Persefone: The Renaissance Of An Icon
It is the dream of so many bands to be alive, thriving and revered six albums deep into their career. Even more sought after is a discography as profound as that of PERSEFONE, who have spent the last twenty years crafting exactly that. Continually cementing themselves as a mainstay in the progressive metal world, they are one of those rare and iconic breeds of band that can truly hold their head up high and say that they’ve ‘made it’. Perhaps not in the traditional sense – they’ve never exactly catapulted themselves to the upper echelons of mainstream success – but they have achieved that holy grail; a glittering career spanning decades of hard-fought musical genius.
Hailing from something of a blind spot for musicians, the Andorrans were always determined not to follow trends or labels, instead setting out to create more than just run-of-the-mill content and following their hearts to do so. They are true metalheads by nature but wanted their music to become much more than that, opting to build a pedestal to spread a positive message which is something they feel is becoming rare in contemporary music.
The recently released album metanoia only reinforces that position, standing as perhaps the most profound album of their career to date. As drummer Sergi Verdeguer (Bobby) told us, “It’s a concept album, musically and lyrically. It’s an invitation to know yourself, to dig deep inside and change whatever feels wrong. The definition of metanoia would be ‘the journey of changing one’s mind, heart or way of life’, and we’ve tried to talk about this in a personal way. It’s a very introspective album in my opinion.” This explains the album’s inherent darkness, and such an approach allowed PERSEFONE to create a mood which runs through the whole album, aided by the way that they create neat links and loops between tracks to allow it to flow. Bobby adds, “I think that in a way every change comes from pain, and so this record has a lot of strong words and meanings.”
PERSEFONE are a very calculated band, taking an almost mathematical approach to the creative process. After a lot of talking and some initial ideas, guitarist Carlos Lozano usually grabs the reigns and sets the process into motion. There is no improvisation, the band believe that a calculated approach is more rewarding to their sound than jam sessions. They believe it takes them out of their comfort zone and forces more challenging writing. This time around the addition of seven string guitars has kickstarted a new direction allowing them to write darker and even more diverse soundscapes. It is a natural evolution for a band at the peak of their powers, and further evidence that they haven’t exhausted their deep well of ideas just yet.
As Bobby puts it, “I think metanoia is the next step in our music journey. Sure, it’s the continuation but I can see a lot of improvements. Every time we write we want to do our best and with that mindset it can get really tough in the studio because we are pushing our limits constantly. We’ve paid a lot of attention to writing the songs, to all the dynamics and bridges between parts. Another improvement is the way that our keyboardist Moe has used a lot of new sounds for this record. We’ve also improved the way we record, since every time we record we learn more and more. Man, it has been a long journey, but we are really excited with this album!”
Working around their day jobs and touring as often as their busy lives (and global health crises!) allow has meant a lengthy gap between releases, but we are assured that PERSEFONE is comprised of enthusiastic, proactive people. Their busy schedule even involved cramming in the re-recording of their debut album, and it goes without saying that our patience as fans has been well and truly justified. “We really like making music, it’s that simple. We find inspiration in our everyday lives and we push each other’s limits when writing. I think we’ve become better musicians over the years. I’m not talking about technique or speed, just the way we understand and write music. We like to outdo ourselves in those terms and we look for perfection when we write, every single note is calculated, honestly!”
PERSEFONE will appeal to fans of honest music with real integrity. They talk about the difficulties of maintaining a band over such a long period of time, and this only becomes more impressive when you consider the quality of output they have retained throughout that time. Bobby says, “we want our music to reach more people and with this new record we have the support of Napalm Records and better touring opportunities. We’d like to play as much as possible and in places we’ve never been before too, so let’s see if we’ll manage to do that when the pandemic cools down a bit.” In the meantime, he leaves us with one final message. “To all the people out there reading this, take your time to listen to an album as there’s a lot of work behind making it, so don’t rush it, don’t listen to it through your cell phone speakers and take your time as it was a movie or a book! Enjoy life!”
metanoia is out now via Napalm Records.
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