Alex Bruder Des Lichts

Today I spoke with Chicago Doom metalers Flesh of the Stars on their 3rd album “Anhilla”, Life in the North side of Chicago and playing gigs in their friend’s barn, read on:

* Firstly congrats on the release of your 3rd album Anhilla, was it a coincident you released it on Valentines day this year or was that planned?
Mike Fox: Thanks! It was very intentional. We actually waited a year to move on it because we specifically wanted to put it out on Valentine’s day.

* What does the title Anhilla mean?
MF: It’s just supposed to evoke “annihilation”. No big mystery or anything unfortunately. I wish that I had a cooler answer because a number of people have asked us about it, but that’s it unfortunately, haha.

* I feel this album was written to enjoy as a whole as opposed to the modern day mentality of “picking tracks” much like many classic rock albums were of the 70s..was that intentional or am I seeing into it too much?
MF: Yeah, absolutely! it was written to be a single track. It’s firmly in concept album territory.

Travis Marmon: It was written as one continuous piece of music and we debated making it a single track. Parts of it work individually but it is intended to be consumed all at once.

Matt Ciani: I’ve said this before, but it’s worth mentioning again: there’s a single-track version of the record that I’ll make available if anyone is interested.

“All the projects we worked on in 2016 made us better at everything”

* I feel you guys have really developed your sound over the last 3 albums – what do you feel has been the biggest change since your first release “Hide” ?
MF: Production-wise, we’ve definitely gotten more comfortable with the equipment. Matt in particular has a very firm grasp on the space that we record in, and an even better grasp of the equipment that we use to record. We did something like four or five records last year, and we’ve become a lot more confident with our gear.

MC: All the projects we worked on in 2016 made us better at everything, but our recording quality probably saw the biggest leap forward. It also seems like our style is starting to stabilize.

Anhilla is less all-over-the-map than Hide or Hosanna. It conjures and single mood, for the most part. It took a little while, but I think we’re finally past our early exploratory period as a band.

MF: With regards to songwriting, we’ve definitely been able to flesh things out a little more. Up until last August, I lived in Ohio, which made it significantly harder to sit down in a room and work songs out as a group. Anhilla was a nice first step away from that.

MC: When we finally started working on Anhilla material, we spent a lot of time actually playing together in my apartment, which is obviously a different vibe from when we used to practice alone, then do all our recording in quick weekend sessions when Mike and Nico would come to Chicago. The second half of Anhilla is the most live-in-a-room recording we’ve ever done as a group. That was really exciting for me.

* You have probably covered this in previous interviews but what are your influences? I am hearing everything from Sleep and Electric Wizard all the way through to Pink Floyd.
TM: All three of those bands are definitely an influence on us. We also love Pallbearer, Black Sabbath (obviously), Candlemass, Saint Vitus, etc. In the future I want to incorporate sludge like Eyehategod, Iron Monkey, Thou, and more. Outside of metal, we’re all over the place.

MF: I listen to Warning a lot nowadays. Outside of metal Matt and I both listen to a lot of synth-centric music. Mort Garson, Kaitlyn Aurelia-Smith and John Carpenter have been pretty big influences on us. I listened to David Lang’s Death Speaks a lot when we were making Anhilla, and I think that shows. I’m a pretty big Jim O’Rourke fan as well.

MC: I’m always down for some spooky folk music like Linda Perhacs and Anne Briggs. I realize how un-metal it is to mention Anne Briggs in an interview, but I’m doing it anyway. I’ll also give a shout out to Minneapolis doom dudes Livid, who were one of the first mind-expanding doom shows I saw back before Flesh of the Stars were a thing.

“I’m realizing I actually listen to a ton of music riding in Mike’s or Travis’s car. Mike’s CDs stress me out a little.”

* What are your favorite ways to “consume” music? Me personally, if I am just checking something out youtube or spotify is fine but if I am really into a band I need the album and make an event of it and sit down and listen to the entire thing with no interruptions.
TM: Personally I need to be doing something while I listen to music, unless I’m on a plane or something. Usually I listen to full albums while using my computer, and I listen to an iPod on shuffle when I’m driving or going to work.

MF: Ditto with Travis. I’m usually listening to music while I work or drive. I also have a pretty extensive commute, and because my car’s stereo doesn’t have an AUX cable, I have around 400-500 CDs in there now. I also tend to listen to music while I cook.

MC: Ha. I’m realizing I actually listen to a ton of music riding in Mike’s or Travis’s car. Mike’s CDs stress me out a little. As for my habits: I like to listen to music in an almost meditative state. I listen almost exclusively to full records. I’ll put on dance music if I’m doing other stuff, but I generally don’t like being distracted from listening.

“My and Nico’s junior high band Nuclear Fallout, who mostly just had a cool-looking album cover. I think we practiced like three times before disbanding.”

* Chicago has always been a great town for metal – were you guys in any name metal bands before Flesh of the Stars?
TM: No, this is the first metal band for all of us. I was in a blues rock/rockabilly cover band in college though.

MC: Mike and I have been in tons of bands, but most of them were based around Cleveland, Ohio, where we grew up, and none of them were metal bands. Unless you count my and Nico’s junior high band Nuclear Fallout, who mostly just had a cool-looking album cover. I think we practiced like three times before disbanding.

MF: There was a brief period where I played in a stoner metal band called Wizard. We also disbanded after around 3 practices.

