(Here we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Kevin Ridley, with a main focus on his band Theigns & Thralls and their new album which is set for release on September 20th.)
As UK legendary folk thrash veterans Skyclad don’t hurry to return with new material, the band’s guitarist and vocalist Kevin Ridley works with his folk metal outfit Theigns & Thralls. Their second album The Keep and the Spire is about to be released, and Kevin promises some changes in the band’s sound, as they got rid of almost all acoustic songs, “pushed the boundaries of the band’s sonic palette”, and got a full stable lineup. Or so it seems.
Inspired by ancient poetry, historical novels, and current events, these songs will provide some good food for thought. And the interview with Kevin will help to digest it.
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Hi Kevin! How are you doing? How does promotion of Theigns & Thralls’ new album The Keep and the Spire go?
Hello Aleks, I am doing fine thank you. Enjoying the summer holidays.
The promotion for the new album is going really well and building interest for the album release in September. We have just released the third single from the album, something we didn’t do for the first album.
Does this promotional policy prove itself to be more efficient? Do you actually “measure” the business-side of your musical career? I mean that you can do music for music’s sake, but you need to spend some funds on it, you need to spread the word, you need to bring it to listeners even when there’s a label behind you.
Yes, I think this time around we have taken a more measured approach to the promotion and tried to raise awareness of the band leading up to the release of the new album. But, any sort of promotional activity incurs costs (even if it is just people’s ‘free time’ for social media etc.). While I think it’s fair to say that ‘we’re not in it for the money’, you still need finance from somewhere (maybe from a record label) to help you ‘spread the word’ and actually get out on the road to perform and provide merchandise, so you can’t really ignore the business side.
The band’s self-titled debut album was released two years ago, and here you are with a bunch of new songs. How easy was it to compose this material? Do you have a main writer in the band, or does everyone bring whatever he has to offer?
Actually, I found it really easy to write the new songs. Coming out of the Covid lockdowns, we finally got the band together and started touring. So, there was a lot of positivity around then and we started recording the songs in 2022. I am the main songwriter, but everyone adds something to the recording process. The new single, The Harrowing, is a perfect example of this. It’s a real band effort.
Can we speak (and do we need to?) about your progress as a musician and a poet regarding the new material and “The Harrowing” song particularly?
I think Theigns & Thralls (T&T) provides me with a platform or outlet to write about things that interest me within a band setting, where I write the music as well as the words (as opposed to an acoustic singer/songwriter sort of set up). With T&T I wanted to explore some historic stories, poetry, and humanist themes. The Harrowing of the North was one such episode from history that has interested me for years. And I am particularly keen to link the past events to the present day. So, after doing some research, I eventually got ’round to writing the song. It is actually one of two songs that use this as a theme. The other hasn’t been released yet.
By the way, you recorded Theigns & Thralls with the help of a good number of guests; how was it organized this time?
The main difference this time was that there is now an actual Theigns & Thralls band. So, we could record almost everything ourselves but we did ask a few people to collaborate with instruments we don’t play (accordion, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy) and to add some different parts, such as vocals or guitar solos. We asked some people from the first album again (such as Ilona and Dagda) but this time there were contributions from Alan Averill (Primordial) and Aydan (Elvenking). We also collaborated with the Swedish lyricist Per Albinsson (Therion) for about half of the songs.
I can suggest the common ground between you and Elvenking, but Primordial is a band from slightly another field. How did you meet Alan? Are these relations rooted in some festivals you played with Skyclad?
It was actually through John Ryan that we were able to get Alan to contribute to the song ‘Now My Life Is Done’. They have known each other for years and I thought Alan’s vocals would fit this song perfectly. Luckily, through John, he agreed to do it and did a fantastic job, as you can hear.
Kevin, you’re known as a lyricist who’s able to create witty and sharp poetry, so why did you choose to collaborate with Per Albinsson?
From the outset, T&T was a collaborative project. This mainly meant me looking for people to record instruments that I don’t play – violin, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and so on. But it was actually Per who contacted me about working together.
At first, I found the idea a bit strange as I always look after the lyrics myself, but after talking things through with Per, I thought why not try something different. If it is going to be about collaboration, why not try to put the music to someone else’s words. I like to give myself these challenges. To see what it would be like to write something in a different way, using different instruments or tunings or whatever. So, we ended up with quite a few ideas, some of which are on The Keep & The Spire and there may well more to come.
New single The Harrowing takes place at the end of the Viking era, “when William I ruthlessly put down a rebellion in the North of England”. Why did you choose this historical period as a core of your lyrics? Is it a concept which unites all songs from the new album?
The band name Theigns & Thralls comes from the Anglo-Saxon times in England and there is an obvious connection there with the Viking age and folk metal etc. But I didn’t just want to limit myself (and the band) to ‘the dark ages’. In fact, the songs on The Keep & The Spire cover events from the sixth century, through the Viking era and Victorian times up to the present day. I think the thing that ties them all together is the human stories within them, whether that be courage, pride, fun or romance or whatever that can resonate across the years.
