Upcoming Release: PHENOMENA – “Awakening”

Tracklist:
1.Smash It Up (Lee Small on Vocals, Mat Sinner Bass, Magnus Karlsson Lead Guitars)
2. Reality (Toby Hitchcock on vocals and Mike Slamer on Lead Guitars)
3. Homeland (Rob Moratti on vocals and Martin Kronlund on all Guitars)
4. Going Away (James Christian vocals and Tommy Denander Martin Kronlund on Guitars)
5. Gotta Move (Ralf Scheepers on vocals and Christian Wolff &Tommy Denander on Guitars)
6. How Long (Lee Small on vocals and Martin Kronlund on Guitars)
7. Shake (Mike DiMeo on Vocal and Martin Kronlund on Guitars)
8. Fighter (Terry Brock on vocals and Steve Newman on Guitars and backing vocals)
9. Dancing Days (Niklas Swedentorp on Lead Vocals with all Coldspell members)
10. Stand Up For Love (Chris Antblad with JAVA Gospel Choir)

Release Date: 23. March 2012 – Escape Music

People should learn to expect a little awe and mystery. Phenomena take us upon a journey where there is nothing pretty about the protagonists of the story that we shall meet along the way. The subject is good against evil.

The story began in the year 1983, when Tom Galley wrote a couple of short stories with a transcendental background. Backed by record label Bronze, the recordings for the album “Phenomena” started soon which finally hit the stores in 1985. Besides the extra-ordinary concept story both musicianship and the names involved with the project are highlights to mention. Names such as Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, HTP), drum legend Cozy Powell (RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE a.o.), Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE), Neil Murray (WHITESNAKE) – the elite of the British Hard Rock scene had joined the project. “Phenomena” received high critical acclaim in the press and extremely good sales.

The second PHENOMENA album “Phenomena II – Dream Runner” was released in 1987 and was welcomed with a similarly warm response. The musicians around the Galley brothers had changed slightly, so that this album in the end featured contributions from Ray Gillen (BADLANDS, BLACK SABBATH), John Wetton (ASIA), Scott Gorham (THIN LIZZY) and Max Bacon (GTR), amongst others.

With new label Parachute involved, in 1991 the time was right for “final part” of the conceptional story; Phenomena III – Inner Visions”. Besides Brian May (QUEEN) and Keith Murrell (AIRRACE), you’ll here also find performances by Michael Sturgis (A-HA) and Scott Gorham (THIN LIZZY). The Complete Works were released in a triple fold out Digipack by Escape Music (ESM142).

However, the PHENOMENA concept continued in 2006 under the banner “PsychoFantasy”, (ESM125 ecolbook and 125r regular version) which strictly follows the traditions of its three predecessors. Besides the concept story background, you will once again will find a whole bunch of amazing artists performing on this record: Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH), Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE), Keith Murrell (MAMA’S BOYS) – and Mel Galley (WHITESNAKE, TRAPEZE).

In September 2010 a new chapter began with a whole host of musicians, and “Blind Faith” (ESM216) was born to explosive effect. With new Vocalists like Robin Beck, Terry Brock (Strangeways) and Rob Moratti (Saga) a whole new world was unveiled and the concept became so fresh again. The rock audience once more were thrilled to hear the latest in this timeless story.

In 2012 we will all hear the new Album “Awakening”, an album chock full of new ideas and featuring James Christian (House of Lords), Lee Small (Shy) and Toby Hitchcock (Pride of Lions) as well as familiar faces like Rob Moratti, Terry Brock and Mike DiMeo. Powerful songs executed by some of the finest rock musicians make this a hugely enjoyable album and it boasts a fine production from Tom Galley and Martin Kronlund. Here you will find straight ahead rockers with powerful melodies along with up-tempo ballads and beautiful choruses.

Awakening is a fantastic way to start 2012, it is another chapter in the engaging story that Tom Galley began in 1983. In Short, a must.

www.Escape-Music.com

line-up:
Martin Kronlund: Guitars, and Bass
Tom Harlan: Guitars & Keyboards
Imre Daun: Drums.
Henrik Thomsen: Bass
Per Aronson-Andersson: Hammond, keyboards JAVA Gospel on “Stand up for love”

Additional Musicians:
Carl Anthony Wright – Guitars
Christian Wolff – Guitars
Tommy Denander – Guitars
Mike Slamer Guitars
Magnus Karlsson – Guitars
Mat Sinner – Bass
All COLDSPELL members
Steve Newman – Guitars and backing vocals Fredrik Bergh – Keyboards on “Smash It Up” And “Gotta Move”

Produced by: Tom Galley and Martin Kronlund Recorded and engineered by Martin Kronlund / Executive Producer: Khalil Turk

Review: FREEDOM CALL – “Land of the Crimson Dawn”

Tracklist
1. Age of the Phoenix
2. Rockstars
3. Crimson Dawn
4. 66 Warriors
5. Back into the Land of Light
6. Sun in the Dark
7. Hero on Video
8. Valley of Kingdom
9. Killer Gear
10. Rockin’ Radio
11. Terra Liberty
12. Eternity
13. Space Legends
14. Power & Glory

Release Date: 24 February 2012 – SPV

More and more people are sinking into the depths of cyber space and spare their time for social media activities or online games. And this is exactly the theme that the funny guys of Freedom Call used for their new album. But that is told not only in critics, you can hear out that something like that can bring lot of fun too.

On the album there are not only power metal hymns. There are also rockin’ and groovy tracks like „Sun in the Dark“ or old school ones like „Hero on Video“ that offer some alternation. Overall the songs and lyrics can only be heard with a big wink and again the music sails in a very positive mood. You will not await dark melodies but typical Freedom-Call-Happy-Metal. We can say that „Land of the Crimson Dawn“ is a little more unusual album of the four guys but anyhow not to abstruse. But it need to getting used to.

The whole thing is also available as digipak that contains in addition 6 songs more. Those are cover versions of Freedom Call recorded by friendly bands like Powerwolf or Downspirit. Besides you can get the album as double vinyl too.

Personally I like the positive vibes on Freedom Call albums. But I cannot listen to them for a longer time. On the other side the guys are brilliant live on stage !

Points: 6 / 10

Review by Fallen (Metal Aschaffenburg)

German version: www.metal-aschaffenburg.de

Interview with Phil and Maria of GLASS WOLFE

First of all it is a pleasure that you found some time to do an interview with me here on The Metal Fields.

Maria K. Glass – Thanks for asking us – the pleasure is ours.

Philip Wolfe – Thanks Metal Fields

Let’s start with the beginning. Can you tell us about the history of Glass Wolfe. How did it all start ?

MKG – Well, I started out writing some lyrics for a project that Philip was doing called Lifeforce.  I also at one point had sang back up vocals in a duo he had that was doing cover tunes.  That led to us writing songs together.  From there, we decided to form a project together and Glass Wolfe was born.

There are a lot of different sounds that I can hear in your music. But the opera vocals make you near to bands like Epica. Would you agree that your influences lie there, or what bands or music are you influenced with ?

PW – My influences are mostly prog rock like ELP and YES and classical including Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and others.

MKG – Our music has progressed over the years from commercial hard rock on “Glass Wolfe” to hard rock/metal on “Predator” and now to the more symphonic rock/metal on “Xotica”.  And we love bands like Epica, Nightwish, After Forever and Within Temptation, so there are some influences there.  However, the symphonic metal style of music really suits our musical tastes and feels like a great fit for us so that will probably influence our next CD as well.

Your new album is called „Xotica“. Does this mean that you describe your style as exotic music or does it reflect some kind of your lifestyle. Is there a special reason why you chose this album title?

MKG – Well, it was more about the fact that some of the songs have a little exotic feel to them and lyrically take place in various time periods in history.  Philip came up with the idea to spell it with an x to make it different.

Maria, you are responsible for all the lyrics. On „Xotica“ you wrote a lot about historical happenings and venues. Is this you main interest in writing songs or just to give the album a straight theme?

MKG – I am interested in a lot of history – European primarily.  I read a lot as well and so if a story really touches me, I will sometimes write about it.  Marie Antoinette’s life is an example of that.  I have read multiple books on her and seen many documentaries on her which drove me to write about her tragic life, which I did with “Queen of Tragedy”.  “Rubicon” was from lyrics I had been asked to write for Keith Emerson of ELP for a song he had written for an CD they intended to release.  After all my hard work, he never did anything with those lyrics except demo out a song that never got released.  So, I decided to use those lyrics on a Glass Wolfe song.  But I do write about various subjects, not necessarily historical themes.  It just so happened that I had three or four historical lyrics that we used on our new songs.  We decided to put them all on the same CD.  We are contemplating a concept album for our next endeavor which would also delve in historical realms – but not just European.

If I take a look at your bandpictures I would like to say that you both are very interested in natural life. Can you agree with that ?

MKG – Sure, we are interested in nature.  We were trying for different looks on “Xotica” – greek, roman, gothic, etc.  It was our great photographer, Stephen Manley, that came up with all the locations for those photo shoots.  He lived in the Los Angeles area most of his life and is an actor, so he knew which locations would provide the best background for the era/time period we were going for.  And since I hadn’t been to most of these places before, it was a new and interesting experience.  The Los Angeles area does have some great nature places.

