Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

The Symphonic Black Metal band ‘Dark End’ has just released their much awaited Grand Guignol – Book I on the world. Combined with their haunting melodies, rich orchestras and dark elements I took the first opportunity to ask the band about their Music, Philosophies, and History behind everything that they are today.

1. Welcome to Metal Shock Finland, I’m Dylan, could you please introduce yourselves and the positions you take in the band.

Ave Dylan, to you and to all the Sons of the Northern Shades out there, here’s Animæ and I am the lead singer of DarkEnd.

2. Can you explain the principles for creating this album? What was going through your minds when you first started writing it?

Well, as for the previous concept album “Assassine”, the first stone settled in the creation of “Grand Guignol” was directly connected to my strong philosophical and theatrical researches, used as a basis to set up the whole structure and the general atmosphere of the opera. So, to find the principles from which the album takes it moves, we have to search among the vast halls of Esoterism, Astronomy, Psychology and Magic, finding their infinite grains of knowledge and those ruins of centuries lost that build up our Theatre Of Horrors. Basically, my target was to explore through a rich narrative and metaphorical plot the common roots of occultism, mysticism, self-martyrdom and obscure ancestral ceremonies, and then to create a solid musical structure able to deeply transmit every single emotion involved in this complex spiritual process. What we wanted to reach was a profound absorption of our fans, moving them not only to listen but moving them… to feel.

3. The Orchestra is fantastic, which orchestra was it and who transcribed/arranged the scores for them?

The Orchestra involved in the realization of “Grand Guignol” is called “The Nightbreeder Orchestra”, and I have to reveal you a secret about it: “The Nightbreeder Orchestra” is Antarktica (our Master keyboardist) and Antarktica is “The Nightbreeder Orchestra”, nothing more, nothing less. He completely arranged every part and played every single instrument all alone… so we can describe it as his purest artistic expression, a whole ensemble played by the Spirits that live in a sole boundless human entity.

4. What or who are your influences?

Our main influences are our Souls and the vibrations that we receive from the earthly and unearthly spheres: the impalpable mist that bleakly wraps the Ghosts and that sulphur kind of Black, Obscure, Dark & Heavy litanies; those lost graveyard laments echoing of funereal chant and the Grand Guignol himself, with his miserable cult of Death; the fascinating, bleeding, corrupting Thorns and the XIX century’s massive Classical curses; the screams, the decrepit Spirits and oh, of course… the Horror.

5. The Esoteric references are very demanding in the album. Why did you decide to go down this path for the album name/tracks?

Because I am very fascinated by it! If studied together with doctrines such as Philosophy, Astronomy and Psychology (wonderful topics that I consider really related to the occult and esoteric side of existence) we can really consider Magic (especially in its primordial form) as a pathway to see what not everyone can see, a pathway to express the greatness of our Soul in all its splendour. So, following this vision, every song can be considered as a different fragment of a magical mirror, reflecting on the outside the essence of our inner-abyss.
Concerning the album title, we decided to use it not only because it is metaphorically well connected to the concept of the opera, but even it perfectly describes the nature of what is the core of the whole DarkEnd philosophy: “The Theatre Of Horrors” mentioned before. In fact, “Grand Guignol” was the name of a theatrical movement born in Paris at the end of the XIX° century and specialized in naturalistic terror and macabre shows, where more than often reality and fantasy become one.

6. With the Theatre du Grand-Guignol and the famous House of Horrors, do you have your own stage show alongside to the music?

Absolutely! Concerts are one of the most important parts of the DarkEnd philosophy: we live them as genuine ceremonies of Darkness and Horror where every suggestion and feeling is amplified with the use of a lot of scenic elements such as pentagrams, candles, bleak masks, incense and dead branches, all dropped in a strong theatrical and grand guignolesque interpretation. As you can see, it is not a simple show; it is a proper and real ritual.

7. How would you describe your sound or music to people who have not yet experienced it?

I define Dark End as “Obscure Horror Metal”: there, you can find dark and melancholic extreme metal tightly combined with black metal patterns, classical symphonies and sulphur heavy riffs in the vein of Mercyful Fate/Angel Witch together with bleak ecclesiastic compositions, harmonies directly taken from the gloomy and dramatic theatrical representation of the XVIII century, straight melodic straight guitar solos and some atmospheric nocturne ambience.

8. Do you have any news on future recordings or additions to the Grand Guignol Book I planned?

Yes, we are currently working on our 4th album titled “Il Velo Delle Ombre” (that in English means “The Veil Of Shadows”) and I already have some good ideas concerning the 5th opus. Then, after it… the time to unleash “Grand Guignol Book II” will come!

9. Do you have any tours planned, Europe or otherwise?

Yes, on May the 15th we will leave for Russia to start there the first part of the “Grand Guignol” tour, supporting great bands such as Marduk and Vader. Then we will probably take part to some Summer Festivals and then, at the beginning of autumn, we will schedule the second part of the tour.

10. Please can you share any links or sites that people can go to see or hear more of your music?

For sure, here they are!
Our official website: www.darkend.it, there you can find our store with CDs, shirts and a lot of other merchandise. Our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/darkendofficial. Our Youtube account: www.youtube.com/darkendband

11. I wish to thank you for your time and the excellent album and hope to see you on tour in the near future.

I thank you too for your strong support, for the space granted to DarkEnd here on Metal Shock Finland and for the wonderful words you spent on the “Grand Guignol” review… THANK YOU! I hope to see you soon, all of you! In the meanwhile… keep on spreading our obscure Cult of Horror!

Interview by Dylan Raine

To read “Grand Guignol Book I” Album review, please go HERE.