Artist: Visions Of Atlantis

Date: 9 March 2011   

MM - Hi Martin, firstly thank you for taking the time out to do this interview with us. Congratulations on the new Visions of Atlantis album 'Delta'. 
MH - Oh thank you!  You like it?

MM - Yes, indeed.  It’s been four years since the bands last album ‘Trinity’ and there has been quite a lot happening in the band since that album and this new album.
MH - Oh yes, many many things have happened! (laughs)

MM - Probably the most significant thing is Maxi Nil joining the band.
MH - Yes Maxi joined us.

MM - How did Maxi get involved with the band and why did Melissa Ferlaak leave the band.  MH - Well how the story started was that Melissa just wanted to quit the band and Wolfgang the guitar player also quit the band.  They got married and now live together in the United States. At first we were really really shocked, because at the start of 2008 we started with the songwriting and we had to replace Melissa.  So we auditioned a lot of girls from all over Europe and in the end we met Maxi and asked her to join the band.  But the search itself took nearly one and a half years.  We had a lot of tapes and stuff from all these girls, but there was quite a lot of crap to go through as well.  It took quite a long time to decide on a vocalist, but now we are very, very pleased we decided to go with Maxi.

MM - Yes she has a great voice and is the complete opposite to the aggressive vocal style of Mario the other vocalist in the band. 
MH - Yes, it's not aggressive, she has a very melodic and warm vocal style and Mario is very aggressive and so they seem to complement each other.

MM - So with Maxi being based in Greece and yourself in Austria, how does this impact the band?
MH - Actually it's not a problem as we all work via the internet.  Our guitar player and our bass player are based in Germany.  Our drummer and Mario and myself are based in Austria.  Us not being together isn’t a problem.  When I’ve finished a song I send it to Mario and then we send it to the rest of the band, so it's not a problem.

MM - That’s something that you can do now that you couldn’t do ten years ago. 
MH - Yes the technology allows you to do a lot of things now, as you said it wasn’t available ten years ago but it’s something that we can do now.  The band wouldn’t work if we didn’t have the technology available to us because we would have that close contact.  We can keep in touch via Skype and Facebook and things like that, and sending songs via different servers.

MM - When you were looking for a new singer did you continue working on the album was it a work in progress, or did you stop till you found the right singer?
MH - It was OK because half the songs were already written.  We were still writing the album even though we didn’t know for what voice.  So when Maxi joined the band, the songs were finished.  We just had to make a few changes to suit her vocals, but these were just small changes.

MM - Were you looking for a singer reminiscent of Melissa’s vocal style? 
MH - No, if we wanted a similar singer to Melissa we could have chosen so many from the ones we listened to.  With Maxi she has the perfect voice for 'Delta' and one that we can take into the future.  It wasn’t necessary for us to carry on with the operatic style of vocals that Melissa had, because she was a natural soprano and we didn’t need that for the new material.  She has a greater range that is more of a Rock style and you can do a lot with a vocal style like that.  For me personally, she was the best choice.

MM - You can hear a lot of different styles on the album, as it opens with the heavier 'Black River Delta' then it goes straight into 'Memento', which is completely different.  You can instantly hear a greater vocal range just from those two songs.
MH - Yes and this is the way it was meant to be because 'Black River Delta' has a kind of Progy approach, the range isn’t to big, but she brought in a very strong vocal, and with 'Memento' it’s more towards the operatic side of things. This is good because when the fans listen to the album they will know after just two songs what to expect.

MM - When you were working on the album did you have a vision of how you wanted it to sound?  Did you want to move it away from the more Operatic styles of the previous albums?  MH - I personally didn’t want it to go too far from the old sound; I wanted to be able to please the old fans who like 'Cast Away', 'Eternal Endless Infinity' and those who liked 'Trinity'.  I wanted to find a good balance for this album.   On the first two albums we had lots of keyboards and less guitars, then on 'Trinity' we had big heavy guitars and the orchestration was more in the background.  On the new album we have a real balance, on 'Delta' the guitars are really strong, like on 'Trinity'.  On 'Cast Away' it was more orchestration but this combination was the way we wanted to go with 'Delta' and for the future albums where the balance is just right.  This was the vision.

