Drama Noir seem unstoppable. It’s been less than a year since your excellent “A Necromancy Lore” was out, and yet you hit once again with the split “Morna / Possenspiel”. Let’s talk about what inspired you as a band and more…
Good evening from Metal Invader, which is the current status of the band given the circumstances? In my opinion bands nowadays can be divided in 2 main categories: the ones waiting for live shows to start and then planning to release new material, and the rest, taking advantage of their free time in order to release new material. You obviously go along with the second category, why is that so?
Yngve: Good evening and thank you very much for the interview. We are currently rehearsing, in order to be ready for 2022 concerts, while at the same time we ‘re working on the first samples of our 3rd album. As we released the split into quarantine, I think we should be included in the 2nd category. We considered it pointless not to take advantage of this spare time.
I imagine you felt kind of uncomfortable not being able to perform live in order to promote “A Necromancy Lore”. How did you manage?
Yngve: Yeah all that sounds pretty crap to me, but we were not disturbed as we focused on writing and rehearsing.
Give us some more info about the release of “Morna / Possenspiel”
Yngve: Morgenrothe, the Germans, who are also collaborating with Drakkar Productions, contacted us about the split and suggested that we make a joint release. After a few days of discussions between the bands and the record company, we finally agreed to go for it. I could say that it was a pleasant process, as it was something that could be done without pressure, since it was not full length or something more “formal”. In part, it was an opportunity for us to experiment with ideas that might be used on the next album or albums.
How did you end up with the current split? Did you consider at all keeping these 3 compositions for your next full length?
Yngve: The truth is that we have not thought about that, as it is the first split of Drama Noir. If it wasn’t for the proposal, we wouldn’t have done it, we had no such intention. We kept on thinking should we keep this one or that one for our next full length? This way we wouldn’t have left any material for the split. So we ended up with the 3 pieces that were finally used.
The split songs seem to continue Necromancy’s path. Do you feel like you have found your sound, or should we expect from you something more prog in the future?
Yngve: I really have no idea how we will approach our 3rd album, but yes there will be some experiments I quess, as Mephisto does not stop at same old norms. He is constantly coming up with great new ideas.
In your opinion, when live shows are allowed again, things will go back to normal?
Yngve: Time will tell. Personally, I want to believe that yes, maybe even better, as people are thirsty for concerts now.
It has been almost a year since the release of “A Necromancy Lore”. Any second thoughts till now?
Yngve: Speaking of me, I would not change a thing. I’m satisfied with the result and at the bottom line, it is what it is. Usually mistakes, in case there are any, are discovered after taking a break, so you just correct them by avoiding them in the next release.
“Greek Black Metal” term helped you become acknowledged abroad? I mean is it something that inspires respect nowadays?
Yngve: Our music is not Greek black metal and it is a conscious decision not to be. Why be one more band out there that plays “Greek black metal”? We wanted to do something that few in Greece do at the moment, Septicflesh and W.E.B. are two of the bands that we ‘re more close to … We prefer to be mentioned as a symphonic black / death metal or symphonic extreme metal band. As for the 2nd part of the question, obviously the Greek Black Metal has its own characteristics, a very specific sound and the fact that it still enjoys respect worldwide is really something. Bands like Varathron, Necromantia, Nightfall, Elysian Fields for example, have setting the ground for this music to be established.
What should we expect from Drama Noir in the near future? Are you aiming keeping up this creative momentum?
Yngve: To cut a long story short, yes it will be maintained. We intend to be here until we can no longer play music or until we have no other choice (end of the world, meteorite, dinosaurs’ reappearance, doomsday etc).
Thank you for your time, the floor is yours…
Thanks again for this interview. The support we have received from friends, magazines, and radios is huge and same goes for every band out there. Without friends and fans a band is nothing. So simple as that. Support the scene of your country, your city, your neighborhood as everything starts from there, stay safe and we will catch up in a show or a concert venue. By the way, on the 21st and 22nd of this month, from 11 am to 11 pm, the Merch of the Bands – Hip Hop and Rock Edition took place at the old OSY depot, where Drama Noir’s merch was also available on Monsterville’s kiosk (already happened).
