TROLLCAVE is a Funeral Doom/Death band from Barcelona, originally formed in 2021 by Marc Rodriguez and Marta Martínez, who were already playing together in the Doom Metal band ERED GULDUR. Last November, they offered us a little gem with their second EP, “Adoration of the Abyssal Trespasser”. This release made us want to learn more and share it with our readers, so we sent Marc a few questions.
1/ Hi! Does your name have any connection with the Cave Troll from the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons? If not, where did it come from (Norse mythology?)?
To be honest Marta and I wanted to do some sort of dungeon 8-bit kind of band called
TROLL COVEN, but she thought, dude, I want to play guitar, you could show me how to play guitar and we could create a new band… so I just started doing some sort of like cavey grimey riffs that she could play with the level she had at the time, and then thinking about the name, we liked
TROLL COVEN but suddenly
TROLLCAVE appeared and from then, that’s the name we have hahahaha.
2/ You play Funeral Doom/Death, but you mention Necrotic Death/Doom on your Instagram page. What nuances are you aiming for with the term “Necrotic”?
I think it’s what I like to relate the music I write to, I think it has that kind of vibe, I feel like it has a relation also with the atmosphere we create in the albums as well as playing live.
Also looks pretty killer.
3/ In addition to death, the titles of your tracks draw from the lexical field of decay, disease, and malformities, as well as the abyss/the depths. What inspires you to write within such a universe?
Well I’m not the guy taking part in this part, but I can tell though that we’re really big fans of Lovecraftian stuff, also having that kind of weird dark fantasy in our covers, having some sort of surrealism and madness makes everything easier to imagine hahaha. Carlos (Ed. note: singer) also is pretty fucking crazy and he comes up with killer lyrics and song titles that just suit perfectly the cover and the music we do!
4/ I’d like to focus particularly on malformities, which are a recurring theme in all your artwork (created by yourself). Where does this come from, and is it an inseparable part of your identity?
Yeah 100%, we like to think that what we do is a musical representation of all the fucked up stuff I have in my head, it’s kind of like our own identity or my way of seeing music. I like to think that this is what those creatures would sound or even listen to if they existed and how they would look if they were real.
5/ Musically, you’re often compared to diSEMBOWELMENT, WINTER, and early EVOKEN. Do you think there are other bands that would also help give an idea of your sound?
For sure, there’s so many bands, I could tell you some though. For me a big big inspiration is
ANATOMIA. When I first listened to them they just blew my mind, and I really feel that could be another band we really like how they compose and play and the sound they have live and on a record. Other bands could be without a doubt
THERGOTHON,
AUTOPSY,
GRAVE UPHEAVAL,
SWALLOWED or
SPECTRAL VOICE.
6/ Did you have a bassist at the very beginning?
No we didn’t, we were just Marta and I. She used to do guitars and bass with a splitter and a pitch octaver to have that thick and huge sound.
TROLLCAVE was kind of like a present from me to her hahahaha, and look where it has led us… it’s quite unreal to be honest.
7/ Now that you have a full lineup, does everyone contribute ideas, or are you still in charge of composition?
I’m still doing everything, also when it comes to the tracking in the studio I do all of it too. It’s still that way.
8/ TROLLCAVE was initially meant to be just a side project. How do you see it now?
I feel it’s my main band at the moment, but I also felt that I kind of forgot
SANCTUARIUM a bit, I’m trying to make that right since
SANCTUARIUM was my first project and
TROLLCAVE was created for Marta, also me but mainly Marta, it’s more hers than mine even though I do everything hahahaha.
9/ I think the sound of your latest EP, “Adoration of the Abyssal Trespasser”, is better than your previous recordings. However, I believe it’s still you who record in your rehearsal room. Has anything changed?
Yeah a lot of things have changed. But the first ones were done that way also on purpose. I feel I gained a bit more clarity but that muddiness might always be there, I love that abysmal feeling to the music I do.
10/ How did you end up with the English label Me Saco Un Ojo Records for this second EP? What did they bring to the table?
Well, he approached me because of
SANCTUARIUM, and I just asked if he’d be also down to release the
TROLLCAVE stuff, he listened to it and he was down to do it, that’s the main thing actually, that’s how we got in contact, and it’s been amazing since then.
11/ Atmospheres are crucial on this record (a very long gloomy keyboard intro, creepy whispers, an outro that could belong in a horror movie like “The Thing”, etc.). What psychological state do you want to put your listeners in?
The same state I’m in. Kind of gloomy, you could even say sad in some parts, kind of unstable, you know just an experience.
12/ I’ve heard of a second album that will be around 40-45 minutes of music. We’re already excited! What can we expect from it?
Wow, just started working on some new songs, and man they’re turning pretty fucking good, there’s some more
diSEMBOWELMENT and
SWALLOWED stuff in there, kind of a bit crazier but always with those funerary feelings and super slow parts, those are the best ones hahahaha, always slow, but when you have some super fast sections the listener kind of wakes up and it makes the super long song quite enjoyable and more like history rather than a 13 min song of just pure slow heavy riffing.
13/ Considering how recently you’ve formed, you’ve already participated in many international events like the Extremely Rotten Death Metal Fest 17 in Denmark, Tons of Decay III in the Czech Republic, and of course the Japanese tour with ANATOMIA. What’s your secret?
I think it’s to follow my dreams man, doing it with my friends and the girl I love is the best way, they’re always super supportive and each and every one of us has a huge impact and weight in the band, we’re all on the same page and in my mind we’re irreplaceable. Also, for me the most important thing is to do what I like to do, I love all the albums I’ve done, and I think that’s super important too.
14/ We saw GRAVEYARD, BALMOG & JADE at Le Klub in Paris in August 2023 for the Three Candles To Death event. Were you still the drummer for JADE at that time? If so, what memories do you have of that concert?
Yeah I was the drummer in that tour, man it was so sick, that was my first time in Paris and I loved it. We had a blast playing at Le Klub, hope we can do it again with
TROLLCAVE or
SANCTUARIUM, would be an honor.
15/ You had three concerts in Spain last March with HYPERDONTIA and OPOSITOR. Do you have any dates planned in France or other European festivals to announce until the end of the year?
Not at the moment no. Everything is out there hahahaha.
Editor's note: we have since learned of their participation in the Kill-Town Death Fest X which will be held from September 4th to 7th in Denmark.
16/ Are there still bands you dream of sharing the stage with?
Of course man, I wish
diSEMBOWELMENT reunited and played a one-off show, I’d love to share stage with them… I’d love to play with
SKEPTICISM for example, such an important band for me… there’s so many bands I wish I could meet and share stage with them.
17/ I recently discovered ORNAMENTOS DEL MIEDO, another Spanish Funeral Doom band (more ethereal compared to TROLLCAVE). What do you think of them, if you know them? Any other bands you’d recommend?
They’re killer man, don’t know the guys personally but the music is pretty fucking great. Yeah there’s some really amazing bands,
CEREBRAL CURSE for example, or
DOPEMANCER,
TORT,
MORBID FLESH,
GOD’S FUNERAL or my personal and most important project
EXHUMATION.
18/ What are your upcoming projects beyond the second album; maybe a music video?
Ahh I don’t know about that, we’re not really big fans of that, maybe a live recording with video or something? That could be great…
19/ If you have anything else to announce, now’s the time!
Just hope everyone keeps enjoying and listening to our music and attending the shows. That’s the best thing about having a band and doing tours, people!
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