Triumphant are an extremely devoted metal group from Innsbruck, Austria, a city where apparently, there are not many diehard metallers at all. Regardless of somewhat not fitting in with the norm of their hometown, the remains of Manic Disease took the spirit of metal to a much higher degree with Triumphant, and now they’re living their metal dreams. No matter what your tastes in metal might be, they enrich their music with such a concentration of variegated metal substances, they can truly thrill nearly any metalhead.
Triumphant display a spectrum of styles and a variety of essences from many metal subgenres, yet don’t quite fit with any particular category but of one created by their own uniqueness. In addition, they cross boundaries of time to bring together the heightened spirit of 80’s heavy metal, the darkened soul of traditional (late 80’s to early 90’s) black metal, and an array of other qualities ranging from genuine death metal to intensive thrash and even classic rock. Exploring even further into the past, rather the history of everything decrepit and deathlike that we can’t help but see as beautiful, Triumphant excavated a relic from the 1600’s to exhibit as album art, a morbid and marvelous sight to see.
For Triumphant, the concept of time is not a matter of restriction, it is a tool to utilize, embrace, and reform into something new. In this case, that something new is Triumphant’s brilliant debut, Herald the Unsung. Two of the extreme metallers of Triumphant, lead vocalist Bekim Leatherdemon and guitarist Persekutor, were happy to discuss their work with the same passion and thoughtfulness as they put into it.
Dead Rhetoric: Triumphant have a variety of musical qualities and styles. What are some of the strongest influences that form your unique designs?
Bekim Leatherdemon: We listen to lot of different shit, lot of stuff from crust/punk from 80-ies, classic rock, all styles of true metal… We are not afraid to use these influences in our sound, we just love to mix it and see the final result!
Persekutor: We simply love all kinds of true metal. No matter if it’s thrash, doom or black metal. Having a variety of influences is important us. My strongest influences are still early German thrash and other first wave black metal stuff (Tormentor, Bathory, Treblinka, Obscurity…). In addition to that, I listen to a lot of black metal and doom, so a certain atmosphere within the songs becomes important for me.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you love most about making music? How does it make you feel to perform and play music?
Leatherdemon: This a part of lyrics that I wrote for a song called “Devotion:” “This is the Path I’ve chosen, Life full of inner sorrows and pride, Long time ago my Dreams were Lost, But now this is my Temple, My Universe and gate to freedom…”
Making music with Triumphant is an amazing feeling, it’s my universe, inner temple, where I can express my emotions, pain, unchain the metal beast within… Playing live is the best thing for me, I can’t describe that feeling, it’s better than sex, drugs…or anything Else. It’s pure adrenaline, too many emotions; on the stage I am fucking beast, a madman ha-ha.
Persekutor: I can´t live without making music. The creative process has become essential for my surviving. I think it is creative producing where my inner self unfolds itself in the strongest possible ways. I´ve always been creative, not only concerning music. When performing on stage, it is just a pure outburst of emotions, especially if you can identify yourself with the music you have created.
Dead Rhetoric: How does being musicians/metallers affect and give direction to your lives?
Leatherdemon: Well, I started to listen to metal very early, like at the age of nine, since then I was considered as a freak. I grew up in a small City in Nordeastern Bosnia, where you couldn’t find any metalheads, so most of the time I was “alone” with my music and my thoughts, but I never gave up, I knew it’s my way, I knew one day I will have my own band…now I am here, living my dreams with Triumphant, fuck…
Persekutor: Jimmy Page has been an inspiration for me since I am 13 years old. In my opinion, he is one of the most creative guitarists with a lot of variety in his music. Of course, there are other persons that inspire me and have influenced me over the years, not only people that make/made music. Also things outside the music-scene are important regarding my creative process. Last but not least, myself is a strong inspiration for me haha.
Dead Rhetoric: What is most attractive or appealing to you about the metal scene?
Leatherdemon: Hmmm I don’t know that to say, it’s a great thing if you can find people who are the same as you, so you can exchange your music, talk about music, go together to the concerts and festivals, or just to make music together…
Persekutor: Difficult question. I think it is the fact that we somehow stick together. Of course I´m not talking about the whole scene, but the certain circles you keep messing around. There are a lot of tendencies I don´t like about the scene but it would take too long explaining everything here.
Dead Rhetoric: How would you say Triumphant compares and differs from Manic Disease?
Leatherdemon: Triumphant is just another step forward, it’s cool to the see development of the band, since the first Manic Disease demo till these days. Now this is the shit we wanna do, with new drummer and second guitar player we can do all the things we couldn’t do with Manic Disease!
Persekutor: Triumphant is the logic advancement of MD. It is way less thrash-metal and adds a lot more different styles and stuff we want to do. MD was somehow amateurish, but not necessarily in a negative way. It does simply take time until you on the right course. We had a great time with MD too, but now this Triumphant is the thing we wanna do.
Dead Rhetoric: What is your overall impression of Herald the Unsung? Are you pleased with the turnout of this project?
Leatherdemon: Well I am even surprised, the reactions and reviews are amazing, I never thought it was gonna be like that! We were in a fucking rush, the whole album was recorded in four days, and vocals in three hours…
Persekutor: Regarding the fact that this album had been record within four days, I am very happy with the turnout. The reactions we get from the people are simply amazing. I am very happy with the fact that people really seem to be fond of our album.