Daedric
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
Faith in Agony
Faith in Agony
Alternative Band from Grenoble, France.
Playing together since 2016, Faith in Agony is a family that loves being on stage building and creating though the good times and bad.
Where did the "Faith In Agony" name come from?
Faith in Agony was the name of an old song from an old secret band…
What was the inspiration for "Drowned & Exalted"?
This album took place during a special turning point period in our own lives that has been translated into a sort of drowning sensation that is reflected in our music.
I really enjoy listening to "Drowned & Exalted", Do you have any new projects your currently working on?
We missed a lot playing and also composing for now two long years of the pandemic. The priority of 2022 is working on a new live show. We hope we’ll be able to play soon. We also always have in mind to create new contents.
Who are your main musical influences?
We all come from the same broth of the 90’s rock and metal band so, Alice in Chains or Soundgarden are huge inspirations for us. We also are inspired by Deftones or Blue Pills.
What is your top five favorite songs of all time?
Bob Marley – could you be love
Deftones – Rosemary
Confortably numb – Pink Floyd
Porcupine Tree – Anesthetize
And all the discography of Crazy Frog of course
Of your own music, which song is your favorite?
Royal Tones, from our last album. That song reflects a new way to compose for us. We’d like to take that kind of direction for the next album.
How could you describe your style of music?
We hope our music talks to our fans as much as it talks to us and we hope they could connect with us, recognize themselves in the music, in the lyrics we wrote.
What other band or bands do you think you sound like?
We’re all surrounded by the 90s style and culture in terms of production and composition. So we also take some codes from grunge.
What are the goals for the band in the future?
Make a lot of money and be famous of course! But more seriously, realizing a new album and still evolving in our compositions and visual creations seems like an honest goal.
Do you play any shows outside of Europe?
Unfortunately not yet, but we really wish we could. We already have some good feedback outside of France and it’s very supportive and encouraging.
Lastly, tell us an interest fact about yourself/yourselves?
So much depends
upon a red wheel barrow
glazed with rain water
beside the white chickens
– William Carlos Williams-
Review -
If you want something New, Gritty, Emotional and Original, Faith in Agony's "Drowned & Exalted" is right here waiting for you!
I was blown away in my very first listen.
The song "Ghost" had me primed and ready to experience some grit, blues and a lot of old school alternative rock! I have been humming and singing the song "Exalted" for days… The song "A41" assaulted me but in a good way, and left me with blood on my hands. The song "Royal Tone" sent me on a roller coaster of emotion, anger and filled me with a feeling of the satisfaction of moving on. Then to close things out "Deep Covering Blue" forgave me and released me.
I felt Faith in Agony are being true to their music with the lyrics and generated emotions. Nothing here is manufactured. Nothing feels like it has been slapped together. They are truly talented, and I have really enjoyed listening and feeling like I am a part of the whole journey. Trying to review just one song from the Drowned & Exalted was too difficult. Every song is good and really should be listened to again and again in order to get the full experience.
DROWNED & EXALTED-I-
A41
No heaven for good guys
How it goes
Crowned
Exalted - Morning
Ghost
Doggy Bone
Royal Tone
Deep Covering Blue
FAITH IN AGONYMadie - Lead Vocals
Grey - Guitar and Vocals
Qent - Drums and Vocals
Eva - Bass and Vocals
Misty Route
Misty Route - Power Trio from Greece
Can you introduce yourselves?
Hello! We are Misty Route from Athens, Greece and we play alternative metal. Lefteris Saatsakis on the guitar and vocals, George Armando Konomi on the bass and Kostas Bacopoulos on the drums.
Where did you all meet?
Common friends of ours brought together Lefteris and George, who began jamming together and creating some of the first tunes. After some auditions Kostas joined us on the drums and we named our band Misty Route.
How long have you been playing together?
Since October 2019.
Where did the "Misty Route" name come from?
Typical brainstorming until something made the click. We wanted the band name to reflect our music as much as possible.
Who or what bands are your main musical influences?
Hard to list them all really, since we are a mixture of many different genres. Some main ones could be Godsmack, Tool, Deftones, Opeth, Metallica and Breaking Benjamin.
What is your top five favorite songs of all time?
Only five? Thats hard!
1. The Pot – Tool
2. Passenger – Deftones ft Maynard
3. Fade to black – Metallica
4. Drapery falls – Opeth
5. Comfortably numb – Pink Floyd
Of your own music, which song is your favorite?
How can you pick among your own children? Impossible! We can just say that Sweet Revenge is one of those that tick the most boxes of our genre, so its highly possible to be liked.
What was the inspiration for "Sweet Revenge"?
The people around us that suffer from any kind of addiction and try to fight against it every day.
How could you describe your style of music, what can your fans expect to hear and feel?
Our music is inspired by a mixture of different musical genres and is characterized mainly by its ambient character and escalating groove. Touches of psychedelic rock are harmonically brought together with metal breakouts. It feels quite emotional.
What other band or bands do you think you sound like?
We are trying to sound unique in our own way. You can find characteristics of our main influences in there of course, but we actively avoid copying any.
What are the goals for the band in the future?
Our main goal for the moment is to promote our debut album “Without A Trace” and prepare for live shows to play it in front of the audience! Let’s hope that COVID will allow…
Is it difficult being a band in Greece?
We guess it is more or less similar to other parts of the world right now. Live shows are very limited during the latest months due to COVID prevention measures, which gives all bands a big headache. Our country might not be a leader in the global Metal/Rock scene, yet it has many passionate fans and vastly talented local bands, like Rotting Christ, Villagers of Ioannina City, 1000mods, Planet of Zeus, Nightstalker, Naxatras or Mother of Millions that especially during the recent years have found the worldwide recognition they have worked for and truly deserve. This is truly inspiring for new bands like ours.
Do you play any shows outside of Europe?
Not yet. Its a wild dream. We follow a step-by-step approach and we hope to reach there sometime!
Lastly, tell me an interest fact about the band?
We are already working on new songs for the next album!
Go Listen, Follow and Enjoy!
