The Beckoning is an Extreme Gothic Metal band from Edmonton,Alberta,Canada that fuses the aggression of Extreme Metal with the majestic ambience of Gothic soundscapes.Founded by Meghann and Roy Turple and joined together with guitarist/bassist Eldon Loewen, the trio combine their influences together in a songwriting formula that is both unorthodox and organic. Drummer and vocalist Roy Turple talks about their latest demo "War" and the band's musical approach and themselves.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Beckoning, and how long the band has been together.
Roy: "The Beckoning" consists of... Roy Turple-Lead Vocals/Drums,Meghann Turple Keyboards/Piano/Vocals,Eldon Loewen-Guitar/Bass.
2. So the band calls themselves, The Beckoning why?
Roy: We would love to give you a special reason for the name,but we just kind of came up with it the night before we were entered the studio to record our first demo.We needed a name and thought it sounded cool ;)
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there?Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Roy: The band started out of a place in Eastern Canada called Saint John,New Brunswick but we have since relocated to Edmonton, Alberta. The music scene where we are at now in Edmonton is pretty thriving actually,and there are quite a few Metal bands here.We're fairly disconnected from it,however,because we just got here about 6 months ago.There are some bands getting some recognition lately that are doing some interesting things.There is a band called MONGOL that sound pretty cool and are doing something quite creative.
4. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Roy: The songs for us for the most part are a catharsis of sorts and cover a range of topics mainly dealing with personal conflict and struggle. There are some songs though that are somewhat apocalyptic,theological and deal with biblilcal type topics.We are all christians,so therefore, the lyrics have a lot of spirtual overtones even if they are more about personal conflict and such.
5. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Roy: Yes,we write everything.The songwriting process has changed quite a bit recently.It used to be that we wrote entirely around a melody,and then we would build a very simple structure around that.Lately,however,most of the writing is initiated by Roy structuring the skelotons of the songs on the drums with some basic ideas of some musical dynamics and vocal phrasing,and then Meghann and Eldon take it from there.We're all quite happy with using this method to write songs at this point.
There will be at least one song though,that will be featured on the upcoming album that Eldon initiated with the guitars.
6. Who are your musical influences?
Roy: This is somewhat of a difficult question to answer because we have never been one those bands that sat down and discussed who or what we want to sound like. I would say that some of the biggest influences would be Rush,Pink Floyd,Saviour Machine, Extol, Amorphis, King Diamond, Emperor, Deliverance and Iron Maiden.
Roy: The two songs on the demo will be on the upcoming full-length but will have better mixes and me properly mastered.We thought it would be a good way to introduce people to our sound.
8. How would you say your music has evolved between this "War" demo and your upcoming full-length release?
Roy: We are always evolving.On the war demo we still had some of the sound left over from our old sound we had on our previous demos which was more of a very simple "Goth Rock gone heavy"
kind of sound,this mainly shows up on the song "Battle Cry" which was actually one of the first songs we ever wrote together,even earlier than the music that was on our previous demos, but we had never recorded until the "War" demo.
Our song "Lamentation" is a much better represenation of where we are headed.It's more aggressive and complicated,and we are all much more comfortable writing and playing songs like this.Also,we are really finding a way to bring our influences together in a way that is very comfortable and natural for us.Before,it felt like we were only doing about a third of what we were capable of doing.
9. How do the two of them differ and compare to one another?
Roy: We are very much into progressive music.That reared it's head a little with the song "Lamentation",but that end of things will be much more pronounced on the full-length.The two songs featured on the demo are just an appetizer as to what's to come.
10. Where are you in the recording process of the new album?
We are doing some pre-production demos at this point but haven't started the official recording yet.
11. Where are you recording the album?
Roy: We haven't decide yet,we have a few options.We plan on being in the studio soon though.
12. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Roy: Not really well maybe just a little percussion.
13. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
Roy: Any of our previous efforts were pretty much strictly for the enjoyment of creating music and we kept it pretty low key and low budget lol! We are taking the new stuff much more serious and plan on doing our best from every angle. From there,we'll see where it goes.
14. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Roy: Late 2013/early 2014.
15. Has The Beckoning ever played in the states or plan to do so in the future?
Roy: We'd love to,but there are a lot of things to consider.
16. What are the plans for you guys for the rest of this year?
Roy: Write and record the best album we're capable of.
17. Any final words of wisdom?
Roy: Thank you kindly for the interview :)
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