1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
- Black Royal was founded in 2013 to fulfill the urge to play real, true and passionate metal which leans on traditional heavy rock influences. We introduced the band for the first time in 2014 with our debut video of the song "All Proven Stupidity" and the first EP "The Summoning Pt. 1" was released in february 2015. It was well received in the media and got great feedback from the crowd also.
2.So far you have released 2 ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?
- We use a three dimensional idea of a sound that influence our music, - a classic 1970's heavy sound mixed with 1990's death metal and modern sludge/stoner groove. As both EP's are under the same title, - "pt. 1 and pt. 2", the sound is quite similar more or less. With this "pt. 2" our aim was to create more analogic sound that breathes with an aerial feeling. Songwise, we tried to compose them more openly and add a slight epic touch to it. In general we don't like triggers on drums or various plug-ins on guitar and bass because it suites us better when we have real pedals, amps and cabinets. And you can't lose with a proper Boss HM pedal!
3.The lyrics cover a lot of Occult topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Occultism?
- We are inspired of the mystical and occultic rock from the seventies because it just goes hand in hand so well with the music and the lyrics. So it is more of an artistic way of choice to add them together. I don't think that any of us is deeply into occultism by action but by a thought of a more real self-assertion and individuality. We believe in free thinking and the teachings of a left Hand Path and everything that empowers yourself to be a better person. Lyrically we cover those themes with anti religious stance which is a straight result of the hate I personally feel towards institutionalized church and their hypocrite deeds to gain control and world domain.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Black Royal'?
- Well, not much anything, hah! Of course the band's name has to be easy to remember, ageless and it should reflect well what the band is all about. There has to be some cool sounding words, majestic feel to it and I think we pulled that one off quite well. And our logo is easy enough to be carved onto the school desk during class!
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
- For us the live shows are the biggest drive to do this in the first place. Every music should be enjoyed from the stage, live, raw and naked. It shows what the band is all about, period. We got a chance to play live in The Baltics last autumn and it was a really cool thing, so those would be one of the best gigs so far. We like to have a party going on when we hit the stage. Even thou our music and the lyrics can be interpreted as dark and hopeless, our live shows are not about sadness or grief, it's all about having fun with the same kind of people who share the same kind of interest in music that we do. Drink beer, people!
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
- This EP is just released and of course we aim to play live shows more often than last year. For now there's just a couple of gigs confirmed in finland, but as we speak we have been asked in couple of places to do a mini tour in Easter Europe region this autumn, so let's keep our fingers crossed. In general, we want to play anywhere, anytime, almost at any cost and with everybody so contact us now!
7.The new album was released on 'Armless Stranger', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
- It is just our own "label" which we use, because these two EP's are self financed. It's way more cool to have your records released by some fake label than to tell people that we are all poor miserable old fucks, right?
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?
- All together the feedback has been really great and supportive. And we appreciate it deeply. It's the type of music we play that tend to confuse some of the critics and they don't know how to categorise us. Some are quite lost with the variety in our music and doesn't seem to get it at all and some of them are totally overwhelmed by it and tells that we have invented our personal style and it's something new. Nonetheless, there's no middle ground for us - love us or hate us, hah!
9.Are any of the band members involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
- Not so much nowadays. This band is our main focus at the moment and it will be active for long period ahead.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
- That's an interesting question because we really don't know! I think we keep on blending this death'n'sludge-thing for more and see what comes around. From my personal view I would go deeper with the atmosphere as we have on the "Demonspawn" video and feed from the more evil and epical atmosphere. We were once told after a show that we should add more Watain into our music and that is not a bad suggestion at all.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
- Entombed, Black Sabbath and Eyehategod are the biggest influences. Naturally there are hundreds of bands that we like, listen to and get inspiration from. When we had the first practice we played Entombed, Nine and Cancer Bats covers. Black Royal is a mix of a "Heartwork"-era Carcass playing a song from Down wearing a Entombed-shirt with a crooked cross, totally drunk.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
- 3/4 of us have kids so all of our "spare" time goes with the family. And so it should. I think we all like books, movies, going to other bands gigs, drinking beer and watching the game. You know, the usual stuff.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
- Thank You for the interview and keep up the good work! We hope that people will check out Black Royal and spread the word. Horns up! Cheers!
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