Coming from Dallas, Texas, this Future Rock band “Daedric” is creating new and exciting music that’s inspired by none other than one of our favorite RPG games, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. From the vile reaches of the planes of Oblivion, Daedric offers a new and exciting take on rock music that translates to a slightly electronic sounding metal that sounds absolutely chilling. With truly psychedelic music videos and a powerful front man, Daedric seems to only know UP from here. This band does something I feel like not many other bands get right, creating their own style, while they can be compared to some of your favorite Rock music they continue to dazzle and amaze with sounds we don’t normally hear paired together in the same songs of the Rock genre. Personally i’m unfamiliar with Future Rock, but Daedric has me adding this genre to all of my playlists after checking out their new songs, “Sepulchre” and “Wretched”. Apart from offering fans of similar music some beautiful stuff to listen to, Daedric also conjures stories that are directly influenced by Elder Scrolls : Oblivion which is one of the most popular RPG’s in the last few decades. Personally, it’s really incredible for a band to not only hit notes music wise but to also call to a deeper meaning within their lyrics that really tell a visceral story. Daedric seems to have a full album in store for the future and we can’t wait to check out more songs like “Sepulchre” and “Wretched” on their upcoming release. This passionate group has great things on the horizon and we hope to follow them on their journey of entertainment and creation and see what they have in store for all of us in this exciting Future Rock frontier.
Who and what is Daedric?
Daedric is a project dedicated to bringing together strong female vocals and heavy and darker synth-based rock. It’s founded on the creative work of Geoff Rockwell, Clay Schroeder, and Kristyn Hope – with Kristyn as the face of the project.
What does Daedric mean or where did the name come from?
The name “Daedric” is heavily inspired by The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and draws on the deep lore behind the game. In TES, Daedra “is the term for the entities who inhabit the realms of Oblivion in The Elder Scrolls. They are viewed variously as gods or demons by the inhabitants of Tamriel, although scholarly consensus discourages the use of the latter term. The most powerful of the Daedra are referred to as Daedric Princes or Daedra Lords, and rule over their own planes of Oblivion, which they shaped.” I loved the phonetic sound of “Daedric” and how it embodies a sense of dark power, so it felt perfect for the project.
Who are your main musical influences? Who is in your top five favorite Artists?
I feel like I was introduced to the realm of music fairly late in life. I grew up with classical music and hymns on vinyl, with little access to modern radio or CDs until the end of my high school years. Some of my early exposure to rock was 30 Seconds to Mars, Linkin Park, and Breaking Benjamin, so that probably had a pretty heavy impression on my tastes. I’d say now my top 5 favorites would be Northlane, TesseracT, 30 STM, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, and Circa Survive. I love artists that aren’t afraid to be raw and vulnerable, especially in the vocal delivery. Marcus Bridge of Northlane is a prime example of that – he projects powerful emotions in his vocals and you can feel it.
What are your top five favorite songs of all time?
Top 5 songs might be hard to narrow down. Maybe The Kill by 30STM, Bloodline by Northlane, Retrospect by TesseracT, Dystopia Foretold by Andromida, and Decode by Paramore.
Of your own music, do you have a favorite?
Demos. I get obsessed with listening to the most recent demo we’re working on to the point where I’m basically binging it, but once we release an official song it’s like I can’t hear it for a while at least. I get so excited for what’s next.
Who was your inspiration for the song “Wretched”?
Wretched is always going to be special to me as it was our debut single for the project and it had such an amazing reception as well. When I wrote the vocals for this track, I originally had a more Linkin Park sounding melody on the chorus because I was inspired by their song “Crawling” and how it flowed. We ended up rewriting the chorus melody to be what it is now. For the lyrical content, I put myself in the role of a character from Skyrim that subjected themselves to the influence of the Daedric Prince, Hircine, and how they might feel internally about that role. I’m basically someone who struggles with the innate bloodlust of a werewolf.
What about the song “Sepulchre”?
Sepulchre is cool because everything in the process felt so seamless. I knew from the moment I started writing that it was going to feature elements of the Daedric Prince, Hermaeus Mora. I had the imagery in my head of a hero facing the rage, hate and overwhelming darkness of his power. In the DLC, you get to go to his realm, which is an abyss of black goo, fire and endless stacks of books and knowledge. I loved how visceral the imagery was so I wanted the video to reflect that as well.
What are your plans for any future releases? What about a full-length album?
We have so much content in the works and queued for release very soon, actually – including a full length album. There’ll be a couple unexpected surprises as well.
Any tour dates in the near future?
After the album is released, I think that would be the perfect time to start doing some live shows, since there would be solid content to promote and get people hyped about.
Read more in Issue 02
