PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
PlanetMosh is proud to be sponsoring the main stage at the fourth incarnation of Monsters Of Rot, which takes place in Letterbreen, County Fermanagh, on Saturday August 16.
The festival brings together some of the best extreme metal bands on the island of Ireland. As part of our build up to the event, we will be interviewing all of the main stage acts: today it is the turn of Dave Gibson, guitarist with Aeternum Vale to go under the spotlight…
How would you describe your style of music?
Melodic Black Metal.
Who all is in the band?
We are Colin Byrne on vocals, myself and Owen Ryan Hanbury on guitars, Raych Corcoran on bass and Dave “Atlas” Mc Carron on drums.
Do you have any material available? If so, can you give us some info about it – when and where it was recorded, and what formats it is available in?
We have an album out on CD format at the moment. It’s called ‘Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges’ and is available directly from the band. You can contact us at aeternumvalemetal@gmail.com or on our Facebook. It was recorded at Trackmix Studios and engineered by Michael Richards.
Do you have any new material coming out in the near future?
We are, at present, writing a new EP for release this year. It will be in CD format again and will feature four tracks of melodic black metal.
Have you played with any of the other bands on the MOR bill before?
We’ve played with Eternal Helcaraxe and Dead Aeon before. Both quality bands.
What other bands on the MOR bill are you looking forward to seeing?
Coldwar and Overoth always put on a great show. None of us have seen Fuckhammer before, so that’ll be one to check out too.
What is your assessment of the current state of the Irish metal scene? Is it in a good state of health? Are there too many bands and not enough venues/promoters, or is there a good balance between the two?
We feel the quality of bands in Ireland is quite high, however the “scene” in Ireland and particularly Dublin could be described as “quite sick” (not a compliment).
Is there enough support for the metal scene in the Irish media? Or is that important?
There is little or no support for the metal scene in mainstream media. Some would tell you that it should stay that way, but we believe it’s important to expose mainstream metal fans to the underground so they can get deeper in the realm of extreme metal. This could be helped by more coverage in mainstream media.
Is social media more important that traditional channels (ie newspapers/radio) in communicating with your fans and attracting new ones?
No. While we maintain an online presence, there is no substitute for getting out on the street and handing out flyers and two track taster CDs.
Outside of the bands at MOR, what other Irish bands would you recommend PM readers check out?
Legion of Wolves deserve your reader’s attention. Old school death metal in the vein of Bolt Thrower. A fantastic Irish band.
Apart from your instruments (obviously), what is the one essential item you always carry when playing a gig or festival?
Personally, I always have a can of Red Bull in my guitar bag but some of the members of the band would be far more healthy. Other than that, a phone charger.
Finally, MOR is a week after Bloodstock: do you think a festival like BOA would work on the island of Ireland?
I think we could do a festival the size of Bloodstock if there was a healthy mix of maintream metal acts and underground acts to attract as broad a crowd as possible. Many people that frequent a certain website would probably balk at this but that’s why, presently we don’t have a festival of that size.
You can find out more about Aeternum Vale at www.facebook.com/aeternumvale and check out their music at www.soundcloud.com/aeternum-vale.
For more information on Monsters Of Rot, visit www.monstersofrot.com.
