Votan Interview

    1.For those that have never heard of before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. Yes we are from a little city in Texas known as Corpus Christi. Just four guys doing what we are passionate about. We love to jam and we feed off each other's energy while we play.


    2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
2. We try to go for an aggressive approach but still have an epic atmosphere to our sound. Our songs have various sections from Black Metal to Death Metal to Thrash Metal to even Folk elements. But at the end of the day its our type of Black Metal. We write what we feel.


    3.The band has been around since 2011 but waited until 2016 to release an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the 5 year wait?
3. Our reason for a five year wait was due to various lineup changes. I feel we weren't able to progress as fast as we wanted to due to that. But this the current lineup has been the most solid one and our progression has been getting better since this lineup went into effect. We are starting a new writing process for a split album with another band so it will not be as long of a wait this time.


    4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
4. Destruction & War are big topics when it comes to our lyrical themes. Mainly because those type of topics fit when we are making aggressive music. Ancient Times & Fantasy topics go more for our epic songs. The lyrics for our song Fallen Empire talks about Mayan civilization and how they battle to not give up their land to their rival invaders. And The Serpent of Na'Chan talks about an individual that is known as the prophet. But not a Jesus type of prophet. More like a war lord that is known as the serpent. Those are just some examples of our lyrical themes.

    5.I know that the band name came from Aztec mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
5. Me and our original drummer were searching for a band name and we found Votan and thought the meaning of where the name came from was really interesting. Its a really ancient Mayan figure. He is the god of death & warfare. So the name reflects on our lyrical themes.

    6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. Playing in Mexico was one of our favorite times. Mainly because the support there is so great. They really appreciate extreme music there. Also Dallas, Texas is always great. The scene is real united there. And as for stage performance. We try to have a lot of energy on our stage presence. We don't like to just stand still and play. We have to move around and bang our heads and feed off the people in the crowd that are digging it.

    7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7. Yes. We want to eventually do a west coast tour. Its all a matter of having money on our side haha. When it comes to shows in our hometown. We usually book the shows. I am also a booking agent here for Corpus Christi, TX. Nobody puts together extreme metal underground shows here in Corpus Christi so we do it ourselves.

    8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
8. We have had positive feedback and good support from the people who appreciate this kind of music. The only issue we have is dealing with the elitist black metallers who try to be so "Trve". They single us out because we are not playing your traditional black metal. We try to expand our sound.

    9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
9. Our bassist has a solo project going on but it is currently on hold. Other than that we put our full time dedication into Votan.


    10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
10. Musically we will always be doing the black metal. But who knows. If our musical direction changes it will be something that comes natural.

    11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
11. The Scandinavia black metal scene has been a big influence for us growing up. Bands like Emperor, Mayhem, Marduk, Naglfar etc. 80s bands as well such as Bathory, Death, Mefisto, Sodom etc. And even American Black Metal bands such as Absu, Blood Storm, Thornspawn, Noctuary etc. And lately I have been jamming to a lot of Goatmoon, Tyrannizer Örder, Satanic Warmaster, Wolfchant etc. I can go on and on about that but that's just a short list.

    12.What are some of your non  musical interests?
12. As for non musical interest. We usually just spend time with our girlfriends/wives. Two of the members have kids so they do the family thing.


    13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
13. Yes, thanks for this interview. We are very grateful and appreciative anytime someone helps spread the word. So once again. Thank you.  /,,/

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