1. Hail to the Cult of ESOTERIC! The new album „Paragon of Dissonance“ will be released soon and it is awaited by many. How do you personally perceive the days before the actual release?
I’m looking forward to the album release, and to the gigs and tours that will follow. We completed the album at the end of June, and we were quite satisfied with it, so it will be interesting to see how it is received by others.
2. Do you already have some kind of detachment from the recent record? What are your thoughts on it. Are you thrilled?
Well, it is always the current album that is closest to our minds and hearts after completion, because it is something fresh and most relative to the time and period of life in which it was created. I think we are all fairly satisfied with this album, the song writing and the production. Hindsight always highlights areas that could be improved or done differently and we always try to apply such wisdom to future recordings. It’s impossible to be completely satisfied with any creative work I think, but I am satisfied with the album overall. I think we worked as hard as we could and did our best within the time we had, and that’s all we can really ask of ourselves.
3. You seem to work with deliberation. Meaning that you don’t hurry your work. Could you tell us how did the recording go? I have a feeling that you dedicated most of the time to the small audio details and mixing.
We don’t hurry our work, no, but considering the sheer amount of work that went into this album recording, I think we worked quite efficiently, particularly as there was so much material to record, a 90 minute album and several instruments and layers. We spent about 3 weeks on the recording, a week on mixing and a day on mastering. We prepare many of the sounds, effects and song writing in advance of the studio session, so when in the studio it is mostly a case of capturing the right performance for many of the parts, and then improvising and experimenting with the parts that we did not set in stone in advance of the session. We spend less time on post-production than you might realise, simply because most of the effects modulation and soundscapes we create, we record as part of the performance when playing our instruments and program in advance of the studio session. Our music is quite heavily layered in its composition, due to the number of instruments we use within the band, drums, bass, 3 guitars, keyboards and vocals, and with our heavy use of soundscapes and effects on each instrument, there are a lot of small details in the recordings that accompany the key parts of each composition.
4. I’m still quite new to the new album… Rather than a significant progression I feel something like searching, amplification of the typical ESOTERIC vibe and creating antipole between melodies and noise. And I also find the new album to be a successor of “The Maniacal Vale”. Did I hit the nail?
I think the current album maintains the Esoteric style and essence throughout, but is still a noticeable progression from the previous albums. There is more variation between the feelings and atmospheres of each song and a greater use of melody in the new material, more light and shade between sections of tranquillity and barbaric emotions and sounds.
5. ESOTERIC are known for their extensive compositions. How do you work with each motif and how does the style of your composition looks like? Don’t you sometimes get lost in your songs when rehearsing or playing live?
It’s possible to get lost within the compositions sometimes when the songs are very new, due to the complex nature of the song writing and arrangements, with so many key changes, time signature changes, etc, but generally speaking we don’t get lost at all when rehearsing or playing live as we always rehearse each song a lot before playing live so that the performance becomes second nature and not something we have to think about too much. The writing of each motif or section of a song varies considerably. Some are thought out and structured exactly and other sections are born from improvisation and experimentation.
6. The guitarist Jim Nolan is the newest addition to the band. How did he contribute to the new album?
Jim joined the band two years ago. We had been searching for a great guitarist to replace Steve, who left the band in 2007 for some time and we were lucky to find Jim, who was the ideal person for the band, a great musician and also experienced and creative with sound effects programming and modulation. Jim contributed 3 songs to the new album and so you can hear how his style complements the music written by myself and Gordon.
7. When reading the title of the new album I get the impression that it epitomises the essence of ESOTERIC. The conjunction of two elements which at first seem to be irreconcilable. Who came up with the title and does it represent some specific aspect of the new album?
I came up with the title of the new album, and yes it does epitomise the essence of Esoteric. We chose the title because it can have different meanings, and each one is relevant to the album. Simply put, it is the paragon of dissonance, our best example of what we could achieve at the time and the music is largely dissonant, discordant and it also can be construed as being incongruous, which also applies. To me, it is what most albums are, and that is the result of the work of that era, a testimony to the time in which it was written, rehearsed and recorded.
