Belle Morte

BM – Belle Morte, vocalist, lyric/music author

SB – Sergey Butovsky, bass guitar, arrangements, sound producing

RG – Rostislav, drummer

Maria – Maria, keyboards

IP – Ilya Petrashkevich, guitars

IR – Ilya Rogovoy, guitars

Crimson Moon: How did the band get started?

BM: It’s really hard for me to pinpoint the exact moment, because it feels like I’ve been doing it forever. I have been composing music since my early ages, and I was looking for someone to take care of arrangements for it. Somewhere around 2015 I met Sergey and we began working together. To tell the truth, I didn’t know what to expect back then, and was just curious about how all of these might sound being in proper hands.

We did a single first, and then recorded the EP ‘Game on’, which was pretty well perceived. With no further doubts we started working on a full length album, fully aware of how we wanted the final result to sound. At some point during this period we both felt we wanted to be more than a studio project, so we gathered a permanent line-up.

Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?

BM: This has always been a complicated question to me. When we began Belle Morte, we agreed on one thing: we wanted to create good quality music which attracts people despite the genres they used to listen to before. The closest definition would be symphonic/gothic metal, but we do add a lot of elements from other genres whenever we feel like it, be it djent/progressive, black metal or Argentinian tango.

Crimson Moon: Where did the band name come from?

BM: The name is taken from the book series – ‘Anita Blake’ by Laurel Hamilton. There was a vampire character and her name got stuck in my head.

Crimson Moon: Introduce the band members.

BM: There are 6 of us: I do the vocals, Sergey is responsible for bass, arrangements and sound producing, we got 2 guitarists, both named Ilya, Maria on the keyboards and Rostislav the drummer.

Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?

BM: We released 1 EP and several singles. Our first full-length album will be out in less than a week.

Crimson Moon: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest CD?

BM: My personal favourites changed multiple times while we were working on the album, so I’ll focus on those which are my favs at the moment.

‘Broken things’ is a pretty prominent one. Plot-wise it focuses on the main character’s desire to make his obsession do what he wants the way he wants it. And deep down lies a thread: either she does what he tells her, or she gets destroyed. To illustrate this struggle we used Argentinian tango in the first verse and chorus. It gives the sensation of the dance, a game, when the characters foresee movements of each other. I really enjoyed recording the vocals for it, as it was very challenging to capture this cocktail of emotions: being cold and indifferent on the surface, with some bitter irony here and there, masking resentment and disenchantment caused by the whole situation.

And ‘Lace’, I guess, will forever be the one of the most important songs for me. I showed it to Sergey during our rehearsal, and he was impressed by its darkness. Back then Sergey was working on the arrangement for another track, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – BTW this one was the hardest for us to finish and we argued about it A LOT. One day when we met Sergey mentioned that he already started to work on ‘Lace’ as well and showed me the intro – from the first seconds I understood that this one is going to be powerful. So we agreed to put the other track aside and do the ‘Lace’ first. I fell in love with the arrangement, with this small pause before the first chorus and with this dark-dark piano.

Crimson Moon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?

BM: Typically I write lyrics, melody and chord progression. Afterwards I show it to Sergey and we discuss the overall mood and style. Sergey does the rest 🙂

Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?

BM: From everywhere, literally. Often I get hooked on a particular word and build a song around it – this happened with ‘Broken things’, for instance. Sometimes I have a very clear picture in my head and I just need to find the proper words to frame it – this is how it was in ‘Lace’. Overall ‘Crime of Passion’ is a conceptual album with a coherent story underneath – it made it easier to compose lyrics because of having this skeleton upfront.

Crimson Moon: Has the Covid Pandemic impacted the band at all?

SB: This damn pandemic is affecting everything and everyone. Closed borders, self-isolation, lack of concerts and festivals being cancelled – all of these does not make us happy. Although I would say that the awful events happening in our country on the political and social fronts affect the band way more than pandemic did.

IR: Influence of the covid pandemic affected music in our country. Unfortunately many of belarusian festivals and concerts were canceled, and we don’t know where we can perform at all. Because our music isn’t for cramped bars and small stages. And this is not because we are such “stars”, but because we simply will not fit on a stage with a cast of 6 people. =)

Crimson Moon: Do you have any side projects?

RG: I am collaborating with the Blaine Rohmer project. This is a one man studio project, I record drums for him.

SB: I am the vocalist of IVORY, a symphonic heavy metal band with a progressive influences. We have a full-length album and now, despite the fact that we are somewhat scattered around the world and other difficulties, we are working on the second album.

I also collaborate with the Nevrida project as an arranger and occasionally help as a session bass player and backing vocalist.

I also have accumulated a lot of material for a solo project, but for now this is only an idea 🙂

IP: Yes, I play in Synaxaria band.

IR: Yes I have. I play in alternative folk-rock band ‘Nevrida’. I think that musicians should try themselves in different kinds of music because it will improve their skills. Sometimes I play in cover-bands, just for the sake of not being rusted.

Crimson Moon: What is the music scene like where you guys are from?

RG: We have a fairly diverse music scene, many great bands in a variety of genres. A very strong metal scene, especially black metal and folk metal, but there are many worthy representatives in other genres as well.

