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Interviews |
. AEA Zine (US) - June 2000 . Pagan Dark Witchcraft (Italy) - Sept 2000 . Hard Rock Magazine (France) - Nov 2000 updated |
Reviews
Hard
Rock Magazine (France)
Tout débute par un morceau instrumental joué uniquement au
biniou. Certes, quelques-uns trouveront ça déconcertant au premier abord, mais dès le
deuxième titre, le chant black et les rythmqiues acérées reprennent le dessus... si ce
n'est que tout ce bel entrain est ensuite interrompu par du flûtiau et des tambourins.
Vous l'aurez compris, Bran Barr
allie black metal et thèmes celtiques, pour le plus grand bonheur des amateurs
d'instruments traditionnels ! Pour rester sérieux, nous avouerons que la chose est
vraiment bien faite, chaque membre du groupe exécutant des parties avec minutie (sauf les
choeurs, à retravailler légèrement), évitant ainsi à l'ensemble de se perdre dans une
bouillie sonore. « Les
Chroniques de Naerg » sont issues d'une histoire de l'auteur Aed Morban, ce qui
ajoute à l'ensenble une touche poétique bien vue. (4 out of 6)
Good
Times (US)
Hailing from the French metal underground, Bran Barr personify the inventive
imaginativeness that black metal is capable of achieving. Their debut recording « Les Chroniques de Naerg » is a full exercise in their undeniable
talent and diversity. I recently interviewed lead vocalist Yoltar who filled me in on the
activity the French scene has enjoyed lately. There can be found a multitude of promising
bands just waiting to be discovered. The initial pressing of « Les Chroniques de Naerg » has already sold out within only four
months. Rather impressive considering this is a D.I.Y. release courtesy of a band at the
very outset of what should be a rewarding career. « Les Chroniques de Naerg » centers on a concept based on ancient Celtic culture penned
by founding member Aed Morban. The intricate, well thought out arrangements here are
indicative of much hard work. If you're into Enslaved, Satyricon, and Moonspell imagine
their finest aspects in one package and that's but a taste of what to expect. The
musicianship of "Ultraigh Tri Codacht'Ruin", "The lamentable Tragedy of
Deirdra" and "Pride and Malevolence" ingeniously vacillates between
inventive passages where the guitars are underscored by keyboards, strings and wind
instruments and relentless, full on extremity. Bran
Barr are currently seeking exposure in the
States ; interested labels or distributors should contact the band.
Dark Wave Newsletter (France)
Bran Barr was created in 1995
and after few months, the original member, Aed Morban, found others members to do Bran Barr as a full band. After some changes
with the line-up, the French band entered in studio and recorded this first album released
in April 2000. This first effort is influenced by the black-metal scene but also by the
Celtic music and they mix these 2 influences in their music. The result is a good album,
very original, far of the traditional black-metal, only the sound must be worked. Good
compositions and good influences, a good French band. (8 out of 10)
Christophe
Szpajdel (Belgium)
Changement de décor, on est en
Ecosse aux temps des joueurs de cornemuse ! After a bagpipe intro comes fast and rather
old school black metal, with songs in Celtic, french and English. then comes kind of thrashy/folky
riffs with fifre (kind of small flute) and some abbatial choirs, giving this celtic mood
in the Bran Barrs music
After « Les Chroniques de Raymond » come « Les Chroniques de Naerg » cool, hein, singulière coincidence, non ? God verdomme, ze moeten zeker
eens naar Gent voor tvolgende Bieste komen spelen ! 4 penis
Quintessence
(Holland)
Bran Barr hails from France and this debut album is the first time I
ever heard of them. The musical style is hard to describe but it remains somewhere among
the old Cruachan material and maybe some old Primordial stuff as well. Fast and evil parts
are combined with slower parts with all kinds of folk influences, for instance flutes and
accoustic instruments I have heard. The only thing that slightly bothers me about this
album is the production. Especially with this kind of music I need a better production.
Other then that it is great and recommendable. Expect an interview with Bran Barr soon.
