SAOR – interview met Andy Marshall
Andy Marshall: “None of the albums are really themed as in ‘all the songs about a same theme’. Every song is different and every album is. I don’t really like concept albums. Every song is a mix of the nature and the landscapes, as always as theme running through the album. Also historical things and sometimes some personal things are involved indirectly, but there is no central theme.”
Muzikanten die integer zijn moeten we op twee handen dragen. Andy Marshall uit Schotland uit zijn bewondering voor de sfeer en historie van zijn thuisland Schotland al jaren in een veelzijdig tapijt van betoverende klanken, maar dit zesde studioalbum ‘Amidst The Ruins’ is toch wel een klasse apart. Vandaar dat we de schepper van al dit fraais zijn zegje laten doen over hoe hij tegen muziek, de samenleving en de natuur aankijkt. Net zoals de muziek is dit een heilzame ervaring.
Vera Matthijssens Ι 17 februari 2025
How do you look back at the writing process of this new album ‘Amidst The Ruins’?
I started writing the album early 2024 and I started recording the album halfway last year. The album was supposed to come out at the end of 2024, but unfortunately I could not complete it; because I was sad and very ill at that time. So I needed a pause in recording the album. The writing process, that is a difficult one (chuckles). Honesty I just record what comes to my mind. I just pick up the guitar and hope that things happen and usually I have inspiration. So I started writing late 2023 maybe and in 2024. Then I recorded some demos and that stuff was even longer than the original album, because I decided to have shorter songs. On top of that it was the tenth anniversary year of ‘Aura’ last year, so I have been playing songs that were all longer – twelve to fourteen minutes long – so I was thinking about some inspiration to write some longer songs as well with the new material, so concerning recordings, I did all the guitars and the vocals and the bass myself and the other guys recorded the drums and the folk instruments and the strings all over other studios in Europe.
I applaud that you use real guest musicians and instruments for that folkish tinge…
Yes, I prefer using real instruments. I have never been a fan of the synthesizer. I prefer the organic-ness of the pure instruments and of course that brings a lot of guest musicians on the album, like Ella Zlotos, that is our folk instrumentalist. She played all the whistles, the tin whistles and the Uilleann pipes, bagpipes and does female vocals. We had Jo Quail on cello. I very much prefer her real instruments, because it feels more real than when you start using samples and fix stuff. It does not sound as good.
That is true, I totally agree. Let us not forget to mention your main inspirations for making music in this interview. SAOR put main inspiration and strength out of the heritage of your environment in Scotland. That is a very beautiful area. Is their a certain approach or a theme within a theme on this record?
None of the albums are really themed as in ‘all the songs about a same theme’. Every song is different and every album is. I don’t really like concept albums. Every song is a mix of the nature and the landscapes, as always as theme running through the album. Also historical things and sometimes some personal things are involved indirectly, but there is no central theme. For example ‘Glen Of Sorrow’ on the new album, that is about the massacre on the Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland between two clans in 1692. That is an historical song and ‘The Sylvan Embrace’, the fourth track, is more about the healing from nature, the psychological force of the forests, those kinds of things. So there is no central theme, just a lot of different things.
That makes it even better, because the music is more varied then…
Yeah definitely. We are always called atmospheric black metal, but I don’t like being called that, because I don’t think we are (chuckles). We’ve draw inspirations from black metal, but I like to experiment with different zones. I like the folk elements, I like the more atmospheric passages and I do like the black metal tinge. We come from different sides I think.
Is pagan/folk metal more suitable?
I obviously use the term Caledonian metal. It is not a joke, it meant Scottish metal. That is probably the best description I can give. The music is Scottish metal. I don’t think the pure black metal fans will like the soothing melodies of the music, to be honest with you.
Also traditional heavy metal in the guitar parts I think, although the previous album ‘Origins’ included more of that than this one…
Yeah the last album ‘Origins’ is obviously a more heavy metal influenced album. There is very little to non black metal on that album.
What does ‘The Sylvan Embrace’ mean?
I think Sylvan is Latin for forest. The embrace of the forest is the comfort of being in nature and a forest. It feels like a haven for someone, you can go there and recharge batteries. If you want to boost your mental health or if you want to boost your physical health, you should go there out into nature. That is the best thing you can do for healing. It is hard to describe.
