SENEM: Hi Adrian, long time no see 🙂 How are you? The music industry has been hit hard by coronavirus. How are you holding up?
Adrian: Hi Nem. I’m great thanks for asking. Yeah it sure has. In fact it’s almost been an extinction level event for musicians out there. I completely empathize with all the working musicians who still need to pay mortgages, bank loans, credit cards etc. This is a tragedy for them. Thankfully I’ve been able to work from home so it hasn’t really affected me so much. In fact, it’s been easier than ever now to listen to new tracks in my studio and come up with song ideas. Every cloud eh!?
Can you give a little biographical and historical info; who is involved in the band, and how did you guys meet up?
Adrian: Sure. My co-conspirator is Andy Boulton from the UK. He is the lead guitarist and main songwriter for the NWOBHM band Tokyo Blade. Andy contacted me way back in 2010 when he was looking for a new lead singer for his band. Unfortunately then, the timing was wrong for me and we couldn’t take the idea any further. However in 2018, I heard their new album ‘UnBroken’ and I really dug it. So I dropped him a mail to say hi and to let him know how much I enjoyed the new album. One thing lead to another and Andy sent me some demos and I really loved them. I tracked a demo for what now is ‘Bringers of War’ and the rest is history!
SENEM: What does this genre means to you, why did you choose this genre?
Adrian: Well I’ve written many songs across many different genres. I guess you could describe this album as being more influenced by the Hard Rock genre. Andy definitely has a flair for that 80’s driving rock style which I really love. I grew up listening to music in this era so it very much resonates with me!
SENEM: How did the initial musical and thematic elements evolve?
Adrian: We didn’t really overthink this too much. We allowed ourselves to be very free musically. Initially Andy would send me a demo track and I’d basically know within the first 30 seconds if I could work with it or not. Thankfully there were very few tracks that I didn’t resonate with!
SENEM: Are you happy with your product? I mean, what aspects of it do you think you guys nailed, and what parts do you think you could improve upon?
Adrian: Yes we are truly thrilled with the end product. Would you believe we’ve never even spoke once on the phone! Crazy right!? …
SENEM: Oh wow!
Adrian: For me the overall production and the time Andy spent on the mix and the mastering really shines through. For the next album I’d really like us to raise the bar again in terms of production and song writing quality.
SENEM: How has the overall reception been?
Adrian: It’s been very positive and it’s really taken people by surprise! … We’ve gotten some amazing comments and emails of support from all over the world which really spurs us on to finish and release our follow up album!
SENEM: What’s it like to release an album during these tough times?
Adrian: Well we didn’t have to much expectations in terms of monetary return from the Album. I mean who does these days right? So releasing the album was very easy and exciting.
SENEM: What do you see for your future? How is it looking?
Adrian: The future is looking very bright and exciting actually! We’ve already started to work on the follow up album and it’s going really great. We’ve definitely connected on a cosmic level as a musical partnership. I foresee us releasing many exciting albums together!
SENEM: Fantastic! How about the lyrics?
Adrian: The lyrics and concepts etc. I take very seriously. I really try hard to exhaust every possible meaning from the lyrics. I’m a believer in using the lyrics as a story telling medium. I think a good example of this is our song ‘300 Strong’ from our album
SENEM: Who is composing the songs? Writing the lyrics?
Adrian: Andy is the musical genius behind all the song writing and playing. He literally does everything! … I then have a listen and write about what the track inspires me to write about. I try and tell it’s story. Whatever that may be!
SENEM: What bands do you draw your inspiration from?
Adrian: Wow! .. Now that’s a question with a million different answers! I think when you listen to the album you’ll hear influences from Maiden, Priest, Leppard, Lizzy etc. It’s really a great mix. For me personally I’m a huge Maiden fan so that definitely colors my vocals but in terms of lyrics etc. I’m a big fan of Sting and how he uses fantastic lyrics to convey a story through a song.
SENEM: What’s more important to you? Catering to the audience or music for its own sake?
Adrian: Music has to be first and foremost in my opinion. If you try and cater to an audience then the song can often get lost along the way and ends up going nowhere fast!
SENEM: When you look back your music career, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
Adrian: Well there has been many highlights for me. Working with Henning Pauly was a major highlight and he deserves a lot of credit for taking a chance with someone he never met or never seen vocally perform in the studio before. But obviously creating this album with Andy and getting it signed to a record company was a massive highlight also!
SENEM: Anything else you think your fans should know?
Adrian: Well only that myself and Andy really do agonize over the tracks. We want them to be the best they can be. So when you hear the tracks on the albums, just please know we have tried our best to give you the best song experience ever. Oh and also thank you all so much for taking the time to check the album out!!
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