Bitchcock / LeSabre interview

Intuitive, obstinate, titillating, energetic, deadly melodic guitar-driven alternative rock with a raw, freaky edge. That’s Bitchcock in the words of Annemiek van Grondel, one of its founders, who talked to Metaladies.com about her band.

Listen to Bitchcock while reading the interview:

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Bitchcock stayed in the business for fifteen years. Do you think you really have finished what you started in 1990? Did you reach the expectations you had at the beginning?
The expectations were not as high when we started out in 1990. In the years we played, we did not only concerts in the Netherlands, but also in Switzerland (more than once), Austria and Germany. We never expected to be very famous, so the fact that this indeed did not happen was be taken into account and not at all disappointing. We had a lot of fun, and that counts.

Do you regret of something happened to the band, of a bad decision, of something that now from the distance you know it would have helped the band to continue in a successful path?
The only thing I regret is that we did not have the persistence to release our last album.

Being an all-female band was a concept to keep since the beginning. Why were you willing to form an all-female band?
Female bonding is something we thought was an attractive idea. We wanted to proof that guys were not needed to make good music. But to be honest, we had some guys in the band, on and off: we played in the beginning with a male solo-guitar player and the drum recordings of The Birds are done by a male drummer, who left the band quite soon because of a lack of chemistry. Sam Ford followed in his footsteps and the chemistry with her was a proven fact. And she played very, very well. In the end, after solo-guitarist Yolande and drummer Sam left, Ly and I for a short while worked with Abel and Yohan (both guitar) and Sandrijn (drums), but the dawning of the end of LeSabre was then already clear.

Let’s make a short trip through your history. Everything started when you and Elisabeth started rehearsing in the summer of 1990. But it was not until seven years later that you had a solid lineup, and made important gigs. What happened during this seven “dark” years?
In the Dark Age we had a lot of fun, struggled in the rehearsal room, tried out our first songs with no strings attached, ‘abused’ a lot of musicians, from which bass player Ly really turned out to be a consistent band member, did our first gig in 1993, played some local venues and festivals and did not take the music life too seriously.

Talking about gig highlights, you were touring through Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, together with Hole or Babes in Toyland. This were great years for all-female rock bands (let’s add L7). What do you recall from this days and tours?
Magic! It was a great opportunity to be in bigger venues, like the Melkweg, and touring on the road with four girls was both stressy and hilarious. One of our last big gigs, as a support band in two big Dutch venues in Holland (Melkweg Max, Amsterdam and Het Paard in The Hague, both sold out) was for Rockbitch, the nude girl band with explicit sexual content. At first Rockbitch were suspicious of us, thinking we adapted our name to theirs, but as soon as they found out we were called Bitchcock for years, and also could actually ‘play’, they spontaneously doubled our meager fee, taken from their own income. The next gig in The Hague was a couple of days later, and we surprised them in the dressing room with a big cake, appropriately covered with the word ‘EAT ME’ in whipped cream on it. Ofcourse we played with our cloths on and were only eating the pie with them.

You played successful gigs in front of 6500 and few months later in front of 5 people. How did this affect the band, feeling like in the top of popularity and later like completely unknown?
That was more a matter of speaking. Don’t take success too seriously, has always been our motto.

Talking in terms of popularity. How popular do you were back then, in Netherlands and Europe? Did you get media attention?
We got reviews for our albums, were played a couple of times on national radio, did some radio interviews in Switzerland and that was it. O yes, and we won Spin/GeoCities internet competition for best unsigned band, but didn’t know at first; then had to threaten to ’sue GeoCities’ ass’ before eventually receiving our prize. We had some loyal fans who attended our shows, but no fanclub. And unfortunately no fanzine. This was in the days before MySpace, and we lazy bitches were not really standing in the nerd frontlines concerning a website of our own.

About the reviews, the ones written for “The Birds”, your first LP, where very good. Tell us a bit about this album, its recording and selling numbers.
We recorded it in about one or two weeks, in De Boventoon, a popular studio in Amsterdam. A local record company was willing to release it, but it was not very professional. The review copies were sent to the newspapers and music mags about two months before the album reached the stores. The reviews were almost all very good, I recall a review in de Volkskrant, one of our biggest national newspapers, that was raving and made us blissfully fly for days. But when the album finally was in the record stores, I guess people may have forgotten about it. The sellings were not so good, I am afraid. We haven’t received a penny for it.

And about the style. Your sound was very professional and skilled, and had your own original trademark. There were the alternative component, the rock riffs, the melodic voice and catchy chorus. How would you define your music?
Intuitive, obstinate, titillating, energetic, deadly melodic guitar-driven alternative rock with a raw, freaky edge.

After the release of “The Birds”, you changed your name to LeSabre. Why this change and why that radical?
Some people confused us with Rockbitch (see above), other people thought our name was childish and perhaps offensive. Because our drummer Sam Ford was a huge car freak, she came up with the name, and after we had seen LeSabre cars (the oldtimers, of course!) we were totally convinced.

And with the name change they came the problems. You recorded one LP, “The Devil Is A Woman”, that never saw the light. What happened with this record? Was it finally released? If not, what are we missing?
Like I said, we were not persistent enough, and did not have a big distribution network nor a record company that was willing to release it. So we lost quite some money on the recording. The fact that Yolande left the band was also not helpful. I think it is a shame, because I consider the songs on The Devil Is A Woman to be our best.

Yolande left the band, and Abel Cañizales came in. A male incursion in the band. Was it an easy decision to leave the all-female formation, or there was no way to find another female musician?
He was not the first man into the band, but he was a damn good guitar player. Also Yohan (guitar) and Sandrijn (drums) entered the scene at some point. We only did one gig with them, by the way. We left the idea of a female group in order to make LeSabre an even better band. But due to some reasons and a constant lack of time and other interests (Ly became a mum, for instance) we decided to call it a day after a while.

Which are the whereabouts of Bitchcock components nowadays? Do you still meet the girls? Is there any reunion possibility?
No, there will not be a music reunion. Sometimes we see each other to talk about the good old days and drink lots of wine and whisky. Liesbeth is still my best friend who I see at least once a week. I make music now with four guys in Superspade, which play on a not too serious basis in venues (like the Melkweg) and Liesbeth made a successful underground career as Solex (which at one point was signed to the Matador label in New York and got some good radio support of the late John Peel). Ly is also still making music in a non-female band.

Tell the readers why Bitchcock is a band worth to give an opportunity.
Bitchcock/LeSabre are not playing anymore but are mentally supporting all rock ‘n’ roll girls worldwide who are thinking of gathering their strengths musically. Making music together is so much fun! It has nothing to do with being famous or getting groupies, although some extra attention is always worthwhile. It is all about the Ecstasy of Electrifying Energy. You go girls!!

Read more about Bitchcock / LeSabre

Deimos interview

Deimos was the first all-female death metal band coming out from Turkey. They splitted in 1998, and now we remember this trio interviewing its component I??k Evirgen

Listen to Deimos while reading the interview:

Deimos was born in 1996. How did it all start, were you the first all-female death metal band in Turkey?
Everything started within our friendship. I was 15 years old and Seda was 16. We wanted to make music because we couldn’t go on as listeners only. We had a brutal force inside us and we had to do something. Yes we were the first all-female death metal band in Turkey. There were other female bands like Ebonside (black) and Volvox (rock).

