Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? This EP and project about my identity and the struggles that come with it. The EP itself is a story of transformation, self hatred and dysphoria. I am very satisfied with the final release since it really sets the tone of the project both lyrically and instrumentally.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sound like anything we might have heard before? I always have a hard time trying to find similar artists to what I’m writing. I’d say it’s most like symphonic black metal.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? The guitars were recorded and edited by myself. Vocals were recorded at Fang Studios with Nick Loiacono. Nick also re-amped, improved the drum programming, mixed and mastered. The most interesting thing would be the vocal booth fortress that Nick built for Adam. He even added some red lighting and turned off the rest of the lights for atmosphere. I think that really added to the headspace Adam was able to attain with his vocal work. Otherwise, recording for me isn’t usually too eventful, sadly.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The cover is very straight forward with the name “I Am a Demon”. Since this entire EP is about exactly that, it made no sense to do anything other than just myself. It’s a very clear start to the project.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? This EP is meant to set the groundwork for future releases and kick start playing local shows. There are already plans for another release sooner rather than later.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? Nothing too special beyond the digipak.
Where and how will you promote this new release? I am working with a PR company as well as promoting on social media and YouTube.
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? My first album as Shred Rogers is “The Circle” which is a family-friendly metal record of 11 tracks. It consists of four reimagined children’s songs/nursery rhymes, five instrumental pieces inspired by deep topics/feelings/tributes to people in my life, and two songs that act as an intro and outro to the album. I am very happy with how the album turned out!
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before? The music is a mixture of blackened thrash with keyboards and of a progressive nature. My biggest influences are classic Metallica, Pantera, Dimmu Borgir, Abbath and Dream Theater. I’d say some of the songs have moments reminiscent of these bands.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? I recorded the album in my home studio in Three Rivers, MI with mixing/mastering done by Tommie Bonajo at Tomster Studios in the Netherlands. It took me about two years to write/record the album. Many of the ideas of the songs have lived in my head for over ten years.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The cover is a painting that I commissioned and then placed into an AI system to beef it up w/ the otherworldly elements. The album art is very much meant to represent not only the album title, but the variety of the music within. Most of the music on “The Circle” is instrumental and the lyrics are either nursery rhyme lyrics or in the case of “An Ode To Cats,” the word “Meow” over and over, hahaha.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? I am hopeful that people find my music and not only headbang to it but find some genuine excitement and joy from the experience. My aims are to record inspirational “Shred Talks” videos as well as play-throughs of the songs for viewer enjoyment. As I write more music, I plan to also write/produce comic books.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? The album is in digital format on all of the major streaming platforms, as well as a CD digipack version available here: https://shredrogers.bandcamp.com/album/the-circle There are currently less than 300 physical CD copies available.
Where and how will you promote this new release? I have been and will be promoting this release on Facebook, Instagram, Tim-Tok, YouTube and via wonderful online and print zines and sites such as Pest Webzine! \m/ \m/
Where can we order it from? You can access the album digitally and purchase copies at links via my LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/shredrogers
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How happy are you with the final release?
The new album “In the Darkness of Jeseníky woods” contains 9 songs and for the first time it is musically pure black metal… It all came about spontaneously when I was on vacation in the Jeseníky Mountains in the summer of 2023 and the local region and mountains “whispered” inspiration to me. Lyrics, for which I was also inspired by the mountains themselves, as well as books about the mystery of this region. The album as a whole is about the highest Moravian mountains, which are called Jeseníky (and which I really love).
The sound side of the album is the best I’ve ever had, of course in underground, so personally I’m very satisfied.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sound like anything we might have heard before?
Raw gloomy black metal…. Yes, there are changes. After a long trial, I achieved a “dirty” underground black metal sound like from the 90s. I’m not a fan of UG bands that have a beautiful smooth sound. I grew up on old heavy and thrash metal bands, I like the sound of old black metal bands like Burzum or Darkthrone and it’s nice to go back in time from this world full of chaos, at least in this musical way, artifice, perfection…
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material?
