are.

It’s not about blending them into your life. That’s a good place to start but you also have to adjust your behavior. So it means not setting your friends up for failure or harm; if you are going to introduce them to one of your friends, make sure you know the person you’re introducing them to. You can’t introduce a queer friend the same way you would introduce a straight friend in your life. If you have family you’re going to be around, make sure you understand how that’s going to go. Have a conversation beforehand. Don’t put the onus on the queer person in your life to have to navigate the bigotry of people you don’t know. It’s your job to be the intermediary. It’s your job to educate. it’s your job to defend. You need to do the work to make sure those people are safe.

The thing that has been hardest for me to deal with is the apathy of moderates and how much they enable. I realize at this point in my life as a younger person I was one of those people. When I was a young teacher in my early 20s… if I encountered that person today I would be arguing with them in minutes. Because it’s really the moderate, the neoliberal if you will, that I have found does the most harm in my communities, does the most harm in my personal life, and does the most harm on a political scale.

I know somebody who wants to hurt me looks like. I can see them coming a mile away and I know to stay away from them. What I don’t know how to navigate is people who will pull the rug out from under you when you need them the most. The most harm I see is done by those people and those are the people and those are the people who are not held accountable; there is no cancel culture for these people. They don’t do anything that’s obvious enough for the conventional person for them to care. And that’s really the group that makes people feel outed; that makes people feel hated; that makes people feel othered. You know? We all know Nazis are bad. We don’t like them. Of course; that’s easy. What about your guy friend who says he is all these great things and then behind the scenes you know that he is hurting women in his personal life? Or hangs out with people who are dangerous to you and when you call them out on that they don’t care because ‘Oh, well, I’m not a Nazi so I’m fine’ or ‘I know the right things, I say the right things, I can pass the right way.’

That has been the hardest to deal with; that loss of faith in people who Ideologically I would have thought had been better, but when it appeared I was a bisexual cis man before I came out, I was never in a situation where that had to be tested and I couldn’t see that happening to other people because I took it on faith that they were OK and that was my own moderate-ness. It was my own moderate viewpoint clouding me to that. And now those are the people I stay away from but they are hard to spot and it’s usually when they start doing harm.”

When I asked Alicia about playing live, she was hopeful that it could happen again, but emphasized that it would be a challenge. First off, she wants a stage vocalist.

“[Vocals are] just not that fun for me. I have to stand in front of this mic the whole time and play and sing at the same time. I will gladly delegate that out.”

With current bandmates scattered around the country, getting everything together to play a Transgressive or Project: Roenwolfe show is logistically tricky, and Alicia is more selective now about where she wants to be.

“There are certain spaces in the metal community that I previously frequented or have been invited to, and I’m not going to name names – that’s not what I’m here to do – but that’s definitely where you run into a block because those spaces are not cultivated towards being inclusive spaces, being diverse spaces. Their concern is to make money their concern is to hustle to grind, it’s not about art, it’s not about heavy metal, it’s certainly not about inclusivity or protecting people, and some of them may wear the patches and play in the bands and they’ll bleat this all day that it’s about individuality, it’s about making a metal space for us to be empowered in. At the end of the day we’ve run into so many situations – and I know I have personally, where there will be a genuinely harmful person or harmful band and you’ll call them out or you will attempt to talk to a promoter about it and they don’t give a shit.”

“I like to think of John Finberg as a great example. We knew that dude was trash decades ago. So many people knew he was trash in the ‘90s, and it took how long to take that guy out. How many people covered him, how many people enabled him? How many people are out there that just chimed in at the right time?

The first local show that I went to when I was 15, someone was murdered in a knife fight with white supremacists in the parking lot. That always stayed with me. It’s not every show, that’s not all the time, but that shit happens. Not every bigot you run into in metal is going to stab you to death in the parking lot, but that danger is real. When people are complicit in a culture that creates that and make no effort to distance themselves from that violence at all, is that really the scene we want to be part of?”

Alicia knows what scene she does want to be a part of, and it’s right where she is. At the end of the day, she’s more comfortable making metal and living in her own skin than before she began transitioning.

“There are aspects to transitioning that suck. There are aspects to being a transgender person in modern society that suck but none of it has to do with being transgender itself. All of it is external factors. It’s all in the way that people treat you. It’s all in the way that society treats you and I would rather authentically be hated to be quite frank than to suffer in silence to a world that doesn’t care. Anything I experienced pre-transition was much worse because even on my worst day now I know that I see the world and myself in the way I am meant to and I appreciate the extra layer of perspective that I have been given. I know that I’m a better person, I’m a better friend, I’m a better ally as a helper to other people than I was previously. I would not trade that. And external things can change.”

If you’re not already in Alicia’s circles, or familiar with a lot of trans artists, you can start to change those external things by just opening you ears to the people involved. You’re probably already familiar with some of the work of queer, trans and gender-nonconforming musicians lauded here at Angry Metal Guy; power metal from Dialith, death-doom from Soulmass, doom from Miasma Theory, and experimental drone-doom from Vile Creature. Alicia also points to Klaymore’s heavy metal and black metal from Rage of Devils – on the grindy, nasty side, Kronos recommends Cretin and SeeYouSpaceCowboy.

“For people in heavy metal that are maybe curious about queer artists and trans artists; if you see it, try to uplift it. If you don’t like it musically, that’s fine. Don’t uplift it unless you really think the quality is there; keep your standards. But if you find an artist that you’re really passionate about, chances are they need some spotlight on them. Champion them. One way to get artists noticed, especially when people who maybe previously weren’t as known for making it, is just to be that first follower. If the band is the leader, you as the first follower are going to be the one who gets other people into it. When they see other metal fans appreciating it, maybe it doesn’t seem like ‘Well, this band that is a bunch of trans people and queer people singing about trans and queer things, that’s not for me.’ But when they see other metalheads enjoying it, maybe they think – ‘Maybe this is for everyone. Maybe I can start appreciating it for what it is.’”

And if you’re a trans drummer, get in touch with Alicia.

“We’re really trying at some point to make an all-trans band but we realize that we don’t know any trans drummers, so we’re going to have to bully one of our guitar player friends into learning the drums, which Leona and I joke is how a lot of drummers come to be.”

The post Interview with Project: Roenwolfe’s Alicia Cordisco appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

In these parts, it isn’t news that my love for Rimfrost might be greater than my love for my children. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing their 2016 self-titled record and 2019’s monstrous Expedition: Darkness. I loved the latter album so much it took my top spot and received my only 4.5/5.0 to date. But, before 2019 was a wrap, tragedy struck. I was literally listening to the Expedition: Darkness at the gym when I heard Rimfrost called it quits. I’ve never returned to the gym.

But, as Covid was out dry-humping every person on the planet, Rimfrost’s Throllv and Khratos were in the studio. Putting Rimfrost behind them, the duo cranked out eleven songs under the moniker Son of Sam. As part of their independent campaign to release their full-length And the Monster Awakes…, Throllv reached out in hopes of an exclusive interview with AMG’s Dr. Nice Guy. While putting together the interview, Throllv informed me that he and Khratos reunited with their Rimfrost compatriot Hravn. Hravn will now be playing guitars for Son of Sam. The way Throllv describes it, Hravn and him have had a longer friendship than I’ve ever had in my life. My grumpy heart elated, I stepped into the gym once more.¹

Below I’ve tried to compile the highlights of the amazing hour-and-a-half conversation I had with the guys back in June. Though I tried to keep it focused, professional, and kid-friendly, I’ve failed. I know what you’re going to say, Steel, but it wasn’t my fault. After getting the video and mics situated, I found myself in the guy’s long-time studio space. In front of floor-to-ceiling posters, banners, and other paraphernalia sat three of the ugliest dudes I’ve ever met. Then my wifi caught up, and I realized they looked like normal human beings after all. In this ninety-minute chat, we covered everything from the new Son of Sam record, the success of Rimfrost, doo-wop, horror movies, Hravn’s dream to live with Rob Halford, and what happens when Throllv drops his trousers.

Like all great chats, we covered a LOT. And laughed even more. This is definitely one of those “I wish you had been there moments.” But, being the greedy cunt that I am, I’m glad I got to share it with the band, and no one else. But, as a result of our killer conversation, I couldn’t compile everything we talked about. But I hope you all enjoy what I did put into print. I don’t wanna spoil anything but be ready for some news…

This is the first virtual interview I’ve ever done with a band.

Throllv: Yeah, I suggested this because I hate to… (Long pause.)

Hravn: Type.

Throllv: Yeah, type. I hate to type answers. It’s so… boring.

Grier: You know when we are done here, I gotta type this all out, right?

Hravn: I feel sorry for you. (All laugh at me.)

Why did you choose the band name Son of Sam?

Khratos: I’ve had that name in the back of my mind for 8 years. I just think it sounds fucking cool.

Throllv: It is fucking cool. Once we took that name, we realized there were a lot of bands with that name. (Laughs)

Khratos: Many rappers.

Throllv: The biggest one was that band with the Danzig members.

Hravn: Oooooo… don’t mess with the Danzig.

Throllv: Danzig was also in a band called Samhain (like the Rimfrost song). So, it looks like we take everything from Danzig.

Hravn: I chose the song title for “Samhain” because I love horror movies, and Michael Myers is my favorite. If you read the lyrics, the song’s about the opening scene of Halloween. But, yeah, do you think Danzig is pissed off, perhaps? (All laugh.)

Throllv: I don’t think he knows about Rimfrost. I don’t think he cares. But, if we could start a feud with Danzig, that would be… really good. (All laugh.)

What was the writing process like on And the Monster Awoke…?

Throllv: I wrote a couple of songs but Khratos wrote the rest.

Khratos: We mostly worked together though, combining the pieces and arrangements.

Do you feel Son of Sam’s And the Monster Awoke… is a continuation of Rimfrost or is it a completely different mindset?

Khratos: I think it was a completely different mindset. We didn’t know what to do after Rimfrost was put down. I took my ideas from the last 15 years and started putting them together.

Throllv: You can say it was a continuation in the way we wanted it to sound.

Khratos: The variety.

Throllv: Right. We recorded the foundation of Expedition: Darkness live in the studio. What you hear is exactly what we did. We didn’t record And the Monster Awoke… live but we still wanted to achieve that same sound. We chose recorded takes more on how they felt—much like we did with Expedition: Darkness.

Throllv, what’s it like going from the drummer to doing vocals with Son of Sam?

Throllv: When I record stuff on my own, I like to put vocals to it. But, I guess when Rimfrost was put down, I just had to do it. We haven’t done any live shows, so I don’t know how it feels to be the frontman or anything.

Hravn: It feels fucking great. You’ll get to see how challenging it is to do vocals and play guitar at the same time.

Throllv: I knew it’d be physical to play the drums. But, it’s almost as physical to sing and play the guitar at the same time.

Grier: So, you don’t wanna play drums and sing at the same time?

Throllv: No, I’ll play guitar and sing.

Grier: So, is Hravn going to play drums?

Throllv: What? No. He plays the guitar. (Everyone laughs but Throllv.)

You’re all multi-instrumentalists, but what’s your favorite instrument to play? Vocals included.

Throllv: Well… he can’t play the drums. (Points at Hravn.)

Hravn: No, I can only play guitar, but I love playing guitar.

Khratos: When I’m at home, I usually play the guitar. But I love playing the bass. I guess the only singing I do is in the shower. (Hravn appears pleased with this response.)

Throllv: I’ve played guitar almost as long as the drums. But I’d say drums are my instrument.

Grier: Drummers always impress me. I’m physically incapable of playing drums.

Throllv: I can get all four of my limbs to do different things at the same time. You have to have a smart brain. Which you don’t have. (All laugh at me.)

