1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
We had presentations of the album in three cities. The process of preparation was pretty much hectic, we were so excited as long as for us these concerts were extremely significant. What’s more we were invited to four big summer music fests. The rehearsal process was rather challenging as well: the majority of the group members live in a different city which is three hours away from Moscow if you go by train, so I had to waste a lot of time to reach them, but it all finally payed off. We are really delighted to see the result of our work!
We record and mix the songs ourselves, that’s why this time was quite tense and gripping. Dmitriy Kokarev (multi-instrumentalist, guitar player) was responsible for the composing part, Maxim Ayupov (bassist) was the one to mix the songs, the cover was created by our drummer, Svyatoslav Krekov.
For us the positive reaction of the audience is the best reward: this is just our debut album, but we already feel the deep love of the fans.
2.So far this year you have released both an ep and full length, musically how do they both differ from each other?
The songs which were represented on the EP were all mixed from scratch one more time for the full length album. The tracks which are in our first album include more genres then the EP ones, as long as the debut EP was just our first attempt to find the “true sound” of our songs which expresses our emotions, suits and reveals the meaning perfectly.
Now that we understand more clearly where our personal rode to progress in terms of the music genre leads to and did our best to make our tracks sound as ideal as possible.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
The main idea of the album is to make people remember that every cloud has a silver lining: even in the harsh times of war there still are such things as love and friendship. Our songs have a strong historical background and through stories, fairy tales and legends which were weaved into our songs we tried to express that all emotions are natural. It goes without saying that we also pay tribute to the Meschera tribe who used to live in Moscow and Ryasan regions and in the floodplain of the Oka River. It was a Finno-Ugric tribe which assimilated with the Slavs and generally speaking is one of the ethnic groups of the Russian nation. We want to remind people that even though all Russian people do differ from each other all of us are one nation.
4.I know that the band was named after a Finno-Ugaris tribe that lived around the 13th century, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
All the band members share one common deep interest in history. As far as we live on the territory of Moscow and Ryasan regions this topic became really attractive for us, so we decided to dive deeper into it and do some research on this topic. We read a ton about excavations which were held on the territory of the floodplain of the Oka River. There we found some information about Meschera’s jewelry, culture, what they were into, how skillful and subtle their foremen were and how wonderful and quality their weaponry was. By the way it was the 8th-9th century! The tribe at the moment managed to process metal far better than the Slavs. It’s so cunning to read and research any information on the topic. We really can’t believe that these were our ancestors!
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
This a Meschera witch, who impersonates the mother of the tribe. She steps out of the thicket accompanied by the spirits of the forest. She embodies the long-forgotten tribe and will make everyone remember it.
6.Has the band had any opportunities to do any live show or open to the idea?
Yes, we have already had our first concert which was held this year in February. We performed at the Black Metal festival “Winter M.O.R.”. Our next goal were three big concerts which were devoted to presentation of our album. What’s more we were invited to four huge summer music festivals. Speaking about the future, currently we are in the process of preparing for our autumn-winter grand tour to support and promote out first album.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We are friends with one Russian label called “Sound Age” which helps us with the physical copies of our CDs and vinyls. We haven’t received any other offers yet.
8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and folk metal?
We received more than friendly and positive feedback from foreign listeners who like black metal and folk music. Of course for the majority of people the mixture of these two genres became something brand new, yet we are delighted that the worldwide metal community accepts new representatives of the genre with their own vision of music that eagerly. We also received an offer to perform in Bulgaria.
9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Dmitry, Svyatoslav and Maxim are members of the group “Sympuls-E”. At the moment the band has decided to take a break.
Both of my bands (“Zmey Gorynich” and “Smorodina Reka”) do function at the moment. Several times all the three groups performed at the same festival. “Zmey Gorynich” was invited to five summer fests and “Smorodina Reka” – to two and we are actively composing new songs to introduce to our listeners as soon as possible.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Even though we have already developed our own style, each and every song has its own personal sounding. We ourselves are interested to find out how our music will evolve in future. It seems to me that we won’t stop experimenting. There are a lot of contrasts in our music which is now our distinctive feature. It’s not that obvious what you can expect even in a minute. Our idea is to create songs which will be liked by us in the first place. And of course our initial idea to make each track catchy and unforgettable will keep living on.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
One of the references which we had while mixing the album is the sounding of Myrkur’s songs. Yet, we have made our sounding unique: the atmosphere is slightly similar, but it’s still different. I am also a big fan of the “Sylvaine” group: their atmosphere and the variety of the vocal parts were inspiring me a lot while recording the album.
“Wardruna” and “Eluveitie” also took roots deep inside of me.
Dmitry’s and my musical tastes are similar, so I should also mention that his personal absolute preferences are “Children of Bodom”, “Wintersun” and many other famous bands. His love for melodic dead metal influenced him greatly. Dmitry is also into composing soundtracks and orchestral music. It becomes clear if you listen to our album carefully.
12.Does Paganism play any role in your music?
As long as the Meschera tribe plays a significant role in our songs we should not forget that they lived approximately in the 8th century which is two centuries before the baptism of Rus, it goes without saying that they were pagans. They worshipped nature and its power, honored stones, trees, water, fire and other natural elements which is also represented in the lyrics of our tracks.
Our media image was also influenced by paganism: runes, deer antlers, costumes, logo and so on... For instance, our male armor is a real reconstruction of the ones found during the excavations and our rune was created personally for us by a specialist who is an expert in pagan traditions. But it’s not just a beautiful symbol, it has real meaning: energy, moving forward and the unity of people.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Don’t get lost in the night, follow the moonlight.
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