Interviews in alphabetical order by band name-

Current Interviews here of : Angelcide, Autumns Eyes

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Angelcide Interview (March 2009)


I recently conversed with Maelstrom of the Black Metal band: Angelcide.  He is the creator and sole member of this project.  Here we talked about his latest and upcoming releases, the current Black Metal scene, what his music is about and plenty more.  Have a read.

 

Injecting My Veins: Ok so to begin, you just had "The Citadel" come out.  How long ago did you finish that?

 

Maelstrom of Angelcide: It was an on and off thing for a few months.  I started the recordings near the end of the summer but wasn't satisfied by how they came out.  The sound is a lot different from past recordings and so I was a little uneasy about it at first.  But I eventually crafted it into what I saw was complete in early January of this year.

 

IMV: And where and how do you record?

 

Maelstrom: Home studio in New Jersey.  Aside from drums everything was recorded digitally through a Line 6 Toneport.  I mixed it using Cool Edit Pro, which is much better than Pro Tools in my opinion.

 

IMV: Are you most proud of "The Citadel?"

 

Maelstrom: For the most part yes.  I'm a little harsh of a critic on my music but I'm content with the final product.  It was cool to do something different and it accurately represented my emotional state at the time.  A lot of fans approved of this new change of direction which certainly makes me proud that I did what I did.

 

IMV: Did you have any guests on this recording and do you plan to have any on your upcoming release "The Satanic Verses?"

 

Maelstrom:  I'm the only musician to appear on The Citadel; I feel having the recordings be done entirely by myself produce a more personal musical expression.  There's no plans for any guests musicians on the upcoming full length but I won't rule out the possibility.  If I felt a musician's addition to any recording could better the outcome (whatever the instrument be) I would certainly pursue that.  But in most cases for Angelcide that was never necessary.

 

IMV: I see.  So you said the fans approved of "The Citadel" quite well. I myself, also really liked your release put out before that "Soul Departure."  How have the fans reacted differently to these two different releases? And what kind of style can we expect on the full length?

 

Maelstrom: The support has been positive but the appeal each release has is different to each individual's acquired taste.  I'm glad to hear that a certain release appeals more to you because I try to make them different.  A lot of bands put out the same shit on every album and have no change in sound, and I'm totally against that.  I want each release to have its own distinct personality.  A lot of people liked the keyboards on "Soul Departure" but for many that was a turn off, so they favor the more aggressive sound on The Citadel.  As for the next album, it will contain elements of releases like "Soul Departure" as well as the ideas introduced on "The Citadel" and will have new ideas altogether.  The Citadel is a good way to transition into the new sound that the full length will possess, however "The Satanic Verses" will be a completely different monster all together.

 

IMV: That sounds awesome and I look forward to that.  Will you record it the same way you have been? And how soon do you think it will be ready for the public?

 

Maelstrom: It's difficult to say, I don't really like putting a timeline on things, but I plan to have the majority of the recording done by the end of the summer.  The way I record it will be very similar to how it was done in the past, with certain changes and improvements.  The tone will change to be more appropriate for the material introduced, ect.  There’s also going to be some ambient music on this next album, which is something I always wanted to do but it never really fit in with any of the releases to date

 

IMV: That should be interesting.  So, I want to ask you about your personal views and some quotes I have of yours, but first I just want to clear up some other questions.

IMV:The first is, have you ever played live and do you plan to do any shows in the future?

 

Maelstrom: There have never been any Angelcide shows, and it doesn't look like there will be any need for them.  I'm content with it being a studio project.

 

IMV: So is that pretty much the reason why the Misanthropy Legion guys departed from the band?

 

Maelstrom: Yes and no.  At one point I did want to play shows and that's the reason I recruited those guys.  Also I didn't want to be lumped in with the mass amount of "bedroom blackmetal" solo projects that dominate the internet, so having a full lineup was my idea of being different.  I would've liked to retain live drums on the recordings at least but it was too difficult for them to commit to Angelcide as they had a lot on their plate all ready and they are located quite distant from myself.  I'm glad they got a chance to be a part of it though.

 

IMV: Alright.  And my last question before we move on to the next set is about your record labels.  I am a bit confused about them.  Your site says you are on Tavernkeben, but "The Citadel" was released on Deadknife.  Why is it on Deadknife, and also have you had satisfactory relationships with these labels?

 

Maelstrom:  Angelcide isn't really committed to a specific label.  I've worked with Tavernkeben on the last release and am in discussions with them about a possible tape version of "The Citadel" but right now they're very busy with other releases.  My relationship with them has been very satisfactory.  Deadknife records is a download label and you can download most of our releases from them for free.  I believe music should be free, and so I don't want to hold back on the freedom of my own.  If the music is released professionally (such as the Soul Departure tape) then it will fall into the right hands.  But I'm not trying to make any money off this project, just spread the sound to whoever may find it appealing.  I should note that to date, all of Angelcide's music has been released on TAPE ONLY, there are no actual Angelcide cds in circulation.

