Sonic Perspectives

After releasing debut album “Satellites” to great acclaim in late 2020 (catch our review of the album here), the dynamic Silent Skies duo will grace the start of 2022 with sophomore album “Nectar” on February 4th. The product of collaboration between vocalist Tom Englund (Evergrey, Redemption) and keyboard player Virkam Shankar (Redemption) has been incredibly fruitful since its inception, with the two musicians and songwriters generating swathes of material. Carefully curated for release to the masses, “Satellites” marked an incredible tenderness and was brimming over with emotive strength. 

“Nectar” is an evolution on the themes explored in the duo’s debut, but with an even greater sense of maturity and direction. First single “Taper” offers a comprehensive taste of the splendor to come, with sweeping soundscapes that dance between cinematic and dreamlike. Somehow, “Nectar” manages to be even more touching than its predecessor, but still embodies the whole heart and soul of its creators. The near-flawless execution and polished production show the obvious skill of the two talented musicians as they continue their artistic union for this sophomore release. 

Both Englund and Shankar sat down with Sonic Perspectives contributor Samantha Buckman to discuss the writing of “Nectar,” their continued collaboration, and what fans can expect from the project in the future. For more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter and  subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new content we publish on a daily basis.

The post TOM ENGLUND and VIKRAM SHANKAR Talk SILENT SKIES’ Upcoming Album “Nectar”: “The Music is Reflections of Us” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Nine years after forming ASHES OF ARES, Matt Barlow and Freddie Vidales return with their third full-length album “Emperors and Fools”. The writing process began almost immediately after their previous album “Well of Souls” was released, and showcases a true collaborative effort between the two, with ideas originating from one or the other, then evolving and being refined to their final form.

Scheduled for release on January 21st via ROAR! Rock of Angels Records (Grave Digger, Mystic Prophecy, Steel Prophet, Mad Max, etc.), “Emperors and Fools” sees the duo take the darkness and aggression from their previous album “Well of Souls” to a higher echelon. It once again features Van Williams (Ghost Ship Octavius, ex-Nevermore) drumming on every track, and Tim Ripper Owens on the eleven-minute long epic “Monster’s Lament”. The daunting artwork is done by Kamil Pietruczynik, and will keep you guessing what each piece represents in an evil chess board.

“Emperors and Fools” bridges the gap between traditional metal and thrash, with an intense journey that drives the listeners to the edge of their seats. A much heavier effort than its predecessor, it’s guaranteed to be present in many lists of best albums of 2022.

The post MATT BARLOW Talks New ASHES OF ARES Album And Compositional Chemistry with FREDDIE VIDALES: “We Try to Keep the Writing Process Raw and Organic” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

The Motor City Madman Ted Nugent has just released a brand-new single, “Come and Take It,” from his upcoming album, “Detroit Muscle,” which will be unleashed upon the world on April 29, 2022. The new single is a powerful, patriotic rock anthem that reminds Americans of the sacred 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, a subject that Nugent promotes every day.

“Detroit Muscle” is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and has special t-shirt bundles. To pre-order, visit this location.

For over 50 years, Wildman Ted Nugent has been an unstoppable dynamic musical force not to be reckoned with. Like a rock & roll freight train that never falters or gets unhinged, Ted continues to slay the wild hearts of fans and musicians throughout the world. His reputation is forged in the uncanny ability to blend soul-crushing guitar riffs and well-crafted lyrics with sheer primal instinct.

Despite accolades and awards from mainstream music publications and organizations, Ted has been cranking out legendary songs his entire career like “Stranglehold,” “Wang Dang Sweet Pootang,” “Wang Tango,” and the most famous love songs ever written, “Cat Scratch Fever.”

Buckle your seat belt, secure your safety harness, and kiss your arse goodbye as we embark on an interview of epic portions with the American Braveman Caveman Uncle Ted Nugent. Correspondent Robert Cavuoto was able to capture Ted for 40 minutes as he shared what fans can expect from “Detroit Muscle,” a quick tutorial on living in America, an upcoming tour in 2022, his first impression of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing, and his thoughts on the incident during the filming of Alex Baldwin‘s movie “Rust” and more.

