Sirenia is no new name to the wails of symphonic metal, in fact their status is notorious, given most of their work is considered of highest quality, despite how some fans and supporters may feel with the frequent, though circumstantial replacement of frontwomen. The beautiful and talented Emmanuelle Zoldan, current main vocalist and front woman of Sirenia, took time out to conduct a brief interview with MetalBite, that we are most grateful for, given Sirenia is of mainstream status – and she could have easily given us the mainstream middle finger. This new era of the band has seen much success, though not exempt from harsh criticism by many who have their preferences and biases - yet Emmanuelle Zoldan unshakably continues to display her remarkable growth and improvement as the current Sirenia vocalist, more than able to hold her own while reaching new heights in her musical career.

Alex

Since being the main vocalist and front woman for Sirenia, what do you think your presence has brought to the band?

Maybe more stability, something stronger in the band relationship. 

How have the fans been receiving you?

Very nicely for the most of them, I received a lot of encouragements, love and support. In the very beginning a very few haters came in the way of course, what was expectable, but to be honest I never really paid attention to them, I like to stay away from negative energy. It's only a very few people. The great majority of the fans are showing lots of support and appreciate my work in the band.

The previous Sirenia album "Arcane Astral Aeons" is your strongest recording effort since you started as main vocalist for the band; songs on there are very catchy and memorable ('Love Like Cyanide', 'Desire', 'The Voyage') amazing songs! What would you say was the main reason for that?

Maybe more maturity, experience with time, confidence… This great complicity in the band that grew also with the fact of being included/involved in the creative process (French lyrics for me, guitar solos for Nils and Jan Erik) and the amazing rendition of Jacob Hansen's mix.

From a vocalist standpoint, how did you approach "Arcane Astral Aeons" in contrast to "Dim Days of Dolor"? I ask because you sounded far more confident on "Arcane Astral Aeons" than on "Dim Days of Dolor".

"Arcane Astral Aeons" came out after some time, after a lot of tours and shows, my place in the band was better built and my confidence had the time to grow tour after tour.  When I recorded "Dim Days of Dolor" it was a bit different, I had less time to go through the songs as the time was very short between my arrival in the band and the album release. It also was more written for soprano voice (Ailyn, who was supposed to record the album) than in the « perfect range » for me as a Mezzo. "Arcane Astral Aeons" has been written for my voice. That's maybe why you have the feeling of a more confident performance on this one.

Did you have any input creatively (album direction etc.) on those records?

On AAA yes (I wrote the lyrics in French on 'Nos Heures Sombres') on DDOD there was some French Lyrics also, but it was some translations of Morten's Lyrics.

Thus; would you like to have more creative freedom for future Sirenia albums?

I am a creative person, I need creativity to feel alive, so, of course answering negatively would be a lie :-) Creation is the more exciting thing in life for me.

On that thought, is there any new music in the works or completed?

We are working on a new album right now that will probably be released next August. This will be a great album. Morten is still evolving a lot in his creations and reaches a higher level, album after album.

Looking forward to sharing it with the fans :-)

What are some of your favorite songs to perform live from both of your debuting albums as front woman for Sirenia?

The new songs are of course more adapted to my range as they have been written for me, and most of them are sounding really powerful on stage ('Dim Days', 'Goddess of the Sea', 'Into the Night', 'In Styx Embrace', 'Asphyxia', etc.) but some of the older songs are fitting to my voice too, and I love to perform 'The Other Side' for example or the powerful 'Path to Decay'.

When performing old songs from the Ailyn and Henriette eras, how do audiences respond?

Most of the time I have really good feedback, people saying that they love the more powerful version I give to the songs; of course, I suppose there will always be people disturbed with hearing another voice on songs they are used to. I can understand that :-) the human ear is easily disturbed by something unusual, especially with the voice.

Do you think you give good renditions of earlier material?

Hard for me to answer this question, what I can say is I always do my best to sing them with my own personality and sensibility, maybe mine is darker than the previous singers, I never try to lie in imitating Henriette, Monica, or Aylin, I just want to be myself.

I understand you were originally a choir member in Sirenia before being tasked with the role of fronting the band; what was your reaction when approached?

I have always been hired as a soloist singer, and consider myself like that, in every area of my music engagements; Sirenia was probably one of the « extra » employment I did as a choir singer. So, I never really had the feeling of "becoming" a front woman, it's what I already was. (Opera and other rock projects). But becoming this way more involved in Sirenia was exciting, because Morten has been a friend since 2003 and I followed his evolution through the years with a great attention and interest.

Can you give an account of how you became a contributor/generally involved with Sirenia?

With all these years, we have become more than a band. We have been through many things, Morten and me, and the tour life built a solid friendship with the guys as well. We can talk about everything together, built together, talk about the future objectively, there is a great confidence between us that helps a lot to make the band grow.

Do you feel pressured having to fill the shoes of past Sirenia front women?

