Symphonic metal bands with female singers are surprisingly rare in Japan. Ancient Myth, however, has been active since 2002. Singer Michal has been the face of Ancient Myth since 2008, as well as an important part of the band’s sound and visual approach. Earlier this year, their fourth album ‘ArcheoNyx’ was released and their new mini-album ‘Ambrosian Blood’ will come out in December. Michal gladly informs us about how these releases came together.
Both ‘ArcheoNyx’ and ‘Ambrosian Blood’ were recorded during the covid pandemic. Artistically, Michal does not just see this as a curse: “In a way, this pandemic worked positively for us. For the last couple of years, I have been wondering when and how to release our new album. Our wish was to create new sounds and give people courage during this chaotic pandemic. I wondered if that was the maximum a musician could do now. Of course there were also negative effects since it was a bit difficult to go into the studio and record together.”
Turning Point
The last few years have been somewhat tumultuous for Ancient Myth anyway. Several line-up changes took place, which among other things resulted in their main songwriter (bassist Naoki) leaving. “This is a very big turning point for the band”, Michal admits. “After ‘Aberration’ (2016) was released, our main songwriter left the band. We had to start writing lots of songs from scratch.
Hal (keyboardist) and I have the experience of playing classical piano for a long time. That would become the common language between us. And Hal’s arrangements really fit Ancient Myth’s songs. In addition, I wanted to learn more about music and develop my musical skills. So I took violin lessons and took personal lessons from a classical singing teacher. That means we have taken extra time to study.
As a child, I went to a Catholic school and joined the hymn chorus. But at that time, I was not taking any special lessons, like private singing lessons, for instance. When our main songwriter left and we toured through Europe in 2016-2017, I realized I needed to btush up my musical skills and that’s why I took private lessons. I did not start singing in opera style until very recently.”
Shock
Michal’s musical background is not as classical as some people might expect: “I am a big fan of Japanese video game series, such as Final Fantasy en Dragon Quest. Especially the background music for battle scenes or action games drove me to being a metal head. One day, ‘Ten’ and ‘Fair Warning’ were recommended to me by a cd shop employee who knew I was into game music. It was a predestined encounter that defined my musical life. I was really shocked that there was such great music that I never knew.
After that, I bought a lot of cd’s at a heavy metal specialty store, listened to them and became absorbed in heavy metal. Then I met a friend who loved similar musicians, so we started my first band in Osaka. My biggest metal influences are bands like Dark Moor, Kamelot, Nightwish, Rhapsody (of Fire), Sonata Arctica and Angra.”
Capricious
“When I write songs, the melodies oftenly suddenly come to mind. In the train, in the shower… It’s a very capricious thing. Then I hum the melody to record it on my smartphone or I program the data into midi software. Those ideas I send to Hal. Hal and I discuss a lot of things and make the songs together. Once we have a rough outline of the song, we ask Kohei (Iyoda, gitarist) and Shibuki (drummer) to listen to it and we create the arrangements together.”
Dense orchestral arrangements like Ancient Myth’s can be tricky for some singers. Michal, however, does not mind them at all: “Layered musical instruments are very comfortable and exciting for me. Many times, I’m listening to the beautiful melody in many layers while I sing. If I get lost while singing a melody, I always end up listening to the orchestral parts, because they often have very similar melodies to the vocals.”
Own style
For Ancient Myth, Michal is more than just the singer. She is also responsible for the visual approach of the band, which plays a large role in their videos and the artworks of their albums. And that concerns more than just a bunch of pictures: “All visuals, from photos to clothes and designs, have been directed by me with the understanding and cooperation from the other members. With this, I really want to creat our own style: gothic, beauty, power, female and male, mixing oriental and occidental…
As before, I designed all the artworks for ‘ArcheoNyx’. Please take a look! The booklet design of the deluxe dition is a bit different than that of the regular edition. Also, the deluxe edition will have a bonus cd with orchestral versions of all the songs in the package!”
Difficult
While European symphonic metal bands with female singers do fairly well in Japan, there is not a large scene of bands playing that style from the country itself. “Symphonic metal is really difficult music”, Michal explains. “Composers should really have a deep knowledge and understanding of the music and orchestration. I think that is a huge reason why so few symphonic metal bands exist in Japan. And a large part of the Japanese audience kind of doesn’t want to like symphonic or gothic metal. As a result, we mostly play with “girls metal” bands (all-female metal bands) if we have joint events or gigs.”
And yet, Michal has been flying the flag since 2008. Even longer if you include her former bands Mandylion and Codename: Wingless. For this, Michal has another simple explanation. “I love heavy metal”, she smiles. “The music and the people in the scene.”
Kevy Metal 
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