Circus Maximus – Standard-Bearers of Scandinavia’s New Wave of Progressive Metal! (2007)

RockLine: How does it feel to be in Italy for the first time with Circus Maximus?
Michael: Awesome, no doubt. We’re stoked. At first we had no idea how many people would even show up at our gigs. But it turned out people know us. We came to Italy and we’re really happy. What surprised us most was that the Italian crowd sang our music. All the verses, even the melodies and the lines of individual instruments, like the keyboards and guitars. We got to enjoy the crowd singing “Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh…” the whole way through. That doesn’t happen often. Usually the audience only joins in on the verses, meaning when I’m singing. Italians are a great crowd!

RockLine: And what about the reactions in other countries when you play live?
Michael: Besides Italy, the response has been really good in the US, we’ve been there twice already.

RockLine: You’ve just released a new studio album, “Isolate” (2007). As far as my ears are concerned, compared to the debut “The First Chapter”, where you leaned more directly on the Dream Theater legacy, you’ve taken another step with “Isolate” — you’ve developed your own sound, a recognizability of your own that’s much more noticeable. How would you respond to that?
Michael: On the first album we mostly experimented. We tried lots of things and different musical ideas. Those songs from the first album could definitely bring certain influences to mind. But with the new album, we sat down together and polished the songs for a long time. And the result is that whether you listen to the first song on the album or the eighth one in the tracklist, you’ll run into a more clearly defined sound and stylistic profile of Circus Maximus. That’s down to the fact that we had a whole 25 songs ready and could pick the really best ones. We gave everything our absolute all. That’s where the secret lies. And we’re already looking forward to recording the next album.

RockLine: Of course, you belong to the Scandinavian school. You’re perfectionists…
Michael: Aha, you could put it that way. Perfectionists. I think all musicians who write their own material should be perfectionists to some extent. How happy you are with the result depends on it. It’s not the same if, say, the album comes out, you listen to it, and you start grumbling along the lines of: “Ah, this bit here could have sounded better…” or “I could’ve changed this part and played something else, etc.…” As for the making of “Isolate”, we planned to start mixing the album in January this year, then we pushed the date to February, then March, then April, which practically rolled by into May, and only then did we start mixing. All because of our hair-splitting. We just want to do the things we take on without any screw-ups.

RockLine: What do you think about the new wave of the progressive metal movement that exploded in Scandinavia? I have in mind all those great new bands like Seventh Wonder, Mind’s Eye, Platitude, Pagan’s Mind too… and now you, Circus Maximus?
Michael: As for Seventh Wonder, we’re big friends with them! In about two weeks we’re playing together in Norway. They’ll play first, then us, and then both bands will take the stage at the same time and jam together for another hour or so. Otherwise, yeah, that’s true. All of a sudden the scene blossomed. There are lots of great new progressive metal bands in Scandinavia. That makes us really happy, because the more of us there are, the stronger we are.

RockLine: What are Circus Maximus’s goals for the future? Do you already have any ideas for the new Circus Maximus album?
Michael: What you hear on the first two albums is melodicism. The third album will be very melodic too. For the mixing we picked the renowned producer Tommy Hansen. We’d like to offer a new sound. Rawer, even more alive, bigger, fuller… the kind of sound Slipknot and Rammstein have in their production, for example. But of course the album will still be highly melodic.

RockLine: So new directions for your musical approach are on the horizon?
Michael: Of course. All bands should always strive for that.

RockLine: As the most experienced guy in the band, can you tell us how the band’s working chemistry functions, both in the studio and on stage? How well-oiled is the Circus Maximus machine?

Michael: Ah, there’s really nothing to complain about there. On stage we are what we are. No pretending whatsoever. Yesterday’s gig in Brescia was a shade livelier, more spontaneous and even more fun. It feels a whole lot better than when you’ve just got an audience standing still, watching you all serious, etc…. What fires you up most is hearing and seeing someone in the crowd enjoying the music, joining in on the singing. That’s when the passion grabs you and you really squeeze the maximum out of yourself on stage. We always play full-on, we always give everything we’ve got. When you feel the energy coming back from the crowd, that’s the greatest payoff, it gives you incredible wings, and that shows in the energy of the Circus Maximus performance itself.

RockLine: How do you see the current rock scene, especially compared to the past?
Michael: Dream Theater are a big name for me, they’ve been on the scene for twenty years. They’ve always been big and have huge support, a wide fan base. Commercially they’ve always been very successful at offering a high level of quality at the same time. Because today you’ve got two options. Either you sell out and play the game dictated by the market, the one that fleeces the pockets of the masses, or you make your own music, stay “small”, but do what you love and enjoy, and of course hope that someone besides you will also fall in love with your music, listen to it and appreciate it.

