Artist: Liquid Horizon  

Date:  21 December 2007 

'Revolutions' is the excellent new concept album by Prog Metallers Liquid Horizon released on the 'Music By Mail' record label.  What better way to finish 2007 off than with a chat with the band's vocalist Oliver Kilthau and keyboardist Michael Heck.

MM - I'd just like to start by saying thank for agreeing to take part in this interview with us and that I think as far as concept albums go, ‘Revolutions’ is just brilliant.
Oliver: Thank you very much! It’s a pleasure for us.

MM - Can we go back to the beginning of the bands history and can you tell us a little of how the band came together and have progressed to the stage you’re at now?
Michael: The Band was formed in the beginning of the year 2000. Most of us had played together in another band before. After our singer had left us we felt the time was right to start all over again. Our drummer Chuck joined the band in 2005, just after the release of our first full length CD "Urban Legends".

MM - The album takes us on a global history lesson telling of man’s fights for the better good, how much research went into the stories for each song?
Oliver: As the singer I’m the guy who’s writing the lyrics, so I should say a few words… When we started with the Revolutions concept I had no idea how much research and effort would be necessary. Some of the ideas came quite quickly, like the French Revolution trilogy. I knew from the beginning that the last song of the trilogy had to be about Robespierre and terror ruling the streets… Anyway, it’s always a challenge to find the right words to express your ideas. Concerning the research I was reading some of my old history books from school, I’m glad that I hadn’t thrown them away. But my main source was the internet. I can tell ya, Wikipedia rules!

MM - Were there any songs that didn’t make the album and if so will they ever make it to the next Liquid Horizon release?
Michael: I’m happy that we had a really smooth writing process for this album, so we haven't really thrown away a complete song. I don’t think that we’ll use some stuff from the "Revolutions" writing sessions for our next album, we will work on completely fresh ideas.

Oliver: If a song idea was not good enough for this album, then why should it be good enough for the next one? I know that many bands write a lot of songs and decide later which song makes it on the album. Our approach is different: We throw away a lot of ideas and nearly finished songs much earlier. Our quality control is pretty strict and takes effect in the writing process. Everybody has to be happy with every single piece. So sometimes it takes a lot of time to write a song.

MM - The Trilogy about the French Revolution is particularly poignant in these days of unrest in France, do you think the common man nowadays has the power to over-throw their leaders?
Oliver: What really impresses me is that there have been some peaceful ‘revolutions’ during the last two or three decades, like in Eastern Europe or in Germany. This definitely proves that the ‘common man’ has the power to overthrow their leaders or a political system. I’m really no expert about the situation in France these days but it’s kind of troubling what you see on TV. A few months ago I was living in a pretty torn down part of Paris for two days. You could feel that there was aggression in the air … Definitely not a nice place to live. I understand the problems the French have but to be honest I have no idea what to do about it …

MM - What can we expect from the bands next album, will it be another concept album and have you had a chance to consider what songs, or type of songs, might feature on it yet?
Oliver: Actually I didn’t want to make another concept piece with the next album. There are a lot of boundaries when you you’re doing a concept album, you have to follow a certain story line or a topic with your lyrics. On the other hand it was a highly interesting experience for me – so let’s see what we come up with next time. If we do a concept album again I would like the concept to be a certain topic like ‘revolutions’ and not a story line. In most cases the stories told by concept albums don’t really mean anything to me. Of course there’s always an exception to the rule like Queenryche’s ‘Operation: Mindcrime’.  But most stories are kind or irrelevant to me, you got better stories when you’re watching some old Star Trek shows … Just my personal opinion, I prefer more realistic topics, like all the history stuff.

MM - How does each song transfer from album to the live shows, are there any songs that you just can’t play live for whatever reason?
Oliver: Being the singer and guitar player in one person is a tricky thing. That’s why I try to avoid playing ballads in live situations. If you got thundering drums in your back nobody really realizes when you miss a string. But with ballads that’s a different story…Anyway, in the past we played all of our songs live, but in the long run we stick to the heavier stuff.

Michael: For me as a Keyboard player it's a challenge to perform the songs in a live situation with the power and the diversity they have on this album. During the recording process I've created a lot of orchestral elements, some stuff that is not so easy to play live. But I’ll always try to be as close as possible to the sounds your hear on the record.

MM - Is there one tale that the band would love to put to music but haven’t had the opportunity yet?
Oliver: When we talked about the concept of the Revolutions album I had this idea in mind to make a concept album dealing with scientific revolutions and people who changed society with their ideas … But in a lyrical way that seemed to be a difficult thing to do. Anyway, perhaps we do that one day, even if this is not a typical ‘Metal thing’.

MM - Speaking of live shows, does the band have any live shows lined up for 2008?
Michael: Sure, right now it’s 3 shows in the next weeks, but I’m sure there’s more to come. Just check out our website, it’s www.liquid-horizon.com – you’ll find our tour schedule there.

MM - The whole Progressive/Power Metal genre has taken quite a hold over the past few years, do you think people want a more grandiose metal sound these days rather than 3 minute bursts of Metal?
Michael: I think that there are a lot of people who like to listen to some longer songs with interesting song structures, dynamics and all these things. At least at home on their stereo or I-Pod or whatever. Of course this kind of complex music can be difficult to listen to in live concert if you don’t know the band and the songs. There will always be a larger crowd at an AC/DC concert than on a Dream Theater or Queensryche show.

Oliver: That’s true. On the other hand there must be a reason why there are so many great new bands around playing progressive stuff. I guess many people are attracted to the fact that there’s an endless array of musical possibilities in this kind of music. The 3 minute burst of Metal tends to be the same thing all over again. So I personally appreciate it that even bands like Nevermore tend to integrate more and more progressive elements into their music. Great band, by the way!

MM - How would you like to see this genre grow and develop further over the next couple of years?
Oliver: In my personal opinion there are a lot of bands who put to much emphasis on the technical aspects of playing. Sometimes I miss ‘the song’.

MM - Do you think the Metal paternity will ever be recognised as a true force in the world of music as it did in the early days?
Oliver: No.

MM - Finally do you have any parting message or words of wisdom you’d like to share with all our readers out there?
Oliver: Peace! And buy our album, you will always have a place in our hearts if you do so, haha …

Michael : If you like our music please spread the word of  LIQUID HORIZON.   I hope to see as many as possible of you on our concerts. Feel free to give us your feedback via Mail or in our guestbook on our website and....ROCK THE PLANET !!!

MM - We'd like to thank Oliver and Michael for taking the time out to talk to us today, especially as it's so close to the festive season.  We'd like to wish them and the band every success with their new album 'Revolutions' and hope to see them out on the road in the not too distant future.

 

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