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MM
- First off I’d like to say thanks for agreeing to take part in this
interview with us, it means a lot to us both as a webzine, but also as
fans of the band. With the advent of your third album ‘Magic Never Dies’
due for release next month, how is the band feeling right now?
Steve W - Hi Linda! Great to talk to you again … thanks for wanting to interview us
once more! Hehe! The band are in very high spirits following the recording of
new album, can’t wait for the album to come out and see what everybody thinks
Francesco - Thank you so much for this opportunity. I’m very excited for the release
of the record also because this is my first album with Power Quest and I’m very
happy to be in the band now.
Andrea - Well … What can I say?? ... Everyone is very excited in this moment and at
the same time very trustful for the future things to come …. We’re trying to plan
a great tour, possibly a European and a Japan one and we’ve got a lot of
cool ideas for the future gigs and for the promotion of Magic Never Dies!!! The
band is now compact, united, perfect and ready to rock and everyone is proud to
be in Power Quest so … that’s the best thing for a band like us!!.
Alessio -
Hi to you Little Linda and thx for the space that you are givin’ us! We are
really excited because of all the new things that were goin’ on during the
months before the recordings. We’ve got some new great songs to play, a
new band member, Francesco, a new label that is working hard and new
energy coming along with all this events! New Power Quest!
MM - Is there any secret message behind the name of the new album
and what made you decide to choose this over one of the other song titles?
Steve W - There isn’t a secret message behind the album title as such. The actual
title came to me before most of the songs had actually been written. It seemed
to be quite an inspirational title for me as it triggered a serious bout of
song writing. If anything, I think the title really means that as long as there
are people keeping ideas alive then those ideas or beliefs will never die.
MM - I noticed this new album contains 11 tracks whereas your
previous release ‘Neverworld’ only included 9 tracks. What’s the overall
running time of ‘Magic Never Dies’ and is it longer than the last, or does
it just contain shorter tracks?
Francesco -The running time of the new album is
about 63 minutes and it’s only 4 minutes longer than Neverworld. Magic Never Dies contains only 1 long
song (Another World) instead of Neverworld in which there are 2 long songs
(Neverworld and Lost Without You). I think that every song in
both the albums has the right length; there are no boring songs or too short
songs.
Steve W - Yeah, it’s actually 63 minutes including the Japanese bonus track so
it’s very similar in length to Neverworld overall.
Alessio -The whole album has a running time of 58 minutes and contains shorter
songs compared to the Neverworld stuff. There are some Hard rockin’ “Radio”
tracks like “Children Of The Dream” or “Hold On To Love” and atmospheric tracks
like “Strike Force” or “Another World”. A lot of different styles for every
kind of taste.
MM -
There’s been talk of a limited edition digi-pack being made available
for the European release of the new album. Can you tell us what additional
material this will include, also where can
your fans obtain a copy?
Francesco -The DVD will contain the making of Magic Never Dies with some videos
recorded at the Thin Ice studios during the recordings and some short
interviews. You‘ll see the band playing and recording the songs and discussing
about different solutions to obtain the best final result for the album.
Steve W
- The limited edition digi-pack will be released on July 4th in
Europe through Majestic Rock
records. Distribution in the UK will be through Cargo and
this should mean that the album will be available in the high street stores
such as HMV, Virgin etc. Also check out online stores like
www.zroxx.com.
Alessio - Yeah,
Majestic Records was thinking about a limited edition for Magic Never Dies
to release in Europe: the audio CD of the album and a Video DVD with some
footage taken during the recordings at Thin Ice Studio; some funny stuff.
I think there will be a limited number that everyone can buy during the
first days after the release and I dunno at the moment if there will be
some promotions for the fan club members. Keep an eye on our official
website!
Steve S - Also on the DVD there is a photo gallery of band images and the artwork in
its glory. The
DVD was shot in the studio, there are some funny moments in there
including a weird dream that Steve W had about being chased by pinhead
from hellraiser.
MM - Your
last album ‘Neverworld’ gained a lot of respect and became a classic in
many fans hearts. How would you compare this latest release to your
earlier albums, does it have that classic Power Quest sound to it, or have
you guys be pushing the barrier to untested grounds?
Steve W - I’m
really happy with the reception Neverworld received amongst the power
metal/melodic metal fraternity. I honestly think that “Magic Never Dies”
is a step up again for the band and I believe it is the strongest PQ
release to date. There are certainly all the classic PQ elements in there
but we have added some more spice to the recipe again this time, just like
the progression from “Wings of Forever” to “Neverworld”.
