Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers –
HIGH FIGHTER – have always been one of my favourite current bands
within the scene. I’ve been a long time supporter of the band and
they have gone from strength to strength since their inception back
in 2014.
The band released their celebrated
debut album – Scars & Crosses – back in 2016 which was
acclaimed by fans and critics alike.
Fast forward 3 years and the band
are back with their heaviest and most brutal release to date.
CHAMPAIN is a more daring sound with lead vocalist – Mona Miluski –
showing off her impressive vocal range. This is an album that will
send chills down your spine.
The band are now singed to Italian
Powerhouse Label – Argonauta Records – and I managed to catch up
with Lead Singer – Mona Miluski – who also runs the excellent PR
Label – ALL NOIR PR.
Read on for a cool and fascinating
interview with one of my favourite people within the
Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal Community.
Hi
Mona. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today.
Hey
Steve, thanks for having us again! Things are well. Our album release
plus some great tour dates are close, summer is here too, so life
could be worse.
Congrats
on your upcoming new album CHAMPAIN. Fantastic album and even better
than your debut album. You excited for people to hear the new angrier
and pissed off HIGH FIGHTER.
Thank
you, that means a lot. Yes we are, and it seems so far people even
liking that heavier side, which is amazing to hear! We appreciate our
listeners being so open-minded when it comes to music, as so are we.
CHAMPAIN
is quite a dark and daring release compared to your celebrated debut
album. Was that an easy decision by the band to release something
different.
Yes.
Because it's never been a decision. We already started writing new
material shortly after the release of 'Scars & Crosses', but in
the end we had a lot of different parts. We even thrown many of them
aside, and started into a new songwriting flow during 2018, when it
naturally turned into a heavier and more fast-paced direction. We
felt very comfortable with it, and I think this record is kind of
more focussed and following a central theme than any other record we
did before.
Are
you scared how you fans may react to CHAMPAIN. Or is this a risk
worth taking for HIGH FIGHTER.
No,
whether it's a risk or not, we don't write our music to satisfy
others only. That has never been our main goal, otherwise we would
have written previous records in another style. We are aware of how
to please genre fans and for sure we would be able write “the”
classic stoner rock, doom or metal song, but we never feared any
genre borders. As you know Steve, we have always mixed a lot of
styles into one High Fighter sound, and it's not always easy to
please everyone.
You
play a metal festival, and you're too stoner; you play a stoner
festival, and you're too metal. We have somehow became kind of exotic
in the heavy music scene, and that's fine for us, we got used to it!
(laughs)
We
write the music we dig and how we feel comfortable with. We have
never cared about fitting into one genre, and we probably never will.
Like Brant Bjork once said to us, “don't care too much what others
say about you, do your thing, and one day they will get it.” Right
on.
What
was the recording of CHAMPAIN like. Was it an easy or hard experience
compared to your debut album.
This
time we were 100% prepared. We took a few months for the
pre-production. Aside rehearsing 2 times a week, we spent every
weekend recording all tracks live, over and over again, for months.
Again we taped all instrumentals live. Recording with our dear friend
Jan Oberg was super relaxed and he helped us with a lot of creative
input, which also definitely gave the album a few more great
highlights. This time we did not feel a rush as on the last record
due to the booked studio time was running out, but recordings went
pretty quick this time. Thanks to the months of spending every
weekend for pre-recordings!(laughs)
The
album touches on some hard-hitting themes on the album. What inspired
you when writing the lyrics and recording the vocals as well.
Life
and personal struggles is what always inspires me the most. I would
call myself a “happy depressive” person. Life could be actually
good, great job, amazing friends, but sometimes and over a long time
recently and while we have written the album, there has been some
inner emptiness. You're surrounded by actually an OK life, but you're
alone, you know that feeling?
