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Forum officiel bilingue du groupe de Gothic Metal Norvégien Trail of Tears
 
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Adriana

Adriana


Messages : 201
Date d'inscription : 2009-04-12

Band interviews Empty
PostSubject: Band interviews   Band interviews I_icon_minitimeSun 7 Jun - 16:59

Use this topic to post Interviews with TRAIL OF TEARS with special focus on BLOODSTAINED ENDURANCE Incl. Future tours &Festivals.

http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/

file under Gothic metal

After two years of waiting Trail Of Tears is coming with a new album, which will be very important for the nowadays female fronted metal scene. A new book, a new story and a new start will be made with ‘Bloodstained Endurance’. Of course the new start was already made some years ago, because of the fact that singer Ronny had to search for new bandmembers. At this moment Trail Of Tears has a steady line-up as never before and the band is ready to conquer the metal world again. I spoke with frontman Ronny Thorsen about ‘Bloodstained Endurance’, the current line-up and the promotion that comes along with their sixth studio album.


A new book, a new story and a new start for Trail Of Tears. How are you feeling right now at the start of releasing the new album ‘Bloodstained Endurance’?
We are pretty stoked about it to say the least! We worked on the album for quite a while now, seeing that it was completed at the beginning of the year, but it still sounds great to us and we all still listen to it regularly, something that (at least for me) is rather unusual. In the past I tended to put the album aside for a while when the recording process was finished, but this time I couldn’t. I think we have not only succeeded in making our best album for now, but there is also a feeling of overcoming something bigger and I feel that we have managed to create something very special.

From May 27nd to June 2nd we see several release dates across the world, yet none in South America, Asia or Australia. Since Trail Of Tears has been around for many years and is a well known band, will your album be distributed over there as well or are you still working on that?
All our previous albums have been available in those territories and I expect that this will goes along with ‘Bloodstained Endurance’. For those markets we have always relied on license labels, for example Hellion and Icarus in South America, Oz Productions in Mexico, Marquee in Japan and so on. License deals need to be agreed for those territories, which should be solved in the near future.

This might be one of the most important albums in the band’s career. It can be regarded not only as ‘just another album’, but also as a sign that the band is back after the line-up issues from the past years before you came to the current line-up. Did the band feel any extra pressure for that?
I think that a certain amount of pressure is always good, if not necessary, in order to create a great album. It makes you focus and concentrate and it makes you go that extra mile. On the other hand it is important to remember that we are only talking about music here, its not like we are going to join the first human expedition to Mars, or be sent out to save the world for that matter. The most important thing is the pressure we put upon ourselves to make the best album that is possible. If our own goals are met then the only thing we can hope for is that as many people as possible like the album too. In my opinion the end result tends to weaken when bands start to over-analyze things or deliberately start to make music that they think people expect to hear, because no matter what you do, there will be lovers and haters out there and the day that you start to think that you can satisfy the entire world, well that is probably the day that you should stop making music together.

The new line-up has been together for two years now, and some of the ‘new’ members have participated in the song writing on the new material. Which specific influences have they brought into Trail Of Tears, and which songs are good examples of that?
It is hard for me to point at specific influences, because as it has always been (in the past and present) that we have never sought influences directly elsewhere; it does not mean that we didn’t got influenced by surrounding things, but it’s more on a subconscious level than anything else. I could be struck by a facial expression on the way to the store for all I know but it doesn’t hit me there and then. And it’s not like we sit down and say; ‘Hey, we need a Motley Crue riff in this song’, even if we like to crank up some Crue and drink some beers haha! I think what separates us the most from other bands is that we are sometimes comparing to the fact that we grew up with bands like Priest, Wasp, Ozzy, Maiden and Slayer. Even though I was a kid at the time, those bands were the ones that made me wanted to play in a band myself and naturally that must have had some kind of effect or played at least some kind of role leading up to where we are today and how we sound. It is the same with the rest of the band; we are metal children as opposed to a lot of other musicians in this ‘genre’ who grew up more with Sisters Of Mercy, Dead Can Dance and other kind of bands.

