HER MAJESTY MARIA AUREA
You and the Captain are the only ones with experience in other bands. Wasn’t that a big risk, hiring landlubbers who don’t have sea legs?
Every member of PIRATE QUEEN is or has been part of other bands. These are landlubbers that I have every faith in. After all, one can hardly form an elite crew to sail across oceans without ensuring they have what it takes!
Your Pirate Kingdom’s capital is Lyxion, a mystical floating island around the Bermuda Triangle. Lyxion is an existing name, but where did you get it from?
The one true Lyxion lies within the Bermuda Triangle and it is the capital of our pirate kingdom. It has existed for thousands of years, long before our ancestors settled there. I am unaware of any other.
“Siren’s Tears” is an instrumental with seducing vocals that needs no further explanation. But as the second track on the album, isn’t that a little too early or is it meant to be the intro for “Ghosts”, the third song?
I think the best way for me to explain this would be if you imagine the album as a short book. Consider the opening song “Pirates From The Sea” to be a fun, scene setter about doing what pirates do best – sailing and looting. This is followed by “Siren’s Tears” where it becomes more ominous in tone. A siren’s voice then fills the air which hypnotises the crew and leads them to a seance (track three, “Ghosts”) where they meet a mysterious being, Barbatos. Barbatos then proceeds to reveal the location of the hidden treasure “In The Search Of Eldorado” (track four) before blessing their ship in track five, “Santa Lucia”, to win a final battle with the final track, “Open Fire”.
Recently PIRATE QUEEN released a new lyric video for “In The Search Of Eldorado” with some inside information on all the Pirate Queens. You girls are a mean bunch of seadogs. But isn’t that song more about explorers than pirates?
It’s about the famous conquistador Lope de Aguirre and his exploits trying to find the hidden city of Eldorado. A man fuelled by vengeance, determined to overthrow governments and loot the finest treasures. Sounds like a pirate’s tale to me!
On your Facebook page you announced PIRATE QUEEN’s participation at the Full Metal Holiday, destination Mallorca, in October 2024. There you will meet with your fellow pirates from Alestorm, fellow all-female band The Iron Maidens and many, many more. Are you ready to sail out for this event?
The cannons are loaded and our sights are set firmly on Mallorca. We are going to be hitting the rehearsal studio soon to plan and rehearse our set. Hopefully we are able to add some really awesome parts where the audience can get involved, so keep your eyes peeled for that! The lineup is fantastic. It’s going to be fun to perform with such awesome bands. I’ve been an Alestorm fan since I heard their “Shipwrecked” feature on a free Metal Hammer CD many moons ago and I’ve seen them live countless times since!
What does a PIRATE QUEEN concert look like? Are you all dressed up like pirates as on the album cover and is the stage transformed into a real pirate ship?
The live show is currently in the planning process, but you can absolutely expect the full pirate attire to be on display! On a personal level, I really want the whole experience to be as engaging as possible. We are a new band so we have to get people involved even if they don’t yet know our songs. At the very least I fully expect the audience to bring a LOT of inflatable swords and parrots!
With what words would you seduce a future pirate to come aboard your ship and listen to your story?
Come and let yourself be swept up in this fantastical pirate world that we’ve created. Forget the throes of everyday life and join our crew – there’s plenty of room on this galleon for you!
VICE ADMIRAL LUNA LYSS SHIN
Less than a year ago, you decided to hoist the sails and set course on the Seven Seas as a pirate metal band. What made you decide to become a privateer?
Well, we were actually formed 500 years ago… We’ve known each other for a long time. In Lyxion people are quite old, so it is not hard to have connections of more than 300 years. Furthermore, the island is not particularly big, so it is not difficult for everyone to know each other there. We specifically began playing together 500 years ago in the capital of our kingdom, but for reasons of geolocation we have not been able to bring our music to the earthly world until now.
A captain needs a ship and a crew. How did you recruit your manning?
Yes, Destiny Grieflord is the Captain of our ship and she found us. We all in PIRATE QUEEN are metal enthusiasts that are somehow involved in the current European power melodic scene. We met because I play bass in a band called Brothers Till We Die in Madrid. Once a friend sent us a band from the UK with an amazing singer. We got in touch with her. Destiny also brought a really good drummer and guitarist… and here we are!
The whole crew has pirate names and ranks, from Captain to Commander. You prefer to keep your real names a secret?
What do you mean? Our real names are Luna Lyss Shin, Destiny Grieflord, Victoria Pearl Fata-Morgana, Raindrop Oceanus and of course our Majesty Maria Aurea! Our names host ancient stories about our ancestors and all the female pirates in our family that made us the powerful women we are today.
After four warning shots, the singles “Pirates From The Sea”, “Ghosts”, “Santa Lucia” and “In The Search Of Eldorado”, it is now time to reload the cannons for a direct hit, PIRATE QUEEN’s first full-length album “Ghosts”. Why did you choose for Despotz Records as your label?
Despotz are old Swedish Viking pirates that are visiting Lyxion for centuries so we have a long connection. I must say that we are very happy with how everything is happening so far. We are doing a lot of press, Destiny did over 30 interviews herself, and now that the first album reviews are coming in, it is really nice to see that people seem to enjoy our album. When we released the first singles we received a very warm welcome, for which we are really grateful. When somebody enjoys your hard work, it is really the best feeling.
Opener “Pirates From The Sea” is a good introduction to the album and yourselves as a band. But the lyrics somewhere point to the Davy Jones story. “Cursed by immortality, it’s our prophecy” and “Forever sailing the seven seas / Riding the wind on the pirate ship”. It does have certain associations with Pirates Of The Caribbean as well. Was that the idea behind it?
No, with Pirates Of The Caribbean not at all! But Davy Jones is very important in pirate history. It is not only a legend, his name was Jonah. He lives on Lyxion now. I am not sure if you are familiar with the old Lyxion tale of how Jonah was saved from drowning by a whale that swallowed him. So Davy Jones‘ spirit is definitely present in our song. “Cursed by immortality” presents us as immortal pirates formed 500 years ago and still playing music today.
There’s a big contrast between “Santa Lucia” and “Open Fire”. The first one is almost thrash metal with a mean streak and the latter is a more dulcet Oriental tune. Are there also such different characters aboard your ship?
“Santa Lucia” as a sentimental song is also very heavy. It is interesting that you call it thrash, most people compare it to more symphonic Nightwish styles. I would say that it’s “Ghosts” that has more thrash or even black metal momentums. We are a fantasy metal band that invite the listener to a journey. You gave a great description of “Open Fire”. When we play it I have a feeling of medieval battle or even being on a battle ship. We all come from different metal sub-genre backgrounds, so everything feeds our sound.
At the beginning you wrote on PIRATE QUEEN’s Facebook page: “The old nautical chronicles mention a time when a group of 5 girls will come together, who are related and united by the gift of piracy… Is it fate or a curse?” What has it been for you thus far, fate or curse?
It was a curse, we were roaming around for 500 years, but now our debut is coming out the prophecy is coming true. I can’t believe it. It must be faith! ■