PW – I had a lot of backpacking and mountain climbing experience in my younger days. the Grand Canyon, Mt Rainier, The Olympic Rain Forest, Rincon Mt. Sabino Canyon and Mt Lemon in Tucson and of couse Yosemite and Yellowstone are all places I have hiked and camped and had many wildlife encounters and grand adventures.

On a short message last time you told me that Phil is having a rehearsal with several musicians. So do you work mainly with session musicians or is there a plan to establish a real band for your upcoming works?

MKG – We do both actually.  Glass Wolfe has been around since about 1999.  Philip and I are the mainstays in this project – it is our baby and we work very hard on it.  We write the material, do the promotion, etc.  We have worked with a lot of great session players, but they all have other projects they are working on and are quite busy and aren’t always available.  We like the idea of having a band of guys we work with for live and have been rehearsing with a couple of players – so far, it has been working out good.

PW – Yes ! we have had a few rehearsals with a new guitar player and drummer who’s names we will announce in the very near future.
All I can say for now is that Glass Wolfe sounds better than ever before.

You both have a huge background in music and worked with well known people in the music business. For example Phil played keys in bands like Keel or Impellitteri and Maria wrote lyrics for Keith Emerson. What was the main reason to start together founding your own band?

PW – I remember playing the piano at a resort in Bermuda when Maria and I were on vacation (1999)  and she started singing along . So we started to develop some songs for her. At first it was a lot of experimenting with styles, and keys to find her vocal range and sound. Was she gonna be a Stevie Nicks, a Pat Benetar, or Ann Wilson ? We had no idea. techno was not a fit, ballads did’nt work out too good, and blues was not an option …..

MKG – Well, I initially started out writing lyrics for one of Phil’s projects called Lifeforce.  I only wrote on a couple of songs for that CD, but it got us on the road to writing material together.  Interestingly enough, our first writing attempts were along the lines of techno music.  We realized very quickly that techno was not a direction we wanted to go in and so we added heavy guitar on some of the songs and they have appeared on our CD’s.  We have very similar tastes in music and so writing together works very well for us.  Given the fact that we like working together and have gotten quite a bit of positive feedback on the CD’s, we will be moving on to our next one.

On your web site there is nothing that I can find about touring. Do we have to see Glass Wolfe in these days more as a project or are there plans for touring in your region or even in other countries?

MKG – We have gigged around the Los Angeles area and intend to do so again.  We hope to eventually branch out to other areas.

PW – We are looking to tour as soon as we are ready and I can’t wait to come back to Europe and Rock some festivals.

The cover artwork of „Xotica“ is very impressing. The symbiose of colors and moods looks fresh and positive. If I read it right Ed Unitsky is the person who is responsible for this artwork. Can you tell anything more about his works and how did you find him to work with you?

MKG – Yes, Ed Unitsky is a very talented artist.  You can check out a lot of his artwork on his myspace page, which is in our top friends.  We were fortunate to find him on myspace and thought his work was amazing.  He has worked with many different artists.  We thought he would be the perfect artist for our “Xotica” CD.  But before Ed could really get started on his part of the artwork, we needed to get the photography sessions finished.  That’s where Stephen Manley came in.  He had done most of the photography for our “Predator” CD and really took some fantastic pictures.  For the “Xotica” photoshoots, Stephen came up with all the locations that were scattered around the Los Angeles area and we shot over a period of six months.  We then turned the pictures over to Ed Unitsky who transformed them into the artwork on the CD.  We are really happy with the results.

PW – A very special thanks to our photographer Stephen Manley and our incredible graphic artist Ed Unitsky.

Where was your new album recorded? Do you have something like your own home studio or external?

MKG – It was recorded in a home studio.  Though some of our guest musicians recorded their parts in their own studios and then forwarded the tracks to us.

PW – We have a home studio that has the same quality of gear that you would find in a major studio. See the bio page of our web site http://www.glasswolfe.com  for an equipment list.

As we know the United States is not the best place for music like you play since many years. Did you get more feedbacks about your work in europe or other continents than in the states? Or do you also receive a lot of reactions in your home land?

MKG – I’m not sure the United States has ever been big on the symphonic metal genre.  I know in Los Angeles, a lot of musicians we know are doing cover bands, tribute bands or reviving bands from the past.  That’s all fine, but doesn’t interest me.  We do see some of the European symphonic metal bands come through this area and they do have a following, though I don’t think they have really broken through.  We do get great feedback from Europe and other continents as well as some from various areas of the U.S.  Los Angeles is a tough place to break out since there are so many bands here, but I really love the symphonic metal genre.  It is a great fit musically for Philip and I.  And being in a band is so much hard work, that I wouldn’t want to waste my time doing it unless I was doing something I love.

PW – We have been carefully following the tours of Nightwish, Epica , and other SM bands across the US and Canada and there seems to be a lot of cities where we could play. Also reports of our airplay indicate the same cities have been playing our material  so hopefully we will have some great shows.

Are you both working in civil jobs outside writing and playing music ?

MKG – I am a Legal Office Support Assistant for a Los Angeles County agency that used to be part of the District Attorney’s Office when I started.  I prepare the legal documents for the attorneys for cases going to court – subpoenas, motions, workers’ compensation liens, bankruptcy proofs of claim, response to motions, notices of continuance, notices to produce, etc.

PW  -  I teach private piano lessons and compose music for TV and Film

When you were kids, what was the point that let you decide to live for the music and play in bands?

MKG – I have always loved music growing up.  It was and still is my passion.  I’ve dabbled in a couple of different instruments (violin, drums) but never really progressed very far.  However, I had been writing since I was about seven years old, poems and short stories mostly.  My family was convinced I was going to be a writer when I grew up.  So, I started out as a lyricist.  Eventually, I was asked to sing backup vocals for a project doing cover songs.  It was then that I realized I liked singing and, with work, could at least become accomplished enough to demo my lyrics.  I started studying with a great vocal coach and with a lot of practicing and hard work, I continued to improve and made the leap into fronting a band.  The singing really became an obsession of sorts.  It was a perfect fit for me with my love of music and writing.

PW – As a child I was a boy soprano and the lead of the choir . I would sing along with classic rock on the radio but at about 14 my voice cracked and changed and it took a long time for me to recover so I started playing various woodwinds. Flute, Recorders, Clarinet, Oboe and Sax.

Phil, when did you start playing keyboards and what was the reason learning this special instrument ?

PW – I was in college playing flute in the orchestra and I went to see an  Emerson Lake and Palmer concert . I was so blown away !
I came back to the school the next day, quit the orchestra, changed my major to piano and started practicing the keys Eight hours a day which I continued for many years .

Outside of Glass Wolfe do you also work in other music projects or are you complete concentrated on your own band?

MKG – I pretty much concentrate on Glass Wolfe.  It is really what I want to do musically.  And it keeps me plenty busy!

PW – Right now I am 110% concentrating on Glass Wolfe but in the past I have played in a few “tribute bands”  to have a little fun on the side. Several years ago I had an Emerson Lake and Palmer Tribute called the Endless Enigma and Keith Emerson came out and saw us play and shook my hand afterwards and said “Well done” .  http://www.myspace.com/theendlessenigma
I also played at the FireFest UK with Rox Diamond  (Oct.2008)
and with the Who Show at various festivals in S. California ( 2008).

What can we expect from Glass Wolfe in the near future? Is there any plan recording new stuff or are you still continuing to promote „Xotica“?

MKG – We have a number of new songs in the works that will be again along the lines of symphonic metal.  But we are still promoting “Xotica” as well.  We may put out a few singles in the meantime.

PW – So far we have 16 songs written and demo recorded for the new CD which may turn out to be a concept album. On a Mac Dual 2.3 G5 with 4 Gigs of Ram, I am using the Real Les Paul software to demo the guitar parts thru the Amplitube Duo with 2 UAD cards hosting  UA plug in’s .. LA2A, Pultec EQ, 1176LN and the Nigel Processor.  I also use the Superior Drummer with the Metal Foundry kit  and the East West Quantum Pianos (the Steinway is my favorite ) and Orchestra and Choirs . Also the Arturia Modular Moog, Minimoog, Arp-2600 and Yamaha CS-80 along with my trusty analog synths Oberheim OB-8, Nord Modular and Minimoogs sound incredible layered together. The  VST host DAW is Cubase and it’s all recorded into Nuendo on a 2nd Computer via Lightpipe at 24 bit – 48 K with 48 tracks mixed thru a Yamaha 02R mixer.

Can you say that you now found your own style of music you want to play or are there any plans in changing of your sound?

MKG – I think so.  It really feels like the most comfortable fit for me vocally.  And since keyboards are such a big part of our sound, it allowed us to take our music to the next level.  There are no plans to change the direction of our sound, but you never know what the future holds.  For now, I’m happy doing this genre.

PW – Well …as an artist I am always trying to push the limits of what I can do musically, but I do think that we have found our style and our niche in the genre of symphonic metal.

What music or bands do you listen in your private life?

