The Crown Burden - Interview

Hey, Breathing The Core fans, here we bring you another interview of the Metalcore/Hardcore band The Crown Burden from Finland, so here you can see and give a like to his FACEBOOK PAGE. We have nothing more to say, so enjoy this interview!

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

Santeri: Well, I (the vocalist) had been writing down cool sounding song, album, and band names for a while back then and the Crown Burden was one of the most recent. Actually, we had started the process of choosing a name for the band already when I came up with it, and I just put it in as a random contender. Little did I know, it would end up beating my favorite suggestions by votes from other members. It did have a weighty feel to it when I made it up, sounded quite heavy to me, which is why I suggested it.

Vladi: Originally the name of the band was proposed by our vocalist, i think. As i and the others had nothing against it, The Crown Burden was accepted.

Jussi: The glory belongs to our vocalist, because this one was developed by him.

Jesse: Our vocalist proposed it, but the name of the band was approved by everyone of us.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?  

Santeri: Metalcore is fast and aggressive but the hooks and melodies make it easy to listen to. It's not too technical but it has to be focused since metalcore songs tend to be quite catchy and memorable. I find that this genre of music is very exciting without being overwhelming and as a vocalist, it just beats the competition since everything's allowed. Aggressive music is a both a challenge and a release.

Vladi: Metalcore is a pretty technical genre, which requires certain skills, especially from a drummer. The main reason for why i ended up playing this genre, is my will to develop myself as far as i can go. Additionally, i have listened to metalcore for my whole life, so my motivation to learn more about my favourite genre was...unbreakable, so to speak.

Jesse: It’s loud, fast, aggressive, makes you bounce, makes you sing and lose your mind. Just my kind of music.

Jussi: Metalcore is solid and powerful genre, that’s why I paid my attention to it. Nothing to add there.

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

Santeri: The guitarist Jussi, drummer Vladi, and the (former) bassist Kristian had just quit their old band and formed a new one, so they knew each other beforehand. I and Jesse came separately but we've been in this band pretty much from the inception since we joined so early on.

Vladi: Me, Jussi and Kristian knew each others for around one year before we formed this band. Santeri and Jesse were hired later to reinforce our team back to the full strength.

Jesse: I was lured by announcement in a local music community. Vladi&Jussi were seeking for guitarist and I responded. Never knew any of them before this.

Jussi: I, Vladi and Kristian were familiar with each other for around one year.

4. Each band members' favourite band?  

Santeri: Mine is a tech-metalcore band from the UK, called Architects.

Vladi: Trivium, Atreyu, Killswitch Engage and Born of Osiris, when it concerns metalcore/deathcore bands. The other band i absolutely love is Lacuna Coil, although it may sound quite a simple and is not metalcore at all.

Jesse: If I had to choose one I will say Pantera but if I had to choose a metalcore band then Killswitch Engage. I listen to lots of bands.

Jussi: Unearth, Parkway Drive, i killed the prom queen.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?  

Santeri: The lyrics come from what the song sounds like and whatever I've been experiencing or hearing lately, albeit that's quite subconscious. The lyrics so far have been about the climate, war, and not giving up, mostly.

Vladi: Nowadays i dont write songs myself, because this task is outsourced to our guitarists and vocalist. But, if i decide to write any song, it will be written by heart, pretty hard to explain how exactly.

Jussi: I write about half of our songs, all I need I a catchy melody coming from my head. My favourite artists inspire me as well.

Jesse: I like to jam a lot so my songwriting is generally based on that.

6. Where was your last gig?  

Santeri: We haven't yet played a single gig since we just started out last year and we've been focusing on writing songs and figuring out our style but we are playing at a local bandstand competition VERY soon and hope to get a few more gigs afterwards as well.

Vladi: We havent had any gigs yet, but it is only for now. Few weeks from now we will participate in the band contest called "Band Stand Turku" and this will be our first presence on stage ever.

Jesse: We havent had any gigs yet.

Jussi: Not a single gig yet, but it is only a matter of time, I believe.

7. Where would you like to act?  

Santeri: Wherever there are people that want to see our band, basically. Finland is our priority since we hail from here but who knows what the future may hold.

Vladi: Locally, for now. At this moment, the largest part of our fans is located abroad, so we might think of touring in some phase. Maybe.

Jesse: Locally for now. The future will show us further directions.

Jussi: Now we should concentrate on getting more local fans. Touring is not actual yet, in my opinion.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?  

Santeri: Personally, I'd like to tour with Architects and Northlane since they're amazing.

Vladi: At least, with Trivium and KSE.

Jesse: Killswitch Engage would be killer to tour with.

Jussi: Unearth sounds just right to answer this question.

9. Whom not?  

Santeri: Pop artists, I suppose.

Vladi: Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne

Jesse: Probably any band or artist who departs from our genre.

Jussi: Same as Jesse.

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

Santeri: I think it was more of a thing in school when you had to make a presentation but not real stage fright, no. I'd say that there's no reason to be afraid since the people are there to listen to you, the only way you'll mess it up is if you start getting awkward. They want to be entertained so just make your best effort to entertain and don't think about their judgments of your performance too much. There are people who will not like you and people that will, that won't change even when you're at the top.

Vladi: I have a lot of experience with being on stage and in the very beginning i shivered with fear, but no more. The most important think you need to remember during a show, just like i did: you fans are just like you, ordinary people, who came to check you out. Prepare carefully, take it easy and realize: you have nothing to lose. With this kind of attitude you will be fine, i assure.

Jesse: Yeah of course at first when you start to perform but that eases over time. Lack of confidence usually does that to you and thinking too much what others think, mainly I suggest to put those thoughts aside and just destroy everything with a killer show.

Jussi: Never suffered from symptoms mentioned above, might be my inherent feature, I suppose. I advice to just do what you’re supposed to do and never mind the consequences- there in nothing to lose.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Santeri: Vocally, the ones I've drawn most from have probably been Linkin Park, Rise Against, For the Fallen Dreams, A Day to Remember and The Devil Wears Prada.

Vladi: Probably, Trivium and KSE, because of their speed and nice groove combined together.

Jesse: Pantera and Killswitch Engage.

Jussi: Unearth, of course.

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

Santeri: We haven't really had any fan encounters since we haven't played shows yet and we're just starting.

Vladi: With previous band: What is a size of your shoes?(the fan was drunk d:)

Jesse: Hmm, never came across.

Jussi: We didn’t play shows yet, so there is nothing to add.

13. What do you think of your fans?  

Santeri: We're pretty much in the dark about who actually are our real fans and how many there are but from some feedback we could discern that they're mostly kind.

Vladi: I believe that we have very faithful fans and they will not let us down.

Jesse: Never seen them yet outside the Internet, but I think that they will be following us in future as well.

Jussi: It looks like numbers of our Facebook-fans is growing, so I believe that they are paying us some attention. After a first show we will have more information about this case.

14. What do you think of our site?  

Your site looks nice and user-interface is solid and user-friendly, of course.

15. Something to add?  

Keep metalcore alive and support us by liking our facebook page. Stay tuned for upcoming events and information. Thank you in advance. Cheers.