Smoulder: The Monsters, Madness and Magic Interview

It’s probably not lost upon you that we are fans of pulp and metal here at Monsters, Madness and Magic. Much of my free-time is spent scouring for specific occasions in which the two are forged into one. One glance at the album art for Smoulder’s 2019 debut album Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring will produce a raised eyebrow for any seeker of sonic sorcery.

While it’s certainly never fair to judge a book by its cover, great artwork always helps. It’s not long into the listen when Smoulder begins to conjure feelings of Candlemass, but with quite a bit more kick. And a sword. With lyrical themes sure to send seasoned warriors back to the pages of their pulp of preference, Smoulder’s first blows are fatal and deserving of the album of the year consideration. Recently, I had a chance to speak with vocalist Sarah Ann about Smoulder’s surge and upcoming EP Dream Quest Ends.

J.R.: You've mentioned in previous interviews that Smoulder was asked to play the Hammer of Doom festival in Germany as just their fourth live show. Hammer of Doom has housed titans such as Candlemass, Atlantean Kodex, Scald, Pentagram, and Sorcerer. How did it feel for you all to play this festival in just your fourth gig?

Sarah: Well…. It felt like someone was pulling a prank on us, to be honest. It was a shock to come out on stage at 12 pm in the afternoon to over a thousand people, then to completely sell out of the vinyl press of our demo. At that point, we had released two original songs. It’s mindblowing that we were opening a huge festival on another continent. We absolutely cannot thank Oli enough for that opportunity.

J.R: There's been a resurgence recently, a return to the olden days, with the rise of the new wave of traditional heavy metal. Sarah, I know you're a big fan of genre cornerstone Eternal Champion. Can you talk a bit about the shift from fans and followers of the scene to artists actively pushing forward the NWOTHM movement?

Sarah: It’s a bit hard to answer that because it doesn’t feel like there was ever a shift necessarily from fan to “artist” - I’ve worked as an artist in different capacities for 15 years so adding musician to the list felt like an addition, and you need to remember that Vincent and I formed the band in 2013 so it took a long time to add “successful” musician to the tagline. Anyhow, I’ve been involved in metal journalism, booking shows, touring and associated metal activities for around 15 years.

The NWOTHM really started rearing up around 2014, and unlike many other metal trends that have come and gone, this one has stuck (I think) because it’s diverse. It’s not a one-trick pony like flip-hat-pizza-thrash (good riddance to that). It’s a genre that encompasses speed metal, trad metal, power metal, and doom metal; has a massive fanbase in Europe that’s never gone away or hell, even thinks the tag is legitimate because they just live it; and hell, it’s finally enjoying some interest in North America, where extreme metal has reigned supreme since death metal washed away the remnants of hair metal in the 90s. I don’t know, musical histories are complex genealogies and I’m fascinated by the history of heavy metal and hope the interest in bands tagged under this genre sticks around because we can use it!

J.R.: When I listen to Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring, visions of Cimmeria and Westeros flood my mind, with the words of Robert E. Howard narrating the ensuing action. Monsters, Madness and Magic surely share Smoulder's love for pulp fiction. What are some of your personal favorite Weird Tales?

Sarah: Authors like Robert E. Howard and H. P Lovecraft have long captured my imagination, although my absolute favourite story (which was not published in Weird Tales, but is by Robert E. Howard) is The Sword Woman. I do not particularly care for how Dark Agnes eventually morphed into this highly sexualized and frankly rather silly character of Red Sonja. But I digress.

Growing up, my dad simply loved Frank Frazetta and had Conan paintings all over his makeshift office, as well as the original Conan stories that were compiled. Obviously, that helped trigger a love for sword and sorcery, as well as a deep love for that romantic style of oil paintings that depicts barbarians and vivacious women (done by Frazetta, Mucha, Whelan, etc). I’ve read more by those authors than I’d like to admit, and due to being a lifelong avid reader, I came to love a very specific style of writing that is dated. As a lifelong writer and a journalist of 12 years, I tend to collect words that are uncommon, which have exited the common vernacular, and which are extremely rich. Given that both Howard and in particular, Lovecraft, emerged from the 30s, their usage of descriptive words is very unique. I like to emulate that.

J.R.: Smoulder releases the EP "Dream Quest End" in March. You've mentioned that this EP is dedicated to the late, great Mark "The Shark" Shelton of Manilla Road. Can you speak on the influence of Manilla Road's material on Smoulder?

Sarah: I think this influence is particularly strong in our unusual style of songwriting that incorporates multiple styles and speeds within a single song. Kevin, Collin and Vincent are all massive Manilla Road fans, and their style of songwriting was very varied, unique, and eventually came to be progressive. Manilla Road’s songs and structures really developed throughout their 17 (? I think) studio albums, and it’s hard to imagine epic metal or NWOTHM without them.

J.R.: Smoulder has the Up The Hammers festival in Athens, Greece this march followed by a few more dates. Can North American fans expect any Smoulder action soon?

Sarah: Truth be told, our ability to play shows in the states is extremely limited due to the outrageously expensive and lengthy visa process for artists: it’s why so many smaller bands are forced to skip playing the United States completely. We’d like to play there more, but it’s going to require a lot more planning! I won’t say that we’ll never play there, just infrequently. Apologies to our American fans: we want to play for you!