Gothic Progressive Metal band from Portugal. "Dark Rising", their debut album will be released in September, the 28th by Massacre Records

PoM: Tell us how media has responded to ‘Dark Rising’ so far?

Rute: I must say I am pleasantly surprised with what we’ve read so far. This is beyond what we expected, especially for a debut album! There has been confusion about me as vocalist because some reviewers think we have a male singer for the growling vocalizations, but I sing those too. So this has also been amusing and maybe it can be a sign that we’re doing something different here. But I’m biased as I am the vocalist, right!? Anyway, we are very happy with the reviews to our album.

PoM: I like the strong track ‘Clad in Black’. Can you tell me more about that song.?

Rute: One of my favorite ones too! Well, the lyrics to that song were written not by me but for me, by a person who felt like that at that moment. The main idea of the song and lyrics is how your deep feelings for someone can save you from your dark side, and how the lack of love can clad you in black. When I sing this I always get that feeling that even when some emotions fade in our lives, a simple song can bring back the way you felt at that moment of your life..

PoM: The big title track ‘Dark Rising’, can you tell us something about the work with that song?

Rute: Yes, we’ve chosen the name ”Dark Rising” for our album because of that song as it means so much to us. I wrote the lyrics of “Dark Rising” when my mother, Eneida Fevereiro, passed away. It is all about gratitude and how you should cherish the present and the moments you spend with those who are dearest to you. Someday you’ll have to say goodbye but be grateful for those moments. The song is all about growing from your darkest moments and being strong and wise. That was also our process as a band until we finally had our debut album recorded. Besides that, this is such a strong song, I think. It has the chant of mermaids when you dive in the water, the revival of our emotions afterwards. When I sing this is as if I am in a movie.!

PoM: The closing track ‘Moonlighting The Dreamer’ is one of my favorites. Can you tell us something about it?

Rute: “Moonlighting the Dreamer” is one of our first songs and the longest in the album. It’s a fast rhythm song with contrasting vocals between operatic and growling voices. It is about what we call mental deceases. Sometimes I wonder if the so called “normal” world is that normal or if people who have some kind of mental pathologies such as autism are the ones who can see the real world. The song itself is kind of schizophrenic so we can feel the way that person feels in this world...

PoM: Is there any track that means something extra or special for you on ‘Dark Rising’?

Rute: Beside the “Dark Rising” Song and “Clad in Black” you mentioned, I love “Winter Dreams”. It’s a catchy ballad, just the way I love ballads and it is so emotional. Singing this song for me is like traveling with my emotions to some distant place. I lack in words to describe how it feels to sing this...

PoM: How does the future look for the band? Any gigs or tours planned?

Rute: For the moment we have two gigs booked, one of them our release CD party gig that will happen in November. We are looking for a nice booking agency to work with us because we want to promote our music not only in Portugal but also in other countries. Beside that we’re going to make a video clip. And we’ve already started writing new songs!.

PoM: How is the temperature on the Portuguese metal scene?

Rute: Always hot as our weather! Portuguese head bangers are great audience to gigs and we also have amazing bands as Moonspell, Ava Inferi, Attick Demons and Gwydion, among others.

PoM: Which bands/persons has been the musical inspiration for you?

Rute: I love Death, Nightwish, Carcass, Kamelot. Those are great bands; I never get enough of listening to them. I must say that Chuck Schuldiner had a big influence on me because I started my all female band Black Widows where I sang and was lead guitarist because of him. He was so inspiring! Tarja Turunen is absolutely amazing! Roy Khan has that feeling when he sings! I also admire Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge) and Loreena McKennitt.

PoM: Tell us something about the artwork - who made it and is it important for you with a cool artwork?

Rute: Pedro Daniel from Phobos Anomaly was responsible for that. A good artwork is an excellent way of making people curious about the band and the songs, it should indicate what kind of music you’re going to get when you buy that CD. If you look to the haunted house in our album cover it has a lot to do with the all concept of this album which is going deep inside yourself, face your ghosts and rebirth stronger and wiser.

PoM: Thank you for taking the time answering on my questions. Do you have any last words for our readers?

Rute: We hope you’ll like our “Dark Rising”, maybe you’ll be “enchanted”. We’ll see you in our gigs!
And like us at: www.facebook.com/EnChanTya and www.facebook.com/singerrutefevereiro.