FREEDOM CALL –
- by Rune
- Posted on 29-06-2004
FREEDOM CALL
Halvt sveitsisk, halvt fransk, tysk band.
2004-06-29
Av Rune
Etter et mislykket fors�k p� � f� tatt dette intervjuet, kom Cedric (eller Cede som han kalles) og undertegnede i gang med praten. Anledningen var selvsagt bandets liveskive Live Invasion som er p� markedet i disse dager. Det ble litt prat om nevnte skive, en del mer om bonusskiva og litt fotball. Cede er fra Sveits, men har litt fransk blod i �rene. Med en humoristisk undertone sa han ifra om at Sveits sin innsats i EM ville han ikke snakke om. Og det var jo helt greit, siden jeg hadde forberedt meg p� en prat med enten Chris eller Dan om det som viste seg � bli Tysklands exit fra EM. Men n� ble det Cede og Freedom Call�s yngste medlem var en hyggelig kar som ogs� viste seg � v�re veldig pratsom.
ET � Live Invasion � Recorded in 3 cities in Germany in 2002. Am I wrong or are most of the recordings from the Munich gig?
CEDE � Actually I don�t know. We were recording in D�sseldorf, Stuttgart and Munich, and we just picked out the best versions of the songs. It was on this tour with Blind Guardian. They were also recording, every show actually. We just had those 3 in D�sseldorf, Stuttgart and Munich. We played 2 different set lists to make sure that we can put as many songs as possible on the record. We just played 45 minutes and that wouldn�t make any sense having a live album for 45 minutes. So we were doing 2 different set lists in Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, and in Munich we did a mix up of the 2 set lists. So it�s a mixture of those 3 shows that you will find on the CD.
ET � Well, it�s a great live album. How has the response been from the fans?
CEDE � It�s cool. I think that for fans a live album is something really special, and I think for people who don�t know the band already. A live album is a great possibility to find out what Freedom Call is about. We had a really great time on this tour and I think you can hear that on the album as well. Also for people who doesn�t know the band. We have a mixture of songs from all the albums and people can say; this song was great. What album is it on? So you can say it�s more like a best of album. And everybody in Freedom Call is very happy with Live Invasion because the sound is very cool and we also tried to give the fans something special for the price, which means we included the Taragon EP as a bonus disc. This EP was only released in Japan and France before, so we decided to use is as a second CD. We added a couple of cover songs. So I think that the fans get a nice package for the money they pay.
ET � And what about the press?
CEDE � So far it�s very cool. Everybody obviously has been listening to Live Invasion and says its quality and that it is very well made. It�s not a bootleg album with crappy sound.
ET � Back to the Taragon EP, why didn�t you release it world wide?
CEDE � Me personally, I wasn�t in the band at that time, but I believe they wanted to do something to make the time shorter to the next album, which was Crystal Empire. They recorded the songs and they offered them to their record partners. Sadly only the labels in France and Japan decided to release it, while the rest wanted to concentrate on the next studio album. I think that is the main reason actually. Now on the live album, it gives the fans something special when we decided to attach it as a bonus CD. People didn�t want to import it from Japan because it was way too expensive. I think the songs on Taragon are great and that it is a great bonus for those who are buying Live Invasion.
ET � I have been talking to a lot of people about Live Invasion and most of them are saying that the bonus disc with the Taragon EP is the best disc on the album.
CEDE � Well, it is a studio recording so it has the Freedom Call youth bombast to it, hehehe. I mean, I like the Taragon EP also pretty well and on the Wacken Road Shows in March and April we did 2 songs from Taragon EP which was Warriors of Light and Dancing with Tears in My Eyes, which is a great version in my opinion.
ET � There are 3 cover songs on this disc, and I can understand Dr. Stein and Dancing with Tears in My Eyes. But how did you end up doing a cover of the track Hiroshima?
CEDE � Well, I am the youngest guy in Freedom Call. I am 25 and the rest is over 30, and they are listening to more of the old stuff, like the stuff from the seventies. I think Wishful Thinking was one of Chris�s favorite bands. I mean, he really like pop songs as well. That�s why they wanted to do Dancing with Tears in My Eyes as well. I think it was that they were listening to the song a lot and decided to do a cover song of it. It does sound heavier than the original version. It�s not like a cheesy pop song, hehe. For Dr. Stein we were supposed to cover a song for a Helloween tribute album, but it didn�t work out for some reasons. But we already recorded it during the Eternity recording session, so we decided to put it somewhere, and now with Live Invasion we got the opportunity and we thought it would be a good idea to use it there.
ET � Ok, enough about Live Invasion and the Taragon EP. Do you have any new songs for the next studio album?
CEDE � Right now we are in the situation that we have written all the songs and we will start recording the drums in the next couple of weeks. That should be the kick off for the whole studio session, so we should be very busy recording the next studio album this summer. It should be released in January, I was told, and will be followed by another headliner tour. I know Europe and I think that you can expect a lot of gigs from Freedom Call next year, hehe.
ET � How many tracks will be on the next album?
CEDE � There will be 11 songs on the album. I wrote 2 of them. Last couple of weeks has been very busy arranging songs. I also think a lot will happen during the studio session. Changing a bit here and changing a bit there. And it makes a lot of sense because we never record a pre production without having the songs completely done. We work a lot in the studio. I think people can hear that Freedom Call has some new influences, because it doesn�t make sense to copy your albums over and over again. So we have some new influences and we have a lot of groovy stuff actually. I think people can expect something fresh from Freedom Call.
