Alejandro Sacripanti (bass, backing vocals)
Braulio Granado (lead guitar)
Brandon Briggs (guitar, backing vocals)
Pete Brown (vocals)
Brennan Shackelford (drums)
Braulio Granado (lead guitar)
Brandon Briggs (guitar, backing vocals)
Pete Brown (vocals)
Brennan Shackelford (drums)
Country: USA
Genre: melodic folk metal
Fenris is an exceptional American band, more precisely from Plano, Texas. Bringing their melodic folk metal, full of Tolkien references, they could not be better. The Oroborus blog conducted a written interview with them in the past recent days and here it is. Check this out!
1. Hello, Fenris. First, I would like to thank you guys for accepting this interview with us on the G.Grind blog. Fenris is one of the names to the monstrous wolf in Norse mythology, right? Why did you choose this one in particular to be the name of your band?
Alejandro: Thank you so much for having us, it’s an absolute pleasure! I have always loved Norse Mythology, all the stories and tales are just something I can’t get enough of. Originally, myself, Alejandro Sacripanti started Fenris. When I was thinking of a possible band name, my mind went soaring to all sorts of different places, from movies, video games ( yes I’m a pretty big nerd haha) and then finally Norse Mythology. I have always been fascinated with wolves, I couldn’t think of a better name than something that represents a monstrous beast set out to swallow the world in front of him. I was hoping the name “Fenris” would capture some of the power and determination that I have for the music we create. That being said, I thought the name would also fit well since we also have songs about Norse Mythology, it’s not just in our name.
2. Since the day I’ve seen Fenris’ logo for the first time, I instantly felt the will to listen to the music behind the logo. Somehow, it was kind of calling me. How did you create that logo? What’s the story about it?
Alejandro: Thank you! I was hoping to create that effect with the logo. The logo was sparked from the band name. As soon as I was set with “Fenris” being the band name, all sorts of ideas came rushing into my head on what I can do for the logo. I met up with an artist I worked with before in my previous band. This man, Nathan James, can create magic just straight from his fingertips. We met up at a Wendy’s due to my love for baconators. Once there I was just blabbering out what my perfect vision for a logo would be, hoping he was understanding my mad rant. I knew I wanted a wolf to be in the logo since the name obviously referred to a giant wolf. I wanted it to represent more, (Be warned of my nerdy rants haha) Fenris was the demise of Odin in Norse Mythology, that’s why I included the 2 ravens in the logo. To give the message of Fenris’s jaws closing in on Odin and the rest of the world.
3. On Encyclopaedia Metallum, we’ve found your lyrics are inspired by Tolkien’s writing as we can see on the lyrics of the great song ‘Nazgûl’. Why did you choose these worldwide famous stories to the lyrical theme for Fenris?
Alejandro: Did I mention that I was nerd earlier haha? No seriously, I absolutely love “The Lord of The Rings” I feel like it’s almost a law that any folk/epic/power metal band HAS to write a song about the holy grail of fantasy, “The Lord of The Rings”! That and it also may have to do with the fact that I have a ring wraith costume… I just look for inspiration wherever I can find it, the same goes with Eric Hill, former Fenris frontman who worked with me to create this album. He took inspiration from “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” to write the lyrics for “Mask”. I try my best to swallow people up in a story with my lyrics, I want everyone to feel like they are a part of the song. We may even have songs about dragons on album number #2….but I didn’t tell you that hehe.
1. Hello, Fenris. First, I would like to thank you guys for accepting this interview with us on the G.Grind blog. Fenris is one of the names to the monstrous wolf in Norse mythology, right? Why did you choose this one in particular to be the name of your band?
Alejandro: Thank you so much for having us, it’s an absolute pleasure! I have always loved Norse Mythology, all the stories and tales are just something I can’t get enough of. Originally, myself, Alejandro Sacripanti started Fenris. When I was thinking of a possible band name, my mind went soaring to all sorts of different places, from movies, video games ( yes I’m a pretty big nerd haha) and then finally Norse Mythology. I have always been fascinated with wolves, I couldn’t think of a better name than something that represents a monstrous beast set out to swallow the world in front of him. I was hoping the name “Fenris” would capture some of the power and determination that I have for the music we create. That being said, I thought the name would also fit well since we also have songs about Norse Mythology, it’s not just in our name.
