Power of
Metal.dk got a chance to dig in and see what’s hiding behind Infinity Overture.
Composer and guitarist Niels Vejlyt answers our questions about his new band.
Hi Niels –
first of all I want to congratulate you on a most successful and well composed
debut album. Could you please introduce yourself – I must admit I haven’t heard
much about you before this?
Niels Vejlyt
– Hi there. Before I started Infinity Overture, I did instructional guitar
videos for Chops from Hell and Shred Academy. I have a guitar school in
Copenhagen and an online guitar school as well. So before I started the sessions
for Infinity Overture, I have not been composing that much, just working on my
chops.
‘Kingdom of
Utopia’ will be released on October 6th on the Lion Music label, what
kind of expectations do you have for it?
Niels Vejlyt
– I want to get the name Infinity Overture out as much as possible, and play as
much live as possible. I’m really happy to get some good reviews, so we can
build a strong foundation in the band, and then work from there, and improve my
song writing skills.
If you had to
chose one song you feel represents Infinity Overture, which song would you
choose and why?
Niels Vejlyt
– – Its pretty tough to do that, because I compose a lot, and learn a lot from
other musicians, so I’m developing these skills all the time, and that combined
with the long time it took to finish the songs, ended up in quite a development
in the songs, I think some of the songs are very Powermetal and symphonic,
whereas others are more Gothic, and some more progressive. But I guess that I
would choose something like Wonderland or Warriorking
How did you
come up with the title for the album and does that song represents the essence
of the album for you?
Niels Vejlyt
– The Kingdom of Utopia was something Ian Parry came up with, because when I
contacted him, I had written all the lyrics, but he wanted to write new lyrics,
which was a good idea, because I am still a newbie in writing lyrics. So Ian
wrote a concept story, and wrote the lyrics from that.
Was it a
deliberately choice to work with Sascha Paeth and Miro, who have been working
with some of the frontrunners in this genre earlier on? And how does the final
result compare to the idea you had going into the studio?
Niels Vejlyt
– Absolutely, I love everything that I hear from Sascha and Miro. It was awesome
to work with such masters, in general the sound improved a lot, but the ideas,
arrangements and orchestrations remained the same.
How big on an
influence did Miro have on the orchestration, and how much better do you feel
the cooperation with him has made these parts of the album?
Niels Vejlyt
– Well Miro is a genius, but I made the orchestrations, he then used better
samples and accents, and in some places he added some of his own uniqueness.
You are
working with Ian Perry (Consortium Project, Elegy) on ‘Kingdom of Utopia’ – how
did you get in touch with him, and how big of an impact did he have on the final
result?
Niels Vejlyt
– When I did the songs, I knew that to serve the songs right, I had to use a
great singer, so I pretty much just went through my CD collection and found my
favourite singers, then I contacted them all, some responded, and wanted to work
on the songs, but Ian was the one I ended up collaborating with.
Where does
your inspiration come from, what makes you tick and start creating…?
Niels Vejlyt
– I’m a huge music fan, and I buy new music all the time, its a compulsive thing
I have, so I learn from other bands and musicians, a lot from film scores and
art too.
Tell us a bit
about artwork…
Niels Vejlyt
– I got in contact with Killustrations through Claus from Intromental, so I told
Bjorn from Killustrations my idea for the cover, and he incorporated his own
style into my ideas.
Infinity
Overture – any special story behind your name?
Niels Vejlyt
– I have been through a huge amount of names, and it took a long time before I
was satisfied. I started shopping for labels with the name Infinity, but I got
contacted from a few guys who told me the name was already in use. I really
wanted to express the symphonic and gothic side of the band, but obviously the
name Symphony X was already in use, so actually Claus came with the idea
sticking Overture in the end of our name at that time, and I was not sure about
it for a while, but now it feels right.
What plans
lies ahead of Infinity Overture?
Niels Vejlyt
– Tonight (October 9th) we are playing a show in Lades in Copenhagen,
presenting the album, then on the 17th of October we will play in Sonderborg,
I’m not sure about more shows yet, but we will work on getting more, and I think
the beginning of next year will give the opportunity to play more shows. We are
going in the studio in November to record the next Infinity Overture album, and
I’m working on having the first video for the next album also.
Any touring
plans, or is this just a studio project?
Niels Vejlyt
– Infinity Overture is absolutely not a studio project; I have been speaking to
a few bands of supporting them on a tour. Infinity Overture is a band now, and
has been for some time now, the chemistry in the band is awesome, and we are
hell bend on playing as much live as possible live, and just working our butts
off in general.
How healthy to
you think the symphonic power metal scene is nowadays – 2009 hasn’t exactly
spawned with new talent (besides you) and albums?
Niels Vejlyt
– Even though I buy new music constantly, I got to admit I have not come across
any Symphonic metal for a long time; on the other hand I have become a huge
Opeth fan, just from trying out new stuff. I listen to a wide variety of metal,
from Nightwish to Behemoth, Nile and Dream Theater.
Name the five
musical pieces that you want to bring with you when we send you to hell or
heaven!
Niels Vejlyt
–
1. Dream
Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
2. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
3. Behemoth - Evangelion
4. Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands
5. Epica - The Divine Conspiracy
Thank you very
much for answering my questions. Do you have any last rants for our readers?
Niels Vejlyt
– Thanks a lot for the interview, I really hope that people get inspired to
listen to our music, and come see us play live soon.
