(NCS guest writer and hard man to please KevinP wrangled the following interview with Lena Abé, bass-player for legendary UK doom squad My Dying Bride and guitarist for Severed Heaven.)
K: So you joined My Dying Bride in 2007, but were a relatively unknown name at the time. Give us some back-story before entering the fray?
L: I started playing guitar when I was ten years old. Usual story really, joined bands throughout high school, became involved within the metal scene, and eventually joined My Dying Bride. Music is in my family, so I was always going to do something along those lines.
K: Are you a native/lifelong Brit?
L: Mostly yes. I’m half Japanese and half British. Born in Tokyo, but my family moved to the UK when I was still a baby. I was brought up in Yorkshire and definitely have the accent to prove it.
K: So growing up, when did you first hear about My Dying Bride?
L: I can’t remember exactly. I remember friends’ older siblings being into them when I was a kid and I remember seeing the band in magazines like Kerrang and Terrorizer, old school MTV as well. It was eye-opening because it was the first time I had heard “doom”. I really got into them around the Songs of Darkness, Words of Light era (2004-ish) and saw them live. That changed it for me and I then explored the rest of their catalogue.
K: Were you already into death metal/extreme music by that time?
L: Not fully, but I was half-way there if that makes sense.
K: Looking back to when you first heard them and your initial impressions/thoughts, how does that relate to being “IN” the band now?
L: Of course it’s strange in that respect. When I look out at the crowd during a performance it feels like it’s not me behind the instrument. A bit “out of body” perhaps? It’s what I imagine everyone who picks up a guitar aspires to do.
K: So prior to being asked to join the band, did you have any interaction/know them? How did it all come about?
L: Andy (guitarist/founder member) and myself lived a couple of streets apart and had mutual friends. When Adrian (Jackson) left the band I was asked to audition by Andy and that’s exactly what I did. I think about 4 other people auditioned as well. I guess they liked my style, I was very surprised in all honesty.
K: Were they aware that you were a natural guitarist and not a bassist?
L: Yes. I was a guitarist first and a bassist second. I was asked directly if I wanted to play bass for them and I love doing both equally. I’d just played guitar for longer. It’s the other way around now.
K: Was there any initial hesitation on your part to even audition or, once you got the job, to move forward with it? Or were you all “cool as a cucumber”?
L: There was no hesitation. I was really up for it, and why wouldn’t I be? I didn’t know exactly what I was walking into (in that I didn’t know precisely what it entailed). I just went with it and continue to do that.
And I’m always cool.
K: So when you got the offer, did you do anything typically “girlie”, like scream, bake a Hello Kitty Cake, buy new shoes, etc.?
L: I instantly bought some new uncomfortable expensive shoes, an impractical bag, and then rushed out to buy cake ingredients.
K: You are half Japanese, so it’s in your DNA to like Hello Kitty.
L: I know that to be fact.
K: You’ve recorded 3 EP’s and 2 full lengths with the band now. Do you see a clear progression of how the music has involved over time? And do you know where’s it’s likely headed OR is it one of those things where you got no idea what Andy/Hamish are gonna come up with next until they show it to ya?
L: Every recording is an evolution. We never suggest the next one will sound like the last one or a previous one. A mix of different ones perhaps with new elements to it. It’s hard to predict where it will go because as the writing stages develop, so does the overall sound, and many factors contribute to how the finished product sounds.
That has always been the case to my understanding too. Music is recorded first, then vocals. That’s where the most drastic changes happen.
K: Correct me if I’m wrong, but in my partially uneducated hypothesis, I don’t see this band as one that has a lot of disagreements when it comes to the music (or other matters). I just get the sense that most everyone is on the same page with things in general?
L: Yes I’d say that’s a fairly accurate statement. It’s a very tightly run ship and an awful lot of hard work and hours go into it until it is exactly as we want it. We all work very well together and have respect for one another.
K: And I’m not implying that this is a lack of passion on any level at all, just a calm demeanor (or maybe its the plodding doom that has lulled my senses into a false sense of comfort, I don’t know).