ET � I think I can remember that Chris did some growling on Eternity.
CEDE � Yeah, actually it wasn�t him. It was a friend of him who did it, but I did it live, hehe, which was a lot of fun. Privately I listen to a lot of aggressive stuff like Soilwork, Pantera and Children Of Bodom and stuff like that. So it was a lot of fun for me to growl it, hehe.
ET � Will the lyrics still be about the story of Taragon?
CEDE � No, after Eternity we decided to finish the story. This time the lyrics are about what happens in the world today. Daniel is writing all the lyrics and he also writes a lot about personal experiences and that kind of stuff. It�s not going to be a continuing story like the Taragon story this time.
ET � How did you come up with the idea of doing the lyrics about Taragon anyway?
CEDE � It was Daniel actually, he write most of the lyrics. He had some fantasy stories behind it. He and the other guys have been reading a lot of books about the subject. I think that was the reason they decided to go along with their own story. But after 3 albums it is enough, and we should take the next step obviously.
ET � You said that you are going to be in the studio most of the upcoming summer. I guess there will not be many gigs for Freedom Call this summer then?
CEDE � Actually no. So far we have done a festival in Slovakia and we will play another festival in Sweden on the 10th of July. Besides that we don�t have any gigs scheduled because we want to concentrate on the new studio album. But I think we are going to play a lot next year. It is good not too play all the time, because the same people get tired of seeing you over and over again. When we are done with the studio session and have created the next studio album, we will be back, and in Norway as well.
ET � You were actually here last year, but unfortunately I didn�t know about the gig before a couple of days after it happened.
CEDE � It�s time to come to Norway again. The people are very very cool there, so we should come back there, hehe. Hopefully you will have your chance the next time, hehe.
ET � And now over to something else. Isabel, she is in charge of the Freedom Call homepage, she is doing merchandise and she is also running the fan club. Where did you find her?
CEDE � Actually she has been a Freedom Call fan for a long time and she has followed us on a lot of concerts. I mean, you have some fans that you see over and over again. It makes you wonder when they make it from Munich to Berlin in 1 day. Some of the fans we do see a lot. We knew that she was interested in computers and internet and stuff, and that she also created her own webpage. And one day we just asked her if she wanted to do a Freedom Call webpage, as we were looking for a new webmaster. Since she is our webmaster, we also asked her if she wanted to do the merchandise for the upcoming headliner tour. She accepted both. And finally, since she is doing the webpage, answering a lot of questions from fans, she decided to run the fan club as well. Basically she is doing a lot, hehehe.
ET � Freedom Call is known as The Happy Power Metal Band. What do you think of this reputation?
CEDE � The expression �Happy Metal� sounds a bit stupid too my ears though. When people come to a concert or when they are listening to a record, they just get into a good mood. That�s the most important thing. Nobody wants to buy a concert ticket and get bored. Hopefully that is not the case at a Freedom Call show, hehe. We have a lot of fun on stage, and we want to have a lot of fun with the fans and audience also. I think that people can have a great time with us that are why they call it �Happy Metal�. It�s all about the fun, it�s all about the party and we do play very positive music. That�s probably why I listen to Pantera privately, hehehehe. I also like a lot of other bands like Helloween and stuff like that, which of course are one of the influence for Freedom Call. But nevertheless, I feel that we found our own corner. I know that people who known us, they can tell the same. If people come up to us and say that we sound exactly like Helloween and Gamma Ray and bla bla bla, they don�t listen to our music.
ET � It seems like the power metal scene is very much in its second glory period. It is like the 80�s is back again. Do you agree?
CEDE � Well, since I was born in 79, it�s hard for me to say how the metal scene was in the eighties, hehehe. But, I mean its get better and better. Just check out a band like Nightwish for example. It�s incredible, although I don�t consider them being a real heavy metal band, if you know what I mean. It�s the same with Freedom Call too; we do have a lot of pop influences and stuff. But I think it gets better and better, because people are getting tired of the not-handmade music. They want to go back for the real thing, which is playing the guitar and beating your drum kit. You know, just do an honest music. I think that is what people want to hear these days, and that is why heavy metal is getting bigger again.
ET � And now over to something completely different; Metal musicians are well known for their soccer interest.
CEDE � Yes, but don�t ask me about Switzerland, hahahaha.
ET � Ok, I won�t hehe. Have you seen any of the matches from Euro 2004 in Portugal?
CEDE � Yes, I have seen a lot of them. We have been in Germany the last week doing some promotion. We were watching Germany of course. It depends if they are kicked out or not, hehe. But as a Swiss, I don�t really care if Germany wins or not, hehe. But if they don�t play too stupid, they will come far.
ET � Who do you think will win the Euro 2004?
CEDE � I would like to see France again, as I am half French. I mean that France do have a very good team or the Netherlands.
ET � Well, that�s what I have for you this time. Anything else you want to say to your fans in Norway?
CEDE � Hopefully we will see our heavy metal fans in Norway again and in the meantime they should check out Live Invasion. The waiting time for the next studio album won�t be too long and I think we will see everybody next year, hopefully.