Right before the release of Infected Rain’s new album, Ecdysis, I had the pleasure to have a quick talk with Elena « Lena Scissorhands » Cataraga, the band’s vocalist and frontwoman.
Photo credits: Victoria Wonka
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! Could you please introduce yourself and the band Infected Rain without using the usual “Metal” labels?
Elena « Lena Scissorhands » Cataraga (vocals): Hello! Infected Rain is a band from Moldova, started in 2008. We are a constantly active band about to release our 5th album called Ecdysis. Just doing what we love and what comes from the heart for the past 13 years.
Do you remember where the band’s name came from?
Lena Scissorhands: It was just a cool name that was suggested by our guitar player Vidick. We all loved it and just kept it.
Your new album Ecdysis is about to be released, how would you sum it up in three words?
Lena Scissorhands: Raw, real, heavy
How did the composition process happen? Was it different from the previous releases?
Lena Scissorhands: It was, but only because of the unique times we are all living in. We had to learn new ways and methods but it was all fun and worth it.
On this album, I felt that you enhanced the contrast between raw, aggressive roots and Progressive/quiet elements. How do you manage to reach a balance between all your influences?
Lena Scissorhands: I don’t think about it really. I just let the emotions guide me. If it feels right to scream or moan or whisper or sing, I just do it. I think it helps deliver the message of the lyrics properly.
On the song The Realm of Chaos, you welcome Heidi Shepherd from the American band Butcher Babies on vocals for a powerful duo. How did you ask her to participate in this song?
Lena Scissorhands: We are very good friends so it was a very easy and organic choice to make. Heidi loved the idea right away so we just had fun with it.
On this album, there are two parts of the song named Postmortem. Why did you create some kind of “loop” for this album?
Lena Scissorhands: Just wanted to bring people back into the mood of the first song and remind one more time about the main idea and theme of the first song.
There is also more diversity about vocal parts than on the previous releases, how do you work on your voice? How do you know which part will be made of howlings or clean vocals?
Lena Scissorhands: Just like I mentioned before, the choice is very natural, I just trust my feelings and make the sound that feels right for that specific emotion. I try to always keep my voice in shape and exercise a lot, that helps feeling my instrument better.
As we all know, Covid-19 pandemic fucked a lot of things up since 2020, how did you face the situation as a band? Did the pandemic have any direct impact on the album?
Lena Scissorhands: We tried our best to stay strong and focused on our career. Despite the fact that a lot was going wrong and we couldn’t do what we love the most, we found other things to do. We filmed a documentary about the band and film a very big and high production show for our fans. We took our time with the album and the music videos for the singles. Constant work keeps us from going crazy for sure.
The release date of Ecdysis is planned for January 7th, 2022, do you already have plans for the future?
Lena Scissorhands: We hope to tour a lot with it. There are a lot of plans for 2022, lets just all hope nothing will change all these plans.
What do you love about your music that you cannot find in other band’s music?
Lena Scissorhands: I love everything about my music. It is emotional and in your face. I think there are a lot of bands like that, who have that and it’s beautiful.
You come from Moldavia, a country I actually do not know anything about. How is the Metal scene over here?
Lena Scissorhands: Honestly I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about it because I don’t live there anymore . Many things have changed since I used to live there.
The band has been active since 2008, did you see any evolution of the Metal scene? In your country or even internationally.
Lena Scissorhands: There are so many new things. Honestly that’s why I love music so much. It’s always innovative and beautiful.
What is your best worst experience as a musician ever?
Lena Scissorhands: The best experience is always being on stage and sharing my music with the world.
Maybe you already heard about the French Metal scene? Which French bands do you know?
Lena Scissorhands: My favorite is Gojira.
What if I ask you to compare Infected Rain’s music with a dish? Which one and why?
Lena Scissorhands: I don’t think I could do that because there is so much flavor to our music.
Are there any musicians or bands you would like to collaborate with?
Lena Scissorhands: I honestly always dreamed of collaborating with Chino Moreno from Deftones.