MKG – I mostly listen to the symphonic metal bands – Nightwish, Epica, After Forever, Within Temptation, Luca Turilli’s Dreamquest, Leaves’ Eyes and Imperia, to name a few.  But I also really like Kamelot, Masterplan, Lacuna Coil, Evanescence, Ayreon, Queensryche, a lot of the 80’s metal and also a lot of the 70’s music like Earth, Wind and Fire and Chicago.  I mainly listen to CD’s in my collection and rarely listen to the radio.

PW  ..  mostly the classical radio station KUSC 91.5 and my  CD collections of  my favorite symphonic metal bands and my favorite 70’s prog.

Is there any song on „Xotica“ that is very special for you or would you say that the whole album has it’s special moments in every song?

MKG – All the songs have a special meaning for me.  Whether they are set in historical time periods that interest me (Queen of Tragedy, Helen of Troy, Rubicon), deal with feelings many of us have (Second Sight, Free to Fly, Rise Above, Caught in the Crossfire) or tell a story (Emerald Lady, The Tempest), I like them all.  One special song for me would be Reflections.  Reflections was dedicated to the memory of my uncle’s wife, Janet Glass, who passed away after a long battle with cancer a few years back.  She was a wonderful lady who was always encouraging of our musical aspirations and band and never complained about the terrible pain that she had to live with.  I was honored to sing the song at the memorial for her, which took place in Rhode Island.

PW – For me it is “Helen of Troy”. I started writing this piece many years ago before I could play the piano. In fact several of the sections were composed on the flute. I later transcribed the wlole piece from memory while sitting on a park bench in Santa Monica overlooking the Ocean. I later recorded the song on a 3340 Tascam  4 track reel to reel with a 3 piece prog band in 1980. We called ourselves Ariel and performed the piece then called “Machine Age” in several clubs in Tucson Arizona. The crowd reaction was incredible ! Some people loved it and thought we were the next ELP and 1/2 the crowd hated it and wanted to kill us and almost rioted.

Lots of bands now play symphonic metal with female vocals. Describe what your music makes it different to all of them and why the people should buy „Xotica“.

MKG – Well, we have a dynamic that crosses a few different genres – symphonic metal, classic rock, progressive – and I think that makes it interesting.  We are not really trying to compete with any other bands – we just love the genre and are doing it to the best of our ability.  Hopefully, people like it and want to get behind the band.

PW – We  are in the genre but we  still have a unique sound all our own  …
and that’s what it’s all about … isn’t it ?

Thanx a lot Phil and Maria.

MKG – Thanks to you, Kerb, and the Metal Fields for the interview!

PW – Thanks Kerb

Interview by Kerbinator for METAL FIELDS

Interview with Maria of RAMPART

„Voice of the wilderness“ is out now for a longer time. Can you tell me about the reactions in Bulgaria and the rest of the world ? Would you say the album is successful so far?

We are more than gratified with the reactions. And I can say that our album is successful. Although “Voice of the Wilderness” is a debut it was more than welcomed in the world metal society. The press as well as the fans in Bulgaria and the rest of the world responded enthusiastically. This stimulates us to work in the same direction – classic heavy metal with a higher quality.

Tell me about your bandhistory. How did it come to form Rampart?

Rampart was formed in 2006 by the guitar player Yavor (Yatco) Kamenov and the drummer Borislav (Bobby) Glavev. Before that time the two friends were playing together for years. In May 2006 they invited me to join their project as a vocalist. Since then Rampart began to live as a band with the concept for concerts and the idea that each of us should contribute to the band. A solid base for this was the several completed compositions written by Yavor. After lots of shows we decided to involve in our work additional musicians. Now the best of them are in Rampart. The guitar player Victor Georgiev and the bass player Alexander Spiridonov are involved in the process of writing new songs and enhance the creative impulse of the band.

In my review I told that I can hear sometimes parallels to bands like Gamma Ray. How would yourself describe your kind of music and your sound ?

Our influences are diverse. As the main composer Yavor is inspired by Running Wild and by the classical music. Besides traditional heavy metal my influences come from the early thrash scene, bands as Laaz Rockit, Metallica, Death Angel, Paradox. As a vocalist I am influenced mainly by Kai Hansen and Bruce Dickinson. Our phythm section – Bobby and Alexander are influenced from the melodic hard rock. Our music is a result from the mixing of all these influences, of the original composer‘s talent of Yavor and the will of the band to create classic heavy metal at a contemporary level. Althought our high requirements toward ourselves and toward the quiality of the record, the fact that we produce ourselves, the lack of experience and the small budget are the reasons because of which we are striving for a better sound. In reference to our style we are already on the highway!

It seems that the whole band shares the work. Who is responsible for the lyrics and the music?

The monopoly on the lyrics is mine. Yavor holds the monopoly on the main music ideas. Sometimes it happens he to ask me to write a text based on his idea in a way he imagined it when composing the music. Our second guitar player Victor brought lots of new music ideas which we are currently working upon. However his ideas pass through the exact editing of Yavor. Everyone in Rampart is free to implement his ideas. And in this meaning we indeed work as a band. We have similar approach of thinking and enough freedom to act.

Your album is published by the french Label Inferno Records. How did it come to this contact?

The story began with the release of our demo EP “Warriors”. On 08.08.2008 we selfreleased it with the idea this to be our promo CD. I sent it to some European metal media, and to some labels, and that is how it reached the French label Inferno Records.LaterInferno Records suggested to help us with the promotion. The demo received a good feedback in some European contries. As a result, and when I informed them that we are recording our full length album „Voice of the Wilderness“ Inferno Records offered us a contract. For us their proposal was a good chance and a kind of recognition as well. We are grateful for their support. For all members of RAMPART the most important thing was that they are true metalheads and that they indeed like our music.

Bulgaria is not the main country of metal or music business. How difficult is it to get in contact with the people you need for support, touring and recording?

If you visit a metal concert in Bulgaria you could change your mind and correct some of your impressions. The metal fans here are more than could be expected. The music easy reaches their hearts, but a little bit hard reaches their CD collections. As being a metal band we have difficulties with the debut and with the small music market in our country. But these are difficulties which many bands face in the beginning. We believe that when we are working in the name of our music, the things will happen earlier or later. Here in Bulgaria lots of musicians say to themselves „Nothing’s gonna happen!“ and they stop to work for themselves. I don’t think that it is necessary to explain the difuculties we overcame in details. Until we take care of the band things are developing in the right direction. Till now we arrange our dates, our tours, our recordings and a major part of our promotion. And we are happy with the results.

Where was „Voice of the Wilderness“ produced, and who was working with you on that?

The album was recorded in a new Bulgarian digital studio called “Pacific”. About the producing – we did it. Of course it happened with the help of the sound engineer Alexander Kalanov and with the guy who mixed the album Jhelqz Jhelqzov. As it was a debut release there were differences between the people inside and outside of the band. There were also differences between our expectations and the final result. Our experience in the studio gives us conviction that our next recording will be better. We are currently working on the material for our second album which should be out somewhere in the beginning of 2011.

There are lots of orchestrations on that album. And some songs have a little middle age touch. What does this mean to your music and do you want to make it a trademark in your sound?

These are the elements which our composer Yavor uses. We think that they are successful to a high level. They do not dilute our style and at the same time differentiate us as a band. We will snatch at them again for sure. I doubt that a composer should run away from himself. And I endeavour to support these elements (the orchestrations and the middle age touch) with my lyrics.

Are their any plans in touring europe or even overseas?

We do have offers, but the negotiations are not finished yet. We expect the number of our engagements to be on the increase. We hope your readers to hear our music and to judge it on its merits.

What does the name Rampart exactly mean and what is the story behind that bandname?

Rampart means a bastion, a fortification. This is one direct and really pretty name. We are grateful to the fate that it is not occupied by any classic heavy metal band, to which probably we should be fans. The name has no special story. We have a liking for the thought that we are defenders of the right faith.

On the albums frontcover we see a flash hitting a tower. Is there any concept behind this artwork and who did it?

The idea of such a concept on the front cover of the album was Yavor’s. The artwork was created by a graphic design studio in Bulgaria “A 1”. This is the Baldwin’s tower at Tsatevets fortress which is a medieval building from the time of King Kaloyan who defeated the crusaders in the battle of Odrin. It is also a symbol of victory and of our band’s name as a bastion of the heavy metal in Bulgaria.

Let’s talk more about the lyrics. Are there special themes you like to use in songwriting?

I am inspired mostly by some subjects from the first Crusades and Pirates of the Caribbean. Later I wrote some texts about knights and pirates. The novel of J.R.R. Talkien “Lord of the Rings” is another source of inspiration for my lyrics. We have one song in the first album “Orchrist” concerning this topic. Orchrist is the name of the sword of Torin and Bilbo Baggins. I wrote three more texts related to “Lord of the Rings”, but probably not all of them will be included in our next release, because it will not be a concept album. Besides legendsand historical topics I often like to use subjects from the real life matters or social topics which I interpret to metaphoric fantasy stories for an easier perception.

Do you all work in civil jobs outside the band and how can you manage this with your band activities?