Maîtres
du Metal (France)
Il y a des groupes qui font
évoluer le métal, et bien Bran Barr en fait partie. Ce groupe de black, dans lesquels
évoluent des membres d'Aes Dana ou de Temple Of Baal, a eu l'ingénieuse idée d'inclure
dans son metal différents instruments traditionnels et acoustiques, afin de rendre
hommage à la richesse de la culture celte. Ce groupe serait t-il prêt à faire de
l'ombre a Rhapsody vu la qualité de leur production ? Cela passe de "Alba
Bheadarrach'smire ga'd fhaguil dubh" avec de la cornemuse, à des titres comme
"Ultraigh Tri Codacht'ruin" ou "The lamentable Tragedy of Deirdra",
mélant flûte avec des guitares électriques, tantôt très black, tantôt plus
"folkloriques". Il y a ensuite "La complainte de Cairn", avec sa douce
mélodie de guitare acoustique et de flûte, et avec des choeurs très mélodieux,et des
passage plus soutenus, avec cris black. "Galeach'Tran" reste très celtique,
avec un titre genre gavotte (danse bretonne que l'on danse dans les fest noz). "Bàas
In The Underworld" est beaucoup plus lourd, mais très entraînant (tout comme le
dernier titre), un peu comme la célèbre chanson "et on lui pèlera le jonc comme...
du Limousin". Attention, n'oublions quand même pas que le tout s'inscrit dans un
contexte black à la fois guerrier et mélodique, avec des riffs travaillés et variés.
Mais contrairement à d'autres groupes aux prétentions symphoniques ou folkloriques qui
tombent à plat, tout passe à merveille. Un album excellent et très bien pensé. Pour
les amateurs de groupes à la Isengard/Storm, ou de culture celtique.
Gathering
of Clans (The Netherlands)
'Les
Chroniques de Naerg' is French warriors Bran
Barr's debut release. They
play an interesting and unique form of Celtic Metal. Combining elements of
Black, thrash and true metal mixed with celtic folk music. The closest
comparison would probably be with Cruachan's first album. The music features raw
black metal, great guitar passages, a range of folk instruments and
keyboards. All this is finished off with the wide and varying styles of Lead
vocalist, Yoltar. The album contains two tracks based on traditional celtic
songs and the lyrics are based on a concept story written by Drummer, Aed
Morban. All these aspects combined bring across a grand celtic folk atmosphere. Bran
Barr possess the talent to go
far.'Les Chroniques de Naerg' is recommended to all fans of well played pagan
influenced metal.
Favorite Tracks: Pride and malevolence, Ultraigh tri codacht'ruin, Bàas in the
underworld (9.5 out of 10)
Interviews
1. Describe the origins of BRAN BARR. Who started the band and
what was the inspiration?
Well, to sum our history, Id
start by telling that the band was idealized by Aed Morban who is our drummer. If my
memory is good, we started back in 1994
At the beginning, we were just thinking of
creating a band based upon a celtic concept, being personnaly more or less influenced by
bands like Enslaved or Absu, both musically and lyrically speaking (especially the mix
between old legends and metal music). After around 6 months, we got in touch with a
guitarist from our area (Morrigan) and we started rehearsing as a trio. It did not go very
well and we decided to find new musicians to complete our line-up. So Fir Doirtche first
joined us on the bass and when our first guitarist left the band, he took her place. In
1998 we finally found our best line-up with Brennus on the second guitar, Taliesin on bass
and Amorgen on whistle.
2. What is the band's lineup and what do they do
? Has this been the lineup since the beginning?3. Describe the musical direction BRANBARR is taking. How does the band go about writing material
? In what ways does BRANBARR stand out from the rest of the scene?4. Do you have any demos out
? If so do you believe they captured everything the band envisioned?5. How soon can we expect your debut recording to be released
? Are you signed or are you releasing it yourselves? Do you have high hopes for it reaching many people in the underground?6. Is there a healthy underground metal scene in France
? How about in other styles of underground music such as punk or hardcore? How do the bands get along over there?7. What bands are you listening to of late
? Do you read many fanzines? If so, which ones?8. Which aspects of Celtic history influence your lyrical content?
Aed morban, our drummer, has built up a whole
lyrical concept for the first album. Its obviously influenced by the well-known
celtic legends and old tales. To sum it up, our lyrical content deals with competition
between several clans and tribes, fighting for their Land and their Honour. I personnaly
cant tell you more for Aed would be placed better than me to speak about our lyrical
background.
9. Which bands do you most admire that you would like to play with in the
future?
In my name, I would say without any doubt
Enslaved and Absu. Because those bands influenced us a lot at the beginning. More than
their music, we are very interested in their approach and I think those bands rule ! Play
with them in Paris our city our even elsewhere would be a fucking memorable
event. We also love Cruachan and Primordial, both pagan metal bands from Ireland.