I worked on the album for 3 months. I recorded the drums in Austria in my former home studio, and I recorded the rest of the instruments in my new home studio in Moravia. What is certainly interesting is that I did not plan this album at all, it was born completely spontaneously and I recorded the album in the shortest time in the history of Radhost. Everything went spontaneously and well.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics?
Yes, I do the processes of recording albums completely differently than most bands. First, I will write the lyrics, I will design the album cover, I make the necessary adjustments, and if it agrees with my idea, I add the name of the album, and then the music itself. According to the atmosphere evoked by the cover and the lyrics, I then have ideas in my head about how the album will sound. First, I record the drums and then the guitars, bass, keys, vocals… I don’t have anything planned in advance, I give everything a free run… The lyrics on the new album are full of misanthropy, about the nothingness of man against the forest monsters and forces of nature, where there is no place for faith or God, about the darkness of the forest and the demons of the swamps, about the beauty of the local region, the two faces of the mountains (in summer the face is friendly and in winter it is merciless and cruel). For example, the song “Das Königreich aus hohen Bergen und tiefen Wäldern” (A Kingdom of high Mountains and deep Forests) is in the German language and is about how cruelly these mountains can punish those who dare not respect them, and how they can reward those who will leave their pride and arrogance… In the 17th century, the largest and most cruel witch trials in the history of my country were also held in this region. The song is dedicated to the times when the Czech and German-speaking population lived here peacefully, which was later destroyed by both world wars… The final song “The Last Punishment” is about how conceited and moronic human civilization will destroy itself with the help of nuclear weapons, his greed, and stupidity… On the previous albums, there were always more pagan elements, or elements of doom, heavy, thrash, or death metal. The previous album “Moravian Resistentia” was my first patriotic album, for example, in the song “Meán Geimridh” a female vocal was incorporated for the first time, and as a bonus song there was an acoustic pagan/folk song “The Power of the Pagan Gods”. Every Radhost album is completely different, I try to use new techniques, tune the guitars differently every time, I use other guitars, 4 or 6 string bass… It’s according to my inner mood but now the band has transformed into Black metal only. I’m already starting to work on the next album “Dark Powers of Ancient Times”, which will be the darkest and heaviest album from Radhost.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment?
I don’t expect anything special, I make music from the heart and for joy, not for profit or to be famous, of course if someone supports it by buying a CD, I will be happy. The goal is definitely to continue doing what I enjoy, to spread my message through music, improve in playing and recording…
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed?
I have the CD made in the form of a digipack, booklet, texts in Czech and English. I’m not a fan of online music, I collect cassettes, CDs, vinyl, I love physical music carriers. I’m old fashioned but that doesn’t bother me haha… I’ll do a limited amount of CDs, it’s not worth doing a large amount for an unknown underground band.
Where and how will you promote this new release?
I am not with any music label, so I have to take care of everything myself. I will promote the album on my YouTube channel @RADHOSTOFFICIAL band FB profile and on my personal FB profile.
Where can we order it from?
The CD will be available for purchase at my email infernathor@seznam.cz or on the Radhost Facebook profile. Thank you very much for the space for the interview and if anyone is interested in supporting the underground band, it will be great!
