LETHEAN UK True Doom Duo
Interview conducted on Novermber 05, 2018
by Dan Locke
UK Epic Doom Metal Duo LETHEAN have premiered a new song from forthcoming Cruz Del Sur Music album The Waters of Death. Stream “Time and the Gods” at the link that follows: lethean-uk.bandcamp.com/track/time-and-the-gods-2
To be released on November 9, The Waters Of Death is an epic doom monolith that will appeal to fans of the genre, especially those into Solstice or Atlantean Kodex’s atmospheres. Accompanied by atmospheric cover art courtesy of German artist Stefan Bleyl, The Waters of Death is an album that details themes of decline, departure and the passage of time, reinforced by diverse imagery drawn from mythology, literature and the elements. Ambitious in scope and rich in the fundamental traits of epic heavy metal, The Waters of Death firmly places LETHEAN into their own category where class, intelligence and a taste for the bold reign supreme.
LETHEAN:
Thumri Paavana (vocals)
James Ashbey (instruments)
Check here to listern to the cd.
Dan Locke: Thumri/James- How do you describe you and your band?
James: We think of ourselves as a heavy metal band. Our songs have plenty of indications of our influences, which range from epic metal and doom to NWOBHM, but we’re content for others to describe us as they wish – ‘heavy metal’ is good enough for us.
Thumri how did you get the nickname Cookie?
Thumri: As a little girl I loved eating cookies, and also the children’s program “Sesame Street”. My mum used to call me her ‘little Cookie Monster’, and I guess the Cookie part just lingered.
James- What music did you grow up with?
James: I grew up in a house with lots of different music playing – Fleetwood Mac, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Police, Meat Loaf… but the first band I really discovered for myself was Iron Maiden – they were my salvation from the rubbish bands popular with my school friends, and opened my mind to real heavy metal.
LETHEAN
Thumri- While you were growing up you were into Pink Floyd and Deep Purple tell me about your Spice Girls phase?
Thumri: I think every girl my age had a Spice Girls phase. Their debut album ‘Spice’ is probably the first album I ever bought for myself, and it’s still a 10/10 to me. They were unique for the time, in that they were a group of young, fashionable British women singing about female friendship, and their lyrics are actually pretty empowering – a great influence for young girls.
Thumri/ James- When did you discover metal. And what type of metal was it?
James: As mentioned earlier, Iron Maiden was the gateway for me. I rented a CD from the local library and I was hooked straight away.
Thumri: Iron Maiden for me too! I was already exposed to a lot of rock music because of my parents, but Killers was the first heavy metal album I owned – a gift from my father – and I had never heard anything like it. Still pretty hard to knock from its high pedestal in my eyes.
Thumri/James- How was it to first listen to cassettes and going over to CDs?
James: I started out with CDs so cassettes were never something I transitioned from. I still like CDs as a format, I’m not one who pretends that vinyl is the law.
Thumri: I grew up in India, so came to CDs fairly late in life. I actually hated them, being unable to fast forward the crap parts in songs, or record from the radio. My cassette Walkman was almost an extension of my body, I took it everywhere, and when I got my first Discman, it skipped and stuttered with every step I took, and it was relegated back to the drawer! In fact, up until last year, my car only had a cassette player, and it was not until a few months ago that I parted with most of my tapes. I still have some special ones and think they are a great, robust format for listening.
Thumri/James- Judas Priest vs. Whitesnake? And Why?
Thumri: Whilst we both love Whitesnake, Judas Priest is sacred in our house. A lot of bands in the 80s blurred the line between hard rock and heavy metal, but Judas Priest not only pioneered but perfected the traditional sound we have come to understand as ‘heavy metal’. Few guitar duos can aspire to achieve the Tipton/Downing magic, and Halford is, of course, inimitable.
Thumri what is “United States Power Metal”?
