We want not be a “rip off” – Interview with The Fall of Eve
By Rainer Kerber
It’s been four years since I saw the band The Fall of Eve live. The to me until then unknown band opened the first day of the Dames of Darkness Festival 2015 in the English Bilston. The singer Laura has an amazing voice. While vacationing in Scotland, I met the two masterminds Laura and Micheal Moffat in person. One album and two EPs have been released so far. The third EP “Nevermore” will follow in October. Reason enough to ask the band once.
MHF: Hello, I am Rainer and write for Metalheads Forever. I am glad that I can do this interview with you. How are you?
TFoE: Hi Rainer, thanks so much for interviewing us! We are both really well. We are expecting a second baby in early October as well as the EP release so it’s getting exciting!
MHF: Despite your recent releases, you are largely unknown outside the UK. Please introduce yourself briefly.
TFoE: My name is Laura, but I use Evangeline as a stage name, mainly because I always felt Laura wasn’t a very “rock and roll” name! I am The Fall of Eve’s vocalist and together with my guitarist and husband Michael, we are the only current/permanent members of the band. We work together to write all the music and lyrics and try to always build on what we have done before.
MHF: The predecessor EP was released three years ago. In between, it was pretty quiet around the band. What reasons were there for that?
TFoE: We were very busy behind the scenes! The last EP was successfully funded when our previous baby was due, and we spent the following year recording and adjusting to parenthood. After we released the EP, we almost immediately started writing the next one. Turns out babies definitely take up writing time and the mental exhaustion of being a new parent is very real ????.
MHF: You financed the production of “Nevermore” via crowdfunding. What were your thoughts when it was successfully completed?
TFoE: Our first thought was “wow”. We are always so thankful for even the smallest amount of support from fans and to be able to fund an entire ep when we are still so unknown is truly amazing. This was our third successful record funding and we always assume we won’t be able to hit the target and it’s so humbling to see people adding to the total and thinking “these guys work for their money, they have their own lives, their own bills and could spent their money on anything and yet they want to support our work”. It’s kind of crazy but absolutely amazing
MHF: The songs were mixed and mastered by former Evanescence guitarist John LeCompt. He has also recorded the bass lines. How did this cooperation come about?
TFoE: Michael actually bought one of his guitars (an Esp Ltd Grynch that John used in the My Immortal video!) From John on eBay. I was totally convinced it wasn’t him and not really his guitar, so I asked him for a photo to prove that it was really him and he sent me a picture with a cheeky message written on a piece of paper. We got chatting after that and let him hear our music and things went from there.
MHF: Were the recordings difficult? After all, John lives in the US. Because you also had support from session musicians on the drums and the lead guitar.
TFoE: Recording was more difficult because of the baby than because of the distance with John. We had to take turns going to the studio and things took a lot longer than we expected them to. Once we laid everything down in a studio here in Scotland, we got all the files sent across to John and he got to work. There was a lot of emailing back and forth to finalize parts and say “yeah that’s great” or “can we change X for Y” which also meant things took longer than if we had the chance to just get into a studio with him but it definitely worked out for the best.
MHF: What about live performances? Are you trying to build a fixed lineup for this?
TFoE: We are! We would LOVE to have permanent members and be able to get out live (even if it wouldn’t be right now). We see so many other bands getting to play amazing shows and we definitely get a little jealous ????. Even with a full line up, the logistics of going out live when we are both in the band and will soon have 2 children wouldn’t be easy, but we would definitely find a way if an opportunity presented itself.
MHF: How is your songwriting going on? Do you work together on the songs?
TFoE: We always work together but not always at the same time. Michael will usually write a guitar part. Sometimes it’s just chords, other times it’s a riff or something more. Then I’ll get a quick recording of it and sit at the piano and work on melodies. I then sing to his playing and we decide what works best and what needs more work. We still have songs waiting to be recorded and even if the chance to write isn’t as often as it was, we still try to keep writing as much as we can.
MHF: Which bands and musicians influence you in composing?
TFoE: A big influence for both of us is classical music. I (Laura) am classically trained in a couple of instruments and we are both fans of classical music but also modern composers like John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Obviously, the genres big bands like Within Temptation, Evanescence, Epica etc are influences but we try to actively avoid sounding too much like anyone else. We really want to have our own space within the genre and not be a “rip off” of another band.
MHF: The Fall of Eve exist for 8 years. What beautiful moments do you remember from this?
TFoE: Getting to open Dames of Darkness with no one knowing who we were but the venue still being packed with people who all rocked out with is and then bought every single bit of merch we brought with us. We expected a handful of people since we were first on stage but the welcome and the response, we got was unreal.
Also, every time we have managed to fund a new release and we see just how much love we are getting from around the globe when we are so small in the grand scheme of things. It’s always so so appreciated.
MHF: What are your plans for the future?
TFoE: We really want to record the other songs we have stored away and get out to play live. We are looking for members to complete the lineup.
MHF: Thank you again for this interview. Do you want to say something to the fans at the end?
TFoE: Our new EP will be out from October 4th but is available to pre-order now from our big cartel page. If you check out our YouTube channel you can listen to some of the tracks already! Thanks for talking to us Rainer ????
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