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? ‘Blackfin’ is our new EP with 6 songs. The songs cover ideas of frustration, loss, pain, longing, love, mutated space sharks, shark finning, and nothingness. These songs were recorded during the pandemic, so that definitely added to some of the lyrical content, but a twisted perspective also helped. It was a strange time to navigate and it still is.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sound like anything we might have heard before? Our music does not remind me of any band in particular. It is more an amalgamation of our 3 different musical influences. We just want the songs to feel like they are alive, moving and shifting gears in a way that builds tension and release. The 3 of us were in a progressive metal/ rock band ‘Pivot’ prior to forming this band, so we wanted to go for a more straight ahead and heavier sound with our new Into the Deep release of ‘Blackfin’. Here are some of the bands that we all like a lot, so there is probably a good mix of this: Faith No More, Refused, Opeth, Rush, Slayer, and The Police.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? We recorded the album in our practice space. We spent 3-4 months soundproofing, purchasing microphones and recording gear, and adjusting the microphones and configuring the new gear. We had never recorded ourselves like this before, so it was a learning process that used a lot of time. Phil (drummer) had a vocal booth in his apartment that he needed to move, so that worked out perfectly! It was difficult recording during the NC summer heat, as it gets super hot and humid in a vocal booth in a storage unit. Lots of hot and sweaty takes. We spent a lot of time experimenting with vocal takes since we had the luxury of having a vocal booth available at all times. This is also the first time that any of us have done any ‘clean’ singing like in the song ‘Seaweed’. We only recorded on our typical practice nights, which is twice a week for about 2 hours, so the recording took about a year. I recorded bass at home on my own time, and Eric and Phil would help critique my takes until we were all happy. We have about 20 more songs ready to go, and are already working on the next batch. Should be much faster this time! It is nice to have the luxury of time when recording so you don’t feel rushed. We did not use any sound replacement or quantizing on our takes. We really wanted to create a ‘live’ sounding record. Jamie King mixed and mastered the album for us, and we are always extremely happy with his work.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The cover artwork for Blackfin is meant to represent a creature that you can see is burned out when it rises. You can tell by the smoke coming off of it, almost like a warning sign of sorts. There are people that are burned out on society and let their ideals dictate their interactions with others, often in a negative way. They have a Blackfin coming from them… burnt, smoking, and ugly.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? We only want to share our creations with others that want or need to hear it. We are not a touring band, and we only do this because it is what makes us all happy, and gives the 3 of us good reason to hang out weekly decades into our friendship. Just 3 friends making music we want to hear, no objectives.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? We are currently only releasing in digital format until there is a demand for physical products. We would like to release our songs on vinyl eventually.
Where and how will you promote this new release? We will be promoting our album digitally, on all the regular places. We are currently working on a live set, and will book shows sometime in the future.
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? History of tomorrow is the debut album of BREED. Breed exists since the end of 2018. The two guitarists Maik Ramroth and Sascha Rink played together in their former band SUDDEN DEATH, which was for over 20 years a German tech death metal with 5 full length releases. In Germany well known and respected through the press, we played with bands like napalm death, morgoth, cataclysm etc and on festivals like summer breeze, mountains of death though Europe etc. But the musical background and main influence was and is still this day bay-area-style Thrash metal like Heathen, Exodus, Forbidden etc. But you are kind of stuck in a genre, when you play in a well known death metal band. So after the split of SUDDEN DEATH in 2015, we decided to start a band and make “our” kind of music. It´s the old school way of real thrash. We tried to create our music with the goal, to captured the sound of the 1980-2000, without ripping of the famous albums of these times. It´s more of, how we have sounded, if we had decided to go the trash path, and not the tech death metal way 25 years ago. We signed in late 2023 with Doc Gator Records, after we had finished the recordings for “history of tomorrow”. The main goal of us is strictly to have the freedom to do, what we want. Therefore we decided to choose this label and not the bigger ones. We are kind of branded kids, we had with SUDDEN DEATH multiple offers from bigger companies, but the conditions are always….questionable. And also, we always want to make music AND have a real daytime job, with family, kids etc. With Doc Gator Records, we are more than happy, because these guys share the same passion for music like we do. We are extremely happy with the result. The record sounds amazing and true. It represents the band, it´s like if you see us playing live with a good sound engineer. There are no fake drums, no overdubs on instruments. It´s recorded the old school way.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before? It´s THRASH! This record could have been released back in 1990. That´s the essence of BREED. We didn´t rip off, we don´t try to sound like someone else, it´s just our interpretation of Thrash we like to hear for ourselves.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? The recording process starts in late summer 2023. We did the drums first, recorded by ourself in our rehearsal space. We are kind of lucky, because our singer Vince has a little studio and lots of good mics and recording gear. After that, we splitted the recording path. Vince had recorded vocals in his studio, the guitars and bass were recorded at my little studio in my house. The recordings then has been shipped to Luka Matkovic, who mixed and mastered out sounds in his studio in Belgrade (Citadela sound productions). That´s the benefit of these times, where you can work global on your music. It grands you the freedom and time, to record by yourself till you are really happy with the result.