We hope you’re having a good weekend, but you can never have too much new music to fill it up with. So check out Internal Chronicles…
Simple things first – where are you from?
I’m from Zagreb, Croatia.
How long have you been playing as a band?
As a duo, we started out in 2011. But after about a year we had a huge 5 year pause until 2017 when the band was restarted.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The whole point of the band is chronicling my internal thoughts, states and feelings. That’s why the band is called Internal Chronicles. The albums are like diary pages of my current states so the band serves as a kind of memento, but also as catharsis for those states.
What are your influences?
I listen to all kinds of music, but the bands that influenced Internal Chronicles the most are Draconian, My Dying Bride, Dark Tranquillity, Wintersun and the Norwegian black metal from the 90’s.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Because of the influences that I mentioned, Internal Chronicles is a weird mix of black, doom and gothic metal. I also always wanted to put in a female vocalist, but could never find one. That’s finally going to change on the next album because I found someone. Then the whole Internal Chronicles sound will be complete.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Lyrical themes are whatever I’m currently obsessing over in my mind so for the first album Out of Sanity’s Reach it was about alienation from the rest of the human race that I felt. This album Crimson Storm is about love.
Have you played any live shows? If not, is it something you’d like to aim toward doing?
I never intended to play any live shows, but more and more people are asking for it. We’ll see…
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Well since I don’t play live shows I don’t have any experiences, but I can tell you what happened at a Kataklysm show that I went to. A guy got his face punched in during the mosh (he was all bloody and bruised) so when the song ended the vocalist (Maurizio Iacono) told him to get to the stage. He gave him a beer and yelled “We trade blood for beer here!” and everyone went insane. Later on, they dedicated their most famous song to the guy, the song is called “Crippled and Broken”.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc. ?
I use some Ibanez guitar and Ibanez bass. No idea what models they are. I never really cared about gear. I use some electronic drum kit and an SM58 mic for recording vocals and other acoustic instruments like viola. Everything is recorded in my home studio.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
The second album, Crimson Storm was released on the 2nd of January through Guts and Blood Label and Distro. As I already mentioned, it is a concept album about love and all the good and bad sides of it. I really wanted to record it even though it is not a popular theme in black metal. Nevertheless, I’m proud of it and I’m thankful to all the session members that helped me realize this idea, they are: Klara, Sonia, Djere and Antares.
What are your plans for 2019?
The planning stage for the third album is done. All the ideas are written and pre-recorded. I’ve also found a female vocalist and I’m bringing back all the other session members mentioned above. So the plan is to record the third album when I find some free time. Stay tuned!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
I would love to support any of the bands I mentioned above, but if I had to choose one it would be Draconian. I don’t know that many new bands so I have no idea who I would choose to open for me. It would be awesome to have Wintersun open since they are insanely energetic and they would get the crowd going, but it would be awful to follow up after them.
From previous Band of the Day, Crevassian: What is the strongest opening three tracks of any LP by any band you admire, and why?
I would have to say Mayhem’s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. The album starts with “Funeral Fog” which sets the mood for the whole album. You get the feel for all the instruments and the atmosphere they create and you also get into the vocal style. After that, “Freezing Moon” explodes with that epic intro riff and the whole song is perfection. Lastly, “Cursed in Eternity” with that psychotic tempo change after the intro riff… Perfect!
From another BotD, Silence the Radio: If you could have one artist feature on a song of yours, who would it be?
Jari, from Wintersun. I think he’s a great writer and composer, but we would never get along because I like to write my own stuff and be in control and from what I can gather he’s the same way. We could never work together unless one of us backed off.
And from Dreaming of Jupiter: What is your favourite planet?
Earth, come on, it’s a sweet place.
