– Hello, thanks for taking the time. Though you aren’t a new band at all, you have been through a long hiatus so, could you please start making some history of NIGHT IN GALES?

Sure! NIGHT IN GALES were founded in 1995 by Jens & Frank Basten (the Basten brothers) of the current line-up. Then came a demo and an EP in 1995 respectively 1996, then I joined the band in 1996, since then we released 4 albums, “Towards The Twilight” (1997), “Thunderbeast” (1998), “Nailwork” (2000) and “Necrodynamic” (2001) as well as another EP in 2005. Now time has come and “Five Scars” will see the light of day in november. And if you, dear readers, are into melodic death metal but don´t know us yet, you should move your asses and get some NIGHT IN GALES!

– What prompted your dissolution and what made you guys come back in 2009? During these years; what were you up to? Have you had any other musical projects?

Actually we never split up. We were just too busy with other things and probably lacked some energy and motivation to keep NIGHT IN GALES running. THE VERY END, DEADSOIL, GRIND INC or IN BLACKEST VELVET are only a few examples of bands one or another band member was or still is busy with. Just add some everyday life issues like work, family etc and suddenly the last album has been released 10 years ago! After “Necrodynamic” our former drummer Christian left the band, and in 2003 Adriano entered the drum stool, while the “Ten Years Of Tragedy” EP in 2005 was his first release with NIGHT IN GALES. From 2006 to 2010 it was more or less silent around the band, we´ve only played a few shows here and there. Bu especially in this time the abovementioned bands were more active, so this was no conscious decision. Thus, there was no real comeback, though we´ve always felt the need to get the whole thing going again. We strongly felt that we still had more to give. There was quite some shit going on around the release of “Necrodynamic”, and this whole business aspects brought some negative energy, yet the creative drive of the band wasn´t killed, it was just sleeping so to say. So somehow we heard a wake up call and started writing “Five Scars”. Or maybe we simply need to fill up our “Death Metal Millionaire” bank accounts? Who knows…

 

– And why did you pick that name for the band? Does it has something to do with Swedish NIGHTINGALE?

Nope, it´s rather a play of words. NIGHT IN GALES is a synonym for a stormy night, and has only something to do with “nightingale” – the word, not the band – when you say the band name, not when you read or write it, you know? Of course there may be misunderstandings here and there, but we´ve always liked the usage of weird expressions… just take a look at those

feverish lyrics haha!

 

– After that long hiatus I mentioned; how does it feel like having a new NIGHT IN GALES’ album in your hands? And how did you feel like while creating it?

It will still take a few weeks until we literally hold the finished album in our hands, with artwork and everything, but still it´s a good feeling to know having it all done! As far as the creation process goes, I can only talk for myself, because this album hasn´t been written in the rehearsal room or the like. Jens writes the music and I write the lyrics, but to hear Jens´ demo versions of the new tracks was awesome! There´s also a concept behind the lyrics. If you know a bit about the lyrics of the former NIGHT IN GALES albums you might notice that immediately. However, I felt a motivation for this band that all of us obviously missed for quite a while. Writing and recording these tracks was awesome, and we feel we created something special! Can´t wait to get that fucker out I tell ya!

 

– During these years the band has been out of the scene; how has the Melodic Death movement changed?

Unfortunately most of the melo-death movement vanished into nothingness and insignificance. “Five Scars” will be a definite lesson how this metal style should sound like in 2011, plus it will remind people how great this style was back in the 90s. At The Gates, Edge Of Sanity, Unanimated, Eucharist or early albums of Dark Tranquillity or In Flames really brought something new back then. Of course you can´t remain static, but these bands are either dead or don´t play that sound anymore. In addition hordes of wannabes stole their ideas and mixed them with irrelevance. I´m sure “Five Scars” will introduce some kids to the real deal.

 

– What are your expectations with this new «Five Scars»? Do you expect having the impact you caused back in 1997 with your debut album?

As the whole music scene has changed so much since 1997, I really don´t see such an impact. Though i would surely be happy! But if you sold for example 10.000 albums 10-15 years ago, you will probably sell 2.000 nowadays. I´m sure it WILL have an impact, and the reactions to the first song we already released are really cool. But we take it as it comes. At least this album is made with a shitload of heartsblood, so it definitely deserves attention!

