Interview with Georg Neuhauser & Fabio D'Amore
Part I (English version)
Translated by Marie-Kristin Kannler, proofread by Petra VeitFind the German version here: German version
Find Part I here: Interview Part II
Telfs, March 21st 2015
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| Photo: SEANINEL (Brno, February 14th 2015) |
At this point I would like to thank everyone involved, especially Georg and Fabio for this lengthy interview.
And now, I wish you lots of fun reading it!
Hello Georg, hello Fabio,
first of all thank you for taking time to do this interview.
Georg: My pleasure! :)
Serenity Germany Official: After the grave changes within the band recently, I take it the fans are relieved to be able to see you on tour again …
Georg: We hope so … (laughs)
SGO: I’m sure of it. Your profound article ”TIMES OF CHANGES - back to the roots“ - as you would call it, Georg, made an impact, I believe. Right?
Georg: Yep …, of course it didn’t make a deep impact. On the bottom line the changes aren’t so huge, as some might believe. Serenity was founded as a male fronted band, we have created and promoted our first three CDs as a male fronted band - of course we had duets with women on the second CD, but still … I mean, look at other bands, where this has been done for years, there were on-again / off-again guest vocalists, but that doesn’t change the entire orientation.
It just happened with Clemi, that we said: Okay, we always need a female attendance for the duets on tour anyway, let’s make her position fixed, but in the end that didn’t work out the way we hoped. Not on a personal level, but she just wished for more influence and that was complicated for us, because we wrote the stuff. And once you’re used to something, e.g. when I write vocal lines, I don’t debate whether this is singable for a woman or not, but rather if the vocal line is good or not. And that’s when it became difficult to modify, and she herself gave little input. There was just too little time for her to work herself into the things, and that’s when we simply said: „Na, das passt net, besser so!“ (Austrian: „Nope, that ain’t working, this is better!“) … Therefore I believe, it isn’t such a big step.
It certainly is a bigger step, that Tom, our guitarist, is not present anymore, because he was the main songwriter together with me and at the beginning with Mario as well. Therefore this was certainly a bigger intervention, than e.g. that Clemi is no longer a fixed band member.
We will continue to have women live on stage, of course, otherwise we couldn’t play those songs anymore, but I believe, it is nice to see different women on stage and not always the same one.
SGO: The opinions about Clémentine’s departure were divided, the majority of the fans welcomed the decision, because especially your longtime fans see you as a male band. That’s my opinion as well, by the way. I like it, when you are accompanied by a woman and Clémentine is surely a great singer, but the focus should still be on you.
Fabio: We tried the combination of male fronted band with a female integrated singer on „War Of Ages“ and it work pretty well on the two European tours, but as Georg already said, we see the band as a male fronted band and we like to have only guests in the future, just for the old songs and maybe for the new songs as well - but this band was established as a male fronted band and it should stay a male fronted band. I don’t know how the fans will think about this in the future, but I think, that this is the best solution for everybody.
SGO: Clémentine’s part was never really big. She was either singing a duet with you or not singing at all. She never had her own songs. Her job was never more than that of a guest vocalist. It is understandable, that it was not demanding enough for her.
Georg: Yes, that was absolutely understandable - no problem.
SGO: Tasha has joined you on your tour a couple of times already as a guest vocalist and she is back again. Will she be joining you more often or do you prefer to have different guest vocalists?
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| Tasha Photo: ON STAGE PHOTOGRAPHY (Pratteln, March 22nd 2015) |
Georg: Well, most likely there will be different women joining us on tour. Simply because of the temporary availability of each person. If you think about it, Tasha e.g. has played 80 gigs this year alone - and the year is still young - because she really lives on music. She is the only one of us who doesn’t do anything else but sing, that means she has no studio or something like that. Fabio for example lives on his studio and the live performances, but his principal source of income is still his studio. And Natasha has nothing like that, but is a real singer. And while I am teaching at the university or working as a teacher at a high school, she calls singing her job and that’s the reason why it will be difficult to always take her with us, especially when the tour will take three weeks, and we can’t pay her because we are a supporting act. I can say, okay my income will still be paid because this will be my vacation time, but that’s not the case with her.
SGO: Tough topic, right?
Georg: Yes - hence, there will be different people joining us. Of course, Tasha will be there as often as possible, because it just makes sense. First of all, she is from the local area …
SGO: And the fans like her a lot already.
