With the release of their sophomore album, “Distant Kingdoms”, Depressive Withes managed to pique our interest. The French band plays in a nice black n’ roll style, combining various elements and influences. Myth of Rock was surprised with the fresh, catchy music material of Depressive Witches and talked with Sick Bab (vocals, guitars), who was polite enough to answer our questions.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
When, where and under which circumstances was Depressive Witches formed? Give us a bio of the band, please.
Me and my brother Torvuus started to learn guitar at the same moment, 8 years ago, then we started to create some songs, which was really shitty, haha. Then in 2018, Torvuus started to learn drums and we started Depressive Witches together, as a doom metal band. In 2020 during the lockdown, we created the first album “Bad Flask”, with a record session planned in February 2022.
Why did you name the band Depressive Witches?
The association of words is cool I think, and a “depressive witch” represents the quintessence of what loneliness and madness are.
“Distant Kingdoms” was released some months ago. How do you see this album now? Would you change something to it, if you had the opportunity?
You always can change something, but what is recorded is recorded. We can change the songs when we play it live if we want…
How would you describe the musical style of Depressive Witches? How much have you progressed in comparison with your debut album?
A mix of black metal and rock’n’roll for sure, it’s why we talk about black’n’roll. Bad Flask was primitive and catchy, Distant Kingdoms is less dark, more “fun” ? There is a true progression of course, but in fact, we started to write Distant Kingdoms just after Bad Flask, as a continuity.
Which are your music influences? What music do you listen to nowadays?
Black metal, hard rock, country… Very various, it’s why we don’t sound like a “typical black metal” band. About what we listen, nothing really extreme anymore in my case. Just classic rock, country, EBM, glam, goth rock… I have to admit that I’m a little bit tired of extreme metal these days. Torvuus loves rock n roll stuff, give him Motorhead and ZZ Top and he’s happy
How do you compose the songs of Depressive Witches? What comes first, music or lyrics?
Sometimes, just taking the guitar in the morning is enough to find a riff. So mostly the music first, but we can find a concept by writing the lyrics first, as a poem.
Where do your lyrics refer to?
Medieval fantasy, battles, legends, personal themes… The lyrical themes change on every album in fact. Video games/movies are our main sources of inspiration for sure
Where was “Distant Kingdoms” recorded? Who did the production, the mixing and the mastering? Describe the recording sessions and the production process, please.
Like for “Bad Flask”, we recorded it at Blackout Studio in Brussels. The recordings were supervised by Jonas Sanders and Ivan Houben, then Jonas mixed and mastered the whole project. Recordings took less than a week, we record fast.
I like very much the cover artwork of “Distant Kingdoms”. Who has done it? Give all the information, please.
The artwork was made by Thomas Ewerhard. I found his work interesting, and we were looking for a realistic painting for the new album, he made artworks for Avantasia by the way. We knew the result was gonna be great.
How did the contract with WormHoleDeath come up?
Our manager at the time was looking for a label and he found them. The collaboration is good, we arranged the contract as we wanted.
Which are your ambitions for the band?
Good question. It will depend on the opportunities we will have, but I can tell you that playing on a mainstage in a big festival is clearly not a goal. I can’t stand to be far away from the crowd, it’s not interesting at all.
Do you play live in concert? Do you have any tour plans?
Yes, we made our first tour one year ago in Eastern Europe, then we played in Belgium, Switzerland, and we go back on tour at the end of February in Bulgaria/Romania/Serbia/Germany/France…
How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect you?
It wasn’t so bad for us, because we wrote our first album. But it has been hell just to go into a bar and drink a beer.
What do you think about the war against Ukraine?
Nothing.
Send your message to the fans!
Thank you all for the support you guys give to Depressive Witches, all around the world!