Champain
tells the story of an anti-hero, it can be you, me, anyone who reads
this. Someone who always falls down in life, who is dealing not only
with depressions but also personal disappointments by relationships
and people you may have trusted, about not feeling lovable, about
your inner demons and daily struggles. But this “Champ” creates a
power out of this situation, due to being almost angry, pissed or
desperate about the ever falling in life, and always finds a way to
move on. This album is power and weakness, it's dark and light, it's
strength and pain.
Mona,
you’ve changed your vocals quite considerably for this release.
I’ve never heard you sing harsh vocals such as this. Some of them
even go into almost DEATH METAL style delivery. Is this something
you’ve always wanted to do and never had the chance to.
Yea,
I have worked on my vocal skills and tried out myself over the years,
especially live. And I learned a lot about my vocal range and
colortones. While we write songs, it's always an inner feel when I
hear a riff, if I will scream or sing clean on it. Naturally on this
new record, the riffs and grooves all turned out to be very heavy and
straight forward right from the beginning, and build me a ground to
add more brutal vocals on it, while not losing my blues and grunge
roots. I really appreciate and enjoy the freedom my band mates
create, as it gives a lot of freedom to show the variety in each one
of us.
Is
this how HIGH FIGHTER will sound on future releases.
Who
knows. (smiles) Maybe yes, maybe no – may happen our third album
will even share further sides of the High Fighter.
I
know you’ve performed these new songs LIVE recently. How has the
response been by people from a LIVE Perspective. Did people enjoy
hearing the new songs with the old songs.
We
totally love playing the new tracks live! Such a good and intense
energy with the crowd, just recently at for example Desertfest London
or Freak Valley. Insane!
We will play a few festivals this year and also hit the road with Dopethrone in August. This run will be crazy, and we can't wait!
You’ve
managed to bring in some big guns and good friends of yours - Anton
Lisovoj - to provide vocals on When We Suffer and Jan Oberg of
EARTHSHIP and GRIN fame to record the album. Were they easy to
convince to be part of the HIGH FIGHTER journey.
One
can say, Champain is a “family affair”. We became good friends
with Jan when we toured with Earth Ship a few years ago already, and
are also fans of his studio productions. Some of our friends recorded
some killer albums with him, and while we moved into a heavier
direction on Champain, Jan has been the perfect match for us. We had
a great time in Berlin, Jan has been amazing in regards to our sound,
common vibes and the creative input. Marcel Schulz alias Johnny Doe,
who is also part of the Earth Ship and our Berlin family ( now
playing in Praise the Plague ) was responsible for our artwork this
time, and we took our new photos with Basti Grim of Earth Ship and
Neander in Berlin after a long day in the studio.
It's
the first time ever, we have a guest vocalist on the album. When we
met the guys in Downfall of Gaia the first time, back in 2017 on our
tour with Conan, we became close friends since then. Nowadays, Anton
belongs to one of my best friends, I am also a huge fan of not only
his band but also his vocal colour. When we thought about having a
guest singer, I immediately had Anton in mind – and we are stoked
he was up for it.
Especially
since the track, When We
Suffer, may
be the only kind of a "ballad" on the entire record if you
could even say so, all the more it's a perfect match having such a
great Black Metal vocalist like Anton, who gave the song its very
special vibe.
So yea, you can
definitely say this album was a family project, and we luckily not
really had to “convince” someone to be a part of it.
Your
now signed to one of the best labels currently out there –
ARGONAUTA RECORDS. Why did you sign to Gero’s label. As you were
with SVART RECORDS originally. Did SVART not want to release the new
album.
Well,
we told Svart about the heavier direction of Champain, and already
felt we'd be more comfortable with a label that represents our style
to 100%. So both sides, label and us, decided to split in good ways.
We're
still super grateful to have released a first album with such cult
label Svart is, but when we applied the new album to Argonauta, Gero
was on fire right away. Argonauta is not only very passionate and
professional to the same time, but also represents our sound
perfectly.
I
know you worked with GERO for a short time already with your amazing
PR Firm – ALL NOIR. Did that help at all with signing to Argonauta
Records.
