Freedom Of Fear Began their musical journey in 2015 and the Adelaide four piece have been pushing the boundaries of Metal and its definition ever since. After several EP’s they unleashed Nocturnal Gates in 2019 an excellent genre bending opus.
What Does Freedom of Fear mean to you?
Matt Walters Guitar: ‘’It's open to interpretation, but we just thought it sounded cool at the time ha-ha. To me personally it means this: To become free, a person must face his fears and leave his comfort zone. Freedom and fear are different sides of the same coin.’’ Nocturnal Gates is such a journey through music and extreme progressive metal. What goes into the song writing process? is it a collaborative effort or a more individual vision? ‘’Thanks. I composed the music on Nocturnal Gates - it was mostly written before finalising the current line-up. Usually songs are composed at home and tabbed into 'guitar pro' so that everyone can rock up to the rehearsal room prepared and focus on honing the material. I think it would be hard to write this kind of music as a 'jam' band. Lyrics on Nocturnal Gates were mostly written by Jade.’’ ‘’For the new album - I've written most of the music still, however Corey has also written a couple of songs that I think are really great. Corey, Jade and I have all written lyrics for a couple of songs each, so the process has been more collaborative this time.’’ It is the greatest boundary pushing release since Death's 'Human. Do you feel you have peers and yet you are not strictly bound by the "rules" of metal? ‘’That's a big compliment! I think that any bands playing similar styles would be considered peers, even if we have our own unique mix of influences. I don't think we feel bound by strict 'metal' rules - the songs just have to flow and make sense.’’
Progressive metal is the closest thing yet most limiting to describe you? Or Is thought-provoking all-encompassing metal a better way to describe you? ‘’I'm not quite sure - perhaps all-encompassing describes us better. The song structures could be considered progressive, however we probably don't fit into the 'prog' genre.’’ There is no genre that is off limits? ‘’No subgenres of metal are off-limits, it really just depends on inspiration while and what works compositionally for the particular song. If I can use a pretentious sounding analogy, I see different subgenres of metal music, or any music, like different colours on a palette. A painter will often use lots of different colours, but they still need to be complementary rather than clash. So, it's highly unlikely we would just throw a reggae section into the middle of a death metal style song ha-ha, although maybe some sections might still clash to certain listeners. Inspiration is often drawn from non-metal genres harmonically / melodically, while still being filtered through a 'metal' sound.’’ Are you all formally trained or is it just a result of passion for your instruments? ‘’Corey, Georgina and I all studied either classical or jazz music at Elder Conservatorium, and Jade had some formal vocal training. ‘’
‘’I met Georgina while studying guitar at university, and Corey and Jade through the music scene when looking for new band members. Corey is in another band called Dyssidia, but for the rest of us Freedom of Fear is our only band.’’
Why is extreme music so vital? ‘’Personally, it's just the genre of music that I resonate with the most and it allows a wide range of artistic expression. Plus it's the most fun to play live!’’ How important is the melodic component to your music ? ‘’I think that it's an important component of our sound, at least currently, although it does depend on what ideas come out. Very often I'll have song ideas begin as chord progressions / melodies which are broken down and turned into riffs.’’ The idea of The Consciousness of Misery and the tragedy of existence?
‘’The title came from a philosophy book I have called 'A Short History of Decay'. Jade wrote those lyrics though, so below are some answers from her:’’ Jade: “I guess it’s looking at the world through a pessimistic lens, and only being able to focus on the bad, and none of the good, and the feelings of hopelessness and despair that can come with that. I think that most people experience those feelings at least once in their life, especially right now.”
Your Lyrics deal with mortality and lost chances/regret? Jade: “There’s definitely a lot of themes that play into the lyrics, and mortality and regret are a couple of them.”
Where do these ideas come from? Are they deeply personal and do other mediums help inspire them such as literature and art ?
Jade: “I wrote about really personal things that I was experiencing at the time, but I don’t want to say that’s what the music is about. I just wanted to put something out that was raw and real that people could respond to. One of the most rewarding things has been having people tell me that they read the lyrics and it really resonated with them. "
What is a Haunting Foretold by Grief?
Jade: “Strange story: Going back a few years, I had my one and only experience with sleep paralysis, and it was probably the scariest thing I've ever gone through. That's what the lyrics of Amorphous are about. Looking back, I think the sleep paralysis happened because I had a lot of internalised stress, and it was a sort of omen of things to come.”
You have just entered the studio to record a follow up. Do you feel any internal pressure to follow up Nocturnal Gates?
‘’There was definitely some pressure, however we're feeling great about the album and it will be longer than Nocturnal Gates. Some songs are probably more accessible, and some are more extreme. There are some shorter ones on there which helps with accessibility, but that's just how things turned out organically.’’
When do you plan to release it?
‘’Probably mid-2021.’’
With the limits of the Australia scene and location is it easier to have more creative freedom knowing that the chance of pursuing music full time is highly unlikely?
Or it doesn't bother you?
‘’Interesting point, I think that might be true. You can't really control what musical ideas come to you, at least that's the case for me, and I think that if we tried to intentionally write music with commercial intentions it would come out as uninspired. I think the same could be said for intentionally trying to be 'underground' as well. If we can at least afford to tour, or even better break even, I'm happy!’’
What is next for Freedom of Fear?
‘’Finishing the new album, and touring again once possible!’’
Top 6 albums of all time ?
Tough question! Off of the top of my head in no order:
-Led Zeppelin - IV
-Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force
-Megadeth - Rust In Peace
-Death - The Sound of Perseverance
-Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
-Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
-Opeth - Deliverance
Oops, that's seven, not sure which one I would take out though!
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