interview with Siege Perilous

Siege Perilous from the States this year (2024) released their second mini-album, or EPCD if you will.  They haven't been on the metal scene in this line-up for long, and they are no less newcomers to the music scene.  Everything will be in our interview + you can listen to the mini album from the added link.
Alan – Hi Siege Perilous, we will do an interview together not only about the Creations Call mini album.
Shaughnessy - Excited to be here thanks for having us!

Alan – How long has Siege Perilous been around?  Since 2022? When did you release your first mini album?  Or did you originate earlier?
Shaughnessy - I THINK it was the very tail end of 2021 when we had our first practice but 2022 is when we started putting together our first release and it was the end of 2022 that we played our first show and released our first EP, Betrayal of the Dracolich so those are probably the first important dates where we showed up somewhere and said “Hey! We exist!”

Alan - Siege Perilous, how did you guys get together?  And do you still play in the original line-up?
Shaughnessy - So it started when myself, Scott, Mark and our friends Josh and Patrick decided we wanted to get together and jam some heavy metal songs.  I had known Scott, Mark, and Josh through our Live-Action Roleplaying Game, NERO.  Patrick and I went way back he’s the guy that got me into heavy metal in the first place back when we were in high school.  So I decided to bring everybody together and see if we could make a little heavy metal magic.  For Patrick and Josh I’d say as we got a bit more serious and wanted to really move the project into a slightly more professional space they weren’t as interested in pursuing that which makes total sense, making a go at being a legitimate band in the power metal space is a crazy endeavor, but I will say it’s an adventure that I’ve really enjoyed.   Eventually we added Eric to the lineup, he is my bandmate in my Celtic folk project (which I’ll talk more about in just a second) and Cody who I had met through mutual friends many years ago and just a few months ago we added a third guitarist who will be showing up on our future shows and recordings, Ryan Flanagan who is a friend of Eric’s and an incredible musician in his own right.

Alan - I won't say that you are older musicians, but you have a little behind you.  Who played where before Siege Perilous?  And write genres too.
Shaughnessy - Yes we all have some pretty diverse experience.  Like I said previously Eric and I have been bandmates for over ten years in our kind of raunchy Celtic folk band, The Stubby Shillelaghs.  That band has been a little less active lately and while I’m glad the Stubbies still get together a few times a year to play shows, I’m also glad it’s given us time to work together on Siege Perilous because every bit of the processes for both bands is so incredibly different and fun to write and play in their own right.  Mark had been a part of the Horror Punk Band 13 Nails for years and Cody had played with a few different bands up here in Northern Colorado like Infinite Conscious which is somewhere in the progressive to melodeath space in metal. 

Alan – Did you all agree on the style of music you play Epic Heavy Metal?  Didn't you want to play power metal?
Shaughnessy - I think the most important thing we had to do, and I think it’s a continual process, is to decide what the “Siege Perilous Sound” is.  I think you could call it Power Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal, or a few other perhaps subgenres that fit.  I think those are all accurate enough.  It’s weird when bands claim that they can defy the ability to be categorized but also sometimes the labels are too specific.  But whether you want to consider it Power Metal or Epic Heavy Metal I think you’re right, the most important thing to us is that the songs get people excited and are filled with heavy guitars, driving drums, raging vocals and just the right amount of orchestration to tie it all together.

Alan – What do you see as the difference between Betrayal of the Dracolich and Creations Call?
Shaughnessy -  This is a really great question because there’s a lot! I think the approach to songwriting was very different.  Dracolich was written more with me writing riffs or chunks of songs and sending them out and then kind of jigsawing things together.  It was a lot more like the process I had used for writing in the Stubby Shillelaghs and while I believe that the songs on “Dracolich” are a lot of fun, the songwriting on Creation’s Call is more complex.  It features a lot more writing from Scott and the title track was written by Eric like 2 or 3 months after joining the band so there’s more voices in the writing which I think is really great and helped us to all have a hand in shaping an overall sound we were really excited about.  And then of course there’s production.  We self-recorded our first EP and had Wyatt Jordan from Starwraith mix it together and he did an amazing job considering the state of the tracks we sent him.  That’s why we wanted to really buckle down on production quality so we went to Rusty Sun Audio who was recommended to us by Celestial Wizard after they recorded their album “Winds of the Cosmos” there.  Great experience working with Nick and the results are really spectacular.  So a lot of it was changes in process from smoothing out songwriting flow (especially as the band grew to five and then six members)  and that high-end production and really making sure that we were putting the right things into our performances in the studio.

Alan – Regarding the music and lyrics.  Who writes it?  Or is it collective work?
Shaughnessy - So the way we usually do it is that anybody can write and throw an idea into the mix.  A lot of times that means that after a feverish night of writing somebody sends us a guitar pro file at 3 in the morning that is most if not all of the song.  Sometimes it’s just a piece, the hook or a riff and we all vote on if we think it’s good to move forward.  Then I usually throw on lyrics (though Eric and I have worked together on this a fair amount as well) and then we start to refine it.  So it’s very democratic I want everybody to be able to get their ideas out and then we collectively as a group decide “Is this a Siege Perilous song?” before moving forward with it.  It’s fairly smooth and inclusive which I really dig.

Alan – So how long have you been working on Creations Call?  Where did you shoot?  And did you release the album yourself?
Shaughnessy - So we only actually got to work on Creation’s Call about… 3 months before we hit the studio.  “Sons of the Verdant” was so fresh we didn’t think we would even get it recorded but I’m really glad that we did.  We recorded at Rusty Sun Audio in Parker with the super talented Nick Nordurft who really did an amazing job on everything and really tried to understand our vision for what we were going for on the EP.  Yes we released the album ourselves we just did it through DistroKid and then ran our PR through the incomparable Jon Asher.

