[avatar user=”Talia” size=”50″ align=”left” /]Unfortunately our interview with Diabulus in Musica fell through when the band appeared in Bristol – sound checks and so forth have a great habit of ignoring the rules of time and scheduling. However, vocalist Zuberoa was kind enough to offer to answer our questions by email. Thank you, kind lady!
Simple things first - where are you guys from?
We come from a small city, Pamplona (Navarre- Basque Country) which is in the North of Spain, close to the Pyrinees.
How did you meet?
We already knew each other from the local metal scene.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Gorka and I founded the band in 2006, the rest of the band members have changed since the beginning. The five we are now we have been together for almost three years now.
What are your influences individually or as a band?
As a band mainly classical music and metal. In my case I also like a lot World music, ambient, folk and soundtracks. I’d say these are actually the main features in our music.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We have no boundaries in creating music. We love many different styles and we never say “no” to new sounds, that’s why you can find anything in our albums, from medieval and local tunes or instruments to electronic stuff, from acoustic songs to very heavy or modern metal stuff, etcŠ
How has the music changed since your last album?
We will see (our last album was released one year and a half ago). It is very varied too, but I did almost everything myself. I hope now the rest of the band members can also include more of their ideas and own influences, so that the result would probably be even more eclectic than it has been until now.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
It depends on the kind of show. Obviously we cannot do the same when we are playing as support band than when we are headliners. We have played simple shows in small venues, with no “extras” and not too much space or good quality sound and we have also played big festivals or for example a very big show with a huge symphonic orchestra and a big choir in an opera house. We adapt to any situation, but we always put our hearts on live shows because we love to play and be in touch with the audience, no matter if the circumstances are good or not.
In this last tour we have played 23 shows.
How’s the tour going?
The tour has been great! We have played in new countries and the welcome of the audience has been very warm. We met old and new fans and sold a lot even if our album is not new, so that’s a very good sign!
Response for the most recent album?
Great! The reviews couldn’t have been better and the reaction of the fans even better, so we are more than happy!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
We use a quite small drum kit, just BD, SN, Rack Tom, Floor Tom and a normal set of cymbals. Referring guitars we use 6 or 7 strings guitar, it depends on the song. 4 strings bass guitar tuned in B and a 61-keys keyboard
What are you working on at the moment?
We have just finished the tour and now we have to work on the new album that will be released next year, probably in the fall.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
We are really boring! Our drummer says we are like monks and nuns, we just come on tour to play and try to do our best. We like to be professional so the wildest things we leave them for our free time, not for touring ;)
If you could be part of any 3-band line-up (as support or headlining) who else would you have on the bill?
I have no preferences, I just like to play, so I don’t care too much with whom. Obviously, I prefer to tour with people I already know or have some references so that we know we’ll have a good time.
Which has been your favourite city to play in, on this tour, and is there anywhere you’d really love to play?
The whole tour has been great, so I couldn’t really tell. On the other hand, you play each day in a different city, country and venue, so I usually make my brain a mess, I remember some facts but I rarely remember exactly where they happened. I have very bad memory, that’s true, maybe the guys could give a better answer!
What do you like to do in your downtime, when you’re not playing music?
There are many things I love to do. I have many hobbies and very few time in fact. I love trekking and climbing, I usually go for long walks in Nature to recharge my batteries. I also like small things of life: reading, going to the cinema, cooking (and much more eating!), I like knitting, making natural soaps!
What are your top 5 albums, ever?
Ouch I’m not very interesting for interviews because I can never give and answer to these kind of questions. I have no favorites, really. I enjoy many different stuff depending on my mood, so it’s not possible to me to give an honest answer.
What’s your favourite biscuit?
Same here hehe but I’d maybe say a typical homemade one from my homeland, I’m not actually a very big fan of commercial brands.
