Line UP:
Guitar\Vocal:Chris \Thorheim\Caine
Jurgen Thunderson-Guitar/Keyboards
Ivan Manchenko-Bass
Zabir Shamsutdinov-Drums
Well,Friends of Aristocracy!
We start now in all your emotions, the ninety-fourth interview of the Aristocracy. Let's now this chat with the founding members of Holy Dragons and which shows their sixteenth work entitled Jörmungandr - The Serpent of the World. before trimming this interview. To which, thanks again to the Italian Davide Pulito in this work. Let's go to the music of these musicians from Kazakhstan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NFx2efEJic
A1:Hi, let’s talk about the composition work in “Jörmungandr - The Serpent of the World”?
Hi! Yes, today two founders of the band will answer your questions, Jurgen Thunderson (lead guitar, composer) and Thora Thorheim (guitar, vocal).Thora: This album was being done for quite some time. Then, the pandemic delayed this release. This album is the combination of raw speed metal and NWoBHM and some touch of USPM like Metal Church for example. Lots of cool guitar riffs and catchy melodies. That would be the correct description of this album. All in all we are a very productive band with 16 albums behind our belt and we are always working on something. Now we are currently already recording a brand new album and have plans for another.
A2:Why did your band want to make explosive songs?
Thora: Because we are a very explosive band ☺
We are Dragons, we like speed, fire, groove and drive, and lots of energy. Otherwise we wouldn’t be Holy Dragons. Basically we’re breathing fire on stage. Not for real but metaphorically.Let’s not forget that dragon is a very powerful creature and we take a lot of that power from this wonderful creature!
A3:If Jormungandr existed and was a person, would she be in politics?
Thora: Think of Jormungandr not as a living person but as a chthonic creature such as Internet for example. That’s how we see it. It’s Internet, which wrapped up all the world with its tail. So, it’s a metaphoric representation of Internet with its “malice and poison”.Internet cables are hiding very deep at the sea bottom as Jormungandr and its ready to lead you far, far away. And it’s full of malicious and toxic poisonous stuff just like a giant snake. Just see that how last verse of the title song goes: “Internet - malice and poison! Internet - your words are frozen. Jörmungandr will lead us all away! Jörmungandr gets somewhere close Watches you with deadly wrath. Jörmungandr the serpent of the world!” A4:Not that I don't like old school sound, but what are the reasons that led the band to make this decision?
Jurgen: Probably because I love old school music! Ahaha!Let’s ask a question what is the main difference between the "new school" of rock and metal? In the transcendent, non-human mechanical evenness of everything! This is the music of people who grew up listening to the sound of rhythm boxes, drum machines and synth loops. These people brought their attitude to metal as well. I'm an "analogue man", I grew up at the time when bands played without backing tracks, everything was really live, and swing, shifting accents, shuffle, all these vibrations that make music "live" is what I truly like it. It's a drive, it's a warm feeling of true metal. That is why this music has been listened to for several generations, and the heroes of "plastic" music are replaced every five years. If someone likes it - well, I don't mind, but it's all very far from my worldview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzzDT-A5vCM
A5:Did the band get this fondness for dragons through games or comics or none of the aforementioned media?
Thora: When we started the band we wanted to play very fast and powerful music. And what can be more fast and more powerful than a dragon? So, the name of Holy Dragons fits perfectly into our music. And a bit later we discovered a wonderful world of Dungeons and Dragons, which was only logical.
Jurgen: Books, legends, and Ronnie James Dio! In fact, in adolescence, we just raved about medieval legends. Now it would be called "fantasy", but then it was more like something close to English medieval ballads, legends about King Arthur doing his business under a dragon flag, and the general archetype of medieval myths! Now we have somewhat moved away from all this, but this is what was our starting point once!
A6:As was said, this is the second album with Thora Thorheim. Can we say that this album is her confirmation in the band?
