At face value combining three parts of Crucified Barbara, one part Deathstars and one part burlesque might seem a weird combination but when you hear the results, it’s easy to see and hear why it happened.
Klara Force, Ida Evileye and Nicki Wikkid have moved on from Barbara, recruiting Skinny Disco on lead guitar, discovering the untapped fronting voice of burlesque performer Pepper Potemkin to form The Heard.
They’ve put together a unique assortment of tunes. Combining prog and cult rock with spooky narrative storytelling, fact, folklore and fiction about a mysterious island, haunted with stories of witchcraft, ancient rituals and weird happenings in the Baltic Sea.
Their debut, The Island, is a musical page turner about the legends, myths, lore and spooky happenings from thousands of years ago and what continues modern day. They tell 10 stories about the island with varying mixtures of truth and campfire stories enhancing the narrative. Leaving certain questions lingering in the ear, to what history, nature and time wiped away.
Potemkin proved her pipes worthy of the challenge delivering the voice they wanted creating the five person cult of sound in sound, scope and vision. The Island is the first taste of what the deep, dark waters know and hold beneath the surface, crushing souls against the jagged rocks.
Potemkin has sung before but never the front persona of a band. “She’s done backup vocals and sang in cover bands,” Disco says. “She’s doing the burlesque thing. She has a great voice. We were super happy she wanted to join. She’s really developed a lot in a short period of time. She’s not been in this kind of world before, developing with the music and that’s really interesting to see.” No Audition was needed, after a few songs, it was decided, and she was game.
Disco comments on the record in hindsight, “It’s been a few months and people like it. We think it’s good as well. Usually we’re so caught up in it, it’s hard to look at it from the outside but when you look at it a couple months ago and still like it you know it’s good.”
Force, Evileye and Wikkid still wanted to play together, needing a new outlet. “The girls decided they didn’t want to quit playing or quit playing together. They had a few ideas to start with then asked if I wanted to join. We started writing together.” The direction wasn’t clear but contributed from the similar music backgrounds. “We all like the rock bands from the ‘70s and ‘60s, ‘80s of course but we didn’t know which direction we wanted to go.” Everyone chipped in.
The Island will definitely bring curiosity and attention to the topic giving it a new aura. Possibly doing whatever remaining spirits there want them to. Part of its lore is the repeat occurrence of strange things with inhabitants acting a bit weird. The longer you’re there, the more bizarre the stories become. “There’s so many stories that we know about, it should be a movie.”
It’s also a regular inhabited place, where Disco lived as a kid. Due to privacy issues they won’t reveal the exact location but those curios enough can probably figure it out. As Disco says, it’s better to go in the summer.
The audio effect is a collective brew of sounds bringing together the brooding darkness of Danzig, prog elements with gothic, cult-like precision channeling the islands energy and history through lyrics and riffs.
The songs have intermixing connections with only history knowing what did or didn’t happen making the island a permanent standing mystery, inspiring the band.
Some might interpret the cover as a woman going into the water to prove she’s not a witch though the band did want certain elements of water to be present. They took the photo by the waterfront having a friend art it up for the concept. “We want everything to intertwine with each other. We wanted the elements of water, almost like getting sucked in.”
Opening track “The Island” begins old-school, gothic, with cultish fingerprints opening the storybook to 9000 year old tales. It’s groove peppered with a ‘70s vibe, plays witchy and ritualistic. Its history sounded off with jangling notes, historical references and spell-casting cadence. The witches’ shadows dance on the cavern walls, fire light illuminating the ceremony. Chanting closes the track with classical notes and hisses carried off by the wind.
The new “Tower of Silence” video is the first video from the record with a sequel coming. They’re not sure where it’s going but the story will continue with “A Death Supreme.” It was filmed outside Stockholm, close to where Disco grew up. “We were happy to find it. It fit our vision pretty good.”
The story is built from ancient religion before Christ, “They used to put the dead bodies in the tower of silence for the vultures to come and eat off the bodies. (The character in the video) was preparing the bodies for the vultures. We brought in a lot of inspiration from old cultures and stuff like that.”
If ABBA ever went cult rock and Opeth had female vocals, it would sound like “A Death Supreme,” with waters sweeping history away.
The alluring alarm of the “Sirens” sounds lurking in the gurgling water waiting for victims to lure to their fate. Foreboding yet attractive notes and vocals speak of coming treachery. A sea’s tales warning for the buried and damned souls taken away by the tides, atmospheric with room for wayward spirits to dance along.
“Sirens” is a unique, catchy track with two versions recorded. Acoustic on album, electric can be found online. “I love both. It’s a strong song, that’s why we decided to do an acoustic version on the album as well.”
The song “It” is about inner conflict and the presence of manipulating powers within. “It’s about your own conflicts in your head,” Disco says. “That’s one of my favorite songs. I like it because it’s rhythmically interesting.” He also likes “Leaving The Island.” “It has a Swedish folk vibe to it, within the melody. I like most of the songs, in different ways. Some, I really enjoy playing live and the concept.”
Acoustic accountability comes on “Caller of the Storms” laced with lush bass, tranquil layers with a mellow feel despite its title. “We didn’t have a name for that song and had a listening party for friends. We just recorded The Island and asked people to come up with a name for that interlude.” Everyone put ideas in a box to see who had the best title. “We wanted a really long title for a very short song.”
They want to play live as much as possible, starting in February. “We’ll see. We need to build a foundation. The best way to do that is do a lot of festivals and tour.” They’re also hoping for cross band appeal from both Deathstars and Crucified Barbara. “We’re hoping, it’s a hard business with lots of bands, we really like what we’re doing and put our effort in.” They might throw in a cover live but will only play songs from The Island.
There’s more songs unreleased and coming. “We have more songs but didn’t have time to record in the studio. We won’t wait too long to start the next album. There’s no need.” They’re not sure if the next record will continue the island concept or go in a different direction.
So far he’s been able to balance band commitments and family responsibilities consistently, becoming older and wiser on what shows make sense to play and what to avoid. He’d also be willing to play a double bill with both bands. “I’d have to carry two instruments. That’d be fine and I’d be happy to do it.”
He started playing guitar as a kid, but has played bass for years with Deathstars so playing lead live was a big thing. “I’m used to acting a certain way playing bass that I can’t do when I’m playing guitar,” he explains. “All the sudden I have a lot of hair in the way of the strings and my fingers and I need to focus in different ways. I think I got a hold of it now.”
Given the theme of The Island he’s a fan of horror movies and ghost stories, “I haven’t had anyone to share it with over the years. My kids have been too young and my wife hates it. I never get to watch horror movies, but now my oldest daughter is 14 and really likes horror movies. So I finally get back to the routine. She’s watching movies that are far worse than I ever saw.”
Disco hopes to see as many fans as possible at the shows. “I really hope we get to play for all of them. I really wanna see as much people as possible so check out our social media for any updates.”
