Interviews: Gallia

This is a new interview with the Cinematic Metal band Gallia from Belgium. Check out the entire interview and give them a follow on their FACEBOOK PAGE. 

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you plan it or come out just like that?

Our band name Gallia is derived from the Dutch word ‘Galliër’, which translates to Gauers or Gaul. These are old names for the Celtic tribes that lived West of the European Alps before the Roman invasion in 50 BC. This area would later become Belgium and France, and since we’re a Belgian band, we thought this would be a great way to honor our roots. Gaul people excelled in sword-making and fighting, and their name was derived from the Celtic word ‘Galno’, which means strength. We also love bringing a great deal of power, battle, and victory into our music. 

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

In the early days, we started as a power metal band, which you can still hear influences from in our early releases such as Cast It All Away. When our singer Elyn joined the band, we transitioned to symphonic metal as this fit her voice best, and Yannick became more interested in scoring orchestral tracks. We loved creating stories behind our songs, and they became filled with fantasy themes. In this album, Obscura, we’re taking things to a new level - which is why we’re calling it ‘cinematic metal’ now. This music would fit a dark fantasy trilogy on the big screen, it’s made to transport you to new worlds and take you on epic adventures.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Yannick and Laurens form the base of the band, they were best friends in high school when they started dreaming of starting a band together. Vocalist Elyn joined in 2015 after auditioning, and drummer Ties joined in 2020 to replace our former drummer.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Elyn: Nightwish

Yannick: Fleshgod Apocalypse

Laurens: Trivium

Ties: Vildhjarta

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

We’re very inspired by fantasy books and movies, we love losing ourselves in other worlds and going on adventures, taking part in great battles, slaying dragons, and finding victory. Vocalist Elyn, who writes the lyrics, combines her own struggles and life experiences and translates them into stories for our music.

6. Where was your last gig?

In Ghent, Belgium, where we supported our friends of Worlds Beyond.

7. Where would you like to perform?

We would love to play at big festivals, like Graspop Metal Meeting, Wacken, or Hellfest. A unique location would also be great to try out, think at a theme park, opera hall, or film festival.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

It would be a dream to open for bands we have always looked up to, such as Nightwish, Epica, or Twilight Force.

9. Who not?

There’s no band we wouldn’t consider partnering with, as long as there is a match one way or another, we would be open to it!

10. Have any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Our singer Elyn sometimes gets nervous about forgetting her lyrics. Her tips are to study lyrics as much as you can, hang them on your toilet, and write them down 10 times,... And before a show, make sure you’re warming up your voice and body really well. You can take natural supplements to calm the worst nerves. And tell yourself that you’re not nervous, but excited! They are very similar emotions and being excited is a much more positive emotion. Once you’re on stage, the nerves usually go away and you can really enjoy yourself.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

We look up to some great symphonic metal bands such as Nightwish, Epica, Xandria, Kamelot, Delain, Twilight Force, and Blackbriar… There are so many elements to admire, from lyric writing to unique compositions and great orchestral work. 

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Luckily we haven’t had too many weird encounters, but at our last gig someone from the crowd came up to us, not to talk about the show… but to ask where our guitarist Yannick bought his water bottle… We’re also surprised when fans ask our singer to sing soprano or sing “higher”. She’s an alto and that lower sound is what makes us stand out from that typical symphonic metal sound.

13. What do you think of your fans?

They are our greatest support and the reason we’re all doing this. If we can even make one person happy with our music, it’s all worth it. Without them and their support of our Kickstarter and this new album, we wouldn’t be where we are. We are eternally grateful for each and every one.

14. What do you think of our site?

Amazing, and we are so grateful for sites like yours! It creates a community for like-minded people to come together and discover new music and stay updated about their favorite bands. Without sites like Breathing The Core, we wouldn’t be able to reach as many people, so thank you for your amazing work.

15. Something to add?

Our new album Obscura drops on September 2nd on all platforms. We can already promise you that if you like our single Euphoria, you will be blown away by this album. Follow us on social to stay updated! You can also pre-order the CD on our website. (Pre-order CD Obscura – Gallia (officialgallia.com)