RICHARD
ANDERSSON
is a very talented keyboardplayer/songwriter from Sweden, who
played in bands like MAJESTIC, SPACE ODYSSEY and TIME REQUIEM.
With the last mentioned band he released 2 new records, a studio
and a live release, both a must for the fans of Neo-Classical
Melodic Metal. Therefore it was to do an interview with
Richard...
First of all, congratulations for the
release of 2 great new TIME REQUIEM CDs!
Thanks!
Why are
you gonna release both the live and studio CD so quickly in a
short period?
Well!
Basically the studio record was recorded long before the release.
The Live record was not supposed to be reality until I first
heard the material. So! What the heck! Why not make a live cd out
of it. And so I did.
Please
tell us all about the new TIME REQUIEM CD...
This time
I didn’t knew if I wanted to go in a more extreme way with
the music, or keep walking the melodic path of the first record.
I think the end result is a mixture of both styles. It’s
less neo classic and more progressive in the way of the old
progressive acts when it comes to chord structures and keys.
The style
is neo-classical melodic metal, so i guess you are quite popular
in Japan (therefore the live CD)?
Kind of! I
do not sell billions of cds but my music is quite familiar to
some people.
I must say
that the live CD is indeed quite a masterpiece, close to
perfection, which musicians influenced you?
Thanks a
lot!!! My main influences are the masters from the old days such
as: J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart etc. When I grew up I used to
listen to Rainbow, Deep Purple, Whitesnake and Malmsteen.
I would
like to go back in time, because with the band MAJESTIC you
released 2 fantastic records, why did the band split up?
Well, I
thought my European label did a minor promotional job on
"Trinity Overture". They didn’t go for it. They
just put it out and hoped it would sell with no effort, no real
promotional push. It was sort of the same thing with our
management and production company; they also did very little for
Majestic. The whole thing got stale. We didn’t reach the
next level. I wanted to move on with more dedicated people, but
was stuck in all those contracts. So I decided to put Majestic on
ice and locked myself away and started to write on something I’ve
had in mind for a while. A bigger, more progressive and more
Symphony X and Dream Theatre sort of album. It’s a sort of
continuation of Majestic, even though it’s a brand new
thing. That’s important to understand. I’m extremely
happy with the result, as I’ve been able to decide every
step on the way when it comes to use of studios and all that.
Maybe it sounds like I’m a dictator. It’s one man’s
vision and it’s worked out very well.
You
recently also released a fantastic record under the moniker
RICHARD ANDERSSON'S SPACE ODYSSEY, can you tell us more about
that project?
I have known Magnus for many years and we go way back in times as
musicians. We started to play together at the age of 13 and kept
on for like seven or eight years. When I started with Majestic
Magnus and me went separated ways. I started to develop my own
style and Magnus went in to other things. Then we bumped into
each other last summer at a café. I´ve always thought the metal
world should be able to hear Magnus, this massive talent of a
guitar player. Just listen to "A Perfect Day" on the
album. Very few people can play that sort of sad vibrato with
perfect timing. Magnus can do it with ease and just as good as
Yngwie Malmsteen. Anyway, Magnus and me decided to jam in my
studio. Soon it was clear we had the foundation for something
great. "Let´s do a record", we said. A different
record compared to my other band, Time Requiem, as Space Odyssey
is more progressive. I´d say the style we have is good old
Rainbow mixed with Tony Martin period Black Sabbath and some
early Malmsteen. Cool music that I´d personally would buy.
Magnus and me are both totally autodidact and have learned how to
play just by listen to the music. Nowadays it’s kind of rare
musicians doing that
Can we
expect more releases of Space Odyssey in the future?
Yes! I am
working on the 2nd one right now. I have completed 4 very strong
songs. The record will be released at the end of this year.
And any
more bands/projects you are involved with?
I do only
have two bands. Space Odyssey and Time Requiem. I have done a lot
of guest appearances lately. I did one key solo on upcoming
Karmakanic CD. I did also played a solo on Finnish band called
Celesty. Lately I received the copy of Danish band Evil
Masquerade were I played a speed solo. My future activities
include a couple of guest appearances. At the end of this year I
will do a collection CD re-recording music from all my bands.
There will be loads of interesting and world known musicians
involved.
How does
the future look like for TIME REQUIEM? Touring plans? More CDs?
