DUSTBORN

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on yourself—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

We have started Dustborn in 2018 in Czech Republic, shortly after the breakup of our previous band, which we left due to creative differences. We had a pretty clear idea when we wanted to take our music. At first, it was more of a melodic/symphonic death metal, that evolved over time in our current stuff, which goes more in the direction of black metal. There are still symphonic parts and some death metal riffs, but not as much as in the beginning.

Q2. Who are some of your primary influences?

Currently it’s probably safe to say that we take a lot of inspiration from Scandinavian metal, mostly from Norway and Sweden. We are not super focused on a single thing or on genre. The most prominent influences are probably earlier stuff by Dimmu Borgir or Emperor, Satryricon etc. But there are many more places where inspiration comes from, even from quite different genres, bands like Entombed, Death, Katatonia, Moonspell or Opeth and a myriad of others.

Q3. Talk to us about the new album Unconcealed Atrocities: what was the writing and recording process like, what themes and sounds do you explore on the record, etc.?

Writing this album took unusually long, mostly because of covid, during which we kind of paused the band for some time. Mostly due to lack of playing live, but also some personal stuff. Because of that, the album was in the making for several years and you can hear that in the broader range of sounds, arrangements and overall feel between the songs.

We also took a very different approach to the recording process. We wanted quite a raw sound, with atmosphere akin to older black metal records, but without sounding like copies of someone else. We felt that the material wouldn’t work well with modern, heavily produced sound. So we experimented a lot and tried to get as genuine sound as we could from the individual instruments. The guitars were recorded on three amps at the same time, in the same room and blended together. Drums are not triggered, there are live strings on the record and minimal use of samples. This combined to a very unique, yet familiar sound which we are very satisfied with.

Q4. Do you have a favorite song from the album, or is there one song you’d highlight as the best introduction to Dustborn and why?

It is hard to pick one song. We have put a lot of ourselves into this record and each and every song has some meaning for us, be it the composition, or lyrics. If we had to choose one, it would probably be the title track “Unconcealed Atrocities” – a black metal ride from start to finish, spiced up with some orchestral parts.

Q5. Do you have any touring plans in support of the album and if so, what are they?

We are confirming gigs at home in Czech Republic, but we are currently looking to appear in other countries in Europe as well.

Q6. Are there any other future plans for the band at the current time?

There is always no shortage of plans. The question is, what will our personal lives permit. We’d very much like to appear on some more larger festivals and maybe the time will also come for a tour over the pond. We have done a tour in Mexico with the previous band – there are a lot of fans of European metal there. So maybe we’ll do something like that again in the future.

Q7. What was it that made you want to pursue making music in the first place?

Each one of us would probably give a slightly different answer, but it’s mostly a general love of music, not only metal, some kind of inner desire. I don’t really know how to put that into words correctly. A lot of people like to listen to music, but not everyone has that urge to take part in it. I think that most musicians just have that deeply rooted in them.

Q8. Do you have any parting words for the readers?

Listen to music, go to concerts and support your local artists and underground scene. Because that is where music gets made from the heart, not for money. And listen to our new record, let us know how you like it.