Symphonic power metallers Adrana got their start way back in 2004 and since then have gone on to play showcases write and record material and have got even more material and shows in-store. The band took the time to discuss their latest release "The Ancient Realms".
1. Can I get a back story on the band/ band biography?
Max : I created Adrana in late 2003 with Ludovic. We had in mind to play some Symphonic Metal, then we search other members to complete the band. After some early line-up changes, we stabilized in 2005. At this point, we recorded our first demo "The Tower of Frozen Tears" in 2006 and played our first
shows.
In 2008, we released Perturbatio, our first full-length studio album, which was really well received by press and fans and give us some good gigs opportunity (we were opener for Patrick Rondat and Satan Jokers in late 2009).
After 3 years of composing process, "The Ancient Realms" was released in September 2011 via Brennus Music, an underground Heavy Metal label. So yeah, thanks to them you could listen us on every web-platform, from September to November 2011 we played across France while our "The Ancient Realms Tour" and as tour-support for Myrath (late 2012).
Since January 2013 we compose songs for the upcoming album with our brand new second guitarist Antoine. In April 2013 we captured our first video clip for the song "The Frozen Path". Now we're searching for gigs in late 2013 and still composing songs for the upcoming album.
2. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Max : Actually, pretty simple, we wanted a female name for our band, so we opened a Latin dictionary and found this first name: Adrana.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Max : We live in Tours, a middle-size town in the Loire Valley (a place of famous wines and great castles). The Metal Scene in Tours is pretty small but really dynamic. Differents Metal's style are represented there, a strong Death Metal scene with Dysmorphic (recently signed with Unique Leader Records), Aboroth and Human Shred, some bands more Symphonic or Neo-Classic like Eidon and Roman Rouzine : The Tria, a pagan death metal band called Drakwald and a brand new band called Crackhouse (Stoner/Sludge).
4. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Max : Since our first demo, we developed the same concept across our lyrics : the story of Princess Adrana in the world of Elhanor. It's a typical heroic fantasy concept.
Anaé : Grhyll is the inventor of the story of Adrana. This is something monumental that even exceeds us sometimes! Adrana is a warrior princess, the last living creature of the race of Angels (a rather nasty yet beautiful race). Princess Adrana attempt to reclaim the fallen Realms of her people and will have to do fight his lifelong enemy : Thoed. If there had to be a message behind these stories, it would be, for my part, the idea that nothing is ever black or white, that morality is not easy. To win these kingdoms under the yoke of the terrible Thoed, Adrana will however have to sacrifice many lives. Here is the kind of dilemma faced by our characters.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Max : We don't have a main influence which "guides" our music, nor a main metal style for "leader". Each one of us listen different types of metal and also some music not metal at all. We don't like the state of spirit which tells "Ok, we play symphonic metal, so we compose music only with symphonic metal typical elements". No way. If you listen carefully The Ancient Realms, some riffs are typically death or black metal, others are more progressive and yes some riffs are more like heavy metal. If I remember well, some reviews said we played power symphonic metal. I guess the word "power" is for all the catchy riffs that just not sound like heavy metal. ;)
6. Is there any story or concept behind The Ancient Realms title?
Max : The Ancient Realms represent two worlds in our lyrical concept, a frozen one and a fired one (as you can see on the cover) occupied by two species. Adrana, our warrior-princess, needs them as allies to recapture her parents' kingdom. But she'll soon discover that there's many obstacles on her way.
7. Who produced The Ancient Realms and what was it like working with them?
Max : We recorded The Ancient Realms at The Drudenhauss Studio with Neb Xort, the former keyboardist of Anorexia Nervosa. It was a good thing to work with someone who has more experience than us, we learned a lot musically but also about ourselves.
8. Who did the cover art for The Ancient Realms and how much input did you have on it?
Max : It's Frank Choppin, a friend of ours who did the two last covers (Perturbatio and The Ancient Realms). He is well aware of our lyrical's concept, so we always explain to him our "vision" and then he tries different things. We always have a good communication while the creation process, so it's pretty simple to tell him which things we like or don't.
9. Select two songs from The Ancient Realms and what inspired the lyrics.
Max : All the lyrics are part of our lyrical concept. For example, "The Frozen Path" tells how Adrana found her way to the North and his encounter with a beast... "The Obsidian Collapses" tells the battle between Adrana's legions and a obsidian golem.
Anaé : Regarding our writing process. The story is already written by Grhyll (There is enough stories to compose dozens of albums!). However we don't necessarily use this story to compose the music. We let our imagination without necessarily thinking about the story of Adrana. Then, depending on the mood of the song we could choose what song would be into the "iced part" and what other part" in the "fire part". "The Frozen Path" is a very dynamic song and work very well with the idea of introducing a new world, so I decided to write lyrics that describe the arrival of Adrana in the frozen realms. "The Obsidian Collapses" on the contrary is very dark, very enigmatic. For me it perfectly illustrated the final confrontation between Adrana and the Golem!
10. Do you guys have any new music in the works as far as a follow-up release?
Max : Yep. We are currently working on a new album, we have something like 7 songs, some are finished, some don't.
Antoine : We have tons of stuff already composed. We could write at least two album with all that material. This is cool, we have the opportunity to select and focus on the best riffs we have, to offer the best music we can ! We are planning to record some pre-productions this summer, in order to launch the making-process of this third LP.
11. What are your upcoming touring/show plans?
Max : We are planning some shows for late 2013 between September and December but we always seek dates anywhere so if you want to book us, just send us an e-mail at contact@adrana.com ;)
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Max : Well, you can listen us anywhere, if don't, just tell us :) In fact, you can listen on all well-known music platform : Deezer, Spotify, Myspace, Soundcloud, LastFM etc... and then get our music on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play etc.
13. What is it you'd like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?Max : I don't know, I guess something like "Woh cool stuff here!" makes me happy. :)
14. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future ?
Antoine : A future full of epic-ness, melodies, mixed with the power and brutality of metal, and a touch of progressive in our music. In the near future, stay in touch for the Frozen Path video about to come.
15. Any final words of wisdom ?
Max : Thank you all for the support, keep sharing our music across the world ;)
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