INTERVIEW WITH BRIGANTIA

1.Thanks for this chance to interview you guys. So lets start with a history lesson,when and how did this band get together ?


Thanks for the interview E.D.!
Well the three of us have known each other for quite some time! Myself and John (drums)
have been in bands with each other since the early 90’s (on and off) so when our last band had split in 2007 we decided to start something ourselves, playing the music we loved, namely Doooooom!
We had known Neill since school so we hooked up, had a jam and the rest is history!


2.You have some killer influences which to me sound like Cathedral and Sabbath.How much of a influence do these bands and others play a part in getting your sound ?


Ha ha is it that obvious? But yes we are heavily influenced by Sabbath and Cathedral! Lee Dorian was an absolute hero to me growing up, still is to be honest, his vocal style is the most original in the world of metal in my opinion. As for Sabbath, well what can I say that hasn’t been said already? My guitar playing is heavily indebted to Tony Iommi...Severley underrated to this day by a lot of critics. And Neill worships at the altar of Geezer!




3.Tell us about your recording output from demo's to official releases.What are they and how has the band progressed through that time ?


Our only ‘official’ release has been the ‘chronicles of doom’ demo in January of last year which was basically the first five songs we had written. Two of the tracks were only a week or two old and I think that shows...
We intend to release the ‘Nostradoomus’ E.P during the summer of this year all going well!


4.I have heard a lot of bands from Ireland in the last year,is the Doom scene expanding there or is it just the internet making these bands easier for us Doomheads to access.I think i have heard more Doom from Ireland in the last year than i have in my entire life.


I think it could be a bit of both. Since the early 90’s we have had the likes of Mourning Beloveth, Old season, Thy sinister bloom and Graveyard dirt. All of them top quality doom bands and all still active today. Since them however there has been a drop-off until the last few years where we are seeing the emergence of some really great doom bands... The likes of Five will die, Council of tanith, On pain of death are worth mentioning not just because their making great music but because of the variation between them. The word scene is not really applicable to the Irish bands as it’s rare to see a bill consisting of just Irish doom bands, the promoters here tend to mix it up a little. I see nothing wrong with this; we often get people telling us they enjoyed us when they wouldn’t normally listen to doom metal.



Is being a band in Ireland limiting as far as gigs go. Is there plenty of venues for you to play at ?


It all depends on your ambitions I suppose... We haven’t had the good grace to support an internationally recognised band as of yet which could piss off some bands but if you’re a new band looking to get some gigging experience there is something going on most weekends around the country. I might be way off the mark here but im guessing that there are around 30 – 40 metal friendly venues in the south of the country at least and it seems to be improving all the time.


6.A question about the current Doom scene,do you think its been getting better or worse. It seems to me quantity has increased out of control and quality has gone down.Myspace has a lot to do with this,any opinions ?


I think it’s good to see the scene expanding, sure there is a lot of shite out there but I can choose what I want to listen too... I’m not going to go trawling bands MySpace pages in search of the next classic doom band but I do keep an eye on emerging bands and debutants. I think I’ve heard more great doom in the last few years than I have since the 80’s and 90’s!
The only thing that’s pissed me off about doom in recent years is the whole ‘Drone’ phenomenon... Not knocking it but I just don’t ‘get’ it.


7.What equipment do you use,you get a pretty awesome sound.


Ha ha, the gear we used on the chronicles demo was really awful bargain basement stuff (apart from the drums) I especially dislike the guitar sound. It worked out at the time but this has since been remedied and should make a major difference for the next recording.
Some people including yourself have complemented us on the sound though so thanks!


8.Vocals are different to a lot of bands,have you worked on that much ?


Too many singers just try to ape the performances of their heroes, which would be fine if they were to mix it up a little, I’m not the most vocally adept doom singer but I know my weaknesses and I do try to exploit the stronger aspects. At the time of the demo recording I had rarely sang with “clean” vox but felt the songs required it. A lot of our new material is more orientated towards this style now but I haven’t forgotten how to growl!


9.How many live shows have you played and what has been the highlights?


I think we have played around 40 gigs since our inception of which we enjoyed all but two.
The highlights? Any gig with Fivewilldie!!


10.The title Nostradoomus is a amazing title for a Doom album,was this influenced any by the last Judas Priest album ?


It definitely had a hand in it yeah! When people discuss the prophecies of Nostradamus the focus is always on the, shall we say ‘pessimistic’ prophecies; wars, famine, disaster et al…
People need a certain amount of doom in their lives; it makes the good times better and gives us balance. With this in mind we decided ‘Nostradoomus’ would be a fitting title for an album considering the abundance of bad news we are bombarded with by the media. Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word doom used in everyday life as much as we do now! So yeah Brigantia supports total economic meltdown!!!!!


11.Have you been spreading your music around to many labels out there and is there a label you can see yourself being at home on ?


No we haven’t sent the demo to any labels to be honest. We treated the demo as studio experience and we learned a lot from it. A record label seems like a nice dream but it doesn’t worry us, I can’t say im even familiar with many out there right now apart from the well established ones such as “Rise above” .A good distribution deal would suit us I think… It’s the only part that is a pain, trying to get the music out there to the people who are interested…
Don’t get me wrong, if we were offered a deal it would be magic! I just think that we are some way off that yet...


12.Whats in your immediate plans for 2009,what shows have you got lined up and future recordings ?


The plan for this year is to release the “Nostradoomus” E.P. first and foremost.
Fingers crossed that this will be ready for release at the end of the summer! We have only gigged twice this year so far which is a pain but necessary all the same when trying to write new material. Once the E.P is out we will probably gig the fuck out of it for the rest of the year.


13. Do you think you will changed the sound over time or are going to stick with your current sound.Some bands change over time which from a fans point of views can be frustrating.


The beauty of our situation is that we have the freedom to work around the confines of the genre; every time we come up with something new lately it seems to have the “Brigantia” feeling whether it is up-tempo, slow, crushing, progressive…it still boils down to the fact that it is us and it sounds like us! We must change to an extent I think, simply to mirror our own vision for the band. We will always love Sabbath, Candlemass e.t.c and this will most likely always be an influence but we will not stagnate or rehash stuff like Ride to the Sabbath, where is the fun in that?


14.Any final words for all the Doomheads out there ?


If in doubt, doooom it out fuckers!!
Thanks for the interview and keep up the good work E.D