10. What does BRANBARR ultimately hope to accomplish?
We dont have any carreer plans. We just
want to have fun with our band, writing songs that we really feel from within, exploring
new ways of song-writing, adding more and more folkloric melodies without stopping metal
riffs
Yeah, thats the way its gonna be in the future
11. Anything you wish to close with.
Well, thank you very much Dave for this
interview which is our first ever ! Check out our album, you can also visit our homepage,
cheers.
Pagan Dark Witchcraft (Italy) - September 2000
1. OK the usual question, tell me something about your band, line-up,
discography and biography.
Fir Doirtche : Well the idea, the concept of BRAN BARR
was born in Aed Morbans mind a long time ago... Bran Barr means " the
raven from the mountain " in old gaelic. The first member to join wer Yoltar
(vocals and keyboards) and Morrigann (guitar), in 1995. Brennus (guitar) and I
joined in 1996. I was playing the bass and added backing vocals. When Morrigann left
a few months later, I took the guitar and we started composing quite a lot
In 1998
Taliesin (bass), and Amorgen (flute and whistle) joined the band and we started
developping the Celtic aspect more than ever, having the possibility to use real
instruments we dropped the keyboards out from our music, which is something we always had
wanted to do
Instead we focused on getting more flute in the music and developping
the folk aspect. Our first album is out now, its called " Les Chroniques
De Naerg "
2. How is born the idea to play folk celtic metal with
screaming ? I heard that you like Cruachan and you are influenced by them, what do
you think about their last CD ? What do you listen to, usually ?
Im not sure, but as far as I know
Aed Morban had always been into Folk music, especially the one coming from Celtic lands,
as much as he was into Metal. To him, it was obvious that the mix between Black/Dark Metal
and Celtic Folk music would make something killer
The discovery of CRUACHAN was a
shock, as he had thought about it before getting this album ! No joke, this is the
fuckin truth ! Well we all like this fuckin album to us this release is
TOTAL KULT. Now about their new CD well Im kind of disapointed as I thought they
were going to keep on their first direction but well
Id say they have turned
out to be a Celtic Heavy Rock band
Im not that much into their new stuff. I
find it a bit boring. It has one or two good moments though, but well
In my opinion,
OTYGs last album is 666 times better though its more Scandinavian than
Celtic ! Playlist, eh ? All the members of BRAN BARR are into BATHORY up to
" Twilight Of The Gods ", which is a fuckin masterpiece. Most of
us listen to Black and Pagan/Viking Metal. Some bands we like are ENSLAVED, ABSU,
DARKTHRONE, ISENGARD
I personnally am very much into Thrash and Speed like KREATOR
and SODOM, SKYCLAD of course
Speed wise BLIND GUARDIAN are the kings to me !
Some Doom is also highly enjoyable, like MY DYING BRIDE or ANATHEMA
Old Heavy Metal
too
Yoltar and I are MAIDEN freaks
Well not all of us listen to everything I
said, but I think Ive more or less summed up what we like Metal wise
Of
course, we also listen to Celtic Folk music or Celtic Rock like ALAN STIVELL, BAGAD
KEMPER, TRI YANN
3. I must say that your CD has really more than brilliant folk
parts, can you speack me about the composition of these ones ? I mean surely you have
taken by traditional songs of your homeland
Thanx for your words
Well we have
actually taken two traditionnal Celtic songs. The first " Alba
BheaddarrachSmire Gad Faghuil Dubh " is funeral music. When someone
died, there was one guy playing the warpipes who went alone to play this kind of music. We
have used it for our intro, but usually its really long, it can last several hours.
The second one, " GaleachTran " is a traditionnal dance. The
rest of is was composed by ourselves. Of course, you might hear some similarities with
some folk music that already exists, but we have done all this by instinct
From our
fucking guts !
4. Always about the folk parts, can you tell me what kind of
ancient instruments have you used ? I heard that many musicians that try to play
medieval music declared that after all its all taken by own ideas because after all
they cant be sure about how in reality instruments were made and soprally the way
that musicians used to play their instruments and how was the singing arranged and so
on
what do you think about what I said you ? Surely you taken some traditional
songs for your debut but still how much there is of your own and how much is taken by the
original tradition ?
