SILVER DUST – Interview with vocalist & composer Lord Campbell

“… I wanted to build a real show with the music, of course, but with some costumes and theatrical aspects as well… (…) We also collaborate with some talented filmmakers… (…) we may see decadence as a negative thing, it also brings some positivity sometimes…. (…) we always navigate between the good and the bad. There’s a fine line between them!…” – Lord Campbell

Hello! Before we get into what is happening now, let me give you a bit of a flashback… In 2023 you will get tenth anniversary. How did you start the band, did you have any specific plans? Did you just want to play with somebody?

I founded the band in 2013 with the idea to create something new, not only musically but also visually. I wanted to build a real show with the music, of course, but with some costumes and theatrical aspects as well. My main influences are KISS, King Diamond, Alice Cooper, and this has certainly played a role in this choice. The initial line-up was different than today but our current bass player, Kurghan, has been there since the beginning.

From the beginning, you are hugely influenced by the steampunk and Victorian era and Tim Burton movies. Under the influence of these three features, you create your image and the atmosphere prevailing in your music… But what inspired you to create SILVER DUST’s music? I hear a lot of Gothic Rock / Metal in it, as well as more predatory varieties of Metal in the style of MOONSPELL, and even a bit of industrial music, maybe electronic music…

Silver Dust’s music is quite unique. However, I think we can find some of my main influences in my compositions. Those mainly come from Devin Townsend, The Prodigy, HIM, Rammstein, Moonspell, King Diamond but I want to keep my own ideas and my own melodies.

Already in 2013 you recorded your first album “Lost In Time”. The song “So Let Me Now” turned out to be a hit on radio all over Switzerland, and the music video was quite a success. Did you make videos in your hometown of Porrentruy?

Yes, all our music videos are filmed in my lovely hometown, Porrentruy, in Switzerland. This town goes perfectly along the universe we have built with Silver Dust. It has some beautiful old dwellings as well as some dark narrow streets that are perfect to create a gloomy atmosphere.

And the basement to the music video “My Heart Is My Savior” from your second album from 2016, “The Age of Decadence”?

This music video was also filmed in Porrentruy. The indoor scenes have been filmed in a cellar that is usually a place to sell local craft beer. We have so many beautiful spots in town that it would be a pity not to leverage them.

Most of people focus on the era of decadence located in the late nineteenth century. But let’s not forget that the present world also experienced decadence in the next era (i.e. at the end of the 20th century). I believe that the symptoms of decadence at the end of the 20th century were even more severe than those at the end of the 19th century. But the twentieth-century decadence was less noticeable, and even more in line with normality, merging with normality…

Yes, definitely. Decadence has been there over the centuries in different forms and will most likely continue to stay. While we may see decadence as a negative thing, it also brings some positivity sometimes. This is the type of contrast we also want to highlight with Silver Dust: we always navigate between the good and the bad. There’s a fine line between them!

From the very beginning you have been associated with Swiss label Escudero Records. So, in short, the cooperation with it is going well.

Perfectly well!

Although at some point you additionally signed a contract with the German label FastBall Music. Why?

We started this collaboration with Fastball Music to enter the international market. While Escudero Records is exclusively focusing on the Swiss market, Fastball Music offered us the opportunity to be distributed around the world. This was definitely the next step we had to take when we started touring in Europe in 2016.

And for what purpose the song “The Witches Dance” appeared in so many remixes?

It was a very good idea from our international label Fastball Music. We were offered the opportunity to allow talented DJs to remix this song and the result is very successful.

I know that the third album “House 21” was very well received and was quite successful. This album is included in the Metal-Rock-Charts ranking in Germany. The music is very important but promotion is also important too. In the flood of thousands of bands it is difficult to hear this truly unique band…

It’s extremely difficult. More than ever! Back in the 70s, for example, it was quite easy for a good band to emerge because the offering was rather limited. This has tremendously changed over the last decades. There are so many talented bands nowadays and everything changes so rapidly that it’s very difficult to get noticed.

The album “House 21” tells the story of a British soldier leaving the battlefield during World War II and finds refuge in a gloomy apartment called House 21, inhabited by stray souls and strange characters… You probably know what is happening in Ukraine now? Many Ukrainian soldiers have to be stationed in various basements and cellars of the cities attacked by the Russians. Much of the civilian population in Ukraine lost their homes. And those who have not escaped from the country are also wandering in the cellars, which can become a mass grave at any moment…

The situation is extremely sad. Our thoughts are with all the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their lives, of course.

... Apart from recording music, you played a lot of concerts. Let’s start with those with LORDI. How did it come about? What was your feelings?

The first tour with Lordi, in 2016, was something completely new to us. While we had played many concerts in Switzerland before, it was the first time we embarked for a European tour. The experience was absolutely fantastic! Actually, it was so great that we decided to do it again in 2018 when we toured for the second time with Lordi throughout Europe.

How about meeting with MOONSPELL and ROTTING CHRIST?

This experience was fantastic as well. Both bands are legendary and having the opportunity to tour with them for two months was a real honor. We have a huge respect and admiration for their work and, on top of that, they are truly lovely people. In summary, we enjoyed every second of this tour!

While the touring you visited a lot of European countries. But did you remember any country or concert in particular? Maybe because of the audience or maybe because of some events?

Yes, definitely. All shows are unique but I especially remember two of them where the audience was absolutely fantastic: Praha in 2016 and Thessaloniki in 2019. Amazing crowd, amazing shows!

As I am a Pole, I have to ask about concerts in Poland. You played in three cities: Krakow, Warsaw and Gdansk. What are your memories of these plays?