The post TED NUGENT Talks Upcoming Album “Detroit Muscle” and His Creative Process: ‘I Don’t Write Songs, I Ejaculate Them’ appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Black Veil Brides are constantly growing, evolving and, reinventing themselves with each album. Their latest masterpiece, “The Phantom Tomorrow,” which was released October 29th, has been met with critical acclaim and no wonder because this is this is their most sonically powerful and melodically heavy release to date. Black Veil Brides consists Andy Biersack [vocals], Jake Pitts [guitars], Jinxx [guitars/violin], Lonny Eagleton [bass] and Christian “CC” Coma [drums].

The 12 songs solidify their roots in classic metal while adding a symphonic touch to create a broader and richer sounding album than ever before. Songs like “Born Again” and “Fall Eternal” jump out of the speakers with their big grooves, memorable riffs, and intriguing lyrical messages. There is a heartfelt quality to string compositions of “Spectres” and “The Phantom Tomorrow – Introduction.” At the same time, “Shadows Rise” marries the gentle touch of the violin with brutal guitar playing. This is a fresh, vibrant, and addictive album destined to be their best!

The band is at the tail end of a U.S. tour post-pandemic. It was a grueling non-stop tour that had them carrying on despite their drummer, CC, being sidelined with COVID and missing three shows. Being the creative band and not wanting to let their fans down, they continued with those shows, playing acoustically.

Correspondent Robert Cavuoto had an in-depth conversation with Jinxx about the new album and the decision to perform acoustically without CC. Listen to their chat in the links below – or read the transcript of their conversation – and remember that for more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new content we publish on a daily basis.

Black Veil gets sonically bigger, more thematic, more instrumentation, and more theatrical with lyrics on every CD. Do you think the band has locked into this as your signature sound?

That’s a really good question, and the answer to that is I really don’t know. I don’t think so; we are constantly growing and evolving. This sound we have on this album is obviously different from that we had on the last album. I have to say that we have a team together, and we are doing things that I think we will continue with in the future. We are pretty much in-house, and we found one ingredient that we are enjoying working with, and that is Erik Ron [producer]. He has added an element to the band that was missing in the past. I know we always say this, but I think this is our best work yet. I have a feeling that we are definitely going to continue with him. 

This album is one of my favorites. It is one of the most cohesive albums musically and sonically, with a perfect consistency of melody, tempo, and heaviness from song to song. Is that why you see this as your best work?

Yeah, definitely! It’s really hard to talk about your music, so it’s good to hear it from an outside perspective. We are always in this bubble, and hearing reactions like this from fans is great. To be honest, we have been sitting on this album for quite a while. We finished in January 2021, and we even finished Part 2 of the record. Originally, we were going to release it in June, and it got pushed back with COVID and production issues. We began working on it at the beginning of 2020 before the pandemic and before we did the Mexico shows. It’s been a long time working on this album, so it’s hard for me to give my perspective to answer your question [laughing]. I’m glad to hear your response. The other night all of us were listening to it and were like, “Oh my God!” We haven’t listened to it in months [laughing]. We have been sitting on it while we were rehearsing the old songs and getting ready for the tour, so listening to the album from start to finish, I thought, “I’m really proud of this one!”

The songs on the album are riff-based; what constitutes a good riff for you?

Just telling a story. Anything musically that tells a story and draws the listener in. It has to have a format like E-B-A-C and follows a chord progression. It’s a little catchy at first, then takes you to someplace else in the B part, then back to the A part, then here is the C part that leads you into the next part. The E-B-A format within songwriting is the familiarity, the repetition, the changes, and the dynamics. So a good riff just has to follow that which is the same format that has been followed for centuries with symphonic formulas like Mozart, and good riff follows that same pattern. I think of it as not being too complicated. It tells a story and has a groove to it. It’s simple enough that any fan can pick up a guitar and jam out to it. Any Metallica song from The Black album has a groove to it.

A perfect example of that is “Born Again,” with a solid riff and a great melody on top. It’s my favorite track.

It’s one of my favorite tracks as well. Jake came up with the bridge for that. Honestly, we are just trying to think outside of the box from our usual comfort zone. When Jake and I were writing, we were just trying to outdo ourselves with complexities and shredding. Overtime time, we were trying to write the song yet still make it heavy. For this, we started off with the vocal melody and the chugging on the guitar, then the chord progression, into the riff. It’s simple yet still heavy. That is where that some came from, and Jake came in with the riff. It’s stupid simple, but it is cool and heavy.

