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= R E A D M E =
Minimum requirements:
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about 10-15 minutes of your time;
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a good-natured mind;
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a healthy sense of humour.
Shortly:
(... impersonal)
It is said of Darken My Grief that it is a melodic doom-death-black band from Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Transylvania, Romania. Although they have founded the group in Sibiu, none of its members are actually from there. In fact, they came from all over Romania, mostly for studency. Originally, the bases of DmG have been set by Duddu and Boke, sometimes late 2003. Soon after, a couple of songs emerged, new people have been co-opted to join the ranks in December 2003 – Raul and Tiron. It was only in January 2005 that they have found a proper keyboard player, Gheba, who added a more refined touch to the sound and later, in May, a drummer with less experience in the metal area, Tobie, succeeded shortly thereafter by a better one, Dolo. The latter was fitting a lot better to the style the band was marching on. All in the band, save Tiron, have previously been musically active, with a history of at least one or two former bands each.
From DmG, about DmG:
(... our side of the story)
All we know how to do is good music. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time to do that. Thus, we have many more ideas for songs and even complete songs that didn’t get to make it on this demo at the time we’ve recorded it, some of them because we have no proper conditions (as in place, tools, time and instruments, in no particular order) in order to record them.
Still, our live shows are a big plus – dynamic as they are, in comparison with what one can generally see in these cases. If you like this material and are open to further discussions, we can send you some video recordings of our live performances so far. We haven’t really had the time to do this more often and, also, we didn’t receive any invitations yet to play outside Romania. Up to now, we haven’t been paid at all, so that deters us a bit from playing too often – some of us work for a living and it’s kind of hard to have gigs that way.
For the future (if we are ever to sign with a label which would provide us the necessary resources), since we’re a band that is heavily inclined towards the symphonic, we have made arrangements for all the symph parts to be played by real orchestra instruments / instrumentalists, including soprano voices and live choirs.
Romania is a country with great metal bands. Sadly, none of them has enough courage to send their lousily-recorded material to a great record label, maybe because of the way that Romania is generally regarded from the outside or because there has never been any precedent. Frankly, they’re not at all encouraged or supported to do it. Thus, if you like our songs, this would be a great opportunity for a great metal label to show the world that quality music can be made in Romania as well and that it may be successfully included on the metal world map.
Thus,
D a r k e nM yG r i e f
are, so far:
Duddu – rhythm and solo/lead guitars, clean vocals, grunting;
Boke – lead/solo and rhythm guitars, screaming vocals;
Raul – bass, grunting vocals;
Tiron – grunting and screaming vocals;
Gheba – keyboards, backing vocals;
Dolo – drums;
Duddu – (b. Sept. 23rd 1978):
I’ve played in: a lot of bands prior to DmG (around 10), not all of them belonging to the metal genre. In fact, some of those didn’t have anything to do with rock at all. But my “metal ideas” could be easily spotted throughout the songs, even in rave or hip-hop ones. What can I say, I’m a metal-head. But I like all kinds of good music. I still play in another band, Deus X Machina, a power-metal one, with Gheba and some of our friends.
I’m: a calm, creative person, who doesn’t plan ahead. Like all people who have something in their head, I’m quite a pessimistic guy who likes rather to expect the worse from everything and be contradicted than the other way around. Unfortunately, I’m very rarely wrong. Also, I am almost never wrong in judging a person at first sight. I like being able to find the beauty or the good side in everything, most of the time, that is.
I like: knowledge, mysteries, smart and kind people, mega-lights cigarettes, sweet coffee, Moldavian cuisine, night time, metal gigs, dark chocolate, Coke, computer games (RPGs and strats, mostly, although I still get ass-kicked by Raul at Starcraft), good books and movies, dinosaurs, fishing, Internet, mythology, northern countries, creating stuff, making fun of almost everything etc.
What makes me sick? Illnesses... being dependent of your own body. And then there would be people, particularly their stupidity, violence, ignorance, malevolence, self-orientation, you know, stuff like that. And a lot of other things (I have a feeble stomach), like obeying pointless rules, poor music, half-done things, poverty in all its forms, childish philosophy, kitsch, people that stick their nose in my private stuff.
Favourite book: can’t think of just one. But among the best authors, I’d have to name Nietzsche, E.A. Poe and Stephen King and as a poet – Ch. Baudelaire.
