Mattias “IA” Eklundh: Part Two
Posted by Bill on Apr 27 2008 | Tagged as: Showcase
Glenn Harveston: “I Think I Have Reached An Elite Level With This Festival”
Posted by Bill on Dec 22 2007 | Tagged as: From Glenn
ProgPower USA organizer Glenn Harveston needs no introduction. Prog and power metal aficionados around the world (bands as well as fans) know his name – not to mention his reputation for putting on the smoothest-run, most enjoyable metal festival on the planet. So I’ll just jump right in with our 90-minute interview, conducted mid-December, 2007.
By the way, Glenn told me he’s picked one of the two headliners for ProgPower USA IX. Who? Read on…
GH: Hello?
BM: Is this Glenn?
GH: It is.
BM: Hey, how are you doing?
GH: Good, man. Boy, you are punctual!
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs]
BM: That’s what all those ProgPower guys would tell me. They’d say, “You’re right on time.” I’d say, “Well, yeah.”
GH: Did they really? [laughs]
BM: Yeah. It’s gonna be fun, a real pleasure, to chat with you this evening.
GH: Thanks.
BM: It’s about time.
GH: It’ll be interesting. I’ve had some interviews, but they’ve only been skimming the top.
BM: Yep.
GH: Nothing really in-depth.
BM: Well, this ought to be in-depth. [laughs]
Raintime Vocalist Claudio Coassin: “I’m Not A Sad Guy. So I Tried To Tell Some Stories…Sometimes There’s Happy Endings, Sometimes Not”
Posted by Bill on Sep 14 2007 | Tagged as: Friday Night
The Italian 6-piece progressive-metal band Raintime almost seemed to come out of nowhere, arriving on the scene fully formed – and remarkably mature. Their debut album – Tales from Sadness (2005) – dropped jaws and raised eyebrows everywhere. Their 2007 follow-up release (Flies & Lies) was no less aggressive or highly regarded. I spoke with lead singer and vocalist Claudio Coassin earlier this year.
CC: Hello?
BM: Is this Claudio?
CC: Yes, is this Bill?
BM: Yes, Bill Murphy.
CC: What’s up?
BM: How are you?
CC: Oh, doing fine. Fine, fine. You?
Communic Guitarist Oddleif Stensland: “If People Want To Compare Me, Vocally, With Nevermore, I Take It More As A Compliment”
Posted by Bill on Sep 14 2007 | Tagged as: Friday Night
Like most progressive metal fans, I was blown away by Communic from the very first album (Conspiracy in Mind, 2005). And it only got better from there. Their second album (Waves of Visual Decay, 2006) made it clear to one and all that Communic is a dynamic and creative force to be reckoned with.
I spoke with Communic front man Oddleif Stensland in the Spring of 2007.
OS: Hello.
BM: Hi, this is Bill Murphy calling from the States.
OS: Yeah, cool. How are you doing?
BM: Good. How are you?
OS: [laughs] I am fine.
BM: [laughs] Good.
OS: Yeah, it’s good.
BM: What’s the weather like there in Norway?
OS: Well actually, they said today on the, on the weathercast that this was the hottest day so far. We had like 10 degrees today and the sun was shining, so it was pretty good.
BM: Wow, that’s good.
OS: [laughs] Yeah.
BM: Actually, it’s pretty warm here today too, actually. It’s probably around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
OS: Ah, and that would be like 25, or …?
BM: A little less than that for you guys, around 18 I think.
OS: Yeah. That’s warmer than we have here. [laughs]
Sonata Arctica Front Man Tony Kakko: “We Are A Gateway To Metal”
Posted by Bill on Sep 14 2007 | Tagged as: Friday Night
Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica boasts something no other band from that region of the world can: the incomparable vocalist/songwriter/keyboardist Tony Kakko.
Tony, a nice guy in addition to being one of power metal’s most charismatic front men, called me at 8 a.m. the day after the listening party for Unia, SA’s latest album. Tony was in New York. I was in Michigan. All things considered, I’d rather have been in New York, too. But what are you gonna do?
BM: Hello?
TK: Hi, this is Tony from Sonata Arctica. Bill?
BM: Tony, yes. Hi, this is Bill.
TK: Hi, how are you doing?
BM: Good. How are you doing?
TK: [laughs] Just fine. Totally hung over, but otherwise cool.
BM: [laughs]
TK: We had a listening party last night, so…
BM: Yeah, how did that go? And isn’t this kind of early for a rock star?