* Speaking of Chicago – how is live there these days? All we ever hear in NYC is all the killings every weekend in Chicago
TM: Like many big cities, the gun violence is very much concentrated in certain areas, which we don’t normally go to. The North Side is no more dangerous than any other major city, and we love living here. All of us are transplants–I’m from the suburbs of Detroit, the other three are from outside of Cleveland. The reputation that the city has developed is unfortunate and I’m pretty unhappy with the local government’s handling of it, but this is still my favorite city in the world. And the metal scene is insanely good.

MF: There’s a lot of horrible socio-economic reasons why the south-side is the way it is, and like Travis said, I don’t think that the local government has done much to help that. This city is pretty corrupt in a lot of ways, but it’s still an amazing place to live. I certainly wouldn’t want to live anywhere else at the moment.

MC: Chicago rules, but we have to take care of our people better. Us North Siders should always be trying to do more to help out the more underserved communities.

“Every time we’ve played live so far has been a weird and unique and fun experience. I would love it if we could keep it just as weird and awesome going forward”

* Do you guys play many live shows? If so what’s been your favorite so far?
TM: We’ve only played three live shows so far, though we’re trying to play more. It’s been hard because our drummer lives in Ohio still–we’re trying to find a live drummer in Chicago. My favorite was probably when we played with the Minneapolis bands Livid and Without at a dive bar in Wrigleyville. We played in front of almost nobody, but those bands are awesome and also very nice people, so it was fun to play for them.

MC: Our recent Columbus show was a fun kind of challenge. The venue neglected to hire a sound guy, so I had to set up the PA and run the board all night. Our other show was at our friend’s barn in Ohio, where we provided a soundtrack to a pig roast. Every time we’ve played live so far has been a weird and unique and fun experience. I would love it if we could keep it just as weird and awesome going forward.

* Any plans for national tours or would you rather “pick your battles” and just play cool events? There is a good argument for both options.
TM: We love performing but we’re really not built for life on the road. Matt and Mike enjoy recording and producing music as much as playing it. I’ve got health issues that would make extended touring difficult. We all have day jobs. It’s just not really feasible. But we’re down to play anywhere in the Great Lakes area.

MF: If we were invited to play at a cool event outside the GL region, I would absolutely jump at that. Otherwise, yeah, we’re much more of a studio band.

* How do you guys write your songs? Does it start with a mood or feeling? or a guitar riff or?
MF: It really comes from all angles. I’ll usually start with melody, riffs or chord progressions. Anhilla was much more of an attempt to cultivate a mood though. We also put a lot of effort into lyrics and a lot of times things evolve out of that.

* What’s the recording process like for you guys – after 3 albums you must be vets by now?
MF: Very quick! We’re extremely methodical when it comes to recording. We mix while while track for the most part, and it really only took about a month and a half for the whole process this time around.

MC: Yeah. It’s always fast and fairly easy, honestly. We come in somewhat well-rehearsed and just bust it out in a few marathon sessions. We track drums whenever we can get Nico in town. I have a specific way I like drums to sound, so I pretty much do the same thing every time. For Anhilla, Travis did most of his bass live with Nico. After that, all the overdubs were done at my house or at our rehearsal/studio space in Evanston. Mike and I are both gear nerds, so I’m sure we could go on at great length about why we chose which amps/synths/mics we chose, but I’ll spare you the boring details.

* What can we expect from Flesh of the Stars in 2017?
TM: Playing more shows and writing more music. MF: We’ve got a couple things rolling. We’re taking it slightly slower this year than we did in 2015/2016, but there’s a lot of things that we want to get moving on.

MC: I see no reason why we wouldn’t get another record out before the end of the year.

* Any final words?
TM: Thanks for seeking us out! The response to this album has been awesome. We worked hard on it and the reactions have been super rewarding. MF: Ditto! Thanks for the support

Today I spoke to the boys from Grave Plague –  guys playing classic old school death metal in the vein of Obituary and Autopsy. We spoke about stealing death metal from your local library old school VHS horror film collecting and more – read on:

* So you guys formed about 2 years ago How did the band come together?
Thomas Haywood: The band was formed by Anthony Biello (ex-Severed Remains – Drums) and myself. Anthony had been itching to play again and really wanted to do something raw, uncompromising, and visceral. After a number of phone calls, texts, and online messages, I finally gave in and started writing some material. Joe (ex-Severed Remains – Vocals) was the next member added and it remained just the 3 of us until all the music was essentially written, although we always knew we were going to ask Michael Wilson (Abigail Williams, Aborted) to join.  We knew what we wanted to hear guitar lead-wise and knew, absolutely, that he was the man for the job. We reached out to Caleb Bingham (Athanasia), who’s become a good friend of mine, also a Ohio native, currently living in Los Angeles, to mix the 2 song demo. Caleb ended up loving the material so much, we asked if he’d like to join in on second guitar, and the rest is history.

Joseph Reed: Basically Anthony and Tommy showed me the songs and I offered to lay down vocals. I knew they wanted Autopsy type of vocals and really raw intensity.

 

“Cleveland is a very rough place to live. It’s a very violent and unsettling environment. The music reflects that”

* Cleveland has a great history as a rock/metal town – why do you think that is?
Joseph: Cleveland is a very rough place to live. It’s a very violent and unsettling environment. The music reflects that. The city is also smaller so people tend to find one another easily.