All of the guys in the band work in civil jobs, I work for the military. The obligatory military service in our country was recently abolished. When being asked if somebody of them has been soldiering my bandmates look at me and answer „She does!“. That is the reason for which in our first video you can see sequences of military equippment, tanks, helicopters, missiles and exersices of the Land Forces. These video flashes are used with the special permission of the Chief of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army. You can watch the video in You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwE7WDAdxuw). The fact that we succeed to manage our jobs with our band activities is a reflection of our keen love towards heavy metal music.

On your myspace site you tell that you will appear in early autumn on a Helloween and Gamma Ray tribute album. A norwegian label will publish that. How did it come with this?

The upcoming tribute album to Gamma Ray/Helloween – “HelloRay” is an awesome initiative of the Norwegian label Epicus Records. The label succeeded to involve in this album fascinating bands as Germany’s Kickhunter featuring Markus Großkopf (Helloween), Signum Regis from Slovakia which features Göran Edman (Malmsteen, Time Requiem), Guardians of Mankind from Finland, Gaia Epicus from Norway. The idea of this tribute is the bands participating to be real fans of Gamma Ray/Helloween. This makes the album different from the previous tributes and I am sure that it will raise interest. Our participation is with the song of Helloween „Just a Little Sigh” which we recorded specially for „HelloRay”. I suggested to the members of my band to take part in this initiative. And we decided that the idea of making such a cover song is good for Rampart. I contacted the label and applied with our music for the tribute album. After submitting our demo EP „Warriors“ they chose us to participate in the project. The tribute album “HelloRay” will be out in the fall of 2010.

What bands or kind of music are you listening in your freetime and what was the bandmembers influences?

I already explained our influences. In our spare time we are listening to different kinds of music. When we are together we even have some conflicts on this issue. When the rhythm section is gone too far with the melodic hard rock stuff, we balance for instance with Bolt Thrower. The great drama of the guitarists is Running Wild against Iron Maiden. But this is the way we have fun. We are listening radically to heavy metal. The drummer Bobby and me; we are open for thrash music and heavier genders as well.

In 2008 you released an EP called „Warriors“. Now on your first full length album the song „Warriors“ is also included. Did you re-arrange that former single or did you leave it like it was?

All of the songs in the EP are included in the album. „Warriors“ and „Voice of the Wilderness“ are not re-arranged but only re-recorded. The song „Mirror to Dreams“ is seriously re-arranged because its version in the EP was special… Although the demo sound of the EP „Warriors“, I think that the release successfully reverberated our wild energy.

Soon you will be also part on a metal compilation called „Kill City Vol. 22“. Please tell us more about this.

On April, 6th 2010, the American label 272 Records released the metal compilation “Kill City Vol. 22″ with our participation. We were kindly invited to join this metal project with our song „The Flood“. The compilation includes all metal genders. Various bands from different countries took part in it. Some of them are German but we are the first Bulgarian band in this compilation. You can see the bands‘ appereance order at the web site of the label: http://www.272records.com/272_Records/Kill_City_Vol_22.html The release is already for sale in our MySpace Profile, Amazon.com and Amoeba Music – Hollywood’s largest and most popular record store.

I would like you to come over to Germany for some gigs and having some german beers with you. Any chance to book some dates in Germany next time?

We promise you (about the beers), ha ha ha. We are negotiating for some gigs and we indeed would like to see the reactions of the German audience on our concert.

Ok. Thanks for the interview. At last you can tell the people anything you want to.

Thanks! Listen to our music at MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/rampartbg. Wait for us and till then stay metal!

Interview by Kerbinator for METAL FIELDS

Interview with Micke Larsson of COLDSPELL

Michael, Coldspell was formed in 2005, please tell us how it came to found the band.

I guess it started some years before that , I had this little brainchild of mine and a bunch of songs. In 2005 the timing felt right to get this thing goin , ColdSpell become a band with this line-up and it seemed to be the right timing for this thing. We all played together in different cover, tribute bands etc so we already knew each other quite well.

On your biography it says that you all play the music that you listened to when you were young. So what are your main influences of your music?

That’s not so easy , there are so many different influences but if I say bands like Purple, Sabbath, Rainbow, Montrose, Rush, Whitesnake etc. But when it comes to me as a songwriter Im in to all that classic hardrock , metal and some progressive stuff. Guess I like almost everything as long as it is done well, haha.

The band comes from a little town called Kiruna in Sweden. There are a lot of fantastic bands from sweden, like you, in this times. What do you think is the reason that there appear on good band after another from Sweden?

Really dont know but there’s a lot of good musicians and bands that are very gifted , talented and dedicated to hardrock. Maybe we just got a very good sense for it here in Sweden or maybe its just that its so freezing cold in Sweden that we have nothing else to do, haha !

I think your trademarks in your sound are powerful guitarleads, melodic style with clear and transparent voice. Can you agree with that?

Im glad you say that , thanks a lot. Yes I agree on that , my goal has been to have all that but with a heavy sound , have a nice mix between classic hardrock and metal and I think Tommy Hansen did a great job with the mixing of the album.

Your album „Infinite Stargaze“ was mixed by Thommy Hansen who also worked with Helloween, Jorn, Pretty Maids and more. How did it come to that contact and to the deal with Escape Music that published your album?

I got in contact with Escape through Nicky Baldrian in UK , Escape heard us and called me and everything was set. It was Khalil at Escape who suggested Tommy Hansen for this job and I didnt have anything to complain about that and as I said before – he did an amazing work.

How is it with live shows ? Do you have any plans for a tour or playing on festivals. Maybe outside of sweden, too? We would like you to come to germany, for sure.

Hell yeah , thats what we want too. Yes we have plans but still we´re looking for someone to take care of it but hopefully we come to a solution regarding that in a near future. So hey – here we are!
It would be awesome to come out in Europe and play this album and get some response.

Who is involved in songwriting? Is there a main person in your band that is responsible for lyrics and music. Or are all members part of that?

It is some variations from song to song but I am the main writer , on some songs there are co-writers when it comes to the music , the most of the lyrics are written by me and my wife Mariann

Is there any favourite the in songwriting or do you try to be different in lyrics?

When it comes to music I always wanted to do that album that hopefully will be interesting even when you listen to the last one on the album and I think for my own taste it?s quite a nice blend between the hardrock styles that I listen to. When it comes to lyrics it?s not so much love and stuff but most of the lyrics are from real life.

The band members got a lot of experience playing in other bands before Coldspell. I think thats the main reason why your sound is fantastic. Did that help you in songwriting and producing?

Yeah we all been playin for hundreds of years,haha. No but we have many years of practice in different bands over the years and thats why it feels so right . They are all gifted musicians and everyone put there very own personal touch to the songs.

What are the next plans? Any outputs we can expect soon?

As I said it would be nice to get some touring and we did release the album in Japan in July so we hope that it will be appriciated over there to. I started to write more stuff and put down some old ideas for the next album.

We at Das Hardrockradio play your songs a lot. What does it mean to you to be aired on internet radio stations?

That is fantastic , that is the cred you need and want as a band and composer . I must say that we are honoured and proud every time someone wants to play our songs. Radio means everything when it comes to reach out to all hardrockers around the world.

Can you tell us how successful „Infinite Stargaze“ was til now in selling copies and what the bandmembers are doing if they are not working for Coldspell?

I really dont know that yet , havent heard how many copies we have sold but I will get the numbers this month . When we not do this ColdSpell thing we play the local scene with coverbands have our ordinary jobs , soundengineer, trucker, work at hospital etc.

Interview by Kerbinator for METAL FIELDS

Interview with Killhelm of PLECTOR

Hi Killhelm, thanx for finding some time for a little talk. First of all I would like to know more about your band Plector, cause your website does not give us a lot of informations. When did you found Plector?

Killhelm: Hey Kerbinator! Me and Eryk started to jam and after we graduated school, we tried to find band members who wanted to play heavy shit, but we have changed band members a few times before we found Grizzly Beer who Eryk had played with before. Then we started Plector. It was about late 2006 / early 2007. We had our first gig at Åsele (somewhere in north sweden) on summer 2007.

 So for that your new album „Dark & Spiteful“ sounds very professional. If we think about that you’re not that old and the album is self-produced ! Did you get some professionell help?

Killhelm: Thanks. I’m glad you like it! We have been practicing a lot and we keep getting better. Just wait til you will hear the our new shit we’re working on. It will blow your mind away, haha. We had some professionell help, yeah. A guy named Ronnie Björnström, who has been working with probably every good band in our town, helped us with the drum recording. Then he mixed and mastered it!

In my review I described your sound as a mix of Thrash and Death metal, would you agree with that?

Killhelm: Fuck yeah ! But we prefer to call it “Flannel-Metal”, haha.

The growls of Eryk are near to Chris Barnes, so what were your influences?

Killhelm: You think so? Never thought of that. I think he sounds more like a mix between the Entombed vocalist and Max Cavalera, haha. We got different influences. Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura, Pantera, Morbid Angel, Death and a lot of beer-drinking.

Beer drinking? If I look at your band picture I would say you are a band that has a lot of fun most time.

Killhelm: Ha ha, well, at least we try. We don’t give a fuck about being stereo type and try to look dark and evil on every picture. We just want to have a good time, and we hope our fans get inspired by us. I mean, have you seen our latest video? That’s the shit I’m talking about. How many bands do that kind of videos? It’s ridiculous to act tough as a band and then you’re just a nerd in private life, haha.

