How did you come up with the name HOWLING SYN (SYN with a Y)?

Patryk: I wanted to name the band "SYNNER" but I noticed that there is a band called SINNER already. My nickname on the web was Howling or Synner. So Sophie and I decided to change SYNNER to HOWLING SYNNER and then to HOWLING SYN. In fact, HOWLING SYN is a combination of my 2 web names at the time. It's that simple. The name HOWLING SYN really reflects the vibes of the band and we are very happy with that name, which I think is very unique and original.

HOWLING SYN have been around for quite some time now, could you tell us a bit about the history of HOWLING SYN?

Sophie: To make a long story short, it all started as a one-man band whose demo songs ended up on Mp3.com in January 2000. Then I joined Patryk and we gave a voice to the instrumentals. When it was time for "the real thing", Éric (who played in different bands with Patryk before) came in for the recording of "Forebearers Of Dusk" in 2001. After that, we felt the calling of the stage and Gilbert came to complete the pack. After some gigs with Michael Myers, the Witch and other friends, we needed to let our creativity flow again. So "Devilries" was started - with the help of our "devils"!

You had been pretty active on mp3.com before it changed owners and at least for the moment is offline. How much do you think has this site helped you to make the name of HOWLING SYN better known out there?

Patryk: This was the place when you wanted to get heard by fans of Metal outside of your hometown. Mp3.com gave us a lot of exposure in 2000/2001 when the site was hot. We have been one of the most successful Canadian bands on mp3.com and of course the money we got there helped us a lot for the recording of FOD. But back then our music was so different than what we do now that most of the fans who listened to FOD thought it was a new band. In fact it was... a new beginning I must say.

"Forebearers Of Dusk" is your first official release on CD. Could you tell us a bit more about the album and its background?

Patryk: This CD reflects the beginning of the band. Some songs were written in 1998 and some just before the recording. There's also a lot of songs from our previous demo CDs that were only instrumental at the time. We took all the best songs we had and tried to create a story with them. It turned out to be a good idea.
Sophie: The story was also a kind of "myth of the beginning", with both chapters starting with an instrumental track, just like we did! And it shows how very different paths can lead to one same place - to the "Emperors Of Tomorrow", who are the same as those of yesterday. So it all came from different ideas and influences from Patryk, Éric and myself that we mixed together to create a new whole that still had the same feel as the instrumentals that people discovered on Mp3.com.

You use female and male vocals, what do you think the mix of vocals adds to your musical style?

Sophie: I think it adds a diversity and our voices complement each other and sometimes blend to create an interesting sound. (Because a man's voice and a woman's voice are never the same, even when they do the same note.) It also allows us to play with two characters or two sides in a song.

How did you come up with the flute (the one played sideways) as fix instrument in a Metal band?

Sophie: I've been playing flute since my teens and since all the classical instruments used in Howling Syn are keyboards we wanted to have a more realistic feel to the music. It works pretty well and I only use it in a few songs. So it's not a "trademark" but only a magic tool that we like to use for a few songs.

You are using both growls and clean vocals, but I have heard that you will drop the growls completely on the new material. What is the reason for this?

Patryk: There will be LESS growls because of the musical direction we want to take. I mean you will always hear me scream from time to time but I don't think we will do a whole song with growls again. I love to sing and it's better for my voice too, so if I want to sing for a long time I have to take care of it. Now the growls will be reflecting the feelings of the songs. It's like a beast that sleeps insides me. I like to let it go from time to time.

I know that you are a very productive songwriter. How do you usually write a song and how big is the input of the rest of the band on the song writing?

Patryk: I started HOWLING SYN to finally have the chance to write and play my songs. On FOD I wrote all the music and most of the lyrics. Sophie & Éric helped me a lot for the lyrics on FOD and they are participating more in the new songs. They have a great talent for writing. The way we usually work is that I do a complete instrumental version of the songs. Then they listen to it and if they like it we jam it together to see if the songs really stick to HOWLING SYN. Gilbert wrote a cool song recently so, for the first time, we now play a song that was not written by me. I did write the lyrics though. This song will be the closing track of our next CD. Gilbert likes the heavy stuff... you'll know what I mean when you listen to the song. For the rest, the future will tell.

So as "Forebearers Of Dusk" has originally been released in 2002, are there any concrete plans for a follow-up and if so, what can we expect from it?

Patryk: We are getting ready to record "Devilries". We have 11 songs and we are really proud of what we achieved. We should have it done pretty soon so the fans will see what we really can do as a whole band. Gilbert was not with us during the recording of FOD. The music won't be too different from FOD, but more mature and we tried to have a hit with each songs. Here's some song titles: "Bleed In Silence", "Ghost From The Past", "Sweet Oblivion", "I Am The Night" just to name a few. This time the CD will be available worldwide (details will follow pretty soon). So 2004 should be the year of the Synners.

How old are the songs on "Forebearers Of Dusk"? And will you re-use older material on future releases as well or will everything be new stuff?

Patryk: The songs on FOD were written between 1998 and 2001. We will use 2 songs from that era on "Devilries": "The Man Without Soul" & "Carnivorous Lunar Activities". For the rest it's brand new stuff that we can't wait to show you!!!

