By Peter Landau
Metal is the new black, or something like that. Every hipster with a soul patch has decided to grow his hair long and greasy and headbang, which is a vast improvement over moping emo or taking poison and dancing to disco.
But metal is more fragmented than the Middle East, with a buffet of stoner, black, death, classic, hair, and noise to fill your plate. Well, here's another: darkwave, a romantic, neoclassic form of metal evocative of everything from Slayer to Depeche Mode.
That's where Weltenbrand comes in, a combo from Liechtenstein with a male-female team of singers who sweep you up in their sumptuous majesty and take you to lands where elves and other faerie creatures live. Dina Zambelli has just joined the group for its latest release, End of the Wizard (Napalm Records), and is so excited she had to speak to Mr. Skin about it.
While Dina wouldn't get naked for Skin Central, she did admit to taking dirty pictures. Dina also talks about the band's lyrics, her metal background, and if she likes to raise a lighter when she's at a classical concert. Learn more about Dina and the band at Weltenbrand.li.
I've heard Weltenbrand referred to as romantic gothic metal and darkwave, but how do you classify your music?
This is the question most asked of me. Weltenbrand doesn't make music to be classified. We always describe our music as movie soundtracks with vocals. I guess this fits best, but from mags or critics we are most described as neoclassic darkwave even though I think Weltenbrand is not so neoclassic anymore since the sound changed. But as I said, movie soundtrack fits the best for us!
But it's sort of a metal movie soundtrack. Do you come from a metal background?
I got into metal quite early in my life. I've always been listening to music that has a rough edge. Actually it started at the age of about eight or nine with Bon Jovi's "If I Was Your Mother" [from the Keep the Faith album]. After then it got harder every year. I started with hard rock. At the age of sixteen, it went on with several styles of metal, such as Helloween, Ten, Stratovarius, Nightwish, Samael, Within Temptation, all kinds of alternative bands.
That's when I also bought my first guitar--because of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters," and now I ended up with melodic black and melodic death metal. I love all the Scandinavian metal bands! But since my dad used to listen to a lot of classical music, I started to listen to movie soundtracks as well. And when I heard orchestral metal for the first time . . . that was love!
What were you doing before you joined up with Weltenbrand?
I was singing even before "If I Was Your Mother" stroked me. I was constantly singing and I started my own projects and did concerts in the school choir, and I sang in an acid jazz school band. Afterwards I took classical singing lessons for a year until I spent a year in Minnesota. There I joined five choirs and one band just for fun.
I've never had the opportunity to sing in a metal or gothic band before, although I always was looking for such a band to sing in. Until I got this message from Oliver [Falk, who formed the band in 1995] last fall that said he was looking for a singer for "Erben der Sch?ng" and he wanted to have a dark metal style. Afterwards I also joined Weltenbrand for Simone [Villamar, another founding member of the band]. Now I'm in an awesome band. What more do I want?
There's a classical edge to the band's work. Do you go to Wagner concerts and salute the orchestra with devil hand signs?
[Laughs] We might think about doing that! No, I have to tell you at this point that we are not satanic! Not at all. Oliver grew up with classical music just as I did. We listen to both styles of music but a little more to metal. Classical music has the most facets and the most opportunities to tell a good story and spread the most feelings. Classical music is the only music that can make me cry--and Tori Amos--uh, but that is a different story.
As I said, personally I listen to a lot of movie soundtracks. My favorites are most of the pieces of Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and Harry Gregson-Williams. That is why I'm absolutely in love with symphonic metal.
You're replacing Simone Villamar, who, with her husband Stefan, left the band because she got pregnant. Any chance you'll be doing the same or are you on the pill?
Oliver and I think that there is need for more singers to get in a family way, so, not to gossip, but there is a chance for me to get pregnant. But I'll not to leave the band because of it. The difference is that Oliver and I both have time to do music and have a baby because we both work at home. Simone had an office job as well as being in the band and didn't have time to do all three of them. So she quit the band.
What's it like being a woman in the male-dominated genre of metal?
Since the scene is male-dominated, you either get treated like a princess or they don't take you seriously. I have the privilege to be thought of as a princess side. Most of the guys don't expect a girl to be into the metal scene, so it is always fun to watch their faces when I start to join the conversation. But I guess I'm not what you call a "normal" female anyways. I watch Formula 1, climb trees, and sometimes sit on the chair like a woodcutter!
I know you just joined the band, but do you find yourself overrun by longhaired groupies willing to follow your most perverse command?
I'm waiting for you out there [laughs]! Nope, I guess my biggest groupie so far is my husband.
What is it that attracts you to the symphonic black metal of Weltenbrand?
I love things that have a dark thrill! And Weltenbrand has definitely a dark edge! I'm also very into myths, legends, and sagas so the lyrics of Weltenbrand are very fascinating to me. And last but not least I completely understand and love Oliver's compositions!
I know you're not the lyricist, but you do sing the lyrics, so maybe you can help clue me in on what they're all about?
The lyrics are all sagas and legends of Liechtenstein. The reason why is that the band wanted in the beginnings to represent their country. But since the sagas and myths are coming to an end we might take some sagas from the place where I grew up in Switzerland that is right next to Liechtenstein. These types of lyrics fit the music of Weltenbrand best. Most of the sagas are all about ghosts or dead folks. The sagas from Switzerland are very similar to the ones of Liechtenstein but have even more to do with natural causes and natural catastrophes and in between there are dragons and ghosts or dead people.
You've already confessed your love of soundtrack music. Your music is very evocative and seems to me well suited for soundtrack work. Has the band ever scored a film?
Unfortunately there was never an opportunity to do such things. But we would love to!
What movie would you like to write music for?
Since I like movies with a historical background or fantasy movies with a dark edge it would be a movie like Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or Sleepy Hollow (Picture: ). Hey, isn't Peter Jackson about doing The Hobbit? But since I also like animated movies it could be a movie like The Corpse Bride or such pieces!
Since Mr. Skin is a niche movie site, focusing in on the nudity or "good parts," do you remember growing up the first time you saw a nude scene in a movie?
Oh my, I think I paid too little attention on such things. Ah, could Donald Duck losing his pants because of Goofy's bullshitting be considered? Yeah! I guess that's it! Want me to describe Donald Duck's best parts?
Naw, how about women's best parts. Do you enjoy watching naked women onscreen?
Not much, but I don't have a problem with it either. I guess it is just not important for me in a movie. But I like to draw and photograph bodies, also naked ones. I think that the human body is something very beautiful that looks awesome put into the right light and scene!
Which actresses would you like to see in the "right light and scene"?
Hella von Sinnen, a German actress, whose stage name means "out of her mind" because of her eccentric dress style! No, I think there are a lot of lovely looking women on earth, but I could not name one that I'd like to see nude. Well, it definitely would have to be a woman that looks female! I liked Kate Winslet (Picture: 1 - 2) when she used to look more female than now. I would have loved to photograph her!
Would you do a nude scene for the camera?
I don't think that anybody wants to see that, nah. I think I have to disappoint you. But I would think about doing pictures in that direction.
Before I let you go, what words of wisdom would you like to impart to the readers of Mr. Skin?
Stay dark!
