This interview between Oathbreaker and Rise And Fall is another perfect example of why we dig the Artist to Artist Interview series so much. The questions that Rise And Fall ask Oathbreaker are thought-provoking and seem to make the band open up. We are so stoked that these two bands expressed themselves through CVLT Nation. After the jump, check out their tour poster for their upcoming European tour with The Secret!
The artwork for Maelstrom doesn’t really reveal much about the band. There’s no pictures, no lyrics or any information next to the song titles and credits. Was this something that you guys wanted in order to create a dark, mysterious vibe? Are lyrics of lesser importance than your music or did you want to encourage people to actually seek out the lyrics online?
Caro: When Tomas and Vally of WeBecameAware came up with some ideas for the artwork, I knew it was going to be something dark and conceptual. In a way, I felt that too much words or lyrics would ruin the whole idea and vibe of the artwork. So even though I did put a lot of effort and time in the lyrics and the artwork does really represent the general feel of the album, I wasn’t convinced from a visual point of view that the lyrics had to be in it. Fact is that putting them online was something that definitely originated with this idea because I do think lyrics are an important part of Oathbreaker. I write about things I feel so I don’t really
strive to deliver any sermon. But I do appreciate people connecting to the lyrics because they definitely emphasize the emotion we’re trying to send. People who are interested in reading the lyrics can find them on our tumblr, theoathbreakerreigns.tumblr.com, but to set things straight, it wasn’t a contrived strategy.
All photos S. Temmerman
How annoying does it get to constantly be referred to as the band with “female vocals”? What do you think really sets Oathbreaker apart from your contemporaries?
Ivo: Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. I get the fact that having a female singer is still remarkable for a lot of people, but on the other hand it’s also a pity that this still seems to amaze people. As far as we’re concerned, we’re a band of four people and one of them happens to be female. As for the second part of your question, I don’t really think about that sort of stuff. I guess the combination of the four of us is what sets us apart. The four of us have different musical backgrounds but we always manage to find common ground, I guess we’re also determined to bring it 200% every night, whether we’re just rehearsing, writing new stuff or playing a gig. But to get a ‘real’ answer to that question, you’d have to ask somebody outside of the band.
Oathbreaker has evolved enormously ever since the band arose out of the ashes of No Recess… Maelstrom surprised me because it sounded a lot more metal influenced than I had imagined. Where do you see your sound heading with future releases? What aspects of the band’s sound would you like dig into? “Agartha”, the song on the split EP with Amen Ra sees you guys exploring melodic vocals and more contrast in pace… Is this something we can expect more of?
Ivo: Perhaps, yeah. We’ve been trying out some new ideas lately, putting together little bits and pieces. We definitely want to explore new directions and sounds on our next record but I guess we’re still searching right now. Agartha was kind of an experiment, and it turned out allright. Honestly, I don’t even know what to expect myself, so right now I’m really excited to see where we can or will take this band to musically.
None of the members of your band are originally from Ghent, but you all (kinda) live there. Could you explain the magnetic draw of the city? What do you like most and what do you like least about living here?
Ivo: I like the fact that even though Ghent is one of the big cities, it’s still small enough to walk through. It’s a city that feels very ‘real’ to me, if you catch my drift. There’s a combination of old elements and innovation, you’re half an hour away from most of the bigger Belgian cities, and I mean it’s just beautiful. The other night I had to be in the city center and as I was walking through the older section of the city, I couldn’t help thinking how lucky I am to live here.
Caro: I feel like Ghent combines all qualities of a big city and maintains the vibe and cosiness of a smaller city. I mean, there’s always something to do but when you go out you’ll always run across someone you know. I love strolling around the city being swallowed by the crowd but when I’m not feeling this romantic scene there are also places to hide. I love it.
There’s a pretty wide variety in age and (musical) background among the members of Oathbreaker, do you feel like this is something that causes more friction when you write songs or is it something that stimulates creativity?
Ivo: I think it stimulates creativity in the sense that since we all have a different background, there’s a lot of different ideas and influences going around. We’re all at different moments in our lives right now, I’m working full time, Lennart just bought a house and Caro and Gilles are still studying but I feel like the music brings us on a common level. We definitely found each other music wise and that connection beams through on a personal level as well.
2012 looks like it’s going to be an action packed year for the band. What are you looking forward to?
Ivo: Honestly, everything. In my previous band(s) we never got around to a lot of touring so I’m really excited about our upcoming tour with you guys and The Secret. Next to that, I’m excited to write new material, record new songs, play more drums, try to make it to the US perhaps, meet people… The fact that we were able to release our record on Deathwish Inc. is probably the best thing that could have happened to us, so I’m determined to make the most of it.
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