Interview with Raúl Morán from Æolian
published 01.01.2024
Hey Raúl, nice to meet you. I’m happy that I discovered your amazing band Æolian.
First of all please introduce your band. Who are the band members, how did you meet up?
Raúl: Hi Liz, my pleasure.
Æolian is a melodic death metal band very influenced by the first wave of that style in the nineties. You can hear some black and folk metal elements in our music even some classic metal touches. Our lyrics try to raise awareness about the need to protect our damaged and fragile environment.
The band began as a project in 2016. After composing several songs, I started looking for musicians, and in 2018, we released our debut album, Silent Witness. Our singer Dani and I have been friends since we were 15. We were sharing another band called Battlehorn. Alberto joined the band along with the two first albums. He played drums in several extreme bands such as Inferitvm or Decomposed Torso. Pedro Martinez is our current drummer. Also, he plays in another band called Taste My Sweet Revenge. Gabi Escalas is my guitar mate. I knew him because we share another band called Hattori Hanzo Surf Experience, where I play trombone. Our current bass player is Leoben Conoy, who also wrote the lyrics of the two last albums. He is the singer and guitar player in the black metal band Inferitvm. The bass of the first album was recorded by Santi “Kalifa” as a session musician and was played live by Toni Mainez.
Your band name got my special attention. I thought to get some information on google and maybe the following one goes in the right direction.
„The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale also called the natural minor scale. On the white piano keys, it is the scale that starts with A.“
But it’s up to you to let us know what’s the meaning of your band name.
Sure! That meaning might be correct since our music uses a lot of that musical mode, but the truth is, we chose the name because of the God of wind in Ancient Greece, “Aeolus”. We thought it would be a nice name for a band that speaks about nature. In addition, the wind describes some of our musical passages very well.
Which musicians influenced you the most in finding your own „Æolian“ style?
Over the years, we have listened to a lot of bands. We are hardly influenced by bands such as the First Opeth, Dissection, Amorphis, Borknagar, A Canorous Quintet, Dimmu Borgir, At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, etc. But also you can find elements from Folk or Viking bands like Ensiferum or Finntroll. In the end, as you rightly said, we are working in our own sound/style. We like the fresh and entertaining music that bands used to make in the nineties. And that’s what we are looking for.
Your third album „Echoes of the Future“ came out 10th of november. How are the reactions for it so far?
We are happy with the reaction of the media and the audience. We have had good reviews, and many people have congratulated us. It’s nice when your work is appreciated. That gives us energy to continue making music, a hard business nowadays.
As I read in another interview your 3 albums are a triology so what is the story behind every album respective the whole triology?
Our first album, Silent Witness, talks about the past from the point of view of nature. It shows us nature as a witness to the footprint of humanity.
The Negationist is about the present and all that people that, even the scientific evidence, deny that anything is happening. Climate change, animal extinctions, deforestation, ice melting, flooding, extreme weather conditions, and food shortages are already happening.
Echoes of the Future is about two different futures we have on the horizon, depending on our decisions in the present. One of the futures is leading us to extinction, and the other one to the equilibrium, sustainability, and coexistence with our planet.
How do you usually compose your songs and where do you get your inspiration for the lyrics/stories?
We always begin the composition through guitars. We record ideas and make the structure of the song. At the same time, we add basic sample drums to see, more or less, the whole thing. Sometimes Dani sends me WhatsApp audios singing some melodies. Some of our songs, for example, Lords of Greed, began like this. Other times, we compose directly on the guitar.
About lyrics, Leoben and I meet before the writing and decide what to talk about. This time, we decided to talk about the future of humanity and our home, the earth, if we continue doing what we do, and another future where we have changed our way of life and finally can live in harmony with our planet. Then, we adapt each lyric to the song according to the feelings of each one. For example, Hominis Obscura is about the evolution of the human race, becoming evil, dark, and greedy due to the changes we are experiencing through the years if we don’t make a difference. Another example is The Miracle. We don’t think about it, but everything in this world is a miracle, and we don’t value it enough.
Have you ever thought about singing in your mother language like some finnish bands do? By the way your Spotify listeners also are from Finland. 😉
Yeah, you are right. I’ve just checked it out and, after the United States, Finland, and Germany are the countries where more people listen to our music now.
About making music in our mother language, we have thought about it. We almost did one song in Spanish for “Echoes of the Future”. But finally, we don’t. Maybe we’ll try it in the next album.
As your new album is out now what about some concerts to promote it? Have you already plans for 2024?
After having a bad experience with our previous booking agency, we are working to improve that part of the band. As soon as we have a concert booked, we’ll announce it. The truth is we are hungry for concerts. Let’s see where we can go to present the new album.
Going to play a concert or being in the studio many unexpected things can happen. Can you remember a funny or weird situation from your past you want to share with us?
Sure! The vocals for the song Blackout, taken from our second album, The Negationist, were chosen after recording a joke for our bandmates. We recorded vocals in the same way as the rest of the album. Then, we recorded a part of the song with Judas Priest’s Painkiller vibes. After listening to it, we decided to delete the recorded vocals and begin again with that vibe. That kind of vocals fitted much better with music.
About the new album, when we began the composition of the last song, Chronicles of the Fall, it had to be more than 20 minutes long in honor of the Edge of Sanity Crimson album. But finally, more than 11 minutes was enough.
Last but not least what are your favorite hobbies if you want to relax and get your mind free from everything?
Good question! I like traveling. I haven’t had much time to do it in the last few years. But it’s nice to get to know other places, cultures, and people from other countries. Also, I love getting lost in nature, snorkeling and swimming in the clear waters of Mallorca. The latter is not easy lately because of the island saturation, but I always find some hidden places to go by walking for a while.
On which social media channels can everyone find you?
Here they are:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aeolianmetalband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aeolian_official
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aeolianmetal
Website: https://aeolianofficial.com
Bandcamp: https://aeolianband.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ysxQz40akfXxNwuoIIGEe
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/album/309928593
Itunes: https://music.apple.com/es/artist/aeolian/1420611201
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj9ocjfbFOKEPS_NRbppbOg
Is there anything else you want to let us know?
We want to thank everybody who supports us, whether by listening to our music, buying our merch, sending messages, or sharing our albums with their friends. We make music because we enjoy it the most, but when you have an incredible audience behind you, it’s even better and makes us continue working hard.
Thank you so much for your time. I wish you much success with your new album and hope to see you on stage soon here in Germany!
Thanks to you for the interview and support. We are hungry for playing shows in Germany, so it’s only a matter of time to do it.
You’re welcome! Your amazing music needs to be shared and supported!