Favourite movies: “Fight Club”, “American History X”, “Sweet November”, “Saw”, “7even”, “American Beauty”, “Pay It Forward”, “Gladiator”, “The Score”, old “Star Wars”, “Jurassic Park”.
Favourite bands: My Dying Bride, Edge of Sanity, Sadist, Behemoth, Hypocrisy, Rammstein, H.I.M., Dimmu Borgir, Anathema, Paradise Lost, Amorphis, Sentenced, Nightwish, Moonspell, Lake of Tears, Sepultura, Pantera, I love the lyrics from Dark Tranquillity, Paraziţii.
Boke – (b. November 8th 1977):
I’ve played in: a black metal band named Thristos, in which I was rather despotic in that which concerns the composition and the lyrics.
I’m: the oldest member of the group, employed as custom declarer (shame on me!) and a misanthrope left-handed freak without a left-handed guitar.
I like: everything I don’t dislike!
What makes me sick? Hypocrisy (but not the band, which I adore), gypsies, compromises, the so-called new metal, the Romanian parvenus (mushrooms) etc. etc.
Favourite books: M. Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, A. France’s Thaïs, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion, H. Hesse’s Narcissus and Goldmund, etc.
Favourite movies: “The Lord of the Rings”, “The Others”, “Underground”, “The Mists of Avalon” etc.
Favourite bands: Dissection, My Dying Bride, Hypocrisy, King Diamond, Moonsorrow, Emperor, Nevermore, Anorexia Nervosa, Arkona, Hecate Enthroned, Rotting Christ, Nokturnal Mortum, Arkona, etc.
Raul – (b. April 27th 1984):
I’ve played in: one other band, which was a child’s play comparing to DmG. I played guitar for some time but when I joined DmG they’ve convinced me to play bass and I’m glad they did so. Duddu was the one who helped me improve the bass skills I did not have and I thank him for that. In the beginning, I’ve been playing the fretless Jack & Danny Brothers (that was fuckin’ difficult) but as time passed I became better in playing that kick ass bass. Right now I have to buy one because the J&D belonged to Duddu and in the meanwhile he sold it because of our lack of money.
I’m: 21 and a Death Metal freak; calm is something I’m working on.
I like: 5 string bass guitars, playing drums, cooking, computer games (I can hardly wait to get Duddu’s ass kicked at Starcraft and many others), ice cream, working with different kind of people, good home made wine, beer and regular filter cigarettes. Food and sleep make me feel good because they keep me alive J. Music played hard and fast is something I cannot live without, although I sometimes like classical music. Driving is a thing I’m doing since I was 11 but now I have to get a licence for that; a car would be useful while doing that, as well.
What makes me sick? Hospitals.
Favourite book: J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Silmarillion”
Favourite movies: “Sin City”, “Saw”, “Grrrrr”, “Stigmata”.
Favourite bands: Death, Deicide, Loudblast, No Return, Edge of Sanity, Graveworm’s “(N)Utopia”, Dark Tranquillity’s “Projector”, Dimmu Borgir, Pantera, Sepultura, Old Man’s Child, Hypocrisy, Korruption, Dismember, Arch Enemy, Paraziţii.
Tiron – (b. June. 09th 1983):
I’ve played in: Actually, I haven’t officially played in any band before… I’ve just jammed with some friends few years back…
I’m: the balanced type, although inclined towards extremes, romantic, depressive or wrathful when needed…
I like: the fact that I don’t like many things… except coffee, good music, computers, poetry & literature, choppers, mythology, mysticism, rain, fall, dark stuff…
What makes me sick? Sunlight, arrogance, coloured fellows J
Favourite book: Hard to tell… too many to mention… besides Stephen King’s works, Tolkien, French decadent symbolism, SF literature…
Favourite movies: “The Lord of the Rings”, “Interview With the Vampire”, “The Cube”, “Legends of the Fall”, “Fight Club”.
Favourite bands: Immortal, Rotting Christ, King Diamond, Messiah, Six Feet Under, Graveworm, Samael, My Dying Bride, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, Arkona, Dissection, Satyricon, Fall of Empyrean, Paraziţii etc.
Gheba – (b. Nov. 27th 1985):
I’ve played in: Besides DmG, I’ve been playing in another band, Asgard (gothic metal) for 4 years now, the songs of which are generally based on my ideas. Comparing to DmG, where the keyboard parts are just complementary, in Asgard they represent the lead instrument. Nevertheless, I like being original in both bands.
