Without any contemplation, the negative side of life has been part of the Legions Of The Night band. As if on an exploration, it appears that there is a lot to be covered by the band's leaders, Jens Faber, and Henning Basse. Out with the second album, "Hell", and things are getting intense, darker and with a Savatage homage in mind. Steinmetal had a great pleasure to talk with Faber once again about the album experience, a little bit about Covid and more…
Hello Jens, it is great to have you once again to talk shop about the latest Legions Of The Night developments, how have you been doing?
I suffer from several viral infects currently but apart from this I'm fine.
Last time that we talked it was due to your debut album under the Legions Of The Night moniker, "Sorrow Is the Cure", near the eye of the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking back at that pivotal moment in time for humanity, how did you manage to confront the influence of what was going on?
To be honest; it was not that hard for me managing this time in relation to other people. I had time to compose. I wrote first and second Legions Album, our 8th Dawn of Destiny album and some other things. That has always been my main focus being a musician, writing songs.
Simply titled as "Hell", you continue the journey of Legions Of The Night into another shore of spiritual darkness. In your view does this simplicity, as I call it, in the title, should do the trick for those that try to root themselves deeper into the meaning? Why go for "Hell" in the first place? How does Hell serve you here?
The title song deals with toxic relationships that way too many people suffer from. But as an album title it stands for various kinds of negativity, darkness, evil and bad experiences.
In the previous interview, we talked about the sorrow element being an inspiration for you to write songs, to gather up and generate such strong emotions to the surface. What can you tell that ignited your senses, and your thought patterns this time around, on the new album?
Yes, the first album was more inspired by sorrow than the successor although I guess both albums sound somehow similar in its approach. I tried to focus on those emotions like sorrow, fury and despair. Maybe our third album will include some kind of happiness, I am not sure about this yet J
Continuing the previous question, since we are nearly out of the woods from the pandemic, which causes a lot of grief, mental instability and more to a lot of people, isn't there a clearer path towards the light, perhaps a cause for inspiration for a better outcome? Is there something positive about the happenings on "Hell"?
I am somehow a slight misanthropic person but contemporaneously an optimistic person. There are some hints on "Hell" for this optimism but it does not fit that much to my musical approach for Legions of the Night yet.
I like the album's artwork, it provides ideas about the chaining of souls to the dark lord, which is featured to be quite majestic. On the other hand, it can also be interpreted that this figure is the one that is chained, or bound to something. How do you find this picture? What other directions of thought do you find relevant?
The cover again has been made by Hans Trasid, one of my favorite artists. I like the motive very much, it is dark, powerful and yes the chained figure was important for me. As I said before too many people are chained not only but especially in toxic relationships so it pictured perfectly my aim with the title.
Music wise, there is a continuance of where "Sorrow Is The Cure" stopped for sure, nonetheless, it feels a little more darker, and heavier in a sense. Furthermore, there is a feel of progression in order to spice things up a bit. How did the hell effect have its way on the musical end in your opinion?
Emotions are the most important factor for me when I write songs but it has to fit to the musical concept. I did not intend to make "Hell" even darker or heavier. It was just I wanted to write. I really love to fill songs with emotions and not too easy structures.
It sounded to me that the piano element was included more than earlier in the music, adding a wonderful layer to express deeper emotions, a certain empowerment to the songs. Also, Basse's soft voice, when it is soft, compliments the featured piano. What is your take on that? How do you find this contribution to the songwriting?
I guess the piano has always been one of my favorites but of course in this case it is a kind of homage to Savatage sounds. Apart from this I found out that Hennings voice sounds even better to some piano sounds than I expected so I wanted to use this.
Speaking of songwriting, other than the piano aspect that we talked about, what can you tell that was done differently this time around, even though the gaps between the albums isn't that long?
My personal situation was a bit different but apart from this there is not so much different. At least I know better how to feed Henning and find tunes he is comfortable with.
Slow and easy, at least due to "Hell", you are developing your own Jon Oliva. No wonder that you decided to cover Savatage's powerful hit, "When The Crowds Are Gone". Basse's voice nearly matches Oliva's yet with his own amazing charm and finesse. Is this a direct path to also develop your own "Streets" in a way? What are your thoughts about Basse's performance on "Hell"?
Yes, somehow it reminds me of "Streets" as well. What can I say about Henning's performance? It was overwhelming, giving me chills again and again. I'm so glad we got in contact and are able to record albums together. I can't imagine anyone else for Legions of the Night.
Speaking of "When The Crowds Are Gone", how do you identify with this song? What makes it become a part of "Hell"? What can you share about the decision to have it on the album and not other songs, what makes it so special in your view?
While I am responsible for our own songs Henning's opinion is important for me especially for those cover songs. We are both big Savatage fans and we could easily cover two entire albums so hopefully there are more albums to come and more cover versions to come but I'm confident concerning this.
Pretty much on the same vibe as the former, your original song, "Times Of Despair", actually tore me apart, it had me thinking a lot, pondering on these sorrowful states in my life. As if you knew which buttons to push. What can you tell about this song and how was it created?
Some songs include personal experiences and some are based on other people's observations how they communicate, how they love and hate. I guess I could not create such an emotional song without anything personal – or something touching me.
Enticing with the magic of Power Metal, on its royal kind of feel, even though the song states something else entirely, there is "Save Us". This is no less than an anthem, a hooking track that could hit quite well if played live. What is your appreciation of this song?
I think it might sound confusing using the term "power metal" because we sound not like most German bands but probably there is no better term. When it comes to "Save us" I changed the chorus some times for just one or two notes until I was satisfied. I started with the rhythm and the verses before I thought about the chorus.
Last time that we spoke, you were about to start working on the next album that would be "Hell", can you tell whether you already started working on the follower?
At least I can tell you there will be a third album! But this time it takes a bit longer. Henning and I decided to start recording in autumn 2023 so release will be in 2024. I have some ideas and will start in January with writing songs.
That I can't recall if we talked about, but there is the live aspect of Legions Of The Night. From where I am sitting, the songs should be played live, there is a lot of magic within these two albums that you currently have out. Are there any considerations about this issue?
We have been asked many times but it has many aspects to deal with. It was never meant as a live band so we would need not only musicians but time and some income for it. Otherwise we could not handle it. Maybe ten years ago Henning, Philipp and me would have tried it but I'm not sure if we dare nowadays but who knows what future brings?
Earlier you mentioned an unreleased album that has extreme Metal elements, with a clear Dimmu Borgir influence, since we only live once, isn't it a good time to have it out or at least think about the possibility?
It is still there J But I don't want to release it parallel to Legions of the Night. I'm not sure what to do with it. There is especially one song Henning wants me to release – especially in winter but I guess I look for a record company and the right ideas for it.
Jens, it was good to have you again for an interview, I have to thank you for releasing such an emotive album, it left quite a mark on me, and I am glad that it did. All the best to you and the guys in the band. Cheers
Thank you again for this interview and hope to talk to you again next year J
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