I’m really fond of new and interesting projects. One of them is definitely Noble Sin, a band that has just released a new single “Nebo“, and that has a quite fascinating mix of people in the band. We chatted with lead singer Alina and guitarist Nikolai about music, touring and of course, women in metal.

Benedetta

Hello Alina and Nikolai, how are you doing at the moment?

Nikolai Fissenko

Tired and happy! “Nebo” is out, people are writing to us from all over Europe, and we’re juggling all of it with our day jobs. It’s a good kind of chaos.

Alina Lykholat

I feel liberated. I’ve finally said, and expressed emotionally, what I wanted to say. Originally the chorus was going to be in Ukrainian, and maybe one day we’ll do a Ukrainian version. But that would change the essence: it would become more about praying for my country, which I think is natural, and anyone from a conflict zone can relate to it, and unfortunately there are many such places today. Right now I’m happy we said, all together, what we were all thinking: how great it would be if every soldier in the world did a flash mob at the same moment and just said no.

Benedetta

The lyric “We are an ocean against a drop of evil” highlights the collective power of individuals over authority. How do you see the role of music in empowering individual conscience against systemic violence?

Alina Lykholat

When the war broke out in 2022 it hurt me deeply, even after so many years in Rome. I didn’t want to write a song about one side. I asked a simple question: what if the soldiers in every army stopped obeying? There are always more soldiers than officers. That’s the ocean. Music can’t stop a war, but it can remind one person that saying no is possible, and that they’re not alone when they say it.

Nikolai Fissenko

A song is small. But a refusal is also small, one person, one order, one “no”. The chorus is about what happens when those small things add up.

Benedetta

Noble Sin brings together Ukrainian, Russian, and Italian backgrounds within a single lineup based in Rome. How does this blend shape your creative process and identity as a band?

Nikolai Fissenko

The irony is that I’m the Russian in the band, and my surname, Fissenko, is Ukrainian. My family is from Saint Petersburg, I grew up in Paris, and I play guitar next to a Ukrainian singer every week. We didn’t plan a “message” lineup. Alina and I met by chance in a restaurant, a friend said “he plays guitar, she sings, do something”, and we did. Valerio, Antonio and Andrea brought the rest. We’re a family now.

Alina Lykholat

In the rehearsal room nobody is a nationality. We argue about tempos, not borders. But when we wrote “Nebo“, it mattered that the final refusal could be sung in English, Ukrainian and Russian at the same time, by people who actually speak those languages.

Benedetta

Art has historically been a vehicle for protest, but modern music often shies away from explicit political stance. Do you feel a responsibility as musicians to tackle heavy socio-political topics?

Nikolai Fissenko

We don’t feel we have to write about politics. But when something happens to people you love, it’s harder not to write about it. “Nebo” is about every army, not one flag. That’s the stance: against the order to kill, wherever it comes from.

Alina Lykholat

I think a musician has a responsibility to talk about everything that touches his or her soul. If there’s a political question I don’t feel anything about, I don’t think I’m obliged to speak just because I’m a musician. But when something touches me, I have to say something, because then I’m really speaking from the heart. Being true to yourself is the most important thing for a musician.

Benedetta

What kind of reactions have you received so far from your friends and families, especially those whose actual voice notes are embedded in the track?

Alina Lykholat

They told us it sounds new, a new style. It’s us growing up, in the sound and in what we’re saying.

Benedetta

Now that “Nebo” is out on all platforms, is this single a standalone manifesto, or does it signal the thematic and musical direction of an upcoming EP or album?

Nikolai Fissenko

We’re releasing singles one at a time for now, and we have two more songs ready. One is about toxic relationships: how they can feel like heaven and hell at the same time. The other is about the stereotype of the “real man”. That’s all we’re going to spoil for now!

Benedetta

It would be awesome to see Noble Sin in a live concert! How would you translate the raw emotional weight and multi-layered vocal field of your music into a performance?

Nikolai Fissenko

Live we have two ways of doing it. In the first we play with backing tracks for the synths. In the second we play without them, and Alina either says something different into the mic or just lets her voice rest. Either way, it’s five people in a room playing it loud.

Benedetta

Do you think that we will ever reach some equality between men and women in the metal world?

Alina Lykholat

I believe so. I’m quite optimistic, and I think we’re moving in that direction sooner rather than later. Education about equality between the sexes has been running really intensely in different parts of the world, and I think very soon we’ll see the fruits of it, especially with new generations talking about it openly.

Benedetta

If you had to choose your perfect touring lineup with 3 bands, which ones would you pick?

Nikolai Fissenko

U2 and Foo Fighters. And personally, I’d love to tour with Noize MC, a Russian opposition artist. But honestly, we’d tour with any band we like and respect, on a personal and a professional level.

Benedetta

Is there anything else you’d like to add to our readers?

Alina Lykholat

Thank you for listening to a song in three languages. If you’ve ever been told to do something you knew was wrong, “Nebo” is for you.

Nikolai Fissenko

Thank you, Benedetta, and FemMetal. Come and say hi at a show.

All platforms: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/noblesin1/nebo-2