The Funeral Doom Desperation of SLOW

Déhà – mastermind of SLOW

The Funeral Doom Desperation of SLOW

The almighty SLOW presents funeral doom metal in its most depressive and desperate hour, filling the soul with a grand amount of intrigue and misery.  V-Oceans is the 5th oppressive chapter from the SLOW legacy, an epic adventure in auditory madness that is sure captivate the senses of all serious music aficionados.  Highwire Daze Online recently set sail upon the grim and murky shores of SLOW to discuss the unveiling of V-Oceans -now available worldwide through the Code666 label.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in SLOW, and how long the project has been in existence.
Déhà:  Déhà, 1985, Belgium. I’m doing around all instruments and voices.
Lore: I am Lore, I wrote the lyrics for Oceans and became a member of the band right after that. I will take care of all lyrics (and maybe some other things) on future releases.

Where are you based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
Déhà: We’re from Belgium, around Brussels. The local scene is interesting, it’s varied. It just needs more budget and recognition. And that people move, more. It’s typical.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the title V- Oceans?
Lore: There is. Oceans (both the music and the words) is a metaphor for depression. Each song guides you through a different stage of the condition, draws you further in and leaves you to drown eventually. We wanted the album to illustrate this heavy, dark and desperate feeling that comes with it.

Select any two songs from V – Oceans and what inspired the lyrics?
Lore: It is difficult to explain what exactly inspired the lyrics. Déhà let me listen to the demo version of the album and I simply tried to follow the composition of each song and to capture the feeling he wanted to express. The first song, Aurore, is slightly more melodic and has a very melancholic feeling to it – it seemed like the perfect opener for the ‘story’, a gentle introduction for what was yet to come. I think it illustrates this “oh, it’s not that bad” way of thinking at the very beginning of it all, too.

Déluge is the opposite of that. It is dramatic, desperate, nearly hysterical. At this point the protagonist is so far in, so far beyond all reason, that he couldn’t go back even if he tried. This song is still one of my favorites, Déhà really outdid himself on this one. The video that was created for this song fits the music very well.

V – Oceans by SLOW

Who did the cover art for V-Oceans and how much input did you have on it?
Déhà: Aurélien, from Ohrwurm Design. He had full freedom. He knew the music, the lyrics, so we just let him work. And it was just perfect.

Has SLOW ever had the opportunity to play live or plan to do so in future days?
Déhà: Not yet. But we never know. Right now, we are not focusing on this.

When you look back on the first four chapters of the SLOW experience, what do you think of them now?
Déhà: It’s different. I believe with V, a line was drawn, with the arrival of Lore in the band, but as well within myself. There’s something new.
Lore: I believe the ‘main feeling’ has always been the same, even though different sounds and themes have been explored throughout the years. Each album is different, but charming in its own way and a step forward in the process of finding the ‘real identity’ of the band. With the release of Oceans, as Déhà already mentioned, something has changed for good.

How did you wind up on the Code666 label?
Déhà: Well, they contacted me. Nothing else.

Is there any chance of Code666 releasing the back catalog of SLOW albums?
Déhà: Normally yes. Looking forward to it.

What is it you’d like to listener to remember most after hearing V – Oceans for the first time?
Lore: Anything. As a listener, you should always interpret music in your own way and take away what you need from it. If Oceans touches you or sticks around with you in some way, we accomplished our mission.

Any news of a Part VI Slow manifesto?
Déhà: It’s happening.
Lore: What he said.

Are you involved with any other bands or projects outside of SLOW?
Déhà: I have a lot of side projects and bands, and I don’t want to share them because it’s, really, a lot. I’ll just put ‘Ter Ziele’, another band we’re doing with Lore.
Lore: Together with Deha, I founded Ter Ziele last year. That is the only other project I’m currently involved in.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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