I’ve
been guilty of it. I guess you have too. Cursing at the inability
of British bands to ever come up with anything that can match the
good old days. It’s been hard not giving up on anything good ever
again to come from the British Isles. But then it happens. A record
by a British band comes along, and lo and behold, it’s not the same
crap we’ve grown used to. This had to be celebrated and what better
way to do it than interviewing the band. Sonia (vocals) and Jon (guitar)
were kind enough to answer my questions.
-Anders
Ekdahl
As I haven't tried I can only imagine that coming
up with an idea to form a band is the easy part. How do you take it
from an initial idea to a realistic group concept?
Jon: Very difficult to do actually. I think that we've
found a good set of musicians of similar ages and backgrounds, and
we work well together. When you look at how it has evolved from the
initial concept though, the change is quite startling. Back in
1998/9 we were thrashing out
Metallica covers in a couple of tiny venues (albeit with a different
singer), and a couple of years later we're on to recording our second
full length album. The 'problem' in our case was the fact that MR
turned in to a 'studio' band, and then we had to translate this to
a rehearsal & live situation. This was quite time consuming and
difficult.
Sonia: It was essential to get the right people. You don't
just need amazing musicians, you need people who get along and who
have a strong work ethic.
You call your music for Gothic - Power - Metal. What
exactly does each word represent specifically in your music?
Sonia: The atmosphere, female vocals and harmonies and the
synth melodies provide the 'Gothic' elements, whilst the driving guitars,
bass and drums give it the 'Power Metal' sound.
Jon: That's pretty much it. We tend to bring a lot of
different influences to the table and this is how it ends up.
I like gothic metal bands, but sometimes I feel they just need to
'rock it up' a bit more. This is what we try and do.
You've released the "Dark Waters" album on your own in only small
quantities. As every other band you shop around for a deal but do
you intend to have the album re-released or will you start to work
on a new album once a deal is in the clear?
Sonia: Start on a new album ASAP and see if a deal comes
up. If so, great! We'll definitely take that opportunity and go from
there.
Jon: I prefer to look forward rather than go back, but maybe
a re-release of Dark Waters would be nice. I'm sure if the upcoming
album was given enough promotion by a label, and a 'proper' release,
then this would spark interest in previous releases. On the
back of 'Dark Waters' we are now getting interest in our demo EP 'Where
Angels Fear'. Not many of those
left, but people get in to the band and want to know what else we've
done.
In a World were every conceivable note has been used
how do you come up with something that hasn't been heard before?
Sonia: I don't know, never thought about
it really. Maybe just by doing something that really comes from
the heart. That's the key, doing something we feel, that has
some kind of emotion or meaning for us and not be worried about the
money or the manager's approval...
Jon: It's true, the world is going to run out of ideas someday,
whether it be books, films, television, whatever. I don't think
about being like any other bands, or trying to be a certain type of
music. I think that we sound original. The combination
of heavy guitars, atmospheric synths and Sonia's vocal added to the
fantasy based lyrics makes for an interesting listen, and we just
write what we like.
How aware are you of other bands that might have a
similar sound to yours? When I listen to "Dark Waters" I can't help
thinking of the American band Rain Fell Within.
Sonia: Sorry - I'm not aware of them...
Jon: Me either! People always drag the 'Nightwish' and 'Lacuna
Coil' comparisons out when they describe us, and you can see why,
but I think that we're somewhere in between really, with a load of
different influences as well. I have heard us compared to a female-fronted
'Cradle of Filth' which is probably the least apt comparison I've
come across..!
The whole look/concept of your CD "Dark Waters" is
amazing. How can you afford it and how do you get the people involved
to lend you their time and effort?
Sonia: A lot is to do with being at the right place at the
right time. A friend of mine (Yann) is a medieval artist, just launching
his career. He offered to give us a hand and we asked him to come
up with an idea for our logo. He's done a great job. As for Stephanie
Law, we found her website, and loved one of her pictures in particular,
looked further and finally chose the "Threshold at dawn" painting
for the cover art. We like Stephanie's realistic / pragmatic
approach to the real world...
