Orymus is a newcomer from Switzerland, which released their sophomore full-length album recently. Grande Rock was surprise nicely by the talents of this brand new band and contacted their singer & songwriter Daniel Brönnimann to talk further about the new album “Miracles” and not only.
Hi Daniel… your new album was a pleasant surprise to my ears. Well-done!
D: Well, thanks a lot!
First of all, do give us a brief bio of Orymus…
D: Orymus is a band aiming at producing interesting music with unusual concepts and train of thoughts rarely encountered in the work of other artists. Everybody fails at defining our specific genre but it’s somewhere between progressive rock and heavy metal. We do this since more than 10 years in the exact same band composition – namely five friends, which have met as teenagers and simply loved music.
By the way, how did you come up with the name Orymus?
D: Unusual for us but the name “Orymus” does not have any meaning. We were simply looking for a name, which is easy to find on google – amazingly farsighted for teenagers, isn’t it?!
What does the album title “Miracles” declare?
D: The title “Miracles” plays with everything on the album. First of all, the artwork displays a huge miracle. Namely some small birds, which are able to carry away a huge uprooted tree. At the same time, the album immediately starts off with the bombastic opener “End of the World”. Isn’t it a miracle that mother nature is able to protect herself, that birds help trees, even when the world is about to end? This is why I love this album so much – there are so many hidden and interconnected small stories that I’m never getting tired of. But I won’t tell any more of those here but rather leave it up to the good ears of the listener to explore and detect all the hidden miracles.
I’ve noticed that both of you album covers feature some birds. Why’s that?
D: The bird’s ability to fly makes it difficult to catch. It therefore symbolizes the first title “Escape to Reality” pretty well. In “Miracles”, the birds possess a more active role in saving Mother Nature and escaping from an unknown threat. In addition, birds can be at the same time predator or pray, thus symbolizing also the sound of Orymus – sometimes calm and light, hovering in the wind – sometimes quick and merciless, heading straight down to attack. We can summarize: birds are great!
Make a comment about each track…
D: “End of the World”: Bombastic opener…
“Just One Minute”: A song for all the men…
“Carried Away”: Calm but strong ballad…
“Testament of a Simple Man”: Definitely on my Top10-list of “Miracles”…
“So Long”: Heavy and playful – cannot put more feelings into one song…
“One’s Last Breath”: Interlude…
“Never Again”: A song for Friday afternoons…
“Fountain of Youth”: I would lie to you all my life…
“Another Friend of Mine”: The thin line between love and friendship…
“One’s First Step”: Hint: Walk to the CD player and replay the album.
How did the cooperation with producer Yann Rouiller (Nazareth, Core 22) occur? Are you satisfied with the final outcome?
D: Love at first sight. We were looking around for producers, which are able to deal with our kind of diverse music. That’s how we met Yann. We went for a beer, fixed the timing and immediately started. This guy has an infinite amount of energy when it comes to music. We were recording days and nights and he would really push us to the limits. I am indeed satisfied with the outcome – we’ve had great songs which were given great clothes. He’s not only an awesome professional but became a good friend.
How would you describe the band’s music style in general?
D: Because this question is going on our nerves, we’ve come up with the term “Progressive Hard Rock”. Let me illustrate it: The sound is very diverse and architected – progressive. The sound can be very hard and straight forward – Hard Rock. There are many other elements building up the sound of Orymus. Everyone who listens to the records will immediately realize the difficulty of defining the sound. But, at the same time, the biggest surprise is that the sound really sticks together and forms a unit.
What’s the usual procedure that you follow when writing a song?
D: As for every album, we initially came up with a detailed concept on how “Miracles” is supposed to appear and sound – which atmospheres and moods should be created and transmitted to the listener. After we’ve more or less agreed on these, I would then spend a lot of time by myself, write and pre-record all the songs. I start off with an idea and just write it up in my head first over several days (most of the time, I am not playing or writing it – I just keep it in my head where it’s slowly growing and maturing).
Do you have any ideas about the follow-up album of “Miracles” or is it too early to talk about it? If yes, where would you move musically?
