metal hails!!!
here is a new interview i just recieved from sleepwalker and his band/project A transylvanian funeral.fans of cold,straight-forward black metal will defintly want to check this band out!! also as you will read his debut "self-titled" release is almost sold-out.so if you want one.i would contact sleepwalker asap!!
thanks and enjoy!!!
patrick and winter torment
interview with sleepwalker,vocals all instruments for A transylvanian funeral.done by patrick
1.hails sleepwalker!! how are things going with you this weekend?
please tell the readers a little about yourself.
Hails! Things are well, thank you...I sold a few more CD's today...I think I have 16 left...the response has been great.
I suppose the most obvious thing about me is that I am a musician and have been since I was a kid. I have played in bands my whole life and have been an audio engineer, professionally, since around 2000. I'm not much into playing live anymore and prefer to just write and release music...I get more accomplished by myself. I no longer drink or do drugs and have been stone sober since September of 2007. I'm an Aries with a Scorpio Rising...My life path number is 3, the number of the entertainer, but I don't really consider myself an entertainer...I think of myself more as a story teller...I love to read and be creative...there is nothing I enjoy more.
2.when did you first get the idea to create A transylvanian funeral? how did you come up with the name of the band? for the readers who have not had the chance to check out the band.how would you describe the music of A transylvanian funeral?
My friend Sojourner and I were playing our guitars and came up with the song Asmoday Unbound and it took off from there...I wrote the entire album in about two months in the spring of 2008. I spent the last year promoting the stuff online and making contacts and released the debut album on the Spring Equinox, March 20, 2009.
The name A Transylvanian Funeral just came to me one day...Sojourner and I had a long list of band names that we didn't care much for and A Transylvanian Funeral came from no where. To me, it deals with mystery and ritual...a familiar scene, such as pallbearers carrying a coffin, but in a dream, where something is wrong and you don't what it is or do anything about it.
The music on the debut album is aggressive, violent, occult and dark. There are anit-christian themes and supernatural topics throughout its lyrics. There are moments of ambiance but I think the majority of the work is just violent and intense as can be.
3.A transylvanian funeral is a one-man band with the exception of some additional vocals,and lyrics.are you currently looking for new members to join the band or do you prefer to keep it a one-man project?
I prefer to keep it a one man project right now...I don't really have the desire to play shows...that is entertainment...most shows I go to have the same crowds of people whose idea of metal is nothing like my own...I don't care to entertain these crowds...most of them will bang their head to anything as long as someone else tells them it is metal or whatever...fuck that shit...I don't care about any of that shit.
I find that the less people you have involved in something, the better...It makes the people who are involved work harder and push themselves...that is when it gets good...when you surprise yourself with what you are capable of, then you are doing it right. I prefer to not rely on anyone for anything.
4.if you had the chance/opportunity to work with any musicians who are some you would like to work/record with?
I don't know, really. I would like to work with a producer whose main duty was to engineer, since I don't like to engineer while I'm writing and recording, but it is necessary. Off the top of my head, I would like to work with Steve Albini or Al Jourgensen, because I love the sounds they get, but they aren't really involved in the black metal underground at all...which could yield great or terrible results, I suppose.
5.i mentioned that you are the sole musician in the band.so i was curious which instrument was the hardest to learn? which one was the easiest for you to learn?
None of them were really that difficult...I have been playing guitar since I was 9 and I picked up a bass when I was around 13 so it comes pretty natural to me...I used Reason to program the drums and I have been using that software for a few years, so it wasn't terribly difficult...I don't consider myself a very good guitarist, or bassist, vocalist, drummer or any of that shit, my main focus is writing good songs... I would rather be able to write a song that I really like and that other people really like and remember as opposed to being able to shred scales in 7/8 time...there are countless people who can do that shit and to me, they are a dime a dozen...
There are very brief passages of keyboard parts on the album and I suppose that keys are my least comfortable instrument...I know enough theory to translate stuff between the guitar and keyboard and vice versa to be effective but I'm by no means a pianist or anything...
6.in your opinon what are the advantages and disadvantges to being a 1-man band?
The advantages are that I get to control what I'm doing and not have to worry about making someone else happy...Every group I've been in, I've wrote all the material and then have to coerce others into playing it the way I think it should sound and that gets old...with this album, I wrote it, performed it, produced, engineered, mixed, mastered, promoted, designed, released and distributed all of it...Some people might view that as a disadvantage since it is so much work but I enjoy it. Another possible disadvantage would be that I can't really play shows being a one man band, but since I don't care to play shows, it doesn't matter.
7.you recently released the self-titled debut demo.how long did it take you to write and record the songs for this release? are you happy with how the demo turned out?