We have great memories about our shows in Poland. You guys definitely like metal and you show it which is pure joy for us. We can feel there is a true exchange during the gig and this feeling is amazing.

The media has described your music as “theatrical rock” for a reason. At your concerts there is a performance like a magic show. Actors appear on stage, costumes, and requisites. Who are arranging shows?

I conceive the show and arrange all those theatrical aspects. Once the main part is done, the rest of the band comes with ideas that we integrate to fine-tune everything. We also collaborate with some talented filmmakers in order to prepare the videos you see on the “magic mirror”, the big screen that accompanies us on stage.

Then the conditions for touring are more difficult to get…

Yes and no because the show has been built in a way that we can easily adapt it to the conditions. It’s great when we can have our actors on stage but we also have the possibility to play without them and this usually doesn’t get noticed.

On April 30, at a concert in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), you will present the premiere of your latest album “Lullabies”. It will probably be a completely new show and, of course, new music?

Yes, we will present a completely new show with our new costumes, new videos and, of course, new music. We can’t wait to unveil all of that!

Then on June 25, you will play in Cartagena (Spain) at the Rock Imperium Festival with SCORPIONS, WHITESNAKE, EUROPE, DORO, JINGER and some other stars or lesser known bands. So, from a small local concert straight to a huge festival, hahaha…

The transition will be quite epic, indeed! (hahaha) We are looking forward to playing at this great festival with so many legendary bands. We felt welcome every time we played in Spain in the past and we are sure this gig will be another fantastic moment.

Then you will return to Switzerland and will play in Nyon on July 19th. There will be KISS as the star… This year you will count a lot of stars!

Oh yes, and that this gig will have a very special flavor since I’m a die-hard fan of KISS. I think I still haven’t realized that Silver Dust will play at the same festival and on the very same day as them! (hahaha)

Several times I had the opportunity to visit Rock Altitude Festival in Le Locle. My mother lived there for dozen years, so I was combined these pleasures. Unfortunately, when you played at this festival in 2017, I wasn’t there… Unfortunately, from 3 years till now only my mother’s grave in Le Locle has remained… Why don’t you play at the Rock Altitude Festival in August this year?

Many festivals were forced to cancel their edition over the last two years due to the pandemic. Therefore, many of them already have their line-up booked since 2019 and the option to add new bands wasn’t really there. Nevertheless, we hope to be back at this great festival in the upcoming years.

What are your other concert plans for the rest of 2022?

Beside the Rock Imperium Festival and Paléo Festival that you alreayd mentioned, we will play at two other great festivals this summer: Rock The Lakes Festival and Riverside Festival in August. We will especially share the stage with Helloween, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons and many more.

Your latest album “Lullabies” officially was released on April 29, 2022. Of course, for some time now (courtesy of FastBall Music) I’m the happy owner of this digipack. But what will you say about this album?

This album shows the maturity and I think that I compo the band has gained over the past ten years. I composed essentially thinking melody. My arrangements are also very successful and I love this album!

Well, there are very romantic, ballad-like moments, but also are powerful, full of pathos and dynamics themes… So why such the title? “Lullabies” definitely does not put you to sleep, and sentimentally it triggers a lot of emotions that will not let you fall asleep!

Ironic, simply “Lullabies” wants to be Ironic in relation to its content 🙂

There are symphonic and choral motifs on “Lullabies”. Were symphonic sounds and the choir recorded on live instruments and sung by a real choir, or is it a computer technique?

I have very powerful software on which you can write the text you want and then make it sing in any key. It’s a killer and they ring true, it’s very important for the production of Silver Dust. Too much choirs sounds in a lot of band sounds cheap…

Personally, I think this album is really very good. Your music surprises with its compositions, it creates a dark atmosphere with elements of the grotesque. The arrangements are very extensive and changeable. The melody of the composition is very catchy, it involves the listener and does not let you part with this album. Many melodies stay in your head for a long time… Is Lord Campbell still the creator of everything?

Thank you so much for the kind words. You have perfectly summarized what we try to transmit through our music. Yes, Lord Campbell is the creator of everything you can hear on this album, once again.

And the rest of your friends? They are content just playing notes?

Yes, I think we’ve found a great way to collaborate through this model. While I compose all the songs, they always bring their own touch that makes the album sound even better at the end of the day. And they like so much the music that I compose. I’m a very lucky guy, you know…

Why did you put the orchestral / symphonic version of “Forever” from the previous album “House 21” at the end of the album?

I rearranged the initial version of “Forever” for our European tour with Moonspell and Rotting Christ back in 2019. I wanted to bring a slightly different flavor by adding some choirs. While touring, we got such positive feedback about this rearrangement that we decided to include it as a bonus song on “Lullabies”. It’s our way to thank people and to show them that we’ve heard them.

Although I miss more French in the lyrics. This language further adds to the decadent mood. But on the other hand, English opens the band to most parts of the world…

It’s always a difficult choice to make, indeed. I love singing in French but I have to say that it is more difficult to write lyrics in this language. In addition, it limits our possibilities abroad so that’s why the majority of songs are in English. Nevertheless, I always like to include at least one song in French to honor our origins and give a local touch.

This time the cover-art is quite minimalist compared to the previous ones…

Yes, we decided to go with a minimalist cover on purpose. “Lullabies” marks a transition in the history of the band and having such a cover with just a few elements was a way to show we’ve entered a new era.

And you got to the end of the interview, for which thank you very much! Hope it wasn’t that bad, hahaha… The last words belong to SILVER DUST!

Thank you so much for this great interview, Pavel. It was a real pleasure to answer your questions. Since the last words belong to us, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the readers of Metal Centre. And, of course, I hope we come back soon to Poland to celebrate this new album all together. Cheers from Switzerland!