Marianne (vocals) ‘’We wanted to create something truly magical and escapist with this album – the stories told through fairy tales allow you to really explore the depths of human emotion through these fantastical tales, so they were the perfect platform for our music; which too traverses warm, sentimentality such as The Poet’s Last Song – Verse 1, through to the epic, chaotic ending of The Red Shoes which is all in with choirs, extreme vocals and layers of guitars – which is the part of the story where her heart explodes and she transcends to the afterlife.
Your debut album Sorrow and Travail. What inspired you to make your music so unique and complete?
‘’I have never really thought about it as complete, but thank you, I suppose it depends on who is listening to it! Musically, I think we have just created something we would want to listen to, which equally reflects the influences of every member of the band – it’s truly an ensemble work, and each member has made a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the overall work that has resulted.
Is this part one of an ever evolving saga?
‘’Good question – I don’t know. Is the short answer. We definitely cemented our musical style in this album, but we may explore more diverse influences in the next release. The fairytales were the framing for this work, but we don’t intend that to turn into all we are about.
The metaphor of In Eden Slain – Paradise forsaken or….?
‘’When we landed on the name it was exactly that – the dichotomy of paradise and perdition, light and dark – all the things we explore both musically and thematically.
The album has moments of gorgeous beauty both vocally and thematically. A beautiful dream before the nightmare settles in?
‘’Thank you – we really wanted to create something that brings to life the stories in the album. There is so much scope to play with in heavy music, which really allowed us to explore the depths of each extreme in this album. I have a background in classical music, and I have always believed that in a truly great operatic performance the language shouldn’t be a barrier – the perfect combination of the vocal melody, performance and accompaniment should transcend the barrier of language – so I hope we have brought a little of that ethos into the album, and that listeners can truly experience it both with and without the lyrics in front of them.
The vocal performance is stunning. Are you classically trained and how do you combine the classical inflections with the heavier death metal parts?
‘’Thank you, that’s very kind. Yes, I am classically trained – but I have also been hugely into metal since I was about 12 years old. To me, opera and metal are very aligned – the availability of amplified instruments may be different, but both genres are epic, dramatic, theatrical, moving, and at times ridiculous! Raf (guitar) is also classically trained with a lot of flamenco influences, you can really hear this in some of the more acoustic sections – the motif in the acoustic section of Daughter of the Air, which is very technical to sing and play is a good example – you can hear them dotted about the album where Raf and I have a little moment singing and playing the same melody.
Does your music reflect the duality and emotions of life? Is it part of the question if darkness vs light? Hope vs Loss?
‘’The duality of life is a great way of putting it. The term ‘chiaroscuro’ referring to the use of light and dark in painting is how I tend to describe it.
Final Thoughts ad plans to promote the album?
‘’This is our first release and it’s tough releasing music when so much is out there. If you like the album please do share it with your friends and networks and follow us on some social channels. If you’re in Melbourne we are playing the album in full on November 16 at Max Watts at the Embers of Tragedy tour with Carmeria and Orpheus Omega.
Tops six albums of all time?
''Tough question! I will leave you with one – Clearing the Path to Ascend by YOB is one of my all-time favourite albums. I can be having the worst day, and as soon as those first couple of chords drop, I sink into another place. This is what great music is to me. Thank you for the fantastic questions and for supporting our release!
@inedenslain
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