Interview Wolven Ancestry - Metal Made in Canada

Interview avec Lord Defiler 2009-09-03

*Interview conducted by San Louie (SL) and Stéphane St-Hilaire (SH) from Canadian Metal Support with Lord Defiler, vocalist of Ontario black metal band, Wolven Ancestry.

SL: For those who don't know Wolven Ancestry, can you talk a little bit about your musical background & the band history? How was Wolven Ancestry created and who chose the band's name and what is the meaning of the name "Wolven Ancestry"?

LD: The name Wolven Ancestry can be perceived in many ways, depending on the individual that is deciphering its meaning. To us, the Wolf is a magnificent creature dominant within the very forests we roam in our homeland. The entirety of the band believe themselves to be at one with nature and our surroundings and indeed we feel at one with the Wolf, making us a part of its ancestry. When we enter a forest, the forest also enters us.

We have been creating Northern hymns since late 2005, and playing live as a full band since 2006. During this time we have toured all of Canada and most of Northern United States. Our travels have brought us to share the stage with many great bands like Mayhem, Ensiferum, Behemoth, Impaled Nazarene, Sigh, and several other bands that have influenced us in some way. We also completed a tour in direct support for Rotting Christ as well as several festival appearances in Canada and the US. We work very hard independently and positive results keep us dedicated and working harder than ever before.

SL: We noted that you guys just released your 2nd Full Length Album "Silence of the Boreal" in Aug this year, could you tell me more about "Silence of the Boreal"? Where did you guys record it? How long did it take?

LD: That is correct. We have recently released our second full length album through our own label Archaic North Entertainment. We are currently working out distribution as well so our releases will become more available to our fans around the world and should be available in most music stores catalogues and order lists. It is a big achievement for us so we are excited to announce this news.

The album was recorded by Fraust at his studio here in Sudbury called Sardonic Moon Studios. The whole operation took us about eight months in total, to record, mix and master everything and two of the tracks were also written in the studio. The reasoning behind the lengthy process was mainly due to the fact that we wanted to get the album as perfect as we could while still keeping it as raw and pure as possible at the same time. A lot of trial and error also added to the time spent working on Silence of the Boreal but when you are doing it all yourself it takes more time. This was not an easy task, however we are quite satisfied with the end result. We will continue to produce our own albums because it allows for a more personal experience and a lot is learned with each album that is done in the studio. The learning process takes a bit longer sometimes, but it is well worth the wait.

Silence of the Boreal, lyrically is also a concept album. Perhaps not a concept in a story sense, but each song is about a different topic relating to early Canadian history. We wanted to keep Nordic themes and I spent the last year or so doing extensive research on our country and its ancient peoples amongst other topics. I learned a lot during this time and applied some of the information that I had found to be interesting, and perhaps had relation to Wolven Ancestry’s own personal beliefs as a band collectively. There is something very spiritual, and animistic about the natural elements that are contained within Canada and this is something we wanted to focus on with this album. Topics such as the Boreal Forest, Inuit and Native-American mythology, migratory routes, and battles in the earliest history of our country are a few of the topics that were focused on.

SL: Please talk about the evolution in the band, from your 1st Full Length Album "The Wrath of Gaia" to 2nd Full Length Album "Silence of the Boreal"?

LD: During the mixing and mastering process a lot of new ideas were discussed amongst the band and some were used, and others tossed aside. It really was a mutual process as we all contributed to the album whereas with the Wrath of Gaia, Fraust wrote all the music and I wrote all the lyrics and did the vocals. The materials on Silence of the Boreal consist mainly of Fraust’s arrangements again, but this time each member had a say and we all worked together with the arrangements and editing the songs until a mutual agreement was made.

Musically, each band member has progressed a hundred fold since the first album and I think it really shows on Silence of the Boreal. Perhaps a surprising fact to some, but the drums were programmed on The Wrath of Gaia so it is much better to have a real drummer backing up the new album. We believe Guyzus to be a solid attribute to Wolven Ancestry and the percussion on the new album adds a new form of intensity to our music. The first album was much more slow and precise, melodic and atmospheric where the new album is equally as melodic, but a lot more dark and intense. This was a natural progression for the band and we will continue to progress as musicians and song writers with each album we release. The writing process for the third album has already begun and we hope to have the next album out in a faster timeframe then the gap between the first two albums. However we will take as much time as needed to make a product we are all satisfied with.

SL: You guys are from Sudbury. What do you think about your metal local scene?

LD: We are proud to call Sudbury our home due to the fact that we have a very dedicated metal community here and for the most part people come out to the shows when there is one happening. Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge percentage of metalheads here that would rather spend $10 on a 6 pack of beer and pollute their brainwatching TV all night, but we get good turnouts at all of the shows we perform. As with any larger city, metalcore/hardcore/breakdown/ninjadance stuff has the more dominant scene here but Sudbury has a very strong and notable metal following. There are some great bands that come from here too however we are one of the only bands touring outside of our city at this time unfortunately. Our community continues to grow though and it wont be long before new bands are spawned here and start turning some heads.

