Claim The Throne – Brendon Capriotti

Perth’s Claim The Throne are preparing to embark on a national tour this January/February with Melbourne’s Be’lakor. In September 2013 Claim The Throne released their third studio album, ‘Forged in Flame’, which received overwhelming praise from fans and media, and was soon followed by a national headline tour.

Metal Obsession had the pleasure to chat with Claim The Throne vocalist, Brendon Capriotti to discuss the band’s new album ‘Forged in Flame’, podcasts, the upcoming “Forging An Empire” national tour with Be’lakor, plus supporting Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse in Australia this May.

Metal Obsession: How goes the preparations for the upcoming “Forging an Empire” national tour with Be’lakor?

Brendan Capriotti: Only a week away now so getting pumped! Everything’s booked and good to go, just a matter of jamming our set and pimping the shows.

MO: What kind of setlist can we expect?

BC: Should be able to squish in a 45min set at most shows, so there will be a heap of tracks from the latest album, a couple from the previous one and of course a handful of older drinking tunes.

MO: There seems to be a lot of people who still don’t quite get the whole folk metal thing. How would you best describe Claim The Throne?

BC: We are inspired by the European folk metal bands, but with an Aussie attitude and our own take on it. So we incorporate the ‘catchy’ and ‘melodic’ parts of folk metal and blend them with extreme metal, with an obvious influence from death and black. There have been a bunch of international folk/pagan bands coming to Australia lately, bands like Alestorm, Moonsorrow and Ensiferum, so hopefully more people will be starting to understand what it’s all about.

MO: Claim The Throne are known for their love of fine ales. Can fans expect beer funnels and bongs on the upcoming tour?

BC: In a word, yes!

MO: How have you gauged fan/media reaction towards the new album, ‘Forged in Flame’?

BC: So far so good. Have mainly focused on the Aussie market up until now and all the reviews have been very positive, plenty of radio play and good amount of sales, so couldn’t be happier. Will continue plugging it overseas this year and hopefully it will go down well in other places too!

MO:  There seems to be a lot of imagery of debauchery and violence in the lyrics . Could you enlighten us on the story or concept behind the new album?

BC: Not a story as such, but we tried to have a loose concept in mind to keep the lyrics and themes consistent. That concept was based upon the Earth being furious with the human race, proceeds to destroy it and rebuild, only to find the new race has been born in blood, forged in flame. Not exactly a concept album as such, but that’s the idea that inspired all the debauchery and violence talk.

MO: What has been the biggest challenge for Claim The Throne to continually create great music?

BC: Whilst we’ve been happy with the previous releases, there has always been room for improvement, so it’s been a matter of wo

rking on song-writing, musicianship, taking feedback on board and striving for the perfect Claim The Throne sound. With ‘Forged In Flame’ I think we’ve finally got the album we’ve been aiming for, so it will definitely be a challenge to outdo it next time, but ya never know, it might be easier writing new stuff now that we’ve solidified out style.

Forging An Empire Tour 2014

MO: Claim The Throne’s “blodgecasts” have been getting both positive and negative feedback from fans and bands in Australia. Were you expecting this much discussion and analysis when you first started the podcasts?

BC: To be honest we aren’t even aware that it’s causing too much of a stir just yet, but really enjoying it and happy to hear it may spark debate. It’s another promo medium for us, a chance for fans to feel closer to us, and a chance for us to share knowledge that we have gained to other bands. The whole idea is for musicians to share their successes and failures as to provide tips to other musicians, so hopefully there is both positive and negative feedback because that means people are thinking and making up their own minds as to what is effective and what isn’t.

[Editors notes: For the last year Claim The Throne members Brendan Capriotti (Vocals) and Ashley Large (Drums) have been sharing podcasts on the Claim The Throne website. The podcasts provide helpful advice and guidance for local bands and musicians seeking encouragement and DIY management. www.claimthethrone.net/diy-musician-podcasts]

MO: Claim The Throne have recently been selected to support Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse in Perth this May. Have you found it easier to score supports after sharing your podcasts with metal heads and potential promoters across the Internets?

BC: Stoked about that one, big fans of those bands! We’ve had a pretty sweet run with supports in the last few years, I like to think it’s due to continually proving we can pull a crowd, friendly to promoters, professional at shows, and making the most of any chance we get so the promoters keep us in mind next time. Hard to know if the ‘Blodgecast’ is having much of an effect just yet, but I’m sure it doesn’t hurt!  Having scored so many awesome supports already.

MO: What would you say is the most important thing to keep in mind for any local band wanting to support a big international band?

