CONTENTS04_Lynch Mob

06_Praying Mantis

07_UDO

08_Dimino

09_Kelly Keel ing

10_Symphony X

11_Skintrade

12_Reviews

15_Chaos Magic

16_The V

18_Tomas Bergsten’s Fantasy

20_Royal Hunt

22_The Murder of My Sweet

Melodic Rock Fanzine

The official Frontiers Music s.r.l. magazine

Year #11 - Nr. 4 / Issue #69

Editor-in-chief: Elio Bordi

Concept, Graphics & Design: Elio Bordi

Writers: Bruce E.J. Atkinson, Duncan Jamieson, Barry McMinn, Vitale

Nocerino, Rob “Ezy” Bone, Primo Bonali.

Headquarters and general contacts:

Frontiers Records - Via Gonzaga 18

80125, Napoli - Italy

Tel: +39.081.2399340/7753

Fax: +39.081.2399794

E-mail: elio@frontiers.it

Website: www.frontiers.it

Facebook: facebook.com/frontiersmusicsrl

Twitter: twitter.com/FrontiersMusic1

Editor and publisher: Frontiers Records s.r.l.

Copyright©2015 Frontiers Records. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is pro-

hibited.

Printed in Italy.

Band: Lynch Mob

Interview with: George Lynch

Interview by: Duncan Jamieson

MRF | 5

Question: After touring with a differ-

ent line-up, you’ve got Oni Logan

back in on vocals.

Answer: We’ve been back and forth.

You know we’re like a married couple

that stay together for the kids! This

time around all the past issues are in

the rear view mirror now. It’s been a

really enjoyable process. I’ve got to

say he’s really comes into his own live

as a front man recently too. The chem-

istry between us is still there, the actu-

al flow of us sitting in a room writing.

It was fun and that is reflected in the

music. There were no time limitations

outside of budget constraints. It’s not

like ‘Wicked Sensation’ which cost half

a million dollars. That doesn’t happen

nowadays. There was about a month of

pre-production which is kind of a lot

these days. KXM was all done in ten

days. For ‘Rebel’ it took a couple of

weeks to track vocals and two weeks to

mix.

Q: Did you approach this record sim-

ilarly or differently from previous

Lynch Mob records?

A: We’ve never started a song with a

vocal. It starts with the guitars, then

the drums and then vocal melodies. I

was wondering about this recently.

There must be lots of songwriters that

start with the words.

Q: You’re experiencing a prolif ic

creative spell.

A: It’s a practical matter. I’m not on

the road as much, not travelling as

much. When you’re travelling from one

show to the next it’s not so easy to have

ideas. Now I’ve got time and ideas to

set all these projects up. As well as

Lynch Mob I’ve got the Shadowtrain

album coming out. It’s two CDs. I’ve

put a lot of work into that. The second

CD is actually the prequel to the first

CD. I wanted people to hear the newer

material first as it shows where the

sound is now, more primitive. That sec-

ond CD, the older material is more

classic rock. Both CDs are valid. Then

there’s The Infidels which is Angelo

Moore from Fishbone, Panch

Tommeseli of Tower Of Power, Sen Dog

of Cypress Hill and Sal Rodriguez of

WAR. It’s hard to describe but it’s like

Faith No More and The Band of

Gypsies.It’s been a beautiful journey

and a departure for me. It’s jazzy, r ‘n’

b stuff and playing just for fun, just for

the sake of playing. I add my firepow-

er and horse power and it’s different

from a compositional sense but my role

of lead guitarist remains the same. I’m

using a lot more effects on this one. I

l ike the idea of creating recurring

landscapes with the music.

Q: Can you explain the Shadow

Nation film you’ve been making?

A: It started about five years ago with

Dean Castra as a vehicle for a voice of

change. He‘s an activist who’s been

arrested for environmental and politi-

cal causes. It’s a myopic look into

human nature and how to make the

world a more equitable place. It shows

travelling with the band Shadowtrain,

camping out as we tour all the way

down to the Mexican border. We spoke

to people like Noam Chomsky and at

the other end Ted Nugent. Serj Tankian

of System Of A Down speaks eloquently

too.

Q: What did you learn making the

film?

A: The main thing we probably learned

was we went into this as bright eyed

and idealist ic and soon discovered

there are a lot of grey areas. Change is

not easy and there’s a lot of apathy out

there. A lot of work people do on the

left can be unrewarding. It’s easier for

people working for the status quo; you

get rewarded if you’re a newscaster on

Fox or whatever. When you’re working

to make things change i t ’s a hard

bunch of work and you lose most of the

time. You have to become detached.

Success is transitory, and losing is for

ever. For example if you don’t get a

bill passed to unreserve a particular

piece of land that decision can last

thousands of years.

Q: People sometimes use shredder to

describe your playing but that seems

inaccurate because it appears to be

more about the groove?

A: I’m more of a composer than shred-

der. Shredder is a bit of a limiting

term. That whole need for speed is a

young man thing. I’m not knocking

that, that’s fine. I listen to other forms

of music and I’ve gone back to things I

grew up with. I’m not the player I

should be. I can fake it up to a point

but I’m making a concerted ef fort ,

applying myself to be a better player.

To expand your abilities takes dedica-

tion to get out of the way of doing

things by rote. I’m inspired by those

who make a radical change. It was

transformative for Rush’s Neil Peart,

already a great drummer, to push him-

self to new heights. I like the idea of re-

inventing myself. Some players evolve

while some devolve. I’d like to take my

playing to another level to surprise

people. A musician’s affinity to a style

can be driven by its commercial suc-

cess. You hit on a formula and to try

something different can be commercial

suicide. In the past, the path was clear

and you knew what was going to hap-

pen. You made an album, went on tour

and the cycle continued. Nowadays, it’s

less structured. With Lynch Mob back

in 1999 I tried to move direction with

industrial-esque, Killing Joke, Ministry

type music. I wasn’t known for it but I

wasn’t doing it just for the sake of it.

The record ‘Smoke This’ had some hip

hop on there, like Limp Bizkit with

more depth. We got slammed for that

record. I think my mistake was putting

that disc out under the Lynch Mob

name. I should have called it something

else as I still like that album. It’s a

very legitimate record.

Q: Your recent records share a really

solid production sound. How do you

achieve that?

A: The common denominator on those

records is we’ve been in this game a

long time so we know what we’re doing.

It’s quicker than it used to be. We know

the mic placement, the compression

resolutions, how it’s mixed and we use

the soul of the old technology with the

new technology of pro-tools and old

amps. It makes my skin crawl to think

of those early days back in the studio

when we’d be four hours late.

Q: The recent Sweet and Lynch CD

was recorded quite differently than

that KXM album, wasn’t it?

A: I never came face to face with any-

body for that record. I sent the music to

Michael and the guys who might change

arrangements and add parts. Lots of

the guitars for those demos stayed on

the finished record because I liked how

they sounded. I thought the finished

record sounded fantastic. It has an old

school, 80s bigness to it. We’re going

to do another one.

6 | MRF

Question: “Legacy” is the first album

to feature newest members John

Cuijpers and Hans in’t Zandt who

joined in 2013, so how did the guys

become part of the Praying Mantis

family?

Answer: Jaycee and Hans were playing

at a festival where we were also playing

as Mantis in 2013. We were blown away

with their performances and wondered

what it would be like if they were part of

Mantis… We started chatting after the

show and realised we had so much in

common. So here we are today and

believe it is the strongest line up Mantis

have ever had.

Q: What do these two guys bring to the

band?

