antiMusic: From the Ashes is the debut full-length from Nemhain. Since some of the songs stretch back more than a few years now, what are your feelings about the record?

Amber: It's great to finally have it out there considering the amount of time it took to get it out! Kind of like an ingrown toenail I guess, almost a relief ; ) No, I'm still very happy about it, but it's an even better feeling to be getting on with the second album.

antiMusic: Nemhain sounds like a band that was born for the stage. Do you think the record closely reflects the presence you have in a live setting?

Amber: No, I don't, which is something we intend to remedy on this next album. We want to record it as live and as naturally as we possibly can to really harness that raw energy. I definitely think the album sounded a bit more polished than we would have wanted in hindsight.

antiMusic: How does the music of Nemhain come together (or at least for the recording of that record considering Sam is back in the band and did not play on it)? Who comes up with the riffs and do you write independently of the music or do you have to hear the basic tracks and fit the lyrics to the mood?

Amber: From the Ashes guitar parts were written collectively by the string section in Nemhain, although myself and Adrian contributed to some of the riffs on a few songs. Apart from "Jane Doe", which Samara who was only briefly in the band wrote the guitars for. As far as how they were put together, a lot of the earlier songs started with my lyrics, the odd vocal melody and an idea of the general vibe. There would then be rough guitars and into the rehearsal room for arrangements and embellishments, etc and that's where the songs really took shape. Whereas the later songs have mainly started with guitars and I've built vocal melodies around them, some of the lyrics were already written and some I've written after listening to guitar ideas. We all get together and have writing sessions and then record parts at home which get properly formed in rehearsals. There is no one songwriter in Nemhain. Everyone does their bit.

antiMusic: This was, personally, (correct me if I'm wrong) your first go around in the studio behind the mic (or at least for a whole record). What was the experience like for you and how quickly did the recorded tracks come together?

Amber: I'd recorded three times before that, once for another version of "Dirty Weekend", the EP and our contribution to the Misfits cover album, so I wasn't completely thrown into the deep end. As we were paying for the album ourselves, time was tight and we had two unfinished songs so it got pretty stressful towards the end. Next time we go in we plan to have demoed everything before hand and there won't be any unfinished songs to add to the chaos. Well I say that but things never work that way!

antiMusic: The tendency for most bands, particularly new outfits, is to throw everything on a track and find it hard to let go. Did you have that problem at all and how did you know when a track was finished?

Amber: We felt most of them were finished when we went in to record other than the few that actually weren't finished but being in there got us re thinking things and adding bits, more harmonies, etc. but with time being a major factor we had to know when to stop as we didn't really have any choice. I imagine if there's a big budget behind the album the tinkering could go on forever…

antiMusic: Some of the songs from the EP show a little tinkering from their original state. Did you play around with structures or arrangements with many of the songs from how they were first presented?

Amber: Yes, we messed around with quite a few of the songs whether it was adding vocal harmonies, cutting bits out and adding bits, etc… You seem to get more perspective on the songs in the studio & listen to them in a different way.

antiMusic: Did you write many other songs for the record and why were some of the other ones that were discarded --- purely not up to snuff or did they not fit the vibe of the record?

Amber: There were a few that didn't make it on for various reasons, one was really ancient and we just didn't feel it was up to scratch. Another was partly written by a member that left and didn't really fit the vibe in the end. A third was a new unfinished song and we kind of finished it in the studio but it just didn't really click and I wasn't happy with how the vocals turned out so we're probably going to re write it and see what happens.

antiMusic: From the Ashes contains some gritty material, lyrics-wise --- drug abuse, sexual abuse, murder, and general debauchery. Do you go looking for this subject matter in your imagination or do you find stories from the news, etc?

Amber: Some of it is personal to me or people I know. Some is partly from books and films, dreams, a warped imagination and a fascination with death and suicide I guess ;)

antiMusic: Mr. Bronson is an interesting song subject. Where did that idea come from?

Amber: Ha ha, Mr Bronson… He's a good character, kind of a mixture between our British criminal Charlie Bronson, a shadowy kind of Machiavellian drug lord and a tricky demon. I made him up when we were driving down to Bristol for a friend's birthday… it seemed a good way to pass the time.

antiMusic: What was it about the song by The Gits ("Second Skin") that made you want to cover it?

Amber: It was actually Lakis, when he tried out to join Nemhain, said whether he was in the band or not we should cover this song and played us "Second Skin". Everyone loved it, so we did it.

antiMusic: How did Peter Dolving get involved with this song?

Amber: Adrian had an idea that it could be cool to have a guest vocalist and rang Peter while we were in the studio, the next day he turned up as he lived close by and just got stuck in. It was really cool of him to agree to do it and great to watch him at work. He's on some of the other songs too. A lot of what we do is spontaneous, it can go either way! Fortunately it worked out this time around.

antiMusic: My favorite songs remain the ones that made up your EP. What are your sentimental favorites from the full-length?

Amber: Ummmm, I'm pretty pleased with "Clear My Eyes". "Heroin Child" came out well and "Second Skin".

antiMusic: Nemhain is quickly approaching legendary status for their drinking/rabble-rousing. What are some of the stories you can share from your time in the studio that involve things other than music? You know….the goop!!!

Amber: The heaviest parties happen when you don't plan them. The weekend prior to entering the studio we crashed over at Sharlee from Arch Enemy's place and what was meant to be a few caipirinhas turned into most of his home bar. When I attempted to go to bed I fell face down onto the floor creating a 4 inch gaping wound over my eyebrow. Adrian said we have to go to hospital now to get it stitched up…. I apparently complained that the hospital is boring and that there was no bar. Why are there no bars in the hospitals?! People have the right to a pre-treatment drink =)

antiMusic: Can we look forward to a follow-up in the near future?

Amber: Absolutely, we're working on the second album now and plan to have all the songs finished and ready to record by the summer. The plan is to get it released in the autumn.

antiMusic: What's on the horizon for Nemhain as we approach the start of a new year?

Amber: We've got festivals this summer, so far the ones we can announce are Bloodstock in the UK and Female metal voices festival in Belgium. Motorhead are headlining on the day we play Bloodstock and we're all really excited to be sharing a stage with them.

antiMusic: Anything else about the record or band that you wanted to mention that I didn't ask you?