Monday, June 27, 2016

Unlit Face Interview

 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We started playing together in 2009 and had a few line-up changes so far. All current members come from different countries and have different music backgrounds, but we have met in Gothenburg, which is a really cool place for playing heavy music. The idea from the beginning was to play some form of metal incorporating influences from the Gothenburg scene but also from several other styles.
During that first year we released a demo which got pretty good reviews and we could play many gigs around gothenburg. The next step was the EP "Your Truth Lies” which was also received well.

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> 2.You have a new album coming out during the end of June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
The backbone is somewhat the same from the beginning, but we wanted to explore and experiment more, using what each one of us is best at.  At the same time we wanted to revisit some old influences and we wanted to sound heavier. The result is a quite varied record with a strong link between the songs and very clear progressive elements. The guitars are heavier and more detailed, the drums are quite dense, the vocals focus on growls and cleans, and the synths are based on the 70s/80s and more present than before.

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> 3.This is your first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
After the release of the EP we felt like we needed to take a step back to work more on our music and find our own sound. And that’s what we’ve done during most of that time span. We also had some line-up changes with our previous guitarist leaving and Rafael taking over all the guitars for the album.

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> 4.The lyrics on the new album cover a lot of the different mythologies across the world, can you tell us a little bit more about which cultures you have explored lyrically on the new album?
The concept of the album is about the creation of the world and mankind based on several different mythologies. But the approach is not to talk about gods and mythological places and creatures, but rather write in a more subtle way, using one or several stories as inspiration. It was difficult to choose the cultures because there is a lot of nice stories, but in the end the selection is:
Overcoming the Sky – Sumerian
Child of Chaos – Chinese
Failed Creation – Native North American
Three Worlds – Eskimo
Foundation – Slavic
Conception of Souls – Maya
Voice of Thunder – Native South American
Conquering Darkness – Egyptian
Everlasting Transformation – Nordic

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> 5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Unlit Face’?
It is about the parts of us that we hide away, but that can at some point appear in different forms. We all are very complex and can be social chameleons, adapting to the situations. But there are some features in our personalities that are rarely shown to others. Sometimes they emerge in stressful situations, sometimes only in very close relationships and sometimes they are not even morally right or socially accepted, but they are nevertheless part of who we are.

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> 6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We had some nice concerts around Gothenburg playing with some of our friend bands. Our stage performance is quite energetic, with a dense sound, but at the same time we deliver the songs with precision.

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> 7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
We are currently organising the release show in Gothenburg and will play around Scandinavia in the autumn. In the beginning of next year we are planning to go for an european tour. More news will be posted on our Facebook page soon.

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> 8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive and melodic death metal?
So far we’ve released just the video for “Overcoming the Sky” and it has been going very well. It seems that most of the fans are concentrated in Sweden and Europe, but also Brazil since Rafael still has quite tight connections there. Recently we’ve got a few reviews before the album is released and they have been positive.

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> 9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We are quite pleased with the result of the album, although there is always room for improvement. I would say that we will probably continue in roughly the same direction in the near future. At the same time we will for sure add other elements and explore different things in the next album. It will probably be a concept album as well. But it is a bit early to say exactly how it will sound and what it will be about.

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> 10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We are quite broad in music styles that we listen too. All the way from some forms of progressive music to death metal and a lot in between. Some of the influences are Dark Tranquillity, Paradise Lost, Opeth, Machine Head,  Amorphis, but also Karnivool, Animals as Leaders and TesseracT. Lately there has been quite a lot of good releases, but In Mourning, Fallujah, Enshine, Alkaloid and Ihsahn have been looping in our players.

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> 11.What are some of your non musical interests?
All of us work with technology and practice some sports. And all of us are into series and films.
Rafael is very interested in music and keeps digging up new bands and records all the time. He is also into books, specially sci-fi and fantasy.
Roberto is a swimmer. Trains several times a week and also likes to swim in open waters. Traveling is in his top list of hobbies and every now and then plays along some cool bass lines at home.
Tomas passion besides music is cooking. He explorers all kind of cuisines, and is very keen on capturing the original taste from different countries.

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> 12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We would like to thank you for this opportunity and thank everybody who’s supported us so far. We are really looking forward to release the album, start playing live and meet people.

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