Georg: Yes and she also fits really well on a personal level.
SGO: That’s true. I had the chance to meet her personally and I think she fits really well on a personal level as well as on the stage. That is very important, because you can feel this as a fan as well. You are an amazing team up there.
Georg: Thank you!
SGO: What the fans are very interested in, is the topic Tour! You are currently working on a new album, which means you don’t have much time to be on tour. However, there will be some concerts this year - you were in Brno, and now there is a small tour with Delain coming up on your tour calendar, in May there will be a concert with Blind Guardian in Berlin, Germany and in December you will perform at the Christmas Bash in Geiselwind, Germany - are there others coming up or are you working to full capacity?
Fabio: Yes, there are further tour plans - individual shows in the summer and we might be able to take part in another tour before we release our new CD, but that’s not sure yet.
Georg: We are currently negotiating with a bigger band regarding a tour support, but we can’t say anything, because we don’t have a valid confirmation or exact information regarding this, we only know, that the band would like to have us, but there is a relevant financial aspect to it, because a 4 week tour is unbelievably expensive.
Just this Nightliner (tour bus), in which we are sitting right now, costs € 1.000,- per day - no matter if it is being moved or standing still, you have to calculate the € 1.000,-. And that has to be paid by someone and that’s where the problem lies.
What we can say so far, because it will take a while, until this interview will be online - we are going to make an official announcement, that we will play as a direct support for Sabaton on the Sabaton Open Air on 24th July in Switzerland. That’s a big thing, because there will be a couple of thousand people in front of the stage - and it was really great that the management of Sabaton asked us directly and wanted us for this exact slot. That’s a major honor for us.
And we have another date, we will be a support for Powerwolf in a show in Salzburg, Austria, who have became really big in the meantime, where we received the according reception.
And we are planning a lot for 2016 already - so we are in contact with several promoters from abroad and I mean really far away, that means Asia and America.
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| Design: Syleen Design/Serenity Germany Official Photo: Serenity |
SGO: Sounds great. Your fans can look forward to a couple of concerts with you this year. Especially Switzerland and Austria, which were cut short …
Georg: Yes, they can.
SGO: What I’m personally interested in, concerns your concert with Blind Guardian in Berlin - how did that happen? It is a single concert and the effort is accordingly high. You are all coming to Berlin for just one concert? I mean, I think this is great, sure - but is this profitable, does that make sense?
Fabio: Yes, I think so. I believe this, because Blind Guardian released a new album and we planned a support with them for years. We had tried to accompany them for a few shows, e.g. Austria or Sweden and maybe Slovenia, but it wasn’t possible … we were asked to do this and we accepted the one in Berlin, because we have a big fan base in Germany. Why shouldn’t we play direct support and maybe get the chance, to play the part of the opener more often in the future.
The venue isn’t as big as the usual ones, that’s why I think it will be nearly sold out. Thus I think, it makes sense, to play with Blind Guardian as main act.
Georg: I agree with Fabio 100%, even if it doesn’t pay off financially, because we won’t get a big fee etc. and we have to travel from Austria - and in Fabio’s case from Italy - to Berlin, it will pay off. Just because Blind Guardian is a big name in the scene … we basically grew up with the sound of these guys and it influenced us to a certain degree. Why we don’t play anymore shows has a simply reason, it was on really short notice that we got a spot on that date, the other places were already given to other support bands. But when the main act realizes, okay it makes sense to work with that group, that could open a few doors for us in the future, and that’s something we would like to use.
SGO: You already mentioned briefly, that you will do a big headliner tour next year. You are repeatedly asked by American fans, when you are going to return. You mentioned it earlier. Does that mean, that you definitely will do an American tour next year?
Georg: Yes, we are definitely planning a trip to North America. We certainly won’t do a 7 or 8 week tour over there, as other bands sometimes do, but it will be a 2 to 3 week thing - but we will definitely bring the new album to America.
SGO: How about Europe, what countries are on your tour plan?
Georg: This will probably be the biggest headliner tour that we did so far. 2 x 2 weeks are planned, that means we are going to be in the entire western part of Europe, England, Scotland, France, Benelux and Spain are already confirmed and we’re trying to make a stop in Portugal - which would be our first time. The second tour will integrate east Europe, meaning Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania … that’s how it’s going to be - and Scandinavia, that’s really, really important, because we rarely were there.
