Bram Koller
Misanthropia
Hello Lior, the pleasure is all mine, everything is doing well, we've been very busy last weeks to get everything done. It's been a hell of a work, but we are extremely satisfied with the end result.
I agree, we decided very thoroughly to do a concept like this, and musically and stylistically we are building around that theme.
The whole album is drenched by events that are violent in nature, absurd, beyond comprehension and what people are capable of. The title is all - encompassing. If you look at the album in its entirety, there is a sick parade going on. It comes back in every song.
When it comes to our way of storytelling, it is indeed true that not everyone has heard of these stories. We refer to events that are domestic, sometimes in very rural areas. There is a possibility that it was (world)news, but I think we are probably the first Black Metal band to write songs about these stories.
In my opinion, what is happening right now, has nothing to do with our album, in any kind of way. There is no symbolism related to the actual events. The concept and lyrics dates back to 2019.
The main motif is that we are fascinated by the events that occurred in the past. We read a lot about these things in the present and the past. The failure of the Belgian justice system when we speak about De Bende van Nijvel, the ultra-violence that was used during the assaults on the local stores there. We also included the brilliance of planning operations to abduct certain figures of the upper class to gain money and power for their own. The way a person becomes from early youth to a ruthless villain.
A nice side effect of art is that every person can see and hear what inspires that person the most. An important lesson has certainly to be seen in the artwork of this album. He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.
Only time will tell. This album is about the past until present day, we cannot look in the future. The underworld lurks always, and lives in a parallel state besides the upper-world.
We have a solid line-up, our songwriting skills are also evolving by the time, and we are not afraid of experimenting without straying from the main path too much. Thanks to a stable line-up we have managed to build a professional team around us when it comes to creating content for social media and live shows. We also spend a lot of time and efforts to purchase the right equipment for live and recording purposes. There is always movement in our ranks.
We want to deliver quality. We take the technical sides also very serious, because we are convinced that it is impossible to produce a record with the sound we want on only a four track recorder in the kitchen of your mother. We spend a lot of time to search the right guitar tones because there are a lot of orchestral parts, and there happens a lot in the rhythm - section also. We use high class, top of the bill equipment that works best for us. We don't go for less.
Every available minute we've spent in the pre-production, writing and arranging songs, building our own studio. Time was a big issue, because we all have day jobs and some of us have families to take care of. Also the time when purchasing some equipment and gear, and how to work with them, was a big time consuming thing.
We ran into a lot of challenges, but we faced all of them. We aim high when it comes to record and produce music. The usage of three different DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations). We flew-in Mike Wead as a guarantee for a flawless workflow. As mentioned before, we have a great team around us, and this is not out first album. Because of all the challenges we faced in the past and the knowledge we gained we can endure some setback, and learn from it.
Not on the songwriting, but definitely on the sound and the quality. This album was the biggest challenge for him ever as he is very punctual and spot on. You have to be a real genius engineer to be able to let our songs, of at times up to 100 different instrument lines/ tracks, sound so crystal clear and upstanding. His work is more than top notch.
I agree, this is one of the better songs, as it is about the first drug lord of the Netherlands. We have visited his former henchwoman Thea Moear, and received great support from her.
We have thought about it very well, because the song is not too long. It has all elements: aggression, it's very bombastic and melodic. Lyrically it is about the abduction and release of world's famous chairman of the board of directors and CEO of a worldwide brewing company. This was world news back then.
We saw it was a healthy record label, so we sent a pre - production of three songs to them. They saw potential in us. Even in these difficult times. Massacre Records is the perfect addition to our team, mutual contact is very good. They bring us a big step forward with the promotion and distribution of our album.
Next February there are two shows together with PESTILENCE, but we cannot look in the future.
We keep on writing and evolving, creating content, and when possible, we will hit the stages again. As said before, there is always movement in our ranks.
It was my pleasure to answer your questions. To gain a new fan is the biggest compliment to get. Take care and enjoy our album. Cheers!
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