Canadian Melodic Black Metal band Unbowed are set to release their third full length album entitled Colour the Soul on May 20th. Unbowed’s guitarist took to time to talk with Metal Express Radio about the band’s upcoming album, working with the special guests such as Mathias of Finntrol, plans for the rest of the year, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: The bands third album Colour the Soul is set to be released May 20th, what can you tell fans about the upcoming album?
Snape: I think Colour the Soul is the Unbowed album we’ve always wanted to make. We definitely feel that this is the most well-written and well-produced album we’ve ever put together. It showcases our influences from where we started, and states exactly where we’ve brought them and how we’ve progressed.
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being the bands third album?
Snape: The writing process for this album was quite different in comparison to our previous releases. We wrote the vast majority of the album in 2018 while I was living in the UK studying music production. We did a lot of file-sharing back and forth especially between myself and Steve, our other guitarist. Once we’d gotten about 8 or 9 songs roughly laid out, Steve and Ioan, our singer, came to stay with me and we further solidified the material together. I think the influence of just writing music in a different country and surrounded by a different culture is undeniable. There are loads of British black metal bands that we really love, and that sort of character definitely bled into our own music.
MER: How would you compare Colour the Soul to the bands previous two albums?
Snape: Colour the Soul is a lot more strong and concise than our previous albums, I think. We still display a wide array of influences at all times, but I think with this album we’ve found a way to incorporate and combine all of them into a more cohesive sound. This album really feels like a proper album to me, whereas sometimes in the past with our music I’ve felt that certain sections of our albums had their own distinct vibes. Colour the Soul is the most congruent material we’ve put together and I think the songs really stand shoulder to shoulder with each other.
MER: The band recently released a video for the song ‘Hero Lux’, what kind of feedback have you been able to receive so far?
Snape: So far people really love the video and the song, which is amazing to see! Hero Lux is the first ‘proper’ music video we’ve ever done as a band so it’s great to see it being received so well. We owe it all to the wonderful Michael Crusty of Crusty Media who filmed and edited the video for us!
MER: How was it bringing on the special guests on the album such as Mathias of Finntroll?
Snape: We’ve always liked getting a couple guest spots in our music, but this time we wanted to reach out a bit further and see if we could get two people who have inspired us immensely in our journey as a band. First off we were able to get Joel Violette (Thrawsunblat, Woods of Ypres) to write, perform, and record an amazingly beautiful and haunting interlude for the album which is called “As I Step Mountains Sway”. Joel and his music have been a massive influence to us since we started Unbowed, so it’s truly amazing to have him involved in this album. Secondly we reached out to Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns of Finntroll to do a guest vocal spot on our song “Umbra Cruciata”. Mathias’ vocals have always been absolutely ferocious and his control of his voice is truly unmatched. He managed to belt out a solid 11-second long scream at the end of the song for us too, which absolutely freaking blew us away. We were particularly inspired by Mathias’ work with Finntroll when we were starting our band too, so it just really feels incredible and validating as artists to have such huge influences on our journey now be directly involved with our music.
MER: Is there anyone else you hope to bring in to guest on future records?
Snape: Personally, I would absolutely love to get ICS Vortex (Arcturus, Borknagar, ex-Dimmu Borgir) to do guest vocals on a song with us one day. Vortex has been a massive influence on me as a musician since I was young and his voice is just so unmistakably unique and powerful.
MER: What do you see as far as plans for the band after the release of the album?
Snape: We’re currently booking shows for the remainder of 2022 and beyond! So just lots of gigs! Once we’ve been able to play the Colour the Soul material live for a little while I think we’ll end up getting cozy in a cabin somewhere together and start writing the next release!
MER: Is there anyone that you hope to tour with that you haven’t yet and why?
Snape: This is a rather difficult question! However I think we would do quite well playing with Amorphis. I think we have a similar enough vibe to lots of their music and I could definitely see Unbowed opening up for them no problem!
MER: How would you describe the bands sound to anyone that’s unfamiliar with the band?
Snape: If they’re aware of metal and it’s sub-genres, I would say it’s melodic death metal. If they’re just a regular civilian haha, I would say it’s very extreme melodic music.
MER: Out of three albums, what is one you would recommend to a new fan and why?
Snape: I would absolutely recommend our newest album Colour the Soul. I’d recommend this one because it is the perfect summary of our past influences; it sounds like where we’ve come from as well as where we’re taking the band in the future.
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