• I'VE LISTENED TO HEIMDALL FROM THEIR FIRST ALBUM AND FOR SURE I LIKE THEIR MUSIC A LOT. ESPECIALLY THE "TEMPLE OF THEIL" ALBUM FOR ME IS A GREAT ALBUM WITH A VERY GOOD EPIC CONCEPT. NOW HEIMDALL HAVE READY A NEW ALBUM WHICH AT THE SAME TIME IS CONCEPT AND IT ISN'T. DID I CONFUSE YOU? I THINK IF YOU READ THE INTERVIEW YOU WILL UNDERSTAND. ...BUT LET THE BARDS SPEAK BETTER OF THEMSELVES!

1.TELL US IN A FEW WORDS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY. WHICH IS TODAY'S LINE UP?

• Of course…in 1994 my brother Nicolas (drummer) and I decided to play music that we love and, so,  to give life a heavy metal band. After some changes of line-up, the bass player Giovanni Canu, the guitarist Carmelo Claps and the singer Claudio Gallo joined the band. With this line-up, we recorded a demo in 1997 that received great reviews by the specialized press and gave it the opportunity to sign a record-deal with Elevate Records. In May 1998 we recorded “Lord of the Sky”, our first album. It is a concept-album based on the story of the Nordic god, Heimdall. “Lord of the Sky” had immediately a great success from the public and from the press. Besides, it was licensed and published by Dreamchaser in Japan. In the meanwhile, Sergio Duccilli (keyboards) joined the band, giving a more symphonic and majestic aspect to our sound. At the beginning of ‘99, Nicola left us for personal problems and Ottavio Amato became the new drummer. With him, we went on tour together with Labyrinth and we completed the songs for the second album “The Temple of Theil”. It was published by Elevate Records in Europe and by Dreamchaser in Japan. “The Temple of Theil” received very good responses but after some months from its publication, there was the split with Claudio. We spent much time to search for a new singer and, in 2001, luckily we met a great singer: Giacomo. In the meanwhile my brother Nicolas came back to the band. With them, we completed the songs for the new album, titled ‘The Almighty’. We spent a very difficult time after our second album but now we are back and we want to recover all that we have lost in these years!

• Yes, as I told before, “The Almighty” can be considered a concept album even if we are not before an only story. The lyrics are all about the search, the journey, often, towards something difficult or impossible to reach and seen through different experiences such as dream, death, art, love, war, glory, immortality. They feel an empty space inside and try to cover it. They run to something or someone that is often unreachable and his lack takes them to act, to face experiences…to live. This “missing element” assumes in the lyrics various forms even if each person can see in the different goals - that our main characters have - something personal. In the opener “The Callling”, the epic melodies follow a lyric that talks about the journey towards the glory and freedom in the battle. It is inspired by those men who, during the history, have been able to lead their armies to fight in the name of what they believe in, even in the darkest times. In “Wanderer” the protagonist finds itself to roam in a dark and unknown world where words have lost their meaning and where the gods also have died in search of something or someone that appears always distant. In “Return to the Fatherland”, a warrior goes back to his land after many journeys and many battles, but he discovers that it has been destroyed…in spite of this, he can still feel the power and the ancient grandeur of these places that will never die.
• In the lyric of “Eternal Race”, the human existence is compared to a frenetic and melancholic race towards someone or something probably unreachable, a race where we often feel alone. What we do, what we create arises from a lack and from the wish to fill this gap. Art can be the only way to feel nearer what we search for. The main character of “Symit” miss a woman; he creates to live again a very single and deep moment, even if he realizes that the words cannot give back what he previously lived. Sometimes the impossibility to reach what we want transforms this frenetic race in immobility or wait for something. In “Godhall”, an old pilgrim remembers his life, spent travelling and roaming in search of a noble and magic land. But only now that his power is fading away and his dreams and his hopes left him, he feels this land nearer.. In “Beyond”, the main character is a semi-god. He has the power to make his creations live but, at the same time, he is a man and so destined to die. He would like to reach the world of the gods but he cannot so he feels immobile, imprisoned in this condition of suspension, condemned to roam in the “land of no one”. This time also there are some links with legends or mythologies. “Last Journey” is inspired by the story of the god Baldr, one of the most tragic figures of the Nordic Myth, who sees in his dreams his sad destiny of death. “The Search” - inspired by the myth of the Grail - talks about a knight who is destined to seearch for the holy object. His life has an only aim: find it and sees his mystery. When he discovers it, he dies.