A: They just have added a totally differ-

ent dimension… I think till now we

believed that we had to stay within

restricting boundaries, however both

Jaycee and Hans have just torn down

those walls and there are now no limits.

It is very exciting to see where it will

take us… The key thing is we really feel

that we have only just scratched the sur-

face and there is a long to go!

Q: It’s been some six years since

“Sanctuary”, so how long have you

guys been working on the new album?

A: In any album, you want it to be the

best that it can practically be. Our view

there is no point in releasing an album

to formula just to satisfy for instance a

possible contractual requirement. Hence

we have released our albums when we

feel the job has been done and the song

writing and recording process is as

strong as we honestly believe it can be.

In addition Jaycee and Hans have only

been in the band for a round 2.5 years

and we have needed the time to adapt

and embellish the songs to suit their

styles.

Q: You’ve described ‘Legacy’ as the

best album the band has ever pro-

duced, so what makes this album stand

out from the rest for you?

A: We believe that this time around there

have been contributions from everyone

in the band and a result of this the album

is varied throughout. Many times we

have listened to albums and have felt

there is no diversity on the songs and

hence can be a bit boring Legacy we

believe is one of the most varied albums

we have ever done but has still kept the

essential Mantis feel.

Q: Rodney Mathews did the artwork

for the new album, what made you

decide to return to him for the new

album artwork?

A: Because quite simply his artwork is

awesome and very much a part of the

Praying Mantis Legacy.

Q: The band is always associated with

the NWOBHM movement but was

around well before that era of rock, so

is it always good to be linked to that

musical style when you have always

been a more melodic rock band?

A: There are pluses and negatives asso-

ciated with it… Did ever we really

belong? Probably not, but as per the

question we were probably too melodic

and hence stood out like a sore thumb ,

but at the same time it gave us a lot of

recognition at that time so in that sense

who can complain!

Q: The band played this years

Frontiers Rock Festival, how was that?

A: Amazingly well received… Would

love to be invited back next year…

Artist: Praying Mantis Interview with: Chris Troy Interview by: Barry McMinn

Artist: UDO Interview with: Fitty Wienhold Interview by: Primo Bonali

Question: First of all, who did come

out with this idea to play this unique

show?

Answer: Actually Udo had this idea

since a long time, and when we stayed

during the Steelhammer Production in

the North of Germany, we were invited

to a concert of the Marinemusikkorps. As

we had nothing better to do we went to

this church with nothing in mind. But

when they started playing, and don't for-

get it's a brass orchestra, we looked at

one another, and said that's metal! No

idea how to arrange, and how to go on,

but the idea was born.

Q: How did you prepare the show and

how have you re-arranged the songs

for the classical instruments?

A: Two different things. First we had to

find the people to convince, and as this

is military, the ways were much longer.

But in Mattes we had the perfect partner,

not only in mixing our album. He is also

involved in the orchestra business and

had the connection points to the mili-

tary. He was also responsible for the

arrangements, and chose the right peo-

ple to help him. Once all this was done

(and not in one day... haha!). We had to

understand and learn our songs in a dif-

ferent way! But it was fun! The rest was

playing all together, and believe me you

have no idea how loud they are!

Q: Before you played the show,

weren't you a bit afraid that your clas-

sic Metal sound could not match the

symphonic atmosphere created by the

orchestra?

A: No. Because first of all we knew it

from the rehearsal, and second, as it is a

real brass orchestra, what means that

the typical symphonic sound from strings

is not there, we were sure that we're

doing the right thing. Different from all

the other projects with orchestras. But

the most important point were the

arrangements. It was like winning the

Lotteria! Cause it was perfect with our

sound and performance.

Q: At this year’s edition of “Wacken

Open Air Festival”, this unique musi-

cal collaboration could be seen again

live on stage, this time with the

German Federal Armed Forces

Orchestra. What do you expect from

this show? Do you think you'll intro-

duce some news on the performance or

will it be very close to the one released

on “Navy Metal Night”? What can the

fans expect from it?

A: Well, I expect a lot of fun as I like

always playing. The orchestra is much

much bigger, and we have some surpris-

es, and the GFAFO is THE orchestra in

Germany. So, to say I am excited is not

enough, and that this show will take

place in Wacken... Yes it's more than just

an highlight in my career.

Q: Looking back to the past, which

have been your highest “highs” and

your lowest “lows” in your successful

career?

A: Pppffffffff... Actually when I look

back there are no highs and lows.

Everything i did was great at that time.

It turned sometimes in a different way?

Yes, but this is part of life. But when i

will retire, I have time to choose my

highs, cause lows don't exist.

Q: Anything to add?

A: Hope that all our fans in Italy will

stay with us, cause without our fans we

have to go fishing. So stay heavy,

healthy and UDO.

MRF | 7

Band: Dimino Interview with: Frank Dimino Interview by: Duncan Jamieson

Question: Why is the time right now

to release a solo record?

Answer: The time is right now because

of the willingness on my part to do a

solo project and the willingness on

Frontiers part to allow me. I have

always worked in a band environment.

The thought of doing a solo project was

a different challenge and I felt it might

allow me a bit of freedom with the song-

writing. Instead of writing for a specific

band or genre it allowed me the freedom

to just think about writing a good song.

Q: There’s a great variety of material

on the record. It sounds like it took

some time to write and record.

A: Luckily, Oz and I have been working

together for a while and Jeff and I

picked up right where we left off. When

Jeff and I began writing, it started to

come together pretty quickly. Once we

had the arrangements down we demoed

them at Oz’s studio. We started record-

ing with Paul middle of December and

we finished middle of February. After

everything was mixed we sent the tracks

to Maor Applebaum to be mastered. The

masters were then sent to Frontiers.

Q: Your voice still sounds really

strong. How have you kept it in such

great shape?

A: I started with vocal lessons at a

young age, around 8 or 9 and I still

apply the things that I learned back then

to what I do today. I also teach vocals,

so teaching my students vocal tech-

nique’s always reminds me of some of

the things that I may have forgotten.

Q: If someone asked you to describe

this record’s sound, what would you

tell them?

A: I think it’s really well recorded by

Paul Crook, who worked tirelessly to

get the sound right for every track as

well as the placement of all the instru-

ments and vocals. Maor Applebaum who

mastered the record did a great job as

well. It’s a great sounding record with

really good songwriting and great per-

formances by everyone who appeared on

it.

Q: With members of Angel involved,

would there ever be a chance of anoth-

er Angel album?

A: I think the answer to that is never say

never. If the timing is right, there’s

always a chance. If not, we will contin-

ue to play on each other’s projects.

Q: How did you hook up with

Frontiers?

A: Ken Ciancimino was the point man

on this. We had a conversation over din-

ner about me doing a solo record. By

the time we got to dessert, I thought it

was a great idea. Ken called Serafino at

Frontiers. Serafino asked me to send

him a song. I sent him a song and we

had a deal.

Q: How did you get involved in sup-

porting Cystic Fibrosis?

A: It’s really important for me to get the

word out regarding this disease. I

became enlightened about the disease

through Ken whose daughter has Cystic

Fibrosis. It’s a debilitating disease

that affects the lungs and as a singer

when I hear Ken tell me that his daugh-

ter is currently at a 40% lung capacity,

it just blows my mind, and the strength

that she and the whole family has is

unbelievable. A cure is around the cor-

ner and if we get the word out, hopeful-

ly more people will help and support

“Adding Tomorrows By Curing Cystic

Fibrosis”, the sooner Alexa and all suf-

fers of this disease will be cured. The

website is www.tpirc.org

Q: Any chance of seeing you live over

here in Europe?

A: I’m currently trying to put together

festival dates for summer 2016 in

Europe, as well as some other dates that

may come sooner than later.

