Shroud of Bereavement is a band that truly lives up to its name. Utilizing the vocal talents of two female vocalists, male Death Metal growls, two keyboardist, violins, cello, and mandolins—the group has created a doom metal orchestra, which truly envelops the listener in pure sadness. The group has recently returned to its home in Massachusetts after partaking in one of the heaviest North American tours of the year: The Premonitions tour featuring Godless Rising (ex-Vital Remains), Keen of the Crow (ex-Morgion), and Loss. Band leader, vocalist and guitarist, Dan Robinson, Soprano vocalist, Samantha Harris and Julie Rousseau (Keyboards, Vocals) were kind enough to share their thoughts with Metal Mayhem concerning the Premonitions tour as well as other issues concerning the band.
Metal Mayhem: You just finished a tour with Godless Rising, Keen of the Crow, and Loss. How do you feel about that tour? What was the best show you did?
Shroud of Bereavement (Dan Robinson): First off Darren, Let me thank you for this interview, I really admire your work, and
it is an honor to do this. I feel great about the tour. It went well, I met
some great people, and it was great hanging with the Morgion guys again. The
best show for me personally would have to be, Philly. I saw some old friends I
hadn't seen in a long time, the bands were great, and the turnout was great.
But of course, there were lots of great shows on the tour.
Julie: It was a very pleasurable experience
touring with Godless, Loss and Keen and, had I the chance, I would definitely
do it all
over again.
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MM: Was this tour Shroud of Bereavement's (SOB) first national tour? What are
some of your favorite local venues? Who are some of your favorite local bands to play with? SOB: This was our first "tour" but not our first bout of traveling as a band. We have done several shows/Fests on the east coast in the past. My favorite Local venue is now closed, but it was the Bombshelter in Manchester NH. We had some great shows there, the owners were great, and you could smoke and enjoy a cheap drink anytime.
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MM: Samantha/Julie, What was it like touring with a bunch of sweaty men? Did you ever have privacy issues?
Samantha: It was an experience, sharing so
little space with so many people, but I didn't have any real issues as far as
privacy went.
Julie: Actually, in my personal opinion...touring with "a bunch of sweaty men" is much
perferable to touring with a bunch of whiny women. And no, we never had
"privacy issues", given that the persons in my band respect each others'
space.
MM: When I spoke to you at the Stonehenge Festival, you mentioned you were missing members of your group. Why did these members sit out the tour, and
how did you improvise to their absence?
SOB: Yes, they did Darren. We had three
guitarists in the band, and as the time approached, it was just me on
guitars! Mark couldn't do it for financial reasons, and Dave (who is no
longer with the band) basically flaked out at the last minute. Luckily, we have
several members, so we made up for it with the keys/synths. Julie, Mike
and I did the Harmony stuff, while Dave Starratt concentrated on the rhythms.
The thing is, in this band, for the most part no one plays the same thing. It's
all concentrated harmony. So if you really know the music, you could
notice, otherwise things sound pretty full think we sounded pretty good
overall.
MM: SOB has been around since 1997. You have seen session musicians and
full-time members come and go, yet eight years later, you are still here. What factors do you attribute to your
band's longevity?
SOB: My passion for the music, it's what I
am, Along with the fact that I am profoundly insecure and often depressed in
life. It's only natural to play doom metal. If S.O.B. broke up
tomorrow, I would still be doing something in music regardless.
MM: MY DYING BRIDE was the first Doom Metal
bands to use classical instrumentation by utilizing a violin player. Obviously, you were influenced by what they
did, but you took it a step further, adding even more classic instruments to
your music, creating a Doom Metal orchestra. How did you conceive this idea?
SOB: I am a huge fan of classical music.
Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi and such, they have had a huge roll in my
music. Along with King Diamond, he has very classically inspired music
that touched me in ways that other metal had not.
MM: Where do you find all these classical
musicians? There could not be that many classical artists willing to jam with a Death/Doom band?
SOB: Ha ha ha, that is true, and it has
been a hell of a time finding the right people. I lucked out with Andy Happel,
he kind of fell in my lap. My long time friend and co-producer introduced us,
and that really helped out. A violinist in my area? Ha... nowhere to
be found, let alone singers or our keyboardist Julie; she is an angel, and
possibly the best musician that I know aside from Andy. My friend, Adam
introduced us one night at a pub.