• I think that our three albums are different each other because each of them catches the sensations and the emotions of the time when it was composed and recorded. “Lord of the Sky” can be considered as the result of our first 4 years of life…in this album you can hear the best things that we composed from the birth of the band. Some of its tracks were written between 1994 and 1995. The cd is rich of emotions, anger, power…that album has all the spontaneity that has always characterized our sound. It’s a true storm of energy! In “The Temple of Theil” you can hear a more attention towards the arrangements than the first album and a more symphonic aspect due to a major presence of orchestral parts. In spite of this, it preserves energy and spontaneity. “The Almighty” is more direct than “The Temple of Theil”, and the guitar sound is more present. The people that have listened to the new album have defined it as a personal and involving work. For me “The Almighty” is a mix of energy, melody and anger pervaded by a sense of melancholy, probably due to the particular period – characterized by many changes - both for the band and for me when it was composed!
• As regards the lyrics, like “Lord of the Sky” and “The Temple of Theil”, “The Almighty” is a concept but it’s very different from them. While “Lord of the Sky” was a concept about the Nordic myth and the god Heimdall, from his birth to the twilight of the gods and his death, and “The Temple of Theil” was a mythological and fantastic story – created by us -  based on the deeds of two warriors, Sidgar and Iselin, in the new album each song has an own story even if the lyrics are linked by some common subjects.

• Yes, I like concept album! I like to create that particular and unique atmosphere that concepts only have with their link between music and lyrics. In this way you produce a work where each element - from the music to the cover-art - has a precise and important meaning. So far we have written three albums…three concepts but always different! If it’s more difficult? Yes, but also more satisfactory.

• We had some problems with our previous label Elevate Records: the promotional work for our second cd “The Temple of Theil” was not good and, above all, they didn’t respect some points of our contract…they have to give us part of the royalties! So it was impossible to work with them again and it was natural to change. Scarlet records has soon showed a great enthusiasm to produce our new album and so far it’s doing a good promotional work to support “The Almighty”.

• I’ll try but it’s not so easy in a few words!! The concept begins with the outbreak of a terrible war. Zerion, the last keeper of the Temple of Theil – the mystic place of eternity and peace – searches for the warrior Sidgar and reveals to him that Iselin, his beloved, is kept as prisoner in the shrine because she refused the love of the god Daragor. Zerion tells Sidgar that to revenge himself on Iselin, Daragor gave her the power of clairvoyance condemning her not to believed and closed her in the temple. Besides he hasn’t respect an ancient oath. He has united the three stone-parts of the sacred shield of Power, carved in the walls of the Temple, breeding the war that is engulfing the empires on earth. So the mission of Sidgar is to free Iselin and his lands. After a long and pervious journey, Sidgar reaches the land of Eternhill where the temple of Theil stood. Now Theil – after the war and the violated oath - has lost its splendour becoming a vast dark ruin. Sidgar meets Daragor who tells the hero that the victory will be his if he’ll defeat the most powerful of his warriors. Sidgar accepts the defiance. In the duel he kills the enemy and then divides the shield. But after killing the warrior, he realizes that in reality the enemy is Iselin that, with the masked face, has sacrificed herself for her Sidgar and for all mankind. So alone and sad the hero leaves the temple.

