Well, there wasn‘t much to hear before. After being just an idea, we materialized in 2019 and very soon had the first songs, that we felt had to be released in the open.
2.So far you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
The most important thing for us was to capture the atmosphere of not being sure if what you‘re experiencing is a dream. And that is something that is very prominent in Black Metal as well as Psychobilly (especially with someone like Deadbolt). So we wanted to have Black Metal as the backbone of what we are doing and then add to it something that, we feel, gives it another perspective. So for example -we took some frightful atmosphere from Psychobilly, some melancholy, depression and the narrative style from Dark Country, other things were coming from different waves of Black Metal and other different sources.
3.The lyrics on the ep are a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the story that is covered on the recording?
The few happenings described in this EP is actually just the beginning of the story. In this first part we are introducing our unnamed main character who happens to be in a bad situation, when he meets the mystical figure called Hoofstomper. In a Faustian manner, the hero accepts a deal from this figure where he gets what he wants for the moment, but later finds out that this deal had some hidden conditions. What follows are some dramatic events where he realizes that he is just being manipulated by Hoofstomper, but that he put himself into this position and there is nothing he can do about it. Thematically the ending is sad, yet musically – not really, it‘s more hopeful and uplifting. This shows the duality of his situation and uncertainty of his future. We are also very interested to see where this story goes.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hoofstomper'?
Hoofstomper is the name of the being we were seeing in our dreams, that encouraged us to write this music, create this band. You can see him (it) on the CD cover and our logo. He is a goat like figure and we kept hearing the stomping of his hooves in our skulls, so we couldn't call the band anything else.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
We did the artwork ourselves. Since we aren't great artists the drawings are simple depictions of Hoofstomper and his attributes. We wanted it to look like something someone would have drawn in old books about demons to illustrate how this demon looks like.
6.All of the band members use aliases, can you tell us a little bit more about it?
Very good observation. We don‘t think it‘s important who is actually in the band, what‘s important is the music and its message. Besides, specifically for newer bands, no one really cares.
7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?
No live shows yet. We are still working on new songs and are thinking about the right presentation of the material. But we hope that not too long in the future we will be able to bring our music to the people in the flesh.
8.The ep was released on 'Black Mourning Productions', can you tell us a little bit about this label?
As far as we know it‘s a German label, very professional, all deals were upheld like negotiated and it was very easy to work and talk with them. We‘re really happy that they believed in our music to release it.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
We were ready to receive some backlash from black metal purists, after all this genre is known to have some very opinionated fans, and we realized how some might see our music as a kind of joke at the expense of Black Metal (which it‘s not). But so far it has been pretty good. Most of what we heard was either positive, or even if they don‘t like the music they acknowledge that it‘s an interesting idea. No death threats yet.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We have no idea. We don‘t force the music and let the ideas guide us. From what we have so far it seems that it might have a bit less Country influences and going to be darker in tone. But we‘ll have to see how it turns out in the end.
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?
From non-metal side Deadbolt is a classic and probably had most influence on us. Angry Johnny and the Killbilies also gave us a lot. Those Poor Bastards is one of the darkest things we‘ve ever heard.
From Metal side – Mgla, Bölzer, Behemoth, to some extent the old guard – Mayhem, Darkthrone.
What we are listening now – well the new Darkthrone album „Old Star“ is great, Gaahl’s WYRD last album is really good too. If I could recommend some Lithuanian bands to listen to I would suggest Luctus and Crypts of Despair.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Keep on stomping.
https://www.facebook.com/hoofstomper/
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