Section A
with Torben Enevoldsen & Andy Engberg on Sep 25, 2003
Over a month ago I reviewed the album The Seventh Sign by Section A, a new progressive metal band. Well, it is progressive metal, but not entirely. I guess it is the least bad definition for their musical style. After hearing the album a number of times, the music appeared to be quite good, which I had not expected. Section A is put together by Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen and consists of five members. The two main members however are Andy Engberg, the vocalist, and of course Enevoldsen himself, guitarist and main composer. An interview with Torben Enevoldsen and Andy Engberg, with a little help of drummer Andreas Lill, about where it all started, how to make ends meat, what the hell Section A means and whether or not this one CD will be the end of it.


Is Section A a one time thing? Are you planning to do more albums?
Section A is very much a band. The whole thing started out as yet another project, but as we got to know each other, it simply felt natural to turn it into an actual band. I am actually right in the middle of writing material for the next album right now, so I sincerely hope that we will return with a new album in the spring of next year…!

What does the name Section A represent?
There is no meaning to the name as such. It just came to me years ago. I really liked the sound of it and wanted to use it in a future context. When it was time to do this project I wanted to use the name right away…

Are you going to go on tour?
There are no plans to do a tour at this point, sorry. However, I really hope that after the second album is released we will be able to do some serious touring!

  For Torben Enevoldsen: Why did you choose these musicians?
I think that Andy Engberg is one of the greatest singers in the world! I have been a fan of him for years actually…When I contacted Andy, he had just left Lion’s Share so that was very fortunate timing! I saw Vanden Plas opening for Dream Theater here in Copenhagen back in 1998 and I remember liking the drummer a lot. When it was time to do the list, I of course added his name and as luck would have it, Andreas was available at the time. Choosing Derek Sherinian, was a combination of availability and the fact that I like his playing a lot, obviously. Having Günter Werno participate was more of a last minute decision really. I had a different ending for the song “Tomorrow” in mind, but it didn’t really pan out. Then I thought about asking Günter to do a solo instead and sort of add him as a cameo. It worked out really well I think!


For Torben Enevoldsen: Did you have other musicians on your list?
I did. For singers, I had for instance Jorn Lande (Masterplan) and Russell Allen (Symphony X). For drummers, I had Anders Johansson (Hammerfall) and Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Time Requiem) and fi-nally for keyboards, I had Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Jens Johansson (Stratovarius) just to name a few…

I described your music as Dire Straits meets heavy metal. How do you see your music?
I always describe our music as being very melodic hard rock with prog metal influences. The heart of the songs will always be the melodies themselves. Without great melodies, you have nothing in my opinion. Therefore, whenever I write a new song, I really try to make it as melodic as possible. Andy has contributed greatly to that on this album. I made vocal suggestions for him, and then he would check those out. He would even keep some of my ideas, but many times, he came up with his own melody lines. That worked out extremely well I think!

Where did it all begin for either of you? First ever band, stuff like that.
Andy: My career began in a garage 20 years ago in a band called Aphasia.... we didn’t get that far but we were popular in the local community. As the years went by, so did some members in the outfit and finally I decided it was time to move on. I met Lars Chriss and formed/reformed his band Lion’s Share. We made the albums I, II and Fall From Grace, touring followed each album, mostly across Europe. During this time I also recorded Twilight, Sorcerer and a bunch of other stuff not worth mentioning. At the end of 1999, we started to go separate ways and I quit the band. It didn’t take long ´til the phone rang and I was offered to do a tour with Therion. I took the job and did a lot of tours with them but decided in 2002 not to continue. I was tired of the whole thing and took some time off. I got an e-mail from Torben asking me to do an album, I listened to the stuff and agreed. Me and my co-writer; Conny, were then involved in recording my vocals and writing the lyrics for The Seventh Sign. Torben : My first band was called The Chair. None of us could actually play any instruments, but we all liked the idea of being in a band a lot. As I got older and started learning how to play, I was in a band with another guitarist and a drummer. No bass player… We did cover music (Dire Straits, Status Quo etc.) The first really serious band I remember being in, was a band called Trace. This was actually André Andersen’s (Royal Hunt) first band. After that, I played in various bands until I finally decided to get serious with my instrumental music. I recorded a demo CD called Just In Case, back in ‘95 and in ‘97 I finally got my first record deal. My debut album Guitarisma was released in late ‘98 and my second album Heavy Persuasion was released in 2000. Both albums are instrumental. I am also featured on a couple of tribute albums: The Jason Becker Tribute album Warmth In The Wilderness from 2001 and The Uli Jon Roth Tribute album Beyond Inspiration, which was released on July 25th this year. That about covers it I think J


