Country: Italy Genre: black / gothic metal Questions: H. Answers: Cadaveria Number of questions: 18 ČESKÁ VERZE ZDE Odkazy: web / facebook / twitter

Greetings to Italy! If you don’t mind, I’d start with maybe a little tougher question. You released new edition of your latest album circa two months ago so the very first question just suggests itself – why did you decide to do it? I of course know there are two bonus songs but… well, I’ll dare to be honest – despite I like the band’s music and “Horror Metal” as well, I’m not sure if I see a reason in releasing the album for the second time in a year after the original version just because of two bonus songs. I would definitely understand it if the original edition was already sold out but as far as I know it’s still available – at least here in the Czech Republic…

Yes, there are still one or two hundreds of copies around, coming from the very first print, but they are scattered among the European distributors and however they are not enough to cover the constant request of copies the band gets from the web. We have a handful of live dates planned till the end of the year and we needed more copies to sell at the concerts, so our label planned a new print. I don’t see anything strange in adding two bonus tracks, instead of reprinting the same version. This has enriched the album and people buying this new version can enjoy some extras.

The second question will be a little bit similar – why did you decide to remade “Whispers of Sin” and “Hypnotic Psychosis” into new versions? Those “Ancestral” and “Chaotic” remixes are great but I personally haven’t had any problems with the original versions as well… were you unsatisfied with the original versions, or did you just want to provide a new view on those two songs?

We spent two years in pre-production, recordings, mixing and mastering “Horror Metal” and we were completely satisfied by the final result, released in January 2012. But having your own recording studio allows you to do new experiments and this is what we did with these two remixes. This is how artists shall work, being free to rehash their creations, manipulate and joke with them. In particular the beginning of the original version of “Hypnotic Psychosis” contained some 90s and New Wave reminiscences, you know. I was curious to see how this songs would have been if I have sung it in total growling. This is what I did and I think the result is really cool. So no afterthought, in fact we didn’t replace the original tracks but added two remixes. We are surely not the first band doing this, so I see nothing extraordinary or transcendental in it.

Another reissue coming just in a few days is the new edition of the band’s first album “The Shadows’ Madame” which is of course logical since the record is sold out for a while. However, the second album “Far Away from Conformity” is not so easy to buy nowadays as well… are there any plans to make a reissue of this one too?

Yes, I have a very clear planning of what to release in the forthcoming two years and “Far Away from Conformity” is part of this ploy. I’m thinking about a special edition to be released in 2014, probably on vinyl, with a renewed artwork. We will see…

One last thing that just crossed my mind regarding reissues… we’ve been witnessing the resurrection of LP format in few past years and it seems like almost everything’s being released on vinyl… but as far as I know, any of Cadaveria’s four albums hasn’t been released on LP yet, just CDs, is that right? Do you think it is possible to happen that your albums will be made available on LP one day?

See above.

Okay, let’s talk about “Horror Metal” for a while… there was a gap of five years between “In Your Blood” and “Horror Metal”. Why did it take so long to create and release the album?

We have been very busy with the promotion of “In Your Blood” album. Foreign live dates came just in 2009 and 2010 and at the same time I released the 2nd album from DyNAbyte, my side project, and had to care about some personal stuff as well. So only in late 2010 I was able to be completely focused on Cadaveria new album, even if many guitar riffs have already been written and the most part of the lyrics were ready before. We spent a lot of time in studio, especially to mix the album and to do the mastering and finally in January 2012 the album was released. We worked with no hurry and left the studio only when we were 100% satisfied. Being independent musicians who belongs to the underground scene, we have the luck to be fairly free from marketing rules and from label pressure.

I have to confess that when the cover of “Horror Metal” was published I was quite surprised by that “zombie” image. I guess it might be somehow connected with the album’s title, is that right? However, I haven’t found any concept line in the lyrics themselves so it’s just about depicturing the title?

In fact, there is not a concept behind the album. Each song has its own story and strong identity and none is fully representative of the record to become the title track. We didn’t think about the album title till we finished the recordings. When we listened to the complete work we realized that the main topic, the unique and common denominator was the obscurity, the darkness pulsating in all the tracks. We immediately understood the only possible title was “Horror Metal”, by adopting the definition fans and critics has been given to our particular style since our debut album “The Shadows’ Madame”. Since the decision to entitle the album “Horror Metal” we opted for a very simple cover artwork: a band picture. As I said the idea is very simple, in a certain sense it is a bit antiquated, but on the other hand it is also original, as nowadays many bands use a drawing for the CD covers. Starting from a simple idea, we enriched the picture with an elaborated make-up, that obviously jokes with our image (like we are used to do, reinventing ourselves in every new release) and with the term “horror”. Musically speaking this album is horror-based as it emanates a sinister atmosphere; visually speaking the cover embodies the horror character par excellence: the zombie.

I also noticed that all the band’s members except of you use names of antagonists from David Lynch’s movies as their pseudonyms… why is that so? Is this somehow connected with naming the album (and also the style of the band’s music, as it is written in biography on the website) “Horror Metal”? And why David Lynch? Are you in the band fans of his films? If so, which one is your favourite?

I’m a video maker, I have a degree in history and criticism of cinema and my final dissertation at university was on “Lost Highway” by David Lynch. I love his unintelligible movies, filled with supernatural elements. Cinema is however a great source of inspiration for our music, lyrics, artwork and videos.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few things about yourself… First of all, how did you get involved in music in general and in metal scene? Are there any bands or musician whose work convinced you that you want to be a musician as well? Said with different words – how did your very first musical steps look like?