Just from the beginning you started touring. Did you have enough own material to complete a set list? Did you complete it with any cover?
Actually we have made 8 tracks in 6 months and 2 SFU covers. Then we started performing.

Talking about your own material, was it finally released? Is there any way nowadays we can access to your music?
No, we have never made any recordings. Our previous vocalist had full concert videos but I have never reached them since then:-) Now we have just 2 short and low quality videos in YouTube but that’s all.

As seen in some of your videos, your music was pure and raw death metals with a grind touch. Is there any more specific way to describe your music?
As I said we were a performing band and we can describe our music with 2 words: Basic and impulsive.

You sang while playing drums, and you did both so aggressively. Had you ever thought of acquiring a vocalist to fully concentrate on drumming? Or you really are enjoying making both jobs onstage.
Actually we weren’t a trio at the beginning. We had another vocalist but she had a scream vocal and we didn’t want it. I started singing while I play. It wasn’t much difficult for me. It was even fun! But of course, front man (woman: P) is very important on stage for visuality and raising the adrenaline level of the audience. I have heard some guys saying “Hey where is the vocalist!?!” I always liked the unique way of drummers doing the vocals at the same time. I think it is very cool.

Deimos was an all-female trio. Was it intended to be like this since the beginning? Both aspects, all-female and three musicians?
Yeah we always wanted to be a female band. We had 4 people at the beginning. Core members (gözde, seda and me) and another vocalist. As we improved our music, we invited more musicians. But you know how difficult to work with girls is so we went back to our former members and didn’t ask for any musicians then after. that’s why I had to be the drummer and vocalist together.

Do you thing being all-female opened you more doors than it closed?
I think yes all doors were open for us. It was easier to book concerts because everybody were wondering us. But there was one thing bad about it. If you lose a member; you can’t replace her easily because it is really hard to find another good female musician.

And what about the lyrics, what did Deimos lyrics talked about?
I was writing about existence, actually meaningless existence. The inferior existence of humankind. I was reflecting my philosophical idea.

In 1998 you parted ways. What were the reasons that lead you to split up?
Life, necessity…We hadn’t much time for music and actually my desire broken coz we lost best change for our musical future. One of major record labels wanted to us and we couldn’t go there thats why I lost my attention.

But after all, in 2000 you got together again to play five special concerts. How was it, to play together again as Deimos? And was there any intention to try to continue together as a band?
Our lives became boring without music. We needed more action so we decided to go back to performing. It was just for fun.

However, you finally called it a quit. What happened after it? Which are the whereabouts of you three nowadays?
Everybody went their own ways. Different cities, different lives and we lost in life…

Back then Ankara seemed to be a good city for the underground bands. It seems that there is a strong female underground scene in Turkey, with emerging bands like Sirannon or ?lkim Oulanem, or the old Ebonsight. Is it that strong?
I really don’t have an idea about these new generation bands. Only Ebonsight, which is pretty much an old band, had done so well back in those years. I think today’s bands have more opportunities. But again I would like to remind you that wherever there are more than 2 women, it’s going to be troublesome.

Are there any other all-female bands that you feel like was an inspiration for you? And some other you feel the Deimos spirit reflected in?
To be honest, there were not much all-female bands around, neither local nor foreign. Yes I know, there have been bands came after us and inspired by us. It always surprises me how people still know and try to contact us even though we haven’t got a single release.

And now, watching it from the distance, do you regret of any decision taken about Deimos? Would you change something from their history to keep it alive?
Yeah there are few things I would change. Especially, we had an offer from a major label which we had to put it down because of our guitarist couldn’t go abroad.

Tell the readers why Deimos was a band to take a listen.
We were a band should be experienced live rather than listened.

Branigan interview

Interview with Megan Branigan, the only musician behind Branigan. Her music is characterized by progressive passages, epic and melodic winds and clean vocals combined with black registers.

Listen to Branigan while reading the interview:

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Which is the current Branigan status, are you recording, on hiatus, composing?
I wouldn’t say that I’m on hiatus. I’ve just been brainstorming; heading in a new direction.

And the steps to follow in the near future? Which are your expectations for Branigan?
I honestly can’t say what I’m expecting to come of it. I would like to have a full line-up. I would like to just assume vocals and songwriting.

You started in 2003 as Origin Of Silence, and published “Mirage World Revival” in 2005. What have happened since then in Branigan?
Nothing has happened. I’ve just been thinking a lot, and working on other music not relating to Branigan. I have a few ideas for songs, but nothing solid just yet.

Their songs are promising, but I think they don’t have the deserved production. Have you thought of rerecording them in better conditions?
I would have to say probably not. I might decide, later on, to take a couple of them and rework them somehow. They just don’t seem to fit the atmosphere I’m going for these days.

Are you responsible of all instruments and voices in Branigan? And of all the composing process?
I would have to say for now; yes. Everything on “Mirage World Revival” was me. Hopefully that will be changing shortly.

Being a one-woman project has its good and bad things. Can you tell some of them, and why do you decided to make music by your own?
It’s good because you don’t have to rely on other people. It’s a lot harder to have band mates make the music sound the way you hear it in your head. Doing music on your own is hard, frustrating, and if you’re a perfectionist, your musicianship may not be up-to-par with what you want to hear. That’s when it’s good to have people help, and why I’ve decided to pursue that in the future.

One of the bad features is the difficulty to bring your music live. Have you ever played a gig as Branigan (or Origin Of Silence)?
No; I wouldn’t do that without a full line-up. I enjoy playing shows and would like to do so with Branigan.

Being just by yourself is it the best way to fully express yourself musically?
I answered that in a previous question, but certainly. It’s a lot easier to correct something yourself than it is to constantly have to go over parts with your band mates. I think I’ve become more open to extra input lately.

And lyrically? What are your lyrics about, do they reflect introspective thoughts? Do you show yourself in them?
I can tell you that most of the lyrics I’ve written are relating to dreams I’ve had. They’re a mixture of dreams and nature.

You are melting black, melodic, epic and progressive elements. Your music is original, it has your own label. But, which are the bands that has influenced you the most?
Iron Maiden, Vintersorg, Korpiklaani, Skyforger, Bal-Sagoth, Judas Priest, and Moonsorrow. I listen to a lot of different styles of music, but these are the metal artists that have influenced me the most.

Talking about labels, have you found any record label interested in your music?
I haven’t at this point in time. It’s perfectly understandable; the quality of Origin of Silence wasn’t too great and my resources were limited.

There are other one-woman bands/projects, like Aythis, Turdus Merula, Coldnight, Branigan, Terra Teratos, Lidande, Melencolia Estatica, Cadukeya. Do you know/like any of them?
I haven’t heard of any of these.

Are you collaborating with any other bands, do you have time enough to dedicate to Branigan?
I’m currently working with someone to revive a band called Llyfyrion. The music was excellent, but most of the musicians fell short and they split up awhile back. It’s a very promising band, possibly more so than Branigan. I do feel that I’ll still have plenty of time to dedicate to Branigan.

Internet seems to the best way at the moment to promote your music. Are you receiving good feedback from around the world?
Yeah, I have. I think the Internet can become bogged down with too many artists though, so you have to find key places to promote. Review websites are good for this.