2. Since the day I’ve seen Fenris’ logo for the first time, I instantly felt the will to listen to the music behind the logo. Somehow, it was kind of calling me. How did you create that logo? What’s the story about it?
Alejandro: Thank you! I was hoping to create that effect with the logo. The logo was sparked from the band name. As soon as I was set with “Fenris” being the band name, all sorts of ideas came rushing into my head on what I can do for the logo. I met up with an artist I worked with before in my previous band. This man, Nathan James, can create magic just straight from his fingertips. We met up at a Wendy’s due to my love for baconators. Once there I was just blabbering out what my perfect vision for a logo would be, hoping he was understanding my mad rant. I knew I wanted a wolf to be in the logo since the name obviously referred to a giant wolf. I wanted it to represent more, (Be warned of my nerdy rants haha) Fenris was the demise of Odin in Norse Mythology, that’s why I included the 2 ravens in the logo. To give the message of Fenris’s jaws closing in on Odin and the rest of the world.
3. On Encyclopaedia Metallum, we’ve found your lyrics are inspired by Tolkien’s writing as we can see on the lyrics of the great song ‘Nazgûl’. Why did you choose these worldwide famous stories to the lyrical theme for Fenris?
Alejandro: Did I mention that I was nerd earlier haha? No seriously, I absolutely love “The Lord of The Rings” I feel like it’s almost a law that any folk/epic/power metal band HAS to write a song about the holy grail of fantasy, “The Lord of The Rings”! That and it also may have to do with the fact that I have a ring wraith costume… I just look for inspiration wherever I can find it, the same goes with Eric Hill, former Fenris frontman who worked with me to create this album. He took inspiration from “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” to write the lyrics for “Mask”. I try my best to swallow people up in a story with my lyrics, I want everyone to feel like they are a part of the song. We may even have songs about dragons on album number #2….but I didn’t tell you that hehe.
From left to right: Sacripanti, Shackelford, Granado, Briggs and Brown
4. We all have that band we like so much through our entire life, that one we will never get tired of. What musical influences each member of Fenris bring to the band?
Alejandro: As for myself, I am in love with Wintersun and Ensiferum (All hail Jari Mäenpää!!!) I can go on and on listening to them, it’s where I pull a lot of my influence for the music of Fenris. As for the rest of the band, it’s a pretty diverse style of music. Our new front man, Pete is a huge black metal fan. It works great since he is able to push out some incredible and powerful vocals. The new guitarists Braulio and Brandon are pretty different as well. Braulio is a tech death guitarist and really knows how to spice up a riff, while Brandon excels at making the most beautiful movements of music due to his love for melodic death metal. Last but not least, our drummer, Brennan. Like Braulio, Brennan is a huge fan of tech death, sure he can blast away like no other, but it’s much more than that. I can just speak to him about what style I am aiming for in a song and then he is able to whip up a beat that I would have never even thought of, this is truly amazing when composing!
5. You guys are from Texas, USA, right? What do you think about your local underground metal scene? Is it united?
Alejandro: Our local metal scene is getting better. It was united at a time, but recently I have seen bands fighting other bands, people being elitists. Now it’s starting to feel like a brotherhood again, which is good. Metal heads should be working together to strive to make the most of their music. Fighting with each other is going to get us nowhere. I am seeing more and more of members of different bands hoping in other bands to help out, which makes me really happy. No one wants to walk into a show and have to worry about being bashed or judged, that takes all the fun out of playing a show. Even now, we have caught wind of another folk metal band rising here in Dallas due to them sharing our music. It’s really amazing to know that we are carving a path for other local folk metal bands, to be that assurance that it’s okay to play something different than Pantera here in Texas haha.
6. Something that I’m always wondering about metal bands is what the feeling of their first show was. How was the experience of Fenris’ first gig?
Alejandro: Our first show was a bit nerve wrecking and exciting. I was not so sure how people in Texas were going to react to 4 guys on stage with a kilt. Other than that, I was just ready to show my local scene that Dallas has something new and fresh to offer. The show went really well, people screaming and asking for more. At that moment, I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. We could not wait to be back on stage after that one time.