Steve S -
Magic
Never Dies is a great mix of classic power metal, uplifting catchy songs,
but we consciously decided to move away from the dragons and fantasy part
of the power metal scene. This album contains great lyrics about real
life, we cover all the emotions most people experience in there personal lives. I really think people will feel more connected to this album, it’s
escapism along with some prog power music, we are playing more technical
songs on this album to, the guitar and keyboard solos interplay together,
and there are some great harmony moments. The drums and bass are doing
some very technical fills in places, and Alessio is sounding stronger
clearer and better than ever.
MM - A while back I saw a rather bizarre photo of you (Steve W) holding
a ‘key-tar’, is there something you would like to tell us about the
appearance of this wild and wacky instrument?
Steve W
- Now that would be telling eh? Hehe! There’s a chance that the key-tar
will be putting in an appearance at some point during the shows to promote
the new album. We thought it would be cool for the photo shoot for the
album and the guys are keen for me to become a bit more mobile in the live
show, so to speak.
MM - The
band seemed more settled now as a group with the inclusion of your new
drummer Francesco Tresca. Would you like to tell our readers a little
about how you came across Francesco in the first place and when did you
realize he was the band’s missing link?
Francesco -
I met Alessio
for the first time when we had done a concert together in Italy with our
cover bands (I play in a Motorhead tribute band called Jokerhead and
Alessio in an Ozzy tribute band called The Miracle Madman). A couple of
months later he has phoned to me to ask me to record Magic Never Dies with PQ and I
accepted immediately. When I had
finished recording drums parts the guys asked to me to join the band and I
had no doubt.
Steve W -
When
Alessio told the rest of us about Francesco we had every confidence in his
recommendation but of course we were keen to see what he was like as a
person as well as a musician. Needless to say we were blown away on both
fronts! I think he has really added something to the band and this is very
evident on the record.
Alessio -
We
were searching for a drummer to replace Gavin Ward, our previous drummer. The situation was a bit
... problematic ...‘cause we weren’t able to find a
good drummer/guy in the U.K. to complete the PQ line-up. I knew a good
drummer in Italy that plays in a band of friends and I called him to ask
if he wanted to play on “Magic Never Dies”. He suggested to me to call
Francesco telling that he would have been the right guy for us. And that’s
all ... Francesco has learnt all the parts in few days and come over to play
all the stuff in the studio where he blown us away!!! We’re so happy to
have Francesco with us, ‘cause he is bringing new influences to the band
sound and pushing all of us to a new level of song writing and playing.
MM -
What
was it like to return to the studios to work with Karl Groom on the new
album? Is he a hard taskmaster to work for, or is he on the same
wavelength as you all?
Steve W -
It’s
always great when it’s time to return to work with Karl at Thin Ice. To be
honest we didn’t even consider working anywhere else this time! Karl is
very easy to work with and seems to get the best out of all the guys. We
are all fairly hard task masters anyway so he doesn’t have to crack the
whip too often. Richard West (Threshold keyboardist) was in the producers
chair for vocal tracking and he is another great guy to work with, as is
Clive Nolan (Arena) who provided some orchestration and also wrote the
song “The Longest Night” which we recorded for the Japanese bonus track.
Steve S -
Karl
is so easy and relaxed to work with, he understands what we want to
achieve , and we all work well with him, no arguments or crap like that.
Richard West and Clive NOLAN also pop into the studio from time to time
and over the last 3 albums we have worked a way of working with each of
these guys, Clive adds the backing vocals and Richard records the vocals
where Karl does drums keyboards and bass parts in the recording process,
doing it this way gives the best result for the album, and also gives
various people a break during the recording process which took us 3
months, so it can be wearing at times, and there are longs days involved,
Alessio and Andrea work late into the night doing solos and vocals and
perfecting little bits here and there.
MM -
How
long have you actually known Karl, professionally or otherwise, and how
did you guys first come to meet?
Steve W
- I’ve
known Karl for around 4 years now but Steve Scott has known him for a
little longer having recorded at Thin Ice prior to joining Power Quest. Steve actually suggested going to Thin Ice to record the Power Quest demo
CD with Karl and we haven’t looked back since to be honest.
Steve S -
I
first met Karl when Dragonheart recorded there in 2000 for the Demo which
went to number one on mp3.com, we recorded it in 7 days. After that I went
on tour with Threshold & twice and Arena/Pendragon for 6 weeks and got to
know Clive Rich and Karl on those tours, since then we have been going
back to Thin Ice studios to record, it’s a great escape and a good place
to work, not so many distractions etc, I have also sold the studio Apple
computers and various gear as I work at Apple in London.
MM - What
do you prefer out of the two, being holed up in the studios recording new
material, or getting out on the road and playing them live in front of a
live audience?
Steve W -
I
enjoy both aspects of band life in different ways. Playing live and being
on tour is what you could say is the fun bit; the reward for all those
hours, days and weeks working hard in the studio and at home. It’s a real
buzz to get up and play in front of a live audience. Having said that, I
really enjoy the creative process involved in putting a new album
together. I think we are very fortunate in that we all get on well in the
studio and hopefully this comes across in our music and performance.
