Interview with the Band Dark Lightning

December 20, 2024

Interview with the Band Dark Lightning

By Mick Michaels

The Cosmick View: Hello and welcome to The Cosmick View!

CV: Do you feel Heavy Metal music in general is viewed differently by fans in Europe compared to fans elsewhere, especially in America, and if so why?

Frank: Hard to say as we yet have to connect to the American metal community, but my guess is that Heavy Metal music has a similar influence on it's fans all around the world. I would like to think it is something that universally unites people.

CV: What do you feel makes Heavy Metal music so alluring to the fans? What is it about the music that personally resonates so strongly with you?

Lea: The intensity of emotions expressed is what really gets me. The honesty behind it and the freedom of shouting at the world what your thoughts and emotions. Also I think that Heavy Metal has one of the friendliest and most accepting communities (when you ignore all those gate keeping elitists, but I guess they can be found in any community). When you go to a Metal concert it's like everyone is there for similar reasons. It's like a group therapy bonding a room full of people together.

CV: Has Metal splintered into too many sub-genres in your opinion, thus, making it harder for newer bands to actually classify themselves as one style over another? Is it confusing for fans as well?

Lea: This is an interesting question. I personally think, there are as many sub-genres as there are artists, since everyone has their own influences and ideas. A musical fingerprint if you will. If anything, all those sub-genres serve as a more specific description of the music you make, but yes it is very confusing for fans of the music to keep track and so they cling to the more generalized genre descriptions, so you should keep your genre description brief.

For example: We ourselves (as the band Dark Lightning) would not describe our music strictly as Symphonic Metal. There is too little Symphonic and too much Metal for this description to fit, but it gives people an idea of what to expect. People know symphonic metal. So instead of inventing a brand new description like "Dark Melodic Gothic Metal with Symphonic and Death Elements", we stick to what people know and then say "by the way, we also have influences from the following sub-genres" when we want to specify.

CV: How would you describe the current state of the music business considering we are now living in a COVID aware, and maybe even feared world? Have things drastically changed long-term for artists and bands given the recent pandemic? What are your thoughts?

Lea: Since the pandemic is kind of over I think we can safely say, that things went back to normal except for the prices and costs. They went way up. But not just in music, so this feels like a more general issue. Another thing that popped up during the pandemic is live-streams of performing bands, which I find is a good thing. We evolved in that way, including people who can't leave their homes for different reasons. We got more creative in spreading our work and thus found more ways to connect with people.

CV: What do you feel makes your band and its particular approach to songwriting work? What keeps the band together and making music?

Lea: What keeps us together is partially our sense of humor (really helps with bonding) and working towards a common goal. Also performing on stage together is a big factor of what keeps a band together.

As for the question of what makes the songwriting work is that Alex and I seem to have extremely compatible musical brains. He writes the instrumental base structure of a song and I (often immediately) get an idea of fitting vocals and a fitting topic for the lyrics. I present that idea and it often gets accepted immediately. Sometimes it needs some tweaking here and there, but that is a very constructive process.

CV: On a more global view, how do you see your band’s music and songwriting separating itself from just being another Heavy Metal act?

Frank: For one, we try not to be a copy of just any successful band that is already out there. We want to find our own style and experiment with the way that we write songs. For us, music must be authentic and speak from the heart.

CV: Can an artist truly be unique? Some would argue there is no such thing as being unique; that it’s nothing more than a compounding of influences making an artist who or what they are. Would this then say that artists today are destined to be just copies of those who have already come to pass?

Lea: Another interesting topic. Makes me think of the song "copy of a copy" by NIN. So in a way, we are all the same. We are all humans. And what humans do is look at a thing, copy the thing and then try to make the thing better. The same, I think applies to music. When you start out making music, you practice by copying other artists. Then you combine the styles of artists and at some point you don't even think about what you are doing anymore and at that point you do your own individual thing.

There are people who are stuck in just copying what works for others. Either because they lack creativity or they are just there for the money and success, so they go with what is most popular at that moment. I mean, it's okay, everyone wants to make a living, but it makes me kind of sad for all the people out there, who's creative potential remains unseen and unrecognized by the public.

But back to the core of the question: I think every artist is unique, since we all make different experiences throughout life. We are not copies of each other, the human brain just tends to work in similar ways. Also there is huge, but still finite number of sounds you can combine and definitely a finite number of musical notes, that can be arranged in a finite amount of ways. So that narrows down our possibilities as artists, but not actually by much.

CV: Are there life lessons to learn being in a Heavy Metal band that you feel cannot be taught elsewhere? If so, what are they?

Lea: I can't think of any, that you won't learn elsewhere.

CV: What do you feel makes someone a “rock star”? Does being a rock star automatically make one iconic or are the two completely different in your opinion?

Lea: I think it is in the word itself. Being a star means you are seen by the whole world (like the actual stars in the sky) and that automatically means there are people looking up to you, what in turn shapes them and the field you are a star of. So yes, a Rock Star is, in my opinion, automatically iconic.

CV: What's next for you? What can fans expect to see coming from Dark Lightning?

Frank: In 2025 we want to release more music but really focus on playing live. As for now, the restrictions are pretty much non existent anymore which gives us the ability to pursue this goal.

CV: Thank you again for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. It was a pleasure. I wish you all the best and continued success.

Frank: Thank you as well for taking an interest in our music and especially, thank you for your contribution to the metal community!

Check out Dark Lightning at:

Official: https://dark-lightning.de/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darklightningband/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darklightningband/

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.