Albums of Purgatory interview Ilium

Firstly, whats the band up to right now?

Currently we're looking for the right deal for us. We've had a bit
of interest, and it's a long and labourious process, but hopefully
it'll pay off soon. We're just getting the last of 5 paintings
finished for the album, so the booklet should be something special.
We are also keen to get back into the studio to start work on our
second album.

How would you describe the Ilium sound?

Ilium have a unique yet somewhat familiar sound. We have some
strong traditional and melodic power metal influences, as well as some
epic and progressive influences. Basically it's dramatic - our music
tells a story on its own

How did you get involved with the band?

Mark, Adam and I were previously in a band called Oracle. Mark went
overseas for a year, and in that time I got on the internet and
started seeing how things were being marketed, so when Mark got back
we decided to form the band but our priorities in terms of how we were
going to approach it were vastly different. At first we called
ourselves Iliad, but then we changed our name to Ilium when Adam
joined to avoid confusion with another band in Sydney of the same
name>
Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?

Ilium have only just got a permanent drummer, so we're looking at
playing live soon. My first gig with Oracle was almost surreal. We
got a great reaction and a couple of the songs we did were also
performed way back then

Are you involved in any other projects and if so how do they compare to Ilium?

I'm not involved in any other projects. We all work full time except
for Pete, so unless they give us an extra few days in the week it
could be tough!>

What are your favourite Ilium tracks?

We have over four albums of material written and I love every song.
They are all written with their own individual characters, so they're
all a labour of love. "Antigone" is a really strong song, and I
really like "Incipience: Beowulf Defeats Grendel", "Semblance"
and "Solitary Empires", but I have no complaints with any of them.
The songs slated for future release are brilliant too.

What are your favourite all time songs?

I have about 2700 albums - where do you want me to start! Black
Sabbath have quite a few, like "Die Young", "Falling Off The Edge Of
The World", "Symptom Of The Universe" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath".
Iron Maiden's "Murders In The Rue Morgue", Judas Priest's "Metal
Meltdown", "Exciter", "Freewheel Burning", "Painkiller",
Rage "Invisible Horizons".... I could go on forever

What the first record you ever bought?

The first four Twisted Sister albums and Motley Crue's "Theater Of
Pain"

Which album was it that got you into metal and can you explain why?

In terms of an album, probably Twisted Sister's "Stay Hungry", but
Kiss "Heaven's On Fire" had alot to do with it too.

Whats the last album you purchased and what did you think of it?

I buy albums constantly, but the new Helloween "Rabbit Don't Come
Easy", the new Sonata Arctica "Winterheart's Guild" and the new
Narnia "The Great Fall" were the most recent. They are all brilliant

What would be your dream band line-up?

That's a tough one. I'm pretty happy with this one! On vocals I
think I'd consider the likes of Ronnie James Dio or Rob Halford or
Geoff Tate. I really like Roy Khan of Kamelot/Conception. Michael
Kiske is pretty damned good too. In terms of guitarists, I like
Michael Schenker, Uli Roth, Michael Romeo from Symphony X, Akira
Takasaki from Loudness etc. Bass probably Geezer Butler or John Myung
from Dream Theater, Drums probably Uli Kusch from
Helloween/Masterplan/Gamma Ray or Scott Travis from Priest. Keyboards
probably Jens Johannson from Stratovarius. I could name so many
others though

If you could do a cover for a tribute album to any band, which song
of which band would you pick and why?

I'd probably pick a few and see which one we did the most justice
too. "Junior's Eyes" by Black Sabbath would be a great one though

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

I think the bands are definitely there. If anything there are too
many great bands. The audience needs to expand, but it has to be done
right this time. Europe, South America and Japan are still the main
areas. Traditional countries like the US and UK abandoned their taste
long ago except for a few great people. The situation is much the
same here in Australia - it's very underground because the media is
only interested in promoting rubbish

Which other bands stand out for you at the moment?

There are plenty of bands that stand out. Kamelot, Nightwish, Rage,
Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Helloween. Those bands have been around for
a while, but there are plenty of others. Our friends Dungeon are also
a great band worth checking out. Masterplan are impressive as well

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

Probably but I can't think of any right now! Get back to me on that
one!

and finally, what do you see in the future for Ilium?

The sky's the limit really. Basically we don't plan on selling our
souls for a record deal or anything like that. Someone's got to stand
up for the spirit of metal and individuality. We think we've got
something for just about everyone who likes power and melody, so
hopefully we'll have a bit of luck and find our way up there with the
likes of our idols.