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? It has been quite an adventure since recording! It has been so exciting seeing folks reacting to the album, getting positive reviews and airplay - I have to give a ton of props to Clawhammer PR for all they've done to support the project. I wouldn't be here talking with you if it weren't for them! The project is something I have been wanting to do for a while, maybe 20 years in total, so it has been a dream come true being reviewed by blogs and journalists that I have followed for years - I never unexpected that it would get this far when I sat down to write the first riffs for the album in 2020.
2.Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording? Of course! There are a lot of influences that were integrated into the sound you hear on the album, but my guiding philosophy for songwriting was as follows: 1) write strong, anthemic choruses, 2) build to them using melodic thrash riffing, 3) keep songs short and 4) always end with energy. The shorthand that I had in my mind was imitation of Ensiferum 'bangers' - every Ensiferum album has at least one really strong thrashing 'banger' that gets the listener really engaged - on 'Thalassic' it's 'Rum, Women, Victory', on 'Victory Songs' it is 'Blood is the Price of Glory,' etc. I always loved those songs, but always felt let down when the energy would drop on subsequent tracks - I wanted to write an album that took that sound and applied it to as many of the tracks as possible.
3.You refer to your music as being 'peasant metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term? It sort of captures the boisterous, punk feel of the music while tying it to the 'medieval' viking/folk metal influences, like the aforementioned Ensiferum but also Forefather, Amon Amarth, etc. The music is a too raw and aggressive to fit under the traditional folk metal moniker, since contemporary folk metal has lately tended towards polished and even orchestral compositions and production, and it is too melodic to be classified as strictly crossover thrash, though it sits somewhere between the two. I also feel like so much of the subject matter of metal that takes on medieval battle as a subject matter does so from the perspective of the exploiters - Amon Amarth, for example, glorifies one of the greatest scourges of humanity in European history - the Viking invasions. In reality, vikings and knights and warlords trampled the masses in their wake as they sought glory, riches and slaves, their warrior ethos and blooddrunk mythology justifying expropriation and murder on a cataclysmic scale - I wanted to reimagine the traditional 'medieval' metal narrative from the perspective of those who are so seldom spoken of in the sagas and chronicles - the peasant underclass.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music? The album uses a narrative orientation to reimagine the great peasant rebellions of the middle ages, such as the Jacquerie and English Peasants Revolt, in a sword-and-sorcery world where the underclass rises up in triumph against the political, religious and economic elites. The story uses conventions of opera (by using multiple vocal styles for the various characters in the concept album) and lyric poetry of the troubadours to draw the listener into an immersive experience. It is my hope that listeners will enjoy the album as a story and enable themselves to be drawn in to the dramatic tension, character interplay and other elements that I worked hard to build through both music and lyrics - but, if the listener just hears one song and enjoys it as a standalone experience, that is great too!
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Pillaging Villagers'? The project name, and the self-title of the album, is all part of building a strong identity for the project. As the album's concept is about villagers who rise up and pillage, the name of the project and the album should give listeners something to connect to in terms of what to expect before they even hear the first note. So often, I listen to great bands that I have a hard time connecting with because they don't have a strong identity - what does their name mean? What are their songs about? I wanted the strong theme to help the project stand out in the minds of listeners. It's an album about Pillaging Villagers, from a band called Pillaging Villagers on their debut album, Pillaging Villagers - this redundancy is intentional, all to help build a strong connection to the listener. Bands like Alestorm do a great job of this - theming part of what makes them so appealing, they give listeners something to connect to.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover? The album cover is also part of the strong theming I strove for with the album's concept, as well as part of the immersive experience I was trying to create. There a lot of non-musical influences for Pillaging Villagers from a theming standpoint and one of them is Magic The Gathering (there's even an overt reference to a Beta series card in 'The Bishop') - I always loved the fantasy world the game created and so much of that was due to the amazing artwork. When it came time to get the album cover figured out, I dreamed about how great it would be to get a MTG artist to do it - I reached out to one my favorite MTG artists, Matt Stikker, who also did album cover work for Power Trip and Blazon Rite and to my huge surprise he agreed to take on the project. He worked really closely with me in developing the piece, reviewing lyrics and presenting several drafts. The album cover is so important to the experience of an album in my view - the art for Pillaging Villagers' cover does a really great job of both foreshadowing and giving visual representation to key moments from the album's story. It also is a visual feast - using the collage style evocative of the iconic Subhumans cover for 'The Day the Country Died' - that listeners can enjoy before, during and after they listen to the album.
