VISIONS OF ATLANTIS – Symphony Of The Pirates


Visualizzazioni post:866

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS – Symphony Of The Pirates

A name that has camped in several situations and at many concerts intrigued us and we wanted to explore Visions Of Atlantis a little closer. There is also a bit of Italian-ness in the Austrian band and perhaps many of you already know this, but for many it could be a pleasant discovery and we will let you read this interview with the symphonic metal pirates. Enjoy your reading!

Let’s start by talking about yourselves. For those who have never heard of Visions Of Atlantis, how would you describe yourselves. Artists don’t really like labels. Is symphonic power metal too narrow?

We are presenting ourselves, our music and our tours as a “cinematic musical experience”. Yes, we are a Symphonic Metal Band, and yes we are a “Pirate Metal” band, but we don’t only want to “sing” about piracy. Our goal is to create a universe. As well as when you watch a movie you enter a specific universe – just think of the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, or more closely, think of the “Pirates of the Caribbeans” universe – we’re trying to bring the same concept in the Symphonic Metal world. This obviously requires a bigger effort on every visual side, but there is much more behind these pirates clothes that we are wearing. There’s a meaning, there are messages, and we could say that this is all a big metaphor that we decided to use to have all of this reaching our audience in a deeper and more efficient ways. The world of today is not an easy one to live in. Everyone needs distractions, everyone needs a way out. We all need some storytelling to detach from reality and make our minds dream. And if you think of it this method is the same that is used since ever after. When you’re a kid and your family reads you a story before going to bed, that story will stick with you forever, its message will stay with you for your entire lifetime. When you go to the cinema or when you read a book, you can finally breathe and dream for some time. This is our goal with our music. We want people to forget who they are, to forget about their struggles, and to just jump on board with us and dream for the length of our record or of our show…

You come from a nation that has very little to do with water. Element always present in your lyrics or artwork. What is the source of this need to overlook these topics and themes?

Pirates are free spirits, pirates are people who chose to live by their own rules and to decide what’s next in their path through their own choices. That’s why we chose the pirate universe as “ours” to tell our stories. The ocean is a symbol of freedom too. We can almost say that pirates are the metal-heads of this universe: people who chose to live life their own way. Not to mention that we truly embraced the Pirate world after the arrival in the band of Clémentine and Meek, which definitely come from sea-related countries.

You have been active for 24 years now and the same lineup has undergone several changes. Let’s take a brief excursus to get to today. How important have certain musicians been and what team do we find today?

I’m sure you are aware that the past of Visions of Atlantis has been turbulent.
It is mainly out of respect, that whatever happened before 2018 is something we prefer to leave to those who were there. In 2018 VoA was reborn, with a new line-up that is together now since 6 years without any change. We are a family, we love each other as brothers and sisters and even if we’re not teenagers anymore thanks to this beautiful energy, we have rediscovered that beautiful atmosphere that was there when we were going to the rehearsal room the first times when we were younger. For all of these reason, we cannot do anything else that considering this record our fourth opera together. Before “The Deep and the Dark”, there were others and that part of the history of VoA belongs to them.
This is also our strength. Since this new era of VoA began, we are a fresh band with a lot to say. Album after album we’re getting to know each other better on every level, and we’re getting to love each other more as a family. This reflects on the music, that carries our ambition, our growing strength. It can only get better…

The last three records have focused on the pirate theme. In fact, this is the second chapter after Pirates, a 2022 record followed closely by the symphonic part the following year. Is this a concept? Will there be a successor still related to this theme?

Pirates II is the natural evolution of Pirates. We basically kept on going where we left the songwriting in 2022. What’s beautiful is that even if you’d scramble the tracklist of these two records, you would always end up with two albums full of variety, diversity and strong songs.
Nothing written in Pirates is going to be repeated in Pirates II. There is no “Armada” or “Tonight I’m Alive” in pirates, as well as there is no “Legion of the Seas Part II” or “In My World Part II” in Pirates II. And what’s great is that we feel like we still have much more to say.
But to be fair, we never though of a trilogy, and not even of a sequel, from the very beginning. When we found ourselves with 12 more songs that could have perfectly fit the universe we created in the “first” Pirates, we simply told ourselves “hey, let’s do this”. These records has to be imagined as “novel books”, books with more stories, and not a single story beginning on the first page and finishing at the end. Will there be a Pirates III? If 12 (or more?) new novels will be written, and will once again find place in our universe, why not?

The male/female vocal combination is very classic in symphonic metal. And you guys have never left this pattern. Can we consider this a trademark of Visions Of Atlantis?

Absolutely! It must not be forgotten that even if – as you say – it’s pretty common to have a male/female vocal combo, it’s pretty uncommon to have to “clean” vocalists. Normally the guy growls or has harsh vocals and the lady is a lyrical/operatic singer. This is something you find in bands like Epica and many others for instance. In Nightwish Marko was singing clean vocals too, but he was not a “lead” vocalist, except for a couple tracks. VoA, since the very beginning, had this aspect as a trademark and it has now become more than ever our biggest strength.

Since 2018 by the way, you have in the lineup a great singer of ours who is also active on other lineups. A voice that is not aggressive, but powerful and melodic. How did you choose him and how do you manage to balance commitments and touring?

