Blackened Horde: How did the band get started?
Eric: Me and Jessica started playing music with friends in Montana in 2006 and it kind of grew from there. Started booking shows and writing songs and have not stopped since. Kind of an evolutionary process, of sorts.
Blackened Horde: What kind of music do you play?
Eric: I suppose we just play metal music. We are considered black and doom influenced a lot. That seems a fair assessment. We also like to do very slow and “non-metal” songs as well. Nothing is really planned ahead of time, very spontaneous songwriting here. With Throne of Malediction, we want to create art that stands the test of time. It so happens we naturally sound depressing, melancholy and evil in a lot of the songs we write. We also like to create a lot of ambiance on our albums with sound effects and samples. Like Native American drumming, nature sounds and things like that.
Blackened Horde: How has the fan response been?
Eric: Over the years, we have been steadily gaining more fans as we improve musically. We are often encouraged by the great response to our work and it helps us keep going at times. Those who do enjoy our music seem to be understanding what we are trying to do musically. Most fans seem to be from overseas. Our main goal now is gaining more fans through giving our music away free.
Blackened Horde: Where did the band name come from?
Eric: We originally were called “Sonic Demise”. Back in 2008, we had new band members and thought a new name was needed. It was a group effort and one of us said “Throne of Malediction” and the name just stuck. I like that no other band was named that, a big help.
Blackened Horde: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band.
Eric: I do vocals, guitars, drum programming and production. Jessica Horner does guitars, vocals, keys and lyrics too. Throne of Malediction is technically a two person project right now. We have session musicians fill in the blanks for now, until we get a full lineup again. Tamara Picardo(from Upon Shadows) and Kevin George(from Martriden/Hemlock) are almost “virtual members” because they contribute all bass and keys right now. We are planning on getting a live lineup going soon, even if for a few shows.
Blackened Horde: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Eric: Jessica and I pretty much share those duties. I kind of just arrange both our ideas as we go along. Depends on the song. Some songs are written by one of us, some by both.
Blackened Horde: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Eric: Lately, most of our lyrics are very personal in nature. We try to write poetic, flowing verses in our songs that can be read many ways. We also have done songs about books(Dragonlance), world events, occult and historical subjects. We try to go on a song by song basis.
Blackened Horde: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
Eric: I myself am an Atheist, but have no problem with satanism and the occult. We sometimes write of those things in our music in an observational sense. I think its funny how some people get all scared when those subjects are mentioned. The subjects do fascinate me to a certain extent and I can agree with some of their principles. Mainly, the push towards self enlightenment and success. Really, Buddhism is very similar to Satanism, in that comparison. The relation to Satanism and heavy metal music is one I can understand too. Satan represents power and individuality, so does metal music to me. Music gives me power and individual voice, so music is my Satan and God all in one, I suppose. I really cannot embrace ideals like Christianity that demand submission, ignorance and sheeple behavior. Some Pagan and Occult beliefs are okay in that they respect the Earth and the like. I don’t believe any actual deity from any religion actually exists. Stephen Hawking and science makes more sense than any religion. All in all, I avoid religion of any sort and just stick to my inner voice and worship music I suppose.
Blackened Horde: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Eric: We have two EP’s and two full albums out as of now(all available for free download at Mediafire or Bandcamp). Along with numerous compilation appearances. Just released our second full length, “Out of Darkness, Comes Light” April 30th, 2013 for free download at Torn Flesh Netlabel’s site.
Blackened Horde: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Eric: Most are based on personal experiences we have had. “Born of Innocence”, for example. It is a song about how when people are born into this world, they are precious and often have love, but that love can disappear over the years into nothing. Kind of a song about neglectful parents. “Not Meant for Me” is a song about one examining life and thinking it may not have any real meaning. Some songs can be depressing and some more aggressive. “Day of Lies” is a more thrash oriented, anti-religious type song. “What Will Never Be” is a song we did with Vrangsinn(from Carpathian Forest). That song is kind of a warning against dwelling on the past too much. We also did a song called “The Soulforge” that is based on the Dragonlance Saga of books on the new album.
Blackened Horde: Do you have any side projects?
Eric: I do vocals for Nierty and Terminal Depression right now. Me and Jessica also had a two piece side band, Irreverant Soul too.
Blackened Horde: Who are some of your musical influences?
Eric: Iron Maiden, Danzig, Cradle of Filth, Carpathian Forest, Sepultura, Shining, Slayer, Megadeth, Darkthrone and Amorphis are ones I can name off-hand.
