Dan, congrats on "Citadel." How has the response been to the new album?
Thanks a lot! The response has been extremely positive so far. We have had a lot of positive/high score reviews come in and we are genuinely blown away by the reception so far.
What are the main differences between "Portal of I" and "Citadel"?
POI was written over quite a few years, and in my opinion wasn't very mature. We were still finding our sound and direction. I really feel with 'Citadel' we found the direction we want to head in, and now we can push even further in that direction. Experimentation is something we are really big on.
Was it a conscious decision to write longer pieces for "Citadel"?
Not really, we are really big on just writing arrangements until we feel they're 'done' so to speak. We have never sat down with a time limit in mind and gone from there. It's just how the music comes out.
What are the musical influences for Ne Obliviscaris?
One of the cool things about playing in this band are the broad influences we all have. Gypsy jazz, brutal death metal, classical.. We are all pretty open minded and listen to a lot of different stuff. Some of the bands we are all fans of include Emperor and Devin Townsend.
Does using a violin in such a heavy band ever cause challenges for audiences? For example, if you are the opening band.
It can be for sure. It's not very typical for a band to waltz on stage with a fiddle man ready to go! We have had some strange looks before, but generally once we get into the flow of things on stage we usually get a pretty welcoming reception. We are pretty passionate about our music, and generally that will come across in our live show.
What are the challenges you face as a band from Australia?
Having a small market to perform to, only 6 major cities, can be difficult as you can't just go on tour twice or three times a year like bands in the states can. Expensive flights overseas are also a sting in the bands pocket.
You did a crowd funding campaign to fund a tour of the world. How did that go? And where does it allow you to go?
The crowd funder was extremely successful. Beyond our expectations for sure. We doubled our target and raised over 86,000$AUD. It has now given us the means to reach further and wider audiences. We plan on playing to a lot of different places next year!
Are there any plans to reissue "Portal of I" on your new label, Season of Mist?
Not at this stage no. Code666 released that for us in 2012. Although
Blood Music will be re-releasing Portal of I on vinyl again very soon.
Dan, I am a huge fan of you guys and really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions.
No problem, Rob. Genuinely appreciate you guys giving us an interview opportunity. Thank you, man!
| 
