SOURCE – Can you share some insights into the creative vision behind your new album The Crescent King? How does it differ from your previous work?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – The Crescent King is a concept album. There is a story with a start and a finish, with a chronological aspect to the tracks, both musically and lyrically. This was a “first” for us and a wonderful learning experience – but equally challenging as we created multiple dependencies for ourselves.
In general it took a lot more planning, like making a story outline and deciding on the track list early on in the process, which we are not used to.
It has been a fantastic process nonetheless and we are immensely proud of the end result – even though it was a long time coming.
We write our music for ourselves first and foremost.
You can, of course, enjoy the album just as much without ever reading the lyrics – but If fans want to dive into the lyrics and the story, that’s just a bonus we hope they will enjoy as well.
SOURCE – What are the main themes or concepts explored in the new album’s lyrics? How do they reflect the current state of the world or your personal experiences?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – While the characters and world building of this universe is fictional, the underlying themes remain grounded in reality. The primary themes revolve around existentialism, humankind and their nature.
Some of it comes from personal experience and some of it comes from our main sources of inspiration – but all of it remains open to personal interpretation for the listener.
SOURCE – How important is it for you to maintain creative control over your music and image? How do you ensure that your vision remains intact with Noctum Productions?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – It means everything! For that reason, Noctum Productions is our own!
SOURCE – How have video clips helped you engage with your fans differently compared to other forms of promotion?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – Video is a great format and it helps us cut through the Social Media noise. Music is, and will continue to be our primary media – but video for singles, playthroughs and other content that we enjoy making will continue to be in our arsenal.
SOURCE – With streaming’s influence, have you considered changing how you release albums, such as dropping singles or EPs more frequently?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – Considered? Yes. But call us old-school, we like the traditional way of presenting music – especially this time around due to the concept of the album, which would potentially be lost if you treat each track completely separate.
SOURCE – How important is networking within the Denmark death metal scene for a band’s success? Have you built strong relationships with other local bands and industry professionals?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – It is critical for everything we do – gigs, videos, designs, inspiration and much more.
Denmark is a small country, and we come across the same people in various constellations again and again. Therefore we strive to always be respectful, professional and appreciative of everyone we come across – because maturing the scene is a joint effort. There are some fantastic people out there, working to promote Danish metal – both on and off the stages, and we are lucky to have them in our network.
SOURCE – How do you feel the Denmark death metal scene has evolved, and what role do you think LIVLØS has played in that evolution?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – The danish scene has generally been thriving for a long time, but historically certain trends have dictated which subgenres got the most spotlight. In recent years, there are great bands, representing vastly different subgenres of metal, and it feels like acceptance and curiosity lead people in multiple directions. This is a fantastic development that contributes to eliminate gatekeeping and elitism. Livløs has been a staple in death metal and we like to think we have played a small part in this maturing of the scene.
SOURCE – Looking ahead, what are your main aspirations for the future of LIVLØS, and how do you plan to achieve them while staying true to your core values?
Benjamin Andreassen (Bass) – We’re already in the process of writing tracks for the next album, and while we want to explore and mature ourselves musically, we are absolutely staying true to the core values that have driven us up to this point.
We believe that; If we keep writing the music that we love to play, it will reach and increase the number of people who want to listen.
Photo Credit: Nikolaj Bransholm
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Parts of this questions were generated by ChatGPT, an AI tool developed by OpenAI, on September 2024. The AI was employed to aid in generating ideas and drafting text.