I never really felt pressure on this project. Of course, it's easier to come with your own band and songs to be accepted by people than replacing other singers who already have a fanbase; you need to convince that you can do the job with your own qualities. It's not an easy challenge but I came as I am, never trying to imitate. I don't consider that I'm a replacement, but more the new face of a new area. I don't have to fill someone else's shoes because I brought my own shoes :-)))

Are you in any way/s influenced by former Sirenia vocalists?

No. They are all great, but it would have been a mistake to try to reproduce what has already done; there is no interest in a singer changing her ways, if she does the same than the previous ones did.

I appreciate every one of the previous singers, each quality, each sensibility and voice colors, but being influenced would have not been constructive. I had to bring something else, something new. My own universe and inspiration.

What propelled your interest in metal and at what age did that begin?

When I was a teenager I listened to more pop, rock and progressive music (big fan of Queen, King Crimson, Rage Against the Machine,), a lot of classical music, but I also some metal bands with Korn, Metallica, or My Dying Bride. I came more deeply in it when I became to record with metal bands from 2002 and better discovered the genre. I love what metal reveals of my dark side. :-) I like different kinds of metal, and especially progressive metal. 

Apart from symphonic metal, are there more extreme forms of the genre you are interested in?

I try to open my mind to a lot of different things. Even the kind of things I'm not necessarily firstly attracted by; it's always interesting to pay attention in what every genre has to say. As I said in the previous question, progressive metal is probably my favorite in metal genre with symphonic, I'm a lover of melodies and complex/experimental compositions, but I also like to listen to more extreme things.

Does your musical skill extend beyond having such beautiful vocals to playing instruments? 

I play the piano since my childhood, I also had a short experience with drums as a teenager, and I'm planning working on bass very soon :-)

Apart from once being in the choir for Sirenia, were you crafting any work for a solo project or thought of doing so?

I always did (and still do) solo projects in different genres: opera, rock and other genres, and lots of recordings.

Is there anything/s you wish could have been done differently in retrospect where the past 2 Sirenia albums are concerned?

Not really, I always try to put my full heart in what I do in the moment I do it, so I guess I always do my best at the moment;  I'm someone who likes to look ahead, what is done is behind me, I always focus on next projects;

What are some of your methods for maintaining such a healthy and beautiful singing voice?

Thanks for the compliment :-)

There's no secret, a healthy voice that perdures over time needs to be preserved. Having a good sleep is probably one of the most important things, good hydration, regular training, strong technic to be able to resist to long tours within the voice is extremely solicited, no smoking, eating healthy to avoid gastric reflux that damages the chords, learning not to push on the voice when you're tired, etc.

Given you can sing both cleanly and operatic which style do you prefer more, particularly for Sirenia?

What I like is precisely being able to switch from one style to another. This versatility is what I like the most.

How has touring been thus far with the band?

We have really great times on tour. By the time one is finished, we already are looking forward to the next one.

How's your relationship with the rest of the band members?

We all are very close, there's a big complicity between us, great communication. It is something very important in the band. We miss each other as hell when a tour is finished.

Thanks for taking the time out for this interview with MetalBite and best wishes for any new Sirenia material that may be in the works. Anything you'd like to tease or tell the fans?

Thank you. What I can say is: be ready for this album, believe me, it's gonna be a blast! :-D haha

The crazy Finns of Impaled Nazarene are back on the metal stage with an aggressive and uncompromising album called "Eight Headed Serpent" (review here). Personally, I think that the band is a bit back to the roots, even if some others may not be so inclined to the album… but tastes are different as we all know. Long story short, I used the favor of the hour to ask chief goat Mika Luttinen a few questions, enjoy the interview!!!

Michael

Hello Mika, how are you? Congratulations belatedly to your 50th, I hope you could celebrate the day despite Corona reasonably and appropriately!!!

Doing fine, did just some gardening and drinking New York sour. My birthday was such an anti-climax because of this covid-19 thing. I had planned great things, but all went down the toilet. But what can you do?

Not only did you turn half a century old, but the band also celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year (at least if you go by the release date of the first demo). Just in time you have a new album called "Eight Headed Serpent" on the way. Are there any plans to celebrate the jubilee?

Originally there were plans for November 2020 (we formed in November 1990) but had to skip all of them. Now they all seem irrelevant as we are past that date. It makes no sense to me to do 30-year anniversary things when we are already past that.

The last album "Vigorous And Liberating Death" is already seven years old. Why did it take so long to release a new album? That's almost Metallica style....

It was not what we planned. We did shows after Vigorous... came out and every year there was more shows. When we have shows coming up, we do not rehearse any new songs. We plan and rehearse live sets and go home. We are not one of those "let's jam at the rehearsal place" bands. We write new songs at home, individually. Once the song is ready, we bring it to the rehearsals. Then we collectively decide if we keep the song, throw it to trash or change something. For this album we kept all songs intact. Everybody was happy what one brought to the rehearsals.

Lyrically, it goes in the same direction as on the previous albums. Apocalypse, Satan, Shit Mankind...but I haven't found a song that is really provocative like a few years ago, say "You don't rock hard" or "Zum Kotzen". Do you want to avoid the stress that used to happen at concerts?

