Waylander...an Irish EXTREME Metal band that has quite the history.
I had the chance to pick the brain of front man "Ardchieftain" lets see how
far he will let us go.....
LS: First off, thanks for the interview. I know with your personal life you are
quite the busy fella.....
Ardchieftain: Firstly, thanks for the support, and secondly, apologies for the
delay in answering. I am rarely at home for the last few months due to the
coaching role I've taken with my local Gaelic Football club.
LS: How about we start at the beginning....The year was 1993 and you and your
brother decided to create a band which started out to be an 80's sounding metal
band....you write a song and walaa...we have something totally different.
How do you manage to go from 80's metal to Celtic music? Is it even in the
same ballpark?
Ardchieftain: Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. It started out with my
brother Dermot getting together with another guitarist, Peter Boylan just to
practice guitar together and play some songs they both knew. Sometimes I went
along, out of curiosity really. They were huge AC/DC fans and talked about maybe
putting a covers band together. At this stage i was handed a microphone and told
to make myself useful. After a few weeks of listening to cheesy 80's Metal i was
really really bored and suggested that they should try writing some original
material. Peter wasn't interested but Dermot at least gave it a go. I came up
with a name for the band and even a concept based on the name, that of warrior
inspired martial themes. I had got back into Irish Mythology at this time and
using that as an inspiration, like one of our favorite bands, Horslips, was
discussed as well. After a short while Dermot penned the music that would become
Born to the Fight and all of a sudden things were becoming serious. Dermot got
talking to bassist Jason Barriskill one day and invited him to jam. Jason
was into the more extreme metal, like myself so we gelled immediately and pushed
our ideas into the mix. We decided we should find a drummer and a 2nd guitarist
and give this band a go. Within weeks we had set up an audition for a drummer at
a local youth club, which didn't work too well to put it mildly. After the
aspirant drummer left with his tail between his legs one of the lads who was
hanging around with us at the time, Den Ferran, asked if he could try drumming
as he had always fancied the idea. We said, go for it, and within 20 minutes we
had found our drummer. Den was a natural. It also helped that he was one of my
best friends and had a similar taste in music to Jason and myself. We spent the
next few months experimenting but ended up discarding a lot of material. The
folk influenced material was vastly superior and more original so we had found
our sound. And it's all been downhill since then..............
LS: The original line up was 4 guys....Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. ...
Now, we have 6 Waylanders.... What are the other two members for? What do
they do in the band and at what point did you guys decide to turn it into a mini
baseball team?
Ardchieftain: Baseball, what is that? Rounders for adults? It's as mind numbing as
cricket!
In the beginning we tried out a lot of 2nd guitarists but no one fitted in
on a musical or personal level so their tenure was brief to say the least. After
the 2nd demo we got Mairtin in on tin whistle and for the 2nd album, Peter came
back when we needed a 2nd guitarist to expand our sound, so we never really
spent all that long as a 4 piece.We have added a permanent 2nd guitarist and
folk instrumentalist to complete the lineup.
LS: Not to bring up the past...and we can indeed skip over this if you like, but
what is up with Gaz leaving the band for another, leaving you guys stuck? Lucky
your brother stepped in....
Ardchieftain: I have avoided going public about this until now but maybe the time has
come to put the truth out there. I always thought that Gaz only joined Waylander
to try and further his career and more importantly to him, get to play some
foreign shows. He was there for his own selfish reasons and no other. It came to
a head several months before we played a festival in Belgium with Cruachan and
we sacked him. When we boarded the plane for Brussels, who was there, only Gaz!
We had booked the flights before he was sacked so he used his flight to go on a
holiday! Says it all really. One of the several regrets i have is allowing the
other band members to talk me into letting him rejoin about a year later. I
didn't trust him and as far as i was concerned a leopard never changes it's
spots, which proved to be the case. We had a festival appearance booked in
Germany and a headlining show in London, and less than 2 weeks before these
shows Saul found out that Gaz was intending to join Shite storm. He had to
literally shake the confession from him. He obviously had no intention of
telling us, he was simply not going to turn up. How spineless is that?
