Interview:	ELEINE
Title:	Existential core

With their very special, remarkably skillful mix of styles, which is primarily composed of dark, symphonic and Power Metal elements, the Swedes have been enjoying worldwide success for years.

After all, Eleine also have top-class composing skills in their massively mystically accentuated program, as the band around singer Madeleine ‚Eleine‘ Liljestam can currently prove once again with the new and fourth album „We Shall Remain“.

The likeable vocalist and her partner, guitarist Rikard Ekberg are reporting gladly about their newest album publication.

High time for me to interview Eleine, as I see you guys nearly all the time on my Facebook timeline, mentioned and tagged etc. - with just one circulating band photo, as far as I can remember. What is the reason of so much outstanding support from all the people, zines, mags etc. in your opinion? Guess, you guys are doing also outstanding massive interaction with your sworn fanbase, or?

Madeleine: Hehe, that’s great in our opinion at least! We care about our fans, we are so proud of them it seems as if they appreciate what we do!

Rikard: That’s great to hear and I suppose it’s because people can relate and/or get comfort/empowered from what we put out there.

In context: I think it has become extraordinarily important, especially during Covid this has developed, to not only be - constantly - actively present in many ways with photos and texts on all the social media, but also to maintain a sincere, honest contact and interaction with the fans, isn’t?

Madeleine: In my opinion it felt like that was even before the pandemic, but I can be wrong.

Rikard: I feel it has always been important to be sincere and honest.

Congrats to „We Shall Remain“ and with all the great songs and so many catchy lines, the title song f.e. runs by now here and I love it since the first hearing minutes - how do you rate the new album itself compared to its predecessor „Dancing In Hell“?

Madeleine: Thank you very much! They’re both my personal babies, I can never compare or choose a favorite. They reflect happenings and situations in Rikard’s and my life and I love them both. I am very proud of the outcome of ”We Shall Remain” and can’t wait to release the entire album for our fans.

Rikard: Totally agree with Madeleine, these are our creations that we have given much of ourselves to. So proud of both albums.

This is the first time I dive deeper into your creative and musical cosmos - and you made a new fan definitely. Do fans often time write you such words as I do here?

Madeleine: Thank you very much, makes me happy to hear. Our fans are often sharing kind words and personal stories because they are touched by our music and relate. Some stories are hard to grasp, and understand that we actually have saved actual lives with our music, but we are genuinely grateful for everyone who shares their stories and appreciation towards us and what we do.

Rikard: Thank you very much! It happens from time to time, yes, that listeners discovers a new layer they haven’t noticed before. There are actually several musical easter eggs hidden here and there in a number of songs we’ve created.

The new album was written back in 2021-22 … within the most difficult times … what is to tell mainly about?

Madeleine: We write about everything we experience in life, and it tells a lot about what we’ve been through in general, what we’ve been through before the pandemic and it tells a lot about what we have learnt from the past recent years. Our fanbase has grown since the previous album, we have set our focus even more on our fans and it is so beautiful and rewarding to see the dedication from them, but also from us, and how strong our connection really is.

Your wonderful vocal duels are as organic as brilliant arranged and co-sung - do you guys have to make any effort at all for such a performance, or has it become a rather easy task for you over the years of practice, allowing you to deepen purely intuitively when vocalising?

Madeleine: It’s rather an easy task. We have a great dynamic and it’s just great to hear it is reflected in the music!

Rikard: Thank you! Madeleine is a m-u-c-h better vocalist than I am haha.With that said, there has always been something special when we sing together according to our listeners.

Your blasting combination of touching female grace and empowering Metal is a true blow for me - how many times a week you guys have to train and rehearse for such perfection?

Madeleine: We usually meet up once a week to rehearse, drink coffee and discuss what’s coming up next.

„We Are Legion“, also a great tune, sounds to my ears rhythmic-guitar-wise a bit influenced by Amon Amarth, wonderful! Do you like their music?

Rikard: I really enjoy a great chuggy riff, and hey, we are also from Sweden. Maybe something in the water? Let’s call it the Nordic Chugg!

Eleine sounds for me often times like a very fine, very heavy power metal version of Within Temptation, which fits perfectly for my taste. Who is creating such constant blasting melodies in the band?

Madeleine: Rikard and I write all the music in Eleine.

Btw, are there any bands that can/have influenced you as a band?

Madeleine: Everything we listen to influence us. If it’s Hans Zimmer or Rotting Christ doesn’t matter.

How did your collaboration for the new release go in these rather difficult times?

Madeleine: We have been writing all our songs during all the years so it wasn’t any different this time.

How was the selection of songs for it done - was it difficult?

Madeleine: Not difficult at all. We wrote our music like we always do.

What is the o-n-e song with the most meaning for you on the new album and why?

Madeleine: Every song plays an important part for us. But to highlight a few that isn’t released as singles, I’d like to mention: ”Suffering”, ”Promise Of Apocalypse” and ”Through The Mist”.

Nearly everything has changed since Covid - the world, the music business, the societies - how much have you changed, how much have your views on true art changed now?

Madeleine: I have evolved as a human being along side everything that happened during the pandemic, but it’s not only about the pandemic either. My view on true art hasn’t changed, I am the same. True art is valuable to me, as always.

Rikard: We have pushed through as we always have. There was a time when people actively told me to stop singing/playing music because they thought it was bad. The thing is … if you feel and believe it is for you, keep on doing it. As long as you love what you’re doing, you’ll fine tune things more to you liking and then maybe people around you will notice. What is true art? Something famous or something that makes you think/feel/reflect? Art is art, even if it’s not for you in that period of time. Art is life.

Anything you would like to add ?

Madeleine: Thank you for this interview, first of all. And we want to thank all our fans for supporting- and believing in us like you do! Also, we’d like to highlight that pre-orders for our new album ”We Shall Remain” is very important since that can truly help a band, to have good pre-order statistics. Good pre-orders = Album charts = Better festival slots = Better tour offers! So don’t be the ”I’ll wait until it’s out”, support ELEINE by pre-ordering the album! Thank you :)

Rikard: To all our fans, to all in the Eleine Legion. Thank you, without you there would be nothing. Together we are strong, together we are Eleine.

© Markus Eck, 25.06.2023

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