Whilst not strictly qualifying as a UK thrash band, Birmingham’s DARK FOREST have won the allegiance of many traditional metal lovers with their fist-banging anthems and retro live assaults. Now with label backing and a new vocalist on-board, the band are going from strength to strength. James Ashbey talked to guitarist/arch-mage Christian Horton in early 2009 (the exact date has faded into the mists of Avalon)…

2008 was a big year for DARK FOREST as it brought the release of the self-titled debut album on Eyes Like Snow Records. How did this signing occur, and what demos had you released before the album?

Well we released our first demo ‘Succubus’ in 2004 after a year of playing local pubs and jam nights. A couple of years later we decided to try and record ourselves (all being completely broke) and we did two EPs called ‘Fear Dearg’ and ‘Phantoms of the Sea’ which we sold via Myspace. We basically went and made a small batch of them each time we had someone asking about buying them. This was how Eyes Like Snow heard us, they saw potential and got in contact shortly afterwards. We decided to sign with them in 2007 and the album was finally released January 2009.

The band has had a couple of line-up changes since the album release – what’s your current battle formation, and what prompted the reshuffle?

Yeah, shortly after recording our bassist Bill left basically due to different ideas musically. The current line up is: Will Lowry-Scott (Vocals), Christian Horton (Guitars), Jim Lees (Guitars), Paul Thompson (Bass) and Adam Sidaway (Drums). We have only recently recruited Will but we’ve been looking for a frontman since the band started. I had filled in on vocals up until now, but especially since the album release, we really tried hard to find a proper singer to do our songs justice and also to give us more freedom when writing. We’ve been very lucky finding Will, it’s the first time we’ve been a five piece band and now it finally feels like the right line up.

Your lyrical themes delve deep into British history and folklore. Tracks like ‘Excalibur’ and ‘Fight For Metal’ need little explanation, and ‘The Wizard of Alderley Edge’ will be a familiar character to any who have read ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ by Alan Garner, but many of your topics have faded from general knowledge. Could you briefly explain the subject matter of the following songs:

Dyed In Crimson

This is about a legend usually connected with the northern boarders of England and tells of a spirit that is created by acts of evil that were once committed at the place they now haunt, making sure the horrid energies never leave by murdering people and then dying their hats in the blood of their victims.

Fear Dearg

This is a spirit from Irish folklore and means ‘Red Man’, as he is only ever seen wearing a red coat and cap. He does nothing else but indulge in gruesome practical jokes.

The Wrekin Giant

This is a story about the creation, according to local legend, of the hill called ‘The Wrekin’, which stands in nearby Shropshire. It tells of a Welsh giant who came to flood Shrewsbury by placing a huge mound of soil in the river Severn but gave up half way through, leaving behind the soil which became the hill.

You did the cover artwork yourself, and I think it really captures the rustic mysteries behind your songs; is this art associated with a particular set of DARK FOREST lyrics, or is it a general portrayal of the band’s atmosphere?

It’s more of a general portrayal of the atmosphere yeah. It’s actually my depiction of some scenery that’s close to where we live. There’s a wood which we love to visit at night, get a fire going and drink some beers. I thought it was a nice idea to include it as part of the album cover instead of some cliché heavy metal image. This way it’s more personal to us.

What DARK FOREST gigs have been your favourites so far? Are you currently looking overseas for gig opportunities, and has there been any interest from metal festivals?

There have been a couple of ace gigs at Re-animator Metal Night in Birmingham, and also a really good one up in Lancaster where we were surprised at the crowd’s reaction as we didn’t think anyone had heard of us up there! Yeah we’ve always been keen to get over to play in Europe; I’m sure we’d go down well and we’ve actually got a couple of things lined up this year over there. We’ve been asked to play Hammer of Doom festival in Germany in October and there may be something happening festival-wise in Sweden this Summer, as well as England early next year I believe.

