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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Chaoswave (28.03.2009)
Interview Chaoswave
Hi, this is Thorsten from munich webzine heavyhardes.de. Thanks in advance for answering my questions!
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HH: How are you doing after having done your new record Dead Eye Dreaming?
Guf: We are very happy that it's finally out. We already finished mixing it more than a year ago, so it's been a long wait for us. It's been a year of many ups and downs, so it feels great to see that things are starting pay back.
HH: What happend that you had to wait one year to release the record?
Guf: We didn't have a label yet, before recording the album, so when it was done we had to start the label search and contract negotiations. Nightmare Records showed their interest around May/June I think, and after a month or so we signed with them. Nightmare set the American release date
for November 25th, but they had just started working together with a new partner (Silverwolf/SPV) for Europe, with whom they were still fixing the details of the partnership. Therefore the European release got pushed forward some months so the labels could be well prepared for working together.
HH: How are the reactions on Dead Eye Dreaming? Are you interested in things what people write about the album or doesn't this matter to you?
Guf: The media reaction has generally been very good. But we noticed a different reaction this time than on the debut album. The first album gave us a lot of very positive feedback but only a few reviews, that really were "up there". Now with Dead Eye Dreaming we have been getting some insanely good reviews, and also some that were very bad. If the review is well-written we always take the review serious. The detailed review is a good way to understand what we could do better the next time.
HH: Lots of people, even myself, say that Chaoswave sound like a mixture of Nevermore (more) and Lacuna Coil (less). Do you agree to this comparison?
Guf: I love Nevermore and I can't deny that they have inspired me. Lacuna Coil, well, they have two singers, female and male with clean vocals, they play metal and they are Italian. It's obvious that we will be compared to them. I'm not a big fan of them, but they are hugely respected so it's an honour to be compared with them too.
HH: Is it good or bad for you to be compared to these bands?
Guf: It's both good and bad. It's a good way to describe our music style, because we don't fit into just a single "thrash metal" or "metal core" box. So it can help give an idea of our style to people that don't know us. It's bad because, some people judge us before listening to us, just because of these names. Nevermore and Lacuna Coil are both written on our promo material this time, and I have read some reviews say things like "When a band is introduced as a comparison to Lacuna Coil, I already get worried..."
HH: On Dead Eye Dreaming there is a guest appearance of Steve Smyth who contributes some solos. I think it's hard to detect where he's really playing so you can take this as a commendation to your instrumental skills. How has it been to work with Steve?
Guf: Let me help you out. He plays the first lead on "Fork Tongues And Foul Times", the second lead on "A March For The Dying" and on "Rise" we do some classic "duelling". To me it's been a big honour to have Steve playing on the album. I am big fan of his playing, and to hear him playing on my riffs, side by side with my solos... its just great.
HH: Was it difficult do convince Steve to play on your record? What did you do to convince him?
Guf: It was very easy. I knew Steve a bit already, and when I got the idea to have guest leads on the album, he was the first guy I asked. He was very happy about it, and when he heard the songs he was quickly convinced.
HH: The mixing was done by Andy LaRocque. How has it been to work with him?
Guf: Amazing!! Andy is a master in the studio, and he has a great attitude and professional approach. Our drummer and I spent a few days in Andy's studios in Sweden for the mixing, and it was one of the high lights of the last year. Our dream is to come and do the entire album with Andy the next time.
HH: I really like the vocals on Dead Eye Dreaming. Most modern sounding bands use only these aggressive screaming and growling vocals but here you find clean vocals with some effects. This fits very well to the music. What do you think?
Guf: The vocal style is one of our strengths in my opinion. For some years now the metal core way of doing metal, has been ruling the scene. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Soilwork, Killswitch Engage and many other metal core acts. But these days if a metal band has two singers, you can be sure that at least one of them will be growling or screaming. Our style is very aggressive and growl would fit well on our music, but the way we use the vocals helps giving us our own style. Luckily many reviews seem to agree on this, and we often read that reviews don't know really who to compare us to.
HH: I also think the female vocals fit very well to your music. Do you think there will be more female vocal parts on future releases?
Guf: I think we will continue the division of vocals as it is now. We try to have 50% male and 50% female vocals. And have the singers share many vocal lines. It's a great way to build atmospheres. We try to see the 2 singers as 1 instrument only - we just have an extra string to play on so to speak.
