VIRGIN STEELE INTERVIEW |
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Hey David, first of all thanks for taking the time to do this interview with me. I really appreciate it. The last time we spoke was actually at your tour with Hammerfall, when you played in Copenhagen back in 2000 I think. A lot have happened since then . you finished the "House of Atreus" concept, you did some opera/musical projects in Germany and you've re-recorded and released material from your 2 first albums (along with the "Best of." material).
Interview by Claus Jensen |
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1) I personally believe that your 2 first albums are the best you ever done, and I think in every interview I've done with you over the years (since my days at Metalized Magazine), I've told you so . hehe. You've always said that you kind of understood me, as it's natural for a fan to have a special relationship with the discs he grew up with. But if you have to be totally honest, doesn't it bother you that those who have followed Virgin Steele since the early 80's are still leaning towards those discs? Doesn't it make you feel that the band will always be stuck there?
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Yes I understand that whatever album that a Fan from a group first listens to is, that usually becomes their favourite, regardless of how good the other albums that he or she hears are later on. That is the nostalgia part that takes over. Many people have said that NOBLE SAVAGE is our best album, (because they discovered us with that one), or also THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL, or INVICTUS, and even.LIFE AMONG THE RUINS, so I am sure that those Fans who come on board with VIRGIN STEELE for the first time, with the VISIONS OF EDEN album, will also have a similar experience, and feel the same about that album. As regards Fans leaning to any particular disc.it does not bother me, because as I explained with every album we have reached a new legion of Fans who all take the latest Work to their hearts, so I never feel stuck in the 80's or the 90's or anywhere. We are not stuck in one place and never have been. If you listen to all the albums you will see & hear that they are all very different and that we have been moving forward constantly, and shall continue to do so.
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2) How do you personally take up this challenge in order to always make Virgin Steele move forward?
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I move forward as a person. My Life is ever changing, so the Music must reflect that for me to be honest about what I am singing about. I accept and enjoy the challenge to continually push the boundaries of what we are.
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3) What have you done different with "Visions Of Eden - The Lilith Project" compared to your previous albums?
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The new album is an Epic Work based on what happened to Paganism and Gnosticism and the desecration & eradication of the Goddess principle, due to the rise of the "Father-God" principle and then later the rise of "organized" religions. It concerns LILITH and Ancient Sumerian Myths. It is a very Dark Work. It is perhaps even darker than the darkest VS moments. It is more Nocturnal, Autumnal, Celestial, Vampiric, Paganistic, Lunar, Underground and in general more Extreme. The brutality is if possible even more brutal, (especially mentally speaking), and the tender moments are incredibly Melancholy, Tortured, Forlorn and Torn. It is a Music full of eternal longing, suffering and regret. Long Smoldering passions, lust and despair ignite, consume and die... In the end... a type of hope arises. Not always the "All Conquering Triumph Ideology", but a sense of merging with the perennial consciousness of the Universe, where one day.... a rebirth of sorts might follow... a Beauty born of Grief. I am using more piano or acoustic guitar combined with very deeply tuned heavy guitars. Vocally it is very, very melodic, and I can be tender, aggressive, and bluesy. At times the vocal style is like the bluesy singing on the Life Among The Ruins album, only the Music and Melodies here are very, very different. VISIONS OF EDEN is very atmospheric. There are big Epic Anthemic pieces, with always sing-able, & memorable "hooks", but there is also a Dark, Brooding, Moody, Impressionistic, quality that manifests itself throughout. There is over the top orchestration, yet simplicity. Nothing is done for the sake of overindulgence, or complexity for complexities sake. Everything is in proportion, balance and effective for the feelings/sentiments in question. It is a new development I think. A further progression of my compositional style. These Works are like.... Cold Moonlight on a Haunted Cathedral, or the Wailing of the Wind through Accursed Ruins... Images of stark bare trees, clutching at a Dark, Pregnant, Grey/Black Cloud covered Sky while fog stalks the streets are conjured.
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4) Virgin Steele have existed for 25 years now - how much further can you take the band? And, more importantly, is it still as much fun as when you began?
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Much further! We have really only just begun. Yes it is more fun actually. We are all better musicians and we are all very well attuned to one another, so it will only get better.
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5) Looking back on your career, there are of course highs and lows . what would you consider the high-point of Virgin Steele's career, and which the low-point?
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There have been so many high points along the way. But I truly feel that we are now entering what will be our greatest period ever. The lowest point was between AGE OF CONSENT & LIFE MONG THE RUINS, when I had to build everything back up again. We had to fire our manager, and change the bass player a few times during that period.
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6) With "Visions Of Eden - The Lilith Project" you've already been taking a lot of heat for it, even before it's out in the stores. People are complaining (and in my opinion, rightly so.) about the production. There's very little guitars on the disc, or at least it's mixed very low. How come that you have done it this way?