Hravn: If you’re so smart, why can’t you get the fifth limb to do what you want? (This is the point in the interview where Grier realizes Steel’s gonna be mad.)

Hravn: Now you’re going to get to know the behind-the-scenes of Rimfrost in the old days. Throllv would run around the studio naked, putting his dick on everything. He’d go around, how do you say it in English? Mark everything.

Throllv: Remember that time I played the high-hat with my dick?

Hravn: Oh god. I think it’s a condition that only affects drummers. My drummer in Omnicidal does the same thing.

Throllv: That was twenty years ago. I don’t do that anymore.

Hravn: Yeah, you’re too old now.

Khratos: We haven’t seen your dick in years.

Hravn: That’s not true. I saw it last week.

Throllv: How do we always get to this? (All laugh. Grier can’t help but think of Bonehunter.)

I think the thing fans will love most about Son of Sam’s And the Monster Awoke… is that it retains the dynamics and quality of the last two Rimfrost albums. Fans went nuts for the quality of the Rimfrost record.

Throllv: That’s cool to hear. I remember reading on Angry Metal Guy that it was one of your top albums of the year.

Grier: Indeed it was.

Hravn: I think it was also rated one the best-sounding albums of the year.²

Grier: I love that album. I have to say I love the Expedition: Darkness even more.

Throllv: I like that album the most, too.

Hravn: There’s so much variety. It doesn’t sound like the music stands still. It constantly moves and takes turns. Sometimes it comes back around, other times it gets chuggier, and other times it has ’80s heavy metal vibes.

Throllv: It was also the funnest album to write and record.

What genres of music inspire you the most?

Hravn: I think we all love ’80 heavy metal. I love the way music was written back then. We (motions to Khratos) also love ’50s music. The doo-wop style of music. We share a lot in common with music. When one of us has an idea, we’re always like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we tried this?” Like turning a riff into an ’80s speed metal kind of thing. Or, give it a death metal sound. It’s a freedom we can use.

Khratos: (To Hravn) Like the upcoming Rimfrost single. You gave it that classic ’50s guitar sound.

Hravn: Yeah, I think it’s an arpeggio. Is that an arpeggio?

Khratos: …You tell me.

Throllv: I think an arpeggio is when you play the individual notes of a chord.

Hravn: That’s what I’m doing. Yep, I’m gonna go with an arpeggio.

Are you saying Rimfrost is back??

Throllv: We plan to track the drums this week and hopefully release a new album by the end of the year. (Grier literally shits his pants.)

Because you brought up Rimfrost, who’s the main writer for that band?

Throllv: Rimfrost was started in 2002 and I did all the writing at the beginning. Then I got this guy (slaps Hravn on the shoulder), who couldn’t play any instruments.

Hravn: (Laughs) That’s right, I couldn’t.

Throllv: I taught him how to play guitar and then we started writing 50/50. When Khratos joined the band, we quickly realized he was a good songwriter. So, we used that.

Hravn: That’s the magic of Rimfrost. When one of us comes with an idea, we can build off of it. That’s where the magic is and that’s what makes it so fun.

Khratos: LIke “Samhain.” The riff was an idea I had on Instagram. Hravn heard it and thought it would be fucking awesome on Expedition: Darkness. I had only heard Rimfrost’s self-titled release at the time and I didn’t think it would fit. But it did, and that song is my favorite off Expedition: Darkness.

Hravn: Yeah, mine too. I remember you wrote the main riff (points to Khratos) and I wrote the verse. You (points to Throllv) wrote the pre-chorus and chorus. Then we put it all together and it was like a… magic soup. It’s really fun.

Is one band member more responsible for a sound in Rimfrost than another?

Throllv: I usually write most of the epic, atmospheric sounds in songs. Like, with the keyboards and everything.

Hravn: Khratos and I focus on the riffs. I like to write the fast riffs and Khratos writes the… good riffs. (All laugh.)

Because of the horror theme of Expedition: Darkness, what are your favorite horror movies?

Hravn: (Rubs hands together) Ooooo… let’s get started. (Laughs maniacally.) It depends on my mood. I really love ’70s zombie movies, but if I had to pick one movie, it would be Halloween. That movie changed my life. I fucking love Michael Myers. I have Myers’ face on my guitar picks. I have Michael Myers wherever I go. I have a knife in my back pocket. (All laugh. Grier shits his pants again.)

Throllv: I thought you were going to say you had a tramp stamp of Michael Myers. (Grier, Throllv, and Khratos laugh at Hravn.)

Hravn: No, I have a knife! I could go on all evening talking about horror movies.

Throllv: Maybe you should just name five.

Hravn: Five! OK… Halloween, City of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and, I know I’m one of the few that likes this movie, but I fucking love The Babadook. I was shit-scared when I saw that movie. It’s the only movie that I almost turned off and I never do that. It’s so fucking intense and psychological.

(Grier and Hravn take this moment to drop their mighty wisdom on how much more horror movies like that affect us as parents.)

Hravn: I actually watched The Babadook a couple of days ago. It was dark and I was still up. Then I hear a sound and it’s a doll in my daughter’s room saying, “I love you, daddy.” Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Throllv: Are you done? I said five.

Hravn: Fine, I’ll shut up. Ok, your turn (points at Khratos.)

Khratos: Ummmm… Sinister, Conjuring 1 and 2, Friday the 13th and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and… (Long pause.)

Throllv: It’s hard. I don’t think I could pick.

Hravn: Frozen.

Throllv: Frozen?

Hravn: Toy Story 2. (All laughing but Throllv.)

Throllv: Toy Story Halloween would be… scary.

Khratos: My last one is Grave Encounters. I was pleasantly surprised by that one.

Throllv: I’ve got one. That Norwegian movie about trolls.

Hravn: Trolljeger (Trollhunter). That’s not a horror movie.

Khratos: It is to him. (All laugh at Throllv.)

Hravn: This could be one we both share (motions to Throllv): Pet Cemetery.

Throllv: Yeah, that’s a good fucking movie. IT, the original.

Hravn: Oh yeah, IT. You see! (Points at me.) We could keep doing this all night.

What’s it like being a musician during Covid?

Khratos: It allowed Throllv and me to write and record the Son of Sam album. We wouldn’t have been able to do that otherwise.

Throllv: We’ve had a lot of time sitting in the studio. Covid gave us a chance to do the new Son of Sam quickly, and do it the right way.

Hravn: The biggest thing is how much we’re missing out on meeting the fans. But, in hindsight, it was a good thing we took a break from Rimfrost at the end of 2019. It was perfect timing to take a break, recharge, and come back. It gave us a lot of time to write new stuff. I think that was quite good.

Going forward, do you plan on keeping both Rimfrost and Son of Sam?

Throllv: Definitely. There’s also a third band.

Hravn: Yeah, when these two started Son of Sam, I started a death metal band called Omnicidal. It’s still under development but we play Gothenburg and classic Swedish death metal.

Throllv: Isn’t that called “skank beat”? Have you heard this, Grier?

Grier: I’m looking it up right now.

Hravn: He’s probably going to find a porno site. (All laugh at me again.)

(Grier removes the cassette tape from the player. “What the fuck just happened?” he thinks. “This tape sounds like a recording from an Ed and Lorraine Warren exorcism.” He thinks deeply, mulling over everything. “Did this just happen? Did Rimfrost really get back together? I’m being trolled,” he thinks. Then, standing behind him, Fredrik, Sebastian, and Tobias scream out: “Dude, we’re back!” Grier slowly turns around. “Welcome back, boys. Welcome back.” he says. Then, he immediately shits his pants. Again.)

The post An Interview with Rimfrost and Son of Sam appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

It hurts to update this intro after the departure of Master of Muppets from these hallowed halls, but I wish my furry friend the very best in his quest for wellness and in all of his future — and I’m sure successful — endeavors. He’s a great dude and wanted this interview to see the light of day so the band could get a little more exposure. Back in May, Muppet covered the debut record from Oakland, California-based progressive black/death metal band, Dawn of Ouroboros. The Master used the review to profess his love for the band’s stylistic approach, as well as to utter some disparaging remarks against one of his incredibly talented and extremely likable friends, whom I shall not name here. While Muppet was holding court in the comments, he suddenly found himself addressing the band themselves, and that fortuitous interaction led to this interview. If you don’t stop reading right now, you just might find out what it says.

— Holdeneye

Muppet: Before I start demanding answers and all that, I’d just like to say thanks again for taking the time to talk with me! The Art of Morphology was such a neat personal find. Thanks for reading my Muppety nonsense about it and for offering to do this interview in the first place!

Tony: You’re welcome! We’ve read many of your reviews and interviews, and have always found them well written and thoughtful. We were genuinely excited to find out you were going to give our album a review given the circumstances of how you discovered it.

And of course! we’re always happy to give interviews and interact with any listeners. Given we’re such a new band, the fact that people are listening, wanting to interview, and learn more about us is beyond anything we could have expected.

Muppet: The fact that Dawn of Ouroboros are such a new band is actually kind of baffling in and of itself. I understand that everyone in the band has performed in additional acts as well, yet this particular entity/lineup is quite young; The Art of Morphology has a decidedly steady hand on every twist and turn it takes, belying the erratic misdirection one might typically expect from a fledgling act comprising musicians with such disparate backgrounds… how did you all manage to pull that off?? More specifically, how were you able to balance out everyone’s varying influences and styles into such a cohesive and kickass album, instead of creating a chaotic mess of mismatched subgenres?

Tony: We really appreciate that assessment. For our song writing approach, it was pretty free range, and [we] didn’t have a plan for how we wanted them to turn out in the end. We just tried to write songs we enjoyed, without thinking how it should sound or what genre it should fit into; we didn’t think about if we were switching up styles in any given moment.

For this album, the general approach in the song writing process was I would program some drums, improvise with my guitar over different sections until something stood out to me, add in synths and guitar leads. The synths are usually just chord compliments, and I prefer to improvise the leads as much as I can.

From there I would send the song out to David (bass) and Chelsea and really just say ‘Do whatever you feel is right as your first instinct,’ and we would go with that 90% of the time without revisions. Since this was originally meant to be a studio project, Ron’s contributions to the drums were mainly done in the recording process; he is, however, much more involved in the song writing for the next album.

Muppet: Interesting, so each song is essentially constructed around a main riff or melody, as opposed to composing music to fit with predetermined lyrics or something. Having seen what this approach has brought the band with The Art of Morphology, do you expect to maintain this method of songwriting as The Way of DoO, so to speak? You already mentioned your drummer adopting a greater writing role on future albums; do you expect the whole songwriting process to continue to adapt as the band itself collectively grows and matures, or does the Morphology methodology maybe feel something along the lines of you having already figured out the trick to making DoO work?

Tony: I am constantly writing music in my free time, be it for DoO, or another project I may be working on. So it’s likely to be a mix of me continuing to create songs alone, and others starting with a drum arrangement from Ron. Like I previously stated, I rely heavily on improvisation for coming up with ideas so I work best with jamming over a drum arrangement and building on that. Having said that, Chelsea has expressed great interest in having a larger role in the song writing aside from her writing her harsh and melodic vocals. Overall, it’s really a free environment and everyone can bring any ideas they have, and if we all agree it’s something worth pursuing we’ll expand on it. This band is really about any one of us contributing what we can, and then doing our best to write for our respective roles in the framework of the idea.

Muppet: Oh man, I’d be particularly interested in hearing songs that Chelsea was more directly involved in writing; obviously I dig the band in its entirety, I would just be really curious to hear music written for that voice by that voice.

