The lost angels of Greece: Sorrowful Angels Interview

I have been always fascinated by Greece, history, mythology, and music..

With their dark atmosphere we have a pleasure to introduce you, one of the most influential greek gothic band.

Special thanks to their singer Dionisis Christodoulatos for this interview and his kindly words about us.

LFdM: I was wondering about how many synergies are between your land, so beautiful and dark at the same time, and your sound. With Septic Flesh you are one of the most representative goth and death metal bands in Greece, in my opinion. Your debut was in the late 90's when the word "gothic" was not only a social movement, but a state of mind, a way of life, do you believe that the flame of goth still burns or it is a simple stereotype?
Dionisis Christodoulatos: Since the late 90's many things have changed. But like anything in arts and of course in music trends and phases come and go. At the moment Gothic music as a movement does not have the popularity that it once had but that does not mean that it will not return. This however, gives the opportunity to more experimental projects and introspective movements to be released, something which shows new promise and expands the boundaries of the genre... So, by no means is it a stereotype as it is an evolving process.

LFdM: Your story is long and troubled, let’s start from “Omens”, beautiful and deep. Could you tell us something about it?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: "Omens" highlighted a very hard time for us as it became the key point regarding whether the band would continue to exist or not. You could say it was a personal challenge for me, one that ultimately I feel I managed to succeed in. Throughout the years there were many problems and obstacles but despite this, Omens became the reason that we decided to continue as a band, we found a way to make it work practically and professionally. For me, Omens is more than just an album, it was a chance to grow as an artist and make decisions that would influence the years to come. For the first time, I became accountable for something bigger than me; for someone else other than me.

LFdM: You play many instruments, you have a deep knowledge of classical music, which I think has an important role in your sound. Is it wrong if I say that the piano is the best instrument to describe your vibes?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: Not at all . The piano has always been the basis of my compositional procedure . It feels like the most natural way to convert my emotions into music as I have been playing it since a very young age . The richness in tone and expression as well as in range can be rivaled only by the violin which can be crowned as the king of the orchestral instruments. There are plans of an album where the piano will play a leading role in the future .

LFdM:  You've been a member of “Chaostar”, what kind of experience was it? Have you got other projects going on or projects you would like to dedicate to?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: Being a member of Chaostar was a great experience as a musician. The compositional skills of Christos Antoniou are of the highest level and in Chaostar he chooses to make no compromises in style or form. Accompanied by exceptional musicians, Christos succeeds so well in fusing modern classical music with avant garde, traditional and even electronic elements that any true music lover will not be left untouched. My involvement in Chaostar is something I am proud of and will look fondly upon.

Apart from the many projects I am working on at my CFN Recording Studios as a producer, currently I am at the final stages of production of our third album named "Reme-die" which will be our most diverse album to date. Actually, I am going through a very creative phase and I am constantly in the studio experimenting with different sounds and prospective projects that I hope to complete.. 
I am returning to styles that always intrigued me and this creative process has really geared me to want to release something a lot more experimental at some point.

LFdM: You inspired a lot of bands, expecially in your country. What are your feelings about that?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: It sure is one of the highest, if not the highest, compliment a musician can receive. 
When you start playing music it is usually because you are inspired by other musicians who have managed to touch a deep emotional place inside , thus triggering the need to express yourself in a similar way, using the music language. Being mentioned as an inspiration to others is the highest honor and the biggest encouragement to continue creating music .

LFdM: And for you? Which bands inspired you at the beginning of your career?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: Personally i have been through many stages as I started playing the piano at the early age of 5. Music has been a companion my whole life . The first concert I attended was a Vangelis show in Athens , it was my first experience with  electronic music and synthesizers as well as the motivation to create my first piano compositions. I also have always been a fan of classic progressive rock , the music of Pink Floyd , Camel, Eloy made a huge impact on me. 
A few years later I bought Metallica's freshly released "Black Album" and a new phase begun. Metallica and Floyd were the main reasons I started playing the guitar at the age of 13.