8 | MRF

Question: You are soon going to release a new album that will be

the first solo album in 10 years since the “GIVING SIGHT TO

THE EYE” album came out in 2005. In the first place how did it

come about that you made the new solo album?

Answer: Well, I originally signed a deal representing Baton Rouge

with high hopes. I wanted to reunite the band, which happened, but

we didn't quite get to the album stage together after some struggles

on tour and disagreements. I was exhausted from just having fin-

ished the Red Zone Rider album and my voice was over worked. I

needed a few days off, but did a solo show two days later, then right

into rehearsal with Baton Rouge before the live Rex show recording,

which I had to give it all I had again. I managed to pull off the first

show, but I hurt my voice. The Red Zone Rider vocals were done

really fast, all hours of the morning noon & night. I needed some

time off. The label wasn't happy with some of the personalities and

demands and Ponti didn't think we should reunite... after a few

years, we were fed up, and after all the money spent, scrapped it. We

just could not get on the same page. We did manage to record a live

DVD with new material while on tour. We tried a different writing

approach than we had in the past. Lance did the music in LA and I

added vocals melodies. The label hated it. It didn't sound like Baton

Rouge which had a very distinct sound. It took us 3 years to write

and record & mix that first album and we were very focused and

worked together with Jack Ponti and his writing partner Vic Pepe,

who we hooked up with through MCA music publishing, who we had

a songwriting deal with. We flew out a few times and had these great

ambitious writing and demoing sessions of three songs each trip.

Only two new songs had the style of “Shake Your Soul”. They did-

n't resemble the first album even though some really good material

from Lance. So we started over. I had to honor the commitment.

Q: What kind of album did you want to make in terms of musi-

cal direction?

A: Well I wanted to do a Baton Rouge album for all the fans and was

determined to give it my best shot.

Q: What does the album title “MIND RADIO” represent?

A: It's just something I say often. I hear music on my Mind Radio. It

plays the songs that you hear on all the albums I've done. Some

come to me in dreams, others play at random... On my Mind Radio

in my head. And they had finally decided it was going to be a solo

album.

Q: Alessandro Del Vecchio (EDGE OF FOREVER) took part in

the album as producer, composer and keyboard player. Was it

“Frontiers Records” that introduced him to you, or have you

already known him before?

A: We met at Firefest X in Nottingham England at Baton Rouge's

last show. We started talking and he seemed to really care and was

a fan of my work. And he worked with Frontiers. He sent me some

demos and song ideas and we got started...

Interview by: Vitale Nocerino

Interview with: K. Keeling

Artist: Kelly Keeling

Question:Can you present us this new

amazing album “Underworld”?

Answer: This new one is about the song,

Every element added was in service of the

song, so the album flows song to song and

becomes a total listening experience.

Every song is to-the-point and fine-tuned,

with us paying a lot of attention to the

hooks, voices, riffs, and keeping the inter-

est and the energy high for the whole

record, so it can be listened to start to fin-

ish. You know, industry people have talked

about how we'll never see a “Sgt.

Pepper's” or “Dark Side Of The Moon”

again, and that idea... I wanted to defend

the reputation of the album, and really try

to make “Underworld” an album worth

listening to as a whole album. It's what I

love about “Moving Picture” - great indi-

vidual songs, but still an album experi-

ence. I don't want to sound like I'm

preaching, but it was a point I wanted to

make. It was about the flow of the whole

record. It speeds up here and then it dips

down here. It all makes sense together, it

all works together and it all flows togeth-

er. And that’s me, dude. - I still listen to

whole records.

Q: Is this a concept album?

A: “Underworld”'s not really a concept

album, but like the last couple of records,

there's a theme that carries through, with-

out it being storytelling. We try to find

something to key in on and get the juices

flowing, and here the goal was to find

something a little dark but with emotional

content. I started looking at Dante, and

Orpheus in the underworld, where he's

going to go to Hades or hell to save this

girl. So there's the theme of going to hell

and back for something or someone you

care about. So we could inject hellish

imagery and at the same time there's an

emotional quality to it, where you care

about someone, you're going to go through

all this, and yet trying to do the right

thing. But it's an outline, not storytelling.

We had a concept and we pulled back and

at the same time made it more personal

and less pretentious. We found some kind

of parameters to work in, where both

musically and lyrically it wouldn't be

going overboard.

Q: “Nevermore” is the first single of the

album...

A: Up-tempo, good hook, good playing all

around, that was designed as an introduc-

tion to the album. The first song on any

record is to establish the vibe of what the

record is about. And “Nevermore”'s got

the riffs, the hooks, the chorus, and some

crazy solo stuff happening.

Q: And the second single is the fantastic

“Without You”...

A: “Without You” on the other hand is a

strident ballad but one full of rock events

and vaulted arranging, light vs. shade,

soaring harmonies, punch, power, and last

but not least progressive time signatures.

“That one's a bit mellower, with a big cho-

rus and a sweeping feel. I don't know if I

would call it a ballad, but it's a little bit

softer, not so much about riff, but more the

acoustic and electric interplay. Those two

are good single choices, if you will,

because they represent what the record is:

it's heavy, but at the same time, there's

some of these soaring melodic parts, as in

'Swansong' with its piano thing. That's an

example of keyboards carrying most of the

tune - Pinnella brought most of that one

in. But those two address both sides of the

record. And Russell, he's just a natural.

When he first heard the songs, he had

mentioned that he really wanted to sing

more, even though the material was heavy.

So we put a lot of emphasis on his abilities

and making the choruses strong vocally. It

just felt right. He knew too that it was the

right thing to do, as did everybody in the

band as soon as they heard the demos.

Q: For “Underworld”'s cover art, you

went with the established illustrator

Warren Flanagan...

A:Warren went with the masks, similar to

the first record”, explains Romeo. “But

when I discussed with him Dante and the

underworld, he did his own research and

designed a little symbol for each of the

nine circles of hell. So there are these lit-

tle geometric symbols that mean some-

thing. That's just what he does. He gets in

there and finds these things that maybe no

one really besides us knows what it means

and yet it has meaning.

Band: Symphony X Interview with: Michael Romeo Interview by: Vitale Nocerino

10 | MRF

Question: The new record is a bril-

liant balance of bruising hard rock

and great melodies.

Answer: Thank you. That´s exact ly

what we wanted to achieve.

Q: It follows close on the heels of last

year’s ‘Refuelled’. Has getting back

together resulted in a creative spurt?

A: Absolutely. We were so full of ideas

for songs after finishing the last one so

we just kept going and wrote new

songs for this one. I am constantly

writing songs so there´s no shortage of

ideas...

Q: There’s a surpris ing cover of

Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”.

How did that come about?

A: I was listening to it a couple of

years back and I really liked the har-

monics and chord s tructure of the

song. I was playing around with it and

recorded a demo to fit Skintrade and

took it to the band.

They all loved it not even realizing it

was a cover song! I think we managed

to make it a Skintrade song...

Also, in a way we wanted to pay

respect to one of the most successful

songwriters in Sweden, Max Martin,

who is a rocker at heart and likes

Skintrade.

Q: Is the person you’re singing to on

“Lay With me” about someone in

particular?

A: Ha,Ha! That´s for me to know and

for you to find out! But it just might be

about someone in particular.. . I won´t

say anymore!

Q: How is it different for you as a

band now compared to the first time

round?

A: It´s different in so many ways...

First of all we are older and hopefully

wiser and I think the songs reflect that.

Our ego´s are not so huge anymore so

that makes it a lot easier to get things

done. There´s no bullshit and arguing

about who has done what and stuff like

that . We are a democracy now!

