Rockezine.com interview with Raising Fear on Jan 25, 2005

with Yorick on Jan 25, 2005


		Are you satisfied with your debut album, or are there things you would have liked to have done different if you’d have had the chance? I would say that what we did is what we wanted to do, but of course even if there’s nothing specific I could point out, we could have spent more time in the studio, probably we would have worked more on the sound impact and on those details that in the case of a debut album cannot always be seen or corrected. On the other hand we are all very satisfied with the result.
		Raising Fear plays an American style of power metal which is rather rare for a European band. What made you decide to deviate from the European trend and what bands have influenced your music the most? Well right before I joined Alberto and Cristian lived in the USA. I think I got most of that feel from that experience. However, almost all of us trace our roots back to the 80s, where we learned to love bands like Armored Saint, Savatage, Exodus, Malice, Heathen, Annihilator and now Nevermore. All of this mixed with a twist of classic and German Metal makes Raising Fear.
		In a few words how would you yourself describe the music of Raising Fear? We like to describe it as Speed Power Teutonic-American Metal… but labels are not appropriate when it comes to energy and sound… I would say that we play genuine Heavy Metal and that’s one of the reasons we didn’t want to use any keyboards on this album.
		How did you get into contact with Dragonheart Records and how difficult was the whole process of finding a label in general? Finding a label nowadays is quite difficult. It’s a long and wearing process. I had a previous experience with two official albums with my former band Helreidh, so at least I didn’t want to make the same mistakes I made at that time. We recorded a demo Promo 2003 and we got some reviews, then we started playing around. Only after that did we start sending the demo to labels; after we had collected a good deal of reviews and interviews. Dragonheart was interested, and we thought it was a very good chance for us which we didn’t want to spoil. So we signed. It’s probably one of the best labels for a band to have its debut album released and promoted. We couldn’t expect any better.
		Since you are still a relatively new band to the scene, how do you promote your release and how much does Dragonheart Records support you in the way of promotion? That’s one of the reasons why we are so happy with Dragonheart. They personally follow us with Italian promotion and with international promotion through Metal Blade. This gives us a very wide visibility in magazines, webzines, radios… which for a debut album is a great thing. In addition, we have a very good booking agency that’s planning gigs all around Italy for now, and that’s trying to book some festivals and live acts abroad as well. I think that playing live as much as you can is one of the best ways to promote a band… advertising is also important, and Dragonheart is very good at that, and invests a lot for their bands.
		What is the strongest part of Raising Fear’s music? I think the sound impact, especially live. Sounds make things different, and in Heavy Metal sound is a strong and emotive part of the songs. Think about Master Of Puppets with soft and smooth sounds… Plus sound is one of the first things that gives identity to a band, so I think we managed to create an original and powerful sound, the result of the mixture of powerful drums and bass, and of the fat punching guitars, on top of that there is the metal aggressive voice of Rob.
		One quick glance at the song titles reveals that most songs deal with a mythological concept. Where do you get the inspiration to write about such topics and who is responsible for the lyrics in general? The idea of the songs we decided together. We wanted something ’mythological’ because we all love this topic. As for the lyrics I wrote them, I studied Ancient and Medieval Languages at the University so it was easier for me to gather all the information from the texts and put it in the songs. We are planning a ‘mega concept’ for the next albums, but it’s too early to talk about it yet.
		What is your favourite song on Mythos? "Thorr", definitely. Even if it’s a long song, it has melody, epic, choirs and the right feel.
		What are your five favourite CDs from 2004? Brazen Abbot – Guilty As Sin; Megadeth – System Has Failed; Domine – Emperor Of The Black Runes; Rage – From The Cradle To The Stage; Jorn Lande – Out To Every Nation.
		Will we see you guys on tour throughout Europe this year and if you could choose which two other bands would you like to tour with the most? Hopefully you will, it’s actually not easy to get a place at festivals, but our label and booking agency are working on it. If I had to choose, I would surely pick Savatage and Megadeth.
		Thanks a lot for this interview and the best of luck with the release of your debut album! Is there anything you would like to add to this interview? Yes, stay tuned metalheads… we’ll see you around!
		(Frank van de Voorde)