We caught up with Evilean to talk about her debut EP, Exhumation Evilean‘.
Metal-Roos: Exhumation Evilean is your debut EP. What does this release represent for you personally?
Evilean: For me personally, its very much an emotional release, a creative euphoria, the whole experience bought many different feelings within me, those songs poured outta me naturally, like I was tapping into something deeper, and left me feeling ‘Wow, I actually did that’ , mixed with pride and disbelief, almost feeling like I got away with something writing those songs.
Those songs were so honest, raw and even risky, I felt. There’s a word that comes to mind, catharsis, meaning releasing something that’s been building inside, and I’m releasing it through the outlet being music, the intensity and relief can feel huge, a kinda ‘ I had to get this out’ feeling…A major accomplishment for me..
Metal-Roos: The EP is described as raw and unfiltered. How important was it to keep that honesty in the sound?
Evilean: Keeping that sound was paramount to me, that’s the sound I felt sounded right, the sound that hit my soul,that I liked to listen to, I knew what I wanted, I wanted that gritty, distortion, more natural heavy chunk sound, the old school death metal style sound, I didn’t want it to sound clean or modern, even if that was what was trending… and those tones and how it was mixed and mastered match my lyrical content, and match the songs. I knew when I heard it.. it was beautifully bought together by Troy McCosker my Sound Engineer, he produced the sound I had in my demos, and times it by 10, just brilliant, exactly what I wanted.
Metal-Roos: There’s a strong sense of ambiguity between truth and fiction in the tracks. Why take that approach?
Evilean: To me its like I’m the author of a novel, and its my story I’m telling, and just like a story, it may contain Fiction and Non – Fiction and embellished truths.
Just like what happens when the imagination runs off on tangents, it creates all different types of scenarios, and outcomes, kinda like a choose your own adventure, its tapping into the multitude of layers of consciousness, part of the creative flow of writing, you don’t question it, just let it flow.
Blending truth with fiction lets me keep the real meaning for myself, while still building something people can interpret in their own way
Metal-Roos: Two tracks are left completely unexplained. What led to that decision?
Evilean: Those tracks are the most personal on the EP, they come from some of the darkest and heaviest experiences Ive had, which is why I made a conscious decision not to explain them in detail. I know exactly what they’re about, some things are important to express, but not to unpack publicly. There’s a fine line between being honest and overexposing yourself. Those songs sit right on that line….
Metal-Roos: How would you describe the overall sound and atmosphere of the EP?
Evilean: Brutal, raw, honest, unfiltered.. its dark, tense and pretty suffocating at times.. and uncomfortable almost..the old school death gives it that grit, but there’s also a lotta space in it , its not just noise, its about creating a mood that kind of lingers.the amalgamation of different tones, and atmospheres through my writing, where I sonically visited different environments with my guitar writing & riffs…. its heavy, not just in aggression, but there’s a tension and atmosphere underneath it, and its more about whats going on underneath than just whats on the surface, this produced EP, the sound and writing of it, once again felt like I was tapping into something deeper…
Metal-Roos: What was the most challenging part of creating Exhumation Evilean?
Evilean: The recording of the tracks, having to re – record tracks, both guitar and vocals, to get them to a high standard, that you’re happy with, the tracks you’re recording is what the sound engineer will be using to mix/master and produce your music, so you want to make sure you are providing a good product to work with, its producing art, in the best way you can, high quality standard and professional.
At first it was challenging finding the right musicians to work with too, that is so important with producing music, each musician brings their own skills, talent, personality and energy to the music and to the mix, there’s so many parts that make up the whole, many pieces of the puzzle, and I’ve definitely learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way to move forward with on future endeavors.
Metal-Roos: Do you see this EP as a starting point or a complete statement on its own?
Evilean: I feel both, it stands on its own, but its definitely not the end of that sound or headspace, that was chapter 1… Exhumation Evilean was my crawling outta the dirt, outta the grave, and coming to life, and there’s a lot more still to come yet… many more stories to tell, and the sounds are already mutating and morphing with my writing, and I’m just feeling where it takes me, I don’t question what comes out, I work and create with what I feel and what comes to me, tapping into that musical dimension of time and space..
Metal-Roos: How do you translate such personal material into a live performance?
Evilean: When I’m playing and singing those songs live, its less about the specifics and more about creating that same atmosphere…. The rawness is still there but it comes through in the delivery and the sound, and the energy between the band and the crowd, I’m not reliving it, I’m translating it, once its out there, its not just mine anymore, on stage it becomes something bigger than the experience, its about the connection and the intensity….I’m channeling the emotion into the sound and the performance…
Metal-Roos: What can listeners expect from you next?
Evilean: I’m in the process of writing my album, which I feel is next level up from the EP, I’m mixing different sounds, as my music writing and playing has evolved since writing those songs on the EP, some 2.5 – 3 years ago now, so I’m in the next chapter….
I’m excited to introduce my next lot of brutal assault, death tunes to the metal multiverse, and will probably even do another music vid too, as they are a great way to visually express the music too, and the creativity inspires me with film, its another creative outlet for me, becoming another version of myself, like performing in an alternative realty, bringing my death tunes to life in another form.
Metal-Roos: If listeners take one thing away from Exhumation Evilean, what do you hope it is?
Evilean: Well i guess there’s more than one thing, its a myriad of things…That there’s honesty and vulnerability in it and that even really heavy, complicated and dark experiences can be turned into something creative and honest….turning something bad into something good…a negative into a positive, you cant control whats happened in the past, but you can change your perception and acceptance… energy never dies, it just changes form, so recreating that form , gives u control over the narrative…
Also that its ok for things to be unresolved and messy, not everything needs a neat explanation to still be real or meaningful, and you can turn them into something that means something….