LFdM: Since the first time I listened to them, I felt  good vibrations about SadDoLLs' music. They come from Greece too, and with them, you have played in 2012 as support bands of Moonspell. I admit to be a friend of theirs, but the question is: Are there still bands that deserve special attention, considering the hard situation of the music industry?   
Is it so hard to come out for a young band?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: Saddolls are a great band and good friends of ours too . It's been almost two years since we collaborated on a Moonpell cover followed by our shows in Athens and Thesssaloniki and last year they released a wonderful album. But to answer your question, the hard situation of the music industry is the very reason that bands deserve special attention right now.  Currently if we exclude the support from the fans, there is not enough support from other sources like media, promo, recording industry due to the international crisis. 
That makes a very difficult and uneven situation for the bands who are struggling to stay in the music scene let alone make a living from it...gigs and live performances play a crucial role in the funding for a band so ticket sales and merch sales predominately make the difference in contrast to the past which depended mostly on cd sales.

On the other hand, the digital age we  live in has now democratized music to such an extent that a new band can now reach thousands of listeners directly without the need of a record label...something which had never been witnessed before. This has brought about a new era for the music industry which has both good and bad points to consider but I believe that time will tell if this new direction is the one that will be continued.

LFdM: You surely worked hard in the last few years to be here again. Is it the beginning of a new chapter? 
Can you reveal something more to us?

Dionisis Christodoulatos: Sorrowful Angels work hard and creatively, our best effort is still ahead of us. 
Every album is a new chapter as is every collaboration, every new endeavor. There is so much material and more importantly so much creative energy to contribute to our next steps so needless to say we still have a lot to show and say!

LFdM: many thanks angels!
Michela

Official Link: Facebook - Site

Interview with Heid (Spain)

Pure folk metal for your heard!

Heid is a new folk death metal band.
They come from Madrid and on March 2014 they released their first EP “Voces de la Tierra Dormida“.

LFdM:  Hi guys, thank you very much for giving us this opportunity to interview you!

Well, first I’d like to ask you how everything is going with your first EP "Voces de la Tierra Dormida"?

H: Hi! Everything is going better than expected. We're very happy with the final result and the international reviews we're getting are more than encouraging. Some people abroad has bought the album and here in Spain it's getting known in the scene.

LFdM: Let us know what are the most important characteristics on  Heid's record?

H: The sound quality, the solid and raw compositions and our Castilian lyrics and instruments.

LFdM: What inspires the band when it comes to creating music?

H: Pagan metal names as Moonsorrow, Numen, Aiumeen Basoa, Finsterforst, Helheim, also Lamb of God, Molotov Solution, and medieval and Renaissance music.

LFdM: How much work goes into the stories behind each song?

H: We always write first the score before thinking of a story to talk about.
Once the music is finished, we do a little research about stories and myths whose feelings fit with it.
Then, when necessary, we make some arrangements to the music make it fit perfect. We are always looking for stories to tell, so we have a big folder with ideas for the future.

LFdM: Talk about the spanish guitars used in some tracks.

H: The way we use the Spanish guitar when composing is not different on how other European folk/pagan metal bands do.
The guitars were recorded by our admired friend Alejandro Tentor, who has studied classical and flamenco guitar.

LFdM: How are important the popular traditions of your country in your sound?

H: We appreciate it more and more every day and try to take it into our compositions.
We are not trying to “sound Spanish” but to show the enormous cultural richness that resides here in Castile, and in our new compositions we are trying our best to make that efford more palpable.

LFdM: What do you expect now?

H: These days we're looking forward the gig with Nothgard and Suru (Sept 4th, Madrid) and the split we're recording and that will be released through Darkwoods records.
We are working very hard to be sure you guys are gonna love it!

LFdM: We hope to see you as soon as possible! :)

Link:

Twitter - Facebook

Video:

U2 - Songs of Innocence

There is no end to love...

