1) When did your band start and why?
I started Perpetual Dawn in January 2009. It started as a 10 minute song in which I wanted to mix doom, folk and black styles from all the bands I liked at the time. However, I then saw that an Australian folk promotion page had been created called AusFolk, and that there were Australian bands playing folk/black metal. This motivated me to make the 10 minute song into a proper song (which became …Of night), and to write 3 other songs in a similar fashion. The result was the original demo, which I immediately started promoting. AusFolk enjoyed it and promoted it within their page, which further motivated me to continue my own promotion. Through this a first fan base appeared, and I’ve been motivated to share my ideas ever since.
2) What style of genre of music are you going for?
Initially, the atmosphere I felt from early Empyrium, in combination with the faster, melodic folk metal bands I liked, made me want to make some form of faster, folk-doom. I first started singing / growling in 2009 so I took whatever vocal style I was able to do, fast. Hence the deeper vocals emerged as more natural, and a black metal/melodic death metal growl. Since 2009, with respect to new songs I’ve written, I think the doom influence has gotten stronger. However, at the same time it has kept the speed it got from folk metal, and still has many folk arrangements. In other words, it is weird.
3) Any past bands you guys been in? or side projects at all?
Just various bands with friends, nothing really worth mentioning. I am currently playing guitar in a folk/power metal band started with my friend, called Stormwatch. I’ve also collaborated with Josh from Astral Winter, and recorded clean vocals for his “Winter Enthroned” release.
4) How many albums/demos/material have you guy(s) done so far? and how does the recording process work for you?
I’ve just created the one “…And become the essence of night” demo, which I released as a physical EP later on with an extra song. Originally, in late 2009 and most of 2010, I started re-recording the demo with a friend who happened to be a brilliant sound engineer and drummer. By the end of 2010 we finished 95% of the recording. Unfortunately, I was unable to get into contact with him again and never got those recordings. Hence I decided to release the original demo as an EP, and focus on a new release instead of worrying about the old one. The recording process prior to that included me writing, recording, and engineering everything. For the next release, I hope to make it a much more collaborative process.
5) What is your lyrical content mostly about, and what do you want everyone out there to get out of it? The lyrical context for “…And become the essence of night” was largely influenced by my 2008 Europe trip, where I visited the area that I spent early years of my life living in. The lyrical content, as a result, is related to life narrative and themes influenced by that specific time and environment. If anything, I would suggest through the music that folk/black metal is not bound to a specific geographic/cultural location. Folklore is essentially life narrative, and everyone possesses such; whether individual or collective.
6) What is the music scene like in your area?
I believe that most interest in Perpetual Dawn is international and interstate. Most of the other bands and musicians I have worked with have been interstate, and 90% of the EP sales have been interstate and international. However, locally there are some great musicians and fans.
7) What has the online world done for you and what has it done good promotion wise for all your bands? Has it been a good outlet for sales, and fans and contacts in which you couldn’t get unless otherwise, or is it the opposite? 8) Without the online arena we wouldn’t be having this interview. Personally, it has provided me the ability to collaborate with other musicians who live interstate/internationally, and record for each other without having to be in the same place at the same time. Promotion wise, it has connected Perpetual Dawn to fans and other musicians that would otherwise be out of reach. It is also the only way people can hear the music besides owning the EP. However, at the same time, it does lack charm which would have been present in the 80’s, 90’s without it.
8) What do you think of the generation of today? iPods or hard form?
I think metal fans in general prefer to have hard copies of music. Vinyl becomes a fun and expensive hobby, but more fulfilling. With that said, some music is almost impossible to find in hard copy, or it comes only as a vinyl averaging $100-200 on eBay. That’s where the accessibility of mp3 can be useful.
9) What is your life like outside of music? Hobbies? Things you enjoy doing?
Secret social science nerd; writing, reading, vinyl collecting.
10) What are some of your main influences in the metal genre and why?
I think specific band releases were most influential to me. Like previously said, the atmosphere of the first two Empyrium albums, in combination with the faster, metal, and melodic nature of folk metal bands I enjoyed, made me want to make some form of faster, folk-doom. These included bands like Ensiferum, Falkenbach, Windir, etc; along with other bands such as Opeth, Borknagar, Wintersun etc. Vocal wise, deeper vocals felt more natural, such as those similar to Empyrium, Wintersun, and Funeral’s “From these wounds” release.
11) What labels are you associated with and how’s working with them?
I currently run all of Perpetual Dawn’s activity, and as a result most promotion has been through my own efforts, and through the help of the vast friends and musicians I have had the pleasure of being associated with. The last release was miniscule (limited to 50 copies), which made it more convenient to self-publish and release. However, I’m hoping that the next demo/EP will be a slightly bigger release, requiring the support of a label.
12) What was the last album about and how has the reception been to it so far and where can listeners get it?
Like mentioned previously, the latest “…And become the essence of night” EP is the original demo reprinted with an extra song. In terms of reception, it has been good. I’m surprised that new people each year are still showing interest in the music. It was 2009 when I recorded the songs, which was the period in time when I was learning to sing/growl, and when I first learnt to engineer entire songs independently. The songs do have charm, but three years of additional experience will definitely show. The EP is sold out, but the demo is available for free download from the Perpetual Dawn Youtube channel; and the extra EP song is also a Youtube video.
13) Final and last question, what are your main goals for 2012 and what is on your list of things to do for Perpetual Dawn? And where should everyone check out your music at?
Some exciting new updates are definitely in the mix. New demo/EP entitled “Pale Blue Skies...” is planned for a 2012 recording and release. The artwork has been arranged and it also contains a new logo (which can be seen in the Astral Winter / Perpetual Dawn cover of Sleeping Stars). I plan to involve other musicians on the EP, particularly a keyboardist and a drummer. Similarly, I hope to have Josh from Astral Winter drop some guitar on the EP, as I have previously put clean vocals on his “Winter Enthroned” release; a tradition definitely worth continuing. Real musicians and the collective experience between us should make this a nice release. So the main goal now will be to start recording when possible, and release updates when they come! Check out the Perpetual Dawn Youtube channel for music updates, and the Perpetual Dawn Facebook page for news, updates and links.
Cheers for the interview!
-Daniel
http://perpetualdawnmetal.bigcartel.com/
http://www.myspace.com/perpetualdawnofficial
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002302348154&sk=info
http://soundcloud.com/perpetual-dawn
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