In desperation we turned to my brother who hadn't played electric guitar in
years [he had been playing folk music on acoustic] and was understandably rusty.
Fair play to him, he had a good stab at picking up the songs he didn't know and
we managed to bluff our way through the 2 shows.
LS: Although your music has the sound and feel of what is more then the typical
"metal" sound....(Aside from the vocals) you say that you are indeed a metal
band above everything else....an extreme metal band.
You are placed in the same "Basket" as those of Finntroll and Alestorm. (At
least that is what I have heard people say)
What, in your opinion, sets you apart from bands like that?
Ardchieftain: What sets us apart from one of those two bands you mention is that we
are not shit. In fairness I respect what Finntroll has achieved but they just
aren't my mug of ale. As for the other clowns, well, I don't like joke
bands.
I consider us to be a Pagan Metal band, whose influence stems from both
Metal and Irish traditional music. To be honest I don't pay that much attention
to the scene we're lumped in with and I could count on the fingers of one hand
the bands I like from said scene.
LS: Speaking of the classifications and how you dislike being classified as folk
metal, you have mentioned in the past that one only has to see you preform live
in order to see....Since I have never seen Waylander live, what could I expect
from a live show and what do you wish for your fans to leave with? (Apart from
some of your merch) hehe
Ardchieftain: In the live environment the rawness of our extreme Metal influences
comes through, giving us a harsher sound than on record. This is to some
people's taste, while it irritates others. We're not here to pander to those who
listen to limp wristed wannabe pop music. Pagan music is a representation of
nature and life and both light and dark elements are essential as far as I am
concerned. On stage you are more likely to see us banging our heads rather than
dancing a jig. We adorn ourselves with woad for a reason, it has become like a
ritualistic way of preparing ourselves for the onstage battle to come. We try to
convey emotions in our music and try to replicate that by our onstage persona.
When people leave after the show they will have seen a band playing with
passion and never giving anything less than 100% into the performance.
LS: You released a full length album in 2001 called " The Light, The Dark and the
endless knot" and didn't release another until 2008.( "Honour Amongst
Chaos") There was some kind of issue or dare I say drama going on during
this recording and or release...care to explain?
Ardchieftain: The spirit in the camp was not good at this time. There were
personality clashes throughout the band. [We were a sextet by this stage by the
way]. From a personal perspective I simply didn't like some of the songs and
felt some of the others weren't worked out enough and were incomplete. Add in
the fact that I was out of my comfort zone vocally due to pressures from certain
band members and you kind of get the picture. A lot of this stemmed from the
tangible bitterness left over from our fall out with century media. After the
2001 release everything began to fall apart but the belief Michael and myself
had in the band and our unwillingness to give up somehow got us to Honour
Amongst Chaos. We were so focused on keeping the ship afloat that time had no
meaning, so when people mention the 7 years thing, I immediately think to
myself, so what?
LS: To date you have released 4 full lengths...your last one in 2012 called" Kindred
Spirits" (By the way, I play this CD on almost a daily basis...and still trying
to decide who to send the post cards to.) ha!
So looking back at lets say your first full length "Reawakening Pride
once Lost" from 1998 and your last album....how has the band matured and would you say
to someone who has yet to hear your music that they should check out your old
stuff prior to listening to the new album?
Ardchieftain: Why not keep the postcard?
We have obviously matured, that is part of growing older as people and as
musicians. I don't think it's essential to hear our debut album first but for
the uninitiated it is the logical thing to do. We have our own sound and
atmosphere so listening to any of our albums would give anyone a decent grasp of
what we are all about. Each of our releases have some core elements but we
explored different tangents on each recording. Ideally we want to keep all the
elements that we feel have worked for us and meld them together to create a
perfect album. We haven't achieved that yet, very few bands ever do, but that is
what we strive for.
