This interview has a few firsts to it. The first time I have done an in person and the first time Metal Reviews has interviewed an artist who's album has not yet been released. Pyramaze might not be a familiar name to you as of now, but believe me you will soon be blasting their Melancholy Beast with the utmost urgency when it is released. I interviewed Jonah when I flew down to Virginia to chill with him and record a failed demo as my editorial on this pointed out. During the recordings, chicken wings, Halo sessions, and the metal party I managed to get him to talk about himself and his band. Pyramaze are (from left to right): Niels Kvist, bass, Morten Gade, drums, Lance King, vocals, Jonah Weingarten, keys, and Michael Kammeyer, guitars. "Melancholy Beast" will be released early May in Japan on EMI TOSHIBA, late May in the USA on NIGHTMARE Records, and in Europe / Canada late May on NTS.
I’m sitting here with Jonah Weingarten, keyboardist for the Melodic Power Metal band with balls, Pyramaze. I have been afforded a privileged listening to their upcoming debut album, Melancholy Beast, which should be in your hands come early to mid 2004. So Jonah, you’re album hasn’t been released yet and many of our readers probably have not been exposed to your music yet. Do mind giving a little history behind the band even though that is the most redundant question ever to be asked in interviews?
No problem Ben. Originally what is now known as Pyramaze started out as a project put together by our guitarist, Michael Kammeyer a couple years back after he left his band Damien. He wanted to put together a band that was in the Melodic Power Metal genre so he found Morten, Niels, and then me from the internet. I flew to Denmark to record with the guys and renowned producer, Jacob Hansen, in a town called Ribe, Denmark. We then got signed to Intromental Management after Jacob gave one of our songs to them and they really liked it. You can download Sleepy Hollow, the song that got us signed to Intromental, at www.intromental.com. Intromental then decided that we needed a singer that would bring us to the next level. They found Lance King, who used to be in Balance of Power, so a lot of people will know him from that, ha, you did! Lance then recorded the vocals in his home studio and now it is completely done, mixed, and mastered. We are just waiting for it to be released hopefully sometime in the spring of 2004.
I know that this isn’t your first band but it has been by far your most successful. What has your musical history and past experiences been like? I mean, you’re a year older than me and you’re in a pretty big band now.
My musical history started out in about third grade when I needed to learn the Ninja Turtles song on my little Casio keyboard. (laughs) I have been playing the keyboards since then, and went to the Berklee College of Music very very briefly before I dropped out. I realized that wasn’t the right place for me to go with the direction that I wanted to take my life. After I left Berklee I joined a band in Australia for awhile which didn’t end up working out. As soon as I got home I connected with Michael on the internet and sent him my demo tape, and that’s how I got hooked up with Pyramaze.
All this has happened pretty fast. Has it just blown your mind? How have you been taking this?
It’s hard to absorb things when they happen this fast. I don’t think that I have fully absorbed the fact that I am in this band yet. It’s such a great thing that has changed my life. It’s my career. All my friends are in college to be doctors, lawyers, and teachers and here I am, I have already found my profession at age twenty.
You seem like me man, a very motivated by metal type of person. What was the driving force in your life that caused you to tell yourself that you would be in a heavy metal band?
I think it was the first time I heard Children of Bodom in my high school cafeteria. They just totally blew me away. I had heard other metal bands such as Metallica and Cradle of Filth before, but Bodom was something entirely different. I then got into bands such as In Flames, Arch Enemy, and Soilwork. Most of my influence comes from the Swedish Death Metal bands and Bodom who of course come from Finland.
In your opinion what country produces the best metal?
It’s a tie between Finland and Sweden. Great bands from Finland are Children of Bodom, Nightwish, and Sonata Arctica, which are some of my favorite bands. Then from Sweden there is older In Flames, OLDER Soilwork, and then bands like Nightrage and Arch Enemy.
What was the last album that you bought that totally kicked your ass and owned you in ways that you have never been owned before?
Nightrage, Sweet Vengeance. Great album with an allstar lineup and also has Tom Englund from Evergrey doing some guest vocals. It is definitely one of my favorite releases of the year next to Kamelot’s Epica and Children of Bodom’s Hate Crew Deathroll.
In your probable touring of the world with Pyramaze, meeting what rock would cause you to fall trembling on your knees in awe?
Janne Warmen from Bodom. He is definitely my main influence and inspiration.
Who out there is the most overrated band out there today?
Oh man, I don’t want to get myself in trouble with anyone but let’s see…Metallica. Yea, I don’t think I’ll ever tour with them since they take bands like Limp Bizkit. I didn’t even bother buying their new album cause it was total crap.
Have you had any experience playing onstage with a band before?
I have some live experience playing with my band in Australia. Playing onstage is absolutely the best feeling in the world, better than sex man, better than sex.
What advice would you give out there to aspiring keyboardists? In the US you’re pretty much the only keyboardist of this caliber, along with the keyboardist from Symphony X. Even Kamelot has to use Miro or Gunter from Vanden Plas for albums and tours.
I’m gonna have to say that it is the same advice as with any other musician. Keyboardists in metal are pretty rare and we’re a bit higher in demand. If you want to succeed as a keyboardist then do everything in your power to get your name out there. If you’re from the US you want your name out in Europe because the US metal scene leaves something to be desired. Advertise yourself and make demos and even make a video of yourself playing.
You’ve heard Balance of Power songs so how would you compare Lance Kings performance with them to his vocals on Melancholy Beast?
