Interview with LOST CITADEL

We had a conversation with Daniel Leons-Marder (Vocals) and John Evered (Guitars). Enjoy!

Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.

Tell us a few things about LOST CITADEL (Members, Starting Year etc).
Daniel: We formed in 2023 out of the ashes of an old project. John and I have been friends for a long time, and we had a bedroom progressive metal project called Corinthian over a decade ago before we fell out of touch for a while. The rest of the lineup is Kerryan (drums), Aaron (guitars) and Adam (bass).

John: I literally ran into Daniel outside our local train station and he asked me to join this band he was forming. I totally said yes and didn’t tell him that I hadn’t played guitar properly for about 5 years; and just quietly relearned how to play my instrument while we went through a whole bunch of lineups that eventually morphed into Lost Citadel.

You are going to release your debut EP ''The Watcher's Spire'. Tell us a few things about his project.
Daniel: It was recorded at Rogue Studios this summer in London, with Aaron helping us to record some bits ourselves at home. The three songs are really the ones we had developed the most by that time. We felt like it was important to put something out there so people know who we are before we start thinking about putting a full length out. It is out on 15 November.

The cover artwork has a great atmosphere! Tell us a few things about it.
Daniel: I was starting to brainstorm artists to approach, with the intention of commissioning some cover art. One of these, Mark Erskine, had posted the cover art on his social media a few days before. We nquired and it was available. He’s a really talented artist and we definitely want to commission him for a piece in the future, but finding something to use that fitted the project so well was something we never anticipated. The stars definitely aligned for us there.

And what about the lyrics?
Daniel: As you’d expect, the lyrics I write for Lost Citadel are grounded in fantasy and sci-fi storytelling. The three songs on the EP are loosely tied together conceptually, with the first two songs being about forms of divination, whereas Embers of Conquest portrays a version of the events that the characters in the other songs are trying to glimpse at. One thing that distinguishes our writing approach from a lot of bands is that I tend to write vocal melodies before lyrics, and often they will be the first thing that is fleshed out in a song, which gives us an extra bit of melodic flexibility when we are writing. 

Are you in searching for a record label and what do you prefer label or DIY and why?
Daniel: We are confident in our ability to manage and release things, so we aren’t actively looking for a label. There’s an appeal to DIY releases because you are involved in every aspect. There are a lot of great smaller record labels with incredibly strong rosters now, places like Cruz del Sur, so if we found somewhere that was a good fit we would definitely be open to it.

Daniel Leons-Marder - Vocals, Keys

John Evered - Guitars

Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
John: At one show of ours we were unexpectedly asked to do an encore, and hadn't remotely prepared to do one. We all looked at each other, wide-eyed with terror, and elected to do an older song of ours (that Daniel and I have since extensively rewritten). There were some problems with this:
i): Our drummer was situated far behind our guitar cabs and had no monitor so he couldn't hear us.

ii) John, despite having written the song, forgot the chorus completely and skipped it.

iii): Adam, our bassist, genuinely did not know the song.

Eventually we limped the song to a close with all our guitar effects blaring and Daniel mumbling into the mic, and shockingly the crowd was into it.

Lesson: if you're going to monumentally mess up a song, make sure there's a post-rock/shoegaze band on next and hopefully the crowd won't notice!!

Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Daniel: I primarily collect CDs and own several hundred, though I have a few vinyl records and cassettes too. They have great fidelity and you still have a physical product to collect. The ease of access that comes with digital media is transformative, though, particularly in keeping up with lots of different bands. It’s just important to balance that ease of access with supporting bands directly when you can.

Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
John: In terms of traditional metal players, Andy Laroque from King Diamond, Chris Degarmo and Michael Wilton from Queensryche, and early Zakk Wylde tend to be the wells I draw from the most. Outside of this, I feel a lot of my sometimes non-traditional approaches to chords and heavy use of open strings inside both the chords and the riffs comes from me listening to players like Mark Holcolmb, Reb Beach and Polyphia.

Daniel: Generally we are heavily influenced by both more epic sounding traditional metal and US power metal, but we also draw on some European style power metal in our approach. In terms of bands, Slough Feg is a huge influence. I love how they manage to inject so much weirdness into the traditional metal DNA. For my vocal delivery, I'm particularly influenced by Mike Scalzi (Slough Feg), Jake Rogers (Visigoth), Tony Taylor (Twisted Tower Dire / Isen Torr), David Bower (Hell) and Eric Adams. I'm also a worshipper of Daniel Heiman. We all listen to plenty of music outside of our genre, too. I listen to a lot of black metal, synthwave, dungeon synth and industrial. All of this keeps you open to new ideas and makes you constantly challenge yourself as a songwriter.

Aaron Sharma - Guitars

Kerryan Dawson - Drums

Adam Havsky - Bass

Tell us 10 Metal releases that have "entered" your blood.
Daniel:
Slough Feg - Traveller
Demon - The Unexoected Guest
Wuthering Heights - The Shadow Cabinet
Twilight Force - Tales of Ancient Prophecies
Manowar - Into Glory Ride
Twisted Tower Dire - Crest of the Matyrs
Steelwing - Lord of the Wasteland
Stormkeep - Tales of Othertime
Seth - Les Blessures de L’âme
Edguy - Theater of Salvation

John:
King Diamond - Abigail
Slough Feg - Down Among The Deadmen
Death - Symbolic
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle Earth
Strapping Young Lad - City
Sacred Outcry - Towers Of Gold
Nevermore - This Godless Endeavour
Symphony X - The Odyssey
Cynic - Focus
Decrepit Birth - Diminishing Between Worlds

Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
John: Sacrifice is the only way you succeed as a band. I can't tell you the countless times I've seen interviews with legendary musicians such as Eddie Van Halen or the Dream Theater guys who state that their social life was essentially erased by their need and desire to practice their instruments. Think about any successful touring artist, they have missed weddings, birthdays, even funerals to do this thing we call music. Not to mention the insane financial burden this puts on you, especially being a metal band in the NWOTHM and Power sphere, famously very trendy and profitable genres ;)

Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
Daniel: We have only played a handful of shows together and are still in the process of getting tighter. Aside from getting tighter and becoming better performers, the ideal live show means connecting with an audience who are as passionate about our music as we are. Perhaps we will experience that one day.