MM - So as a keyboard player did you find it easier having a greater guitar sound on the record?
MH - This a bit more technical, because on the first two albums it was more classic keyboards, but on 'Trinity' and 'Delta' its more about orchestration and not about playing normal keyboards and so I think that for me as keyboard player,  it was not a matter of having more space, it was because we wanted to sound more sound-track like.  The keyboards are more good examples of real instruments you'd find in a orchestra.  So on the previous albums it was more classic keyboards, but now we are working with a real orchestra.  I as a keyboard player have never said I wanted more keyboards here or more there (laughs), it's just because it sounded so great.

MM - It's what I like to call Film Score Metal. 
MH - Yes.

MM - You touch lightly on the future of the band, so what does the future hold for Visions Of Atlantis?  Are you a more focused band now?  Do you know the direction the band is going now? 
MH - Actually we don’t want to change the line-up again.  My wish is for the band to have the next album with the same lined up, the same singer and the same songwriters.  I don’t want to have another female voice for the band, I want to work with Maxi for the foreseeable future and with Mario of course.  The future plans are touring, having good festivals and for me it is important that we release new albums every year now.  You can bet we will be back in 2012 with a new album.  No more albums after four years anymore!  This is my wish for the band and the goals we all want to reach and not to change the F**king line-up ten times! (laughs). 

We just want to see how this band progress over the years.  After all, being away from the stage for over four years is never good for a band, but there still seems to be a lot of interest in us, which is good thing.  This time away was not planned! (laughs).

MM - It been four albums in eleven years. 
MH - It's too long between records.  What we want in the next ten years is eight albums, because in 2004 we had a lot of potential, but again we had line-up changes.  Then waiting until 2007 and then again more line-up changes ... we won't be doing that again.  Every year a new album then a tour.  I think there is a lot of potential for Visions of Atlantis to build a really big fans base.

MM - Yes, when the bands first album came out you cause quite a stir among the Progressive and Symphonic Metal fans and the momentum was really starting to get going with the band, but in the last few years I was beginning to wonder if the band had vanished from the scene all together.  Once we'd heard Melissa had left there was nothing! 
MH - Yeh I know.

MM - I think with this new album the fans will come back in droves, because it is such a tremendous album. 
MH - I hope so.  I hope you're right because a lot of tears and sweat have gone into this album.  There were moments when I actually believed this album would never come out.  When you're looking for a new singer for such a long time and you have this problem and you have that problem, it's such a relief that finally it has been released.  It was a very, very special moment when I had the finished album in my hand and now I think the really important albums will come in the next few years.  If we keep this level up then I think by 2013 people will be able to say yes, we can take this band seriously.  Now the band is a real band.  If you change your line-up twenty times no one believes you’re a band, it's always one going and three coming, but now I think for the first time we are a real band.

MM - I fell in love with the band from the first time I heard 'Eternal Endless Infinity', even then I thought you’d go on to greater things, but as I said, you just seemed to fade away.  But with this new album 'Delta' I can see the band developing into what I thought you’d be after the first album. 
MH - I hope so.  Also having a new video helps as well.  We're shooting the video for 'New Dawn', so that will help bring us back into the spotlight.

MM - So to close Martin do you have any words for the bands fans, anything we should be looking out for in the not so distant future?
MH - Firstly thank you for the kind words and words for the readers and fans.  Go out and buy the album so we can come over to play in England.  I would personally like to play at Bloodstock one time.

MM - Well thank you again Martin.
MH - Thanks for the interview and ROCK ON!

MM - We'd like to thank Martin for taking the time out to chat with us today and wish him and the band all the best with the new album and the future.  Here's hoping we see the band on these shores again soon.

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