Evil Masquerade
Evil Masquerade dropped there first album in 2004 fueled with melodic guitars and amazing song writing the band was off to take over the world. Henrik Flyman is the main contributor for the band and has a great sense of the industry from the other projects he had been prior (Zool, Moahni Moahna, Wuthering Heights). I heard the band for the first time not long before there Pentagram album dropped and I was hooked. I have had the honor of interviewing there drummer Dennis Buhl and Henrik Himself a couple of times and getting to know them. I am blown away with the passion the entire band has put into the albums and how each album unveils another layer of what they band is about. EM has had a few member changes over the years but it never slowed or changed the direction of the music. The fans the band has earned are as die hardas any fans can be supporting the band in all avenues. The latest release the band dropped is called ''The Digital Crucifix'' that really has some of the best riffs and melody to date. They have released a video with the album called ''Like Voodoo'' what is a song that is very catchy and has new power house singer Tobias Jansson. Henrik also keeps himself busy by being the guitar player for Lacrimosa and recording and touring with them.
Henrik and I talked a bit about the band.
RBJ
1. The band is part of a unique label tell us about Dark Minstrel Music.
HF
DMM is a label that was founded 2011 to allow us 100% artistic freedom. It's also our guarantee that record sales are invested back in the band. Definitely one of the best decisions Evil Masquerade ever made.
RBJ
2. Tell us what the band has been up to lately?
HF
It has been all about the new album and playing live. We have played some festivals and clubs to introduce 'The Digital Crucifix' to a wider audience and we have given a large number of radio interviews. That's basically what's occupied most of the 4 months since the album was released. We have a few more things coming up this year to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the band.
RBJ
3. How has the music changed since you first put the band together?
HF
We started out completely clueless about what Evil Masquerade would become. Basically it was a lineup of local musicians I put together to document a bunch of songs I had laying around and didn't know what to do with. Along the years our musical direction crystallized and we evolved into a solid band. In the early days we played some odd sort of progressive neo-classic metal. This later matured to our own brand of classic hard rock. These days we sound like a mixture of several well-known bands that have gotten a severe Evil Masquerade kick in the ass.
RBJ
4. Your latest release ''The Digital Crucifix'' that is such a powerful name what caused you to go with that theme?
HF
It's a rock'n'roll wake-up call aimed towards the people that slipped into a digital coma a decade ago. But they will most likely just press snooze and continue down the same road until they hit rock bottom. Perfectly fine with me. We don't intend to save the world. We just play hard rock, drink beer and enjoy that quite a lot.
RBJ
5. The Digital Crucifix has such a brilliant sound all the instruments are they programmed or are they played by actual people?
HF
Of course everything is played by the band. In fact, we have done our best to keep it as live and simple as possible. There's no quantization on the drums and mostly one-takes. Some of the rhythm guitars are recorded twice, identical, to beef up the sound a bit and the solos are just one guitar in mono. Keyboard and bass are also kept as simple as possible. A stereo track for keys and a mono track for bass. We entered the studio well-rehearsed and just beat the crap out of the instruments. All vocals were recorded in 4 days and I think we mixed the whole thing in just 4 days as well.
RBJ
6. Youtube had given the band a bit of flack about the video for ''Like Voodoo tell us a bit about that.
HF
Suddenly they had removed the video and accused us of buying fake views. Completely strange accusation since the video didn't have more than 20.000 views 4 months after the release. This is perfectly normal for Evil Masquerade. We had no other option than to upload it again. Well, screw them. I'm happy as long as our videos are available for the people that are interested.
RBJ
7. You also play with another band called Lacrimosa. Is there anything new on the Lacrimosa front?
HF
There's always stuff going on. Next out is a Russian tour to support the brand new double live album we recorded last year in Mexico City before 5000 people.
RBJ
8. The band has got a new singer for this album with the ex Firewind singer Apollo leaving the band how did that come about?
HF
I had a talk with Apollo before starting with 'The Digital Crucifix' because I could see we were moving in different directions. Me wanting to continue keeping busy with the music and he focusing more on family and his daytime job. I suggested we took a break to avoid problems
because of our different priorities. He could see my point and agreed. We are still good friends and will most likely be making music together again one way or the other.
RBJ
9. What is the most memorable show the band has done and why?
HF
Every show offers something unique, big or small, so it's hard to pick just one. Maybe this summer at the Dokk'em Open Air in The Netherlands. We had a very early spot and people were slowly recovering from last night's party. We were really taken by surprise with the crowd that found their way to the stage and stayed there with horns in the air. We didn't expect that.
RBJ
10. Why a musician? Why not a Doctor or Lawyer or maybe a politician.
HF
Because I can be myself. I'm sure I could also manage a career as a lawyer or a politician, maybe even a doctor – but it wouldn't come directly from the heart, which means I wouldn't be at my full potentials.
Henrik and his band Evil Masquerade are showing no signs of slowing down. The entire band is amazing musicians that really are one of the most under rated groups on the prog/metal scene across Europe. The thing I always noticed about Henrik is he is so humble and loves his fans he is very upfront with them and tries to be as one on one as he can. This is a band I would love to see tour here in the United States where music like this is finally becoming accepted and starting to get a bit of radio play. I honestly feel that this band and other like them are the future of the industry and will be a house hold name in the very near future!!!!!
Contact
www.facebook.com/evilmasquerade/timeline
http://evilmasquerade.com/
Reviews By Jon also did a review of the latest release by Evil Masquerade
http://reviewsbyjon.blogspot.com/2014/07/evil-masquerade-digital-crucifix.html
Like Voodoo From the new album
No comments:
Post a Comment