interview by: Bastiaan de Vries

all photos taken from www.abandoned-places.com

We've all known them as a child: the scary building down the street, the abandoned slaughterhouse, the run down hotel in the city... all places we only dare enter once, only to come out running and screaming, and never looking back. Years later, as adults, we still dream of them, the dark corridors, dusty closets and eerie bathrooms, constantly reminding ourselves never to enter such a haunted place again. There are, however, exceptions.

Meet Captain Henk Van Rensbergen. Born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1968, Van Rensbergen is by trade an airline pilot. But although he has a very grown-up job, he stays true to his childhood by not only exploring every abandoned building he can find, he also photographs and catalogues them on his site, www.abandoned-places.com -- featuring dozens of sites and hundreds of photgraphs -- so everyone can take a stroll through creepy locations like Triage Lavoir du Roton, Castle of Mesen and the Coalmine of Cheratte. (Van Rensbergen pictured below)

Recently we reviewed the new Raison D'être album called Requiem For Abandoned Souls. Not only was the music outstanding, the artwork was as well. Upon further inspection it turned out the man behind the photographs used in the artwork was none other than Van Rensbergen. This prompted me to get in touch and ask about his peculiar hobby and the dark side of abandoned places.

Maelstrom: What would you say was the most impressive place you have visited so far?

Henk van Rensbergen: The old CMB building in Antwerp was a great urban adventure: right in the middle of the city center, yet a completely isolated world. There were pitch dark cellars with old documents, luxurious offices, rooftop views... Tertre (below) was also a great discovery: a complete industrial complex seemingly abandoned overnight. Unfortunately, both places have been demolished now.

Maelstrom: Of course with taking pictures, you need equipment. Could you explain which equipment you use and why you prefer that above say a different brand or type?

Henk van Rensbergen: I started with a Pentax Program A reflex camera and a couple of zooms years ago until my photography teacher told me I’d should get rid of the zooms and think about buying a Leica M4 (pictured below). I followed his advice and haven’t looked back ever since. It’s sturdy, discreet, top quality gear. Very expensive, however (which is why I bought my equipment second hand), and maybe a bit outdated, but it does force you to look and think before you shoot, and that’s what photography is about.

Maelstrom: The pictures on the website, I think mainly because of the places that are depicted, have an old feeling, does the equipment you use need to reflect that?

Henk van Rensbergen: I think that one could use the latest digital camera to shoot photos in these places too, and get an “old feeling” to the photos if that is the intention. Still I think it’s possible to feel and see the difference between digital and film: the grain and smoothness of film translate better what I want to say with my photos.

Maelstrom: You come across some wonderfully abandoned places, but do you ever meet peculiar people on your adventures?

Henk van Rensbergen: I'm very careful to avoid such encounters, but yes, I've met thieves, the police and occasionally another photographer. (relics from someone's house, below)

Maelstrom: To take pictures like you do, I assume one needs a certain amount of talent and or artistic vision, what about more practical photography principles, what do you think is needed to take pictures of such quality?

Henk van Rensbergen: To some degree you must know the theory behind the shutter button – that will give you the freedom to express what you want to express. Measuring light and exposure are things you can learn. Using a tripod, knowing the limits of your lenses, depth of field are things you must understand and apply to get results. On the other hand you can talk about composition or sharpness but in the end it’s up to the photographer to actually play with his composition and eventually break the rules to achieve something surprising … (the military hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, below)

Maelstrom: What about the places you visit? What would you say was the most scary or dangerous location? Have you ever, say, locked yourself in, or worse, fallen down somewhere with no ladder in sight?

Henk van Rensbergen: Scary and dangerous may be different. I spent a couple of nights in the Lemaire hospital (below). It was terrifying: after a couple of hours in the darkness I just couldn’t stay any longer. On top of that, on one of those nights my car refused to start…

Van Rensbegen says this about the Lemaire hospital on his site:

"Why is this place so scary at night ? Why is my instinct yelling in my ears that my back is unguarded when I peer through my camera ? I know the background noises are natural, doors move with the wind, I know the water drips irregularly and branches knock on windows. Nobody can walk here without making noise, but when I walk around, the hospital trembles as in an earthquake (masking all other noises). And when I stop walking there is a suspicious silence, until on the third floor a door makes a grating sound... I hate and love going here by myself."

I did lock myself in one day when a door slammed closed by a draft of wind. It was on the second floor of the Valdor hospital ("Frankenstein's hospital," pictured below - Roberto) and none of the doors had handles. After trying all sorts of stuff, a desperate kung fu manoeuvre opened the door. I carry a spare door handle ever since. Dangerous buildings are a different story: you’ve got to understand the dangers and be very careful. Rather say “no” than take stupid risks.

Maelstrom: I think the big question would be, why? Why this hobby? Do you think it could be because of the wonderful feeling of being absolutely alone physically, yet spiritually you are trespassing busy grounds? Perhaps somehow being in a place that turned in such a state that it became a place where no one has ever been before?

Henk van Rensbergen: Why? it has always been an obsession for me to venture in forbidden places: I did it as a kid – I’m still doing it now (where as many others just stopped when they grew up). I love to rediscover what has been forgotten, to relive what has happened, to listen to sounds that no longer are, to just sit down and imagine what the ghosts that are still around are telling me, showing me… Catching this inside a camera, on negative black and white or colour slide isn’t easy. I need to be alone to be able to concentrate and translate that feeling. (a bird from Warehouse B, or "The Prison," below)

Maelstrom: Your site also features some “impossible projects,” why do you call them impossible? Could you perhaps give some insight to one of the projects?

Henk van Rensbergen: The impossible projects were born out of my fascination for huge, mysterious, inaccessible buildings. Maybe also out of frustration of not being able to visit places like that I made up my own. I called them impossible because I knew I would never see them, visit them. Also I’ve tried to make them impossible, but have to admit now that nothing is impossible and that maybe these buildings really could exist one day (or have existed in the past) … (Warehouse B, or "The Prison," below)

Maelstrom: How far away has your hobby taken you? I assume you being a pilot is very handy, do you ever visit locations when you have to fly somewhere? Also, what is a location that you still definitely want to visit?

Henk van Rensbergen: I’ve travelled on purpose to visit places or regions (Hungary, Poland) but lack of time prevents me from doing it more often. Most of the places I visit are around Belgium (a paradise for my passion). I do sometimes explore when on flying but it’s double risky: I’m abroad which is always more difficult when you get busted, and on top of that I really can’t afford spend the night in jail when I have to fly the next day … so I limit this to no-risk explorations only. (Van REnsbergen has photographed sites as far away as Cuba and Beirut, depicted below, respectively. - Roberto)

Havana:

Maelstrom: Can you give us an example of a risky exploration? Have you ever gotten in trouble with the law because of your hobby?

Henk van Rensbergen: No-risk meaning that I have permission to visit the place and I don't have to worry about getting caught. I've been in touch with "the law" a couple of times but it always worked out well. I've always treated security people with respect: they do their job and you're causing trouble for them. Apologies and a reasonable explanation are in place: don't ever get caught stealing or vandalizing ... (the coalmine of Cheratte, below)

Maelstrom: Have you ever done any professional work? Say open a gallery of your work? If not, do you think you ever will? I imagine such a gallery attracting a rather curious crowd.

