ROX Alive was created by ROX Network. It provides up to minute rock and metal news plus information on audio gear, technology, live venues, record companies and more!
ROX Radio
ROX TV
Saturday, July 25, 2020
ROX Network interviews Damnation Angel's guitarist Will Graney
Will Graney
Guitarist, Damnation Angels
1. Damnation Angels were formed in 2006 and released your debut EP in 2009.Since then you've released two albums. Why do you take so long to put out a new album?
- It has been a while hasn't it. It wasn't intentional, we wanted to have this album out atleast a year earlier. Things just take a while and after waiting so long we still wanted to give the album a proper build up and release at the right time. It all started though following the line up change back in 2015 as it took us a while to find a new singer, someone who was capable enough to perform our music. Following the line-up change we ended up doing two back to back European tours with Threshold which were amazing. Then finally in August of 2018 we started tracking the album only to be slowed once again when negotiating with labels came around. I believe and hope the next one will come sooner haha.
2. This year you're releasing album 3 "Fiber of Our Being". Please tell us about it?
- Well first of all I believe this is our first album to truly sound like a band all playing together. It's slightly hard to explain but all I can say is as soon as you put the opening track on "More Than Human" I think it's very evident and I believe quite a few things contributed to this. The band had a different energy going into the studio this time. We had really improved as a live band over the last few years, I mean you have to when touring with the likes of Threshold. But it gave us a new energy going into the studio and I believe we captured this on the album. Secondly, I believe it's our catchiest album yet. We worked really hard to make that possible. It also features our longest song and possibly most epic yet "Remnants Of A Dying Star" which I know a lot of fans will be excited about!
3. How does it differ from "The Valiant Fire"?
- With The Valiant Fire it was pretty much all about epic music, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it. Taking what we did on Bringer Of light and improving it, making it even more epic. It almost felt like a direct sequel to that album. With Fiber Of Our Being, we took a different approach. It's a more refined, mature album, I think a logical progression from what we have done before. Nothing is there for the sake of it, we took away unnecesary instruments in favour of clarity, bigger catchier choruses, better songwriting and more overall polish. However don't get me wrong, there's still plenty on there for fans of the epicness of previous albums. We have still retained the symphonic edge that we always have, but it's used more wisely. We also opted to use a lot more synth on this album, which is more fitting with the whole theme this time around.
4. You've put a single out too "A Sum of our parts". The video is very intense and thought provoking. Tell us about it?
- I was really excited to release this song and video, also really proud of it on a personal level. I can't go into to much detail of the story that is playing out in the video as I want people to interpret it in their own way however I think the song and video compliment each other really well. I also said if we were going to make a music video it had to be the right song, the right time and with the right company. There's nothing worse than a bad music video is there haha, forever shamed on youtube! We Worked with the amazing Sitcom Soldiers and it was a great experience, they did a fantastic job of bringing my ideas to life! We will definitely work with them again.
5. How have the band been affected by COVID and lockdown?
- It's affected the bands schedule quite a lot. We delayed the album even further to wait for the worst of it to pass. It's just been an odd year in general hasn't it, the main focus for everybody was just staying safe and looking after each other. Spending so much time at home enabled me to really push the album promotion online so there was a slight upside to this horrible situation.
6. Any live dates planned?
- I'm afraid not. Everything is a bit crazy and all over the place at the moment. However we are very much looking forward to getting out there as soon as possible to tour the new album.
7. Have you any advice for new bands and musicians just starting out?
- I think the best advice I can give is, don't cut corners when it comes to making your first cd, don't make a "demo" either. Make a single or an e.p and get it done by someone who has achieved great results already. A producer who will give you contructive critism and suggestions. Our EP Shadow Symphony from 2009 still sounds great now, it's stood the test of time. I'm proud of every album we have made and having a solid back catalogue really is key. Another tip I can give is learn to be critical of your own music, sometimes I write some proper stinkers and knowing when you do this is critical. Which also means knowing when you are on to something is even more important! Finally, take the time to learn about the industry, I didn't do this early on and wish I had. Learn about PRS, PPL and releasing music digitally.
8. Who are your musical influences?
- My influences range from classical composers, film scores to bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. I grew up listening to rock and metal and then branched out more and more as I got older.
9. What is your favourite song?
- It's a tough question and really hard to pick just one song! It really depends what mood I am in at the time. Let's go with Blackened by Metallica for the sheer amount of times I have played it!!
UK symphonic metal band DAMNATION ANGELS have released a new song “Rewrite The Future“. The track is taken from their impending third album ‘Fiber Of Our Being‘, which is due for release on 31st July 2020. The song can be streamed via YouTube here: https://youtu.be/9J5LemcnUsc
If
you like progressive, but still catchy melodic Symphonic Metal, which
can also take it easy and emotional, this is the right choice for you. 10/10 Metal-Heads.de
Damnation Angels 'Fiber Of Our Being' is a precision landing like a perfect ski-jump. The brits are already on the top. - 10/10 Metal-Only.de
Must have for fans of Symphonic Powermetal. 9/10 - Rock-Garage.com
For fans of KAMELOT, VANISHING POINT or DYNAZTY. 9.5/10 – Rockmagazine.net
Elegance
of workmanship, thrilling melodies, a combination of tradition and
modernity is something that distinguishes the composer’s genius. 10/10 – Metal Melodic Sound
What
Damnation Angels have achieved on this record, though, cannot be
understated. All of the tracks on this album are meticulously crafted
and richly composed. 9/10 – The Prog Mind
The album is the first to feature vocal powerhouse Iggy Rod (Azeroth) and bassist Nic Southwood who joined after the release of the album “The Valiant Fire“. Alongside the release will be the bands first ever music video, directed by Sitcom Soldiers (The Darkness, Feeder). 2020 promises to be their biggest year yet.
In 2020 DAMNATION ANGELS returns with their highly anticipated new album “Fiber Of Our Being” which was mixed and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios (Cradle Of Filth, Vader, Amon Amarth). The cover art was made by Sabercore23art.
DAMNATION ANGELS is:
William Graney – Lead Guitar, backing vocals, synth/orchestration
Iggy Rodriguez – Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
John Graney – Drums
Nic Southwood – Bass, Backing vocals
“With a nifty brand of gothy symphonic metal, I sense that greatness awaits” Bruce Dickinson
Formed in Britain late 2006, DAMNATION ANGELS set out to create a new benchmark in symphonic metal.
The band began by releasing their debut e.p Shadow Symphony in 2009, receiving rave reviews from critics stating that the band are “the brightest spark to emerge upon the UK scene in a very long time” and are “comparable with mega acts such as Avantasia and Blind Guardian“. Following the release the band struck a deal with Radtone Records (Japan) and released their debut album “Bringer Of Light” in Japan. A worldwide release followed in 2013 when the band struck a multi album deal with Massacre Records (Germany).
Bringer Of Light gained
acclaim and topped Amazon charts worldwide, breaking into the top 100
downloads for all music in Germany. The success and reception of Bringer Of Light propelled the band to play outside of the UK for the very first time at the prestigious ProgPower USA Festival and a European tour with Andromeda.
The bands follow up album “The Valiant Fire” was released in 2015 followed by back to back European tours with progmetal legends Threshold. The album again received rave reviews, featured in magazines and press with Metal Hammer‘s Dom Lawson stating “The gleaming grandeur of new album “The Valiant Fire” marking them out as meticulous masters of the form“.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hi and thanks for your input!