It seems like you have a relatively straightforward approach to songwriting, yet the lyrics hardly adhere to any kind of straightforward theme or trend. From what I can gather, it seems as though pretty much anything was up for grabs regarding the album’s lyrical concepts. I understand that the vocals were crafted around the music, but was there anything that was always gonna end up on the album, no matter what? For instance, the band’s ‘favorite horror manga series’ is cited as lyrical inspiration on Bandcamp; was it ever important that things like that made it onto the album, or are such topical oddities more the kind of happy accidents that naturally occur in the absence of rules and thematic restrictions?

Tony: Yes, I am very much looking forward to hearing what we can come up with together as far as instrumental arrangements are concerned. For the lyrics, the themes were generally based around what visualizations were created by her imagination after listening to the instrumental songs. The only theme that was planned prior was for “Spiral of Hypnotism,” which is very loosely based on the cosmic horror manga Uzumaki, for which she tried to capture the essence of the story in her writing. Other than that, we try to keep it open and stay away from restrictions with lyrical themes.

Muppet: That definitely stands to reason – your music isn’t confined to any one particular sound or style, so why should your lyrics be any different?

Speaking of being confined, I have to ask: how is the band handling the Coronapocalypse? No one’s really able to tour at the moment, and normally one might expect something like this to kill a band’s career before it’s even begun, but then again not every band’s debut is received with the widespread warmth that Morphology has enjoyed… Has this shitshow gotten in the way of DoO’s trajectory at all, or do you feel like you’ve been able to make the most of the situation somehow?

Tony: The COVID-19 outbreak definitely affected us, our release date March 30th was right in the middle of when most countries were going into some sort of a lock down. This delayed our label and us from receiving the physical copies of the album, thus delaying us from getting it out to those who ordered. Thankfully, everyone has been very understanding. We also had a western United States tour planned for around June with some friends, this will likely be cancelled for this year, or at the very best rescheduled to this fall depending on how things progress. As far as music is concerned, we’ve maintained being productive as a band. We’re about halfway through writing what will eventually be the material for the next album, and Chelsea and I are also involved in a few other collaborations that will hopefully have releases some time this year.

Muppet: Well damn, getting right at it I see. Is there anything in particular that you’re specifically hoping to achieve or explore this time around? Additionally, piggybacking on the notion of normalcy inevitably reigning once again some day: once tours and festivals are a thing again, are there any bands that you would particularly love to play alongside? What would the dream roster for a DoO headline tour with up to 3 other bands look like?

Tony: For the next album we are playing around with more variation in song lengths, greater usage of odd time signatures, and probably more of an emphasis on the style we developed in some of the more standout tracks (music videos songs.) Of course we will still maintain the mix of styles we did on The Art of Morphology, but hopefully in a more refined way. As for bands we love, since we listen to so many different bands across the many types of metal and even other genres, it can be difficult to really choose an accurate dream roster for a tour. I will say these days we are listening to a lot of post metal with some of our favorites being Heretoir, Lantlôs, and Kauan among many others.

Muppet: There’s never a wrong time for Heretoir! Are you familiar with Nathanael’s solo project, Bonjour Tristesse? Basically the blacker side of that same sonic coin, I can’t praise that band enough – clearly!

To that end, I’m not at all surprised to learn that you are fans of such atmospheric material as the music of Heretoir or Kuaun. Atmosphere and shifting yet balanced dynamics are decidedly important components of DoO, and one can easily hear that the band has learned a lot about attaining and maintaining these things from all across metal, as you said; on the other hand, are there any bands in particular whose music compelled you to explore the more riff-centric, head-banging side of DoO? Not so much regarding a certain sound or style of influence, but are there any bands or artists in particular who made you wish to wield the power of the Almighty Riff?

Tony: Yes, Heretoir is fantastic, I just recently found The Circle at a reasonable price on vinyl so I am looking forward to that arriving. For their other projects I have heard of King Apathy, but not Bonjour Tristesse. I am listening to them now and it sounds pretty good so far.

For more riff-centric favorites, I’d say it’s still all over the place. This could be bands such as Archspire, Between the Buried and Me, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Meshuggah, and even Spiritbox. There is probably also a subtle late 90s, early 2000s metal influence on the song writing as well, having been a big fan of bands like Death, Cynic, Theory in Practice, Quo Vadis, and Necrophagist around that time. Despite these influences, we still wanted to keep the riffs relativity straight forward and have the more black metal sounds be the focus.

Muppet: Now you’re speaking my language: powered by black metal, inspired by all. With such varying inspirational foundations, what is it about black metal that essentially pulls DoO all together? As you say, your influences are all over the place, so why is a black metal sound ultimately the focus?

Tony: For me black metal is what really got me into extreme metal. Bands like Mayhem, Emperor, Darkthrone, or even Lord Belial were a big part of my listening experience as a teenager. It still sticks with me as I always found it to have a greater emotional intensity and atmosphere than the other sub-genres. While I did learn to appreciate everything else, I always come back to some type of black metal as a listener eventually. I know the same can be said for our bassist David, who has his own post-black band, Deliria, where he is the main writer. For Chelsea, she had never actually explored the genre until we decided to start DoO. After several months of listening she fell in love with it, and it’s now what she listens to most regularly. However, our drummer Ron, is very much a prog guy as a music fan, [though he] enjoys expanding on his skills whenever possible.

Muppet: God what I wouldn’t give to relive falling in love with black metal, and I can only imagine what an experience it must be to discover that whole soundscape at the same time that your band is starting up and taking off.

To that end, DoO have enjoyed a pretty enthusiastic reception into the metalverse. Critics and commenters alike have been quick to commend Morphology for many reasons; from your own findings in reviews all across the interwebz, does there seem to be any particular component to the band or album around which listeners are more or less united in their love? You’re definitely doing something right, yo, what do you think that might be?

Tony: Yeah, it can be a great experience. It did take her a while, first starting with bands such as Deafheaven and Alcest, who are more on the edge of it. However, she kept exploring, until she became immersed in the genre fully in all its many forms.

As for how we are being received, we are really taken aback by the response we have been getting. Originally this was supposed to be just a fun studio project to experiment with ideas and have no real restrictions. We never could have expected to be getting the response that we are from critics and listeners. For what we believe people are responding to the most, clearly people are united around Chelsea’s voice, and rightfully so. Having been in several bands over the years, I have never worked with a vocalist who takes his or her job as seriously, with such passion and a desire to constantly improve and experiment. For example, she had never tried to do clean singing before this project, but just decided to give it a shot, and I believe it worked out wonderfully and will only improve with time. For our music, what aspects we feel people are most resonating with are; our coherent use of sonic variability, our desire and ability to put genuine emotion in our music, and perhaps that our music can conjure up visualizations almost in a cinematic way, which we try to capture in our music videos.

Muppet: I’d say that that checks out, pretty much touched on what I love about the album anyway. For the next album, is there anything you feel you may have learned *not* to do, i.e. has your experience with Morphology made you rethink any particular parts of the writing process, album promotion, fan interaction, etc?

Tony: Thanks for taking the time for this discussion! I think for the next album (which is already well underway) we don’t want to go into it with the idea that we have to meet a certain expectation people may have about our music. When we were writing The Art of Morphology we were really just writing music for ourselves. We feel we just want to go into it with the same mind set and hope people enjoy just as much. Really the only thing that will change about the writing process is to have everyone involved in the overall construction of the songs, to potentially let everyone have more of a stylistic influence on our sound. For album promotions, we do wish we had planned the release a little better, but we didn’t really have experience in that regard and it went over pretty well. So with that in mind, we do hope we can promote the next album a bit more effectively. As for fans, we are just happy people are listening so we try to interact with any and every fan as much as we can.

Muppet: Given what I’ve seen and heard of other debuts over the years, it certainly seems like things have been working out for the best so far anyway. Honesty, I could see the overall reception of Morphology making its successor a daunting prospect, expectations and all, but if nothing else I feel like you all are more than capable of meeting your own challenge. I’m excited to hear the follow up to Morphology, and I’m happy to wait as long as it takes for that to happen.

Well, I’m pretty much out of any Ouroboric questions, though while I’m on the record I’d like to reiterate that Chelsea should feel bad for being so damn good, or at the very least for making me feel bad for her contemporaries/competition. That’s just uncalled for, yo.

Before I get outta your hair and back to anxiously awaiting Chapter 2 of the DoO saga, is there anything you’d like to say to our readers? Don’t worry if it’s ‘Fvck you, you elitist shits!’ most of them can’t read, anyway, and the ones who can know their place.

Tony: Yes, ultimately we started this band and made this album, because it was something we found enjoyable. Since this was the first band — for Chelsea and I at least — that we started from the ground up really, that allowed us the freedom to explore aspects of our creativity [which] we had not before. We do hope people respond well to the follow up, and it would be great if people enjoy it even more. However, if not, we’ll keep doing what we do and keep DoO going as long as we can.

Thanks again for taking the time, and I have been telling Chelsea for years how good she is. She has only gotten better since we’ve been working together and I expect her to keep growing as a vocalist.

For your readers: thanks for listening to the music we created! If you have the interest to, check out our other projects: David has his post-black metal Deliria, which should have their second album out some time this year. Ron and I play in a progressive metal band called Sentient Ignition, and you’ll also hear us both on the next Botanist Collective album. There is also a possibility Chelsea and I will have two different un-announced side-project albums out in the near future. Anyway, thanks so much for your time, and for listening to our creations!

Muppet: Likewise, thanks so much for putting up with me, and for sharing your music with the world! I can’t wait to see and hear the future of DoO!!!

The post Interview with Tony Thomas of Dawn of Ouroboros appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Today, I have a bit of a treat for you. Not only do I have a metric buttload of text for everyone, but I also bequeath upon you a full Zoom interview (edited amateurishly by yours truly) with my guest, Zach Randall, founder and guitarist of Northern Crown. I’ve transcribed a selection of excerpts from that interview, but we cover so much ground I highly encourage everyone to check out the clip. I want to extend a heartfelt “Thank you, fren!” to Zach for sticking around for just over two hours, talking about everything so honestly and freely. It was a highlight of my year, and I deeply appreciate his companionship. One final note before I dispense with this overlong introduction: everything—including segues unrelated to mental health awareness—in this interview is rooted in personal experiences recounted from memory, and does not constitute medical advice or instruction (always always always consult a professional as your first step when treating health matters, mental or otherwise). We just want to talk about the topic of mental health without feeling afraid that what we say isn’t worth saying, because it is. That’s the whole fucking point!

We weren’t expecting anybody to come to us to ask us to be a part of this interview, and when you did it was really cool because we were like, “oh man, so, people are actually reading these and had something to add!”

Yeah, you know, it’s one of those things where it’s… mental health in general is a topic that I’m passionate about. Obviously I have had my issues with it or else I wouldn’t be talking to you about it. In my 42 years I’ve learned quite a bit about it. On top of that, your site has a pretty big hand in what following my band does have. When The Others came out and Steel reviewed that, it was, like, immediate traction for the band. It was our second album, so nobody knew us and it made a big difference. It’s a combination of, I’m saying, “hey I have something to contribute,” and in that particular conversation you helped me out a lot.

I also want to just thank you for coming forward because that means that what we’re doing matters and that people are interested, and that if people have something to share we’re not going to tell them not to. That would be… backwards.

You have to destigmatize mental health stuff… you have to talk. The best way to destigmatize stuff is to talk about it, and I think that for so long the heavy metal, and to a lesser extent the rock world has been this very macho thing where you’re sort of… you know think about the whole Judas Priest chains and leather look that Manowar takes to a ridiculous degree. That’s been our genre for decades and you’re not supposed to talk about things, you’re not supposed to feel things. You can talk about depression but you talk do it in an angry screaming Pantera way, it’s like, no, let’s have a conversation about this stuff, dude.

