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We catch up
with the very lovely and extremely talented Tommy Karevik and Andreas
Blomqvist from Seventh Wonder to talk about their brilliant new album
'Waiting In The Wings'.
MM - Hi there, first off I’d like to congratulate you on your
wonderful new album and to say thanks for agreeing to take part in this
interview with us, we really appreciate it. With the advent of your
second album ‘Waiting In The Wings’ due for release next month, how
are the band feeling right now?
Tommy - Thank you very much! Actually it was released on Aug 24 so
it has been a few days now but we have already received great press,
which is nice of course! We are all happy about the way “WITW”
turned out, and now we are only hoping that our fans and everyone else
out there will like it as well!
MM - How would you describe the music of Seventh Wonder in a few
words and perhaps advertise your sound to some ears that have never
heard your music before?
Tommy - Well actually it is kind of hard to label it but… To
listen to “Seventh Wonder” is to travel back in time ... back to the
melodic hard rock choruses of the eighties topped with the killer
progressive elements of the new millennium, performed in a flawless yet
organic way! And even though there is a lot of complex things going on
in the music, SW will always be about the catchy songs and memorable
melodies!
MM - Is there a secret message behind the name of the new album and what
made you decide to choose this one over the other song titles?
Andreas - No, not other than that it is a perfect name for the song.
It was chosen as the title partly due to the nature of the song, which
is massive and epic and we felt those traits are given for a title
track, kind of the same mentality we had when choosing Become. The
other reason is simply that it is a cool phrase! It sounds rich,
powerful, full of promise. I guess it’s kind of suitable as it
was the entrance of Tommy on this album.
MM - Stepping back in time slightly, would you like to tell us a
little about when the band was first formed and how it evolved to its
current membership.
Andreas - Once my former band Mankind dissolved, me, Johan and
Johnny decided to stay together and start something new on our own.
A mutual friend led us to the discovery of Kyrt (Andreas Söderin) for
the open keyboard position. That immediately had a great impact on
the sound as Kyrt’s entrance made us slant even further towards the
progressive. After many singers had tried out and no one fit, then
we found a great guy in Andi Kravljaca who sang with the band on the
second demo we did, and on our first album Become. A major
argument led to a split between us and Andi and after we found Tommy we
knew it was a change for the better, and that’s where we are right
now. Couldn’t be better!
MM - The band are currently signed to ‘Lion Music’. How did
you come to hook up with them and what was it about Lion Music that made
them stand out from all the other labels who were showing interest in
the band at that time?
Andreas - Well, it was actually me how contacted Lasse Mattsson at
Lion, but that was when we were looking for a suitable studio to record
in. Lasse responded by offering us a record deal instead of the
price to rent the studio! That was cool of course, but we were
already negotiating with a small little Spanish label, as well as the
rather famous Limb music productions from Germany. The deal
itself, plus the fabulous contact we immediately established with Lasse
made the choice rather easy.
MM - Would you like to take us through the tracks on the new album
‘Waiting In The Wings’ and share any thoughts or stories behind the
songs?
Andreas - Sure! Tommy has written most of the lyrics but I love the
lyrics so I have a pretty good idea about the ones I didn’t write as
well. "Star of David" is a quite progressive and rather
heavy track that opens the album. The story takes place in the
30's sometime I guess, and portrays a Nazi-soldier in love with a Jewish
night club singer. I love the mood of that song – excellent
lyrical work by Tommy.
"Taint the Sky" deals with the witch persecutions that
occurred in Sweden in the mid 1600's. It is a powerful chorus song
and has some beautiful guitar work by Johan. Plus I like the track since
there is a bass solo in it… (:
"Waiting in the Wings" is a continuation of the story of the
song “Like Him” from our first album "Become". Where
"Like Him" tells the story of an indoctrinated boy breaking
free and in the typical naïve way of an adolescent thinks he’s
gonna make everything right. WITW continues when the boy has grown
into a man and finds himself being what he swore he’d never be.
It discusses the life of a grown-up, always filled with compromises,
lies and pleasing everyone. He still bears the legacy of his
tyrant father within him and the song shows him battling his inner
demons and fears, and also the guilt from the little boy inside him
pointing out that he failed his promise. Musically it is also very
epic. I tried to squeeze in several different moods and feels in
it and I think there is some stuff that is true power metal, some really
heavy prog and some more vivid 80’s hard rock in it.
