(1) Could you tell our readers about your band Carach Angren ? – What kind of music do
you perform, when was it established, etc.?
We started Carach Angren around 2003, initially as a project because both Seregor and
I were active in another band. In 2004 we recorded and released our first demo EP
called “The Chase Vault Tragedy”. The songs tell the story of the famous ‘moving
coffins’ in a family vault on the island Barbados. From the very beginning we felt it was a
good idea to come up with stories spanning over a release. It gives the album/ ep a
narrative and consistency. We stuck with that and it somehow grew into a core-part of
the brand actually. Our music is rooted in what you could call symphonic black metal but
we have always incorporated other styles: death metal, industrial, classical music and
more. Nowadays we tend to call it “Horror Metal” but to be fair, genres are always open
for discussion.
(2) Which bands or artists inspired you to play music?
Personally I was inspired by all the earliest wave death- and black metal bands.
Soundtracks and classical pieces also had a great effect on me. As I have always been
a piano/ keyboard player it inspired me to inject classical qualities into metal
compositions.
(3) Who came up with the album cover?.
The cover-art and photography were done by Stefan Heilemann (Heilemania). He is a
great visual artist and came up with this particular idea and style. For the depiction of
the witch Kariba he worked with model “Laura Mauve”. I had talks with Stefan early on
in the process and sent him the story as well as the music so he could get a sense of
what was going on. Visuals are very important to us. They have to complement the story
and music in place. I feel he nailed it, particularly with this retro/ greenish old school
vibe.
(4) Who wrote the lyrics for your album, how did they come to be?
For this one we went back to our first full lenght album “Lammendam”. We learned
through research that there were more layers to this story. We found out about a
poisonous with called “Kariba”, haunting the forests near Schinveld. At the same time I
was reading short stories by Lovecraft and I came up with this idea of a cult. Imagine
people living in your neighbourhood, secretly gathering at night to perform bloody rituals
and sacrifices to bring back a ghost from the post. Pretty crazy stuff…This led to
creating this EP with a narrative combining both facts and fiction.
This time around we both wrote lyrics.
(5) Who created the logo for the band, and who takes care of the graphics and the
website? What about you and social networks?
The logo was created by Seregor right around the time when we started. He has a very
unique style that also comes through our corpsepaint. It’s important to have a
connection between all the visual elements and I think we have a good amount of
consistency going throughout all visual output.
(6) How many Shows have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether
(Venues or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?
I think we are over 500 shows world wide right now, haven’t counted it exactly but it
should be around that number. We really like all kinds of shows, from very small club
shows to the biggest festivals. They all share their unique qualities that make them so
great. On big stages we can really push the sound and do more theatrics. In the past we
have used a robot arm for a keyboard stand, had projections and even moving
bassdrums on the drumkit. Those things are great but on small stages there is much
more interaction with the audience and those shows tend to be very intense on a whole
different level.
(7) who came up with the name of the new album?
The name came to me in an obvious way once the idea of the Cult was established.
The title is pretty much on point with the overall narrative. It felt powerful and mysterious
at the same time. A cult is usually something that people associate with secrecy and
malicious things. Kariba is rather unknown so that will lure the listener in to check out
what is going on inside the music and lyrics. It works!
(8) How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact
information?
You can always comment on our socials and send us a message there. We can’t
obivously respond to everything but we’ll do our best.
Fans can follow Carach Angren on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and all major
streaming platforms.
Check out Carach Angren at:
Bandcamp
Youtube
Applemusic
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