MM
- What’s
it like watching the fans reaction to a new song when you play it live for
the first time. Are you ever worried they might not like it, or are you
secretly excited inside to see their reaction when it hits certain parts?
Steve W -
Yeah,
it’s an interesting question. I guess a good example was when we played
“Edge of Time” at Bloodstock 2003 before the Neverworld album had been
released. Quite a departure from the Wings of Forever sound but it didn’t
take the fans long to start banging their heads along with us! Hehe! It is
certainly fun when you have a new track up your sleeves that is
unexpected, you know? I think it will be interesting when we play live
later in the year … which new songs will be played? Which older ones?
Alessio - Every
time that we play a gig we are playing to enjoy ourselves and our fans and
you can see it on stage when everyone smiling and filling every note with
energy. A new song is a new adventure and we are excited to see how the
people is feeling after our performance. It’s like drinking a beer and
seeing the effect!! HAHA!!
MM
- The power and the passion the band has for the music really seems to
shine through in your live performances. You all seem to enjoy the
gigs every bit as much as your fans. How does it feel to stand up on
stage in front of hoards of eager fans and just do your thing? Have
you ever played a gig and not enjoyed it for whatever reason?
Andrea - To be
honest … it has never happened!!!! ... The reason why we always enjoy the show
is because we love music too much and being on stage is always a party for
us. As you know some of the band have different bands and always play live
during the year … it’s a non-stop party for us that has to carry on! And the
fans always make the party more interesting and funny!!!
Steve W - It’s
very rewarding to see the fans really enjoying themselves as much as we do
at a live show. I think the band feeds on the energy generated by the fans
and vice-versa.
Alessio - I love
to play and transmit to the people how I’m feeling. I love seeing people headbang following our songs and chant along with us. I think is one of
the best thing you can ask while your are playing live. Yeah, we enjoy
playing live, ‘cause Power Quest fans are great! I’ve played some gig that
were difficult to enjoy, but most of the time is due to an organization or
a technical support not professional enough.
MM
- Are
all the songs on the new album ‘new’ songs or were there any that were
left over from the previous album, but that you just didn’t have room to
include?
Alessio -
All
the songs on Magic Never Dies are new songs; all the stuff was written
after the recordings of Neverworld.
Steve W - Yes,
all the songs featured on the new album were written specifically for this
album. You quite often hear about bands who have written 40 songs and then
they break it down from there. To be honest we usually write what we
consider to be an albums worth of songs and that’s it. A song that isn’t
worth working on doesn’t even make it anywhere near the recording process. I don’t play the guys ideas or songs if I don’t believe in them 110%.
MM
- When
working out the final track listing how hard is it to decide which songs
to keep and which ones to leave off?
Steve W -
As
mentioned in the previous question, we never have the decision of what to
include or exclude as we believe that everything we are bothering to
record is worthy of inclusion on our record. A certain amount of thought
is put into the running order for the album though as I feel this is an
often overlooked, yet crucial area.
MM -
The artwork for the cover of ‘Magic Never Dies’ looks fabulous and
was completed by Toxic Angel. Just how much input did you have into the
design and do you feel it accurately represents the band and its music?
Steve W
-
Toxic
Angel … wow! What a great job he has done … just wait until you see the rest
of the artwork. We commissioned much more artwork for the inside of the
booklet as well! I was heavily involved in the creative process as I
wanted each piece of art to represent a song on the new album. It will be
interesting to see if the fans like what we have come up with for the
booklet. Personally I think the entire package, both CD and artwork, is a
great representation of where Power Quest are today.
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MM
- There’s been whispers that the band might be holding an album release
party, how likely is this to go ahead and when will any information be
released on it if it does happen?
Steve W -
Yes,
there is indeed going to be a release party scheduled for Saturday July 2nd.
We are just waiting for confirmation of the venue.
The party will be for
industry, fan club members and guests. Full details will be posted on the
PQ website as soon as we have them. |
MM
- The
Power Quest fan club was launched in early April this year. What made you
decide to start the fan club and do you perhaps see yourselves as some
sort of ‘power metal boy band’ with a poster on every bedroom door?
Steve W -
Hahahaha! I
certainly don’t see myself as someone who should be anywhere near anyone’s
bedroom door! Hehehe! Scary thought that! Having said that I used to have
Iron Maiden posters all over my room when I was a kid.
The
fan club was put together because many people were actually asking us if
there was going to be such a thing. It’s even run by one of our biggest
fans (Hi Carole!), so it’s “by the fans, for the fans” if you like. We
wanted to do something extra for the people who have been so supportive to
us over the past few years.