You have some pretty brutal guitar tones on this new album, particularly on “Crimson Skies.” It’s like a buzz saw to the head. What were you using to get it?

Oh man, this is more of a question for Jake because he took everything home and re-tracked all the guitars with his home studio while I was doing all the string and production stuff in my studio. We were working out of three studios. I can say that we pretty much used plugins and dialing into the sounds. What that means is we are not going through physical amps and amp heads. We are going direct in and using a plugin amp that models our Kemper amps. It’s a copy of what we use in the studio. Technology has gotten pretty far with plugins and Kemper amps. Now it is so much easier to control and dial it in, being congruent with everything. Jake was doing a lot of quad-tracking. Usually, we would do one guitar on each side for the rhythms, then double that. Quad-tracking is when you have two guitars on each side. It takes a lot of dialed in playing trying to capture that performance right in time. You can’t edit it as it has to be performed that way. It is very time-consuming to track all that, especially for those big choruses where most of that was used.

You incorporated your violin playing in many songs like ” Spectres” and the intro to “Shadows Rise.” Is it fun to change the dynamics of the songs from brutal guitar to smooth violin?

Oh absolutely! I got to focus on that with John Feldman [producer] when we were working on Wretched and Divine. That was a really important album for all of us for many reasons. For me to finally have someone who loved what I was doing with the violin, he wanted me to incorporate it with the whole album. It was a no-brainer to revisit the idea of doing a concept record. We wanted to get some orchestral elements back into it. When we first sat down to talk about what we wanted to do for it in January 2020/pre-pandemic. We were on a new label, we had a new bass player, and we are a new band, so let’s start out with something fresh! Let’s do something we want to do, which was a new concept record. What is funny is we started with this Queen-esque intro, done in major chords, and it was really happy sounding. I was playing the piano, and within a few minutes, it turned really dark [laughing]! We can’t do happy. I guess we can here and there. We have to tell a story, and how do we tell a story? We are dark and come from a dark place! Eventually, we are uplifting with our messages and our lyrics. As soon as we started playing a C minor chord on the piano with strings behind it, it turned into “The Phantom Tomorrow Intro.” I did a full Danny Elfman thing where it builds up to “Scarlet Cross.” Andy was writing the story and drawing pictures; people were coming up with ideas, and that’s how the album started. It was from that intro! Then Jake wrote the riff for “Scarlett Cross,” and the song developed. The tour in Mexico was happening with a world tour to follow, so we thought we would come back and work on the album afterward. The pandemic hit, and we were like, “okay” we are going to do the whole album [laughing]. We had to shift gears with the tour, which we thought was postponed for a couple of months, then for six months, then a year, so we just kept writing and writing [laughing]. ” Spectres” was specifically an idea that was supposed to bridge the gap between “Blackbird” and “Torch.” It was an interlude. Andy had an idea to use on the old Gene Autry song “Blackbird” from the 1920s. I obtained an old gramophone and a record with Gene‘s version. I recorded it, diluted it, distorted it, and made it weird. Unfortunately, that version with Gene Autry didn’t make it to the final cut because of licensing issues. What eventually came took the chord progression from “Torch” with the melody of “Blackbird” over the top like an overture. Combining the two elements from both songs to bridge the gap.

Do people ever tell you they were inspired to play violin because of you?

Everyday! It just blows my mind. It is incredibly uplifting. It’s not just the violin; people say they picked up the guitar or the bass, any instrument for that matter! The fact that we are doing something that inspires anyone to pick up an instrument is great. I was influenced by Randy Rhoads and Ozzy, which made me want to pick up the guitar. I became really obsessed with him and Metallica. To be that for a new generation is an incredible feeling. I also hear from time to time, and they played violin at school, but then listened to my overture and picked it back up again. I was so glad that I could contribute to something so positive, encourage people to pick up an instrument, and do something positive in their lives. They will be the next generation to change lives as well.

It will be interesting in years to come where people take violin playing in metal from your introduction and cite you as an influence. I heard violin and strings on many songs but was wondering if it is there on all the songs, perhaps lower in the mix?

It’s not necessarily prominent, but it is there. We would write everything together in the studio in North Hollywood with Erik Ron. We collectively wrote together, then Jake and I would go home to our studios. He would do guitars, and I would strings. There are strings on all the songs. There are a lot of elements that you might not necessarily hear. It is buried in the mix, but it makes it larger. If it weren’t there, you would notice that it was missing. If you cut everything away, you would hear a whole orchestra, especially in the choruses and sometimes in the verses. I was doing full orchestrated symphonic stuff; every song on the album has string somewhere.