• Four years ago we went on tour together with Labyrinth and in that period Morby was their singer. We became friends so during the recording sessions of “The Temple of Theil” we decided to call him to sing in our album. Morby, not only is a good singer but also a nice person who has dedicated his life to heavy metal!

• Of course no and it’s possible that in the future we’ll write something about our culture but so far we have preferred to talk about something else and in many cases to create stories. In fact only our first album was totally inspired by the Nordic mythology and by the saga of the god Heimdall (even if some passage and some situation were invented by us). I think it was a perfect way to introduce a band with the name Heimdall! In the “Temple of Theil”, we wrote a fantastic story. There are some hints at your mythology. The character of Iselin is inspired by the figure of Cassandra: she can see the future but no one believes in her. But I would like to underline that Temple of Theil is a story created by us and not a new version of some mythological and fantastic story already written. In “The Almighty”, except “The Search” and “Last Journey” - inspired the first by the myth of Grail and the second by the figure of Baldr –, I totally create the other stories.

• After the publication of “Temple of Theil”, there were some problems inside the band between Claudio Gallo, our ex-singer, and other members of Heimdall, that had begun during the recording sessions of “The Temple of Theil”. The situation didn’t solve and got worse so, at the end, Claudio decided to leave the band. The period that followed this split was very difficult. The album had been just published and we cannot play live. It was a very frustrating situation. We checked many singers but no one revealed to be the right person until we met Giacomo Mercaldo. I like very much both Giacomo and Claudio. They have a different style so everyone of them gave and gives our music something special. As regards Giacomo, I can say that not only he is technically a very good singer but also that he has a powerful and warm voice which is perfect for our music…surely what we need! Giacomo sang with a cover band and in a polyphonic chorus!

• I think that both Howard and Tolkien are great writers with different styles and subjects. Usually I prefer the stories about warriors and gods, where not always the good and bad are two totally opposite things, but Tolkien is an exception. He has created something particular...he makes you live the story that he wrote with his great capacity to create alternative worlds and his incredible descriptions.

• In august we have just started our live activity taking part to some festivals with bands like Destruction and Vicious Rumors. Now we are programming an Italian tour for this winter. For an European tour, there some possibilities but now it’s to early to talk about it. I look forward to starting the tour because after the split with Claudio we has done not many concerts.

• For me it’s natural to write epic lyrics and I like very much mythology and fantasy. Besides I think that they are very adapt for our music and our atmospheres. To people who say that epic metallers are afraid to face reality I say that they don’t read our lyrics or don’t try to understand what hides beyond our words! If you read our last concept there are many hints at some real moods or experiences of my own. Besides we don’t close in our houses to read about fantastic stories and to dream castles and dragons for years, but we live the reality day by day working, going out, suffering, loving…we do what people that write about reality do! (Ha…ha!)

• What I do: working in a factory as employee! Besides I like very much to record music and one of my project is to build up a recording-studio of my own. But I’m sure that if one day a god decides to kill the music, I will die!

14. WHICH IS THE BEST PART IN YOUR MUSIC AND IN THE BAND IN GENERAL AND WHICH THING DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD CORRECT? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU NEED IMPROVEMENT?

• We compose and record an album, when we are sure that our material is very good for us, when we love what we play. Then by passing time, you start being critic about some aspects of your songs, like for example the production, but I think that it is natural because you improve, you grow up and you change. However we realize what we did in the past is the photo of what we were before. That’s nice!

• Women…

• Why did you create us, didn’t you have something else to do?

• I would like to see the ancient Roman Empire, to know Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favourite writers, and to see the mankind in 1000 years! But I should bring with me my guitar and my ampli!

• I think that a good title could be: “The Lord is back”

• First of all thank you for the interview! Of course I would like to thank all the Greek heavy metal fans that have always supported our music also in these years of absence…go on doing it and listened to “The almighty”, an album which we believe in because it has 9 very good, powerful and involving metal songs. It’s a mix of power, melody, anger, pride, melancholy and heavy metal. Glory and Honor to you ALL!