And is there any way people can get your LP?
Sure. Send me an e mail (braniganmegan@gmail.com) and for five U.S. dollars it can be yours!

Tell the readers why Branigan is worth to take a listen.
It’s good for those of you who enjoy music with a strange atmosphere. I’m honestly a bit frightened by some of the stuff I come up with. I like creating music that is somehow attached to the dream world; surreal and cold. If I can leave you completely blank after listening to some of my music, then I’ve done my job. It exists only for that purpose.

Read more about Branigan

No Remorse interview

No Remorse is like a rock high school for girls to develop their musical skills. From this school there have emerged bands such as Vision, Undercover, Carbon Black, Bad Surprise, Deadline, Frantic Amber, Insistence, Red Wine, Neckless, B.H.K, Bumpy, C.A.S.E, The Deadline, Bitchslap, In Memory Of Two, Sataanan Enkelit, Scandalux, Trimmad Rullator, Pick Your Poison, Revenge, Radio Tragedy

No Remorse is like a rock high school for girls to develop their musical skills. Please detail it a little more.
No Remorse is an organization for girls who want to learn more about music and film. They can learn all about making music videos or documentaries. They can also start a band and develop themselves individually and for the whole group. We offer music lessons in many instruments, like guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals.

Why such this organization? Which is the main goal behind the idea? Is it to promote girls in a predominantly male business?
An organization like this is very important for us. We promote girls in a predominantly male business and shows that girls have satisfactory opportunities of being able to play instrument just like boys do.

Is No Remorse the only school of this kind worldwide?
No Remorse is the only school of this kind worldwide, the only one that focuses on girls and has the kind of educational program that we have.

And which are the requirements for a girl to be part of No Remorse. Does she need to have previous musical acknowledge?
To be a part of No Remorse you don’t need to have any special requirements. The only thing you have to achieve to be a part of No Remorse is the age. You have to be between 16 or 24 years old. You don’t need to have previous musical acknowledge, we assume from what the person is in for level in knowledge and works on the basis of that.

Once they are in, do they start playing in a band? Is it the school who chooses where each girl would fit better or they decide to form the bands with whom they like?
They start a band and decides themselves what instrument they want to play. We don´t choose for them. It is very important to be independent in these choices, because it has to be fun to learn and play.

There are a lot of bands formed or assisted by No Remorse: Undercover, Carbon Black, Bad Surprise, Deadline, Frantic Amber, Insistence, Red Wine, Neckless, B.H.K, Vision, Bumpy, C.A.S.E, The Deadline, Bitchslap, In Memory Of Two, Sataanan Enkelit, Scandalux, Trimmad Rullator, Pick Your Poison, Revenge, Radio Tragedy. Which musical styles do they cover?
There are many different music styles that our band is cover. They play pop, rock, hard rock and many other genre´s. They start with easier songs and later they can choose by themselves which song they want.

I’ve seen some of your video clips, and I know you also have a film school. Are this video clips filmed by the film school students? In fact they look very professional.
The video clips that we have are filmed by the film school students. The students learn how to do music videos and of course we let the students do our music videos too. On this way the students learns both practical and theoretical things.

You also have a recording studio. So it seems easy for the bands to record their records/demos. How does it work exactly? Which are the conditions for the bands to record their music?
When a band has work on a song and all done, the band has the possibility to record in a studio. In the studio each band member record hers instrument/song. When the recording is finished it maybe have to change things or add things on it to make the final version.

So which is currently the No Remorse discography? How can we get this music?
No Remorse has a MySpace address that you can listen on songs from the bands. Many videos is on YouTube and we have also a lot of CDs and DVDs you can buy.

How much control do the bands have while staying at the school and how much once they are out of it?
The band has fairly much control of themselves, they choose what they want to play for songs and much other thing. But they have to be in time and make use of the time that they have.

Which is the school/organization achievement you are most proud of? And what do you think is the issue you still have to improve?
No Remorse is very proud over all the bands who has expound in our country and worldwide. That’s a very good sign of success. No Remorse is also proud of all possibilities to learn to play instruments, learn how to sing and learn to make movies. Our issue maybe is that we want to have more live performances.

Which band do you think is gaining more worldwide attention? And this hidden jewel that is about to unleash all their power soon?
Vision is the band who has gained the most both worldwide and in Sweden. They have developed very much under all these years and we are very proud of them and Visions international success.

Some bands like Vision or Bitchslap played in the Swedish metal expo. How was the experience?
Both Vision and Bitchslap thinks that Swedish metal expo was a big experience that was very instructive, but fun at the same time. Every gig is instructive and good for the future.

Apart from this show, do you organize festivals yourself for the No Remorse bands? Is there any band planning to tour around Europe?
No Remorse has arranged gigs for the bands on different places, like municipality house, our own local and many more places. Right now we don’t have any plans to tour around Europe.

No Remorse @ Myspace
No Remorse official site

Blair Witch interview

Taiwanese band formed by four young black and death metal fans. A entirely female act since its conception, Blair Witch members talked with metaladies about their history and future goals.

Listen to Blair Witch while reading the interview:

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How is the Blair Witch health right now, what is the band involved in?
Shinya – Blair Witch is much better now and we are working hard. At the begining, some of our members had two bands, even the person who formed this band did. It made this band not to be sure of what kind of music and goal we wanna make.Well, you know, girls misunderstand each other so often and they didn’t concentract in this band a lot besides me. I felt dispointed about them. It was that way before I met new members.

You’ve suffered many lineup changes. Do you feel like finally being a solid band right now?
Shinya – Our members now are serious to this band and we had the same goal. It finally became a solid band after that messy period of time. I think this is real Blair Witch.

One thing that seems to be mandatory is to keep the band all-female. Is it part of the Blair Witch concept, only witches allowed?
Shinya – When we tried to seek for new members, some male musicians had contacted me. But they didn’t practice songs that we asked them to play, just sat there like coming here for picnicing! And,It’s weird that there didn’t come any male musician anymore after it. We’ve never asked for girls only but newcomers were all girls so I think this is our destiny. Girls can also play metal. This is what we wanna tell everyone!!

Maybe because of this lineup changes, your music has moved from gothic metal at the beginning to raw black metal nowadays. Is it the main reason, is it a direct influence from the band newcomers?
Shinya & Mai – It was metal for early Blair Witch but not so heavy. I think, members changing has big influence as well. Our new drummer has bigger punch than ex so the songs we wrote are more and more heavy. In addition, we all like black metal and Ice can sing it. This is the reason we turned to black!

And do you think you’ve finally found your definitive sound? How would you describe it?
Mai – Yes, we did. I hope people who listen to our music can also image pictures we tried to express. It’s a dark, cold and hopeless world.

Which is your main trademark, what makes your music distinguish from the rest, the thing you feel it’s Blair Witch original?
Ice – I think being all-female is our biggest trademark haha!! Well, as my members said, we wanna show our girls’ dark power. And there are few black metal bands in Taiwan. We do have female bands but they are all pop or punk. I guess people can distinguish us from the rest so easy cause we are the first female extremely metal band in Taiwan!

