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BACK
Aeons
Confer
When Worlds Collide
By: Aaron McKay
Calling your album The Soul of the Universe sets
the bar for achievement pretty damn high, in my opinion. Much like
Babe Ruth calling his shot at the plate, then slamming one over
the fence, the German six-piece outfit known as Aeons Confer has
seemingly followed suit with their entirely self-produced MCD. Wildly
progressive, The Soul of the Universe is the essence of captivatingly
deep, rich textures of mood. Tempestuous rhythms and deep, serpentine
vocals make Aeons Confer a major league contender. Furthermore,
expertly fused keyboard elements richly enhance the healthier parts
of this effort. Coupled with the chunky beats laid down on this
six-track disc, The Soul of the Universe is a World Series grand
slam! Read on and discover what awaits behind "The Astral Nexus
of Time."
Unrestrained!: Please enlighten us as to the origin of the
band’s name and how Aeons Confer fused together to offer such
a profound musical experience with The Soul of the Universe.
Nils Wrobel: Our band name was chosen to create a timeless
flair of bringing a piece of eternity to the listeners. For us it
includes the opportunity to speak with an ultimate dark understanding
of life about themes like dreams, needs and thoughts of human beings.
The band was founded in 1997 by my brother Simon and me. Our singer,
Tim, joined us one year later and Martin our bass-man became a member
in August 2000. It wasn’t easy for us to find the right musicians
who fit with us musically and mentally. We had a lot of changes
on the second guitar and the keyboard section, but since Alexander
and Dennis joined Aeons Confer, we feel like a complete puzzle of
six individuals who have grown together like brothers under the
banner of Aeons Confer.
U!: Calling Aeons Confer "atmospheric" downplays
the incredible mood the band ultimately creates. What is the inspiration
behind such dark, symphonic metal?
NW: We believe that our music reflects the dark side of our
hearts and souls. Our inspiration is the combination of music we
like to hear and music we want to play. It took us five years to
find out which style would fit for our band and how our music should
sound like. We’re inspired by all kinds of music that surrounds
us, from ambient to rock, but the album Anthems to the Welkin at
Dusk by Emperor brought the right impulse for our activities. Also
we like movie soundtracks and neo-classic music. With this impact,
all doors are open for us.
U!: Aeons Confer creates brutally complicated structures
that run across many genres. What would you say is the most challenging
task in merging all the musical ideas?
NW: It’s our intension to push everything to its known
limits and crush all borders, so the most challenging task for us
is that everybody in the band is happy with the result of each song.
Sometimes we work months on one track before we decide that it’s
complete, and it’s not because we’re so lazy. We hear
the material over and over again and fix every vocal, guitar, bass,
synth or drumline until we think that other people would like to
hear the song with pleasure as we play it.
U!: Please elaborate on the instrumentally majestic interludes
on "The Astral Nexus of Time," "Aeonic Dreams,"
and "Ad Inifinitum."
NW: The journey begins with the intro, "The Astral Nexus
of Time," in which we guide the listener into our world of
dark, futuristic and symphonic sounds. It has a tragic flair that
leads the listener to his or her own self-created abyss. The bridge,
"Aeonic Dreams," disperses the mood of the infernal speed
of track two, "Synthetic Misanthropy," and flushes the
ears for the next song, "Bringer of Light." The outro,
"Ad Infinitum," carries a touch of hope and represents
the destination of being sheltered in "The Soul of the Universe."
U!: Please shed some light on the Star Wars sample on the
onset of "Synthetic Misanthropy."
NW: We’re all very big Star Wars fans. Since we were
kids we’ve loved the whole theme, and watched the movies and
collected the figures. The sentence, "Give yourself to the
dark side!" spoken by Darth Vader represents for us the message
of how people should react to our music. It is the only way to handle
our music.
U!: Do lyrics play an important part in the music or is it
more blast-beat/keyboard/guitar mood-inducing concepts that drive
the band?
NW: All elements have the same priority for us. We create
the music first and then the lyrics, but only to tune them better
on the music. We set great store by creating the lyrics. Sometimes
it takes even longer to write a good text than creating the musical
structures. It’s very important for us that every text supports
its own message, because in the end we want to be content with the
whole result and that can be only worked out with a balance between
music and lyrics.
U!: Nils, thank you for this interview and please end it
any way you would like…
NW: Thanks to you, Aaron, for this great interview! It was
a pleasure for me to answer your questions! For everyone who would
like to hear our songs, visit our homepage at www.aeonsconfer.com
and download the whole MCD The Soul of the Universe for free. Stay
dark.
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