Interview with Dysie of Folk Metallers Claim The Throne

After their formation in 2004, and the release of the debut album Only The Brave Return in 2008, Perth’s folk metallers Claim The Throne arguably became known as one of the most entertaining bands around the Australian metal scene. This month, the wench and four gentlemen are set to take on their first East Coast tour of Australia, with three New Zealand dates thrown in for good measure, on the back of their sophomore release, Triumph and Beyond!

The latest addition to the quintet, guitarist Dysie [Glen Dyson], caught up with Voltage Media prior to their fourteen-day trek, to discuss future plans, the forthcoming tour, judgments and difficulty faced by a geographically misplaced band of the folk metal niche, and just how an outfit such as Claim The Throne can be spawned from Perth.

Last year saw the release of your sophomore full-length, Triumph and Beyond. Are you currently writing new material?

Dysie: We haven’t looked too far ahead just yet, still focusing on promoting and touring for Triumph And Beyond before moving onto the next one. We have a few ideas at the moment but no full songs yet.

The plan is to make the next album in a similar vein to Triumph And Beyond, but to really push ourselves musically, so one could expect to hear more involved riffs and drumming, and more atmosphere… after this tour is over we’ll be looking to set some solid plans for the next album, which we definitely want to have out in 2012.

2010 saw you land the national support for Alestorm, and earlier this year it was Finntroll – you’re evidently very well fitted within this niche, but how was the reaction from their fans to your music?

Dysie: We’ve been stoked on the feedback from these tours. A lot of the people at the shows had never heard of us before and would then come up to compliment us after the set, so that is really reassuring that we’re heading in the right direction. Merchandise sales were amazing so it’s killer to know that people got into our music that much they were keen for some Claim The Throne goods.

And who out drank whom?

Dysie: Alestorm really live up to their name, extremely difficult to keep up with! Not bad for a bunch of Brits.

Have you had to face adversity, judgment from audiences and/or critics by being a band that plays a very European style of metal, and being from Australia?

Dysie: We have, more so from people overseas who will find us on the net and abuse us for stealing their genre and heritage. Diehard fans of the genre will often feel the bands are so good because of their passion for their culture and that reflects in the music, which is fine and we sometimes agree, but we are not trying to be rip-offs or wannabes or cashing in on folk metal’s current popularity, we are just playing a style of music that we love.

And how does a folk metal band breed in Perth of all places?

Dysie: It certainly seems strange! Our lyrics are not based on any sort of culture or heritage; we have simply adopted the sound and applied it with an Aussie party attitude to ensure it is both metal and fun. 

It’s my understanding that you rarely play Eastern states of Australia, and with your forthcoming tour you’re finally playing headlining shows. Is this something that your fans have been asking for?

Dysie: We haven’t had much of a fan-base over east up until now. We were lucky to join the Alestorm and Finntroll tours to get us a bit of exposure over there, and have since received a heap more interest and requests to head back over!

We are performing at 3 of the massive Bastardfest shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Psycroptic are headlining those ones, but it’s going to be tremendous to be part of them, not only to play with other great Australian metal acts, but to hang out and party on afterwards. 

Does the band have plans to tour Europe in the near future?

Dysie: It is definitely a massive goal of ours, and we are always working on increasing our promotion in Europe. The market there is ideal for us. We really hope that it will be some time soon. There is some distribution interest at the moment and if we can secure that, we will have a better chance of landing a tour there. 

You’re the newest member in the ranks of Claim The Throne – how did you come to be part of the outfit? 

Dysie: I had filled in on bass a number of times on occasions when Lord Jim [bass, vocals] was away performing other duties, so knew the songs well. When Havanti decided to leave, I was asked to join full time. With already knowing the songs and thoroughly enjoying playing them, being great friends with everyone and all the fun involved with the band, I couldn’t say no.  

And how would you say Claim The Throne has changed with you in the band, if at all? 

Dysie: There is definitely more competition for the drink riders now, which is a disadvantage to everyone else.

Musically, nothing as yet as we haven’t written too much in the way of new material. But hopefully I can add something extra to what is already killer. Behind the scenes though I’m hoping I can help steer the band to the next level with a higher profile label behind us with overseas distribution and touring opportunities.

Do you think that folk metal is seen as almost a gimmick genre in Australia, and do you feel it will ever reach higher popularity ranks within the metal community?

Dysie: Some people will consider it a gimmick, which is understandable. It’s a different sort of metal genre that a lot of people aren’t used to and find it hard to take seriously.

There are many bands that have been successful for many years now and continue to break boundaries, [and] that is not something that happens with gimmick bands. It has already reached huge popularity in Europe and USA, so it is likely it will continue to become bigger here in Australia too.

Has there been talk of relocation for Claim The Throne?

Dysie: We’ve discussed it a few times, but it’s not something we’d consider unless the right opportunity came up first. If were confident that it would be an appropriate step for the band then we would think about it more seriously. Germany would be nice though, Jagermeister is a third of the price than it is here.

How theatrical will your upcoming shows be - are you going to ‘up the ante’ this time around?

Dysie: We will definitely be trying to put more of a Claim The Throne spin on these shows as we will have longer sets and be more in the spotlight. Obviously it’s hard driving around in a tour van to have too many props and things, but we can promise the shows will be more engaging than ever. Expect plenty of mills, spills, funnels and rollicking awesome moments.

Please feel free to add anything else.

Dysie: We really can’t wait to catch up with you all again and of course venture some new terrains. Please head out to a show and join with us in the plundering of your town! We have loads of new merchandise too, so bring your loot and spend up.