Thank you! Meek was a lucky coincidence that ignited much more than we could ever expect! When we were up to tour Europe in 2018, Siegfried – our former male vocalist – decided that the duties required by the live activity of VoA were just too demanding compared to his availability of holidays in his day-job and he himself started searching for a potential substitute. Temperance was the opening act for that tour, and Siegfried decided ask Meek if he would have been interested in taking his position. Meek recorded a few demos, that brought him on stage with us for 4 shows opening for Kamelot. We immediately felt the chemistry…and here we are! If you think that now he’s also the main songwriter for us…

There is obviously a lot of metal in your music, but melody is important. From the keyboards to the female vocals and guitar lines. How important is this for you? Are you able to reach out to a wider market?

Melody is the key. We don’t really care about the market or the reach, as this is always a consequence. When there’s emotion, passion and when you give your heart and soul to your music, results will arrive. If you work and write with the purpose of reaching a goal…it’s never spontaneous and it probably won’t work. When we write a song, it always starts from the melody, as melodies are the very core of a memorable song. It is melodies that people will sing along, it is melodies that your fans will remember. From a good melody you can write a song that will go in every style, depending from the arrangement…but without a good melody no great arrangement will make anything out of your material.

Your name has come to a more international audience in recent years. How important was the choice of label with respect to the evolution of your sound to these results? Napalm Records basically adopted you as early as the second record.

Our relationship with Napalm Records is historical indeed, but it’s also important to point out that only with the last records, when the music evolved, the line-up stabilised and the chemistry in the band grew massively, that we truly “changed gear”. This makes you understand how important the overall work of the band is, and makes you understand how even a great record label can’t force things to happen, despite what many rumours might say. What is for sure is that Napalm Record has a great team, where everyone works hard and where there’s passion towards every single band in the roster. We feel part of a family, and this is absolutely pleasant.

What are the technical and stylistic elements that have changed most in your music over the years?

Due to all the reasons mentioned above, comparing the latest works with the earliest is just impossible. It’s basically different bands, different people. And once again it’s important to specify that we’re not saying this to lack of respect towards the previous line-ups, but on the contrary, exactly to respect what has been done by them. VoA started as a band that with the tendency of following artistically the canons of Symphonic Metal, with the clean-vocals-combo as a standing point that made the band different from the rest. Nowadays Symphonic Metal is a genre that many bands are drifting away from. Within Temptation are somewhere completely different. Nightwish themselves are moving towards music-exploration territories. We…are getting heavier and heavier, with the strong will of keeping high the Symphonic Metal flag. We’re trying to bring fresh air in a style that is now over 20 years old. Our entire sound is in line with the modern times, from the guitar tuning to the sounds, from the use of the orchestra to the melodies and the production. So what definitely changed is the overall songwriting style and the overall production. We don’t wanna live in the past, and we do our best to bring fresh air to Symphonic Metal in 2024.

How does the Austrian audience receive your music? What about the Italians? In the rest of the world, however, where are you most appreciated or in demand?

Every country has a different story. We recently found ourselves 5th in the Austrian Official charts and this was a great surprises. We’ve also been nominated 3 times already to the Amadeus Austrian Music Awards, so we definitely cannot say that we don’t find recognition in our home country. Italy is different, more difficult as a market but clearly it’s a country where Heavy Metal in general is not as popular as in Germany or in central Europe. Nevertheless, in the last years we’ve faced a clear growth, that was reflected in the ticket sales at our shows. Fingers are crossed for two successful concerts this fall in Milano and Treviso. With that said, we have great memories in almost every part of the world. Americans are super enthusiastic, South Americans look at you with almost holy-devotion, Dutch appreciate the listening experience in a unique way, British people are super supportive. Different country, different appreciation, but we definitely cannot complain.

Festivals or headlining concerts? Where do you think is best to see you to appreciate your live performance?

Wherever we can bring our full show, that’s ideal. Sometimes the only way to take part to this or that festival is flying, and obviously when you fly you can’t bring the full production. In other situations the slot only allows you to play for 40-45 minutes, rather than the full show. Obviously we give our best, but it feels like we’re offering the appetiser of a bigger meal. Wherever the full meal can be tasted, that’s an “ideal setting “to watch us live!

By the way. You will be at many festivals, but not in our country. We can make up for it in autumn with your tour, though. What can we expect and what memories do you have related to Italy?

This will be our biggest tour ever. In terms of production, in terms of stage settings and all. We truly want to transport the listener into a new universe and this requires a consistency that needs to exist on all levels: the musical side first, but then the visual too. We’re working on special effects, on props, on the light show, so that those who will attend the concert will not only “listen to good music”, but they will live a real experience. Let’s say that we’re flirting a bit with a theatre show, where you don’t only “listen to the songs”, but there’s acting, things happening on stage and so on. Of course it won’t be a musical, we won’t go that far…but it will be way, way more than just a performance by 5 musicians playing their songs from the latest record.
In short…we want to make it special and worth the ticket…

Feel free to end the interview with something we haven’t talked about or that no one ever asks you about in interviews. And to thank those who deserve an extra word and are never considered.

A lot have been said and we cannot thank you enough for having given us some space to talk more deeply about VoA and about the new album. We are extremely active on the social networks so if anyone wants to discover more about us, that’s the place to be…or better, our concerts are the place to be, and the socials are the places where to discover where we’ll play!

Lascia un commento

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.