Interview with DAYS OF SORROW (2/2)

Days of Sorrow were founded in 1981, disbanded at the end of the decade and reformed a few years ago. You can find out how this came about and more about “Raptures” – already the second album of their “new era”, as they describe it themselves – in the second part of our interview. You can read the first part here .

Orkus: How did the album title “Raptures” come about? So … “Rapture”?
William Lennox: For us, “Raptures” means a feeling of intense pleasure or joy. You can see that especially live with us. It’s simply our thing to present our music to the audience in this way. Full of energy and joy.

O: What kind of music can put you in such a state?
WL: Music with a good energy, atmosphere, voice and lyrics. Music that can awaken deep memories and feelings in you. Music that you can identify with. Music that can take you to other worlds.

O: The album starts with “Change”. A song that makes it clear that change happens whether you want it or not. How do you feel about the subject of “change” and how did the song come about?
WL: There are always changes everywhere, as you said, whether wanted or unwanted. You have to be aware of that and not struggle with it. Change also means that sometimes you have to jump over your own shadow and initiate this change yourself. Standing still is not a positive thing for me. There is always something new to learn or discover, regardless of whether you know what will happen afterwards or not. That’s change for me.

O: “Machine”, in which Spanish parts of the text also appear, is surprising. How did that “happen”?
WL: I’ll come back to the Spanish connection. We were already well-known there in the eighties and still have a fan base there. So the lyrics are for them. There is also an English-only version, but we chose this one for the album.

O: “Let It Out” is particularly captivating. Is there a story behind it?
WL: Yes, again the topic of reflection. I have experienced time and time again that if you don’t address things or suppress desires and lifestyles, you can never be truly happy. There comes a time when you have to let it out and push the boundaries. That is our call.

O: How can we imagine the creation of “Rapture”? If you can say that in general terms.
WL: I constantly have ideas for songs and themes, some I keep as sketches, some just as fragments. I then collect them until the right time comes to continue working on them. I usually find a creative window of time when I have the leisure and energy to lock myself away in my studio and let it flow.

O: What does the near future of Days of Sorrow look like?
WL: We are currently promoting our album, which also means being on the road live. We’re particularly looking forward to the Death Disco Festival in Athens on April 3rd and the Dark Decay Festival in Poznan on June 26th. We will announce all other dates on our social media channels as soon as possible. There will certainly be some interesting things to come: Italy, Spain … let’s see where else it goes

Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg

Line-up:

William Lennox – vocals, programming
Katharina von Schlotterstein – keyboards, background vocals
Jojo Brandt – guitars
Frank Junge – keyboards, synthesizer

Listen to “Raptures” on Spotify: