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We
caught up with Italian power metal band Secret Sphere before their
show opening for King Diamond at Train in Århus. Here's a
transcript of our little conversation with Ramon and Aldo...
First
of all - how did it go and how were you received on Saturday in
Esbjerg?
Aldo - At the end of the show we were really happy, because
I think we played at nice show. And after the show many people
came up to us and told us that they didn't know the music before,
but were really impressed with your music and the show. And that
they were glad to discover us, and that made me really, really
happy. And I think if we play a good show again tonight, then we
will gain fans here as well.
Ramon
joins the interview
You
played the Prog Power show in the
UK
a few weeks ago, how did that go?
Aldo - It was really great, and we were really impressed
that so many people knew about Secret Sphere. I was really happy,
because when we played live, really many in the crowd were singing
along with our songs. Everything about the event was cool, maybe
the place was too big - it was a really big venue. I was really
impressed with all of the people singing the songs - it was really
nice.
Did
you fit into the bill?
Aldo - Yes, but there were some different bands like Orphaned
Land, and they were really different! But the rest of the bands were
cool - Firewind, who plays typical heavy metal with some power
metal influences, and then there were Pagan's Mind, which was more
progressive metal. And at the end Therion - and they were really
impressive!
And
now you are touring with King Diamond - how do you feel?
Ramon - We are feeling very, very good. First of all - King
Diamond is a metal legend, and it's great to be (touring) with him
and to open his concerts. But also because his musical (style) is
more classic metal an it fits very well with our audience, because
we are power metal with speed and symphonic influences. We grew up
with Iron Maiden and that sort of stuff, so it's good to plays
this kind of music for this kind of audience.
Do
you feel your music fits into King Diamond’s music as well?
Because listening to your CD's made us think - maybe this is for
another kind of crow - but do you feel confident in your music?
Both - Yeah!
Ramon - It's more about the metal mentality. Because even
though we coming from the (Iron Maiden) camp, we can fit into the
bill.
Just
put on a good show and win over the audience...
Ramon - Yeah!
When
listening to your latest CD - Helloween seems to be an influence
and also Iron Maiden, especially "Dance with the Devil".
You also took part on the Keepers of
Jericho
tribute CD - have you ever met Helloween?
Aldo - No, not personal. But we received compliments from
Weiki for our contribution ("How Many Tears") on the CD.
In an Italian magazine, he was asked about the Keepers of Jericho
tribute album, and he said one of his favourites was Secret
Sphere's version of "How Many Tears". And that made us
very happy, because it's nice get a compliment like that because
Helloween is one our biggest influences.
Who
else would you say have been strong influences on your music?
Ramon - Helloween, Iron Maiden.
Aldo - Me personally, I grew up listening to a lot of hard
rock music, and it is still my favorite kind of music. My all-time
favorite band is Mötley Crüe, but do also listen to a lot the
newer American bands like Shadows Fall. I think they are very
interesting because they mix different kinds of metal - typical
metal, metal core, emocore.
Ramon - I grew up with hard rock - Guns 'n' Roses,
Aerosmith - before I fell deeply in love with Iron Maiden and
Helloween. But I keep an open mind, when listening to music and
composing music. Like we do have our style, but if someone comes
up with a different idea or orchestration, then we are ready to
try something new and to evolve.
So
how do create a song, is it a band effort or...?
Ramon - Most of the times, we get together and someone
comes up with a guitar riff and we work it out from there.
Sometimes it's the keyboard player, who comes with a vocal line -
he does often have some very good ideas. And we mix it all
together... We are 6 guys in the band and everybody has to be
satisfied with the outcome.
You
just mentioned Mötley Crüe - you (Aldo) are taking part in a
cover project...
Aldo - Yes, along with some members from Mind's Eye and
Pagan's Mind - we have recorded "Wild Side" for the
record, which will be out at the end of this year on an
US
label (I think).
"Secret
Symphony Orchestra" is credited on "Heart &
Anger" - what's behind that?
Aldo - I'll explain - when we went into the studio we
wanted to use some real classical instruments. And one days we
were in a local pub, and a guy from the Allesandria Classical
Conservatory comes up to us and says: "I know you, you play
in that band, and we were wondering if it was possible to do some
shows together? We will arrange your songs, and we will play your
songs together with the band". So we talked with them, and
thought why don't we ask them to arrange stuff for the new album?
And so it happened...
Ramon - And it was a dream come true especially for our
keyboarder to compose together with them.
The
Italian metal scene seems fairly strong, but what's it like, is it
easy to get gigs?
Aldo - Hmmm, not so easy. There are many, many bands -
especially power and symphonic metal bands. But it's not very easy
to organize concerts; it's very, very hard to get into the nice
places. Metal in
Italy
is underground, so it's hard to find the right people to organize
gigs. There are a lot of bands, not just power metal, but also
gothic and thrash metal - very good bands too, but we don't have
the same mentality like in Germany or Scandinavia. We are not
quite there yet!
The bands are ready, now we just need the people behind the scenes
- the labels, the promoters etc. to be ready.
OK
this one is for me (Kenn) - I know football is very important in
Italy. Can you agree on supporting one football club or do you
follow six different teams in the band?
Aldo - I don't care that much about football, but I do like
Roma. And I know some the other guys follow Juventus, but not
closely.
Ramon - When I was a child I was a big fan of Juventus, but
now I don't follow soccer that much any more.
So
you are not looking forward to the World Cup in
Germany
in the summer?
Both - Yeah off course!
Aldo - That's important! But we like to get together and
play football just for the fun of it... But we don't have the
passion to go to games every Sunday.
Ramon - We put our passion into music instead.
One
final question - do you have any rituals before you go on stage?
Aldo - Yeah, we get together and join hands and shout:
"Rock 'n' Roll".
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