Ulterium Records slapp bandets nye album nylig, en blanding av power og klassisk metal. Vokalist Martin henger med i svingene.

Welcome to Heavymetal.no, welcome to Norway, life’s good?

Martin: «Hi! Thanks a lot for having me! Everything’s cool on my end, and I hope all is good with you too! Excited to chat with you and share a bit about The Eclipse of Worlds.«

Slovakia and power metal, not a combination often seen, or is it crawling with melodic metalbands in Slovakia? :).

«You’re right! When it comes to the Slovak metal scene, it’s mostly dominated by the more extreme forms of metal. Even though there aren’t many melodic/power metal bands, there are a few that are known on the Czech/Slovak scene. We can’t forget the great Signum Regis, with whom we share the same label, Uterium Records.»

Within Silence@www

And how is being a power metalband from Slovakia? When you guys promote the band and touring, you feel it is a bit different, do people comment this aspect?

«Honestly, I’ve never personally encountered any comments from fans regarding the Slovak origin of our band. The only place I’ve come across such comments is usually in reviews on various webzines or magazines, where, just like you, they mention that they don’t know almost any other bands of our style from Slovakia :).»

And my experience with Slovakia is darker, more black and death, extreme metal? I was in a band once, on the Metal Age label, and I got the impression it was (at least back then) a more extreme metal scene dominating.

«Oh, that’s interesting to know you were part of the Metal Age label with your band! And as I mentioned, you’re absolutely right. Since I started paying attention to the Slovak metal scene, the vast majority of our bands have been from the more extreme subgenres of metal. As for heavy and power metal, there have always been only a handful of bands, like a rare spice.»

Les anmeldelsen av bandets nye album HER.

Three albums, with a span of 7 years since the second one, ten years as a band, has the band been active all the time these years? And what has been the reason for the long period between ‘Return’ and the new album?

«After the second album, we were on a really good roll and played a lot of shows. Our original plan was definitely to release the third album much sooner than after 7 years. However, COVID hit, followed by lineup changes. First, we had to find the right members, and then, of course, we needed to get in sync with the new lineup, rehearse, and finalize the new material for The Eclipse of Worlds. All of this ultimately led to the 7-year break.»

This kind of power metal was huge back some years, in the early 00’s. What made you guys pick this kind of metal?

«I believe that as an artist, you should do things sincerely and from the heart, creating what you love and what you’re strong at, because that’s the only way you can truly connect with fans. Each album is within the power metal subgenre, but on each one, you’ll find various influences from other genres and periods of heavy and melodic metal in general. Everything we’ve listened to definitely influences our creation in one way or another, and that’s why you can hear some of those eras reflected in our songs. Regardless, when we create, we never calculate or try to force ourselves to be trendy. We write songs the way we feel them, how we like them, and then we aim to present them confidently on stage.»

And what bands have you been in prior to Within Silence?

«Before Within Silence, I was in various smaller bands from the age of 16, playing different roles from vocals and guitar to bass guitar and drums. However, it was with Within Silence that things really started to take the right direction. :-).»

The cover and the band name, and the music, are somewhat typical, generic, what do you feel makes Within Silence stand out in this style of metal? It is a high level of quality on all these factors, but at the same time it isn’t breaking any ground.

«As mentioned, our goal is not to experiment or create something completely new, so you can always expect melodic power metal from us in high quality. As for what sets us apart from other bands—since we’re not trying to invent a new subgenre, the only way we can stand out is through the best possible songwriting, interesting and catchy songs, and top-notch performances and production.

The last element is something you can’t achieve through practice or external influences. It’s something that has to be captured in the songs and make fans want to come back and listen to them again. I hope we’ve achieved this with our new album, and we hope to build on it and improve with each future release.»

What message do the band front? If any? Are there topics or themes you are promoting through your music?

«In general, besides making music we love, we want to share a positive and uplifting message with our fans so that even in the hard times of their lives, they can feel they are not alone and that there is always light in the dark. In the lyrics, we address various topics such as faith, hope, different life situations, wars, surviving emotions, spiritual battles,relationships, higher things, and a shift away from materialism, etc.

For me personally, as both a songwriter and a Christian, my faith and the Bible are, of course, a huge source of inspiration.»

How has the process been since the release? What kind of feedback and support have you been getting?

«So far, we are extremely happy with the support and feedback we’ve been receiving from our fans. We can definitely say that the amount of positive reactions to our current album is the highest we’ve ever received, and the number of reviews, interviews and media attention speaks for itself too. We’re very satisfied and excited to see what we can achieve with this album.»

You have played in Norway, will the band set sail for this long stretched country once again, when presenting the Eclipse album live?

«This year, we have several shows  planned, which we will announce on our official pages as soon as everything is confirmed. We’re really looking forward to seeing our fans, and it would be great if we could make it back to Norway to play again. We’ll see! :-).»

Thanks for accepting the interview and answering my questions. Any final thoughts, love or hate, links, merch, whatever, here is a great spot to leave this:

«Thank you so much for having us and for the opportunity to share about our new album The Eclipse of Worlds. I would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to all of our fans who have supported us in any way possible. Your support means the world to us, and it’s an incredible source of satisfaction to know that our music resonates with you. We are truly thankful for each and every one of you!»