Interview : Jens Faber – Dawn of Destiny (2008)

Interview by Erwin van Dijk

Dawn of Destiny is a German power metal band and was founded in 2005. They have done numerous gigs since then (mostly in Germany). With their latest album “Rebellion in Heaven” I think it is about time to do some gigs abroad. Or at least an interview. Usually we interview the females of the band so this interview with Jens Faber is a first.

The first question: how did your album release party with guest (& my friends from) A New Dawn go?

It was a very nice evening with hours of good music, friendly people and many drinks.

You are the bass player of Dawn of Destiny and that makes you the Steve Harris of the band. Who are your favourite bass players and to what kind of music do you listen yourself?

I listen to nearly all kinds of metal. I like Helloween as well as Dimmu Borgir, Nightwish or Nile. I must confess that I do not care so much about who might be the greatest bass player because the songs are much more important to me but I think Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and John Myung (Dream Theater) belong to the best.

Did you have any bands before Dawn of Destiny or are you currently in other bands besides Dawn of Destiny?

There were probably rather more projects than real bands that I played with and currently there is nothing more than Dawn of Destiny.

What do you prefer: The traditional four strings on your bass or five?

By now I prefer five strings basses because it gives me more opportunities to vary my sound and my play.

And what kind of bass and amplifier do you use onstage?

I use a five string Grass Roots (ESP) Bass and a Line6 amplifier on stage. I am satisfied with both of it.

Power metal and Germany are almost identical in the world of metal. Why is this kind of metal so popular in Germany?

This kind of music has its roots in Germany. Helloween played that style first and some many followed. Maybe people in Germany still like tunes and melodies with high screaming voices and fast double bass attacks but I think it’s similar in other countries like Greece, Italy or Finland.

And what makes Dawn of Destiny different from all those other Power Metal bands?

We have a different approach concerning songwriting. We do not use the classical structure with Verse and Chorus. Furthermore we have more influences than just power metal because we like to express different feelings and emotions within our music. We want to create our CD’s diversified and obviously it was proven to be right considering the reviews we got for “Rebellion in Heaven”.

Another ‘German’ question: how big is metal really in your country? We foreigners know Germany mostly from all those festivals like Wacken Open Air and this might give some the impression that one out of five Germans is into Metal. Is metal really that big in Germany?

As far as I know metal is more popular in Finland (related to the population). In Germany metal was big in the 80’s and almost dead in the 90’s. By now Hip Hop is unfortunately the most popular music in Germany.

Does the album title (“Rebellion in Heaven”) have any special meaning?

Some lyrics deal with a examination of God, so we thought this title would be fitting. Besides it just sounds cool to us.

Is there one mastermind behind Dawn of Destiny’s music or is song writing teamwork?

No, I am the only songwriter but we all discuss the songs and the other members share their ideas to change some arrangements.

Can you tell us something about the songs on the album?

There are 14 songs and most of them sound different from the others. We have classical power metal stuff like “Angel Without Wings” or “Days Of Crying”, some heavy thrashing parts like “Inquisition” or some Gothic influences like “Tears”.

Your debut album is called “Begins” which is of course a perfect name for a debut album. What have you done different compared to “Begins” while writing and recording “Rebellion in Heaven”?

There are not so many differences between both albums. To me “Rebellion in Heaven” is the consequent continuation of “Begins” with the difference that we had a producer (Siggi Bemm) this time.

And the artwork: How did you get in touch with Mattias Nòren?

We found some very good material on his website and asked him to work with us for our first album.

Can you tell us something about the other members of Dawn of Destiny?

Tanja Maul – Vocals

Tanja and me make music for nearly six years. When we met each other she liked everything in music – everything but Metal!! Seemed to be a misunderstanding that we did not want to have a female singer and she did not want to sing in a metal band but it worked. Contemporaneously she sang in an a cappella band which has been a total contrast to our kind of music. Tanja has a very strong will and would do nearly everything for DOD. Her voice is crystal clear and enhances the emotions in our music perfectly.

Veith Offenbächer – Guitars

Veith is an extraordinary guitarist and a very pleasant character who fits perfectly to DOD. He was the latest member and joined us during the recording session of “Begins”.

Dirk Raczkiewicz – Keyboards

The ‘Grandfather’ refered to his age with a good sense for nice tunes.

Ansgar Ludwig – Drums

Maybe you wouldn’t expect him playing drums but he has very fast feet and a heavy groove.

What are Dawn of Destiny’s ambitions for the future?

We want to spread our name all over the world and maybe there is one day a chance for touring the whole world and selling enough CD’s to make DOD a full time living! We had several fantastic experiences and will always remember that.

And, the last question, is there anything the reader should know that I have not asked?

Not really. We thank you for the interview and hope that we could advise the reader of our band.

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Interview : Tanja Laino – Lullacry

Interview by Matteo Bussotti

After six years from their previous album, Lullacry are back on the scene with a darker, perfectly-crafted new cd, and they’re ready to rock in the best way they can, rewarding all those fans who waited so long for another release. We interviewed their singer, Tanja, who kindly answered to our questions about her life, her career, and the creative process behind this long-awaited new album.