The DARK FOREST gigs I have seen have been increasingly visual spectacles, with more and more leather, studs and spandex each time it seems! What tips would you give aspiring heavy metallers for accessorising on the cheap? Is it a case of scouring charity/biker shops, or are there secret outlets you’d rather not divulge?!

Haha, well we’ve always believed that a gig should be just as entertaining visually as it is musically because it’s a show after all. Who wants to see five guys that look like roadies standing still on stage? You may as well stay at home and listen to the album. We think the band should be on a different level to the crowd visually, but also it’s all part of the fun of playing live, it’s just another aspect of it. As for accessorising on the cheap, the best is to make it yourself!

What’s your verdict on the health of traditional heavy metal in the UK? For me there isn’t much of excitement happening within the younger generation, even though some great old-timer bands are still going. Also, do you feel any sense of ‘duty’ to fly the flag on behalf of earlier British bands, or do you think classifying metal by country of origin is a meaningless exercise?

No, we think it’s totally important to fly the flag for British Heavy Metal! We’re also flying the flag for our country not just the music. I agree that Heavy Metal in the UK is in a pretty sorry state and has been for some time. Some good UK bands have been produced from the recent Thrash revival but unfortunately there’s also been a lot of bands who sprung up just to ride the latest trend. I guess the same will happen as Heavy Metal makes a comeback here as it is doing over in Europe; the young generations just don’t seem to have any integrity or genuine love of the music, they just jump on to whatever’s cool at the moment. So with such low hopes for any decent upcoming UK bands, it’s our duty to fly the flag, not only for this reason but also to show our pride and love for the great British bands of the past.

Speaking of old-timer bands, you’ve been handling secondary axe duties in CLOVEN HOOF for around a year now. This must have been a really exciting job offer! How did it come about, and what have been the highlights so far?

Yes it was an amazing opportunity! We supported Cloven Hoof a couple of times, the last time being at Metalbrew festival in London. A few months later I got a message from Lee Payne asking me to phone him and it turned out that they had their eye on me at those gigs and wanted to recruit me as Rhythm Guitarist. My first gig with them was headlining a festival in Holland; first time I’d ever played abroad! So they dropped me in at the deep end there, but it was brilliant experience. The biggest highlight so far has to have been playing the Keep It True festival in Germany this year. It was great playing to a crowd that size and also great meeting fans of Dark Forest over there!

Now for some quick trivia questions. What 5 albums would you say have most shaped DARK FOREST’s sound?

In no particular order:

1. Deep Purple – In Rock
2. Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast
3. Iron Maiden – Brave New World
4. Isen Torr – Mighty & Superior (not an album but still a big influence)
5. Angel Witch – Angel Witch

What 5 real ales have most shaped DARK FOREST’s sound?!

1. Batham’s Bitter
2. Enville Ale
3. Hobgoblin Dark Ale
4. Dragon Heart Ale
5. Samuel Smiths Stout

Have any historical/atmospheric/cider-drinking locations in your corner of England particularly inspired you?

Yeah that’s where a lot of inspiration comes from. I’ve mentioned local woods and countryside, there are some places here with great atmosphere: Kinver Edge, Wychbury Hill, Ridge Wood, Enville (Witchfinder General’s album cover ‘Friends of Hell’ was taken at the Church in Enville), as well as haunted places like White Ladies Priory and Gibbet Lane. When you go walking around places like that there is a real atmosphere about and you just want to get back home and write music that captures it. Then there’s the many pubs that are always a great influence!

And finally, will 2009 see a follow-up DARK FOREST release, or is your current priority more live performances with the new line-up?

It’s both, we’ll be recording some new songs in a few weeks showcasing our new line up with Will on vocals and we’re hoping to be releasing them shortly afterwards. We’ll also be getting some merchandise done soon, and in the near future a second album! In the mean time we’ll be playing as many gigs as possible; there are already a fair few in the pipeline!

Thanks for the interview, do you have anything else to add?

Thanks a lot for helping spread our name, just keep a look out for our gigs and come and see us live!

www.myspace.com/darkforestrealm

Comment on this post in our forums

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.