Henk van Rensbergen: I’ve done some work on request, but obviously photography is a hobby and not my profession. A couple of years ago we had a one-day exposition with two friends of our work. It was in the cellar of the Remy tower in Leuven. It was fantastic: spotlights for the photos, an old bathtub with ice kept the drinks cool and we played our favorite music until the sun came up again! Finding a place like that (and being authorized to use it) was pure luck. It would be nice though to expose again, I just haven’t started working at that.

Maelstrom: Do you know and/or listen to any music that uses much of the same types of imagery as your pictures? I'm thinking here about dark ambient acts, death industrial and to a lesser extent, black metal.

Henk van Rensbergen: I’m 35 now and at some stage I stopped following up the new evolutions in music and kept on listening to what I gathered all these years, only discovering a fraction of all the good new stuff that is being made today … (some people send me their own music, there’s some great stuff out there).

Maelstrom: What are your all time favourite artists? not only musically, but painters, writers, anything.

Henk van Rensbergen: Music has had a big influence on who I am and what I like. With age I’ve started to see and understand more, I feel I can more easily and correctly judge the value of music which is great because you can find music of incredible value in all different styles of music : from classic over jazz to rock, heavy metal and industrial, ambient music. (an image from Triage Lavoir du Roton, below)

If you want names I’d have to open up my drawer with CDs…: Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Uriah Heep, Nirvana, Metallica, Mano Negra, the Buena Vista Social Club, Cesaria Evora, Paolo Conte… There used to be a Belgian band called “the Neon Judgement”: I loved them when I was a teenager : their music had this apocalyptic industrial feel.

Voyeurs that love the eerie, the abandoned and the left behind can see all of van Rensbergen’s work at http://www.abandoned-places.com

interview by: Roberto Martinelli

The anticipation was great leading up to interviewing Timo Kotipelto – the now ex-singer of power metal powerhouse Stratovarius. It was also for purely selfish reasons. One, I’ve always been a big fan of his. Two, my fledgling forays into singing in a band had led me to try to sing along with him. And three, he has a fine reputation of being a very personable and forthcoming guy who will actually ask *you* questions.

On the occasion of the release of Kotipelto’s second solo effort, Coldness, we talked on the phone in what became a rather rambling and genuine conversation that started with his feeling about leaving Stratovarius (something that you can feel still weighs heavy on his heart), to cars and the whereabouts of the real Derek Riggs.

Maelstrom: How do you feel about the split up with Stratovarius? Despondent? Happy? Relieved?

Timo Kotipelto (above): Well, I would say it’s everything together. When all this bad shit started, in the beginning I was pissed, and then a little bit frustrated... But now, I’m kinda relieved, actually. Then again, I always try to think positively about this thing: I still have a lot of good memories and nice experiences – about 95 percent of the times were good times. But without [Coldness] (that I was working on at that time) it all would have been much harder. I was working very hard on it and it was helpful for me.

Maelstrom: Was Coldness written like the previous one, sort of in the downtime of your being in Stratovarius?

Timo Kotipelto: “Evening’s Fall” and “Take Me Away” are a little bit older. Those I tried to use for the Stratovarius Elements albums. I guess Mr. Producer didn’t like the songs so much, so I thought, “ok, maybe I can save them for my later works.” Most of the songs I composed last year (2003), between January and May. But there was also Startovarius touring in between.

Maelstrom: So you didn’t have your 100 percent focus on it.

Timo Kotipelto: Mmm... not that much, but what counts is the lyrics – that’s a totally different story. I wrote them between last August and December. Then, I had a lot of spare time. The plan was that there wouldn’t be any touring for Elements pt.2. I was planning to release this album anyway. But of course, when I composed the songs, I was still in the band, and I was thinking I would have a short break from the band, instead of being completely out of it.

Maelstrom: I think what’s relevant about your solo work is that one can see how it’s different from Stratovarius. I had heard that Tolkki didn’t let you write the songs in Stratovarius. Is that true?

Timo Kotipelto: That is true. He wanted to compose everything himself.

Maelstrom: And now we get to hear what you would compose, and think, as you develop this style, what the future will yield.

Timo Kotipelto: It’s still open. I haven’t been composing lately. I do have some basic melodies in my head. It’s hard to say how the next album will turn out, and when it will come out. It all depends on how this album will be received by the fans, and whether there will be touring.

Maelstrom: Would you ever join another band again?

Timo Kotipelto: I’ve been getting quite many offers.

Maelstrom: Well, sure!

Timo Kotipelto: But I’ve been telling everyone that I want to concentrate on the promotion of this album. Right now I could see it possible closer to the end of the year, or early next year. I don’t have any plans then. But the music should be interesting to me, and the guys should be.... at least cool, and not so complicated. Heh. Also, the band should be established, which means they have done some touring and recording, because it doesn’t make any sense for me to start on the zero level with some demo band.

Maelstrom: Well, any “zero level” band that you’d join would automatically go up to I don’t know what level simply because of your being in it. But I understand what you’re saying. I was thinking of Michael Kiske of Helloween when I formulated this question – he’s my favorite singer...

Timo Kotipelto: He’s good.

Maelstrom: ...but, he quit Helloween (quit/left/got kicked out... whatever), didn’t join any other bands after that – did some side projects and guest appearances here and there... he did put out a record with his new band last year, which I loved. But he never really joined another band, and never really, in my mind, lived up to his name after he left Helloween.

Timo Kotipelto: That’s true. But I also think he changed his music style.

Maelstrom: Why doesn’t Derek Riggs draw any more? (Riggs is the guy who did all the covers of Iron Maiden, the last few Stratovarius covers – including the famous dolphins, and Kotipelto’s first album cover – with the Egyptian dude with the weird breasts)

Timo Kotipelto: You’ll have to ask him.

Maelstrom: I wish I could!

Timo Kotipelto: I didn’t want to use him for Coldness (below) because he probably doesn’t know anything about ice or cold weather. I wanted to use a Scandinavian guy.

Maelstrom: I much prefer the art on the new record than the one before.

Timo Kotipelto: It’s much better, yeah.

Maelstrom: It’s... it’s not even close. (Laugh)

Timo Kotipelto: (laugh) Yeah, it was a pity for me to realize that Riggs is just using computers nowadays.

Maelstrom: Have you heard the theory that Metallica, even though it looks like the same people, have in fact been taken over by aliens?

Timo Kotipelto: Haha. I’ve never heard about this.

Maelstrom: It’s a pet theory people have. It’s like the Paul McCartney died one. Have you heard of that one?

Timo Kotipelto: No!

Maelstrom: That one is totally on another level. It’s a full-blown conspiracy theory. It goes that Paul McCartney died in 1969 and that ever since, a double has been taking his place.

Timo Kotipelto: HAHAHA!