"Banish the Wicked" has the heaviest intro on the album and
tells the story of a little more fictional kind. It is about a
village a long time ago and a looming evil the villagers do not
understand – I’ll leave it at that! Johan shreds more than
ever on it…
"Not an Angel" has the obvious werewolf theme to it but also
deals with the duality of man in a more general manner. It is also
the fastest song we’ve ever written including a great keyboard solo by
Kyrt and a cool chorus.
"Devil’s Inc." is an epic story by Tommy about a man selling
his soul to the devil and only too late finding out the price of his
wicked ways as he enters eternal damnation. Johan has added
several very 80-ish elements in that song which stand in bright contrast
to the extremely progressive vocal lines Tommy laid on top.
"Walking Tall" is straightforward, both regarding the music
and regarding the lyrics. The story is about betrayal and lost
love. It has an extremely cool middle section, and according to me
Johan’s best guitar solo ever. Johnny really gets to work there
as well on the drums ad the bass intro kind of kicks ass as well.
"The edge of my Blade" is a powerful and moving story of a
poor boy who witnesses his father’s murder as a child and sets out to
avenge his death as a young man. This is a great story of how
hatred can never be healed through violence as it only digs a deeper
hole in your soul. One of the absolutely strongest moments of the
entire album is in this song according to me, the vocal part leading up
to the guitar solo. The grand outro, composed by Kyrt, is a worthy
end for such a powerful song. Again a great chorus by Tommy.
The closing track "Pieces" is a gloomy look at the world
today. Must we destroy the earth, our only home, before we see the
consequences? A beautiful piece by Tommy and Kyrt.
MM - What was it like going into the studio to work with Tommy Hansen
on the new album? Was he a hard taskmaster to work for, or is he
on the same wavelength as you?
Tommy -
The whole album was recorded back in the 'sound v science' studio in
Sweden together with producer/drummer Mr Daniel Flores (Mind`s Eye).
We where pretty much our own bosses in the studio and that’s how we
like it to be. When finished back home, the whole band headed of
to Jailhouse studios in Denmark for the mixing session and to meet
Tommy… :)
Nothing could be easier than to work with him! I mean the guy is
such a pro! He has been producing and mixing famous bands since
long before I was even thought of … And on top of that he is a perfect
gentleman! Before we went to Mr Hansen we where a little anxious
about the whole thing. We didn't want to be just another modern
metal band with Rammstein guitars and never present bass. But it
was really a smooth ride all the way, him taking out the best in our
music, making sure that we sounded as much “SW” as we possibly
could! And for that we will be forever grateful!!!
MM - Who writes the songs and the music you perform? Is there a
key person who does this or do you all add in to it?
Tommy - We are all partners in crime I guess! Someone comes up with
an idea for a song but everyone still puts their own trademark to the
overall sound, making us sound like the 5-piece band we are! Most
of the musical content originates from Johan (guitar) and Andreas B
(bass) though. The lyrics are handled by me and Andreas B and the
melodies to support the words usually comes from me.
MM - How long did it take for the new album to be created, from
initial conception to the finished product? Are all of the songs
‘new’ songs or were there any that were left over from your debut
album, but that you just didn’t have room to include?
Andreas - Well, I guess two of the songs on this album were almost
finished by the recording of "Become". We made a
conscious choice though to include the oldest material in general on
"Become". This is the reason we get a more homogenous
sound on the new album. I guess you can say that it was written
over the course of little more than a year or perhaps 1½ years.
MM - What do you think are the biggest differences between ‘Waiting
In The Wings’ and your debut album ‘Become’?
Tommy - Personally I think there are quite a few differences between
the albums… I mean just listen to the sound on “Waiting in the
Wings”… It's god damn crystal clear, heavy and 'in your face' at the
same time. There is also a big difference in terms of writing the
albums. “WITW” was written in a very short period of time,
which makes it a far more homogenous album than our debut!
Another thing is that I am now a member of the band … (I'm so
glad we sorted that out..!) :)
MM - Does the band get much opportunity to play their songs in the
live arena and are there any plans to take the music from this new album
out on the road?
Tommy - As for now the chances to get out and play on this album are
a lot bigger than on our debut “Become” from last year. Now we
are signed to Intromental management and one of their biggest
undertakings is to get us out on the road, and nothing would make us
happier than to be able to meet or fans all over the world!
