Andorran extreme metal unit Persefone have been hacking it out for over two decades in the underground, developing a musical identity somewhere between progressive and melodic death metal. They recently welcomed vocalist Daniel R. Flys into the mix, one of the only lineup changes in the band’s long history, for new EP Lingua Ignota: Part I. Decibel caught up with the band to discuss their two-decade history, performing with an orchestra and working with notable melodic death metal producer David Castillo.
What are your influences? Your sound comes from a few different directions.
When it comes to influences, you have to bear in mind that it’s not always the synergy of all the members’ personal taste, but also the result of almost 20 years learning and writing music, so I think it would be really tough to point out the specific equation that makes Persefone sound the way it sounds.
If I had to give it a try, I would say that it’s the mixture of early Swedish melodic death metal, progressive elements all around, ‘80s and ‘90s guitar heroes, movie soundtracks, electronic music, classical music and jazz/fusion approaches here and there. But I will always consider Persefone as a metal band period, and I would be even happier to call it just a band.
This is your first release with new vocalist Daniel Rodríguez Flys, though he’s been in the band a while. What was it like recording with him?
Being able to show Danny to the world as an official member was part of the reason that we chose the EP format.
[Ex-vocalist] Marc [Martins Pia] has been a huge part of our sound since the very beginning and recording Persefone’s music without him has been quite a challenge, but at the same time, Danny has offered to us a fresh approach with all his vocal range. Danny is a very accomplished musician himself and working with him has been something really easy and exciting at the same time.
To me, his performance in “One Word” is one of the best vocal performances we’ve ever had in this band, and I’m lucky enough to experience how he nails it every night when on tour. Such an amazing vocalist.
Has the lineup change affected the way Persefone writes or records music?
Not really, even when Danny has been very proactive during the whole process. It’s been many years working on this band so, if the way we are doing is about to change, it would happen in an organic way, slowly and as part of the process of learning as band members, musicians and human beings.
Persefone is planning a concert with an orchestra. Is it difficult for you to mesh extreme metal and classical music?
Definitely challenging. We are right now working on the orchestral arrangements and we are finding some interesting differences about these two worlds even when it just comes to music at the end of the day.
Persefone’s approach to music it’s quite orchestral itself so, when it comes to the melodic side of the collaboration, everything seems to be coming along quite nicely. But I feel that we will find most of the difficulties on the very performance, since both approaches are really different.
We are recording the whole thing both in audio and video, so I guess time will tell if this was a good idea after all!
You worked with producer David Castillo for this album. He has a long history with notable melodeath bands—did you learn anything from him and his studio approach?
A lot! David has had a huge impact on the Lingua Ignota Pt. I sound. He has been giving us priceless advice since the very beginning of this new release and when you listen to the final product, you can tell that we have never had such a huge sound. Working with him made as feel that we can still top our sound on our next recordings and that is really inspiring for us as musicians.
Lingua Ignota: Part I is out now on Napalm Records. You can also see Persefone on tour across the US and Canada this summer.
Jul-5 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade (Hell)
Jul-6 Greensboro, NC Hangar 1819
Jul-7 Clifton, NJ Dingbatz
Jul-8 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Jul-9 Boston, MA Sonia
Jul-10 Albany, NY Empire Underground
Jul-11 Montreal, QC Foufounes Électriques
Jul-12 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
Jul-13 Chicago, IL Reggies
Jul-14 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theater – Studio B
Jul-15 Winnipeg, MB Park Theater
Jul-16 Regina, SK The Exchange
Jul-17 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
Jul-19 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Jul-20 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
Jul-21 Roseville, CA Goldfield Trading Post
Jul-22 San Francisco, CA Neck Of The Woods
Jul-23 Fresno, CA Full Circle Brewery District
Jul-24 Los Angeles, CA 1720
Jul-25 San Diego, CA Brick by Brick
Jul-26 Las Vegas, NV Backstage Bar
Jul-27 Mesa, AZ Nile Underground
Jul-28 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
Jul-29 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
Jul-30 Austin, TX Come and Take it Live
Jul-31 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall
Aug-1 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock
Aug-2 New Orleans, LA Southport Music Hall
Aug-3 Nashville, TN Eastside Bowl
