Interview with SILVER FALCON
!!!HEAVY METAL FROM CHINA!!!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about SILVER FALCON (Members, Starting Year etc).
Thanks for this interview, we appreciate! We're a 4 pieces heavy metal band, including vocalist the Prisoner, guitarist Haoming Li, bass dude Jeff Bastard, and drummer Speed Scum Dog. And Jeff just leave Falcon when we were writing this interview. Our guy needs some rest. Jeff and Haoming met in 2022, and at the end of 2023, Jeff wanted to recruit Haoming to continue his previous band project, but the project was in fact running out of gas, so soon after, they decided to start a new band project, Silver Falcon. During the preparation period, they discussed the works and performances of current Chinese metal bands. Haoming doesn't like singing and playing without melodic lines, as well as the creation tendency of homogeneity. He hopes the works of this new band can impress the audience deeply. Jeff was also surprised to find that the quality of the riff provided by Haoming was too high, and he wouldn’t allow him take these things back again. After a comprehensive balance of their capabilities, interests and objectives, Jeff and Haoming settled on the topic of traditional heavy metals. Then Speed Sum Dog, S.S.D, Jeff’s old friend, a powerful drummer was invited. They admire each other and both wanna play a good traditional heavy metal band. Here they are. The Prisoner just passionate about traditional heavy metal and prepare for being in a band for a long time. Falcon is a marvelous chance for him. That’s how we started.
You have recently released your album ''Skyblade''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
We are confident bout Skyblade. But for us, it’s a low-cost album for gathering us together, practicing and knowing each other more, which, Haoming said just take half of what we can do. First gig was amazing. The best old-school metalheads in China were brought there, 8 th Heaven on Fire Metal Fest, which was loud, aggressive, active and hellish, two stages bombed round and round. That was a crazy night. For press, we received an interview here in China and its feedback was good, we appreciated. Filthy Dogs is the second Webzine, we appreciate also.
Label or DIY and why?
DIY. We live recorded this album, cuz we wanna spend lowest cost financially and timely, and try to bring the most authentic 80s vibe in our album.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Haoming: The album is indeed notable in this regard, as it was completed in a studio recording in parallel. Recording at the same time is difficult and stressful, but it brings a lot of "right flaws" to the work, which is valuable. Recording this album is very tiring, I played almost motionless for nearly ten hours, the right thumb is swollen, interesting things or ask them...
SpeedScumDog: Before this, I had never experienced simultaneous recording, and I was actually very nervous before recording. For me, simultaneous recording was like a big test. But being in the studio, looking at the people in front of me, listening to their naked, clean voices on the monitor headphones, being honest with each other, was a moment of intense engagement that I never felt before.
Prisoner: Fun thing about recording is I had to starve myself all day to keep my vocal cords clean. I had breakfast at 8 a.m., went to sleep, and didn't eat my second meal until a little more quickly than 12 a.m. They get some food between recordings. I just stood there and watched them eat big sausages, and all I could do was drink water.
The Prisoner
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Prisoner: We want our music to stay in history and get out there, so we embrace all categories of distribution. We made CDs first because we wanted to keep a physical record, and we needed to make sure that fans could buy our merchandise after seeing us play. There are also fans who want to buy our tapes and vinyl, but these are not considered self production until we sign a label. Digital form like I said before, without this form I don't think you can hear us.
SpeedScumDog: I prefer vinyl because the cover is the largest and you can appreciate the details of the cover when you listen to the song.
Haoming Li
Your music style is Heavy Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
Haoming: Randy Rhoads influenced my guitar playing and my taste. I always thought there were two kinds of metal guitarists, those who were influenced by EVH and those who were influenced by RR. In the process of creating this album, I analyzed the structure of many Japanese heavy metal works, and I heard Loudness's branch project Misako Honjo more.