Thomas: The sun never shines here…it’s always grey and overcast. It is not a very pleasant place to live. It’s cold 8 months out of the year – Cleveland is a cold hard place and I think that has a lot to do with the music that comes out of it.

*I love hearing young guys playing old school death metal – what would you say your biggest musical influences are?
Joseph: Old school death metal’s influence for me has always been the ability to take a formula and create your own unique sound. Autopsy, Entombed, Obituary all achieved this.

Thomas: Autopsy are the kings, but all the usual suspects apply, Obituary, Entombed, Grave, Dismember, Immolation, the list goes on.

“Biello and I were very young. 12 and 13. Very impressionable. Obituary’s Cause…and Morbid Angel Formulas…were pivotal. We stole both from the library.”

* When did you get into Death metal and what were your “gateway” bands so to speak. I was speaking to a band a while back and the guitarist told me him and his buddy broke into an abandoned house when they were 12 and found an “at the gates slaughter of the soul” cassette left there..changed their lives – ha ha
Joseph: Biello and I were very young. 12 and 13. Very impressionable. Obituary’s Cause…and Morbid Angel Formulas…were pivotal. We stole both from the library.

Thomas: Hm…honestly, Cannibal Corpse was the first, then probably Mortician ironically enough. I use to listen to this local radio show when I was 13-14 called “Day Man Lost” , and that show introduced me to Death and Black Metal – this would have been around 1993-94’. Decrepit, also from Cleveland, were one of the first – still one of my all time favorites!

* The Infected Crypts release came out this year – how’s the feedback you’ve gotten so far?
Joseph: Amazing! Thank you to all the fans, zines, sites, and labels for the support.

Thomas: Incredible- blown away by the response of the demo!

* I love the artwork – who did that and did you just buy the finished piece or did you have a vision in mind for what you wanted and just commission it?
Thomas: a friend from Brasil, Marcio Menezes, better known as Blasphemator Art, did all the artwork. My great friend, Felipe Eregion, of the Brasilian band, Unearthly, helped with some of the layout using the original artwork. It wasn’t a purely commissioned piece persay, I told him what we ultimately were looking for, but Marcio is working on new pieces constantly, and shows me stuff all the time. There were a few pieces purchased from him for this album. He is great!

* You have released The Infected Crypts digitally, as a 7″ and a cassette. Are you surprised to see the return of cassettes esp in the grindcore / black metal and punk rock scenes?
Joseph: I’m not. When I was growing up I saw the vinyl revival in the hardcore and punk scene. Everything is cyclical.

Thomas: The cassette thing is a little strange to me – but I love it. It’s still a pretty niche market, but there is a time and place for it.

* Out of the 3 formats listed above what was your favorite?
Joseph: The 7″ is rad and sounds great but Caco-Daemon did an amazing job with the tape. Both are cool respectively.

Thomas: I can’t say I have a favorite, esp because the 7” hasn’t been delivered by the factory yet haha. Still waiting. Caco-Daemon Records did a fantastic job on the cassette though for sure.

* Like most good death metal bands you have a fascination for 70s and 80s horror films…do you collect on VHS at all? (Have you seen the prices of good 80s VHS tapes on ebay? Its like $12 for a brand new blu ray and $400 for the VHS these days)
Joseph: I do collect VHS and there are some great distributors and collectors in Cleveland. My favorite tape is Maniac signed by Matt Harvey of Exhumed.

Thomas: Haha I’m not surprised. I have a pretty big collection on both VHS and DVD – maybe my shit will be worth that much someday !!

* What are your top 5 favorite horror films from the 80s?
Thomas: (these are not all from the 80’s but whatever)
1. House by the Cemetery
2. The Beyond
3. The Shining
4. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
5. Poltergeist

Joseph: This is in no order.
1. City of the Living Dead
2. Prince of Darkness
3. Return of the Living Dead
4. The Shining
5: Inferno

* Do you rate any of the modern day horror franchises?
Joseph: I enjoyed Cabin Fever quite a bit and Wrong Turn. I think for the most part horror isn’t viable anymore in mainstream cinema and the art of effect production is gone.

Thomas: Eh, there were a couple I liked. I actually quite enjoyed the first Insidious. I liked the Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 a lot as well. Others worth mention, The Mist, The House of the Devil, and It Follows.  I like more of the psychological / Supernatural horror films then all the ridiculous gore nonsense.

* How many live shows have you done so far? Any notable shows?
Thomas: No shows thus far. We are all old and have kids, day jobs, the whole 9 yards. If we get some festival offers or possible some short tour offers, we’d most definitely consider.

“It’s been my dream to visit Sweden. Please book us. Anyone.”

* Are there national /international touring plans on the horizon?
Thomas:  see above

Joseph: It’s been my dream to visit Sweden. Please book us. Anyone.

* What else can we expect from Grave Plague in 2017?
Joseph: A full length LP. Pure death worshiping horror.

* Any final words?
Joseph: Thank you all for supporting us. Death metal lives.

GRAVE PLAGUE:
https://www.facebook.com/graveplague

REDEFINING DARKNESS RECORDS:
http://www.redefiningdarkness.com
https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/redefiningdarkness

SEEING RED RECORDS:
http://www.seeingredrecords.com
https://seeingredrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/seeingredrecords

TO DUST:
https://todustgrind.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/todustgrind

VINTAGE WARLORDS:
https://vintagewarlords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/vintagewarlords

HUMANITY IS CANCER:
https://www.facebook.com/humanityiscancer

 

Today I spoke with up and coming Pennsylvanian Black Metal trio Dumal. We spoke about the metal scene in Philly, why Polish people create so much great Black Metal and the ignorance of organized religions – read on!

