interview by: Roberto Martinelli

You might accuse Spanish power metal gem Dark Moor as following Angra’s example maybe a little *too* much. In our first interview with Dark Moor’s guitarist Enrik García, he spoke of his deep admiration for Angra’s work and freely admitted the influences in his own band’s music. This was especially the case with Dark Moor’s second album, The Hall of the Olden Dreams.

And as good as that record is, Dark Moor topped it with the follow up, The Gates of Obliveon. Nothing seemed to be able to stand in the way of the Spanish five-piece.

But then, much like Angra, the band split in two, with half the band, including singer Elisa, forming a new group, Dreamaker. This left remaining Dark Moorers Enrik and Anan to find new members. And the new album is in. We’ll have a review of it for you next month, but we can give you a sneak peek now. Is it as good as The Gates? No, but that would be an unlikely task. The new, self-titled album is a step toward the power metal mediocrity that Dark Moor has risen so far above, but it’s still Dark Moor, and still very, very good. Onto the short interview conducted with Enrik García, who talks about his new band mates and what caused the split.

Maelstrom: Your band pulled an Angra: half the group left, including vocalist Elisa, and formed another band. What were the events that led up to this split?

Enrik García: The split was caused for musical reasons, principally. They wanted to go in a different way than Anan and me in Dark Moor. We spoke in July of 2002 about this, and we agreed to stay together, but in February of 2003, when Anan and I showed our work to the others, we saw that there were different interpretations about our agreement. In that moment we all thought that the best thing to do was to take different ways.

Maelstrom: Dreamaker is the band that the three ex-Dark Moorers have formed. Have you heard any of their material? What do you think?

Enrik García: No, sorry. I have not heard anything from them yet.

Maelstrom: You've got some rough vocals in a few of your songs on the new record. Are you trying for a meaner edge?

Enrik García: Well, Alfred is actually very good as a performer, and he takes his role in the song seriously. Some of them, like “The Werewolf” or “Wind Like Stroke (Attila)” are supposed to be sung by the character itself, that is why some parts may sound tough and agressive.

Maelstrom: Please tell us about your new band members. Who are they and how did you meet them?

Enrik García: We had an audition to find a singer, Alfred appeared and when we listened to him we knew that he would be the next lead vocalist of the band. Jose and Andy are musicians that we knew through other friends’ bands, they have very high technical skills. Also Anan and I wanted people getting on with us. Dark Moor is not only a band of rock music now, we are actually friends.

Maelstrom: What unique energy or attributes do your new members bring to the band?

Enrik García: Alfred has a lot of personality and strength, I think that he will mark a new age in Dark Moor. Jose is a very nice guy, and has a high technical level, he is a great person. Andy is the beast!!!!! He can play lots of styles: latin, jazz, rock, death... I think he enriches a lot the music of Dark Moor.

Maelstrom: What's the biggest audience you've played so far?

Enrik García: In Festival Viña Rock in Spain: 10.000 to 15.000 people. (we played in the best hour) In a gig on our last tour, the last concert in Madrid was played for 2000 people.

Maelstrom: Dark Moor.... is that a moor like a swamp, or a moor like the Muslims that lived in Spain 600 years ago? You have a self-titled song on the new album that seems to be about a place....

Enrik García: Ha, ha, it¹s not the first time that someone asks me this, because Anan is half-Moroccan from his father. No, our name refers to a dark swamp.

Maelstrom: Thanks for taking the time. Good luck. We hope to hear from Dark Moor for years to come.

Enrik García: Thanks to you. Regards!!!!