Blackened Horde: Which current bands?
Eric: I am currently enjoying the more classic rock styled bands. The Devil’s Blood, Jess and The Ancient Ones, Witchcraft, Beyond The Morninglight and Blood Ceremony are all big favorites of mine now and stand out from that genre. I have been exploring sounds outside standard metal lately. I think for metal, I listen to more established acts in general. Most “new” bands have actually been around a while. Even we are going on 7 years pretty soon.
Blackened Horde: What is the band like when you play live?
Eric: We have a few live videos on Youtube. I would say we are pretty intense live with decent sound quality. I like to move and jump around a lot onstage, its one of the only places I feel truly alive. I have broken a few guitars onstage over the years too, need to stop that haha….
Blackened Horde: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Eric: No, I have never been outside the USA in all my life. I want to travel and explore Europe more than anything almost. Just lack funds and all that.
Blackened Horde: How big of crowd shows up at shows usually?
Eric: It varied from show to show over the years. Anywhere from 12-400 or so. Nothing real big. We have played a few interesting festival type events in Montana. I think California will have better crowds in the future.
Blackened Horde: How is the crowd response when you play?
Eric: We mainly have done shows in the northwest USA. Mainly Montana, Idaho and Washington states. Most shows we have played, we get great crowd reaction and seem to stick out like sore thumbs from other bands(in sound). Some shows, we have crowds that have no clue what we are doing. Montana was a very tough place for a black metal styled band to play. We got great and openly hostile reactions to our music there. Even other bands were quite rude at times. Still to this day, I have a few people from up there pipe up to tell me how much I stink haha…Kind of a weird scene there, but good experience I suppose… Throne of Malediction has not played live since 2011, so hope to get back to that again. We have also since relocated from Montana to California too. We notice a lot more welcoming metalheads here that understand our style and encourage us to play. Not too mention, we keep getting show offers. So, this part of the country could get us a whole new fanbase possibly.
Blackened Horde: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
Eric: I think it is steadily growing, but has long to go to get to European levels. Black metal is still pretty underground and the USA is severely lacking shows by established BM acts. I continually get envious seeing flyers for the festivals over there. I would love to see Carpathian Forest, Amorphis, Forgotten Tomb, Hecate Enthroned, Shining and other bands like that play here more often (and near where I live for once!). Most shows here just don’t interest me. Deathcore/Mallcore is kind of dominant here. Technical death metal seems to be rising here also. I can handle some of that, though constant blast-beats get old after a while for me. Death metal seems to have always been a strong genre in the US.
Blackened Horde: What do you think of the Overseas scenes?
Eric: I wish I was there, because I think we would do a lot better with our style of music overseas. Europe seems to get all the best shows and festivals. Plus we have had offers of help from well established musicians if we were there. It seems people actually pay attention and have deeper love for art and music overseas. My personal favorite bands almost all come from Europe, also. the USA should take note…
Blackened Horde: What are some of new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
Eric: I have not really heard too many new black/death bands that lately have caught my ears. I think a lot of new bands sound the same, sadly (originality is lacking these days). I have been listening to Plaag, Forgotten Woods, Netherbird, Cobolt 60 and Forgotten Tomb for black/death styled music lately. Some newer bands like Serpent and Seraph are very impressive. Takes a lot of digging to find good stuff, but always fun listening around. I think I mainly listen to older bands like Iron Maiden, Shining (Sweden), Draconian, Carpathian Forest, Opeth, Six Feet Under and Amorphis.
Blackened Horde: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Eric: We pretty much write on a continuous basis. I feel like I have to constantly create to stay sane haha… We already have a few songs and recording sessions started for the next album and some cover songs for an EP planned as well.
Blackened Horde: What does the future hold for the band??
Eric: I wish I knew. We need the funds to get some albums printed and to get gear to play live. We would love to do some light touring and shows very much. Lack of funds and full live lineup is really the biggest stumbling block for us. I have been thinking of getting a temporary lineup within the next year to do a few select shows. That plan seems to be in motion already, so look for us to make an announcement soon on live shows. We are also parents of young children, so have to prioritize what we do have. It will be gradual, but hope to get there. I just hope to get our music out in the meantime. Maybe if we give it away for free and it reaches the right ears, we may get some help sometime with band growth. No matter what, Throne of Malediction will probably always records music out of pure obsession.
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Throne-of-Malediction/43044974933
http://www.reverbnation.com/throneofmalediction
http://www.myspace.com/throneofmalediction