* Your first album came out January of this year – how’s the reaction been so far?
Hail! Thanks for the interview. Though The Lesser God was released independently on our home label and we did very little to promote it, the reaction has been surprisingly strong. The album was put out quietly, with only a few blogs mentioning its release at first. We were shocked to see it being reviewed so positively and at how quickly the first limited pressing sold out. We were caught off-guard by the attention it has been receiving and are glad that the people are receptive to our sound.

* If I am not mistaken it’s been 4 years since you guys formed – what do you think it’s taken you so long to release your first album?
A lot of that time was spent writing and recording the EP’s and splits that were released before the album. We wanted to get a few releases under our belt before we ventured off to make a full-length album, just to get our name out there and to get people familiar with what we’re trying to do. I don’t think we would have been ready to put out a full-length right away, as it took us some trial and error to find which direction we wanted the band to move in. At first we tried sounding a little more “raw”, but after a few months we realized it wasn’t what felt right to us. This can be heard on our self-released and live-recorded 2013 EP. Writing for the album began in 2014, alongside writing material for the EP’s and splits. The album’s main writing had been completed by late 2015, but we let the material gestate with us for a while. If we had recorded the album immediately after writing, it would sound much different than what you hear today. Those few months of tweaking the material made it what it is, I expect to do that for all our releases.

* The artwork is great on The Lesser God. Was that an old Medieval woodcarving or a new design done up to look old?
It’s an original drawing by Joshua Bowens, and that’s exactly what he was going for: a medieval wood carving. We found Josh through our friends in Helcaraxë when he did the layout for our “Raise the Hammer” split. He is a former member of Helcaraxë and several other bands, and has done fantastic artwork for numerous metal bands. I sent Josh the lyrics for the album and the title, and using just that as reference, he created what you see. I feel that it represents the album so well, and sums up a recurring theme on the album – the smothering of religion and the drowning of the world. I’m still blown away by how great his work is, and am thrilled to say that he will be designing a shirt for us.

* How deep into Pennsylvania are you guys? Close to Philly or out in the woods? I think Philly has a great music scene, it’s still affordable to live (Unlike say NYC or the Bay Area)
We live right outside of Philly in a town called Ambler. Philly has been on an upswing in the past few years as far as the metal scene goes. For a while it seemed to be slowing down, with a lot of big tours skipping Philly and just a general malaise in the scene. I’ve noticed a renewal in passion from the metalheads in the city, and we’ve been fortunate to play at many of the venues in town and will be playing Philly every chance we get.

“Philly crowds seem to take pride in being nasty to people they don’t particularly like and aren’t afraid to let them know how they feel”

* Have you played any shows in NYC yet? If so how do NYC crowds compare to Philly crowds? (I saw a band from Sacramento open for Deicide in Philly once, the singer said “We are With Passion from Sacramento California and one of the crowd shouted back “why don’t you fuck off back there!”)
That sounds like a typical Philly audience! Philly crowds seem to take pride in being nasty to people they don’t particularly like and aren’t afraid to let them know how they feel. We have played NYC a few times: at Saint Vitus, Lucky 13, and Tobacco Road. NYC shows generally have bigger turn outs and you get play with bands that are from all around the country, whereas in Philly it’s more likely that you’ll be playing with Philly/Jersey area bands. There’s nothing wrong with that, but NYC is just more on the metal radar when it comes to bands from New England and out West.

“It’s hard to say what exactly makes a show good, but it’s more than just quality bands playing well.”

* What’s been the best gig you guys have played so far and why?
The show we played at “The Fire” in Philly in 2016 I thought was a particularly good one. Skulsyr, Ominous Resurrection and Abazagorath performed as well, and the show just had a unique energy. There was a great turnout thanks to the solid lineup of bands. It’s hard to say what exactly makes a show good, but it’s more than just quality bands playing well. Some shows just have a special feel to them that make them more memorable than others, and this one certainly had it.

* Have you guys done any national touring yet? I always say National touring is either going to make you or break you? It definitely separates the men from the boys
I’m sure it does. National touring is something we will be considering in the future, but it hasn’t happened yet. Until we can sort out the logistics of a large-scale tour, we plan on doing 3-4 day stints in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region later this year and early 2018.

* You guys are heavy and aggressive yet there is a real melodic sense about the band..is that deliberate or did it just come naturally?
Everything we do and play comes naturally. We don’t force melodies into songs where they don’t belong, and likewise we don’t make songs heavy and aggressive just for the sake of being aggressive. We craft our songs one riff at a time with what feels right for the mood of the song. Most of our songs are collaborative efforts. Each of us has his own style and method of writing, and I think that’s what helps Dumal sound a bit different than a typical Black Metal band.

“The Polish Black Metal scene is great these days”

* Your last name is Siatkowski correct? If I am not mistaken that is Polish…why do you think so many great Black Metal bands are coming out of Poland these days? (Batushka, Mgla, Behemoth etc)
My last name is Polish indeed. Philly has a sizable Polish population and my grandparents lived in the very Polish “Port Richmond” section of the city when they immigrated here. The Polish Black Metal scene is great these days, but I’d argue that it has been good for a long time. Unfortunately, some of the better bands have NSBM leanings, and have been making great music despite their idiotic political ideologies for 25 years. My personal favorite Polish Black Metal band at the moment is Wędrujący Wiatr. Why exactly does Poland seem to be an epicenter for great Black Metal? I wish I knew!