SB: We have a lot of really talented bands, but the specifics of our music business does not allow most of them to get into the charts, since our main radio stations are tailored for low-quality pop music. But there are also pleasant exceptions among our radio stations, which really support young rock artists and take their tracks into rotation. In fact, the very tough thing began with the arrival of the pandemic, and then the onset of our political problems exacerbated this situation at times. Almost all worthy musicians and projects are now banned because of their civic position. But I still believe that the situation will change soon: humanity will finally adapt to covid, all our political and social brutality will remain in the past, and the Belarusian alternative scene will enter its renaissance.

Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?

BM: Overall I admire singers/songwriters of all genres. One of my biggest inspirations is Per Gessle and the way he composes his music, so the first one on my list will always be Roxette. When it comes to the heavy stuff, I can think of Slipknot, Tool, Rotting Christ and Behemoth as the bands who left the deepest imprints.

SB: In general the spectrum of my musical passions is huge – from classical and jazz to metal. But when it comes to creating my own music, I would name Kamelot, Leprous, Avantasia and Ayreon.

RG: I’m really inspired by Rick Allen from Def Leppard.

IR: I never liked primitive music with plain chords and simple melodies with three notes which repeat around the whole song, so I seek hard polyrhythmiс, changing size, melody with soul and mind, and masterpiece guitar solos of course. As for the names, this would be Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Andy James, Marco Sfogli.

Crimson Moon: What is the band like when you play live?

BM: Happy. I literally feel on top of the world doing this.

IR: Unfortunately the last concert we had in 2020 was online. Damn Covid ruins all of our plans…

Crimson Moon: Have you guys ever played in another country?

SB: With Belle Morte specifically – no, but I performed in other countries with IVORY (Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia) and Nevrida project (Russia, Poland and Serbia). I really hope that Belle Morte will have an extremely busy touring activity, when all the borders will finally be open.

RG: Not with Belle Morte, but with other bands, in Russia and Ukraine.

IR: Nope, but we hope that we can do it in the near future.

Crimson Moon: How has the fan response been to the band?

BM: I have nothing to compare with, but from my personal perspective it was great. As a musician who just released some stuff out of nowhere, without years of presence on a local scene, I didn’t expect much and was impressed when we started getting first positive reactions. But maybe that’s just because metalheads in general are the nicest people 🙂

Crimson Moon: What made you want to be in this band?

Maria: When I heard the music of Belle Morte and watched the videos for the first time, I was amazed – wow, they do it here, in Belarus! And the atmosphere is really friendly at rehearsals, all the guys are great professionals, it is very comfortable to play and contact with them.

RG: I have followed the band since it began, when it was still a studio project, as it attracted my attention with its unusual, top-notch music and image. In our country, this genre is not very widespread and it was interesting for me to play something like that. So when I got an offer I couldn’t help but agree.

IR: I’ve known Sergei for a long time, from the moment we played together in the ‘Nevrida’. Sergey asked me to help record the guitar for the new album. During the work on the album I also performed with Belle Morte, but as a session musician. At the end of the work on the album, Belle and Sergey offered to join them. On reflection, I agreed, why not.)

IP: Very interesting material plus there is something to play, this concerns the guitar parts themselves. And of course, a very cool team got together, in terms of the band members themselves.

Crimson Moon: If you weren’t in this band would you still be involved in the music industry?

Maria: I’ve been playing music since childhood, and there has not yet been a period in my life without piano or violin – I played in music schools, cover bands, student ensembles, piano music lovers club and so on… Wherever I go, I can’t imagine my life without music.

RG: Yes, I would do music anyway. I’ve been doing it since I was 16 and can’t imagine my life without it. I constantly play in bands, replace someone at concerts, participate in interesting projects…

IP: I think so, yes.

SB: Definitely 🙂 Music is, in fact, my whole life. This is both a hobby, and the main specialty, and the main passion 🙂

IR: The fact is that I am a musician by education and I have meaningfully connected my life with it, so music is with me till the end.

Crimson Moon: As a musician what advice can you give to fellow musician just starting out?

IR: Take action, experiment, work hard and don’t give up. The road will be mastered by the walking one.

RG: Discipline, persistence and perseverance. Talent alone is not enough, if you do not work hard, then there will be no point doing it. As in any other subject, you need to work hard and constantly master your skills. Well, believing in yourself, of course, is also very important. And it is very important to expand your musical horizons, for a better understanding of music and for development of musical thinking and fantasy. Listen to a lot of great music in different genres and try to understand how it works.

BM: Surround yourself with like-minded people, who are also passionate about music. You will need their advice, ears, and support during the times when you feel like you are not going anywhere. And their company to celebrate your small victories 🙂

Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for the band?

SB: Only the very best, I hope. New songs (some of which are already in progress), concerts and of course a sea of drive and rock and roll 🙂

IR: I hope that Covid situation will disappear and we’re going a long way with concerts, moving forward and drive.

BM: Pretty sure it will be awesome. We have our first album which I’m extremely proud of, we are working on our next EP, which I know will be even greater. I expect us to have some mind-blowing gigs, trips, collaborations with other musicians and a lot of great times together.

Contact them at:

Website https://bellemortemusic.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpgzB7LdE8HZMjesQWr3iTw

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bellemortemusic

Twitter https://twitter.com/bellemortemusic

VK https://vk.com/bellemortemusic

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/7v4MigNtCPxvHOr2DNsYcD

YouTube music https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCh7cY-UiJ9vazfiiZ7Gfi8g

Apple music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/belle-morte/1436848317

Deezer https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/51634242

Instagram https://instagram.com/bellemortemusic

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/bellemortemusic