DARK FORTRESS is one of the finest products in the German black metal industry and they already have many years of maintaining high standards in their own style. It's been two years since the release of their latest album "Ylem" and now they're finally back on the road again in April with their labelmates NACHTMYSTIUM. What was happening in the meantime, we talked about it with charismatic vocalist Morean…
Hail Morean! How're you doing on these cold winter days?
Morean: What's up! Not doing too well actually, it's too cold for me. Snow looks pretty and all, but I for one can't wait for the summer.
Ok, first question why do you hate French people?
Morean: Hahaha...
Haha, I was just kidding but now I'll go with serious questions... Here we are to talk about many things so I'll start first from the latest news and they are about the upcoming tour in April when DARK FORTRESS will play a direct support for Nachtmystium (US). What took you so long to 'come back' on the road after headlining tour in February 2010? What was happening in the meantime with DARK FORTRESS?
Morean: As many of you might know, some of us are pretty busy with other bands as well, and scheduling can be a nightmare in this band. It so happened that there were a few months where Triptykon, Revamp, Noneuclid and the Hungry Gods had tours and projects all at the same time, which forced us to postpone plans for DARK FORTRESS for a while. This will always play a part in our lives, but this time it was a bit too much. We're very happy to finally get back out there, and to work on new material!
Live in Dietikon, Switzerland 2011
© Christian Baeriswyl | www.cbfotografie.ch
You're in this band since 2007, and knowing that you're primarily a guitarist and composer for your other bands and projects, how do you feel about being singer now instead of being a guitarist?
Morean: I'm getting used to it, although it took me a while. The first time I went on stage without a guitar I felt almost handicapped. But it has great advantages too, you can really focus on the voice performance. Plus, I don't miss hauling tons of equipment around every time we go to play. I also took up lessons with an awesome vocal coach recently, and it gives me a lot of pleasure to discover all the things the human voice is capable of. As far as "real" singing is concerned, I'm an absolute beginner of course, but I'm seeing that there's a whole new universe of possibilities out there. I find it paramount for the vocals to keep developing, also in extreme metal, so I'm always looking for new ways of expression. But no worries - DARK FORTRESS will always stay brutal!
What's your focus on while performing as a singer without a guitar in your hands, and when being a guitarist on the stage? How big differences there are from your point of view? Did your behaviour towards the audience change on the stage, now when you're the main focus and frontman?
Morean | Dark Fortress - Live in London 2009
© Natasha Xavier | www.hastemalaise.com
You also took over writing the lyrical part of DARK FORTRESS songs and when we look at the last two records “Eidolon” and “Ylem” especially “Ylem” which is outstanding record for its lyrics as well, I'm not gonna ask you about the lyrical concept now after 3 years of releasing this album but I want to ask which subjects are usually interesting to you for writing lyrics?
Morean: I seem to gravitate towards psychic abysses and cosmic desasters as subjects. I've always found it easier to go to dark places in my music, and the songs demand lyrics that are as intense and beyond the mundane as the music. I've always had an active interest in the occult, and found most of my inspiration in its endless cosmos. I feel it's my duty as a lyricist also to offer something interesting and genuine, rather than repeating the same clichés over and over. My imagery might be a little complex at times, but hopefully my lyrics can also unfold into new worlds in the listener's mind if one delves deeper into them. One of my influences has always been Aleister Crowley, and if you read The Book of Thoth or Liber Al vel Legis (or his amazing poetry, for that matter), you have to digest them one sentence at a time. He forces you to create a world in your mind to contain the image he's painting, and if I can do that in my own humble way, I'm satisfied because this contributes greatly to the depth and richness of the music I find.
Fortunately, I've always had complete freedom as far as the lyrics are concerned in this band, so all I do is open the doors to my mind and invite people to take a stroll through places they have either never seen, or in some cases may recognize from their own heavens and hells.
I've noticed similarities between Noneuclid's song "None So Lucid" (from the upcoming album "Metatheosis") and DARK FORTRESS song "Redivider", namely in the use of polymetric patters for the guitars and drums. Can you tell us what exactly is going on there? Was Noneuclid an inspiration for DARK FORTRESS in that sense and can we expect more of those crazy things from DARK FORTRESS in the future?