8. Do you find the lyrical concept of “Paragon of Dissonance” to be somehow comparable with your earlier albums or does it follow the way of “The Maniacal Vale” more?
It’s hard to say exactly, being so closely involved in the lyrics it can be hard to view it objectively. There are certain lyrical themes that can be comparable to earlier periods of my life, though the lyrics themselves are generally relative to the period of time in which they were written and based around the thoughts, emotions and experiences that I was going through at the time of writing. There are also some parts of the lyrics that deal with the past and current perspectives and rationalisation of that time. So it varies somewhat.
9. When someone mentions ESOTERIC I immediately recall on of the most influential bands in Doom metal genre. Do you feel some kind of pressure from others who like to remind you of your status? Do you personally consider ESOTERIC to be a band which has achieved a lot, which has plenty of followers and is influential for many?
In all honesty, I don’t really think about our status. It is simply the perspective of others and it is up to them how they view the band and our influence on other bands or genres. Some people love our music but most will hate it or lack the ability to relate to what we do. We just do what we do, create music that we are inspired to create and try to put as much of ourselves and our passion into it. Everything else is additional, how we are perceived by others, and so on. It is always nice to get good feedback and it encourages us but at the same time, we do not have any misconceptions about what we are. Simply put, we are a relatively modest, small band in the greater scheme of things, not looking for recognition or status. Our music is extreme and challenging to listen to and appreciate, so we’ve always known that we’ll never be a popular, big selling artist, even within the metal scene. Being satisfied with our music and having enough support from listeners and the record labels in order to record albums and play live is good enough for us.
10. By the way, do many people remark the times “Epistemological Despondency” or “The Pernicious Enigma” to you? Could you recollect the atmosphere of that time and how were these recordings created?
Some people remark upon that era of the bands career, yes. It seems that for the earlier fans of Esoteric, The Pernicious Enigma is heralded as our most important work, generally speaking. Yes, I can recollect the atmosphere of that time. Back then, we were all quite young, mostly not working and we had quite a lot of time on our hands to devote to the band and to experimenting in rehearsal. The effects programming on The Pernicious Enigma was possibly the most elaborate we’ve done in the history of the band, mainly due to the amount of time we spent rehearsing and preparing for the album recording. It was a good time for the band, everything was still quite new to us and there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm.
11. Is there an album in your discography which you consider to be truly crucial and cult? Are fans usually pointing out the earlier albums or do they praise the long-standing high standard of albums?
It really varies as different listeners have different preferences entirely. I guess generally speaking, excluding the current album which isn’t released yet, The Pernicious Enigma and The Maniacal Vale seem to be our most revered albums on the whole. To my mind, it’s probably because these are our longest albums and display more diversity between each song.
12. When listening to your music I feel like I am in some kind of dreamscape. I cannot describe it properly but your songs are usually quite dim and they create very abstract and almost confusing images. Did dreams or experimenting with them ever had any influence on your music or lyrics?
Not specifically, no. Though sometimes dreams can be powerful enough to affect the usual everyday consciousness and in that sense they can have some influence. But generally speaking, the time I am most creative with lyrics is when I am in an intense emotional state of mind whereby I feel that I have to release what I am feeling or thinking, when I am driven to release and express what is within my mind.
13. I guess that you still keep an eye on a doom metal scene? Could you comment about it as a fan and a musician?
I don’t really view music as being within certain “scenes” or genres. I try to find and listen to unique, innovative bands of various styles, bands that have their own defining sound and characteristics. Sure, I listen to all different kinds of metal, including doom, and also various music and bands and styles that have nothing at all to do with metal. But I don’t tend to focus on how a scene is progressing in general or how certain bands relate to each other. I just try to weed out the plagiarists from my music collection and focus instead on the innovators.
14. That’s all from us for now. Thank you for your time and especially for your timeless music. We hope to see you live some day in Czech republic, take care till then.
Thank you very much for this interview, Victimer. Your support is much appreciated!
Regards, Greg
www.esotericuk.net
www.myspace.com/esotericuk
