Eye Of Solitude Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Sure, on the 25th of June, we have released a brand new album,our second full length entitled "Sui Caedere" released by Kaotoxin Records (Fra),have digitally re-released our  sold out self titled EP and we're getting ready for gigs with a carefully chosen set list,which includes songs from our first full length "The Ghost", "Awoken By Crows" EP and "Sui Caedere" album.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous recordings?
Each session has given us more experience,starting with "The Ghost",and ending with "Sui Caedere", which is more mature. The sound varies from funeral doom to death metal, all encased in a sombre atmosphere. The new album sends the listener to a dark place,full of grief, anguish and despair, it's an introspective journey towards one's own self. We've tried to achieve a continuous overture of pain.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?
To answer that we must point that"Sui Caedere" is latin for "Suicide". The lyrics are all about negativity,anguish and despair. Each track is a reflection on life itself and at the same time, a constant struggle with suicidal thoughts, an analysis of what makes a person thinks about suicide and untimately commit this final act. We can say that the tracklist is a whole journey of how it starts, continues and ends. The difference is we have taken the concept a bit further and on the album,we try to immortalise what happens AFTER.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Eye Of Solitude in our vision means the centre point of loneliness. An abstract if i may add. A culminative point when an individuals find themselves surrounded by themselves. A constructive or destructive exploration of mind and soul's " Beyond".  It represents a personal rebirth, but in one's solitude, in emptiness, a high contrast of what one might think the name represents.

5. Has the band been able to play out live or is this strctly a studio project?
We have had several live appearances, thus we are not a studio project. We do not gig a lot,out of various reasons,the most important being the preparation of our live outs. Now, with a brand new album and with a brand new line-up we are prepring a bit more for live shows. Whether it be film projections,stage background,why not live actors,wheere the stage allows it. All these take time and a lot of preparation thus we are waiting for the proper time to unleash it all upon the world.

6. Currently the band is signed to Kaotoxin Records how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?
I met Nico of Kaotoxin in France while touring with my other band Unfathomable Ruination. Nico has arranged a gig in Lille and that's how we met. From there on it's all history hahaha. We got along famously both on a professional and personal level, and it went like that ever since. Kaotoxin is an extremely professional label, the support we got is incredible. Just knowing that someone believes in you as a band is probably the best support ever. All others are just material things.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of underground metal?
Personally, I think "Sui Caedere" has been very well received,both by listeners and media. We have had some great reviews coming from UKEM (https://www.facebook.com/ukemrecords)
and Hymnes Funeraires (https://www.facebook.com/HymneFuneraire) and hopefully it wont stop here.

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?
With Unfathomable Ruination (brutal death UK) we are about to release our first full length under Sevared records (USA). We have recorded with 16 Cellar Studios (Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour Of Penance) and the result is devastatingly good. We've just played a kick ass gig with brutal death metal pioneers Malignancy and friends Cephalic Impurity and Murder Intentions, and for now we are preparing for more gigs.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
We are always pushig ourselves to raise the bar. I must give away one of the insides of the band though haha,after finishing writing "Sui Caedere" I needed time to recover,the sensation is extremely unsettling and it got me towards the end.There is a huge need for mental stability to write over an hour's worth of desolating music. I reckon the next album is going to be even more devastating,more disturbing and unsettling. I can only expect better and better.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I'd rather not give any names only because they would be too many,but for Eye Of Solitude, the main influences are based in doom and doom death styles. Of course, we include various elements in our music,thus it's more of an amalgam of genres,which alltogether make EOS' music what it really is. We try to create music for the soul,from our souls.

11. How would you describe your views on Paganism?
I respect what everyone believes in,some people take belief to the extreme and that would be the negative part in the whole equation in my humble opinion.

12. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
I enjoy most good things in life,i like nature a lot,given the fact that I'm Romanian and back home it abunds in relief forms,especially  mountains,i like animals,both as pets and as wild life forms,I enjoy spending time with all those close to me,my brothers in the bands,and family,but mostly I enjoy making music. It's my life long passion.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
We would like to thank you for this oportunity to share a few words with all of those who have'nt heard us yet,to say hello to our close ones and to have the pleasure of this interview!

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Eye Of Solitude/Sui Caedere/Kaotoxin Records/2012 CD Review

  Eye  Of  Solitude  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death, doom, funeral, gothic, symphonic  and  ambient  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Sui  Caedere"  which  was  released  by  Kaotoxin  Records.

  Drums  range  from slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  fast  playing  or  blast  beats,  while  the  synths  bring  a  very  ambient,  atmospheric,  dark  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  music  as  well  as  utilizing  a  brief  use  of  violins,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  death,  funeral,  doom  and  gothic  metal  together  with  a  good  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  doom  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  add  more  ambiance  and  darkness  to  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  doom/death  metal  growls  to  guttural  vocals  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  paganism,  darkness  and  depressive  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  powerful  and heavy  sound  to it  with some  of  the  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Eye  Of  Solitude  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  death,  funeral,  doom,  gothic,  symphonic  and  ambient  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Awoken  By  Crows"  "Strigoi"  "Totem  of  A  Pagan Thought"  and  "Yet  I  Breathe".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.


www.facebook.com/eyeofsolitudeband

1774 Compilation Tracks Review

  1774  are  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with a  musical style  that  is  dark  ambient  based  on  the  writings  of  Goethe and  this  is  a  review  of  their  compilation  tracks.

  Synths  and  sound  effects  bring  a  very  dark  ambient,  experimental,  avant  garde  and  noise  sound  to  the  music  with  some  drone  soundscapes  in  the  background,  while  the  acoustic  guitars  use  finger  picking  to  give  the  music  a  more exotic  sound  with  the  songs  not  either  being  too  long  or  short.

