Carach Angren
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Holland is mostly known for its healthy death metal scene. Every once in a while a black metal band sticks out. Carach Angren debuted on German label Maddening Media a while back with their impressive "Lammendam" album. The record which combines the strengths of Emperor, Limbonic Art and a lesser degree Dimmu Borgir in whirlwind of symphonic devilry. Masterful Magazine initially scheduled to talk to Carach Angren around the time of the album's release, but fate would have it otherwise. After every sort of obstacle and delay, we were able to have a chat with Ardek (keyboards, piano).First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for Carach Angren right now?
Greetings! it took us some time to answer your questions, so first of all I'd like to thank you for your patience. Well, lots of new things are happening right now, especially regarding the writing process for our new concept album. Most of the basic structures for songs are almost complete and Seregor has started translating his visions on this story into lyrical chapters. I won't reveal the subject of the concept, but I can tell you (and the readers) that you can expect a very adventurous horror tale!
Since this is your first interview for Masterful Magazine, could you provide us with a brief history of the band up till now?
Carach Angren initially started as a project-based band. We began playing together around five years ago and at that time the three of us (Namtar, Seregor and I) were playing in another band called Vaultage. In Carach Angren we started to share our passion for occult music and topics and within a year we recorded our first MCD "The Chase Vault Tragedy". This MCD was more of a statement for ourselves rather than being a debut on a larger scale. The statement could be explained as the prove of our existence as a complete band with original visions and music. Our intention was to create very melodic, dramatic horrific music based on (known and unknown) paranormal stories. So, after this first release we moved on and recorded "Ethereal Veiled Existence" in 2005. This release was an improvement on all aspects; music, composition, artwork, production. This recording helped us gaining the possibility to perform throughout the Netherlands and it even was a major factor in setting up our cooperation with record label Maddening Media. In 2007 we started working with Philip Breuer and Maddening Media. Philip is a great guy and he shares the same visions on art and music in particular. He gave us all the artistic and personal freedom to create our latest effort "Lammendam" which we released in 2008. So here we are; 2009.. A big year for us because "Lammendam" is out there and a new album pops up at our dark majestic horizon!
The band's name is derived from Sindarin and means Iron Jaws. What made this particular name so appealing?
Seregor already thought of this name back in the early nineties when he started his first melodic black metal band. The pronunciation and powerful meaning of the name really appealed to him but in the end he and the band members chose 'Inger Indolia' as their band name. We (Namtar and I) were very glad when Seregor mentioned the name in 2003 because we were also very enthusiastic about it when he first spoke of it. We were aware of the tradition in black metal bands using Sindarin names but that was absolutely not the reason for us to chose the name. We really like the (geographical) meaning and pronunciation of the name. One might say that it is a difficult name for a band, but our experience tells us that once you understand it you'll never forget it...
Congratulations with your new record "Lammendam" - this is definitely the best symphonic black metal release we have heard the last couple of years. How have the reactions from the specialized press and fans been so far?
Thanks a lot for the big compliment! The reactions have been overwhelming! I think all the reviews I've seen are very positive and this really motivates us to perform the songs in live situations and create new material to record. We recently performed a couple of shows in Luxembourg and France and it is very great to meet fans who know our songs and are very enthusiastic about it.
Your new album "Lammendam" is a ferocious album with swirling melodies and chaotic frenzied speed. How you prevent your music to succumb to its chaos and aggression so that it stays listenable? A thing I noticed is that you don't just blast ahead with 200 miles per hour like so many other bands, but instead you vary the pace and change direction quite often. What is it that makes a good song, in your opinion?
I think this depends on a couple of factors. First of all I try to compose parts that challenges different emotions within the listener. Dark music or black metal doesn't have to be about evil evil evil evil all the time. It's the contrast that makes the music interesting in my opinion! And when you do so you prevent the listener from falling asleep or getting lost in the music. I already try in the first stages of composing the orchestral parts to give authenticity to every part in itself but also to a song as a whole. Other important factors are repeating parts, using different tempos and scales as well as understandable lyrics.