Everyone is in the band because they

love i t and we share everything!

No,not the women...

That wouldn´t work.

Q: Do you feel you were unlucky first

time round as a band in terms of tim-

ing in the mid-90s?

A: Not so much unlucky, but a bit sad

that we did not see the potential of this

band back in the day.

There´s was a lot of arguing about

songs, direction and to be honest we

too young to realize that we had a

good thing and should have taken bet-

ter care of it .

Q: There’s “Scarred For Live” and

“Leave A Scar” on the record.

Do you feel scarred?

A: Sure, we are all scarred in some

way, are we not? If you live, love, play

and drink, then you are bound to have

scars. Otherwise what kind of boring

life would would it be?

But also music, playing and dedicating

your life to music leaves you scarred...

For life.. .

Q: Can you tell us how you start to

play music and your major influ-

ences?

A: I guess when I was about 18. I

played the bass in my first band, and

was playing around with the other guys

trying to sound like Paul Rodgers and

they all thought that my singing sound-

ed better than the vocalist we had! He

was sacked and I took over the mike...

My main influences would have to be

Paul Rodgers. Otis Redding, David

Coverdale, Paul Carrack, S Wonder,

Elvis Presley (not k idding!) Joyce

Kennedy (MF), Marvin Gaye,etc.. .

Band: Skintrade Interview with: Matti Alfonzetti Interview by: Duncan Jamieson

MRF | 11

YES “Like It Is – Yes At The Mesa

Arts Center” (Frontiers Music s.r.l.)Recorded live at the Ikeda Theater inMesa, Arizona on the twelfth ofAugust 2014, this new live album hasa more poignant feel than ever, withthe recent announcement of the pass-ing of founder and bassist ChrisSquire. Yes as a band have beenaround now for the best part of tendecades and along with the likes ofPink Floyd, Genesis and EmersonLake and Palmer, became pioneers thewhole Prog Rock genres. This newlive album follows the highly success-ful “Like It Is – Yes At The BristolHippodrome” and sees the bands 1971‘Fragile’ album and the followingyears ‘Close To The Edge’ performedlive in their entirety, with the likes ofthe 19 minute epic “Close to TheEdge” and live favourites“Roundabout” and “And You And I”.This is a must buy for fans of the bandand genre, in the words of Squire him-self… “Like It Is’ brings the musicand wonderful music of that eveningto fans everywhere, and we’re surethey’ll enjoy listening to it as much aswe did performing it”. BM (99/100)

CHAOS MAGIC “Chaos Magic”

(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)What do you get when a vocal force fromChile collides with an extraordinary Finnishcomposer and guitarist? Pure Magic! Theresult Caterina Nix and former“Stratovarius” axeman & composer TimoTolki. Signed to Frontiers, Caterina islaunching her solo career with “ChaosMagic”, teaming up with Timo and produc-ing another break-through recorded Work!The symphonic arrangements and composi-tions of Timo totally envelope this Sopranoand in turn-mesmerizes the listener! Thebody of music is well suited for the magicspun by Caterina’s voice and at times wewill experience an almost spiritual uplifting!As we journey through this debut, we comeface to face with power & strength and thenwhisked away on silky vocal passages thatjust wipe away any tension we may have!Together, Caterina & Timo create magicalmovements, some which are just breathless.From “I’m Alive” on through to “The PointOf No Return”: this debut establishesCaterina Nix as a force to be reckoned with!“Chaos Magic” should become the instru-ment that establishes this female vocalist inthe higher echelons of singers! And one ofinternational stature! BA (90/100)

THE MURDER OF MY SWEET “Beth

Out of Hell” (Frontiers Music s.r.l.)The third album for the Swedish sym-phonic, melodic rockers is their mostambitious. A concept album with atheme of apocalyptical love runningthrough it, it has a cinematic in scale.The symphonic elements in their musicare more to the forefront than beforwand the keyboards create an orchestralbackground that swells with the emo-tions in the narrative, underpinned bychugging metal guitars. AngelicaRylin’s voice is still a potent force, amix of hard rock and West End musicaldiva. There are a few big melodic hookson songs like “Always The Fugitive”and ‘The Humble Servant’. DanielFlores’ arrangements suggest he pulledout all the stop for this one and really lethis creativity juices flow unbridled.Sometimes its ambition is more impres-sive than the tunes with the conceptpiquing your interest but not necessari-ly capturing it. If you’re already a fanthen you’ll applaud their willingness topush boundaries. This definitely putsthem more in the symphonic rocksphere now than the straight aheadmelodic rock camp. DJ (90/100)

LYNCH MOB “Rebel”(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)

The creative juices of guitarist GeorgeLynch are in overdrive at the moment.Oni Logan is back on board and his dis-tinctive voice over the top of Lynch’sbig, dirty riffs creates the Lynch Mobmagic. It’s bluesier than their last forFrontiers ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ in 2009.Grooves are one thing but you need themelodies over the top to create greatsongs and there are a handful of crackingsongs on this record. The paean to thelove of music ‘Automatic Fix’ sets outthe band’s mission “I put my headphoneson and turn the music loud”. ‘PinetreeAvenue’ is a bluesy stomper, remindingme of Badlands, that tells of their earlybeginnings in music. ‘Jelly Roll’ hassome dirty bump and grind and ‘DirtyMoney’ is aided by a champion chorus.Only the two slower tracks, the psyche-delic ‘The Hollow Queen’ and ‘TheLedge’ fail to leave a lasting impression.It’s got a fat, well produced sound withthe groove rattling your teeth. It’s a goodtime to be a fan of George Lynch. As Onisings “Hear the soul in the heart of ourmusic…Can you feel it?” the answer is aresounding yes, we can. DJ (92100)

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KELLY KEELING “Mind Radio”

(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)“Mind Radio” is the long awaitednew solo album from former BatonRouge frontman Kelly Keeling. Isay long awaited as his last soloalbum “Giving Sight To The Fire”was released some ten years ago.So has the decade of waiting beenworth it? To be honest, yes.Keeling returns with a solid HardRock album. No, he’s not reinvent-ed the wheel, but what he has doneis taken his years of experience,teamed up with the multi-talentedAlessandro Del Vecchio to producean album that more than stands upagainst the rest of the hard rockalbums out this year. From theopener “This Love Our Paradise”,Keeling delivers the goods a fineopening barrage, which quickly isfollowed by the excellent “IsolatedMan”, a towering slab of melodicAOR. The album continues to rockbig style with the likes of “Writtenin Fire”, “No Mans Land” and mypersonal favourite “MonkeyHouse”. Interwoven between therockers there are some great mel-lower moments like the full onAOR fuelled “Frozen In Time” and“Sunshine Over Me”, all in all“Mind Radio” is a great album andwell worth tuning in to. BM(89/100)

SKINTRADE “Scarred For Life”

(AOR Heaven)The second album since the mid90s band’s reformation and likelast year’s return “Refuelled”, it’sa corking mix of StefanBergström’s hard rock guitar andmemorable melodies courtesy ofMatti Alfonzetti’s blues soakedvoice. He really is an excellentvocalist who has impressed in allhis numerous bands (Bam BamBoys,Boxer, Jagged Edge,Alfonzetti, Impera and Red, WhiteAnd Blue) and among the hard andmelodic rock fans he is just like anhero! Tougher tracks like “ScarredFor Life”, ‘Lay With Me’ and“Love / Hate” are the best exam-ples of their muscular yet melodicsound while the ballad ‘Broken’shows they can still hold yourattention when they slow it down.There’s a surprising cover of KatyPerry’s ‘Wide Awake’ that gets ahard rock makeover which worksand manages to fit in but their ownmaterial is more compelling. It hasa modern feel thanks to thecrunchy riffs, frantic drummingand angsty lyrics but the melodichooks owe a debt to classic rocktoo so it’s an album that deservesto attract a wide rock audience. DJ(94/100)

