Interview By Erwin Van Dijk

 

 We have contacted via mail Carmen R. Lorch, soprano singer of the German Symphonic Gothic metal band Coronatus, in my opinion one of the better bands from the 2009 edition of Metal Female Voices Fest for talking about the brand new album “Fabula Magna” and line up changes .

Some questions about you

Did you always wanted to become a singer?

Actually yes, as I have sung since I was a child. But I have tried many different things, like being an e-guitarist for ten years.

Did you follow any singing lessons and what do you do to keep your voice in top condition?

All my life I have enjoyed music lessons, like guitar and keyboard and I have taken classical singing lessons for nine years. Well, what do I do to keep it going? Okay, I hardly drink and do not smoke, but I wouldn't do that anyway... Regular training is important and enough sleep (since my daughter was born I learned to come along with quite little of it, haha)!

To what kind of music do you listen yourself and what are your favourite bands?

My favourite bands are Pain and Amberian Dawn and I love Krypteria, Evanescense, Within Temptation, Imperia and some of the Nightwish albums. I am very interested in female fronted metal in general and fascinated by outstanding opera singers.

Did you have any other bands before Coronatus and/or are you active in any other bands right now?

I have been a guest singer with Illuminate and Brainstorm. Some of the better known bands of mine were Mighty D., where I also sang, and in the 1990s Fangorn, where I played the guitar, with members which are today with Staubkind.

Is it difficult to combine Coronatus with your personal life?

Sometimes it is! But mostly it is fine. This October (2009) was a bit of a hard month, when we played at the Metal Female Voices Fest plus Metalfest in Germany and were in the studio for the recordings of our upcoming album "Fabula Magna" at the same time! So we had to practise the live stuff of the old two albums, practise the new songs and furthermore I had to finish writing the lyrics and choirs. Last but not least practise with the choir singers!!

And is it difficult to be a metal head in Germany these days?

Here it is not hard, as there are many clubs with tons of live concerts or metal nights in discotheques and in addition to that, shops for adequate clothes. All of that maybe not in every small town, but at least in the bigger ones.

What are your other passions besides music?

Well, spending time with my family. My little daughter is one and a half years now.

While Coronatus is clearly a metal oriented band you have also worked with classical choirs (Heidenheimer Opernfestspiele and the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele), what are the differences and similarities between singing in a metal band and singing in a classical choir?

Regarding the singing style, when I sing with Coronatus, I sing not only in the opera style, but can use stylistic devices of pop and in the new album even rock music. Consequently I can sing with more expression and make our music more approachable to the public. Most of all, I am happy that with a band I can jump around on the stage and interact with the audience, who do not have to sit still like in a classic concert!!

About Coronatus and the Metal Female Voices Festival

How did Coronatus end up at the Metal Female Voices Festival? Were you invited by the organisation?

We applied and we were accepted. But when we were there I found out that some of the organizers already knew us and liked our music and several people recommended us to the organizers.

And what did you think of the festival?

It was absolutely amazing! So great to see all those interesting female fronted bands all at the same weekend. Plus, the organisation was top. We felt very comfortable backstage, which is sadly not always the case when we play a gig.

What is the idea behind the name of the band?

The name is quite old from days where Coronatus even had a male singer. It means "the crowned one" without necessarily meaning the Christian God. Some of the religion based texts about the war of angels ("Volles Leben") and the immolation of a God ("Strahlendster Erster") are still in our repertoire today.

And how would you describe your music?

I am quite happy that the term "female fronted metal" was invented! Sometimes our music is bombastic/symphonic and sometimes it has stylistic devices of pagan/folk metal, like in the instrumentation and in the rhythm. Furthermore, you have to know that our lyrics are English, German and Latin and they are sung by two ladies with totally different voice types.

About song writing, is there one mastermind behind the music in Coronatus or is this teamwork?

It is all teamwork. Most of us are involved in the songwriting. One writes a song and introduces it to the others and then everyone helps bringing it on.

Now let's talk about the new album "Fabula Magna" that was released on 18 December 2009 via Massacre Records in two different versions : the normal and the digipack edition that contains 2 additional bonus tracks.

Can you tell us something about the songs on "Fabula Magna" ?

On "Lux Noctis" and "Porta Obscura" it was like that: certain lyrics just come in our minds in a certain language, which feels somehow correct for the content, very intuitionally. Instead "Fabula Magna" contains true legends from all over the world as well as stories invented by ourselves. When I reflect on our songs now - I have actually not thought about this before - it is clear that the English songs are invented stories ("How Far" and "Josy") and poems ("Flying By") whereas the German songs are mostly based on European legends ("Geisterkirche", "Wolfstanz" and "Der Letzte Tanz" from German speaking regions, "Tantalos" from Greece).

No matter if 'real' legend or invented story, generally water was very much an inspiration for us, so "How Far" and "Der Fluch" (the Flying Dutchman story) are about sea quests for new land, "Der Letzte Tanz" about the death of a mermaid and "Kristallklares Wasser" about a romance between water and fire. "Est Carmen..." is a Latin poem about the power of songs.

And which ones are your favourites?

This is hard to decide because the songs vary so much from each other: some are symphonic, some are rather pagan metal, some are very heavy and medieval at the same time ("Wolfstanz"), "Blind" is a ballad, "Josy" is a mixture between swing/jazz and metal. Momentarily I like "Flying By" very much, because it is a bit of everything and I have not sung it three hundred times yet, haha!

Once again you recorded the album at Studio E with Markus Stock (from The Vision Bleak and Empyrium) and it was mastered at the Finnvox studio. Was is clear from the start that you would record "Fabula Magna" with Markus Stock again or have you considered others as well for this job?