SpeedScumDog: A lot of bands, actually. In terms of SkyBlade's album alone, Midnight has the greatest influence on me. Their drums are very simple and clear, without any meaningless swing drums or flowers. Each rhythm is just right, and there is a feeling of cherishing every blow, while leaving enough space for other parts. I'd like to do that, too, and try to completely integrate with the guitar bass sound, and if I can make the listener not feel that the drums are there, then I think it's a success.
Prisoner: From my point of view, many bands I have listened to in the past have had a great influence, and some techniques I will learn. Some of the biggest influences on the album were Loudness, Iron Maiden, Tokyo blade, Helloween, Dio, Motley Crue.
Silence
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
For us it maybe time, until now, S.S.D and Prisoner still should travel to Nanjing City, where Haoming and Jeff are staying, from different places for rehearsal and recording, and Li should finish his Phd diploma. We have no time to immerse ourselves in the radio, which may sacrifice the room for this album to improve. But we gonna spend more time on our second album.
SpeedScumDog: I sacrificed the chance to watch the Silver Falcon play and shake my head like crazy.
Tianyin Wang
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
SpeedScumDog: Full warm-up + a bottle of beer + my favorite drum set + speakers in good condition + a bunch of crazy people who love metal music, as the lyrics of Killing machine say: "Sober is not allowed, Go to waste, go insane!".
SpeedScumDog
What attributes do you think that a new Heavy Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Haoming: First, each member should have their own independence and characteristics; second, they should have commonalities; and lastly, the intersection of the members will naturally generate the band's characteristics or the features of the works produced by the lineup at that time.
SpeedScumDog: Classic sound texture + imaginative arrangement + iconic logo and album cover + gorgeous performance.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Heavy Metal Bands? Which, do you think is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
SpeedScumDog: Agree, digital platforms are convenient and spread quickly. And I think the best way to promote it is to perform.
Do you see any differences between the Chinese Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
Haoming: I don't know about Europe. I think the music atmosphere in the Yangtze River Delta is very good. The "Sky Wolf Festival" that I attended this year and the "No False Sea" that I attended last year both had amazing box office performance. However, the Chinese metal music scene does have the problem of performance box office, which must have complex reasons. But think about it, if I am an audience, see a lot of homogenized bands, holding the same works, in a muddy or harsh sound conditions repeatedly play, I will be bored.
Prisoner: I once studied in Northern Ireland. I think the metal market in Europe should be much stronger than that in China. In terms of local bands, performance venues, the number of metalheads, as well as the number of record labels, the European market should be comprehensively superior to that of China. For instance, in the Irish region, there are bands like Elder Druid and Gama Bomb. Belfast and Derry both have quite good performance venues. Moreover, some veteran bands usually plan their tour routes to cover Europe and North America; for East Asia, they generally go to Japan. The consumption scene of physical records in China is relatively rare. Physical record stores, places where metalheads can equally select various records, are few and hard to survive in China. Maybe for these reasons, there are not many metal fans in China, and perhaps the same is true for some other music styles.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in China (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
SpeedScumDog: Recommend excellent metal labels from China: GoatowaRex, SloomWeep, Huangquan Record, Dienysian Records, Jiutu Metal Records, Lunatic Magazine.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Prisoner: None of us understand the concept. But when I was searching for this, I found that Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet, this album is supposed to belong to the Hellenic Metal Scene. This is probably the only album I've ever heard that belongs to that concept.
In the last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange, and NEW situations in our everyday lives (covid, lockdown, etc.). Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
Back then, Silver Falcon hadn't formed yet, so it didn't affect the band itself.
SpeedScumDog: Some negative effects on my job, but also more time left to listen to metal music.
What are your future plans?
Prisoner and Li: Second album.
SpeedScumDog: The next thing we focus on is the second album. I want to make a breakthrough in the arrangements. We have to make an album that goes beyond SkyBlade.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thanks for the interview, I wish Filthy Dogs Of Metal magazine will get better and better!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
SILVER FALCON CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563776948120
https://www.instagram.com/silverfalcon_official/
https://silverfalcon.bandcamp.com/music