(Proper) Interview with Throne of Heresy

You may have caught this interview with Throne of Heresy talking about musical formats. If not, go back and check it out.

If you've already done that, and welcome back if you hadn't, please read below as the good gents in the band were willing to listen to me prattle and answer my questions.

There's some good information buried blow here.

Find it and you'll ace the quiz!

Glacially Musical: Thank you for taking some time for us today.

Throne of Heresy: No problem, thanks for having us. 


GM: Let's punch the white elephant shall we....Decameron...precisely why did you write an album about me?

TH: Decameron is a book from the 14th Century. 

It's writer, Giovanni Boccaccio, left a gruesome detail of the effects of Black Death as a preface to the book. It is on of the best contemporary sources we have today when it comes to understanding the horrors of that plague. 

And the album is a concept album about the Black Death and it's journey from Asia to Scandinavia. So there it is. 

GM: I love the progressive bent to your record. So, tell me which is a better band, based only on prog, Styx or Pink Floyd?

TH: Pink Floyd, no contest. Styx is kind of fun but PF is just in a different league.

GM: Do you think metal could exist without progressive elements?

TH: Yes. It's called thrash metal.

GM: It would appear that the Black Death is having a bit of a popular revival. Did Monty Python and the Holy Grail's homage to it have anything to do with the writing?

TH: No, although I recently answered an interview asking me about the weirdest album in my collection, which happens to be Monty Python's "The album of the soundtrack of the trailer of the film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail". 

Our album completely takes the fun out of the Black Death however.

GM: What kind of research did you do for this album?

TH: A lot actually. There's a literature reference list in the album booklet if you're interested. But basically I went through a stack of books, scoured the web for odd ends and built the story up from there. 

All tracks have a lot of connections to historical events and documents. Some stuff is very obscure though, so I doubt anyone will pick it all up. But I know it's there, and that is all I really need to feel satisfied with it.

GM: What do you do away from music?

TH: I work as a museum curator, hence my interest in history and getting the facts somewhat right. 

GM: Who're the most important bands to come out of Sweden that we've never heard of?

TH: That's a hard one. I have no idea how well you know the Swedish scene. Infestdead? Seance? Eucharist? Mörk Gryning? 

Off the top of my head, those are some good ones that never got as big as they deserved to be, I think.

GM: What's your beverage of choice to unwind?

TH: I like a good beer. Everything from Czech lager (original Budvar is awesome) to fancy pale ales or stouts are fine. Sour ales are my enemy though, they taste like puke. 

GM: What didn't I ask that I need to know?

TH: We release our new album Decameron on November 3rd. Blackened death metal that will hopefully spread like the Black Death.