LS: After your brother left the band and just two of you remained, was there ever
thought of just saying..."F&%$ it! ???
I mean, being a guitarist myself, I know that we all have our own style of
playing. Did you worry at all about the sound change and how it would effect the
band with a new man behind the strings?
Ardchieftain: Not only did we lose our guitarist and main song writer we also had
lost our drummer, Den, whose unique drumming style had become as vital as the
guitar to our sound. I don't think I ever once considered quitting, I'm too
stubborn for that. Besides, I'd invested too much time and way too much energy
on the band to simply give up.
We had just found a guitar player called Fearghal Duffy who just clicked
straight away, and we'd found a drummer, Nick Shannon. Both were influenced by
extreme Metal so we were pleased to continue with them. Fearghal grew up with
Irish traditional music and was familiar with our material so the transition
wasn't as rocky as it could have been. It was when Fearghal injured his hands
and had to give up guitar, around the same time as Nick had to leave due to his
work commitments, that the real boot in the balix came. Luckily Saul had very
recently joined at this stage, which gave us a reason to try and continue. At
this point it was very close to being the end though and if I am being honest I
was no longer enjoying it at that particular time, I think all the dramas had
finally worn me down. Michael had similar feelings but we decided to persevere
with Saul. Luckily we did! It may have taken him a bit of time for the penny to
drop in regards to grasping our style, but when he did get it, he was a
revelation.
LS: Your vocals are probably the high point of every album that Waylander has put
out, yet I always here what is a slight difference.
"The Light, The Dark and the endless knot" (and I mean this with all
respect) seemed a bit "off" to me on the vocals...it was almost like it was not
even you. What was that all about...?
Ardchieftain: I can't listen to that album without cringing. That album frustrates the
life out of me, it could have been so much better. We rushed headlong into it in
an attempt to focus the minds of the members, who, at the time, were quite
literally at each other's throats. There was frustration at the messy fall out
with century media which led to arguments over what direction we should take,
which, when added to the personality clashes that were already there, created a
disjointed and none too pleasant atmosphere. Pressure was put on me from certain
quarters within the band to do much more clean singing which took me beyond my
comfort zone. At the time I had so much going on in my personal life that I
couldn't deal with the arguments, so I simply plodded along. By the time it came
to the recording my personal life was an absolute mess, I was a broken man, and
my vocal performance on that album duly reflected that. It's a huge regret. It
is ironic that one of the best Waylander songs ever written is on that album,
Morrigan's Domain. If we had waited a year to record the album we could have
refined the songs and done them justice. Hindsight is 20 20 as they
say.....................
LS: Your lyrical theme goes back to childhood for you, right?
Do you have anyone you would like to thank for your inspiration in your
music that has the most beautiful lyrics I have heard yet with such harsh and
aggressive sound..
Ardchieftain: Many thanks for the compliment. I spend a lot of time on my lyrics so
it's nice to have them appreciated.
My lyrical inspiration is wide and varied but an important spark was
being told tales of CuChulainn and the Red Branch Knights as a child. I am lucky
enough to come from Armagh, in Irish, Ard Macha, meaning Macha's height, and
located just outside the town is Emain Macha, the ancient Capital of the
Province of Ulster, the seat of the High Kings of the northern realm and the
spiritual capital of my island. At an early age I was drawn to both the place
and the tales about the place and this gave me a great feeling of pride, a
sacred sense of belonging. It was only natural that in later life I became drawn
to the Pagan Path, and that, as well as my life experiences, Irish Legend, and
ancient traditions form a well of inspiration for my lyrics.
LS: Waylander was on tour or what was suppose to be a tour recently and some things
came up that caused that tour to be cut short. Do you guys have any definite
plans of another tour or are you going to take it easy for now?
Ardchieftain: Yes, tour cut short due to a con artist. It was the first time this kind of
thing ever happened to us so it was a huge shock and we are obviously bitterly
disappointed.
