Latest / Ghost Cult Magazine Podcast / PODCAST: Episode 962 - Chris Naughton on Winterfylleth's 20 Years, New Label, and The Unyielding Season

Transcript

PODCAST: Episode 962 - Chris Naughton on Winterfylleth's 20 Years, New Label, and The Unyielding Season · Ghost Cult Magazine Podcast

0:00
Yeah, I guess you're firing on all cylinders and all the guys
0:02
are writing stuff. Then inevitably I think it will
0:05
take a few twists and turns. I mean, I have to sort of, you
0:08
don't have to, but I sort of perhaps I'm the self appointed
0:10
Steve Harris of this whole thing that tries to to bring order to
0:14
chaos and tries to be the kind of filter through which this
0:16
stuff kind of stems. So I guess it will always have a
0:20
sound of what Winterfell is. What's up everybody, It's Kefi
0:30
of Ghost Cold mag.com. I am stoked to be joined today
0:33
by Chris of Winterfeilath. How are you doing again, Sir?
0:36
Very well. Thank you.
0:37
Thank you for having us. Yeah, always, man.
0:39
We talked a long time ago, probably the early teens for a
0:45
print interview when we still had a physical digital magazine.
0:49
And so it's great to catch up with you after all this time.
0:53
The new album, The Unyielding Season is coming out via Napalm
0:56
Records soon, and I figured it would be a good time for us to
1:00
catch up and talk about this record right off the bat, right
1:03
out of the gate. You know, this record really
1:05
impresses me as you know, I think the most dynamic record
1:10
the band has ever put out. And you know, so many layers and
1:15
textures and and ebbs and flows that I don't think you've had in
1:19
pieces, but never this prominently before.
1:21
I don't know if this is sort of marked the change on purpose for
1:24
the band or just this material called for this, you know, give
1:27
us a little background on that. I mean, I in, in some ways, you
1:30
know, obviously when you're living it as the artist, I guess
1:32
then it's, it's just been a natural evolution, I suppose.
1:37
You know, the, the band has been almost 20 years together now.
1:41
And I guess you, you get better at doing these things as you, as
1:44
you develop, you know, you go and play lots of shows.
1:46
You go and you know, you, you work with the same guys for a
1:49
while and you, you figure out how it works.
1:51
I guess. So, you know, you, there's lots
1:53
of things that play into it. You know, we had our, our like
1:56
long term bass player Nick leave the band.
1:58
I won't retire really, you know, from from doing stuff.
2:01
And so we have a new guy on base, Mark, another Mark in our
2:05
band as if it was on there was already 1:00 and then a previous
2:08
one before him. So we seem to be, seem to be
2:10
littered with Marks in Winterville.
2:12
But anyway, yeah, Well, so I don't know, there's, there's
2:14
just like 4 guys writing in the band now.
2:16
So Mark, our keyboard player is a great writer.
2:18
Mark, our bass player is a great writer.
2:20
Uh, Russ, who's the other guitar player rather than me.
2:22
And so I think that when you know, you're, I guess you're
2:24
firing on all cylinders and all the guys are writing stuff, then
2:28
inevitably I think it will take a few twists and turns.
2:31
I mean, I have to sort of we don't have to, but I sort of
2:33
perhaps some of the self kind of Steve Harris of this whole thing
2:36
that tries to to bring order to chaos and tries to be the kind
2:39
of filter through which this stuff kind of stems.
2:42
So I guess it will always have a sound of what winter Philip is.
2:46
But then, you know, those guys bring their own stuff in and
2:49
that that kind of coming through the filter of the winter
2:52
Philiphiser, if you like, then you know it's come out like
2:57
this. So yeah, I don't know if it was
2:58
necessarily a conscious thing for it to be as it is, but we
3:00
definitely thought about it. We definitely thought about the
3:02
flow of the tracks and how they all fit together.
3:05
And I think we're just about old enough that the the album still
3:08
has some meaning to us rather than curated playlists and
3:11
things like this. So, you know, we'd like it to be
3:13
the journey of of a body of songs rather than just a couple
3:17
of hits and then there's a filler.
3:18
So yeah, hopefully that all kind of manifests in the final thing.
3:21
And I guess that's what you're hearing in terms of the the ups
3:24
and downs and the sort of twists and turns that are happening in
3:26
the songs this time. And obviously we've added lots
3:29
of different bits into it, keyboards and other things into
3:33
the mix. So yeah, I think, you know, it's
3:34
just the evolution of where we've got to.