Yeah, well, we didnt use that
much ANCIENT instruments. We used Folk instruments, not middle ages ones. We used flute
and tin whistle (which is a kind of Irish flute), bodhran (Celtic percussion instrument),
bombard which is a traditionnal wind instruments from Britanny and warpipes. Of course,
you might say that they are ancient instruments, because they existed during the middle
ages albeit in a different form sometimes. About medieval music, well musicologists are
always researching testimonies, documents on how the instruments were made, how they were
played and how people percieved music
As you might already know, we dont have
many documents dealing with that
Most of the time, there are some ancient scores,
which contain some iconographic documents sometimes. Also when they wrote about the feasts
that they made in the castles, we have the name of the instruments that were played there,
but thats about it ! We dont know how they really HEARD the music, and if
you know a little about medieval music, you might have heard about the three-voices motets
that were sung in the XIIIth century, each singer sang one different text. The motets have
thus three titles at the same time, like " Son me regarde/Prenés I
garde/Hé mi enfant ", and when you listen to such music, its very
difficult to understand whats going on with the lyrics ! We can only suppose,
we can sometimes draw conclusions about the music, but these conclusions are never
definitive. In those times, the musical theory was also totally different from ours, since
musicologists have found some manuscripts dealing with it such as the
" micrologus " of Hucbald de Saint-Amand (IXth century) Guido
dArezzo (dead in 1050). So we have some hints about how their music sounded, we know
how they thought when composing, but we cant really know how they thought when
listening. Their earing was maybe different then ours. But musicology is progressing so we
can today play music in a much more closer way to theirs
Nowadays, some instruments
builders have specialised themselves in building medieval instruments thanks to the
researches made by musicologists so we think that what they do is correct, but musicology
is far from being an exact science, someone may discover something one day that will prove
that all our theories are wrong ! In BRAN BARR, our " acoustic "
parts are not really " Medieval " music, but more
" Folk ", but there is a lot to learn listening to Medieval music. I
do listen to some Medieval music like Guillaume De Machaud (ca 1300-1377), Philippe De
Vitry, (1291-1361) or Renaissance music like Claudin de Sermisy, Clément Janequin
(1485-1558) who are of course closer from us time wise, and their music is just
beautiful ! Now as I told you, we have only taken two traditionnal pieces. The rest
is composed by us and is of course influenced from the music we listen to !
5. About your CD, I heard its taken by a story written by
one member of the band, can you tell me something about this novel and soprally speack a
bit about each song ?
Of course ! The novel is written
by Aed Morban, our drummer. Each song of the album deals with one chapter, except
" GaleachTran " and " RighBeern ". The
intro we have used sets you in the mood to enter the desolate world of Naerg. At this
time, Albiorix, king of the Keltains, is thinking about ancient prophecies, saying that he
is doomed and that a war will ravage his land. On the second song " Ultraigh
Tri Codacht Ruin ", the Formors invade Ultraigh. Three battles are
fought between the Keltains and Formors, during which many heroes die. The third song, " The
lamentable tragedy of Deirdra " deals with the impossible love between
Cairn, grandson of Balor king of the Formors and Deirdra, daughter of Albiorix. Cairn is
tired with massacres and denies his protecting goddess Rylkia the wolf. Doing so, he seals
his fate
They meet with Deirdra, and promise themselves to end the war between
Keltains and Formors, but when Deirdra comes back to Albiorixs castle, she
understands that Albiorix has made a pact with the Kronians, stupid believers in one
unique god, to destroy the Formors. When Albiorix learns that Deirdra is in love with
Cairn, he gets mad and throws her in jail. He then sends a message to Cairn, telling him
to bring the head of Balor if he wants to see Deirdra again
During an argument with
Balor, Cairn decapitates him and rides toward Minastarach. Three times, the head curses
him. When he arrives, he is trapped by the Kronians magic and mistakes Deirdra with
an repulsive woman
Albiorix kills her and the magic ends. Cairn sees then that the
dead body lying at his feet is Deirdra. Balors head claims the gods have punished
him. He becomes mad and runs away, destroyed by his madness. You can then figure out his
eternal despair in " La Complainte De Cairn " which is an
instrumental. The next song, " Pride And Malevolence ", begins
with the triumph of the Kronians. Thanks to their magic, they now have enslaved Albiorix
and the Formors have no chief anymore. The Keltains and Formors try to ally to get rid of
the tyrants, but when they meet, the Kronians who had heard about it kill the
conspirators. The folk song after this one is a break in the story, and then comes the
epic " Baas In The Underworld ". Baas, priestess of
Badararchand descends into the underworld, after a ritual sacrifice, to inquire about the
destiny of the clan. She arrives in a desolate world, and everything is extremely strange.