I always loved singing but I started doing it seriously by chance. My first band, called Marciume, was started for joke, just to spend some different evenings in a rehearsal room instead of in a pub. After some months I met Opera IX guys and I entered the band. I can say music belongs to my soul. I was used to attend live concerts even when I was very young, at 8, 10 years. I went with my father, who educated me to classical music. When I approached to a microphone for the first time I realized I was able to sing in growling. It sounded a bit strange to me, being a girl. Finally I checked out Holy Moses (it was 1992) and I saw that I wasn’t the only one. This gave me a push to trust myself, find my personal way and go on.

The previous question was also asked as a bridge to this one – it’s not a secret that your first important band was Opera IX which you joined in 1992 and which later became one of the best known black metal bands in Italy. However, in those times it wasn’t common for women to be involved in metal music, especially in the extreme genres. How it happened that you decided to become a part of the extreme metal band? The black metal scene was still quite orthodox in 1992… have you ever experienced any negative feedback or attitude because of you were let’s say something unusual?

No, all always went fine. People were surprised discovering there was a girl doing such vocals, but I quickly gained the respect of many fans.

I guess you still receive a lot questions regarding Opera IX in interviews so I won’t bother you with that except of two small questions… if you look back on years with Opera IX, which album do you like the most from your current point of view? I personally still love “The Black Opera” which is probably the best Opea IX’s album ever for me…

I agree with you, the “Black Opera” is the best album Opera IX have ever released, in my opinion.

And the second small question mentioned above… I believe you’ve been asked this many times but have you followed Opera IX after your departure… I mean if you have listened to the records they made since you left? “Horror Metal” and their last album “Strix – Maledictae in Aeternum” were released almost at the same time, just a few days from each other. What is your opinion on “Strix…” (if you have listened to it, of course)?

I just checked a video on the net and I must say it is still 100% Opera IX. This means those guys are quite faithful to their roots, but compared to the path I went through in these last twelve years, it sounds a bit old, boring and poor of innovation.

You sing in extreme metal bands for more than 20 years now. How do you care about your voice? Have you ever attended any vocal lessons? Or do you sing just as it goes?

I took lessons in the past. Actually I do training by myself. I try to sleep well before a gig, not to drink much alcohol. My secret is to be fully concentrated on my performance in order to always do my best to improve and shift my limits away.

You performed some vocals on Riul Doamnei’s EP called “A Christmas Carol” this year which is pretty interesting release I think. How do you like long-running songs just like “A Christmas Carol”? You in Cadaveria have made relatively shorter songs so far… have you ever thought about trying to do something longer?

Riul Doamnei are kind guys and good musicians. It was a pleasure for me to take part to their project. I usually don’t plan the length of my songs. It comes from itself and they last the necessary time they needs to be adequately expressive and meaningful. Maybe tomorrow I will compose a song of 15 minutes, I don’t know. Never say never.

You also did guest vocals in one song on the latest Theatres des Vampires’ album “Moonlight Waltz”. This is another well-known Italian band with female vocalist. One could say that the bands might be a little bit close to each other because of that… is there any friendship between Cadaveria and Theatres des Vampires? How do you like their music?

Well, they asked me to sing some parts on “Le Grand Guignol” track and I accepted with joy ’cause I liked the topic. I’m a fan of this French theatre and its performance. Theatres des Vampires don’t play exactly my favourite genre, but this can be a reason to accept a cooperation. I like to explore new meanders. Anyway they have all my respect as they are working hard to promote their music. I know what it means to play extreme music being Italian.

However, beside those two I know only about one more guest appearance of yours. How do you decide where to guest? If a band asks you for guest appearance, what are your terms or criteria to agree?

I decide by myself, of course. First I must be free from other commitment, you know Cadaveria band comes first. Then there must be something that captures my attention, something magic. Then I must trust the musician with whom I will work. Finally they must not stress me: I take my time to do things and of course I want to review the result.

How does it look with your second band DyNAbyte? The latest album “2KX” was released in 2010, six years after the first record. I guess that your priority is Cadaveria but when do you think some new music might show up?

My priority is to do things in the right way and to dedicate projects the time they deserve. Actually I’m focused on Cadaveria. If tomorrow I will feel myself stressed I will take a break, go on holiday or record a new DyNAbyte album. Surely fans won’t have to wait five years before listening to “Horror Metal” successor. We are already at work on new material.

Okay, let’s get back to Cadaveria. The band is named after you so it might seem to someone who doesn’t know the details as your solo project which is obviously not right because the band has stable lineup of musicians for many years. However, what are the roles of particular members in creative process? I guess that vocal lines and lyrics are completely yours but who is the main composer music? Do you play any instruments and do you compose the music itself as well?

Yes I do write all lyrics while the music is mainly composed by Dick Laurent. He writes the guitar riffs and together we decide the songs structure. Marcelo Santos join us to define the drum parts. Killer Bob usually cares about recording and mixing, while Frank Booth is the master of arrangements. This is the basic formula, but nothing is written in the stone, except the fact I will always supervise all the work.

I’ve got the very last question for you. This one won’t be much original but still might be interesting. What are the plans of Cadaveria as the band in the nearest future (beside “The Shadows’ Madame” reiusse which we already talked about)? Does the process of creating another full-length album already started for example, or is it still too early for that? Thank you very much for your answers and for your time! All the best!

We are actually concentrated on the production of our first ever DVD that will be released next Autumn. At the same time the songs compositions for the new album are going on. We will complete the live activity by the 1^st half of November in order to be free to start the preproduction in Winter. Check out http://www.cadaveria.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/cadaveria for further updates about our activity! Thanks for this interview. Hell yeah!

---