Interview with Echelon

Recently I tossed a few questions towards Austrian avantgarde black metal act Echelon. Having previously (and also just recently) reviewed their first full-length album, "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!" (link provided below of course!), I had hoped to be able to gather more insight into the strange and compelling mindset that lies at the core of this deeply-philosophical collective. Of course nothing is that simple when you're talking about an act as complex as this one! Read on to see what I mean!  

Andy-How did Echelon come about?

Echelon-Scene: A smoky room somewhere at the city limits of Vienna. There is a laptop on a huge wooden desk and its light glimmers through the thick smoke.

Time: 19:11

Person: M.X.: Guitar, Backing Vocals, Programming

*The light of the laptop gets brighter, you can hear the clicking of the mouse and soon you can hear the high pitched clattering of a keyboard*

About ten years ago I had my first guitar and by hitting the pick harsh on the strings, uncoordinated, with full distortion, I tried to create something that sounded like Transilvanian Hunger. I wanted to make music to replay the stuff I liked. The seasons passed and I found myself playing in a band with my friends, who also play on ECHELON today. The longer you keep playing with others the greater the need gets, the need for creating something on your own, something which is more like yourself. And that is how ECHELON works. It is a distillate of our creativity.

Andy-How would you describe the band's sound for someone who has never had the pleasure of hearing you guys?


Echelon-Time: 19:18

*Another cigarette emits the strong odor of tobacco and burned paper. Now there is a mug on the desk and M.X. takes a sip, only to lay his hands on the keyboard again shortly after*

How do we sound? 

*He is looking in the air and takes a puff, his left leg is hammering on the floor* 

How do I describe our music to someone who has not heard it yet? 

*Another puff from the cigarette, the leg is shaking up and down erratically* 

Our music is definitely rooted in Black Metal, it contains various stylistic elements of this genre. Most likely it is the vocals which are harsh and restless alt-hough they remain clear. The drums have a slight tendency to blast beats and are mostly playful and jazzy. The guitars indulge in melodies which are rhythmically interrupted by the bass. Sometimes they are in the background to give space to the bass and to portrait acoustic patterns into the minds. Sometimes we charge forward, sometimes we stop abruptly to immerse into a state of deep mental reflection only to charge forward again moments later to lead the listener into a direction he would not have dreamed about.

Andy-For those of us who might be "philosophically challenged" could you explain the lyrical-content of "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!"?


Echelon-Time: 19:40

*The cigarette has followed its predecessors into the ashtray, the smoke gets lesser and exits the room through the open window where simultaneously the sounds of a city at eve enter the scenery*

*Clicking, typing, hammering of the leg* 

Another question arouses my attention, namely, which topic we should use for our LP. A painter, not as impressive as his work, crossed my path. His portrayal of war caught me. How does war look like? What is war actually? 

* The hands get of the keyboard, the legs stop...* 

Is there a picture which catches war as he actually is? The idea in a platonically way? The archetype of war? This abstract thing which is contained in every war? Let us take a look on this ex-ample: think of a picture of a thing, anything. Now start to dissect the picture layer by layer, reduce it to details. 

*Halt, The view seems to penetrate the display. The roaring of a truck breaks the silence and the fingers start typing again* 

Do you still recognize the thing? is the image of this thing created in your mind although the real picture does not show it anymore? Is maybe the color or geometry alone which can create the thing in your mind? This is the idea, the archetype and is there an artwork of war which is capable of doing such? 

*The mug converges to the mouth, another sip, thinking* 

We focused on this question together with the artists Callot, de Goya, Manet and Dix and described how they tried to display war. Beginning with the harsh realism of Callot up to the subtle, judgmental style of Manet. Dix follows on a parallel way and evolves nearly as the other three to create his triptych War, his masterpiece.

Andy-Please give us an idea of what a live show would be like with  Echelon?


Echelon-Time: 20:11

*The window is closed, only a dull traffic sound can be heard, mixed with the sounds of a train*

A concert has to have three columns (1) we only have one color for the light, mostly blue (2) we have interludes with parts of Dix diary entries (3) we do not make any announcements. This is how the concert becomes one single unit and it makes it possible for the audience to concentrate only on the music. 

