FEMME METAL

 

 

 Interview By Marc "Peston" Sels

 

 Whyzdom is a French symphonic metal band with classical influences. They are a twelve men strong ensemble (six bandmembers and a choir of six). In 2008 they released an EP called "Daughter Of The Night" followed by a cd in 2009 , “From The Brink Of Infinity”.

I had a talk with founder-member and guitarplayer Vynce Leff.

"From The Brink Of Infinity" is out now. How is the response?

Well, the response is very good. It's really great to get messages from all over the world from people who love "The Brink..." and well, it seems that the first pressing was sold out less than one month after the release date, wich is a very good sign.

When you're on the road, you travel with how many people? And doesn't that cause problems? (Food, transport, sleeping etc...)

During our tour with Delain (Dutch gothic band, M.S.) we were 7 people : Six musicians + one sound engineer. We could put everything in a mercedes vito, drumkit included, haha. But honestly, it was a pain to compress all our stuff in a single car every day. We don't have enough money to rent a real tour bus. In Belgium, for the Metal Female Voices Fest, it was a bit different. Wieze is not too far from Paris, and we were 15!!! We had the Dark Whispers Choir with us (6 singers), plus our stylist from Les Creatures Vultus and his assistent. It's quite a lot of people! We took 4 cars to transport everyone plus our instruments. The guy from the hotel ran crazy when he saw everyone arriving at 1:00 a.m. At the same time, ha ha! So, as you can see, it's very important to be very methodical in organizing such travels.

Télya Melane is also an actress. Aren't you afraid that one day she'll have to choose between the screen and the scene?

I don't think Telya will ever make a definitive choice. She loves both and I think she will be able to continue whatever happens. She will just find a way to share her time between the two activities. Anyway, for many metalbands, it is necessary to have several activities to earn some money – so I think that the problem is similar for all metalmusicians.

How was the tour with Delain?

It was really fantastic. We had such good times with them on the road. We shared their joy, their stress. It was a huge human adventure. The audience in every city was amazing, and they welcomed us very nicely, singing, shouting, screaming! One of our best memories is when Delain asked us to come on stage again with them at the end of the tour, in Paris. It's really one of the best moments in my musicians life.

Have you (or any other bandmember) some weird habits before the show? (I know a footballplayer who won't play if he hasn't touched the grass before the match!)

No, nothing weird. We kiss and hug eachother, then get ready to start the show. It's a stressful moment, especially when we have a very short time to install everything on stage (and we have to do it ourselves), so we just need to focus and be sure that everything is ready.

 

How would you describe Whyzdom's music?

Whyzdom's music is based on the orchestra. Of course, it is metal music, but guitarlines are intertwined with the orchestra. "symphonic metal" is really appropriate, because it's exactly that. You could add "female-fronted" of course, since we have a female leadvocalist. We try to express different emotions through the music, quite dark in fact... but always with some hope in the lyrics, as well in the harmony itself. One day, a friend came to one of our concerts, and there were several metal bands playing. The first thing he noticed, was that all the bands were playing "dark" harmonies (minor mode) and that we were the only band to propose "mayor mode" harmonies to reflect that hope.

What are your influences, and your favourite bands?

Of course, all of us listen a lot to many metal bands. From Iron Maiden to Dimmu Borgir, from After Forever to Therion, the list would be too long...I think that there is one common taste for all of us : we all are fond of progressive metal...and I think that is something you can hear in "Brink". It's no surprise, by the way, that I can see in some progressive forums throughout the world that progressive fans got interested in our debut album.

From tyhe orchestral viewpoint, I would say that I love the romantic period and the comtemporary period. From Beethoven to Ligeti, from Berlioz to Ravel, Saint Saens, Wagner...And on the contrary, I don't like too much the classical and baroque periods...except Bach and Vivaldi.

Can we see you on the summerfestivals in Europe?

Well, we would like it. We sent some cd's throughout Europe and we hope we'll get some results soon.

And what can we expect in 2010? A new cd? Extensive touring?

We are in the process of organizing a French tour (spring 2010). At the same time we are working for the next album.But don't expect it to be ready before 2011 !!

How is the metal scene in France? Are there any bands you think are gonna break through?

Metal music is very underground in France. It's very difficult for any French band to break through...there are excellent bands though, that could make a name for themselves outside from France : Gojira, Dagoba, Eths, Adagio...and we hope that Fairyland will meet a great success with their latest album "Score for a new beginning", wich is a very good symphonic metal album too.

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Links

Whyzdom Official MySpace

Whyzdom Official Site

 
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