Falkenbach pour l'album "Heralding - The Fireblade"

1. First, could you present your project and sum up your story so far?

1989:
Vratyas Vakyas recorded the 1st tape called Havamal. The tape contains 3 tracks and was limited to 9 copies.

1991:
Vratyas started to play guitar in a band called Crimson Gates. 2 demos (unreleased) were recorded between '91 and '93, and 2 live performances took place. The band decided to split up in 1994.

1995:
The tape Laeknishendr was recorded and mixed, containing 6 older re-recorded tracks.
In '95 the recording session of Falkenbach's debut album "The Fireblade" began, due to heavy problems with the studio equipment Vratyas decided to stop the session a short while before the mix. "Heralding - The Fireblade" was later in 2005 completely re-recorded and released. In December '95 Vratyas entered the Blue House Studio to start recording ...En Their Medh Riki Fara...

1996:
In March '96 Vratyas recorded and completed the debut album. "EnTheir Medh Riki Fara…" was released via NCR.

1998:
Vratyas recorded the 2nd album "Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri…" at the Blue House again, this time released through Napalm Records.

2003:
After almost 6 years of silence Vratyas entered the TidalWave Studios in 2 sessions for the 3rd album "Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty…". The album contained 7 tracks and was released on November 3rd 2003.

2004:
The 15 years anniversary of Falkenbach.

2005:
"Heralding - The Fireblade" , meant to be released in 2004, finally available on 25th Nov. 2005.


2. How would you define your music?

I do not like to label music in general. Falkenbach is Falkenbach, nothing else, and for me personally there is no need to find a way to define the music by finding a name for it.


3. "Heralding - The Fireblade" is your forth album. How long does the writing process last and who composed the 8 pieces of this album?

As always, the songs were composed by me, how long it did take I really cannot remember, it´s too long ago meanwhile.


4. What can we expect from this new album? In which way this one is different from "Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty" (the previous one)?

It´s more rough somehow, more based on metal instead of folk elements, and also features more fast parts. All in all you can compare it much easier to the earlier albums of Falkenbach, that´s the main difference, I guess.


5. Like on "Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty", "Heralding - The Fireblade" was recorded with Boltthorn, Hagalz and Tyrann from Vindsval. What do they bring to the music of Falkenbach?

It´s been a great experience to get their help during the recording, all three of them enriched the quality of the albums a lot by reason for their musical skills as well as their outstanding characters.


6. How important are the lyrics in your music? Where do you find your inspiration and can you tell us more about them in "Heralding - The Fireblade"?

The lyrics, as always, are about northern and western Germanic traditions, cultures, mythologies etc. The inspiration question is hard to answer, I do not know where inspiration comes from, this must be one of the oldest questions of mankind, and I am not able to answer it.


7. Falkenbach has always been YOUR band. Is it important for you that Falkenbach remains a "one-man-band" (except for the recording obviously)?

Yes, I think to work on the song writing process with other musicians always means to make compromises, and I do not want Falkenbach to be a bunch of compromises at all.


8. What are you listening to these days? Any good metal (or not metal) albums to recommend?

No really, I mainly listen to classical music, and beside that underground stuff and demos. Most of them are probably unknown to most of the readers anyway, as those bands did not release anything officially.


9. Thank you for your time. The last words are yours!

Thanx for your support!
Check www.Falkenbach.de