* Where does the name Dumal come from? I know there is a castle in India of the same name..it also sounds like a French name too (perhaps one of the 3 musketeers type of thing)
You’re correct, the word Dumal has both Indian and French meanings. It has an English meaning as well. It is the name of a caste of people in India where it means “a coil of rope”. It also means a thorny pathway, and is the name of a book of poetry by French poet Charles Baudelaire, “Les Fleurs du Mal”. It is mostly from the book that we take the name (which translates to “The Flowers of Evil”). The fact that it works on three levels is something that made us like the name right away when it was suggested by our drummer Evan. We take inspiration from cultures and music from all over the world, so it fits our style perfectly.

“It always makes me laugh a little inside when I see all the anti-Islam rhetoric coming from the Christian right “

* From what I can tell a lot of your songs are pretty anti-religious – are any of the band pagans? if so what faith do you follow?
To me, for one religion to have power, they all would have to have power. Judaism begat Christianity, and both begat Islam. All three of the big monotheisms worship the same god, and are all equally false. Since I do not believe in any form of god, I cannot believe any real form of Satan, or any other deity period. That’s not to say that Satan doesn’t have great power as a metaphor and symbol for the opposite of god, it works great for me on that level. Every religious myth, from Greek and Nordic to Christian and Muslim, must have its nemesis – an opposite of the good benevolent gods for people to believe in order to scare them into being good, easily controlled people. No members of the band are pagan for this reason, though I would bear the title of heathen, blasphemer or infidel proudly. I personally am not only atheist, but strongly antitheist. What that means to me is that I not only do not believe in any god, I also believe that they are actively harmful and must be extinguished in all their instances. It always makes me laugh a little inside when I see all the anti-Islam rhetoric coming from the Christian right in America, how they have somehow tricked themselves into thinking they do not believe in the same exact god that Muslims do. That is just one easy example of the willful ignorance that the religious people of the world partake in every day.

* What plans do Dumal have for 2017?
We were just featured as one of the bands on a compilation for ViaOmega magazine. We live-recorded to tape a new song (one that will appear on our second album), and are proud to be part of a great compilation for a very cool magazine. Since then we have been busy writing more songs for a second album. Our plan is to take the first half of the year off from shows to focus on writing, and spend the second half of the year playing shows to promote The Lesser God and preparing to record the second album. This may seem like a backwards way of doing things, but we wanted to hit the ground running and keep the momentum we gained from the release of the first album and foray that into writing. It’s not easy for us to both write and prepare for shows at the same time, so we typically separate the two actions. We are tentatively planning to have the second album out sometime in 2018.

* Any final words?
Thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed, and thanks to everyone who has checked out the album. Look for a cassette version of The Lesser God being released via Underground Soundscapes in summer 2017. Cheers!

Today I spoke to one of the best Stoner Doom bands from Poland ..Dopelord. We talked about the risks of getting weed in Poland, touring Europe and why a West Coast US tour has to be done! read on…

* Poland is known worldwide for its great Black metal bands but not so much its Doom bands – how did you guys get into playing doom music? What were your influences?

Piotrek: Well black metal as a genre is far more popular than doom, maybe that’s the case. I think if you’re interested in stoner/doom you should know at least few pretty good Polish bands. We started our band because we were listening to this kind of music and didn’t know any stoner-doom bands in Poland at that time. Our main influences at that time were Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard and Sleep to name the most obvious, but I remember that was the time of releasing Cough’s „Ritual Abuse” and Windhand’s demo both of which were in heavy rotation.

* Have any of you played in bands outside of doom music before Dopelord?
Piotrek: I played in one band, it was not doomy at all, more to the psychedelic side of rock (at least we wanted it to be). It was called Klingonian Beauty. That’s how I met Paweł (guit., voc.), he was looking for a band he could sing in. KB’s drummer, Arek, became Dopelord’s first drummer.

Grzesiek: Me and Paweł were in a band called Solarbabes at that time, and apart of the singer, we also shared rehearsal space with Klingonian Beauty. Also, Arek owned a pub (where we all worked at some point) which I guess was the sort of place where you could come and talk to people with similar taste in music, share ideas. I can’t really remember when and where it was that we came up with the idea for Dopelord, but my best guess is it was that place.

* The band has been going for over 7 years now – what keeps you guys going for so long?
Piotrek: Actually, band came to life in the end of 2010, so we’re six years old now hahaha, not that old, right? Anyway, what keeps us going is music. We just really enjoy every new riff, every next album, every next gig. Simple as that.

Grzesiek: We came to know each other really well over the years – there’s not really much more to it than this. We know what to expect from each other, and how not to piss each other off too often.

* The artwork on the new album is amazing? How did you get to work with Pighands? And did you have to give him an idea of what you wanted? or? how did it work?
Piotrek: We collaborated with PigHands earlier, he designed one of out shirts. He did tremendous job and I was quite certain he’s the right man for the cover art job. I just pointed Antonio some rather loose ideas, the atmosphere of the album, and he did the rest. I think that the songs and cover art work great together. It was a perfect fit.