Maelstrom: And there are 100s of “clues” that he did. Anyway, I’m sure you could read up on this by typing in “Paul McCartney death clues” on Google, if you have time to kill. But getting back to what we were talking about, I think a similar thing has befallen Derek Riggs... that’s *my* pet theory. Hahaha!

Timo Kotipelto: Haha! Ok... You have any proof?

Maelstrom: Well, look at his artwork!

Timo Kotipelto: (laugh) Well, ok, that’s true.

Maelstrom: What happened?

Timo Kotipelto: I actually asked him why he doesn’t use oil paintings anymore. He told me that when he did the Powerslave cover (one of his best, pictured below at left - Roberto), which I like a lot... I wanted to have the same feeling on Waiting for the Dawn... below at right) and he told me it wasn’t possible, and that “the Iron Maiden guys made me go to fucking Hawaii to do it there, and it took three weeks, and then another three weeks to dry!” He also explained that it was very difficult to add details later.

Maelstrom: I read an interview with Riggs in some DYI skater magazine. It was shocking! They asked him what he thought of Iron Maiden’s music, and the answer was simply, “yuck!” Wow.

Timo Kotipelto: Yeah.

Maelstrom: I have to say it’s really a big thrill to speak to you. I’m in this band and I’m the drummer. It’s a power metal band and we’re in San Francisco. Basically, it’s impossible to find a singer for this kind of music here. Most people have no idea what it is, or they’re not interested....

Timo Kotipelto: (laughs)

Maelstrom: ... so I said, “oh, fuck it, I’ll take singing lessons.”

Timo Kotipelto: You did?

Maelstrom: Yes, I’m taking them.

Timo Kotipelto: How is it going?

Maelstrom: Oh, it’s going ok... one of the songs I’m learning, because it’s a combination of being simple for us to cover and because we like it, is “Hunting High and Low.”

Timo Kotipelto: Oh, good, good.

Maelstrom: When you were learning to sing, what were the biggest hurdles and challenges for you? What did you learn that was realy important?

Timo Kotipelto: When I started singing, I wasn’t thinking whether I was singing high, low or baritone. I remember one of the first songs I sang with a local band back then was “Spotlight Kid” from Rainbow, and that was pretty high already. The first years, if I remember well, I had some problems with being quite hoarse after singing a couple of hours. But somehow I built up the stamina. My vocal chords got stronger and I was lucky to have some sort of right breathing technique, because since then, in the last few years, I don’t have that problem, as long as I take care of my voice and don’t drink too much and I sleep enough.

Maelstrom: Indeed, air control seems to be the most important aspect of singing. What are you doing with your air?

Timo Kotipelto: You have to have the support. And it has to be there a millisecond before you sing the note. If you don’t have the support with your diaphragm, it’s too late. It depends on what kind of sound you want to have and what notes you want to hit. You can also direct the air flow into the canals that are inside your head. And the higher you go, the more falsetto you sing; you have to think you’re actually singing lower, but you direct the air flow more into the upper head. I recently got a pretty ok book on Amazon called Secrets of Singing by Jeffrey Allen. There’s also another one by Seth Riggs.

Maelstrom: Do you ever record your vocals “dry”? (with no effects)

Timo Kotipelto: Yeah, I’ve been doing it. It’s easier to stay in tune if there isn’t that much reverb.

Maelstrom: How important is reverb to your singing? Like, “Hunting High and Low” has quite a bit of it.

Timo Kotipelto: That’s only in the mix. When the mixing guy puts it together, he throws in the reverb, or halls, or whatever. Sometimes I want to have some reverb. Normally I have it, but I don’t necessarily need it. When I’m singing at home, and I have the headphones half on, and I’m listening to music on the other speaker, it’s easy to do the wrong thing if you get caught up in how good your voice sounds reverbed. Sure, it sounds better, but the effect doesn’t help your voice. The basic training should be done without any stupid equipment – just acoustic piano, or something.

Maelstrom: You said in your interview on electricbasement.com that the vocal elements on the Elements albums are much too high. Could you please talk more about that?

Timo Kotipelto: It’s like this: Of course I can sing high – I can hit those notes, like on the song “Find Your Own Voice.” But then again, it’s very difficult to express any feelings – it’s just technique.

Maelstrom: It’s funny that you’d say that. I interviewed (Stratovarius keyboardist) Jens Johansson (a few issues back), and I asked him if you were becoming a better singer. His answer was, “no, I think he’s just learning new tricks.”

Timo Kotipelto: (laugh) Well, it is like this. But on the other hand, it’s easier and easier for me to sing. It’s probably because I’m more relaxed – I don’t stress so much about singing any more. I’m more self-confident, and that’s one of the elements of singing good.

But when it comes to singing high: I wanted the vocal lines on Coldness to be a little bit lower because I think my voice sounds better when it’s that way. If I have more chest register, I sound more like me, and not like every other male singer who is singing very high.

Maelstrom: When I heard Waiting for the Dawn (the first Kotipelto album), I remember thinking it had your best vocal performances at the time.

There is some mention on the Stratovarius website about “getting the old lineup back together.” Would you do that?

Timo Kotipelto: ....n-not at the moment, no. I don’t see any reason to do it. It’s hard to say whether I quit the band or if I was fired, but anyway, I was out. And especially now that Mr. Tolkki has been in the hospital because of some serious mental problems... I talked to one guy who went to see him in the hospital a few days ago, and he said that [Tolkki] was completely..... down, the depression was so heavy. And it’s impossible to work with depression like that. So that question is out of the question, let’s put it that way!

Maelstrom: Was he taking medication when you were in the band? That can help a lot.

Timo Kotipelto: I don’t think he was taking medication, but he was doing this therapy (Kotipelto emphasizes the word “therapy”). He had started it six years ago, when we did the Destiny tour. He was drinking a lot after every show. When we came back to Helsinki, I didn’t see or talk to him for two weeks. Then he told me he started doing therapy. He was acting exactly the same as he was acting last autumn, saying, “hey, man, I don’t need to sleep more than four hours a day! It’s great because I have new ideas and I can do everything!” And of course, that’s the manic part. And when you go up, you come down, and that’s what he’s got now. At the time, I thought it was great he was doing the therapy, but now I wonder... I mean, therapists are just humans, after all... maybe they can’t cure anything.

Maelstrom: Well, if you have a genuine chemical imbalance, you can’t cure that by just talking. I mean, you can help it with diet, but you might need medication.

Timo Kotipelto: That’s true.

Maelstrom: That’s really sad, man. Anyway, considering all this, who do you think will suffer more from this breakup? Stratovarius or you?

Timo Kotipelto: Nobody knows, but it will be interesting to hear this new female singer sing some older stuff!

Maelstrom: This is my prediction: Stratovarius has been one of the most influential power metal bands in the world. There are so many bands that have taken the formula that you guys put together, and no so subtlely copied it. Stratovarius’ formula is simple...

Timo Kotipelto: Yes.

Maelstrom: ...and that’s part of what its charm is. But since your voice was so original, taking you out of this formula (and assuming they stick to the same formula), Stratovarius will now sound like a Stratovarius clone, even though it’s still Stratovarius.