And which bands have influenced you the most?
Ice – For me, all black metal bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Belphegor, Astarte and so on have influenced me the most. I think Sodom, Amon Amarth and Norther have infuenced Shinya I guess. Mai likes 80’s, early Metallica, Graveworm, Burzum, Behemoth and so on.A PO is a newcomer for metal world so I am trying to take her into black metal haha! For her,I guess a drummer in a taiwanese metalcore band, Beyond Cure, has been the major influence.

Let’s talk about your country. Is there a strong black metal scene in Taiwan?
Mai – It’s rare in Taiwan. Well, we have two mainly black metal bands, Chthonic and Anthelion, but they are trying to become little pop to attract young people to listen. Anyway, black metal isn’t so popular here but there are still few people working hard to push it out.

Is it easy for a metal band in Taiwan to appear in the media? Any radio, TV channel, magazine supporting metal?
Mai – In fact, taiwanese media always cares about scandals and gossips. There are less people who care about metal music here. Only some midnight MTV chanel or radio chanel play 80’s or metal music. Well, there is a magazine named “Music-In” appeared recently. It features taiwanese metal bands, international metal bands and metal concerts in Taiwan. I am glad to know that we finally have this kind of magazine.

Is internet your strongest weapon to promote yourself?
A PO – I think so cause here we still have less ways to promote ourselves. I am happy that we have Music-In magazine now too.

Have you received international feedback?
Ice – Yes, we have recieved some from our myspace and my foreign friends. I really appreciate people who gave us encouragement and suggestions. These will make Blair Witch more and more stronger.

Is it easy to have a busy gig schedule in Taiwan? Which are your touring plans for this 2009?
Mai – Taiwan is a small island so places we can go are only those such as Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaouhsung. I think it’s enough for us to have a busy tour. We planed to join every big metal festival in Taiwan. We also hope to hold a female metal festival in 2010. If we could, we want to invite some foreign metal bands too.

And what about all-female metal bands in your country. Do you know any other band?
A PO – I guess there is only one all-female metal band in Taiwan. We have other all-female bands but they are almost pop rock and punk bands. Just wearing cute or bikini, showing how cute and sexy they are. I don’t like it.

Tell me about your own songs. Do you have material enough to record an album? Any thoughts of doing it soon? I think you started recording but you had some problems to solve.
A PO – We have only 5 songs so still can’t make an album. We will try to write more. We are working hard at fixing not good parts of songs and practicing it till get them perfect. We still lack experience for recording and have to improve basic skills more and more.

What do you speak about in your lyrics? Which is the concept behind your music?
Ice – I wrote our lyrics to lead people into a dark, cold and hopeless atmosphere. I tried to describe human’s sick and dark side. Of course I add some satanic thoughts since elder said witches are Satan’s daughters haha! The concept of our music is like that too.

Tell the readers why Blair Witch is a band worth to listen to.
A PO – We work hard and we are all-female asain black metal band. We want to spread girls power all over the world. Did you ever heard of female black metal band from Taiwan? You have to!

Read more about Blair Witch

Absinthe interview

Metaladies caught up with founder of Absinthe, Briana Alexis, to see what these rockin L.A. women were all about. She talked about the new album and their busy show schedule, among other issues.

Listen to Absinthe while reading the interview:

Absinthe is a new band, established in 2007. Where have you been until now?
We’ve actually played over 60 shows in Hollywood since our formation in 2007. The first year, we were pretty low profile, and then as we started playing out more our fan base grew very rapidly. We regularly share stages with all kinds of bands and have even opened for a few national acts. We hold our own every time. It’s always great to go onstage and show everyone these girls can rock with the best of them!!!!

Absinthe consists of members from all over the globe. Has this had any effect on the music that you write?
My band members are from Barcelona Spain, Japan, Los Angeles, and Detroit the rock scene. It’s definitely a great mix and I’m sure a bit of all our different nationalities definitely seep into the song writing in some way. Current line up consists of Lau – Vocals, Briana Alexis – Guitar, Felicia Villani – Guitar and backing vocals, Crystal Diamond – Bass, and Misai on Drums.

Talking about the L.A scene, what’s left from the golden age of the Sunset Strip? How Absinthe fit in the scene now?
I played the Sunset Strip back in the 80’s, so I know it well. It’s definitely a very different scene these days. That being said, sometimes, I feel like I’m playing in a time warp, as if nothing has changed. I love telling my Sunset war stories to my younger band members, so they can live vicariously through me.

Your music could be considered as a dish of rock with a metal touch, with melodic guitars and powerful vocals. How would you describe your music?
When I formed ABSINTHE in 2007, I wanted something different, more classical metal, with cello, violin, keyboards. We soon found that we wanted the band to rock a little harder so we went back to basics, two dual lead guitars, powerful vocals, with grooving bass and drum lines. We’re influence by the Metal scene, as well as a few other styles of music. The ABSINTHE sound is definitely based around loud guitars and powerful vocals with great songs with strong catchy hooks. We definitely do our own thing which is a real asset. I still haven’t been able to put a label on us but we do have a rocking edge which is just the way we like it.

Tell us about your Endorsements.
We’re sponsored by 9 difference companies. I’m endorsed by Tregan guitars, Trailor Trash pedal boards, AMT Electronics, Floyd Rose, Seymour Duncan, N-Tune Onboard Tuners, Floyd Rose Upgrades Products. We’re also part of the Gibson Guitars family. We also play at trade shows and events for our sponsors including NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants). It’s the biggest music equipment trade show. It’s been so cool to have these great companies believe in what we do and to support us. I’m also going to be featured in some ad campaigns in the guitar magazines for a few of my sponsors in the very near future so keep an eye out for the ads.

Which bands have mainly influenced Absinthe’s sound? Any all-female metal bands in this list?
As far as female bands, more like female fronted bands like Heart, Pat Benetar, Doro Pesch, Amy Lee of Evanescence. When I started playing in all girl bands, there weren’t many. I completely support girl bands, there’s more now, with better musicianship. This band has a variety of influences, old to new, such as Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, Aerosmith, Dokken, Motely Crue, and Korn.

Let’s talk of how it all started. How was Absinthe given birth?
I received my degree in music from Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. I went into a full blown overload music overload after I graduated. I quit playing cold turkey for a few years. In 2007 I was asked to play guitar at a special event, I was hooked all over again! Just like the movie The Godfather “Just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in”. A month later I started Absinthe, The rest is history.

Was Absinthe intended to be an all-female band since the beginning? Do you think it helps to break into the scene and media?
Yes, from the very start when I formed the band, I knew ABSINTHE would be an all girl band. I think it helps, although there are many girl bands now, I believe the more of us the better. Being in an all girl band definitely helps with the media, but you must also be able to back it up. The biggest obstacle girl bands face is the typical quote “they’ re good for girls.” So there’s more pressure, you have to be able to bring when you hit the stage. I think we definitely do…

You also play events for various charities. Tell us a bit about some of the events you’ve played.
We regularly play charity events and fundraisers and always help when we can if it’s for a great cause. We definitely believe in helping out charities when we can with our music. We also have our wild side too. Last summer we played Calendar Girls Festival that also featured strippers and dancers on stage, the next day we played the Los Angeles Marathon. I also play second guitar with my friend Ronny North and his band when I have time. We’ve done some big shows together including playing 2009 Winter NAMM and for Nascar for 1000’s of race fans. We really have a blast playing together on stage…

You recently won Three Rock City News Music Awards. Tell me about them, which geographical area does it cover and which categories did you win?
Rock City News Magazine is a Rock Magazine based in Hollywood, California. The publication pretty much covers the entire Southern California music scene. It’s always a great honor to win awards and to be acknowledged for your talent. In 2008 ABSINTHE scooped up Best All Girl Band, Best Female Fronted, and Best Female Guitar Player. I played at their 25th Anniversary celebration, they’ve been around forever. Look for us in the polls again in 2009!