UDO “Navy Metal Night”

(AFM Records)The collaborations between HeavyMetal / Hard Rock music and theClassical orchestras are becomingmore and more frequent, with somegreat results like Metallica' "S&M“and Kiss ”Symphony-Alive IV". But,honestly, I would have never thoughtto see the traditional, powerful, roughHeavy Metal of U.D.O. to be playedby a Symphonic Orchestra, like theGerman Navy Orchestra (called“Marinemusikkorps Nordsee”) in aspecial sold-out show! Released asDVD/2CD, "Navy Metal Night“brings us the magic of that uniqueevent, in 18 tracks. The symphonicsound of the orchestra mixed with theepic choirs and the pompous arrange-ments give most of these songs a totaldifferent vibe; more bombastic andless Metal. A bit bizarre, to be clear.Check out, for example, “Count MeOut” off the “Holy” album: a tradi-tional Metal-hymn transformed into aFunk-song with a relevant brass-sec-tion and horns everywhere! Very niceresult to my ears, although I'm notsure all the Metal fans will be totallyhappy about. Definitely somethingdifferent from your usual dose ofHeavy Metal, still the perfect sound-track for an overnight drive or torelax after a stressful day. PB(85/100)

ROYAL HUNT “Devil’s Dozen”

(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)It’s finally here! The new “Royal Hunt”album ‘XIII-Devil’s Dozen’ and it will notdisappoint! For the life of me, I couldn’t fath-om this group getting any stronger, but theyhave! This, the group’s thirteenth releasesmashes every boundary “Royal Hunt” hasset in the past! Opening with “So Right SoWrong”, they set the musical stage with puremuscle and melody! “Royal Hunt” gives usbrand new perspectives on what Hard Rockshould be, and manages to give us some sur-prises in the effort! “May You Never WalkAlone” rips it up! Everything from D.C.Cooper’s singing to Andre’s keys, toAndrea’s bass explosions to the six-stringflourishes of Jonas’ and the unbelievablepounding pulses and runs of Mr. Johansson’sdrums, this one song has it all! On “Devil’sDozen” we have eight selections that arepure driving Rock! Each are awesome, andwhen listened to together, yeah! You guessedit, just off the scale!! For an absolute ocean ofsound, full of sophisticated under currentsyou only need to pick just one track, but pick-ing them all will give you a sonic experienceseldom heard! “Royal Hunt - XII Devil’sDozen” this is what Hard Rock is all about,and then some! BA (93/100)

THE V “Now or Never”

(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)“Now Or Never” is the solo debut of“Benedictum”’s premiere vocalist.Opening up with “Again”, this effortshows a side of Veronica that we allknew she had but really never heard.The vocal chops are razor sharp, gutsyand ballsy! The title cut “Now OrNever” continues with this type ofvocal, and of course, music to match.This whole album is a showcase ofthese new vocal styling’s, whereVeronica is singing to the max. A moremelodic but still hard-rock sound, thissinger can sure belt them out! There isnot a weak song on this debut, even themore “poppy” numbers are sung withmuscle. Always a fantastic singer---andan individual that understands that herVoice is her instrument, we hear on“Now Or Never” she is playing likenever before! As said, there is no weaksong on this debut, but “Love Should BeTo Blame” is a prime example of howVeronica has mastered her instrument!Don’t miss out on this one, VeronicaFreeman is an absolute force of nature,and “Now Or Never” is hopefully justthe beginning! BA (95/100)

DIMINO“Old Habits Die Hard”

(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)The ex-Angel frontman impresseswith this high energy solo release.Angel is a band that was discoveredby KISS bass player Gene Simmons.After the band’s demise, Diminowent on to work with UFO’s PaulRaymond and worked as singer forSoundtracks, He’s in great voice (justlisten to his scream at the end of “TheQuest”) and he’s created a veryeclectic disc. There’s a 70s vibe partKiss, part Alice Cooper on “NeverAgain” and “Rockin” in The City’but there’s also a more 80s metal feelto tracks like “The Rains About ToFall” and “Mad As Hell”, which havean almost Saxon-like power to them.Good arrangements and varied songssuggest Dimino has taken some timeto craft this album. Throw in a coupleof ballads and guest performancesfrom his former Angel band matesPunky Meadows and Barry Brandtand what you have is a record that isa must for Angel fans and indeed foranyone who likes American70s hardrock. DJ (90/100)

PRAYING MANTIS “Legacy”

(Frontiers Music s.r.l.)“Legacy” is the much anticipatedtenth album and follow up theacclaimed “Sanctuary” album. Thisnew album is the first recording tofeature the two new members, JayceeCuijpers and Hans in’t Zandt onvocals and drums respectively. Fromthe off it’s clear to hear what JohnCuijpers brings to the band, his vocalsare just tremendous and with the twinguitars of Troy’s Tino and Chris, youcan feel this is Praying Mantis at theirvery best. The opener and single“Fight for Your Honour” gets thealbum off to great start. Yes the bandhave always been linked to theNWoBHM movement, but for methey have always been a MelodicRock band and with “Legacy” yourgoing to have to agree with me.Check out the massive “Believable”,the excellent “All I See” and the sub-lime “Fallen Angel”, if you doubt mywords. It’s great to hear a band with arich heritage delivering great albumslike this, as they keep not only theirown, but the British Rock Legacyalive. BM (90/100)

SYMPHONY X “Underworld”

(Nuclear Blast)Four years since the band's last album“Iconoclast”, Symphony X marktheir return on the scene with theirninth chapter entitled “Underworld”.With the usual, incredible line-upcomprising of Michael Romeo,Russell Allen, Michael Pinnella,Jason Rullo (luckily back from theheart-failure in 2013) and MichaelLepond, the band delivers anothergreat example of technically-supreme, heavy and epic ProgressiveMetal. Recorded at Michael Romeoown “The Dungeon studio”, equippedwith the latest tricks in technology,“Underworld” sounds updated, pro-duction-wise, with great arrange-ments, magnificent symphonic partsand some incredible instrumentalpassages. Symphony X has nothingmore to prove to the Metal world, aswe all already know how awesomethey are as musicians; with“Underworld” the band has tried tofocus more on the songs, as part of along musical journey. From the intri-cate yet melodic tunes (“Nevermore”,“Charon”) to heavier stuff recallingsome US melodic Thrash (“Kiss OfFire”), passing for the great semi-bal-lad “Without You”, they've managedto release a monster-album that willdefinitely please all their fans.Welcome back. PB (91/100)

KADAVAR “Berlin”

(Nuclear Blast)This young German power trio has beenforged by fire, what with a spat of mis-adventures endured while touring a cou-ple of years ago. But thankfully theyseem to be unstoppable, and have putforth their third effort in “Berlin”. Therecording is old school! Three excellentmusicians playing live in the studio andcapturing every rocked-out moment! Theband’s sound is also old school, primi-tive… Solid rock being jammed out andexploring musical plateaus that wehaven’t heard for years. A heavy bot-tomed out sound that is accentuated withgrowling guitar and a deep haunting yetmelodic voice! “Kadavar” is made up ofVocalist / Guitarist Christoph Lindemann,Bassist Simon Bouteloup, and DrummerChristoph Bartelt. “Berlin” is a musicalset of twelve unforgettable musical jamsthat at times touches upon hard rockgenius! Raw and Pure in performance,“Kadavar” stretches their limits on eachand every piece, and are rewarded withdiscovering new and precious gems.Most of what we hear flows seamlesslyinto each other, creating a spacey musicalatmosphere that is not only energised, butsmoldering and fluid! An album that justkeeps gushing great music! Look out for“Kadavar”, they will be playing on a stagenear you and you really don’t want to missout! BA (95/100)

