Interview with Blackened Rose

All questions answered by Aleksei Iagunkov, vocals

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• - I guess I started to dream of being in a band around the age of 13-14 and that time my first influences were bands like Powerwolf, Sabaton, Gloryhammer, Civil War and Lordi. But if I didn’t choose the musical path, I would most likely have been invested in history and creative writing. I always had passion for ancient and medieval times.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• - Continuing from my previous answer, I really like playing certain historical games or right now I am enjoying reading a historical fiction book series titled The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. You should check them out!

How long has your band been around?

• - Blackened Rose was only formed at the end of last year originally as my side project, but due to certain circumstances it quickly grew into a full time commitment. Although I can assure you that all of the band members are quite experienced in their craft.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• - We are based in Sydney, Australia and I guess part of the influence was that it doesn’t have a strong hard rock or gothic scene, so we wanted to pioneer something ourselves.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• Blackened Rose came from the line of one of my older songs. It was a heavier composition, dealing with betrayal and how sometimes you just have to let go of certain people. But two of the lines were: “A ray of light on blackened rose / Lying on a dead love’s grave.” And I guess it was an impulse, but Blackened Rose meant something to me. You see, roses often stand for love, but when roses die, they lose their colour, blacken, if you wish. So Blackened Rose in that sense is the metaphor for dead love.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• I guess it would be our first show that we played at the Huxley’s, Caringbah supporting our friend Matt Charleston. Just so many positive emotions... The reactions of people showed us that we are definitely on the right path and we are not planning to stop any time soon!

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• Actually there is a really awesome looking venue that we played in February called The Vanguard. The stage there looks really beautiful, very classical opera/theatre decoration style. Would like to sell that one out and hopefully soon.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• I know a lot of people would have said super popular bands like Metallica or Iron Maiden, but I would have truly loved to see HIM in action. Makes me really sad that I never got to see them live.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• Always treat your bandmates well and listen to what they have to say. Mutual respect in the band is crucial!

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• And to my younger self I would say nothing, because I know about the time paradox, so I won’t change a single bit.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• I think it would be “Requiem of the Rose”, which we might release very soon. That song is quite sad, but also has lyrics that are quite personal, and I am proud of them. “I’d search the world and go afar, / I walk the road nobody knows. / The angels sing farewell, my darling, / Our requiem of the rose.”

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• I must mention “Requiem of the Rose” again, since it is crowd’s favourite, but also can say that people definitely enjoy our recent single “Ginger Red (Oh, So Bad)”, which is available online everywhere!

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• It usually depends on the song. Sometimes I bring the ideas and we work on them, sometimes Erick [Perdomo-Borelly, guitars] shines one of his ideas, sometimes we just jam on something and come up with a song. Possibilities are endless! But they all work out in the end.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• Truly I can write about anything, but always think what suits the song. Lately there have been quite a lot of lyrics about love and feelings (cliché, I know, but it always works!), but also some tongue-in-cheek jokes and innuendos, which I usually leave up to the listeners to find.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Like in any human relationship there are disagreements, but like I mentioned earlier, mutual respect is crucial in such situations. If you respect each other, you can settle your disagreements.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• For now we are planning a few live shows and getting ready to record our second single, so stick around! You can also check out our new single “Ginger Red (Oh  So Bad)”, which is out now and follow our socials. You can find them through our Linktree:

  linktr.ee/blackenedroseofficial