You get my lyrics wrong if you think I want to cause mischief on purpose. I write what I write, things that I feel strongly about at that moment. It would be too easy to piss off people. That is not my point, nor it is the point of this band. Every album is the mirror of that time period. Also, every interview keeps on asking this "banned at concerts" thing. Last time was 2017 (and it was one miserable fest in Belgium that is 90% punk/hc fest. If we had known what kind of festival it is, we would have declined the offer right away. It was a good lesson though, now we check every offer beforehand so this cannot happen again) and before that 2006. It is like that "war" between us vs Norway thing. Still, we get questions about that even if the whole thing dried out years ago.

Musically it goes pretty far back to the roots. I think you can partly recognize old song structures like on the first three albums, plus a fat pinch of Motörhead. Is this a kind of homage to yourselves in the anniversary year?

Not really. We never plan what kind of album we are going to make. We just happen to know how we must sound, and we write that way. I think it is the production of the album that gives this old school vibe to so many people. Personally, I don't see/hear anything that we would have done so differently. But anyway, we are 666% happy with the album. And that is what matters.

How did you get the idea to use this completely stupid exorcism scene by Ed Citronelli as an intro? I can't believe that there are people who believe such shit.

I had no idea who this was. I got an audio (no video) from a friend of mine a couple of years ago and it was clear to me this will be the intro of our new album. At the same time, I was writing music for 'Goat Of Mendes' song and it was clear that it will be the album opener and that we will release it as a single without the intro. First songs for this album were written in 2017 or 2018 if I remember right. It was a long process.

What is the "Eight Headed Serpent"? Does it have something to do with the octagon you sang about, which is supposed to represent evil, or does the idea come from the Japanese mythology, where there is an eight-headed dragon?

Yamata No Orochi, Japanese mythology. However, it has been put thru Impaled Nazarene lyric filter so there is pretty much zero left from the original mythology. For a long time, I had "The Octagon Order" as a working title for this album so yes, the number eight is present here as well. It all connects together.

With 'Foucault Pendulum' you have a song that deals with conspiracy theories. You've done that many times in the past, for example, I remember when you fantasized about "Red Mercury" in the early 90s. What fascinates you about that?

Excuse me?? What fucking "Red Mercury"?? At least I don't remember anything about this. I don't know if people understand the message of 'Foucault Pendulum'. It is not any kind of pro-conspiracy song, totally opposite. It is laughing at them, to those idiots who believe that planet Earth is flat or believe in angel/unicorn therapy. I wanted to do extremely simplified lyrics for that song, less singing. After 12 songs of brutal violence, the final song is the doomsday, the end. Fading away. Nowadays conspiracy theories are so retarded, it is unbelievable. I don't mean that I don't believe in any of them, for sure there are some theories that are right (government holding information) but most of them are just plain stupid. I believe in science and scientific facts. You want to believe that all world leaders had a secret gathering and agreed to release covid-19 to everywhere, go ahead. That is your right.

What are the strengths of your new album compared to the last albums?

Better production, better vocals.

Looking back on your career, what are you most proud of and what would you perhaps not do again?

Fact is that it is useless to dwell on "I should have never done this or that" type of wondering. Fucking suck it in and admit you fucked up. Move on. I am extremely proud of the fact that we are still here, kicking ass. We have not followed trends, we have not wimped out, we have not changed our logo. We have not given in. We are Impaled Nazarene and there is no band like us. Like it or not, we are here.

In the beginning, if I remember correctly, you didn't really have a good relationship with BM bands from Norway and co, just thinking about 'I Am The Killer Of Trolls', haha. In the meantime, the whole thing should have relaxed quite a bit, right?

I should have known. 'I Am The Killer Of Trolls' has not really have any connection to Norway, there was just all these Troll this, Troll that bands popping out everywhere so that inspired the lyrics. Also, there is a little twist. I wrote both music and lyrics. I read in UK Metal Hammer Latex Cult review where it said we are "borrowing" Metallica's 'The Four Horsemen' in '1999: Karmageddon Warriors' song. So, I said to myself: I will rip-off consciously Metallica's 'Motorbreath', just play it slightly different. Listen to the chorus of 'I Am The Killer Of Trolls'…and unsurprisingly nobody noticed shit. This is the only time I have blatantly ripped-off any other band riffs.

A lot of BM bands that release albums nowadays include strange things in their songs. I don't really like all this ambient, shoegaze, drone, sludge and so on nonsense. What's your take on it?

I don't listen to any of this so I cannot comment. I am an old school metalhead.

Which recent albums can you recommend and what are your five all-time faves?

Latest Necrophobic, The Crown and Cannibal Corpse come to mind. Listing only five is a major pain the ass but:
Slayer - "Reign In Blood"
Rigor Mortis - "Rigor Mortis"
Sarcofago- "I.N.R.I."
Napalm Death- "From Enslavement To Obliteration"
Venom- "Welcome To Hell"
I could list 100 more but you asked for only 5 records…

Last but not least, the last words belong to you!!!

Thanks for the interview. Prost and be free!

Kiitos haastattelusta (hope that's right - otherwise blame it on the google translator!!!)