ORCHID “Indestructible”

(Nuclear Blast)“Sign of the Witch” is the latest EPfrom San Francisco Doom MetallersOrchid, and once again theCalifornian quartet bring theirGroove filled 70’s stylings to thetable with four tracks that are with-out a doubt Orchid through andthrough. The bands sound couldeasily be compared to ‘Masters ofReality’ era Sabbath, but there ismore to this quartet then being aSabbath wannabe, they bring that70’s Dark Metal feel slab back up todate, as they have more hooks thana fly fisherman’s tackle box. The EPopens up with ‘Helicopters’ andinstantly that 70’s dark mysticalfeel is felt. Think a modern dayArthur Brown meets early Sabbath,before the tempo is picked up dra-matically with “John the Tiger”.This is where the groove filledsound comes to the forefront a bigguitar drive monster that just rocks.The up-tempo vibe continues withthe heavier bass ridden title track‘Sign of the Witch’, before the EPcomes to a close with the extremelydark almost folkish tones of“Strange Winds”. If you like youvintage rock with a touch of mod-ernism, then Orchid is the band foryou. BM (80/100)

NEWMAN “The Elegance Machine”

(AOR Heaven)Since 1998 UK singer / guitarist / song-writer Steve Newman proved to be one ofthe most prolific artists in the MelodicRock scene with 12 albums (includingthe “Another Step Closer-Live” and the2014 re-recording of the first album)released up to now. “The Elegancemachine” is the brand new brilliant opus,12 songs written over the past two yearsthat could definitely please all theMelodic Rock lovers as well the Newmanfans. The band’s style might recall bandssuch as Harem Scarem in primis ("Don'tStay Lonely", “Halo”), TNT and Giant;huge melodies, great guitars, awesomesongwriting and briliant vocals, with agood mixing and production, make thisalbum a must-buy CD, to stay with you inthis bloody hot summer. A natural followup to "Siren" the album delivers a harderedge than its predecessor, but without los-ing the emphasis on strong hooks. Stevehas always been known for his thought-provoking lyrics, and "The EleganceMachine" is no exception with subjectmatter ranging from corporate businessgreed (The Suit), through domestic vio-lence (She Walks In Silence), and evenonto the space themed (Prayer ForApollo). Very '80s/'90s oriented, but witha more contemporary edge, “TheElegance Machine” proves that MelodicRock is still alive ad kickin' in 2015.Recommended. PB (88/100)

Question: First, if we may, let’s talk

about your background and where you

are from. And I understand that you

started singing at an early age…

Answer: I’m from Santiago, Chile. I lead

quite a normal life I have a day job (I’m a

lawyer) but my true passion is music. And

yes, I’ve been singing since I can remem-

ber! It has always been a natural way for

me to relax and express myself. When I

was younger I was always involved in the

school’s choir and participated in several

bands and contests. I can’t conceive life

without music.

Q: Back in 2008, you actually started

your recording career with a band

called “Aghonya”, and actually wrote

all of the lyrics to their album

“Oxygen”! A very ambitious feat!

Where do you get your inspiration in

the writing department?

A: Just from life itself… the lyrics I wrote

for that particular album are very person-

al, like a photograph of my life at that

time, my opinions about the world, rela-

tionships and modern times. I like my

music to have content, to own an intricate

beauty, even if it speaks about how sick

the world is, or about painful feelings. If I

need a little extra inspiration or need to

focus on a particular idea, I go lie on the

grass, connect with nature, and reach that

transparency of being one with your sur-

roundings. That helps me a lot.

Q: Let’s talk about your meeting with

Timo Tolki, how did that happen and

two things—were you already signed to

Frontiers, and was your meeting with

Timo expressly for his Avalon project?

A: We met many years ago, at a meet and

greet for Stratovarius here in Chile. I

stared talking to the guys and they were

all really nice and approachable. Timo

seemed happy to talk to the fans and we

talked about life and music for a while. We

kept in touch and I sent him my material

because I wanted to know what a profes-

sional musician with his personal history

had to say about it. So, he liked my voice

very much and the idea of working togeth-

er was born, but it didn’t materialize until

Frontiers picked me for this project and

gave me this chance.

Q: Now, turning to “Chaos Magic”, you

have again collaborated with Timo—

how has that been constructed. Have

you written or co-written the material

we here on this debut?

A: The songs and lyrics were all written

by Timo this time, but if there’s a second

album, I’ll write a few songs for sure. For

Chaos Magic, I only came up with the con-

cept, the name of the album and a few

names for the songs. I changed a few

lyrics here and there, but nothing major.

All the rest was created by Timo, although

we talked about how the project should

sound like and drew a few guidelines for

the context.

Q: Who else is involved with this proj-

ect?

A: Timo wrote and produced the songs

and played all instruments except for the

drums, which were played by Jami

Huovinen. Timo is like a machine! He can

do everything.

Q: “Chaos Magic” is a very strong

debut, and the perfect vehicle for your

voice, you must be totally satisfied with

the end result!

A: I am! I’m very pleased with the final

product and for me it was a delight to

bring these songs to life. Timo wrote the

songs with my voice in mind and that

helped me show different aspects of it. On

top of that, the songs are beautiful, relat-

able, and catchy and have powerful and

vulnerable moments. I believe this is a

very complete album, yet the sound is sim-

ple and approachable.

Q: Are there plans for future music

within the vision of “Chaos Magic” and

are you planning to assemble a perform-

ing unit for touring?

A: I really hope people like the project! If

it is a successful endeavour, there’s defi-

nitely the possibility of releasing a second

album and maybe book a tour. For now,

I’m organizing a few gigs here in Chile

(without Timo), and just doing my best to

get the album out there. My hopes are

high.

Q: As is my tradition, I like to leave our

readers with words from my guest, so

please-Caterina would you share with us

some thoughts?

A: It may sound cliché, but dreams are

there for a reason. Follow them, because

if you don’t, you’ll never know if you

could have fulfilled them. I really hope

you like this album, I participated in it

thinking about the fans and with the inten-

tion of bringing something beautiful to

people’s lives, I hope you enjoy it.

MRF | 15

Band: Chaos Magic Interview with: Caterina Nix Interview by: B. Atkinson

Question: I will begin with the statement

taken from your press release, “Veronica

Freeman has stepped out of her comfort

zone…” so let me say, that no-one would

know that-as “Now Or Never” is just

mind blowing! You must be so proud of

this recorded Work…

Answer: I am even more proud now that I

read this! I won’t lie to you, the idea of

doing a solo project and the process of

actually doing it, were two distinctly differ-

ent things. I had always, in the back of my

mind, wanted to stretch myself a bit. I have

had many fans ask me if I would ever try

something “slightly different” and I had

always wanted to but when it came down to

defining what that “something different”

would be, and when it came time to deliver

vocally, it was really interesting to see and

hear how invested I have been in my

approach up to that point and how hard it

was to relax and just let my other side come

out.

Q: Now, I realise this is your first solo

album. So being initially titled “The V”,

is this the start of a new band fronted by

yourself?