First, it is not a demo...People here and there keep calling it a demo and it's not...Demo stands for demonstration, like I'm demonstrating what I can do...I'm not shopping for a record deal of anything like that...It has thirteen songs and is a fully packaged album with a button and sticker, lyric postcard and insert inside a DVD case...
but to answer your question:
it took about two to three months...I worked on it every night until it was done...the packaging and everything took a month or two because I wanted to make something special for my first release...I am very happy with how it turned out...I didn't do a whole lot of fine tuning as far as mixing or getting perfect performances...what you hear is basically what I recorded when I wrote it...I can't wait to start writing again...
8.how has the response been from the press and fans?
So far, everything has been great...I haven't heard any negative comments from anyone...fans have bought nearly all the copies I have pressed and I sent out several promo packages all over the world...Recently, Frozen Darkness Promotions from Italy and I have agreed to re-release the album on cassette...Alex from Frozen Darkness sent me the graphics this week and they look really good...It will be limited to 99 copies...I also have several people wanting shirts, which Solstice Studios and I just finished this week as well...be looking for those really soon!
9.i know this release is limited to 100 copies.what are plans when it sells-out? will you re-press the demo or just continue to work on new material for the next release?
Frozen Darkness Promotions and I will be re-releasing it on cassette soon, 99 copies. I would like to re-press the CD version as well but I will probably start work on the next album...My plan is to get another album done and release it and the debut together...I am really excited to start writing again but promotion takes a lot of my time...I like to devote a lot of energy into songwriting and don't want to be distracted with promotion...that will come after the music is ready to be released.
10.speaking of the next release.have you had much time to begin working on new songs? do you have any idea when you might put out a new demo/release?
The only thing I have done is a short musical intro for a new show on Hardrockradiolive.com called Beyond the Dark Horizon...the show is a merging of a magazine I do work for called Beyond the Dark Horizon and live, extreme metal radio...It was a pretty short piece that I did for the show...it is really the only writing I have done lately...
The next release will be somewhat different from the debut...I don't care to do the same album over and over...that is what pop bands do...I want to incorporate more ambiance and doom atmospheres but not stray to far away from the ripping, blast beat aggression...I don't really know what it will sound like until I do it...
I hope to get some songs started soon...I don't know when they will be released...It may be this summer if things go well but it may be later in the fall...I won't rush anything or release bullshit just to release it...If I don't like, you will never hear it...
11.you have mentioned that you will be making up some new shirts for the band.do you know when these will be availble? who is doing the artwork for the shirts? do you have any other merchandise to tell the readers about?
The shirts are done...we did somewhere around 40 prints...the first 20 or so got fucked up someway or another and the ink is quite faded...I figure I'll give those away or sell them for a couple bucks...they have the same image as the rest, just not as clear...the front of the shirt matches the album cover with the logo and myself hold skulls and screaming...the back has the words: Into the Mouth of the Beast Hope is Lost...they look great and will be available this week...
As far as other merch goes, if you buy the album you get a button, sticker, lyric postcard and an insert...it is a pro CDR in a DVD case and I hand numbered each one...When it is time to release another album, I will look at getting some more buttons, shirts and some posters.
12.are you currently in any other bands or projects besides A transylvanian funeral? if yes please tell the readers about them.
I have a project called Scorpio Rising that is defunct right now...I released one album and had intended for it to be a live band but got really tired of relying on other people and was really tired of playing the songs...I don't have any plans to do anything with it right now...the songs were more commercial...I may still use the name but the music will be very different from what it was...it may be minimalist music or music concrete, but definitely not what it was...
I think the songs are good, but my whole mentality towards music has really changed in the last few years...
13.everyone seems to have their own idea as to what black metal stands-for.so i was interested to know what does black metal mean to you?
I think black metal to me is an expression of things that are taboo and are occult...bearing in mind that occult is Latin for hidden...good black metal music to me is aggressive and atmospheric...to me it should take the listener on a journey...it has a message, and it has an intelligence...my idea of black metal changes constantly because, like I said earlier, I don't care to do the same album over and over...
I think of it as a vessel, a channel for me to express ideas and emotions through...It allows me to tell stories and create energy through consuming energy...it is not a gift to the devil or anything like that...there are a few songs on the album that are blatantly satanic...but that is not my end goal...it is different to everyone and I suppose the short answer is what you hear on the album and what you read in the lyrics...
14.well brother thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to fill out this interview.do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thanks for the killer interview, brother...good questions! I want to thank everyone for all the support I have received and to let everyone know that the shirts are on the way...the tape re-release is on its way and more material is soon to be conjured...thanks to Alex at Frozen Darkness Promotions, DJ Metallord at Hardrockradiolive.com, Blackthorn with Black Death Coven and Thornspawn and Granath from Cry of Silence and Christophe Spzandel for the killer logos...Beyond the Dark Horizon...and everyone else!See you in hell!!!