We have no plans for future shows at the moment. We are working hard on new
material in the hope that we can get a release out at the end of this year. It
is a concept ep which will consist of 3 new songs and a reworked version of Twin
Fires of Beltine from the last album. Each of the songs will represent the 4
Fire festivals of the Pagan year, Samhain, Imbolc, Beltine and Lughnasadh. We
are also hoping to put an interview dvd in with the release and whatever other
little extras we can get sorted in time. It should be a fine way to celebrate 20
years of existence.
LS: You guys are working on some new material....some "heavier then ever"
material....Any idea of when we can expect a new release and other then the
obvious heavier sound, anything else to expect in a change from the last album?
Ardchieftain: The plan is to have something released before the end of 2013 and at
the moment we are more or less on schedule. Heavier than ever? Maybe, depends on
what one deems to be heavy and what you're comparing it to really. We are trying
to experiment a little more than usual so it will be interesting how these songs
develop. We are trying to create the appropriate atmosphere for each of the Fire
Festivals, each one also representing the 4 seasons of the yearly cycle. It is a
challenge certainly, but is one we are relishing at the moment.
LS: Now back to the beginning for a second... Since you originally wanted to do 80's
Metal do you think Waylander will ever have such a drastic change as to be the
new "80's" metal band of the 2000's??
Ardchieftain: Well, like I said earlier we never really wanted to be an 80's Metal
band. If we had moved down that route, three quarters of the original lineup
wouldn't have hung around for very long, so i can assure you that we will never
go down that avenue in the future.
LS: Well I think it is about time for you to rest your brain a bit.
It was a pleasure doing this interview with you and hope my research was
accurate.
Is there anything you would like to say before we go?
Ardchieftain: Thanks very much for the interview, it was a challenge, which is
great. If journalists do their research it always leads to an interesting read.
There is nothing I hate more than lazy journalism. All the best with your
webzine and other projects.
You can find Waylander on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/clanwaylander?fref=ts
Check out their website here
http://www.clanwaylander.com
Listen to a song off their last album here.
http://youtu.be/mWi8VW5TmJo
quite the busy fella.....
Ardchieftain: Firstly, thanks for the support, and secondly, apologies for the
delay in answering. I am rarely at home for the last few months due to the
coaching role I've taken with my local Gaelic Football club.
LS: How about we start at the beginning....The year was 1993 and you and your
brother decided to create a band which started out to be an 80's sounding metal
band....you write a song and walaa...we have something totally different.
How do you manage to go from 80's metal to Celtic music? Is it even in the
same ballpark?
Ardchieftain: Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. It started out with my
brother Dermot getting together with another guitarist, Peter Boylan just to
practice guitar together and play some songs they both knew. Sometimes I went
along, out of curiosity really. They were huge AC/DC fans and talked about maybe
putting a covers band together. At this stage i was handed a microphone and told
to make myself useful. After a few weeks of listening to cheesy 80's Metal i was
really really bored and suggested that they should try writing some original
material. Peter wasn't interested but Dermot at least gave it a go. I came up
with a name for the band and even a concept based on the name, that of warrior
inspired martial themes. I had got back into Irish Mythology at this time and
using that as an inspiration, like one of our favorite bands, Horslips, was
discussed as well. After a short while Dermot penned the music that would become
Born to the Fight and all of a sudden things were becoming serious. Dermot got
talking to bassist Jason Barriskill one day and invited him to jam. Jason
was into the more extreme metal, like myself so we gelled immediately and pushed
our ideas into the mix. We decided we should find a drummer and a 2nd guitarist
and give this band a go. Within weeks we had set up an audition for a drummer at
a local youth club, which didn't work too well to put it mildly. After the
aspirant drummer left with his tail between his legs one of the lads who was
hanging around with us at the time, Den Ferran, asked if he could try drumming
as he had always fancied the idea. We said, go for it, and within 20 minutes we
had found our drummer. Den was a natural. It also helped that he was one of my
best friends and had a similar taste in music to Jason and myself. We spent the
next few months experimenting but ended up discarding a lot of material. The
folk influenced material was vastly superior and more original so we had found
our sound. And it's all been downhill since then..............