*M.X. stands up and looks across the room. After he sat down again he continues to write* 

For me it is essential to convey the concept of the LP live as well and I think we can achieve this via this three columns.

Andy-What's next for the band in 2014?

Echelon-Time: 20:25

*M.X. is again sitting in front of the laptop, smoking. The coldness is fighting an ongoing battle with the heater and the left leg is again hammering a rhythm, copied by the right one.*

Right now we are trying to play live as often as possible and we are looking forward for the release date of our LP and the Special Edition on 24.01. We hope that we can provide something unique for everyone with this Special Edition We also started working on new songs and get slowly to the point...

*again the view across the room, smoke comes out of the nose and the mug wanders to the mouth* 

...where we can talk about acoustic patterns and ideas. But who knows where the journey is leading us?

Time: 20:32

*The mouse wanders across the display, opens the program, closes another one. One minute later M.X. is sitting on his chair with his eyes focusing the display. A nod with the head later, the mail is heading through the binary stream* 

And there you have it! "Interesting" to say the least right? But that makes sense (kind of) when you're talking about a interesting band like this one. And since I'm always going on and one...no, make that PREACHING, about the virtues of marching to the beat of your own drummer "interesting" is essential if we are to continue to evolve (music-wise) as a species and fully-expand the concept of experimental black metal. If you find yourself in need of something new, more creative and yes, a release that will help flex those brain muscles (so to speak), then be sure to check out "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!". 

Review of  "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!":
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Echelon-Vivito!+Creato!+Moritor! 

Echelon-Vivito! Creato! Moritor!

Gravity Entertainment
2014

Austrian-act Echelon, who shouldn't be confused with the now-defunct English band of the same name (otherwise known as Radiohead's kid brother!) or the numerous other heavy metal and rock bands (both secular and Christian) who have used that moniker, are not so much a band per say, but rather they are a call towards a new philosophical awakening! First-assembled in 2013, which makes them newcomers to the their local scene (albeit it in name only as each musician involved in Echelon has nearly 10 years of experience in music!), and with "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!" serving as the group's first full-length release, Echelon presents "philosophical connections between Jacques Callot, Francisco de Goya, Éduard Manet and Otto Dix and their search for the true portrayal of war". If all of that strikes you as far too heavy to digest in one mere sitting then consider the fact that all of "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!" is presented under the cover of darkness of what is otherwise known as avant-garde Black Metal. That is the cornerstone upon which Τ.Φ. (vocals, lyrics), Φ.Ω. „Feanor Omega“ (drums, clean vocals), Μ.Χ. (guitar, vocals, programming), Δ.Ρ. (bass) and Π.Σ. (guitar) build such weighty philosophical discussions. And "weighty" is as good a way as any in which to describe the lyrical content of this recording. Quite honestly I wouldn't even know where to begin with this one in that regard as the brief time I did spend in higher education was in search of true journalistic inspiration and not some form of physiological understanding. Well, I mean other then trying to find myself through women, wine and other various vices! Still, there's no need to fret over the intellectual issues at hand here (lyric-wise and all) as there is much to be enjoyed about "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!" on just the music front! That tag above (the whole "Avantgarde Black Metal" thing) does cover the overall theme of  "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!", but even then it can be broken down to include such things as (besides the obvious black metal!) doom metal, death metal, traditional heavy metal, electronic/industrial, folk/viking metal and even post-rock and punk! So yes, you can enjoy an album like this on it's own merits without worrying whether or not you'd be lost in a physiological discussion with the members of this Austrian-based act! And enjoy it I did! Can it be a little too heavy on the black metal side of things? Honestly yes. Mostly that has to do with the black metal rasps. When you're digesting some phenomenal post-rock/black metal it can be distracting, and not to mention disheartening, when raspy vocals suddenly show up to the party. But, this is a black metal band first and foremost so it's to be expected right? Other then that bit of ironic complaining on my part this is a rather fault-free recording which offers something new with each repeated listen. And you'll want to listen to this one a few times over so that you can pick up on all the subtle nuances that you might have missed. Both adventurous and creative, "Vivito! Creato! Moritor!" is an interesting introduction to this Austrian-act which should, given further time to gel together and grow, create many more works of art in the years to come.