Manticora
Lars F. Larsen
Hey, how are things in Denmark right now?
Pretty hectic man. We have just finished the gig in Copenhagen, with the biggest attendance ever for us in Denmark…250 people, and now we're just a week away from leaving for the US, to play the Progpower festival. It's our first show ever in USA so we want it to be perfect. Lots of rehearsals and so on.
Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you play epic and bombastic power metal?
Well, first off, I do not believe that we play epic and bombastic metal. I believe that we are inside of the thrash metal mixed with power metal style. That's our roots and that is where we will probably stay for the rest of our career. Hey, I'm Lars from Manticora… the vocalist… I have been the lead singer since the beginning of the band in 1996 and I will remain so for a lot of years to come. I am 32 years old and I love beer.
A small introduction of the rest of the band will be great too, if someone out there shouldn't know Manticora… maybe a bit about their strong and weak sides as well..?!
Well, we've got Kristian Larsen on guitars (just sprained his elbow – nice, just before the Progpower festival), Mads Volf on drums (just caught a mysterious disease, that is causing constant pain in his joints – nice huh?), Kasper Gram on the bass (not founding member, but ex- Wuthering Heights). Last, we have Stefan Johansson, who is our new lead guitarist to be. This means that he is not 100% in the band yet. We will make that decision when we realise if we can write music with him or not. He joined us on the European tour, but we need to be able to work with him also in the writing process, before he gets the label "Manticora Member". We are using session keyboards (on the new album "8 Deadly Sins" it's Finn from Beyond Twilight and live it's Andreas Lindahl from Loch Vostok).
What's cooking in the Manticora camp as we speak?
As mentioned above, we are preparing for the Progpower gig, and after that is finished, we'll take a week off, and then move on with the writing of the next album(s). Also, we are doing the initial job of gathering all the footage from old gigs, studiotime, etc. for a DVD that will hopefully be released in May next year. This DVD should contain the full live-show from the US.
Earlier this year your 3 earlier releases "Roots Of Eternity", "Darkness With Tales To Tell" and "Hyperion", were re-released by your current label Massacre Records. Why did you and the label choose to re-release the albums?
First of all to get the music out to the fans! The "Roots Of Eternity" CD has been unavailable for a couple of years now and finally we had the rights for the album ourselves. Since we wanted all our music gathered in one company and had the rights to sell the first one, we bought the masters of the 2 other albums from Scarlet Records and sold it to Massacre/Replica/Nightmare records. And of course it's also about finding out if there's a market for the stuff, plus getting into some publishing deals and so on.
The albums have been remastered and come with a few bonustracks (the '97 "Dead End Solution" EP), why did you choose to get the albums re-mastered and why didn't you throw in more bonus tracks?
The re-mastering was basically to get a sound on all 3 albums that would live up to today's standards. A lot is happening every year in technology and our first album was already out-dated soundwise. This would also help on the bonus tracks from the MCD, since it had a very poor production initially. The reason for not throwing in more bonus tracks is that we simply didn't have more material to put in. It's not like we had millions of Euros to play with, so we didn't have money to record additional material.
The re-mastering was done by Andy Horn, are you satisfied with his work and why was he chosen?
We're pretty satisfied with the job he has done. He did what we wanted him to do, namely to make the albums sounding a little closer to each other. He was chosen because he is the guy that Massacre wanted to do the job, and frankly we didn't give a f**k about who did it, hehehe, as long as it would sound good.
What are the differences in the sound, if you compare the re-masters to the originals?
First of all, the equality. The sound doesn't differ THAT much, as it is of course limited what you CAN do with old masters, but I'd say there’s a boost in guitars and a more full sound in all titles.
How has the re-releases been received?
No idea, hehehe. I know that the Danish press has been very nice to us, but I don't know that much about all the other countries.
What do you expect from them?
To sell millions... Nah, seriously, it's all a matter of having them out in the shops, available for the fans, since we had so many requests for these albums, and also a lot of requests for the MCD, which was completely sold out some years ago.
Why should your fans pick up the re-releases, especially if they already have the originals?
Hmm… you have to ask the fans about that one. I don't think they should buy the re-releases if they have the originals. It's just available for them now, if they didn't have the chance to buy all 3 albums in the past. Simple as that.
Last year you released your 4th full length album "8 Deadly Sins", how well has that album been doing?
Sales wise, I have no idea, since we are waiting for statements at the moment, but I'd say around 10.000 worldwide (without being absolutely sure about it, so please don't quote me, hahaha).
How was it received by your fans?
It has been our absolutely most praised album so far, both by the media and the fans. We have received 2 or 3 times the amount of fan mail, and that proves to us that we have hit the right spot now. We have finally broken into the German market – a place that has been tectonically dead with our first 3 albums. This, and the European tour we did with Angra and Edenbridge has really gained us a lot of new fans. But also in the US, we suddenly have a large following, since people over there has been digging into our style (and I guarantee you that we will make their heads bang in Atlanta next Friday!! (now Friday 2 days ago, 16/9, ed)).
How do you feel about the album, now when you have gotten a bit of a distance to it?