Timo Kotipelto: (laugh) That’s funny.

Maelstrom: Do you see what I’m saying?

Timo Kotipelto: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Maelstrom: What do you think about that?

Timo Kotipelto: Well, I’m honored if you think like that.

Maelstrom: I honestly do. There’s some manner of admiration due for you being in a band that you say was so complicated for 10 years. That’s a pretty long time!

Timo Kotipelto: It is.

Maelstrom: What kept you going? What was your focus through all that?

Timo Kotipelto: I just love singing. Especially, I love singing live. Seeing all the fans there, and seeing how they actually enjoy it, being part of the show and singing along with me... that’s the biggest compliment you can get, to see the smile on their faces as they sing along with fists in the air. It has been a pleasure to do all of those live shows and touring around the world, meeting new people in new countries. There are so many nice experiences you can’t buy with any money in the world. I wouldn’t change any of that, of course.

Maelstrom: What got me interested in your music was when I saw you play Wacken in 2000.

Timo Kotipelto: You were there?

Maelstrom: That was the show where you burnt yourself rather badly on some pyrotechnics.

Timo Kotipelto: Yeah.

Maelstrom: I found out about that much later. And I was even more amazed, because your on stage presence was, to the end, forthcoming and engaged with the audience, which in retrospect is tremendously impressive. It was like a James Hetfield/Metallica incident for you.

Timo Kotipelto: Hehe, yeah. Well, it was a very “memorable” situation. We did have some pyros before that. But for that show, some of the guys in the band wanted to have even *more* pyros. Normally, they were at the front of the stage, but for that show they were also on the drum riser. The pyro guy had explained quickly about the pyros, backstage before the show. Also, we had never had pyros before on that part of the song. So I went to get a water bottle that was on the drum riser. I was drinking water and then went to get a mic that was on a stand near the riser, and it blew up. An explosion of magnesium at 1,200 degrees Celsius that burnt my left hand, and some hair as well. Lucky me that I closed my eyes and didn’t lose any vision.

Maelstrom: But you went through the whole show like nothing happened!

Timo Kotipelto: Well, I missed one verse and one bridge from the song because I was behind the stage and the roadies were pouring cold water on my hand and wrapping it with a towel. The tour manager asked me if we should stop the show, and I said, “now way. I’m gonna sing it.” It didn’t hurt that much then – I was in a slight shock – but after a couple of hours, it hurt like hell. So they pumped me full of morphine in the ambulance.

Maelstrom: What kind of car do you drive?

Timo Kotipelto: I have an Audi TT.

Maelstrom: Cool! Is it a convertible?

Timo Kotipelto: No, I have the coupé.

Maelstrom: What color is it?

Timo Kotipelto: Black, of course. I’ve been tuning it a little bit, lately. It’s great because it has four wheel drive, which was very nice as last winter we had a lot of snow in Helsinki. It was cool to be at a traffic light, push the pedal and leave everyone behind.

Maelstrom: I went to Helsinki that year I was at Wacken.

Timo Kotipelto: Really?

Maelstrom: Yeah. My lasting impression was being asked by the immigration officer at the airport if I was part of the Hell’s Angels.

Timo Kotipelto: Really?

Maelstrom: Yeah, and I don’t look anything like a Hell’s Angel. But apparently, at the time they were having a big chapter meeting, like, of the world wide Hell’s Angels.

Timo Kotipelto: Oh, that’s true. I remember that. What kind of car do you have?

Maelstrom: I have a ‘93 Nissan Pathfinder. It’s a 4X4 SUV. I’ve had it for 10 years.

Timo Kotipelto: Is it fast?

Maelstrom: Nooo..... but it *does* make flatulent noises when it goes! I like to say it’s because it’s like a muscle car.

Timo Kotipelto: We don’t have this model in Finland. I was doing some research on those and you have stuff over there that we don’t.

Maelstrom: Well, Timo, thanks for your time and it’s been a real thrill talking to you.

Timo Kotipelto: Hey, same here and all the best for your singing.

Maelstrom: Heyyy! Thanks a lot!

interview by: Roberto Martinelli

photos by: Peter Blok

Things had to be made right – last year we had brought you a very nice interview indeed with Hans Rutten, the drummer for Dutch sensation The Gathering. But it was supposed to be with the darling of the band, vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen. But some confusion about time differences meant we missed out.

Maelstrom: You know, I’ve started taking vocal lessons. All the stuff about breathing and where to send the air... it’s fascinating. I’d like to ask you, when and where did you start singing, and what valuable lessons did you learn?

Anneke van Giersbergen (below): Well, I’m quite young, but I’ve been singing a lot of years. I had all these phases. I had been making music before then, but when I joined The Gathering, we had a lot of shows to do, and I was very scared that my voice wouldn’t hold it, and that I would be hoarse, and that I wasn’t good enough. And all that stressing made me sick. I would wear three scarves and not talk after shows... the most valuable lesson was to relax and enjoy it. Of course be careful with your body, and all, but not to stress. And obviously I became a better singer because I sang a lot, too.

Maelstrom: So you didn’t have as much experience playing in bands before The Gathering?

Anneke van Giersbergen: I did! But not at the same level. I played in bars and little venues. But I didn’t care then about being fit or good. It was just fun. But with The Gathering, if I got sick, then the whole show could be ruined, and that put a lot of pressure on me. But when I let that go after years, I got better because I knew I could do it. And that’s the secret.

Maelstrom: I recently saw the In Motion DVD. It’s quite old footage – at least nine or 10 years old.

Anneke van Giersbergen: Yes.

Maelstrom: The oldest stuff is from a Dynamo festival. It seemed that your style then involved a lot more jumping around (obviously, it’s a lot more metal)...

Anneke van Giersbergen: (giggles)

Maelstrom: ... and my image with you now, on the Sleepy Buildings album, is more sort of a “sit down with no shoes on” approach.

Anneke van Giersbergen: Yeah, it sounds like we’re old people now. When we recorded the Sleepy Buildings album, we were in a place with seats for the audience. But then, for the tour, I got tired of sitting down after a few shows, so we pepped it a little bit up. So we have the semi-acoustic thing, but we also do more of the intense songs. So I guess we’re somewhere in the middle of easy listening music – where you can close your eyes and relax – and songs that are a bit more intense, ones that make you want to dance or move a bit.

I think it’s a very nice state right now. But I know that after this quiet album, we want to be a bit more rock.

Maelstrom: I don’t know if this is what you like to call it, but Psychonaut Records, in their press release, called your last studio album “loungecore.”

Anneke van Giersbergen: Yeah! I think we got this from a journalist, and we liked it so much, we used it. The funny this is that every one makes their own words for it. And that’s really cool because it’s very interactive that way; we make the kind of music that you don’t really categorize that easily. Everybody starts to think for themself .

Maelstrom: So will it be more “loungecore” next time, or more rock?

Anneke van Giersbergen: I think it will be as pure as Sleepy Buildings, but a bit more rock. Well, the ideas that are popping up right now, and that we will assemble this year, are a bit to the heavy side – but you have to think “heavy” more in the Pink Floyd style... a bit more atmospheric, but with rough edges and guitar sounds. Not bombastic.

