Fallen Order Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are from Wellington, New Zealand and have been around for nearly 10 years. Playing local shows all around New Zealand.

2>So far you have released a demo and an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about your musical sound? We play traditional/classic Heavy Metal, with a touch of Power and Thrash Metal. The songs we are writing at the moment are quite a bit heavier and more melodic than the songs on the current EP.

 

3.The band has been around since 2005 and so far has only released a demo and an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases? The first couple of years Fallen Order had a different line up, Tooley and Ben are the only original members left. First Nick joined, then me and then Kieran. So once the current line up was completed, we tracked the drums and guitars for the EP. That was about 4-5 years. So the songs on the EP are quite old and slightly different to the style we are writing in atm. About 2-3 years ago we decided to down tune the guitars half a step, as I am a baritone and it makes things a lot more natural and easier to sing. So last year we re-tracked the guitars and bass and recorded vocals, all over the drum tracks we recorded 4-5 years ago. And that is the EP we have just released. We are now all focused and committed to the band, so there will definitely not be such a large gap between CDs in the future.

 

4.The music is heavily rooted in the original true style of metal, what was the decision behind going into this direction as opposed to a more modern style? Before I joined the band they were playing a more modern style of metal, But Tooley, Nick and Ben all wanted to play traditional heavy metal, along the lines of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. I was looking for a new band and was only interested in playing either traditional Heavy Metal or Power Metal. As those are the bands I love and grew up on.

 

5.The lyrics cover fantasy themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic? Yeah definitely, I read a lot of fantasy fiction books. Such authors as Raymond E Feist, David Gemmell, Mark Lawrence, David Eddings, Robert Jordan and George RR Martin. I started reading those types of books for lyrical ideas, as I find medieval fantasy very Heavy Metal. Steel swords, slaying your enemies and all of that!

 

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Fallen order'? Ben came up with the name. It is in regards to the tale of Satan being cast out of heaven along with his angels, and them being named the 'Fallen Order'

 

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance? We opened for Finnish folk Metal band Korpiklaani in Auckland, which was a great first show in the city. We have also played with Australian giants Vanishing Point and Lord, which were both great shows. Our live show is all about having fun and interacting with the crowd, getting them to sing along and chant the lyrics!

 

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? Yes, we are planning a New Zealand tour later this year, to promote 'The Age of Kings'. We are also looking at hopefully heading over to Australia for some shows next year!

 

9.According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to Stormspell Records but the ep was self released, when did the band sign the contract? We self released the EP in February, and after I gained us some airtime on a US radio station, Stormspell got in contact with us and asked if we would be interested in signing a deal to re-release the EP. So they will be releasing their own version of it worldwide, at the end of May.(Very Soon)

 

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of heavy metal?Its been great so far, we have had sales in NZ, Australia, Japan, USA, Germany, UK, Greece and more. And have set up our own distribution deals with companies from Japan(2), USA, Brazil, Greece and Germany(3). Plus we are happily surprised by the great reviews we have been getting. As I said earlier the songs were written 4-5 years ago, so we feel the songs we have written since then are much better. (In our opinion anyway)

 

11.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?Kieran is the only one who is also in another band atm, Intergracia. A folk Metal band, also from Wellington.

 

12.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? At the moment we have written nearly enough songs for a full release. So we need to decide whether we want to release one more EP and try and gain some big label interest, Or to release our debut album ourselves(Or if sales go well, with Stormspell Records possibly). It could be as early as next year sometime. Musically, since the EP we have become more heavier and melodic. The new songs are at least 6-7 minutes long and have more of a thrash/power Metal influence. But still contains key elements of traditional Heavy Metal.

 

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? For me personally, Manowar have had a huge influence on me as a singer (Eric Adams, wow.) and also for lyrical content. The other band would be Iced Earth. (Matt Barlow, another huge influence and one of the only other baritone singers in Metal that I know of) Recently I have been listening to Ashes of Ares, Riot, Iron head, White Wizard, Crimson Glory, Rainbow etc..

 

14.What are some of your non musical interests? As I mentioned earlier, fantasy fiction books. Also video games on the Xbox or PC. I love my football and am a Manchester United supporter. Im sure there are other interests that are not coming to mind at the moment, but uh well.

 

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Yeah, if anyone is keen to get a CD, contact the band at 'contact@fallenorderband.com' We ship worldwide. Or Stormspell Records from the end of the month, plus a bunch of distros around Europe, Japan, USA and South America. And Online via Itunes, Google play, amazon, spotify etc..
Thanks a lot for taking the time to conduct this interview, and I hope people enjoy it!

Stay Heavy!