-SLEEPWALKER
-05-02-09
http://www.myspace.com/atransylvanianfuneral
here is a new interview i just recieved from sleepwalker and his band/project A transylvanian funeral.fans of cold,straight-forward black metal will defintly want to check this band out!! also as you will read his debut "self-titled" release is almost sold-out.so if you want one.i would contact sleepwalker asap!!
thanks and enjoy!!!
patrick and winter torment
interview with sleepwalker,vocals all instruments for A transylvanian funeral.done by patrick
1.hails sleepwalker!! how are things going with you this weekend?
please tell the readers a little about yourself.
Hails! Things are well, thank you...I sold a few more CD's today...I think I have 16 left...the response has been great.
I suppose the most obvious thing about me is that I am a musician and have been since I was a kid. I have played in bands my whole life and have been an audio engineer, professionally, since around 2000. I'm not much into playing live anymore and prefer to just write and release music...I get more accomplished by myself. I no longer drink or do drugs and have been stone sober since September of 2007. I'm an Aries with a Scorpio Rising...My life path number is 3, the number of the entertainer, but I don't really consider myself an entertainer...I think of myself more as a story teller...I love to read and be creative...there is nothing I enjoy more.
2.when did you first get the idea to create A transylvanian funeral? how did you come up with the name of the band? for the readers who have not had the chance to check out the band.how would you describe the music of A transylvanian funeral?
My friend Sojourner and I were playing our guitars and came up with the song Asmoday Unbound and it took off from there...I wrote the entire album in about two months in the spring of 2008. I spent the last year promoting the stuff online and making contacts and released the debut album on the Spring Equinox, March 20, 2009.
The name A Transylvanian Funeral just came to me one day...Sojourner and I had a long list of band names that we didn't care much for and A Transylvanian Funeral came from no where. To me, it deals with mystery and ritual...a familiar scene, such as pallbearers carrying a coffin, but in a dream, where something is wrong and you don't what it is or do anything about it.
The music on the debut album is aggressive, violent, occult and dark. There are anit-christian themes and supernatural topics throughout its lyrics. There are moments of ambiance but I think the majority of the work is just violent and intense as can be.
3.A transylvanian funeral is a one-man band with the exception of some additional vocals,and lyrics.are you currently looking for new members to join the band or do you prefer to keep it a one-man project?
I prefer to keep it a one man project right now...I don't really have the desire to play shows...that is entertainment...most shows I go to have the same crowds of people whose idea of metal is nothing like my own...I don't care to entertain these crowds...most of them will bang their head to anything as long as someone else tells them it is metal or whatever...fuck that shit...I don't care about any of that shit.
I find that the less people you have involved in something, the better...It makes the people who are involved work harder and push themselves...that is when it gets good...when you surprise yourself with what you are capable of, then you are doing it right. I prefer to not rely on anyone for anything.
4.if you had the chance/opportunity to work with any musicians who are some you would like to work/record with?
I don't know, really. I would like to work with a producer whose main duty was to engineer, since I don't like to engineer while I'm writing and recording, but it is necessary. Off the top of my head, I would like to work with Steve Albini or Al Jourgensen, because I love the sounds they get, but they aren't really involved in the black metal underground at all...which could yield great or terrible results, I suppose.
5.i mentioned that you are the sole musician in the band.so i was curious which instrument was the hardest to learn? which one was the easiest for you to learn?
None of them were really that difficult...I have been playing guitar since I was 9 and I picked up a bass when I was around 13 so it comes pretty natural to me...I used Reason to program the drums and I have been using that software for a few years, so it wasn't terribly difficult...I don't consider myself a very good guitarist, or bassist, vocalist, drummer or any of that shit, my main focus is writing good songs... I would rather be able to write a song that I really like and that other people really like and remember as opposed to being able to shred scales in 7/8 time...there are countless people who can do that shit and to me, they are a dime a dozen...
There are very brief passages of keyboard parts on the album and I suppose that keys are my least comfortable instrument...I know enough theory to translate stuff between the guitar and keyboard and vice versa to be effective but I'm by no means a pianist or anything...
6.in your opinon what are the advantages and disadvantges to being a 1-man band?
The advantages are that I get to control what I'm doing and not have to worry about making someone else happy...Every group I've been in, I've wrote all the material and then have to coerce others into playing it the way I think it should sound and that gets old...with this album, I wrote it, performed it, produced, engineered, mixed, mastered, promoted, designed, released and distributed all of it...Some people might view that as a disadvantage since it is so much work but I enjoy it. Another possible disadvantage would be that I can't really play shows being a one man band, but since I don't care to play shows, it doesn't matter.
7.you recently released the self-titled debut demo.how long did it take you to write and record the songs for this release? are you happy with how the demo turned out?