Maelstrom: You mentioned Sleepy Buildings as being pure. I think that’s an excellent adjective to use. In fact, it seems that its being a live record is an afterthought; it seems more like a studio record in terms of its sound and its importance. You’ve done a different take on your songs. But most importantly, the songs that you do from before you were in the band now totally have new life to them, and I find that to be this record’s greatest contribution.

Anneke van Giersbergen: .... that’s nice....

Maelstrom: I have an old, dusty CDR of Always somewhere, and I thought, “oh, I have to go find it!”

Anneke van Giersbergen: Yeah.... and you’ll notice that it’s *soo* different! We just undressed it, you know? The funny thing about those songs is that when you strip them to their essential bits, there’s always a really beautiful guitar or piano melody at their base. And what was really funny and nice and interesting for us to find out about our own music was that some songs really need the heavy riff or the big drums – they were written like that, but there are a lot of songs that were written as a beautiful melody. So we surprised ourselves with our own music.

Like the Always songs, and the song from Like a Dance, “Like Fountains” – which is a riff-o-rama, you know? So many riffs, and it’s very fast... we stripped it, and it’s a beautiful piano song.

Maelstrom: Let’s talk a little about the experience that you feel when you sing. Now, this is coming from my newfound, nerdy appreciation of vocals... but, what are you doing with your air?

Anneke van Giersbergen: There are a lot of techniques to use, and it’s a very personal thing from singer to singer. The way I learned it is to set the air in the mid-part of your stomach.

Maelstrom: The diaphragm?

Anneke van Giersbergen: Ah, yes. And to send it down, and then to push it. So, when you make an “ahhh,” you make a steady sound, instead of putting the air through your mouth and pushing it through there. Your throat is open, and you make a yawning sensation, with an open mouth. The little thing at the back of your throat is up.... I’m good in English, huh?

Maelstrom: No, you’re doing great! I think that thing at the back of the throat is called the epiglottis.

Anneke van Giersbergen: We call it a huig (she pronounced it “hauhhhhc” – Roberto)

Maelstrom: Your drummer, Hans, told me that he doesn’t really care for the record if_then_else. He says it’s a big mess.

Anneke van Giersbergen: (laugh)

Maelstrom: What’s your opinion on that?

Anneke van Giersbergen: (laugh) It *is* a big mess. There are some really beautiful jewels on it, like “Amity” and “Analog Park.” It’s a mess because they’re all nice songs, with a few beautiful songs, but they needed more work, and we didn’t have time. [The album] is not one atmosphere; it’s not one thing. It’s kind of a blanket made of all different fabrics. It sounds like a collection.

Maelstrom: I do agree with what you’re saying, but despite that, I think that it’s why it’s my favorite record of yours. Also, it reminds me of my trip to Norway, because I had taken the promo version of the album with me there, and I listened to “Amity” when I was visiting the famous church that was burnt down by the black metallers. And whenever I hear that song, I’m right back there again, walking through the woods in the rain, to see that place.

Anneke van Giersbergen: That’s one the funny and beautiful thing about music: it takes you places, and it always takes you back to the place where you coincidentally heard the song. So it’s really nice that you can refer to us as being in a forest.

Maelstrom: But I didn’t record and mix the record, so my perspective is entirely different than yours.

Anneke van Giersbergen: It is funny to see how we feel about it, having made it, and the way you do. [It means] that it’s not a waste of time, in that it made a feeling on which to pick something up. It wasn’t such a smashing album, but it does something else for you. There are a lot of people who really love if_then_else because the songs are [so different from one other]. It’s kind of a mixing pot. I don’t really get into it – I get into some songs on it... but I never really listen to my own albums anyway...

Maelstrom: Oh, really?

Anneke van Giersbergen: Well, once every half year I put on my favorites.

Maelstrom: Tell me what your favorites are.

Anneke van Giersbergen: I like How to Measure a Planet? a lot.

Maelstrom: Yeah, I could guess that from the track listing of Sleepy Buildings. You have more songs from that record than any other.

Anneke van Giersbergen: (laugh) True.

Maelstrom: Fair enough. You have a new bass player, Marjolein. Please tell us about her.

Anneke van Giersbergen: That’s really cool... but, first, Hugo, our old bass player, he was kind of fed up with the whole music business, and making music, kind of, as well. All these things were kind of slumbering, but it was there – he didn’t give it much energy anymore. And he had all the good reasons in the world to leave the band: he had a baby girl, and that gave him the push to leave the band so he could be home... and we’re very much away all the time. And we think about the band and the record company every minute of the day. It fills your life.

We had to look for somebody new; and it was quite difficult as Hugo is a very good bass player. We had to find someone who could also fit in: who has a sense of humor, who you can have fun with. In the end it’s all about making music and having a good time as well. So we found Marjolien in the old home town where most of us come from. She was the friend of a friend. We knew her from parties and being around and cafes and whatever. We knew she was making music, but we didn’t know how good she was. We knew she was studying guitar, and we asked her, kind of without reason, because she’s a nice girl, to audition for us. She was the first to audition and she was so good that we called her up the same evening, and she was in. She was very steady and she played four songs... better than us, as we hadn’t practiced for two months. It’s great fun because she’s very young and has very much energy. (Marjolein, below)

Maelstrom: Let me see how I can ask this question... having another woman in the band, how do you feel that will take some of the focus from male fans off of you?

Anneke van Giersbergen: Hehe. To be honest, it’s ok to divide the male attention. Ha. Because I have enough, really, to share. Hahaha. If I can say it like that. And I’m making a little joke about it because it’s not important at all.

Being a singer will always put you in the center of the stage, and people listen to you because you are speaking the lyrics – you tell the story. So I actually like it better this way, because I have a feeling Marjolein, as a girl, as a pretty girl – she looks very good with a bass on stage – she kind of lays a bridge between me and the rest of the band. Sometimes it’s even annoying how much attention I get and the rest of the guys don’t get. We’re all in one band, and we all write the music, and we do everything together. It’s only on stage that it seems like I’m in front. And to be honest with you, she’s pulling us more together than we ever were.

She’s gotten a lot of good attention from it, as well from a lot of women! People in America were shouting, “you go, girl!” “Yeah! We love you, girl!” Very American!

Maelstrom: You were mentioning how old you are. May I ask you your age?

Anneke van Giersbergen: I’m 31. Marjolein is 23. The rest of us are all around 30.

Maelstrom: Your hometown... is that Nijmegen?

Anneke van Giersbergen: It’s Oss. The Ruttens were born in Nijmegen, which, actually, Van Halen were born there.... no, wait.... who was it? (She confers with her husband, who just woke up fro a nap on the couch) Ah! No, it was... no! It *was* Van Halen. Do you know Van Halen?

Maelstrom: Yeah, sure.

Anneke van Giersbergen: Right. The two Van Halen brothers and the famous Rutten brothers are from Nijmegen. They were born in the same hospital as one of the Van Halen brothers... the guitarist...

Maelstrom: Eddie.

