Interview with Carlos Amado

“Hello Carlos, and welcome to your interview with Lyrical Spell Magazine, how are you doing?”

Carlos: “Having a bit of a cold recently. It’s always good news for a vocalist, right? (Laughs)”

“I never heard that being a sign of good news, haha! But I hope you’re better now! Okay, so I want to start with a little presentation since the band was formed in 2017,  pretty new to the metal scene; who is the band Dallian and how did it form?”

Carlos: “As you stated, the band has only been formed officially in 2017. However, Ricardo Carniça (guitars/back vocals) and I have been working on this project since late 2015 after both of us left Madame Violence. Our official year is 2017 because it was when we recorded the album, fleshed out our themes/songs and finally (after some going back and forth with band members) had a solid line up, with the inclusion of Leandro Faustino on the guitars and André Fragoso as our drummer. Dallian has its core on progressive death metal, embellished by symphonic orchestras that do not conform to orchestra standards, by having a strong "world music" flavour to them. This sound is complemented visually and lyrically by the dark steampunk aesthetic and themes.”

“How would you describe the music of Dallian for those who are unfamiliar or new to the band?”

Carlos: “’Alchemical merging of steampunk aesthetics and metal music.’ This is the phrase we always use and we think it is a good ‘no-nonsense’ approach to our core, that has been enough to keep people intrigued. Sonically, it has been quite difficult for us and for our fans to explain our music. (Laughs)

In a recent review, we were coined with the term ‘Baroque/Romanticist Death Metal’. While we do not try to label ourselves, we thought of it as a good depiction of our overall musical and aesthetic qualities.''

“Well not every band is certain on what their sound is, but it's good there are some out there to help specify as well! Speaking of steampunk, the album is titled ‘Automata’, which can define as ‘machine imitating human action’. Was it the main inspiration for the lyrics and care to give an explanation?”

Carlos: “The Automata here is painted in bronze on purpose, its an alchemical element that is not considered pure. This displays the unexplored potential of the Automata and, in the larger scheme of things, of mankind itself. In live performances, we will have two side banners, in which one depicts a silver Automata and the other a golden one, to complement this human quest for evolution. In essence, here the Automata is an archetype that is pervasive in all our themes, rather than a specific story.

Lyrically, all the songs take place in the same fictional steampunk world, but it's not one cohesive narrative.”

“Intresting description, this will definitely catch the eyes of new fans! But also while listening to the album, the music is very complex, you have sounds of symphonic, death, also Latin and oritental styles. Was the creative process for this album difficult and how did the band approach it?”

Carlos: “It has a degree of complexity to do something like this, but that's what makes it worth for me, personally. Most of the composition was done by me, from guitar and bass to the lyrics and orchestration, then Ricardo gave me loose riffs and ideas that I merged in a cohesive whole. André helped mostly on the composition of his own for the drums, and Leandro came when the composition was done, having contributed with some minor changes in some passages, and of course his guitar solos.”

“Glad to see it all worked in the end for a May release, which by the, how has the reception for this album been?”

Carlos: “It has been great so far! We are still newcomers to the metal community, but still we have received much amazing feedback, both from our country and overseas. Some fans appeared from countries we would never imagine, at least on such an early stage!”

“That’s awesome already receiving recognition internationally! The music must has attracted many fans. From the album, what has been your favorite track(s)?”

Carlos: “Personally, my favourite is ‘Satori’, but it’s a really hard pick. We have some problems in cutting songs from our setlist cause we enjoy all tracks. (Laughs)”

“Are there any working plans for a single or music video release to help promote the album more?”

Carlos: “Yes, we have been working on that visual component for a while, to more than one song, actually. But unfortunately, we had a lot of setbacks and didn't release it yet. We hope we are able to release it soon to further convey our music, lyrics and aesthetics through that medium.”

“Hope to see what the videos will have in stored and happy share it to our page. But, this may be a bit of an early question; are there new themes or new sounds you guys wish to experiment with in the future?”

Carlos: “Of course! We want to tour with this album for quite some time now, but we already have plans for the next one. A great part of the sound was shaped to fit Madame Violence, back then when Ricardo, André, and I were still in the band. Dallian’s identity was uncertain as it wasn't created from ground up, with the steampunk and progressive/symphonic dynamics in mind. So, the next one, while having a great deal of components of ‘Automata’, it will also be more cohesive in vision and more adventurous.”

“Speaking about the next one, will there any guest you would like to work with in the next release?”

Carlos: “Yes, we have a few very likely potentials. But on this topic, I rather not disclose. I can only say that they are some names I'm certain many are already familiar with in the metal world.”