Will 2010 see an Absinthe album? Have you released any material already? What else do you have in store for next year that you would like to share with our readers?
There will definitely be a new full length CD out in 2010. We just completed a new EP to wet everyone’s appetite until the new full length CD comes out. We also just completed a new video as well. We will be keeping the momentum going that we have built up and playing lots of shows as we always do. ABSINTHE is a great live band and we love playing out and winning over new fans as well as playing to our rapidly growing fan base. I will also be playing at the 2010 Winter NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) for a couple of my sponsors again. I had a blast playing the event last year. 2010 is definitely going to be our year…..

Tell the readers why Absinthe is a band worth listening to…
I think we definitely bring something different to the table. Our music is heavy but always stays melodic with strong vocals and catchy melodies. We have a wide variety of influences and it shows in our songs. We want be considered a great band and not just a great girl band. To get more info on us or to get our new EP go to www.myspace.com/absinthewomen. We go on stage and get it done. If we’re not already on your radar we soon will be…

Thank you so much for your attention, good luck!.

Read more about Absinthe

AC/DShe interview

There are several AC/DC female tribute bands, but unlike the rest, AC/DShe setlist reviews exclusively the Bon Scott era. And they do with attitude and quality. We talked with Bonny Scott and Riff Williams about the band.

AC/DShe is the first AC/DC female tribute band, but now there are (at least) three more of them. Do you know them? What can offer AC/DShe to make you different from the rest?
Bonny – What sets us apart is our undying commitment to Bon Scott and AC/DC. We play the songs note for note and try to recreate the look and feel of an early AC/DC show. We know of the other bands and have seen what they do. A few are more like cover bands than tributes.

Riff – We clearly have the best name! We are the only female AC/DC tribute dedicated to Bon Scott era. Our ultimate goal is to do our heroes justice.

You are only playing Bon Scott era songs. Don’t you feel like playing hits like “Thunderstruck”, “Heatseeker” or “Stiff Upper Lip”?
Bonny – AC/DC has such a huge catalog of songs, so I don’t feel like we’re missing out at all. I like to hear AC/DC do them, but I don’t feel like singing um.

Riff – I can’t lie…sometimes it would be great to rip into some Back in Black songs, but it wouldn’t make sense to have Bonny sing those songs. Bon and Brian are not interchangeable and the same thing applies here. We’re purists.

And what about writing your own songs? Have you got songs by your own?
Bonny – Many of us have been in other bands and have written our own music, but AC/DShe is a tribute to AC/DC and so there’s no place for writing our own songs in this band. The people who come to see us come to hear and see AC/DC songs performed live, and that’s what we give them.

Do you play in other bands, any concern of expanding your musical experiences and to forget about AC/DC for a while? Or AC/DShe fills all your needs?
Bonny – Playing in AC/DShe is VERY fulfilling! We have the opportunity to play sold out shows in big venues pretty much everywhere we go. AC/DC has some of the most dedicated fans around and we’re very lucky to have a great number of them as our fans too! If we want to otherwise express ourselves musically i.e., writing songs, we do that separately from this band.

Riff – Why would you ever want to forget AC/DC for a while? Life without AC/DC is like a party without booze.

This summer of 2009 you’ll celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first AC/DShe show. How do you recall this day? Are you planning to make any special celebration?
Bonny – I remember that first show like it was yesterday! The first show we played was at a bar called the Port Light (more fondly known as the “Porch Light”) – a long shoreman’s hang out in Oakland near the port. They aren’t doing shows there anymore, so we can’t return there for our anniversary, but we are planning a major blowout for later in the year.

Riff – Damn, time flies when you’re havin’ fun. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since that first show and all of the great experiences we’ve had as a result of this band. In celebration of our ten years, it would be great to cruise through the streets of San Francisco (or Melbourne!) It’s a Long Way to the Top style.

AC/DShe was officially born in 1997. More than ten years of history. Have you ever been the same line-up? What have changed in the band skills and attitude since then?
Bonny – The birth of AC/DShe was in Riff’s living room when I was just a teenager. We had no idea of what it would become, we just wanted to pay tribute to our favorite band, playing shows for our friends at places like the Port Light and if we were lucky, maybe the Paradise Lounge..

Riff – We have truly improved our drinkin’ skills, that’s for sure. We’ve had some lineup changes over the years, but it’s not as easy as you’d think finding dedicated AC/DC fans that love playing the music as much as we do (for this long!).

Just watching your pics and videos, I can see you are a great live band. Is this the reason why you haven’t recorded anything?
Bonny – Why thank you! We believe a tribute band is all about the live experience. We started AC/DShe to give AC/DC fans the opportunity to see and hear AC/DC performed live – since AC/DC only tours about once every eight years, we thought we’d help fill in that gap. If you want to hear AC/DC at home, in your car, or in your headphones, you should be listening to AC/DC!!!

Riff – Yeah, the live experience is so much different than listening to a recording. We never really understood why anyone would want to record AC/DC songs. We’ve been asked several times and passed on the offers. Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby!

As you are not just an AC/DC cover band but a tribute band, do you also rehearse their movements? Do you act like them on stage?
Bonny – That’s definitely one of the things that sets us a part from a lot of other AC/DC bands. We do our best to reproduce the sound and stage production of an early AC/DC club show. We are all insane AC/DC collectors and have tons of bootleg AC/DC footage that we all watch and study moves, style of playing, vocal inflections, everything to recreate their performance as best we can.

Riff – Absolutely! It’s so much fun when we watch old AC/DC videos together. We pick up on new things all the time. A serious deep study!

Talking about your gigs, you’ve played with bands as important as Kiss, Aerosmith or Y&T, among others. Which are your best memories about it? And the worst, maybe feeling nervous?
Bonny – We are huge Cheap Trick fans and playing with them was one of my fondest memories for AC/DShe! We were able to meet the whole band and they were all incredibly nice. They told us stories from their days playing with AC/DC and talked about what a great guy Bon Scott was. They were super guys and incredibly modest and down to earth. Aerosmith was another awesome night! We opened for them and then went out to watch their set. When we tried to get back stage after their set, the security wouldn’t let us back to our dressing room, so we had to literally sneak backstage at our own show. When we broke through, we ran into Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and hung out with Steven for a bit. He was a ton of fun to hang out with!

Riff – Cheap Trick and Aerosmith were definite highlights because they actually took the time to hang with us. It was also awesome opening for Girlschool. I was wearing an old Hit and Run tour shirt and brought some early tour guides for them to sign. It was quite an experience to sit around and drink beer and listen to the stories they had to tell while flipping through those tour guides.