RockLine: That last thing you mention throws the door to artistic freedom of expression wide open.
Michael: Absolutely. It’s very important to keep that space where you can move freely when you write music.

RockLine: Which singers influenced your musical development?
Michael: Russell Allen, the singer of Symphony X, made an incredible impression on me, for me he’s the best singer right now. Jorn Lande is another one I’ve followed for years as a personal favorite. In particular the album “Burn The Sun” (2000), where he was still singing in Ark, is one of my all-time favorites. Besides them there’s Eric Martin, Sebastian Bach, Joey Tempest, Geoff Tate.

RockLine: How does Circus Maximus’s music come about? Who brings the ideas, how does the whole thing grow in the studio?
Michael: Everyone in Circus Maximus, the whole band. Well, most of the melodies come from Mats and me, but everybody’s ideas are taken into account and we merge them into one whole. Everyone contributes their piece, and every piece is an essential element, which ultimately is what the team spirit is built on.

RockLine: Fantastic…
Michael: Yeah, it’s great, and you know why? It’s harder to run out of ideas when five heads are producing them than when it’s just one, like when a band is in the hands of control freaks who write everything themselves and just dictate who has to play what. The spirit is different too, just the vibe, how should I put it. Hearts really beat for the same thing when everyone feels connected to it, that they’re all part of it, because they all co-created it. That’s what keeps us together.

RockLine: Are you planning any bigger tour soon?
Michael: Sure. In February and March next year we’re heading to the US and Canada for three weeks. That’s the current plan. I hope it works out.

RockLine: And after that? When will we get to see you on European stages again?
Michael: No plans for now. But when things are ripe enough for Europe again, we’d like to hit the road with some bigger band, say Kamelot?

RockLine: Kamelot?
Michael: Yes. We’re really good friends with Kamelot. We played together in the US. At the shows in Scandinavia, in Gothenburg, Sweden, and later in Oslo (Norway), Kamelot used our gear at the concerts. They were shooting a DVD, and on the footage of their released DVD you can see the Circus Maximus logos, heh, heh, heh…

RockLine: Speaking of which, today Circus Maximus played on the drums of the opening band Anarchy-X. How come?
Michael: Well, it simply costs us a lot less. For now we have to be smart about it. We’re just testing the waters of our popularity at these gigs in Italy. If we already had an established reputation, our budget would be higher too. We just didn’t dare gamble at this point and rack up costs. The offer to use Anarchy-X’s gear on stage was more than welcome.

RockLine: Tonight, on top of playing the Queensryche classic Take Hold On The Flame, you invited the opening band Anarchy-X up on stage. How did that come about?
Michael: We pulled that trick yesterday in Brescia already, where it turned out even better. Anarchy-X are simply a Queensryche tribute band. We really appreciate Queensryche too, and it seemed like a great idea to join forces on stage for that number.

RockLine: You jumped in for only three verses and with your delivery you put the Anarchy-X singer in your back pocket. No joke!
Michael: Oh thanks, thanks… Well, yesterday in Brescia the roles were reversed. I sang most of the verses of that song.

RockLine: There really was an enormous difference in quality between the two voices. You’ve got a phenomenal voice. I just can’t say anything else, really!
Michael: Thanks, really. I just love singing. I sing every day, all the time. Love, that’s all it is.

RockLine: Okay, to wrap up, do you have any special message for the readers of RockLine.info?
Michael: Come to a Circus Maximus show. We’d love to play in Slovenia.

Then the roles got swapped and…

Michael: Are there a lot of concerts in your country?
RockLine: Oh, don’t worry. There are, there are. But mostly non-metal, and especially non-progressive-metal, sadly…

Michael: Oh, really?
RockLine: Yeah. That’s why maniacs of our breed drive around Europe a lot. We travel a lot. We’re hardened by now.

Michael: How did you get here, did you fly?
RockLine: Noooo, no way??? The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, is barely two hours from here, we came by car.

Michael: Aha, I see…
RockLine: Yeah. The border with Slovenia is only a 20-minute drive from the town of Ronchi.

RockLine: Let’s wrap it up slowly, work tomorrow, the drive home….
Mixchael: Yeah, we’ve got a flight back home at 10 in the morning, three hours’ drive from here.

David: Are you flying out of Venice?
Michael: No, no. From some city near Venice, I forget the name…

RockLine: Michael! We wish you a safe trip, thanks for the show and the interview!
Michael: Same to you guys, it was a pleasure, and thanks.

 

interview for RockLine conducted by: Aleš Podbrežnik

photos: David Fučka (thanks buddy )