Interview with Peter, ALooP (November 16, 2005)

Hi, first off I just want to congratulate you on your new album. To new fans could your please fill us in on the history behind it all?
ALooP - Hi. This is Peter of ALooP. The band originally consisted of Thomas and Bexy, who had played in the same band for several years. After a few line up changes, Thais, Bo and I joined the band in 2002 and fortunately this is still the same stabile line up.

How did you get your name ALooP?
ALooP - This still remains a mystery. 

How has your new album been received by the media?
ALooP - Well so far we’ve actually only seen 4 reviews or so, but they all seem quite positive with nice ratings. This is a huge boost for our self confidence since this is our debut album.

How would you describe your music to an outsider?
ALooP - Brutal, energetic and melodic. I really think it contains a lot of different elements from within the metal genre, without ever being to hard to comprehend.

If your music were an emotion, which one would it be?
ALooP - That question is just way to HMO to answer…sorry.

Who and what inspire you when you write a song?
ALooP - We all contribute to each song we write so it is really hard to give a fulfilling answer to that. I can tell you that when I joined the band, each member basically listened to very different kinds of bands within the metal genre and we actually still do. Inevitably, this will result in different kinds of inspiration for each and every song, which I think is one of ALooP’s primary forces and what makes our music so diverse.

Who has produced and mixed the album? Are you pleased with the result?
ALooP - Jacob “No Defence” Hansen produced, mixed and mastered the album. We all helped out in the mixing process and quite a lot of exciting material was done in that process. We can honestly say that we are pleased with the result. Jacob has been great to work with. We really felt that he had things under control and we will not hesitate to use him some other time.

Do you feel that you sound will evolve in some different direction, in the future, or you will still follow the same path?
ALooP - Well a lot of the songs on the album were a couple of years old when we recorded them (summer 2004). Almost right after the recordings we went on to make new tracks and I think these new tracks show a more brutal and technical side of ALooP. We’ve all evolved as musicians during and after the recording and I think this really shows now. However, you will still be able to recognize the ALooP sound with songs containing both aggressive riffing and very melodic parts.

Who has done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have a great cover?
ALooP - Morten Albertsen, who is a friend of ours, did all the art work. Very early on in the process we contacted Morten to explain to him what we wanted with the songs and the album as a whole. Morten has got this dark and sinister style, which we all like. I think it is very intelligent and it never seems to be just too much. The art work really came to fit the album and we are quite proud of it.

Do you have any touring plans?
ALooP - Right now we are planning gigs, but I can’t reveal too much about this yet. Of course we will play gigs in Denmark in the near future and then we will just have to see…

Let’s speculate – you have been granted a free slot on a tour of your own choice – who would be your ideal touring partners?
ALooP - Considering that we listen to different kinds of bands, I think that one band we could all agree on would be Killswitch Engage. Their fist record really served as an inspiration for us all I think. It contains a lot of the same elements as the music we play…just call us goddamn it! 

How do you feel about the co-operation with your label?
ALooP - Well so far we haven’t been too much in contact with Edgerunner. We signed the deal and the album has finally been released during October/November. I expect that we will just have to wait and see what we can offer Edgerunner and what they can offer us. I know this for sure though, we are ready to put an effort into this project and we are well on the way with new crushing tracks to follow up this album.

The Internet is a very important source for many metal fans – how do you use the Internet and how important is it for you and other bands?
ALooP - We use the net in every aspect of our work not directly connected to the song writing. We found our label through the net, we’ve made contact with new fans, other bands we’re interested in touring with and of course we promote all of our material on the net. I think it has become vital for a band in this genre to use the net extensively. Combining this with great music and great concerts is the only way to “fame and fortune”.

And how do you feel about the metal scene in general at the moment?
ALooP - A lot of interesting things are happening right now, especially if you look at the Danish scene. It seems that metal in general is coming back after a few years sleep. Bands are more willing to experiment now and blend different genres into their music. This makes many bands, both old and new, much more exciting to listen to.

Which song do you consider to be the best one you have ever written?
ALooP - I would have to say “Global Crisis”, since this is one of the songs we worked on the most. It is perhaps not the catchiest song or a likely hit, but we really worked our asses off with that one. If you listen to it you will know what I mean. There are just so many layers in it and it has so many different parts and it still works. It is actually one the songs we enjoy playing the most.

When did you start playing and how old were you when you became interested in metal?
ALooP - I started out at the age of 17 playing Led Zeppelin, but did not really get into metal until I was perhaps 20-21. I started out late and had to do a lot of catching up. It all began with the first Metallica and Iron Maiden albums…great!

Name an album, person or event that has had a huge influence on your life … and why?
ALooP - That must surely be the first Metallica albums. Although they may not be so technical after today’s standards, they really gave me a kick in the ass and from then on I just wanted to play metal guitar.

Which music do you listen to at home?
ALooP - At the moment the most played CD is Nevermore’s “This Godless Endeavour”. Jeff Loomis and Steve Smyth kick ass on that one. Besides that I listen a lot to Behemoth “Demigod”. Brutal and technical death metal with a lot of elements in it.

Last question - do you have any famous last words for our readers?
ALooP - Get your ass down to the nearest cd store and purchase our debut album! It rocks (and we need the money). Check out our website www.aloop-metal.dk. Thanks…

Thanks,
Peter Laursen

ALooP - Global Crisis

Album out on Edgerunner Music.

Click on the album to see more info on ALooP.