LANDGUARD
-
Landguard
had the chance to sign contracts with a label, but however, still they
wait for their album to be released. So, they moved on and recorded another
demo, which sounds much better than their first release. With this work
they seem capable of achieving something good...
1.GIVE US FEW INFO ABOUT THE BAND :
LINE UP, RELEASES ETC...
Landguard was born in october 1996
by an idea of Lello Acampa (keyboards) and Armando Scala (guitars), like
a power progressive metal band. The musical inspirations are so various
that the group mix a few styles. In march 1998 comes out the first demo-cd
of the group(selfproduced - from recordings to artwork) entitled:
THE LAND OF THE NYMPHS
Track list:
1) Sailing Towards The Land
2) The Land Of The Nymphs
3) Stoneguard
4) Nightfall Shadows
5) Demon Hunter
After some changes of line-up, in
1999 comes out the second demo-cd (selfproduced - from recordings to artwork)
entitled:
THE MANUSCRIPT OF HELGVAR
Track list:
1) Eternal Horns
2) Helgvar - An Ancestral
Story
3) The Manuscript
4) Iceland Sword
5) Crystallized Shadows
6) Edge Of The Abyss
7) Prelude To Silence
8) Beyond The Silver Lake
9) Helgvar Suite Op.1
After “The Manuscript Of Helgvar”
the band seal a contract with “Underground Symphony” for which record the
debut-cd “Eden Of A Parallel Dimension” between august and october 2000.
In 2002, waiting for the forthcoming
cd, the band produce a new demo-cd (selfproduced - from recordings to artwork)
entitled:
A PERPETUAL GAME
Track List:
1) A Game Begins…
2) A Perpetual Game
3) Wizard Of Time
4) Mindscape
5) Ivory Mask
6) A Perpetual Joke
Meanwhile the band participate in
various compilation: the first in 1999 “Nocturnal Symphony vol.2” (Nocturnal
Music - Italy) with the song “Helgvar - An Ancestral Story”, the second
in 2000 “Warzone XXI”
for a greek magazine with the song
“Iceland Sword”, and the third in 2002 as a tribute to SWORD, an american
heavy metal band, for wich we recorded the song “Stoned Again”.
Actually the line-up is:
Marco Mangiapia
- vocals
Lello Acampa
- keyboards
Armando Scala
- guitars
Claudio Acampora
- guitars
Stefano Quitadamo
- bass
Walter Montone
- drums
2.WHAT DOES "LANDGUARD" MEAN
AND HOW HAVE YOU CHOSEN THIS NAME?
-
It means "guardian of the immaginary
lands" because we're interested in fantasy (comics & japanese manga)
and science fiction.
3.YOU HAVE RELEASED AN OFFICIAL
ALBUM FROM UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY. WHY
DID YOU LEAVE? DID YOU HAVE ANY
PROBLEMS WITH THE LABEL?
-
The cd's aren't in stores now and we're
waiting for a release as soon as possible. Because of this you can imagine
why we've broken up with Underground Symphony, but otherwise our contract
was only for one full lenght.
4.YOUR NEW DEMO IS A CONCEPT
STORY! CAN YOU TELL US IN A FEW WORDS WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT?
-
Our new demo is a part of a concept
album, it’s a science-fiction story which brings you in a world made of
six scenery in which moves six characters (the members of the band). Every
character will live a life that is not of himself, searching for the elusing
piece that will complete the puzzle and give an end to the “Perpetual Game”.
All is made by the Lord Of Masks who will try to enslave all the human
kind , modifing the reality. All the six characters will leave their life
of sure things and fight their demons and nightmares to free this world
of lies.
5.I THINK THAT YOUR PREVIOUS
ALBUM WAS A CONCEPT STORY TOO. WHY DO YOU
PREFER TO WRITE CONCEPT STORIES?
DON'T YOU THINK THAT IS A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO PLAY A CONCEPT ALBUM LIVE?
-
Because of our passion in fantasy is
for us more simple to write a story that belongs in an album and not in
a song, so every product we make is always a concept. In other way we think
that a concept work is more complex and various, and is for us beautiful
to link music, stories and graphic arts.
6.YOU COMBINE IN YOUR MUSIC
THE ITALIAN METAL SCHOOL WITH THE AMERICAN.
SOME PARTS OF YOUR SONGS BROUGHT
TO MY MIND THE BAND SANCTUARY! DO YOU AGREE? WHICH OTHER BANDS HAVE INFLUENCED
YOU?
-
Of sure we're italian and every italian
metal band feels the influence of our school of music, that embraces classic
to melodic, but otherwise we're a metal band and every metal band is influnced
by the classic metal (which gave a start to all) but we feel closer to
our style, bands like Symphony X, Dream Theater, Pain Of Salvation and
Iced Earth.
-
7.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?
-
In a band there's always to improve
in every thing, and every player has to continue to practice and search
a best way to play, in this moment we've changed our singer and we're trying
to reach the best with the new singer.
8.WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATIONS
FROM YOUR NEW DEMO? DID YOU HAVE ANY
PROPOSALS FROM A LABEL?
-
We're thinking of some proposals from
some labels, italians and not. Meanwhile we're in contact with a japanese
producer that bought our demo to distribute it in Japan.
9.WHICH IS THE WORST AND WHICH
IS THE BEST REVIEW YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
-
The worst comes from Metal Shock (an
italian magazine) for our first demo "The Land Of The Nymphs" (and maybe
they were right), apart from this one all our reviews were well.
10.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE
TRIBUTE ALBUMS?DO YOU PLAY COVER SONGS IN YOUR LIVE SHOWS? IF YES, FROM
WHICH BANDS?
-
We've recorded a song " Stoned Again"
for a tribute to an american band called Sword, that will be out soon.
In our shows we play songs from Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ac/Dc, Stratovarius.
11.IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO MAKE
A PROPER VIDEOCLIP, HOW DO YOU IMAGINE
IT TO BE?
-
For a video we imagine a cross between
past and future, if possible with some BEAUTIFUL girl!!!!
12.MANY METAL MUSICIANS ACCUSE
POP STARS FOR THEIR LIFE STYLE, YET WE SEE SUCH BEHAVIOURS IN THE METAL
SCENE AS WELL (BANDS PAYING TO MAKE A COVER FOR SUCCESFUL MAGAZINES, HAVING
A GOOD REVIEW, METAL LABELS PROMOTING SPECIFIC BANDS AND GENRES EACH EPOCH,ETC).IS
IT MAYBE AFTER ALL TRUE THAT THE METAL INDUSTRY DOESN'T DIFFER FROM THE
POP? WHICH ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
-
Music now is an industry, in every
genre, and in certain levels (metallica and all the bands that sell milions
of copies) there is always control from producers and managers that follow
only profit. Fortunately we don't sell so many copies, eheheh :-) and we
don't have that kind of problem.
13.IF TIME TRAVEL WAS POSSIBLE,
WHICH HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE
TO VISIT AND WHY? WHAT WOULD YOU
MISS THE MOST FROM OUR TIME?
-
From our time we will erase all the
pop singers (Britney Spears first of all), and the period that we will
like to visit is for sure the 70!!! For the progressive rock!!! yeah!
15.THANK YOU!HAVE I FORGOT TO
ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?