She meets a bard singing a joyous hymn. Upset by his behaviour, she kills him. She then
sees people feasting in honor of the goddess mother Mar Macha, but their bowls are full of
gravel and they drink dirty water. She cant stand this sacrilege and exterminates
them. Then she enters a dungeon and meets a woman who claims to be Mar Macha. Next to her,
a sow is chained. But the woman is totally deprived of might and Baas understands
shes not Mar Macha, so she kills her for her blasphemy, but faints because she feels
a horrid pain. When she awakes, a splendid woman stands next to her, crying. She thanks
her for having fred her from Krans maledicition. She is the real Mar Macha, but by
breaking the malediction, Baas have made her incapable to give life. Thus, all the women
of Ultraigh will never be able to bear any child. But Mar Macha gives Baas the power to
return to the realm of the living and to orchestrate her vengeance against the Kronians.
And thus ends the first album ! The next one will deal with the vengeance of Mar
Macha, and the war to get rid of the Kronians
I dont know exactly what will
happen, because Aed Morban has not started writing, but prepare for more bloodshed,
treasons and magic ! The last song of the CD, " Righ Beern "
is just a song we have composed in honour of beer, which is a totally wonderful
beverage ! All of us drink beer and sometimes in tremendous ammounts
eheheh ! ! ! Its a very feasting song, which many warbrothers like
when they drink ! This song also works very well during gigs !
6. Surely your CD can be described like pagan folk art, so I
should like asking you how you see the fact that just in the modern society much people is
fascinated by own ancient roots and folklore, and interests for witchcraft, occultism and
so is also risen, how do you explain this ? maybe is so because man after all is
feared to lose own individuality and try to re-get lost values ?
Hey you forget one fuckin
important word ! METAL ! ! ! So, maybe " Pagan Folk Metal
Art ", if you want a special label
We label our music as Celtic War
Metal
Your question about modern world is interesting ! I think people are
interested by ancient times, witchcraft and occultism because when you look at
todays world, everything is so rotten
First thing that comes to my mind is
music. Just switch to MTV or any music channel on the TV and the radio, what do they give
you ? Rap, boys bands, girls bands, dance, stupid bullshit ! Fuck, there even
isnt anymore place for straight Rock, guitar oriented music ! ! !
Where the fuck are we going ? And thats just one thing. Life is fuckin
rotten. Everything is ruled by a down to earth philosophy dictated by one thing :
Money. There is no room for " special people ", no room for
supernatural, no room for anything but the typical nine to nine shit. Even people have
changed. The dominant philosophy is individualism. Its so blatant, that you always
hear stuff like " one woman was attacked by three rappers who stole her her bag
at 11.30 in the morning, there were 100 people around there, nobody dared to move their
goddamn ass ". Human has lost every inch of pride, fuck ! ! !
This would never have happened in the old days because of course there were wars but
people were united in a clan ! Of course, nowadays have also good stuff, I mean there
would be no BRAN BARR if there was no electricity for our guitars !
Hahaha ! ! ! Yet, today is mostly shit. And there is still this
fuckin hypocrite shit called christianity, which is a total nonsense. In France,
its slowly dying, I mean less and less people go to church, but the thing is getting
rid of it will be extremely hard as it has penetrated our culture very deeply ! Why
are so many things still so taboo, when you think about it ? Because christian
principles said those things were bad and evil and would lead you to hell. There are tons
of examples, just think about it ! So it seems to me logical that people who are
slowly growing out of this plague turn to times when it didnt exist. We were talking
about Medieval times a few minutes ago but BRAN BARR refers to even more ancient times. We
in fact refer to pre-christian times, when this fucking plague had not yet infected our
people
7. Well its all. Feel free to add what you like.
Thanks for this interview ! Readers
interested in getting our stuff can write to BRAN BARR, 56 rue Emile Zola, 51100 Reims,
France. We also have a fuckin website http://www.multimania.com/branbarr,
and you can email us at branbarr@hotmail.com.
Live to win ! On behalf of BRAN BARR, Fir Doirtche.
Hard Rock Magazine (France) - Nov 2000
1. Racontes-nous la genèse du groupe, présentes-nous ses
membres et pourquoi BRAN BARR comme nom ?