D: Oh yes, we’re working on it but I am afraid that I am not allowed to lose any details yet! (i.n.: OK, that’s fair!)
Have you booked any live shows for the near future?
D: Sure! Next 3 concerts are: 18.12.15 Bruch Brothers, Lucerne // 09.01.15 Mahogany Hall, Bern // 30.01.15 Musikgalerie Rothus, Solothurn.
What do you wish to achieve with Orymus at long term?
D: Our mission is to re-introduce rock music into the everyday-life of modern people and freeing them from auto-tuned electronic music.
Time for our “weird questions”!!! What do you think of the “free downloading & the free streaming issue” of our time? Will that help music generally or not?
D: It does certainly not help most of the rock bands. It might be a good thing for DJs creating some “music” next to his 100% job and quickly releasing it via iTunes. However, records of rock bands quickly sum up to expenses of several ten-thousands of dollars. Apart from that, it is terrible that over the past couple of years, music has entered the heads of people as something, which is for free. As a result, they are not willing to pay for it anymore. In contrast, we are happy that hard rock fans know about this problem and still support their bands – but unfortunately, this is a dying race.
Which is your biggest unfulfilled dream?
D: To make use of the living force.
Top 3 horror movies of any era?
D: Dracula, Sweeney Todd, The Descent…
Which do you consider to be the best vocalist in rock history?
D: Ronnie James Dio – the best of all time!
If you could be any historical person, which one would you be and why?
D: Frank Sinatra because I always wanted to fly to the moon.
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
D: To the past. If mankind continues like this, future ain’t gonna look bright.
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
D: Make me a sandwich?
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of our time and why?
D: Thomas Schweizer – looked better with long hair, though.
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms?
D: Dumbledore. No, I didn’t watch Game of Thrones. I know – I am a second-class human being.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
D: I neither believe in hell, nor in an afterlife. Hence, I can do whatever I want, har har har.
“Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll” or “Views, Tweets & Likes”?!! Which one do you prefer and why?
D: I prefer to live rather than pretending to do so.
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife/life partner is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
D: I would be freaking proud that my album-collection is worth that much. Gold rings for everyone!
Thx for talking to Grande Rock, Daniel. Wish you the best for the future to come. Any last words? Take care!
D: I thank you, Sir! May the force be with you.
D: Well, thanks a lot!
First of all, do give us a brief bio of Orymus…
D: Orymus is a band aiming at producing interesting music with unusual concepts and train of thoughts rarely encountered in the work of other artists. Everybody fails at defining our specific genre but it’s somewhere between progressive rock and heavy metal. We do this since more than 10 years in the exact same band composition – namely five friends, which have met as teenagers and simply loved music.
By the way, how did you come up with the name Orymus?
D: Unusual for us but the name “Orymus” does not have any meaning. We were simply looking for a name, which is easy to find on google – amazingly farsighted for teenagers, isn’t it?!
What does the album title “Miracles” declare?
D: The title “Miracles” plays with everything on the album. First of all, the artwork displays a huge miracle. Namely some small birds, which are able to carry away a huge uprooted tree. At the same time, the album immediately starts off with the bombastic opener “End of the World”. Isn’t it a miracle that mother nature is able to protect herself, that birds help trees, even when the world is about to end? This is why I love this album so much – there are so many hidden and interconnected small stories that I’m never getting tired of. But I won’t tell any more of those here but rather leave it up to the good ears of the listener to explore and detect all the hidden miracles.
I’ve noticed that both of you album covers feature some birds. Why’s that?
D: The bird’s ability to fly makes it difficult to catch. It therefore symbolizes the first title “Escape to Reality” pretty well. In “Miracles”, the birds possess a more active role in saving Mother Nature and escaping from an unknown threat. In addition, birds can be at the same time predator or pray, thus symbolizing also the sound of Orymus – sometimes calm and light, hovering in the wind – sometimes quick and merciless, heading straight down to attack. We can summarize: birds are great!