LS: The original line up was 4 guys....Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. ...
Now, we have 6 Waylanders.... What are the other two members for? What do
they do in the band and at what point did you guys decide to turn it into a mini
baseball team?
Ardchieftain: Baseball, what is that? Rounders for adults? It's as mind numbing as
cricket!
In the beginning we tried out a lot of 2nd guitarists but no one fitted in
on a musical or personal level so their tenure was brief to say the least. After
the 2nd demo we got Mairtin in on tin whistle and for the 2nd album, Peter came
back when we needed a 2nd guitarist to expand our sound, so we never really
spent all that long as a 4 piece.We have added a permanent 2nd guitarist and
folk instrumentalist to complete the lineup.
LS: Not to bring up the past...and we can indeed skip over this if you like, but
what is up with Gaz leaving the band for another, leaving you guys stuck? Lucky
your brother stepped in....
Ardchieftain: I have avoided going public about this until now but maybe the time has
come to put the truth out there. I always thought that Gaz only joined Waylander
to try and further his career and more importantly to him, get to play some
foreign shows. He was there for his own selfish reasons and no other. It came to
a head several months before we played a festival in Belgium with Cruachan and
we sacked him. When we boarded the plane for Brussels, who was there, only Gaz!
We had booked the flights before he was sacked so he used his flight to go on a
holiday! Says it all really. One of the several regrets i have is allowing the
other band members to talk me into letting him rejoin about a year later. I
didn't trust him and as far as i was concerned a leopard never changes it's
spots, which proved to be the case. We had a festival appearance booked in
Germany and a headlining show in London, and less than 2 weeks before these
shows Saul found out that Gaz was intending to join Shite storm. He had to
literally shake the confession from him. He obviously had no intention of
telling us, he was simply not going to turn up. How spineless is that?
In desperation we turned to my brother who hadn't played electric guitar in
years [he had been playing folk music on acoustic] and was understandably rusty.
Fair play to him, he had a good stab at picking up the songs he didn't know and
we managed to bluff our way through the 2 shows.
LS: Although your music has the sound and feel of what is more then the typical
"metal" sound....(Aside from the vocals) you say that you are indeed a metal
band above everything else....an extreme metal band.
You are placed in the same "Basket" as those of Finntroll and Alestorm. (At
least that is what I have heard people say)
What, in your opinion, sets you apart from bands like that?
Ardchieftain: What sets us apart from one of those two bands you mention is that we
are not shit. In fairness I respect what Finntroll has achieved but they just
aren't my mug of ale. As for the other clowns, well, I don't like joke
bands.
I consider us to be a Pagan Metal band, whose influence stems from both
Metal and Irish traditional music. To be honest I don't pay that much attention
to the scene we're lumped in with and I could count on the fingers of one hand
the bands I like from said scene.
LS: Speaking of the classifications and how you dislike being classified as folk
metal, you have mentioned in the past that one only has to see you preform live
in order to see....Since I have never seen Waylander live, what could I expect
from a live show and what do you wish for your fans to leave with? (Apart from
some of your merch) hehe
Ardchieftain: In the live environment the rawness of our extreme Metal influences
comes through, giving us a harsher sound than on record. This is to some
people's taste, while it irritates others. We're not here to pander to those who
listen to limp wristed wannabe pop music. Pagan music is a representation of
nature and life and both light and dark elements are essential as far as I am
concerned. On stage you are more likely to see us banging our heads rather than
dancing a jig. We adorn ourselves with woad for a reason, it has become like a
ritualistic way of preparing ourselves for the onstage battle to come. We try to
convey emotions in our music and try to replicate that by our onstage persona.
When people leave after the show they will have seen a band playing with
passion and never giving anything less than 100% into the performance.
