Albums of Purgatory interview Crystal Ball's Mark Sweeney

Albums of Purgatory: Firstly, whats the band up to?

Mark Sweeney: we're just back from the dokken - european - tour! it was great! fantastic! we got alot of new fans and even Don Dokken was amazed about us! Now we gonna play some festivals in summer and I hope  that we can do another tour in autumn with another famous band.

AoP: How would you describe the Crystal Ball sound?

MS: well, it's just melodic hardrock influenced by the 80ties but with some new sound elements. very bombastic with fast songs, mid-up - and rock-songs! It really rocks!

AoP: How did the band begin in 1995?

MS: We primarly started out as a cover band, just for fun! We covered all the great bands from the eighties like Jovi, Metallica, Queensryche, Malmsteen, Dokken, Tyketto, Pell, PC69, AC/DC and other great bands!  After a show in german tv, we got a deal with a record company from Munich and our other "real" career begun...

AoP: Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?

MS: My personal first gig? Ha,ha....yes, of course! It was in carpet store and I was an absolutely beginner! It was fun...at least for us...maybe not for the audience.

AoP: You ended up writing a song for boxer, Stefan Angehrn.  How did that come about?

MS: Every boxer needs his own "walk in"-song, so he knew us and liked our sound and he was wondering if we could write him a hymn! That's what we did and he liked it! The single was only released in Switzerland. But you can still get it on our website www.crystal-ball.ch

AoP: Virtual Empire was released last month, what sort of reactions, from the press and your fans, have you been getting so far?

MS: Mostly only good reactions! Ok, we already released two very good albums and some people (especially journalists) expected even more...

The fans like it so much and they appreciate the variety on the album.

AoP: What are your favourite Crystal Ball tracks?

MS: On the new album: Am I free, Hands of God and Dance with the Devil

AoP: What are your favourite all time songs?

MS: From Crystal Ball?!? Well, probably "Soul Mate", "Passion" and "Lay down the Law"

AoP: What was the first record you bought?

MS: Black'n' Blue...

AoP: What would be your dream band line-up?

MS: Graber, Sardella, Schällibaum, Leach, Sweeney

AoP: What do you think of the position of metal and music in general today?

MS: You know, there's always a scene for metal and hardrock. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It's a shame that all the radio stations all over the world don't support hardrock-music! But rockmusic will never die!

AoP: Do you have any funny stories you can share with us about the band?

MS: Yes, we are serious and have no scandals!

AoP: and finally, what do you see in the future for Crystal Ball?

MS: We will never stop to rock and nobody can tear us down, wether journalists nor other musicians! We gonna tour again then we'll go back in the studios to record another album! Don't miss it!