LLVME Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Eric: We’re currently consolidating the band with new members to prepare the songs of our new album so we can go on stage and give a few gigs; it’s not easy to find people who are interested, have time and share the same music tastes as us, but we are about to finish our line-up and will begin to rehearse very soon.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new release and how it differs from previous recordings?

Eric: With this album we wanted to stop thinking on what we were composing as long as it sounded great, and the result has been a very unpredictable album full of variety. Each song is very different to the rest and, however, they all fit perfectly. It’s dark and melodic at the same time; you don’t know what will come next when you are listening to a song and that’s a very positive point for us. It differs from the previous album in the fact that it is more melodic and less doomy, probably because it has a more modern point of view since the songs are more direct, aggressive and catchy. We’ve still maintained our folk roots with violin, bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy melodies, which is what characterises Llvme’s rural sound and makes the listening of the album very attractive and we’ve added female vocals in a few songs, so, those who listen to this new release expect a dark sound with magic melodies and be open to surprises ;)

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Nandu: We talk about our region: our costumes, our ancient kingdom, our ancient heroes, our ancestors... The concept of “Yía the nuesu” (in english “is our”) is the feeling of our “membership” to the leonese country and to our culture. For example, “Helmántica” (which is the ancient name of our city, Salamanca) talks about the resistance of the celtic people to Hanibal in the year 220 before Christ, “Conceyu” is about the leonese culture, “Purtiellu de la llïaltá” is a tribute to Bellido Dolfos, a leonese knight who killed the Castile's king in the middle ages to defend the leonese kingdom... We don't need to write about viking or something similar because we're not viking, we're from the south of europe and we have our own culture and our own history.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Nandu: “Llume” means fire and we love fire. But don't worry, we're not pyromanics!

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Eric: One of our best memories is a show we played in our hometown Salamanca after the release of our first album; we didn’t expect that great reception and people got crazy when we started to play.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

Eric: We wish we could, but I’m afraid our personal lives don’t allow us to do much touring.

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by fans of black, doom and folk metal?

Eric: We are very glad to see how the first album was rated and reviewed by webs, magazines, reviewers, etc. It was good received mainly by doom metal fans since the album took that style direction, but we think this new release will be welcomed by all of them the same way since the styles are more balanced.

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Eric: Some of us have other bands, but Llvme is our main project.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Eric: That’s not easy to say to be honest, because our music tastes change very often and we don’t like to label what we compose as long as it convinces us. But, Llvme’s sound will probably more and more difficult to label in the future.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Eric: Nandu and me have quiet a few bands in common, but have a different taste on what we usually listen to everyday, so when we compose separately the result is obviously different. He’s up to doom/black/folk bands and is influenced by My dying bride, Shape of despair, Negura bunget etc. and I’m more interested in metalcore bands currently, although it has nothing to do with our sound.

11. How would you describe your views on Paganism?

Nandu: The paganism is loving the nature and the planet. We only have one and we have to take care it.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Eric: We love to escape from the city when we can and get lost in nature; the mountains and the fresh air of our forests make us feel alive. Going to the cinema, gigs or partying like everybody does is also cool for us ;)

Nandu: Right now, my main interest is “Song of fire and ice”. I can't stop reading!!!!

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Eric: We hope you enjoy this new album which we did with a lot of effort and which is coming out on 26th of March. We appreciate very much your interest and a massive thank you for all of you reading this interview.

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