For now, we have had many reviews from a lot of different countries and the new album  has been welcomed rather well. The reactions we got are quite positive!

As french metalheads, we are aware that we have to deal with a country where metal  music is far from being the most highlighted music genre, nor is it the most welcomed  by the general audience or the french media. For cultural reasons, and unlike our  neighbors from Germany or UK, France is unfortunately no land of Rock'n'Roll!  However, we have a solid community of metal fans seeking to keep the flame burning,  being bands, associations promoting live shows, festival volunteers, etc. The Hellfest  festival has become a big thing here so it is obvious that we have a very dedicated  metal fanbase. There is a certain power/folk scene and we had the opportunity to meet  and share the stage with other french folk metal bands in the past. There are a lot of  very good bands and musicians here, but crossing the borders is not an easy thing.

The deal with Art Gates Records has clearly been a new step in our career, allowing us to  give a new dimension to the promotion of our music. Would it be only for the reviews  we got for the album, the label took care of the spread of our new material to the  medias and website, which led us to being heard by a larger audience. Also, having the  band being part of the label demonstrates that they trusted us in the first place, that  they liked what we do and believe in our potential.

Well, the thing is, you know when you start, but you never know when it's finished. It's  hard to reach the point where you can finally say "That's it, I 100% satisfied with what  we did". There is always something you what to improve, or to re-think in a different  way to make better and better again. So, to be honest, the main feeling that came with  the release of the album was relief ; the feeling of achievement and the ability to finally  say  "Now this is what we've done".

In fact, it wasn't really a tour, but a show at our hometown, Strasbourg, the city where  the band is from. It is not so often that we get to play live in our area, so the shows at  home are always a little bit special from us, with a very friendly atmosphere where we  get to see our local early fans again. For these reasons, we like to prepare special show  as well, adding some cover songs or new unpublished material for a live field-test.

I, personally, would be thrilled to share the stage with Dalriada, from Hungary. The band  is getting big in Europe and I love their music, very rich and innovative, while keeping all  the folk elements from hungarian folk music. Also, we have the same studio sound tech,  from the Denever Studio in Szolnok, Hungary, who works with Dalriada from a long time  and worked with us on our two albums.

This was our first music video, and we had no clear idea of what we wanted it to be. As  for our artwork, we wanted something simple, mysterious, and where anyone can apply  his personal reflections. The video director suggested the location first, and a couple of  ideas, and we started filming right away in only one day. The thing that we knew for  sure was that we wanted something unusual!

The artist "Peony", who made the artwork, is none other than our guitar player,  Quentin. He makes graphic art art a living and designs all the visual elements related to  the band since the beginning. We had the title of the album first, he then suggested this  cover idea, very simple, yet very deep, where anyone can find a personal meaning. This  appeared to be a proper combination, regarding the general atmosphere of the music.

Our keyboard player is, indeed, a classically trained pianist, currently studying at the  Academy of Music of Strasbourg. The song "From Silence" was already written, with a  very short waltz-like interlude, and she decided to develop this idea into a real romantic  piano solo piece, which finally became what you can hear on the album.

We think our songs very differently being they studio processed or live performed. The  studio versions of the song are focused on the subtle elements like melodies and  harmonies, or specific use of percussion, folk instruments, vocal lines. Being 5 members  in the band, we can't reproduce the exact same sound as the audio tracks, this is why  we balance with very high energy shows. This is what power folk metal is all about, the  savage encounter of powerful metal riffs with colorful and epic folk melodies!

Our first album "Aurora" was like a collection of songs that had been written in very  distant periods of time. The oldest song had been composed several years before, and  the most recent song only a few weeks before we entered the studio. This uneven feel  was perceptible on the album, which is not the case the our new album, since all the  songs were composed almost at the same time. Thus, the feeling of unity and  consistency is quite stronger on "Ascension". Also, we have tried to experiment new  ideas, like the classical piano part or the whistling theme from the introduction track. I see it not necessarily being a matter of confidence, since a musician is constantly into  self-questioning, but rather a substantive work through creation, finding the rights ideas  that depict the music we want to offer and how to share it in the best way.

For the moment, we mainly focus our attention on the feedback we are getting about  our album! Coming to North America would be amazing and we would be honored to  have this opportunity given to us!

And a honor and a pleasure for us to answer your questions! Anytime!