With CC having COVID a few weeks back, was there a consideration about getting a drummer to fill in for those shows while he was quarantined?

I couldn’t say there wasn’t a consideration because if there were a situation where he was going to miss more shows, we’d have to figure something out. There is a lot of money that we are indebted to. A lot of people don’t know we don’t make a lot of money doing this. We have grantees and contracts, so it’s important. If you cancel a show, it’s a huge detriment on the business. Even doing the acoustic shows was a real bummer for us. Even though it was different and a new experience for the band. We did three of them, and we were like, “Can we just get CC back?” [Laughing] There was a passing fancy of a thought which was shot down immediately about using one of the three phenomenal drummers on our crew. We have CC‘s tech, who is a great drummer, our assistant Jeff is an amazing drummer, and our photographer Edwin is an amazing drummer. They were like, “We can pick up the slack and learn the songs!” We decided there would be nothing right about that. As depressing as it was to have CC in a hotel room in Lubbock, Texas, with COVID, it wouldn’t be right. I couldn’t do that; we are a team! We are a band; we couldn’t do that to him, ourselves, or the fans.  So, we voted immediately against that.

You did some acoustic radio station promo tours. How long did it take the band to get up to speed on playing acoustically, as electric guitar parts don’t always translate to an acoustic?

Fortunately, we did do some acoustic show virtually earlier on in the year, so we were already accustomed to working out the songs acoustically in a way that would be cohesive live on acoustic instruments. However, the challenging part was, are we going to be up there clanking around on our acoustics with no back-beat or percussion? We didn’t want to be playing to a click track clanking around the stage to 2,000 people!  We realized that we needed percussion tracks to play to! I was the only one with a working ProTools rig on tour in my bunk called “Studio Bunk” [laughing]. We had to play a full set for an hour and fifteen minutes in order to fulfill our obligation with the contacts. I took every song that we decided to play acoustically, and I built percussion tracks based on what I could remember CC playing at these virtual acoustic shows and radio stations. That was really difficult! [Laughing] I didn’t sleep for an entire weekend building those percussion tracks! We did one rehearsal, maybe outside of Denver, and I found a couple of songs where I was off a little bit or left out a measure, and the next day we were using it to play the Denver at a huge show to a couple of thousand people. We were all hoping it would work out [laughing]! These cheesy pre-recorded percussion tracks that I built on principles worked out. After three shows, we were done with that.

Do you think you will ever look back on those shows thinking they were cool and unique for the band and fans?

For sure. For me, that first Denver show is where I learned that my grandfather had passed away from COVID. We got into Denver and at 7:00 am, my dad texted that he had bad news that my grandfather had passed away this morning. I couldn’t believe it, not only were we dealing with losing our drummer because of COVID, which we didn’t know for how long, and now this. Coupled with the entire weekend of not sleeping to make these acoustic tracks work, my grandfather passed away. I got to dedicate “Saviour” to him, which is a song I wrote musically for a friend of mine who committed suicide. The idea of dedicating that song to him was because he loved when I played the violin, which was his favorite part of what I was doing. I knew that he is up in heaven looking down, happy that I was playing the violin. There is something special about that show that I knew he would be smiling down at. That is what I look back on and find really special.

I’m sorry to hear about your Grandfather and your friend! My condolences…. The Black Veil Brides logo with the word “Veil” on the new album is similar to Motley Crue’s logo on their first album. Was that a homage or just a happy accident?

I’m just now making that connection. That is completely a coincidence. We are not trying to mimic or copy Motley Crue in any way at this point in our career. If it makes people happy, then it’s a homage, and if it pisses people off, then sure [laughing]. We are good at pissing people off and making people happy. Whatever works!

The post BLACK VEIL BRIDES’ Guitarist JINXX Talks Creation of Recent Album “The Phantom Tomorrow”: ‘We Are a Team, We Are a Band!’ appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Paul Gilbert is one of those instantly recognizable guitar players of our generation. He picked up his first guitar when he was 5 years old. By the time he was 15, he was featured in Guitar Player magazine. After graduating from the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Los Angeles, Paul immediately joined the faculty as a guitar teacher. While teaching, he formed the band Racer X and Grammy-nominated group Mr. Big. He has made Guitar World‘s “50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time”, and his guitar shredding is legendary. However his upcoming album couldn’t be more far apart from hard rock and heavy metal.