Già da qualche giorno si susseguivano voci su un' eventuale release di un nuovo album degli U2 in contemporanea con il lancio del nuovo iPhone 6 da parte della Apple, con cui già una decina di anni fa gli U2 avevano collaborato, realizzando un modello speciale di iPod.
Ma la sorpresa è stata ancora più grande quando circa 500 milioni di utenti iTunes si sono visti apparire nella propria libreria musicale "Songs of Innocence" in download gratuito fino al 13 ottobre, quando uscirà nei negozi la versione fisica del cd, contenente 4 bonus track e alcune tracce acustiche. E non solo: stando alle parole dello stesso Bono, dobbiamo aspettarci a breve un seguito dell'album, che sarà intitolato "Songs of Experience".
Cosa dire di "Songs of Innocence"? Qui bisogna fare una dovuta premessa: ognuno di noi ha quelle due o  tre band in grado di ridurlo in gelatina ad ogni nuovo album. Bene, per me gli U2 sono una di quelle band. Non nascondo però che dopo la delusione di "No line on the horizon", del quale avevo salvato a malapena una canzone, non sapevo davvero cosa aspettarmi.
Invece l'album si apre fin da subito in pieno stile "vecchi U2". Come anche il titolo suggerisce,  è un vero e proprio ritorno alle origini, alle radici sia musicali che umane dei componenti della band, quando gli U2 non erano ancora gli U2 ma solo cinque ragazzi di Dublino che volevano far musica e sognavano di diventare qualcuno. Un album onesto e personale, che sicuramente tornerà a rubare il cuore anche a quei fan che, come me, erano rimasti parecchio delusi dal lavoro precedente.
Difficile scegliere le canzoni migliori dell'album, dal momento che tutte raccontano un pezzo di storia della band. Al primo ascolto, sicuramente quelle che mi hanno colpito di più sono la ballad "Song for someone", che richiama un po' quel capolavoro che era "Walk on",  "Raised by Wolves", che racconta di un attentato in una strada di Dublino e "Cedarwood Road".
Ci sono voluti quasi 5 anni per avere tra le mani quest'album, ma ne è davvero valsa la pena.


U2 Sito Ufficiale

Dawn Of Eternity - Interview

Dawn Of Eternity are a female fronted melodic goth metal band from Germany.

Their new album 'Guilty' has been released on the 22nd March 2014!

LFdM: You were born in 2010, it took almost four years to come up with a new release, quite a long time. What's the story behind "Guilty"?

DoE: In 2010 Sara and Johannes were still operating in their hometown that is quite a small town; we had no bass player, and didn't really come forward with the project. Also we both started university and moved to Nuremberg. So we sort of had to start from 0 again. Looking for a new Drummer a practise room and a Bass player. Also we changed our style and modificated most of the Songs. In 2013 we played a show with  the band Amorticure, it was our third show,  they were building a label at this time, room4Records, and they asked us to do an album so we said yes and a few hard months later we had the release. They mastered the album and helped us out a lot.

LFdM: Sara, who or what made you want to become a singer anyway?

Basicly I've been singing for all of my life. My mother put me into a choir before I could even read the lyrics on the sheets  and somehow I stayed there (I guess I was afraid where she'd put me if I wouldn't want to stay there,  because at that time I didn't realize what I was supposed to do there xD). So this has always been a part of my life. For me singing gives me a lot whether in pain or in happiness it simply heals and gives a lot of freedom. At the age of 15 I realized that there is a way for female singers to do music beyond Britney Spears and all this teeny stuff so I got fascinated of that idea and searched for a band and found Johannes.

LFdM: What kind of contamination had your sound so far?

DoE: Evanescence of course, what was sort of the first Idea we had of our kind of music.

Then there is always what we are listening to at the particular time: there is a lot of In Flames , Iron Maiden, My Dying Bride, Tarja, Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Deadlock, and also a big variety of smaller influences.

LFdM: Do you think that is important  to classify your music into a certain genre or this hurts for the promotion and attract a new audience?

DoE: There are always two sides of the medal, for bookers and business people it comes in quite handy to have a quick identification of the genre, to specify the music without further work to it.

Personally we think that you can't really press any music into just one genre, also we don't care to much about specified boardes, because it is art and art is there to create.

LFdM: The beauty and the beast... beautiful  voice and heavy growls, tell us about Dawn Of Eternity?

DoE: We didn't start with a specific idea of our music, the way it is now it just came with time. The growling idea was born when Johannes realized that he can't really sing. Also it is a good contrast that transports a lot of energy. Also it is a moving process that always changes what you will hear in the next album

LFdM: If you could choose a great band, whom would you choose to make up the perfect tour?

Sara: Slipknot/Evanescence

Johannes: My Dying Bride

Sebastian: Slayer

Torsten: In Flames

LFdM: Thank you guys! 