I always think that even the most ‘civilized’ and busy working people go to the woods to relax, maybe it is an old instinct…
I am not a huge fan of busy settings and lots of people. I prefer a sort of natural environment. Crowded places make me a little bit anxious, so I like to go to the nature, to the mountains, to the forest. I am lucky; because I live close to it. I can just go to the car and drive and I’ll be there in an hour. I know that not everyone has this luxury of being so close to nature, but it is very good for me. For instance, I like Antwerp, I have been there, but I can only stay a few days on that setting and then I have to leave.
I am sad because SAOR is not coming to Belgium or Antwerp on the next trip…
We booked the EU tour in advance, but we will have our next shows at the second half of the year. We are still working on that. We definitely want to come to Belgium and play there. It all depends on the route and the offers we got for the touring, but we are working on doing a second part of the tour. The band cannot go on a full month tour, because we all have our jobs and families, so we have to split up.
For the mix and mastering it was a little bit different this time, because I remember that you worked with Lasse the last time and this time we see names like Chris Fielding (the mighty one from Winterfylleth and a lot of other bands) and Tony Lindgren from Scandinavia. What about this experience to work with them?
Chris was really amazing for us. He is very easy to work with whenever you are discussing things, he always want to hear your point of view and make the sounds we want to achieve. He actually re-amped all the guitars and mixed everything. He did such a good job and I have known him already for years, because he obviously works with Winterfylleth.and a lot of other bands. I think he did the new Primordial album as well. So I really hope that we can work again with him on the next album, because it is definitely the best experience we have had when someone mixing the album.
I saw on your Facebook that the next video clip is coming the eight of January and I think it is for ‘The Sylvan Embrace’…
Indeed, we are going to release our video clip for that. It will be our second single, if you want to call it a single. It is the second release from the new album, before the album comes out and we decided to surprise the fans, because we have never released an acoustic song before, so I am very interested to see what people think about it after releasing ‘Amidst The Ruins’, which is a twelve minute long epic with black, folk, whatever… So we are very interested in the reactions. I really like the song, I think it is great. I’ve always wanted to do an acoustic EP or an acoustic album as well, because it fits with the kind of music we do. This style is very natural and very easy for us. That is something I am thinking about doing in future.
That is another parallel with Winterfylleth…
Yeah that’s right. They are unfortunately English, so… (laughs) No, that was a joke, I am really good friends with those guys. They have just released a great record and I really like their acoustic stuff as well. Really cool.
How come there is a Spanish drummer now?
Carlo recorded on ‘Forgotten Paths’ and we kept in touch for years. He is our live drummer and he does some studio work as well. There is a whole new line-up for upcoming live shows. It is a very varied line-up. We got a German person playing the folk instruments, we got a Swiss guy playing guitar, we’ve got a Scottish guy playing guitar and we have a Spanish drummer. Well, it is my project, it is actually not a band. I am just glad that these guys can deliver the strongest live line-up we have ever had, and they are very professional guys, so I am very happy.
In 2024, in despite of writing and recording a new album, you did quite a lot of shows…
Yes indeed. We had the tenth anniversary of ‘Aura’ but we also did a few festivals and stuff. It is good to keep playing live and take not too long breaks. We actually start the month January without shows, but the day after the album release in February is a release show in our home town Glasgow. We hope to do some festivals in 2025 as well, in addition to the normal touring. We are always working on other things behind the scene, so we are hoping that there will be some Latin America shows. We have played in Mexico last year, hopefully we can go back because it was successful.
Are you still busy with Fuath?
Not so much. We did a live show at the end of the year, few weeks ago. That was just a one off show and I haven’t written any new material. I was writing new material, but I have taken a break. I probably come back when I feel the inspiration to do it, but I am not in any pressure for myself.
I was impressed by the artwork, because there is a man standing on those ancient stones? It is very nice, maybe a few words about it?
It is a guy called Julian Bauer from Germany. He has done artwork in the past for other bands like Winterfylleth. I was really happy to work with him. Basically I just sent him my idea of the artwork and the druid in the front was the man of stones, in the nature, just like we discussed before. We have got endless inspiration here in Scotland with those sorts of stones in fields, the landscapes and the history. So it is a lot easier for us to come up with ideas.
That is one of our dreams for a holiday: Scotland…
Yeah you need to come here, probably best in the Summer, than it is not rain all the time (chuckles). Sometimes you have three different seasons in one day. You can have the sun, the rain and the snow.
Well I think I can write a nice article about the new album and you…
That is great, thank you.