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The artwork reflects the title of this record. Long time ago, the maya culture was a big thing, inventing stuff etc. Today, the maya culture is irrelevant. Long forgotten and with no real impact globally. People, countries and culture these days a just a little fragment of time. Nothing is everlasting. Most people are just to convinced, that they are really important. In the long term, we think, not so much. It´s an gigantic ego thing going on these times (social media etc). But if you look closer, it´s just nothing real. Our lyric and the topics are mostly about these things. Society, politics, the ethical and moral decay, egocentric behavior….always more, more, more-.—fast, faster, faster. The world is on it´s downward spiral.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? We hope, that we can find a way to share our music. Like tape trading back in the good ol days. We don´t want to became a big thing. We just want to make music, and maybe there are people around the globe, how likes the way, we think music. It´s all about good musicship, have a healthy friendship with your bandmates and stay true to our commitments, we have decided to follow on as persons and as band.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? We will release “history of tomorrow” on vinyl and CD. But also digitally. People, who like our music should have the possibility to get the real deal with vinyls etc. But the most people consume music digitally these days. On all digital platforms, we share our music for free. We 5 peops of BREED have the luck to have goods job in our lives, we don´t need extra money for ourselves. Just share our passion for music.
Where and how will you promote this new release? We are planning to do some show in Germany 2024 to promote the songs.
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? “Douleur de renaitre” is an 8 track EP. The songs on it relate to each other in a coherent way, similar to a conceptual album. Overall , I am pretty satisfied with this release sonically & musically.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before? Moonaadem is influenced by many black metal classics as well as modern acts. To name a few ( Burzum, Satyricon, Urfaust …) At times the project even draws inspiration from music outside the metal genre.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? The record was an independent production. It took 3 years to finish. With Moonaadem being a one man band, I handle all aspects of the project from recording & producing to visual art. So I had to stop composing for some time & work on my production skills to be able to reach the sound I had in mind.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The artwork is meant to convey the overall atmosphere of the EP. It visually expresses the main theme that the lyrics revolve around, witch is the pain of rebirth. It also draws influence from second wave black metal classics, where cover arts where simple but nevertheless intense.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? My aim is to spread the music & the ideology behind it to a larger crowd. I consider this release to be a step forward towards reaching that goal.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? For the moment the EP is available only in digital format.
Where and how will you promote this new release? The release was out last August, it was promoted through a campaign on socials & interview/reviews on webzines & online radios.
Where can we order it from? You can order the release on my bandcamp page https://moonaadem.bandcamp.com/ or listen to it on all streaming platforms & Youtube.
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? So this EP is the continuity of CO.RO.SYS. As we write CO.RO.SYS, we realized that a single album wouldn’t be able to contain all our ideas. So we put some of it apart to be released one year after. We also tried new musical features and we wanted to work this album by our own to have a very special touch for the final sound. The result is stunning. Honestly we couldn’t have dreamed of anything better.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before? This is definitely DoD’s. Everyone can find what we put on our previous releases. But as we like to add something special each time, there are some novelty. This could be labeled as modern metal. We don’t have better to describe it. There are touches of metalcore as well as heavy and thrash.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? We recorded it at home as we have the chance to own the material to do so. Natan, our drummer, took care of the mix and he’s succeeded marvelously in making us a sound that’s heavy and powerful. Every songs were written for at least one year but we choose to rewrite some part cause we welcomed a new rhythmic guitarist in the process and and we wanted him to make his guitar parts his own, as well as the few backing vocals he sings in the songs.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? Cover artwork has a interesting story. We’re very interested in the AI phenomenon and the place it is taking or may take in the future. As the theme of the EP is very futuristic, we decided to take a chance with an AI to create the cover. Frankly, we were blown away. I’m sure there are plenty of negative things to be said about AIs, and plenty of caution to be exercised to keep professionals in their place, but in this case, it was the right choice for us. The cover refers to the song Floating Blossoms, with a homeless corollarian waiting to die in front of the posters advertising his fellow creatures.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? This release is an intermediate step for the future of the group. We wanted to extend the universe we’ve written for CO.RO.SYS, and frankly it’s not impossible that each of our future albums will be accompanied by an EP following it, to continue the “war effort”. The future already looks bright for Dusk, with new live shows in the very near future and, above all, a future album that we’re starting to write.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? We’ve always enjoyed releasing our albums and EPs in physical format, and will continue to do so in the future. The digital format is always interesting and offers a directness to the music that many people appreciate, but for me, one can’t go without the other. There won’t be any vinyl releases for the EP. That may come one day, but for the moment it’s not relevant. To answer your last question, the EP is a very limited edition, since we only pressed 200 copies, almost half of which have already gone out.
