From the white sands and pristine waters of Palma de Mallorca, Melodic Death Metal band Aeolian gave us the opportunity to talk about the foundation of this Spanish band, their already two albums and an upcoming one in November 2023, as well as much more.
With deep and solid influences in Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, Dimmu Borgir, In Flames and a lot more, Aeolian’s sound is fast, shredding, and the lyrics are quite powerful, concerning modern themes such as climate change and global warming.
“Echoes of the Future” is their new album, ready to be released on the 24th of November. Again, the band isn’t only known for their destructive sound, lyrics but also their unique and artistic artwork.
M.I. - Let’s start with the band’s name: Aeolian. Does the inspiration come from the ancient Greek civilization of Thessaly or isn’t it related to this subject?
The band’s name comes from the Greek God of wind: Aeolus. We chose that name because of it is one of the strongest forces of nature. Also, it fits with the lyrics of the band.
M.I. - Coming from Palma de Mallorca, do you find it easy or challenging to target a big audience with Heavy Metal in Spain?
I think being from Palma is not a big problem for targeting an audience. I think that nowadays musical saturation is worse. On the other hand, the kind of metal we play is more popular in other countries, so we find it a bit difficult growing up in Spain. Let’s see if this new album helps a bit with this.
M.I. - What are the roots of Aeolian’s sound? What bands did influence you for Silent Witness (2018) and The Negationist (2020)?
Our main musical influences are unquestionably in the nineties… first melodic death and black metal bands. Me and our singer Dani grew up listening to that amazing wave of new bands. Now we're composing our music searching for the freshness and entertainment we felt thirty years ago. The first albums of Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Dissection, Cradle of Filth, Amorphis, Borknagar, Dimmu Borgir, Moonspell or Tristania are examples of this. Also, we are a bit influenced by the first wave of Viking metal and of course of a lot of other bands like Death, Carcass, Kreator, Iron Maiden, etc.
M.I. - The transition from The Awakening to Black Storm (Silent Witness) foretells the force of nature and mankind’s destiny, ending with a symphony of destruction. Are these lyrics related to climate change and global warming?
Yeah, although it may seem monothematic, we try to raise awareness about the need to protect our planet. Most of our songs talk about it in different ways and from different points of view. This time “Black Storm” describes the arrival of a storm that, at the same time, symbolizes climate change and global warming.
M.I. - Again, considering climate change, the artwork for Aeolian’s albums seems to be connected with environmental aspects and themes. Who’s the author behind these artistic masterpieces?
Indeed. Our cover artworks are directly connected with nature. Every artwork was made by a different artist. The first album was taken from a picture of Kilian Eng named “The Old Hunting Palace”. “The Negationist” artwork was made by Juanjo Castellano. He is an amazing artist and it was a pleasure working with him. And the new album artwork was made by Ryan T. Hancock. This time the artist used acrylic paint on canvas.
M.I. - On “The Negationist”, the tracks “The Flood” and “Ghosts Anthem” deliver a powerful message to the world. Is mankind ignoring environmental concerns or becoming aware of its outcome?
I think mankind is beginning to become aware of the problem but a lot of social and especially economic aspects of our lives are an obstacle to change. In the end, we humans are the ones who are most harmed so governments would have to act in the direction of protecting our home, the Earth.
M.I. - In 2020, when the whole world was shut down due to COVID-19, in collaboration with Coraxo, the song “Prey” came out. What were your inspirations during quarantine to create this shredding track and why?
We were working with Snow Wave for the release of our debut album “Silent Witness”. Coraxo was in the same record label. During the difficult times of the pandemic, especially the lockdown, we talked to Tomi from Coraxo about the possibility of a collaboration. We had some discarded music from the composition of “The Negationist” and we began working on one of them for the song. Tomi wrote the lyrics. He was inspired by a western marsh harrier couple nesting close to his home and frequently flew over.
M.I. - With 2 albums already, and an upcoming one in November, can we expect more of that fast and mid-tempo melodic death metal?
We are making the music we would like to listen to. And at the same time this music is evolving album after album. “Echoes of the Future'' has a bit of everything as always, but I can say, I feel more satisfied with the whole thing than the two previous albums. Can we expect more than fast and mid-tempo? Sure. For example, the last song of the album, called “Chronicles of the Fall '' has a lot of different parts along its 11:37 minutes long. For me, it’s like taking a little musical journey through the song.
M.I. - The first album was recorded with Snow Wave Records and the next ones with Black Lion Records. Both labels are based in Scandinavia, but coming from Spain wouldn’t it be easier in terms of logistics to find a Spanish label?
Finding a record label is not an easy task nowadays. And even less that it fits your music. We are happy to still be part of the Black Lion Records family. I don’t know if a Spanish label would be easier for us. But we didn’t find a record label from Spain when we began our research.
M.I. - Thank you very much for this opportunity! Would you like to share a message with our readers and your fans?
Thank you for the interview and for your support!
To the readers and fans, I just want to say that our new album “Echoes of the Future” is coming out on November 24th. We have already released three singles available on Youtube, Spotify and all digital platforms. If you are interested in supporting the band in any way, contact us through any of our social networks or go directly to our shop on Bandcamp. We wish the best to all of you.
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Listen to Aeolian, on Spotify
Questions by André Neves
