Interview with Where Angels Fall
Ok, first things first. Lets start off by each band member presenting him (and her) self, by telling us about choice of instrument, previous musical experiences and so on.
Kristian: Well, my name is Kristian, and I play the bass, something I've been doing for about thirteen years. In addition to Where Angels Fall, I also play the bass in a band called Spiker. (Spike in Norwegian, red.) Spiker is located in the rock'n roll-landscape. I like to try out different styles to enhance my skills quite a bit.
Eirin: My name is Eirin and I'm the singer of the band. I've studied musical science and music has been an occupation of mine ever since I was a child. My first real instrument was a clarinet, I got it in the third grade. I've been also played the bass in many types of bands and genres (rock, metal, jazz, pop). What I've been
| Dies Irae | 2004.09.01 |
André: I'm André, and I deal with the guitars in the band, and I've been playing for 11 years. My first encounter with an instrument was some sort of horn in the school's marching band. After experimenting with different types of instruments, I eventually ended up with the guitar. I haven't really been involved with any other bands worth to mention previously.
Your first release, Dies Irae has been out there for quite a while now, and I presume it's not only our web-zine who has given it a fair response. How have the reactions been from other sites and zines?
André: Well, we've received quite a lot of good reviews both from zines in Norway and different types of media abroad.
Kristian: It's been a bit divided. It seems to me that the writers have an "either love us or hate us"-relationship. It's been either praised as a work of genius, or dragged down in the mud completely. But the response overall has been very positive, something we truly appreciate, and bring with us as we go along.
Goth metal as a genre is a genre in which you might experience some difficulties with establishing a well deserved good reputation, since Norway has always had a whole bunch of bands placing themselves in that very basket, and the search for an identity therefore gets very important. How do you feel you've managed to adjust yourself to that? Do you feel you've found an identity of your own that will devoid you from being "just another band"?
Kristian: On account of the earlier bands having such a huge success as they did, there have been a lot of mediocre ones as well, to milk the cow for what it's worth. But let us not forget that some great bands have stepped out of the shadows as well. As a sum, the Goth-genre is pretty packed, and therefore we have a great challenge on account of being noticed (in a positive way). I surely feel that Where Angels Fall have something extra to offer the world. We're in a constant development, and I now feel that we've taken a small step closer to a recipe that will take us a bit away from the great melting pot. Don't get me wrong, I love Dies Irae, but the new songs are even better. We're getting heavier, and things are grooving a bit more at the moment. I strongly believe in this band! We've found a steady line-up that works both musically and socially, so things are looking positive.
André: The songs on Dies Irae are written by me and Eirin in the period of 1994-2003, so as a band we haven't really as much of an "own sound" as we would like. We've started to work on new songs now that the MCD is done, and the songs are made in a way that all of the members of the band contribute a lot more. Everyone in the band has a different musical background, and you can tell that from the new material, and I'm sure you'll notice that as soon as we get a full-length album out on the market!
How are things looking when it comes to performing live? I presume you'll need quite a lot of samplings when the time comes to perform your music to a bigger audience? Got any ideas on how to solve that?
André: We're rehearsing with playing live as a main goal, and we're starting to get there. We haven't played live yet, but when that'll happen we'll surely be dependant on some samplings, mainly through choirs and orchestrations. How we'll solve that is of course a secret...hehe...
I hope you're working on a full-length (I want more!)
And what other plans do you have for the future of the band?
Kristian: We're in the middle of a faze now where new songs are constantly being written, so I can picture us wandering back into the studio again around next year's spring to record a full-length. When exactly this will happen, will certainly be announced on our website. ( www.whereangelsfall.com) The plans as of now are to getting Dies Irae out to as many countries as possible, and of course to continue the search for a record-deal. Apart from this, we will hopefully do some gigs and eventually some festivals.
Is the album out for sale as we speak? And has it been difficult to get a decent distribution-deal?
Kristian: It's out for sale now, atleast here in Norway. As far as I know it will be out in Europe sometimes in November. If you can't find it at your local metal-dealer, you can mail us at webshop@whereangelsfall.com and order both the album and some t-shirts. You can be the center of the party's attention with the WAF-partypack!! Hehe... J Concerning distribution, this has really exceeded our expectations; Martin from Edgerunner Records got to hear some small samples from the album while we were recording it, and we then agreed on a distribution-contract. Martin is really working his back with distributing the album, something we're very pleased with. All that remains now is to see if the foreign promoters do their job, and if the Gothmetal-fans will check us out.
Can you shortly tell us a bit about what kind of music you are inspired by, both when it comes to lyrics and music?
Kristian: We're four seemingly different people with a great variation when it comes to musical taste, so I can only speak for myself here, but I'm inspired by lots of things. When it comes to music I'm inspired by music that clearly offers atmosphere and a special type of mood. I find it hard to pick certain favourites, but I can surely mention artists such as Nick Cave, My Dying Bride, Primus, Immortal, Darkthrone, early Mayhem and Cathedral.
André: My inspiration basically comes from the same sources as Kristian. Atmospheric music, nature, thoughts...basically everything!
Is Dies Irae based around a specific lyrical concept?
Eirin: The lyrics are based on the Catholic Church's liturgy. We use the Latin in its original form, and have also added our own interpretation. The song Requiem is based on this. The two others (Lose Yourself In Me and Hollow) have a more earthly outcome. But all of them have in common that they're basically about being a human being. The lyrics on Hollow are the ones I cherish the most.
Yup, I think that just about wraps it up, I'm surely looking forward to hearing more from you in the future!
Kristian: Thanx for the interest and kind words. Be sure to visit our homepage to keep track on what's to come in the future. See you at a gig somewhere!!
André: And you can also download some samples from Dies Irae in the media-section in our homepage. And we also appreciate a comment in our guestbook! :)