For Torben Enevoldsen: How different is doing solo-work from a band project this time?
The big difference is working with a singer really. Normally I do everything myself - melodies, ar-rangements etc. With Section A, Andy and I were working very closely with the melody lines. I com-posed and arranged all the music, but the melody lines were a collaboration between Andy and myself. I found that to be very refreshing actually…!

For Torben Enevoldsen: Is the sound of ‘The Seventh Sign’ much different from the style of your instrumental albums?
Well, I think that it’s a bit more heavy and definitely more progressive. On The Seventh Sign, I use the 7-string guitar exclusively and for the first time, and that makes for a completely different sound. However, the two instrumental albums are quite different from each other as well. The first is in a Satriani vein and the second is more aggressive, and in places somewhat progressive. But I think that it’s really hard to compare, because I ultimately think that these 3 albums are very different from each other.

Do you each earn a living making music?
Andy: I’m afraid that making a living on music is for a few more successful people out there but you never know, do you? I just feel that music is a big part of me, money or not, so the only thing I can do is to go for it and wait and see, so please make people buy this CD so me and Torben can deliver even more of the magic (ha-ha). Torben: Just read what Andy said J. I have a part time job, working as a janitor’s assistant. I would have to teach a lot and make tons of session work if I were to make a living playing music. It gives me a lot of freedom to have a part time job and then work exclusively on my solo stuff and Section A. For me, that works very well! Andreas (Lill, the drummer): Besides Section A and Vandenplas I’m teaching drums on a private music school. I’m just living of the money I earn with making music.

Torben: My first band was called The Chair. None of us could actually play, but we liked the idea of being in a band a lot

 What are your biggest musical influences?
I have always listened to a lot of different styles, so my influences are very diverse. Here’s a few names and you will see what I mean; Jethro Tull, The Police, TOTO, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Yng-wie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Shania Twain, Allan Holdswoth, Frank Gambale, Eric Johnson etc.

  I really like the Seventh Sign, I have listened to it about 20 times now. I think it’s a great blend of musical styles and I also think all the parts fit together very well. A well-rounded sound, I would say. How did you create that?
Thanks a lot! J I am very pleased with the album myself! I believe that everyone involved in creating this album, gave it their very best and that has a lot to do with the great outcome. I am truly happy with everyone’s performance on this CD!! Great job you guys J.

  There are a lot of different nationalities in the band, were there any problems with communication?
I have to admit that at times, some of us did misunderstand each other. There were no huge mistakes as a result, but mainly minor stuff not really worth mentioning. Having said this, I would like to add that you can encounter tons of communicational problems speaking the same language. People are different from each other and have different backgrounds and so on. That can really cause some serious trouble, so being of the same nationality isn’t a guarantee for having no problems communicational wise. I speak from experience J.

  Do you think the various nationalities influence the sound?
I don’t really know. I definitely think that the styles of each individual musician involved, influenced the sound greatly! I don’t think that the fact that we’re from various nationalities, has anything to do with the outcome though.

  Is the CD going to be available throughout Europe?
Yes it is. You can check out the distribution on our label’s site: www.lionmusic.com

  How has press reacted to the CD? Many good/bad reviews?
The press has been very positive indeed! We have received nothing but good reviews so far, so we’re obviously very happy about that!!

  What are your expectations as to where the sales of the album will go? How many do you expect and hope to sell?
I have no expectations concerning sales whatsoever! I hope that it will sell millions of copies obvi-ously, but I don’t really concern myself too much with that sort of thing. Just making the best damn music possible is where it is at for me.

  

(Frank M. Horsthuis)

© Rockezine.com Sep 25, 2003, viewed 758 times since 666
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