Our album feels eerily fitting given the state of the world
RISING progressive metal outfit Dakesis have just released their third album, Factures. Formed in Birmingham in 2008, the band line-up stabilised around the release of debut album, 2011’s Trial By Fire, with Gemma Lawler (vocals), Amie Chatterley (bass, vocals), Adam Harris (drums, vocals) and Matt Jones (guitar), while second long-player, 2016’s The New Dawn, introduced session keyboard player Jacob Underwood into the mix.
With regular headline tours, the band have also appeared at such festivals as Bloodstock, HRH Metal, and Dames Of Darkness. Since 2017, Dakesis have also hosted their own Birmingham-based Power Metal Quest one-day festival, which this year promises appearances from UK combo Power Quest, Sweden’s Veonity, Edinburgh’s Tiberius, newcomers Rites To Ruin and north of England quartet Stormrider.
Fractures was recorded at the band’s own Capsaarx Studios in Kings Norton, with the aid of a crowd-funding campaign which achieved 144 per cent of its target. Described by the band as “darker” and “more honest” than its predecessor, it’s a collection of “big choruses” and “epic crescendos”, tied together with a ‘‘big story arc”.
How did Dakesis come together?
Gemma: We joke a lot that fate brought us together, we’re like family now, but only Amie and I knew each other outside of the band. We found Matt and Adam through a combination of ridiculously good luck and some ‘musicians wanted’ posts. It’s just crazy to imagine how different our lives would have been if they hadn’t responded!
Where does the name come from? What does it mean?
Adam: I think it’s come to represent our journey. We’ve tried to look into its origins, but found no solid history for it. Now for us, it just symbolises our collective experience of this life thing and how we inject that into the music.
Are you all from Brum?
Adam: We all live close together in Birmingham now. The others are all locals, but I was born in Yorkshire and grew up in Northants. Jacob, our session keys player, is an old friend of mine from those days. When my band at the time broke up, around 2011, I discovered Dakesis on the UKMU forums. We clicked immediately and I ended up moving here soon afterwards, so they call me the honorary Brummie.
What do you think of the Brum metal / rock scene at the moment?
Gemma: Birmingham has always had a thriving scene, but progressive metal in the city has really blossomed lately – Netherhall and Axiom are two names that you should definitely look up! Of course, we have to mention our partnersin-crime, Fury (who are 2/4 Brummie) too!
Amie: We are incredibly privileged to have such an amazing metal scene here. We started Power Metal Quest Fest back in 2017, and seeing the support that we get to this event, not just in Birmingham but all over the world, is incredible. With Birmingham being renowned as the home of metal, lots of people travel here to see what’s on.
Can you tell us a bit about Fractures’ story arc?
Gemma: It’s an album about grief and the salvation that we can find in the passage of time, amongst many other things, but at the heart of Fractures is hope. It all feels a bit eerily fitting in places for the current state of the world.
How did you find the experience
Gemma: We were just blown away by the support. There were some very big, generous numbers in those orders – one person essentially paid for mastering and a chunk of duplication alone. It’s pretty mind-blowing when you look at it like that. It really makes you feel like a community and it reminds you who you are making the music for, why you keep going.
Amie: We did it through our own website – after what happened with Pledge Music [the online crowdfunding platform which folded, leaving acts owed money]. We just needed to make sure that there was no potentially dangerous middle man. We’d really encourage other independent bands to consider inviting their fan base into the whole process.
What are your plans for the coming months?
Adam: Well, it’s not really gone to plan at all! The album launch is postponed indefinitely, until it’s safe. Our ‘Plan-b’ live-stream performance has also been kiboshed with the restrictions on gatherings and movement put in place in the UK, and of course we’re being as careful as possible to do our part in halting the virus spread.
But we’ll be keeping up an online presence.
Gemma: We’re not really sure about festivals and shows. We had loads to announce, some really big slots, but I guess everything is on hold for a while. We will be working on things though, and as soon as we can get back to our studio we have some amazing fan-chosen covers to complete.
Amie: I think there’s a need to connect with friends and fans online, to check in with everybody and show support for each other through this, and provide something to give respite from the constant bad news. It’s a very strange experience, as we’ve lived Fractures for the past four years, and somehow a lot of the themes of the album – staying strong through adversity, feelings of isolation and loss, being there for others, battling inner demons and caring for your own mental health – have come to light in a big way nobody could have predicted.
●●Power Metal Quest is scheduled to take place at The Asylum, Birmingham on September 26.
●●DAKESIS’ Factures is available now via all major music platforms. For more information, see www.dakesis.com