Andrew's Interview for Words of
Metal (Brazil)
In the early years of Paramaecium (Silent Carnage demo), the sound
used to be more death metal than doom. Why the change?
After our demo I adopted a completely new lineup, initially working
solely with Jason De Ron, and we were basically at a stage where everyone
was doing either thrash or death metal and we wanted to experiment with
more emotional forms of music like doom which was an emerging entity
in the early 90's.
You were one of the firsts bands to use female vocals, after that
too many bands did the same but without the same quality. What do you
think about it?
It's become a trademark of our albums - something people expect and
it's an effect which again added something new which hadn't been done
a great deal before. We have a preference for trained sopranos and will
keep using them in the future. Many other bands will use regular female
singers which I think does not provide the grand emotions produced by
an operatic soprano.
Paramaecium changed formation many times but the sound remains the
same. What's the secret?
I usually keep close control of production with each album, making
sure that no two albums sound alike but that elements of our music and
riffs tie into previous albums. That way, there's a continuity of the
music even when different musicians are on board.
How did Seventh Angel's Ian Arkley join the band?
I met up with Ian on a trip to Europe and stayed with him and his family
in England. We instantly hit it off, we worked on song construction
together while I was there and later flew him out to Australia to record
on our third album. The results were great.
After two excellent albums, even so, you had to release the third
album independent, without a label, it's revolting. Why is that?
We've never actively sought label interest in terms of record contracts
but have preferred to release our music at our own pace and then to
approach labels with the intention of having them license our CDs for
a particular market. That way we retain creative freedom, can work at
our own pace, and can essentially shop around each album to find the
best companies to work with each time.
Some people say that doom metal is the most difficult style to compose.
What do you think about it?
I think it can be as simple or difficult as you make it. The great
thing is that with some forms of doom, such as the very slow styles,
it's easy to just explore ideas one note at a time. Even a beginner
can make a relatively good song this way. As you ind your way you can
produce more layered or emotive styles, involve more instruments such
as violins and cellos, and build it into something wonderful.
Some of your lyrics, like "I'm not alive" and "The
grave my soul", are melancholic but even so positive. How do you
write?
With the lyrics I'll often begin with an idea, write a portion of the
lyrics, then we'll select the riffs which suit the story and mood of
the lyrics, construct the song musically, and then finalise or rewrite
the lyrics to fit the rhythmic phrasing of each song.
Your lyrics has a good structure, they are not preaching. Do you think
that bands with preaching lyrics limit their public to christians?
That's possible I suppose. But many in the metal scene will still say
the music should speak for itself regardless of the lyrics. My view
from the beginning was that we would have lyrics which would either
tell a story or inform our fans rather than telling them how they should
live in a preaching fashion. I respect the right of others to disagree
with my views about God, for example, so rather than tell them how I
think they should act, I tell them stories or information based on my
understanding of the Bible and from that they can draw their own conclusions.
After all, I don't think one of our fans would act a certain way just
because we told them to. They have to understand for themselves why
we choose the life we live and only then will they have the capacity
to follow the same path.
Do you think you could change someones beliefs about Christ?
Of course. By informing our fans enough that they become curious about
what our songs mean, they will hopefully explore the matter further
through discussions with us and their own research to attain a better
and clearer understanding of the message of Christ.
Christians that dislike heavy metal think that bands with grunt vocals
are demoniacs and consequently can't reflect about Christ. What's your
opinion?
I understand this view and that's okay. We are often critical of things
we don't understand. I don't believe it is the role of Christians to
defend growling vocals etc to other Christians. It's not a big issue.
If they don't like it, that's fine. We believe it has an artistic role,
and allows us to identify with a culture which is often not reached
by the church.
Is there any possibility to write another novel and record a new CD
based on it, like you did with Within the Ancient Forest?
We are working on a creative project which will link to our music along
these lines. I can't say too much about this yet though.
In your website you said that Paramaecium means a single-celled organism.
Why did you choose this name?
It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm not particularly fond of
the name but with three albums under our belt and another on the way,
it's a bit late to change now.
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