3:36
But I'm, I'm glad that it resonates with you.
3:38
I think it's a, you know, I think I feel like it's a good
3:40
one. So I'm hoping that everybody
3:42
else sort of feels that and gets underneath the skin of it.
3:45
Right on. I love the Steve Harris of
3:46
everything. Of course, the 50 years of Iron
3:48
Maiden, which is mind blowing in 20 years of your band, which is,
3:51
you know, an impressive feat in this industry in underground
3:56
metal for black metal. Like keeping a band together is
3:58
so hard. And you've been the, you know,
4:00
the linchpin and, and main focus, you know, for the longest
4:04
time the leader, although, you know, I love that it's really
4:07
the sound has been coalesced for so long and it does feel like a
4:11
like a great concept record. There's, you know, beautiful
4:15
passages and a lot of piano and stuff, kind of, you know, dare I
4:20
say, uh, you know, a little bit of a Pink Floyd in there.
4:23
Not, not in a soft way, but like, you know, in a meaningful
4:26
artistic way that I really appreciate.
4:28
And yeah, I'm sure the mark thing can be played for comedy
4:32
with a T-shirt like, oh, high mark, like The Room or
4:34
something. Oh yeah, but we've had three
4:37
Marks in the band over the years now.
4:39
So yeah, if if you call Mark at somebody in Winterfield, at
4:42
least 50% of people will probably answer you.
4:44
Right. Also a Spinal Tap thing.
4:46
Except not drummers. Drummers are harder as a as a
4:50
bassist. I think drummers are harder to
4:52
find and keep than bassist, but yeah seeming.
4:55
We've done well at that. Simon and myself are the
4:58
original members of the band, so Simon's the drummer and myself.
5:00
And so we started, you know, well, I think more or less 20
5:04
years ago, but I guess our first release was 2007.
5:09
I think the band got together in late 2006.
5:11
So technically we're in our 20th year, but I think realistically
5:15
our proper 20th year is probably next year.
5:17
So hopefully we can do something to honor that.
5:19
Right on. I would love that.
5:20
And you know, I don't know. I know you signed to Napalm,
5:23
which is a favorite label of ours.
5:25
Not supposed to have favorites, but you know, the record that
5:28
you've been around for a long time in the record industry has
5:30
changed so much. So, you know, in terms of like
5:35
choosing a new partner, it's, it's a big decision.
5:38
I often say, like when you get a new job, it's the only chance to
5:40
get a raise and it's the only chance to kind of reset the dial
5:44
for work as a musical artist, as a professional for a band,
5:48
right? It's the same thing as getting a
5:49
new job in the in the regular world.
5:52
And so, you know, I don't know if you know, what did napalm do
5:55
to sort of stand out and and get your allegiance.
5:59
I think one thing that was really important to me was that
6:01
we work with somebody who who knows the band and who cares
6:05
about the band. And, you know, for all the kind
6:08
of good that that being on our previous record label did us and
6:11
stuff, you know, the the kind of day-to-day guy that was running
6:13
that for most of our time who was, you know, we were there
6:17
Sky, Darren Toms, he was super important guy for us over the
6:20
years, obviously signed the ban and helped developers and all
6:23
those kind of things. He left the label about, I don't
6:25
know, three or four months, five months maybe before our last
6:28
album came out. And so ever since then, it just
6:30
didn't feel like it was the same place anymore.
6:32
And you know, that there was not as much investment in our band
6:36
from from the people who were left.
6:37
And I mean, it's sad really. You know, like, obviously that
6:40
label got bought and sold a few times under our kind of tenure.
6:44
So where it started and where it ended up was sort of two
6:46
different things. And so I guess one of the things
6:48
we wanted from from a new record label was firstly, I think, you
6:52
know, more of a sort of a link into where people are.
6:56
You know, the whole point of a label really these days is to
6:58
manufacture records and to kind of get you out of there to
7:00
people on on the sort of the platforms that now exist.
7:04
And so that used to be print media.
7:05
It used to be, you know, radios and sending out physical promos
7:09
and all this sort of stuff to people who play it.
7:11
And now it's much more about engaging with people for better
7:14
or worse in the digital realm. And so, you know, you think
7:17
about a label like Napalm that has whatever it is, 3 or 4, two
7:20
or three million people maybe on its on its YouTube channel, you
7:23
know, I think Candlelight had 27,000 or something like this.