SGO: I’m missing Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I hope, you are going to play there as well. You’ve totally forgotten to list them. :)
Georg: Yes, of course, they are included both times, that means we will play in Germany 3x, and in Austria 2x during the first tour. And during the second time we will play 3 concerts in Germany, depending on what’s on our way. But the emphasis will be on West Europe on the first part and on east-Europe during the second part.
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| Photo: ANDRE TE IMAGES (Cologne, March 19th 2015) |
SGO: Wonderful, so we can look forward to this.
Georg: Yes … I hope so!
SGO: Your new album will be released in Spring - can you tell us something about it, or is it top secret?
Georg: Well, we are working on it, of course. Fact is, the sound won’t change drastically, even though Tom isn’t available to us anymore, because he worked on it with us 100%, so he will have a small influence. That’s what he promised and if you take the albums it always was a conglomerate, which means everyone made an input. 50% of the basic concept of „War of Ages“ e.g. came from me and we will surely proceed in that direction.
SGO: What about the topic? Will it be something historical again?
Georg: It will be a historical theme and a concept album. We decided to take a continuous story this time, but we can’t tell you anything specific, because we haven’t puzzled out all the details yet. But it will definitely be a historical theme.
SGO: I’m glad to hear it!
Georg: We will stick to it, because - I think there are a lot of people, who don’t care so much about the lyrics and the content in general, for them the priority lies on the music without the content and lyrics, but I think there are quite a few folks, especially in the metal scene, who are especially interested in history, and that fits as well. It is important for us to deliver a total package - that means the artwork has to fit, the lyrics should be harmonious. Something like that.
SGO: Sounds great, because I have to admit ”War of Ages“ is my favorite album.
Georg: Fantastic! :)
SGO: Do you already have specific ideas and wishes, who you would like to have as a guest musician/vocalist? I mean, sometimes you write a song or a vocal line for a certain person, when you know you’d like that person to participate.
Fabio: Nothing concrete so far, but we have some ideas. Since we are working on a concept album, I would like to have a narrator with a very memorable voice - a narrator, who guides us through the story. I don’t have a name in mind so far, we aren’t at that point yet, but that is very important to me.
Georg: Talking about Blind Guardian, they did this wonderfully with “Nightfall in Middle-Earth“.
Fabio: Yes … I had the same idea.
SGO: You already mentioned it shortly, Georg, that the song writing could be more difficult, due to the absence of Thomas. Will this be influencing the album negatively in some way and what will change?
Georg: Well, the sound will change a bit, because Tom is missing, no question there, but that doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. A lot of changes, if you look at other bands … if we stay in this scene, e.g. the swap from the first Kamelot vocalist to Roy Khan was certainly no big loss in my opinion (laughs) - and now again, even though Roy had a special character, no doubt, Tommy is a great vocalist and if someone says he or she won’t buy the CDs or doesn’t listen to them anymore because the person isn’t listening to the exact same voice anymore, well then … he should do it, that’s it, but as long as the quality is suitable, everyone can be replaced to a certain degree in my opinion.
And if I think about a Queen concert, that I have visited not long ago in Vienna - without Freddie, of course, but nevertheless it was an awesome concert - listening to the songs, seeing it live, the stage performance and Adam Lambert, who did a great job. Especially, that the original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor were part of it, that’s why it doesn’t have to be a disaster, when someone leaves.
SGO: I agree. A band is a band …
Georg: Exactly!
SGO: And if someone says; Roy left and therefore Kamelot is dead for me, that basically means he doesn’t like the band, but he just likes the vocalist. I think, a band has to fit together and that includes all band members.
Georg: Exactly! Otherwise there wouldn’t be any more Nightwish-Fans. And of course - this sounds very egotistic, but it surely is an even bigger cut when the voice changes, than an instrumentalist, I think. Not to reduce the performance of the guitarist, bassist or the drummer, but I believe the human voice has more identity than an instrument.
SGO: Definitely. The voice of the singer is more noticeable. A guitar - I have to admit, I e.g. don’t hear a difference, whether Christian is playing or Thomas - but I would hear the difference immediately, if Tommy sang your songs instead of you.
Georg: Yes, of course. Yes - there’s more identity to it.
