MÄRCHENBILDER

MÄRCHENBILDER - Putting Opera Back In Metal





By Kelley Simms


The Romantic period (1800-1850) lives and breathes in the music of
French Canadians MÄRCHENBILDER. The female-fronted, symphonic metal band
from Montréal blend heavy metal with opera and classical music with
dramatic results. The band’s name, which translates to Fairy Tale
Pictures (or Images Of Fairytales), is derived from the four-part
symphony piece of the same name, written by German composer Robert
Schumann.


The Canadian triumvirate Märchenbilder, consisting of
vocalists/violinist Julie Bélanger Roy, drummer Yanic Bercier (ex-QUO
VADIS) and guitarist/keyboardist James Slainmann, dedicate its
full-length debut release, Flickering Truth, to the work of composer
Richard Wagner and writer Robert Jordan.





Bélanger Roy, who started playing the violin at the age of eight and
singing opera at the age of 19, is classically trained and has her
Masters degree in viola and is currently getting her Masters in opera.
Bercier has a PhD in physics. Märchenbilder’s sound is unique with an
international presence; classic European flavor mixed with modern
symphonic elements. It’s a peculiar yet intriguing combination, and
somehow it works.


“We are classically trained and it’s been in our blood for years,”
Bélanger Roy said. “We lean towards famous composers that compose for a
lot of soundtracks, and older German composers like Schumann. For metal,
I’m a big fan of EPICA and everyone in the band likes TARJA as well. We
were trying to do something that is more who we are than just copying
bands. We wanted something that was very personal. Yanic brings the
metal influences because he had been playing in Quo Vadis for 15 years
and he’s a session drummer for a bunch of bands as well. We really have
different influences, it’s a big mix. You’ll hear some folk passages
here and there, too. When we formed, the concept evolved like crazy. We
decided that this was the blend we were looking for.”


The violin, viola and cello are nice touches that blend well with
the metal “band” aspect. Some samples are used to create the rest of the
orchestra and the guitars comfortably add texture and compliment the
band’s dramatic symphonic elements.


“What we have is a mix for the orchestra. A cellist (Chris Gratton)
recorded his parts and I recored all the violas and all the violins for
the orchestra as if I were a section, basically. Then we have some
samples because it’s hard to find all these musicians (for the
orchestra) that would necessarily love metal. All the strings section is
all real instruments and the samples are all mixed low so you really
hear the body of the instruments.”





Bélanger Roy has some pretty powerful pipes. Her soprano style adds
nice dynamics and drama. She also utilizes a more relaxed and melodic
vocal style which compliments her opera voice, and at times, it almost
sounds like two different singers.


“We didn’t want to be limited by just an opera sound, we wanted to
explore whatever came out of the songs. I have a very different voice in
opera than just more rock-oriented. I have more of a soprano but on the
low side, almost contralto, so you can hear it a lot when I sing lower.
Whichever style fits the song better is how I sing it.”


Märchenbilder’s eclectic sound is catching on, too. The band
continues to gain momentum by playing local shows, but there’s also
some desire to play overseas.


“An album is like a business card,” Bélanger Roy concludes. “We’re
looking to continue to do shows in the U.S. and Canada, but we also have
a lot of enthusiasm coming from France, Netherlands and Germany.
There’s a big scene for symphonic metal and we believe we have something
that can make it there.”