Official Link: Soundcloud - Facebook - Twitter

Members:
Sara Seubert - Vocals & Piano
Johannes Kittel - Guitar/shouts
Sebastian Kupfer - Bass
Torsten Ossowicki - Drums

Face of God - Interview

FACE of GOD (rock band from Helsinki - Finland)

Photography by Joel Hiljanen 

We‘ve left them on the Tavastia stage on the 28th of December 2012, very young and maybe a little inexperienced. What were they doing during these years?

LFdM: Hello guys, it’s a pleasure to talk to you again after two years. How are you?

FoG: Hello hello hello!! We are really good! We just played our first tour in USA and that was lot of fun! 

Now few more gigs in Finland, next month we're going back to Russia and then we go to the studio.

LFdM: I kept on following you after that night in Tavastia Klubi, because I found your music very interesting and I’m really impressed by your stylistic evolution in these two years. Can we start from the first of January 2013?

What happened since then? Has your experience as a support band for HIM helped you in some ways?

FoG: Thank you! Hmm lot of things has happened!! 

We've been recording a lot and we've been playing a lot of gigs all around and we have a new drummer (Lauri). 

Supporting HIM helped us a lot, first of all and the most important is that it was a dream come true for me.

LFdM: Listening to your new material and seeing your new pictures, it seems not only your style has evolved, but you also changed your look. Are your image as a band and your musical style still in evolution or did you find your balance?

FoG: Well, i don't think we think about our style that much. I find more important to write good songs. I think bands always change and that is just hows it goes. Boring answer but thats hows it goes, at least in our band.

LFdM: Do you think is important to be eclectic in what you do? 

FoG: Things can go really boring easily, so i think yes, it is.

LFdM: We all know it’s difficult, nowadays, expecially after a first release, to be focused on your goals and to have new material as good as to capture the attention of the media. How much time you dedicate to your music to create something really good?

FoG: I don't know if its hard or easy. Its all about the songs and in a way timing and luck. All that matters for me and for us is the music. Music is the only reason to do this so of course we try to create something special and good all the time.

LFdM: Last winter you played some gigs in England. You’re starting to gain more popularity, new fans… Is there any possibility to see you touring Europe soon? 

FoG: Yes there is. 

Thanks a Lot!

Special thanks to Jennifer from us!

For more news and updates check the Face of God Facebook page and Offcial Site!

UNIVERSAL THEORY - Interview

"Universal Theory" is a spanish dark/gothic duo formed by Jesus Pinilla and Maria Jose Martos. Discover with us their deep and romantic sound!

LFdM: Hi guys, thanks a lot for this interview.

How you know, we want to share new sound and bands in our country (Italy)  through a short interview in which you showing the true soul of the band, to our reader.

I read that the concept behind Universal Theory is based on "the pleasure of searching": starting with this? 

Jesus: Hi! Thank you too. 

Well, this idea is based on science and knowledge. Scientists are continually looking for something and this search is precisely what moves us to discover, find and explore new paths and ways. 

As some scientists say, and I love to say “Happiness is in the anteroom of Happiness”

LFdM: There are important influences in your album as Tiamat or Anathema, -- what do you think about their way to compose and create a special atmosphere?

J: Yes, we have some influences from Tiamat and Anathema. The ways these bands compose are wonderful. Each of them has their own sound and all of them are capable of leading you to the dark and the deep like Tiamat or leading you to the transcendent, from sadness to happiness, and sometimes they will take you to another place or to the other side like Anathema.

LFdM: "Mystery Timeline" sounds have inside much progressive reflections -- how did you get to this kind of music?

J: Under the concept of “The pleasure of Searching”. Also, I found this kind of music because I believe that before you write a song you need to have a reason for writing it, and in Mystery Timeline each song tells a story, a thought, desires or experiences through the sounds.

LFdM: The artwork of your album is wonderful ..what is the meanings?

J: The cover is the Prague Astronomical Clock and the meaning is once again the Mystery of Time.

It´s wonderful to look up to the heavens and think “When you look at stars, you are looking at light from the past, but when you look closely, you are looking at light from the present.” In short, I felt it was amazing to “See The Past and Present at the same time”.

LFdM: What can we expect from Universal Theory in the future?

J: We are working on new songs for the new album (Second Album) and we hope you keep listening to Universal Theory and hopefully later you can see Universal Theory on stage all over the world.

Thanks so much!

It’s been a great pleasure talking to you.