7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea? We haven't done any live shows and I don't think I see it in the future; I toured and played in bands in my twenties and I am definitely over it, lol. I doubt there will ever be demand for my little project in a live setting, but if that were ever the case, it would be better to do it like 'Dracula: The Musical' with marionettes and stage design, as opposed to just guys in t-shirts playing on a stage. I would want to keep the theming consistent and just doing a standard metal performance would detract from the illusion.
8.on the new album you also have a few quests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording? Yes! I was able to work with some incredible musicians on this project who were really essential in making it happen. I used to play shows around Wisconsin with Lords of the Trident guitarist Brian Koenig back when he played in Luna Mortis and he was the first person I thought of when I actually decided to move forward with recording the album (which was never the plan from the start) - to my immense surprise he was not only available, but interested. I recorded the album at SignatureTone Studios in Minnesota and the owner/engineer there, Adam Tucker, is an old buddy that I recorded an album with back in 2010 - he played bass on the album and recruited Jason Hirt of Ghost Bath for drums. I cannot say enough about how professional everyone was and how incredible their performances were. I had originally written the album in Guitar Pro, which creates like a MIDI version of the songs, complete with drums, so I could send tabs and sheet music to Adam and Brian and provide a click track and drum parts for Jason to work from and they handled everything amazingly. They recorded all separately and Adam did a spectacular job coordinating and tying everything together. I owe them so much for any success or acclaim the album receives - I was just the composer and vocalist, these guys really helped bring the project to life.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of punk, thrash and folk metal? It's been awesome! I have gotten a lot of attention from places I never would have imagined would be interested - I've been reviewed in Norway, Germany and Mexico, as well as getting airplay in the UK, France, Australia - the list goes on. And feedback has been super positive consistently! I really can't believe that people are actually enjoying the album - I know how discerning a lot of metalheads and folks who review albums can be and to get positive feedback from the metal community has been great. I originally set out to just share the album with some friends and maybe get reviewed on Angry Metal Guy, which I have read everyday for the past four years or so. My expectations have been blown away and I really have to express my immense gratitude to anyone who picks up the album to listen to, let alone write a whole review on it or interview me about it, with all the albums that come out every week.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? That's hard to say - I went into this project with no plans whatsoever. I never thought I would finish writing the album, or record it, or promote it, so thinking about what's next is tough. I have written heavy music all my life and I would like to try my hand at different styles - I am currently dabbling in atmospheric synth with the goal of putting together an album based on the history of the first crusade, which I find so fascinating as a historical context for storytelling. It would be amazing to work with an filmmaker, John Carpenter-like, to create a visual back drop for that concept, but that's pretty far in the future.
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? I would say anthemic street punk bands like Onward to Mayhem and The Virus as well as folk metal bands like Ensiferum are the most straightforward influences, but I also got really inspired from a concept album standpoint by concept albums by Devin Townsend and King Diamond. My favorite bands right now are probably traditional and power metal like Atlantean Kodex, Dark Forest, Dream Troll and Judicator, but I listen to all sorts of stuff - I really like the new Vorga and Rolo Tomassi albums from earlier this year.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Thanks so much for letting me do this! I really appreciate the support you give to independent bands - it's really important to support unsigned bands - you do the scene a great service!
https://pillagingvillagers.bandcamp.com/album/pillaging-villagers
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