Definitely
more music. I can’t stop what I love most. Compose!!! Since
I haven’t received any sales or other feedback according
“The inner circle of reality” CD, I do not know if we
are going to hit the road yet!
Are there
any stories behind the songs on your new CD?
I can give
you a short explanation of some of the songs:
"Refections"?
It´s
actually the last track I wrote for the album. I usually write
the songs in the running order of the album, but I thought the
next song, "In The Circle Of Reality", which I composed
first of all songs, became to massive to open a record with. I
wanted a start with a lot of energy, like tons of explosions. The
title track is one of my favorite songs. It takes off where I
left on the last Time Requiem album, only with a higher tempo and
more extreme. It's a long one with a super massive instrumental
part in the middle which is very inspired by Dream Theatre and
Symphony X.
"Dreams
Of Tomorrow"?
It´s a
very personal lyric I´ve had for a long time. It´s about me and
how I look at myself and my musical work: "I keep on with
dreams of tomorrow, feel like I´m wasting all my time", as
the words go. What I mean is that I keep heading for my musical
dreams but they are hard to reach. You asked me if I´m making
too many albums. Myself, I feel like I´m not doing enough. I´m
spending a lot of time not doing music, which I don´t like.
There isn´t enough to do. My mood swings are extreme, it´s up
and then down all of a sudden. A lot more down than up, if the
truth shall be said. Super bad periods of anxiety and
depression... I sound like a psycho now (laughter), but that´s
how we artist are. We´re a kind of our own. When I create, there
are times when I feel like I´m on top of the world for three
minutes because I think I´ve written the best song ever, then
suddenly it´s all down again. I don´t feel pleased until I have
finished the album and it lives up to the vision I had when I
started it. My dreams of
tomorrow is to always be able to do this, and not having to do a
day time job. I´m very self-critical. I´m never really happy
with what I´m doing. I always want to do even better.
"Attar
Of Roses"
That song
is super neo classical. It´s a flashback almost back to the fast
Majestic songs. A bit Yngwie inspired. The Attar Of Roses is what
you call the very finest roses, the type you make the most
exclusive and expensive perfume from. It takes ten thousand of
these roses to make one drop of perfume, it´s five billion times
more expensive than gold and dimonds. In the old days there where
people working hard to find those types of flowers. The lyrics
are a bit ironic about people being seduced by money that doesn´t
really exist, abstact things like the stock market and all that.
"Definition
Of Insanity".
The crazy
type of intro is a bit Dream Theatre sounding. I wrote it after
the actual song was finished. Cool fusion drum playing from
Zoltan. It´s a cool hard rock song . You know I love the old
rock stuff like Rainbow, Purple, Sabbath, Whitesnake and Yngwie´s
80´s albums.
“Quest
Of A Million Souls"
The reason
I´ve been a bit anti-ballad is because it´s always easier to
make a slow song. You can always do a Stratovarius type of ballad
with a few chords, a minimum of bass drum and then some vocals on
top of it. I wanted to make a really beautiful ballad, not that
traditional type. This one is orchestrated and has a big solo
part in the middle which I´m really proud of. It´s a nice tune,
I think a lot of people will be touch by it.
"Hidden
Memories"
I like the
piano intro that gets a progressive touch from the bass guitar
and the drums. One of the more rocky songs. All in all this album
is more progressive and the next Time Requiem album might be my
equivalent to Dream Theater´s "Images And Words" CD.
"Bach
Prelude"
I had this
idea to let Magnus Nord play this Prelude on guitar, to make it
different. But Magnus made me disappionted as he was to lazy to
learn this piece properly. So instead I gave it to Jonas to play
it on his bass, as I thought that might almost sound like a
cello. It worked out great. A good introduction for Jonas to our
listeners. It´s a cool break from the other more intense songs.
Bach is my god. Everything he has done is brilliant.
ABBA´s
"Voulez Vous
This song
is for people who said I stole from Abba and makes them to shut
up! (Laughter)!! Actually I’ve been thinking of doing an
ABBA cover for many years, that or an Elvis song. This is a metal
version of "Voulez Vous" with a raging jam between
keyboard, bass and guitar in the fading outro.
Thanks for
answering the questions, anything to add for yourself?
Thanks for
your interest! Nice questions! See you on tour!
(special
thanks goed out to Daniel Regan for the contact)