And you’ve been also to Europe. Where and how was it? Have you found any difference between the american and the european crowd?
Bonny – We’ve played in Holland and Belgium and in the UK. Different songs were hits for AC/DC in Europe and the UK, so it’s cool for us to see folks get excited for songs there that people in the US barely know. European audiences seem to watch very intently and take a little time to warm up, but when they do, they go crazy and there is no holding back!

Riff – We played an AC/DC convention in Wales and it was such a crazy experience. Here were all of these rabid AC/DC fans descending on this little town in Wales. It was a 3-day party fueled by AC/DC. There are so many other places we want to play in Europe, especially Spain and Germany.

Is Agnes Young showing her underwear, as Angus does onstage to show each country’s flag?
Bonny – She’s got just about every flag I can think of… just ready and waitin’..

If you could choose an AC/DC lineup to share stage with, which would it be?
Bonny – We are a Bon Scott tribute, so it would be Bon, Malcom, Angus, Cliff, and Phil

Riff – Agree with Bonny, although the most incredible experience that could ever be imagined would be Bon singing with AC/DShe!! A duet with Bonny…ha!

Do they know you? Have you ever been in contact with AC/DC themselves?
Bonny – They know about us and have been asked about us in the press. Plus we recently did an interview with Hustler the day before they were scheduled to interview Cliff Williams. We gave Hustler a shirt to give to him. They told us he was stoked and he has since been seen wearing it!!!

Riff – They don’t know us, but know of us (and have maybe since forgotten). I know that we’ll meet them when the time is right, under the right circumstances. There would be nothing cooler than sitting around shooting the shit with AC/DC.

What do you think Bon Scott should say if he could see you live?
“Cheeky”
“Aye!”

Read more about AC/DShe

Candy interview

Candy is an alternative metal band, or a modern rock act as they like to call themselves. They are coming out from Malaysia, and are active since 1992.

Listen to Candy while reading the interview:

Candy was born in 1992. How did it all begin?
Well, it started even before that. As an early teenager, Mary’s father taught her to play guitar, she then bullied her sister Connie into playing the biscuit tins for accompaniment and they had a friend who could play keyboards and another who was made to play bass, it just started from there, various members got replaced in the early days, it just happened we were all girls. We started playing in Sarawak as Sapphire Gals then G-Saphia. When we first moved to Kuala Lumpur from Sarawak, we didn’t know what to call ourselves…the recording company wanted a commercial name which can easily be remembered. I got the idea on the name Candy when we watched the Archies singing Sugar Sugar on tv. We thought of Candy Girl, then we decided to stick with just Candy. Candy suits us….sweet but hard, right?

And what is the band status right now, what is Candy involved in today?
We have completed our album “Absolute” and are now starting to play some smaller gigs, building back up to the larger ones and a possible tour. We are also negotiating a distribution deal locally with a major label – although we will remain independent. Our album is already available internationally by post or download from cdbaby in the USA, ( http://cdbaby.com/cd/candymalaysia) mp3’s will be available from other outlets such as iTunes, rhapsody, napster etc. soon.

But it was not until 1997 that you released your first self titled album, “Candy”. Which was Candy’s activity during this first five years of history?
We were playing shows in Sarawak – which is the Malaysian part of Borneo, (and had day jobs too!) our first manager discovered us and bought us over to Kuala Lumpur to make our first album and we never went back (except for holidays!!)

“Candy” release went pretty well, 60.000 records sold and a platinum album. You travelled to Singapore and Indonesia, and then you were one of the nominees for “Best New Artiste” in “Anugerah Industri Muzik” in 1998, the Malaysian grammys. Were you surprised with such this feedback, how do you recall this days?
If you had told us a year before hand, we would never have believed you!! we’d never have dreamed it. But as it happened, it was a progression, kind of like a snowball rolling down a mountain. We hit some rocks, and bits fell off, but in general one thing led to another and although we were always delighted and excited as new things came along, it wasn’t so much a suprise..like I said it was a progression.

What do you mean “bits fell off?”
Well, most of the time things were going really well, we’d be in TV studios, radio interviews, then suddenly we’d end up in a muddy field playing through a lousy sound system at a fair ground, I guess to say bits fell off isn’t really fair because it gave us a great opportunity to meet the fans, but after the comfort of TV studios, and the luxuries of the Indonesian tour, the fair grounds were a stark contrast, but well worth doing.

And then it came the “Hot” EP, but it took ten years for you to release the next album “Absolute… Candy”. Why? What happened in these ten years?
We were playing for most of it, but not so often. We changed bassist and then manager and so things were pretty quiet for a while, Pat and Mary got married, but that didn’t stop them! Then Nancy the bassist re-joined and for the last two years we have been working on the album, we originally thought it would take 6 months!

In “Absolute… Candy” you decided to produce and compose everything yourself. Weren’t you satisfied with the past albums? Or was it just a matter that you felt like doing it yourselves to do it completely your way, absolutely… Candy?
The first album, we were completely happy with, the second album we liked, but we were pushed to a heavier sound than we wanted, and as it didn’t sell as well, we assume the fans preferred the first album. So this time we wanted to do what WE wanted to do. We had been quiet for a long time and so we didn’t have to build on the last two albums, we could do what we wanted. For instance would never have been allowed to do a three four time by a record company on a rock album!! As it happens the first album is more our style, so the poppy song “Kerana Dia” does have a similar feel to “Akkanku Tunggu”..but that is part of our style, so no apologies.

Your sound differs from song to song, but it keeps a hard rock basis, sometimes a bit alternative, sometimes poppy and sometimes a bit heavy. How would you define your sound?
(Laughing) I’m glad the hard rock basis comes through!! Guitar oriented songs are our favorites. To answer your question – There are a couple of reasons for that. The first is that we all wrote at least one of the melodies, so our individual taste comes out and contrasts. We are a rock band and we like rock and we like heavy….. but we also like melody, Connie for instance wrote the ¾ which is not really rock, but with the lead breaks in it I think it qualifies!! The second reason is that if you expect people to listen to an album from beginning to end, you need variety, especially these days when people tend to hit shuffle on their ipod and get completely contrasting songs one after the other, or buy compiltion albums, going back to the 70’s these didn’t exist (as far as we know) so people were happy to listen to a complete album. Times have changed.

In your music we find the alternative edge, some pop, even heavy flashes. Which are your main influences?
As you said the sound differs from song to song, and our influences are also quiet diverse, from Deep Purlpe, Iron Maiden, Metallica, The Killers, Joan Jett to Avril Lavinge to Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette…and many more.

You come from Malaysia. How is its metal scene, is it easy for a metal band to get the media and fan attention?
The metal scene has die hard fans, but is very much underground, it is rare to see metal on TV. Hence there are a few magazines catering to it, but not the main stream.

Is there any problem to get a busy gig schedule in your country?
There are not as many outlets that have live music as there used to be, and of course not everyone likes rock (one day they’ll see the light!) but when we play we get a great response. There are plenty of offers to do a three month booking at a hotel or bar, but we’re not that kind of band, we want to play our stuff and the covers WE like, and that is what our fans like so we do a night here, a night there etc. maybe once a week or once a month in the same place.

And are you pioneers in being an all-female band in your country? I think you entered the Guinness book of records because of this. Is there any other Malaysian all-female band following your steps?
Actually it was the Malaysian Book of Records. Female bands-There have been a few over the years, but none of them lasted long.