Gilbert’s 17th solo album, this seasonal offering titled ‘TWAS features a dozen recordings, two of which are new, original compositions. The global release date for digital and CD is this Friday November 26, and the LP will follow on December 10, via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group. 10 of the songs presented here are classics. Paul was inspired by the Christmas recordings of Nat King Cole, Loretta Lynn, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, and The Ventures. And of course, inspiration came from his guitar heroes, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Johnny Winter, Robin Trower, Frank Marino, Pat Travers, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page, to name a few.

Gilbert formed a band of Portland, Oregon’s finest jazz and blues musicians for these sessions. The players are Dan Balmer (guitar), Clay Giberson (keyboards), Timmer Blakely (bass), and Jimi Bott (drums). He reflects, “All brought supreme musical goodness to these arrangements and performances. They certainly steered me to make wiser musical choices than I would have made on my own. And as you will hear, my metal guitar instincts still breathe fire when they get the chance.” The album was recorded in Jimi Bott’s studio, who also engineered and mixed the recordings. The approach was to record two songs every day, for six days, delivering the collected body of work. Paul shares, “All songs were recorded live, although I think Jimi snuck some cowbell overdubs in. If anything should be added to a live track, I believe cowbell is the right choice.”

Expert interviewer Rodrigo Altaf spoke to Paul in a very animated and insightful interview, finding out a myriad of details about the recording process of the album, the tuning of his guitars, his inspiration for the original compositions included in the record, how he managed to record the 12 songs in mere 6 days playing live at the studio, and much more. For more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter and  subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post PAUL GILBERT’s Reflects On Upcoming Christmas Album ‘TWAS: “Writing Christmas Songs in July Gave Me a Rebellious Spirit” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Frank Bello, bassist for the East Coast thrash metal kings, has recently released his memoirs, “Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax” co-authored with Joel McIver via Rare Birds.

ANTHRAX has sold over 10 million albums, traveled the globe more times than they care to count while captivating audiences from the world’s biggest stages. They are also one of the “Big 4” American thrash metal bands standing tall next to METALLICA, MEGADETH, and SLAYER.

This long-awaited biography would be a gripping read even if its pages only contained stories about his life as a recording and touring musician. While those stories are included, Frank digs deeper about difficult subjects like abandonment, poverty, and dealing with significant loss. No topic is off-limits as Frank bears his soul to the readers. The book is a testament to the strong women in his life and written for his fifteen-year-old son to let him know what he had to deal with in life and share in the benefits of his wisdom. The underlying message in this book is resiliency and meeting challenges head-on. Frank‘s life and successful career in ANTHRAX since 1984 is proof of that.

Born into a family of five, Frank grew up in difficult circumstances. His father abandoned his wife and children, and Frank’s mother moved heaven and earth to keep them fed and educated. Left with no male role model, Frank found inspiration in heavy metal bass players, following their example and forging a career with ANTHRAX from his early teens—first as a roadie, and then as the group’s bass player. International stardom came Frank’s way by the mid-to-late 1980s, when he was still in his early twenties. Two decades later, Frank is a father himself to a young son. Like many men who grew up without the guidance of a dad, he asks himself important questions about the meaning of fatherhood and how to do the job well. This is the wisdom which “Fathers, Brothers, and Sons” offers readers.

“Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax” was released worldwide in hardcover, e-book, and audio-book on November 2, 2021, will retail for US $28, and a percentage of sales will be donated to charities assisting abandoned families. Signed hardcover copies are available at this location.

Correspondent Robert Cavuoto had a highly entertaining and in-depth conversation with Frank about the new book. During the interview, Frank recounts many of the hilarious and unbelievable stories and shares his insights into them. Listen to their chat in the links below, and remember that for more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new content we publish on a daily basis.

