Belgian cinematic/symphonic metal band Malevolent released their epic debut EP at the end of last year through Necktwister Records, featuring movie-like orchestrations, a post-apocalyptic theme, and amazing showcases of individual talent. We are extremely grateful to have been given the chance to ask questions of the band’s two core members, Nikolaas Van Riet (composer, guitarist, producer) and Celica Soldream (Vocals).
Can you briefly describe how the two of you met and formed Malevolent?
Nikolaas: It started for me as a solo project where I would do all the instruments and production myself. I wanted to do something where the orchestral parts of symphonic metal are pushed into full cinematic space. After experimenting with programmed vocals, I found in Celica the exact voice and vocal capabilities I was looking for. We started working on a first song and it grew from there.
Celica: Nikolaas reached me via e-mail thanks to my vocal library “Era II: Vocal Codex” (by Eduardo Tarilonte). Initially it started as an usual work-related conversation for me, and he basically asked me to perform a few tracks for his cinematic/metal project following the vocal lines he composed using my vocal samples. However, as time passed and the project was evolving, Niko managed to get me more and more interested about Malevolent’s project and… Well, here I am now 😀
How would you describe your music to someone who might be unfamiliar with it?
Celica: “Imagine an apocalyptic film whose soundtrack is a full symphonic orchestra sounding along electric low guitars and pounding drums while a sweet-but-also-punching-and-powerful female voice sings over a deep growlings while telling you about how the world is going to sh*t and we have to survive to live another day”. For any metal-head, I would say it’s a darker and more atmospheric way to make symphonic metal, with influences like Epica or Within Temptation (in my case).
Nikolaas: Couldn’t describe it better than Celica 🙂
Niko already had a clear idea of an apocalyptic lore when he explained his project for the very first time. The “viking touch” came afterwards, when we were thinking on the graphics and AI generated visuals.
Celica
The term ‘cinematic metal’ has been used in reference to your sound. So I am curious, what are some of your favourite movie soundtracks or composers?
Celica: I must say that my concept of “cinematic music” is maybe a little bit different, but still the style of Malevolent is really epic and a kinda different from the usual power or symphonic metal I was used to listen. Anyway, my favourites OST are The Lord of The Rings Triology (Howard Shore), Gladiator (Hans Zimmer), Titanic and Avatar (James Horner), The Horse Whisperer and The Green Mile (Thomas Newman), The Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman) and Back to the Future (Alan Silvestri). Outta the film-scoring scene, my favourite composers are Ivan Torrent and Thomas Bergensen (Two Steps from Hell), but my main musical influence ever is definitely Mike Oldfield.
What were the main influences for your self-titled EP? Was the idea to write about a malevolent world inspired by any current day events?
Celica: Niko already had a clear idea of an apocalyptic lore when he explained his project for the very first time. The “viking touch” came afterwards, when we were thinking on the graphics and AI generated visuals. The end of the world is not a brand new idea, neither the concept of our social self-destruction; but even so, we wanted to give it our own touch. Malevolent’s world is not different for our own reality after all: the powerful people take control over our lives easily, while the rest of us have to fight against the difficulties of a very unfair and unbalanced system. The backstory of this EP is actually a reflection of many things happening nowadays, but dragged into a hellish and more decadent atmosphere.
The end of the world is not a brand new idea, neither the concept of our social self-destruction; but even so, we wanted to give it our own touch.
Celica
The fact that your first EP attracted the likes of Mark Jansen (After Forever/Epica) on guest vocals, and Joost Van den Broek (Ayreon, Powerwolf, Epica) for the mixing and production must feel like a major endorsement of your project. What was it like to work with such iconic figures in the industry?
Celica: Sadly I couldn’t met Mark during my time at Sandlane Studios (hope I will someday soon!). But I had a really good time recording with Joost. He was absolutely professional during all the process, and also kept a really friendly and warm atmosphere which really helped a lot. Also I could learn a lot of things and he immediately knew how my voice worked and how much he could push it to get the best of it. It was an amazing experience I would love to repeat.
Nikolaas: It was great working with them. I know Mark from way back, when he was still playing with After Forever. We had a good connection back then, and it carried over until now. Mark’s grunts, which are slightly higher pitched than my grunts blended well together, as we hoped. Both Mark and Joost are true professionals, you feel that in all aspects of the collaboration.
Is there anyone else you would love to collaborate with? And is the plan to keep using session musicians as needed in future, or are you considering looking for permanent members to join the band?
Celica: I think every musician involved in this project was incredibly good, and that’s why Malevolent reached such a high level. If we would like keep the same way, I would also keep the same crew for now in terms of music, but I also think adding new ideas could be a nice way to improve our sound and bring new ideas. If you ask me for any singer I would like to collaborate with, probably collaborating with Roy Khan, Tommy Karevik or Sharon den Adele would be a dream come true XD And of course, I will have Mark back on board too!
Nikolaas: I would love to collaborate with Dan Swano (musician and producer), Anneke van Giersbergen (former The Gathering), Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast), Nils Molin (Amaranthe) and in my wildest dreams Guthrie Govan 🙂
We are definitely considering more permanent members, especially for the live-shows. Lead Guitarist Jan Verschueren is already more involved in the writing process.