7:26
And so for for underground bands who who you know, and not at the
7:32
top of radio playlists, for example, then you need to kind
7:36
of reach people where they are. And so in previous albums that
7:39
we've done that with some of these kind of great, you know,
7:41
channels like black metal promotions and things like that.
7:43
But then I think now we just, you know, we felt like perhaps
7:47
that the last couple it just we just hadn't reached the sort of
7:50
full potential. We thought the last few.
7:52
Well, I think, I think everyone thinks all of their albums are
7:54
good, but we thought the last few are particularly kind of,
7:56
you know, escalating what the band had become and just weren't
7:59
reaching any further than some of the previous ones.
8:01
And it didn't feel right considering how, you know, how
8:05
the band was sort of doing live and all these kind of things,
8:07
You know, it just felt like we weren't reaching the people who
8:09
want to hear it. So I think what it when it came
8:11
down to working with Napalm was like people who, you know,
8:14
obviously the label started as a black metal label, but then
8:16
people who knew the band who had our had our had some of our
8:19
records, all of our records. I don't know exactly, but they
8:22
knew the band and new songs. And we're excited about talking
8:25
to us about stuff from the discography and stuff from the
8:28
history and things that they followed and where they've seen
8:31
us and stuff. And I was like, didn't feel like
8:32
where we were. So I think that was it really
8:34
you, you get to a certain age and you realize what you value.
8:37
And I think I value loyalty and passion from a label, but also,
8:42
you know, the a willingness to kind of to be invested in what
8:46
you're doing and it not just be another record for them.
8:48
And I know they put out a lot of records, but they've got a lot
8:49
of people working there and they cover a lot of ground in terms
8:52
of different genres and they have a, you know, perhaps a
8:56
wider audience, some of which is probably never heard of our
8:59
band. So all of those things kind of
9:00
collide really into into reasons why you'd want to do it.
9:03
You know, ultimately you could go out on your own and probably
9:04
do an all right job in this day and age, if you've got
9:07
distribution and if you've got the sort of capacity to make
9:10
your artwork and do good videos and things.
9:12
So really, you know, you need the label for kind of the reach
9:14
these days and the marketing power, I think.
9:16
And so I guess we just lean into that a little bit.
9:19
Obviously it's not the end of the world to be on the same
9:21
label as bands like Soterikon and Samuel and like, you know,
9:24
Catatonia and Candle Mask and Wasp and whoever else is on
9:28
there. You know, it's not the end of
9:29
the world for for the opportunities that those things
9:31
bring either. But you know, we just wanted
9:33
someone to to do a good job on it.
9:35
And I think, you know, from my perspective so far it's been
9:37
it's been brilliant. So I'm really happy with the
9:39
choice. Right on.
9:40
Not that we care about such things, but it is worth noting
9:44
that they did get Candle Mask nominated for a Grammy in
9:47
America, which is insane for that band that I have been
9:50
listening to since high school 40 years ago.
9:54
And they got nominated for a Grammy I think a few years back.
9:57
And I was like, wow, how has this happened?
10:00
How like how great for them because you know, the awards or
10:04
whatever, but like they do help with recognition and they do
10:08
help a little bit with streams and things like that.
10:10
One last question for my own vanity.
10:13
I love to ask this industry question, which is do you still
10:16
read reviews and do they matter to you?
10:18
We write like 4 or 506 hundred reviews a year and they do get
10:23
well read and they are some of our most picked upon and shared
10:26
things. But like, is there value today
10:29
when everyone can write a review?
10:31
Are they worth anything to you? Do you take it in D Does it
10:34
affect you? Do you care?
10:36
I'm curious. Sometimes yes and sometimes no.
10:38
Like for example, I read the first interview, uh, sorry,
10:42
interview. First review of our album today,
10:44
Umm, because it's where, as we sit here, I think, you know,
10:48
we're a couple of weeks out from the record coming out.
10:50
And so like they're starting to sort of drip out into the, into
10:53
the sort of online sphere. And I read it and I was like, I
10:56
don't know what I've just read there.
