Information
Author: Mourning
Translation: Dope Fiend
Line Up
Astaroth - Vocals, Guitar
Dissaor - Guitar
Storax - Bass, Vocals
Asmodeo - Drums
Elodia - Synth
I give the welcome to The Unborn, Gothic Doom band of Argentina that in this 2011 celebrates its fifteen years of activity, how are you guys? How does it feel to in scene for so long?
Hi everybody first of all thank you for this interview and putting your attention on us. We are pretty happy of being for so long in the local scene there were many thing during this fifteen years many good ones and a few not so but we feel that we had grown as a band and as persons and we are in our best now.
What has brought you in metal world? What made you decide that it was the right path for you?
I think that one of the most amazing things into metal is the chances to mix differents styles of music into it, you can express every single emotion from rage to sadnnes in one song, that makes me sure of my choose.
Let's take a bit of information about the band, its history and the release has already been published? (You will find the review of "The Second Birth Pt. III" turning in the website).
Well the band was formed back in 1996 first as a studio project only, then we decided to start to play live all those songs so the idea of a live band was more consistent and we decided to do it. The trilogy of "The Second Birth" (Pt I,II & III) has been published independently by ourselves and you can download it totaly for free from our website www.the-unborn.com.
Over the years there has been a notable whirlwind of changes in line-up, why you cannot maintain a stable situation? Differences in ideas or character? It's so hard to thrive a project in a cohesive manner?
Yes is pretty hard to handle with diferents egos, and the musicians have some big ones, but sometimes there are things like regular jobs, maybe family that don´t let you stay in music, we do not live from music by now so is hard to handle the times and the money that takes to play in a band as we do like to do it, and also there were a few failed rock stars that doesn´t fit.
You already have a large team (six players), the choice to increase it further with the guest is due to what? There is a continue will to try to give at the listener albums that are more complete and multifaceted as possible?
We do like to give live what we had done on studio, plus some more agressive attitude, and being only four members we could not make all those ambients and textures that you can find in our albums, thats the main reason of being a large format band, by the way is not that practical because for shows producers is a bit expensive pay the travel and stay for so many musician, but is how we do like to do it.
The massive block of your discography is composed by the trilogy called "The Second Birth", it is linked at the figure of the Antichrist? What is the thread of the three chapters and is a case that for each disc the track is nine? (999 is the number that is considered bound at the already mentioned figure).
"The Second Birth" trilogy thread is a bit more deep just like the common image of the Antichrist, you know the red guy with the big horns on his head, is a trilogy dedicated to the Fallen Angels and the arrival of the Messiah,is the dark counterpoint to the light imposed, or the lie imposed, is fully dedicated to free and wayward souls who do not want to belong to a herd, that's the way we see the antichrist image, is the beauty of humanity in all its purity, which is the rebellion. Due to three chapters of nine tracks... nothing was left to chance.
I have not had the pleasure of listening to "Principhia Mathematica", the album is completely detached from the triptych "The Second Birth" or is there a link? On what it is focused?
Somehow have a connection, since the trilogy is dedicated to the fallen angels and in "Principhia Mathematica" the lyrics are dedicated to free human souls to the true rebels, considered heretics like Galileo, Copernicus and other mathematical scientists and astrologers seeking the truth above the mediocre blindness of the religious manipulators. Religion is the world's largest way of manipulation and therefore the business. We still have many behavioral patterns that limit us that are inherited by religious teaching, but even more separate us as human beings.
In a metal world that displays today's the term gothic with ladies who sing in lyrical mode, more or less naked and with a sound support that ranges from pop to power, the sound of The Unborn it is characterized by an old oriented vision, very melancholic, sweet but totally lacking of pro-sales bullshit, on contrary it is very beautiful the adding of folk phrasing. What were the plays that have formed you? There were disks that going around constantly in your stereo and have become your masterpiece?
Well we can not lie Tiamat was a huge influence to us, so was Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath,The Third And The Mortal and so on, the folks parts comes from Celtic music some Medieval music and some Argentinean traditional music as well. We try to focus on the artistic phase of music mor than just buy-my-record-anyway, besides that we are pretty ugly to pose naked and try to sell our albums that way!!! We feel the need to express ourselves through our music more than just sell our music, if we were intended to make money from music we are in the wrong way.
How would you summarize the compositive evolution in the lyrics and the music of The Unborn? What have been the key steps and those who ascribe their merits?
I think it was a logical progression over time, during fifteen years and four albums we acquired a way of working together, even though the main songwriter of the band is Astaroth that really brings the skeleton of the songs. He is a person with a unique inspiration and compositional ability; it makes us very easy and enjoyable the arrangement work of the songs.
You are always selfproduced, I must say that is strange, given the quality of work I would expect that a label, at least in the past, had supported you. It has never received a satisfactory proposal?
In fact never received a proposal! If you know any label interested please give them our contact! A local label edit "Principhia Mathematica" but the proposal was not what we expected so we decided to handle independently until we have a concrete offer. There is non serious support by labels here in Argentina, or at least are not willing to give what we ask, and it is not much indeed.
What are the goals that you feel to have achieved in these fifteen years of activity? The highest moments that have marked the history of The Unborn?
I think that been fifteen years making music is a major goal today, but when everything is so ephemeral and yet so little lasting. The highest moments were, with any doubt, to have finished the trilogy and have published four albums. when we had the chance to share the stage with bands that were our influences like Tiamat, The Gathering, Moonspell was a very nice moment too,that marks us as a band by the way of how those bands works in a more professional level and with more resources, we learned a lot from watching these bands soundcheck, their equipments, talking to their sound guys, anyway it was a excellent experience musically and personally.
How is the metal scene in Argentina? There are bands with which you have ties and how it works your nation in terms of promotion and live?
In fact we have a very good relationship with other bands. There is a growing scene that fortunately has very good quality, bands like Lumine Criptica, Solskinn, Tengwar, St Grial and many more in different styles. is a pity that there is no promotion by the government or local producers, the public who likes heavy metal fills stadiums with Metallica and so does with Ramnstein, so I think it's lack of promotion they are not wanting to risk anything they found more business bringing international bands than produce a strong local scene. You can check the web sites of these bands and will see what professionals they are.
What's in store for the near future? Are you working on a new album?
By now we are celebrating our fifteen years with shows and already thinking about what lies ahead for the next year, and there are new compositions but for now we are more focused on enjoying the celebration playing as much as we can.
Thanks for the time that you have spent with us, the interview is over, the conclusion is up to you.
Thank you very much for your interest in the band, we hope that all who read this interview may come into our website and listen to our music and leave us your opinion. Hails to all of you and support independent artists.
