Däng im Interview (English Version)

Artist: Däng

Orgin: North Carolina, USA

Genre: Hard Rock / Metal / Progressive

Label: No Remorse Records

Link: http://www.dangrocks.com/index.html

Bandmember:

Vocals, Guitar – Chris Church
Guitar – Scott Cornette
Bass – Matt Lutton
Drums – Brian Beaver

Time For Metal / Rene:
Hi there, Däng,
I’m pleased that you’re taking the time to give us a little interview regarding your new releaseTartarus: The Darkest Realm. First of all, I would like you to tell us something about the Project Däng. When did you form the band and why did you chose your musical path as you did?

Chris Church / Däng:
Däng has been a band since mid 2012. I asked the other guys to help me with this project because they are great musicians as well as great friends. Scott Cornette is the other guitarist, and he and I have been in bands together before. Matt Lutton plays bass, and he and the drummerBrian Beaver are also together in another band called “Lenoir Swingers Club”. We are involved with a group of several other friends in different musical projects that appear and develop organically. Däng seems coherent and we are committed to it, but we all do other things. We enjoy making noise together.

Time For Metal / Rene:
Bands like Black SabbathLed ZeppellingDanzing and Tool definately influenced the sound of Tartarus: The Darkes Realm. How did you manage it to give your music a special touch despite the fact, that your influences are all well-known bands?

Chris Church / Däng:
I think those bands are influences because they are unique and very difficult to put neatly into any small genre, and that approach is important to us. We all listen to a lot of different music, but the darker and louder stuff just seems to be more pleasurable for us to work on. Certain influences filter through in ways we don’t always plan.

Time For Metal / Rene:
To give us and our readers a closer look and better feel for your music: Could you tell us what it takes to compose your songs? How much space is taken by the single parts of Progressive Metal, Heavy Rock, Doom and Gothic?

Chris Church / Däng:
Däng is not exactly prog, not pure metal, not really goth. There is a doom aspect, but it’s not something that is measured. We just play heavy loud dark rock music that we think is interesting. It doesn’t really matter what category anyone might suggest or say we belong to. As for composition, on Tartarus: The Darkest Realm, I wrote the parts, but they sounded so much bigger and better when the other guys played and added their talents and ideas.

Time For Metal / Rene:
With Tartarus: The Darkest Realm you’re sending the listener in seven Songs into the depths of the greek underworld, passing Hades. How did a band from North Carolina come up with the idea to write a concept album like this one? How are you linked to the greek mythology for yourselves?

Chris Church / Däng:
It was interesting to me to attempt a concept album, and Greek Mythology seemed like a good place to look for ideas. None of us are scholarly in the subject, but we know a great horror story when we hear one. I have always thought the Hades and Tartarus characters and ethos present great opportunities for translating into a brutal, dark, heavy rock concept.

Time For Metal / Rene:
The Cover of Tartarus: The Darkes Realm was designed to fit the theme. Did you design it by yourselves or was another artist involved in the development of the cover?

Chris Church / Däng:
Our friend Scott Woodard is the creator of the album cover. He is a great artist, and when I told him of the concept, he offered to give it a try. He made us all very happy and proud months later when he unveiled the finished painting…which is now hanging on the wall in my home. There is also a lot of individual song artwork on the inside of the packaging that was done by our drummer,Brian Beaver. We are lucky to have great artists to call on, and it’s exciting to know their talents are there for us to use.

Time For Metal / Rene:
Your record will be in stores via No Remorse Records on January, 27, 2014. How proud are you of Tartarus: The Darkest Realm being in stores in Europe and not just in the USA?

Chris Church / Däng:
We are extremely pleased. Chris and Andreas at No Remorse Records believed in it, and they have done a tremendous job getting the record out. We are very grateful. It makes sense that the record is released in Greece, considering the subject matter. I actually think it sounds more European than American anyway, but that’s just me.

Time For Metal / Rene:
To take a closer look at your concept album, we’d appreciate a little track-by-track explanation of the single songs from you. Which thoughts are hidden in the tracks and what have been your inspirations?

Chris Church / Däng:
The inspiration came from the idea that it would be an interesting concept to describe only characters who were all damned to Tartarus, the pit of Hades. I think someone else may be able to describe the songs in depth better than me, because I am perhaps too close to it. Also, I would need a nap during a track-by track explanation. That could take all day! Other than reporting actual parts of the individual stories, all I really did was to tell the tales, make it rhyme, and try to make aspects of each character more relatable to humans. For example, on “Salmoneus” the lyrics say, “I bet the rims on your chariot wheels were dope”. This is a direct satirical comment about how lots of young males in America seem obsessed with paying lots of money to make the wheels and tires of their cars fancy, and how Salmoneus seemed to be full of that kind of hubris. I hope the way I re-told these stories is entertaining. My favorite lines to sing on the entire album are on “Titans”, when I describe Cronos castrating Uranus and eating “a lot of babies”. I have fun treating something this gruesome with a bit of humor. The important part to me, however, is describing the anguish of the different individual damnations, all of them eternal.

Time For Metal / Rene:
After long work, you are now having some off-time. What are your future plans? Will you be waiting for reviews and the opinion of your fans or will you start working on new songs as soon as possible?

Chris Church / Däng:
We have begun writing new material, and this time all members of the band are co-writing the music with me. I already have a lyrical concept in mind as well. There will be another Däng project, and it will be epic. Enough said about that…As for reviews, they are fun to read sometimes, but I don’t put much value in them for the most part. Some opinions are different, and some people are never going to agree with others, so it’s best to see all of that as entertainment. I think the most important thing in any type of art is to do what you like. We like the record, we like the material we are writing now, and we get along great with each other because we don’t take ourselves too seriously. The plan is to keep doing that and watch where it all goes.

Time For Metal / Rene:
Alongside to the development of new songs, the life of a band mostly takes place on stages in front of your fans. So what’s up with you? Are there any shows planned in the USA oder even Europe to promote your new release?

Chris Church / Däng:
We have played shows to promote this record, and they have been very well received. Of course we would love to come across the pond to Europe, but there are no specific touring plans as of now. We will definitely keep you informed!

Time For Metal / Rene:
Everyone has wishes, so what’s the biggest wish that Däng has for the future? A tour with a genre-legend, a studio-session with your favorite band or even a festival? What would be the non-plus-ultra, that could happen to you?

Chris Church / Däng:
There are many dream scenarios that we talk and laugh about, but I don’t believe we think about that stuff too much. I don’t want to speak for the rest of the guys on this. For me, hanging out or playing music with Jimmy Page would be something to remember, but I don’t see how it would really be that much fun for either of us, even if it were possible. I would probably be nervous and awkward, because he is so cool that he doesn’t even seem real. I have played along to his records before, and I think I even did okay a couple of times. That’s enough for me. I suppose it’s fun to dream about stuff like that, but I really don’t spend a lot of time wishing.

Time For Metal / Rene:
Däng, thanks for the interview. I wish you all the best for the future. The last word belongs to you.

Chris Church / Däng:
We want to say thanks again to No Remorse Records, and thank you so much. It has been a real pleasure. Good luck to you as well, and keep rocking.