Morean: Well, for one, it's the same crazy people making the stuff.... As a contemporary composer, I deal with complex composition and arranging techniques on a daily basis, and it feels we've barely scratched the surface in terms of how far one could go there. For Seraph, polyphony is an integral part of his instrument, and as I mentioned, we're always looking for new ways of doing our thing. We have to keep ourselves interested in what we do, and we believe that even Black Metal is subjected to a need to evolve and develop. "Redivider" is built on different polyrhythmic patterns. Prime numbers work well there. Imagine one limb of the drummer playing a 5/16-pattern, the next a 7/16, the third a 6/8 and the fourth a 4/4. You get cycles that repeat but coincide in different places every time since they repeat at different lenghts. The effect is something that stays the same but always changes at the same time. If you listen closely and try to follow the different lines simultaneously, you can almost get drunk on this "M.C.-Escheresque" wobbling. "None so Lucid" takes this principle a step further, since it combines this technique with polymetrics, where the different patterns have different tempos as well. A big part of the song is at the same time in 4/4 in one tempo, and at 5/4 in a different tempo. The effect is (hopefully) the same, like the ground on which you stand and feel safe on being pulled away from under your feet. In the case of DARK FORTRESS though, the challenge is to still always keep the music accessible and recognizable. Bands like Portishead prove time and time again that you can have super weird music going on behind the singer without the song becoming esoteric or too abstract. We are often curious if we can do something similar in a totally different kind of music. These orchestrational details don't have to concern the listener at all actually, we do this more for ourselves, but the people that are interested in going deeper into how the songs are made will find that there's plenty going on that doesn't meet the eye at first glance.
Can you tell me how come DARK FORTRESS end up using "Rite of Phoenix", a song that you wrote over 20 years ago? Did you make any adjustments in the arrangements or lyrics?
Morean: It was V Santura's idea actually. I wrote the song back in 1991 for my teenage band, and Santura knows it from back then. Once he was musing if it would be interesting to do something with that song (which has never been released), so I pulled it from the trash can, added a second guitar and keyboard part, changed a couple of lines of lyrics which I found didn't stand the test of time too well, and presented it to the band. Everyone happened to like it, so we're gonna try it out and see what happens.
Knowing that you're musically very active on many different sides can you tell us how did go all the work on „Deconstruction“ for The Devin Townsend Project? How did you guys connect? Was it pleasant to work with Devin and how much satisfied are you now?
Morean: This has been an unforgettable experience for me. Devin is the coolest mofo on the planet, and a genious - which becomes more apparent the closer you work with him. Already the first demos he sent me were superb, but even though I knew every note on that album by heart months ahead of the release, it was still a shock when I heard the final product. I had to actively stop listening to that album since I could think of nothing else any more because it's so good. Because I didn't compose the music, just arranged and transcribed it and helped in the production, I can say without tooting my own horn that I see this album as a next step in musical evolution. It's obvious that it's maybe too much for some people, but in my opinion a lot of artists can go home after this release. It sets a new standard and raised the bar for everything prog by a lot more than just a notch. I can't wait for the next chapter of madness coming our way from Devin's beautiful brain.
Morean: Thanks! I'm very happy with it, although it all happened rather quickly so there was not much time to think. But I knew the band from before, and I have great respect for Amir as a composer and musician, and I really appreciate what they're trying to do. I
Morean: Lately I get a lot of request for collaborations, recently for German Black Metalers Haradwaith for example. On the whole, I enjoy guest appearances if I dig the band and have a feeling I can contribute something that fits. But at the same time, my time is pretty stretched as it is with my own stuff, and I'm still recovering from a recent overload. In general, I never had problems coming up with stuff, due to my compulsive nature I guess, but I'm realizing I have to be more careful now. It's hard to focus if you have to split your concentration between too many things.
When talking about composing now, do you already have a vision about the lyrical concept about the next DARK FORTRESS release? I guess there's cooking something...
Morean: There is, but for now that remains in the privacy of my own mind. When we have a vision of where the album is going, I'll talk about it. It's still to fragile to taint it with words, to pin it down already, that would confuse me right now. It's like a seed that has to grow underground for a while before it can show itself. We also need to have a few more new songs ready before I can confirm that my conceptual plans fit the music at all.
Live @ de Boerderij, Zoetermeer 2010
© Nick van Balen
Since that's part of a future, we'll switch back to present for now and mention also that there was recently a show of DARK FORTRESS with Noneuclid in your hometown. I thought Noneuclid is put on „stand-by“ mode but does this mean that this band project is back on the track and that you'll start composing new stuff for this band as well? And this is also a chance to say to many labels out there to check out Noneuclid…
Morean: Definitely, though it's quite different from DARK FORTRESS. But it would be great to get our stuff out there in a decent way finally. We're opening a new chapter with Noneuclid right now. I just got promoted to vocalist in this band as well, next to my guitar duties, since Bruce left (in all friendship, by the way). If scheduling is different for DARK FORTRESS, imagine how difficult it is for NONEUCLID. We're a pretty unusual band, and when we're active it's really intense, like for our orchestral collaborations. So we're turning the page, we've become a more compact outfit and at the same time all doors are wide open towards many ideas, from club tours as a metal band to expanding our symphonic work. Who knows, maybe we make a triphop album next. That's what I love about NONEUCLID, there are no musical limits whatsoever. Only time can tell.
Morean: No problem, thanks for the interview!
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