Anneke van Giersbergen: Oh, man. I’m very bad in history of music.

Maelstrom: That’s ok. Who’s your favorite singer. You said you don’t listen to your own records. Whose records do you put on?

Anneke van Giersbergen: Radiohead... Tom York is one of my favorite singers.

Maelstrom: Thanks very much for your time, Anneke.

Anneke van Giersbergen: Thank *you* very much for your time, and say hello to your girlfriend.

interview by: Avi Shaked

Orphaned Land, one of a very few Israeli bands to achieve worldwide fame, has recently released its third full length album, Mabool, on Century Media, and it quickly won the hearts of both fans and the media. I received the honor of interviewing Matti Svatizki (guitars), and as a longtime fan, it was an exciting experience.

Maelstrom: Hi, Matti! It’s an honor interviewing you in accordance with the release of Orphaned Land’s new album.

It has been some years since your previous album, El Norra Alila. As far as I recall, the band never really broke up. Can you please tell us what the band’s members have been up to, collectively and individually?

Matti Svatizki: To be more precise, it had been seven years since our previous album. The band never really broke up; I like to refer to this period as a “coma”: although we did not really work on anything during that period, the spirit of the band was always floating above us, and somewhere in our hearts we knew we would work together again. Since I do not believe in reincarnation, that was the best description I could come up with.

Seven years was indeed the difference between the two albums, but the actual period of inactivity lasted for about 5 years; and we used these years to promote our own individual interests, mostly on professional fields. Kobi (Farhi, vocals) founded a label, and even today he deals with distribution of music in Israel; Yossi (Saharon, guitars) went for high-tech and today he has a senior role in a leading high-tech company; Uri (Zelcha, bass) manages a record-store in Tel-Aviv that specializes in metal. Eden, although joining the band only after the “coma”, works an executive job at a big insurance company; and I used the time in order to travel the world, and also did a course in website building, but due to a personal decision I do not work in this today.

We are all forced to find other sources of livelihood. Music is an important thing, and a main part of our lives, but we all have other fields of interests, and some of us work professionally on these fields. The dream was and will always be making a living out of music, but that’s a very difficult thing to achieve living in Israel, especially if you choose to play non-mainstream music such as metal.

Maelstrom: Very few bands in Israel, not to mention metal bands, last this long or release three albums – Orphaned Land is truly one of a kind. What are the difficulties the band bumped into during its existence?

Matti Svatizki: There are many difficulties keeping a band together. Anyone who tells you it is easy is just pretending. The best comparison is to intimate relationships, and as we know, that field is never easy. Only being a part of a band is like being married to four people simultaneously, with each one pulling in his own direction, hoping that things would sound a bit different and made his way, which is natural. The advantage is that after a continuous period you learn to know each other and you understand that the smart thing to do is compromise. As time goes by, each one adopts the suitable proportions to see thing through; eventually, we all come out from the basic assumption that everyone is doing his maximum, and that collaboration between all sides is one of the main causes for our success, and it is with this conception that we try to move on and face the future.

Maelstrom: Are there still any difficulties clouding on the band’s existence?

Matti Svatizki: Are the skies blue? No, the skies are see-through, and its color is just a reflection of the sea in the atmosphere. Ha, Ha. But yes, the threat is real – nothing in life is certain and you can never know what a day brings. It’s like being sure we’ll live until the age of 80 and see our grandkids get married. You can never know what happens. So far, our love for music is controlling the reins, and as long as it exists, Orphaned Land exists. As for now, the band is alive and kicking, and we have yet to see the tip of its iceberg, if that is what you meant.

Maelstrom: Now we move on to the album Mabool. How long has the material recorded for the album existed?

Matti Svatizki: We have had riffs and ideas for Mabool since the time El Norra Alila was released. I remember myself traveling on a bus in India and playing parts of “Ocean Land” in my head; however, the song did change a few times until it arrived to the form that was captured on the album. I remember Yossi and myself playing parts of “Birth of the Three” in rehearsals, and I’m not sure that “El Norra Alila” was even released back then. To sum things up, most of the album was written long ago; its concept was also conceived a few years before we got back playing together, deep within our deep coma.

Maelstrom: The reference to the Jewish tradition in Mabool is less apparent than on the previous album. I got the impression that most of the leaning on the Jewish tradition is in the story of the Mabool (the great flood) itself. Can you relate to this point?

Matti Svatizki: I’ll try to relate to it, although the lyrical aspect of the album belongs to Kobi. There is something in what you said, although it is not accurate. As far as I see it, this album has even more focus on Jewish philosophy than on our previous albums, which included quotes from the Koran and the New Testament. On El Norra Alila there are also little drawings of Buddha floating inside the booklet. On Mabool there are only quotes from the Bible itself, and no reference to other religions’ holy writings.

“The land was corrupt before God, and the land was filled with violence” (he quotes from the bible and the album), etc.

Or maybe when you said “Jewish tradition” you meant live recordings at synagogues at times of prayers, or “Shir Hamaalot,” and in this field there is probably less expression for the Jewish tradition, although you can also hear it when Shlomit [Levi, female vocalist on “Mabool”] sings from a song of Rabbi Shalom Shabazi, who is the greatest of Yemen’s Jewish poets, and a symbol of Jewish tradition.

Maelstrom: Although there are no references to holy writings of other religions, I definitely felt that the plot and the writing have a will to appease, or a sense of moderation, or perhaps even some kind of compromise that was in need in order to market the album as an international product. I’m mostly referring to the extension of the Biblical text to include the three major religions. What was behind the idea of combining all three religions within the Biblical concept?

Matti Svatizki: The concept of including the three major religions with the concept of the album is not just something we throw into the air in order to be favored on one religion’s followers or the other’s; it is something we genuinely believe in. The cooperation between the religions, much like the cooperation between the brothers in the plot, can bear much more fruits than spending expensive time on wars, and that’s a main idea in the album. Moderation – perhaps, a will to appease – sure, a certain compromise – sometimes it has to be made in order that all sides will be satisfied.

Maelstrom: However, my main intention on the lesser leaning of Mabool on Jewish tradition was aimed mostly towards the music, which relies heavier than before on western elements that are widely popular and accepted in the genre. Was there any compromise made musically in order to make the album an easier and more accessible listening for the international audience who is approaching Orphaned Land’s music for the first time?

Matti Svatizki: I’ll try to explain what I think to be the origin of this change you are talking about: Sami Bachar, who was the band’s drummer and one of the main composers, left the band. His compositions were much more oriental, since he was of Turkish origin, and Mediterranean music had a huge impact on his writing. Sami’s spot was filled by Eden Rabin [on keyboards], if you can call it that way. Eden is Ashkenazi (of European origin), and his major influences come mainly from western music such as progressive rock and jazz, and it is possible that it is due to this that the significant change in our sound on Mabool occurred. If this change makes it easier for new listeners to approach our music, then it is for the best. Anyway, there was much more emphasis on the playing itself on Mabool, and the arrangements are also stricter and harder. The melodies and the final touch of the arrangements are a bit less oriental than before, and those with sensitive ears can notice it.