Norway has some fine studios and very experienced producers, yet nevertheless you recorded it all in Marseille in France, and had it mastered by Mika Justila at the Finnvox studios. Why did you decide to do it this way?
Well, at least the producer is Norwegian haha! What can I say is that we love it over there; this is the third album we recorded in the Soundsuite studio and the results are better each time. I believe that a band needs some kind of continuity in order to establish a great result and a lot of bands make the mistake of changing studio for every release unless the result is perfect at the first attempt. For us, Soundsuite and Terje Refsnes worked out just great; he understands our music and our people in the band on a more personal level and we feel extremely comfortable there. It also helps a lot to travel to another country in order to record, because we can put all other aspects of our life on hold for the duration of the recording and concentrate 100% on making the best album as possible. It feels more creative when you know that you don’t have to be somewhere else a few hours later. And of course, for a bunch of frozen Norwegians it doesn’t hurt to be a couple of months in the south of France, haha!

Trail Of Tears may have a female vocalist, but you are most certainly not a gothic metal band, although you have some elements of course. Especially on the new album the band brings together various styles, though it all fits together just fine. Aren’t you a bit afraid that the versatility might work against you in these times of people sticking often to one genre because of the vast amount of bands?
Even though I’m certain that the versatile approach in our music might alienate some people, we simply can’t allow ourselves to think like that. It goes back to what we talked about and the fact that you can’t satisfy everyone. As you mentioned, we bring in various styles in our music, but it fits together just fine and that is how all the good music is born. If people find it too much to handle then they have a billion other bands to listen to. We prefer to be trendsetters rather than followers and we refuse to reduce ourselves to an average ‘sounds like any other band’ for the sole reason of gaining fans. Where would music be today if bands and artists didn’t dare to combine elements and try out new things? There would not be metal without rock, there would not be rock without blues and so on and so forth. Look at the evolution of music for the past hundred years; the sole reason for the development of music is an artist’s willingness to explore new territory and combine new elements. If you pick apart our music you will find a lot of familiar and well-used elements, but it is the way that we combine these elements that set us apart.

Many labels have decided only to promote a band when there is a new album, also because of the costs and the declining numbers of sales. Napalm is no exception to that. Now that there is a new album, anything special you have planned for the release of ‘Bloodstained Endurance’?
I think that it’s a natural thing for record labels to focus on promoting only when a band releases a new album. It’s all in the name really, record label or record company. Their job is to put the record out and make it available for people; the rest of the job is really up to the band or their management (if they have such a thing). The best way to promote a band between releases is to tour and that is something that we are going to focus on as much as possible as soon as the album is out. So we don’t have anything really special planned; we’re doing as much as promotion we can prior to the album and then tour our asses of when ‘Bloodstaind Endurance is released.





Why was the song ‘Bloodstained Endurance’ the right title track for the new album?
More of a coincidence to be honest. I had all the song titles ready before I decided to choose the album title and one of them was ‘Bloodstained Endurance’. I chose the title, because it represents a strong link to the band and it’s history and I thought this would be a fitting description of the album and the band situation in general. Not necessarily, because it is the best or most representative song on the album.

Funny thing is that all the other musicians play in other bands, where as it is Ronny in charge of Trail Of Tears. Have you never been tempted to do something like that for yourself, like singing in a band in a totally different style without having to worry about all the other things that come to this (besides your guest vocals on Tristania of course)?
Sure, and I have done a fair share of work with other bands in the past; I did the third Tristania album as you mentioned and I did the first Scariot album and the Blood Red Throne demo and some parts of their ‘A Taste for Blood’ mini CD. I have a problem finding time for it though, Trail takes up such a huge part of my time, seeing that I take care of all the non-musical aspects of the band like managing, booking and all kinds of communication and correspondence etc. I have a couple of things coming up and without revealing too much I can say that it will definitely be different from Trail. I don’t know if it will be done next year or in two or three, right now it is only Trail Of Tears that counts.

What would be your five key words to describe Trail Of Tears and the new album in 2009?
Dark, disturbing, overwhelming, angry and beautiful.

So far the live shows coming up are all festival gigs; the Rock City Open Air in Fetesti Romania in August, Metal Female Voices Fest VII at Wieze Belgium in October and last but not least the new festival Tattoo Fest Twente in Nijverdal Holland which is set to take place in November. Is the band perhaps also working on a club tour to support the album, or will you focus mostly on festivals in the weekend due to your weekly obligations (work)?
Yeah, we are focusing on festivals for now, simply because that is what is coming up next and we have added a couple of more, like Hard Rock Laager in Estonia in July. More festivals will follow soon and of course we’ll tour much more extensively than that. It’s just that up until now the album has been the only focus and yes we are dependent on working outside of the band, but at least we have pretty flexible jobs and if problems occur then fuck work. You can always get a job, but an attractive touring offer is not something that comes knocking on your door too often if you keep turning them down.