The first album was done on a verge of Celtic punk and heavy metal, what may we expect from the new material?
I think it’s fair to say that the new album is a lot heavier and darker overall than the first one. There is, however, still a mixture of songs. Some drinking/party songs along with more ‘serious’ or ‘historical’ songs. There is also a ‘suite’ of songs that run together based on ‘The Battle Of Maldon’, which is something new. But there are no traditional or acoustic songs on there.
Yes, I read that you decided to get rid of acoustic tunes in The Keep and the Spire. What made you take such a decision?
There wasn’t really a conscious decision to ‘kick out the acoustics’. I really love acoustic songs and mixes and there could still be some for these new songs. But, given that the new album was recorded by the band, it was clear from the start that this was going to be a much heavier affair and I really wanted to concentrate on just doing enough songs for an album (say about forty minutes). This meant that there wasn’t really any room for acoustic (or traditional) tracks with what we had written.
Though, I have to point out that, in the Maldon Suite of songs (the first five tracks on the album) there is an instrumental opening, and two short pieces that are more atmospheric and mood pieces. There are no bonus tracks with this album, but we do have extra tracks and maybe some acoustic mixes or songs could appear with them at a later date.
Kevin, you worked as a producer and sound engineer for quite a long period of time. Do you still collaborate with some bands in this field? And do you produce Theigns & Thralls on your own?
I don’t really do any engineering or production work nowadays, apart from for myself. I put myself down as producer for the T&T albums, as I oversaw the projects from start to finish, But I have to give massive thanks to Esa Orjatsalo (first album) and Dave Briggs (second album) for pulling the mixes and mastering together.
There was a cover of Skyclad’s “The Queen of the Moors” in Theigns & Thralls. Do you have extra material this time as well?
We did record a few extra tracks, but, this time, we are only releasing the 12 album tracks. The other songs may be released at a later date.
You played a few gigs in Spain, Netherlands, Latvia, and rge UK through 2023. How tight is your schedule for the rest of 2024?
We have already booked a series of UK dates (including an album launch gig in London) with bands from the UK Folk Metal Alliance. And we are already booking shows in Europe for 2025.
What is the UK Folk Metal Alliance?
The UK Folk Metal Alliance (UKFMA) is basically ‘an alliance of UK folk/pagan/viking metal bands, supporting each other’s growth and developing the scene’. This means helping to organise gigs and ‘all day events’, looking for suitable gigs, promoters and merchandise suppliers etc. It has grown to include about a dozen bands now but we also collaborate with bands from outside the UK.
I noted that you point to gigs in Wales, England, and Scotland as individual countries, not just as the UK. Did you want to make an emphasis on the independency of each area, or is it just a common thing in the UK?
It’s really just a graphics thing, to save writing out the country’s name. We will do the same if we play in different countries across Europe etc.
Did the interest in folk metal… in folk at all… decrease in the UK? Is it as actual a thing as it was 15 – 30 years ago?
Well last year, Theigns & Thralls joined the UK Folk Metal Alliance (UKFMA) and we have done some gigs and festivals with some of the bands there. We are currently planning to do more later in the year and beyond. So, yes, it is still very much a thing in the UK.
We could trace how the world itself and humanity has changed through the entirety of Skyclad’s discography, and today we live, as it seems, in another place. But if we read the band’s lyrics of yours or Martin’s period, then we can find a lot of things which happen nowadays. Or even worse. Do you believe that your songs, your lyrics, can change something today? How does it work for you?
No, I don’t really think my lyrics can change this world.
Okay, I’d like to quote Alexander Pushkin’s poem “The Monument”; it’s based on Horacia’s “Exegi monumentum”. The lines I’d like to quote are: “In centuries to come I shall be loved by the people / For having awakened noble thoughts with my lyre, / For having glorified freedom in my harsh age /And called for mercy towards the fallen”. Skyclad and Theigns & Thralls were always about things like this. So don’t you think that your lyrics may still influence on this “human” level? It doesn’t have to work globally indeed.
That’s very nice. Well, it would be nice to think that what you have written might touch people or make a connection with them for years to come.
As I understood, you started Theigns & Thralls to compensate for Skyclad’s inactivity, and there wasn’t news from Skyclad’s camp for a few years. Is the band still alive?
Yes, Skyclad is still active. We recently played at Hellfest (France) and are playing a couple of shows in England in October.
Are there any reissues of Skyclad’s albums in sight?
Skyclad released two albums on vinyl last year, through Night Of The Vinyl Dead, but there are no plans to reissue any albums.
Let’s sum up then… what are your plans for the rest of 2024?
So, for the rest of the year, I am playing gigs with Theigns & Thralls and with Skyclad, I am also doing guesting at gigs with my friends from Celtibeerian and Skiltron, and I might even slot in a few acoustic gigs in.
Thank You
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