Thora: I’ve been in the band from the start but only as a guitarist. After 2009 we had a lot of problems with the people who were doing vocals for the band. So when our current vocalist for that moment left, I was so outraged, so I said “Enough! I’ll be doing vocals myself!” But I view myself something as a singing guitarist, Kai Hansen type.My friends even call me “female Kai Hansen version” since I have some resemblance of him and his manner of doing things on stage.
A7:Is there a certain meaning even though patriotic singing in your language?
Jurgen: It makes sense to fight against "cancel culture" which is turning into "ban on cultural expression"! Everyone can be "cancelled", even entire nations, with their centuries-old culture, can be "cancelled". There are no "good" and "bad" folks, there are only deceitful politicians who couldn’t share the profit! This is very sad. It's not even "Middle Ages", it's primitive savagery. People shouldn't live in fear of this bullying. All this is extremely far from common sense! This is absolute totalitarianism! We thought we were living in Huxley's world, but this is Orwell, "1984"!I see it as my mission to prevent this stupidity from happening to the best of my modest ability! And it doesn't matter what kind of nations we are talking about. "Сancel culture" must die! Since this is the cause for bullying, harassment, and the destruction of society. Otherwise, we will be like Neanderthals who beat each other on the head with sticks if they don’t agree with their opinion!
A8:Was it arranged or was it natural that the tenth song was ten minutes long?
Jurgen: To be honest, we have been struggling for some time to keep the songs as short as possible! It is said that people with clip culture find it difficult to focus on anything longer than 3-4 minutes, and their needs must be taken into account! Well, let's try something like that! But I for one don't really like it when a metal song turns into a pop song in a "two couplets and a solo" scheme, I always liked big songs with an extended structure of the composition, whether it was Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden or Deep Purple - it's the old school bands that can send you on a metal journey into their world, and not just be a background for drinking beer! And it was wonderful! Therefore - if the song in the process of inventing it begins to increase in length, I think it's right not to interfere with this.
The longest song we had was just over fourteen minutes, on the Zerstorer album, and it came naturally. But we haven't written our twenty-minute epic yet!
A9:How did band arrive to Pitch Black Records?
Thora: Honestly it was so long ago, that I don’t remember details. We have outgrown our previous label and shifted to our dearest Pitch Black Records, which is always doing a wonderful job with our albums!
A10:What´s the idea behind the artwork?
Thora: As I said above the idea of the art work correlates with the idea of the whole album and it is Jormungandr, wrapping up himself around our world, our planet, like Internet. This artwork also gives a reference to the album “Twilight of the Gods” or Gotterdamerung, which is also a Scandinavian notion. “Twilight of the Gods” is very popular with the fans, and I hope so will be Jormungandr.
A11:Tell us about the metal genre in Kazakhstan scene! Jurgen: It's a tough story to be honest! The first metal band in our country was "Accent", which began to form at the very beginning of the 80s, although they acquired a fully staffed composition and name only after the 86th year. It so happened that they released the only full-length album over twenty years ago, but this group still exists today!In the 80s, we had dozens of "one-night-stand" metal bands that played on the edge of hard rock or hair metal. Most often, their life span was no more than a couple of years, and they left nothing behind. In the early 90s there was a wave of brutal genres, by the way, it also touched me, I myself played at that time in the death metal band "Izverg", and our current drummer Zabir Shamsutdinov was in the death metal band "Allons". At that time, these were the two leading death metal bands in our country! At the same time, "Izverg" was more inclined towards death and roll, and "Allons" - towards progressive!Since 1995, about twenty years have been lost for music in our country. The groups literally survived. There were no labels, our country was not in the tour routes, it was impossible to organize our own performance. No, we somehow played, but it was very difficult to arrange. There were no places to play, and club owners preferred dance parties. Accordingly, the metal scene was in deep decline and was kept alive by a handful of enthusiasts who, moreover, were often not on the best of terms with each other due to stylistic differences. Roughly speaking, "brutal" and "traditional" scenes did not find a common language.Now the situation has become much better, many new bands have appeared, not only from young musicians, but also from those who played 20 or 30 years ago. Here I would note