Yes, I have seen it. Great video. But if I listen to your song I find out that they are full of hate. Is that right?

Killhelm: Eryk has been written all the lyrics so far. And he likes to write about people and things he doesn’t like, haha. I think it’s funny.

“Embrace our shit” is a real smasher. It is the live song that causes the most reactions?

Killhelm: We thought it would be, but of some reason it didn’t, so we don’t play that song anymore. But I like the song, but perhaps it’s not the strongest one, like „Spiteful love“ and „Alcoholic refuge“.

In your sound you are very variable. Mainly thrash and death, but there are also some heavy metal and even doom elements integrated? Are you open for different styles in metal?

Killhelm: Yeah I like to be variable. That’s because we all three got different influences even though we almost listen to the same music. We are just trying to make our music better. As long as it’s heavy all the time, but you don’t have to play blast beats all the time to make it heavy. As long as we don’t end sounding like all commercial bands like In Flames and Volbeat. we want to do music for beer drinking men, not cute girls, haha.
…skip the last thing I said, haha. Of course we want cute girls to listen to our music and become our groupies . But you know what I mean…

Ha, ha..ok not the commercial way. So you told you are writing new stuff ? Can you tell us more about that?

Killhelm: Well, we have too many songs to work on at the moment. I think it’s more Death Metal than the older songs but we still got the groove and the variation. We try to make a hit every time we write a song, you know. It’s more technical stuff now. Everybody wants to get better. If you are satisfied with yourself and what you have done and don’t have the energy to develop your skill as a musician you should quit immediately

That’s true. Sweden is very popular in the last years for melodic and power metal bands. Is it difficult for you as a more extreme band to find a place in between? Does your fanbase in Sweden have a chance to grow?

Killhelm: Yeah I know, and that sucks. But I think Plector and other more extreme bands will start growing in the future. We get new fans every show we do. 2010 will be the best year of Plector so far. And you have to work hard. Even if you play for 10 people one night you always have to do your fucking best. you always have to think “it will be better, not now, maybe not for a long time, but sooner or later”.

So you have plans touring outside of sweden?

Killhelm: Yeah sure. In April we will go on tour in UK. We will have more informations of that later on myspace. And this summer we will try to get some shows booked in germany and the netherlands.

Do you like german beer?

Killhelm: Well if it taste beer I guess? Ha ha, don’t know if I’ve ever tasted german beer. I drink almost english and swedish beer.

How did it come to your pseudonyms Killhelm, Beardmuff and Grizzly Beer?

Killhelm: Well, my name is Vilhelm, and I thought Killhelm would be funny, haha. I don’t have any good answer on the other guys. Nothing serious, we just felt to have fake names, ha ha.

That reflects your positive lifestyle…

Killhelm: Yeah, exactly.

Are there any requests of labels to sign a contract with you meanwhile?

Killhelm: We have some few interested, but they all sucked in my opinion. If we will sign anything we need a label who wants to work as hard as we do. Many bands think that a record deal is the solution. Just because you get signed with a major doesn’t mean that they do anything for you more than the distrubition deal or whatever. You can do pretty much by yourself. Maybe it’s harder but it’s good for us to learn how this shitty buissness works.

That’s a great statement to finish this interview. There is nothing more then to wish you the best for the future and to grow your fanbase. Any last words here you want to tell us?

Killhelm: I want to tell to our fans to keep supporting Plector and buy some more flannell!

Thanx to Killhelm from Plector.

Interview by Kerbinator for METAL FIELDS

Interview with Dibih of TIBERIUS PROJECT

Dibih, I think for now there are not a lot of people in germany that know about Tiberius Project. It is getting better cause we at Das Hardrockradio playing your songs, but can you tell our readers about your and Dennis project and how it came to it.

Hello Kerb! Thanks for that opportunity! You Kerb and Das Hardrockradio rule!
Well, when we were teenagers we dreamed to make ourself music and to play in a band. Watching bands like Iron Maiden, Dio, Helloween … playing Heavy Metal. They are our heroes until today.
We tried to form bands to play Heavy Metal, like our heroes, I had to stop to play because of studies and work, but Dennis tried with several bands. Until today he is involved with music.
Dennis has a studio, and he invited me to record an album with some old lyrics of mine. I am very good to write lyrics and create melodies.
I accepted his invite, we worked during one year, and was born the Tiberius projecT.

If I listen to your songs, it is hard to put your style in a existing category. Your music has its own style. How would you describe the music of TP?

Cool! Thanks! That’s sounds good for me!
A lot of bands are copy of another good bands. Sure, we have influences, but to hear that Tiberius projecT has the self style sounds amazing.
We are listened this kind of comments, persons say that T-projecT looks like Sepultura, Kreator, Alice Cooper or Queensryche?!?!
I really don’t know what we are Kerb, we only want to make the kind of music that we love! We don’t have compromisse with business men or industry of music, we just wanna let T-projecT name in the history of Metal.
You and Das Hardrockradio are guiding and supporting us to reach this dream.

You told me that you actual work on a brandnew song called ‘United for Metal’. Is it just an appetizer for a upcoming new album or does it stand for itself? And do you continue your music style with that song or try some new things with it?

During years we thought about to make a music to celebrate the Heavy Metal. A friend from MySpace, Koala, asked us to do it. We are working with this song during 6 months.
I think ‘United for Metal’ is a great song, I am sure you will play this song on Das Hard Rockradio forever.
Yes, we are working with a new album. Havier than the first one, how I said we have influences. But I don’t want that T-projecT looks like Sepultura or Queensryche?!! ? I love these bands! I want that TP sounds like Tiberius projecT. We don’t want be a copy of another band.

Dibih, you are the main songwriter. Where are you inspired from? Sometimes it seems like that you were very pissed if you wrote the songs. On the other side there are songs that have a positive touch. Is there a favourite theme you like in songwriting?

I have facility to write lyrics since I was a little kid. My instincts said me: ‘Keep the lyrics with you, this will be important for you in future’. Well, it’s happening now.
I can’t to write nothing If I am happy. I think the best lyrics I write when I am down. Brazil is a sunny country, then I have to wait the winter or the girlfriend kick my ass to write lyrics (joke).
I think the lyrics are important, and have to transmit a message. I think we can change the world with the music, but I can’t to write beautiful things if there are people dying of starvation and assassined in wars. The egoism of humanity let me sad.

You are a two person project with guest musicians during the recordings. Did you ever think about a tour in Brazil or other countries? Or do you leave TP as a studio project without live performances?

Yes, we are two persons, because it’s easier for me and Dennis. We have a great sintony, and we make the songs quickly. With a lot of heads giving ideas the things don’t move fast. Musicians have big egoes and never agree with nothing. We lived this in the past. There was fight and the band finished. We prefer to create the lyrics, arrangements and molodies without help.
We are thinking about to make a video! We will call the musicians to participate with the T-projecT, you will know more about these guys. We didn’t put their name on Myspace or our album because they did’t have a participation to create the arrangements, melodies or lyrics. All hard work is with me and Dennis.
Live perfomances? Sure! We want to do it, but we need to get structure and money. Passion and love don’t move mountains. I will search for managers, producers and persons to support the Tiberius’ projecT ambitions. We need to work hard to make the industry of music believe in us. We are working for someday to go and play in Germany Kerb. Yesterday was an utopia, after a dream, today: a possibility.

On your myspace site there are a lot of photos from a visit in europe, specially Berlin. What were your impressions if you visit Germany and do you like to do a trip to europe again?

Hey! I love trips, since I was a child I’d like to go to Europe. The dream was realized! I’ve travelled for a lot of places all over the world. Germany and Berlin is really special. Your country is so organized and civilized. Be sure, I will be back in Germany again, and we will drink a lot of beers to chat about Metal Music together.

Brazil is now a established place for excellent rock music. I think Sepultura has to be honoured cause they made rock music from brazil a lot more popular. What do you think about the music scene in brazil today? Is it easier to get signed to a label or is it still a foreign land for the record companies? As I know you are still not signed to a label?

You are right, In Brazil has excellents musicians, but the industry of entertainment and music are closed, few artists have chances. The talent not is enough, you have to know an important person to help and protect you. Here, we listen and watch only the same artists or musicians on TV and Radio for years. The underground doesn’t have space.
Sepultura had to go out from Brazil to get success! Incredible! There are brazilians bands with success in Germany, USA or Japan … and brazilians never heard about them.
For while we don’t have motivs to get sign with a label, we want freedom to do what we want with the TP’s songs.

What are your plans for the near future? Is there anything that your priorities are?

I have a good work in Brazil, music is a kind of hobby for me … My plans? Travel more, drink a lot of beer and keep fighting to put the Tiberius’ projecT name in history of Heavy Metal. A lot of Metal Brothers are helping us! Thanks MetalWarriors!! Love you all! I hope to makegreat gigs for you in future.

As you know we play your songs on a german internetradio station. What does it mean to you it people for example in germany can listen to your own written songs?

Wow! We never imagined that someday this could be happen! It’s a great reponsability!!!
Germany is so far and so near, I had a germany girlfriend, she taught me a lot of amazing things about your country. Germany culture has a great influence here in Brazil, specially in south of country.
DJs from all over the world are playing T-projecT songs, but you Kerb and Holger are special for us.
Germany Rocks!!! I love your country.