Jon: Thanks! We also do a lot of the work ourselves.
We do the recording, website, graphics all within the four of us.
This keeps relying on outside people to a minimum. Unfortunately
it's very time consuming. On the bright side, my 'Photoshop'
skills are getting better all the time..! We have had a few
people help us with photos and things, and this has been excellent.
Dave at www.black-catphtography.com has been working
with us and he has an eye for a photo. The bands other halves
also put a lot of time and effort in. Paula and Wendy have also
taken some quality live shots, as has our mate Wooks.
I guess there's more to the title "Dark Waters" but
I haven't been able to figure it out yet. Why did you choose to give
it that title? Has it got anything to do with the band name Mercury
Rain ?
Sonia: The answer lies within the concept of the album.
All of the songs have been written with the sea and its legends in
mind, legends almost always tainted with death and malefice. Hence
the title "Dark Waters".
Jon: Yes, that's pretty much it. There's no 'deep and
meaningful' with the band name either. I liked 'Mercury' because
it's a 'heavy metal' (duh!) but also a liquid, and 'Rain' because
of it's emotive qualities. I think that it works quite well.
Like any band, you forget about the
name after a while and just associate it with the band. I mean
'Iron maiden' is not exactly a sophisticated name, but it doesn't
matter, because you hear the name and instantly think of the band.
The actual meaning doesn't cross my mind anymore.
I don't know if you like to classify your lyrics as
Fantasy. I'm going to ask you this anyway. Do you think it's possible
to metaphorically write social realistic lyrics within the concept
of Fantasy or is it inherently so that all Fantasy is a social comment
in itself?
Sonia: We could comment at great length on this subject!
It sounds a bit difficult in my humble opinion to mix fantasy and
reality but not impossible I guess. I suppose it could be possible
if the right vocabulary is used, one that can project strong images.
It's the way the words are used, the atmosphere is laid out that makes
a difference.
Jon: We are definitely a fantasy-based band, but not in the
'Loincloths & Swords' vein. It's more wistful and romantic
storytelling. The newer material is still fantasy based, but
with a poetic twist. I think that it is possible to bring realism
in to fantasy lyrics, because you can deal with themes. Mortality,
redemption, good & evil. As Sonia says, strong imagery, with
themes that can mean different things to different people. I doubt
if they're socially realistic, but that would be hard to do.
I think that pure fantasy lyrics are a social comment in themselves,
and they represent escapism in the same way that fantasy feature films
do. Some
people don't want gritty realism, and need to escape. I'm one
of these people! I like to be entertained when I watch a film
or listen to music. Overtly political or 'real' songs don't do much
for me. Hopefully our lyrics work on a few levels.
You have a very non-specific British sound. Do you
think that this is what will help you get off the Isle and on to greener
pastures?
Sonia: Hopefully! We would love to play some European
gigs – maybe Wacken next year!??
Jon: Definitely. We don't want to even think about the
UK really as a market. We need to be in Europe really. That's
where the fan base for this kind of material is. I think that
we sound significantly different to other UK and Euro bands, but our
appeal is definitely not here!
I guess you've been asked this a lot but where did
the British metal scene go wrong? It used to be so throbbing with
life and now it barely survives with artificial support?
Jon: The British metal scene is good for black/death metal
and heavier stuff, but I can only think of about 5 power metal bands...
Our mates in INTENSE, Power Quest, DragonForce and the Shadow Keep
and us really. It's pretty dire! The biggest 'real' metal festival
in the UK (Bloodstock) attracts around 2500 people out of a population
of more than 50 million
people. That just about sums it up for me. As per usual,
we invent something, and now the rest of the world does it so much
better! We are a nation obsessed with celebrities, 'pop idol'
and 'fame academy'. Simply hopeless... Our more established bands
do well in Europe, (Maiden, Saxon, MotorHead etc), but the newer bands
don't get much of a look in.
Jon Hoare
Discovery IS
Avlon/Charnwood
0117 9385035