Michela 

Official Website: www.universaltheorymusic.com 

"Mystery Timeline" 

1. Turn Me On
2. Timeline
3. What Dreams Hide
4. Conversations With Myself
5. Enchantment
6. Grand Mystery
7. Let Your Desires
8. Maybe

Interview to Zephyra

Zephyra is a melodic metal band from Sweden. In 2013 they signed a deal with the italian label Wormholedeath. We had a chat with them about their new album, Mental Absolution, and more. Enjoy!

LFdM: You recently posted on your YouTube channel your recent single "Undone" from "Mental Absoluon". Let's start from your first impressions about this single and about the sound of the new album in general.

Z: "Undone" is a very direct and in your face kind of song and we chose that to be the first you would hear from the album just for that reason. It´s easier to spark an interest with a song that is more to the point than maybe a more slow started one, and we like it a lot ourselves. It felt only natural to make the official announcement and the inial promoon of the album with Undone. As for the rest of the album, it´s very diverse with a lot of different tempos and moods. It´s not like we have an album full of songs like Undone, in fact, we will release another song very soon. And that song is the very opposite to Undone, it´s slow paced and emoonal. We want to show the different sides of Zephyra. So stay tuned for that song folks!

LFdM: Since the first listen it seems there is a great job behind it, especially with the sound. How long did you work on this album?

Z: Oh wow! It kind of depends on when you start to count actually. The very first work on the album began in the first half of the last year with the song wring process. During summer and autumn we wrote more songs, recorded pre producons and rehearsed really hard. In december we travelled to Italy and did the actual recording of the album during three weeks at Mathlab Recording Studio. Since then it´s been all about all the post recording stuff like mixing, mastering, album cover and so on. It´s a lot of work we can ensure you!

LFdM: In this track I feel a lot of thrash influences, how do you see this kind of contaminaons ?

Z: Tony, the guitar player, is the main songwriter, and his guitar style is strongly influenced by the thrash metal scene. So the fact that we have a big poron of thrash metal parts as a foundaon of our songs is only natural. But with that said, we do not see ourselves as a thrash metal band. We have a great deal of influences from various styles, as for example from power, progressive and melodic death metal. On top of that we have Åsas disnct vocals. She has a different singing style from what you normally would hear among female vocalists in metal, especially with the clean vocals. So we don't really put a label on ourselves, it´s up to others.

LFdM: Many north-european bands somemes write and sing songs in their own language and I find this really nice. Will there be something like this in the upcoming album? Could you reveal us a bit more about it?

Z: There is nothing like that on our upcoming album. We have played around with that idea though. Our last EP was actually called ’Kämpaglöd’ and that translates into something like ”Fighng spirit”. Somewhere down the line there will probably be a song with swedish vocals, me will tell.

LFdM: What's the origin of the name of the band?

Z: It´s a funny and a simple story actually. When we started the band we would have to come up with a name, and Åsa came up with the name Zephyra. Åsa´s and Tony´s dog is named Zaphira and Åsa just took that name and re-arranged it a lile bit and the name Zephyra came about. We’ve always liked it and it has stuck with us. Besides, it´s too late to change it now anyway, ha ha!

LFdM: You have a singer who goes fluidly and naturally from clean to growl vocals. Thinking of bands like Arch Enemy, Angela Gossow and Alissa White-Gluz also have amazing voices and also they come from Sweden. Do you think this aspect is a way to keep high the aenon on your music?

Z: We don´t know. You can never copy and paste what someone else is doing. Of course we have some influences from bands like Arch Enemy, especially from Åsa´s side and at a certain extent you can ”ride” on what´s popular at the moment. But if you buy a Zephyra album and think that you gonna hear Arch Enemy 2 or The Agonist 2, you are way off. It´s true that we have a poron of that in our music, but we also have a great deal of other stuff that at least we think it´s not so very common. We´re not a death metal band like Arch Enemy and we are not a gothic band like Within Temptaon, but those are sll the two main styles many people oen think of when they hear about a female vocalist in metal, at least from our experience. 

No disrespect to bands that play those kind of styles, we listen to a lot of those kind of bands ourselves, but somemes you get labeled as soon as they hear about a female vocalist in a metal band, instead of just listen in on the band and decide themselves.

LFdM: Ok, now you should use all your compelling ability - In one word: why someone should listen to Zephyra?

Z: Dynamic!

LFdM: \m/ 

Interview by Michela

Official website 

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