Your guitarist Dennis plays a lot of powerful parts that become a trademark for me to the sound of TP? Are you only work together if there is a recording coming up or do you come together in your freetime also?

Dennis is a great guitarrist. Because of Dennis the T-projecT is a possibility. He is my friend, sometimes I go to his home to eat pizza, to drink beer and to talk about music.
Years ago, Dennis told me about a dream: He dreamed that worked during all life with music, but only a band created by me worked! This dream is becoming a reality. Maybe Dennis be a clairvoyant, yeah! I hope so.

Are you alway working with the same guest musicians or do you decide from recording to recording new whom you want to invite working with you?

The persons are really curious about the ghosts musicians (LOL). But you have my promisse that we will give the name and faces of all persons involved with the project . Let’s see what will happen in future. I think, for while, that’s not time to give big steps.
There are a lot of fantastic musicians and bands trying their place under the sun. I think we have to walk slowly, but keeping walking.

Ok, at the end of this interview I wanna thank you a lot for spending your time for The Metal Fields. Is there anything you want to tell our readers here and the listeners of Das Hardrockradio.de?

Hey! Thank you Kerb, for giving us the opportunity to talk about Tiberius projecT. We really honored to talk with you and Rocker’s Basement!
I hope to make live concerts in future, would be a pleasure for T-projecT to play in Germany.
I answered that questions listening Das Hardrockradio! You Rock guys!!!
Thanks for all support brothers!

Interview by Kerbinator for METAL FIELDS

Interview with Stelios Tsakiridis of EMERALD SUN

. Hi Stelios how are you?

 Hi guys, I´m really fine! Thank you!

. Where are Emerald Sun now?

Well, I am in Germany cause I live here and the rest of the bunch is in Thessaloniki/Greece!

. Tell me a few things about the exciting album Regeneration.

We are very proud of what we created there my friend! We love this album! Great songs, amazing performance and a fantastic sound!!! What else do you need?

. Apart from you, we can hear and a young lady singing in “Phantasmagoria” and “Holding out for a hero”. Who is she?

Her name is Mariangela and she is a close friend, a wonderful person and one of the best female voices I’ve heard in years!!! It is always a pleasure to work with talented persons, but to work with her is really a gift!

. If the band had told us during the recordings that you would have included a cover song in the album, most of us would have thought of a rock song in a power version and not of “Holding out for a hero” which came as a pleasant surprise, especially after the listening. How happened this and whose idea was it?

We all love this song! Everybody knows it and it fitted perfectly in the positive concept of the album! In “Regeneration” we mention the problems that surround us in these hard times, but we also try to motivate the listener! So a “hero” would be a good solution, to take us from the hand and lead us to real freedom! Cause if you take a close look around, you´ll realize that we´re all slaves!

. As a listener and a lover of music I enjoy very much the high level sound in metal albums and the sound of Regeneration is perfect. I want to ask you if you are going to cooperate again with Vaggelis Maranis in your next album, because apart from me there are many others who would like to hear this kind of sound. It is too difficult to find experts like him on sound.

You´re damn right man! The sound is perfect and…. YES we´re gonna do the next album with vagelis again! Give me only one reason why we shouldn´t. Vagelis is more than a producer to us. He is like the seventh member of “Emerald Sun”! It is a blessing to have a guy like him at your side! And it really IS difficult to find REAL experts on sound these days! So why in God’s name should I destroy something that works so well??? I can´t wait to hit the “Maranis Studio” again and enjoy the procedure!

. What happened with Teo Savage and Jim Tsakiridis and both left the band?

Teo decided to stop playing music in general for personal reasons! Jim did not had enough time to continue cause he´s a music teacher, a choir leader and also one of the best keyboarders in Europe! Both are still good friends and keeping in touch with the band!

. Do you have with the other members any fresh ideas; are you planning to work on a new material?

We already do!!! We never stop working on new material and there are some great songs in work at the moment!

. In the beginning of this year you made a Greek – tour, are you thinking of making a tour in Europe or in somewhere else expect Greece or to be the support act for another band, so that the people have the chance to see you on stage just like Greeks?

Yes, we are in the middle of the negotiations for some live shows in Germany and Greece for the coming autumn! So keep your fingers crossed that everything will work for us, cause we would love to play some more shows!

. A few days ago I watched a video in which Pavlos Georgiadis (the one of the guitar players) played on guitar Verano Porteno from the musician Astor Piazzolla. Do you think that it would be interesting to hear guitar parts like that in a power metal album?

Pavlos is new guy on the guitar replacing Teo. He is the perfect twin to Johnnie, our other guitar player! For sure it would be interesting to combine different music styles! Like I always use to say: There is good music and bad music! There are no good or bad styles”!

. Do you have any favorite singer in the style of Piazzolla and would you like to adopt his style of singing anytime?

 There are way too many amazing singers in all styles, but I prefer to learn from all of them! Not to adopt their style of singing. Just try to take something from each one of them!

. Stelios what is your point of view about power metal nowadays, does it still remain in mediocre levels as it was in the ‘00s or you think it is much better now?

I think it´s much better now! I mean the metal crowd was always there! Just take a look to the metal festivals all over the world! Most of them are sold out! There are indeed masses who call metal their favorite music style! It´s only the media like TV and radio that are looking from a distance to this whole happening! That´s the only thing that bothers me. Back in the 80`s it was totally different and I keep asking myself why they stopped it and what they are afraid of!

 . By the time you are a singer in a Greek metal band, do you think that the Greek metal scene has made a worthy improvement so that more and more people from other countries will show bigger interesting and of course admiration?

Everyone deserves a chance! It doesn´t matter if he comes from Greece, Malaysia or kentia! But I thing that the people in this music genre are much more open minded than in any other music style! The metalheads keep digging in the underground to find good bands…. and they DO find them! There are good bands in Greece and in many other countries, so let´s give ´em a chance!

. Is there any metal festival which you are dreaming of taking part in? I am asking you this because Emerald Sun are a young band and there will be some chances in the future.

We are working on it, believe me! There are so many fantastic metal festivals we would love to play! I can not pick just one! Like I said, cross your fingers and you never know!

 . Final question, how do you imagine the future of Emerald Sun or yours, as a musician?

I don´t waste many thoughts about what will be in the future! Important to me is the present! The only thing I can chance is right this moment and that´s where I try to focus on! But I hope that “Emerald Sun” will continue for many years playing music from the bottom of their hearts and spreading joy to the people around!

. Well Stelios, thank you a lot for this interview, I hope to see you soon again on stage, I wish the best for you and the band and the last words belong to you…

I also would like to thank you in the name of all “Emerald Sun” members and we hope to see you guys in the next shows! Listen to our new album “Regeneration” and decide if you want to support “Emerald Sun” in the future! Thank you all!

Keep your hearts beating in the rhythm of rock!!!

Interview by Dr. Feelgood for METAL FIELDS

Interview with Hank “Rain” Irving of WHILE HEAVEN WEPT

Hi Rain, thanx for having some time to do an interview with METAL FIELDS.

Rain, your new album „Fear of Infinity“ will be released soon. What can the listeners expect of the new album ?

They can expect what I feel is a solid record that not only caters to our fans expectations of what a WHW album should be, but those fans whom have yet been exposed to WHW, regardless of their stylistic preferences. As we went through the recording process of FOI, I told the band members that this record really seems to hone in on many styles of metal. From traditional heavy metal, to black metal, to doom, as well as our signature epic stylings. This record is somewhat thematic. Should the listener truly give it the spins it deserves, I feel as though they will “get it” more so than if they listen once and give it a grade. Upon the mixing process, Tom and I discovered that this record, with the content and order of the songs, that FOI truly speaks to the process of bereavement. The listener should pick up on an array of emotions ranging from anger towards the beginning, to depression and bargaining towards the middle, and ultimately to acceptance and peace towards the end. Kerb, we are pleased with the outcome of FOI and absolutely cant wait to release this record to metal fans worldwide.

On the album cover I think I can see a ship cruising through the cosmos. Can you agree with that and is there a special statement behind using this artwork?

Wow, the artwork!! Its quite involved as you might agree. Tom has had a true knack for selecting artists that help him convey the WHW themes and visuals for each of the WHW releases. Fear of Infinity is no different. I actually needed to “study” the cover art for hours in order to make some semblance of the message intended. Let me say that I do get it, however, I do not want to interject my opinions/theories/ and or insight because it is my wish that the listener, upon truly paying close attention to the audio content of FOI, can then reference the cover art by which to make an assumption.

With the new album you moved to Nuclear Blast, one of the biggest metal labels now. What was the reason to do that and do you await to move more steps forward with this label in the back?