“The band’s bio mentions you're all from Leiria, a small town in Portugal, how would describe how big the metal scene is there or the country in general?”

Carlos: “The scene in our specific town/region used to be larger. However, it dwindled a lot in the last years and is now quite static. In general, there is a fair amount of metal bands (most of which are in Lisbon and Porto). Now, when it comes to labels, etc, that's where things are not good at all. There are barely any means to market and send our bands to tour internationally, thus that’s one of the main problems behind them being barely noticed overseas too.”

“Well I hope to see something change to the music scene in Leiria, even big artists had to go through hoops to get where they are today. Now that you mentioned of touring, any plans for that and where do you hope to perform? Whether it be a country, city, famous venue, or a festival.”

Carlos: “Yes! We are currently undergoing negotiations to tour with two separate bands to embark different tours in the first half of this year. We also have two festivals confirmed and an opening act to "Destroyers Of All" new album, which is one of the biggest underground bands here in Portugal.

We have plans to tour in England too, after all these concerts are completed. We hope this year we can play at Vagos Metal Fest, one of the biggest in our country and, of course, we hope someday we will have the opportunity to play on Ressurection, Wacken, Hellfest and all those other great, larger fests down the line!”

“Let’s hope that promoters will get you there soon! ;-) As a musician, who has motivated and inspired you to become what you are today?”

Carlos: “I only started seriously paying attention to music after listening System of a Down when I was 14 years old. After that, I got into all sorts of rock and metal bands. My father plays classical guitar, so I grabbed it and started to learn the tunes of those songs when I was 16. It was only at 22 that I seriously started dedicating myself to singing, mostly cause we could never find vocalists, so I decided that, if there weren't any around, I would become one. (Laughs) Right now, my goal is still to learn, improve and try to bring to the table something I would like to hear, and being able to inspire people in that process.

‘’How do you think about the way music affects people’s lives, even changing them?’’

Carlos: “Music is therapy. It can make a bad day worthwhile because you heard something inspirational that makes it all go away. It's also a way to catter community and we are very committed on that part too, as a band without an interested/engaged community won't go very far. One of music’s most outstanding effects is to be able to make you recall things, not only in a nostalgic or sorrowful way. It also has been proved in several cases to make people who had no recollection of their past suddenly become alive and improve their condition gradually.”

“And what did music affect you outside of the business aspect?”

Carlos: “As I said, music is therapy and inspires me in whatever I do. Thanks to it, I was able to learn new skills too. My train of thought usually is like ‘Ok, if I could learn this difficult arpeggio then I just have to apply the same method to this other task, it’s just a matter of methodology and persistence’. Music is also an amazing endeavor that activates several parts of your brain, so it can be beneficial in training your brain and promoting increased awareness and learning!”

“As the famous saying goes, ‘music is the universal language if all mankind’. So do you have any other professions besides a musician? How do you balance your professional and personal life?”

Carlos: “Right now, all I do is related to the arts. I'm currently finishing the editing of my first novel and I have my own studio (called "Yugen studios") which is practically finished and ready to receive bands for rehearsal and for me to start dwelling on compositions, not only for Dallian but also for films/games and for my personal project. I also try to learn other skills such as photoshop, social media, writing, marketing, photography and videography to better understand all the pieces of the puzzle that can help a band grow. Unfortunately in jazz school, I frequented they had no emphasis on all these parts and while one can turn out to be a great musician, those parts are essential in today’s market.

In terms of balance, since I work mostly from home, I might have more time. But, due to having different things always going on, one week I might have little to do and in another I'm stuffed with work. (laughs)”

“You really seem to have a lot on your plate! What advice would you like to give to someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?”

Carlos: “Be ready for risk and insecurity. In all art’s field, both are pervasive and, unfortunately, not all great artists can deal with those aspects. However, those same aspects can make you grow and learn new things.”

“Besides advices, if you can have your fans remember you by one thing, what would it be?’’

Carlos: “Hum... my charm? (Laughs) Now seriously, if we are talking of one attribute related to my personality, then maybe it could be kindness with fans. If we are talking of achievements, I don't think they need to recall me specifically, as long as they recall my work and it has brought them joy.”

“Here's my last question to you; what are your goals and dreams, personally and professionally?”

Carlos: “First and foremost is sustainability at the financial level. Before all bells and whistles, this is probably one of the hardest aspects to attain in the art world. Then, of course, the expansion of all my projects and creative ideas, as well as my development as a better person!”

“We have now reached the end of our interview, is there anything you like to say to your fans and our readers?”

Carlos: “Thank you for your time to read and I hope you enjoy a day filled with pasta! (I love pasta)”

“Thank you for your time answering to my questions! I can also go for some pasta right now too! ;-)”