First, it is not a demo...People here and there keep calling it a demo and it's not...Demo stands for demonstration, like I'm demonstrating what I can do...I'm not shopping for a record deal of anything like that...It has thirteen songs and is a fully packaged album with a button and sticker, lyric postcard and insert inside a DVD case...
but to answer your question:
it took about two to three months...I worked on it every night until it was done...the packaging and everything took a month or two because I wanted to make something special for my first release...I am very happy with how it turned out...I didn't do a whole lot of fine tuning as far as mixing or getting perfect performances...what you hear is basically what I recorded when I wrote it...I can't wait to start writing again...
8.how has the response been from the press and fans?
So far, everything has been great...I haven't heard any negative comments from anyone...fans have bought nearly all the copies I have pressed and I sent out several promo packages all over the world...Recently, Frozen Darkness Promotions from Italy and I have agreed to re-release the album on cassette...Alex from Frozen Darkness sent me the graphics this week and they look really good...It will be limited to 99 copies...I also have several people wanting shirts, which Solstice Studios and I just finished this week as well...be looking for those really soon!
9.i know this release is limited to 100 copies.what are plans when it sells-out? will you re-press the demo or just continue to work on new material for the next release?
Frozen Darkness Promotions and I will be re-releasing it on cassette soon, 99 copies. I would like to re-press the CD version as well but I will probably start work on the next album...My plan is to get another album done and release it and the debut together...I am really excited to start writing again but promotion takes a lot of my time...I like to devote a lot of energy into songwriting and don't want to be distracted with promotion...that will come after the music is ready to be released.
10.speaking of the next release.have you had much time to begin working on new songs? do you have any idea when you might put out a new demo/release?
The only thing I have done is a short musical intro for a new show on Hardrockradiolive.com called Beyond the Dark Horizon...the show is a merging of a magazine I do work for called Beyond the Dark Horizon and live, extreme metal radio...It was a pretty short piece that I did for the show...it is really the only writing I have done lately...
The next release will be somewhat different from the debut...I don't care to do the same album over and over...that is what pop bands do...I want to incorporate more ambiance and doom atmospheres but not stray to far away from the ripping, blast beat aggression...I don't really know what it will sound like until I do it...
I hope to get some songs started soon...I don't know when they will be released...It may be this summer if things go well but it may be later in the fall...I won't rush anything or release bullshit just to release it...If I don't like, you will never hear it...
11.you have mentioned that you will be making up some new shirts for the band.do you know when these will be availble? who is doing the artwork for the shirts? do you have any other merchandise to tell the readers about?
The shirts are done...we did somewhere around 40 prints...the first 20 or so got fucked up someway or another and the ink is quite faded...I figure I'll give those away or sell them for a couple bucks...they have the same image as the rest, just not as clear...the front of the shirt matches the album cover with the logo and myself hold skulls and screaming...the back has the words: Into the Mouth of the Beast Hope is Lost...they look great and will be available this week...
As far as other merch goes, if you buy the album you get a button, sticker, lyric postcard and an insert...it is a pro CDR in a DVD case and I hand numbered each one...When it is time to release another album, I will look at getting some more buttons, shirts and some posters.
12.are you currently in any other bands or projects besides A transylvanian funeral? if yes please tell the readers about them.
I have a project called Scorpio Rising that is defunct right now...I released one album and had intended for it to be a live band but got really tired of relying on other people and was really tired of playing the songs...I don't have any plans to do anything with it right now...the songs were more commercial...I may still use the name but the music will be very different from what it was...it may be minimalist music or music concrete, but definitely not what it was...
I think the songs are good, but my whole mentality towards music has really changed in the last few years...
13.everyone seems to have their own idea as to what black metal stands-for.so i was interested to know what does black metal mean to you?
I think black metal to me is an expression of things that are taboo and are occult...bearing in mind that occult is Latin for hidden...good black metal music to me is aggressive and atmospheric...to me it should take the listener on a journey...it has a message, and it has an intelligence...my idea of black metal changes constantly because, like I said earlier, I don't care to do the same album over and over...
I think of it as a vessel, a channel for me to express ideas and emotions through...It allows me to tell stories and create energy through consuming energy...it is not a gift to the devil or anything like that...there are a few songs on the album that are blatantly satanic...but that is not my end goal...it is different to everyone and I suppose the short answer is what you hear on the album and what you read in the lyrics...
14.well brother thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to fill out this interview.do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thanks for the killer interview, brother...good questions! I want to thank everyone for all the support I have received and to let everyone know that the shirts are on the way...the tape re-release is on its way and more material is soon to be conjured...thanks to Alex at Frozen Darkness Promotions, DJ Metallord at Hardrockradiolive.com, Blackthorn with Black Death Coven and Thornspawn and Granath from Cry of Silence and Christophe Spzandel for the killer logos...Beyond the Dark Horizon...and everyone else!See you in hell!!!
-SLEEPWALKER
-05-02-09
http://www.myspace.com/atransylvanianfuneral
