INTERVIEW WITH LEA DIEKMANN

Lea Diekmann!!
The Interview!

By Darkzen

18/12/2024

DARK LIGHTNING Band is a Symphonic metal with hard riffs, powerful vocals and epic melodies!

Founded in Braunschweig in 2018, DARK LIGHTNING have carved out their own place in the scene with their unique Metal combination of symphonic elements and profound, emotional themes.

The six-piece's music, which comes straight from the heart, processes personal struggles and experiences and transforms them into atmospherically dense soundscapes that are both powerful and touching.

Hi Lea! How are you? Thank you so much for this opportunity!
Tell us more about yourself! What is your story?

Lea:

Hi, thank you as well for having me. I think I started singing before I could even properly speak and it developed into a passion of mine. Later I sang in the school choir, mainly classical, and when I left school in the local church's choir, where I quickly found out that this was no longer what I wanted to do. My music taste had already shifted into the heavier direction and I wanted to stand on stage in the spotlight with a band. So I left the choir and started looking for fellow musicians with the same goal. It took about three years and a few tries with different musicians before I co-founded Dark Lightning. In the mean time took private singing lessons to unlock more clean vocal styles and after founding Dark Lightning semi self-taught myself screams and growls.

How did you get into the world of Metal?

Lea:

Slowly but surely. I think my path into the world of metal music started with Bryan Adams as well as Schandmaul when I was about twelve years old. In my teenage years I got into more Rock, Folk Rock and Gothic Rock, then Alternative Rock with Linkin Park and Billy Talent mainly until I found Hammerfall as well as Bullet For My Valentine. Which are two very different bands, but I guess I got into the music from two very different directions from the start. In between I had a brief Symphonic Metal Phase with Xandria and Epica that had no small part in inspiring me to make music on my own and from there on out my ears just got used to more and more heavy and extreme sounds.

Do you have a history in other bands before?

Lea:

Not really. I tried singing in a Blues Rock band once (Head First To Nowhere), but that just wasn't for me and also didn't last longer than the try-out phase.

What are your musical influences in general?

Lea:

A bit of this and a bit of that, I guess. I like combining all the vocal styles I learned throughout my various phases of musical development. You can definitely hear my tendencies towards darker themes but also quite a bit of energy and even aggression in my vocals and lyrics.

Do you have a favorite vocalist?

Lea:

Jack Black is definitely very high on that list as well as Serj from System A Down. And Veronica 'ValchiRea' Boradacchini from Fleshgod Apocalypse has just the most beautiful soprano I've ever heard. But there are tons of other singers out there in the world whose skills I admire and look up to.

Your hobbies?

Lea:

As for hobbies, I like to work with leather. I even made myself some medieval fantasy armor that I put on for going to a renfaire. I also enjoy reading a good novel.

How are you part of the Dark Lightning band?

Lea:

I am a founding member and write the lyrics and vocal melodies. I am also sort of the band-mom. I guess that just happens to bands with a female main vocalist.

Do you write the lyrics for some songs?

Lea:

Yes, I wrote all of the lyrics on our current album as well as for most of our other songs.

Tell us a little about your album "The Demons We Create" for our readers. What theme is it based on?

Lea:

The over all theme of the album is, that we are often held back by our very own demons and actions and sometimes even prisoners of our own ways. Of course it varies in every song and in the song Take Off I write about overcoming those burdens and achieving our goals. A little piece of bright positivity in the otherwise gloomy and dark atmosphere of the lyrics.

Will you have a new video for any of the songs from "The Demons We Create"?

Lea:

Apart from Beautiful Beast there was no video planned.

Do you have a favorite song from "The Demons We Create"?

Lea:

Yes, the title track "The Demons We Create". There is a lot of emotion in the different parts and a lot of me in the lyrics and execution of the vocals. I literally had goosebumps from hearing the instrumental demo alone and it only improved with everything we added and changed.

What else would you like to share with us?

Lea:

We have had some guests on our album – Alina and Heike from Stimmgewalt – to provide some additional backing vocals. So far we have never collaborated with other musicians on our music, but that experience was very fun and we are very happy with the outcome, so we might be doing something similar in the future.

Any tours planned for 2025?

Lea:

No tours for 2025, since we all work full time jobs and the timing, sadly, just isn't right for the moment. But it’s on our agenda, at least for 2026.

What other surprises does Lea have for us with her band?

Lea:

There might be rumors that there are plans to release a single or two over the course of the next year.

Anything I haven't asked you?

Lea:

Well, since touring won’t be an option for us in 2025, we will however be playing as many single gigs as we can. So check out our website on https://dark-lightning.de and maybe we will see us there.

Thank you very much for your time for Darkzen Dragon Metal Angels!

Lea:

Thank you as well for taking an interest in the music of my band and especially, thank you for your contribution to the metal community!

Info

https://www.dark-lightning.de/

https://www.facebook.com/darklightningband

https://www.instagram.com/darklightningband/

https://www.youtube.com/@darklightningband

https://dark-lightning.bandcamp.com/

https://x.com/DLightningBand

https://www.metalmessage.de/PR_DARK_LIGHTNING_en.php