Raise your hand if you had heard before of Spanish Basque land symphonic metal band ITINERUM. Neither had we, until we came across their upcoming album “Resurgence” that will be out on June 20 through Demons Records. Oddly enough, and even more awkward for us, this is not even ITINERUM’s debut album, but their sophomore one. They released their first full-length album “Dream And Fly” in December 2022 with a different singer, her name: Leire Tejada. On “Resurgence”, Anne (no last name) is the frontwoman and it is with her that we recently did an interview about her first album with ITINERUM. And we also asked Anne what she did before she joined ITINERUM.
First thing I noticed was that you are the only one who’s family name is not mentioned anywhere, just Anne. Is there a reason for that?
“There’s not a special reason, my family name is a little bit long, so I decided to use only my stage name.” 😉
ITINERUM is a relatively new band formed in 2021, although “Resurgence” is your second full-length album already. The vocals on the debut album were done by Leire Tejada and she also sings on “Till Dawn Do Us Apart”, track 4 on “Resurgence”. What have you done between your previous band Railgun and ITINERUM?
“Well, first of all I want to thank Leire for her professionality and amazing voice. It has been a pleasure to have her on “Till Dawn Do Us Apart”, a song with a lot of energy in which, I think, both voices blend perfectly. Regarding to that piece of time between Railgun and ITINERUM, I have to say that I have never given up my musician soul. Between those two stages I worked on various collaborations with independent musicians, I was part of a friends’ rock and metal cover band, Rockshock, for two years. And I also wrote some lyrics that I hope to be able to bring to light one day. Finally, I became mother, something that takes a long time!”
Your bio states Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and Evanescence as your main influences. With which band(s) would you like ITINERUM see compared to by the press? And yourself, as a female vocalist?
“I love those three bands ‘cause I have grown up with them since I was young. Many people often tell us that our music reminds them of Evanescence, which is an honour for us. However, I consider our style to be more similar to Lacuna Coil. Even though Cristina, Sharon and Amy are so different, all of them are able to make my skin crawl. In my mind, I keep memories of certain moments in my life, which I relate to their music. Those memories are reborn each time I listen to those songs again. As a female vocalist, I must say that Sharon den Adel transports me to another dimension when I hear her voice. So if I were to be compared to her, wow!! I have no words to explain how I would feel.”
“Resurgence” opens peaceful and quiet with “The Nobodies”, introducing harsh vocals somewhere on two third of the song. Then comes “My Serenity”, for which you released an official lyric video. What went wrong between the male and female protagonists in the song?
“Those fragments in “The Nobodies” you allude to try to express the rage of the misunderstood and the invisible ones. “My Serenity” on the other hand is a reflection of those women, victims of gender violence who cry out for their freedom. It aims to be a halo of hope on that path that, unfortunately, in many cases embraces death.”
The “Inner War” is fueled by a middle-eastern vocal intro, compelling guitar riffs and blistering drums. What is your inner war and how do you deal with it?
“I have to say that “Inner War” is between my favourite songs in this album. As I was writing it, I felt more and more identified with the story. It talks about our fit in society, the need to show a profile of ourselves in order to be liked and accepted by the others. My inner war today is my evolution, as I try to avoid an involution in me. I see the world is spinning very fast and sometimes I need to stop it, because I find no time to think or reflect. Society no longer stops to observe anything, as it drags it along with it. I sometimes win my fight against the daily maelstrom escaping to the mountains or simply hugging my dog. He’s my refuge.”
“Symphony Of Rage” is one of my favourites on “Resurgence” and was released as the next single/video on June 6th. It was a windy day at the beach when you shot the video, wasn’t it? By the way, who did the piano intro on this one and the electronic instruments on other songs as well?
“Yes, it was! We wished the sea and the wind to be part of that experience and so they did, as wild elements that talked by themselves. Due to the composition, Rubén, the drummer, did the piano intro that made our hair stand on the first time we heard it, and I’m not going to lie to you, also the following time. And regarding to the electronic instruments, Rubén is also the brain that made them born. His musical creativity never ends!”
The only thing I could associate “Askja” with is an active volcano in Iceland. Does it have anything to do with that or is it a Basque word for something? Have you considered writing a song with only Basque lyrics?
“Well, you are right, Askja is a volcano in Iceland, but it was also my dog’s name, a husky that, unfortunately, left us three years ago. She came into my life when I was spending a hard life moment, and she made it turn into colours again. So, this song is a reflection of our life that sometimes seems to go aimlessly, and suddenly it starts to make sense again thanks to someone that appears out from nowhere. To date, we haven’t talked about composing a song full in Basque, but who knows, maybe in a future album we’ll include a surprise!”
Album closer “Inequality” confirms your status as a gothic metal band by the characteristic guitar riffs and the combination of clean and harsh vocals. What gothic metal bands have you listened to in the past and what is your favourite one at the moment?
“The first gothic metal band that I listened to was Lacuna Coil. It has been a reference for me during all my way as a singer. I have learnt a lot from Cristina Scabbia, a vocalist with great stage presence, who I had the pleasure of seeing during a trip to Sweden. Her performance was impeccable. But since a few years ago, Within Temptation is also on the top of my fetish bands. In fact, I saw them in Madrid last year and I was blown away by their live show.”
ITINERUM will be playing at the Hellbona festival in Villabona on October 11th. Are you doing a mix of songs from the debut album and “Resurgence”?
“The concert within the Hellbona festival will be almost entirely a staging of the new album “Resurgence”. Although, of course, we’ll also play some songs from the first album, the most explosive ones, those who have made us enjoy ourselves on stage as well as out of it.” ■
Henk van Nieuwenhoven