Interviews: Graular

We have had the opportunity to interview the Dream Metal Rock band Graular from Norway. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

Lyth: When we went to junior high, Jarle and I were playing together in a half-serious cover band, mainly doing Avenged Sevenfold and Nirvana songs. This of course made us super popular in school, and so the pretty girls in class would often come to hang out during our band practice. Then one time one of the girls wrote the name “Graular” in a book we used for songwriting, and it stuck with us.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Jarle: We’ve never really had a clear plan when it comes to genre. To be completely honest, we still struggle to define just where we are on the rock-metal spectrum. We usually just try to write things we would have liked to listen to ourselves, and that tends to involve haunting vocals, hard-hitting drums and a mean guitar. We are currently in the songwriting process, and we can promise a forceful impact on your ears.

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

Lyth: Jarle and I have known each other since junior high, from soccer practise and playing music together in various projects. Later on I attended college and got to know Per Morten who was the guitarist of a band called Think Against The Brain. Their singer, Tor Arne, later on, joined Graular full time after having done multiple shows with us, due to the local metal bass player-shortage of 2018. The infamous drummer Fredrik did his bachelor at the same college Per Morten and I did our year study, and we eventually got him on board our still-not-sinking ship, Graular.

4. Each band member favourite band?

Fredrik (Drums): Turisas 

Per Morten (Guitar): Numenorean 

Lyth (Vocals): Vola 

Jarle (Guitars): Karnivool 

Tor Arne (Bass): Shpongle

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Fear of existential death

6. Where was your last gig?

Jarle: This summer we played at Risørvibber, which is a Norwegian music festival in the southern part of the country. We had a blast, both on- and off stage, the weather was amazing, and we bathed and barbecued for like 4 days continuously.

7. Where would you like to act?

Lyth: We would love to go on tour wherever in the world, discover new places, meet new people, and spread some legs/our music. That’s why it is a hard question as the “where” isn’t that important to us. We would love to cover new ground, so wherever we haven’t played before is where we want to play - which is a lot of places.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Lyth: Jarle once said that his childhood dream was to play a duet with Shakira. For the rest of us, there are so many bands we would want to play with. Periphery, Tesseract, Caligula’s Horse and Graular would be a killer lineup.

9. Whom not?

Travis Scott and Drake

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

Lyth: I think stage fright is often related to the fright of not doing a good performance, and my best advice on this is to prepare and practise before the show to such a degree that you could do it all in your sleep. Also to acknowledge that when you’ve reached the start of the show, you are as good as the work you’ve put in.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Jarle: I have listened a lot to Dorje and Toska throughout the years, and there is no denying they have contributed to shaping my musical taste and songwriting. Karnivool, Leprous and Caligula’s Horse have also been big sources of inspiration in the last couple of years.

Lyth: And of course Avenged Sevenfold, which basically was the soundtrack to our childhood, and laid the foundation for the musical path we were about to undertake.

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

Lyth: An autograph

13. What do you think of your fans?

Lyth: We have the best fans in the whole expanding universe.

14. What do you think of our site? 

Jarle: The site looks clean and professional, and it has a nice vibe. You might consider upgrading to “https” as some people might be scared away by that “unsecure” message.

15. Something to add? 

Thanks for having us, and thanks to all of you readers who checked us out. If you’re interested in diving deeper into Graular, come check us out on social media and wherever you listen to music. Also, check out Tor Arne’s only fans, he needs the money.