Interview : Julia Flansburg – Angelical Tears

Interview by Lindz Riot

In America you wouldn’t ever even begin to think a gothic metal band would come from their lands. Sure, Europe is very well known for producing favourites like Within Temptation and Nightwish, and we have been lucky enough to get the alternative act We Are the Fallen from California! America needs to brace itself for a brave band from Oklahoma City who are mastering the European metal sound with an angelical siren named Julia. They are called Angelical Tears and they describe themselves at angelical vocals with demonic guitars. You have to hear them for yourself! Their recently released EP is very impressive. Here’s what Julia has to say about her journey with the band so far.

Hello Julia and welcome to the Femme Metal Webzine, thanks so much for taking the time do this interview with us. First of all I would love to know the origin of Angelical Tears. When and where did it all start and how did the band come to be?

Well, Angelical Tears was born around Halloween time 4 years ago in Oklahoma city to fill a void it had in the symphonic female fronted metal scene.

After taking a good listen to your songs I feel as if they are fantasy based, but that could just be because of your sound. What are the stories behind your songs? Are they true stories?

I try to write my lyrics that are based on real life – my experience or my friend’s life stories.

So regarding your live show: what is the music scene like in Oklahoma? How have your shows and fans been? How long have you been playing live for anyways?

If we were a country ensemble the music scene in Oklahoma would be amazing. The rock and especially the metal scenes are practically non-existent. Most of the time we end up playing shows with hard-core metal bands. Because the scene is so undeveloped here we get better reception outside of Oklahoma.

From what I hear your sound is very much like that of the music coming out of Europe. What bands have inspired Angelical Tears as a whole?

Each band member had its own inspiration some love classical musical, some dig heavy metal. And of course European metal with female singers is something that we all like. Bands like Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and so on definitely in some way has inspired us to write our stuff.

So I wanted to say congrats on the Australian distribution and the release of your self titled EP! It’s really great stuff. How are you finding the response has been to these 6 songs?

The response has been great, especially in Europe. Hungary and Romania have been quite receptive.

What is the song writing process like for Angelical Tears? Who mostly writes the music and who is the main lyricist?

We all try to write music and lyrics. But mostly I write lyrics and the guys write the music. Each one of us tries to contribute whatever he/she can during the creative process.

My favourite song is “Tomorrow Happens Now”, if you don’t mind telling me what’s the story behind it? What is your favourite song and why?

“Tomorrow Happens Now” – that song is about wanting that special someone to be with you right now in the moment. Dreaming about that person, but he’s far away and you don’t know when you are going to meet him/her again. It’s hard to say which song is my favourite. They are all meaningful to me and have their own story.

I also hear on the EP you sing “Chasing Eternity” in Russian! Am I correct? By the sounds of it, is Russian your first language?

Correct – that is Russian you hear in “Chasing Eternity”. It’s my first language and I thought it would be cool to sing that song in Russian – something different. You know, originally that song was all in English, but while we were recording it, we decided to change it.

So you have categorized Angelical Tears as Gothic metal is that correct? What are some of the bands metal influences? And what is Goth to you? Is there anything of the Gothic culture that is close to your heart and has influenced Angelical Tears?

First and foremost we are a metal band. We try to apply some gothic overtones while also giving it that symphonic feeling. Angels, demons and vampires are just a few of the supernatural references we try to invoke with our music. Metal music from Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer as well as even some of the more hair metal bands from the 80s have helped shape and mold our individual styles over the years. Even some of the more classic gothic bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure have helped to inspire and define who we are. While the gothic scene in Oklahoma City is pretty small we try to do our part to enhance it.

So moving away from the band for a bit, for you as the lead singer: how do you like fronting the band? What is your stage time like for you? Who doesn’t like or want to be a lead singer?

It’s an absolute joy being in the limelight. I cherish every moment I have on stage pouring out my emotions through my music. It brings me closer to our fans who relate with our message. I have to say I absolutely love your voice! It’s so very unique.

What is your background with singing?

Thank you very much. To tell you the truth, I don’t have that big of a singing background. I have taken some classes from classically trained opera singer, Regina Grimaldi. She’s an awesome teacher and helped me a lot with my voice.

Who are some of your favourite singers?

Sharon den Adel.

And what about bands? What are your top 5 if you could pick any?

My picks probably will be: Metallica, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, Journey and We Are the Fallen.

Sweet! We Are The Fallen made a great debut this year! So back to Angelical Tears, what does the band’s future hold?

Currently we are writing new material for a full length album. It’s style may end up being a bit heavier than our EP. We hope to continue to tour around our region here in the Midwest and hopefully hit some of the larger festivals during the summer.

You guys could definitely own a heavier sound! What are you hopes and ultimate dream from Angelical Tears? Well what band doesn’t hope and dream for that ultimate record contract?

Ultimately we would love to tour worldwide and bring our music to the masses.

Wicked. Well Julia it’s been a slice! Thanks so much for doing this interview with us.We are really looking forward to more great music from Angelical Tears and wish you all the very best.

Thank you very much guys. It has been a pleasure!

Links

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Feb 21, 2012

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Skyward – “Chasing Horizon” (2009)

Independent Release/IVK Music Finland Ltd Distribution

Review by Tony Cannella

Finland’s Skyward are a female fronted band who specialize in classy, melodic metal. Their new release is titled “Chasing Horizon” and it is actually their second recorded output, following up their selftitled debut from 2005. The band are fronted by the strong, emotive operatic vocals of Sanna Åström, she really does have a powerful voice and it helps drive this fine second release from from one of Finland’s best up-and-coming bands. The fast paced opening number “Trust Your Demons” is the perfect way to set the mood as the band especially blaze through this one and the guitar solo is definitely one of the high points of this song. The next track “Skyward” slows things down a bit, it is still heavy, yet not as fast as the previous song. I really like the vocals of Sanna Åström throughout the whole CD. Her operatic style is nothing that hasn’t been heard before, but it compliments the music so beautifully, of course the first person that is going to come to mind is another Finnish vocalist Tarja Turunen. There are some similarities but Sanna‘s style and delivery is not as high and over-the-top as Tarja‘s and the music of Skyward is not as orchestral as Nightwish, there is more of straight-forward approach from Skyward. Probably my favorite song on the CD is the half-ballad “Sunset Song”, really a great number that exhibits plenty of emotion. There are plenty other strong moments throughout “Chasing Horizon” including the great title track the epic-like “Scarecrow” and “Watching the Stars” among others. With “Chasing Horizon”, Skyward has released a CD that includes 9-songs and 44-minutes worth of some high class, high caliber melodic metal. An excellent second offering from this ultra-talented band. There is really nothing I don’t like about this band. Maybe, musically and vocally they may not be every body’s cup-of-tea but fans of bands like, Nightwish and Epica – or if you are just into high quality, female fronted melodic metal – should give this band a listen.