Exactly. On that note, there’s a lot of people who, when you bring up the subject, they kind of shy away from it, either because they were brought up believing that they aren’t supposed to or that it’s taboo or something. But I think a lot of people also don’t really know how to talk about it. Like, they don’t know what to say, how to say it, when to say it, or even if it’s okay to say it. For you, at least, what was the thing that broke that wall for you?

Okay, so this will require some backstory. And there’s some early life stuff that I don’t think is required for this explanation. But really what it came down to was, I guess it was seven years ago now. I was married at the time. I was incredibly unhappy. I weighed about 300-320 pounds. I had a massive drinking problem, and my wife and I were both miserable. And I looked at myself in the mirror one morning and it was sort of like, “Okay, I don’t like who I am or who I am becoming, so I need to change this situation.” Step 1 was to get myself out of that relationship, get myself out of that house, but that wasn’t all of it. And since then, this sort of progression of I’m going to find a trustworthy therapist, and I joined a meditation group at a certain point. It started off as a combination of sort of survival techniques because there’s a lot of bad stuff happening and I need to turtle down and figure out how I’m going to get through this so that required talking to a professional about how I felt and then sort of looking inside and see what it is that I’m feeling and why I’m reacting that way. And then the final step was having some friends that I really really trusted that have spent some years getting to know and I knew they were good people and trustworthy, and confiding in them and telling them, “hey, something’s going on. I’m feeling this way, and reacting this way because of this.” And what that was is that my friends would understand what’s going on with me so they would know if I reacted strange to something, this is why, because there is something in my head that I cannot control, I can only control how I react to it. Also, you know, what I started realizing is when you say certain things, because maybe you have a thought in your head and you’re convinced about something in yourself or convinced that something bad is going to happen, and you say it out loud you realize, “Oh, yeah, that is kinda silly, nevermind.” So I started realizing there’s a lot of value in talking about it in that it helped my friends understand where I’m coming from and it built a better bond and it had a positive effect of me not staying stuck in my head. Saying stuff out loud takes some of the power away from it.

Since you brought up your friends there, when you and your bandmates write music, how do you bring your relative experiences together to form songs that really speak to you or that you hope will speak to other people who listen to them?

Yeah, so there’s two parts to that. Part of that is, musically I just sort of write what I want to hear when I don’t necessary think someone is making exactly the way I am. I’m like okay, if I like this, somebody else probably does. Lyrically, you know when the band started I wrote all the lyrics, and now there’s probably a 70/30 or 60/40 split between me and Frank. When you hear advice when people are aspiring novelists or short writers, the advice is write what you know. So, for me it’s been living my life and sharing the stories of my life, albeit in a dramatic, overwrought, doom-metal way. You could probably write some overdone story about going to the store to get milk in a doom song and nobody would know what it was about. You gotta play it up a little bit. In metal in general, but especially for us it gives you a big template to take something that happened in your life. It’s been a lot of relationship stuff. There’s definitely been at least one relationship song on every album, or maybe I’ll take a moment in time where I had a really intense feeling about something, and break that back down and sort of turn that into a story, and it’s sort of writing what I feel in a somewhat eloquent but still musical manner. In terms of how it resonates with people, I mean, I write what I write and it seems like there are some people that it resonates with, but, and I don’t want this to sound arrogant when I say this, but at the end of the day there are three people that it matters how it resonates and that’s myself, Frank and Leona¹. That’s the audience I’m trying to please. I do want people to like it, I do want it to resonate, but at the end of the day, we aren’t a signed band. I do this with my time and my money, and we do things in a really professional way, so when it’s said and done I have to feel good about the riffs that I play or the words that I write and the stories that I tell in my records. But I think being genuine, I think being honest, will always resonate with people. If you are prone to this sort of music and want to pick up the lyrics and read along with what it is we’re talking about, I think as human beings we are more similar than we are different. Just by the process of making honest music and not shying away from my feelings or from the dark stuff, I just think that I’m opening myself up to the world and that’s something that will naturally connect with people.

Yeah I definitely agree that, when I hear a band release material that feels like it comes from the heart, when it feels like what they created mattered to them, even if it’s something that’s supposed to be funny or supposed to be kind of kitchy or whatever, you can still make it impactful.

I think I’ve made a half-dozen albums at this point, you know, stuff that I’ve produced myself. That’s one of the reasons I’m doing this, I wanted to be a record producer. One of the things that I’ve learned is that you can tell when a band is having fun and, again, we do the sort of tough, serious exterior in heavy metal for the most part. There are obviously bands that are intentionally funny, but… dude, making records is fun, and you can be doing this really serious, dark music about a heavy topic, and, honestly dude, like, I’m literally sitting in my home studio right now and it gets silly as fuck in this room. It really, really does, and it’s because we’re having fun. That’s sort of where the genuineness comes from, because you’re not trying to be anything other than yourself and you’re doing something cool with your friends. I mean, does life get better than that? I don’t think it does, and that will shine through in terms of enthusiasm and passion and quality of performance. So, to bring it back to your question I think doing what I do with passion, I think will, so long as I have my head on straight and I’m making the best album I can, I think on some level that will always resonate with people.

People don’t really think that, whether you are really having a tough time because everything around you is really tough, or you’re just suffering from mental illness all the time and so you have to constantly battle all those demons, or if you are going through some other third thing, I feel most people tend to think that they got stuck in a really unique situation. That nobody else would be able to identify with or empathize with it, and that’s why they never talk about it. But there are 7.8 billion people on the planet so the odds that you’re the only one going through this particular thing is infinitesimal. So opening up really shows how many people can identify, and that’s an important part of the mental health discussion. To show the people who are afraid to talk that there are a million billion people who are also afraid to talk, and that’s in and of itself a reason to talk.

We’re more similar than we are different, and it’s really really easy to forget that. Here’s the thing. Sort of that notion of, “I’m the only person going through something.” I go through that, of course, everybody goes through that. I think there are a couple of things going on there. First of all, we don’t want to talk about it and if you don’t talk about it you don’t know if other people feel the same way. And the other thing is that slick, glossy image that social media present to us of what other people’s lives are like. I’ve certainly been guilty of this in the past of me posting “look at how awesome my life is” and happy relationship pictures or whatever. If you see me doing otherwise feel free to call me out in the future, but I’ve sort of made a vow to not do that. I post cat pictures and guitar pictures on Facebook now and I share funny memes. And I’m on there to stay in touch with friends and family. That’s how I stay in touch with them. I see so much stuff, just going through my Facebook feed, from people that I know well enough and I see what they’re posting and I’m like, “yeah that’s not really what’s going on,” because I know them well enough to know that there’s other stuff happening and it’s irresponsible. It’s not like you can’t post pictures of yourself happy and it’s fine. It’s irresponsible I think to present a false narrative of yourself. And I’m not saying it’s malicious when you do it, because you actually may be doing this to make yourself feel good. The reality is our actions affect everybody, especially because we’re so connected. Even, like, compared to ten years ago, it’s completely different how we’re connected. I don’t think it’s an inherently bad thing, I know that some people do. I think it has some really bad side effects. One of those is that false glossy image on Facebook and my life is fucking shit. No dude. It’s not. That’s not the way it is. There’s somebody that’s posting happy stuff in a constant stream, but no, they might be actually fucking miserable, and this is their way of coping with it. But I think it’s good to be aware of what you are sharing and how that might be received. We’ve already established that people don’t like to talk about the way that they are feeling about some of this mental health stuff, so you may not know that somebody you care about very much is struggling with something, and then you post something very polished and that might affect somebody really badly. You don’t really mean to, but think about what you’re presenting to the world. We present everything to the world now. That affects people. It affects somebody you care about. So there’s two sides of it. We’re prone to not talk about it, and then everybody presents this picture of, “look at my fucking awesome life.”

I feel like, lately, especially with all of this time that people have at home to just research stuff because they’re bored, of all things, the metal community spends a lot of time focusing on bands with people who suffer from mental illness or who do really terrible things to other people and how awful it is that it’s always happening, that they’re always finding a new one. But there’s the opposite side of that coin and I don’t think enough people are talking about that. Because you have artists like this one frontwoman—I can’t remember her name or the band she’s in, —who is schizophrenic, but she manages to tour all the time, and she manages to still see a therapist, and she manages to be a fruitful member of her band and she is a reportedly still going. I don’t know if you know who I’m talking about, and I know there are more artists like her.

It’s always easier to talk about bad stuff. I don’t know that anybody would watch the news if it was all… actually you know what I would watch the news if it was all good news. I think that it’s easier to talk about scandalous stuff because then you can be righteous and have a moral outrage about it. If don’t know if that’s a human thing or a cultural thing or whatever. I actually didn’t know about this band and I’m just learning, and we should celebrate artists like that. You know, I was at ProgPower this last year and Psychotic Waltz played, you know, their one guitar player is in a wheelchair. Fuck, dude, you know that cannot be easy! Never mind sitting there and playing, okay, that’s one thing. On a side note, I sit in this very chair for hours on end working on music, and sitting down while having a guitar or bass on destroys your fucking back it’s so bad, but then trying to travel and carrying your gear and trying to get everything set up. There are so many things involved that becomes immensely difficult for this guy and he’s still out there playing. They put on an amazing fucking set, so I mean maybe we should be… we can’t expect anybody else to do it, maybe some of us have to individually lift these people up and maybe it’s something that’ll grow. If you’re telling me… I’m telling you this guy is in a wheelchair and you’re telling me there’s a diagnosed schizophrenic that’s still out there being a productive artists, dude, that’s great stuff to talk about. I’d rather talk about that than the guy from As I Lay Dying trying to get his wife killed, you know?

Exactly, because, you know, the negative stuff only furthers the stereotype that mental illness destroys people, in that you can’t talk to anybody because all anybody will ever see is your mental illness or what’s wrong with you. They won’t talk to you, they’ll ostracize and exile and all that other kind of stuff, but it’s not like that. At all. It’s just this weird, twisted version of reality that people make up because there are too many examples of that being publicized so heavily.

Specifically talking about musicians, we have a really weird view of musicians, in the US anyway, in that it’s sort of very attractive and desirable. Part of that is the whole rockstar part of it, but at the same time there’s this sort of suspicious glance that, like, rock and metal musicians have and I think it’s a lot better than it used to be, but I remember in college I’d walk around with my long hair and my Ozzy and Slayer shirt on and people were aggressively nasty to me. And it’s just sort of that view of what somebody who listens to heavy metal is, and that thankfully has changed substantially because when you have a band like Metallica becoming so mainstream or you have Iron Maiden being gigantic, literally every place in the planet. I mean, there are probably penguins in Antarctica with Iron Maiden shirts on! It normalizes it, and even like death metal has become kind of normalized, you start to hear screaming in very mainstream music. In our Slack for work, you’ll see people using the horns emoji, or just people casually referring to something as being “really fucking metal” and you know the person has never listened to metal in their lives. It’s become very normalized at this point, but there’s still a suspicious glance on what sort of person a metal musician in general is. There was a woman I dated maybe, like five years ago. One of the first conversations was, “I know you’re in a band, so you’re probably used to girls just throwing it at you, but I’m not like that.” I’m like, I’ve been playing music for a long time and I’ve never had a girl “throw it at me” just because I was in a band. It’s not being in a band, it’s being famous is what it is.

Yeah, exactly. And, you know, that’s not always the thing that people want, either. A lot of these bands just want to make music, that’s what’s important to them.

