Interview with TABERNACLE
!!!EPIC HEAVY METAL FROM DUBAI!!!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about TABERNACLE (Members, Starting Year etc).
We formed in 2019. After Shawn and Rayner’s old band disbanded because of other members having to leave the country, they started playing Manilla Road, Doomsword and other covers to pass the time. Around that time, they ran into Jasper and Yasir at an open mic, discovered they were also into older heavy metal and roped them in to complete the lineup. After a few months of doing covers, we decided to bring in some original stuff in the same sorta vein, and that’s how Tabernacle formed.
You have recently released your demo ''Terror in Thrace''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
The audience feedback has been pretty positive so far, from what we’ve seen. Much better than we expected it to be, at least. Its honestly great to have a community of fans who are so into this kind of music around the world. As far as any feedback from the press, its only been about 4 days since we released the demo so there’s been nothing on that front as far as we know.
Label or DIY and why?
Its been DIY all the way for us so far. But the aim is definitely to be able to work with a label at some point, so the demo and anything we do in the future could be released in physical formats.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Given our location and limited finances, digital is pretty much all we have access to as fans, to be honest. We also grew up on digital since it was the most widely available format when we were first getting into this sort of music as kids.
Your music style is Epic Heavy Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
The first riff written for this demo was the main riff off the title track, which was done when Rayner was pretty much obsessed with Omen’s “Battle Cry” album. So- in many ways we owe this entire demo to Omen. But, there’s nothing new here. You’ll hear names like Manilla Road, Solitude Aeturnus, some Cirith Ungol, etc. being thrown around when bands that sound like we do discuss their influences, and its the same with us. All of those bands build songs in ways that still blow our minds, riffs and vocal melodies flowing seamlessly into each other. Also- Enchanter, Majestic Ryte and Blind Assassin. Huge fans of how dramatic those bands sound, especially in the vocal department. As far as all time favorites go though, nothing beats Black Sabbath or Judas Priest, but there’s nothing new we could say about those bands. Shawn is very much into the drumming style of John Bonham and Mark Zonder, nothing can beat the fills and dynamics of those two. Jasper is really into Rush as well, but which bassist isn’t?
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 of your Band?
Sure you get this a lot, but its definitely- time. Songs take a whole lot of time to be fleshed out, rehearsed and then re-written. The first couple of songs you ever write are most definitely getting thrown in the trash can, or your preferred method of garbage disposal. So yeah- many weekends have been “sacrificed” to get this band running, and the demo complete. That’s just how it works. I mean, we love the process so we have no complaints.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance Band. Have you already experienced that?
We’ll answer that second one first. Unfortunately not. We’re still very new. But if we can, someday, play to an audience that is really into this sort of music, and singing along, we would count ourselves lucky.
Which attributes, do you think, that a new Heavy Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Musically speaking- being completely unique is extremely difficult in this day. You could make a case for Demon Bitch, or also Eternal Champion’s new album having all those “mosh riffs” or whatever in the context of their broader sound. But, pretty much every riff and vocal part you could think of has already been written by a band that’s better. Of course, every band should try to do things slightly differently and that’s what we’ve aimed at doing ourselves. But- making music you would listen to yourself, and doing it with conviction, should and has always been priority number one, for us.
Do you believe that Bandcamp and other Digital Platforms help the new Heavy Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a Band to promote its work?
We’ve only used digital platforms so far, and they seem to be working just fine. From a fan’s perspective, we wouldn’t even be into this music if it wasn’t for Youtube circa 2009-2010 so we’re sure it helps. Digital is even bigger than it was in those days.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Dubai (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
The scene out here is very small, and leans towards death metal, prog stuff and some punk. Almost nothing for the kind of music we play. There are some bars that play metal now and then, but that’s about it. We sure do hope it grows in the future though.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
There’s been a lot of good stuff out of Greece in the last few years. The Wrathblade and Sacral Rage stuff is probably at the top. Even though Sacral Rage don’t really sound “Greek”, the musicianship is phenomenal. We’ve put on the Arpyian Horde single during downtime at rehearsals once or twice. Black Sword Thunder Attack released their EP last year which we enjoyed as well, although we do prefer the earlier recordings of those songs. Fantastic band. To be honest, that whole Greek scene is very musically aligned with our tastes, so we like a lot of it.
What are your future plans?
The aim right now is to get busy working on a full length. As we said before, the process is long but it’s really the best part of this whole thing so we’re looking forward to it. Secondary aims are to get the demo physically released at some point, and play a few local shows, maybe put out some merch. But most importantly- cause irreversible damage to our lungs and livers.
Thank you very much for your time & Keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
We would like to thank you for this interview. We enjoyed responding to these questions and hopefully you liked our demo as well. Thank you and keep the fire burning.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
TABERNACLE CONTACT:
https://tabernacle-hm.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/tabernacle.metal/
https://www.instagram.com/tabernacl.e/