LS: You released a full length album in 2001 called " The Light, The Dark and the
endless knot" and didn't release another until 2008.( "Honour Amongst
Chaos") There was some kind of issue or dare I say drama going on during
this recording and or release...care to explain?
Ardchieftain: The spirit in the camp was not good at this time. There were
personality clashes throughout the band. [We were a sextet by this stage by the
way]. From a personal perspective I simply didn't like some of the songs and
felt some of the others weren't worked out enough and were incomplete. Add in
the fact that I was out of my comfort zone vocally due to pressures from certain
band members and you kind of get the picture. A lot of this stemmed from the
tangible bitterness left over from our fall out with century media. After the
2001 release everything began to fall apart but the belief Michael and myself
had in the band and our unwillingness to give up somehow got us to Honour
Amongst Chaos. We were so focused on keeping the ship afloat that time had no
meaning, so when people mention the 7 years thing, I immediately think to
myself, so what?
LS: To date you have released 4 full lengths...your last one in 2012 called" Kindred
Spirits" (By the way, I play this CD on almost a daily basis...and still trying
to decide who to send the post cards to.) ha!
So looking back at lets say your first full length "Reawakening Pride
once Lost" from 1998 and your last album....how has the band matured and would you say
to someone who has yet to hear your music that they should check out your old
stuff prior to listening to the new album?
Ardchieftain: Why not keep the postcard?
We have obviously matured, that is part of growing older as people and as
musicians. I don't think it's essential to hear our debut album first but for
the uninitiated it is the logical thing to do. We have our own sound and
atmosphere so listening to any of our albums would give anyone a decent grasp of
what we are all about. Each of our releases have some core elements but we
explored different tangents on each recording. Ideally we want to keep all the
elements that we feel have worked for us and meld them together to create a
perfect album. We haven't achieved that yet, very few bands ever do, but that is
what we strive for.
LS: After your brother left the band and just two of you remained, was there ever
thought of just saying..."F&%$ it! ???
I mean, being a guitarist myself, I know that we all have our own style of
playing. Did you worry at all about the sound change and how it would effect the
band with a new man behind the strings?
Ardchieftain: Not only did we lose our guitarist and main song writer we also had
lost our drummer, Den, whose unique drumming style had become as vital as the
guitar to our sound. I don't think I ever once considered quitting, I'm too
stubborn for that. Besides, I'd invested too much time and way too much energy
on the band to simply give up.
We had just found a guitar player called Fearghal Duffy who just clicked
straight away, and we'd found a drummer, Nick Shannon. Both were influenced by
extreme Metal so we were pleased to continue with them. Fearghal grew up with
Irish traditional music and was familiar with our material so the transition
wasn't as rocky as it could have been. It was when Fearghal injured his hands
and had to give up guitar, around the same time as Nick had to leave due to his
work commitments, that the real boot in the balix came. Luckily Saul had very
recently joined at this stage, which gave us a reason to try and continue. At
this point it was very close to being the end though and if I am being honest I
was no longer enjoying it at that particular time, I think all the dramas had
finally worn me down. Michael had similar feelings but we decided to persevere
with Saul. Luckily we did! It may have taken him a bit of time for the penny to
drop in regards to grasping our style, but when he did get it, he was a
revelation.
LS: Your vocals are probably the high point of every album that Waylander has put
out, yet I always here what is a slight difference.
"The Light, The Dark and the endless knot" (and I mean this with all
respect) seemed a bit "off" to me on the vocals...it was almost like it was not
even you. What was that all about...?
