Novembers doom
Wywiad przeprowadził Andrzej Papież
This time there will be no ultra guttural vocals, hellish guitars or super fast drum beats... As a "normal" fan of metal music I listen to atmosperic and doom metal things from time to time. And always to music worth listening. American Novembers doom with their third "The knowing" reached the top of doom metal empire. This album is beautiful and very emotional. But still has this metal strenght which Paradise lost and Anathema lost few years ago. I spoke with Novembers doom's vocalist, Paul Kuhr, who told me some interesting things about "The knowing", American metal maniacs and the forthcomming new album.Greetings! Are you interested in soccer? Im asking about it because polish football representations finally promoted itself to International Football Championship since 1986, and I'm really happy about it!
"Well, im sorry to say, I'm not into soccer. As a matter of fact, I'm not exactly into sports much at all. I like the one on one sports, like boxing, or any fighting of that sort. If I had to chose a favorite team sport, it would be Hockey."
OK, Lets speak some about the music. "The knowing", your third official album was released over year ago. Have you ever dream that with this album you'll attain such a great position on metal scene?
"We know when the recording was completed, we had a finished piece we could all be proud of, and I knew it was the best thing we did so far, but i didn't think the people would like it as much as they do. So much to a point, it made us nervous about being a able to top it with the next CD. The reviews for this CD, and the response has been great. It's really a honor to us, that it's selling as good as it is."
Its not easy to play so emotional doom metal as you do, in times, when death and black metal are the most popular styles in metal, right?
"We have never played a style that was popular, so it never matters to us what the newest "big" style is in the genre. We love the emotional doom, and we just play what what we feel. It's a small fan base, and the fans we have really seem to get emotionally attached to our music, the same way we do when we write it, so it's great. I would rather have 10,000 fans you can touch in some way, then 100,000 fans who just like to jump up and down to your music."
How will you describe your music to deaf ? You could use pictures, paintings...
"I would take them outside on a cold, rainy day, and let them sit alone on a bench in the middle of nowhere, completly alone with a scapbook filled with pictures of loved ones who have passed on. It's an emotional trip, and it's all from the heart."
I'm rather sceptic when it comes to reading biographies. Because they simply can't be relied on. I read in your one that Novembers doom songs like a collaboration between Paradise lost, Anathema and My dying bride. I can agree with it... What about you?
"Actually, that quote was taken from a review from our second CD, "Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers". At this time, I would not agree. We don't sound anything like those bands, and being great friends of MDB's, they don't seem to think so either. We play slow, emotional doom/death, and we instantly get lumped into that catagory of bands. I think our sound is very different from all three bands, and Im hoping in time, we can escape the comparrisons."
And what do you think about latest releases of those bands?
"I'm still a fan of all three of those bands. I enjoy them all."
Theres one song on "The knowing" which suprised me... I'm thinking about "In memories past". Are you Black sabbath's big fans?
"We have some Sabbath influence, for sure. I wouldn't go as far as saying that song is like Sabbath though. It's just another element of the band, where the influence is drawn from different members of the band. Where as some might hear Black Sabbath, others hear Trouble. It just depends on the listeners tastes. When we write, we just write Novembers Doom songs, and we keep no boundries."
Did you play any tour during the promotion of "The knowing"? I know that you played on some festivals. How did the death metal public react on your depressive music?
"We have never had the chance to do a tour as of yet. We are working on something for 2002, maybe a few weeks somewhere. We would love to play a few fest in Europe, and we would also love to play Poland, so any promoters out there want us for a show, contaact us!"
What is the meanig of the title of "The knowing"? Is it a some kind of a concept-album?
"The basic of the concpt is this... It's a story about a man who awakes with a gift of seeing the future, generally knowing all that there is to know, the end of the world, the truth about God, etc. At first it seems like a wonderful thing, but as it goes along he sees how his own life is being torn apart by this, from knowing when your friends and loved ones are going to die, to knowing that the love of your life doesn't really love you and lies to you for years....the whole thing starts to slowly drive him mad, especially when he realises that he can control certain destinies and events, and cannot decide which way to go with it. At the same time, the non-fictional side has very personal meaning to me, and is much more deeply written that it appears on the surface. Every song on the CD has a much more profound meaning that just a conceptual piece. As far as another concept, the new songs are not in a concept form.....or are they?"
Don't ask me, you're the one to asnwer, not me, here, ha, ha. Dark symphonies will re-release your first two albums. Finally those recordings will obtain right distribution...
"Well, not the first two. Not yet anyway. DS just released the first CD, "Amid It's Hallowed Mirth" with bonus songs. its a nice release! It gives those a chance to pick it up, who may have had trouble in the past finding it."
I observe Dark symphonies progression and I think that this record label is the only right one for you, dont you think?
"We are right where we belong. Ted and DS takes very good care of us, and we are secure at home. We have had an offer from one of the "bigger" labels recently, and we turned it down flat. Right now, we need DS. They took us in, and made us a priority when other labels would place us in the middle somewhere."
What do you think about other artists recording for Dark symphonies? I adore Maundin of the well, for example!
"Maudlin of the Well is a great band! The new CD's are quite amazing pieces of work. This is a young, and talented band, who just get better and better with each release. I think they are ahead of their time in some ways. In others, I can see them being the next Pink Floyd. People need to keep their eyes on this band. Brave is another band I can see going very far in the mainstream market. Very good music, and strong female vocals! Brave will do great things as well."
This questionn is 13 one. Are you superstitious?
"Not really. I have my own beliefs, but in not sure they would be considered superstitions."
As we said before, The knowing is one year old album. So, it's high time to think about its successor, don't you think? Can you tell me what kind of suprise are you preparing for us?
"Well, as a matter of fact, as I answer this interview, Eric is finishing up his guitar tracks for the day on the new CD. We started recording a few days ago, and the drums are complete, and guitars were started today. The new cd is called "To Welcome the Fade", and for me, it's the more personal lyrics I have written. It's all about something very personal going on in my life right now. It's heavier at times then "The Knowing", and more emotional at other times. If your a faan of Novembers Doom, you wont be diasappointed. Its great material, and more memorable then we've written in the past. With the addition of Ron Holzner from the band Trouble on Bass, and recording with the grammy award winning producer Neil Kernon, this CD is going to sound better then any of our releases in the past."
If there wolud be a possibility will you like to live your life once more?
"If I could live my life again, and keep my knowledge, and not make the same mistakes twice, i would do it in an instant. There are things I cant fix now, and mistakes I made that cost me valuable time. Life is short, and we need to make the best of it. I've fucked some of that up along the way, and I would love the opportunity to live a better life."
And I think thats all for now. Thank you for your answers.
"Thanks much for the interview. Be sure to check out "To Welcome the Fade" coming early 2002 on Dark Symphonies. Go to www.novembersdoom.com, www.mp3.com/novembersdoom and www.darksymphonies.com for frequent updates on the band! Take care!