The post FRANK BELLO of ANTHRAX Talks Biography “Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax”: The Road to Success Was Not Paved with Gold! appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Having established his identity with the revered prog-metal band Haken, as well as his involvement with Novena and other projects, Ross Jennings launches his own solo career in 2021 with “A Shadow of My Future Self”. Embracing classic rock, pop and folk stylings, the album gives another side of Jennings than most fans have heard with his other bands. Although he’s known as being the front-man vocalist, on this album Jennings also plays all of the guitar tracks, supported by a core band of excellent musicians. With plenty of additional material still left over after the album was completed, Jennings has the making for more solo albums in the future, promising a booked calendar for years to come.

Diverse, engaging, expertly performed and produced, “A Shadow of My Future Self” is one of 2021’s true gems. It is more than a solo project, this is the birth of a career. You can read our in-depth review of the album HERE.

Sonic Perspectives‘ collaborator Scott Medina chatted with Jennings shortly before the release of the album to discuss its inspirations, influences and artistic videos, amongst other topics. Tune into the audio stream or watch the YouTube video of the chat below. Make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter and  subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post HAKEN’s Front-man ROSS JENNINGS Talks Debut Solo Album: ‘“I Wanted This Record to Have Its Own Identity; Deliberately Avoiding Using Members of my Current Bands” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Andy Summers is one of the most recognizable names in rock music with a career spanning more than 40 years, between The Police and as a solo artist.

On October 15th, he released his newest solo album, “Harmonics of the Night.” It’s an intimate and atmospheric-sounding album that feels as if you are watching him perform in a smoke-filled bar or listening to him play while viewing his breath-taking photographs at an art gallery. Andy has reinvented himself yet again, always looking for new and different ways of breaking conventional guitar-playing rules. “Harmonics of the Night” showcases his fret-board wizardry is astonishing, mind-bending, and influential ways that are filled with beautiful and lush guitar tones. Andy has put together a diverse array of musical influences on this album coupled with superb guitar playing.

What separates the innovators like Andy from the followers is the courage to try something different. To break the rules and rewrite them at every opportunity. To challenge himself until something completely new is created that he can own. Andy should be added to the list of innovators as he finds that there are still walls in guitar playing to break down.

Visit Cargo Records or visit Amazon to order your copy now. This album will also be available digitally on all streaming platforms.

Correspondent Robert Cavuoto had an in-depth conversation with Andy about his new album, how his improvisation transpires from his guitar playing to his photography, as well as some details about an upcoming European and American tour in 2022. Listen to their chat in the links below (or read the transcript), and remember that for more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new content we publish on a daily basis.

“Harmonics of the Night” has a very intimate and atmospheric feel to it like I’m sitting in a dimly light smoky bar watching you showcase your skills. I can feel the passion and honesty dripping through the speaker. Do you think this is your most ambitious record yet?

It was complex to put together as there was a lot of layering and thinking things through. There is also a lot of textures and melodies with no drums, which gives it a slightly different feel. A couple of people felt it was subdued; I told them it’s not subdued at all. It’s joyous! It’s more introspective. It’s more composed, maybe like chamber music. The first piece, “A Certain Strangeness,” is very meditative, slow, with thoughtful playing. That was a feeling I had in mind.

Is it challenging to write instrumental music like “Fantoccini” and “Mirror in the Dirt” that evoke emotion, or do you leave it up to the listener to find their own emotional perspectives to your songs?

I find all the tracks emotional in one way or another. The point of writing music is to touch people somehow. These songs all have different emotional attitudes. It could be anything from melancholy to discovering something to honesty. “Mirror in the Dirt” was done over a harmonic loop though I can’t remember exactly how I did it. It was just a question of improving the guitar solo over all these different and interesting chord changes. It’s just my phrasing and my sound. That song was a late edition and is very composed. It’s a slightly different approach to doing a piece like that. It’s like writing manuscripts, and I found my way in the studio, but it is very compositional.

How do you come up with the names of your instrumental songs?

As someone who does this for a living [laughing], I’m very into writing literature. Along the way, I notice things that might make a good song title. I have a list of things on my computer that I would use. They can be phrases too. Sometimes I just make them up to reflect what the music makes me feel. Something simple like “Spell” was basically a solo guitar played on a steel Dobro guitar with special tuning. That’s all it is! It felt like a spell or incantation to me. That was the mood of it.

Do you typically improvise a lot of your songs or solos, or do you work out note-for-note structurally in advance of going to the studio?