10:57
You've just sort of talked about like track titles and not really
11:01
said anything. And so I think they have value
11:04
if they have something to say. And so there's people that I
11:07
used to, you know, really like, like reading reviews from, you
11:11
know, like people like in it just from the UK obviously being
11:14
from here, people like Dom Lawson and Jonathan Selzer and
11:17
people like that. And you know, all like people
11:19
like Jose Carlos Santos in the days of terrorize there are, you
11:22
know, obviously when people are Alan Avril and people like that
11:26
were doing reviews for like 0 Tolerance magazine in the UK,
11:29
you know, people who when you meet them, they're absolute
11:32
nerds for metal. They've got everything on every
11:34
format from forever and they know everything.
11:37
And so I think like, you know, when someone like that, who has
11:40
such a great frame of reference for for metal in all its guises
11:44
across the years, is saying positive things or is able to
11:48
articulate what you've written and do it in a way that actually
11:52
sort of speaks to you. And it's like, yes, you totally
11:54
understood it. And I think reviews are great.
11:56
A lot of the time I find that like people just regurgitate the
11:59
press release and also that it's just such a busy world now with
12:03
reviews and things like that, that, you know, I mean, you'll
12:06
know probably more than more than most people how many new
12:08
meta releases come out every week, how your inbox is flooded
12:11
with 70 different things or whatever.
12:13
And like, what do you pick and choose to cover?
12:15
Like it's very, very difficult. And so you know what, I'm what
12:19
I'm happy that anyone in this super busy market takes the
12:22
chance to sort of write something about us.
12:24
I also find a lot of the time that it's written by well
12:26
meaning people who are trying to get into the industry but have
12:28
no frame of reference for the music that they're writing about
12:31
and they're just taking something on to do or have an
12:34
experience of doing it. So it's a bit of a mixed bag.
12:37
I like reviews. I read them sometimes about
12:39
certain things that I care about, but also if it's a band
12:41
that I follow in some ways, I don't really even like listening
12:44
to the advanced tracks, which is kind of counterproductive.
12:47
And I want people to listen to my advanced tracks, but like,
12:49
I'm not I'm old school in the sense that I just want to get
12:52
the vinyl and it turned up at my house and me send everyone out
12:55
for a couple of hours and just sit there with a lyric sheet and
12:58
kind of listen through to it. So the whole ritual for me, you
13:01
know, would be unaffected by that.
13:03
I'd still buy my favorite bands record even if it was shit.
13:06
And then I decide for myself if it was shit.
13:07
But then like if it's something I'm on the fence about, I will
13:10
read reviews sometimes. And so I don't know if that's
13:12
answered the question or not, but I think they are a mixed
13:14
bag. And I think if you, if you have
13:17
a trusted source and I think if you kind of go back to the sort
13:19
of like 90s and naughties of like you would just buy
13:22
something if it came from like a certain record label or you, you
13:25
kind of, you know, you understood that like it was
13:27
curated by people who cared. I think the same is true of
13:30
reviews, that there's certain sources that you can get it
13:32
from, whether people really understand the history and the
13:34
context and the, and have a frame of reference for it.
13:37
And it's not just like the icy guitars and the kind of, you
13:40
know, the oh, like this new opus or whatever.
13:43
I'm just like, fuck off, you know what I mean?
13:45
Like so. We get down in the weeds, man.
13:49
Writers. First of all, people who are
13:51
actual natural writers don't always understand critique.
13:54
So they're I love people who love music, right?
13:57
You're clearly a fan. I'm the same way.
13:58
I'll buy a record by my favorite band and if it sucks, I'll
14:01
decide if it sucks to my ears. But a lot I think like just a,
14:05
just like photography, just like music.
14:08
On one hand, the advancement of gear, the ability and the lack
14:12
of barrier to entry. Now where everyone can get a
14:15
guitar, Amazing, Pick up a guitar and play today like the
14:17
world is burning down. Play some guitar, learn some
14:20
tremolo picking and write some black metal songs.
14:22
But just because everything is out there doesn't mean you
14:25
personally should be doing it all.
14:27
So I just I'm always curious about that, if what we do has
14:30
value. And I appreciate your candor and
14:33
if I promise you it turns into the album.
14:36
So, you know, picking it back up about the album, you know, I
14:40
don't know if it was I didn't, I didn't over read the press
14:44
release. Nothing personal.
14:45
We love you Napalm and and your awesome press team.
14:47
But I just listened for myself. I know the history of the band.
14:51
I like the previous albums. I do my own research and I'll
14:54
read the press release sort of right before we chat.