A: That’s a great question and I indeed

wanted to leave the door open for that a

new band a new start but actually a new

concept. To play all of the music and put on

a great show embracing both the new stuff

and the Benedictum tunes. Something that

would allow me to do these tunes and also

my first love which would be the

Benedictum music. And the secret reason is

this… Most people for one reason or the

other, just can’t remember my name. I get

called Virginia, Victoria etc etc. So I would

go around and say “just call me V I will

answer to it” and so there it started. But

you must know how much I laughed until I

cried when one of the first reviews I read,

which was quite glowing I might add lol,

was a diatribe about how great and won-

derful Vanessa Freeman was. OMG….

How funny is that? I loved it!

Q: Who is involved with this recording?

A: Pete Wells, Jimmy Durkin, Garry

Bordonaro, Peter Tentindo, Jeff Pilson,

Mick Tucker, Mel Brown, Michael Harris,

Tony Martin, Leather Leone, Meliesa

McDonell, Kenny Lewis, Michael Sweet,

Derek Kerswill, Rikard Stjernquist, Aric

Avina, Mike Lepond, John Herrera… ya

feel me?? Lots of folks… And I thank them

all so much!

Q: How did this solo effort come about?

A: Mario and Serafino from Frontiers were

in Los Angeles a few years back and I want-

ed to meet them in person. While there they

asked if I would want to do a solo record

and I was thrilled to say yes. The rest was

a long, long, long journey, but usually

those are the most rewarding kind. I have

to give a shout out to the many people on

kickstarter who helped me to complete this

passage because there was a point where I

couldn’t.

Q: Being that “Now Or Never” is being

promoted as your solo debut, are we to

assume that you will also continue with

Benedictum?

A: You know how tough it is I am sure, so I

can only speak for myself at this time. For

me personally I plan to continue flying the

flag of Benedictum so I guess that is the

answer in a way. I am not sure what the

specific line up will be since that will

depend on who wants to do what… but I for

one am all in. I love the music and plan on

keeping it going whether through new

music or getting out there and playing that

which exists.

Q: Now, if not, what can we expect from

“The V”…

A: If for some reason a straight out

Benedictum line up isn’t realized I plan on

including that music in whatever else I may

do live to some extent. Would be a fun

show.

Q: Now, let me go back to the actual

album. Did you write all the material or

team up with someone else?

A: Pete Wells and I wrote quite a bit of the

material, but there are quite a few great

writers whose music we were proud to play.

Nigel Bailey, Michael Sweet, Age of Evil

and a few more.

Q: With exploring new ground, is there

anything you have discovered about

yourself as an Artist?

A: So many things, more so as a person

than as an artist. That is how personal this

all is to me. My strengths that I didn’t know

I had. That sometimes forging ahead is

warranted and other times just let God and

the Universe do its thing.. I just have

learned to tell which is which! To trust my

gut a little more and trust some people a

little less. To be willing to realize that I

may not be able to please everyone but I

MUST allow myself to be happy. Not as

easy as one may think!

Band: The V Interview with: Veronica Freeman Interview by: B. Atkinson

16 | MRF

Question: In the last issue of MRF, I

reviewed the second installment of your

trilogy of Fantasy…if I may ask, what

prompted you to undertake such an

immense project?

Answer: I and some of the original band

members often talked about that some of the

songs we wrote back in the 80’s were really

good and that they deserved to be recorded

professionally to make the best out of them.

But life went on and not until Janne Stark

(writer and guitarist) found our 1989 vinyl

single in Japan back in 2011 I got the ener-

gy to kick off this project. He said he would

include us in the “Heaviest Encyclopedia of

Swedish Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Ever”

and that gave me the confidence to dust off

my Gibson Les Paul and start singing again.

Q: Regarding the current release,

“Nightwalker”, is it correct that you have

re-written some of the lyrics as well as re-

arranged some of the music?

A: Yes, especially some of the lyrics were

really bad and wouldn’t be appropriate to

release on a professional production. Some

of the songs also got new arrangements since

they were not entirely completed and most of

the songs back then lacked keyboards.

Q: So how much of what we hear has been

altered from the original compositions?

A: I would say for the Nightwalker album all

songs have been re-arranged to some extent

but “Help Me” and “Just You and I” sounds

more or less as they did back in the 80’s but

with minor changes only. “Killer” and

“Nightwalker” are also pretty much the

same but with keyboards added and better

lyrics. Also if we would have recorded the

songs on a CD back then they would have

been far worse I reckon.

Q: For this ambitious project, you have

gathered some first-rate musicians. Please

tell us who you have teamed up with…

A: I realized in the beginning that some pro-

fessional musicians would take the songs to a

higher level and I even thought of replacing

myself as the lead-singer but changed my

mind since I wanted the songs to be sung like

they were back in the 80’s. For the first CD I

asked Janne Stark (Grand Design) if he

wanted to participate since he said he liked

our old single from 1989. And when he said

yes I got the confidence to send requests to

my guitar heroes Ace Frehley and Bruce

Kulick. Ace never replied but Bruce did and

I was both surprised and proud that he want-

ed to play lead guitar on that album. He did

a great job by the way. One of the better

solos I’ve heard from him. For second CD I

contacted several musicians and finally

Robin Beck showed interest in my project

and then I got James Christian inside as a

bonus also. Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall) is

a friend of Mats Hallstensson (House of

Shakira) who mixed the album so that’s how

he came into the project.

Q: Being that this music has existed for

some years, were you aware that it simply

was ahead of its time? The versions we

hear on “Nightwalker” can be described

in the same way. What is it that drives

you to compose such excellent pieces of

music?

A: I have never thought that my songs have

been ahead of their time so I thank you for

saying that. Such nice words inspire me to

continue. The main inspiration for song-

writing I got back then was while listening to

Kiss, Europe, Asia, Toto, Journey and

Rainbow. But there were so many bands that

influenced me so I could probably mention a

whole bunch more. In the 90’s my influences

widened to include more sorts of music and

one of my favourite guitarists is e.g. Pat

Metheny which is quite far away from the

music I play and write.

Q: Obviously, you have a vision for all of

this, please share your vision, and what

can we expect from the next installment?

A: First of all the vision is to record my older

material and there are songs left for 1-2 full

length CDs. There’s going to be at least one

more to be released in 2017 and the title will

most likely be “Oceans of Time” which is a

song I wrote back in 1983. The song was

never fully completed but now it is. I will

continue to include some first rate musicians

including maybe one or two lead-vocalists

since I feel somewhat limited myself. The

style will be similar to what has been record-

ed so far. If there will be a fourth CD or not

we will see. Since all of the remaining old

songs might not keep the higher standard

some entirely new songs will have to see the

light in that case.

Band: Tomas Bergsten’s Fantasy Interview with: Tomas Bergsten Interview by: Bruce Atkinson

18 | MRF

Band: Royal Hunt

Interview with: Andre Andersen

Interview by: Bruce Atkinson

Question: Andre, congratulations on

another suburb effort! When did

you actually gather everyone to

record this your thirteenth album?

Answer: Thank you very much. I´d say

the writing started about 6 months ago

– more or less usual for our albums –

and the last couple of months were

spent on the actual recordings .

Q: Now, did you approach these ses-

sions with a set of music pieces

already written, or did it develop

over the period of the sessions?

A: Usually it goes like this (and last

year was no different): I got home after

the tour, had a couple of weeks off,

went back to the studio to see how

many bits I had in store from previous

sessions, canned most of it, got the

main idea from the book I read ages

ago and here you go – an album in the

making. Slowly the musical ideas came

along, the general sound / atmosphere

materialized, guys started coming by to

criticize the hell out of it and next

thing you know – you´re recording! It´s

that simple, really. As far as the sound

goes I´ve been toying with the idea of

bringing some “modern” production

technique / sounds to the party and – in

combination with classical instruments

– the album ended sounding more con-

temporary than our previous releases

yet still containing all the trademark

elements of Royal Hunt. We´re very

fortunate to have a recognizable, sig-

nature sound today – we worked hard

to achieve that… even during the times

when it was not to our favor. But after

a bunch of years we kind of “crystal-

ized” that uniqueness throughout song-

writing, arrangements, production…

and most importantly – a special

atmosphere on each release.

