Well,Friends of Aristocracy!
Line UP:
Ren Marabou (Vocals and Guitar)
Terence McCann (Drums)
Michael Casserly (Bass)
We speak again of our newsroom, where in a little while, we will begin in all its emotions, the ninety-ninth interview of the Aristocracy. In this opportunity, we will speak with an Irish band that mixes pagan and Viking culture. With high capacity, they show their full debut album titled as Tales Of Rune. Let's interview with them, first a song. However, we wish a sincere and deep improvement of Ren. As he meets with Covid. Interview now!
A1:Talking about the composition work in Tales Of Rune?
Ren: Tales of Rune was written very much the same way as ‘Valhalla Waits’ and ‘SAGAS’ hence the trilogy. Wayfinder had a different process and most likely so will our next album. The 3 albums from the trilogy were all written, arranged, mixed and mastered in Meadowbank Studios in Co.Donegal. We like to keep the composition element fairly loose, taking a spark of inspiration and running with it, whether it’s from a riff, a lyric, a drum beat or a nice bass line. A2:Why does paganism strongly influence the band?
Ren: My personal faith is Pagan more accurately Norse Paganism, so it just made sense to incorporate it into our music. It also means with our music we can share the Tales and Sagas of our ancestral roots.
A3:Last year, four albums were made. They were made alongside Terence McCann and Michael Casserly and can we say that these albums belonged to a trilogy?
Terence: Yeah, Way Finder, Valhalla Waits, Sagas and the upcoming Tales of Rune were all made in a very short space of time, thanks in part to the pandemic but also to Ren’s industriousness. He’s a maniac! I’d consider the last three of these albums to be the trilogy because they are more cohesive lyrically and sonically than Way Finder. Way Finder was Ren’s first foray into Norse/Pagan mythology but you can still hear other influences in there. I think he was feeling his way on that album, that’s totally understandable from a creative viewpoint but by the time he’d completed that and started Valhalla Waits, well, the pieces were falling into place. Valhalla Waits is a cracking album.
A4:Where did the band look for their influences for the songs?
Ren:Norse Mythology is the main bases for the lyrical content. Books like the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda and Völsunga Saga were referenced alot during the writing stages.
A5:What contemporary styles are present on this album?
Ren: We actually pull from a lot of contemporary musical styles such as Pagan Metal, Post-Hardcore, Hard-Rock, even Punk aswell as classic metal and power metal.
A6:Can we say that your sound has a black metal vibe?
Michael : I’d say we're not as heavy or extreme as some of the Black Metal bands, the songs are fairly heavy but still fairly accessible. We try and have a more fun element, like in songs like Let's Drink Mead
A7:What kind of subject don´t deserve a REN MARABOU AND THE BERSERKERS song? Michael :We write songs that are almost exclusively about Viking or Norse subjects, although I would love sometime to write a few songs or an album about Irish mythology Terence:We’re, I think, never going to write generic material about getting wasted, drugs, playing poker and all the other cliches we know from rock and metal. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of this stuff and sometimes it can be profound quite like (Layne Staley/lice In Chains). Ren, Cass and myself are interested in other things, thematically and lyrically. It has just occurred to me though that we just released Let’s Drink Mead as a single. So, maybe I’m wrong.
A8-Do the BERSERKERS truly exist? Whether they are real or not, who are they and how do they work for the benefit of the band?
Michael : Yes, we are all Berserkers in the band, it's really just a collective name for all of us. In Norse times they were fierce warriors who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury Terence: Yeah, they existed at one point I’m pretty certain. In Norse and Germanic folklore they were said to be fierce warriors who obtained trance-like states during battle. I’ve been a horror-film hound since I was a kid and came across the Berserkers years ago in an article on werewolves. The berserkers’ animal skins and general appearance helped give rise to the werewolf legend in Europe. The idea of lycanthopy - metamorphosis, transformation - has always been very appealing to me David Cronenberg is my favourite director and I think that’s what we do in the music and onstage. Playing these songs live takes me to another realm. Yeah, I feel transformed and I hope the audience feels that too.