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You probably have the Promo copy. The Promo copy as I have explained many times was not the final finished version of the album. I had to rush something out to meet various deadlines. This is something that I will never do again. The final version has much more guitar action. Perhaps still not enough for some folks, but definitely more than the Promo. Also the correct Mastering is on the final version, which makes the overall sound way better. Metal to me is more than a loud guitar and a pounding drum. I mean even Punk Rock has that. Metal is a special kind of harmonic & melodic vocabulary, a special phrasing and inflection that exists even when performing this music on an acoustic guitar or piano. Metal is far more than a cranked up Marshall amp and lyrics about dragons or elves. It is a Philosophy, a Spiritual quest, and a life long commitment to strength, honour, dignity and maintaining one's place in the world in the face of adversity. For me Metal comes from a combination of the Blues, Gregorian chant, Classical & Operatic elements and of course Hard Rock. The musical vocabulary that I use in the songs of VIRGIN STEELE, are all these things and more. Even a very quiet track like IPHIGENIA IN HADES from THE HOUSE OF ATREUS is still Metal in that it contains the phrasing, the intent and the ATITUDE of Metal. How the Music is executed means everything! Is it put forth with a thrust, a swagger an attitude of total command? What is the intent? For it to be True Metal, it must be full bore hardcore to the hilt kind of playing. There must be reckless abandon combined with precision. There must be freedom, savagery, urgency, fearlessness, and ferocity. Even if one is playing a slow plodding doom oriented number, or a gentle type of Metal balled, each note must have total commitment, and must be performed with full intent, as if it was to be the last note ever performed before the entire Universe goes up in Flames! True Metal is a Religion, a Spirituality based upon all the finer and Nobler things in Life. It can show one a code or way to live by. It can teach, and it can heal.
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7) Also people have mentioned that the drums sounds really computerized (I've seen that Frank have gone out publically and said it's because he played on an "electric drumkit") . does these comments make you want to get an outside producer in on the next album?
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No not at all. I have produced every album we have ever done. Just because someone dislikes the sound of 1 album in a band's catalogue that does not mean that I should hang up my hat. It might be fun to have an outside producer, but it is not really necessary. I have all the ideas in my head that need to be recorded. I know what orchestrations, and what parts are needed to flesh out a song. I know how to write and arrange. What would be most helpful to me would be to have an engineer onboard who really understood how to capture the music I create, not a producer. Those are 2 different jobs. The engineer does the physical work of capturing the sound, power & energy of the artist. The producer is an "ideas" guy who suggests what sort of overdubs to record, arrangements, or what kind of performance is required. The producer.I don't need. A great engineer is always welcome. Some people are engineer-producers, but this is rare.
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8) I personally am led to believe that the reason for these "production-mishaps" are due to a lack of real studio budget. Am I right in that assessment, or are your label supportive enough in terms of paying for recordings?
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For a project as huge as this was we would have needed millions. We had a decent budget for a simple collection of normal metal songs, but I wrote over 60 pieces of music, of Epic proportions! I was attempting to record everything, not merely those 11 songs found on the album.
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9) Another thing I have thought about in the wave of all these "negative" comments on the production of the album, is that the disc is already downloadable on the internet at all those file-sharing services around the world. Not necessarily a good thing in my opinion (in my mind downloading is stealing!), and especially in a situation as this where you've actually not even sent out the finished mix as promo's to the media - and it is the non-final version spreading like wildfire on the internet. What's your opinion on this?
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I don't dig the fact that it is out there on the net before it is even supposed to be available. Especially because it is not the final finished version that is out there. That just plain sucks. An artist can't really have a "career" anymore if everything is given away. Maybe I should become a gravedigger.
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10) Now, onto the music of "Visions Of Eden - The Lilith Project" . it sounds like a classic/typical Virgin Steele with all it entails; bombastic hymns, huge orchestrations and great vocals . Although, I must say that there seem to be more "laid-back" songs on here than on the previous bunch of albums. Is this a deliberate choice?
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What's laid back certainly not the first 5 tracks?! It is a long album. One needs contrast when one has such a lengthy Work. I had originally planned a triple or double CD, so there were and still are all kinds of different feels and emotions within the songs on the album and the songs that I had to leave off.
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11) You're calling the album for "a barbaric romantic movie of the mind" . what the **** is that??????????
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Use your imagination.See the story unfold within your mind. Everything that takes place in the album, takes place inside the mind of a modern day 21st century woman, as she is being raped. The other reason I called it that, is that I think of this Work (and I mean all the songs I wrote, not just these 11), as the soundtrack to a movie that has yet to be made.
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12) With "A Marriage Of Heaven And Hell" and with "House Of Atreus" you went for those 2-part epic dramas . how many parts are you going to do with this new concept?
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That remains to be seen. It could be 2, 3 or 1,000! This is a Tale that really has no end, until perhaps everyone in the Universe is dead.
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13) I'm sure that with the metal-opera's you've done in Germany, you've learned a thing or two about how to put on a "big show" . do you see this as something you could do with Virgin Steele? I mean, there's a lot of drama and storyline in your albums ("Visions Of Eden - The Lilith Project" is definitely a true drama), could you envision Virgin Steele bringing actors and big stage-props with you on tour?
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Yes I have. Yes I would like to accentuate the Theatrical side of what we do onstage much further. With the proper time and finances this could be achieved.
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14) What's on the horizon for Virgin Steele 2006/2007 ???
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Hopefully a live album, a historical DVD, more shows, and of course more studio albums.
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15) Thanks for doing this interview David, I really appreciate it. I'll leave the last words to you .
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You are very welcome. I thank you kindly for your belief and support. To your Readers I say." CHEERS & THANKS FOR LISTENING! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR FAITH, HEART, NOBILITY, AND HONOUR. WE WILL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON".
BY THE BLACK SUN & MOON, David DeFeis |
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