And why did you decide to be an all-female band. Was it on purpose, you deliberately wanted to make a female band? Or was it just a coincidence?
More coincidence. Having made a name for ourselves we had to stay all girl, which is fine with us.

Do you think that being an all-female act opens you some doors? It makes it easier to attract new fans?
Definitely it opens doors, but if you don’t have the ability once the door is opened…it will be shut firmly again. It gives us an opportunity….like a good CV will get you the job interview, but you still have to prove yourself at the interview. I am not sure if it makes it easier to attract new fans, probably a bit. The guys of course, and quite often the girls seem to feel proud , I don’t know, a kind of ‘girl thing’

Which are your real expectations for the future?
We would of course like the album to be a success, we would like to tour internationally, or at least get the opportunity to play in other countries. Then release another album. We would like to be well known outside Malaysia for our own satisfaction, and also to let people know that there are good talents in Malaysia, it is a country that probably doesn’t spring to mind when you think of music.

Tell the readers why they should check Candy
I think as you mentioned earlier, there is a variety of tracks on the album ranging from almost pop to almost heavy (at least the guitar breaks!!) but with a common hard rock theme and with melody, so if you like rock, and you like melody – please check it out.

Candy’s Myspace

DödsÄngel interview

DödsÄngel is the Swedish word to refer to the “Angel of Death”, and is also the name of the solo project of the prolific Canadian-Norwegian Trish. She talks to metaladies.com about her bands and specially her solo project.

Listen to DödsÄngel while reading the interview:

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Welcome to metaladies, and congratulations for “Helgrind”. First of all, Trish, are you still involved in four bands from three different countries, apart than working in DödsÄngel? How do you manage to make it work out?
I am originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and played in several punk bands when I lived there but they are not active anymore, the latest one was WARSYSTEM. The first time I traveled to Sweden in 2006 I was asked to play drums for Swedish punk band KÄFTSMÄLL, we recorded some demos but have not practiced in a long time. I moved to Oslo, Norway in 2007 to play drums for a black-doom-metal band SKITLIV, but after the got another drummer I joined GATE TO KHAOS (Oslo thrash-black metal), which was more suitable to my style and musical preferences. With regard to HINSIDES, the Gothenburg black metal band, we don’t get to practice very much due to the long-distance relationship (it is four hours by bus from Oslo to Gothenburg), but we have one Demo CD and are working on a full-length album. My solo project, DÖDSÄNGEL is perfect because it doesn’t matter where I live, I will always be writing songs and practicing as long as I have a guitar. I have been asked to try out for several more bands in both Sweden and Norway but we’ll have to see if that works out and if I find time…

Explain a little bit your role in each band, and define their styles.
In my solo project, DÖDSÄNGEL, I play everything and it is blackmetal mixed with hardcore punk. In my other bands I play drums: GATE TO KHAOS is Norwegian black metal combined with thrash metal, HINSIDES is Swedish black metal, KÄFTSMÄLL is Swedish D-beat raw punk.

And how being in such this amount of bands did you feel the need to make a project by your own?
I like the music and styles produced by all of my bands, but I still always think up new riffs and songs in my head. These riffs wouldn’t really fit in with any of my other bands, and besides the guitar players in those bands prefer to write all the guitar riffs. So therefore I felt the need to record these songs myself where I have creative control over all aspects of the music, and since I play everything and know how I wanted everything to sound it would be pointless and counter-productive to try to recruit other members.

So, did you need DödsÄngel to fully express yourself?
Absolutely, in my other bands I have control over what I play on the drums but it is the others who write the music. With DödsÄngel it is I who writes all the music for all the instruments and I have control over everything, the only way I could truly get the sound I want is to do this project.

What do your lyrics talk about? I can figure out than being alone they should have an introspective component.
The lyrics deal with very disturbing things, but things that are often in my thoughts, for example war, death, environmental destruction, and hatred for the majority of humanity.

In DödsÄngel you’ve melt various music styles from your musical and geographical background. The black metal from Norway and the Punk/Hardcore the way it’s more common in north America. The result is a sound with your own trademark. How would you describe it?
I am actually much more influenced by Swedish punk than American punk, American punk was something I listened to 10 years ago in my early teenage years before I discovered the better and heavier punk bands from Sweden. But there are still several American bands I listen to, but most of the bands in that country are fairly generic and lack-luster. I am of course influenced by Scandinavian black metal, and especially by Swedish D-beat punk, there are many Swedish (and also some Finnish, English and Japanese) punk bands who blend in metal influences with their music. I would describe my sound as “blackmetalpunk”, it is my favourite genre of music.

And wich are the bands you would compare such this particular sound with, your main influences?
My very favourite bands in the world of metal and punk, which influenced me the most to start this project, are Swedish punk bands like Skitsystem, Wolfpack, Martyrdöd, Anti-Cimex, and of course Discharge from England. The black metal bands would be the more grim, melodic, necro-sounding ones like Sargeist from Finland, Armagedda (Ond Spiritism album) and Arckanum from Sweden, and Burzum (first 4 albums), Darkthrone (mostly Transilvanian Hunger + Panzerfaust), and Gorgoroth (Pentagram + Antichrist) from Norway.

You started playing drums. Later you learned to play bass and guitar. A metal orchestra–woman. Do you feel comfortable with all of them? You still have the keyboards left…
I am a much better drummer than I am guitar and bass player, and I prefer to play drums in bands and practice drums over the other instruments. Still, I am becoming better and better at all instruments. I would have recorded sooner but I wanted to wait until I practiced guitar and bass more, otherwise I would be wasting time in the studio. I have no desire to play keyboards, the music I want to create doesn’t contain any synth, although a little bit in a few certain other bands can sound good and create an extra atmosphere around the music. I used to play classical piano, I want to take it up again, but finding enough time (and a piano) is a problem…

Are you planning to take DödsÄngel onstage, any thought of how to do it?
No, then I would have to find and train guest musicians, which would take time, and I don’t think it would be right to have others play my songs. This project is more for myself, songs that were constantly in my head that I needed to get out through recording them, it is something that people should listen to on record, not something that should be watched in a live setting.

Tell us a bit about the “Helgrind” recording process. Are you happy with its final result?.
I recorded it in DeathCult Studios in Edmonton, Canada in less than a week, it is the home-studio of an old metalhead friend of mine and several other Canadian metal bands have recorded there. He is good at recording, hard working, and experienced at what he does and understood completely the sound I was looking for.

Internet is a powerful tool, so the best way to promote DödsÄngel and get in touch with the fans. How has been the feedback to “Helgrind” so far?
So far I’ve received a lot of good feedback about the recording, especially through myspace. Another propaganda tool is giving/selling/trading demos withing the metal and punk scenes at shows, partys or bars. Pretty much everyone that has heard the music has let me know they’re very impressed, and the demand for my CD is pretty large already.

Are you still searching for a record label, has the demo helped to get any offer? What do you expect from a record label?
I have been very busy lately since recording, with job searching and work in Norway so I havent’t yet had time to send the demos out to any labels yet. I am still unsure as to which labels would be worthwhile sending it to, as the music may be “too punk” for many pure metal labels and “too metal” for many punk labels. I want a label that caters to both styles of music and music fans and has a good distribution and also will do a good job of promoting the albums.

