Darkseed
I think that Darkseed is
one of the most interesting and most known and respectable bands in the
gothic - atmospheric branch of the metal music. A couple of months ago
they released the album "Ultimate Darkness", one more addition to their
quality recordings... Find out more in the following interview.
1. You are about to release your new album
titled “Ultimate Darkness”…
"Ultimate Darkness" was released on January
24th in Germany over Massacre Records, other territories like Russia followed
in February, I am not sure about Greece though ? So far we are very pleased
with the feedback both from fans as well as from magazines. But we still
lack Greence fans, hehe! Our message board is desperately overcrowded by
American fans!
2. Can you tell me in short what is the musical
direction you ‘ve followed for this album?
It´s a gothic metal album combining
deep, hard guitars and aggressive electronics with catchy, melancholic
melodies and atmospheric synth dreamscapes. You can see us as "male alternative"
to the current female fronted gothic metal trend. Hardness is a very important
factor in our gothic metal music.
3. Is “Ultimate Darkness” an epic concept album
or are there songs with a common reference? Can you tell me few words about
each song?
We write realistic lyrics with a direct message
for our fans. Our songs act about every kind of real darkness, most likely
occurring in the life of every listener. Being disappointed or hurt by
other human beings, having a lack of orientation and future fears, being
depressed about our loss of values and sometimes dull behaviour in our
society where everything is ruled by money and aggressive marketing, being
angry about our unrespectful behaviour towards nature/animals etc. Our
fans shall not only listen to metal music, but we also want to give them
something for their brain. Gothic metal music is a good way to demonstrate
that not everything on our planet runs like it should and that we should
improve our own personality to make the world/our surroundings better.
4. How much time did it take you for the songwriting
of this album, and how much time did you spent at the studios? Did you
face any problems?
We started songwriting in early July, and
finally started the recordings in the middle of September which were finished
in the middle of November. Since we record our CDs in our own studios,
lead by our guitarist Tommy Herrmann, we had a good time with a personal,
relaxing atmosphere. Even if the recording process of course was hard,
because we were very ambitious and motivated. The only problem we had was
time pressure, because Tommy booked a vacation to New Zealand 6 months
before the album work, and we had to finish the album before his departure.
Luckily we finished it just in time!
5. What is your favorite song from “Ultimate
Darkness” and Why?
There´s not one favourite song, but
definitely 5-6 songs I still like even if I heard them 1000 times ? For
example Disbeliever, My Burden, Ultimate Darkness, Follow Me or Sleep Sleep
Sweetheart. Disbeliever because it´s a perfect opener, My Burden
because of the lyrics and electronics, Ultimate Darkness because it´s
the fastest Darkseed song ever, Follow Me because of the vocals, and Sleep
Sleep Sweetheart because of the overall atmosphere and the vocal variety.
6. Can you tell us something about the cover?
The cover shows snakes and a solar eclipse.
Snakes since a long time symbolize temptation. This temptation in our days
is not caring about values and always trying to enjoy life without showing
responsibility (when it´s about family like own children etc.). Nobody
wants to grow adult in our days, everybody wants maximum pleasure and individuality.
This often leads to problems I talk about in my lyrics, like egoism, causing
destruction of nature, defeats in relationships etc. I define these things
as ultimate darkness, because it´s real darkness and not just abstract
cliché stuff. This ultimate darkness is symbolized by the solar
eclipse on the cover.
7. Do you consider yourself an optimistic person
or not?
One of my weak sides is that I am very pessimistic.
I should change it to optimism in order to have more energy/courage, mixed
up with a decent touch of realism ? However, pessimism has the positive
side-effect that I go through the world with critical, open eyes, and I
with that hope to find my own way through life, enriching me in all concerns.
8. What are your plans after the release of
“Ultimate Darkness”? Are you going to start touring with other bands, participate
in summer festivals., etc
We are currently preparing for our first headliner
single shows that will start in the middle of March, unfortunately only
Germany so far. If anybody from Greece is interested in organizing a show,
simply contact us over our website www.darkseed.com
and we will see what we can do, it would be a real pleasure to rock Greece,
because I haven´t ever been there and wanna see your country!!!
9. What do you do in your spare time? (If you
have one?)
Playing strategy games in internet with a
good friend of mine (one of the few guys I know who doesn´t have
anything to do with music business, hehe), and besides that working on
side projects, mostly soundtrack/ethnic stuff (for example SHIVA IN EXILE).
10. Can you give a Top 10 of your favorite
records?
That´s difficult, but to name you some
of my all time favourite bands: Assemblage 23, Dead Can Dance, Paradise
Lost. I prefer listening to dark soundtrack stuff, with a decent touch
of oriental/ethnic music.
11. If you could have a crystal ball
and see the future in colors, what colors would you see for Darkseed and
for yourself?
Hm, I personally would prefer some bright
colors, because "Ultimate Darkness" is a really dark/black album full of
depression, hopelessness etc. We should start to add some light components
to our music, because life isn´t as gothic as it seems in our music.
Always think positive, but keep the gothic component in your mind for going
through life with a healthy skepticism!
Costas “C.O.B” Meidanis
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