Interviews

MR: Hi Alex…thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us…

Alex: Hi Marty, it’s a real pleasure for me… and of course you and metalreviews are very very welcome therefore… go on…

MR: With your latest album Legend of the Forgotten Reign – Chapter IV, I think that overall, it’s the best album yet of the series. Do you and the rest of the band feel that way? If so, why?

Alex: Absolutely yes… you are very right! We are very proud of Chapter IV because for the first time, at the end of the recording session we said.. OK… VERY COOL… you know… when you make a record it isn’t always possible to obtain the results that you have in mind… well… this time we are satisfied at 99% … so yes… greatest album ever! :-)

MR: I really noticed a lot more attention to melody and melodic hooks this time around. Was this intentional or not?

Alex: Well… for me the melody is the first thing ever! You know… without melody you have only sounds here and there… words… and guitar solos… hehehe I’m always improve my melody concept and of course I always try to create cool melodies… of course also the rest of the band, especially Mr.Conti, made great melodies! So… this time we made a lot of great melodies and the results is Chapter IV… But… you have to know that nothing was born around one table! It’s all from the heart… :-)

MR: There is also a stronger keyboard presence on Chapter IV with more blazing synth leads and less keyboard orchestration effects. Was this a conscious decision or did it just evolve from the song writing process?

Alex: I think that it’s a mix of these two things! Of course we always like orchestrations but during the songwriting of these songs the synth had more of a role.

MR: I see that drummer David Falchitto has rejoined the band. What were his reasons for leaving/coming back to the band? I thought that his playing on Chapter IV was his best ever….

Alex: Folchitto is a fucking machine… We really love his style! To be honest, David had never left the band… in that period he had personal problems so for him it was difficult to be in studio with us! We found in Jorg Michael a temporary substitute but, immediately after the recording sessions, David came back in the band… so… it was only a short period! He is part of the family!

MR: Once again, I also see big improvements in Claudio’s singing. He sounds fantastic on Chapter IV and very strong (make sure to tell him that!). What has he done to strengthen his voice?

Alex: Nothing particular… he had one more year of experience on his back! Another important thing is the studio… for the second time we have used the fantastic outer sound studios so, the engineer knows very well what we are looking for… so… all the stuff was more easier… Claudio is just a really good singer… I think that’s all…

MR: There is less of the ultra-speedy power metal on Chapter IV and more dynamics as compared to the first three albums. Was it a conscious decision to vary the tempos of the songs? If so what was the reason behind it?

Alex: Well… as you know, all the lyrics depends on the saga right?! Therefore… if you have a sad song or a “black” song… you’ll have slow music or a sad song… instead if you have glorious lyrics or something like that you’ll have more power metal songs… epic songs… The story leads the lyrics…

MR: You have a new label deal with Chapter IV. Are you getting more financial support and more world-wide distribution for Chapter IV? Is there any chance of regaining the rights to the first three albums to be able to release them world-wide as well?

Alex: Well… we own the right to Chapter IV and we have today more than one record company! In Europe we have Hellion Records from Germany, In the United States and Canada we have (for the moment) Universal Metal Production and for Japan we have Disk Heaven / Hot-Rockin. About the first three albums… they are also imported by these companies but for now, the right are owned by our old record company but… don’t worry… we’ll get it back! :-) or… if they don’t want to gave us our rights… we’ll make it again… I mean we’ll record it again… but don’t tell to anybody! :-)

MR: Are there any plans in place as far as writing/recording Chapter V and if so, when could we expect to see it released?

Alex: Hehehe too many secrets today… hehehe Well we have 8 songs ready man… chapter V is very near to being finished! I mean the song writing… About the recording sessions… I can tell you that it will be recorded before the summer!

MR: Are there any plans to incorporate new sounds into the new album that may be a little different than what Kaledon has done in the past or are you going to stick with the same sort of sound as Chapter IV?

Alex: I won’t tell you anything particular but… Chapter V will be absolutely different! The new songs will be always in Kaledon’s style but very different by our standards… wait for them… :-)

MR: Is the Legend Of the Forgotten Reign saga going to be finished after Part VI like you have said before? Do you plan on writing another saga and continue on like Luca Turilli did with Rhapsody or release non-conceptual albums?

Alex: After Chapter 6 we’ll for sure make something like a best of and maybe a live album… Of course there will also be other albums in the future but, absolutely no other saga! At least not in the near future… 7 years around this saga has created the desire to do something “free”, you know… free songs… no concepts…

MR: You mentioned Queen as a big influence during our last interview. What other bands or types of music etc. do you feel have an influence on Kaledon’s music?

Alex: Oh yes… Queen are my first influence but as you know we are 6 minds that are totally different… The guys in the band like tons of bands… I can say Shadow Gallery, Stratovarius, Savatage, Gamma Ray, Helloween and many others!

MR: Have you ever considered writing your own epic fantasy novel (in a sense you already have with the Legend Of The Forgotten Reign!)?

Alex: You probably don't know this… Legend of the Forgotten Reign IS a novel… only in a second time has became music! I've been working on this romance since 2001… One day it will be finished and of course released… The reason of this great delay is because I have tons of work with the band so I write only a few lines per month…

MR: Are there any plans to play more live shows or do a tour? I see that you play live occasionally but really haven’t done a tour. Is there enough label support and interest in setting up a tour sometime soon?

Alex: Well… this is a real pain in the ass my friend! If a promoter doesn’t pay us we don’t play! :-) fast and easy… We play occasionally because in this case we receive the money we ask for.. This year for sure with our new record company will do something more… we hope… and of course we’d like to play also in your country! We have many fans there…

MR: It seems like Kaledon gets more and more popular with each release, do you get a sense of that? Is it reflected in the sales of the CDs?

Alex: Yeah… really true… Kaledon has grown year by year and this year we are selling very well… Year by year new brothers join our army of soldiers and very soon there will be tons of mighty knights…

MR: Alex, thanks again for taking the time to speak with us….any last words for our Metal Reviews readers?

Alex: Well… thank you for this space… we really hope that all of you like our new album and we also hope to be in your country very soon for some kick ass shows! Keep the faith alive and MAY THE DRAGON BE WITH YOU…

There are 0 comments on this interview. Last one on Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:42 am
View and Post comments