Marche Funebre Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Hey, first of all thanks for your interest in Marche Funèbre! We did quite a few killer release shows, most notable a mini-tour with Primordial, which was beyond awesome!
Right now we are in writing modus and it feels great to be writing new music again, since ‘Into the Arms of Darkness’ was already fully written by the end of 2015.

2.In February you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
The album contains only long(er) songs, unlike our previous albums. And somehow we integrated a bit more (post-)black metal influences. Other than that I guess there’s only some kind of natural progression, for instance the clean singing has improved a lot according to most critics.
We have a fantastic production this time by the magic of Markus Stock (of Empyrium & The Vision Bleak fame).
So to sum up what this album stands for I guess this description will do just fine: death doom metal spiced up with strong clean vocal melodies and a subtle hint to (post-)black metal.

3.This is the first album you have released since 2013, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
4 years seems a long time, but actually they went by in no time for us. We did over 50 shows, played in almost a dozen countries, and toured with some of the coolest bands around (Saturnus, Eye of Solitude, Ophis, Officum Triste to name a few). Next to that we released a 7” EP at the end of 2015, with a shorter, more death metalish song that came out of the same writing sessions as the new album.
In the end there is only 3 years between recording ‘Roots of Grief’ and ‘Into the Arms of Darkness’. This time we needed an extra half year to find a decent label to release the album.

4.Your lyrics cover some literature and philosophical themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?
This interest came natural, as most of us have a university degree, we ‘had to’ investigate the great philosophers of old. Naturally that led to developing our own ideas, eventually leading to some lyrics. Next to that we found some true inspiration in the romantic poetry of the 19th century, EA Poe and the likes. There is some real doom and gloom in their words. Probably in this day and age they would be making some doom music as well ;-)

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Marche Funèbre'?
Literally it means ‘funeral march’. We got the inspiration for the name from the song by Frederic Chopin, more specifically the funeral doom version by our fellow countrymen ‘Until Death Overtakes Us’.
In spirit it means to us that every step you take is one step closer to your grave, so you better enjoy every single step!

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Our first show with Saturnus, in the renowned Biebob venue in 2011 sure was one of them. Bands like Agalloch, Novembers Doom or Ancient Rites recorded their live DVD’s there. We had just released our first album and it was so much more than we had hoped for.
Both our appearances on ‘Under the Doom’ fest in Lisbon, Portugal can easily be called highlights, as we played with some of the scene’s coolest bands (Samael, Forgotten Tomb, Shape of Despair, …) and well, the audience was every time fantastic. Same goes for both sold out shows we did with Primordial this year to present our new album to the audience.
I guess our stage performance can be described as full energy and emotion. The 5 of us totally dive into the music for a long trip, with the audience. We love the stage and I think it shows when you have the chance to witness a gig of Marche Funèbre.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We have some really cool gigs lined up in Fall, but the real touring we will keep for 2018. I can’t reveal much of our plans, but something huge is coming, to celebrate our 10th anniversary as a band.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black, doom, and death metal?
We are overwhelmed by the positive feedback we get on the album. We have always been a love it or hate it kinda band, but this time there’s only a few haters and lot lovers. It gives a confidence that our way of working is a good one, so yeah, thanks all for your support, we hope we can give you back a lot of great music and concerts in the future!

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
None of us are really active in other bands at the momentexcept for Boris, who plays in several Black Metal bands: L'Hiver en Deuil, Ah Ciliz, and his own project Soul Dissolution.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I guess we will continue doing what we like most: writing music as it comes to us, not limited to any style or genre. We are working on some songs with different influences right now (thrash metal anyone?). There is no pressure at all to release a new album soon, so we can fool around with all our crazy ideas, let them grow on us and eventually decide what we do with the songs.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Since we write our music as a band our influences come from all music each member listens to. The five of us have a different musical background and if I had to sum up all bands and musical styles that we listen to it would be a ridiculously long list.
So it’s pretty safe to say that whatever tune we will write or have written, we only follow our own rules and judgement and never an idea of someone else.

12.What are some of your non-musical interests?
Most of us have a family with kids, so that’s obviously number one. Boris doesn’t have kids so he likes to spend his free time travelling to any place he likes. Next to that we all have our own specific personal interests, Dennis for instance likes visiting our local football team, as another excuse for drinking beers (next to our weekly rehearsals), Arne likes to practice some yoga, ...

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for your time, check out our music at marchefunebre.bandcamp.com and remember… The March is coming, with the sound of DOOM!