Darkest Era

In August 2010, DARKEST ERA announced that they had signed a worldwide deal with Metal Blade Records, and wasted no time in entering the studio to record their highly anticipated debut album. They travelled to Foel Studios in Wales at the end of August to lay down 8 tracks of dark, stormy, epic Celtic Metal with producer Chris Fielding at the helm.

The result is 'The Last Caress Of Light', a record which mixes the melancholy and atmosphere of Irish Folk with the epic might of heavy metal bands such as Warlord, Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy. The album stands out from all else as a record of intense emotional power and honesty; holding the listener within a dark heavy metal storm and not letting go until the last chords have rung out.

With a now Europe-wide reputation for their intense, ferocious and engaging live performances, and an original sound which draws fans from the pagan, folk and true metal genres, DARKEST ERA stand ready to bring their epic, Celtic metal to the world stage.



Metal Mayhem: Firstly, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Can you please introduce yourself and the rest of the band for those that are unfamiliar?
Ade Mulgrew: Sure, we are a 5 piece epic celtic metal band from Northern Ireland. Our lineup is Krum on vocals, David Lindsay on bass, Lisa Howe on drums, Sarah Wieghell on guitar and myself, Ade Mulgrew, on the other guitar!

MM: How and when did the band come about?
AM: We formed in 2005 when most of us were still in school under the name Nemesis. I had played with Krum in a rock covers band and we wanted to start a metal band and write songs. Everyone just came together through friends at school really. We released a demo as Nemesis in 2006 sometime, and in 2007 recruited Lisa on drums, completing the current lineup. We recorded an EP called The Journey Through Damnation which was released by the German label Eyes Like Snow in 2008. We played some shows around the UK and Europe and continued to work on our sound. Then in 2010 we recorded a promo called the Oaks Sessions, limited to 250 copies which we released ourselves. And then we signed to Metal Blade for our album, which is just out!

MM: After a couple of EP’s (The Journey through Damnation and The Oaks Session) that were pretty well received, the band’s debut full-length “The Last Caress of Light” finally see’s the light of day. How happy are you with the final product?
AM: We are very proud of it. It is a milestone for any band to release their first album, and it is a desire that has been burnt into our minds for a long time. We feel it's a strong album, we're pleased with how the songs turned out and how the whole package looks, artwork etc. Chris Fiedling, who produced the album, was fantastic to work with and he really knew how to get what we were after. We wanted something quite specific, production wise. We wanted warm, natural sounding drums with thick and earthy guitars. We wanted the whole thing to sound very organic and not too produced, and we achieved that I feel. Of course it is hard to be objective when you are so close to the songs, but the reviews have been very positive so far so that is something.



MM: Do you guys have any personal favourite tracks on the album?
AM: Each of us probably have our own personal favourites. It's hard to choose, but personally I think the closing title track, "The Last Caress of Light Before the Dark" is my favourite. It contains all my favourite aspects of our sound. It is one of those songs that really gets the adrenaline flowing when you play it live. I'm proud of how it turned out because it was written in a relatively short space of time, and we had a structural concept and chorus lyric and melody before anything else. It's also our longest song so it was a challenge to make sure it flowed well without being over-bearing.

MM: I’ve see the band described as a Folk Metal band, but after listening to the album, I feel it’s not the traditional folk that many have come to expect? Can you tell us a bit about the style and sound of the band?
AM: Yeah you'd be right to say that; it can be annoying whenever people label us as folk metal because it is a pretty restrictive labelling in a sense. Folk is one aspect of our sound but we don't sound anything like bands such as Finntroll, for example. It is much more a traditional heavy metal sound with epic and folk influences infused within it. We take influence from folk music but it is more about the sombre atmosphere, song structure and lyrical style as opposed to playing the jigs and reels. We aren't a band who likes to be pigeon holed, because to do that is to ignore on aspect or other of our sound.

MM: I definitely think that “The Last Caress of Light” will appeal to a broad audience. Would you agree?
AM: I guess so, I mean it is linked to the previous point of not being assigned to one particular genre. We straddle a number of different sub genres in metal, so there are aspects that will appeal to the true metal, folk metal, or epic metal fan for example. I suppose it's also unusual to hear clean, epic singing over some of our more doom or black metal influenced passages. There is no grand design with band though, we don't engineer ourselves to appeal to a broad audience. If it does, it does. If it only appeals to a niche group of people, then we've still created what we want so it doesn't matter.



MM: The new album is being distributed worldwide by Metal Blade, how did all this come about?
AM: Basically Alan Averill from Primordial started doing A&R work for Metal Blade around January 2010. At this time we had just completed our Oaks Sessions promo digipak which we were intending on sending to labels to secure a deal for our debut album. He pitched us directly to Brian Slagel along with a number of other bands. He really liked what he heard so over the next few months we thrashed out a deal! We were determined to find the right label for our debut album, but it was a case of the right place at the right time to some extent.

MM: Is this just a one album deal with MB, or is it too early to say yet?
AM: It's a 4 album deal, but of course in the music business nothing is for certain. We have a great working relationship with the label though so we expect it to be a long and fruitful relationship!

MM: Have you seen many of the press reactions to “The Last Caress of Light” yet, and how do you feel it has been received?
AM: Yes we've been keeping an eye on how it is going. So far I must say we are very happy with how it has been received. Most journalists seem to have really 'got' the album, which is great. It has got very good scores in Europe and even topped one of the soundchecks in Germany. It is satisfying to see good reviews come in. The real test of the material will be when we play it live though.

MM: As a band, do you take much notice of reviews and do you feel down-heartened when you see anything negative written about your hard work?
AM: Not really, there will be negative comments at every stage of your career, no matter what you do, so you just have to get used to it. There were probably people who gave Powerslave a bad review when it came out! It can be very frustrating however when people miss the point entirely with the record. Sometimes you read reviews where the journalist has clearly been lazy in his writing and just compared it to the first bands he thinks of, or else it is obvious that he hasn't really listened to it properly at all! That can be irritating but again, it goes with the territory. We have confidence in ourselves, and that's the important thing. Sometimes you read a review that is just absolutely bang on, and it restores your faith!



MM: I’m sure you can’t wait to hit the road in support of the album!! Can we expect any tour dates in the near future? Maybe any festival dates we can catch you at?
AM: Exactly, we cannot wait. The live setting is where we are best and where our songs are at their most powerful. We're working on some details at the moment but we certainly expect to be touring the UK and Europe extensively this Autumn and Winter. We missed the bookings for most of this summers festivals as our album has only just come out but we will be playing a few one off shows throughout the summer, and maybe some of the smaller Euro festivals during the Winter. People should keep an eye on our website, facebook etc for updates!

MM: Besides the touring, what can we expect next with Darkest Era? What would you like to achieve this year?
AM: We hope to reach as many new fans as possible really. Touring is the main goal, but later in the year we will start to have a think about our second album, and start bringing ideas together. There is a lot of music in us and a lot of things we want to express. We just want to keep moving forward as a band, and I think it'll be a big year for us.

MM: Thanks again for talking to us and we wish you the best with the band and of course “The Last Caress of Light”! ……..Any last words for our readers?
AM: Many thanks for the interview, and cheers to those reading this who have supported the band! We hope to meet as many of you on the road as possible later in the year.

Interview by Chris Rogers