We just can’t get enough of ladies that rock the harsh vocals, and the guest of this interview is definitely one of them. After Mirk’s review of their debut album “Regression“, we chatted with their lead singer Elisabet about life, routine and music of course.
Hello Elisabet! How’s it going in this period?
Quite okay but a bit busy with the bands and my job and the upcoming Xmas…!
Oh yeah! This month you’ve released the debut album of your band Archetype X. How do you feel when your work is available for the audience to listen to?
I would say I have mix-feelings, a bit scared and a bit excited because you never know how the audience will react.
Has there been a real-life situation that inspired any of the songs from “Regression”?
Yes, some of the lyrics I wrote were inspired somehow by real situations, for instance: the track Mighty Karma talks about the power of your fate, and I really believe that what you give is what you get.
Speaking of concerts, I would love to see you perform live! How do you prepare the setlist for the show?
Well, you are very welcome to come and see us! We usually rehearse every weekend before a concert and during these sessions, we decide which tracks we think can fit better in our show, depending on the venue, the other bands and the time we have. So far it has been easy because we just have two albums, but obviously, the more songs you have, the harder it is to design your setlist, I guess.
I’ll do my best to attend one of your shows! Is there a record that you consider the closest to perfection?
Honestly, I couldn’t choose only one but I consider Sheer Heart Attack, from Queen, an excellent album and unfairly underrated. It’s an album super eclectic and magnificent, with tunes extremely different from one to another. It’s absolutely amazing for me to listen to all this variety of voices, sounds, styles and theatricality in the same album. And my top 2 is for Children of the Night, from Tribulation. It’s undoubtedly a Masterpiece!!!
What’s an average day like for you?
I wake up every day at 6:30 and go to school since I am a teacher in a Secondary School. I spend almost the whole week working for the school and, believe me, it’s super tiring to deal with more than 20 teenagers, every day, especially when they come from low social classes and they do not have expectations in life. So I have to perform as a teacher, as a mother, as a psychotherapist, as a police officer…And twice a week, if I have enough time and energy, I practice pilates and do some workouts to burn off my bad energy. Fortunately, what helps me to discharge my anger is singing.
How do you interact and respond to your fans?
I must admit that I am very awkward with social networks, definitively it’s not my thing. But in live [shows, ed] I love to cheer up the crowd, to get feedback from them. And once the show has finished, I always go to the merch and chat openly with people: I’ve always been super extroverted and I love meeting people since I learnt to talk.
Is being a woman in metal more straightforward or challenging?
I think that in rock music and metal music it is not easy to make yourself a name being a woman. In fact, I remember when I was 7 watching videos from The Bangles and I said to my sisters: Wow! They are women and playing instruments! It was something kind of revolutionary and I immediately fell in love with the fact of creating my own band. Later on, when I was 13 I bought the drums with my humble savings, and my parents, who never supported me in music affairs because they both are very traditional, threatened me with throwing away my drums every time I tried to play them, I guess because I just made noise! So yes, from my childhood I have always struggled to make music and now in my adulthood, although it’s more common to see women in metal bands, there are still some macho men who judge you just for your physical appearance or if you are hot enough to join in a band.
Let’s say you had to go on an adventure. You can bring with you 3 objects (aside from food and water) that will help you. What do you choose?
Some device to listen to music, because It’s a must in my life; sun protector because the sun is becoming more harmful and I suffer from Vitiligo, and last but not least, an inflatable mattress could be useful because you can use it to sleep on it and in case there is a lake or sea you can have fun anyway.
Thank you very much, Elisabet, for taking the time to do this interview! Would you like to add anything else to FemMetal’s readers?
I would say thank you for your support and I wish one day there will be no need to tag “femme” or “woman” in music because it has become a standard.
Hi! My name is Benedetta, I’m 29 and I live in Northern Italy. My passion has always been music: I started taking guitar lessons when I was 6. Now I work as a sales representative, but in my free time I interview talented people, I spread the word about my favorite band (MoonSun), and I go to concerts or travel around Europe.
I am a huge collector of anything Tolkien-related, autographs, merchandise, and CDs. I am quite an original person and don’t mind being the voice outside of the choir (even though I play in the church’s choir!).