“We try as hard as possible to make our every show the best we can, that I can promise.”

* I know you guys have done some touring of Europe before – what’s been the best show so far? and why?
Piotrek: It’s hard to point out a single show and say it was the best. How could you measure it? The biggest crowd? The best organisation? The best venue? The best performance? We try as hard as possible to make our every show the best we can, that I can promise.

* Have the band played Amsterdam before? If so any crazy stories?
Piotrek: Nope, not yet.

* I know the band play the Uk in May? Have you played the UK before? I would imagine people would love you there
Piotrek: It will be our first time in the UK. So I hope you’re right, man. We’ll be playing there with great company of Poland’s finest: Major Kong, Weedpecker and Belzebong so I think it will be quite ok.

* Has the band played any concerts in the USA before? Are you guys aware come 2018 recreational weed will be legal down the entire West Coast of the USA?
Piotrek: No, we’ve never been to the U.S. To be honest, there are enough reasons already to come and visit with a tour hahaha.

“We like both our booze and our buds”

* I think of Polish being a land more for vodka and beers than weed..do any of the band smoke and if so what is their favorite types of weed?
Grzesiek: we’re not that picky, man. We like both our booze and our buds, however, when it comes to the latter there isn’t really much of a choice.

* Is weed easy to get there? I lived in England for 10 years – when I first moved there good weed was very hard to find by the time I left the country it was much easier due to hydroponics? is if the same in Poland – or does it come from places like Spain and Portugal?
Grzesiek: Well first of all it’s illegal and unlike in the UK, where the worst case scenario is being told off by the cop, here you can actually go to jail for possession. It’s still possible to get decent weed, but as I said – not much of a choice there, and most of the times you won’t even know where it came from.

“Our spiritual needs are fulfilled by playing music”

* Poland is well known as being a Catholic country. Do any of the band practice any form of paganism? If so what path?
Piotrek: No, we don’t practice any form of any religion. Our spiritual needs are fulfilled by playing music, I guess.

* I know old movies are big influence on you guys – tell me some of your favorite movies
Piotrek: One of my all time favourite Polish movie, that you might know is „Saragossa Manuscript” by Wojciech Jerzy Has. It’s brilliant on so many levels. Funny (and sad at the same time), that the first DVD version was curated by Martin Scorsese and released abroad, not in Poland. If you have not seen it – please do, it’s a great story with great acting.

* What can we expect from Dopelord in 2017?
Piotrek: We try to focus on playing as much gigs as possible. Worth mentioning is that we will re-release all of our albums on vinyl. Hopefully this year.

* Any final words?
Piotrek: Now is not the time, though „The time is now” would make great final words hahaha.

Today I spoke with The Watcher, front man for English Atmospheric Black Metal band Fen. We spoke about coming from the marshlands of Eastern England, the loyalty of metal fans and touring with Taake

“There is a unique, understated bleakness to the fens – it’s an area few visitors to the UK travel to”

* You got your band name from the Marshlands in Eastern England correct? Do you think stylistically you would sound the same say coming from the West Country, London or Newcastle?
It is hard to say – given that we all currently live in London and some of us have moved around a fair bit in the last ten years, it is likely that the surface-level core of the band would still sonically sound more or less the same. Nevertheless, the essence of the band is derived from both myself and Grungyn growing up in the fens of Eastern England and in this, I believe this has a profound effect on the music just beyond the ‘sound’. The whole basis of Fen is to channel this ambience through our music and concepts – with that in mind, whilst it is still likely that we would be playing an atmospheric form of black metal, the fundament of the material would likely be different.

The source of our inspiration and the basis of our driving motivation is absolutely key to the ambiences we are attempting to invoke and so in that, I think there would be a palpable difference to our music if we were to have grown up in another part of the country. There is a unique, understated bleakness to the fens – it’s an area few visitors to the UK travel to, it does not boast rolling ‘English’ greenery, moorland, hills or lush forests and is therefore, very much an area untraveled by most apart from those who live and work there. It has a distinctive, spacious emptiness, fields of dark soils that speak of ennui and woe, hints of mysteries dwelling within the dark corners that loiter under the endless grey skies.

This in turn is the atmosphere we attempt to channel through the music of Fen and therefore, whilst stylistically we would very likely still be playing atmospheric black metal regardless of where we originated, I think it would lack the distinctive mournful bleakness it currently carries.

* Since the band started as a studio project are any of you in other bands?

* Are there plans for live shows this year?
Plenty. Being able to deliver this material in the live environment is absolutely key to us. All three of us put our absolute maximum into every gig we play – it is the most direct and honest form of communication we can participate in to involve our listeners in our music. Gigs can be pretty lacking in atmosphere sometimes – sterile or sub-standard venues, poor sound, drunken oafs spoiling it for people – however our goal is always to transcend this and do our utmost to being the audience into our journey, to deliver the atmosphere of the fens to each show regardless of the circumstances.

As for plans for shows this year, we have a support slot with Primordial at the end of March and then are touring the UK with Taake in April which should be good. We are also heading to Norway for the Nordvis Hostfest in September which will be an excellent event run by our good friends at Nordvis.