Photo taken by Necro Blanca Photography
Alejandro: Oh yes! We wear kilts! Funny thing is, it started as a joke. Eric was joking saying that if I bought him a kilt that he would wear it on stage. After many laughs, it hit me that we should actually do that. I went ahead and ordered him a kilt and one for myself. The reason I rather dress up the way we do is to provide an experience for my audience. It’s boring and overdone when bands just wear “regular” clothes on stage. We are entertainers and we are here to entertain, I want people to feel like we are ready to ride into battle and slay some trolls!
8. ‘Across the Darkened Skies’is a wonderful work Fenris did and it’s recent released, right? I’ve listened to it on YouTube so many times and I think it’s beyond awesome. What was like to record and produce such album?
Alejandro: Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! At the time we were recording the album, it was only Eric, former frontman of Fenris and myself working on the album. It was an absolutely magical feeling recording our music. We were just so excited to share our music with the world. I even remember once we had the album done, I ordered 50 physical copies of the album and just gave them out for free. I wanted people around Dallas to know that there was a folk metal band coming up!
9. As your album, Fenris is a “newborn” band, because it was formed in 2013, and yet a terrific one. How to be a band with this high quality in such a short time of existence?
Alejandro: It’s really important to give it your all! If you love what you are doing, you should be pouring your heart and soul into it! I go everyday thinking of what I can do to improve my music. I’ll be in the shower just humming and think of something really cool and I would rush out of the shower so I can write my idea down before I forget it. Now I am starting to record myself singing guitar/orchestration parts on my phone whenever I am out so I don’t forget about my idea. I think at this point I have well over 30 videos on my phone of me singing guitar leads, epic orchestration movements and vocal lines haha.
10. Do you guys think about being a band heard in whole world? Do you think about Fenris touring to other countries someday?
Alejandro: It’s what we strive for! That’s what keeps us going! We dream and talk about it all the time, we want to be doing this for a living. We want to travel the world and share our music with everyone. I can’t think of anything else I would rather do with my life. I know I would forever regret it and never forgive myself if I never tried to accomplish this.
11. And just to end our conversation, I would like to thank you guys again in the name of the G.Grind blog and wish to each of you and Fenris my very best. We end this interview with this space for you to be free to say anything you want.
8. ‘Across the Darkened Skies’is a wonderful work Fenris did and it’s recent released, right? I’ve listened to it on YouTube so many times and I think it’s beyond awesome. What was like to record and produce such album?
Alejandro: Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! At the time we were recording the album, it was only Eric, former frontman of Fenris and myself working on the album. It was an absolutely magical feeling recording our music. We were just so excited to share our music with the world. I even remember once we had the album done, I ordered 50 physical copies of the album and just gave them out for free. I wanted people around Dallas to know that there was a folk metal band coming up!
'Across the Darkened Skies' and it's fenomenal artwrok and logo made by Nathan James
Alejandro: It’s really important to give it your all! If you love what you are doing, you should be pouring your heart and soul into it! I go everyday thinking of what I can do to improve my music. I’ll be in the shower just humming and think of something really cool and I would rush out of the shower so I can write my idea down before I forget it. Now I am starting to record myself singing guitar/orchestration parts on my phone whenever I am out so I don’t forget about my idea. I think at this point I have well over 30 videos on my phone of me singing guitar leads, epic orchestration movements and vocal lines haha.
10. Do you guys think about being a band heard in whole world? Do you think about Fenris touring to other countries someday?
Alejandro: It’s what we strive for! That’s what keeps us going! We dream and talk about it all the time, we want to be doing this for a living. We want to travel the world and share our music with everyone. I can’t think of anything else I would rather do with my life. I know I would forever regret it and never forgive myself if I never tried to accomplish this.
11. And just to end our conversation, I would like to thank you guys again in the name of the G.Grind blog and wish to each of you and Fenris my very best. We end this interview with this space for you to be free to say anything you want.
Alejandro: Thank you so much for having us, it’s truly an honor. It means so much to me when someone reaches out to us, wanting to know more about Fenris and how the band is doing. We hope you all stick around to see what we have stored in the future for the world. Album #2 is definitely going to be epic! Once again, thanks a million for having us, you all keep safe and keep it metal!
Posted by Caterine Souza
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