I actually haven’t played live since 2016, and that’s because my band is sort of scattered, but it’s by choice. I stopped enjoying gigging quite a bit. I’ve got my little home studio here, and my guitar collection and I make music, you know? I actually have taken advantage of the pandemic. I’ve been writing a ridiculous amount of music lately. I just formed a side project very very recently. It won’t be released until this fall because I gotta give the Northern Crown room to breathe. Sort of started out as a stoner thing, just me curious to see if I could get a stoner guitar sound, but it’s sort of shifted more towards old school doom and Candlemass. Yeah, I’ve got a whole album written, and I’m getting musicians to record their parts, and it’s like, that’s what I like to do. Nobody will probably ever hear these songs live and that’s fine, but I’m making and releasing a record. I’ve got a melodic death metal project that I started three years ago, and I’m like, “well, fuck, I have time to finish that now!” That’s what I like to do.

That actually brings me to the current events question. There are a lot of people who are stuck at home, obviously, with this quarantine thing and the more info that comes out the more it seems like the lockdowns is going to be going on for a long time.

I hear in Florida they’re talking about opening things up, and it’s like whatever. I could see this lasting a couple of years. I really could, but hopefully not.

Yeah, and you know that affects people who have to deal with a lot of mentally harrowing stuff. They are stuck at home, which, in a lot of people’s minds, their ability to find help and to seek treatment has now been handicapped. But there are a lot of resources out there, I think still.

Speaking about mental health resources during this, my therapist is in his 70s. I actually went into his office, and I had an extra webcam and I set it up on his computer, and taught him to use Skype and Zoom, and I was like, “yeah, doc, I’m not seeing you again in person until this is done.” And now he’s doing sessions remotely. There are absolutely options for people out there, thankfully, and I also think it’s really important to do Zoom hangouts. Like, I have a lady friend that I take on virtual dates, and it’s done sitting right in this chair. My best friends, we do virtual hangouts. I think we are fortunate in that—not all of us, because some people don’t have the same resources, so I don’t wanna make everybody live their life the way I do—but, we have such ridiculously powerful technology at our hands. So, life is not ideal at all right now, however, there are a lot of things that we can do to help stave off some of the social isolation that we might be dealing with otherwise. Thereby, we give a little bit of improvement to your mental health.

Yeah, because you can’t just quit your self care because the world is trying to deal with a virus. You can’t let that stop you. You have to keep going, you have to keep working on it. And that’s why it’s important to know that there’s still plenty of ways to accomplish that. There’s still ways to practice self-care. You have to socialize, you have to find some way, if you need it, to access therapy and all that other stuff. The fact that we are doing this interview this way right now is evidence to the fact that it’s possible.

I like that you were just using the phrase self-care, by the way. That’s a phrase that I don’t know that I’ve ever heard until I saw a therapist. Again, I don’t wanna assume my experiences are global, but I don’t know that it’s a phrase I’ve heard a lot. I think the notions of self-care and self-compassion are something that I think need to be spread out generally a little bit more. I think, if everybody made more of an effort to exercise self-care and self-compassion, I think the world would become a markedly better place very quickly.

Yes, and you know, the hardest part for me—because until I met my roommate who told me about self-care, I didn’t do self-care. I was satisfied to go to my psychiatrist and just say what I needed to say there and then that would be it, which obviously is not enough. And then, my roommate told me about the concept of self-care just ambiently during normal conversation, and slowly over time and with effort, I realized just how important it is because that means, you know, you’re working but you’re in the middle of a panic attack. Self-care is getting out of there, you know, making sure that you have a way out. You don’t want to be at work with a panic attack on your plate, you know, it’s not right. You have to learn how to say, “I can’t be here right now. I have to take time for myself. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

That’s been an important thing for me about being self-employed and doing consulting, so that my schedule is very flexible so that when I need to have a mental health day or a self-care day, I’m able to do so. I need to take care of my responsibilities. It’s honestly been super valuable. A whole other personal philosophy of sitting at a desk for eight hours because reasons is not—I’m sort of opposed to having a job like that anyway, but then having issues with depression and anxiety and sometimes I just need to not be around people, period. It’s really important for me to be able to do that and still earn a living.

Right. I think that at least in America that the most difficult part of it is our sociopolitical climate, I guess, hasn’t evolved to the point where being comfortable setting that boundary where you know that you need to be separate from your profession or your social circle for a minute… it’s not really mainstream yet. Jobs still don’t support that kind of stuff. There are plenty of companies that do but still way too many that don’t. Eventually we will work our way to there, but it’s important for people to start getting comfortable with it now.
So I think I’m gonna ask one more question and then I guess I’ll let you go. I had one more question in my book, which I tossed it like an hour and a half ago—I didn’t need it anymore. But, the last question is one I always try to ask everyone in this series. Have you ever had anybody reach out to you and express how touched by your music? Have you ever had an instance where somebody was like, “wow, this was special to me and I wanna thank the people who made it?”

So, on our first album In the Hands of the Betrayer there’s a song called “To Give an Orchid.” I had actually started writing that song in the early 2000s and it sort of evolved over time and it was a sort of demo in a couple different bands that never got release, and I finally released it with Northern Crown. I would do it differently now, and I actually may re-record it sometime in the next year, but Frank has a really good vocal performance. I really like a lot of the lyrics and there’s cool instrumentation in there. But I had somebody email me once and said that it was him and his girlfriend or his wife and they were driving around listening to it on a CD, and after it was over they just sort of sat in silence, jaws on the floor, looked over at each other, and the guy’s wife said, “I wanna make babies to that song!”

That’s awesome! That’s a cool reaction to get!

It is! Unfortunately, since we don’t play live I don’t get the sort of… you know, we get reviewed and we have people reach out. It would be nice to have some more fan interaction than what I get right now, though. That would be cool. Maybe that will happen now that we’re stuck at home, but ultimately I make this music for an audience of three, but if there’s people out there that it’s impacting them positively in some way or if they’re just banging their head to a riff I wrote, that’s something that I’d like to know.

Well, it’s been a blast talking to you! I’m very excited for everyone at the site to get to read this interview! I just want to thank you again for your time to hang out with me, and by extension the AMG crew and stuff.

I’m glad to do so. It was a good time.

Agreed! So I guess just stay healthy, and keep your head up during these trying times, and be well!

Thank you, same to you. Peace out, homie!

Editor’s Note: Northern Crown’s latest album was released July 3rd and the review can be found here.

The post Mental Health Awareness: Interview with Northern Crown’s Zach Randall appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

This is the second of two posts based on interviews that I did with each of:

• Nicolas Fernandes-Skog of Hypnotic Dirge Records (Bandcamp), which operates out of Canada;
• Robert Brockmann of Naturmacht Productions (Bandcamp), based in Finland; and
• Kunal Choksi of Transcending Obscurity Records (Bandcamp), operating from India.

In Part I, I asked Nic, Robert and Kunal about their respective backgrounds, what led them to found their labels and what they hoped to achieve when they started out. We also talked about what they look for in bands they sign and what sort of working relationship they look to build with those bands. Narcissistically, I also wanted to hear about how amazing they think AMG is and what sort of impact we, and other review sites have on labels and bands (if any!).

In this second part, we talked about everything from the (apparent) obsession with vinyl and merch in a digital age to what each of the label bosses have seen change in recent years and what challenges they anticipate down the line. I also asked whether they saw a risk of labels becoming obsolete and the challenges they all face now, with the Coronavirus pandemic.

As I did in Part I, I would urge everyone who is able, to continue to support the labels and bands that are the lifeblood of our scene and to check out the offers they are making available at this time.

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Let them eat cake …

“When I first started releasing music, I typically stuck to releasing albums on CD and leaving it at that,” says Nic of the early days of Hypnotic Dirge. Now, of course, the world has wholeheartedly embraced digital technology – everyone has the option to access numerous streaming platforms or carry a digital library of music around on their phone, which, in physical form, would take a small van to shift. Yet, if one believes everything one reads – and you certainly shouldn’t do that here at AMG, children – physical formats like vinyl, CD and even bloody cassettes are making a return. Why? “I started up right when digital came in and pushed CD sales down, and digital was new, and practical,” says Robert but “it’s different to own something physical, collect it and browse through it. And people (also younger ones) probably recognize more and more that something is missing when you only have digital music.” Hence the vinyl hype? Well, to a degree, although Kunal is a bit more cautious. “People think whatever you press will get sold out overnight but that’s not true, at least not in my experience.” He suggests it may be more of a “perceived notion than anything,” which makes it “very easy for a band to demand vinyl but it’s ridiculously expensive and I don’t think most bands have the kind of loyal following to even justify that move.”

The trend – perceived or not – for physical items to supplement the digital goes beyond vinyl, to include merch. As Nic points out, Hypnotic Dirge has found itself releasing more and more merch and bundle options – patches, stickers, signed cards, shirts – because “as everyone has music accessible to them at all times from the internet, I think people have generally become more interested in merch as a way to support bands and labels.” He adds that he’s really pushed the digital format, alongside the merch, making all the records in Hypnotic Dirge’s catalog available “for no minimum price and completely donation-based. On the one hand, this gets the music out to people much quicker and, since they are digital-only files … I have no issue offering them for free and accepting donations from people who choose to donate. I think people understand that small labels operate on very tight margins so there are many people who are willing to help support us by donating a few bucks. This enables me to fund future releases and produce physical merch for those who prefer something more tangible.”

Transcending Obscurity has perhaps taken some of the merch ideas to extremes, with things that seem more than a little out there, like Noctu’s Gelidae Mortis Imago, one CD version of which came replete with the scent of funeral flowers. “People here sometimes think I’ve gone crazy,” says Kunal “but we don’t want to conform … I like to keep progressing no matter what.” Operating out of India, however, there are challenges, as Kunal explains: “we don’t have standards in place here for metal products. When we work with local vendors here, we give them templates which we’ve created for our own products.” That even runs down to things like shirts, where Kunal wishes “it was as easy as contacting a company, giving them your order, and having things delivered to you. Our current modus operandi involves me actually acquiring special extra thick cotton cloth, having it stitched by an experienced tailor as per our international size chart that we’ve created patterns for, and then assembling it all after the various printing processes …”

The consensus is though that the demand for some sort of physical items – whether that’s CDs and vinyl or merch bundles – is likely here to stay, as Robert puts it, “as long as there are people who see music as more than a pleasant background noise (like pop music), as well as because of nostalgia of course.”

The more things change …

If that interest in physical releases and merch is here to stay, what changes can we anticipate in the coming years? Hypnotic Dirge switched to a ‘name-your-price’ model for digital releases back in 2014. Nic admits that the move was “a bit worrying” at the time because if it didn’t work out, he would have had to go back to putting minimum download prices on releases. “Luckily the community had been very supportive and generous, and listeners recognize that we are dependent on community support for future releases.” This model means that if anyone is struggling financially they can still access Hypnotic Dirge’s releases and “eliminating unnecessary restrictions on art accessibility,” is very important to Nic. But now that streaming and digital have “reached a point where there are no longer any real barriers to access, I actually suspect things will remain relatively stable for the foreseeable future.”

Since setting up Naturmacht, Robert observes that fans’, as well as bands’, expectations have changed. “It’s become rare that you only release one format and even debutants hope for both a CD and vinyl release.” Although some people just like to collect nice things, Robert – “quite the puritan in many things” – worries that the focus is now sometimes on “superficial stuff and not the art itself.” He doesn’t want to be a “seller of luxury goods that only 5% of metal heads could afford to buy.” Going forward, it’s key for him and Naturmacht that people don’t forget what matters: “that it’s well made, honest and emotional music.”