Le groupe fut créé en 1994 sur une idée d'Aed
Morban (batterie). Les premiers membres furent Yoltar (chant et claviers) et Morrigan
(guitare). Brennus (guitare) et Fir'Doirtche (basse) joignirent le groupe en 1996. Quand
Morrigan quitta le groupe, Fir'Doirtche prit la deuxième guitare. Le groupe se mit à
composer intensivement. En 1998 Taliesin (Bass) et Amorgen (flûte & bombarde) ont
finalisé la formation. L'ajout d'instruments celtiques nous a permis d'abandonner les
claviers et de développer l'aspect ''folk'' de Bran Barr, ce qui était l'objectif depuis
la création du groupe. Bran Barr est un nom gaulois formé de Bran qui signifie corbeau,
et de Barr qui veut dire montagne ou obstacle infranchissable (ce qui a donné barrage en
français comme quoi il nous reste quelques racines celtes dans notre langue soit disant
100% latine). Bran Barr est le corbeau psychopompe, celui qui permet le passage des âmes
dans l'autre monde, le Tir Na Nog, l'Anwyn ou le Sidh...
2. "Les chroniques de NAERG" est un album concept basé
sur une histoire assez compliquée, peux-tu nous la raconter ? Est-ce qu'elle est
complètement inventée ou est-ce qu'elle se base sur des faits historiques ? D'où vient
votre inspiration ?
Chaque morceau de l'album est basé sur un chapitre
de l'histoire et les personnages sont matérialisés par des chants différents.
L'histoire raconte la guerre entre les Keltains d'Ultraigh et les Formors venus les
envahir de par delà les mers.
''Ultraigh tri Codacht' Ruin'' décrit les trois premières batailles entre les deux
peuples. Mais l'histoire se complique car Albiorix, le haut roi d'Ultraigh fait appel aux
Kroniens, peuple monothéiste et ''civilisé'' dans le sens péjoratif du terme, pour les
aider à combattre les Formors, mais ce faisant il fait peser sur Ultraigh un danger plus
grand encore car Kran, le dieu unique des Kroniens, n'a d'autre but que d'asservir tous
les peuples de Naerg.
Cairn, le petit-fils de Balor le roi magicien des Formors, et Deirdra, fille d'Albiorix,
tentent de s'opposer à cette guerre fratricide. Leur amour impossible les mène à la
trahison de la loi des pères et des Dieux : Cairn tue son aïeul Balor. Il est maudit
pour cet acte et cela aura pour conséquence la mort de Deirdra. Cet épisode correspond
au morceau ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Deirdra''. ''La Complainte de Cairn'' exprime le
désespoir de Cairn. Le chapitre suivant, qui correspond au morceau ''Pride and
Malévolence'', explique les intrigues de Kran et les tentatives des rebelles qui tentent
de s'opposer à son emprise en suivant les pas de Deirdra et de Cairn.
Le
dernier chapitre, correspondant à ''Bàas in the underworld'' sur le CD, raconte la
quête de Bàas qui par son sacrifice se rend dans l'autre monde pour rencontrer Mar
Macha, la déesse noire, afin d'éclairer son clan sur sa destinée. Bàas va délivrer la
déesse d'un enchantement de Kran, mais ce faisant Mar Macha va perdre son pouvoir de
fertilité. Bàas va être ressuscitée et investie des pouvoirs de sa déesse pour
accomplir sa vengeance qui aura lieu dans un album ultérieur.
Pour ceux que cela intéresse, l'histoire est disponible dans son intégralité sur le
site de Bran Barr.
Cette histoire est complètement inventée, on pourrait appeler cela de la fantasy, mais
elle comporte de nombreuses allusions et d'emprunts plus ou moins visibles à la
mythologie celtique. Les principales sources d'inspiration viennent des cycles
mythologiques irlandais, les batailles de Mag-Tured, la saga de CuChulainn, qui sont avec
les récits des bardes gallois, les seules sources à peu près directes dont nous
disposons sur la mythologie celtique. Les chroniques font également allusion à quelques
aspects historiques : la manière dont les Kroniens soumettent le royaume d'Ultraigh est
une allusion à la guerre des Gaules. Les Eduens peuple gaulois ''allié'' à Rome,
demandèrent à César son aide pour empêcher la migration des Helvètes à travers leur
territoire. César s'empressa d'intervenir mais une fois sa mission effectuée, il
maintint ses légions en Gaule ce qui lui permit d'engager très favorablement
sa campagne d'invasion de la Gaule.