Maelstrom: I attended the two reunion concerts of the band in Israel on 2002. The Israeli audience was definitely hungry for you. Can you expand on the feedback you received to these concerts from the media and fans?

Matti Svatizki: The Israeli audience that was present at the reunion concerts can be divided into two main groups: Those that are the hardcore fans of the band, who knew the albums by heart and for whom the reunion was a dream come true; and those who knew our material less, but heard of our relative success and decided that they were curious enough to give us a chance and come to see us play. Either way, the responses were excellent, people had a great time, and so did we. The feedback was almost always positive – we barely ever heard complaints from our audience. The media was also very fund of us.

Maelstrom: I must admit that musically, I preferred your second concert, the acoustic one (The one that is captured on the bonus CD of the limited edition of Mabool). I felt the first one, although very energetic, was a bit lacking in performance and nuances. On the acoustic performance, however, you managed to deliver your music in a fantastic way that captured the essence of your recorded output and your uniqueness. How did you feel about each of these performances?

Matti Svatizki: Perhaps it is due to the high volume and distorted guitars on our first “loud” reunion concert that the unarmed ear had difficulties understanding the nuances; and on the acoustic show, because the sound is cleaner, you can hear the instruments more clearly and focus on the details. Anyway, you might be right regarding our first reunion concert – everything was quite new back then, especially working with our keyboard player, Eden – most of the focus and concentration on the nuances comes mainly from him. I do not know if you were present at our recent “loud” performance – we put at least as much attention to the nuances there as we did on the acoustic show, if not more.

Maelstrom: I’m looking forward to hear this progress on the upcoming concert (June 22nd, Theater Club, Tel Aviv). According to you, one can understand that Eden Rabin (who is also active in the progressive rock band Right on Time) contributes a lot to the band – is he considered an equal part of the band, and how did the collaboration with him start?

Matti Svatizki: We began playing with Eden as soon as we reunited, sometime in 2001. We were invited to perform in Turkey, and we really needed and keyboard player to play with us. We met Eden through a mutual acquaintance, and quickly, after few rehearsals, we all realized how great it is to play together. Today, he is an equal part of the band, and above all, his arrangements and motivation contributed to Orphaned Land more than words can describe.

Maelstrom: As you mentioned, you played in Istanbul. How many people attended this concert?

Matti Svatizki: There were about 600 people who attended our Istanbul concert. It is not as much as you expect from a city of more than five million people, but according to what I’ve heard from the audience in Europe, this is the situation of the [metal] scene these days. I heard that the combined performance of Moonspell and Lacuna Coil in Austria drew only 400 people. If you were to arrive at these shows ten years ago or so, the situation would have been at least twice as good.

Maelstrom: How did the Turkish audience respond?

Matti Svatizki: The Turkish audience played it big time. The love they gave us was tremendous. It was a bit hard for me to digest the amount of success we had among our core of fans there. During our entire visit we were treated well, and it all climaxed for our performance where the audience was warm and energetic, no less than our Israeli audience – they all sang our lyrics, even the Hebrew ones, and interacted amazingly. That trip to Turkey is one of my most memorable experiences, and it’s all due to the amazing audience over there and its love to music and Orphaned Land.

Maelstrom: How were you exposed to the Turkish audience in the first place? Also, can you expand on how the band broke out of Israel into international success, and where are your biggest fan bases exist?

Matti Svatizki: The Turkish love what we do mainly because we remind them of their roots. The Middle-Eastern elements on the Turkish music are very similar to the elements Orphaned Land is using, so it might be easier for them to relate to our creative output. But, personally, I do believe that the oriental magic is not the only magic Orphaned Land has to offer, and we have strong cores of fans in other countries, not necessarily Islamic ones, such as Germany, Sweden, Greece, the US, Mexico, Poland; one of the main reasons we performed in Turkey is the cheap price of flying tickets from Israel to Turkey.

Maelstrom: What are the band’s plans regarding live shows? Can you give us a hint what would they be like (acoustic/ electric/ mixed)?

Matti Svatizki: On June 22nd, the beginning of the summer vacation in Israel, we are planning a festive performance in Tel Aviv. Then, in July, we are performing in Turkey again, this time as a part of a metal festival that will be held in Istanbul, alongside metal giants such as Cannibal Corpse, Katatonia, Paul DiAnno and many, many more, in front of an audience of a few tens of thousands of people. The performances will be electric, although we will perform some of our quieter songs. As of now, the combination of an electric and acoustic set is only in the planning stages, but I believe that in the future we will execute this kind of a live act.

Maelstrom: Now that Mabool is distributed evenly across the world, will the band back it up with a worldwide tour?

Matti Svatizki: There are all sorts of whisperings in all sorts of directions, which unfortunately I cannot reveal at the moment. In the near future, when things will be more certain and concrete, we will make sure everybody knows about them.

Maelstrom: Are there any plans to distribute your previous albums worldwide, for the new fans that are just getting to know Orphaned Land?

Matti Svatizki: The distribution of our previous albums is in the hands of our previous label, Holy Records. The decision whether to expand the distribution circle in accordance with the distribution of Mabool is their decision. However, you can order our previous album via the internet on www.orphaned-land.com, or contact Holy Records in any other way. You can always visit our site and catch up with news regarding the band as well.

Maelstrom: Matti - thank you for your time. It was a pleasure.

interview by: Roberto Martinelli

You know the cards are stacked against you when you’re having such a hard time finding members for your metal band that you have to synthesize the *guitars*. And that’s what Austrian Enid had been doing up until their latest album, Gradwanderer. So credit first off that they kept going, and even more so that now that they have their essential slots filled, they make an album as striking and enchanting as Gradwanderer is. But the magic lies not only in the bombast, but perhaps even more so in all the soft, understated parts on the record. And we haven’t begun to address the scat song at the end of the CD. Let’s see what Enid members Alboîn (guitar) and Martin (vocals, keys) had to say about all this.

Maelstrom: You have a special note to journalists in the album liner notes (something that's ironic as most journalists will never read this note as we get the liner note-free cardboard promos). The note says to listen to the album 666 times before judging it. Have you assumed all along that Gradwanderer would be a "flop"? (I only know about the special message as I bought the album since I loved it so much)

Alboîn (pictured below): Cheerio! Well, the liner note was actually an idea of mine. Enid has never recorded easy-listening albums, but this time the material is really elaborate and sometimes not too easy to comprehend. As I know that (at least in Germany) journalists from the “more important” magazines – who usually are these with practically no time to listen to an album properly – receive complete albums, I decided to put the message into the booklet. I didn’t count on the vast stupidity of some individuals who even manage to do exactly the opposite of what we suggested with that note. The thing is just that I´m aware of the fact that the material needs a lot of time to develop in the mind of the listener, something that most records do not demand anymore. I myself needed 18 months to completely notice the greatest part of the details, so you have an idea what I`m talking about maybe.

No, of course we did not expect the album to be a flop, at least not for those people who still prefer artistic music instead of marketing products that lack every depth. By the way, even without that note, a journalist should recognize that Gradwanderer is some kind of special album, be it in a good or bad way.