Where and how will you promote this new release? In addition to the interviews and reviews we enjoy reading and relaying, the album will be promoted live, as always! We have a series of concerts in Lorraine, the first of which took place just a few hours after I wrote these lines ;-). We’ll also be visiting Luxembourg in January for the first time, and we’re starting to get booked on a number of summer festivals.
Where can we order it from? The best way to get it is live on our merchandising stands, but you can also buy the EP on our bandcamp: https://duskofdelusion.bandcamp.com/
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? I am really happy with how “…and the Ocean…” turned out, even though it’s a first release. This EP contains one song only that is almost half an hour long, it has a cinematic feel, it tells a slow burn story that leads to a heart crushing crescendo. It’s better to listen to it on a long drive, or even better on a walk on the seaside.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sound like anything we might have heard before I guess it could be summarized in “Atmospheric Black Metal with Post Rock influences” but I’m not a big fan of labels; doom metal, shoegaze, dream rock and neo folk also played a huge role in influencing this EP.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? It was recorded in my home studio and it took five months to write, record, mix and master it, between May and September 2023. I had this EP planned to come out as a second release, actually, because I have been writing a full length album since Esox’s formation, in 2020, that is almost ready. But I figured that debuting with a full length would have been hazardous and I would have had to wait for at least another year.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The statue can be found in my home town “Roccalumera”, a really small town on the seaside of Sicily, Italy. It was built in memory of a man who drowned in saving two women from a sea storm, it always hit me, we truly are defenseless compared to the sea. In addition, the lyrics during the climax of the song are about a very personal event that happened there. In general, Esox deals with “depression, nihilism and underwater inhabitants”
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? For the time being I just plan on releasing the album and hopefully gather a small following. By next year I hope to have the band’s first album released and printed on physical format, as well as some merch designs.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? For the time being this EP will only be available digitally on all streaming platforms.
Where and how will you promote this new release? I am doing the promotion all by myself, aside from Esox’s official social accounts, I am relying on webzines and promotional channels.
Where can we order it from? You can buy it on the Esox’s bandcamp profile.