Ardchieftain: I can't listen to that album without cringing. That album frustrates the
life out of me, it could have been so much better. We rushed headlong into it in
an attempt to focus the minds of the members, who, at the time, were quite
literally at each other's throats. There was frustration at the messy fall out
with century media which led to arguments over what direction we should take,
which, when added to the personality clashes that were already there, created a
disjointed and none too pleasant atmosphere. Pressure was put on me from certain
quarters within the band to do much more clean singing which took me beyond my
comfort zone. At the time I had so much going on in my personal life that I
couldn't deal with the arguments, so I simply plodded along. By the time it came
to the recording my personal life was an absolute mess, I was a broken man, and
my vocal performance on that album duly reflected that. It's a huge regret. It
is ironic that one of the best Waylander songs ever written is on that album,
Morrigan's Domain. If we had waited a year to record the album we could have
refined the songs and done them justice. Hindsight is 20 20 as they
say.....................
LS: Your lyrical theme goes back to childhood for you, right?
Do you have anyone you would like to thank for your inspiration in your
music that has the most beautiful lyrics I have heard yet with such harsh and
aggressive sound..
Ardchieftain: Many thanks for the compliment. I spend a lot of time on my lyrics so
it's nice to have them appreciated.
My lyrical inspiration is wide and varied but an important spark was
being told tales of CuChulainn and the Red Branch Knights as a child. I am lucky
enough to come from Armagh, in Irish, Ard Macha, meaning Macha's height, and
located just outside the town is Emain Macha, the ancient Capital of the
Province of Ulster, the seat of the High Kings of the northern realm and the
spiritual capital of my island. At an early age I was drawn to both the place
and the tales about the place and this gave me a great feeling of pride, a
sacred sense of belonging. It was only natural that in later life I became drawn
to the Pagan Path, and that, as well as my life experiences, Irish Legend, and
ancient traditions form a well of inspiration for my lyrics.
LS: Waylander was on tour or what was suppose to be a tour recently and some things
came up that caused that tour to be cut short. Do you guys have any definite
plans of another tour or are you going to take it easy for now?
Ardchieftain: Yes, tour cut short due to a con artist. It was the first time this kind of
thing ever happened to us so it was a huge shock and we are obviously bitterly
disappointed.
We have no plans for future shows at the moment. We are working hard on new
material in the hope that we can get a release out at the end of this year. It
is a concept ep which will consist of 3 new songs and a reworked version of Twin
Fires of Beltine from the last album. Each of the songs will represent the 4
Fire festivals of the Pagan year, Samhain, Imbolc, Beltine and Lughnasadh. We
are also hoping to put an interview dvd in with the release and whatever other
little extras we can get sorted in time. It should be a fine way to celebrate 20
years of existence.
LS: You guys are working on some new material....some "heavier then ever"
material....Any idea of when we can expect a new release and other then the
obvious heavier sound, anything else to expect in a change from the last album?
Ardchieftain: The plan is to have something released before the end of 2013 and at
the moment we are more or less on schedule. Heavier than ever? Maybe, depends on
what one deems to be heavy and what you're comparing it to really. We are trying
to experiment a little more than usual so it will be interesting how these songs
develop. We are trying to create the appropriate atmosphere for each of the Fire
Festivals, each one also representing the 4 seasons of the yearly cycle. It is a
challenge certainly, but is one we are relishing at the moment.
LS: Now back to the beginning for a second... Since you originally wanted to do 80's
Metal do you think Waylander will ever have such a drastic change as to be the
new "80's" metal band of the 2000's??
Ardchieftain: Well, like I said earlier we never really wanted to be an 80's Metal
band. If we had moved down that route, three quarters of the original lineup
wouldn't have hung around for very long, so i can assure you that we will never
go down that avenue in the future.
LS: Well I think it is about time for you to rest your brain a bit.
It was a pleasure doing this interview with you and hope my research was
accurate.
Is there anything you would like to say before we go?
Ardchieftain: Thanks very much for the interview, it was a challenge, which is
great. If journalists do their research it always leads to an interesting read.
There is nothing I hate more than lazy journalism. All the best with your
webzine and other projects.
You can find Waylander on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/clanwaylander?fref=ts
Check out their website here
http://www.clanwaylander.com
Listen to a song off their last album here.
http://youtu.be/mWi8VW5TmJo