Maelstrom: There seems to be some conflict in your playing up the number 666 and Satan in the liner notes (elements that I didn't catch on to based on listening to the songs) and vehemently rejecting associations to black metal. Obviously, you don't sound black metal in the least. Why make such an explicit statement, then?

Alboîn: You are intelligent and blessed with a lot taste, so you can easily catch on that Enid does not contain black metallic elements anymore. But! There are still some people calling us “melodic medieval black metal” or whatever. During the past two years I’ve learned to simply ignore these judgements, so I just tried to behave a bit ironically towards the coming statements in the press – and there WILL be people saying we are black metal, I’m totally sure. Believe me, I’m just fed up with that.

Maelstrom: We have to talk about the scat song, "The Burning of the Sea." I keep laughing when I hear it, but the song is totally rad. Then, you've got the metal drums in there. Were you smiling ear to ear when you composed this song for the album?

Martin (pictured below): Hi to you! I´ve already expected the song to become the most famous (and last?) Enid song ever. But to recognize only the “funny” appearance of it means to stay on the surface of its content. I can only enforce you to have a more detailed look on the lyrics, and set them into comparison to the musical expression; you may get a hint to some interpretation. In fact, I wasn’t smiling from ear to ear. It would be easier to describe it with the opposite. This is the last hint I give…”

Maelstrom: In "Exemption," who is the speaker in quotes?

Martin: My old uncle Sam, the brave knight of Middle-Earth? No, what I thought to imply when explicitly NOT giving any personal character traits to the speaker was to let him become anyone... maybe even the reader himself. In fact in “Exemption” there are even two speakers. Call one of them some kind of “higher power,” or the “voice of a wise man,” or something like that. It doesn’t matter. What everyone reads and gets to know from the text is that there´s one forcible character speaking to a weak one, not knowing exactly what to do. It doesn’t matter who exactly it is. It could be anyone, which may let the text build up a certain connection to the one who´s reading it.

Maelstrom: Here's my opinion of Gradwanderer: one of the most ballsy, insane and innovative power metal albums ever. Destined to not sell tons of albums – something to perhaps make it even more endearing – but only because of the limitations of people's expectations for the genre and metal in general." Your thoughts?

Alboîn: A pretty true and also a little sad definition of the album. These limitations are what makes me sick, and I’m not even the composer of the album but only the guitarist. Obviously revolutionary (or only innovative) bands are not very respected in the great mass scene, but rather in circles of people (and even more so there!) who just love good music and not the image or money of a band. Surely we have a lot of true fans in there, I just hope they are enough to let the label and us survive, so that we can record even weirder albums, hehe!

Maelstrom: Aside from scat parts, one of <Gradwanderer>'s "gutsy" elements is the extreme quiet and subtlety of a great part of its material. This effectively solves the dilemma of bands in the power metal genre who keep trying to make "power ballads" that are beyond tedious and embarrassing. Could you talk about piecing together an album with metal bombast and soft, understated songs?

Alboîn: I just wanted to mention: even if we have power in the songs and metallic elements, I really don’t think ENID can be called a power metal band, or ‘Gradwanderer’ a power metal album. We are really far away from bands like Iced Earth or Rhapsody, at least in my opinion.

Maelstrom: Speaking of power metal songs, you seem to *really* like the melodic riff in "Gradwanderer."

Alboîn: I’m not sure which riff you’re talking of… it’s obvious that most riffs are repeated pretty often, but that has always been some kind of one of our trademarks, ehemmm… ;-)

Martin: OK, here´s the sophisticated composer (hehe): melodic or riff. Hm, could a riff be melodic? Or could only a melody be melodic? Pattern, hook, lick, phrase, riff, line, lead … tons of words meaning different and sometimes the same things. But I think I understand your question. OK, the melody in the lead-guitar is repeated very often, but now and here I can tell you a secret: This melody was ment to be some kind of “etude” for our guitarist Jôrn. But in the end we all loved this “tune” and it doesn´t sound that bad…

Maelstrom: Your voice is both unique and overwhelmingly refreshing. Enid reminds me a bit of Falconer, but way farther out in terms of innovation. How did you come to the place to where you are now in your singing (making respectful reference to the fantastic choral parts)? What did you try that you did not like? What breakthroughs did you make?

Martin: One could say that the process of learning to sing is a never ending one. The voice is an instrument easy to learn, because it´s a part of your body; but it´s an instrument hard to rule, just because it is a part of your body. If it does what exactly you want in a certain situation you must have passed years and years of training. For to sing the choirs precisely you´ll have to train that as well during years and years of choir-singing. I experimented a lot with vocals throughout the Enid history and have come to the conclusion that the hard screaming doesn´t fit the heart of the musical intention of Enid. I like the appearance of the album with only clean vocals on it with an even higher amount of variation than on “Seelenspiegel."

Maelstrom: It boggles the mind that your earlier albums have *guitar* synthesized, as you couldn't find other musicians to play with. Any chance your next discovery could be actual violin players? This is the only thing separating Enid from total perfection.

Martin: Violin players are quite expensive and even more sophisticated than I am… No, it is in fact an aim to find a small chamber orchestra for the next album, but according to the vast amount of time and work it will cost to find the musicians and to learn the material it´s quite a goal not easy to gain…”

Maelstrom: I interviewed a French metal band who said that English is a far more musical language than French. German is perhaps the closest language to English. I feel your German songs are more stirring, but how do you compare singing in the two languages?

Martin: It´s right what you say. English and German, both of germanic linguistic origin are closely connected to each other. And I would call the English language the more melodic one, too. But in certain cases German is the more poetic language when it comes to the field of detailed expression. I don´t know if I don´t know (wow!) enough English words, but I think that the German language has a greater variety in articulation and sound than the English one. But for singing, I like English a lot…

Maelstrom: Could you tell us a bit about your homeland? It seems you’re rather connected to nature and hiking.

Martin: Nature is what surrounds me since my date of birth, so to speak. I´m living inside a massive wall of green, untouched and rough as during the ancient times when magic was abroad in the sky… OK, calm down, my dear soul, and be a little bit (!) more realistic. We have a lot of green here and a quite large area of wood and agriculture. Focusing on a cow means to listen to the euphonium of the ancient times…

Maelstrom: You mention that "Gradwanderer" is not a spelling mistake. What's that all about?

Alboîn: Also one of my notes in the booklet… the thing is that it’s a German title, and the well-known word ‘gratwanderer’ is written with a “t,” actually and means “wanderer on the edge.” Martin made a kind of word play out of that by changing “t” to “d” – “geraDe” in German means “straight,” so the title actually means something like “the wanderer on the edge walking straight at the same time.” A very fitting title for an innovative album, don’t you think?

Ah, yes… I’ve added that note to the booklet because I tried to avoid questions from the German media like “ohrr… isn’t it actually written with a “t”?” Another one of my false hopes I suppose.

Maelstrom: Thanks so much! Gradwanderer is a total blast. Keep it up!

Martin: Thank you for the great interview, it was a pleasure to virtually talk to you. Stay experimental… and Enid!”