Hi Tanja! Welcome to Femme Metal Webzine, we are very glad to have you here!

Hi to you! It’s great to be here!

First of all, why name the album “Where Angels Fear”? What’s the meaning behind this name?

Well, six years period is a long time to take a break. All is still relative. We needed that time in order to create something new and we finally did. The album name comes from one of the tracks. The song “Where Angels Fear” presents something old and something new. We made the song already six years ago to the previous album, but we never recorded it. It’s a great piece so we definitely wanted it on this album. For us the name means access out from old fears.

What can you tell us about the album? Are you satisfied with it?

“Where Angels Fear” turned out to be darker and not so party rock, if you know what I mean. This new album has its own style, which of course is a good thing. It’s a bit different than previous albums, but still has the same old Lullacry elements on it, you know.

You’ve published 3 albums so far with Lullacry and you’ve played with them for 10 years so far. Has something changed for you from the beginning of your career? In your opinion, how were Lullacry and how are them now?

When the guys asked me to join the band I was like really uncertain what to do. I mean it wasn’t really sure thing to me to join this band at first. Maybe because I wasn’t familiar with this type of music and I was thinking if I had the power to do it. Otherwise I thought that my own unique style of singing would bring its spice to the whole combination and it did. With this journey I have experienced many things and learned a lot. Ten years ago Lullacry were a punch of crazy youngsters with full of energy and now only with full of energy.. haha!!! (Laughing out hard!) The band has grown over the years as a band musically and mentally.

Moreover, how do you want to be in the future? Is there something you feel you’d do, like, I don’t know, trying new musical genres or experimenting with heavy metal?

I have thought that it would be great to do some kind of other music, experimenting new musical genres. Yeah, it would be great. I have always liked many kind of music. Example I don’t have only one genre that I like. Maybe some kind of solo album would be nice. And of course I would like to do my own music too. In fact, I already have a few of my own songs waiting to be finished.

We know Sami plays a key role in Lullacry. What do you think about Sami as a composer?

Sami has his own unique Lullacry style as a composer. He’s really precise on what he’s doing. He wants to keep the puzzle together, you know. The key role is to keep the vision clear. You can easily say that Sami is the engine of the whole band.

Talking about “Where Angels Fear”, Sami said that : “Last year has probably been the best we’ve had in Lullacry, at least when it comes to vibes. And you can hear that in the album. For the first time I made the songs without thinking that I have to do a goth ballad or a rock song. We just did things more spontaneously and it led to an album that is a lot more dark, ambitious and multi-dimensional than its predecessors.” So, how was the creative process behind this album?

Well, Sami just made those songs. He told us that there were no boundaries. Songs are darker and there are also more complicated arrangements. On the other hand there are some really easy songs like “Stay”. That song is very personal to me. I have made the words with Sami and Mikko. On this album there’s also song from our bass player Heavy. He has done a few songs, which is great.

You sang some songs in the album “Virus” for the French power metal band Heavenly. Can you tell us how this collaboration was born? Have you learned something from Heavenly or from the “French way” of doing metal?

Heavenly guys asked me to sing the duet with their vocalist Ben Sotto. It was a cover song called “When the Rain Begins to Fall” (originally Pia Zadora and Jermaine Jackson). When I heard what the song would be I was like yes I want to sing it! Our schedules fit together and the rest is history. Co-operation went really well. It was a nice experiment for me musically! I wish all the best for the band.

What do you think about music industry in Finland? How was working with your producer, Mikko?And how did you feel singing with him?

If thinking the Finnish music industry I think there’s a variation of potential music makers. It just needs more support from the Finnish government. It was really easy to work with Herranen. He has the right attitude on doing things. He‘s also a singer so it was very easy to communicate with him.

Have you already planned a tour for your album? Where are you most excited to go?

We focus on touring this fall. I personally would want to tour all around the world! Example Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, USA…everywhere! We’ll start tour in our home country. We do not yet have any more plans. Currently we’re focus on getting things together.

Are there any places that you’ve never visited on a tour but you want to, one day? And what is the best place you remember you’ve been while touring?

There are a lot of places I haven’t been before! South America, Italy (expect Rock Im Ring festival), Spain, France… North American tour was awesome! It’s very hard to mention only one best place.

Last question, how’s your fan base in Finland? How and how often do you interact with them?

When we made this new album we didn’t know how our fans would remember us or if they remember us at all. It was great to notice that we still have the loyal fans out here and there. We’re very grateful about it. I just hope that people spread the word about us, because there are still a lot of those fans, who don’t know about the activation.

Thank you very much for your answers and your time! Good luck for everything, I hope to see you in Italy very soon!

Thank you! This was a pleasure. We would love to come to Italy! Rock on everybody and check out the latest Lullacry news on www.lullacry.com.

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