Israeli Doom Metal band Tomorrow’s Rain are set to release their second album entitled Ovdan on April 19th. The band’s vocalist Yishai Sweartz took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about the upcoming album, working with the special guests on the album such as Michael Denner of Mercyful Fate, the plans for their third record, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Your band, Tomorrow’s Rain will release their second album entitled Ovdan on April 19th, what can you tell fans about the upcoming release?
Sweartz: I think that the main difference between Ovdan and Hollow is that Ovdan was written within two years by the same five people and Hollow was written in 15 years by various members who played in the band since we started, not all of the songs of course but three of the seven originals were written by ex band members while they were still in the band, we played the songs live and kept them to the debut, here the time frame was more focused and the result is what you can hear in Ovdan, we did added some new elements, I believe we have to bring something new to the table every time.
MER: How was the writing and recording process being your band’s second album?
Sweartz: In this album we left things kinda unfinished in 25% in purpose and left the final decisions to the recording moments, we left a lot of decisions to be taken and changed in real time, a lot of bands invest a lot in the ore production, and than lets say two months before the recording they are locked on the songs, we did it too in our debut album but now we wanted more freedom so we decided that things are not “final” until we record them, it made the whole journey much more creative in my opinion.
MER: How was it working with the special guests on the album such as Attila of Mayhem, and Michael Denner of Mercyful Fate?
Sweartz: Some were recorded here in Israel at the studio like Andreas from Dark Funeral, some were recorded on various studios worldwide, it was the same like in Hollow: Fernando (Moonspell), Mikko (Swallow The Sun) and Sakis (Rotting Christ) were recorded in Israel, while for example Greg (Paradise Lost) and Aaron (My Dying Bride) recoded on various studios. I am really proud having Michael Denner (Mercyful Fate/King Diamond) and Anja Huwe (Xmal Deutschland) on Ovdan but I am proud having every one of the guests, these two I mentioned because Anja’s last musical recording was somewhere around 1990 and the fact that after so many years outside the music world she agreed to sing in our album, a band from Tel Aviv in a different musical genre, it means a lot to me, as for Michael Denner: for me as a metal fan Mercyful Fate and King Diamond are on the same level as Judas Priest almost, I am huge fan of both since I was a kid and the fact that the guitarist from “Abigail” and “Don’t Break The Oath” is playing in Ovdan is still a shock for me…, same goes for Attila (Mayhem) as we go a long way with them, Euronymous was a pen pal in 90-93.
MER: As you mentioned, you’ve worked with a lot of other special guests on your album’s such as Dark Funeral, Rotting Christ, and Moonspell just to name a few, is there anyone that you hope to collaborate with in the future and why?
Sweartz: A lot, Robert Smith, Satyr, Morrissey, Brian Eno, I can go on forever, but the next Tomorrow’s Rain album (the third studio album) will have no guests at all, we are writing the third album as we speak, and it’s a new chapter in our journey and we decided to have no guests there, maybe in the future we will bring people again to give a piece of themselves in our art but not on the next album.
MER: What do you see as plans for you and your band after the album release?
Sweartz: We are writing our third studio album as we speak, so the whole process is very exciting, I have to see if my medical condition allows me to play shows again, and if yes than we will play shows, I had a triple bypass surgery last year and I have to be very careful, health first, but I believe we will be able to return to the stages step by step.
MER: Who do you hope to tour with and why?
Sweartz: Will be nice to tour with acts as Moonspell, Rotting Christ, Swallow The Sun and Paradise Lost, opening for them can be great and we played with them many times here in Tel Aviv so we know each other very well and it can be fun on a friendly base too, I would LOVE to open for The Mission or Bauhaus too.
MER: Where do you hope to play live and why?
Sweartz: As mentioned, first we will do some gigs here to make sure I am ok medically and than we will take it outside the country.
MER: How would you describe the music scene in Israel?
Sweartz: Many great bands, helping each other and the friendly vibe is great, I can mention of course our brothers in Orphaned Land, Salem, and Subterranean Masquerade but also bands as Desert, Arallu, Lehavoth, Off Grid, Dim Aura, Scardust, The Fading, Shredhead, Sinnery and many many others.
MER: You’ve overcome some personal hardships since the release of your first album, was there a time you didn’t think you’d be able to continue making music?
Sweartz: Never, music is my first language, Hebrew comes after.
MER: What are your hopes for your band’s future?
Sweartz: To stay creative and interesting
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