Rockezine.com interview with Dungeon on Dec 08, 2005

with Lord Tim on Dec 08, 2005


		Can you briefly introduce the band to our readers? OK, we started in late 1989 in the Australian outback playing a cross between hard rock and power metal. We changed members a few times and then moved to Sydney where we recorded several albums and began developing a strong live following. Eventually we signed a record deal and began to tour with bands like Megadeth, Opeth, Edguy, Nightwish, Nevermore, etc. both in Australia and internationally.
		“Resurrection” has recently been released, how have the reactions been so far? So far it’s been great! There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like it but mostly we’ve been extremely happy with the reaction.
		What was the worst thing you’ve read about “Resurrection” and what’s the best? I think there was a French webzine somewhere that said that it was boring, generic and had terrible production by the “disaster that is Lord Tim”, Charming! HAHA! But on the other hand, there’s been more than a few places that are calling it a must-have release, even for a re-release, and that they enjoy the songs and sound of the album very much. I guess everyone is going to have their own opinions of it. At the end of the day, if we’re proud of it, and the fans like it then that’s all that matters.
		How would you compare “Resurrection” to its predecessor? Well, the previous album “One Step Beyond” was the last “new” album that we wrote whereas “Resurrection” was originally recorded in 1998 from songs written between 1991 and 1998. The writing on “One Step Beyond” is a lot more mature than “Resurrection” although there’s some great songs that we really felt should be recorded properly and released worldwide.
		This is your second release in 2005. What are the reasons for releasing another album so quickly after its predecessor? When we signed to Limb Music Products, they wanted to release our back catalogue, which included the “Resurrection” album. We knew the original one was not anywhere close to being good enough to be able to release in 2005 so during the recording sessions for “One Step Beyond” we re-recorded the entire “Resurrection” album. Because this album was already done, we had it available to release and to give the fans something to enjoy while we were touring and writing the next “new” album.
		What bands have influenced Dungeon’s style the most? Mostly 80s metal bands, such as Dokken, Maiden, Priest, Helloween, Megadeth, Slayer, etc. but there’s influences ranging from the lightest AOR to the heaviest of death and black metal, even some elements of 80s pop music, believe it or not!
		Do you think the popularity of the metal scene at the moment is good for the scene in general, or would you rather see metal back in the underground? I make my living purely from music, so to want it to stay underground means that I continue to eat very poorly! HAHA! I would love to see metal become massive, like it was in the late 80s. There will always be underground subgenres of metal no matter how popular it gets, so everyone wins in the end.
I make my living purely from music, so to want it to stay underground means that I continue to eat very poorly!		How would you compare the Australian metal scene to the European scene and wouldn’t you rather be a European based band to address a bigger audience? The scene here is MUCH smaller than the European scene and we don’t have anywhere near as many large festivals or tours visit here, unfortunately, because it costs so much to tour to and from Australia. The advantage we have by being isolated is that Australian bands have their own unique sound (regardless if they have strong elements of foreign bands as well) and it forces you to be a much tougher band, especially live, because the scene here is so tough. I guess it would be easier to make a name for ourselves if we were based in Europe but I think we could also run the risk of getting lost in the already saturated scene there.
		What are the most promising Australian metal acts at the moment? There’s a lot of great up and coming bands, such as Transcending Mortality, Kania, Switchblade, Feeding The Addiction as well as the established bands like Daysend, Alchemist, Alarum, Psycroptic, etc. For every band that I mentioned there, there’s 20 bands I should have also included – we have some of the best talent in the entire world down here in Australia. If anyone is interested in checking out more great Aussie metal, try www.ausmetalguide.com
		What album is currently playing in your CD-player? Currently, Ilium – “Permian Dusk”, which I helped the guys record and I contributed lead vocals to.
		What was your best concert and what was your worst? Hmm… best concert would either be in Serbia or Romania on the European tour with did with Megadeth – the crowds were massive and just completely insane! Ironically, the worst show we ever did was when we repaid a friend’s band for lending us gear while we were on tour, so instead of playing one last big show in Greece with Megadeth, we flew back to Germany to find out we were playing in front of 6 people in a grammar school hall! We were not impressed! HAHA!
		Where would you like to see Dungeon five years from now? Well, here’s where I would suggest you have a read of the press release at www.dungeon.cd. Briefly, Dungeon’s last show is on December 11, 2005. Glenn (bass) and Stu (guitars) announced they were leaving the band recently and it felt wrong for me to continue on under the name of Dungeon. But before it sounds like terrible news, I will say there’s going to be one final Dungeon CD which will be released in 2006 and I will be continuing on under the name of LORD, which was originally my solo side project but will now be a proper live band, playing in the same style as Dungeon. Tim Yatras (drums) is still on board and I’ll be announcing the other members very soon. Our first show will be in February 2006, there will be an Australian tour after that, and then hopefully another visit to Japan and possibly Europe. I’d like to see LORD do a major tour with a large band (such as Megadeth) and play at some of the large summer festivals in Europe within the next 5 years.
		Thanks a lot for the interview! Is there anything left unsaid? I would just like to say thank you so much for your support! I hope you enjoy the last Dungeon album and continue to support LORD in the same way as Dungeon. I really appreciate it! Cheers!
		(Frank van de Voorde)