A9:When did you sign the endorsement deal with Cassidy Guitars and how do you feel it has helped the band? Ren:I’ve been an Endorsed Artist at Cassidy guitars for close to two years now. I am incredibly fortunate to be working with such a great company. They created my amazing UK Custom guitar ‘Mjolnir’. A one of a kind machine, built to my chosen specs and complete with a Thors Hammer detail on the scratch plate. Master guitar builders who really help promote their endorsed artists.
A10:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Ren : I was inspired by the Icelandic landscape for the album art. Some songs are also based on Icelandic Sagas. The image of the icy waters also set the tone of the album and was a great opportunity to unveil the new updated band Logo.
A11:How do United Music Mafia and Managed by Split Screen Management help the band? Michael : United Music Mafia (UMM) and Split Screen Management are working together with us to help our music get exposure to lots of different markets, all over the world from USA to Australia and everywhere in between. UMM are based in America and Split Screen are based in Finland, Italy and UK and between them have people all over the globe to help get our music out there. They also help get gigs and tours organized for us, there's exciting gig news on the way!
A12-What´s bands influence ours?
Michael : Between the 3 of us we have a very wide range of influences, Personally my influences would be The Beatles, Nirvana, Rush, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, System Of A Down, Ozzy Terence: Ren, Cass and my influences are all very different with a little bit of overlap but artists that influence the way I write? - Blue Öyster Cult, Opeth, Black Sabbath, Porcupine Tree, Killing Joke, Mastodon, Flotsam & Jetsam and more recently, Elder, who are superb - and film composers like David Julyan, Eliot Goldenthal and Howard Shore.
A13:Does your common work help to inspire your music?
Michael: . I work a pretty boring job so I get no influence there! Terence:I’ve been a graphic designer for years and although it doesn’t directly inspire what I write its still an important creative process - what is it I need to design, how do I get the message across, does it tell a story and will it leave an impact? I apply the same process to writing songs.
A14:How did the hills of Co.Donegal inspire a band?
Michael: Donegal is a beautiful county, there are so many hills and mountains and beaches and old ruins so it's the perfect place for a Viking Metal band! Almost anywhere there could be used for a video shoot. The scenery and beauty is very inspiring Terence: Donegal is littered with standing stones, stone circles and megalithic tombs and there is an historical Norse influence up here in the north west of Ireland. I think of Donegal as a Norse landscape and that history of myths and lore is going to be explored by us in upcoming albums, as well as traditional Norse/Pagan stories.
A15-Why do you consider Tales Of Rune your first album?
Ren:Well it’s the first album we have released through United Music Mafia, but it is part of the trilogy. Previous albums were released though different labels.
A16:Is this album conceptual?
Ren: There is an obvious theme with our music but I wouldn’t call this album a concept album other than the fact that it is part of a Trilogy.
A17:Some films inspire the band?
Michael: The Northman is a great film that was recently released about Vikings. A lot of inspiration comes from the Vikings TV series which does a great job at bringing you back to those days. Also TV Shows like Metalocalypse and films like The Dirt, Deathgasm and Bohemian Rhapsody are great to get you in the mood to rock out!
Terence: Good grief, don’t get me started on films! I mentioned earlier that I’m a huge movie-hound. When I was doing my degree years ago I did my thesis on the films of David Cronenberg. The ideas of transformation and metamorphosis in his films, mentioned earlier, I’ve always found very interesting and there’s a creative element to this to. In Naked Lunch, the creative process, writing, in large part is actually what the film is about, so much so that Bill Lee’s typewriter becomes real, a huge beetle. I also like to write in a way that leaves the lyrics open to interpretation so I’m always drawn to the film os David Lynch.Very ambiguous, open-ended, circular. Ten people will watch Blue Velvet and they will come away with ten different readings. That’s very interesting to me and I try to write like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUjCofbGggI
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