Serenity Interview
Performed via Skype in Sepetember 2011 

With two demos and two full length albums under their belt, the Austrian symphonic metal band Serenity were hardly newcomers when they first came to my attention earlier this year, thanks to “The Chevalier” video from the soon-to-be-released album Death & Legacy. Featuring Ailyn (Sirenia), the video has everything that makes my heart go pitty-pat … period costumes, crumbling ruins, falconing, massive horses, and a fair bit of romantic ambiguity. Hmmm, should one trust that Casanova has reformed, when he declares his love while pinned to a couch by lingerie-clad women? You’ll have to decide for yourself.

After back-to-back tours supporting Leaves’ Eyes / Midnattsol and Delain -- with Lisa Middelhauve (ex-Xandria) providing guest vocals -- Serenity were officially on the radar of female-fronted metal fans everywhere. What’s next for Serenity? The multi-week Out of the Dark Festival Tour with Van Canto, Tristania, Xandria and Amberian Dawn!!! Sonic Cathedral sat down with Georg Neuhauser (lead vocals) and Clémentine Delauney (guest vocalist from Whyzdom) to chat about the tour, people who changed the world, the importance of clean socks, and much more. Dive in!

Skeptical Minds Interview
Performed in September 2011

Skeptical Minds is not the typical female-fronted band. They don’t want to be the “new Nightwish”. They want to be Skeptical Minds. Period. Lead vocalist Karolina Pacan is actually a classically trained singer, but Skeptical Minds is not a symphonic metal band. They play industrial metal, and they really like that. It might be blasphemy to say this, but using opera singers in metal has almost become a cliché, and some bands prefer to experiment with their music and style. As for Karolina, she’s a very unique kind of person and a great performer. She loves nature and mythology, and you can certainly call her a gothic girl. She is one of a kind!

Skeptical Minds released their new album Skepticalized last October. And even for a non-industrial metal fan like me, this album works perfectly! So, let’s read carefully what the Spartan girl has to tell us.