Nuclear Blast, by far, IS the biggest metal label and they have managed to become quite the “metal force” by signing incredibly talented bands past and present. We have had somewhat of a relationship with NB prior to FOI. From what I have heard, NB were very fond of our 2009 release on Cruz Del Sur “Vast Oceans Lachrymose”. It made total sense as a band for us to work with NB for FOI. Their reach is phenomenal. The support they offer their artists is amazing. Let it be said, we are extremely honored to have the backing of Nuclear Blast for “Fear of Infinity”. We know that the potential for FOI will be truly realized with a label like NB behind us and that brings us a lot of peace and satisfaction as artists. In regards to moving forward. We will always move forward as a band. As you may have learned by listening to WHW albums in the past, we have yet to produce a product that is reminiscent of the last release. After FOI, who knows which direction we will go and whom with as far as support is concerned. It is however, our hopes to continue working with Nuclear Blast as they seem to understand our vision.

Your last album „Vast Oceans Lachrymose“ received very good reviews all over the world. I remember that you even reached album of the month in Germany’s biggest metal magazine Rock Hard. Was it a surprise for you ? I mean…the album is great.

Thanks so much for the kind words regarding VOL. In regards to the reviews and ratings…YES!! We were utterly surprised! we knew we had a great record on our hands, but so many questions remained for each of us. Would the fan base accept my singing? Would they like the fact that we played faster on the record? The progressive sounds really came forth on VOL. Therefore, we had many questions regarding its place, but the media and fans quickly let us know that they liked the record.

Let’s talk more about the new album. Is there a special story-line behind the lyrics ? If I am right there are seven songs on „Fear of Infinity“ that means we will listen to one or two long tracks too?

As mentioned earlier, there is a true concept and or theme to FOI. The songs, however, are somewhat shorter on this release than releases in the past. We have songs ranging from 3 minutes upwards to 11 minutes on FOI so you can sense that there is quite an array of song lengths, but we feel as they the record truly makes sense. Regardless of the song-lengths, the theme of acceptance in the face of loss is delivered in the 38-40 minute time frame in which FOI is. You can consider “Finality” as quite an epic though. However, “Destroyer of Solace” is just shy of 3 minutes. To attempt to compartmentalize WHW is a waste of time!! hahaha

How is work shared in While Heaven Wept ? Do you compose all together or is there one person who give the ideas? And how long does it take to create a new song?

It is no secret that Tom Phillips is our chief-composer if you will. Tom Phillips, in my opinion, and I share the opinion of the rest of the band, is a brilliant composer therefore we have it made as a band when he’s doing all the work!!!! I hope he doesn’t read this!!hahaha!! Kerb, in all honesty, we ALL contribute to the writing process, however the majority of our ideas, outside of Phillips’ original structure of the song, emerge in the studio. We simply add what we feel can lend positively to Toms writing. Scott Loose actually wrote the majority of ‘Saturn and Sacrifice” from a musical perspective. I as a vocalist, contributed way more on FOI than VOL. Ultimately showing that we are collectively collaborating more now as a band, and will in the future.

Some people call your music as Romantic Doom. I think thats cause you pack a lot of harmonies and dreamful parts in your songs. Can you agree with that or how would you call it?

I cant say I have ever heard of the “Romantic Doom” genre, however I like it! Does it make sense?? I think so. Toms lyrics are all written from personal experience. Its no secret that much of his lyrics up to this point are relationship based. We have had our “romantic” moments I have to agree. Who cant call “Vessel” romantic?? Once again, to compartmentalize this band is tough. There is a subset of fans that are now questioning the doom tag that we often receive which speaks to WHW’s ability to break outside of genres. We pride ourselves in being “free” to play “WHW music” whatever that is. Its my opinion that genres can play a major factor in limiting artists and we do not want to be limited musically or artistically. Do we embrace doom? I would say yes, more for reasons of emotional content than for musical stylings. We like to play fast as much as we do slow. The reference to harmonies and dreamful parts….well..lets just say we do what we feel works for specific songs and harmonies/ dreamful parts just seem to make sense for WHW.

Rain, if I have the right informations you were lead vocalist in a band called Altura before. Is that the band that had an album in the 90′s called „Mercy“? That was an album with a person running out of the woods on the artwork

You have a great memory. Yes, Mercy was the only release from Altura up to this point. There has been a major demand for a reunion, but we simply have not been able to make it work. I did, however, procure Jason Lingle, the keyboardist/ backing vox for Altura, for FOI and he is now a full time member of WHW. His contributions to FOI were invaluable. Hes incredibly talented and its been wonderful being able to work with Altura members again in this facet. That release was in 1996 on Magna Carta/ Roadrunner.

Do you all like water ? I mean…I think this element takes a big part in your concept. Oceans, ships…..are you pirates, ha ha ?

I much prefer beer!! hahahaha That is a question that Tom should answer. I will say that water is a means for so many chemical reactions to take place. It is also the perfect medium for so many emotions. Why do people flock to the ocean for vacation? Perhaps it is synonymous with peace, relaxation, introspect, and fun. However, it can also be indicative of rage, fear, pain, and sheer awesomeness in the face of a storm, high tide, or catastrophic event. As you can probably see, water can mean or yeild so much in terms of emotion. Likewise, water is essential for life. We as humans are composed of 70 percent water, so i guess we ALL need to embarce water!! hahahaha. That would be my best guess as to why Tom has chosen to include water in many of his works.

Tom Phillips founded the band back in 1989. So While Heaven Wept is now more that 20 years in this business. What does this mean to the band ?

Once again a great question for Tom. I, personally, have been in WHW since 2008. What I can say is that we have an incredible history which lends to so many experiences. Within these experiences, we learn. and with this learning, we have fuel as artists to utilize in the writing process. Likewise, as an entity that has existed so long, there are elements of realism you find with us that you may not find with a band that has been together for a year or two. This is not to insult bands that lack history. It is what it is. Years = Experience. Experience should equal better quality art. Its our method, but we cant speak for anyone else. Another thing to consider is the element of non-compromise. As I mentioned earlier, there was a bit of questioning in regards to Tom passing the vocal torch my direction. Did we want it to be embraced and accepted by the fans? Ofcourse, but did we need that affirmation to continue? The answer is no. We do what we feel is best for WHW and we can say that because history has shown, we make good decisions as a band and hopefully will continue to.

In these modern times it is easier to reach people cause of internet and other technologies. On the other side there are more and more uniteresting bands coming up with this and find companies to release their stuff. What does this mean for a band like WHW who worked hard for more than 2 decades and most times without this technologies ?

It simply means we earned what we have earned to way it should have happened for us and that is over time and slowly. As far as I know, the internet hit hard about 1994 or so. The advent of Myspace and Facebook many years later. It wasnt until 2003 when “Of Empires Forlorn” was released, however, the means of promotion and communcation by way of the internet was available to WHW, however, we were so rooted in the metal scene by 2003 that we depended less on the internet than many newer bands do today or bands that you deem “uninteresting”. I guess you can say that WHW earned their stripes with ‘Sorrow of the Angels” as far as promotion and marketing is concerned the hard way. Without the use of specific technologies. It was ultimately a good way to start. As I think back, “Chapter 1″ and “Lovesongs of the Forsaken” truly depended on word of mouth for promotion! Wow Kerb!! You just reminded us of how old we are!! hahaha

In June you are on tour in germany with Primordial. Please give a short statement about this package.

Actually, we are touring many countries with Primordial, and we couldnt be more excited!!!! We are slated to do the series of Open Air Metal Festivals which take us to Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, and Czech Republic. Aside from that, we will do 5 additional dates with Primordial which includes additional dates in Germany and the Netherlands. Let us not forget our friends ALCEST who will join us for that tour. In terms of a proper pairing, it is my opinion that we could not have been paired with a more appropriate list of bands. We have nothing but the utmost respect for Primordial and Alcest. My best friend is the biggest Primmordial fan I know. Lets just say that I have a “list” of things I have to accomplish for this tour that have nothing to do with performing, but more like a series of autographs on numerous items for him!! We are so pumped and we hope many of you will find time to witness what we feel will be an amazing tour!

What songs can we expect on this tour ? Do you play older stuff too or is it more focused on new material ?

You can expect it all, from the Sorrow era, to Empires VOL and FOI!! of course we want to promote the new record, but the voice of the fans says a lot and they want “Drowning Years” and “Vessel” and its a safe bet to say they will get what they ask for! As far as newer material, there will be plenty of “Fear of Infinity” so worry not.

You are also confirmed for some festivals in summer, right ?

As I have referred to the Open Airs, we are slated for 5 festivals. We will lump those dates into our tour with Primordial and Alcest. They also will be at each of the Open Airs with us alongside of Arch Enemy, Cradle of Filth, Sabaton, Amorphis, Saxon, Entombed, Amon Amarth, Watain, Belphegor, Rage, Sodom, Destruction, Misery Index, BlackDahlia Murders, Krisiun, Thaurorod, and many many more great artists!!!

If you could look into the future…in which stadium would you like to see WHW in about 10 years ?

I personally would love to play the Acropolis in Athens Greece…yu know..Like Yanni!!hahaha – In all honesty, we just played in Greece for the Up the Hammers Festival and had a chance to see the Acropolis. I thought the place was amazing.

Is there any work of the band-members outside of While Heaven Wept, for example in other projects ?

Jim Hunter, our bass player, plays in a multitude of other bands. Most notably Twisted Tower Dire and October 31. He is also playing in a new band called HellRazor, so he is very busy to say the least. Scott, Trevor, and Michelle are still involved in the progressive metal band BRAVE.