HH: Would you please tell us some words about the lyrics on Dead Eye Dreaming. What topics do they deal with?
Guf: They deal a bit with everything, but the major topics would be illusions and delusions. Some examples: "10 Years Of Denial" is a very personal song that I wrote to break some very bad circles of negative thinking. "How To Define A Race" is about the illusion that we humans are something more than just animals. "Picture Perfect" talks about the illusion of happy pills - sometimes I think that depression and anti depressive medicine almost has become a trend.
HH: The guy on the cover doesn't really look that sad without eyes, he looks more like a zombie. What is he dreaming about?
Guf: Hahaha... you should know that at one point I was worried that the guy actually looked too much like a zombie. Then I thought "what the hell, who cares". This sounds stupid, but he is dreaming about dreaming. Often my lyrics also circles around the loss of hope and dreams. At some point life can get so negative to a person, that he even forgets how to dream.
HH: Who's responsible for the cover artwork?
Guf: I have been doing all the artwork for the band since the beginning. I have a lot to learn, but I like doing it, and we saved a lot of money this way. This time I wanted to do something very simple and effective. I wanted a cover that was very easy to remember, and I think I managed to do this. Inside the booklet they are lot of more complex images. We always want to give our buyers something for the money, so I have spent many hours creating a good looking booklet too.
HH: Which is your favourite track on Dead Eye Dreaming?
Guf: It's always hard to say just one favourite track, but I think it is "10 Years Of Denial". I am really happy with the way the song is structured. Very complex and still very straight forward.
HH: Like many other bands Chaoswave has a page at MySpace at www.myspace.com/chaoswave. How important is this page to the band?
Guf: Very, very important. With our myspace we communicate with our fans, and it's a great tool for promotion. We try our best to update regularly with new photos or blog messages. Another good thing is that everybody in the band can help with the myspace work. Some add new friends, some write blogs, some update the concert calendar.
HH: Is MySpace more important for bands than a regular website nowadays?
Guf: Definitely. We noticed that already a long time ago. 3-4 years ago we normally got a bunch of guestbook messages on our homesite each week. Now we only get one every 1-2 months while our myspace is receiving all the mail and fan messages now. I think its very important to have both a good looking myspace and a prof homesite. But the fact is that myspace is the first thing people check these days. "Who are Chaoswave? Let me check their myspace, I know I can quickly add them as friend, easily listen to their music, easily see some photos, check if their singer is hot, etc. etc." Myspace is also a good way for us to check our popularity, as we can see how many come and listen to our songs. Luckily its going quite good with that.
HH: Imagine Dead Eye Dreaming is something to eat. What Italian speciality would it be and why?
Guf: Shit, Im Danish. No matter what I say I know the Italians in the band will kick my ass, hahaha. I would say a Lasagne - homemade in Italy of course. Full of meat and sauce, and with many layers. And when you are done, you can't wait till the next time you will try it again.
HH: Nice, so please tell me what Danish speciality Dead Eye Dreaming would be if it's something to eat?
Guf: Hahaha... you are giving me a hard time here. You know, the Danish cuisine is not famous for being anything near-to-interesting. I mean to call Danish food boring would probably be too positive, hahaha. Ok, of course I love some traditional Danish food, but I really don't know what Chaoswave would be. I mean there isn't much poetry in "meatballs and potatoes", is there?
HH: What about touring? Are there plans for a tour? Maybe even for a tour through Germany?
Guf: We are working on some things, but nothing sure yet. Unfortunately we are without a booking agency, so it can be hard to get on the right tours. We are promoting ourselves towards agencies these days, so I hope this will help. No matter what, I am sure we will pass by Germany in September, where we are organizing a mini tour.
HH: How important is it to be on the road with Chaoswave?
Guf: Very important. Since the first concert we ever made we have analysed our shows to find out where to get better. After five years I think we are getting a very good live band, with a lot of action happening on stage. We love playing there, and we love interacting with the audience. Playing live is the best thing of music for us.
HH: Thanks for your time and good speed. Any last words?
Guf: Thanks to you for this cool interview. To the readers: please check out our myspace, and please keep your eyes open for our first video for the song "10 Years Of Denial". It will have world premiere on the Italian tv station ROCK TV soon, and after that we will start some heavy online promoting of the video too.