FEMME METAL

 

 

Interview By Robin Stryker

 

 2009 has been a breakout year for Czech gothic metal band, Gate of Sorrow with the release of their highly-acclaimed fourth album "Enter Through The Gate".

Milada Miltáková (female vocalist, cellist and lyricist) has kindly taken time out from preparing for the upcoming Swallow the Sorrow festival to chat with Femme Metal about the band, their new release and their plans for the future.

Welcome, Milada, and thank you for talking with us today!

Hi Robin, first of all I’d like to pass you all the best regards from Czech Republic and of course from from the Gate of Sorrow guys. It's a pleasure to talk with you!

When listeners enter through the gate into the musical world of Gate of Sorrow, what will they discover?

It is not easy question I have to say. Maybe the listeners will discover a little bit different world… full of darkness, pain and pathos but also full of passion, energy and dreams. We have tried to give as much as we have inside us to every tone and every word. We gave to this album the best musical influences and feeling of our self, we do not have only one song writer as we believe that this is it what is giving a special essence and atmosphere into our music and live performances.

How has "Enter Through The Gates" been received by your fans?

We have very positive reaction in many cases but some of the feedbacks are also that our music is very complicated that it is not easy to remember it and not commercial enough but we are much more satisfied with this reactions than with the others because we wanted to make our musical dreams come true without any borders and limits. We wanted to describe by our music inner world which is not easy to see for the first time and where you can always find something new, a new point of view. And we pay our respect to everyone who can understand us because this person is really very close to us even if it is on the other side of the world.

Are there any bands in particular that Gate of Sorrow has been compared to?

Some people are comparing us with such a big names like Tristania or Within Temptation, what we really appreciated but to be honest the answer is not easy for us ... we hear and understand to our music by another way from our point of view, I suppose we are not able to listen our album just by objective way without any other personal influences.

I understand that you are a graduate of the State Musical Conservatory, training that shines through on your soaring soprano vocals and lush orchestration. Tell us a bit about your musical background.

You know, when father plays the violin, mother plays the piano and brother plays the drums you don’t have any other possibilities to stay alive in this space then to do some music too. I’ve started to sing and play the piano at 5 years, later plus violin and cello and then State Musical Conservatory of Brno. Last few years I am trying to concentrate myself just for singing as much as I can. The technical things like scales and exercises seem like a piece of cake if you compare them with learning the interpretation. I have luck on my teachers of singing who are really excellent sopranists; each lesson gives me so much not only for my artist life but also for the personal one.

Fronting a metal band seems like a radical departure from roots in classical music. How did you become interested in metal?

I do not feel it like a radical departure, although it seems like that the energy which you can feel in the middle of a huge symphonic orchestra or choir is not so different… It was so long time ago, I do not remember exactly when but my friends brought me one day Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica and Faith No More albums and the energy was so strong for me that I had no other way then go on with discovering heavy and dark music.

In what ways did classical music influence your approach to "Enter Through The Gate"?

It was a power of melody for sure, a power of noise and silence and specific harmonies (the beauty of "classical posh", elegance and richness) I think. In my opinion classical music is the background of everything and gives you the right base also for your complete musical understanding and perceive the world, but the problem is, that this all you can understand later in your life, sometimes unfortunately too late. 

 

Lest I forget, please introduce us to the other members of the band.

We don’t have any other girls so the men section of Gate of Sorrow is composed by: Roman Turecek - Male Vocals & Guitar; Libor Miklas - Guitar; Bohus Zajicek - Bass; Roman's brother Dusan Turecek - Drums and Ludvik Cihanek - Keys.

Gate of Sorrow had been around for nearly a decade and had already released three albums before you joined the band in 2005. How were you introduced to the band, and what was it like to be the "new kid" in a well-established band?

I think it was something new for all of us because Gate had a female vocal just only as a studio guest before and with me they started to rehearse, create music and perform by another way. I suppose we needed a little time to find the right and common way of musical feeling and composing but now all works perfectly.

Take us back to that day in 2005 when you first met with the guys to find out whether you and the band would be right for each other. What was the process like?

I remember it was in a hot summer and one friend told me that there is a band that is looking for a female singer and gave me "Applicant for a Gilottine" album and due to the specific harmonies, hidden melodies and dark guitar riffs it was love for the first sight.

In addition to providing amazing soprano vocals, you also wrote the dark and often painful lyrics for the new album. Are your lyrics inspired by events in your own life?

Just a little bit, first I am trying to listen. I can say that my strongest inspiration is what I feel when I am listening to our music. I am listening many times and once I start to be able to describe my feelings by words. I like to write by the way of hiding the right sense and describing it by other words.

One of the most lyrically-intense tracks for me is "Behind the Mirror". Can you explain what was on your mind when you wrote that song?

"Behind the Mirror" is about the inner life of our soul which is "behind" our nice face. It is about our daily "coming-out" and telling ourselves real truth even it is not absolutely perfect and positive for our neighbourhood. It is about the daily war inside us.

Which songs are the closest to your heart?

It is not easy to just pick one because each of them are very important for me but "Follow Me To The Other Side" and "Black Sin" have a special sense for me. When I sing this two ones live I have a real problem to control my emotions and voice, this two songs has something uncommon with my life but maybe not in the same sense which I used by words.

You’ve said that your favorite bands are Tristania, Epica and old Theatre of Tragedy. Which artists do you think we would be most surprised to find on your MP3 player?

Oh, I have lots of favourite bands in various musical styles but maybe you can be surprised with Muse, Paul Van Dyke, Carl Cox, Deadmau5. It is not my music for everyday but I can find different energy and atmosphere which also inspires me. And everyday I fall asleep with Soilwork in my ears, that is for sure .

Looking into the future, what will 2010 hold for Gate of Sorrow?

We are expecting many parties in our rehersal room for sure in 2010, you all are invited but seriously we are already working on a new album, preparing Czech and also European tour, new video and also our own festival Swallow the Sorrow in Uherske Hradiste.

Any final words for your fans at Femme Metal?

Thank you very much for such a nice talking, I would like to wish you all the best in 2010 and stay yours in every moment of your life…

Thank you so much, Milada. We look forward to hearing more from Gate of Sorrow in the years to come.

 

Links

Gate Of Sorrow Official MySpace

Gate Of Sorrow Official Site

 

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