BC: Your band is ALWAYS on show to promoters. You might have an awesome support application, but to back it up you need a history of being professional, promoting hard and proving that you’re doing good things for your local scene. You’re not going to get every support you apply for, so just be patient and don’t get bitter, get better.

Septicflesh/Fleshgod Apocalypse Australia Tour 2014

MO: Claim The Throne have also had great success supporting Alestorm in the UK and Australia. What would you say is the most helpful advise to give to a local band wanting to tour outside of Australia?

BC: Build good relationships with overseas bands and promoters whenever you can, keep in touch with them and show them you’re working hard, eventually you’ll score a great opportunity. Whilst there’s nothing more disheartening than seeing mediocre bands buying-on to tours in Japan, be patient and don’t tour before you are ready, the last thing you wanna do is get over there and blow it.

MO: It’s easy for some to act professional and courteous with promoters, bands and fans. However, some can’t but help to go a little crazy when on tour.What has been some of the stupidest things you have seen or done on tour with Claim The Throne?

BC: That’s true, sometimes we’re all being nice and courteous one minute, then completely contradicting it by eating turkey and spilling beer all over the sound guy’s stage the next. There have been a bunch of things that probably haven’t been the smartest thing in the world to do on tour… vomiting out of high-rise hotel balconies, fights with taxi drivers, pissing on stage, and generally telling the crowd off.

MO: Can we expect more blodgecasts in 2014? 

BC: For sure. Planning to have a podcast out every week, including heaps of interviews with musicians and industry folk. Will also be more DIY music articles, more Claim The Throne insights, and hopefully a lot more community interaction.  There still seems to be an uncertainty towards folk metal in Australia.

MO: What is your current view of the Australian metal scene?

BC: There’s a growing amount of world-class bands in all sorts of metal genres, that’s for sure. Heaps of healthy chats and opinions from Aussie metal heads on the internet, and I can definitely comment on the Perth local scene and say that there are awesome vibes at shows. More international bands coming here which is of course great, but probably a few too many promoters bringing too many bands, so hopefully that doesn’t lead to poor turnouts and less inclination for bands to tour in the future.

MO: Do you think there is something lacking in the Australian metal scene today?

BC: Quantity of venues. A heap of them are dying out which is not very comforting for the future. This shows why it is essential to support local shows, if we do that then hopefully a few more places will start popping up again.

MO: What would you say is one of the best aspects of the Australian metal scene?

BC: Quite a few hot chicks turning up at shows which rules! Apart from that, the camaraderie seems to be pretty sweet at the moment, bands wanting others to succeed and working together to put on great local gigs.

MO: Aside from from the ludicrous amount of free alcohol and tits (or dicks if referring to Jesse). What makes folk metal so appealing to you?

BC: It’s the perfect example of metal having unlimited room for creativity. If people wanna use flutes, then f*ck it, they’ll use flutes. If they wanna use metal as a chance to talk about their traditions and folklore then they can do that too. In our case, we can play extreme metal and blend it with upbeat catchy tunes, and can get away with drinking a whole heap of booze on stage. Crowds seem to love the light-heartedness of it all, always plenty of sing-a-longs and movement. The tits and dicks are also tops!

MO: Are there plans for Claim The Throne to venture off around the world again. Can we expect any other major tour name dropping or festival appearances this year?

BC: Our biggest goal this year (and always) is to get overseas and make an impact, but it ain’t always that simple. So yeah, we’ll be working our butts off to get on labels, tours and fests, but nothing locked in just yet.

MO: Any famous last words?

BC: Just super keen to get on tour, so check out the tour dates and come along for a beer with us!

Catch Claim The Throne and Be’lakor on their upcoming national tour this January/February.

Presented by Soundworks Touring, Prime Cuts Records and Metal Obsession.

JAN 23 – GOLD COAST – MIAMI SHARK BAR**
JAN 24 – BRISBANE – CROWBAR
JAN 25 – SYDNEY – BALD FACED STAG – UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 6 FESTIVAL
JAN 26 – MELBOURNE – BENDIGO HOTEL
JAN 30 – BALLARAT – KAROVA LOUNGE**
JAN 31 – HOBART – BRISBANE HOTEL
FEB 1 – ADELAIDE – ENIGMA BAR**
FEB 7 – PERTH – AMPLIFIER BAR

**BE’LAKOR NOT PERFORMING

DOOR SALES ONLY FOR ALL SHOWS

www.facebook.com/claimthethrone

www.claimthethrone.com

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