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MM: Samantha/Julie, You both have very soft, yet powerful
voices. Your voices would fit very well in an opera. What is your musical background, and how have you used it to benefit SOB? Samantha: I've been singing from a very young age, and my roots are in everything from classical, to jazz, to death metal, so I think I answered the second part just then... all those components of my training come together in Shroud, which is what it is. SOB is a beautiful hybrid of all sorts of music, and that is exactly how I think of my parts.
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MM: Samantha/Julie , Daniel's vocals are raw and vicious. Do you sometimes find it difficult to keep your subtle, mournful tone
during the choral moments with Daniel?
Samantha: Not really. My parts are written
in a way that they intertwine beautifully with Dan's growls. Both styles
accompany each other from the brutal to the ethereal, and everywhere in
between.
Julie: No, I believe that the "vicious" brings out the subtle tones in the female
vocals. One cannot see the dark without the light (and vise versa)
MM: Few bands can achieve the emotional
highs and lows to the extreme of SOB. How are you able to do that? When do you decide to pick up your pen to scribe your epic musical journeys
of loss and bereavement?
SOB: Thank you for your words of kindness; you do me too much honor. To answer your question, I usually work late at
night, when I am all alone, other times when I am feeling particularly
depressed or inspired. It takes me a long time to get everything done, so
sometimes I'll be there for 16 hours.
MM: I read on your Myspace page that you
wrote a song about your experience dealing with the loss of a friend. Can you please tell our readers about that
particular song, and how it helped you overcome this terrible tribulation?
SOB: The song "A Rose For A Dying Muse" was
written for my best friend David Theberdge, who passed in 99'. The song took me
an entire year to write and 30 hours in the studio to record. There were
several session musicians involved. One musician Bob Beal, who was also friends
with Dave, was at the funeral. I asked him if he would like to be part of this
song that I would write and he agreed. He did the ripping lead and other guitar
stuff throughout the song, along with contributing some great lyrics to the
song. It was written in phases: the memories, the wake, the funeral and the
aftermath. You can hear specific parts mentally more than others. This song is
one of my most personal songs I have ever written. My favorite part is the
"funeral march" part where I have this vivid memory of carrying out the casket
as a Paul bearer, through the front doors of the church into the crowds of
people. That was a devastating moment in my life, and I really wanted to portray
that in the music. That's where I go from Major to Minor to create that very
sorrowful part and the Big climax at the end. Everything I write, I believe,
should have a good climax and ending. The song helped me grow both as a musician and as a person. I learned to
"celebrate the life that once lived" rather than dwell on the loss of my dear
friend.
MM: It is already established that you use SOB as a catharsis. Not all songs are gloom and doom though." The "Forever
Dance" has a gothic, romantic feel. What is this song's story? To whom did you write this song?
SOB: Actually the song was written for an
ex girlfriend, my first "true" love. It is describing how we met and
ended. It is part of a concept album called "The Fools Lament" that we will
begin recording sometime this year. We were young and in love, and I was
naive. We used to go away once a month to the White Mountains in New
Hampshire. This one time, we found this beautiful look out point where you
could see the whole mountain range with a path to walk. We decided to walk on,
and out of nowhere, we started dancing in the moonlight. It is indeed a very
Romantic type of song, one of my favorites actually.
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MM: How long have you been with your label,
Oak Knoll? Do you maintain a good
relationship with them? Can we expect
more albums through this label? SOB: I have been with Oak Knoll for about 2 years or so. Jeremy and I are good friends, and he is great to his bands. Unfortunately, he is not made of money, and we aren't sure where we will be at as far as labels for the next one. I may self release "Alone Beside Her", I may not. We'll have to wait and see what my options are.
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MM: Any last comments?
SOB: Thanks again Darren you are the man,
and we appreciate the time you have given us. Go to our shows, buy our merch
and support Doom Metal!
Check us out at our official web site www.shroud-of-bereavement.com
Or on Myspace at www.myspace.com/shroudofbereavement
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