Alan – I love your music.  Don't you want to make an LP too?
Shaughnessy - Absolutely, but don’t worry I can’t give a lot of details out at the moment because they are far too juicy (and no I’m not just saying that we have some cool guests that will be showing up).  We are fine tuning the writing and starting to practice the tracks.  Best way to get an early preview is to come see us live in 2025 but we should be hitting the studio around the middle of the year with the intention of getting at least one new single out to fans next year and the full album out to people in early 2026!

Alan – Let's break down the tracks.  In short, you could describe both the musical and the textual side.
Oathsworn - This song centers around a great riff with an epic phaser effect on it to convey the sense of being transported and whipped around through time.  It tells the story about a band of adventurers who when faced with a world-ending evil are flung back in time in order to have a chance to try and save the world.
Across the Rubicon - This song uses a marching cadence and heavy chorus hook to tell the story of the fall of the Roman Republic from the perspective of one of Caesar’s legionaries, telling the story of one of history’s most famous points of no-return.   One of the most unique features of this song is the final chorus which is written in Latin and checked by several scholars of Roman history.
Sons of the Verdant -  This song tells the story about an Elven resistance to the encroachment of mankind into the sacred “Verdant Glade”.  A dark story of fighting on until the end inspired a bit by the Germanian Ambush of the Romans in the Teutoburg Forest.  I really love the driving frenetic pace of this song and the key change and its strong outro.
Creation's Call - This song is a darker high fantasy take on Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror ideas.  It’s a fantasy answer to the question “What would happen if you could speak directly to God?” The character slowly losing his mind.  So this is a rather dark song overall showing the protagonist’s descent into madness.  
Brothers of the Five - Brothers of the Five - This song is probably the most Power Metal song that we have ever done.  A massive, epic, and triumphant sound that shows the brighter side of the genre.  The song itself centers around a group of heroic knights that live their life by five tenets: honor, integrity, resilience, willpower, and command.

Alan – The album is accompanied by a video clip, a mini-movie.  Why did you choose this song?  And whose movie idea was it to portray it like this?
Shaughnessy - We did short lyric videos for each of them using some b-roll clips we had access to.  Because we weren’t able to do a more traditional music video I wanted to at least make sure we were giving fans something cool to go alongside each song.  I’m very happy with the results because I think we were able to put something together that enhances the enjoyment of these tracks without overwhelming it.

Alan – How is it with you and playing gigs?  Tired of performing?  You are a very interesting group for me.  And are you going on a mini tour to present the album?
Shaughnessy - We are mostly still playing in our local market, we opened the very first Mile High Power Festival this year which was very exciting and got us in touch with some really cool musicians from all over the country so I’m hoping that will open up more performance opportunities outside of the state.  We have been talking with some other festivals and things as well so we will see what the next couple of years holds for that, we are excited to keep getting out there and showing people what we can do.

Alan – I like to ask this question.  During your existence, have you had any funny experiences?  While performing, while recording an album?  Or when shooting a clip?
Shaughnessy - Absolutely.  There’s always a lot of little funny things.  I’ve probably told this story once or twice already but we have a friend who likes to hide little squishy foam phalluses in people’s bags.  I was getting a t-shirt or change for a fan at our merch table one night and it comes flying out right in front of her and we awkwardly exchanged glances.  She was a good sport about it, and I think got an extra sticker or something for the trouble.  

Alan – Where have you all gone with your music?  So far you've only played in the States?
Shaughnessy - Right now yes but especially as we have noticed our biggest listenership is in those core power metal countries like Sweden, Germany, Poland etc. (and soon to be the Czech Republic yes?) we are really hoping to not just increase awareness for our band out there, but actually get out there and play for you guys.  Touring Europe is definitely one of my major dreams as a musician.

Alan – Zine is for Czechs and Slovaks.  Do you know these two landscapes?  Czech Republic and Slovakia?
Shaughnessy - Yes I’m a history and geography teacher by day so I’m definitely familiar with the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the crucial role you have played in European politics for the last 100 years.  And as a medieval history enthusiast Prague and many other cities in both countries have some great medieval history to explore.  

Alan – Have you heard any bands from the Czech Republic or Slovakia?
Shaughnessy - I love how confidently I can say YES I HAVE! Our friend from Oak, Ash, and Thorn, Cierra White, who is an absolutely insanely skilled drummer, recently joined up with Emasculator who is a Death Metal Band out of Prague and so naturally I had to check out their work and really loved it.

Alan – What are you up to in 2025?  Giging down the coast?  Or will you try to go further?  Europe, Brazil?
Shaughnessy - Going to see where in North America we can get into some trouble next year but we are hoping that either the conditions for us getting out to Europe in 2026 are there or that we get an offer to come out for one (or more) of the killer festivals being put on in Europe.  We are still formulating pieces of our strategy for the next 1-2 years but I can’t wait to see what happens.

Alan – I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, hopefully a long-player will be released even on LP.  I would love to see you somewhere at a festival in the Czech Republic or Slovakia. I really like the music you guys are playing. Wish you the best of luck.
Shaughnessy - Thank you so much it’s really great to hear that people in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are hearing our music I have never had the privilege of travelling to either and there would be no time better to do that than by coming to one of your festivals so I hope we can make that happen sooner rather than later!
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