Getting to Know… Blackened Rose | Interview 🎤

In the 355th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, Aleksei Iagunkov (vocals) provides the inside scoop on his hard rock/metal band, Blackened Rose.

“We are trying to evolve our music… by mixing our influences from 80’s glam metal and gothic metal.” Rock TF on, 🎙 Blackened Rose 🤘! 🎙 Aleksei Iagunkov, the vocalist for the band and the answerer of our burning questions, expounds, “There is a good mix of tearful ballads and fun hard rock.” Again, rock TF on 🤘! Like our many other Getting to Know Q&As, we get the inside scoop on Blackened Rose’s genesis, goals, musical influences, and of course, current, and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into 🎤 Getting to Know… Blackened Rose: Interview No. 355! 

For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Blackened Rose distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?  

Aleksei Iagunkov, vocals: Well, I do think that we are trying to evolve our music that is completely original by mixing our influences from 80’s glam metal and gothic metal. So, of course there is a good mix of tearful ballads and fun hard rock, which I think was missing from the rock and metal scene for quite a long time. 

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Blackened Rose form and what were some of the goals or visions you had early on?  

AA: So originally to be honest it was meant as a side project. I invited Naomi [Campbell, keyboards] as we are good friends and also Erick [Perdomo-Borelly, guitars], but the tougher part was to find the drummer, as later we got joined by Paya [Jebelli] on bass. A lot of things happened for me personally in those last months of 2022, but we endured, and our relentless search paid off with Blackened Rose becoming the main project for me. Complete with Brazilian drum beast, Luan [Medeiros], we were ready to put the vision of goth ‘n glam to life! Which was, of course, also interesting for me personally, since before I have played stuff that is definitely a lot heavier. But I think this style that we are playing and trying to achieve definitely suits us. 

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?  

AA: I don’t like talking about really big plans for the far future as I don’t want to sound presumptuous or silly. I would rather make shorter plans that we can achieve and move forward in such steps. And for now, our goal is to play some shows, build a fan base, and release a few more songs. 

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Whom would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?  

AA: Oh, well… There would be quite a few! Vocally I would be most inspired by Ville Valo of HIM (VV) and Peter Steele of Type O Negative and musically we take influences from different artists like Bon Jovi, Poison, Whitesnake, Airbourne, HIM (again), Skid Row, Negative, etc. Erick [Perdomo-Borelly] even mentioned Steve Vai’s work with David Lee Roth as his inspiration for some of the guitar work on our songs! And funny enough, I was told that we also sound pretty close to The 69 Eyes and our recent single is musically like AC/DC with David Bowie on vocals, but I would leave that judgement to the listeners. 

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.   

AA: Well, it will be probably safe to say that it was in February, when our guitarist’s car got towed 30 minutes before our performance. It was so stressful and crazy, but Erick [Perdomo-Borelly] is a beast and still performed to his best. In the end the car was safe too, so it was a happy end…ish. 

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?  

AA: I think, out of the songs we have written with Blackened Rose my favorite would be 🎵 “Requiem of the Rose”, which we should record very soon (stick around!). It is a very gothic song, inspired by bands like HIM, Type O Negative and Negative. And the lyrics are quite sad too and a bit personal for me, so… “The angels sing farewell, my darling, / Our requiem of the rose.” 

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?  

AA: Well, let’s say we want to surprise people a bit, so don’t expect anything of us! It’s far more pleasurable when it’s unexpected. 

Closing out, what is Blackened Rose currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.   

AA: Well, it is no secret that about a month ago we released our first song, 🎵 “Ginger Red (Oh, So Bad)”, which you can check out on the online platforms. And other than that, we are playing some shows and preparing to record our second single. Stick around! You can always find our stuff through our Linktree. 

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.   

Getting to Know… Blackened Rose: Interview No. 355 [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Blackened Rose; Tumisu via Pixabay]