 

IMV: That is rather interesting about the tape releases.  And very respectable what you are trying to do with your music.  So now I want to move on to a quote on your website.

IMV: You said the "sound takes you on a journey through pain, sorrow, suffering, hate, death, addiction, and ruin."  Is this about personal experience, or is the music supposed to invoke these feelings in the listener, can you tell me about this?

 

Maelstrom:  Yes it is all personal experience.  During the writing and recording of "The Citadel" my world around me was falling apart.  I was struggling to free myself from drug addiction, battling depression again as well as a growing anxiety complex and having just about everything else go wrong at the time.  That's where the title "The Citadel" comes from.  A Citadel is meant to be a powerful fortress to protect what's inside.  Each of us build our walls and live in a somewhat isolated state of mind that we're safe, that what we have won't be lost, and we start to get the feeling that the world as we know it won't be drastically altered.  Unfortunately it is all too quick and easy for such walls to come crashing down without warning.  As far as the what the listener takes from the music again differs on an individual basis, but emotions such as hate and sorrow found in the music will often reflect such emotions within an individual.

 

IMV: I see. The title "As the Walls Cave In" off that ep makes sense to me now.  So the new music will reflect personal experiences as well?

 

Maelstrom:  Yes, it always had and always will.  The lyrical concept will be an entirely new idea on this album however.  It's based on a book "The Satanic Verses" by Salem Rushdie, which is a story that revolves around a set of verses uttered by the prophet Mohammad that he claimed to have received by the Angel Gabriel.  They stated that 3 goddesses may be worshipped apart from Allah.  He later retracted these verses, claiming them to have been a deception by satanic goddesses, and proclaimed Allah should be worshipped monotheisticly.  My personal struggles will be more abstract in the lyrics of this recording, yet they along with my emotions will relate to those of the characters involved and that will help develop a very dark and in depth story. 

 

IMV: This new record seems like it will be very fascinating all around, with the music and words.  Now I also wanted to ask you about a quote on your myspace.  You wrote many Black Metal bands have "lost touch with the meanings of true Black Metal."  Why do you feel that way?

 

Maelstrom:  Black Metal was never meant to have rules, it was never meant to have boundaries.  I think that too many black metal bands feel that they need to operate by some sort of unwritten law "must have corpse paint" "must not have guitar solos" things like that.  Bands aren't original enough anymore.  I think a lot of bands try too hard to appeal to the die-hard fan base of black metal instead of create something meaningful.  Everyone interprets black metal differently, but to me it was always a dark work of art.  Pioneering bands like Burzum and Emperor didn't have boundaries, as well as the LLN of France.  They each expressed themselves in their own unique way.  I feel like a lot of bands have lost touch with that, and that the best black metal truly comes from within.

 

IMV: Yes that is true, and I'm glad to see you haven't listed in your influences, bands like The Beatles, or even Slayer.  Who are some of your favorite bands, local and around the world?

 

Maelstrom:  I'm afraid I disagree with you in where one draws influences from.  That's another problem I see in the black/death metal scene.  Bands are only influenced by other black and death metal bands, and therefore they only regurgitate what's been done and offer nothing new to the table.  It's good to draw influence from outside the music you're playing because it makes your own music a bit more unique and different.  My musical taste is very vast and I'm into all kinds of different genres.  However I always favored the darker ones, such as horror punk and certain industrial.  I'm assuming you (and probably a lot of people reading this) want to know my favorite metal bands so I'll stick to that.  Dissection, Mayhem,  Mutiilation, Emperor, Beherit, Dark Funeral,  Thunderbolt, Death, Morbid Angel, Carcass are just a few that quickly come to mind.  As far as local I support my friends in Misanthropy Legion, but most of the best local bands from my area are now defunct (Eternity Void, Grafvolluth, and Abysmal Gates were all very talented bands)

 

IMV: Yes and I agree with you there.  I just mean I hate when I see in everyone's profile the Beatles and Slayer (and other bands), because people feel like they are supposed to pay tribute to them. But if they are really influenced by them that is perfectly fine.  And I also loved Eternity Void and wish they would return.  So now I have the last question for you.  Do you ever feel like Angelcide will reach a point where you can go no further with it, and with that, are you working on other projects or a part of other projects?

