Ethereal Metal Webzine

Interview by Jessica Clingempeel & Bridget Taylor
3/6/2019

Crowdfunding and the likes have been a major source for many new bands nowadays. With the success it has given Lyria, do you feel that you will keep this as a way to record future records? Do you feel crowdfunding gives you a more intimate connection to your fans versus the usual ways?

Hello, thanks for the interview. Yes, absolutely! It is amazing to have our fans working together with us to make the releases possible. It sure strengthens our connection and we probably will keep this successful partnership. Just to give an example, one of the rewards of our first crowdfunding campaign was to choose a subject for a song of the second album. So, this is a really participative role.

What, if any, were the challenges with the album Immersion and how did this record differ with the first in terms of recordings?

There were many challenges. Just to cite one, Zig suffered with an anxiety crisis just in the beginning of the records. But, in the end, Immersion was easier to record than Catharsis. We were more connected, with a very good chemistry, and the songs were already very consistent before recording, being practically unchanged during the process.

Aline, is there anything in particular that inspires your compositions? Or are they sometimes just random things that pop into your mind and you want to get them down?

I write about things that I felt in some way, things that really touched me. It could be something that happened to me or someone close. Sometimes I also put some dose of mythology. The lyrics generally talk about facing problems, overcoming bad moments and also give pieces of advice. In relation to music, we have different influences that come from pop to trash metal. Sometimes we build something step by step, sometimes it just emerges. Once I woke up with a full song in my head and in the end it changed just a little.

Regarding the lyrics, Aline, you have mentioned that some of your songs, such as ‘Hard to Believe’ is about anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Is that something you or a loved one struggled through personally?

Yes, it is. Unfortunately, nowadays, many people are dealing with these problems. Maybe because of our way of life: we are always receiving so much information and dealing with so much stress. Sometimes it is important to slow down.

The lyrics to “Let Me Be Me” is a song almost everyone can relate to. Everyone has had to deal with some form of rejection or been given the impression that one must change their attitude or ways of thinking, dressing, etc. What advice would you give to someone who may be reading this interview that is currently struggling with some form of bullying because of who they are?

You are not the problem, they are. Haters generally project their insecurities onto others. Don’t feel ashamed and don’t let anyone say what you should do. Of course, sometimes people just want to help you, so you need to figure out if they are pointing something you could improve, or if they are just criticizing for nothing.  Be yourself  and don’t give up your dreams. Work hard to make your dreams come true.

Is there any one song from Immersion that was the hardest to compose and/or personal?

Every song is personal in some way. I believe the hardest one was “The Rain”. It was one of the first to be written, but the last one to be finalized. We really liked the song, but we were not 100% satisfied until we did the last changes.

You have some gig dates coming up soon, all in Brazil, will any more be added and other countries, maybe even the USA in the near future? Any countries in particular you wish to visit?

Yes, there are still a lot of gigs to be added. I would love to tour other countries and surely, USA is on the list! We plan to do this in the near future and we maybe will do a crowdfunding campaign to make it happen. I would like to visit every country and go where our fans are.

Every musician has their pre-and-post tour rituals when playing shows. What does each member do before and after a gig to prepare and unwind?
I think we will break this paradigm, we don’t have any rituals (laughs). Normally we have the Meet & Greets before playing. When we have more time, Rod likes to make some exercises before going to stage. After concerts, if it is possible, we like to go out and eat together.

If there was one band or musician you could pick to headline for, who would that be and why? What would be your ideal festival lineup?

Many bands that we like and are on the road for a very long time as Nightwish, Epica, Lacuna Coil and Evanescence, for example. It would be awesome to have a festival with all of them plus Lyria, Disturbed, Amaranthe, Delain, Santiano, Metallica, Of Mice & Men and so many others.

Social media has really helped musicians rise and get their name out there, especially international artists. How has it helped Lyria and do you think the band would be as known now if it were not for social media?

The social media was and still is crucial for Lyria. If there wasn’t for it, it wouldn’t be possible to reach our fans. So, we wouldn’t be known and probably wouldn’t recorded our albums.

If you had to choose one song from either album to introduce the band, which song would you choose and why?

At the moment, I would choose “Let me be me”. It is our latest single, it has a recent music video, it is a song that everybody can related to, and it has the potential to reach people that are not used to listen to metal. However, “Jester” is still our most famous song.

What genres do the members listen to that are different from Lyria and what were some of the influences that inspired the direction of Lyria in terms of sound?

We listen to many different genres like pop, electronic, Celtic music, Classical music and a lot of subgenres in rock and metal. I believe that we picked a dose of all of these influences to create our own formula.

How influenced is the band in regard to outside influences such as politics and/or religion when it comes to composing lyrics? What about instrumental composition and sound, for instance, does video game theatrics have a hand in the sound?

Normally we write more about feelings. People may have different interpretations about the lyrics. We love video games and movies, so, they can be also an influence.

Outside of music, what other hobbies do the members have?

I make jewelry and also like to cook (and eat (laughs)) and to pose and take photos. Thiago and Zig like to cook too. Rod loves video games and sports. All of us also like to spend our free time with our families.

Any last words for the readers?
Hope you like the interview! If you didn’t know Lyria yet, you can find us on:

► Spotify: http://bit.ly/lyriaspotify
► iTunes: http://bit.ly/lyriaitunes
► Amazon: http://bit.ly/lyriaamazon
► Deezer: http://bit.ly/lyriadeezer
► Google Play: http://bit.ly/lyriagoogleplay
► YouTube: www.youtube.com/lyriaband
► Official Merchandise: http://bit.ly/lyriamerch
► Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lyriaband
► Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lyriaband

Thanks also to our Lyria Army for all the support. We love you.