melodylane

MELODY LANE: First of all, also if it can sound a bit expected…Can you tell us where does the name Deadwood Lake come from?  
Bruce Powell:The name just came to me out of nowhere, it has no significance to our lyrics or anything. It turns out there are a couple lakes in Canada and the US that are called ‘Deadwood Lake’ but they didn’t influence the name of the band in any way.

MELODY LANE: The line-up of the band is confirmed, is it the same from the beginning of the band…or have you had changes in the last years? Can you tell us something about the roots of Deadwood Lake? And where the band was born?
Bruce Powell:The lineup for Deadwood Lake has always been the same. Ryan Wills on guitar and backing vocals, Tom Warren on drums and vocals, then myself on bass and vocals. Our good friend Tim Hodgson helps us out and plays guitar for us when we play live. We were formed in the South West UK.

MELODY LANE: Can you list us 5 songs, from Deadwood Lake discography (including new material), that can define the sound of the band … 5 songs that can help our readers to know Deadwood Lake at the best. 
Bruce Powell:I would recommend ‘Candlelit Silence’ and ‘Into The Unknown’ from our debut EP ‘Remembrance’. From our first album ‘Forest Of Whispers’ I would recommend ‘The Golden Path’ and ‘Above And Below’. Finally take a listen to ‘Loss’ from our latest EP ‘Forgotten Hymns’. I feel these songs really encapsulate the bands sound and carry the lyrical messages across well.

MELODY LANE: Tell us something about the creative process of your music. Is there a main composer or we can talk about a team work? The songs come from ideas of a single member and then the band works on these ideas in the studio jamming together, or your songs are written in the studio and all the members compose together?
Bruce Powell:The initial drafts of the songs are written by myself or Ryan. We live a few hours away from each other so we email the ideas back and forth and give each other constructive criticism. Then all three of us all give feedback, add ideas and build on the framework of the song until we are all happy with it. 

MELODY LANE: Who writes lyrics and words in Deadwood Lake? Can you tell us something about contents and messages of the lyrics of your songs?
Bruce Powell:I write all the lyrics for Deadwood Lake. On April 4th 2015 my brother passed away in a car accident. Deadwood Lake was formed in his memory. All of the lyrics focus on his life, his passing and the effects that grief has on myself as well as my friends and family. It is a cathartic release for me and it helps me deal with the grief.

MELODY LANE:  After time, are you totally satisfied with your choices about sound and the writing of your old albums? If you could… would you change anything? 
Bruce Powell:Yes I am still incredibly happy with all our previous work. Each song is of major importance to me. I do believe that our first EP contains our best lyrical work because it is so raw emotionally but our song writing keeps going from strength to strength with each release.

MELODY LANE:  So will you tour in the next future? Have you already a touring schedule? Any chance for us to see Deadwood Lake playing live here in Italy in the next months/year? 
Bruce Powell:We are currently taking a short break from live shows during the start of 2019 to focus on recording our second album as well as welcoming the arrival of my second child. We are booking shows for the second half of 2019 and have already confirmed a couple of shows that see us play on lineups that include bands like Kampfar, Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Nightrage, Fen and Heidevolk. We haven’t played internationally yet, but if we are given the chance we would love to play in Italy!

MELODY LANE: Could you tell us two bands, from the actual international scene, you’d like Deadwood Lake to tour with?... Two bands that would represent a perfect line-up for Deadwood Lake to play with. And why these bands?
Bruce Powell:That’s a hard question! I think right now I would pick Alcest and Mgla, I think we would compliment those two bands very well. 

MELODY LANE: We know that ‘to define is to limit’… but how do you define Deadwood Lake sound? Are you an Atmospheric Black Metal band…a Melodic Black metal band… Or…?
Bruce Powell:The original concept for Deadwood Lake was to write songs that have the same feelings of atmospheric black metal but the song structure of a classic metal song. I think we have achieved that well. I would describe our sound as melodic atmospheric black metal.

MELODY LANE: Which musicians are/have been your main musical inspirations? And which are your favorite bands nowadays?
Bruce Powell:Agalloch, Winterfylleth, Immortal, Mgla, Emperor, Alcest and Woods Of Ypres have been very influential to Deadwood Lake. I’m currently digging a power metal band from Finland called Frozen Land, I highly recommend their self titled album if you’re into bands like Stratovarius and Edguy.

MELODY LANE: As a musician, what has been your biggest achievement to date and what do you want to achieve in the near future? 
Bruce Powell:We are proud of releasing our two EP’s and album in such quick succession! We are hoping our next release reaches a bigger audience and we hope that we can keep playing to new crowds and new cities!

MELODY LANE: In the end…A message from you to all MELODY LANE readers.
Bruce Powell:Thank you for reading! We have a new album out via UKEM Records in 2019!