Like his colleagues, Kunal has built his label from nothing to “working with over a hundred bands and now there’s a bit of recognition that goes with the name Transcending Obscurity.” Having graduated from doing basic jewel case CDs, “operating out of my bedroom, packing everything on my bed,” Kunal and a small team are now able to offer to 8- and 12-panel digipaks, and work with formats that “weren’t possible to make from India such as vinyl and cassettes.” His efforts are beginning to pay off and “it feels good to work with some better-known bands nowadays.” Looking to the future, Kunal’s main aim is to “strive to offer better deals to bands and cover more costs for them where possible – it’s one of our goals to do it all for our bands in the coming years,” including looking to start getting them shows. He’s not looking to compete with the bigger labels but “that doesn’t mean I can’t try and build a bit of an empire and look after the bands on Transcending Obscurity.”

It’s not only some of the labels that are continuing to grow but the sheer number of releases continues to rise and this might, gradually, become a problem, suggests Robert “because the number of listeners isn’t growing at the same rate.” Even the Naturmacht boss struggles to keep up with the amount of black metal releases we see nowadays and, as a genre, it has become “much more professional in the last ten years,” a combination which makes it “very hard for newcomers.” This could mean that we “begin to see labels and bands drop out or at least that each release gets fewer and fewer listens.” That said, metal’s horizons have already begun to expand, with Asia and Africa slowly beginning to embrace metal, “bringing many more new listeners but also potentially many more bands and releases,” muses Robert.

A bygone age …

With so many bands out there doing their thing, coupled with the growth of digital, do we even need labels to push out music anymore? “I’ve asked myself that question,” says Robert “but this whole overload of music just makes a label more important. We act as the first filter and some fans stick to labels because you can’t stick with a million bands.” Kunal agrees that, with the “advent of better technology, the recording and mixing/mastering process have become much easier and bands don’t need those big advances from labels but, on the flipside, a ton more bands are producing albums and doing it rapidly.” This makes it “extremely difficult for a band to do everything itself and break through on its own,” he adds.

Also, if a band is going to try and do things professionally, “there is more to making a release than uploading it with a cover to Bandcamp or Spotify – it’s not just a case of go to a studio, design cool artwork, sell it,” says Robert. Bands need to think about everything from “how and where to promote their record, to what to do about taxes and accounting once they sell more than ten CDs a year, shipping the CDs and merch … what about packaging and customs regulations?” Choosing to work with a label gets you access to all that knowledge as well as to “a sizeable customer base amassed by a label that has put out numerous releases, whereas a band only has customers it makes itself and that’s hard without extensive touring,” adds Kunal. If you’re thinking about promotion, continues Kunal, “an easy reference would be, for instance, the subscribers they have on their YouTube channel and, nine times out of ten, the label will have a much higher subscriber base.”

Strictly speaking, concedes Nic, “I don’t think any band really requires a label anymore … anything a label does is something that can now be done by the bands themselves, but it does certainly help to have that support.” It means that the label can take the pressure off by handling PR, graphics, packing and shipping, allowing the bands “to concentrate more on writing, recording and touring,” he says. Bands like Wilderun, who make a mark unsigned¹, “are an anomaly and that kind of success is possible only with solid critic backing, in this case of your site itself,” says Kunal. For every unsigned success story, “there are thousands who try it and fail,” concludes Robert “so I don’t think we will become obsolete anytime soon … every label stills gets signing requests every day.”

End times …

In the past few months, the world has been turned upside in a way people, at least in the developed world, have not seen since the Second World War. The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has been felt, to varying degrees, by everyone and in every walk of life. Here at AMG, we have tried to do our tiny little bit, trying to draw attention to bands that had shows cancelled as a result of the virus and, as a group of writers, I’m proud to say that we have all engaged in some serious Bandcamp splurges, especially on those days (the first Friday of each month), when the platform waives its fees. Entire label back catalogs have been purchased, along with merch, vinyl and more. But how exactly is the pandemic affecting life at small labels?

“Man, it’s just surreal,” says Kunal. “I feel like pinching myself because this is something that’s completely unprecedented and we’re all so ill-prepared to tackle this. Sales have been hit hard. But at such times, it’s probably better to focus on the positive than negative, and we’ve offered our entire catalog of over a hundred releases for free download (sub-label included).” The situation is similar for Naturmacht: “Logistics are slower and prices are rising, and there is a huge uncertainty. I ship from Spain, so my shipping guy has to deal with the alerts and Spanish post is not working completely normally.” Like Kunal though, Robert tries to look on the bright side noting that “it could be worse and metal heads/music lovers really stick together in this it seems and sales have not been affected that much. For which I am very grateful! But, of course, if the situation goes on for months², things will get more problematic…”

Of course, Hypnotic Dirge is no different and, as Nic says, “we’re all going to be negatively affected” but it’s a situation that is “out of our control and we just have to roll with it. The important thing is being socially-responsible and staying at home … Releases and shows are going to be delayed but there’s no sense in worrying about something that is out of our control.” Nic goes on to suggest that the pause to general life brought on by the pandemic could have a “silver lining,” if we choose to see it and “use the time to become closer socially, embrace a slower pace of life, watch movies and documentaries, read books, create art, and live a healthier lifestyle.” He suggests that, “as a society, we placed far too high of an emphasis on consumption and the cult of validation-seeking. I think this can provide us all with a ‘reset,’ some time to critically think about our personal habits, as well as a market-based system that completely falls apart the moment that people’s labor is taken out of the equation.”

Some will choose to see it that way and others will not but, as Kunal says, “at least there won’t be a dearth of getting good new music” and he’s “incredibly thankful to all the customers for their support in such times and also their patience and understanding.”

A life of luxury…

“Most days,” says Nic, speaking of life running Hypnotic Dirge in normal times, before a pandemic swept the world, “I love what I do. It would be a hell of a lot easier to just quit and find a stable, full-time job with a guaranteed income. There are certainly a lot of sacrifices but I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t enjoy it and find value in what I’m involved with.” It’s no different at Transcending Obscurity. Asked what he gets out of running the label, Kunal says “satisfaction, sustenance, a headache … not necessarily in that order.” Although no one begins their search for fame and fortune by founding an extreme metal label, as Kunal points out, “part of the label business that few people realize is that we actually lose money too … I want to do the very best but practically it doesn’t always make sense and you learn the hard way,” having offered more formats and merch than was needed, or being too generous with the budget for artwork or videos. “But would I willingly want to work this hard for just money in some other line? Probably not. Because it’s not about the money – there’s something more. This is our passion and we thrive off it.”

It’s about “building something, and I love how it serves all my interests and hobbies, and I can use all my skills and live out my creativity,” says Robert. There are downsides too, though, he adds. Naturmacht has been his sole source of income for a few years now, and this has meant that what was once a “hobby becomes work and loses its magic quite a bit, but it is still the best work for me right now.” Nic, who says the number of jobs he’s taken and then quit because he needed more time to focus on Hypnotic Dirge is “quite staggering and I’ve also put off educating myself for higher-paying, easier work – I’m essentially limited to ‘non-skilled’ labor work” but “I get far more fulfillment and joy being involved in the music industry than every single day job I’ve ever had, so I see no reason to quit anytime soon.”

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Again, I want to offer my huge thanks to each of Kunal, Robert and Nic for all the time they gave so willingly to answer my questions and for their incredible frankness. I have sought in these two posts to draw together the threads that ran through our conversations but for those who would like to read their words, unadulterated by my editorial licence, you can read the full interviews with each of them here:

• Full interview with Nicolas Fernandes-Skogg, Hypnotic Dirge Records;
• Full interview with Robert Brockmann, Naturmacht Productions; and
• Full interview with Kunal Choksi, Transcending Obscurity Records.

Once more, I would encourage everyone who is able to at the moment, to get out there (not physically, obviously) and support their favorite labels and artists at this challenging time.

The post The Art of Labelling – Pt II appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Something that has always frustrated my film-buff wife, is my utter lack of interest in who directed a particular film. To my heathen mind, surely, it’s the people on screen, and not behind the camera, that matter. I applied much the same simplistic logic to my metal until relatively recently: surely, it’s the people on record that matter. And that is, of course, true but, the more time I’ve spent reviewing stuff on this here blog, the more I’ve begun to take note of record labels, to the point now that certain labels generate certain expectations for an album. With that realization, I became more interested in labels, how they work and the people behind them.

So, I decided to try and speak to a few labels and ask the people who set up and run them about their backgrounds, their aims and hopes in founding a metal label, and what challenges they’ve faced thus far, as well as what road blocks they see down the road. Here at AMG Towers, we are hugely privileged to receive promo materials from tons of great labels and, frankly, I could have tried posing my amateurish questions to any of them. But I particularly wanted to speak to small, essentially one-person labels, which are the lifeblood of our scene. I also wanted to ensure that I spoke to labels operating in different geographical locations and markets. With that in mind, I approached:

• Nicolas Fernandes-Skog of Hypnotic Dirge Records (Bandcamp), which operates out of Canada;
• Robert Brockmann of Naturmacht Productions (Bandcamp), based in Finland; and
• Kunal Choksi of Transcending Obscurity Records (Bandcamp), operating from India.

I was truly humbled by the responses I got from each of Nic, Robert and Kunal, who all gave up significant chunks of time to answer my questions and give me a sense of what it’s like to run an independent metal label (indeed, I had so many questions and their answers were so full, that this has ended up being two posts).

I am hugely grateful to them for their help with this piece and would encourage everyone to check out their webshops and Bandcamp pages (all linked above) and, if you can afford to, maybe pick something up and support these, and other, labels in this hugely challenging time.

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From humble beginnings …

I have mused in the past about the amount of effort and dedication it takes to put out a self-released record. Similarly, I was keen to understand what would make someone suddenly decide to set up an underground record label. Although each of my interviewees came at this from a slightly different angle, they all had the same ultimate aim.

After self-releasing the second album by his own dark ambient project, Ancient Tundra, Nic came to set up Hypnotic Dirge almost on a whim. He was “in the midst of conversation with other musician friends on myspace, I realized that many of them were independent and I thought it might be an interesting endeavor to start up a small label and release their albums as well.” This was back around 2008 and Nic was “mostly releasing albums from friends on limited-run CD-R and trying to learn along the way.” A year later and a continent away, another musician, Robert, founded Naturmacht out of a sense of frustration with “the way many labels did their work, ripping off bands or giving less of the gain to them.” With some savings in his pocket and looking for something meaningful to do with his life more generally, Robert decided to “do something lasting and build something up [and] one day I had the idea to just do a label myself.” Meanwhile, in India, Kunal was running his own PR company and, on the side, a small webzine reviewing music and trying to help promote bands around the world. Approached by an Australian band, The Dead, looking for help to try and find a label, Kunal thought “perhaps I would give it a shot … it couldn’t hurt the band at that stage.” Working with international bands “was a huge challenge from a country like India, which wasn’t really known for its metal scene or bands. But I stuck with it for better or worse and here I am!”

Continuing the theme of his webzine, Kunal’s original idea with Transcending Obscurity was, as the name suggests, “to help bands grow.” That’s a standard he still goes by today but there’s a hierarchy to these things, so he started “in the underground and working with those bands [and] I was able to help them grow and they weren’t so underground anymore after I was done with the release.” When Hypnotic Dirge began, Nic “certainly didn’t have any grand plans,” thinking he would “maybe release music for 1 or 2 years before putting my focus back into writing and releasing my own music, perhaps using my label as a vehicle for my own projects.” Similarly, Robert had no plans “to become big or the next Nuclear Blast” – his mission was simply to be “fair, honest and authentic … [and] to make the costs back!”