14:57
So I you know, the Unyielding season, like I said, it's got a
15:00
tremendous dynamic range and there's a lot of beauty, there's
15:05
a lot of ugliness. I think this is the best blend
15:07
ever of the band. And I think it kind of reminded
15:09
me of, you know, your fan base will go with you where you take
15:13
them because they trust they have a trust in the name and the
15:15
music you've put out before. So I kind of feel like similar
15:18
to when Opeth stop being strictly black metal.
15:21
I hope this is comes across as a compliment that I mean it to be.
15:24
They were able to transmute what they do artistically and their
15:28
fans mostly came with them. Obviously there's always going
15:31
to be some people like the first thing you did.
15:32
That's human nature. But I really dig how this record
15:36
kind of sums up the career of the band but pushes the artistry
15:40
further for me as a fan and a listener just right off the bat.
15:44
So I don't know if that was conscious or just not.
15:46
I don't know if it's just natural for Thank you, welcome.
15:48
I don't know if it's just cheers, I don't know if it's
15:51
just natural for the band where it's where it's been going.
15:54
But like, I feel like you're not going to lose any fans with this
15:56
album. They're going to only, you know,
15:58
be, you know, appreciative and deep in.
16:00
I'm glad, yeah. I mean, I obviously know that
16:02
there's a sound of what we what we make and who we are and stuff
16:05
like that. And you know, any new winter for
16:07
the album, if if I'm picking up a guitar is going to sound a
16:11
little bit like that, you know, I can't contrive to write like
16:14
somebody else. Like whenever I pick up a
16:16
guitar, like Winterfell is what comes out.
16:18
So it's, it's sometimes, you know, a difficult thing when
16:22
people are like, oh, you know, it's very consistent or blah,
16:24
blah, blah, whatever it is. I'm like, well, I don't know,
16:26
that's what comes out of me and that's what I'm inspired to
16:28
write. So that's why I think it's good
16:29
to, it's good to have other guys influencing it and kind of
16:32
bringing some of their style into it as well.
16:33
So I think that's probably more than anything what's pushed into
16:36
new territories, but also I think just some of the kind of
16:38
like themes and concepts that we've been we've been toying
16:41
around with and sort of working with over these last few albums
16:44
as the kind of the anchor point for it.
16:46
I just think that that helps to focus the mind on on where
16:49
you're trying to head with some of the things that you're that
16:51
you're coming out with musically because you have something to
16:53
say. And I guess there's an element
16:55
on this, one of it being quite an angry album, I think in
16:56
parts. But also then what comes with
16:58
that is like this initial anger and then this more like kind of
17:01
period of reflection. And then it's a bit more kind of
17:03
epic and then kind of grows a little bit into sort of like
17:06
pensive hopefulness, I suppose towards the end.
17:09
And you know, we really had to kind of like make sure that the
17:12
songs flowed in the right way from our from our perspective
17:15
anyway. Obviously everyone got their own
17:16
opinion, but it's like it's got the angry start.
17:18
It's got like a little moment of a breather, the few epic songs
17:21
and then like picks up a bit more towards the end.
17:23
And then there's a kind of like sort of crescendo of the last
17:26
track that's a little bit more hopeful than some of the other
17:28
ones. So you know, as I said, I do
17:29
like to sort of value the album. I think when you've got an
17:32
overarching concept that's kind of fiery to not make too much of
17:36
A pun of the cover, that it does sort of inspire you to kind of
17:40
pick those Nuggets out of the universe that perhaps relate to
17:43
those things that you're talking about.
17:44
And so I don't think we've ever gone into one in a contrived way
17:48
to say we have to write a song that sounds like this or we need
17:50
an atmosphere that sounds like this.
17:51
I think it's just what comes out and then you kind of work on it.
17:53
You know, I have this have this sort of saying to ourselves that
17:56
you can only write what comes out.
17:57
You know, you can't you can't go in and be like, we must have a
18:00
15 minute song that sounds like wolves in the throne room or
18:03
something, because it just wouldn't be that that's what
18:05
they write, you know, and that's what comes out of them.
18:07
And so I have to just lean into what we are, which is just
18:09
Winterfeller. So I think we want that to
18:12
evolve and there to be interesting little things below
18:14
the surface. And I guess if you just hotline
18:15
around, then maybe they sound like Winterfellas.