Originally it was intended to do some release shows in the Netherlands early May, yet this did not happen in spite of the announcements made for two shows, Roermond and Arnhem. Since we are a Dutch magazine, can you explain to our readers in short why these concerts could not take place?
The explanation for this is easy; the venue owner in Arnhem was simply not able to read his own calendar and so he double-booked. When he managed to separate numbers from each other he discovered that he had promised this date to another band and consequently cancelled the agreement that he made with us. There was no possibility for us to travel from Norway to Holland in order to play one club show and so we agreed with our good friends in Roermond to keep this agreement for a later time. We were looking forward to present some new songs live, but what can you do? Unfortunately there are a lot of people in this business who should never had set their foot into the scene.

Since the band has a very stable line-up for almost two years now, I think it is safe to presume that finally you can focus on the future again, especially now that there is an album with this line-up. What are the band’s ambitions for the future?
Our ambitions are to continue pushing ourselves, create great music and work hard, determined and goal orientated in order to reach as many people as we possibly can. There is a newfound enthusiasm and a new level of energy within the band and we are going to take the band as far as we possibly can. This is something what we really love and the more people we get to climb on board, the better it is.

Any funny anecdote from the past two years which actually describes pretty much what Trail Of Tears is about?
Haha...where do I start and how much time do you have?! I think the funniest episodes are the ones who you should have been there to experience, they kind of loose their meaning for people who didn’t experience it for themselves or the whole thing tends to be very internal. We have a pretty weird humor and everyone who has shared a tour bus with us will definitely confirm that ;-)

All the bands always state in interviews that Holland is important to the band, but for your band we can say in all honesty that it is true. You started out on a Dutch label (DSFA), your weekend mini-tours are often in the low countries, you are on the prestigious Metal Female Voices fest for the second year in a row and you have some real friends over there. Anything missing over here that you would love to come true for the band?
You’re absolutely right! I honestly think that there are not many Norwegian metal bands that have played more shows in Holland than us. Our first show ever outside of Norway was at Doornroosje in Nijmegen in late 1998 and ever since we have returned many times and have played all over the country. My grandmother is Dutch and I always say that Holland feels like a second home to me, in a way I have more friends in Holland than here where I live in Norway and it only gets to prove that real friendship has no borders. There is not really any specific thing that I can point at that I feel is missing, but we would of course like to build an even bigger fan base in the country, as well as playing on some of the bigger festivals. We already played at Dynamo Open Air so nothing is impossible haha!

As a last question; When ‘Bloodstained Endurance’ will be in the stores what’s the first thing that you will do?
Sit back, lower my shoulders, take a deep breath, pop open a beer and blast that fucker until the speakers scream!
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WorldOfGlass

WorldOfGlass


Messages : 8
Date d'inscription : 2010-05-30

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PostSubject: Re: Band interviews   Band interviews I_icon_minitimeFri 11 Jun - 19:03

Got an interview with Bjorn Turn
For sure gonna talk about the upcoming album Mr Green
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Adriana

Adriana


Messages : 201
Date d'inscription : 2009-04-12

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PostSubject: Re: Band interviews   Band interviews I_icon_minitimeTue 15 Jun - 19:36

Oh cool. Looking forward to read it Wink
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WorldOfGlass

WorldOfGlass


Messages : 8
Date d'inscription : 2010-05-30

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PostSubject: Re: Band interviews   Band interviews I_icon_minitimeSun 14 Nov - 21:34

I just posted the interview Razz http://worldofglass.forumotion.com/exclusive-interviews-for-world-of-glass-f141/interview-with-bjorn-erik-nass-from-trail-of-tears-t1400.htm#30425
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Angellore

Angellore


Messages : 175
Date d'inscription : 2009-04-09
Age : 39
Localisation : Lyon, France

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PostSubject: Re: Band interviews   Band interviews I_icon_minitimeSun 21 Nov - 17:53

Great i was about to paste it ^^
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PostSubject: Re: Band interviews   Band interviews I_icon_minitime

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