Interview: The Shadeless Emperor

Greek metallers from The Shadeless Emperor have debuted this year with their album Ashbled Shores, and they also have signed a deal with the Italian label, WormHoleDeath. Below is an interview I had with Ethan (vocalist) and Chris (guitar player), which both have talked about the new album, signing with WHD records, video and touring plans, their influences and others.

 

Hi Ethan and Chris, first of all thank you for taking your time for my interview. As readers to know more about you, make a short intro about The Shadeless Emperor.
Ethan:  Hello Carla. Thanks a lot for taking the time for this interview.  Well, The Shadeless Emperor is a 5-piece Melodic Death Metal band from Larissa- Greece. The band was born in the early 2010 but was inactive for 2 years due to different occasions. Later on the years that followed the band released a demo, an 8-bit version of it, a single and now the debut album Ashbled Shores. We had quite a few line-up changes that made the band evolve. So here we are now!

This year you debuted with your full-lenght entitled as Ashbled Shores, and by this you have also signed a deal with WormHoleDeath records, how is it to take part in this label roster?
Chris: First of all it’s brilliant to be part of a big record label such as WormholeDeath. It’s great to have people that worked with so many professional and great artists, work with you with the same passion and interest as being a Big Fish. A big shout out to Carlo and Nat for all the help. They taught as a lot through the whole process and this is very much appreciated. The roster is full of amazing bands and artists and we are very proud to be part of it.
Ethan: Thanks to them for the help! There are amazing bands in the roster. Astray Valley, Demised, Sarea, Elegy of Madness, Words that Burn, Final Coil to name a few whose music we listen to a lot lately.

Let’s talk more about the album. Is Ashbled Shores a conceptual album?
Chris: Ashbled Shores is actually a semi-conceptual album. There is a sub-concept underlined in the whole album. Music, production and lyrics all play a part. We call this phase/era Of Shadows and Flames.
Ethan: Exactly. The Album underlines the themes of Darkness and Light which are interpreted to “Shadows” and “Flames” accordingly. One can feel the transcendence from Darkness to Light while listening to the album. Each song individually promotes this sub-concept and each song has its own independent story to tell. But they all connect somehow. In the Physical copy of the album there is a section called “Library” where you can find more trivia on the songs and the concept. This “Library” is Physical CD inclusive only, so if you want to find out more about the songs and delve into the concept make sure to get yourselves a physical copy.

I like the album cover artwork, who is the one who made it and to make a connection with the album more, what does it suggest?
Ethan: The whole artwork was created by me with pictures shot by our beloved friend Dionysia Duke. (thanks a lot, hun). The whole album is beautifully and professionally made, having in mind exactly what I’ve said earlier. There are saturated colors in the entirety of the album. Color wise, the art direction in general is down to black, grey and white. The only exception is the color of the flames on the Cover, and a few more pages inside the booklet. All of these suggest and promote the sub-concept of the album “of Shadows and Flames”. Everything that’s going to be released or that is already released has a chromatic guideline and gives extra trivia and information on the songs. Even our merch is part of this endeavor. We are so excited and proud about this.

Will you be releasing videos for some of the album songs?
Chris: Yes we will. There are a couple of them actually coming over really soon. You will see, so stay tuned.

How do you describe The Shadeless Emperor musical style? Can you mention me a few bands that you take the band’s influences?
Chris: I could say it’s complicated. *giggles*. There are so many information in there. Our musical core is definitely Melodic Death Metal. There are many influences applying in our style. Progressive, Epic, Folk, Doom and Thrash influences are present. People usually define us as Progressive MDM or Epic/Melodic Death Metal. We prefer to say just Melodic Death Metal or sometimes we also use the latter term.  Now every band member has his own influences. Although there are a few key ones we all take insipration from: In Mourning, Amon Amarth, Wintersun, Insomnium, Be’lakor, At the Gates, Symphony X, Blind Guardian and Dark Tranquillity are a few amongst the many influences.

Will you be touring soon to promote your new album? Hope to see you one day as well!
Ethan: Something is up indeed. Officially now we have announced a release party for “Ashbled Shores” in our hometown, Larissa, Greece. We will definitely plan some shows abroad and visit Lovely Romania as well. That’s almost a promise Carla. More info about upcoming shows will be announced, so make sure to check back to our Facebook page.

Greece has a few known metal bands such as Rotting Christ, Septicfelsh, Varathron, Suicidals Angels and so on, from your view, how do you see the Greek metal scene nowadays?
Ethan:  Greek metal scene is growing in numbers and quality every single day. There are so many bands out there that worth taking the time to listen to. It’s definitely the best era for Greek Metal. Apart from the bands you mentioned (which we all love and listen to a lot) a few Gorgeous Rock and Metal bands that come now in mind are Firewind, Aenaon, Kin Beneath Chorus, Aetherian, Endsight, Nightstalker, Tardive Dyskinesia, Hidden In the Basement, Sunburst, Need, Poem, Planet of Zeus, Villagers of Ioannina City and so many many more I can’t think of right now. The scene is growing powerfully in international level as well. The financial crisis produced this need of creativity. Art in general is blooming in Greece. The only minus thing is that the Metal audience in Greece is not as eager on supporting bands as it used to be. Please take your time to listen to a few of the aforementioned bands and our diverse Metal Music Scene. You will definitely enjoy what you hear.
Chris: I will write down a few more for those who would like to check more Greek bands out. All of them are very unique in sound and diverse, From Metalcore to Black Metal, so: Revolting Breed, Above Us The Waves, Morphinject, Embrace the Paradox, Infection of Heaven, In Search of Atlantis, Scarletborn, Margin of Existence, Shadowcraft, Mahakala, Potergeist, Vodka Juniors, End Cycle, Innerwish, Raw In Sect, 1000mods, Destiny Default, Con Artist, Black Hat Bones, Void Droid, Dendrites, Dustbowl.

What other plans do you have in mind?
Chris: Apart from the promotional phase we are currently in for Ashbled Shores, we are also composing music for the second album. We will focus on some shows in the near future as mentioned earlier. Also there is another project I will be doing soon with Tasos (lead guitarist) and some other individual projects from the other band member. Information will be posted on our Facebook page soon for this.

Thank you Ethan and Chris for this interview, it was my pleasure talking with you. Cheers and see you soon!
See you Soon Carla. Thanks a lot for your time and support.  Rock On!

https://www.facebook.com/theshadelessemperor/
https://theshadelessemperor.bandcamp.com/