Interview with Aleksei Iagunkov, vocals of Blackened Rosw and Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
AI: Blackened Rose was formed to forge something different from current rock and metal scene. Through our influences we want to blend the fun of 80’s hard rock and glam metal with dark, melancholic beauty of goth, blending inspirations from HIM, Airbourne, Deep Purple, Type O Negative, Poison, Bon Jovi, Ghost, etc…
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
AI: The band is based in Sydney, Australia, but all of the band members have different backgrouds. I personally was born in Russia and came to Australia as a teenager, but I am proud to call this land of down under home. And as I believe, all of us have years of experience with music and certain passion for it which… would be too hard to describe in words.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
AI: To be honest I can write about anything. Just whatever I feel suits the song. I mean, of course taking inspirations from Type O Negative, HIM and glam metal giants of the 80’s it’s safe to say that at least a good portion of our songs is about love and feelings (and through personal experiences I also felt like I had to write about such things). Listen, songs about love are the most cliche thing in music, but they will always find ways to connect with people’s hearts as love is ever present in our human lives.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
AI: It is hard to say right now without sounding like a fool or a hopeless romantic. I would say that I like shorter plans, which I can achieve and then, climbing step by step, we shall see what is over that next hill.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
AI: Answering for the band, I would say releasing that first single with Blackened Rose and seeing people’s warm reactions to it. Always shows that you have made this progress, you are on the right path.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging
from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
AI: Well, I can only agree. We are entering (or have already entered) the age of musical over-abundance. Colossal amounts of musical pieces are released every day and to stand out you need to not only be great at your instrument, but also promote yourself, constantly throw yourself out there, talk to people, chat online, create posts, videos… I can understand how some people do it as full-time jobs, it can be very time consuming.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
AI: Currently we have two shows coming up in May and July, second one being the local BattleFest festival of rock and metal music. For now it is quite simple and I just talk around, get to know people in the industry and work with them to bring more live shows to you.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
AI: I always preferred physical ways of listening like cds or even cassettes (yes, I have a collection), but in this modern world online streaming and sales are crucial. I would want to always make sure that our music is available online for people to listen and check us out.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
AI: It is absolutely biased, but «Love You to Death» by Type O Negative. I absolutely love the passion in that piece and it still speaks to me. I think, if it was released now, it would make strong waves in the metal community.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
AI: I think it’s more about the people. People have the power to make anyone famous, no matter if they 
are signed with big labels or not, but also sadly there are quite a lot of gatekeepers or people that won’t try anything new. But I guess that’s just human nature, so you just have to try again, again and again.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
AI: Currently we are organising more live shows and planning to record our second single soon. Stay tuned!
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
AI: Our music is currently available on all the online platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, etc.
You can find the links to all our music and socials through our Linktree page:
linktr.ee/blackenedroseofficial
Blackened Rose links:
Band/Artist location – Sydney
Facebook – You Tube – Twitter – Instagram – Apple –
Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – LinkTree – TikTok –
Check our page for Blackened Rose