Thumri: I think more clever people than I have tried to really pin down the answer to this, so I’m not even going to try and define it. I think of it as the equivalent of what was happening across the pond around the same time as N.W.O.B.H.M. was gathering momentum here in the UK. To refer to it as a ‘genre’ is probably incorrect, though in these modern times that is essentially what it has been distilled down to. It has come to be the area in heavy metal that continues to captivate me the most – you could discover an excellent U.S.P.M. album every day for a year and still not have scratched the surface.
How did you start to work together?
James: We were in touch online, after I had encountered some interviews that Thumri had published on her blog. Thumri had heard the earlier LETHEAN demos and enjoyed them. So, when I mentioned some new material and my hopes of finding a different vocalist (I sang on the demos), she volunteered herself. She had recorded some material with the Sheffield band SOUL SHREDDER and it was clear she had a great voice that could lead LETHEAN in a distinctive new direction. So, we had a few rehearsals and quickly started developing new song ideas. A year later we were ready to record an album!
How did you get your band name?
James: I first encountered the word ‘Lethean’ in the writings of Clark Ashton Smith and John Keats. It refers to the River Lethe in the Greek underworld, from which the souls of the dead would drink to forget their mortal lives before passing into eternity. This seemed like a good fit for the somber and melancholy music I wanted to create.
What was the first gig you played together?
James: We have not played live yet, we do not have a full line-up to make that possible. Perhaps one day!
What is the process of getting your music together since you only have 2 people in the band?
James: Being just a two-piece is easier in some ways and harder in others. It makes planning our time much more straightforward, and perhaps removes the likelihood of disagreement and creative conflict. On the other hand, it can be difficult to write spontaneously without other musicians to try out ideas with. It has worked well so far though – sometimes the music develops from particular riffs or desired atmospheres, other times it starts with some lyrics or a specific vocal melody Thumri has already conceived. The rhythm instruments generally form in my mind to complement the main riffs and vocals, though it’s not easy to try these out live for obvious reasons.
What is your main equipment do you using to record?
James: My technical knowledge in that area is very limited, but it was a very organic process, playing at full volume with microphones in front of amps. The main guitar amp used was a Marshall JCM 800.
It seems you are into old-style recording techniques. How do you mike your Marshalls amps?
James: Again, I don’t really know myself – you would have to ask our production demon Jamie Elton. He did a great job in his studio, Seven Gates in Gothenburg.
Are you planning to tour?
James: We don’t have any imminent plans to play live as we have not yet assembled a full lineup. That might take us a while as our location and time is variable due to work. It’s something to aspire to eventually though.
What music fest would you like to play at?
Thumri: Given that we are only a two-piece, it seems quite a faraway thought to play in our local pub, much less a festival! But of course, there are several that we have attended as fans that I am sure we would enjoy playing.
Thumri- Have you been to the Beer on the Wye Festival and what is it like?
Thumri: I have not been to Beer on the Wye, but have drunk many a beer on the banks of the river itself, and have swum many of its tributaries with my dogs, Potato and Pumpkin.
Thumri- You are from Hereford. I am going to give you a list of people who are from the same area. And I would like you to tell me in a few words, you’re feeling about each.
Frank Oz
Ellie Goulding
JK Rowling
Thumri: I’m not actually from Hereford at all! I grew up in India, and have lived in more places than would be interesting to read through. I think it would, therefore, be unfair of me to voice my thoughts on famous Herefordians, though I will say that I adore JK Rowling, and I own an embarrassing amount of Harry Potter merchandise.
What music fan do you feel your new music will appear to most?
Thumri: It’s hard to speculate that really. It was always quite clear that the use of female vocals would certainly alienate some traditional heavy metal listeners. Maybe it will attract fans of other sub-genres within metal – progressive, and power, for example, that would otherwise not listen to epic or doom-influenced metal.
James: Hopefully listeners will pick up on elements drawn from several different styles. We set out to create music we would like to hear ourselves, so if it appeals to people with similar tastes to us, then I guess something like that has been achieved! It’s definitely best to create for ourselves, and if others like it, even better – trying to write things you think others will like is a perilous downward road.
Thanks for the interview
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