 

Maelstrom: I'm sure Angelcide will reach it's climax when the time is necessary.  But as of now it's a part of me, it's an addiction, and it's my outlet for a lot of inner pain.  There may come a day where I no longer need Angelcide but only time will tell whether that day will come.  As for other projects, I play in an extremely raw black metal band called Whorde (www.myspace.com/whorde13) the sound is very influenced by the Finnish black metal scene of the 90s such as Beherit and Archgoat.  We recently recorded again and are finalizing the recording.  I also recently created a project of dark ambient music called Malstrom (www.myspace.com/malstromhell) which is a slightly different spelling of my pseudonym.  So in a way it's a solo project that explores new boundaries apart from Angelcide.  I have a full length recorded for that project and after a bit of editing it should be out soon (as a free download, of course).

 

IMV: And are there any final comments you would like to make?

 

Maelstrom: I just want to thank you for the interview and the support, as well as your dedication and support for underground metal.

 

IMV: Yea thanks a lot for taking this time with me and keep me informed on the new release and future Angelcide endeavors.

 

Check out the music at myspace.com/angelcidelives



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Autumns Eyes Interview (March 2009)

Here we have Dan from Autumns Eyes.  In this interview we talk about the band’s 10 year anniversary, what has been going on with the music, Halloween, Dimmu Borgir, AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!.

 

Injecting My Veins: Ok so first off, you’re promoting your 10 year anniversary? Is that correct?


Dan, Autumns Eyes: unfortunately yes, tends to remind me of getting closer to 30


IMV: so in that time have you ever played live?


Dan: not with Autumns Eyes, but I was in another band as a guitar player for the first 2 years I started Autumns Eyes


IMV: was that band anything like autumns eyes?


Dan: not really, it was more of a stripped down industrial metal band along the lines of fear factory and static x meets nine inch nails


IMV: Did anybody from that band help you with Autumns Eyes, or have you ever had help or guests?


Dan: I kept Autumns Eyes as a solo project mainly so I didn't have to deal with other band members egos. It gave me more control of the overall sound of the project, and where it would progress. When I parted ways with the other band I was offered a spot in a side project featuring members of Shadows Fall, Vision of Disorder, and a band called Minus. I turned it down and decided to focus on Autumns Eyes full time and not follow a path created by someone else


IMV: Though do you ever find it hard being a one man band, or challenging because you have to do it all yourself?


Dan: I find it to be a very good challenge in a way, because I never like to remain stagnant. I enjoy exploring new avenues both sonically and visually.


IMV: I see. So I'm curious as to why you aren't a little bit more known, I saw you had a feature on Headbangers Ball's website.  Did that generate any more buzz about your project?


Dan: Well for the past 10 years I never really promoted Autumns Eyes at all. I was only interested in making music and creating a visual atmosphere around it for self satisfaction really. The music I was listening to at the time was becoming very repetitive and boring, so I wanted to see what I could come up with to fill that void. I think it was about 2 years ago I decided to start promoting Autumns Eyes and get more involved. I shot the music video for Feast of the Dead around Halloween, and it got a pretty good response in the underground. Headbangers Ball picked it up and did a feature on their Blog and on the show as well. It definitely brought a lot of fans in. I tend to keep a low profile with where I choose to promote though, as I am not looking for fame and fortune. So I like to expose Autumns Eyes to a more underground audience.


IMV: So have record labels approached you?  If so, have you felt it better to turn them down?


Dan:  I have had a few offers from some smaller labels here and there, and I do give it some consideration. It's tough though because obviously the best way to gain quick exposure on a massive scale is through a record company with good distribution. However, a lot of labels have intentions beyond that of the artist. Meaning they tend to think in dollar signs and popularity rather than the quality of the product. If the right label comes along and has a good offer then I would probably jump on it. I highly doubt that in today’s industry though.

IMV: Yea I definitely agree. And for your music video, was that the first video you've made? And how did that come about?


Dan: Yeah it was the first one. I have a friend Rob Shepherd and his brother Jeff Shepherd who worked on it with me. Rob was working production over at MTV and Jeff was shooting videos for Animal Collective, and Helmet. They were kind enough to set aside some time and come up with an idea along with shooting it down in Connecticut. We are all fans of low budget horror, so we stuck to that sort of theme for the video.


IMV: Yea it had the "low budget horror" feel and I myself enjoyed it.


Dan: Well thank you, I appreciate it. It was a blast to make, we all had a great time doing it.


IMV: So, I think I read on your myspace that autumn is the only inspirational time for you.  Do you only write music and come up with ideas during autumn?


Dan: It is by far my main source of inspiration, but I tend to just soak it all in while it lasts then throughout the rest of the year it feeds enough inspiration for whatever it is I am creating at the time. Living out in the woods helps a lot too, it almost feels like it's always autumn around here with so much nature around. I'll leave it at that before I start sounding like a fucking hippie.


IMV: Well, as I know Black Metallers love to run around in the woods.  Would you consider yourself Black Metal at all? Your music, that is.