I think every musician involved in this project was incredibly good, and that’s why Malevolent reached such a high level.
Celica
Is performing your material live something that you aspire to do someday?
Celica: Definitely yes!
Nikolaas: I agree definitely yes, but recreating our EP sound live demands for a very thorough preparation and some experienced live musicians to (re-)create a lasting experience. But preparations are started and negotiations are on-going.
Do either of you have a favourite song from the EP? Or one that you would recommend to someone listening to your band for the first time?
Celica: Mines are definitely Light and Creations. I think they both represent us better, although I of course love every track in the album.
Nikolaas: My favourites change all the time. Now it is Gaze followed by Creations.
Are you working on creating a full-length album? And if so, when might we expect it?
Celica: Honestly, I think this question concern Nikolaas more than me. In my humble opinion, LPs are expensive and take more energy, money and time than shorter Eps, which you can release easier, faster and allows you to change and experiment more with music, different sounds and many other topics. I think for now is a better option for us, but we haven’t chosen a concrete path yet. All I can say, is I hope better things are coming!
Nikolaas: We are working on a lot of new material. The way we will release it is still under consideration. As full length or seperate singles. Luckily we have the support of Necktwister records to help us guide through the decision process.
You recently released “Valhalla Calling” – an absolutely fantastic cover of an Assassin’s Creed song. Are either of you heavy gamers? And are there any other game soundtracks that you enjoy, and would perhaps consider putting your own spin on?
Celica: Yes, I am, hahaha! I love videogames since I was little (mainly PC’s), and I’ve been always been a huge fan of Assassins Creed saga (Altäir <3) and its soundtracks in almost every game. When Niko and me released the EP, Valhalla Calling was sounding EVERYWHERE around the social media, and I thought: “Hey, technically our album is about post-apocalytic vikings, we HAVE TO make a cover of this track!!”. Fortunately Niko was thinking exactly the same thing, so I didn’t have to convince him 🙂 There are many good game scores I could name. My lastest favourite is definitely Baldur’s Gate III soundtrack by Borislav Slavov and there are a few songs which I think would work in our style. Other soundtracks I like are the ones for GRIS, Aragami, Cyberpunk 2077, Detroit: Become Human, Red Dead Redemption II, Metal Gear Solid and The Witcher III.
Nikolaas: I have absolutely no time for gaming. I think it is over 20 years ago since I played my last videogame…
Celica, the press notes also mention that you have done some vocal work for video games and movie trailers in the past. Do you mind discussing that a little?
Celica: Yep, that came hand in hand with the sample library I mentioned before. As Nikolaas did for Malevolent, they wanted my actual voice instead of the sampled one. My first collaboration for a videogame was with Pedro Camacho for a Star Citizen trailer. Later Neal Acree (famous composer who worked for Activision Blizzard and made some scoring for Starcraft, Overwatch and World of Warcraft among others); contacted me to make a soundtrack for an indie game named REND, in which I could sing in a viking/medieval style along Einar Seikvik (Wardruna). Because of that collaboration Neal also counted on me for recording the beginning of the cinematic trailer of “World of Warcraft Warbringers: Azshara” and “World of Warcraft: The War Within”. I also collaborated in another indie spanish game soundtrack, called Crisol: Theatre of Idols. And by myself, I’m also composing and singing a whole score for an online roleplay community in Spain known as “Territorio de Rol”.
Who would you say are the main influences when it comes to your singing?
Celica: Well, it depends of the style. I guess Amy Lee, Tarja Turunen, Lizzy Hale, Taylor Momsem, Lisa Gerrard and Florence Welch are my main female references in melodic/female styles. But I also got influenced by many male singers (probably more than female). When I was younger, I used to sing Michael Jackson’s 24/7 (lol). Later, in metal styles, I always liked David Dramian, Myles Kennedy, Jørn Lande and, overall, Roy Khan. He was my main influences in order to find a more powerful and not-so-lyric style in my way of singing. In terms of super-high-pitched notes, I guess I learned a lot from Axl Rose, haha!
I found in Celica the exact voice and vocal capabilities I was looking for.
Nikolaas
How did you end up finding your way into the heavy metal genre? And have you been involved in any other metal bands besides Malevolent?
Celica: As I said, I started listening to metal and rock bands when I was a teenager, so I actually started singing in amateur bands at the age of 18. When I was 23-24, I joined a pre-existing and more experienced band from Madrid called Cotard, in which I singed and composed lyrics and vocals for 4 years or so, in which we released two LPs (“Nunca mas” and “Ojibwa”), and also made it into some important festivals, recorded a few videoclips and so. It was a funny experience, but I had to quit the band because of some health problems affecting my vocal chords. I honestly renounced being back into the metal scenario by then, until Nikolaas appeared! Haha, I guess it was destiny, somehow (?).
Would you be interested in having a profile page on our website?
Celica: That would be awesome! ^^
Thanks so much for the interview. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Celica: Thank you so much for the interview! It’s been a pleasure! ^^
Just as a reminder, you can follow our band profile in facebook, Instagram and also our website www.malevolent.be
