Interviews: Woe Unto Me

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Death Metal/Doom Metal band, Woe Unto Me from Belarus. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that? 

Artyom: Actually the first idea was to name a band Woe Is Me, and we had this name for a while, but then in 2009 appeared a metalcore-emo-screamo whatever band with the same name in the US, so we decided to change it and found a similar option with the other preposition but the same meaning, and that’s how Woe Unto Me came into existence. I think this name perfectly reflects our music and atmosphere, cause when creating a band, our aim was to reflect all our negative experiences like feelings of loss, depression, solitude, and all our sorrows, and afflictions. You know we wanted to create something beautiful from all of these negative emotions and feelings as we believe that the darkest thoughts can become the most inspiring if you use them the right way.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

Artyom: The music style was defined from the very beginning. The desire to play doom was exactly the reason why we gathered together. Though we all listen to different genres we really wanted to create something very dark, gloomy, slow, melodic, and atmospheric. Doom is a quintessence of these epithets, and we almost immediately decided that this is what we need. It doesn’t mean of course that we limit ourselves. We like to experiment, so be sure that doom is not the only thing you will find in our music.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

Artyom: I think that most of us have known each other for more than 15 years, maybe even around 20 years, long before creating a band. Probably we’ve met on some shows that we were attending or at some parties, where we were too drunk to remember.

4. Each band member's favorite band? 

Artyom: We all listen to a huge range of different musical styles. It’s hard for me to describe the exact music taste of each member though we have a lot in common. So I’d better answer for myself. Personally, I’m a real music fan, so I can find a lot of interesting in anything connected with it, starting with classical music and finishing even with pop music. Still of course mostly I’m fond of metal. Some of my favourite bands are: Death, Morbid Angel, Meshuggah, Gojira, Gorguts, Cynic, Opeth. I also like black metal in the vein of Mayhem or Emperor. And of course progressive metal like Pain Of Salvation, Ark, Devin Townsend, Ihsahn, Fates Warning, Tool, Nevermore. Currently, I often listen to Klone with their album “Le Grand Voyage”, Wheel with their latest release “Resident Human”, Katatonia’s “City Burials”, Swallow The Sun, mostly “Lumina Aurea” and “Moonflowers”, The Ocean Collective both Phanerozoic I and II, Ulcerate’s “Stare Into Death And Be Still”, Psychonaut’s “Unfold the God Man”. I also listen to a lot of Ulver, Pink Floyd, Paradise Lost, Wardruna, and many more.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Artyom: We draw inspiration from everywhere where it’s possible. The main source is our life, everything that is happening around us, and everything that stays in our hearts and minds. It’s a reflection of ourselves, our feelings, and our emotions.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Artyom: The last time we played live was in July 2021. It was a live presentation of our EP “Spiral-Shaped Hopewreck” in Minsk, Belarus. We were also planning a European tour called Mourning Over Europe together with Clouds. The tour was postponed twice during 2021, due to the pandemic. Then it was supposed to take place in Spring 2022 and was postponed again but without any certain new dates. So who knows, maybe we’ll manage to do that in 2023 or maybe later. I know for sure that both bands, Clouds and Woe Unto Me, really want to make it happen, but different obstacles now prevent us from finding new dates that would suit both of us.

7. Where would you like to act? 

Artyom: Wherever it is possible, all over the world.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Artyom: There are so many musicians I respect and admire. It would be an honor to collaborate with any of them. I can’t name all of them, cause there wouldn’t be enough space here for such a huge list, but I really would love to hear voices of Kristoffer Rygg, Jonas Renkse, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Ihsahn, and Anneke van Giersbergen one day on one of Woe Unto Me records.

9. Whom not?

Artyom: I never thought about it, it just doesn’t make sense. Maybe Kanye West could be the top nominee for such a “prestigious award”. 

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that? 

Artyom: I think it’s a normal thing to have stage fright. These days I sometimes feel that, but usually, I just need to start playing and it’s gone. It turns into adrenaline, you start to feel the connection with the audience and there’s no fear anymore. Just do not let yourself concentrate on it. People came to the show to listen to your music and you’ve got to deliver it to them no matter what. Just show them all the feelings and emotions that you put into your music, open yourself, and be yourself. Give them what you have and take what they will give back to you. This is your world and your rules.

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

Artyom: Each of us listens to different genres of music and every kind of music can be inspiring and can influence our creativity, and it’s not always doom metal. If we speak about influences of doom metal and its sub-genres then I can name Shape Of Despair, Clouds, Hamferð, Swallow The Sun, Saturnus, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and many others, but there are bands of different genres who have also a powerful influence like Opeth, Ulver, Katatonia, Wardruna, Mastodon, Leprous, Pain Of Salvation, Meshuggah and many more. We are really open-minded and try to draw our inspiration from various sources. Anyway of course we are trying to build our own sound and I think you will definitely notice it listening to our new record.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? 

Artyom: Nothing is weird for me, I can expect everything. But if anybody wants, try to surprise me. Hahaha

13. What do you think of your fans? 

Artyom: It’s always great to meet and talk with the fans. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are, we wouldn’t be creating our music and doing what we love doing the most. So I’m eternally grateful and I’m always ready to dedicate the time to them. We are always close to our fans and try to make sure they feel appreciated, it’s very important to us.

14. What do you think of our site?

Artyom: Unfortunately, I never heard about your site before that interview, but I think you’re doing a great job. The website looks great and there are a lot of cool features in it to dig into. It’s also a great opportunity for young bands to promote themselves which is very important nowadays. I wish there were more websites like Breathing The Core. And thank you for having us, we really appreciate it.

15. Something to add?

Artyom: Our new album “Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony” is coming out via M-Theory Audio on March 24 th , 2023. PRE-ORDER CD and VINYL here: lnk.to/woeuntome or make a DIGITAL PRE-SAVE here: lnk.to/woepresave Don’t miss it! We’re sure you won’t be disappointed. And see you in front of the stage somewhere soon! Thank you! Stay doomed!