It is important to keep up to date with the sound and always look what can be improved. So we compared with other studios and came to the conclusion that Markus Stock still fits best to us. If we produced the album with someone else, the result would never be the same. We even had him do the mastering this time, instead of the Finnvox studio and are 100% satisfied with the result!

 

 Who is responsible for the art work on "Fabula Magna" and what is the connection between the cover and the songs on the album?

The artwork was done by Lukasz Jaszak who already designed The Vision Bleak albums. On our cover a sexy non reads a book in an ancient library. This was actually our idea, because "Fabula Magna" means 'great story' and relates to the lyrics. Lukasz made it look very gloomy and this atmosphere makes the artwork just as dark as the music and the lyrics are.

How did the press, and more important, the fans think of "Fabula Magna"?

The press gave rave reviews when it comes to the instrumentation of the album, so far. Not everybody likes female voices and by far not everybody likes classical singing. But the ones who do like them, also like Coronatus and "Fabula Magna". As this album is heavier than "Lux Noctis" and "Porta Obscura" were, I had been afraid to loose some of the existing fans but fortunately I have already received letters from fans who prove me wrong.

And what have you done different compared to your last album?

It is a bit heavier and faster than our other two albums "Porta Obscura" (2008) and "Lux Noctis" (2007) and the compositions are more complex without loosing our way. For example, it features vast choirs and lots of violin lines which were played live in the studio and were not played by our keyboarder.

The line up changes

Can you introduce us to the other members of Coronatus and give us a short bio?

Okay, there is our rock singer Lisa Lasch, keyboarder Fabian Merkt, our guitarrists Jo Lang and Aria Keramati Noori, our bass guitarrist Todd Goldfinger and our drummer Mats Kurth. Mats was among the founders of the band. When I joined the band at the end of 2004, together with another female singer who was replaced soon, the concept of the two lady singers was born. After recording our first album, we were accepted by Massacre Records. This made it easier to book interesting concerts and festivals in Germany, Hungary, Romania and Belgium so far.

How did the addition of a second guitar player change Coronatus' music on "Fabula Magna"? And why did you decide to add a second guitar player in the first place?

The guitarist we had on our first cd, "Lux Noctis", was a guest musician, just as the rhythm guitarist on our second cd, "Porta Obscura". Since "Porta Obscura" we do have a steady guitarist too, his name is Jo Lang but he is rather a lead guitarist, plays very good melodies. So we decided to look for an additional guitarist and were glad to find Aria Keramati Noori. He plays very fast, heavy and exact rhythms which fit perfectly to the partly aggressive drums. We wanted to add more pagan metal riffs to our symphonic metal music and with the help of Aria this worked out very well.

What are the differences between the way Todd use the bass compared to Chriz diAnno, who was the bass player during "Porta Obscura"?

Whereas Chriz diAnno played with a pick, Todd plays almost always without pick, only with his fingers! This way he reaches incredible speed, which contributes fantastically to our style with heaviness and attention to detail.

Since Lisa Lasch is the new 'rock' voice of Coronatus, is it necessary to adapt the old Coronatus songs to her voice and singing style?

Up to now, we had a new rock singer on each of our albums, so Lisa Lasch is our third rock singer. (My classical voice is combined with it on every album.) When we look for a new rock voice, we pay attention that the new lady has about the same range as her predecessor, so we always have to change only one or two lines, which is almost nothing. Lisa's voice is a bit lower-pitched than Ada's voice was and more rock-alike.

Lisa Lasch is the latest member of Coronatus and your colleague on stage. Why did you and the band choose her to replace Ada Flechtner?

Lisa has a great, voluminous rock voice, you have to hear her! Plus, she has the right attitude for the band, because of all work hard for Coronatus. Of course, it is an advantage that she lives near by.

What are the differences between your voice and style and Ada’s?

Apart from the fact that I sing in the classical style and Lisa sings (and Ada sang) in the rock style, Lisa sings (and Ada sang) lower-pitched as I do. Lisa even sings lower than Ada did (but has a more voluminous voice) and rather as low as Viola Schuch on "Lux Noctis" did (but sings heavier than her).

What are the highlights for you with Coronatus?

I like club gigs but the atmosphere at big concerts (like ours with Within Temptation e.g.) or festivals (like the Metal Female Voices Fest and Rockmaraton in Transilvania) is very special.

And what are your favourite Coronatus songs?

On the album "Lux Noctis" I like "Ich Atme Zeit" most, which is a ballad with heavy parts and choir, on "Porta Obscura" this would be the catchy song "Mein Herz" or "Fallen" which is also very popular with our fans and on "Fabula Magna" I do not know yet, because the songs are so diverse and everyone unique in its kind!

What are Coronatus’ plans for the future?

We are just working on a video clip. It is our first one and has been a big dream of ours. Furthermore, we want to play more festivals and support gigs.

For most bands a new album means a new tour? Are you planning a new tour to promote the album?

We are absolutely eager for playing the new material live! We are looking for a suitable support tour and hopefully lots of festivals - last year was a step in the right direction, with the Rockmaratons in Hungary and Transilvania (Romania) and the MFVF in Belgium.

And the last question: is there anything the reader should know that I have not asked?

Check out our website www.coronatus.de and submit to our newsletter or MySpace-blog. They will keep you up to date and inform you when our videoclip is ready or when we will come near your town! On our website and MySpace you will also find the impressing photos of the MFVF you took, Erwin. Thanks for the interview and everyone else, thanks for reading!

And a last word from Carmen:

By the way, Coronatus will contribute a song to an upcoming Femme Metal sampler. I do not have any further infos about the release date, but I thought I inform you. It is from our new cd, "Fabula Magna".

 

Links 

Carmen R. Lorch Official Profile

Coronatus Official MySpace

Coronatus Official Site

 

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