MM - How do you feel the band has evolved musically since it first
began. Have you changed direction musically or perhaps matured as
you’ve all found your niche market?
Andreas - I would say that there have been no conscious efforts to
alter the sound or head in a certain direction. I guess, we all
grow and our taste for what is cool and what’s not grows with us.
I’d say that when we started out in the absolute beginning, let’s
say when we wrote "Day By Day", there were still obvious
traces from our time in Mankind, the power metal band that led to the
birth of Seventh Wonder. I think those remnants are now all gone.
I think it is safe to say that we have found ourselves on this album.
MM - At what age did you become interested in being a performer and
what/who inspired you to join a band?
Tommy - For me it was just a few years ago… I really wasn't that
much into metal music at that time, but a good friend of mine (Johan
Larsson) asked me if I wanted to participate in a metal project with the
progressive metal band 'Vindictiv'. I said yes and the rest is
history ... :)
My musical inspiration is mostly down to this friend/musician Johan
Larsson who introduced me to the world of music, sharing his view on
things with me! But also playing in a band like SW with some of
the most awesome and talented musicians of course is a major source of
inspiration as well!
Andreas - I was 14 and all of sudden decided that I was gonna start
playing the guitar. Can’t say why really … I guess it had
something to do with my growing interest in hard rock and heavy metal.
I started my first band when I was 16 and from then on I knew where I
wanted to go.
MM - What’s the biggest misconception people tend to have about you
because of the music you make?
Andreas - That we do stuff just to shine. We don’t.
Sure, we want to get the people thinking. I mean, to us it’s
really cool when we can “fool” people into thinking –“ok, this
is a simple 4/4”, but where we sneak in multiple rhythms, key-changes
and whatever. That’s what keeps us alert and what keeps us
interested in the music we make.
But make no mistake -The songs are ALWAYS the most important thing.
Many reviewers have understood this and salute us for it – that makes
me very proud! If you peel everything else away and there are
simply two guys with acoustic guitars and a singer – the song still
needs to kick ass. Melody is the key to us.
MM - What are you listening to these days yourselves? Old
classics or modern bands? Do you ever listen to music that is very
different to what you do and if so what?
Andreas - I think I mostly listen to the same stuff I’ve been
listening to for 10-15 years now. The newest acquaintances I’ve
made are A.C.T and Mind’s Eye, two bands I really like a lot.
Kyrt is actually a real A.C.T - freak and travels across the country to
see them any chance he gets.
MM - Do you think the internet had been a viable tool for connecting
you and your fans now that the industry seems to focus on the flavour of
the week?
Andreas - Absolutely! We probably would still be making demos
if it weren’t for the internet. We are humble about it and I
guess that to a certain point we need to face the facts and accept at
least some illegal downloading as a means to get the word around.
MM - We often hear that there is a big problem now with people
copying and downloading albums instead of buying them. If you had
the chance to speak to a room of people who copied/downloaded your
music, what would you like to say to them?
Andreas - Like I said, I hold no grudge towards them, as I have
downloaded music myself. However, and I stress this, if you like
what you have downloaded it’s your damn duty to go and buy the album.
If not, the industry withers away. Downloading is great to dare to
try out new bands and new stuff, but if you like what you hear and want
the band to put out more albums, you need to support them by buying the
cd.
MM - I would also like to perhaps prick your conscience and ask have
you ever copied or downloaded music in the past?
Andreas - Like I said – absolutely. Most people who would
say no lies. I think of my youth in the 80's – I mean, everyone
copied cassette tapes back and forth and that didn’t hurt anybody.
But back then, if you really liked it – you bought the album. That’s
the difference. I download to check stuff out. What I
don’t like I throw away, what I like I buy. The last cds I
bought were by Mind’s Eye, A.C.T and Xsavior. Two of those I had
downloaded first, and then I bought them!
MM - If you could ask one of your heroes/someone who’s inspired you
a question, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Andreas - Hey Jesus. What’s it like up there?!
MM - Finally, is there a message you would like to send out to all
your fans to close out this interview?
Andreas - Yeah, check out our music and give it a chance. I
hope you ‘ll like what you hear! Check out the website for more info
and news at www.seventhwonder.nu.
Thanks for the interest in the band!
Tommy Karevik (vocals) and Andreas Blomqvist (bass) from Seventh Wonder
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