SL: What Canadian Metal Bands are you guys really into and influenced you guys a lot?

LD: There is a vast ocean of talent here in Canada and there always has been. Starting with Rush, Voivod, Anvil, Sacrafice, Razor. All of these bands had a direct impact on the music we play today because they formed the roots of our countries metal bands, as well as had a huge influence on many other Black Metal bands around the globe. In a more modern reflection we have been listening to stuff like the new Augury album, bands like Sorcier Des Glaces, Empyrean Plague, Gates of Winter, Vanquished, Eclipse Eternal, Panzerfaust. These are all good bands to check out from Canada if you have the time, although there is so many more that I simply do not have the time to list.

SL: What do you guys listen to? What was the first metal album that you bought?

LD: The majority of the band listens to Black Metal, and a strict diet of it however some members have various bands they like most. Some common artists include Cor Scorpii and Windir, Absu, Bathory, Emperor, Wolves in the Throne Room, Watain. Half of the band are open to hear new bands while the other half does not care to hear new stuff and are satisfied listening to a select group of bands.

Lord Defiler - Wolven Ancestry I have a very open mind to music and I listen to a variety of forms of music. I try to keep an open ear to music and when something is well written I usually enjoy it. I listen to everything from classical like Ennio Morricone and Basil Poledouris to Dead Can Dance, to CCR and Pink Floyd. In the metal realy, lately I have been listening to a lot of Imperium Dekadenz, Negura Bunget, Fen, Solstafir, Nightbringer, Monarque, De Magia Veterum, and Alcest to name a few, but just a few.

The first metal album that I purchased myself was a Megadeth Rust in Peace tape. I found it in a hock shop for two dollars along with Led Zeppelin II and ACDC’s Fly on the Wall. I outplayed the Megadeth tape until it wore out, and then had to buy the CD years later when CD players were more popular. I lucked out and got an original issue. After that, I plunged deep into the abyss with my musical interests.

SH: We noted that you guys just came back from your Eastern Canadian Tour(ON, QC & NB),
What do you think about that tour? What do you think about your fans in QC and NB? And we noted that "Will of Ancients" and "Cryptik Howling" toured with you, what do you think about their music?

LD: The tour went very well and we played many cities for the first time so it was an accomplishment for all the bands on the tour. We are not very well known bands and still quite underground at this time, so headlining a tour can be very hard at times being a band of our status and we sleep on a lot of dirty floors and eat like we are anorexic but we just want to play and get our name out there. We don’t care if there is five or five hundred people to see us, we will always play our hardest and shed our sweat and blood for our fans.

Being such an underground band, we do however have surprising turnouts in most cities and we have had quite the impact on cities like Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Everytime we play those particular cities the response is overwhelming so we try to include those places on most of our major tours.

It was a great experience touring with Will of the Ancients and Cryptik Howling. We have played several one off shows in the past together so we all knew each other a bit already, but this tour bonded the three bands together and we learned a lot from each other. It was an experience we will never forget, and I am certain the other bands think the same thing as well. Most of the time we camped outside in tents and slept outside, and this gave us time to get to know each other over several drinks and earth grown intoxicants while enjoying the natural splendors of Eastern Canadian landscapes.

SH: Are you expecting to tour outside of Canada in the future?

LD: We are actually performing at the twentieth annual Michigan Deathfest with Kult of Azazel, Pessimist, Hak-Ed-Damm so we are really excited about that. A tour is in the early stages to accommodate our appearance at that festival, and we are planning to finally tour the US extensively and go across Canada again, from West to East. We have a full year to plan for this, and a headlining act will be announced shortly.

One of our main goals is to also tour other parts of the world like Europe, Australia, South America, Mexico. This is something we are really starting to look into as well as we have much support and interest from some countries already. Being an independent band makes it hard at times, because we do all our own booking as well so for Europe we are just waiting for another agency or promoter to get in touch with us to bring us over there for a tour.

SH: What can we, the fans and listeners of Wolven Ancestry, expect from you in the future?

LD: The future is non existent at the present time, and therefore the past is what we have to look for clues to answer that question. We have worked hard to get where we are now, and we are working harder than ever now so if you multiply our past accomplishments by 101011010 I believe you might have a slight insight as to what Wolven Ancestry will unleash to the world. We will continue to create the most Northern Black Metal that we can physically, mentally, and spiritually create and this is our promise to our fans.

SL: We want to thank LD for this opportunity, in closing is there anything else you would like to express or comment on that we didn't get to or any last words from the mighty Wolven Ancestry?

LD: There is a third eye that lies within our minds. Open this to the Animistic awakening, and see the world for what it really is. Remove the mask of society. This is our subconscious. For it’s within us, it surrounds us. This knowledge is instinct. Take a hold of your dreams and learn from them, lucidly. For when you awaken from slumber you shall realize what your purpose as a human being is here on this planet. HOWLS to all who have supported Wolven Ancestry! May Gaia be with you eternally.

SL: Please talk about the evolution in the band, from your 1^st Full Length Album “The Wrath of Gaia” to 2^nd Full Length Album “Silence of the Boreal”?