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? This release represents the best Antumbra can offer so far, I’m very happy with the results. Of course, there is always room for improvement. The songs were selected from the last two released albums, 4 songs from „Shards of Existence” and 5 from „Ashen” plus the new song „Forevermore” composed specially for this compilation. The tracks were remixed and partially re-recorded. It was very tempting to change some things but I resisted and I tried to keep them as they were originally composed.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before? Since I started this project I wanted to have my own identity and create something different. My music is some kind of atmospheric black metal with some 90’s feeling. I saw that some people recommended Antumbra for people who listen to Auriferous Flame, Grima, Coldworld. Others said that it has similarities with Nargaroth and Aaskereia.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? „Oblivion” – like all my releases – was recorded in my living room. The recording is the easiest part but the fun is when I write all the stuff. Because I have to play all the instruments, the hardest thing is the beginning of a song. When I say beginning I am not speaking about the intro, sometimes the idea becomes chorus, sometimes the verse. Depends on how catchy or driving the riff is. The intro is actually left at the end, that’s the last part I write. I probably have a weirder technique when I compose a song because most of the time I start with the rhythm guitar and I use that as a background for the lead guitar. The drum arrangement is also done here, although of course is not in a final form but it helps for inspiration. This operation requires several iterations, most of the time when I create the lead I have to go back and change the rhythm guitar and also the drums. I always compose the music on the guitar and later add the synths, the bass is recorded after the rhythm guitar is finished and the voice is the last ingredient.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? In the cover artwork I wanted to represent human frailty. I think the statues with no faces also give an aura of mystery. Sooner or later everyone will be forgotten and these ideas can be found in the lyrics of this compilation. Both albums „Shards of Existence” and „Ashen” share the same basic ideas. It was easy for me to choose half of the songs from one album and half from the other and make it sound like a whole. For example „The Graveyard of Thoughts” from „Ashen” it’s about our memories that vanish when we’re gone. Of course, temporarily, we leave something behind. This song captures the entire idea of the previous album „Shards of Existence”. „Frozen” goes even further. It’s not only about the end of life (or the death of the character from this song), it’s also about the death of our star and in a very distant time when the star formation will end, all stellar objects will be in the form of degenerate remnants. And if you go even further, this is also the end of our Universe. A cold and dark space.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? I hope more people will hear about Antumbra. I do this for pleasure, my goal is to create new music as I did until now. I already started to work on my next release and I hope it will sound better than anything I’ve released so far.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? This material is released on CD in 500 copies.
Where and how will you promote this new release? „Oblivion” will be promoted on Loud Rage Music website, YouTube, on all social media platforms and through newsletters. I would like to thank Loud Rage Music for releasing this CD, for promotion and for everything they do for Romanian underground metal.
Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release? It’s tough to say if the expectations of any musician ever met the final result when they heard their album after the whole recording and production process. Each one of us hears the music individually and everyone can say that something is off when you listen to the music you created. It’s just a matter of what bands you used to listen to in the past, what mood you’re currently in, and how much effort you put into it… there are many factors to speak about. But I think it’s safe to say that we achieved ”something” as a band. Pandrador was always about telling a story during a specific song and in the context of a release. For now, I think the story doesn’t disturb the music and the music doesn’t handicap the story in any way on that album. It’s a complete package we tried to deliver. I like to think it’s a ”movie without an image” or a poem enriched with music because every song is an event in the story told.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before? There’s a rolling joke which says ”Black Sabbath already recorded every riff you could ever imagine”. Indeed, there’s something about it, but does it really matter? I think we didn’t invent anything new with that release, we just played what we felt we want to play. When you turn the music on, you want to resonate with it in some way and connect emotionally with an artist. That’s what makes any music worth listening to. You just want to hear about anger, sadness, hate, love or any other kind of emotion, because you feel them at the moment. Speaking about the description of the music itself… A few months ago, I had one of my first phone calls with Tomasz (Owner/Founder of Pagan Records) and he said he likes the music, he really feels what we’re trying to share with it, but he can’t really describe it as a genre. We agreed it was somewhere between the sound of classic Death Metal bands, the mood of avant-garde metal and Black Metal-era or Viking-era Bathory. It also had a spirit of Post Metal in some way. Then I said ”There was a time when Pagan Records was famous for releasing Post Black Metal bands, so maybe the time has come for Post Death Metal to be your next step”, but I wasn’t serious about it. It turned out that ”Post Death Metal” is just a good description of what ”Seiðr” is. Not because it sounds weird or it focuses someone’s attention but because we don’t really care about it. It separates the band from a specific genre and gives an image of what you can expect. Maybe in 20 years it will be called differently, but it’s just the name. Mayhem was called Death Metal after releasing ”Deathcrush” in the late 80s – does anybody care about that anymore? Let’s just listen to the music, not the genres, labels or names. Just like with movies – you can like sci-fi, action, fantasy, drama, horror or any other type of movie in general, but at the end of the day, all that matters is to tell yourself ”it was a good story and it was worth watching”.