A day in the life …

Years on, all three labels are going from strength to strength and, although still relatively small – at least compared to the likes of Nuclear Blast – a day in the life of a metal label boss is pretty full. As Kunal puts it, life running Transcending Obscurity is “way too hectic these days” and “definitely not the kind of ‘label boss’ life you would imagine!” For all three, running as essentially one-man outfits, it’s “a lot of email communication with bands, customers and plants. Social media, photoshop, designing PR material and everything else connected to making a release (sometimes mastering, mixing and designing artworks). So 100% office work,” as Robert explains of life at Naturmacht headquarters.

Nic, Robert and Kunal are all aware of each other, of course, but is there much opportunity to actually interact with other labels, I wondered? “I still trade with other labels or buy their releases for distribution in our shop when I can, although it’s getting harder and harder to find the time … With my workload being what it is, it’s tough to find time to just chat about releases, discuss strategy, or simply ask how they are doing,” says Nic. For Kunal, contact is “minimal.” Being based in India, he feels “pretty much isolated here but of course I have a healthy respect for all of them.” Isolated by choice, rather than geography, Robert prefers to “do stuff completely myself because I have my own way of doing things. He adds that he “also stopped trading, as it has become senseless in the time of the internet.”

From the heart …

“True and honest emotions and music,” said Robert, when I asked him what he looks for in bands to sign to Naturmacht. Unsurprisingly, it’s the same for the other guys: “I mean we’re working with bands from Argentina and Paraguay,” says Kunal, “and I’m not looking at the logistics – it’s all about the music!” The problem, adds Nic, is that there are “so many bands with potential and I’m sure Kunal and Robert can both attest to the fact that it is simply impossible to listen to all the demos they receive, let alone find space in their release schedule for everything that they appreciate.” Robert agrees and has to be “picky these days and I get A LOT of requests. And it’s often great music, but a one man operation got its limits.” Even with all this music coming in – “on almost a daily basis,” as Kunal says – there is still further work to be done, reaching out to bands “usually just by digging through Bandcamp, YouTube or from recommendations from friends,” adds Nic.

With so many demos coming in, I assume that each label pretty much has its pick of who to sign? Not quite. And this is where regional differences begin to creep in. While Robert, operating out of Europe, says he does not try to persuade bands to sign up to Naturmacht. Instead, he shows “my offer, we talk about it or not (because they do not answer). But if a band does not like the offer, I do not run after them … There are enough great bands out there and I also treat all bands the same if possible.” The life of a metal label in India is a bit different though, as Kunal explains that a lot of bands are “skeptical probably because of where I’m from. It’s inconceivable for them to work with a label from India.” Although Transcending Obscurity has, well, become a lot less obscure and “it’s a lot easier now than it was a few years back,” Kunal still has “bands tell me that they wouldn’t work with me because I’m from India and that they’d rather work with a smaller but local label, which defies logic … [and] it sucks to lose a good band that you feel would be a good fit for the label.”

A true partnership …

“We become friends,” says Kunal of the day-to-day of working with the bands signed to Transcending Obscurity, “ideally I want it to be like a family and would like things to be smooth and mutually beneficial, with monetary aspects being secondary to good working rapport. So far I’ve been pretty successful at that…” Robert concurs: “I always want to create cooperation based on trust and, if possible, friendship” with the bands on Naturmacht. Nic is also in touch with Hypnotic Dirge’s bands as much as possible and, while it’s “more regular contact in the run up to a release and shortly afterwards,” there is always something to discuss, ranging from “non-release specific merch and music videos to royalties etc., so yeah, it’s pretty constant.”

As to how interventionist the label bosses are when bands signed to them are working on new material, there were differences of approach. “I will make my opinions heard if I notice there are things that can be improved on,” says Nic but “I try to stay out of the way as much as possible” when it comes to the music itself. Of course, Nic is involved in discussions around artwork, including for the digipacks, merch, promotional social media and more. Similarly, Kunal gets involved in those aspects of his bands’ work. “Of course I do!” he says, “I can tell a good artwork from a bad one. It’s not my opinion over the band’s but what’s ultimately better for the release,” and, he adds “it’s worked reasonably well of late,” even if it sometimes adds a bit of extra time. He points to the choice of Dan Seabrook’s eye-grabbing artwork for Paganizer’s The Tower of the Morbid as one he had a hand in choosing, and also adds that Mark Riddick of Fetid Zombie (who are signed to Transcending Obscurity) has been “extraordinarily kind in hooking us up with artworks right from the beginning.”

By contrast, Robert admits he gets “involved a lot. Many bands show me demos, or I help with the mix, master … or design the artwork myself.” That is part of the deal he offers with Naturmacht, he says, “and here and there I also contribute guest vocals.” Although some bands do it all themselves, Robert says “I really love to participate, because then I become part of the music. And it’s not just another album you put out and collect money for.”

A reviewer’s life for me…

Given what we at AMG do most of the time, I had to ask: do reviews – positive or negative – have any kind of impact on sales? Nic’s view is that the impact of reviews is “something that is hard to quantify,” although there are “certainly times when I notice an uptick in sales of a particular record after a positive review on AMG or a similar website,” and premieres and year-end lists can also help in this regard. Robert began by gently stoking our collective AMG ego – not that it needs it, I should add, we’re already pretty pleased with ourselves – noting that although he rarely reads reviews these days, AMG “is one of the few I really enjoy reading, because it is certain that you guys put the effort in and it is excellent writing.” Build ‘em up, to knock ‘em down, as they say, as Robert continues that, while you can never really know why someone buys a record “mostly it [reviews] has nearly no effect, I think … [Maybe] with the music overload, people might turn back to webzines as some kind of filter. But I had releases which had no reviews and sold out, and I had releases with a lot of high ratings and sold shitty.”

Interestingly, Kunal also feels that, with the sheer volume of music available to us all now, you “need some kind of guidance or reference when it comes to even checking out new music and that’s where I feel reviews help. It doesn’t hurt if the said source carries credibility, which can’t be created easily, and that I would say Angry Metal Guy has in spades.” You’re too kind Kunal! I was also excited to hear Kunal explain the direct impact that he has seen AMG have for one band on Transcending Obscurity: “We were fortunate enough to have two of our releases – Eternal Storm and Gaerea – featured as the record of the month on your site and it definitely impacted sales big time. We wouldn’t have made vinyl for Eternal Storm without that happening!”

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If you’re reading this, then you either skipped to the end (tisk!) or you read all the way here (huzzah and thanks!). Either way, if you’ve reached this point you may like to know that, in the second part of this interview, I talked to Nic, Kunal and Robert about everything from the (apparent) obsession with vinyl and merch in a digital age, to what each of the label bosses have seen change in recent years and what challenges they anticipate down the line. We also discussed whether they see a risk of labels becoming obsolete and the challenges they all face now, with the Coronavirus pandemic.

At the end of that second post, I will also link to the full text of the interviews, so that those who wish to can read Nic, Robert and Kunal’s thoughts for themselves, unadulterated by my attempts at prose.

The post The Art of Labelling – Pt I appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Today’s interview took place between myself and Nils Groth, the drummer for Heretoir and former vocalist of King Apathy. Given the melancholic introspection and social commentary of the bands’ respective lyrics, I sought to examine the space between the two perspectives; we discussed the importance of looking into/ out for each other, remembering that the big world and the little people in it are one and the same. Nils opened up a little about some of his own encounters with depression, as well as offered advice and encouragement for those dealing with similar issues. The unforgiving bastardry of reality coupled with the fevered pipe dream of a functional publishing schedule caused this candid conversation to be cut short,² yet I took something HUGE away from the experience nonetheless, and I’m hoping that some of you will do the same.

I don’t know Nils, nor had I ever had any contact with him prior to this interview; for all intents and purposes, I basically showed up outta nowhere and started grilling this stranger via email all about his thoughts and experiences regarding depression—and he opened right the fuck up. That someone would so readily and openly discuss topics such as being depressed or seeing a psychiatrist was somewhat surprising as it was, but when I think of how daunting such conversations can seem versus how comfortable and natural this one felt, it blows my mind and reminds me that we’re all in this together. By and large, people don’t wish to see others suffer any more than they wish to suffer themselves, and if you take the often seemingly terrifying step of putting yourself out there, you might be amazed by just how ready the world actually is to catch you when you’re falling.

My point: If you need a hand, reach for one. If you need a shoulder to cry into, lean into one. If you need a set of ears to vent to, start screaming; if you can’t get through something alone, then fucking don’t, yo. Sure, people suck and a lot of them may still fail at saving the day, but no one is going to randomly put out a fire that they can’t see. Always remember that there are people all over the world who understand and care about you and what you’re going through, whoever you are and whatever that may be, and never be afraid to reach out to them by any means necessary.

Muppet: Before I get all inquisitive and whatnot, I just want to say thanks for joining us with this. Your work in King Apathy spoke volumes to me, and Heretoir remains one of my go-to bands for when I need to center myself, so to speak, and it means a lot to me that you would take the time to speak on a topic that not many people care to honestly discuss, so thank you for talking with me, very very much.

For starters, let’s talk about talking about depression. It can be very difficult to open up and establish any helpful lines of communication when you’re dealing with depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, etc. It’s not difficult to imagine why someone experiencing mental distress—be it situational or clinical—would not wish to expose their pain, and yet it seems like it can be quite difficult for many to even approach the subject when they witness a struggle in others… Why do you think this might be? Why might the mentality of “not my problem, I don’t see anything here” seem to come so easily, despite the very real dangers that this could pose?

Nils: Hey MoM! First of all, I‘d like to mention that English isn‘t my native language but I‘ll try to write as clear as possible.

Hmm, I guess there are many reasons why people don‘t get involved. One might be that people simply don‘t understand depression and mental illnesses. Here in Germany, we have a mentality of “don‘t whine, get your shit together” and “we don‘t talk about it.” This affects the situation for depressed persons. The illness isn‘t taken seriously although suicide as a result of mental illnesses causes way more victims than car accidents for example. Another reason might be that it‘s exhausting to try to help depressed people (which is not meant to be judgmental). I know how tiring it can be. Because I am one of the people that deals with emotional struggle, self-doubt, and depressive episodes but also has/had close contact with people with many sorts of mental illnesses/disorders (I am not always sure which term is used or preferred, please correct me if I use it incorrectly). A broken arm is way easier to understand than a person with suicidal thoughts. Many people can‘t understand how it‘s possible to not be able to get out of bed for days. I am really happy that I am more the restless guy who needs to do stuff even in the dark days. The thought of being so passive/inactive scares me.

I started writing lyrics early in my life, but until we released the Thränenkind 7“ I never used them. I have never been a singer in a band before so this was my way to scream some thoughts out into the world. I am really grateful for this opportunity and for everyone that took the time and listened. Especially during the last period of the band, I started to become more open on stage and tried to address the topic of mental health. We need to be more open and have a better look at our loved ones. It‘s always easier to look away. It‘s easier to concentrate on your own life and the “functioning” friends. I experienced a whole group of friends who didn’t know how to handle me as a teenager who was depressed, hated life, and was a cynic—a pretty difficult mixture. I don‘t wanna blame them too much but some did really stupid things, and only a few people sat down and asked how I felt. I am 33 now, still dealing with depressive episodes, self-doubt/hate and the urge to avoid stressful social meetings. Yes, being in a band seems like a paradox. I am really happy and proud that I learned strategies to cope with many of my dark emotions. And I accepted the “black dog on my shoulder.” It will always be there. I can‘t get rid of it, and in a way, I don‘t want to because it‘s a part of me for over 20 years. And I love dogs, haha.

Muppet: I’d say you pretty much summed it up, yo. Being a human gets in the way of being a consumer or producer, so we don’t have the time for these matters as a society. It’s troubling how not novel that concept is, I’ve gotten very similar assessments from the other artists I’m interviewing for this—you’re definitely not the only one who feels like that.

