America has given birth to many amazing musicians who have created a very
specific and unique sound, the very well known american power metal. Many
of these bands formed in 80's don't exist any more but thank god there
are always coming out new skillful musicians who continue their work and
why not? outrun their teachers. Jacobs Dream is a band which from the first
to the last minute will make your heads bang.
Read this interview,
cause you'll discovere a guy very open minded and down to earth. We gain
from such interviews, so I insist...
1.HELLO!FIRST OF ALL CAN YOU TELL
US A FEW THINGS REGARDING THE HISTORY OF THE BAND AND ITS MEMBERS?
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Well as most of our fans know by now,
we have (yet again) reformed with most of our original members. During
the recording of our last album, Theater of War, we split with two
of the guys, Jon and Gary. But late this summer, after the departure of
our drummer and replacement rhythm guitarist,Derek, we have hooked up with
Jon and Gary again and are writing for the next release.
2.YOU HAVE RELEASED YOUR NEW ALBUM(THE
3RD I THINK). CAN YOU TELL ME SOME THINGS ABOUT IT? IS IT CONCEPT? WHICH
ARE THE DIFFERENCES FROM THE OTHER ALBUMS?
-
Yes it is our third, but only our second
for MetalBlade records, No it isn't a concept album, it has a theme but
each song isn't tied to the next as you would expect from a concept album.
It's a little more raw and live sounding than the first album. But I think
the songwriting has continued to progress and there is a even more depth
and passion to most of the tracks.
3.YOU BELONG TO THE DYNAMIC OF METALBLADE,
WHICH HAS RELEASED MANY CLASSIC ALBUMS IN THE AMERICAN POWER METAL GENRE.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?
-
Its great to be on metalblade records.
They understand where we are coming from and don't consider us "out of
date or style" because we play power metal and only only power metal. They
are very supportive of us regardless of the changes in the lineup too.
4.WHICH THINGS INSPIRE YOU IN THE WRITING
OF LYRICS AND MUSIC? DO YOU ACCEPT THE TERM OF "WHITE POWER METAL BAND"
DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOUR LYRICS ARE BASED ON RELIGIOUS THEMES?
-
Yes obviously a lot of our lyrics are
based on our world view which is seen in the context of biblical scripture,
but we aren't preachers as such, to us it is just reality. We never set
out to be "whitemetal" in fact the whitemetal scene in the U.S. is generally
regarded to have dried up years ago. We are a power metal band that appeals
to metal fans from many perspectives.
5.WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO TO PROMOTE
YOUR NEW ALBUM?WILL YOU PERFORM LIVE?
-
Well... we have pretty much finshed
gigging and promoting for the year, right now we are writing for the next
album, but we did play and travel quite a bit in the local states this
summer and were very well received everywhere we went.
6.WHICH ARE THE THINGS THAT MADE YOU
CREATE MUSIC DESPITE BEING JUST FANS? DO YOU THINK THAT IT DERIVES FROM
AN INNER NEED FOR CREATION?
-
That's a good question, I hope there
is a better answer than that it's just me stretching out my ego when I
write a song, haha... Think about this, maybe it's our need to be like
God and create something. Not that we as humans should ever think ourselves
to be equal to God but just as he felt the need to create the universe,
maybe since we were created in his image maybe it's a way we internally
reach out to him....hmmm just a thought!
7.WHICH BANDS ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?
-
I am a big 'maiden fan but no one else
in the band is.
8.CAN YOU TELL ME SOME LYRICS OF WHICHEVER
BAND THATEXPRESS YOUR
PERSONALITY?
-
I don't know, I never write about my
personal experiences so I don't think any of the lyrics clearly reflect
my personality.
9.THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN GREECE THAT
REALLY LOVE YOUR MUSICAL STYLE. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED OF COMING FOR A LIVE
SHOW IN GREECE?
-
We would like very much to come to
Greece. We want only to return to Europe to promote the next album and
come to Greece in particular.
10.HAVE YOU LISTENED TO ANY NEW BANDS
THAT YOU REALLY LIKED?IF YES,
WHICH?
-
Well I guess they aren't new bands
but I am a new fan of Hammerfall and Blind Guardian, also Narnia and Balance
of Power.
11.WHICH ARE YOUR DREAMS THAT YOU WANT
TO ACHIEVE WITH JACOBS DREAM?
-
Just playing in the band and writing
songs that people relate to and enjoy is the fulfilment of more than I
ever thought would happen to me. Meeting some of my metal brothers and
sisters around the world has been greater than I ever imagined.
12.WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE PART IN A
MOVIE SOUNDTRACK?IF YES FOR WHICH
MOVIE?
-
I think we could do a science fiction
movie or something set in the 80's in the U.S.
13.DO YOU READ BOOKS? WHICH IS YOUR
FAVORITE BOOK AND AUTHOR? WHICH CHARACTER WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?
-
I like Dean Koontz, I read a lot of
biographies and historical accounts by many authors like Stephen Ambrose.
14.CAN YOU TELL ME A REASON THAT WOULD
MAKE YOU STOP PLAYING HEAVY
METAL?
-
Physical trauma? I can't see ever quitting
metal for any reason other that the being physically incapable of
performing.
15.IF YOU HAD THE POWER TO CORRECT
SOMETHINGS HARMFUL TO THE WORLD, WHICH WOULD THEY BE?
-
Where can I begin? Or what could I
do? As long as man has the ability to choose wrong over right, he will
continue to oppress his fellow man, our world system is doomed, sorry folks!
16.IF YOU HAVE NEVER RELEASED AN ALBUM
AND YOUR MUSIC WASN'T FAMOUS AT ALL,WHICH SONG OF YOURS WOULD YOU CHOOSE
TO MAKE THE BAND KNOWN IN PUBLIC?
-
Wow, picking one song to represent
Jacobs dream to the whole world would be very difficult. There is a song
on our demo called "The Jewel" that is very precious to me, it's not heavy
or complex but it says it all.
17.IF A TRIBUTE WAS MADE FOR JACOBS
DREAM WHICH BANDS WOULD YOU LIKE TO COVER YOUR SONGS?
-
Silent Force, uuhh i don't know.
18.JACOBS DREAM.HOW DID YOU CHOOSE
THIS BAND NAME? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU?DO YOU FIND YOURSELVES IN JACOBS
POSITION AND DO YOU THINK THAT MUSIC IS YOUR ISRAEL NATION, THAT YOU WANT
TO ORGANISE AND MAKE IT STRONG ONCE AGAIN?
-
The name was chosen by one of the guys
wife. It just sounded cool. Yes I think we do support Israel's right to
exist and live in peace.
19.WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY REGARDING
THE POLITICAL SITUATION DEVELOPED NOW AFTER THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE
USA?
-
The sleeping giant is awakened, lets
hope it does not fall back asleep!
20.THANK YOU FOR THE INTERVIEW!SEND
A MESSAGE TO THE FANS.
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Thank you all, we will forever stay
true to you and metal.
-
John
| NIKOS "William_Kidd" PARASTATIDIS |