5 minute read
Happy Days. Interview with A. Morbid
Interview by Andrew Stanton
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Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.
“Thank you so much for having me here it’s been a while since I've done an interview.”
- Can you tell our readers a bit about your band's history, please?
“Happy Days was first formed in 2003. I was 13 years old when I started to write the first songs for the two demos and first album as well… The first song I ever wrote for happy days was “A World Of Pain”. Unfortunately, during that time period, I had zero experience and zero contacts with labels so unfortunately the music that I wrote for the first album was not released until way later in 06 or 07 I believe. My memory is a bit off because for me it was such a chaotic and dreadful time of my life. I had no knowledge on how to record or mix and master anything so unfortunately the quality of the songs I wrote ended up suffering majorly. In fact, the first two demos were recorded using a karaoke machine with a cassette tape in it. And because of this Happy Days had a rough start during that period of time.”
- What bands did you like growing up?
“So I grew up listening to classical music. The earliest memory I have I listened to the first song was Beethoven and Chopin. This has played a major influence to my writing style and even the way how I structure my music as well. If you were to convert my music into a Classical version, it would transfer perfectly because I compose and write my music in the same sense as you would write a Classical piece. As far as metal bands are concerned the very first Black Metal band I ever heard was Sarcofago - I.N.R.I. and it forever changed my life. I was 9 years old when first bought this vinyl because I was curious about the front cover it for some reason intrigued me and even the guy who sold me the album at the record store told me it’s a classic and highly recommended it so of course I bought it and it’s was really influenced me to start writing music for happy days. The other bands that really influenced me as far as guitar play style and musical influence isconcerned Trist (Czech), and Dissection (Sweden). These two bands really inspired me and motivated me to write my own music.”
- Why did you choose to name yourselves after a comedy show?
“I chose this name because I wanted it to be ironic since the lyrics that I write is anything but happy. It was meant to be as a middle finger to the copycats of Black Metal. During that period, I had this impression that all the new Black Metal bands that were coming out always had a very Satanic or occult type name like goat this and Satan that and honestly I thought it was rather childish and frankly extremely primitive. Originality is something that's very hard to come by these days so I purposely chose this name to stand out from all the other generic bands that surfaced. I also chose the name because it really just seemed to fit well with what I was writing even though it was the polar opposite. Sometimes in life things just appear in your head and it’s just meant to happen. Call it fate or call it causality. Either way it came to me instantly.”
- What did you think of the legendary Florida Death Metal scene?
“So there are very and I mean very few Death Metal bands that I listen to. And none of them are from Florida. So I mean I don’t really have any opinion on them. I can’t say they’re terrible because obviously the scene is huge and many successful bands come from that horrible state. So in the end I just don’t have an opinion.”
- Do you have a message to people who are offended by DSBM?
“I don’t care.”
- What can fans expect from your new album?
“A Lot of Classical and Funeral Doom influence. I decided to go further into the Funeral doom side because it’s always been a genre that I enjoyed listening to and a big fan of. However, despite all the major changes that I decided to do by adding female vocals to my music andpiano, Traces of the DSBM sound will always linger and be present at the heart of my music. That will never change.”
- What do you think of Black Doom and Blackgaze?
“I love both genres although it’s very rare to find good bands that do the genre justice. As you can see I am very picky with a lot of bands and always have been. In fact, most of the time I don’t listen to any Metal at all because it all just starts to blend together after a while. It doesn’t mean I don’t like the genre, it just means it takes a lot to impress me and to get me to listen to the album entirely without feeling bored or annoyed.”
- Are you planning a tour?
“Yes, in fact Happy Days will be possibly playing its first festival in Austria November 2023. I am currently trying to work out the details with the promoter but yes many shows will be happening in Europe and very soon I will be making fliers to promote the shows.”
- Do you have a message for our readers?
“I love you all. The ones who love and hate me I appreciate you both. Without you both I wouldn’t be where I am today with my music.”
Thank you for your time.
“Thank you for your time and for your questions.”
