Adorned Brood is a German band, existing for more than twenty years now. Almost ‘Classic’ you should think. A lot has happened in those twenty years. Folk-metal.nl had a chat with the band about their biggest success, dreams and about they feel about being one of the ‘mature’ bands amongst a lot of starting bands. I spoke to the band at the Wolfstijd Festival 2012.
Adorned Brood performed very well at Wolfstijd. ‘Thanks, it went very well, it’s always nice to play in the Netherlands.’
Although the atmosphere, the hall was far from filled up. ‘There wasn’t a lot of public indeed, but the people who were present were very enthusiast!’
Adorned Brood stood in it’s long carrier on lots of stages, including Wacken. Where do the like to play the most, in a small but cosy festival like Wolfstijd or do they rather play on a huge festival like Wacken?
‘It all depends on the public. You can play for a lot of people who are rather dull. But can also be in a small venue with a great audience.’ ‘Besides this, it depends on a lot of things like the festival itself, the organisation, the line-up. It’s difficult to answer this question with one simple answer.’
In the Netherlands Adorned Brood is not a totally unknown band, but it’s not by far like the situation in Germany. Do you notice any difference in performing for a Dutch audience or a German one?
‘In Germany we’re better known. There are much more people that know our songs and singing them along. In the Netherlands the audience people always more waiting to see what happens.’
Adorned Brood is grounded in 1993 and through a few other styles they landed eventually in the folk/pagan metal scene. What do they think of as their biggest success?
‘Besides the fact we’re still playing together? Playing Wacken!’ ‘It’s like you’
re playing in Walhalla, simply fantastic to get the opportunity to play there.’
Is there still a goal left, now Wacken has been achieved?
‘Playing the main stage or being a headliner on Wacken. Besides this we would also like to play a lot. Going to the USA would be very cool, but it’s very difficult to get there. And we have to say, our flute player has fear of flying.’ ‘70000 tons of Metal would be a good alternative. 6 weeks on a cruise-ship with only metal. Yes, that would be a goal.’
‘We also hope to release a lot of albums. At the moment we’re busy writing on a new full full-length which will be released in 2012.’
What can the fans expect with this new album? Will it be an album like ‘Hammerfest’, or is the band heading towards a new direction?
‘We’re still writing, it’s not completed by far, but it’s growing steady. We liked the path we’ve chosen with ‘Hammerfest’ and we’ll go further along this line. A slight difference will be the new influences and the use of more instruments.’
More instruments?
‘Yes, we’d like to use more modern elements, but we also want to build in a little more acoustic and folkloristic elements. Modern but old.’
This sounds to me like the in the Netherlands well know phrase of Piet Paulusma: ‘Maybe is freezes, maybe not’ We don’t become any wiser.
I find out they are full of ideas, when the guitar player also mentions black-metal. Fortunately he’s talking about the music and not the lyrical themes.
How’s the process of writing working in Adorned Brood? Is there someone taking the responsibility of this task and is the rest following this or is composing a group process?
‘We all live throughout the whole of Germany. To plan a get together each time for these matters, will be very impractical. Most of the time a few members get together to work out some ideas. This is collected in a program and is send to the other members. They can work with this and give feedback.’
Where do you get the inspiration?
‘From Odin himself!’ ‘No, it’s a mix of all bands we listen to, mythology, history. A lot of things actually.’
And from a musical point of view? I can image Anna has a classical background playing flute?
‘We all have a classical background.’ ‘Although the starting point was not for all of us classical music. Some of us started with metal and went to classic later.’
‘When we write songs, it could be we do this in a structure like classical music, but other songs have a more metal touch to it or something completely different. Everybody has its own influence and together this builds up to a song. Everybody does his part, because it’s necessary we are all satisfied in the end.’
Isn’t it difficult to get everyone satisfied?
‘Yes, it’s difficult and it takes a lot of time, but in the end that’s what works best for us. When you’re on stage, you know everyone is going for the full 100%. In this way we don’t get some bandmember to say: ‘It’s not my song, so why give it the full effort.’
When you’re living apart over quite a distance, how do you prepare for a concert?
‘Most of the time we practice the whole set once before a show. And everybody practices for themselves. Sometimes it happens we’ll se each other shortly before a show. But after this many years together, this don’t gives problems at all.’
Did you develop after all these years together some kind of ritual before entering the stage? Do you for instance wear some lucky pants?
‘We shake hands, but otherwise we don’t do crazy things.’
After the release of an album, many people listen to a CD and reviewed by many reviewer. You get a lot of positive reactions, but sometimes also negative criticism. (The last album ‘Hammerfest’ got quite a few negative reviews) How do you deal with this?
‘We try to read most of the reviews. But after a couple of years, you know which reviewers can be taken seriously and which ones not, some reviewers simply don’t know enough. The serious comments are taken in concern for the next album.’
The next question is one, I ask every band. Some readers might think I’m simply not creative enough. But, the reason I’ll ask every band what they think of the folk-metal scene is simply, that it’s interesting to get a different answer every time I’ll ask someone else. Old en young bands have often quite different opinions about bands/scene/pagan and so on. Many of the ‘young’ bands look at the growing folk-metal scene as something positive. Adorned Brood has a quite different opinion.
‘The scene is sick.’
Well, that’s a straight answer.
‘There are to many bands. There are always some good bands but the most of them belong simply to the mainstream and are less creative.’
The grow should also bring something positive. The number of fans is also increasing. ‘It helped us reaching a larger audience.’
A lot of bands use ancient symbols in their logo’s, cover art and other stuff. Sometimes this causes negative reactions, because of the fact this symbols are abused in history. Prejudice like: Oh, their pagans, so their nazi’s. Does this affect Adorned Brood also, in particular while they’re a German band?
‘Yes, but we have really nothing to do with that kind of things. I can’t help my granddad fought in the war. Some people don’t know what’s the scene really about. The symbols are abused and this goes on nowadays by a some bands and individuals. That’s a pity because the symbol itself isn’t bad, it stands for a ‘religion’, in my opinion a just believe in a good way of life. It doesn’t stand for the things they are used for.’
Anna, the flute player, is the only woman in the band. How is it to play in a band full of men?
‘In the metal scene are quite a lot of women. And concerning the men in our band, I can handle them.’
What is 2012 going to bring us, besides the end of the Maya calendar?
‘We’ll release a CD if everything goes right and besides that we will do a lot of gigs. There are a number of bands we’d like to tour with. Like Týr, Amon Amarth and Black Messiah.’
Thank you for the interview :) Is there something you like to say to the Dutch fans?
‘It’s always good in the Netherlands. Thank you guys for following us and for visiting our gigs. Some of you have to drive a long way for this. Thanks!
By: Dorien
Photography: Dorien