  Vocals  and  songwriting  are  all  absent  from  this  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental,  while  the  song  concepts  are  based  on  the  writings  of  Goethe,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  2  songs  from  1774  are  great  examples  of  music  from  this  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  them  out.  RECOMMENDED.

https://www.mixcloud.com/henry-bogarde/1774-1774-dark-ambient-neoklassik-inspired-by-goethes-die-leiden-des-jungen-werther/

1774 Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the projects these days?


We’re currently at a musical standstill, since the full-length “Wenn Leidenschaft wütet”, which is the concept album about Goethe’s book “Die Leiden des jungen Werthers” (“The Sorrows of Young Werther”) is completely finished. The focus is now on getting it released properly.



2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new material and how it differs from the older recordings?

Though we’ve been working for a long time on the concept album, and did a few compilation tracks in between, I wouldn’t really say that there have been a lot of changes. The only difference might be that the new material is slightly more abstract.

I find it hard to describe the overall sound of the material—it would probably fit the dark ambient genre best due to its electronic and dark, melancholic nature, although it often is quite light and gentle rather than heavy and smothering. This, combined with the violins, pianos and orchestral pieces on the one hand, and the use of slow, looming drum beats here and there create a sound that in our opinion doesn´t fit the standard dark ambient cliché.



3. I know that the band explores Goethe with the music, are there any future plans to explore any other authors and philosophers?

We had plans to work with one book per release, either from Goethe or someone else, but due to changes in both our lives it is unsure whether the project of 1774 will be continued at all after releasing the full-length album.



4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band name?

It is in fact quite simple. As I just said, we had plans to focus on more books than just “Die Leiden des jungen Werthers.” Initially, however, the entire project instead of just the first release was based on the “Die Leiden…” concept. We therefore chose the name of 1774, which is the year in which “Die Leiden…” was published for the very first time. Note, however, that there are two versions of the book: the initial 1774 version was later edited by Goethe himself before it was published again. Both versions are available nowadays and we’ve worked with both versions for the project, not just with the 1774 one.



5. Has the band had any oppurtunities to do any live shows or is this strictly a studio paroject?

We have had the opportunities in the sense that we’ve been asked several times to perform live, but 1774 has always been and will always be a studio project.



6. When can we expect new material?

Well, hopefully the full-length “Wenn Leidenschaft wütet” will be released in 2012. It’ll be a limited edition digipack with 11 tracks and the playing time will be just over 55 minutes. Some of the material that was already published as a free download (for example, by Kalpamantra) will be on this full-length as well.



7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of dark ambient?

I´m not sure whether all the response we had came from dark ambient fans, but it was overwhelmingly good. In fact, we haven´t received any negative feedback. We´ve also heard quite a few times that people actually had picked up and read “Die Leiden des jungen Werthers”. We feel that it’s great that our music has had such an influence on people and we hope this will continue.



8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this full time?

1774 is far from full time, the pace in fact is very slow. Both of us are involved in more projects than this one and those often receive more priority as well. I, Hæresiarch Sr., am involved in a variety of extreme metal acts, most notably the black metal acts White Oak and Sea of Trees. As,. the other man in 1774, is involved in Sea of Trees as well but his main activities revolve around various kinds of electronic music. Primitive Puss is one of his priority projects.



9. What direction do you see your music heading into during the future?

This is completely uncertain. Even if we indeed will make more music after releasing “Wenn Leidenschaft wütet”, the style it’ll be in will depend on the book we’re working with. We have a few vague ideas of what books we could use, but nothing is certain. Chances are that a new book would be related to war, or more specifically, World War I, and that would obviously result in a more grim and violent style.



10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

There aren’t any specific bands or projects that we use as an influence for our music. In fact, we don’t really listen to dark ambient ourselves. I think that bands or artists that one listens to a lot during a certain period will no doubt leave marks in the music that one composes in that same period of time, but nothing on purpose or that we’re specifically aware of.

I myself (H. Sr.) am listening mostly to black metal, neo-folk, Gregorian chanting and funeral doom these days. As. was unavailable to answer this question for himself, but his tastes generally are extremely diverse and range from (neo-)classical music to an array of modern electronic genres.



11. How would you describe your views on Occultism or Paganism?

I don’t think there’s much to describe here. My (H. Sr.) interests in occultism are limited to its relevance in and for philosophy. Philosophy and occultism have been related pretty much since philosophy emerged (which, depending on one’s definition, is younger than what I would call occultism), but the type and importance of the relationship for philosophy itself has always fluctuated. Consequently, my views on occultism are limited to an academic interest in the subject insofar it can contribute to my endeavors in philosophical territory.

In regards to paganism: this interests me mostly in the historical sense, but I am not knowledgeable about the subject and feel that it is outdated as a religion (as goes for most religions), and I question the integrity and relevance of the actions of many who call themselves ‘pagan’. This, however, is critique against those specific individuals rather than against paganism.

As., again, was unavailable for comments.



12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Philosophy first and foremost, as I am a philosophy student currently. Though I am interested in especially history as well, I hardly have enough time to do anything with this due to my studies and musical activities in other bands and projects. I guess you could say there aren’t many interests besides (my own) music and philosophy.

As., again, was unavailable for comments. Note, though, that as a conservatory student, music plays a very dominant role in his life as well.



13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for your interest in our activities. We encourage the reader to check out “Die Leiden des jungen Werthers” or “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by J. W. Goethe and to enjoy this literary masterpiece. For questions about anything at all, or if you wish to receive free downloads of our material, contact us at haeresiarch [dot] sr [at] hotmail [dot] com. Heil.

Free download 2010: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wvu97ysa87646x4


Compilation material: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?z0ahcoxy1e5emxj