Actually
Argonauta has been the first label, among the great folks at Heavy
Psych Sounds, who have been working me since I launched ALL NOIR more
than a year ago. Gero and me just celebrated our first anniversary as
business partners, and we make a great team. But, High Fighter is not
getting any gifts, no matter what my job is about. We have to work as
same hard as every other band on this planet, we had to sleep on many
floors and sometimes still have to bother the venue for stage water.
Not only my experiences may have helped, everyone in High Fighter
played in bands before, naturally we built up an acknowledgement as
well as network, whether to other bands we are friends with, to
promoters, agents or labels. Aside maybe different tastes, but let's
be honest, no one is giving you any gift when you suck.
We
met Gero a few years ago already, long before we even worked
together, and played a show in Italy with his band Varego. Great
night and vibes. He followed High Fighter and kept an eye on us, and
since he is aware that we are very passionate on a DIY-level, knows
me as a musician and promoter, and since we make a good team nowadays
– maybe things were easier for us on that view, but music-wise we
also simply fit together perfectly. Argonauta represents everything
you will find in High Fighter, maybe that's the main reason what
helped us to sign with Gero.
Congrats
on your recent and continued success with ALL NOIR. Seems it’s
going from strength to strength. You’ve also have new partner to
help you out. Dominik from Downfall Of Gaia. How did that came about.
Have things become a lot busier for you to run the firm by yourself.
Thank
you Steve. And I appreciate you have always been not only a supporter
of High Fighter, but also for the music and bands I represent. Yes,
things got busy when I left Napalm Records to start my own company
last year, it's been crazy and I feel so grateful that I can live
from what I love. After a year it was time to expand, otherwise I
could not handle all the great bands and clients I cover as a
1-woman-agency, and I would hate to pass on future requests from
killer bands and labels.
Dominik
is a longtime and very close friend of mine I trust, but, he knows
the flipside of the coin. Being an active and touring musician
himself, while having released many records the DIY- AND major label
way, he is the perfect team member for ALL NOIR. He currently covers
some rad Black Metal and Sludge / Doom releases, and does an amazing
job. I am really happy he joined my company.
I
want to thank you personally for your continued support to my work on
Outlaws Of The Sun. It means a hell of a lot. Especially over the
last 4 years or so.
Absolutely,
and I can only give this back to you Steve. Outlaws Of The Sun still
belongs to my favorite blogs ever, I always enjoyed and enjoy your
writing skills and articles most, started to read your thoughts about
bands and releases, I sometimes discovered just because of you, back
in your days at The Sludgelord. Not only have you been High Fighter's
biggest supporter since Day 1 the band started, but I appreciate all
you did and do for this scene in general. Please, always keep up the
great work, the music world would be an empty place without your
support.
Before
you go. Do you have anything to say to your fans.
Cheers
to all of you Outlaws Of The Sun, summer is here – so get some
Champain and check out our new album! Stay high, and see you
somewhere on the road hopefully sometime soon.
Words
by Steve Howe and Mona Miluski
HIGH FIGHTER
LIVE:
03.08. DE -
Gößnitz Open Air
08.08. PT - SonicBlast Moledo
18.10. DE - Metal Inferno Paderborn
w/ Dopethrone:
11.08. DE - Mannheim / 7er Club
12.08. DE - Dresden / Chemiefabrik
13.08. DE - Berlin / Zukunft am Ostkreuz
14.08. DE - Hamburg / Hafenklang
15.08. DE - Wiesbaden / Schlachthof
16.08. FR - Colmar / Le Grillen
18.10. DE - Metal Inferno Paderborn
w/ Dopethrone:
11.08. DE - Mannheim / 7er Club
12.08. DE - Dresden / Chemiefabrik
13.08. DE - Berlin / Zukunft am Ostkreuz
14.08. DE - Hamburg / Hafenklang
15.08. DE - Wiesbaden / Schlachthof
16.08. FR - Colmar / Le Grillen
Links:
