RUNNING MAIDEN (EN)

-Hi there. Thanks for answering to our interview. How are you guys doing having just released (last October) your debut EP? It might be exciting times I guess. What’s the feeling when you can hold the real, physical artifact in your hands? When it’s not just something abstract anymore, not just ideas?

Hey! Thanks for reaching out and having us on this awesome platform of yours.
It’s been exciting indeed. We couldn’t imagine what was ahead of us when we first released the EP. The response was and still is amazing. We are so thankful to be able to share what we love and to see that other people care and like it as well.

-Last December 31st you played your first show ever. How did it go? Any more live plans?

Right, that was the Old Year Deströy Party organized by the amazing Basilisk Deströyers crew. And it sure was one hell of a party. We totally tasted blood and we’re hungry for more.
For now we have one upcoming show on the 6th of May in our hometown of Lucerne. It’s a one day festival called Starlett Stock and it’s gonna be an honor to play side by side with well established bands like Venator and Megaton Sword to name a few.

-How and why was RUNNING MAIDEN born? I read it pretty much started as a lockdown project.

Exactly, but it started even before that when I actually got rejected by another band for simply being a woman. That’s when I decided to take things into my own hands and create my own music. So lockdown hit and I had plenty of time to dedicate myself to making music.

-How did it evolve from a one-woman project into a full band?

Out of fun I posted this poorly and all self-done recording of the first ever song Running Maiden on my social media and that awakened interest in todays Guitarist Ramon. He believed in it and pushed it on so I brought Manuel into the game as an old friend who was the best drummer I knew and we started to jam every once in a while.

-You self released the EP in October, but in a few days Dying Victims is going to release it in tape format. How did you get in contact with them? Are there plans to keep working with them for some future release (if there’s any in the works)?

We were lucky that Simon of THD Studios who recorded and mixed the EP knew the guy from Dying Victims quite well and he actually got in contact with him and sent him our stuff. There’s nothing in the works yet but it’s definitely a possibility.

-Sound-wise these three songs are very old school, raw Heavy Metal with Speed hints. It’s like mixing ACID and BLACK MAGIC. What albums have you been listening to while working on this EP? Are there any new bands or artists where you can recognize yourselves in?

We actually can’t remember what albums exactly we listened to.
I guess it’s the mix between rock music of the late 70s and the thrash/speed metal from the 80s that forms the sound of RM.
And for newer bands one could name In Solitude, Mystik or Electric Citizen. Definitely inspiring bands.

-Did you have a clear vision of the kind of music you wanted to play with RUNNING MAIDEN and how you wanted it to be aesthetically? How does everything connect? Since it seems like everything (band photos, cover artwork, lyrics, etc.) fits together.

Well the earliest vision was to have a mix of Running Wild and Iron Maiden. That’s actually also where the name Running Maiden originally came from. But that was a few beers in to be honest.
Through the name I then came up with this whole story of a girl running from church into the arms of the devil and him taking her in. So with that it was clear that the project should have this occult and obscure feeling to it.
But essentially we always did what we liked.

-Lyrics are obviously inspired by the occult, or at least have this occult, ritual aesthetic. What are they inspired by? What are your non-musical inspirations?

All the lyrics contain criticism on todays system that we live in. It’s really an outlet for me. The guys can usually relate to it too.
I like to tell them as stories some of which are inspired by actual sagas and legends of the old.

-Most of them depict powerful women. Or witches. Rebels. In this style it’s not very common to hear this yet, as it’s a very male-dominated scene. There aren’t enough women in traditional Heavy Metal singing about vengeance and saying in first person “I am Evil, I am mean”. Is it an act of defiance too? A statement?

Definitely. Sexism is sadly still present in all areas including the metal scene. And you’re right, there aren’t enough women, so I’d really like to see more and maybe even open up the way a bit more for some to join in.

-In fact Metal has always advocated for liberation and individualism, so it’s very ironic that there are still nowadays a lot of bigoted behaviors in the Metal “community”. Are these kind of attitudes that are based on traditional ideas that annul one’s individuality, compatible with this rebellious spirit Metal is meant to be about?

It’s clearly not compatible. We may live and make music like it’s the 80s but a few years have passed since then and mindsets like that have never been okay but now they are just obsolete. People tolerate you so you better bring up the same respect.
Metal is about living your best live, expressing yourself and being free and there’s definitely no room for any such behavior.

-In fact gender stereotypes seem to be firmly screwed in the genre (as in society in general). What do you think is the reason behind this? Maybe that it tends to be a very nostalgic “world”? And what would be the first steps to make in order to revert this? As we are all part of this; from musicians to writers, from promoters to fans.
That’s a very good question. I guess one could blame it on that.. I also feel like there is a change coming. Slowly but steadily there are more and more women rising in the scene. Something I maybe wish for is more women supporting women.

-Anyway during the last years there have been more and more organizations and movements in the Metal scenes that take actions against sexism and different forms of discrimination. Would you say the Rock/Metal community is more inclusive or at least being more aware of certain issues that seemed unaddressed until recently?

Hm.. that’s a tough one.. As far as I can tell there’s definitely awareness and things are getting better but we still gotta stand our ground and you can’t let yourself get down by these closed-minded people.
-Are there any women artists (not just in Metal and/or Rock) who you can look up for inspiration? Maybe not just in their body of work, but something in their attitude, their way of facing the world…
Oh there are a few but I’m definitely a big fan of Amy Taylor of Amyl And The Sniffers. Her whole attitude and lookout on the world are awesome. It seems like she’s just being herself no matter what and she’s so charismatic. I also wish I only had a fraction of her energy.

-And finally what’s next for RUNNING MAIDEN?
We are currently working on some new music of which we wanna release a single or so in the near future so look out for that! And also play as many gigs as we can.

– That was all we had, thanks again for your time. If you’d like to add some final words, feel free to do it.

Thanks a lot to you! We really appreciated these questions. Definitely keep up the great work. Cheers!

Running Maiden