18:17
But then I also want people to know that below that there's
18:20
like all these layers and this like for example, if you've
18:22
heard it in any detail, now there's loads more like high end
18:25
kind of airy keyboard stuff going on that's got like loads
18:27
of counter melodies in it and all these like bits that if you
18:30
just listen to the riffs, you might not immediately grasp.
18:32
And so there is organic growth there I think as well.
18:35
So I don't know like that's, that's kind of how it transpires
18:39
anyway. So I don't think it's ever
18:41
contrived. I think it just is the sum total
18:43
of all of us at that moment in time and whatever we're sort of
18:45
aiming towards as a concept. Right on.
18:47
I this is absolutely the most nuanced work the band has done.
18:52
And I can't, I'll stand by that. And I also want to say helping
18:55
me with my segue because my next question was also sort of
18:57
lyrics. And again, I really dig that
19:00
sort of again, like historically black metal is so hostile, so
19:04
nihilistic, right, rightfully venge vengeful and rageful.
19:09
But this is so like, you know, I know the word mature kind of
19:13
sounds gross in this context, but mature in a way that like, I
19:16
like that the pensive intuition. I like that resolve.
19:21
I like the philosophical, like I'm learning from my feelings.
19:25
You know, if we just stay in in a box our whole lives about, you
19:28
know, what we're doing, you know, so many of us need therapy
19:31
and mental health counseling. And if we just stay in a box of
19:35
our emotions the whole way, do you ever grow as a person?
19:39
Do you ever grow as an artist? If you just stay doing painting
19:42
with one palette always, maybe that's what you're good at.
19:45
And it's all great black and white, but you know, there's so
19:47
many colors on this record in terms of lyrics and feelings and
19:51
sentiments that I really dig. Thank you.
19:53
I appreciate it. Yeah, I mean, I do care about
19:55
that side of it. And I know that not everyone who
19:57
listens to metal records or our records or anyone's records
20:00
always cares about the word. And so you'll hit some people
20:02
with that and some people you'll miss with that.
20:04
And I think that's fine. You know, we try and write great
20:05
music and great risks and like good atmospheres around it that
20:08
maybe you can feel the sentiment of it even if you don't care
20:10
about the words. But the point of the words, I
20:12
suppose, is as a as a focal point for some of that, that
20:15
anger, that emotion, that whatever it is that we're sort
20:17
of, you know, aiming for at the time.
20:19
And I think with the, I guess quite serious.
20:21
Tone of this album in terms of the, the concept, the artwork
20:25
and how the song stuck up to the overall concept.
20:27
Then you need words that have the gravitas and have the, I
20:30
don't know, the style, the elegance, the, the flow to sort
20:33
of back that up. You know, I, I find a lot of a
20:36
lot of intrigue and inspiration, I suppose from, you know, some
20:41
of the ancient British, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, whatever it
20:45
might be, poetry and writings, because there's a really nice
20:49
sort of flow and language that's used in it.
20:51
But also it always focuses my mind on the fact that like, even
20:54
though we're hundreds, thousands of years later than some of
20:57
those writings, that the underlying struggle of some of
21:01
those things still sort of remains.
21:02
A lot of the time there's still, it's like some army or some
21:05
power or someone's trying to kind of overcome everybody.
21:08
And I think that just is this sort of cyclical part of the
21:11
human psyche that there's always this kind of building towards
21:14
some evil and then people overcome it and then they wanted
21:17
that, you know, then it's peacetime for a while and all
21:19
this sort of stuff. And I think I just like talking
21:21
about it through those terms because there's this atmosphere
21:24
and evocative nature that the music of black metal evokes.
21:27
And I think if you have words that kind of add to that, and
21:29
for the people that care, I think it really adds another
21:31
layer onto that. And you can be elegant and
21:34
intelligent and have something to say.
21:37
Not that it can't be a blunt thing.
21:38
Like I think also there's room for everything.
21:40
But I just want the the output of what we talk about in
21:43
Winterfell to have a bit of that.
21:44
It can be like blunt and it can be like, you know, you or
21:47
whatever. And it can be like, we hate
21:48
this, this idea. And it can be very straight to
21:50
the point. But when you're trying to write
21:52
expansive and atmospheric and moving music, I think it
21:55
deserves you to try and put pen to paper in a way that honors
21:59
that as well. Right on As we wind down on
22:01
time. Of course I have to ask about
22:03
the obvious Paradise Lost cover because Paradise Lost as a band
22:08
I love. I got to interview Old Nick many
22:11
times and, you know, one of the leading bands of the UK in the
22:16
metal scene, and I love the cover.