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material? Oh, there would be so much to say about this. It was recorded in 3 different recording studios, but the man who coordinated the process was Filip ”Heinrich” Hałucha (owner of Heinrich House Studio; ex-Decapitated, Vesania). We stayed in touch after we finished our first album with him back in 2019 and I was sending him music that I listened to at the time. A few times I said that when we’ll do another album, I want to have more ”space” in our sound, maybe make it sound like a band playing in well-miced and acoustically adapted rehearsal room. Our huge inspiration for that was Cult of Luna and Neurosis. The results can be heard on the album, but I’ll let listeners judge if it’s good or not. When it comes to interesting stories… when I’m asked about such things I always don’t remember any of them! I think the best story that I always tell about this is when we finished recording the vocals and we got the raw, unmixed tracks to listen to and to think about what should we do at the mixing stage. I was sitting with Lycain (bassist) in our hotel room and we just listened to the whole thing for the first time. When we finished listening to ”Hvergelmir”, he told me ”You know, that track has some kind of melancholy. Reminds me of fjords, rivers and forests somewhere in the north”. Then he started smiling and laughing and I was like ”Noooo, you can’t be serious”. After 15 minutes we were checking the costs of travel to Norway. That’s how the idea for the music video started.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics? The album cover was done by Gabriel ”Baphore” Bogacz. I contacted him after watching a few of his artworks on his Instagram profile. What can I say – I was shocked about how tasteful and rarefied his style is. When we had our first conversation I immediately told him that my experience of watching his artwork is like looking at the artworks of Timo Ketola for the first time in my life. He’s got the same kind of ”heavy aesthetic”, as far as my opinion is concerned. But, speaking of creating the ”Óðinn – Sire of Ail” artwork for the album cover, there’s definitely a link between it and the lyrics. What we especially wanted is to get rid of references to Christianity or any other modern-day religion. I just don’t like it. I believe that any kind of organised religion is just a pile of worthless axioms and empty words. There are people, who control those religions and gain profits from their believers. I despise that phenomenon so much that I don’t want to waste time and put effort into hating it. Just burn, bury and forget that shit as fast as possible. True Gods live in our minds and they are our emotions and thoughts, we don’t need temples or any kind of ”places of cult” to feel something more than everydayness in our lives. That’s probably one meaning of the lyrics. I have my own interpretation of them, but the concept of a ”heroic poem” for that album is to read it by yourself and have your own thoughts. Of course, it’s all hidden in storytelling strongly connected with Norse Mythology, but it’s just symbolism we wanted to use. The story itself is quite universal.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band’s aims at the moment? We don’t expect anything more from that release than we will get. Let the people decide about it and we will just do our part with our ideas, music, lyrics, videos and other stuff. But, what we definitely expect to get as our ”habit” is to gain a certain quality of what we do. No matter what it is.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed? It has been released on CD, but we’re starting to think about a vinyl release. I cannot promise anything, but we will also think about a few cassettes. Speaking about CDs – we had a lot of artworks for that release, so we decided to put out a classic jewel case edition and go for something like a ”collector’s edition” – a high-quality digibook. There are just a few bands that decide to do such things, especially with their 2nd full-length album, so I believe it’s a good move. Speaking about numbers – we’ve pressed ”industry standard” amount of copies for the jewel case release. On the other hand, the digibooks are strictly limited to 150 copies and there will be no re-editions of those.
Where and how will you promote this new release? We have some plans when it comes to concerts, but for now we’re sticking to Poland. We’ll play on 24th July at Progresja Club in Warsaw as a supporting act for many magnificent bands, with Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Batushka as a headliner. We’ve been also booked for Metal Mine Festival 2023. It will take place in southwest Poland at the end of August and we’ll share the stage with legendary bands like Rotting Christ and Taake. It’s a great honour for us to be a part of those line-ups, so I hope that we’ll do everything we can to make those shows worth watching and listening to.
Where can we order it from? Check our label’s website, www.pagan-records.com and equip yourself with ”Seiðr” and many other albums that Pagan Records released in the past. Personally, I love the uniqueness of our label, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with any album that you’ll grab from there.
June 2023
Underground Extreme & Traditional Metal Webzine from Transylvania / Romania
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