Dan: Not at all, I definitely place elements of Black Metal in the music but I think Black Metal should be reserved for it's own specific sounding genre rather than something that is a mixture of different styles. I know a lot of bands that think because they add a few blast beats and higher pitched screams they immediately call themselves Black Metal. That is absolutely fucking disgusting to me, because I believe Black Metal holds a very strong place in the metal world and should not be altered or tampered with. You can't have a Black Metal song for the first minute or two then cut into a stupid "emo" chorus, that's just fucking ridiculous. It's even more ridiculous that there are actually bands out there that think they can get away with that!


IMV: Another agreeable comment.  Which leads me to this, I listened on some of your older stuff you had more clean vocals, and on your new release, "Surrender the Fire," there were just about none.  How come you decided to leave that out?


Dan: With my music, I like to keep it pretty eclectic and unique sounding. However, there are always these really heavy riffs coming into my head to where I can't get rid of them. So with Surrender the Fire I decided to let all of those heavy ideas out all at once. There was no clean singing on it because I didn't feel the songs were appropriate for that style of vocal. Also I really hate the sound of my clean voice, I really can't fucking stand it. I'm not a professional singer by any means, but when I feel it's called for I give it a shot. However, the next album will be the opposite of Surrender the Fire, not so many screams and a lot more clean vocals.


IMV: Are you most proud of "Surrender the Fire" or do you just consider each album and you're proud of what came out of the time in which you made each one?


Dan: I think they all suck. They are great when you write them, and sound good while recording, but when you listen to them over and over a million times they lose their luster. Granted there are a couple songs I can still listen to and enjoy, but overall they are all piles of shit. I guess that's one of the reasons I like to change the sound and writing up a bit with each release. So at least there is something good that comes of it.


IMV: Yea well that's how it can be when you’re writing your own music.  But then you had a Dimmu Borgir cover there at the end.  Why did you choose that and were you satisfied with what you did with that?


Dan: I always enjoy playing covers, because I know going into it that it's better than anything I could write on my own. I tend to cover songs that have stuck out in my history of being a metal fan. Mourning Palace was always one I wanted to do just so I could play that Enya rip off keyboard part. A lot of people never realize that they stole that riff from the Enya song "Sail Away". I also wanted to show people what Dimmu used to sound like with their writing style. I think a lot of people get into their newer material and don't realize that they were actually quite different years ago. I prefer older Dimmu to the newer stuff anyways, not saying their new material is bad. I just prefer the old keyboard driven viking rip your face off sound they had back in the day.


IMV: Dimmu's new style is good but I like the old stuff better too for the most part.  Alot of the new stuff sounds the same which is kind of annoying.


Dan: Yeah, they changed as soon as they got the guy from Old Mans Child and their new bass player doing clean vocals.


IMV: I miss Nagash being in the band for sure. BUT THIS IS ABOUT YOU!!!!


Dan: Unfortunately it is, hopefully the readers aren't too disappointed with me yet.


IMV: no I don't think so.  But this does lead me to my final question. - Autumn is an important season to you, and we know Halloween is in autumn.  Is Halloween an important day of celebration for you? And if so do you do anything strange or something like that on Halloween?


Dan: Well, it all begins at the gentlemen's club where we discuss Wittgenstein over a game of Backgammon. No actually I love Halloween and turn into a kid every time it comes around. I don't trick or treat, unless I get fucking wasted and start knocking on peoples doors at 3am asking for cigarettes. I am a big fan of decorations though, all the corny ass cheap ghosts and gravestones everywhere. There is usually a big party every year at my house which is a fucking blast. This past year was supposed to be a huge one, I was going to fly out all the Autumns Eyes models and have about 50 people here. Unfortunately I ended up getting badly injured before that and had to cancel. So I just sat around watching Jason movies and eating pain killers on Halloween.


IMV: Well hopefully this year will be better.  I'll go ahead and invite myself. THANKS!


IMV:Any final comments?


Dan: You’re more than welcome to come! Costumes are a must though. Final comments, I suppose if there is anyone reading this who is in a band for them to broaden their horizon. I can't emphasize that enough because it seems like the metal scene is getting very repetitive and dull. So many bands coming out are just copy cats, and you rarely find ones that stand out from the crowd. I think there needs to be a huge shift in the genre before we turn into something very meaningless and industry driven.


IMV: yea like that damn metalcore


Dan: Yes, those fucking shit stains really need to stop.


IMV: Agreed.  Alright it was good talkin to ya,


Dan: Sounds good, thank you for your time and doing such a good job with the interview. I had fun, and you definitely know what you’re doing.


IMV: Thank you

 

Visit Autumns Eyes at http://www.myspace.com/autumnseyes

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