Интервю с Taliesin (ETERNAL SAMHAIN)

Interview with Taliesin (ETERNAL SAMHAIN)

Satania: Hello! Thank you for your time!

Taliesin: Hello everyone, Taliesin speaking! Thanks you for your time too!

S.: How was the idea for the band born?

T.: The idea was born more than 10 years ago, I was only sixteen when I started to play in a black metal band with some friends. We were young and we didn’t really know what to play, the important was to have fun together and have some gigs around. We decided to call the band “Eternal Samhain” but everyone from that old line up quit really fast. I just kept the name because I liked it and started to build up a brand new symphonic black metal band.

S.: The name is really interesting. What is the main idea? What do you want to deliver through your music, your lyrics, your behavior on stage?

T.: The main idea is a celebration of life every day. Maybe not everyone knows that “Samhain” is one of the most important Sabbath of the year, celebrated on the 31st of October, a.k.a Halloween. Samhain was the beginning of darkness (Obscuritatis Principium, if this may remind you something, hehe), the beginning of winter and the end of a circle that represent life. Samhain is celebrating life through death in his infinite repetition. This is what we try to deliver with our music, lyrics and behaviour!

S.: You use mainly the Latin language, why? Don’t you think that this could be an obstacle for your art to reach more people?

T.: No we don’t. We all know that metalheads are not superficial kind of guys and we know that, if someone is interested in what we say, he will search the meaning of it for sure. The focus is not to hit as much people as we can, the focus is to hit the right ones.

S.: Through the years we can see a lot of lineup changes. What is the reason for that? Can we say that Eternal Samhain have a solid lineup and will be more active?

T.: The reason was because not all the old members were motivated for the goals we wanted to reach. Find a strong line up that want to work all together in the same direction is pretty hard. Yes, we can say that Eternal Samhain now has a strong line up and that we will be more active, in Italy as well as outside our country!

S.: Your new album is very different. More aggressive and extreme than the EP. Don’t you worry that the fans who expected the same are disappointed? I suppose that this is a form of artistic growth. How much did Eternal Samhain grow and evolve for the five years between the two releases?

T.: No, we don’t think that fans will be disappointed. The EP was just the beginning of the band and growing up we’ve found our way to write and compose songs. We wish that our followers will grow up with us. We’ve grown a lot of course, improving our skills both technical and playing and researching deeper concepts to write about.

S.:Apart from everything else Storyteller of the Sunset and the Dawn was a really strong beginning for you. Do you think that you are becoming more famous (not only among the black metal fans but as well in the European metal scene)compared to few years ago?

T.: We can only hope so! We actually see more followers during our gigs and on social media. We have become more and more committed in the last few years and we think that the audience noticed how strong is our will!

S.: The Italian history, culture, mythology are really interesting and in the last years quite a few Italian black metal bands are using themes from your culture and mythology. What is your inspiration? Do you seek ideas in your past?

T.: Of course we do. For example the track “Cenere” (“ Cenere” in italian means “ash”). The track talks about the tragic death of Giordano Bruno, a monk killed by the inquisition on the 17th of February 1600. His tongue was nailed to his mouth so he couldn’t talk while he was taken to the pyre and burned alive. He was a free thinker and we still feel the power of his thought.
We also take inspiration by ancient mythology from other cultures like the Celts, and this is evident in the name of our band.

S.: The debute album was released just few months ago. What are Eternal Samhain dedicated to now?

T.: We are deeply dedicated to the promotion of our album by playing around Italy and finally outside our country. We are also writing new materials as we had a lot of ideas!

S.: You will play in Bulgaria for the first time /at least the bigger part of the band /, but some of your colleagues have already been here. Do you have some expectations for the country and has someone shared their experience from here?

T.: We have great expectations, we’ve been told that the crowd there is awesome and supports bands in a great way, this is what we hope to find! A lot of our colleagues told us what I’ve just told you, do not disappoint us!

S.: Will you play songs from the EP or you will present only the new album?

T.: Who knows…just show up and see!

S.: Your message for the fans who will come at the 24th of April in Sofia. What can they expect?

T.: We want you to expect a great show, as much as we expect a hot crowd, we can’t wait to be there!

S.: Thank you for the interview! It will be a pleasure for me to see you live!

T.: Thank to you and to all the readers of this interview, see you around guys!

Eternal Samhain Facebbok page
Credits to Taliesin pic: Monica Furiani Photography