I’m: the energetic type, sometimes too sensitive, shy and dreamy.
I like: persons with a healthy sense of humour, but not as healthy as my colleagues from DmG, though. I love everything that means Finland and the other northern countries.
I especially like trips, nature, wolves, northern mythology, hystory, archeology, bikes (enduro & sport).
What makes me sick? Romanian people and what they did to Romania, lazy people and things that go wrong. I hate reptiles and snakes most of all.
Favourite book: SF litterature, in general.
Favourite movies: „The Lord of the Rings”, „Braveheart”.
Favourite bands: Nightwish, Moonsorrow, Finntroll, Ensiferum, Haggard, Children of Bodom, Amorphis, Dimmu Borgir, Arkona, melodic metal mostly.
Dolo – (b. Mar. 24th 1985):
I’ve played in: another band: Asgard (with Gheba and Duddu).
I’m: the new DmG drummer and currently trying to adapt to their style of composing and playing, very shy, also the band’s driver every now and then, kind of distant and uncertain at times.
I like: cars and motorbikes, living life the way I see fit.
What makes me sick? Romanian people, poorly-made things.
Favourite book: I’d rather read an auto catalogue.
Favourite movies: „Taxi Driver” J.
Favourite bands: Nightwish, Queen, For My Pain, Sethian, Hammerfall.
Overview Of the Songs
Innerfall [demo]:
1. Darken My Grief;
2. Between the Cradle and the Grave;
3. Paradise Lust;
4. Fragmented [A Song to God?];
5. Misanthrope Lovesong;
6. Abendlied (Bonus Track - Instrumental).
Many people ask us what genre can our music be included in or what bands we resemble. Of course, we like to think of ourselves as being quite unique, but, save the fact that we still don’t know what genre we belong to, since it is said that everything has been done before, we could agree to resemble bands like Dimmu Borgir, My Dying Bride or Amorphis.
The songs were composed in a very fast pace, since all of us are “inspiration fountains” (modestly speaking). But due to the lack of the necessary means (that we keep mentioning because we suffer so much from it and we know that if the songs were recorded better, we’d really stand a chance to be viewed as a good band J), about 70% of our ideas are lost / forgotten along the way. From the tons of ideas that we have, we could easily and rapidly come up with at least two albums’ worth of songs. But we want our songs to sound continuous and whole, not as a gathering of parts which barely have something in common with each other, so we’re taking our time with them. In addition, we can not afford to do it for a living, like the great bands, so we don’t have much time for this endeavour (yet!).
All of the songs on the demo (except for “Angels of Pain”) were recorded in a matter of hours, as that was how long we could borrow a mixer and a microphone from a friend-band for.
Actually, to be honest, the way the songs sound, they’re really far from the way we picture them to sound like in their final version, therefore we don’t really expect to be elected among the first hundred best bands, save if the person(s) who make the choices have a really vivid imagination and a lot of good will… J But, in fact, that’s why we need the help and understanding of the listeners, in order for these (and the rest of our) songs to be recorded in a proper fashion some day.
The songs were all recorded in Raul and Duddu’s apartment (Duddu’s room, to be more specific), with the help of some of our friends from some fellow bands, to which we all thank on this occasion…
Of course, the neighbours were driven crazy, but the actual recording, mainly the voice parts, was quite a sweet sight. Try to imagine some grown up metal freaks trying to fit under a blanket in Duddu’s bed, waiting for a sign and, when the signal was given, picture them rapidly pulling the blanket over their heads and suddenly start screaming or “yodelling”. Sometimes something went wrong, the computer programs crashed and the sentenced one would find himself screaming alone. Or try to imagine Boke, who is a left-handed instrumentalist, having to play on Duddu’s right-handed guitar the solo from “Fragmented” because his own guitar sounded so false, and then add to the image Raul and Duddu’s hands on the same guitar’s griph, so that Boke wouldn’t touch the wrong chords by mistake. “The solo of three hands”, we call it.
Well, there were some creepy parts, like those when the whole material had to be arranged and mixed. Duddu is not a professional in that matter (just like in any other matters), his computer is not one of the best and we have a long way in understanding exactly what all those buttons from the various programs do, so the result is not such a great one. We say that it sounds a bit Romanian (which, yes, it means kind of “bad” in terms of sound quality) and we call the material “rather satisfactory” and “listenable”.