L: We are highly passionate about it. I remember almost being in tears hearing some of Shaun’s violin that he’d wrote for Map of All Our Failures. That was when we were in the very early stages of writing for that album.
K: So how has your life changed since being part of all of this?
L: It’s changed my life for the better because I’m doing what I always dreamed of doing. I get to travel and see the world and meet some amazing and inspiring people. We don’t gig full time either so we don’t get tired of it or each other.
K: You may have partially answered my next question with that answer. But is there one moment or a series of moments that stand out among the rest?
L: The most memorable moments for me were meeting Adam Jones from Tool and him inviting me to their Manchester show as a VIP. And playing with Metallica & Mastodon (Athens, Greece 2007). Just incredible times. I think it was my sixth or seventh show perhaps.
K: So is there something you haven’t done yet that you want to with My Dying Bride?
L: I’ve never played Wacken, which I would love to do. I would also give my left leg to do 70,000 Tons of Metal again. I’d like to play with a full orchestra if that’s not too much to ask.
K: Changing gears here a bit. In 2011 you joined SEVERED HEAVEN. Tell us about that.
L: I first met them in 2007 through Hamish (Glencross) suggesting I check out this all-female death doom outfit who were playing at a local venue. He introduced us, and when they needed a guitarist the rest is history I guess.
K: Shaun Taylor-Steels (ex-My Dying Bride) recently joined the band on drums, being the first male member. Wasn’t this always meant to be a female band? What caused the change of heart?
L: It started out that way and was always intended to be an all-female band. But good drummers are hard to come by and female drummers are even harder to find. Shaun is a phenomenal drummer and when we needed someone, his name was first on the list. His style is perfect for Severed Heaven and he’s a top guy, so it was a no-brainer.
Also the new material is much more towards black metal and he’s really into that, so it makes sense having him on board.
K: I was gonna to ask you how the new material differs, if at all, from the last album in 2010 (since you were not involved at that point).
Black metal is somewhat of an open-ended term these days, are we talking traditional Norwegian, shoegaze, US style?
L: The 2010 songs are probably more of a deathcore/death metal style ilk. The newer material is more akin to traditional Norwegian black metal, leaning towards Emperor and Darkthrone. We have kept some of our original elements too, so this is just an evolution of our sound to contrast the doom. It feels almost like a completely different band, more mature and focused.
K: Who is involved in the writing of the new material? And has the vocal style changed along with the music?
L: Lauren’s vocal range has expanded and improved but the style remains pretty much the same, but keeping with the new sound. I think she’s really being pushed to the limits and it’s sounding fantastic. As we are still writing, there are new ideas coming up all the time and we are trying out different ways of doing things. We are all actively involved in writing the new material and jamming parts out together and developing things where needed. Leanne has always been the main songwriter. She is absolutely superb at what she does, I can’t fault it.
K: When can we get to hear some of the new material?
L: Before 2014. We are adamant that we want to record at Academy Studios, which has a long waiting list, hence nothing being properly recorded yet.
K: Do you have any lives gigs set up where people can see you?
L: We have a brilliant one coming up on 31st August in Leeds.
https://www.facebook.com/events/133815876817359/
Voices are playing (David Grey – Akercocke)
The Prophecy (John Bennett, ex-MDB)
Old Corpse Road
Black Mass
Narcotic Death
It will be the first gig too with Shaun Taylor-Steels. It will be brilliant.
K: ***YOU HAVE NOW ENTERED THE LIGHTNING ROUND*** Don’t think, just answer. Are you ready?
L: Ready
K: Marmite
L: Brown
K: I Am the Bloody Earth
L: You Are The Bloody Pest
K: Connery or Moore ?
L: Connery. Shexshy
K: Spotted Dick
L: See a doctor
K: Godzilla or Mothra
L: Godzilla. My brethren
K: Beer: warm or cold?
L: COLD
K: Tea: pinky up or down?
L: Pinky up, as a brit we are born this way
K: What one thing about being in a band gives you the collywobbles?
L: Walking on stage and getting that part right. Then the first two songs. And losing my hands.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Dying-Bride-Official-uk/282179138510618