He has adopted a more aggressive style which adds to the overall heaviness of the album. His vocals vary with every song which shows how great a singer he is and what he brings to the table for Pyramaze. He can do such a variety of stuff that no one song on the album sounds the same, and his different vocal stylings add to that.
What would you say your favorite song on Melancholy Beast is and why?
I would say The Mighty Abyss. Although most other people have said that their favorite song is Sleepy Hollow or The Legend, I love The Mighty Abyss because of the many tempo changes and my keyboard solo in it. The intro is very cool and very epic sounding. A very anthemic song.
What would you say to someone who has never heard you before to get them interested in Pyramaze?
I think that everybody in this band has their own influences and by coming together we have put them all into the Pyramaze album. I would say that the album has elements of Iced Earth, Kamelot, Nightwish, maybe a little Sonata Arctica, some older Metallica here and there with some of the thrashy riffs, and definitely some Iron Maiden as well.
Does the title Melancholy Beast have any specific meaning or is it something that Michael thought would just be really cool for the album title?
I don’t really know why he chose that name for the album. It is kind of a contradictory title so maybe it has more meaning than meets the eye.
What sets the bar higher for Pyramaze than other Power Metal bands out there?
We are Power Metal with balls. I don’t like putting ourselves in a category of Power Metal, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I just think in terms of most bands that are considered Power Metal we are definitely on the heavier end of the spectrum. The album is very epic from start to finish, very conceptual in terms of the lyrical content, and has lots of good solos and passages with excellent vocals.
Lance King’s best performance to date would you say?
From what I have heard? Definitely yes.
You seem more into Melodic Death than anything else, so I was just curious, what is your opinion of the Power Metal scene?
It’s hard to keep up with. That’s the first thing I noticed with all the Power Metal bands out there. Some are good and some are great. It’s interesting being in a Melodic Power Metal band because most of what I listen to doesn’t fit in the Power Metal genre. I sorta pick out the cream of the crop and even though I am discovering great new bands all the time it is still difficult to keep up with all of them.
What has been the most metal moment in the life of Jonah?
That would have to be when I got off the plane in Denmark and Michael was there to meet me. When I saw him across the room in the baggage check area, I threw up the horns in the air and he threw them back. We have this bond, this bond of metal because we both want this to work so bad. Our vision has become a reality and we have both been there from the beginning. The most metal thing for me is the relationship that I have with the band, even though I haven’t spent much time with them personally. We have a bond of brotherhood and that’s pretty damn metal if you ask me.
Do you have plans to relocate to Denmark in the future to be around the guys more?
I’d really like to. Unfortunately in this day and age you can’t become a resident of most countries too easily. I can go there for three or six months at a time and then I have to leave unless I apply for a work visa, which is incredibly complicated. I guess I’d just have to meet a nice Danish girl and get married so I can get a citizenship. So if there’s any pretty Danish girls reading this interview, drop me an email! (laughs) jonah4metal@hotmail.com .
What are your hopes and expectations for Melancholy Beast, seeing as there is still awhile to go before it is released in 2004?
I am hoping that a lot of people out there in the metal world will at least buy the album, enjoy it, and become a member of the Pyramaze fanbase. I look forward to everyone out there that will become a member of that.. I can’t wait to tour and share the music with everyone out there. I want this to last forever. I don’t want Pyramaze to ever go away. Here we are in the beginning of this great journey and I am looking forward to every part of it.
So you can honestly see yourself doing this when you’re an old man, grey in the hair being hauled out in a wheelchair to your mountain of Korgs?
Hell yeah! I’ll just sit there in my wheelchair and play my keyboards. Metal will never die, especially not in my heart. I will play metal till I die and then after that I’ll come back as a ghost and keep playing some more (laughs).
What would the perfect day be in the life of Jonah?
It would be waking up at about 11:30 to noon and having a nice big sex romp with ten hot lesbian chicks, and then having a huge feast of ribs and hot wings. After that I would go onstage and play metal in front of thousands of people for four or five hours straight, then have another huge feast of ribs and hot wings. Then finally falling asleep to the soothing sounds of metal after having sex with more hot lesbian chicks.
What would the ideal gear setup be for you if you were to play the headlining spot at Wacken?
What I have right now is pretty good. I have a Korg Triton, Korg Karma, Yamaha P-90, and my Roland AX-7 Keytar. If I had a million bucks I would get about eight Korg Tritons and surround myself with them onstage.
As mentioned earlier you are still relatively young, twenty, and manage to go to college at the same time. Is it difficult balancing your studies with being a musician?
No, I haven’t had any problems with it so far. Pyramaze is the number one priority in my life and if there was ever an issue I would just give the school the boot.
How supportive was your family on this matter of becoming a musician?
Very supportive. My parents have been telling me since I was very young that it was my destiny to be in the entertainment business. What form it would be would shape itself over the years of my childhood. They have been very supportive of all the crazy things I have done and it is paying off. I’d like to give a personal thanks to my parents now for helping me out all this time.
What is better man, True Heavy Fucking Metal? Or sex?
Having sex while blasting metal.
Any specific album while this is taking place?
I think Kamelot’s new album would be a good one to have sex to, as would Nightrage’s because it has slow parts and fast parts and comes together to be this great big epic monster.
Who is the biggest bad ass of the metalreviews team?
If I had said you that would really obvious, so I am gonna say Mike. He’s huge and has a really bad ass Jeep.
Any final words for our metalreviews.com readers?
Thanks for reading this interview, and buy our album when it comes out and stay metal!
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