1. Can you tell a bit about the start of Druids Cross and what that scene was like back in the days when you guys started playing while you was a young?
Myself (Philip), Jay and Peter have played together in several bands over the years. None of them were metal bands though. Post Punk, electronic, emo/Post Hardcore type bands and we’ve toured various places whilst being in these bands and been a part of scenes etc. However, we all grew up with and love heavy metal and we have always had that as a common ground. So we decided to venture into starting a metal band properly in 2021 although back in 2016 we recorded a one off demo which went under the name Druids Cross! It was just for fun more than anything.
So when we decided to do a metal band properly, we basically resurrected a couple of songs from the 2016 recordings we did and made them better and they then became our first proper release, ‘Birth’ and ‘Death’. Dan joined in early 2022 and we’ve continued to write and recently started playing live. We've recently expanded futher.and become a 5 piece for we're ever evolving with Frankie coming on to bass duities now and Dan switching to a (lead) guitar role.
As we’re only just starting to release and play live, we’ve not really got a feel for a ‘Metal scene’ in Liverpool or the UK just yet, and how we fit in. Its feels fairly welcoming so far but we’ll find out soon enough!
2. Do all of the members of Druids Cross coven believe and walk in the same path when it comes to spiritual ideology?
(Peter) The key influence in the music probably stems from the old pagan beliefs of ancient britain and history or mythology in general. In terms of the individual band members spirtuality its largely non existent, especially not in regards to any form of organised religion. Certainly there are lessons that can be learned and truths found about how to be a productive member of society and just an all around decent human being in the text and stories of all religions but there's a lot of shit in there as well, largely i would think that we'd all agree for the most part religions are all a construct of man and their content are the stories told by people in an effort to make sense of life beyond the mere day to day existance. Thats not to say theres not more to life than this, we just dont know what it is.
3. Listening to your music, I can’t help but hear a connection between heavy, theatrical doom and poetry, how did you develop this unique style of music?
(Peter) Thank you for pointing that out! We'd never really thought of what we do as having a poetic influence before but i guess it does. Again it stems from the idea of telling or being told a good story. We always start with the music first that builds the platform to enable a story to be told. The way we then build the lyrics to tell the stories are kind of like the poetic edda or sagas of the old norse. People can simply enjoy it for what it is but if theres a desire to dig deeper and really get enveloped in the words and meaning behind it all then theres definitely scope to do that.
4. What are the important components of Druids Cross’ music and lyrics?
(Peter) A good hook, that goes for music and lyrics really, a good hook and the promise of something more. If it can get you banging your head then all the better!
5. Talking about your most recent release. I must congratulate you for such a great demo, Of course I wonder if you are satisfied with it and if you reached the desired goal?
(Philip) We’ve done 3 recordings and releases so far, ‘Birth/Death’, ‘Apostle’ and ‘The Bile Witch’ / ‘The Ancient One’. We’re very happy with how they’ve come out and its been really fun recording them all I think we performed well during the takes and really captured the atmospheric mood of the tracks just how we intended.
6. How did the process of writing new material move? Were you confronted by anything unusual or unforeseen? If yes, do the songs reflect it somehow?
(Peter) I'm not sure we would say we have found an exact formula yet when it comes to writing, it seems to be a constant stream of ideas and when we first started there was just 3 members of the band, introducing Dan has added another element to what we do and brings with it fresh ideas so the challenge then becomes which bits fit where and how do the parts we come up with compliment each other. Not wanting to put a curse on things but we haven't really hit any blank walls yet in the writing department.
7. Your music is pretty diverse with numerous different elements that are littered
throughout. What was the songwriting process like? How did you conceptualize/ visualize the music before materializing them?
(Peter) Again each song is comprised of multiple ideas really that we think kind of sit well together. We try to start with a bit of a hook or a really strong riff and build from there. Generally speaking we have a good idea of where we want the sound to head before we start to write but there's so many influences at play that sometimes an unexpected one will creep in, as long as we can agree that we aren't veering too far away from the overall feel it can be a bit like anything goes but then sometimes a really left of field idea can be brought back inline with a few tweaks here and there, the keys and the vocals help a lot with that, tying the general themes together.
8. And still there are many other elements used in your songs beside the usual doom, there’s a touch of classical heavy metal music, stoner elements, rock elements and yet much more. Is this a consequence of your varied musical tastes or a try to make the things more dynamic?
(Peter) Definitely it's the influence of the varied musical tastes that each member of the band has. We try not to stray too far from the beaten path however and predominantly we look to create something that sounds heavy, has a hook and can draw people in. We want to make music that we would go out, listen to and enjoy ourselves!
9. How do you see the character of energies you transfer through Druids Cross’s songs? Is it positive or negative, or neutral?
(Peter) It ebs and flows, there'll be highs and lows in the space of one song, kind of a reflection of life! We can't guarantee that blasting our music will leave you feeling pumped and ready to take on the world but equally we cant say for sure that it'll soundtrack your slump into the darkest of depths. You probably get out of it what you put into it if that makes sense?
10. Do you feel an urge to develop Druids Cross’s sound and move further with future records or do you think that you have already found a proper sound for the band?
(Philip) Its not something we’ve actively thought about. I know with previous bands we’ve been in, we’ve sometimes consciously made decisions as to how we should approach writing and I don’t know that we’ll do that with this band as that approach hasn’t always worked. We’ll do what we do. I suppose one thing we could say is that we just want to create really good heavy metal music that we enjoy playing.
11. You selected the track "Apostle" for your first video. Why you took this decision?
(Philip) It felt like it was our first proper track. ‘Birth’ and ‘Death’ were both songs that were written a long time ago and that we came back to and added parts etc but ‘Apostle’ was a statement of what Druids Cross is NOW. It’s a great track and represents us really well. It has a overarching doom feel but a full old school heavy metal chorus too, that’s pretty much Druids Cross.
12. What is your favorite part of writing and performing music? What are some of the challenges you face as a musician?
(Peter) The best part of being in any band is having an excuse to hang out with people you like doing something you love. If it's not fun or enjoyable then there's very little point. Which can also be one of the main challenges, there can be a different pressures along the way, writing for example and getting things just right, not everyone will always agree as to exactly what just right looks like and that can become a challenge. Probably the biggest challenge though that we and any other band face at almost any level is the financial aspect, it can be a very expensive pass time, investing in gear, rehearsal spaces, studio time... It all adds up and you have to love what you do and kind of except really that a lot of the money you put into it you're never going to see a return on.
The term 'starving artist' exists for a reason!
13. What is your opinion about the UK´s doom metal and metal scene in general? Do you feel that you are a part of the local extreme scene or are you more related with bands from other countries?
(Philip) In all honesty, I know very little about the UK metal or doom scene. I’m a big fan of some old school UK bands such as Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, and a few others. I’m hoping that as we play more shows we’ll get to know it some more and discover some other cool bands
14. That's all the questions I have for you man. I'll let you have the final words by saying whatever you'd like to our readers and your fans out there.
(Peter) We'd just like to say thanks really! Thanks for giving us and bands like us a chance. It's people reading interviews like these and actively seeking out and supporting new music that keeps scenes alive. Without you the world would be a much duller place, keep up the good work!
留言