Interview par Mail avec David DeFeis pour la sortie de Nocturnes of Hellfire and Damnation (SPV)
Magic Fire Music : Hi David, congratulations on the release of Nocturnes of Hellfire & Damnation! What are your thoughts about the album now that it’s on sale?
David DeFeis : Hey thanks so very much! Well…I am actually quite pleased with the album. It turned out pretty close to what I hear in my head. Sure I would have loved to have been able to work on it for another few weeks…but it’s the same with every album we have ever done…all of a sudden you have to turn it in and away it goes…This was a very ambitious album in that there are 29 tracks on it, so there was a whole lotta work that was done during a really not very large span of time. It all came together pretty quickly. So yeah…I love the album…I play it all the time in my car. It has made its mark on all sorts of people, including many of those who intersect with our world on a regular basis, and they are all quite manic about it, which is interesting.
Magic Fire Music : This album has a theme of sorts pertaining to how people can destroy and complicate their lives – what inspired you to mold this album around these ideas? Where there any particular motivations that led to this kind of inspiration?
David DeFeis : Oh yes. The events of my life…the relationships I have had and am currently still having. All the “situations” I get myself into…the various people I spend time with and the outcome of the chemistry involved. If you are a writer, you look at what you are doing, and who and what you are involved with and always find that there is a wealth of material there to draw from…describe, etc., and in writing about these tings…they act as a kind of exorcism…a way of working through the chaos. Sometimes…they actually prolong the agony…
Magic Fire Music : This album is the most personal that you are composed. Why did you wanted to talk about your experiences?
David DeFeis : It’s Musical Therapy! It becomes rather cathartic. It is probably my way of making sense of who I am, and what I am doing. Plus it is also a way of documenting a moment in time and having a record of it for posterity.
Magic Fire Music : What is the title of the album to which you want the most?
David DeFeis : Do you mean which song on the album do I like the most? I love them all, but I am perhaps really partial right now to both DELIRIUM & GLAMOUR…they capture the essence of now.
Magic Fire Music : Do you have a special memory to tell us about the recording of this new album?
David DeFeis : It’s the writing of some of these songs that I remember the most about. Driving in the car and listening to the rough sketches, getting inspired…pulling over to the side of the road to jot down lyrics, ideas, melodies…that sort of thing. I was possessed about the tracks, and constantly writing. DELIRIUM drove me mad…I came up with far more lyrics than could ever fit into one song…I kept adding and adding words…perhaps I’ll put out the DELIRIUM Poem one day. The other nice moments for me are when you have the initial mix up…everything is finally recorded and you are getting the mixes going…and again I take them into the car and some of them hit you right away…like LUCIFER’S HAMMER. When I got that mix together and played it in my car, I was merging onto the Sagtikos Parkway here when it came on and I was just floored, shouting, “BY THE GODZZZZZZ”…as I jammed my foot to the floor and roared off into 5th gear!
Magic Fire Music : Many bands now re-recorded their first album. What do you think of this idea?
David DeFeis : If those groups feel the desire to do something like that…power to them. For me I have no interest in re-recording our entire first album. We did re-record some early tracks on THE BOOK OF BURNING album, and that was really nice. To revisit the songs and shed a new light on them was interesting for us. I enjoyed the experience.
Magic Fire Music : At each of our interviews we speak of DVDs, but for now, there is still no plan, why?
David DeFeis : I actually started putting that together early last year, but SPV wanted to have a new album out…so I put the DVD project on the back burner for a bit. I do hope to get back to it as soon as possible. That is something that I really want to finish! Meanwhile we are filming all sorts of stuff so there will be some visual things coming out over the next months.
Magic Fire Music : Which band gave you the desire to make Heavy Metal? What singer have given you want to take the microphone?
David DeFeis : Growing up I loved bands like LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH, QUEEN…MOTT THE HOOPLE, MOUNTAIN…and it was singers like Freddie Mercury, and Robert Plant, who inspired me, plus guitar players like Jimmy Page & Brian May, that also made me want to sing. I wanted to sing like their guitar solos sounded. I wanted to be a human guitar which is one of the reasons why I do all those crazy vocal things that I do on the albums.
Magic Fire Music : Are there any music you love listening to and which you regret not to be the author?
David DeFeis : I enjoy so many different artists…from people like KATE BUSH & TORI AMOS, to HOWLIN’ WOLF, MUDDY WATERS, BRYAN FERRY, MARC BOLAN, EDVARD GRIEG, and CHOPIN…I would have loved to have written and arranged VAUGHN WILLIAMS’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis…
Magic Fire Music : 4 September 2004 Virgin Steele played an acoustic concert. Is it possible one day to be able to see the band play in those conditions again?
David DeFeis : We have actually done several more of those acoustic style concerts over the years, and we have always enjoyed doing them! For us they are incredibly rewarding…so intimate, raw and powerful. We documented some of that with the live recordings we presented on the FIRE SPIRITS Bonus CD included inside the INVICTUS re-issue. So…yes we will do more of that in the days ahead. It is especially gratifying to do those…we get to really stretch out, improvise and take the songs into different realms.
Magic Fire Music : My last question. What do you think of crowdfunding? Many band today rely on this system to produce their albums.
David DeFeis : If it works for those groups…then cool…power to them. I really have no interest in it. It isn’t something I ever think about.
Magic Fire Music : Thanks you for this interview. Hope to see you in France for this tour !
David DeFeis : I thank you kindly for all your interesting questions and for all your Noble support! Keep well…and remain…Forever…INVICTUS!
BY THE GODS & GODDESSES !