3. Finalement, est-ce que "Les Chroniques de
Naerg" est le premier chapitre d'une saga, un peu à la manière de RHAPSODY dans un
style complètement différent ?
''Les Chroniques de Naerg'' est effectivement
le premier épisode d'une saga qui se déroulera sur trois albums.
4. Musicalement, on peut aisément vous qualifier
d'un groupe de FOLK METAL, est-ce que tu es d'accord et quel terme utiliserais-tu pour
qualifier la musique de BRAN BARR ?
Le terme paraît adéquat, nous qualifions
nous-mêmes notre musique de Celtic War Metal, mais Folk Metal, pourquoi pas, étant
donné l'ajout d'instruments folkloriques, c'est tout aussi valable.
5. Quelles sont vos influences musicales ?
La musique de BRAN BARR résulte d'un travail de
groupe, et donc de la mise en commun d'influences qui peuvent être très différentes
selon les membres, avec en commun un goût pour le Black et le Pagan Metal. Evidemment, un
groupe comme BATHORY a joué un rôle indéniable, mais aussi les premiers ENSLAVED, nous
ne sommes pas non plus indifférents à ABSU ou aux deux premiers SATYRICON. Mais chacun
amène un côté personnel à la musique, Yoltar est fan de Doom, FirDoirtche est un
inconditionnel de Thrash et de Speed allemand... Nous sommes aussi influencés par la
musique celtique et médiévale, et plus particulièrement en ce qui concerne la flûte
par des groupes bretons comme BARZAZ, AN TOUR TAN ou SKOLVAN.
6. Que penses-tu de la scène FOLK METAL actuelle ?
Je ne suis pas sûr quon puisse parler de
scène
''Folk Metal'', il existe un certain nombre de groupes qui jouent une musique qui
allie le Metal et des influences Folk de manière réfléchie et mûre. Mais il ny a
pas (encore) duniformité de production, ni de dogme attaché à cette musique.
Cest en ce sens quil ny a pas de scène folk Metal, comme il y a une
scène Black Metal par exemple. Cest probablement plus un point positif que négatif
car chaque groupe parvient à garder son originalité. Il y a un certain nombre de groupes
qui composent ou ont composé dans lesprit du folk Metal : Pour la France, on peut
évoquer AES DANA, les débuts de STILLE VOLK (du pur Folk en fait mais que
jévoque ici car ils évoluent dans la scène Metal). Dautres groupes
français prétendent jouer du Pagan Metal, du viking
mais il sagit souvent de
groupes de black intégrant quelques éléments folk -généralement joués au synthé -
à leur musique pour de courts interludes censés peut-être alléger leurs compositions
souvent très ennuyeuses ou rappeler à leur public leur fierté dêtre les
descendants dune pure race celtique, de courageux guerriers vikings
Concernant
ce qui a pu se faire à létranger : on peut citer SKYCLAD, CRUACHAN, STORM,
OTYG, IN EXTREMO et probablement de nombreux autres moins connus qui évoluent tous
dans des styles différents mais composent une musique quon peut définir de Folk
Metal.
7. BRAN BARR évolue
dans un style particulier, ce n'est pas trop dur pour vous de trouver votre place dans la
scène française ?
En effet ce n'est pas forcement évident. La scène
française est assez panurgienne, en ce moment la mode est au ''black old-school'', nous
on adore ça (Aed et Fir'Doirtche jouent également dans ce type de groupe) mais ce qui
est dérangeant c'est les comportements associés. Il y a quelques années, tous les
moutons posaient avec des épées de Tolède et des haches achetées au mont st
Michel ; maintenant cest différent, il faut des fusils et des masques à gaz.
Ils suivent lesthétique dominante en tentant de faire croire quils lont
inventée. Pour cela ils se sentent obligés de cracher sur quelque chose : le folk
métal par exemple qui est lié à cette ambiance qui les fascinait et les faisait
sintéresser superficiellement à des cultures celtiques, médiévales ou viking. Le
satanisme a lui aussi changé dimagerie : maintenant on est plus luciférien,
cest encore trop mystique, on se contente des écrits de la CoS ou de ne rien lire
du tout.
8. Avez-vous déjà des idées pour le prochain
album aussi bien au niveau musical que des paroles ?