MM -
Seriously though, now’s your chance to persuade our readers to
break open those piggy banks and become members. What do your fan club
members get for their money and how can people sign up?
Steve W -
Well,
for the princely sum of £10/$20 you get 2 issues per year of the fanclub
magazine “Tales from the Quest”, a full band biography, membership card,
signed photo, exclusive access to a track from the new album that is not
available anywhere else, competitions, and the possibility of hanging out
backstage at an upcoming show. We are constantly looking at ways that we
can improve the fanclub and offer more goodies etc.
MM - The band are
currently signed to Majestic Rock records for the release of this new
album. How well do you think you fit in with the label and its fellow
bands? Is this signing for the one release or does it go further than
that?
Steve W
- Yeah,
we’ve just done a one album deal with Majestic Rock to see how things go
really. Personally, I think we have delivered a great album so now it is
up to them to deliver some great promotion to go with it. We are certainly
different to bands like Waysted, Lionsheart and Million who are also with
Majestic Rock. These bands are perhaps more “rock” than “metal” although I
think one of the great things about Power Quest is that we straddle the
divide between power metal, hard rock and progressive metal, which perhaps
will open up more opportunities on the live front.
MM -
In a
previous life both Steve’s were in fellow power metal band Dragonforce, a
band whose fan base are often seen waving plastic swords and axes about at
their gigs. Have your Power Quest fans ever done this at any of your
gigs, and how do you personally feel about the whole plastic sword debate?
Steve W -
Ah the
swords and axes question … hehe! I think it’s cool that the kids are getting
into all that kind of stuff, especially the DF fans. Haven’t seen too much
evidence of that at our shows to be honest but I do think that so far we
seem to have attracted a generally older audience. There is not so much
“sword and sorcery” in our lyrical content now as there was on “Wings of
Forever”. At the end of the day I just love seeing the fans enjoying
themselves you know?
Alessio - I
think that a gig is a moment of fun, relax, energy and everyone has a
way to release his feelings and maybe for someone waving plastic swords is
a way to release the energy. So, why not?!
MM -
Have
you ever thought of adding any visual things on stage during your live
performance, such as dragons, swords, wizards or warlocks?
Steve W -
Sure.
I often daydream about what we can do to enhance the live show but of
course these things are all down to budgets. We’ve not had much luck in
this respect with our previous labels (apart from Marquee/Avalon in Japan
who are amazing!) so I’m hopeful that this is an area that we will be
developed more and more as time goes on.
Alessio -
We’ve haven’t thought about adding visual things for our stage. We were
more into music to think about something like that. It would be great to
have something like that, and I think that possible very soon we will be
covered by this kind of stuff Eheh!
MM -
The
band have performed some astonishing gigs over recent years, do you have
any plans to perhaps release a full length live DVD of one of your live
performances/tours?
Steve W -
Absolutely! I think that if we can get the opportunities to play for 60-90
minutes at some point in support of the new album then I’m keen to explore
the possibility of filming a show, perhaps as a fanclub release of
possibly a full fledged product. If we have the chance to visit Japan
later in the year then this would certainly be a chance to either film a
show or make a documentary about the trip.
Alessio -
We
have two videos available on our website done by Steve Scott, nothing
professional, but the first step to see what happens with PQ on the road.
A live DVD would be another thing “to do” in our future as a great
possibility to show to the people what Power Quest are like on stage.
MM - How
can your fans help spread the word and promote the band and its music
more? With so many radio stations out there nowadays, are there any in
particular they should target to request a song off the new album?
Steve W -
Well the
internet is the way to go I think in the promotion stakes. Post on message
boards and forums, especially those that are connected with power metal.
In terms of radio we have had great support in Japan from Captain Wada and
over here from Total Rock and ARFM radio. There are some songs on the new
album that would be perfect for radio play and for rock/metal clubs as
well.
So if there are any fans who want to take Power Quest CD’s to their
local metal club or local radio station (some have rock shows, although I
know most don’t) that would be very cool indeed. Any coverage from radio
stations in the USA would be most welcome as we are getting a lot of
interest from over the pond this time round.
MM
- Finally, is there a message you would like to send out to all your fans to
close out this interview?
Steve W -
I’d just like
to thank all the PQ fans, fan club members and supporters out there who
have been absolutely amazing with their support and encouragement over the
past 4 years. Without you there would be no Power Quest …that’s for sure.
I hope everyone goes out and grabs a copy of “Magic Never Dies” when it is
released (May 23rd Japan, July 4th Europe). I
really feel that it is the strongest Power Quest release to date and me
and the guys are immensely proud of the record and we hope you guys enjoy
it as much as we enjoyed making it.
Thanks to you too Linda for your continued support and to everyone
at the Mayfair Mall … see you on tour!
MM - Thanks guys and best of luck with the new album! |