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| Photo: Bernhard Schösser - freizeit-tirol.at (Telfs, March 21st 2015) |
SGO: Getting back to the original question, you don’t see any disadvantages, but will continue as before.
Georg: It will continue in any case. We stay on track … and the influence of the remaining band members will definitely increase. We will miss Thomas of course, that goes without saying. He was a big part of us, yes - but he decided it and that’s how it is.
SGO: This decision was surely a tough one, but it is difficult for someone who has a family and a job, to find enough time for a band ….
Georg: Yes, of course.
SGO: The artwork is very important for an album, because the CD needs a nice and appealing exterior. How and where do you find your themes? Are you contacting special designers saying, that’s our topic, do something with it, or do you search the market first and decide if something could be suitable? How do you do it? The amazing artwork for ”War Of Ages“ was made by Seth Siro Anton. What made you consider him?
Georg: Well, you see work of the other bands, clearly … and in our case the same artist who did ”Words Untold & Dreams Unlived“ designed the artwork for ”War Of Ages“ as well. We saw some of his artwork for other bands and then contacted him. That was Seth Siro, as he calls himself. He is Greek, but plays in a band himself, ”Septicflesh“, indeed it is a different kind of metal, but he understands it perfectly to practice the mixing technique, that we like so much. That means he is actually drawing, using oil and everything else and reworking it with Photoshop etc. as well - so he does some composing. It is important to us, that we don’t have – “Death & Legacy“ might’ve been a bit out of the ordinary - the extremely trashy cover for Serenity. Okay I have to admit, that “Death & Legacy“ was somewhat trashy, but we wanted it that way at the time, but all the other ones should be more high class, classy, bombastic and artistic.
SGO: The work of Seth Siro Anton is simply brilliant. I’m checking on his work from time to time myself. Kamelot has used his services, too.
Georg: Yes - though the funny thing is, that suspicion might rise, we used the same as Kamelot did, when it was the other way around.
SGO: You used something by him first.
Georg: Yes, exactly, it was the other way around. Same with Stefan Heilemann, e.g., who made the latest two Kamelot things, the new one “Haven“ and the one before that. ”Death & Legacy“ was created before those in 2011 - and that was Heilemann. So - it went the other way a couple of times. Though the pool isn’t that big. There are 5 maybe 6 artists in that scene in business, who are really specialized in that sort of thing, that’s all.
SGO: So a market gap …. ;)
Georg: Yes … though the budget isn’t always the biggest. So living off that is really difficult.
SGO: There are songs like “Velatum“, ”Fairytales“ and “Serenade Of Flames“, which you always play, they were almost never missing on your set list. Those are the kind of songs you are obligated to play and belong to a show of yours. Now we have your latest album “War Of Ages“ - which song or songs of that album will be added to the ”must-play-songs“? I think “Legacy Of Tudors“ will be one of them, because you’re playing it very often.
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| Setliste: Telfs, March 21st 2015 Photo: Serenity Germany Official |
Fabio: Our set list will change from time to time of course and it will change on this tour, ”War Of Ages“ was very dominant on the last set list, but now before the next album will be released, we are mixing the songs a bit more - but I think “Matricide“, “Legacy Of Tudors“ will be always present and “Royal Pain“ is another great song.
Georg: Like Fabio said, the tour, that we are playing now - naturally we don’t have a new album yet, but you can’t assume that it’s THE “War Of Ages“ tour, and that’s why we have the liberty to mix it up a bit. We try to include songs from every CD. Today as well - we have something from our debut album, we have accordingly something from “Fallen Sanctuary“, we have something from “Death & Legacy“ and we have a couple of “War Of Ages“ songs on it and with time the live songs will show themselves and the others will be more of CD-songs or studio songs - and the reaction to “Legacy Of Tudors“ is accordingly enthusiastic, same as “Velatum“ etc.
Those are just certain songs … other bands, I don’t know, Iron Maiden e.g. always have to play “Run To The Hills“, otherwise you will be disappointed, and AC/DC have to play “Highway To Hell“ - not comparing those classics to our songs, but there are songs, that the people want to hear - and will be received accordingly when played live. That will stay that way.
During our last two tours, the ”War Of Ages“ main act tour, first 2013 and then 2014, we have played far more songs from “War of Ages“, 6 songs in total from the current album. Now of course, 2 years later, we can mix it a bit.
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To be continued … ;)
The matricide is, for me, their best song.
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