Interview with Rein, vocalist of the band To Elysium

How has been "Dearest Vile" doing up to now?

Almost all the reviews were very positive, in big magazines like Aardschok and Rock Hard we got 80 out of 100 points, and to me that's pretty good for a debut. We get a lot of exposure on the internet and I've done a lot of interviews as well. We're happy with all the attention, it helps us a lot to build up a name and reputation.

I can't tell anything more about the sales than that our record-company is satisfied. It's hard to make an indication about how many people have purchased the album, 'cause nowadays everybody is downloading. Basically that's a good thing for spreading music, but we'll have to sale to make another one, with quality sound. We've signed a contract, so we're commercial, as is everyone else.

Do you feel the label "gothic metal" is the right one for your music?

Would you choose a different one?

Well, it's gothic and it's metal, but I think this term is quite misleading. We are pretty much an aggressive and energetic band, so if you ad a term like death or black metal it will cover the load a bit more. Besides that there are plenty more influences, but that'll make it much more confusing.

Are you completely satisfied with the way "Dearest Vile" came out? Would

you have changed something?

We have a constant urge to improve, thus we are never satisfied. We are proud of our album and it will crush a lot of other albums in the genre. We have a lot of ideas to improve our music and sound as well as the way of recording. These ideas we'll take with us when we hit the studio's again.

How are the songs (for example the ones in "Dearest Vile" composed?

The songs that previously appeared on our demo were composed by Manny, our guitarist. We changed some things in the parts and the arrangements, but Manny did far out most of the song-writing. Nowadays we write our music together, based on ideas of different members and different instruments. The first results are exposed on the album: "Bug", "Seas...", "Dana..."

How would you compare "Dearest Vile" with your "Collision Course" demo?

We recorded the demo for ourselves in first place. Manny played all the instruments and programmed the drum-machine, only the vocals were done by Esther and me. It was to learn to play the songs, ha, there were songs before there was a complete line-up. Afterwards we were interested in others' reaction so we copied a few. A lot of people appreciated it and all of a sudden we got offered a few big gigs and a record-deal.

Are you planning to tour in support of "Dearest Vile"?

We already played a few gigs together with our label-mates and friends The Wounded here in The Netherlands, and some headliner-shows. We prefer to support a renowned act to increase our audience, for that, club-shows, we focus on coming autumn. This summer we will play some festivals. Performing live is THE way to promote an album, and we enjoy it with all of our hearts. Understand that it's very hard for a band like we are to arrange gigs outside our own country, let alone a complete tour. For that we'll need a lot of help. We are willing to, very much in deed, so we'll see what we can do. There are no concrete plans as yet, but we're busy.

What are your lyrics about? Some song titles like "He rears his head in

laughter" sound strange to me...

I consider that remark as a compliment, I'm utterly bored by all those dweepy gothic, 16th century rip-off poetry. I want to create more direct lyrics, to fit the music. I want to do something new, or at least something different. There are so many feeling and ideas in me I want to write about, to exorcise or excersize my personal demons. Basically there are two ways to write for me. One time I only create an atmosphere in metaphors, the other time I sit down with a piece of paper and all the shit comes out. Things that move within me and cause unrest. This can provide clear insights, which a lot of people can benefit from by reading and assimilating them

How do you see the Dutch metal scene? It seems to be really big!!

I am not that intensely involved with I, but I know there are some great acts around, for example SeeMySolution, Guessstation, Cantara, probably you've never heard about them. The scene is rich, but everybody focuses on acts like Within Temptation. That's a good thing, but it's not the only thing. The Death-scene is really strong, and there are a few good black-metal acts as well. Think of Severe Torture, Inhume, God Dethroned... Besides that it's really busy, there are a lot of gigs, and most of them are on the same day, which spreads the audience. A lot of people are not bound to one particular genre, and band scan benefit from that. It's not easy to arrange gigs, a lot of bands are willing to play for some beers and a few bucks...that fucks up the scene. To provide quality, you'll need money, no self-respecting musician will pay to play. Venues rather book a well-known band, and that's about it. The audience will come anyway, why waste the money that will be made on a proper support act. Fortunately there are enough exceptions, but people need to open there eyes and hearts to support the scene in general.

Do you have influences from different music styles? For example from

gothic and also from death metal...

Everything you listen automatically influences you, wether you want it or not. Music leaves an impression which you will take with you. We are a band in which everybody listens to a lot of different styles and bands, e.g. classical music, blues, black metal, death metal, doom metal, gothic metal, heavy metal, industrial, singer/songwriter.

Something more to add?

Thanks for your attention, keep up the good work, keep an eye on us, there's more to come, ha, stay angry. WE ARE ON OUR WAYS! Shine on.

Interview by Federico Marongiu