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The year 2006 was certainly a year that Liechtenstein's
Elis will never forget. In July, the band lost its lead
vocalist Sabine Duenser due to a cerebral hemorrhage.
A few months later, it was decided that the band would
not only release the album Griefshire, but also continue
on as they had. Unquestionably, the band has been through
a lot, but somehow has managed to survive. 2007 figures
to be a pivotal year for the band with a new vocalist
in tow.
Peter: In the past six months, not many people can talk
about Elis without mentioning a word of vocalist Sabine
Duenser's death in July. What was the impact of this when
it first happened and are some of the effects being felt
now?
Tom: At the first moment, everybody thought
that everything will be over and we have to end Elis.
We couldn't imagine that we can go on. Every member needed
a little time for themselves to get over this tragedy.
After a while, we sat together and decided that we will
release 'Griefshire'. A couple of days later, we decided
to continue with the band. Also, there was a big response
from all over the world, we got condolences from fans,
bands, musicians and so on. At this point, everthing has
calmed down and we can focus on our future. But Sabine
will be in our memories forever and will be an indelible
part of Elis!
Peter: As many people know, Griefshire was released as
a way to honor Sabine. What factors led to the decision
to continue as Elis despite the inevitable transition period
that all bands experience when there are lineup changes?
Tom: Well, as said before, we sat together and
figured out what we wanted to do. We came to the point
that Sabine would also continue the band if she would
be in our situation. Another point is that the life of
the rest of the band has to go on and we have to live
again, if you can understand what I mean. We had a couple
of bad times, but this was the low point in our career
and we said that it can only go up from now on, so let's
do more than ever.
Peter: Staying on Griefshire, a good starting point would
be to ask about the cover. Who was the artist and how does
the cover reflect what you are aiming for?
Tom: The whole artwork was made by Ingo Romling
(www.monozelle.de)
and he did a great job. We wanted to reflect the story
of the album in the cover artwork. The cover shows the
ambience and the mood of this town called 'Griefshire'.
I think that this mood is captured very well in this artwork.
Peter: The concept behind the album deals with two brothers,
who are religious fanatics that seek salvation, eternal
truth, and love. What is it about the concept that inspired
the band?
Tom: In a lot of our songs, there is something
personal from Sabine in it. She always used things which
where part of her life and things she has run through.
But she didn't make it that simple; you have to go deeper
into her texts to see these things. On another side, Sabine
came up with the story and we needed an era in which it
took place and we took some films as models like 'The
Witchhunt', 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'Pact of the Wolves'.
Peter: In terms of music, Griefshire emphasizes less
on the gothic metal elements and is also noticeably faster
in some parts, yet retains some of the elements that were
found in Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky. How much of a difference
do you notice in the way the music on the albums are heard?
Tom: The whole process was a natural growing
process. We wanted to add more guitars and to reduce the
synthetic and technoid sounds. But there was not a concept
as to how Elis has to sound on 'Griefshire', these things
happened because most of the band members come from the
metal genre and so it was a logical step for us.
Peter: Listening to Elis now, there seems to be a haunting
effect throughout the songs, especially on Griefshire. Do
you notice this?
Tom: Sometimes it's a little bit curious how
the story of 'Griefshire' and the happenings compare.
But for me, it's not too extreme and I think that you
can always construct something into it.
Peter: Recently, Elis has been searching for a new vocalist.
Could you update the readers on the situation and if you
have named a new vocalist, would you mind saying a few words
about her?
Tom: Yes, we have found a new vocalist after
a couple of months of searching. Her name is Sandra Schleret
and she comes from Innsbruck (Austria) and stood behind
the microphone for various bands, among others for Dreams
of Sanity and Siegfried. She did also guest appearances
for Samael. She impressed us with her voice and her personality
and we guess that she fits perfect for Elis!
Peter: Whenever there is a new vocalist involved, there
always seems to be a transition period. How long do you
think this period will last and do you expect any radical
changes to fit to the abilities of the vocalist?
Tom: We hope that this period doesn't need too
much time after a few rehearsals. Of course, we have to
find each other again because that was always the thing
we wanted; we want to be a band in the future, not a band
and a singer! But I'm sure we're able to be back on stage
in the near future!
Peter: When can we expect the band to play live and how
much will it help the band?
Tom: I hope that we can enter the stage in spring
2007. And as I said before, it looks good that we're able
to do that. This will help the band a lot because it was
a long time in which we're not on stage and we're hot
for that. We want to show the world the new songs live
and also we want to keep the legacy of Sabine alive in
her songs when they're played live.
Peter: I'll close out the interview with one last question.
I'm not sure if this has ever been asked, but in what way
does having a few songs sung in German benefit the band
as a whole?
Tom: Sabine did the songwriting for nearly all
of our songs and she decided which songs had to be in
German or not. The German language is a little harder
than the English and sometimes this fits better to a song.
I don't know if this benefits the band in some way, but
I can say that some people like the German songs.
Peter: Thank you for allowing the interview to take place.
Best of luck on all future endeavors and hope to make it
to one of your shows in the near future.
Tom: Thank you very much for the interview and
hope to see you soon somewhere on tour!
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