Oh no, it is completely improvised! I’m a very good guitar player [laughing], so it comes from the way I phrase it. It becomes personal! It’s not composed. I will set up the harmonic structure, and it’s a very non-traditional structure. In jazz, we call it a 2-4-5 or 1-2-6-2-4-5 thing. In terms of musical harmony, these are much stranger and more avant-garde than that. Once I get used to those scales, I survey them, get used to the D major or D flat, and work out the scales. I know the guide on how to travel through the terrain, and then I give it a go. I don’t like to spend much time, so I get it done fairly quickly as I’m a player. They are not forced. I read some book recently where a band worked out all their guitar solos exactly like they would play them in the studio. That’s not my way at all.

When inspiration strikes, what do you do to capture it?

[Laughing] Roll tape! You can’t always do it because you need a setup. If I get into a writing mode, at home on the guitar, I’ll pull out my recorder. I feel more comfortable if I have one of those within a few feet of me. When I start playing, ideas appear all of a sudden. You don’t plan it, but you hit upon something on your instrument, and “poof,” it goes away. We all make the same mistake and think, “I’ll remember that later,” but you never do! You just have to grab it. So, I always have a very nice Zoom recorder in the studio. With “A Certain Strangeness,” I got a new effects pedal, plugged it in, and thought it was so great. I got inspired immediately. I put it on tape as I was in the mood, and we recorded it. It was the first piece, and its 20 minutes long.

I have to believe it’s the same with your photography, are you always carrying around a camera?

All the time. Always when traveling. I go out and about to photograph because I enjoy it. I’ll set out with a specific theme, like architecture or hard shadows in bright sunlight. I find that inspiring as it wakes the mind. It’s all improvised. I have been an improviser all my life, and it’s great preparation for doing photography out in the world.

Have you ever taken an amazing photo of something only to get home and realize it didn’t translate digitally as it did visually?

Yeah, that happens along the way. We are in a new era where we all have digital cameras. I use a Lecia M10 and can shoot 700-800 photographs on my card. I try to be disciplined about that. For example, I went to China like eight times and took 1000s of photographs. Those memory cards are so tiny; you have to be very careful not to lose them. I would literally transfer them down at night to my computer, so I had another backup. That became quite necessary.

I imagine it’s the same with writing a song and being inspired; one day, you are on fire, and the next, not so much. Do you find that to be the case at times?

That’s all my life! You can’t expect to be “on” every time you pick up your guitar. The way it generally works is you start playing, you spend two hours, and you come out with a lot of dreck. You say, “f**k it, I’m done!” But the last thing you played was “the thing” [laughing]. That has happened to me so many times. You say to yourself, “I don’t care anymore!” then something pops out from nowhere and was what you were looking for all along. It’s a beast! You work at your craft and try to have an idea where you are going then these things have their own way of appearing. They just arise.

Was there anything on this album that came to you as a gift?

The very first one, “A Certain Strangeness.” The first half and the second half, “Strange Return,” was  purely being in the moment. I got the sound and went straight for it. That was the point in making the album.

Are there any set of disciplines that are required to create what you do in your music?

It’s interesting, the last three albums that I made, I didn’t sit down to write down in manuscript. I used a program called Sibelius to get them all exactly right. These were all made from the attitude of trying to start the tracks with something very fresh. I started with using different pedal combinations. Once I got that sound, I would aim to complete a composition. I would get a sound that I thought was really fresh and didn’t sound like anyone else. I would add a 32 bar click at the tempo to get something down. It inspired me to either write a melody on top of the guitar section or be open for the guitar solo on another section. So there is a kind of methodology; it’s partly open to being inspired or sometimes forcing the inspiration using what you have around you. I have been a guitar player all my life, so I can come up with something pretty quickly. I think the real challenge is to come up with something that doesn’t sound like anyone else. That it sounds like you, and you make your own statement. That’s what interests me to be on the cutting edge, not like just knocking out something that sounds like everyone else who plays guitar. I try to avoid all those clichés.

“Harmonics of the Night” into itself is introspective. You immediately imagine nighttime. For me, it’s cities, dreaming, sleeping, eating – just the things that occur at night as I have traveled so much world and been to all these cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Rome or wherever. The shot of the cover was taken in Beijing, China. I went to a show with a promoter; it was a theatrical performance by an Argentinian group called Fuerzabruta. They did all sorts of stuff, and I had a ball being in there with my Leica. They were traveling over our heads, climbing the walls, and doing all sorts of crazy stuff. That shot of the girl is when they descended from overhead into the audience.

