Join us as we dive into an intergalactic metal journey with SCULFORGE, exploring the inspiration behind their latest single, "The Journey," lineup changes, and the sci-fi narratives fueling their unique power metal sound.
1. First
off, congratulations on the release of "The Journey"! Can you tell us
a bit about the inspiration and story behind this track?
Thanks a
lot! Well, as you might or might not know, our album 'intergalactic battle
tunes' was a concept album. In the song 'extermination', the arch villain opens
a portal and steps through, escaping. What hasn't been mentioned before is: The
device he uses to open said portal malfunctions and a soldier gets pulled
through another portal. He ends up in a strange world and realizes he has
escaped the endless war scenario his own world had become and starts exploring
it, finally making his own decisions for the first time.
The
inspiration behind it primarily comes from LitRPG novels like 'Afterlife
Online', 'Eden's Gate'. I kind of twisted that motive into something that fits
our grimdark narration.
2. This
single marks the debut of Felix "The Kerninator" Kern on bass. How
did Felix come to join SCULFORGE, and what new energy or style does he bring to
the band?
Our old
bass player Ariz decided to step aside for private reasons and we actually
found Felix through an online post. He's the funniest guy and we could feel
right away that he's a perfect fit. He showed up to the video shoot with all
those funny requisites and we had the best time.
3. You
mentioned that "The Journey" offers a glimpse into your next album.
What can fans expect from this new chapter, and how will it compare to your
debut, "Intergalactic Battle Tunes"?
Storywise,
the new album will be a sequel to Intergalctic Battle Tunes. Whereas last time,
we really focused on an epic narrative and worked with several voice actors in
order to create an atmosphere like 'Nightfall in Middle-Earth' by Blind
Guardian or 'Operation Mindcrime', this time we are solely focusing on the
songs and on narrating the story without any additional means. Initially, it
was a challenge, but I think there's also beauty in this simplicity. It alwso
was way less work, heh.
4. After
the recent lineup change, has the band's creative process evolved? How does the
new team dynamic shape the music you’re making now?
Felix
joined us when the demos were already done and the recordings had already
started, but his way of playing just fits us really well. His playing is so
'alive'!
5. Your
music has been described as a blend of melodic speed and power metal with an
intergalactic twist. Could you share a bit about how sci-fi themes influence
your sound and storytelling?
I have been
called the king of nerds before :D My influences are really diverse: From
Metroid on Gameboy to the Space Marine or Dawn of War games, from classic
Sci-Fi comics like "Nick der Raumfahrer" (by Hansrudi Wäscher, which
my dad used to read) and of course all kinds of movies and shows (especially
Event Horizon and, quite recently, the Warhammer TV content!).
Most Power Metal bands stick with fantasy (which I equally love), but when we
founded Sculforge, I knew I wanted to do something grimdark in the far future.
Intergalactic Battle Tunes heavily drew on Warhammer 40k lore, and with the new
album, we got a bit bolder and started exploring and implementing other ideas
as well. And somehow, our humour is also coming through.
6. The
video for "The Journey" is packed with visuals that complement the
song’s epic feel. What was the creative process behind the video, and are there
any Easter eggs for long-time fans?
The videos
we did for 'glorious', 'kings of the battlefield' and 'far away from home' were
all self-made. For 'the journey', we knew we wanted to do something different
and so we deciced to work with Anil Kumar. Anil is such a great dude. We knew
we wanted to do a performance video, like the old Pantera videos for example.
We had quite a couple of ideas, especially our drummer Chris, and it all went
really smooth. And are there any easter eggs? Well, if you find the pickle,
you'll know!
7. Looking
back, what lessons did you take from creating "Intergalactic Battle
Tunes" that you’ve applied to this upcoming album?
I think we
learned quite a lot of things, especially that doing this in your freetime (we
all have regular jobs) can be very exhausting :) So this time, we really
focused on a lot of little improvements, like better gear (hardware and
software) and using 3 vocal tracks for lead vocals, for example. But we also
kept doing some things, for instance we recorded and produced it ourselves
again (Fabz is a damn genius).
8. You’ve
mentioned former members of Midnattsol and Respawn are part of SCULFORGE. How
do these diverse influences from past projects blend together to create
SCULFORGE's unique sound?
Well, to be
honest, I don't think they do. We might have a lot of different influences and
backgrounds, but in the end, we're just 4 old lads that love old school metal
like, for example, Anthrax or Pantera. I think this is the reason why we sound
a little bit different from other Power Metal bands. Also, there's no way in
hell you can get us to wear cloaks or furs on stage.
9. Finally,
as you gear up for the release of the new album in spring, do you have any
special surprises or plans for fans? Tours, live shows, or exclusive releases?
Yes, we do.
We are planning a little mini-tour through Germany around beginning of April
25. Since I don't want to spoil the surprise, I'm not going to tell you about
our release plan - but there will be more music before the album drops :)
Thanks for
having us, and thanks for the great questions!
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