Which is the next step DödsÄngel will take? What’s next in your schedule?
I am just relieved to finally have this Demo recorded, I will hopefully find a label soon interested in either releasing the Demo as an album or else will agree to release the next thing I record. I have been working on a couple new songs already but that is not at the top of my list of priorities right now. But hopefully by the end of this year or maybe early next year I will have enough songs for another full length album.

And which are your expectations for DödsÄngel?
There are no expectations really, many people play music to “make it big” or try to make money, but that’s not for me. As stated, I write and record songs mostly for myself, or else I would go insane with the amount of riffs going around in my head. If people like it then that’s awesome, but if they can neither appreciate nor understand me and my music then fuck them. But I do hope to get signed to a decent label which would spread the name out there and give many people the opportunity to hear the music that otherwise wouldn’t have.

Tell the readers why DödsÄngel is worth to listen, and why they shold check “Helgrind” out.
The songs I record are a part of me, they are my life, my “soul”, that is if I have a soul, cold, dark, brutal and evil.

Trish, thank you so much for answering, good luck!

Read more about DödsÄngel

Aythis interview

Aythis is Carline Van Roos solo project, who also serves on the doom bands Lethian Dreams and Remembrance. We talk to her about their musical conceptions and band history.

Listen to Aythis while reading the interview:

Hi Carline. First of all thank you very much for your attention. Aythis is a one woman project. Was and is it intended to be always like this?
Hi Hector. I can’t really say for the future, but for now, yes it is a “solo project”. As I have other bands, I have the need to be alone in Aythis. Aythis is very introspective musically as well as lyrically. Also, concerning the composition, being alone gives me total freedom. I can work at my own speed, everything depends on me.

You play in two other bands, Lethian Dreams and Remembrance. Is Aythis an escape, a place to really express yourself? A necessary complement to your other bands?
I express myself in Remembrance and Lethian Dreams, but as I said above Aythis is very introspective. It is also a necessary complement in a musical point of view, yes. I don’t only listen to metal, so I thought it was somehow natural for me to have a project that wouldn’t involve death vocals and heavy guitars. I created Aythis for the same reasons that, sometimes you’re in the mood to listen to doom metal, sometimes death metal or other times ethereal music. In my case it’s the same for the composition. It depends on my mood, my state of mind. Sometimes I need to create wild or desperate music, other times sadness or ethereal, atmospheric sounds. In a lyrical point of view, I can talk about total different subjects, some again that are more personal and that I wouldn’t have wanted to talk about in my bands.

Just tell me how did it all started.
Aythis came to light in 2006 and the first song that made it all start is Shallow Blackout. After writing this song, I realized that I really loved writing this style of music, ethereal/neoclassical…then I decided to keep on exploring!

I’ve tried to describe your music as atmospheric, beautifully sad, as melancholic as terrific, the soundtrack of a funeral on a rainy day. Did I get the point?
Well, I’m flattered by your description! I think everybody can have its own interpretation. If people are able to feel my music, it’s the only thing that is important to me. I always write my lyrics in an elusive way so that people can be free to travel wherever they want to while they’re listening.

Your music is related to metal music, as your musical background, and your listener profile is mainly metaller. Can you explain where the connection between your music and metal is?
Many metallers listen to dark music, even if the music isn’t metal. Another reason is, as you mentioned it, that I have 2 metal bands, so we share some fans.

You need to feel in a specific mood to write such these songs. What sentence fits better to your composing process: “I feel sad, melancholic so I need to write about it” ? or “I have to write, so let’s think in something that makes me feel sad and melancholic to be in the mood”?
I don’t write music if I don’t have anything to express. If I have nothing to say, I stay silent. I’m not being original by saying this, but I use music as therapy, as a way to escape, as a way to express my feelings. I would be lost without music.

There are many girls/women doing solo projects, and most of them making dark ambient music or experimental, as Turdus Merula, Coldnight, Branigan, Terra Teratos, Lidande, Melencolia Estatica. Do you know any of them?
I know Lidande, yes. The woman behind this project is a friend of mine. Unfortunately I don’t know the others.

And why this little “phenomenon”, all these women composing/playing “alone”? Is this a kind of music better to do on your own? Is it so personal to share with other?
I don’t know. Actually I never noticed that there were so many women composing alone. I know why I do music alone (I explained it above) but I don’t know why the others do it. I guess the reasons are different for everybody.

Do you think yours is a music that could be played alive? Any plans for this?
I guess I will need to adapt the songs a little bit first, but I would love to bring Aythis on stage. As it’s a solo project I will also need to find additional musicians to make it be possible.

You’ve got your MySpace, your own web page, and your facebook group. How important is internet for Aythis? Internet is one of the best ways nowadays to make your music heard. I didn’t get much promotion from Paradigms Recordings (the label that released Doppelgänger) so I needed to promote Aythis mostly by myself and internet is a very good way to do so.
Also, having a Myspace/Facebook group allows me to keep in touch with the listeners. I try to always answer to the messages or comments that people send me.

Tell me about your recordings. Aythis born in 2006, and in 2007 you had a label contract and one record released, “Doppelgänger”. It’s gone too fast, how did you get Paradigms Recordings attention?
When I completed the recordings of my first album, Doppelgänger, I sent few promo copies to different labels and Paradigms Recordings was one of the first to answer positive. As they said they were about to contact me, I understood we were on the same wavelength so I decided to sign with them.

But if it went too fast, we can’t say the same about the recording process. It took eight months for you to have the record ready. Why such this long time?
It took me 8 months because I was in unknown territory, if I can say it this way. By unknown territory, I mean, I wasn’t decided of which sound to use. I needed time to figure it all out. I didn’t want to have the exact same sound as I’m using on Remembrance, so I wanted to use special sounds for Aythis. Also, the composition is included in those 8 months. I wrote different versions for some songs, recording new versions take time.

Before this, you recorded the unreleased “With The Dreary Words We Speak”. From the three songs appearing there, two are appearing in “Doppelgänger”, but one has gone to the lost files box, “Too Far Gone”. Just a curiosity, why haven’t you added this one to the record?
This song is a little bit different from the other songs featuring on Doppelgänger. It is more like a mantra, if I can say so. The lyrics come from a tale that I invented, so I thought that “Too Far Gone” was a song somehow less personal than the others. I decided not to use it. Maybe I will re-arrange it for a future album or use it for a compilation or something like that. Or maybe it is just meant to remain unreleased…

And now have released your second LP, “Glacia” with it’s a bit different but keeping the Aythis intimist basis. What can you tell about it?
The album has been relesed under the great French label “Prikosnovénie/Nove”. Glacia’s production is more professional as it was been mixed and mastered in studio -Doppelgänger was mixed by myself-. Regarding the compositions, I think I improved on the style, I worked hard on every little detail… Glacia paints a picture of wintry, icy and desolated landscapes. There are in fact 2 major themes in this álbum. The main theme being Nature and Winter, the second theme being The Travel. In both cases the lyrics are metaphoric. The Travel can be interpreted as a physical journey or as a spiritual journey. I hope people will enjoy listening to the cd as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you so much for attending me, good luck with your music/life!
Thanks to you Hector for supporting Aythis. It was a pleasure to answer to your questions. I wish you also all the best!

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