IMPERIAL VENGEANCE (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for taking your time, how’s everything going right now in the IMPERIAL VENGEANCE’s camp?
Very well thank you, busy promoting the new album.
– First off, would you mind giving some introduction of the band?
Certainly. We are a Dark Aristocratic Metal band from the UK, consisting of myself C.Edward Alexander, David Bryan on bass and recently added James Last on drums and Dave Spicer on guitar.
– And why did you pick «Imperial Vengeance» for the name of the band? Both its origin and meaning.
We wanted a name that represented a kind of triumphant return to the glory days of the British Empire and still sounded like a metal band. Although a lot of our material is about occult and artistic subjects, we still approach it all through very British eyes, so the name remains appropriate.
– You have recently released your latest effort, «Black Heart of Empire»; how has been its feedback so far? Satisfied with it?
Actually it’s been incredible. We have received several perfect scores in reviews, and the general reception has been incredibly excitable and positive. There will always be those people that don’t like what we do, but I suspect the deficit lies within their appreciation of the art rather than in our creations.
– Yu usually say your style is Dark Aristocratic Metal; what does this very own style consist of? What musical styles do you draw inspiration from?
We use that term to separate us from ‘Black Metal’ or other forms of extreme metal. Obviously there are some similarities in sound with what we do and that scene. I would say we are influenced by anything dark or with deep meaning. Wagner, Shostakovich, Webern, Emperor, Devil Doll, Enslaved, Schoenberg, Bernard Herrmann. It’s a very varied list.
– The cover artwork is just superb; what did you want to mirror with it?
We wanted to create an imagined version of Victorian London. A ghostly, foreboding place which never quite existed. A very distorted and twisted historical reality. A huge inspiration for this was a series of works by Dore which are all pictures of London around this era.
– I would also like you to shed some light on some of the lyrical ideas covered this time.
With all of our material, we focus on things which tread the fine line between the living world and that of the unknown and unseen. It a kind of surrealist theatre take on subjects like war, magick, hauntings, literature, art. Whatever interests us really, but there is always a dark edge.
– In this album we can find several guest artists, due to this I would like to know if anything changed during the song writing process. I mean, when you were writing the album did you already know certain parts needed a certain artist?
Yes, sort of. We knew where there would be guests, what they should sound like and represent, so it was just a case of finding the people with the right voices.
– Talking about this, if you don’t mind I would like you to tell us a bit what are some of the artists we will find on «Black Heart of Empire», how did you come up with this idea and what have these musicians/singers brought with their cooperation.
Well the obvious one was the ex-gangster Dave Courtney to be the ‘Voice of Old London’. What better person to represent the dark side of London than someone who lived it for real? Bjorner from Vulture Industries had the exact voice we had in mind for the character of ‘The Fiend’ in Upon the Stair. He has a superb singing voice but also carries an almost insane sound with what he does. A truly incredible performance that brings that song to life. Lori Lewis from Therion handles the female vocals, something I was unsure would fit with our style but turned out to work perfectly. She has a couple of different parts to play on the album, one of an angel talking to John Dee, and one of a lady of good breeding. Elle Torry who played live guitars for us for a while, played a lot of the orchestral instruments.
– In your previous album you already featured some guest artists but you are still a duo. Have you ever thought about looking for a «full» line-up?
Funny you say that, literally yesterday we announced two new official members of the band. James Last on drummers (the drummer on Black Heart of Empire) and Dave Spicer as full time guitarist.
– The album was produced by well-known Russ Russell (who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR among others), are you guys satisfied with his work?
Actually I produced it, Russ mastered it. I cannot imagine Russ ever doing anything less than spectacular, and in our case he took my mixes and turned the album into something immense. He also added the odd creative touch here and there which added a bit of extra flare. We are really keen to have him involved at an earlier stage with the next album because he understands what we are doing and has a magnificent moustache.
– Your debut album was released via Candlelight Records but you are now working with Transcend; what prompted that move? How’s everything going so far with this new company to you? I mean, Transcend is a smaller label, so I guess you may be somehowa priority for them but, in the other hand, Candlelight is a bigger label but with so many big bands in their rooster, so maybe they weren’t able to really care about all their bands?
I’m not sure you’re thinking of the same label. Candlelight are a pretty small label with only a couple of relevant acts. Actually Transcend are busier, but they make sure they give us the time we need. The move was mostly a creative one, as we wanted a label that understood what we were and gave us the freedom to take creative risks (like releasing the Penny Dreadful alongside the album).
– Its obvious IMPERIAL VENGENACE is a really unusual band, both in image and musically; how did you come up with the idea of both, or the whole concept behind the band? I guess it may be quite of a change after being for some years with COF…
Yes very much so. I never really felt creatively inspired with CoF, but IV has given me the space to breathe my personality into a project. The idea for the band formed very organically with D. Bryan and I bouncing ideas back and forth. Really, it is just an extension of our own interests and characters. I am heavily involved in certain occult practices and concepts, and Dave is very knowledgeable in art and literature. We both share a strong appreciation of the arts in general.
– Finally, what are the short-term future plans for IMPERIAL VENGEANCE?
Playing more shows is the sole focus for the foreseeable future. We have an album that we are extremely proud of fresh off the presses, and we want to get out and play to people. The fans have supported us so thoroughly since the first album, that they deserve to see us in their towns playing for them. This is our plan for the next year.
– That’s all, thanks agian for your time. Now feel free to add the famous last words.
Thank you for taking an interest in us. All I would say in closing is a big thank you to our supporters, and we can’t wait to meet you and play for you.
