Kamelot

Interview date

04 Novembre 2012

Interviewer

Blaster of Muppets

I N T E R V I E W

Interview T. Karevik & T. Youngblood (face to face)


Hi Tommy and Thomas and thanks for answering the following questions for the webzine Aux Portes Du Metal.

Thomas : You’re welcome.

Tommy : It’s our pleasure.

So, how has this tour been so far?

Thomas : Amazing! We’ve just finished a tour with Nightwish in the USA. The Nightwish fans have 100% accepted Kamelot. I think next time we go back, we’ll have a lot of new fans… And the band, Nightwish, the crew, everyone was really good to us. We’re really happy about the tour so far. And we’re always happy to be back to Europe, the European tour has just started but so far, it’s been great.

Tommy : For me, it was a really good learning experience. Every show got better than the one before… and the fans are amazing.

Tommy, how has being Kamelot’s new singer changed your life?

Tommy : It has. I’ve been doing some music for many years now and I’ve been in another band since 2004 but we haven’t toured so much… So being part of Kamelot changed that for a start. It’s already my third tour with them. Of course, Kamelot has many more fans, that’s a big difference, I have to be more interacting on stage than I have ever been before.

Right from the start you made it clear that it was very important for you to continue working with your other band, Seventh Wonder. Now, as Kamelot is touring a lot and is also a very time consuming and demanding band, do you still think you will be able to do both?

Tommy : I really think so. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have taken the job. It’s all about planning. I’m sure there will be no problems. We’ve already started writing music for the next Seventh Wonder album, I think it will come out in 2013, I don’t know when exactly.

Thomas, now that some time has passed, how do you feel about the mixed reactions “Poetry For The Poisoned” got when it came out? Do you understand why the album was not so critically acclaimed as your previous efforts?

Thomas : Yeah, I think that record was a little bit darker and experimental so we kind of expected the reactions to be mixed. And there were also some issues within the band at that time, it had its consequences on the final product. But I still think the record is great, I really like it. And I think it’s an important step in our career.

Now, let’s talk about “Silverthorn”. Tommy, how much exactly were you able to contribute to his new album?

Tommy : I’ve been writing some melodies and lyrics with Sascha Paeth. I also wrote a little bit of music for the song “Prodigal Son”. Not everything was finished when I joined the band. We were able to work together on it.

Now, if I tell you that when some people I know heard a few songs from “Silverthorn”, they barely noticed that the band had changed singers, do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing?

Tommy : I can easily see why some people could think it’s Roy singing on some parts of the album if they don’t really pay attention. It’s mostly because I didn’t want the changing of singers to be like Nightwish, for example. I wanted people to have some sense of familiarity when they listen to the new album. I know that Thomas also wanted that. Roy’s singing is also an important trademark and that has to continue…

Thomas : I think that initially, people might think that but… Yesterday, for example, I put the CD on my computer for the very first time and I listened to it and thought: “All I hear is Tommy, I don’t hear Roy at all”. So I think that once people get to listen to it more and more, they’re going to notice the difference… and Tommy’s personality.

As “Silverthorn” is a concept album, would you consider playing the whole story live later or is it something that does not really interest you?

Thomas : I don’t know… I think it’s better to pull some songs but not the whole album. Fans will always want to hear other songs such as “Forever”, “Karma”, “March of Mephisto”…

Tommy : It could be an idea for a DVD or something, though. Something special… but probably not for a whole tour.

You just spoke the word DVD and that leads to my next question. Some time has passed since “Cold Winter Nights”, three albums have been released, Tommy has now joined the band… is it time for a new Kamelot DVD or is it too soon?

Thomas : Definitely. We’re starting to plan it these days. We’re trying to figure out a budget for it and where and how it’s going to be done. We’ll probably shoot it at the end of the year.

Tommy, before you joined Kamelot, what were your favourite Kamelot albums?

Tommy : I have to say that I didn’t know the band so much before I joined them on stage for the first time. I had heard and liked a couple of songs but I didn’t know the whole discography. Now, in retrospect, when I listen to all the songs, I would say that “Karma” and “Black Halo” are my favourites.

And what about your favourite moments on stage with the band?

Tommy : I would have to say that playing one of the new songs, “Sacrimony”, is one of my favourites. We have tried it many times already, in the summer, in festivals and we’ve had such a great response on this one from the fans, even though no one hard heard it before. I think it’s a really good live song and I’m the one singing the original song (smiling).

What artists or recent bands inspire or challenge you?

Tommy : I really like musicals and the way they sing in musicals, you know like Phantom of the Opera and stuff like that.. I really get inspired by that.

Thomas : I listen to some stuff… But I don’t get to listen to a lot music, unfortunately. I spend a lot of time working on Kamelot music and the rest of the time, I try not to listen to a lot of other music so much… I think it also helps me not getting influenced too much… But still, I like listening to listen to classical music a lot.

And with all the years you’ve given to Kamelot and all the hard work you’ve put into it, wouldn’t you like to do something a bit different, a project or a solo album maybe?

Thomas : Yeah, I think it would be a good thing to do. Not anytime soon, because we’re really proud of this album and we really want to make sure to do everything that needs to be done around it but maybe when Tommy and Seventh Wonder do something, I’ll have time for a side project or a solo album… After all that time, I feel it’s something I need to do and I’d like to have a little break, but I don’t see that happening within the next couple of years.

How long do you think the band will tour for “Silverthorn”? Will there be more dates in Europe once the album is well-known?

Thomas : Yeah, we’re gonna tour like we usually do. We’ve just toured the USA but we’ll try and go back next year for a headliner tour… and we always like to come to Europe twice so it’s probable we’ll come back in a year or something like that. But for us, it’s all about quality not quantity, we have to make sure the shows we put on are something that will appeal to people.

Why not play older songs from the first albums or at least from “The Fourth Legacy” which is not that different from what you’ve done with “Karma” and such?

Thomas : We play a song from “The Fourth Legacy” from time to time but we have to take into account that there are so many people that are new to the band and came to Kamelot with “Black Halo”, or even albums after “Black Halo”… It’s a bit of a hard thing to do, because you have to make sure to put on a great show and play songs people want to hear.

I’ll leave you the last word to conclude the interview.

Thomas : Well, we’re very happy to be here. We want to thank all our French fans, “merci beaucoup”, we love you very much, guys. We’re looking forward to the show tonight, make sure to be loooud! We love your country, we love the French food… the French ladies… and we’re always looking forward to coming back to France!


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