TRIAL (Eng.)
– Hello and first of all, thanks for taking the time. How is everything going right now with TRIAL? What are you currently up to?
As of now we’re in the planning stages regarding the near future after the release of “VESSEL”. Nothing official yet but things are moving forward.
– You were formed in 2007 and you are about to unleash your second album, but I bet some people won’t know about you yet, so would you mind to tell us what prompted forming the band and how did TRIAL get together?
We all knew each other from when we were teenagers and played in various bands together aswell, and in 2007 we came to the conclusion that things weren’t moving in the direction we wanted it to and it was time to conjoin in what is now called TRIAL. Our goal was to form a foundation that derives from our past and add new hunger for something yet unexplored.
– As I said, you are now about to release your sophomore release, «Vessel». What are your feelings on the final outcome?
Very positive. We faced the difficult task to create something that suited our vision because we didn’t want “VESSEL” to resemble anything we’ve done before. As an artist you always have your worries about the final outcome, in this case the result was satisfactory to our vision.
– I guess you may have entitled the album «Vessel» just because it is actually a vessel but, a vessel of what?
“VESSEL” is the body and the blood on a journey through life and death. “VESSEL” is also something intimate and personal that is very important to myself.
– Starting to dig into this opus; what does the cover artwork represent?
The cover was created by Costin Chioreanu at Twilight 13 Media who did all the artwork. The cover emerged through the music and lyrics and is his (as well as ours) interpretation of what “VESSEL” means and consist the fragments we like to share of it. It’s a complete visualization of the music and lyrics combined.
– Lyrically you somehow dwell into darkness, specially into death and what is beyond. What are some of the lyrical themes on «Vessel»?
The lyrics deal with everything we hold dear, what we experience, what we yearn and the narrow road we’ve chosen.
– And who is the main responsible for them? Where do you draw inspiration from to write them? As I think they somehow share some themes and vibe with the lyrics of ENSNARED, where a few of you are playing in.
Myself, AJ and MS are the ones who wrote the lyrics on this album. We all have our own way of expressing ourselves and it is easy to distinguish oneanother by the way we approach them. I try not to limit myself by soley draw inspiration from a certain poet or method of thinking and thereby act within their restrictions. I always aim to express myself the way that is true to me and not true to others.
– It feels to me like there’s a link between lyrics, artwork and the album’s title, is it actually like this or is it just my perception? Is it imporant for TRIAL to create a sense of wholeness and a complete vision with all the elements involved?
As mentioned earlier “VESSEL” represents a concept and therefore should be listen to mainly as a whole in order to grasp the full atmosphere of the album. We always take into consideration what we write and present to others, but never in a sense that will affect our own judgement.
– This «Vessel» has been your first opus with High Roller Records, which seems to be one of the best companies into the underground. How are things working with them thus far? Do you think you will now reach more people?
It’s working very well! The effort they put in and their professionalism is remarkable. Of course the album will reach a broader audience with a label such as High Roller and we appreciate every acknowledgement we get but we always remain true to our intentions.
– Musically I noticed there are several Doom Metal elements on the album. Was this how you envisioned the album?
Well not exactly, but I think “VESSEL” consist a blend of several genres that ultimately defines our sound. If you dissect the whole album you will find that it’s not only metal we’ve drawn inspiration from musically and to us it doesn’t matter where it comes from. It only matters the way we channels it.
– In fact I guess a debut album might be more of a learning experience, a first step into the quest for your own sound. So could you say you are now closer to your own identity?
Absolutely. We were very enthusiastic yet naive in the making of “THE PRIMORDIAL TEMPLE”. It all happened very fast and none of us had ever been a part of recording a full-length record before. With the “MALICIOUS ARTS” EP we took the nessecary step towards the right direction and I think it acts as a natural transitions between the two records.
– I believe «Vessel» has a more personal sound than the quite traditional Heavy Metal on your first opus. Do you strive to get a sound of your 
own or do you just go with the flow?
We don’t want to replicate a sound that’s been done before. We are taking a step away from the traditional but it wasn’t a decision we made consciously to please others and neither a “tactical move”. It just became natural along the development of the band. We doesn’t establish boundaries regarding our music, that we need to write music in a certain vein in order to maintain our sound.
– Also songs on this new record are longer, and most of them contain several different elements and even twists and changes. Is this length necessary to make this kind of tracks develop themselves? Or did it just happen?
It just happened. Most of the times the ideas for a song doesn’t fit into a 3-minute song. The exception for this album is the opening track which is complete in every sense. It fulfills its purpose.
– There are some songs that specially caught my attention, such as «Ecstasy Waltz», probably one of the slowest songs on the album, with almost narrated lyrics and some tempo changes. How was like working on the structure and composition of this song?
“ECSTASY WALTZ” is a complex song in a simple execution. The song came together rather quickly upon its inception but we had to be diciplined and we had to make sure that we didn’t ruin the foundations of the song because it’s a very fragile piece.
– On the other hand, «A Ruined World» seems to be highly influenced by MERCYFUL FATE/KING DIAMOND. I think we could find more of this in «The Primordial Temple», but «A Ruined World» is one of the few tracks on the new album with this flavour. Is KING DIAMOND one of your influences? What other bands do you think have inspired the sound of TRIAL?
King Diamond has always been an influence for all of us, especially while growing up. Nowadays I think that other bands have had greater effect on us. It’s always an honor to be mentioned along those kind of bands but we try ourselves to keep our music apart from each other. There are probably different genres that inspired the sound of TRIAL more rather than traditional heavy metal.
– Then there’s «Restless Blood», a 13 minute song that encapsulates what this album is all about, containing all the elements used on the previous songs. Was this your idea for the closing track? What is the song that you think describes the best the essence of «Vessel»?
We didn’t write “RESTLESS BLOOD” to be the closing track for “VESSEL”. We did most certainly have another vision of the tracklist at first, but the farther we got into the project, we eventually understood that this was the right thing to do. It’s difficult to choose just one track because of the albums width and depth.
– In fact songs like this show there’s certain epicness on this album, something that keeps growing throughout the whole album so, can we expect more of this from you?
I wouldn’t say that you can expect a 13-minute song on every album to come. If we were to write another one then it would have been totally unintentional. We don’t strive towards epicness since it’s only our feelings being manifested.
– Overall I noticed, compared to «The Primordial Temple», the band has been through a big evolution and improvement in songwriting terms but, how do you think has TRIAL evolved since your debut album came out and what could you say you learnt from that first recording?
We have evolved immensely in terms of understanding our own music and the importance of work behind it. We have matured and aren’t too reliant on others to do the work for us. If you want a good result, then begin to work and you will progress.
– All this about «Vessel» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
A blood-soaked canvas.
– And as the end of the year is drawing nearer, could you please tell us what have been your 3 favourite albums of 2014 and your less favourite one?
Well, 2014 hasn’t been the best year of music but to name one album I would choose Dead Congregation and their Promulgation of the Fall. There’s also great artists coming out of Switzerland at the moment so I would recommend «Deathcult – Pleading for Death… Choking on Life EP” and also “Bölzer – Soma EP”.
– Finally, what are your near-future plans? You haven’t done much shows in the past so will this change now with this new album?
Our intention is to get out on the road and play, with “VESSEL” we have something to build on for sure.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
It was a pleasure doing this interview and we express our deepest gratitude. To new ends!