Q: With “Show Me How To Live”,

and “A Life To Die For”, there was a

definite theme… Is that the case with

“Devil’s Dozen”?

A: There´s a story behind every

album . . . So in this case: some yearsago I read a novel (the title escapes

me, unfortunately) about man buying

an abandoned house in England,

around 19th century. A chain of unfor-

tunate events change his life for the

worst and one day, while he restlessly

walks around the house, he stumbles

over a chest full of letters on the attic.

Letters from people he never knew to a

previous owner of the house whom he

never met. Day by bay, as he gets more

and more intrigued, the stories from

letters starting to take over his life…

Of course, with some mystical and dra-

matic ending. While working on songs

for our new album I remembered the

story and tried to write lyrics just as

these letters: from one unknown person

to another, stories without a beginning

and – most of the time – without a

definitive ending.

Kai Brockshmidt – our graphic artist –

started working on the album cover

with “13” in mind (it´s our thirteenth

studio album after all) so I suggested

using an old idiom (13 = Devil´s

Dozen) which resonated well with

somewhat mystical story my lyrics

were based on. So here´s the result:

the guy´s burning with a huge XIII

behind his back, letters flying every-

where – a strong, almost apocalyptical

image that compliments both the lyri-

cal concept and the musical content

which – this time around – is quite

diverse yet (as usual) large sounding".

Q: DC Cooper’s voice is so strong,

does this fact allow you to have more

leeway in how you arrange and

write…what I’m asking here is sim-

ply with each album that you create,

you seem to push the envelope, and

everyone-not just yourself and Mr.

Cooper, but everyone seems to meet

all of those challenges with ease!?

A: I strongly believe that an artist has

to evolve – it´s not something you can

easily pre-program, it should come

naturally… yet you have to have a spe-

cific mindset. I love pushing the enve-

lope with each of our releases and feel

privileged to work with such a bunch of

great musicians – Andreas Passmark,

DC Cooper, Jonas Larsen and Andreas

Johannsen – who all have the same

mindset as me: we never settled for a

“good enough” result , we always

pushed it to the point where we techni-

cally/physically couldn´t make it any

better… and then 2 weeks after the

release we´re all bitching about how

we SHOULD have done i t better.

That´s the greatest thing of being a

part of this band – everybody´s

obsessed with getting better so your

work is never getting stale.

Q: In previous interviews, we talked

about your inspirations; however I

never have asked you about your

influences. So, who are your influ-

ences?

A: As for keyboard players it´s been

Jon Lord, Keith Emerson and Rick

Wakeman… giants in my book.

Producers/mixers: Peter Collins, Terry

Brown, Chris Lord-Alge. In general:

I´ve always stated my main source of

influences being Classic Rock (Deep

Purple, Uriah Heep, Queen),

Progressive (Rush, Genesis, Kansas)

and Classical music

Q: So here we are with album num-

ber thirteen and the obvious question

is when can we hear this grand music

live?

A: We´re working on tour dates as we

speak, but only some festival´s been

confirmed so far: ProgPower USA

(Sept 12th), LoudPark Japan (Oct

10th) and Rockingham UK (Oct 25th).

But tour we will – come hell or high

water … keep an eye on any of our

pages for dates: Visit Royal Hunt's

Official Site http://royalhunt.com/,

Like Royal Hunt on Facebook: face-

book.com/royalhunt, follow Royal Hunt

on Twitter: twitter.com/royalhuntmusic

and listen to Royal Hunt on Sound

Cloud soundcloud.com/royalhuntmu-

sic. Please subscribe for the Official

Newsletter.

Q: Although a “Royal Hunt” show is

an event all unto itself, but do you

have something different in mind, as

far as the performance is concerned?

A: Plenty of ideas as always, but a sur-

prise wouldn´t be a surprise if I told it

now, right?

Q: In this day and age I know how

difficult it can be with setting up

tours and the like, however are you

looking at possible places where

either you haven’t been yet, or

haven’t visited in a long time?

A: In recent years we´ve been able to

add a few “new” territories to our tour

schedule every time: last year we visit-

ed Taiwan and Ukraine for the first

time… so let´s see how the next tour

will look like, looking forward to visit

more countries.

MRF | 21

Question: From the release of the last

This is your most ambitious album to

date.

A: Yeah, after almost 3 years in the mak-

ing, you are right this is it.

Q: What made you decide to make a

concept album?

A: It was time. We've always had these

small concept stories in the last two

albums and we felt we needed to explore

that style further. I had done progressive

metal concept albums before and felt we

actually could put Something like this

together, especially if I could concentrate

more on the music than on the story

which Angelica was handling. I wasn’t

expecting to fall down a rabbit hole of

how to make a musical with a metal band.

It was a torture of themes, key changes

and arrangements far from what I could

arrange at the time. To be perfectly hon-

est, we had to develope much more as

musicians if we where to pull this off,

hence the three years in the making.

Q: Can you tell me what the concept is

about?

A: It depends how you look at it. To the

naked eye it could be a love story between

and Arch Angel and a fallen angel. To me

its a fight between good and evil. Also, I

love the fact that the protagonist is not a

heroin, she is tortured soul and she is

constantly craving for the one thing she

can’t have. I’ve always been keen on

telling a story about the enless craving

we humans have for that next best new

thing: "If I could only get that thing or

that woman or that amount of money,

then, then I’ll finally be alright". We are

built so we can never ever be satisfied

with what we have, thats what this album

is about for me.

Q: It’s got an almost cinematic feel.

A: Sure, it was always our intention to

make the sound of the environment and

setting sound like a movie. Even to an

extent that you would forget it’s a music

Cd you are listening to. I stopped listen-

ing to normal music a while ago and

today Im much more moved by music in

films and games. Not to take away any-

thing from great albums but mixing metal

and film scores is a rather unexplored

territory as for now, and as far as I know

no one has ever taken it this far at least.

Q: There’s a lot going on musically and

production wise. What was the record-

ing process like?

A: A couple if years ago Jesper

Strömblad (In flames) and I did a movie

score for a film called Ice Dragon

(Isdraken). I learnt alot through that

process and thought it would be cool to

implement that working process in our

music. So, we wrote the story first, then

we wrote all the music. Sort of like writ-

ing music to a book or film. Then we

recorded the band in the most traditional

way. Its alot of work to record an album

like this, I do this for a living and I could

only compare it to making 3 albums at the

same time. Every song needs its own tone

and every arrangement needs to be cus-

tom made for the lyrics. The story is king

here and takes twice the amount of cre-

ative force to write music for an already

written story. Not only just music, it

needs to be exiting creative music. We

have actually made a "the making of" film

about how we went about to create this

album. There is behind the scenes footage

and studio sessions in this film. Stay

tuned for a release date!

Q: Are you likely to take this concept

on the road?

A: The music is perfectly doable live. The

problem would be that the album is 70

min long and festival gigs are everything

from 35 to 50 min long. But if there is a

festival that wants us to play this music

live we would love to come. Let’s hope

the fans love this album as much as we

loved making it.

Band: The Murder of My Sweet Interview with: Daniel Flores Interview by: Duncan Jamieson

22 | MRF