“There’s a loyalty to artists that is palpable within extreme metal”

* How well do your vinyl and cds sell? Are you surprised that people still by physical product?
Erm… I guess they sell OK. I’m not really sure what is considered to be ‘good’ sales in this day and age I’m afraid! I’m always pleased when people opt to buy a physical release of our music, though I suspect we’re nowhere NEAR the sales of bands like Amon Amarth or Behemoth. What I will say is that I am not massively surprised that people still buy physical releases – and indeed, that vinyl sales are increasing – certainly within the metal scene. There’s a loyalty to artists that is palpable within extreme metal and I think it is becoming increasingly well-known that endless streaming sites and illegal downloads are harming the very bands fans profess to love.

Not only this, but a full physical release really is the optimum way to appreciate the record of an artist with whom you feel you have a genuine connection with. So many bands – and I certainly include Fen in this – put an enormous amount of thought and consideration into the aesthetics of their releases. Therefore, the ultimate way to experience the record is in its entirety with artwork, lyrics and aesthetics being absorbed in conjunction with the sonics. Indeed, for a genre such as ours which is so rooted in atmosphere and ambience, it is even more important I feel.

Thankfully, I think a lot of metal listeners ‘get’ this – not only does the music of Fen lend itself to dovetailing with extensive, relevant imagery but also the metal genre has a tradition of fans devoting themselves to investing in the bands they support. Call it that ‘collector’ mentality if you will (some of the Maiden collections out there for example represent an unbelievable level of commitment) but I do think it is something that is quite prevalent in this scene of ours. Coupled with our label’s commitment to producing exciting, well-produced and thought-through limited-editions of our albums, it’s something we certainly support and encourage. Quality vinyls and box-sets are a refreshing antidote to the disposable, ‘easy access’ throwaway distraction culture being increasingly foisted upon us these days and therefore, long may their success continue!

* Your latest release Winter comes out march 2017? I really like what I heard on your bandcamp – how would you explain the differences in your latest release compared to your past catalog to new listeners?
This latest record is without a doubt our most ambitious and indulgent full-length thus far. It of course retains the essence of Fen inasmuch that at its heart, it is an account of a striving, personal journey refracted through the bleak and sorrowful imagery of the fens, yet here we have pushed the compositional process even further. The progressive elements that we have dabbed with in the past are exemplified on ‘Winter’ and indeed, we set ourselves the goal of writing these songs from an almost ‘classical composition’ perspective – rather than songs essentially being segmented structures of riffs (riff A, riff B, riff C, riff A again e.t.c.) we pushed ourselves extremely hard to work with evolving themes and motifs, avoiding straightforward repetition and instead creating songs that are structured almost as a continuous ‘flow’ of music.

Indeed, this approach runs across the record as a whole and the entire album can be considered to be one long song, divided into several chapters.

* What was the one band that really got you into Black metal?
That’s a hard question to answer really! I sank into the mire of extreme metal in around 1995 which is really when black metal had started to explode in the underground I guess. As a brit, I suppose I have to hold my hand up and confess that Cradle of Filth were in important band in the very early days and indeed, the ‘Vempire’ EP captivated me considerably when it came out. It was quickly supplanted by Emperor’s ‘In the Nightside Eclipse’ and Dark Funeral’s ‘Secrets of the Black Arts’ albums however – these were cornerstone releases for me in the early days, demonstrating a different level of composition, adopting an almost ‘widescreen’ wave-of-sound approach as opposed to the more traditional, riffy, ‘Iron Maiden’-esque guitar work that Cradle utilised.

Certainly the early Dark Funeral material made an impression, clichéd as that band have now become – to hear guitars being used to effectively deliver a quasi-orchestral wall of reverbed distortion was something I had never heard before at that time and really lit the fires of inspiration for me. Of course, in the intervening two decades plus, I have long since appreciated that there are plenty of bands who adopt this approach, many of whom deliver it with a real sense of skill and nuance. However, ‘back in the day’, in the middle of nowhere with internet and very few like-minded listeners, these early records made a huge impression.

“For me, originality derives from a sense of uniqueness in terms of atmosphere and sonic presentation”

* What modern day Black Metal do you still rate as doing something new?
Well, the idea of ‘something new’ can mean different things to different people – indeed, it’s possible to argue that ‘true’ originality within the sphere of extreme metal is virtually impossible, given that virtually every variation of guitars/bass/drums/voice has been explored in some way. For me, originality derives from a sense of uniqueness in terms of atmosphere and sonic presentation – essentially a band truly discovering their own voice and being moved by the sincerity of their expression to deliver something that has a sound all of its own.

In this, I do not count the kind of desperate genre ‘mash-ups’ that some listeners (and the artists doing it no doubt) believe screams ‘originality’ – melding black metal with electronica ‘for the sake’ of it for example, pointless noodly diversions and other surface-level pseudo-experimentations that really don’t add anything to integrity of music.

So, artists for me that have defined their own voice, pushed (and continue to push) boundaries would include Blut Aus Nord – Vindsval is a powerful creative force, continually inspired and reinventing yet always retaining his own distinctive voice. Leviathan/Lurker of Chalice too, I think Wrest is another true creative and I’d also add Ruins of Beverast to this list as well. These are all effectively solo artists so perhaps this points to solitary expression as being a way of truly unshackling oneself from notions of creative restraint – after all, in a band, you have two, three, four, maybe more people contributing and in this, compromise could be factor perhaps? Who knows.

