| We were lucky
enough to catch up with founding member and head honcho Thomas Chr
Hansen when the band played at The Purple Turtle in London as part of
their 2011 UK Tour. Here's what Thomas had to say ...
MM - What got you into music?
TH - The first band I listened to and that
got my interest was, I guess, KISS. And it was mainly because of the
make-up that interested me.
MM - How did you meet previous band members?
TH - There have been a
lot of changes; the band has been going in one form or another over the
last 20 years. But most of the members have been found through friends
or by looking for new members
MM - What's your favourite song?
TH - My favourite song of all time
would be Hangar 18 by Megadeth.
MM - What music influenced you?
TH - There have been several bands
that have influenced me, but the one that was the most important was
Metallica. I first learned how to play guitar by using guitar tabs and
covering Metallica songs, so they have a special place.
MM - What's been your favourite gig so far?
TH - That would be
playing the Minneapolis Mayhem Festival in Minneapolis obviously.
MM - Why has it been so long to return back to the UK?
TH - The last
two times we tried to tour it got cancelled. The last time it was
attempted was last year as support to Killing Machine but for some
reason it was cancelled.
MM - Why the change from punk into power metal?
TH - The music has
changed over the years as I and other members have developed our skills.
We’ve moved towards the style of music I enjoy playing – it has also
taken years to develop the skills and develop into the style I wanted to
play.
MM - Why are you the only permanent band member at the moment?
TH - It
can be very hard to find good musicians, especially living in Norway.
Most of them are already in different bands so it’s hard to find new
ones. The guitarist has done shows with me for a few years, but the
drummer has played one show before, and I found him on a TV talent show
which he won. The bassist is from London and was recommended when the
other bassist couldn’t play due to prior commitments.
MM - When you had to change the band name from Millennium (another band
had the same name), did you take this as an opportunity to reshape the
band?
TH - The change of name and style was a complete coincidence
but it was direction I felt we needed to follow.
MM - Has there been a time when you’ve not wanted to carry on?
TH - Of
course there have been times when I’ve felt it isn’t worth it but
music is a big part of my life and it is a passion, it goes into
everything. I’ve not ever thought this is it but it can be hard at
times.
We'd
like to thank Gaia Epicus for taking the time out to chat with us this
evening and wish them every success with the tour and their new album
'Dark Secrets'.
Interview
by: Kerry H
|