Considering the idea that such feelings are experienced on such a broad scale, what suggestions for coping or helping others might you have for individuals who might not have a musical outlet of their own? What are some proactive choices one could make to alleviate some suffering for themselves or others outside of metal/music in general?

Nils: Oh it’s pretty difficult to give people advice on how to cope with their issues. I can tell you what I usually do. Writing lyrics or going on stage is only a very small aspect of how I deal with my demons. One thing that I did a lot when I was younger was listening to the saddest and most depressing songs I can find to put me down to a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to lift myself up. It sounds weird, I know, but it had kind of a cathartic character. Like some kind of medicine. I never used any medicine, but for some friends antidepressants and such helped. But as I don’t have any experience, I don’t wanna get into that. Nowadays I go for a walk with my dog, ride my bike, or play some sports. This helps a lot. But the good old music self-therapy is still a part of my life, and in a way I like it. It feels like home.

Another thing is: try to speak to someone you trust. Even though I wrote songs about it and everyone can read it, it still feels weird to talk to my friends about it. I think most of them know me at least a bit so they won’t be that surprised and sometimes it helps just to tell someone how you feel. Of course, this can also have negative results if the person can’t take it. You really need to think about who and what you tell them. If the pressure is really high, you can also call a help number. I think if you have any form of creative output—use it. It can help you. It doesn´t really matter if you present the result (if there is one) to anybody. You might be able to find a way to channel the darkness into something. This isn´t supposed to sound esoteric or so. It’s just what I experienced—getting creative and being active lets my dark thoughts feel less heavy. There are chances to find some good in many different things. One thing I learned when I first talked to a psychiatrist (I was 20 or so) was: buddy, try to keep your head high and don’t let your shoulders hang. Try to feel your body and try to have a bit more physical control. It’s hard to describe it in English, but it helped me a lot. Every time I walked around feeling shitty, worthless, and depressed I tried to remember him and it helped—as funny and mundane as it sounds.

Muppet: “It feels like home” is a perfect way to put it, man. The process of cathartic listening certainly seems downright instinctive—like a subconsciously guided migration back to shelter.

I’m glad you mentioned talking to a psychiatrist; to some unspoken extent discussing mental distress is all but forbidden on a social level, and this perceived stigma can make the idea of turning to a doctor literally inconceivable to someone who is experiencing mental duress, actively weakening the possibility for positive change as a result. I am not asking for specific details at all, but could you explain the mindset that allowed you to pursue professional help? What was the general train of thought that led you to consider talking to a psychiatrist, rather than people in your life or else no one at all?

Nils: I was around 20 when I first went to see a doc that was also specialized in psychology. A partner at that time asked me to go. She thought it could help me to cope with depressive episodes and low self-esteem. She was right. I only talked to the doc a few times, but he gave me some really basic tools at hand. For example, try to get your shoulders and head up a bit more if you‘re feeling weak. It sounds so banal, but it opened a door for me. I worked a lot on my own over the years but went into a longer therapy some years after to deal with recurring depressive episodes.

I guess the stigma is one that society and communities build up a lot. In Germany, it‘s still uncommon to speak about your mental condition and “being strong” is still the status quo (at least for “me”). Many people have no idea about depression, i.e., we need way more education and more doctors that know what they‘re doing. Instead of medication upon first examination, we need to examine where the problems are rooted and what we can change in the social and educational net of the person. As an educator and soon-to-be teacher, I have a lot of different kids in groups. Many have mental disorders or illnesses (I don‘t want to get too deep into the terms. Sorry if I mix things up—I am not a psychologist). We often see that we need to find the core of the problem which is pretty often the relationship with other people/parents/peers. Instead of stigmatizing people, the most healing part could be welcoming them. Having this inclusive community is one of the most important parts for me in the left-wing/punk scene. There is still a hell lot of work to do but many people are trying.

But I don‘t want to be too idealistic. I still think people need the will to change. Although many problems occur when interacting with other people, we are also responsible for our actions. It‘s too easy to pin it on the mental condition. You should know what you‘re dealing with and try to communicate it with your close friends. It‘s hard but makes life so much better.

Muppet: Well put, man. I agree that much of the stigma surrounding mental health concerns is starting to dissipate within many parts of the metal community and the world at large. Things are hardly perfect, but it does feel like by and large people are starting to try and change things for the better and I really appreciate it anytime I notice this.

Piggybacking off of that a bit, what bands out there would you say are making some of the most directly progressive steps towards changing how we address depression, suicide, etc.? It’s not hard to list a bunch of bands who essentially wallow in the dark end of the lyrical pool, but who would you say is currently addressing these issues in a somewhat brighter light?

Nils: I agree, many bands (especially in the BM scene) glorify depression or suicide, which is total nonsense in my eyes. It has a certain kind of attraction that caught me as a teenager, but it never really helped me to get over anything. It just reinforced my negative feelings. But there are bands that address those feelings in a different way. The new Knocked Loose record has really dark and negative lyrics, but I feel a positive vibe behind it. Not this lethargic kind of feel full of self-hatred but an “I hate that I feel this way but wanna get better” vibe. This is awesome and can help a lot. Bands like Svalbard, Petrol Girls, RVIVR, or War on Women address the topic from a different perspective and add feminist views. I think this is really important as most bands still are cis-male hetero groups complaining about their lives. I know it sounds weird as I fit into this box as well. But for me it´s important to reflect this and the way most male bands address this topic. It’s so often romanticized and aggressive but without the proper look behind many reasons. It’s necessary to hear non-male voices talking about depression because so many non-male people suffer from it. I think the new Killswitch Engage record is also a positive example that can inspire people to look after another and seek/give help (although I oppose any form of religion). Heavy Heart released a really nice record and the latest Architects record is also a positive example. It’s really dark but full of positive attitude towards life.

Muppet: Nice to hear a shout-out to War on Women! If you’re not already familiar with them, I’d throw Couch Slut in that mix as well. Regardless, we definitely live in a time where more and more voices are being used to actually speak as well as being heard, I certainly appreciate this as well.

As much as I would love to keep prodding your mind for input (seriously, you’ll probably be hearing from me again someday), it’s about time for me to wrap things up. Before I retreat back to the shadows, is there anything you’d like to say directly to any readers who might be dealing with struggles of their own?

Nils: Hey, no problem at all! Thanks for letting me participate and thanks for trying to help people.

There is not much I‘d like to add, except to try to speak with people you can trust about your feelings. Try to open up and give your loved ones any insight on how you feel and what you‘re dealing with. There are, of course, topics that are hard to understand and might be better with professionals. I am right now learning again how to deal with the experiences of my loved one and how to handle my own problems and telling her how I feel. It‘s difficult and sad, but it brings us further every time we sit down and talk, as “easy” as it sounds. It can help and might be a good start towards your mental health.

Muppet: Well thank you so much once again for your time and words, dude. Your insight has been refreshing and fascinating, and it’s been an honor talking to you a bit about this otherwise typically unpleasant subject. Take care, man, and best of luck with your musical adventures!

The post Mental Health Awareness: Interview with Nils Groth of Heretoir appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

TheKenWord: First off, allow me to thank you for agreeing to participate in this article. We want to bring awareness to mental health issues, which go underappreciated all too often even in this interconnected society of ours. Metal seems to be a common outlet for these issues in music, but it can be tricky to tackle the subject with dignity and respect and still have impact. What experiences, emotions or concerns bring inspiration for you and Ancst’s music?

Tom: Hey Ken, first off, thanks for asking questions. I don’t know if I really agree with the fact that metal is a common outlet and tackles mental health issues. From my experience, the ordinary metal guy probably does not give a shit about lyrics and content in the first place. Also, the omnipresent image of masculinity that dominates the metal scene doesn’t really favor a lot of discourse when it comes to that topic. From my experience, emotions and all that is for emo’s when it comes to beer tent metalheads. Like so many other counter-culture genres, a lot of people come and go for the wrong reasons. But mental health as a subject of lyrical content within extreme music has been there for a long time and you can find bits and pieces if you can read between the lines or are sensitive to that topic in general. The difference nowadays is that people tend to talk about it much more openly as the ugly child can be addressed with various names now, and that the overall the public focus has shifted into much more accepting territories.

So where do I draw my inspiration from? Well, life just hands me negative shit all the time. that gives me plenty of stuff to deal with. My music, lyrics and artwork are in fact the coping mechanism that helps me deal with existence. It gives me a purpose when everything around me seems meaningless.

TheKenWord: Blending black metal with punk attitude offers a lot in the way of energetic release. Does your music represent a catharsis or some way to cope with your own personal challenges? Is it more geared towards getting your audience to open up and express themselves in ways they might otherwise repress?

Tom: Ancst is definitely some kind of catharsis or a catalyst for things that go wrong, for emotions that pull you down and so on. It’s my way of dealing with that crippling thing called depression. I don’t care too much about the impact that it has on other people. It’s an amazing side effect that people like what I do and that in some cases it helps them to deal with their own demons or rough times, but it’s not intentionally aimed at this. It is and it stays my own therapy.

TheKenWord: You mentioned that you take inspiration from whatever is happening in life in the moment when writing material with/as Ancst. Do you ever find putting those experiences to music challenging or does it just happen naturally?

Tom: Yeah, absolutely. Both from a personal point of view, because you have to put what you have lived through into words and then from a arranger’s point of view if you try to make them fit with the music. But I can see these experiences from a pretty neutral standpoint. So, the actual process is not painful at all. It’s very liberating sometimes.

TheKenWord: I’m going to ask these next three questions just as I did for ALN (Mizmor). Have you any particularly memorable moments of support/pushback in response to your music?

Tom: Well, we are somehow trapped between different rooms I guess. We are coming from the DIY HC subculture and are playing extreme metal. A lot of people from both camps will not touch our music because of that. There have been a lot of amazing people who like what we do and that try to support us. Be it promoters, other bands, labels and most importantly fans/supporters. Being in a band means getting used to times of support and pushback I guess.

TheKenWord: On your darkest days, when you are at your lowest/most vulnerable, what kind of music (if any) do you turn to? What about when you are at your best?

Tom: That’s really hard to be honest. I dig a lot of dark ambient when I’m in the hole and wanna be left alone but can’t say no to some old Katatonia and some melodic black metal stuff too. When I’m happy everything goes. Jazz, pop-punk, grindcore, slam, synthwave and the list goes on. I’m constantly switching genres, to be honest.

TheKenWord: Everyone has different ways of expressing/coping with their mental health concerns and exercising self-care (you with your music, for example), but a lot of folks struggle to overcome the fear of ostricization for even acknowledging the existence of an issue. What advice, if any, would you give someone who was struggling to break free of that particular roadblock?

Tom: Get professional help! Seriously, I can’t stress that enough. Don’t shy away from talking. I have the feeling that I’m the wrong person to ask this, as I’m just going inwards when the downward spiral gets me again. I tend to stay away from people, from social interaction. I’m mainly hiding and trying to survive these times. Don’t be me.

TheKenWord: Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these for me!

I would like to thank Tom once again for taking the time out of his full schedule to participate in these interviews. I feel extremely grateful to Grymm and Master of Muppets for including me in this series, as well. Arriving at the relatively stable point that I’ve reached has been a lifelong struggle and the journey is far from over. Many difficult days/weeks/months/years surely lie ahead, but if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that, beyond a shadow of doubt, the effort is worth it. Truly, there is nothing more rewarding in this world than getting to say to yourself, “I’m doing better today than I was yesterday.” Take care of yourselves, frens. Be kind to yourselves. Most of all, talk to someone when you find yourself in a bad way. You might not realize it when it happens, but that one step makes all the difference in the world.

The post Mental Health Awareness: Interview With Tom from Ancst appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.