WARREL DANE

A brief affair

- Right, what about gigs? You are going to promote this album but touring with „Praises To The War Machine” lineup is, I guess, a bit unlikely?
First of all I’d love to present this material live. We’re going to take part in a few summer festivals, besides I’d like to go on a longer tour and of course reach Europe. Nothing is ruled out but for the time being these are only plans. For sure we won’t appear in this lineup. Peter doesn’t like touring and he’s very busy now with his producer’s duties. Dirk and Matt are busy as well so simply I’ll have to look for completely new people (laugh) I keep an eye on a few persons and just after coming back from this press-tour I’m going to organize some rehearsals. In the meantime we start working on the next NEVERMORE album so the next few months will be hectic for me. Nevertheless, we’ll play a few concerts. Watch out!

- Jeff Loomis and James Murphy appear as special guests on your album. I know that you also planned somebody else to take part in it…
Yes, I really wished Chris Broderick to appear on this material but unfortunately it didn’t come off. However, I’m still glad that I convinced Jeff and James. They both did fucking good work! You know, when someone like James Murphy starts to play his solo, in just 2 seconds you know who that is. This guy has exceptionally unique and fully recognizable style, the same can be said about Jeff. It’s great to have them both aboard.

-Let’s leave personal matters and come back to the music. You know what, I’d be far from stating that this album has nothing in common with NEVERMORE. Here and there it’s equally heavy and epic plus we have your voice. However, what we can hear on “Praises…” is surely far more simple, melodic and direct. There’s more to hear and analyze, if you know what I mean.
Of course, and you’re absolutely right. We didn’t set this direction, it just happened. I’m glad, cause I had such vision somewhere in my mind. Although you suggested simplicity of this material, its recording was a great experience for me. I learned much through the work with new people in different surroundings. And even for this reason I think such projects are very useful. Working with NEVERMORE for so many years we’re just like an old good marriage. We know almost everything about each other. Such a brief affair is always in some way refreshing for a relationship. When you come back to your chick after something like that, usually she loves you more than ever. (laugh)

- But once you said that cooperation with Peter Wichers was like a fulfillment of your dreams, cause you’ve always wanted to work with a composer that thinks more about the shape of composition than its technical aspects. Does it mean that working with Loomis is like a boring Math class?
You take me up on my words (laugh). Maybe it was a bit unfortunate statement because I’ve never had anything against the system of work in NEVERMORE and Jeff himself. The work with Peter was just completely different experience. During that work we paid much attention for the stuff to be heavy but also easy to remember. We had free hand in it. In NEVERMORE it’s different; there are some specific expectations towards this band. People want to hear NEVERMORE, not some experiments with gothic or other styles. I emphasize once more that I didn’t get bored with NEVERMORE. It’s my first and true love, I’m in a steady relationship with this band since 1992 and I hope that we’ll live together to a great age. Work on “Praises…” gave me a new point of reference to music and I think… I’m sure that it would do much good to NEVERMORE.

- I was bewitched with damn fat sound of this album. My first associations with opening “When We Pray” led towards Roy Z’s production. Farther on it’s still better. Will you tell us in a few words how the album was created? Everything went fine or did you have some troubles?
You journalists always want to hear that something’s fucked up. Fails surely excite you more than awesome tits (laugh) I promise, this time everything went per-fect! From the very beginning to the very end recording session passed in a great atmosphere. Peter is responsible for the production so it’s he who deserves praises for such sound. I regard the comparison to Roy Z as compliment but I think that Peter is now closer to working out his own sound model. He’s really good at it. Besides, work with him is really relaxing. Full understanding and, what’s interesting, not even one argument (laugh). If you had chance to see how do NEVERMORE’s recording sessions sometimes look like, you’d get scared. We’re like brothers but we clash almost all the time. Yelling and throwing different objects is something ….normal (laugh)

- Now I’ll be a bit smarmy. You’ve come out to be very flexible vocalist. Isn’t it a result of your opera-singing classes which you took when you were young?
Certainly I learnt a lot thanks to them. It lasted 5 years and enabled me to gather many really precious abilities. I remember that my teacher was enchanted with the natural abilities of my voice and strongly encouraged me to perfect it. I’m a baritone but it’s not a problem for me to sing in falsetto which you can hear on the older releases. Pretty good scale. Professional singing classes’ episode had a great influence on me as a vocalist today. However, it was so damn boring that the decision to take sides with rock’n’roll was made quickly and irreversible. (laugh)