MARCH 22nd, 2025
DARK LIGHTNING EXCLUSIVE

MetalTitans very own, Metal Mom Rita, got a chance to sit and chat with Lea, the vocalist from the band DARK LIGHTNING. Forming in 2018, this dark, melodic project out of Germany is a newer project onto the metal scene, but to learn more about this up and coming band, check out our exclusive interview below:

MT: What made you form this band back in 2018 ?

Lea: I had the wish to sing in a band and so I looked for people to form one with, whose
musical styles and goals were similar to mine.

MT: How did you come up with the name "Dark Lightning" ?

Lea: The process really wasn't that spectacular. Back then when we just had formed and
roughly outlined what kind of music we had in mind, we basically just brain stormed band
names that sound good and roughly fit into the theme and genre. Often I used to be
inspired by the idea that not everything is as it seems and how opposites attract, etc. Then
one of my former band mates had the idea: "Well, what is the opposite of light? Correct -
dark. So let's put these two things together and make it a band name!. That is the story of
how the name "Dark Lightning" was chosen.

MT: Tell us how Marvin (keys), Lea (vocals), Alex (guitar), Frank (bass/growls) Nepo
(drums) and Mike (lead guitar) came to be with you?

Lea: This band has had a history of frequent line-up changes. I am the only remaining
founding member of it. Frank and Nepo joined us in 2020 after our first bassist wanted to
switch to rhythm guitar and we had parted ways with our former drummer. In 2021 both our
first keyboarder and said rhythm guitarist decided to leave the band because of personal
reasons. So we found Marvin (late 2021) and Alex (early 2022) to take their places. This
constellation lasted for over a year and we played our first 4 gigs in it. In 2023 we parted
ways with our former lead-guitarist and soon after we found Mike.

MT: Who creates the lyrics for your music, and where does the inspiration come from? I
know you compose and arrange your songs yourself, but how do you get started ?

Lea: I write the lyrics for the music. A huge part of my inspiration comes from my
perception of the world, human relationships and how I feel about all of that, but partly also
from some works of fiction. Our composition process for the current album was the
following: First Alex writes and records a complete instrumental demo of the song. Then I
think of a fitting topic, that captures the mood of the instrumental piece and start to arrange
vocal melodies and lyrics accordingly. After I recorded them the whole band evaluates,
what is still missing or needs to be changed in order to make the song complete.

MT: Does everyone do their own music, drummer does his, the bass creates his sound,
guitar his own riffs and such ?

Lea: The main songwriters are Alex and I. Alex's demos always come with tracks for each
instrument. The others then make adjustments to improve on them or to make them
playable.

MT: There are so many riffs in the world, how can you make sure that you don't accidently
sound like others ?

Lea: I guess we can't. Humans tend to think in similar ways to one another and it could
absolutely happen that some other artist writes the same riff with the same arrangement in
the composition as us. The thing is that as an artist you have to let go of the idea that your
music or art is one hundred percent unique. You have to rely on the fact that what you do
comes from you alone, not regarding what other people on this earth have done or are
currently doing. And while we can't make sure we don't accidentally sound like others, we
can make absolutely sure that we express ourselves with our music in a way that we
chose without pursuing the goal to sound like another artist.

MT: You are about to release your first album on December 6th, how excited are you for
this ?

Lea: Extremely! On a scale of one to ten I'd say about eleven. It's our first full length
album, our music has evolved greatly and I'm looking forward to see how the world
receives it.

MT: How many songs are on it ?

Lea: There are twelve tracks on it.

MT: Do you have a favourite, and if so why that one ?

Lea: Yes, the title track "The Demons We Create". There is a lot of emotion in the different
parts and a lot of myself 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.

MT: Pretty cool album cover, who designed it, and how did you come up with this image ?

Lea: Diogo Soares from Gargantula Creations did the great job of designing it. The image
is meant to capture the essence of all the themes in the album, which is, that we are often
held back by our very own demons and actions and sometimes even are prisoners of our
own ways.

MT: Your last concert was on September 7th at Just for Fun Open Air, how was that, good
turn out, fun playing your songs ?

Lea: It is always fun and exciting playing live and get feedback from the crowd, positive or
otherwise. Up until now our songs and performances have always been well received.

MT: Do you remember your first concert as the band, were your nervous, and how did you
cope if you were ?

Lea: Yes, I remember it very vividly. We were super nervous and itching to get onto the
stage. Personally it was my first time performing with a band as opposed to a choir, where
you are just one of many. To cope I told myself: "You practiced these songs, singing is not
new to you, you can do this!" It worked and all turned out well.

MT: You have some influences that are impressive, Hammerfall, Fleshgod Apocalypse,
Dimmu Borgir, Dark Tranquility, Iron Maiden, Tool, and so many more, in which way did
they influence you ?

Lea: These are some of our favourite artists that we listen to on a regular basis.

MT: Who was the last band you saw at a concert ?

Lea: The last band I saw at a concert was Lankester Merrin. I visited a small festival in
Bremen with little known artists and they were one of the bands that played there. As it
turns out we are going to play with them on January 11th in Hannover.

MT: Do you remember the first band you ever saw, and who was it ?

Lea: The first band I consciously saw live was Hammerfall, supported by Serious Black
and Orden Ogan. The atmosphere was great and it is a very happy memory, that I hold
dear. I still greatly enjoy Hammerfall concerts because they just seem to inspire a sense of
unity in the crowd and always deliver a solid performance without overdoing it.

MT: Do you have a band you listen to that people would be surprised by?

Lea: I don't think people would be surprised by anything I listen to, but the more extreme
ones are Stillbirth (Genre: Slam), Mr. Hurley und die Pulveraffen (Genre: Pirate Folk) and
90/2000's Pop Music Artists (my guilty pleasure).

MT: After the album release, what are your plans ?

Lea: Compose more music of course! And play live as often as we can.

MT: Is there anything I might have missed asking, that you think people should know about
you ?

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.