 

– And how could you describe the album’s sound in just a few words?

 

Passionate, energetic, elaborate, tragic, apocalyptic, thrilling.

 

– «Necrodynamic» was a more progressive album and this new release follows, in certain ways, that same pattern, being even more progressive. Have you lately opened to new influences? As, beisde that, I also notice some more modern details. Though the aforementioned, in «Five Scars» you have mixed perfectly elements from all your previous album, creating an album with some of your trademarks and best details. Was this something you aimed for?

I think “Nailwork” was our most progressive album, but of course you´re right that “Necrodynamic” had some tricky moments, too. Unfortunately we missed the target a bit, or better, we overshot in a way. Mix, vocal performance etc didn´t really turn out the way the could have. However, I only partly agree that “Five Scars” is more progressive. Sure, this is no dumbass music, but after all it´s rather straight I think. But this album didn´t turn out the way it did because we “lately opened to new influences”. It´s just because we wrote it in 2010/11, not in 2001, you know? We took a step back, one to the side and 2 forwards. We tried to keep the NIGHT IN GALES trademark and create a classic melodic death metal album, but of course with a contemporary approach. We ain´t no retro nerds, and anything else but writing an up-to-date yet timeless album was no option for us. So yes, we aimed for that. And we hit the mark, haha!

 

– After all these years; did anything change in your songwriting?

Not really, no. Jens writes the music, I write the lyrics. We only preproduced a couple of songs, so the majority of lyrics & vocals arrangements weren´t revealed until the actual recordings. We didn´t rehearse or anything like that. But we know what to expect from eachother as songwriters, so it was all cool, and after the final mastering everybody had a huge smile from ear to ear!

 

– The album has been produced by mighty Dan Swanö (who, by the way, said some really good compliments about the album); how did everything go?

The album has been produced by ourselves, but Dan did the mix, of course! Yeah, he is totally into the album and we really appreciate his comments. He´s also a total smooth and down-to-earth guy and actually spends a few days a month right around the corner from our places, so the whole mixing process was totally relaxed. I guess it´s a good time for Dan, as he, just liked Waldemar Sorychta for example, wasn´t really that active for quite a while, but gets more and more back into the whole thing. That´s also where I had my first contact with Dan, when he mastered THE VERY END´s debut “Vs. Life”, which also was a really nice cooperation back in 2008. So this time, with NIGHT IN GALES, we simply wanted him to do the complete mix – and he was like “Hell, yeah!” rightaway!

 

– You have been in different labels such as Nuclear Blast or Massacre Records. This new effort has been released via Lifeforce Records; how’s everything going with them so far? Could you say this cooperation is better than the one you had with Massacre, your previous company?

Well, you know, there were different reasons why we left Massacre Records and why it was a bit silent around NIGHT IN GALES after “Necrodynamic”. Of course it always takes two to tango, but I just don´t wanna do gossip here. Let´s just say we´re really happy with Lifeforce so far, and I´m sure they will keep on doing a good job for this album. If not, we´re gonna kick their asses anyway haha!

 

– And finally, what are your near-future plans? Will we have to wait that long until your next full-length album?

Of course want to promote “Five Scars” as good as possible, which means playing single shows as well as festivals and a tour. We´re talking to some booking agencies at the moment, so keep your fingers crossed! Right now we´re busy with preparations for the release and a few release shows in november, but 2012 will hopefully see some good NIGHT IN GALES shows, hopefully also in Spain, where we didn´t play since the 23rd of may 2000 on the tour with Old Man´s Child, Krisiun etc. So it´s time to return, right? As for the next album – you never know…

 

– That’s all form my side, thanks once more for your time. If you want to add some final comments; last lines are all yours.

We have to thank YOU! By the way – this was my first interview for “Five Scars”… So, I´m sending a big CHEERS to all spanish metalheads, to all readers of Queens Of Steel, and I hope “Five Scars” is on your shopping list now, folks. It´s worth it! If you can´t afford it – steal or download it, but keep on supporting NIGHT IN GALES on all the damn social media profiles or wherever you can! Cheers!

 

Sergio Fernández

sergio@queensofsteel.com

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