But overall, we’ve rather had fun eventually than do the serious thing, just like we do in our gigs. Those who have ever been present at one of those know what we’re talking about. Therefore, once more, please excuse the quality of the sound.
M = music
L = lyrics
V = vocal parts on the recorded tracks
Darken My Grief (M: Duddu, Boke / L: Duddu / V: Boke, Duddu):
This song was born out of a classical theme that Duddu has composed for a modern ballet dancing group. We liked the melodic lines so much that we’ve immediately adapted it to powerful metal riffs. In fact, we so adored it that we’ve made it the song that would bare our very name. Many people that listened to the song didn’t even believe that it was ours.
We can’t really say what genre this song fits in (and the same goes for the others), but if our lives depended on doing that, we’d say that it’s a melodic black (is there such a genre?) one, with gothic parts.
The text pictures a prayer-like monologue addressed to a dark angel, a hopeful begging for relief from the pain and misery of existence that come along with the understanding of that which is beyond mortal. We don’t know if that is exactly what comes out of the lyrics, but we’ve given our best shot. For best results, we’ll initiate a literary comments contest for our potential listeners.
Between the Cradle and the Grave (M: Duddu / L: Duddu / V: Boke, Duddu, Gheba):
This is an “ancient” song, originally played by one of Duddu’s old bands, Darkfalls. It is a bit modified now, with a more actual sound and manner of playing.
Basically, it’s a slow death play, with plain death metal and doom parts.
The lyrics stress out the pointless moments that one has to make something of in the long race that begins with one’s birth and ends in death. Tragic, isn’t it?
Paradise Lust (M: Boke, Duddu / L: Duddu / V: Boke, Duddu, Gheba):
A “happy” death metal song, with, of course, some melodic parts. It’s the most “headbangable” song in all our track list. It includes a vocal part (by Duddu) that a friend of ours called “the priest’s sermon”.
Basically, the text mocks the crap that people live so happily in.
Fragmented (M: Duddu, Boke, Gheba / L: Duddu / V: Boke, Duddu):
It is the most widely appreciated of our songs. It starts with a genius intro that Gheba composed and we don’t know if the manner it continues in is just as inspired.
As a genre, it is also a slow death, mixed up with some very melodic parts.
The “poem” is, in fact, an accusation to God, for leaving mankind at its own demises, forgetting all about it.
Misanthrope Lovesong (M: Boke, Duddu / L: Duddu / V: Boke, Duddu, Raul):
A melodic death-black track, with a guitar part which Boke recorded 35 times J. The voices for this one were recorded with a lightning speed, as Dicu came to take away his gear. But we like the way those voice parts came out the most. Maybe we should’ve hurried to record the voice parts at every song.
I think the title speaks for itself when it comes to the lyrics. It is our hatred for mankind comprised in a small text and it is the most difficult text to sing.
Abendlied (M: Duddu / L: Duddu / V: not yet added):
A plain gothic track, with soprano vocal parts which are yet to be recorded. It was the first song to bare the DmG label. But we don’t really play it much, as we’ve kind of changed our views since then and, furthermore, it is very a difficult song to play in concert.
The lyrics are about love and death, we know – very original... J
Songs yet to be recorded:
(…who knows when… All of these tracks are to be included on our second demo, „Paingels”.)
1. Intro (Onwards to the North);
2. Angels of Pain;
3. Soulset;
4. …and They Die…;
5. Athean.
Giglist
(All gigs were held in Romania. As we were saying, we still don’t have much to brag about here. In fact, we have more gigs then rehearsals so far, which is a bit weird, isn’t it?)
So far:
1. Art Café Club Sibiu (Neoficial Unplugged – Feb. 2005);
2. Stage Club Sibiu (Mar. 2005);
3. Club Taverna Sibiu (9 Apr. 2005);
4. Stage Club Sibiu (28 Iul. 2005);
5. Motors Club Sibiu (27 Oct. 2005);
6. Viking Club Bucureşti (28 Oct. 2005);
7. Rectorat, Sala 128 Braşov (8 Dec. 2005);
8. Club Metalbox Timişoara (10 Dec. 2005);
9. Bucharest Metal Nights Bucureşti (28 Apr. 2006);
10. Ace of Spades Club Sibiu (Feb. 2006);
Contact:
(For serious offers, phone numbers can be given later on, via e-mail.)
dmg.band@gmail.com
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