22:18
I thought it was beautifully placed at the end of the album.
22:20
It's the bonus track officially. But I hope people get to hear
22:23
this if it comes out as a separate release or future thing
22:27
because it's wonderful. And we have a running joke on my
22:31
other podcast about how prolific Paradise Lost seemed to have a
22:35
record every year of the 90s and 2000 early aughts.
22:38
So immediately gave me the giggles and also comfort.
22:42
A great cover, great choice. Thank you.
22:44
I appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, you know where I'm
22:47
from in the UK is a is a small, small medium ish town called
22:51
Huddersfield. Huddersfield is kind of where
22:54
more or less peaceful records is and Halifax and Bradford, you
22:57
know, where My Dying Bride and where My Dying Bride and
23:01
Paradise Lost her from. And obviously peaceful being the
23:03
home of Nathemer and Dark So and everybody else over the years,
23:06
you know, strangely synonymous from this little place that I
23:09
come from, that all that history was there.
23:11
And you know, there is, I suppose, a long history in a few
23:15
of us of do metal as well. So if you people have followed
23:18
our band for a while, then we've always done, you know,
23:20
interesting oddities as bonus tracks or whatever tracks from
23:24
black metal that have inspired us.
23:25
Our bands we'd love when we were coming up.
23:26
And so as a kind of way to do our own spin on their music, but
23:29
also as a kind of homage to the people that we that we
23:32
appreciated that led us to hear on this one.
23:35
It's like, well, we've done the same thing, but we just chose
23:36
Paradise Lost because there is this kind of do metal vein that
23:40
runs through all of us as well. Again, not everyone will be
23:42
super familiar with all of our entire history, but like correct
23:45
prior to on kind of alongside winter Philips, I also have this
23:48
other band called Atavist, which is kind of a Jeff team project
23:51
came out on candlelight and profound law back in the day.
23:54
And then Mark, our keys player, has this project on prophecy
23:58
records that we did that a few of us help him play live in
24:01
which is called art. And so you know, there is this
24:03
kind of huge vein of dune metal that sort of runs through the
24:06
guys in our band as well. And so interestingly, in Mark's
24:09
art project, like the last couple of years we've had Jeff
24:11
singer on drums, he of now Paradise Lost on drums.
24:14
So we don't know. There's just this kind of not
24:17
one reason why we did it, but I think if you sort of roll all of
24:20
those things up, there's a there's a nice kind of back
24:22
story as to why that song would work.
24:24
And obviously, if you know the original Enchantment from the
24:28
Coding Times, which I feel like is probably their most well
24:30
known album and maybe one of their most well known songs, you
24:33
know, it's quite a gothic rock song almost originally.
24:35
And I think that actually what we did with it was kind of drag
24:38
them back towards gothic and sort of do it in a much more
24:40
kind of heavy do metal slowed down style, but with a bit of
24:44
the character of what we do in it, the vocals, the piano, the
24:47
sort of chanted vocals rather than some of the keyboard parts
24:49
and things. So, you know, it was just
24:52
something to sort of test ourselves on.
24:54
And it definitely tested Simon on the drumming at the end, if
24:56
you listen to that last two or three minutes of the oddities of
24:59
those kind of free form fills that he was having to try and
25:02
learn and things. So, yeah, I don't know.
25:03
It was, it was nice for us to do it.
25:05
And I think it was a strangely fitting and kind of emotional
25:08
end to the album, even though it's kind of, it's the last
25:13
track proper in a sense, but it's not the last track of our
25:16
album. If you like, you know.
25:17
Right on Jeff Singer back in, as I mentioned, drummers again,
25:20
hard to keep, but sometimes you get a good one.
25:23
Boomeranging back to you Chris, just a pleasure to talk to you
25:26
today. Thank you for breaking this all
25:27
down with me and I really appreciate you.
25:31
The Unyielding Season comes out from Napalm Records March 27th,
25:34
so it will be out by the time you see this.
25:36
All the links will be in the description where you can find
25:39
Winterfell it material by the vinyl by All the things.
25:42
Please go see your bands on tour and I hope to talk to you again
25:45
sometime friend. Thank you.
25:47
Thanks. Thanks for having us.
25:47
I appreciate that. See you next time.