Location: Cvetličarna VPK, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interview date: 10.03.2011
The palette of sounds on this year’s Power Of Metal is really wide, and a particularly interesting thread in our chats so far has been the different takes on what metal means and on the concept of the generic power of metal. What’s the core of that power for you?
Russell Allen: For me it’s a unique chance to be back on the road and sing for people around the world. For bands, it’s a great opportunity to get in front of new audiences. Symphony X have been talking for years about coming here to Slovenia, and it’s only now, with this tour, that everything finally lined up and we got the green light to come. Personally I’m really happy, both for Symphony X and for the Power Of Metal tour, that we got to come here, and so far everything has turned out great and gone accordingly. The people here are wonderful. The fans I met today are incredible and awesome. I’d happily knock back a beer or two with folks like that, if I didn’t have to work, of course. (laughs)
The bands are definitely a diverse bunch. What was the key to picking who plays on this tour? There are differences in labels as well as genres …
Russell: I don’t know the details, so it’d be better to ask the tour organizers themselves. They pitched us the idea, and I can tell you we’re really close with the guys from Nevermore, since we played the Gigant tour together back in 2005 and have been friends ever since. When I heard they were on the bill, it sounded like a great excuse for some serious hanging out and I was in right away, because it’s always easier to take on these tour adventures with someone you know. Everything’s a bit easier when there are 45 people on the road and you work with them every day. I don’t know how it is here in Europe, but in the US it’s pretty common to put together these little traveling festivals. In Europe, as far as I know, you’ve got more fixed festivals that happen every year in the same places and the same cities. Caravans of bands like this are more of a rarity here. When you line things up and hit the road with a bunch of people you know and good folks, the whole roaming experience can be more fun and, I’d say, more laid-back and comfortable for us. The organizers did a great job. The lineup is awesome, because I really like that it’s not the same thing across the board. I’d never go to a show where I had to listen to five clones of Symphony X. I like the variety on offer, it’s colorful enough to make the tour appealing, and at the same time we’re all different enough that we’re not a serious threat to one another. In that sense, it’s a really great principle.
And what will Symphony X show our audience?
Russell: Our, sorry … your audience … (laughs) It’s on us to deliver the most pompous, one-of-a-kind rock show we can. We’re all good musicians and performers. Our goal is to be as honest as possible on stage and give 100% no matter where we are. Whether there are 100 or 100,000 people there, it’s exactly the same to us. We always try to do everything in our power, and that’s what you get from Symphony X every single night!
You’ve already got nine records under your belt, and the tenth is on its way. What can you tell us about the album Iconoclast so far?
Russell: Iconoclast is more or less the next step in our career and a step forward from Paradise Lost. Both sonically and in terms of songwriting, the record is a step forward for us and moves us up a notch from where we’ve been. We always dig into the past to bring something from its deep remains into the future, but we’ve also got some new sounds and directions in our music that we weave into the record. My voice, as you’ll hear, is more aggressive, but it’s blended into the whole thing in a way that’s easy to take, so people can enjoy it. I definitely wouldn’t say I’m too raw … As a whole, the new record hits hard. It doesn’t have as many ups and downs as the previous one, which was, let’s say, very dynamic. There’s one track on the album that really reminds you of Paradise Lost, but in its progressiveness it branches out and develops in so many different directions that you could say there’s a lot more movement in Iconoclast. That’s quite reminiscent of our old style, which I hope will suit most of the fans who’ve been with us for years. The new stuff is very heavy and modern, and in its listenability it goes down easy …
And what’s the common thread of the story that ties it all together?
Russell: It’s not so much an intentional concept. We’ve always followed a certain theme and story that we carved out, and it was always easier that way. If you’ve got some direction for the creative vision and then you sit down to write lyrics, which, by the way, I hate doing and don’t enjoy … Still, we give everything we’ve got to bring hundreds of ideas together. Then we string them into a theme that follows the principle that technology is killing humanity. The evils and traps of our age, the electricity our whole civilization rests on … That’s our theme, and out of all the crap that builds our comfort, we pull ideas to stand up against the sinister side and the evil of all this civilizational emptiness. Of course there’s always something good and a bright side to it all. For example, my kids are available to me online at any moment. That duality of good and bad is everywhere, and I can always go to www.whatever-I-feel-like.com, and there too I’m always exposed to evil. Every day you can hear stories about these weirdos and perverts going after kids online, and at the same time the madness of dehumanization has reached the point where teenagers build their social lives online in a very public way … You know kids can be really cruel too, and now it’s all out there for the whole world to see on Facebook. Then they throw up their hands in disappointment, and the stories we have in America never run out … Shootings, for instance, and kids who go completely nuts under the influence of what they read on Facebook and kill in its name. And as a society we’re sinking deeper and deeper into this, and we took that as part of the inspiration for writing the record, but what’s front and center is above all the dehumanization of our culture. That’s our theme, not a story about some specific person, just a theme that runs through all the songs.
It’s very obvious, at least in your case, that you’re a prolific creator, since you play in a bunch of bands. What can you tell us about working with Mike Portnoy?
Russell: Right now I can only say a little about it, since we haven’t created much together so far. We’ve only agreed in principle to create something together, and it’ll take some more time and effort before I’m back home and there’s something to see soon. Still, I can say we’ve agreed to make something, and we’ve been working on some ideas and basic concepts. We’ll see how things unfold, because Mike is undoubtedly a very talented drummer, and at the same time we don’t intend to recreate something that’s already been heard in our genre. We both want to make something more rock-oriented and with a ton of energy. I always admired how he played with Dream Theater when we toured with them all those years, and he was always the kind of personality who draws crowds like a magnet. Personally, watching a drummer who’s that fun and talented, and yet so natural about all of it, is really something. Mike is a very sharp guy and very cool, so I know that once we get everything sorted and get into action, it’ll sound killer, absolutely bombastic! We both share common ground in bands like Led Zeppelin and Van Halen, and we’re not shy about newer tasty stuff either, Pantera and the like … So it’ll definitely be very cool, but I can’t talk about it yet.
It’s great to hear you two are thinking about working together and will, sooner or later, unleash your creative demons!
Russell: That I can definitely confirm …
Our time is, sadly, running out, so I’d ask for a closing thought and a message to our readers …
Russell: (laughs) I can’t describe how much I’m looking forward to tonight’s show here. The show will definitely be one of a kind. I know you people here know how to appreciate good music, and you clearly proved that to me with our chat out in the parking lot. You’re really amazing people and, like I said, I can’t wait for tonight’s show, and also to come back and play more shows for you, the wonderful people here in Slovenia! Thank you!
This interview was made in collaboration with the show Aritmija, RockLine and Rock Hard Slovenija.
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