Interviews: L’Espectre Que Alimenta La Flama Dels Ancestres

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the REpic Black Metal/Dungeon Synth band L’Espectre Que Alimenta La Flama Dels Ancestres from Spain. Check out the interview and this amazing band.

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

Von Päx: Well, I had in mind something long, something that would attract attention, that would achieve a ‘what the hell’ effect on people... Like Der Weg Einer Freiheit, you know? I had some words that I wanted to include, and I went around with different options until I achieved the most musicality in Catalan... I know perfectly well that few people will learn the whole name of the band in this era of immediacy and musical fast food, and that for many it will end up being ‘L’Espectre’, or ‘L’Espectre-I-don’t-know- what’, but it doesn’t bother us. It’s fun to play with, and on the logo, it looks awesome.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Von Päx: Personally I’ve been into ambient, dark ambient, and dungeon synth for many years, but only as a follower, never as a musician. I consider them first cousins of black metal. To make a band like this was my biggest dream for a long time, but I couldn’t find the right person, because Catalonia or Spain are not at all inclined towards these styles. Finally, I found the right person in Varg, because he already had a project like this called Elven Sorrow. Undoubtedly, this album is to his credit.

Varg: My relationship to this genre has also been pretty similar, although I have already been an active member of it with my solo project Elven Sorrow. But my music style there is pretty different since it doesn’t include any black metal elements and leans more towards the ambient side instead of the epic one, but this album really feels like a natural progression from that and won’t surprise Elven Sorrow listeners too much.

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

Von Päx: Yes, Varg is the son of two good friends of mine, who have been very into black metal and black thrash since the 90s. They are two legends, come on, and let’s say Varg, although just as dark, is a bit more open with his creations.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Von Päx: Actually, I don’t think I have any favorite bands anymore, I’m too old for these generalizations... But I guess there would be Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Immortal, Summoning, the early Inquisition… Among all the raw black metal, dungeon synth, classic heavy metal, and so on that I swallow nowadays, Elvis Presley stands out strongly, imagine... I think I’m in love with him.

Varg: I also think that this is a very hard question to answer, and in my case, it really goes in phases, but I guess some that remain constant are Judas Priest, King Diamond, Motörhead, Candlemass, and Joe Satriani. But yes, I’m also very much into black metal, dungeon synth, and a million other genres, I could go on about this for hours haha.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Von Päx: Both here and in Barbarian Swords, I have always relied on my instinct to create the lyrics. Let’s say they come out how and when they want to, although for L’Espectre everything had to revolve around ghostly presences, apparitions, and cursed souls. To be honest, for the texts I wanted to do something more poetic, philosophic, and elegant than with Barbarian Swords. You know, no swear words or expletives. More focused on romantic and horror literature of the 19th century… And above all in Catalan, the tongue in which I live, speak, and think. Let’s see what Varg has to say about the music... I gave him some indications, but he has gone very much on his own, which I welcome.

Varg: It honestly depends on what project I intend to write songs with, but for this one, I have drawn a lot of inspiration from nature, my favorite bands of similar subgenres, and dire personal experiences. Since this album is objectively different from anything else that I have released so far, I have also drawn lots of motivation from the challenge of pushing my creativity to unexplored limits, without any fear of what might end up coming out, writing riffs in 5/4, riffs with actual swords as instruments or countless other experiments you wouldn’t expect in this style. I’m already used to composing all my songs by myself (in fact it’s been what I’ve always done with Elven Sorrow and Gorguina, though certainly not with Halflighted), but creating an album from scratch following a couple of indications has definitely been a new concept for me, and I’m pleased with what I’ve come up with.

6. Where was your last gig?

Von Päx: We have never played live.

7. Where would you like to act?

Von Päx: Honestly, we’re still debating whether we’re going to be a studio band or we’re going to take this to the stage.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Von Päx: Elffor or Frostgard.

Varg: Khüll or Lord Bakartia.

9. Whom not?

Von Päx: Barbarian Swords and Körgull The Exterminator.

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

Von Päx: No, never, I’ve always had a lot of nerve.

Varg: Not really, but I haven’t had much of a chance for that either yet…

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Von Päx: For L’Espectre Que Alimenta La Flama Dels Ancestres I think it would be somewhere between Summoning, Mortiis, Vinterriket, Old Tower, and An Old Sad Ghost, and Varg would probably add Klaus Schulze and Jim Kirkwood. I think even octogenarians could identify Vangelis elements on the third track of the album. 

Varg: Yes, those are pretty much the main influences we have had on this release.

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

Von Päx: We only introduced the band to the world a few days ago, so I don’t think we have a following yet... Although come to think of it, the fact that several copies have already flown out without anyone having heard anything is pretty weird, yeah...

13. What do you think of your fans?

Von Päx: As I have already said, I doubt we’ll have fans. But if we do, they’ll be freaks, for sure.

14. What do you think of our site?

Von Päx: It’s important that the underground stays underground, but that it doesn’t die either. Things are very complicated, I’ve never seen everything so bad, so we thank you for the space and our first interview.

Varg: Your service to the underground scene is really appreciated, it’s very good to still see sites like yours promoting this kind of music.

15. Something to add?

Von Päx: Well, yes, the truth is that I do have something to add. I think a lot of people expect Funesta Epifania to be a black metal album, which is very much in the style of Barbarian Swords, and nothing could be further from the truth. If I wanted to do an album with Barbarian Swords, don’t you think I would do it with Barbarian Swords? In fact, this debut might not even be metal. Beyond a guitar riff, you’ll find little else. If you weren’t told that Von Päx is involved in the album, you probably wouldn’t even notice that I'm the singer. There are vocals, diction, and styles here that would never ever appear on a Barbarian Swords album. That’s part of the fun, too. It’s not an epic black metal album with a dash of dungeon synth and dark ambient, no... Quite the opposite: this is dungeon synth and dark ambient with a minuscule dash of epic black metal. If anyone is put off by this, I don’t care, because an album like this is what I’ve wanted to do for too many years.