Ilenkus are an ambitious and articulate unit, one with a widescreen vision of their music, message and artistic scope: “We have three alternating lead singers and guitar players, and all three of us write the lyrics, so the sound and atmosphere on each track can be completely different. But our lyrics definitely have a theme; an idea we touch on a lot is relinquishing the illusion of control, allowing the primal elements of human nature to come to the fore and to see where they guide the self.”
Their recent full length ‘The Crossing’ saw release on September 15th. Mixed by These Arms Are Snakes’ Chris Common (Chelsea Wolfe, Pelican), it is as crushing as it is complex, as serrated as it is subtle, the band’s three pronged vocal trident keeping the textures of Ilenkus’ sound in almost constant flux. Moments of sparkling downtime give way to rivers of crushing gloom; elsewhere, leviathan riffs wind their way in, out and around the quintet’s pulsing song structures like a complex network of roots in soil. Hear it here: https://ilenkus.bandcamp.com/
Here the band answers the A-Z Interview… A Song Which Made You Want To Make Music: The Bends – Radiohead
Best Album Ever Written: Converge’s Jane Doe
Craziest Moment You’ve Experienced In The Band: We saw a guy get killed by another guy with a broken bottle outside a nightclub
Deepest Lyrics One Of Your Songs Features: 2000 fathoms
Easiest Song You Wrote: It’s never easy
Favourite Show You’ve Ever Played: Any gigs in our home town
Guest You’d Most Like To Feature On A Your Record: David Gest
Happiest Moment In You’ve Experienced In The Band: When we all took ecstasy at a party
Interesting Fact About One Of Your Members: Anything is possible except that Sam’s made of pasta
Jokes You Have In The Band: Rory
Kicking Off Your Set Is Best With Which Song: Devourer
Longest Distance You’ve Travelled To Play A Show: 4000 km
Most Inspiring Musician You’ve Ever Experienced: Omar Rodriguez Lopez
New Band You’d Recommend: Bitch Falcon
Opening For This Band Would Be Ideal: Neurosis
Place You’d Most Like To Tour: Russia
Quote That You’d Like To Pass On To Readers: I am the liquor
Reason For The Title Of Your Recent/Forthcoming Release: It’s one of the songs on the album
See Us Live At: Some dive bars around Europe
The Old Days Of Music Were Better Than Those Current, do you agree: How the fuck should I know?
Unusual Merchandise: Vials of semen
Variations You’d Like To Do On Any Of Your Songs: I’d like to perform all of our song in a hip hop style, while we are all dressed in womens clothing.
What Bands Have You Seen Live and Regretted: All of them. Paying good money to see wasters waste their lives.
X-rays or any other treatments needed for band related in juries: The most common injury is getting hit in the face with a headstock – no treatment generally necessary
You could have written any song in history, which would you pick: Eye Of The Tiger
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band: A cross between a marmot, a hyena and a bat
