SIRENIA is a historic band of Goth and Symphonic Metal with a history of more than 20 years. Despite the changes in their line-up, they managed to maintain a constant presence in the music scene with many great albums. Their current guitarist, Nils Courbaron talks to THEGALLERY.GR about the band but also about his personal projects, as he is a very active musician!

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– Hello Nils! It’s a great honor to have you here! First of all, a few days ago you had the chance to be part of the biggest Heavy Metal cruise in the world named 70.000 Tons Of Metal! How was your experience over there? Would you recommend to someone to be part of this cruise and why?

Nils Courbaron: Hello! Thanks for having me here! The 70.000 Tons was probably one of the most memorable experiences in my life! I mean, man! Playing with your band on a boat! It’s insane! Actually, it was one of my dream to do this cruise as a musician. So, yes, I’m more than happy to have been part of this edition. And of course, I would recommend to someone to do it cause it’s an amazing experience. Also, the cool thing is that everyone is like a VIP, you can meet your favorite artist at the bar, the pool or whatever! I was happy to meet for example the guys of EVERGREY, NIGHTWISH and KAMELOT!

– You are a very active musician so, first of all, tell us what is going on with your personal projects..? Are you also in touch with Mike Livas, this Greek singer?

Nils Courbaron: With some other artists in France, we created a new band called DROPDEAD CHAOS it’s kind of French All Star Band and we’re going to release our first album on April 7^th. It’s a mix between a lot of different kind of Metal, and more…
We are already booked on many shows and festivals in France. We played a full show last year at Hellfest with only 3 singles released, which is pretty unique cause never in the past, a band without a full length album or even an EP, was booked  at this festival.
I’m also working on a secret project, a new band with great musicians. I hope to get a deal with a label a.s.a.p. because we cannot wait to go on tour! Everything is composed and we are recording the final tracks now! It’s super heavy, fast with violence & melody.
As for Mike Livas, yes I know him. He is a super talented singer. We already did some cover together.

– The last video on your YouTube channel is a metal cover of “Lady Marmalade”, a song that I could not image being into metal music form. I love it when an artist “messes” with a song. How did you come up with this idea?

Nils Courbaron: I wanted to do something with Melissa Bonny because she’s probably one of the most talented singers and musicians I ever met! We were already in touch since we met at a SIRENIA’s show back in 2017. I was a session member back then. So I contacted her. It was her idea to do this song with another singer and she mentioned Adrienne who’s a friend of mine since 2018 and also one of the most talented singer I’ve ever heard.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure about how I can turn this out in Metal version. But, the fact that Adrienne and Melissa are able to do growls helped me a lot with the composition. So it turned into a mix between Death, Djent, Heavy …

– Who are your music heroes? Which are the artists or bands that inspired you to become a musician?

Nils Courbaron: I’m listening metal since forever you know. My parents told me that I was already watching Maiden England when I was 3.
I would say that my biggest inspiration is probably Alexi Laiho… I miss him like hell! I had the honor to meet him in 2018 at Hellfest and his ESP agent in France is the same with mine.
I’m also a huge fan of Jeff Loomis, Michael Romeo, Akira Takasaki, Gus G and Malmsteen of course! More is more…

– Regarding SIRENIA, you are a member of the band since 2018. In general, SIRENIA has always been a band with many line-up changes, however they are always present in the metal music scene creating great albums. What is the present status of the band?

Nils Courbaron: That’s true. But the line-up is the same since 2018 till now. We’re really friends and this is a strong line up! We finished the new album. Morten is still the mastermind of SIRENIA, and I am doing the solos in the songs. We filmed the new video and we’ll be back on tour very soon! Probably few festivals this summer as well! I hope for an American and south America tour and maybe Asia! Fingers crossed!

– Your last album, “Riddles, Ruins & Revelations” was released exactly 2 years ago, at the 12^th of February 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic crisis. Was it a conscious decision or did it just happen?

Nils Courbaron: It was not a conscious decision because Morten started to work on the composition in 2019 so I would say it just happened…

– Pandemic restrictions did not let you promote the album properly. Last year though you had the chance to travel around Europe with DYNAZTY, SURMA and HOLY MOTHER. Also, you participated in a few summer festivals. Are you planning any promotional shows this year? Maybe including Greece this time?

Nils Courbaron: Of course, the plan is to go on tour for each and every album. For “Arcane Astral Aeons”, we did three European tourw. Without COVID it would have been the same for “Riddles, Ruins & Revelations”. For the upcoming album, we’re gonna give everything to promote it as much as possible everywhere in the world. I hope that we’ll play in Greece of course!

– The new digital era with the prevailing social media culture has many pros and cons. One characteristic is that the fans can get in touch easily with their favorite artists. The interaction is easy and direct. Do you think that this is something correct or do we lose all the magic and mystery behind the personas of many artists?

Nils Courbaron:

To be short, because there’s a lot of things to say about social media and digital era… I think there’s some good points because social media help a lot to promote our material. Some days ago, Tauri Reacts did a react video of my cover of “Lady Marmalade” and right after she dropped her video, I had 10 comments on my video for example…
All of that kind of stuff is pretty cool to reach more fans but at the same time, I do think that we’re losing a little bit of the magic and mystery and we have the feeling to be watched all the time. You have to be careful on what you say, what you eat, what you drink, everything!
And of course, sometimes because you give a like on instagram for example, people are thinking that now you’re their friend then they’re asking to follow back or even sometimes asking for guest lists and, when you don’t do it, they spreading the rumor that you’re an asshole!
Also, all of the artists in general have to be not only musicians but also community managers, youtubers etc… Which means spending a lot of time on our phone and internet and less on our instruments… This is the thing which is the most annoying for me. 

– Last but not least, I would like to know what are your project plans for the future and also your plans concerning SIRENIA?

Nils Courbaron: SIRENIA will release a new album this year, then we’ll go on tour. At the moment I’m finishing the album of my new secret project and I hope to go on tour as soon as possible with the guys! I’m also on tour in France this spring with DROPDEAD CHAOS and we’ll release our first album on April 7^th.

 – That’s all for now Nils!! I want to thank you once again. You may close this interview with the way you like…

Nils Courbaron: Thank you for the interview! I hope to come in Greece very soon then I’ll be happy to drink some Ouzo with you and the fans!

Interview: Kostas Boudoukos
Cover Artwork: Alexandros Soultatos
Design & Editing: Alexandros Soultatos
Photos: Cecile Delpoio, Stephane Harnisch, Renato Di Folco
Date: March 6th 2023
External Link: SIRENIA – Official Page
DROPDEAD CHAOS – Facebook Page
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