the group "Nuclear Angels", which was created by the member of "Axcess" (the group from which "Holy Dragons" was formed) Marat Sadvakasov. Perhaps this is the best thing that has appeared on our scene in the last decade. The group has a pronounced international potential!Well, I can say that all the same, most of the new bands are cover projects that play hits from the "top 50" list. Those rock and classic metal songs that have been at the top of the charts for many years. Is it good or bad? I don’t know. I love bands that play their own stuff. But for the popularization of rock music, this may be good, since these bands play in mainstream places, where they are listened to by people who are far from heavy music, who will never come to a regular concert, and perhaps get used to the heavy sound! That is, it is still some kind of popularization of the genre. There is also an interest in stoner-psychedelic music, there are several young bands playing something similar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h21slgDVOS8
A12:How is Holy Dragons different from your previous bands? Jurgen: The bands in which I played before did not aim to be heard beyond the local clubs. And they were convinced that "it won't work anyway", you can just "play for yourself" in order to "have a good time". In Holy Dragons, everything is not like that! We are ready for serious work, in every sense that can be applied to this expression! At the same time, I perfectly understand that there should be fun, drive and a relaxed atmosphere on stage during a concert. Work with a "serious face" must remain behind the scenes!
A13:Why did the vocalist put a little opera style in her vocal tone?
Thora: I did? Never noticed anything liked that about myself .Our press-release says just the opposite about my vocals :“Thora Thorheim also handling vocal duties where she uses her voice as an addition to the instrumental background in such a way that it is quite unique and different from today’s usual female metal vocals (opera or growling style)”Female opera style vocals is not what we want in our music even remotely.
A14:The band feel differences between “Unholy And Saints” and now in “Jörmungandr - The Serpent of the World”?
Jurgen: Wow, these are very different albums! If “Unholy And Saints” is an album with such a "big" sound, with references to the pompous works of bands of the 70s and 80s, then “Jörmungandr - The Serpent of the World” is something more rough, hooligan, lively and new. There is a "garage" spirit in it, which we associate with the early NWoBHM, such "uncombed" music. At the same time, these albums are made on approximately the same technical level, just in different aesthetics. We are interested in changing all the time! "frozen is dead", as the Eastern sages say. Therefore, life is in constant change!
By the way, it seems to me that the vocals sound more impressive in the new album!
A15:What would the 2022 Holy Dragons say to the 1995 Holy Dragons?
Jurgen: There's a lot to be said here! Very helpful tips! Moreover, I would not repeat what we already knew very well then, such as "do not chase fashion, it is changeable" or "do not try to please anyone, play in a way that you yourself like!" - this is all relevant now, but we understood this even at the start!I would say "do not take random people into the band! It is better to spend 2-3 months searching for someone who is really close to the group and will appreciate what the person is in the band, then to lose several years building relationships with the wrong person, and ruining relationships with many because of him." I would say - "talk more with other musicians, but do not compete with them", "resolve contradictions immediately", "be able to apologize". I would say - "do not believe the advertisements for the latest equipment, it is often not as good as they say in the brochures", "do not be shy about the old time-tested things, even if they cause a smirk from others." "Don't be afraid to post songs online, but don't sign contracts without reading them thoroughly!"I would say:"don't try to re-record one song several times, write a new one!". I would also say - "The vocalist is the face of the group and the bearer of its ideology. No matter how good his voice is, he should not sing in the group if he does not consider himself a part of it 100 percent!".
I would also say - "don't be afraid of concerts where you go out among several groups and play a short program, even if you sound worse than you would like because there is no opportunity to tune in well - this will give you experience that will come in handy later", but I would also say - "sometimes a concert that doesn't suit you and you refused to play it is better than a concert where you can't properly present your band". And I would also say - "do not strive to play at as many local gigs as possible, often the results of those gigs is not the one way you would like to have."All these tips, by the way, I would address to those musicians who are now "at the start". Bon Voyage!
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