Pour les paroles, on y travaille. L'histoire va se
dérouler 300 ans avant l'Eritrain Drun, la guerre narrée dans le premier album, et
racontera l'histoire de Fearg. Ce héros, banni et hors clan suite à un parricide,
s'abaissera à l'état de bête sauvage puis il se retrouvera dans le Sidh, y sera roi
puis champion de Kernunnos. Sa quête rejoindra celle de Baas dans le troisième et
dernier chapitre de la trilogie ? Le principe narratif sera très différent de l'album
précédent car il suit un seul personnage. L'ambiance sera plus bizarre aussi, le Sidh
n'est pas un endroit fait pour les mortels.
9. Comptez-vous accentuer le cote FOLK ou durcir le ton ? Le
chant Black côtoie à certain moment un chant un peu plus Heavy allez-vous continuer dans
cette voie, par exemple sur le titre "The Lamentable Tragedy Of Deirdra", qui
(à mon avis) est le titre sur lequel la symbiose entre les différents éléments
composant votre musique est parfaite ? Vu l'histoire, avez-vous pensé à incorporer un
côté médiéval dans votre musique ? Pour quand est-il prévu ?
Pour ce qui est des instruments nous sommes ouverts
à toutes les possibilités. Nous avons eu la chance pour cet album d'avoir deux
excellents musiciens trads qui ont enregistré la cornemuse et la bombarde. Pour le
prochain album il n'est pas impossible que nous rajoutions également un instrument
traditionnel à cordes. Nous comptons bien sûr conserver notre côté Folk, voire le
développer, mais le Metal restera toujours présent. Je pense pour ma part que le
deuxième album de BRAN BARR sera encore plus varié que "Les Chroniques",
grâce à une direction accentuée vers un travail de groupe. Nous souhaitons à la fois
durcir le ton et accentuer les influences celtiques et médiévales. Notre but n'est pas
de juxtaposer le métal et la musique traditionnelle et de mettre des passages de flûte
sur des breaks pour faire joli. Ces deux aspects sont pour nous profondément liés et
participent à la même ambiance musicale. Ce qui est intéressant c'est justement ce
mélange entre la saturation, la brutalité des morceaux et les instruments traditionnels,
et nous comptons le pousser encore plus loin. En ce qui concerne le côté médiéval il a
toujours été présent dans les morceaux et sera bientôt accentué par l'utilisation
d'une bombarde médiévale
10. Il y a quelques parties en celtique (?), est-ce que l'un des membres
du groupe le parle ? Le texte de "La Complainte" est en français mais le titre
est instrumental, c'est curieux, pourquoi ? (j'espère que ce n'est pas mon CD qui a un
problème !!!)
Le langage utilisé dans certains passages de Bran Barr est
du Keltain, la langue des Kelts d'Ultraigh. Nous avons inventé cette langue à partir de
racines de gaulois et de gaélique et cela fait partie du concept des Chroniques de Naerg.
Le morceau intitulé la complainte de Cairn est effectivement un
instrumental. Le texte imprimé dans le livret du CD est tiré de l'histoire et permet
d'exprimer l'état d'esprit du personnage. L'auditeur peut se faire sa propre
interprétation en lisant le texte.
11. Le dernier titre c'est un bon délire à la SKYCLAD, tu
es d'accord ?
Un titre sur la bière ne pouvait être qu'un bon délire
(« RighBeern » signifie la déesse bière en Keltain). Bien sûr,
SKYCLAD est grand, et nous respectons énormément ce groupe. Ce titre est effectivement
un bon délire, comme tu dis, en concert il instaure toujours une certaine ambiance,
d'autant plus que ce titre est toujours un bon prétexte pour boire de la bonne bière
ahahah !!!
12. Avez-vous des projets de tournée ? Il n'est pas trop
difficile de récréer l'ambiance de l'album sur scène ? Avec quels groupes aimeriez-vous
tourner ?
Nous avons quelques projets de concerts, un peu partout en
France... Pour ce qui est des groupes avec qui nous aimerions tourner, mon choix se
porterait sur ABSU, ENSLAVED, PRIMORDIAL, CRUACHAN... Qui sont tous des groupes desquels
nous nous sentons plus ou moins proches, car nous véhiculons peu ou prou un message
similaire.
13. Avez-vous eu des contacts sérieux avec des labels ?
Des labels ont pris notre premier CD en distribution, et j'en
profite pour les remercier, mais pour l'instant, nous cherchons toujours une signature
pour le deuxième album, avis donc aux amateurs ! Nous avons cependant quelques pistes,
vous entendrez parler de nous ! Ultraigh
will rise !