Masterpiece!!! (by Manticora standards of course, hahahaha). Seriously, I am very proud of it and I believe that we have found the absolute Manticora sound with this album. This is not meant to slam the previous discs, because when it comes to composition I believe that "Hyperion" is as strong as the new one, but the sound picture is just so much more full on "8 Deadly Sins" that it is beyond comparison our strongest effort.
When you look back on it, is there anything you would like to change or wished that there had been done differently?
Not a thing.
What have been going on since the release of "8 Deadly Sins"?
We have been on the European tour with Angra and Edenbridge as said earlier, did 3 shows in Denmark and Germany with Iron Savior, played a gig with Brainstorm and At Vance in Copenhagen, played a gig by ourselves with Circus Maximus as support, trying to get Stefan into as much of our material as possible and writing new material (we have 4 songs ready, and 75% of the lyrics ready for the next album(s)). Kristian has become father to a girl and that should be about it.
When will we see you embark on a Danish tour, maybe even Scandinavian/European tour?
I don't know about the Danish tour. I don't think we'd have a big enough following in Denmark to do that. Last time we played in Aabenraa (south Denmark) we had an attendance of 30 people or something like that. We have become too old to ruin an entire weekend to play for 30 people. It's also because we have to use a month in the rehearsal room for practising to a gig like that, and we want to spend the time writing new material instead. A Scandinavian tour might be possible, but we have to wait and see if something happens in regards to this. It would have to be in conjunction to a festival or something like that, or else the economy is simply not there to do it.
How do you work when you write music?
We write the lyrics first and then add the music afterwards. In the old days it was the other way around, but since we have begun doing concept albums, this new way of doing things has improved the band very much. Kristian and I are normally the ones writing the guitar riffs, and then we jam our way into the final structures in the rehearsal room. Lately though, Kasper has been writing a lot of music as well.
Where do you find your inspirations?
In the life around us. "Hyperion" was about a science fiction novel. "8 Deadly Sins" was our questioning of the religious shit they throw at us every day in our lives (did I mention that we are all atheists?? Hehehe). The next album will be a horror story (a bit like King Diamond would do it), so we take inspiration in a lot of different stuff.
Have your sources of inspirations changed throughout the years?
Yeah, it has, but it's also returning sometimes. On the new album, there will be some inspirational sources that we also used on the first album, so I think that the change is in our own minds growing older and wiser. We see things in a different light than we would have done 7 years ago. You learn a lot from all the walls that you have to pass over the years and so your inspirational sources change mostly within yourself.
Can you mention 3 musicians and 3 songs that have meant a lot to your way of thinking and playing music?
James Hetfield, King Diamond, Kai Hansen. Songs: 'Halloween' by Helloween, 'War Ensemble' by Slayer and the whole "Them" album by King Diamond. These people/songs, because they have shaped me as a musician, and my contributions to Manticora are very much taken from within the boundaries of my own musical preferences (obviously). These people/songs represent thrash, aggression, BALLS, melody, and most important of all: the ever present ENERGY!
How would you in your own words describe your personal progression in writing and playing music?
I have evolved, hehehe. The writing is still the same old childish "can't play my own riffs, - Kristian, can you play this??? It needs to sound like this…(mumbling my way though the riff, while Kristian is staring at me in disbelief of just HOW bad my guitar playing is)", but the singing part is 500% bettered. I have gone from being a fighter for every note to being a real singer that people are counting upon.
How will you put words to the progression in Manticora?
energy… Energy… ENErgy… ENERGY!!!!!!
Your 2002 album, the much acclaimed "Hyperion", which is a concept album built on Dan Simmons Hyperion book, was well received and is a really good album. Have you ever thought of making a new concept album in that vein?
Well, we definitely have constantly thought about making the "The Fall Of Hyperion" album, which would be the natural follow-up to "Hyperion", but due to copyright problems with the author, we are not able to do that yet. Maybe for the future? We just need as many people as possible to go into www.dansimmons.com and write in his forum about the "Hyperion" album. If there are 10.000 people writing him, he might let us to the sequel. But just await the new album… it's a full concept story that will be in 2 albums.
How do you look upon the future of Manticora and what will the near future bring you?
Long term future: we will release albums and tour, but will probably never be able to live off the music… we can still cross our fingers though. Near future: The Progpower gig and then just writing material as soon as possible for the new album.
You have just have played a concert with Circus Maximus…. Please supply us with all the drunken details of the gig and your experience with it?
The gig went incredibly well, as mentioned earlier on. We are definitely beginning to have a big following here in Copenhagen, and people really seemed to like Circus Maximus as well. Both bands sold well in the merchandise stand, which is always a good indication that people had a good time. For the details... ask Michael from Circus Maximus about HOW drunk he was, hehehehe…he went out with our manager and got extremely pissed after the show. I, myself had to stay sober as I had to drive the car with equipment back to the rehearsal room, so no drunken fun for me…just to bed at 05.15…DAMN, I was tired!!
Which albums have you been listening a lot to lately?
Darkane "Layers Of Lies", Nevermore "This Godless Endeavor", Bruce Dickinson "Tyranny Of Souls", Dream Theater "Octavarium" and all the Intromental Management bands, which I listen to on a daily basis.
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!
First of all: Remember to sin!!! Secondly: thanks for the interest in Manticora. See ya.
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