What attributes do you think that a new Heavy Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Daniel: The most important thing for us is to get out of an imitation mindset and instead being open to experimentation and finding your own voice. Having an overall vision of what a project should be is important, but it should be used to ground your writing so it remains coherent.

John: Definitely to get out of the mindset of just imitating your influences. I don't want to be rude, but it's highly unlikely that you are doing to copy Defenders Of The Faith and do it better than Priest. Whilst it is a totally different corner of music, when people making deathcore in the 2000's switched from being a mix of people who listened to death metal, hardcore, grind etc into just a group of people who just listened to deathcore, what happened to the genre? It totally died for about a decade! I'm not telling people to start putting banjo breakdowns in power metal, that's obviously a horrible idea - I am just saying that take a look at the wider world around you and find novel ways to approach the sort of music you want to make. This genre has been around for half a century now, and with the world being more and more open minded musically, there's never been a better time to experiment. Also one thing that I feel any band who has been successful has done is to have a clear artistic vision. This doesn't apply just to your music (but should), but also to everything else. Your artwork, your merch, your social media presence or lack thereof, even the way you approach press. As a musician you are creating a universe for your audience to live in and you should be mindful of that.

Daniel: I think how we write our music definitely helps. It will usually be me and John sending bits to each other, often back and forth for a few months. Those bits get tweaked as we go, and we are constantly re-hearing what we are working on based on what other art we are experiencing over that time period, and also how we can make each song more of a journey, or add a bit of intrigue. It comes with the downside that the rest of the band have to put up with us incessantly changing things!

Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Heavy Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?

John: Honestly yes. I know everyone bemoans them due to how it has taken a ton of money out of the music industry, which I agree is totally a valid point. However it's also allowed so many bands to gain an audience where they wouldn't have before. I sincerely doubt that Wormrot, an Indonesian Grindcore band, would have been able to make it to Europe and America to play before the advent of the Internet. I doubt bands like Eternal Champion or Visigoth would have been able to find so many like minded people to play in front of in Europe in particular without the internet. It's a double edged sword for sure, but one we hope to be on the right side of.

Daniel: The ease of access also means that people can find bands that cater to a very specific taste. I honestly think this is good for metal overall because there really is something for everyone. You have whole micro-scenes spring up around very specific tastes. John mentioned Visigoth and Eternal Champion, which is a really good example, as smaller bands coalesce around them and before you know it there is a whole scene there of fans and bands all supporting each other. We've actually felt a lot of love from that corner of the metal scene already, which we are really grateful for.

Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in London (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
Daniel: There's a great zine called Metal Horde Zine, which has been going for 17 years. The guy who makes it, Nuno, will have copies with him at gigs, and reading one on the journey home is a great feeling. Shrieks from the Abyss and Nattskog are also great. We have a place of true wonder in Crypt of the Wizard, which is a record shop and label, and it's well worth a visit if you're ever in town (as are a few of our metal bars: Helgi's, the Black Heart and the Dev). In terms of bands, there are just too many to name, some honourable mentions are Seven Sisters, Parish, the Heretic Order, Lowen and Grimmgotts. Nearby in East Anglia there is also a strong scene, with bands like Kaine and Heathen Kings. Beyond London, there is a bit of a resurgence in British traditional and power metal at the moment. Alongside Seven Sisters, you also have Wytch Hazel and Tailgunner on the traditional metal front, whereas power metal has Battle Born, Memories of Old, Ascension, Fellowship and Dakesis. It's a really exciting time to be a follower of these genres, and we are starting to see more representation from newer UK bands on festival lineups in Europe.

Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Daniel: We are huge fans of the Hellenic Scene, and it seems to be very fertile ground for more epic heavy metal with very passionate fans. Obviously Sacred Outcry and Triumpher are bands we really love, as well as bands like Wrathblade. Protean Shield are a fantastic band, and their guitarist Yannis is really knowledgeable about metal. He was kind enough to give us his thoughts on the EP when we were getting ready to release. There are so many great bands from Greece and it’s definitely an ambition of ours to get out there. Playing Up the Hammers in particular would be a dream. Outside of epic, traditional and power metal, I really enjoy Necromantia. If Cyprus is included in Hellenic, then Arrayan Path and Solitary Sabred are very underrated bands.

In the last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange, and new situations in our everyday lives (covid, lockdown, etc.). Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
John: I actually found a huge silver lining in 2020. Being locked at home for 7 months? It was a blessing. It allowed me to actually practice like how I should have when I was a teenager, and it's probably the only opportunity I'll ever get to focus like that again! Plus I got great at baking sourdough...

Daniel: I also found it creatively satisfying as a period. It was really emerging from lockdown that made us refocus and eventually start this project which has a much clearer creative vision than what we were doing before.

What are your future plans?
Daniel: Aside from playing some gigs around the UK, and potentially abroad too, we will be releasing a single next year. We are already making good progress on songs for a full length and we can't wait to share that.  We also want to do a physical release of the EP, hopefully early next year.

Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Daniel: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us and for everything you do for underground heavy metal!

By Steve the Filthy Dog.

LOST CITADEL CONTACT:

https://www.facebook.com/lostcitadelofficial/

https://www.instagram.com/lostcitadelofficial