Having said that, there are bands that can blindside you still – the latest Inferno for example is very surprising and very different sounding. The UK’s own Lychgate are stepping into incredibly advanced, leftfield realms of composition – though how much of a link their material will have to black metal remains to be seen! Ultimately, black metal will always have those at the speartip who will continue to push, seek and redefine the parameters of the genre.

* Outside of Black Metal do you look at any other types of music for inspiration and if so which bands?
Of course – by virtue of the style of black metal we play, which encompasses a variety of other textures and soundscapes, non-metal music plays a huge part of our listening palette. I draw an enormous amount of inspiration from shoegaze bands such as Slowdive, Ride, early The Verve and My Bloody Valentine as well as a number of post-rock artists also – Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky and Mono being key candidates from this scene. These are all outfits that pushed (or continue to push) at the boundaries of producing enveloping, absorbing

I also spend a lot of time listening to a number of classic records from the 70s prog scene – Yes, Genesis, Rush and several others – as, clichéd as this scene has been regarded in certain circles, the musical adventurousness of these bands cannot be denied. The more ‘gentle’ side of electronic music is an influence in some ways as well – at least from a position of ambience and generating a mood. Artists such as Black Dog, Global Communication and Boards of Canada play a definite part in helping shape some of the atmospheres we attempt to convey.

* How do you guys go crafting your songs? I know many bands start with a guitar lick and build but I imagine you guys work out a lot of your songs in the rehearsal studio?
The songwriting process is quite varied – sometimes it will originate from one or two quite simple ideas that myself or Grungyn have come up with and as you rightly say, we then go on to develop in the rehearsal studio. Whilst I am fully aware of the potential pitfalls of a ‘jamming’ approach to songwriting (that is, such noble intentions can frequently collapse in on themselves into a noodling, self-referential and disappointingly unadventurous soup), if deployed with discipline and control, it can sometimes lead to inspired results. Indeed, the second part of our most recent album originated from one or two central themes which we then developed around through experimentation within the rehearsal studio.

Other songs are composed and structured more comprehensively in isolation before being presented to the rest of the band. This can also be a good way to work, particularly if someone has a very defined vision as to how they perceive a song to be represented. I do find this quite a satisfying way to work on occasion – if I am feeling particularly solitary and inspired, it’s a bit of a tonic to really chip away at a song, sculpt it and see it grow into something (hopefully) coherent and arresting! Of course, once an idea written in this way is presented to the rest of the band, it can be subject to change again – different interpretations of rhythms, suggestions on rearrangement e.t.c. so again, there is a fluidity even to this more controlled approach to writing.

“If you were hoping for us to be some form of nature worshipping troupe giving thanks to the Gods of the land in ancient druidic rituals taking place under moonlight in stone circles, I am sorry to have to disappoint you!”

* Are any of the band practicing pagans? If so what faith?
I am afraid not and I’m not really sure what a ‘practicing pagan’ represents in this day and age if I am honest. None of us really subscribes to any traditional notions of theism in the conventional sense – we all have our personal beliefs and views in respect of the self, spirituality and considerations beyond the limitations of the material realm but it isn’t something I am really at liberty to go into at any great detail here. Suffice to say, if you were hoping for us to be some form of nature worshipping troupe giving thanks to the Gods of the land in ancient druidic rituals taking place under moonlight in stone circles, I am sorry to have to disappoint you!

* What do you hope this latest release “Winter” will accomplish for you guys?
Stepping back now and trying to assess the latest album as objectively as possible, I really think that it is a testament to how far we have come as a band in the last ten years. I appreciate it is very long, however we just felt a compulsion to create as much as we could with this record – to push every element of it as far as possible. At one stage, we were considering making a double album! Nevertheless, the goal was to distil the ‘essence’ of what it is that makes Fen, to produce something in which every aspect is redolent with our vision. I do believe Winter accomplishes this.

I know that it is often said that hope is a denial of the reality of expectation, however if I were to allow myself to hope, it would be that Winter is a release that really cements our individuality as a band, that underlines that which defines us apart from the labels we have carried in the past. Whilst it is flattering to receive constant comparisons to Agalloch and Alcest, for me, this album really does not sound like those two bands at all – it has many signifiers from the ‘post black’ and ‘shoegaze’ metal subgenres but in my opinion, it weaves them into a coherent whole that simply sounds like Fen at the end of the day.

So yes, for me, in an ideal world, Winter would represent a landmark release for us – a defining album which symbolises everything the band stands for and provides us with a springboard for another ten years of creativity.

“We have been confirmed for the Nordvis Hostfest in Norway in September”

* What else can we expect from Fen in 2017?
From a release perspective, the newest record should be landing any day now. We are also hoping to release a mini LP of our side of the ‘Stone and Sea’ split CD we released last year – this will be a MLP produced courtesy of Eisenwald Productions. We are also hopefully going to see our third album ‘Dustwalker’ released on vinyl as well – so it looks to be a vinyl-heavy year which is absolutely fine by me!

Other than that, we are looking towards playing live shows to spread the word of Winter – we have a number of interesting gigs in the UK this Spring including a mini-tour with Taake and a support slot with Primordial in London. Discussions are underway regarding a number of overseas shows also – we have been confirmed for the Nordvis Hostfest in Norway in September which promises to be an excellent event and several other gigs are in the pipeline. Many of these look to be very exciting so as soon as they become confirmed, we will of course update our fans via the usual mediums.

* Any final words?
I think we’ve more or less covered everything – thanks for the interview!