Will the songs that had been available on mp3.com be published anywhere else again or will that forever be in the vaults in the castle of HOWLING SYN?

Patryk: Some of those songs are on FOD ("Medieval Years", "Dark Chivalry", "The Reign Of Evil", "Vampyra's Symphony"). Most of the songs on mp3.com were instrumental demos done with a synth only by myself. For the rest, only time will tell but I think we'll go with new songs and keep the others in the vault.

Québec is the (for the biggest part) French speaking province of Canada. Have you ever thought about doing a track in French (or rather - Québecois)?

Patryk: We have one song already. But it is not going to be on "Devilries". Maybe on a b-side or on the next CD.
Sophie: I think I would rather add a few words or verses in French or another language, just to diversify. Songs usually come to me in a certain language and sometimes a translation would not carry the same depth of meaning. But now I mostly use English for songs and French for poetry (the song Patryk is talking about is a poem transformed into a song). It can be hard to change a muse's mind!

You are pretty active in the live sector, with many shows with bands like MOONLYGHT or LIVA, how easy/difficult is it to organise concerts in and around Montréal?

Patryk: In 2002/2003 we did a few shows with them and it turned out to be pretty cool. The first gig we did it was a triple release party so a lot of people were there to see all the bands. We love to play live but we don't like to organize shows because we can't give 100% on our performance and it's kind of hard to find bands that fit with our style in the Montréal area. The best show we did so far was with Lacuna Coil in Montréal last September, we can't wait to do another show with a great band like that!

As you feature no fixed keyboarder in your line-up, I could imagine that it is a bit hard to get all these arrangements into a live environment. How do you deal with that?

Patryk: I do the synth tracks at home and then we use them as a background recording on live shows. Éric is the guy who has all controls on the synths. He's the backbone of the band. He seems shy behind his drum kit but with headphones during a show you need to be in trance. On the left the metronome, on the right the synths. We've been playing like that for 3 years and it's working perfectly.

So improvisation is rather hard to do, eh? How long in advance do you have to decide on a playlist, I mean, short notice changes to the playing time could lead to some big problems...

Patryk: We have all the synth tracks of each song and we build the set we need for the length of the set. We do some cover songs without synths to let ourselves go! We love to play MOONSPELL's "Opium" live.

If you could pick two bands to go on tour with, which ones would you pick and why?

Patryk: MOONSPELL would be pretty cool. They have turned out to be an inspiration on my work. I like their presence on stage and I love their songs. They created Gothic Metal and they still push the style further today. That's what I like about them.
For a second choice, it's kinda hard to choose. I'll go with a theatrical/Rock artist like ALICE COOPER, KING DIAMOND, KISS, MAIDEN or even RAMMSTEIN. All these bands influenced us in some ways. We like theatrical music and we love these artists! They are all unique in their own ways.

Many people say that the best part of Canada for Metal is Montréal. What do you think is the reason for the scene of this city being so big?

Patryk: There's a lot of bands out there. What I like the most is that I'm blown away by the quality of the musicians in Québec. We have some of the best musicians in Canada (for Metal). The sad thing is that we don't have any diversity in the bands. You will almost only find 2 styles of Metal here. Extreme Death or Extreme Black. Some of them like to add the word symphonic to it. They all play very well but they all sound the same. But you will have some rare exceptions that will try to use plenty of styles to blend to their Metal music. Those bands are the one that will succeed I'm pretty sure.

Which bands from the Montréal or Québec scene would you recommend to our readers to check out?

Patryk: SHADES OF DUSK... This is a new band and they play Melodic Death Metal. They are from our cool province. Most of the guys in this band are only 16 or 17 years old. They do play well for their age. They only have a 4-song demo EP, but it's promising.

What are you guys doing besides HOWLING SYN, job wise as well as hobbies?

Patryk: I've been a manager at a music/electronics store in Montréal for 2 years now. For my hobbies I do play music a lot. Piano, guitar, bass... I really can choose my instrument. I'm also a video game and movie freak. When I want to relax I'm on my PS2/Xbox or I'm watching a good sci-fi/horror movie.
Éric is merchandise manager in a big grocery store in Montréal. Outside of that, he likes poetry, music, all kinds of movies but especially Nicholson's and he's a very creative painter. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of his creations somewhere in the near future.

Sophie: I am a translator in a big Canadian company. I've always loved words, languages, writing. I also enjoy books, video games (and beating guys at it!), movies, music and the like, lounging with the cat, chatting with friends over a drink…
Gilbert is an electronics technician. Music and movies make up a good part of his life. He takes night classes at university and he likes good food, good books and fooling around.

To end this interview, I have my traditional last question: What is your favourite question about HOWLING SYN that you have never been asked yet, but would finally like to answer?

Sophie: I don't think that anyone should wait for someone to ask a question before answering it. If you have something to say, just say it. But I'll play the game and tell you that if someone asked me if my wings are real, I'd answer "Yes, of course". (Online February 5, 2004)

by Alexander Melzer