"Lammendam" deals with a local legend in Dutch folklore. Can you elaborate a bit about the particular details of this Limburg legend and how you incorporated it into this album? I understand it deals with the ghost of a lady in a white dress.
Yes, you're right. The legend tells the story of a beautiful lady who lived in Schinveld, the Netherlands who fell in love with two men also living in the same area. The two men did not know about each other's relationship with the lady and this lasted for some time. At one point they did find out and since that day the argued on every occasion they ran into each other. One day the farm where the lady lived was completely destroyed by a fire. Some people said that one of the men set fire to the farm but nothing was ever proven. Within a year after the incident the two men died due to mysterious, unclear causes. In decades following the events different people reported the sight of ghost, a lady in a white dress near the forest of Schinveld. In her life she often walked the fields in a white dress, this could explain the apparition. Seregor was already fascinated by the story in his childhood and this fascination grew and grew. When he presented the story to us we were convinced of it becoming our debut subject!
How long was the process of putting the album together, as far as writing the music, the concept and arrangements is concerned?
I know that I wrote the basic structure for ‘La Malediction..' in the fall of 2005, so this indicates that writing process was something that grew over the years before the official recordings. I remember that everything went very fast since the point we were clear about the direction we wanted to go (story to use). The recording process was divided in two periods covering several months.
In my opinion you've achieved an earthy and organic warm sound that fits the music perfectly. Did you exactly know what kind of sound you wanted or did this sort of materialize along the way?
It sort of materialized along the way. Of course we had some thoughts about it. We wanted the music to be brutal yet very transparent at the same time and with the professional help of Patrick Damiani (Tidal Wave Studios) the end result was exactly this and even better. We could really advice bands and musicians to record their music at Tidal Wave Studios.
You should check out the totally rebuild studio on www.tidalwave.de !
This is your debut album for Germany's Maddening Media. Are you happy the way Maddening Media handled the record, regarding promotion, distribution and marketing?
We are very happy with Philip Breuer and Maddening Media. He did (and does) an excellent job regarding all the things you mention! All his promotion and distribution brought our album and us as a band to a greater group of people and this constantly results in great reactions from new fans and, of course, new performances.
Prior to this debut you cut two demos with 2004's "The Chase Vault Tragedy" and 2005's "Ethereal Veiled Existence". In what ways do you feel you have improved since then, individually as well as collectively?
I think almost in every way you can imagine. We all improved our musical skills but also our various contributions to the band as a whole. Because of the fact that we recorded three cd's we grew more together considering visions and ways of exploring those visions. The past five years made Carach Angren stronger!
Judging from the pictures on your website, you guys go all-out on the visual side of things: spooky corpse paint, Victorian wardrobe that reminds of the old Hammer horror movies, etc. In all it's very similar to veteran symphonic black metal acts like Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and the likes. How important is the visual aspect of a band, in your opinion?
We think it is very important. We want to touch people's emotions through our music and the visual aspects of a band are just as important in terms of ways to connect with people. It would be a shame if we made music like this and completely destroy it with lack of visual attention in live situations or artworks. One thing must be clear: the music is the base, but the other elements can contribute or destroy the connection with the listener, that's why we really like to work on all elements possible within the band.
The Dutch death - and black metal scene has always appeared to be very diverse and productive. How is it doing nowadays? Any up-and-coming bands we should know about?
Personally, I think the scene is not so good at all around here. We have lots of small bands performing here and there but nothing really pops out in my opinion. Oh wait, there's one band I really like nowadays, it's Hail of Bullets. You should check them out, really great Dutch death metal!
All of you have day jobs in order to bring food to the table. Is it easy for you guys to get days off work in order to get on the road, play shows and promote the band?
Let us say that it is possible, not easy. It's more difficult to combine the whole picture of being in a band with daily jobs. The band demands a lot of work, every day and it is getting more and more. We try to manage a good balance but the main thing must be the occupation with composing and playing music.
Thanks for the interview, and good luck with all your future endeavours. Feel free to add anything you want...
Thanks for the interesting questions! Check us out on MySpace: www.myspace.com/carachangren
Booking: www.carach-angren.nl
Info: www.maddeningmedia.de
