Tuesday, June 26, 2012

As Autumn Calls Interview


1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Andrew:  We are in the early stages of recording our upcoming album ‘Cold, Black & Everlasting’.  It’s a bit of a different process for us this time around as we now have four band members all contributing to the recording process.  We are going to try a few different things in the studio and see how they work out for us.  It has been a long time coming for this one for James and myself.  James actually started writing some of this material for this album while we were mixing the ‘Emotionless’ EP in 2009, so we’re very excited to finally start recording it with an end date in sight.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material and how it differs from the older recordings?
James: The newer material is a decent mixture of our previous releases. Like the Emotionless EP the music is colder and darker with more of a black metal quality to it than An Autumn Departure. We’ve added more acoustic arrangements in the new material and there is more emphasis on creating depressive atmospheres through the keyboards and other elements. 

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Andrew:  The lyrical topics all tend to be depressing in nature and revolve around loss and despair in some way, but there isn’t a per-determined focus or a theme to the lyrical topics and subjects beyond that really.  James does most of the writing for the lyrics and that’s just the writing style he’s always had.  On the new album, as well as the ‘Emotionless’ EP in fact, the songs actually have a storyline to them and we have found that works well for us – not just in writing lyrics, but in the mood and melody of the music  itself.  

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?
James:  The name pretty well fell into our laps. We wanted something that would reflect the style and theme of our music.  At the time we created the band Andrew and I were listening a lot the band Estatic Fear. The third track on their first release Somnium Obmutum is titled “As Autumn Calls” and we thought that name sounded good and so it stuck in our heads.   

5. Has the band been able to play out live or is this a studio project?
Andrew:  So far we haven’t played a live show.  The band started out as just James and myself and was only intended to be a studio project.  We never even entertained the idea of adding other members and playing live shows back when we first started.  Now that we have added Darren and Brendan to the lineup, playing some shows is definitely in the future.  It’s hard to say when this will happen, how many shows we might play, or how far from home we’ll venture, but we’ll turn our focus to live shows once we’ve finished recording the album.  Our label has suggested on a few occasions that we make the trip to Germany to play some shows, but I don’t think that is in the cards just yet.

6. When can we expect newer material?
James: That’s a good question. Our intention is to record and release the new album “Cold, Black & Everlasting” sometime in early 2013. At this point I guess it really depends on the release schedule of our label. 

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of doom/death metal?
Andrew:  We’ve been getting some really good feedback now from a lot of people and websites overseas.  We’re probably better known in areas of Europe and South America than we are in our home town!  We are hoping that will change when we finally play some live shows, but we really appreciate all of the great reviews and kind words we have received from people all over the world.  And we’re hoping our next album will reach even more people because we feel this will be our best release to date.

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?
James:  Our drummer Darren is involved (not as a drummer) with two amazing bands, Finnr’s Cane and Wolven Ancestry. He’s involved with a few more but these are the big ones. Andrew and I have a side project with a couple really talented musicians called Forodren which is a kind of depressive/folk black metal mix.  We will be releasing our debut full length sometime in 2013.

9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
Andrew:  We haven’t really defined our musical path after ‘Cold, Black & Everlasting’.  All we have discussed is a completely different way of writing the music that will better draw from all of our different musical influences and backgrounds.  So it’s probably safe to say at this point we have no idea where any future album will take us.  We don’t want to be a band who limits ourselves to one sound or formula for albums.  Whatever we come up with, it will still be in our style and sound, but will probably even be a surprise to us!

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
James:  I think for both Andrew and I bands like Agalloch, Estatic Fear, Katatonia/October Tide, Opeth, Saturnus, Morgion, Swallow the Sun, My Dying Bride, Draconian, Shape of Despair, Anathema , Forest of Shadows and Empyrium have been a major influences on our music. I could go on and on since so many different bands of various styles have inspired or influenced us in various ways.  
For me personally I’m listening to a lot different stuff but if I must name a few I’d say Agalloch, Empyrium, Saturnus and Loss  are always within reach as well as a lot of really good underground stuff that ranges from doom, black metal to dark ambient/neo-classical.

11. Does Paganism or Occultism play any role in your music?
Andrew:  No, not at all.  The music for us is just about the music.  There is no role played by any type of belief or ideals within the band when it comes to the writing lyrics or music.

12. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
James: Not a whole lot. My family first and foremost.  I’m a huge F1 race fan, I enjoy watching the Discovery and History Channels and I enjoy drinking beer.
Andrew:  I’m also a big fan of beer!  Family is definitely first for myself.  I’m also into a variety of sports, as well as hunting and fishing.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Andrew:  We just want to thank everyone for their support so far and we can’t wait to unleash the new album and get some feedback on ‘Cold, Black & Everlasting’.  We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

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