The photo is quite haunting, was that the type of show?

It was haunting but fun because they did so much crazy stuff. It’s all these people in their twenties doing some ensemble stuff on a tight rope. They dropped a swimming pool over our heads, and girls cycled on the walls. It was an incredible show! It actually blew my mind. I was so pleased to see it and have a lot of photographs from it. I got a lot of unusual photographs from it.

Will be you be going out on a visual storytelling tour to support this album?

Yes, I had a long conversation with my manager this morning about that. It’s all going to be next year where I do the multimedia show. I have a giant screen and all these sequences of photography projected onto it. Sometimes I play to backing tracks, sometimes with some amazing guitar effect solo, and I talk to the audience. I do a very fast collage of the very early days touring in America, which I shot while playing “Message in a Bottle.”

I’m hoping you come to New York or New Jersey as I would love to see that show.

I did two shows in New York City; one was a very fancy club and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was a great success. As far as I know, I will do some shows in May, June, and July on-and-off in Europe. Then late September and October back all over Europe. They are looking to put in American dates as well after that.

A lot of people associate The Police’s music with some of their best memories. What’s it like being such an integral part of people’s music collections?

I love it [laughing]! It’s very nice! You work hard at it and try to make something from nothing so you can actually touch people’s lives to give them a very good feeling. I think that is a huge reward apart from any financial rewards. The thing is that you get through to people and help them somehow with music. There is nothing better!

The post THE POLICE Guitarist ANDY SUMMERS Talks Recent Studio Album “Harmonics of the Night”: ‘The Point Of Writing Music Is To Touch People In Some Way” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Lucifer is back, and just in time for Halloween! The Stockholm-based band used the pandemic to record yet another album that rings in a new chapter and dives even further into the realms of grandiose and old fashioned rock, with a severe morbid twist. This time around they entered guitarist Linus Björklund’s Studio Ryssviken for an even more heart pounding drum sound, while continuing their work at The Honk Palace, drummer Nicke Andersson’s studio.

The band has expanded their songwriting partnership within the lineup: lead singer Johanna Sadonis has not only penned the new material with Nicke but also with guitarist Linus, as well as guitarist Martin Nordin contributing. With “Lucifer IV” the group is proving furthermore to be steadily building their very own pillar of rock history, brick by brick.

“Lucifer IV” is set to be released today, Halloween 2021 on Century Media Records/Sony Music. While not a concept album in itself, the album is designed for a fully immersive listen, with the lyrics telling tales of revenge, evil alliances, phobias and romance. Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf has been a fan of the band since their second album was released, and had the pleasure of catching up with Johanna and Nicke to discuss the new release.

For more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter and  subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post JOHANNA and NICKE from LUCIFER Reflect on Band’s New Effort “IV”: ‘Although It’s Not A Concept Album, It’s Supposed To Be A Trip, Best Experienced As A Whole’ appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

One would not be aware that there’s a pandemic still affecting the world if their only indication of the state of things was Udo Dirkschneider‘s work ethic. Since March 2020 he has released a live album, a concept album in collaboration with the German Armed Forces Concert Band and worked again with other Accept alumni (bassist Peter Baltes and guitarist Stefan Kaufmann) on the project DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG.

October 8th marked the release of yet another offering from the outfit U.D.O., the heavy, melodic and somewhat pessimistic “Game Over”, where the German powerhouse singer shared his take on the current state of the world, addressing themes such as gun violence, climate change and religious intolerance. The band’s 17th album continues their victorious path, bringing that old school metal feel they’ve been known for. With his voice still holding up nicely and young musicians helping him carry the flag of German metal, there’s no signs of slowing down for Udo.

Having been involved in the creation of Accept and spearheading such a prolific career, it’s no wonder that Udo has many stories to tell. Even with such a busy schedule and being involved in so many releases, he’s also working in an autobiography, whilst getting ready for touring as soon as the conditions allow for a more stable itinerary. Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf interviewed Udo about the central themes of the new release “Game Over”, the work ethics of the band, the difficulty of choosing a set-list and much more.

For more interviews and other daily content, make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter and  subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER reflects on Recent Album ‘Game Over’ and U.D.O.’s Current Lineup: “Having a Young Band Around Me Brings New and Modern Ideas” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.