Are you interested in the present music scene ? Are there any new bands that you are listening in your private life ?

The music scence continues to deliver good stuff in my opinion. Im finding a number of bands way appealing, strangely I seem to be keeping my interest very close to home. I think that our friends from Pennsylvania ARGUS are about to rip some faces off with thier new release on Cruz Del Sur coming soon. Likewise, I have heard the Twisted Tower Dire release prior to its release…and its fantastic. Likewise, TTD are due a release on Cruz Del Sur soon. Aside from Argus and TTT, I have to say that Im very excited at the upcoming Primordial release “Redemption at the Puritans Hand”. There is a local band here in Southern Virginia that Im expecting to make a grand splash with thier new release. They are know as Dysphagic. Young, talented, and eager so seek them out! Lastly, as far as my listening pleasures, I am excited about the re-release of “The Sound of Perserverance” by Death. Always have been and will remain a Chuck fan!!

After the release of „Fear of Infinity“ and the tour and festivals…what are the next plans of WHW ?

In September we are proudly playing ProgPower USA in Atlanta alongside of Sanctuary, Arcturus, Therion, EverGray, Vanden Plas, Dream Evil, Mob Rules, Eldritch, Red Circuit, Creations End, Voyager, Haken, and more. We couldnt be more excited to be a part of such a special event. Wanna thank Glen Harveston for the invite and support!! Outside of that, probably a bit of rest and reconnecting with family and friends. I would also assume that writing for the next record will be a priority!

Private question at last: Why are you called „Rain“? Is there a special reason?

Hahaha – Well…Rainey has always been my nickname. It actually was derived from the fact that I could not and did not want to avoid rainy weather as a child. Most run from the idea of getting soaked by the rain. Not me! I would immediately, upon a shower, find myself outside in the rain splashing mud puddles, running as fast as I could in the rain, and ultimately attempting to become as soaked as my parents and siblings would allow. I cant help but laugh as I think back to your question about WHW and water!! hahaha Call it strange but, storms and rain excited me in ways I have yet to truly understand. Strangely, I could care less for rain now!

Thanx, Rain, for the interview…any final words you want to tell our readers?

Thanks so much for your continued interest and support of WHW! Likewise, we hope you will seek and find “Fear of Infinity” upon its release. Its a record that we are proud of and feel you, the metal listener and fan, will appreciate and enjoy! See you on tour very soon!

Interview by Kerbinator for METAL FIELDS

Review: BLACKSMITH – “Strike while the Iron’s hot”

1. The Bone March
2. Tower of London
3. Rock Hard
4. Louder Than Hell
5. Blacksmith
6. The Beast
7. House
8. Louder Than Hell
9. A Taste of Darkness
10. The Bonemarch / Tower of London
11. Theatres des Vampires
12. Hell to Pay
13. Fug It
14. Black Attack

Release Date: June 2011 – Heaven And Hell Records

Couple of talented bands in the beginning of the 80′s couldn’t make it to break through cause of several line up changes or management mistakes. They kept staying deep underground and then cause of missing success bandmembers preferred their private lifes, families and so those bands split up or interrupted their musical works for many years.

One of those bands are Blacksmith, founded in the early 80′s by mainman and guitarist David Smith together with vocalist Heidi Black. The band was noticed most in the years 85 – 87 when the first self-titled EP was released. Followed by another album called „Fire from Within“ in 1989, that was released in the band’s second phase, where Malcolm „Mania“ Lovegrove set in to take care of vocals.

Heaven and Hell Records released now a compilation of the band’s early works called „Strike while the Iron’s Hot“ and this is a good retrospection for what the Blacksmith was standing in the 80′s and an appetizer for the upcoming new album in 2012.

„The Bone March / Tower of London“ is the first track from the „Blacksmith (EP)“ album. Starting with Tower bells supported by rolling thunder. Classic US Metal guitar theme to follow. Brilliant hooklines. Heidi’s vocals celebrate with rock vibes in tradition of Lee Aaron or other rock ladies like Leather Leone or Doro. The sound is as we know and love it from 80′s US Bands. The first Leatherwolf album comes in mind sometimes.

„Rock Hard“ next opens with a lead that could be from old Saxon. Fast forward song underlined with high shouts of Heidi. Great shouted refrain of Heidi together with the metal choir. Typical lead, refrain, solo, refrain arrangements. Pure old school metal…and Heidi makes the difference.
Sure…there is a lot of dust meanwhile on productions like this…but the nostalgic factor counts here…and Heidi ends it with a big scream.

Increasing volume of guitars in the beginning of „Louder than Hell“. Clean vocals and slower tempo part before the song runs faster. Traditional up-speed song with female vocals. Twin vocals part in the middle sends out more variation so that you will not get bored.

„The Blacksmith“ treats the anvil now. Solo vocals together with drums as front shouting before the guitars set in to create a hookline monster. If we would hear Eric Adams here I would say this is an old Manowar song from one of their first three albums. But Heidi tells us that it is not and David Smith plays the guitars in virtuosity….old school, but brilliant. Enough power to blow away the walls of times. Yes…the Blacksmith is here. Be aware of his anvil !!

„The Beast“ next is the first track of their full length album „Fire from Within“. And it begins…with the Sharks theme. Speedful drums elicit the guitar to answer. First in hooks and then in speed metal spheres. A really fast song. Ok…the vocals sound a little more thin than as Heidi did in the songs before. But this vocalist owns a high voice too and so we don’t listen to complete other stuff now. The typical Blacksmith trademarks of David Smith and the musical front are still present and offer a pure metal feeling. Did the shark find his victim ? Yes….me !! BEAST

A song called „House“ ? Hm…yes. Infernal guitar part invites us to visit. Again a more speedful track. Nearly to thrash metal hooks and also the vocals bring a little Metallica touch. Say your prayers children ! It seems that Blacksmith changed their style with „Fire from Within“ to more aggressive sounds and vocals. Not bad…walking on the ways that bands like Laaz Rockit used to walk.

New version of „Louder than Hell“ next. The band recorded this song new for their full length. Musically the same only the vocals differs from the original. The vocalist brings some fresh elements into this song. I don’t know which version is the better one. Both have their special moments. This one I think is played faster, so it fits better to the new direction the band chose to go.

Slow guitar entrance, like old doom metal, in „A Taste of Darkness“. Sticky and highly heavy. This is the bands contribution to epic metal. High vocals changing with darkness. Some Mercyful Fate vibes too. I think the strength of Malcolm’s vocals lie in song like this. Mighy, epic songs. His volume is more in front than in high speed tracks. This song is the one with the greatest arrangements so far. Variable in sound and tempo. Powerful and heavy as tons of steel.

Another new arranged song of the firs EP follows. „The Bone March / Tower of London“ starts also here with bells and thunder. And as result it is the same like with the new version of „Louder than Hell“. Harder, more heavy and other vocals. For myself this is definetely the better one cause of the more heavy sound and guitar work.

A storyteller speeks to us to introduce the „Theatres des Vampires“. An elegian guitar offers tragedy and pain before the song speeds up. Again I will be remembered to Leatherwolf and even Helloween in „Walls of Jericho“ times are shining through. Malcolm could be the brother of Kai Hansen or Michael Olivieri. Speed and harmonies together…twin vocal refrain..this tastes like the good old times when metal was metal and nothing could stop it. In the end the song gets a light dramatic touch as the guitars support the again appearing storyteller. Who can name the classical guitar theme that appears for a half minute ? Great song indeed.

Acoustic guitar to start „Hell to Pay“. Nice guitar solo then. A song more quiet…a ballad ? Not a cheesy one…for sure. I couldn’t say if there are male or female vocals cause of the very high performance Malcolm does here if I wouldn’t know it. The wonderful guitar solos are the essence to make this song also worth listen to even though it is breaking out of the metal circle we heard before. What I have to criticize here is that the song is maybe a little to long for that kind.

Next one….“Fug it“…a speedster that only lasts 30 seconds. Funny….like we know it from the early punk bands. Not more to write about it.

The „Black Attack“ assaults us in the end. Starting like Judas Priest in their best times. I think this song is strong influenced by the Metal God and friends. Uptempo neckbreaker with sharp guitar leads and pushing drums. Unbelievable high vocals and screams. This song kicks ass in brilliant old school style. Perfect !!

It is always a pleasure to listen to bands from a time when only the attitude of metal was counting. Leather, chains…guitars.
US Metal as we know it from Leatherwolf, Omen, Heir Apparent was not that succesful. But now we remember them as classic bands and influence for hundreds of bands that came up later. In this line of bands we shouldn’t forget Blacksmith.
The first EP with female vocals was very special in the early 80′s. With „Fire from Within“, their second output an first full length album the band changed their style in some songs from traditional metal to more thrash and speed elements. But the essence was still there.
Sure we can say…Blacksmith was influenced by bands like Leatherwolf, Saxon or Judas Priest. But who played that style earlier…who influenced whom ? I don’t know. As a fact…Blacksmith is a band that fans of pure and old school metal should explore. Even more than 20 years later you will find out what great vibes this band spreads.

And….there is a new album coming up. For myself…I cannot wait to hear it.

Points: 9/10

Review by Kerbinator