We can’t get enough of Ancestral Legacy’s latest album Terminal – our review of which can be read here. Eager to know more about the music that makes the band tick, we caught up with vocalist/keyboardist Isa and guitarist/vocalist Eddie to get an insight into their music tastes and influences. Check it out below, and listen to the playlist in full over on our last.fm page.
A song that influenced them
Isa: Akira Yamaoka – Room of Angel
That song may sound cute but it’s quite wicked. I love Silent Hill’s music and specially that song inspired me to write a lot of lyrics and piano ideas. I have recently wirtten some new lyrics based on this song (again), and they are gonna be in a new Ancestral Legacy song, I hope you are intrigued by now.
Eddie: Anathema – A Dying Wish
Amazing song, and alongside Opeth I guess Anathema and in particular The Silent Enigma and Eternity were strong factors for the “new” sound that Ancestral Legacy got after a major line-up change in 2002.
A song they wish they could have written
Isa: Mecano – Hijo de la Luna
I really like songs with a story and this song is pure poesy and very versatile, you can find it covered in different languages and in many musical styles. I have always wanted to write a song in at least 3 different languages. Maybe one day I will.
Eddie: Katatonia – Day And Then The Shade
I just love the complexity, the arrangement, keyboard and vocal melodies, the heaviness of the riffing. It’s hard to put the finger on one single wow-factor, it’s the sum of all the all the different layers, working seamlessly together.
Their favourite Ancestral Legacy song
Isa: Terminal
This represents the current Ancestral Legacy, I know what it means to all of us and I enjoy a lot both to listen to it and sing it live. It touches me very deep, like if it were my own song even when it was Eddie that did the composing and the lyrics. Also Perhaps in Death. That song makes me bang my head seriously in the end, and the lyrics are awesome. It makes me feel like I wanna scream and be heard as far as China.
Eddie Transient Pale Days
This song is a rollercoaster of different themes. We’ve never focused on the standard verse/chorus structures and this is also true for TPD. When it was written I don’t think I ever believed we were going to play it live, but we now have, and will try to improve our performance of it every time we play it, cause it’s a really great song. I also like The Shadow Of The Cross from Nightmare Diaries. The album’s last track is mandatory in our live set, and one of the songs we’ve played the most over the years, but still it never manages to bore me. It has not any spectacular arrangements or instrumental performances, but has a rock solid melodic base.
A song they’ve been listening to a lot recently
Isa: Insomnium – Black Heart Rebellion
Perkele! I love Finnish metal so much!!! Those guitars by Markus are like being kidnapped and having the best trip of your life. I saw that song live and to say that I almost came is not enough. I am really looking forward to seeing Insomnium live again.
Eddie: Moonspell – Extinct
It’s really cool that the Portuguese veterans are still going strong, 20 years after I first saw them on tour with Morbid Angel and Immortal. And “Extinct” may well be their best album since “Irreligious” from 1996, the title track is simply addicting.
Their all-time favourite song
Isa: Anathema – One Last Goodbye
When I die, can someone please play that song at my funeral? That song can make me cry like a baby and get in touch with the deepest feelings I have. No one can make such emotional anthems like Anathema. Love them so much!! Also Oceans Of Grey by Septicflesh – I can’t stop listening to that song after 4 years, I still get goosebumps when I listen to it and I just let myself go into it and follow the mood. That song really is a magnific piece of art to me.
Eddie: Moonsorrow – Tulimyrsky
This is not just a song, it is a musical journey, displaying all kinds of moods that music possibly can create. A 30 minute long eargasm, simple as that.