Make a comment about each track…
D: “End of the World”: Bombastic opener…
“Just One Minute”: A song for all the men…
“Carried Away”: Calm but strong ballad…
“Testament of a Simple Man”: Definitely on my Top10-list of “Miracles”…
“So Long”: Heavy and playful – cannot put more feelings into one song…
“One’s Last Breath”: Interlude…
“Never Again”: A song for Friday afternoons…
“Fountain of Youth”: I would lie to you all my life…
“Another Friend of Mine”: The thin line between love and friendship…
“One’s First Step”: Hint: Walk to the CD player and replay the album.
How did the cooperation with producer Yann Rouiller (Nazareth, Core 22) occur? Are you satisfied with the final outcome?
D: Love at first sight. We were looking around for producers, which are able to deal with our kind of diverse music. That’s how we met Yann. We went for a beer, fixed the timing and immediately started. This guy has an infinite amount of energy when it comes to music. We were recording days and nights and he would really push us to the limits. I am indeed satisfied with the outcome – we’ve had great songs which were given great clothes. He’s not only an awesome professional but became a good friend.
How would you describe the band’s music style in general?
D: Because this question is going on our nerves, we’ve come up with the term “Progressive Hard Rock”. Let me illustrate it: The sound is very diverse and architected – progressive. The sound can be very hard and straight forward – Hard Rock. There are many other elements building up the sound of Orymus. Everyone who listens to the records will immediately realize the difficulty of defining the sound. But, at the same time, the biggest surprise is that the sound really sticks together and forms a unit.
What’s the usual procedure that you follow when writing a song?
D: As for every album, we initially came up with a detailed concept on how “Miracles” is supposed to appear and sound – which atmospheres and moods should be created and transmitted to the listener. After we’ve more or less agreed on these, I would then spend a lot of time by myself, write and pre-record all the songs. I start off with an idea and just write it up in my head first over several days (most of the time, I am not playing or writing it – I just keep it in my head where it’s slowly growing and maturing).
Do you have any ideas about the follow-up album of “Miracles” or is it too early to talk about it? If yes, where would you move musically?
D: Oh yes, we’re working on it but I am afraid that I am not allowed to lose any details yet! (i.n.: OK, that’s fair!)
Have you booked any live shows for the near future?
D: Sure! Next 3 concerts are: 18.12.15 Bruch Brothers, Lucerne // 09.01.15 Mahogany Hall, Bern // 30.01.15 Musikgalerie Rothus, Solothurn.
What do you wish to achieve with Orymus at long term?
D: Our mission is to re-introduce rock music into the everyday-life of modern people and freeing them from auto-tuned electronic music.
Time for our “weird questions”!!! What do you think of the “free downloading & the free streaming issue” of our time? Will that help music generally or not?
D: It does certainly not help most of the rock bands. It might be a good thing for DJs creating some “music” next to his 100% job and quickly releasing it via iTunes. However, records of rock bands quickly sum up to expenses of several ten-thousands of dollars. Apart from that, it is terrible that over the past couple of years, music has entered the heads of people as something, which is for free. As a result, they are not willing to pay for it anymore. In contrast, we are happy that hard rock fans know about this problem and still support their bands – but unfortunately, this is a dying race.
Which is your biggest unfulfilled dream?
D: To make use of the living force.
Top 3 horror movies of any era?
D: Dracula, Sweeney Todd, The Descent…
Which do you consider to be the best vocalist in rock history?
D: Ronnie James Dio – the best of all time!
If you could be any historical person, which one would you be and why?
D: Frank Sinatra because I always wanted to fly to the moon.
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
D: To the past. If mankind continues like this, future ain’t gonna look bright.
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
D: Make me a sandwich?
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of our time and why?
D: Thomas Schweizer – looked better with long hair, though.
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms?
D: Dumbledore. No, I didn’t watch Game of Thrones. I know – I am a second-class human being.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
D: I neither believe in hell, nor in an afterlife. Hence, I can do whatever I want, har har har.
“Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll” or “Views, Tweets & Likes”?!! Which one do you prefer and why?
D: I prefer to live rather than pretending to do so.
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife/life partner is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
D: I would be freaking proud that my album-collection is worth that much. Gold rings for everyone!
Thx for talking to Grande Rock, Daniel. Wish you the best for the future to come. Any last words? Take care!
D: I thank you, Sir! May the force be with you.