...That's the theory anyway.

Stumbled across review and photos of November 1st gig at Purple Turtle, Camden Town, London here :

http://www.w-fenec.org/galeries/gallery,152.html

Hosted By:
Firestorm Promotions

When:
01 November 2009

Where:
Purple Turtle
61-65 Crowndale Road, Camden Town
London
NW1 1TN

Description:
A Night of Rock and Metal Music. Tickets only £5 each, Doors Open 7:30pm.

Click Here To View Event

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a singer, musician and composer from the Netherlands. Since his departure from Stream of Passion he has continued where he left off with The Human Equation by composing such "concept albums" as 01011001 and, more recently, Guilt Machine. During the course of producing these albums Arjen has worked with singers and musicians as varied as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Floor Jansen (After Forever) and Lori Linstruth (former lead guitarist of Stream of Passion).

MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/ayreonauts



(Q)What would you say first attracted you to the world of music?
(A)As I grew up in the 60's it was obviously the Beatles.

(Q)Who would you say your musical influences were?
(A)In the early 70's the glam rock period with the Sweet and Slade but then soon I discovered more serious music like Purple (Blackmore), Floyd (Gilmour) and Zeppelin (Plant and Bonham).

(Q)You once stated that you draw inspiration for your ideas from old television series and movies. Do you have a set idea on what you are looking for while doing so or do you let ideas take shape on their own?
(A)I need to feel good to create. So I'm looking for music and movies that make me feel good and willreall thus inspire me. Basically a very sweet and emotional movie can inspire me to write a really heavy tune!

(Q)Initially what would you say influenced you to compose such concept albums as Into the Final Castle and 01011001?
(A)Definitely JC Superstar (with Ian Gillan) and the Who's Tommy from the 60's. And later on War of the Worlds and Floyd's the Wall. I also wanted to add an extra dimension of adventure to the music.

(Q)The album Guilt Machine was a departure from your previous albums, in that it dealt with aspects of human psychology as opposed to the science fiction musical base which had come before. What can you tell us about this and what led to the change of musical direction?
(A)This answer is from Lori who wrote the lyrics : LL : Given that both Arjen and I had recently been through periods of severe depression and major life changes, it was natural that the lyrics gravitated toward the darker side, delving into themes such as guilt, regret, and self-deception. But this doesn't mean that the songs are autobiographical – while personal events and introspection did give rise to the basic concept, the individual lyrics were inspired by various films, books, and general observations of human nature – all filtered through the lens  of personal experience.



(Q)Another major difference with Guilt Machine was the comparatively small number of musicians, which had in the past almost seemed like a who’s who of the metal scene. What are your thoughts on this?
(A)Each album I make is a reaction to the previous one, in this case the last Ayreon album 01011001. That album featured many guest musicians including 17 singers and a big sci-fi story. I feel that 01011001 didn't have enough space for all these great singers, so this time I wanted to do work with a smaller group of people (and just one singer) and let the music 'breathe' more.

Q)In the past you have toured with the band Stream of Passion who you were instrumental in assembling. What are the chances of seeing you tour again, perhaps as a means to showcase the songs featured on Guilt Machine?
(A)I won't play live with Guilt Machine. Jasper and Chris are both very busy with their own bands and projects. I also think that this wouldn't be the kind of music I'd like to play live.

(Q)You are proficient in the use of a number of instruments. If you had to pick which would you say was your favourite and why?
(A)I started with the guitar, so I guess that's what I'm best at. I prefer to pound the bass though. Creating sounds with my old analog synths is fun too! And I love singing, which I'm unfortunately not that good at...

(Q)What can we expect to see from Arjen Anthony Lucassen in the future?
(A)I would like to do something heavy now as a reaction to Guilt Machine. Maybe a Star One album. I would also love to do a solo album one fine day.

(Q)Thank you for your time, is there anything else you would like to add?
(A)I hope people will give this album the chance it deserves. I think it might appeal to those who may think that Ayreon is too much over-the-top and those who don’t like the sci-fi concepts. It has my typical Ayreon sound so I hope most Ayreon fans might like it as well :-)

Cheers,
Arjen.

Fixer are, from left to right, Evan Saffer (lead vocals), Adam James (Bass), Tommy Zamp (Guitar) and Rev Swank (Skins). Collectively hailing from New York, United States of America they are dedicated to bringing their unique brand of alternative rock to the masses. With what could almost be described as an epic eighteen month tour across America behind them they are steadily working on their new album yet still finding the time for even more live shows.


Website : http://www.fixermusic.com/
MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/fixermusic

(Q)Who are Fixer, and how did you all meet?

(A)Fixer are several aliens from the planet "I Wanna RoKK!" that seem to keep
finding eachother and can't get rid of eachother no matter how many
obstacles we face.  The band was originally formed in late 2000, Rev and I
(Evan Saffer) are the only two originals left.  However, the guitar and bass
duties are filled by no less and no more than the triumphant Tommy Zamp and
Adam James respectively.

(Q)Who do you regard as your influences, from both a musical and non-musical
perspective?

(A)I would have to say anything that gets our blood pumping.  that means
musical artist that put soul and energy into their music.  We like catchy
music as well, but there are a lot of pop artists out there that have
supremely crafted songs that really do nothing for me as people or
influences.  It has to have that mojo that is hard to explain and usually
very obvious when you see Fixer live.  The Black Crowes are one of my
favorite bands of all time and incredibly talented live performers.

(Q)Fixer have, since your founding in 2000, been through some changes.
Typically what do you look for when recruiting band members and what would you
say makes the current line-up work?

(A)We've have different needs at different times.  I think when Tommy and Adam
joined Fixer was more of a touring machine.  So we need nomads that would
live, eat and breathe the unstable and awesomely exciting characteritics of
a life on the road.  However, now that Fixer is off the road, it's time to
write and record and be resourceful again.  Now, as a unit, we must find
that within ourselves.  It's a different animal altogether and I think a
major reason for the delay in our new album.

Point Blank Fury are a metal band from Birmingham, England consisting of :

Rob : Lead Vocals
Dale : Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
Dani : Lead Guitar
Bate : Bass
Russ : Drums & Backing Vocals

Formed just last year in 2008 they have already been described as "the New Generation of British Heavy Metal" in their attempts to build a solid following from the same city which heralded bands such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. 

MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/pointblankfury

(Q) Who are Point Blank Fury and how would you describe yourselves?

We're essentially five laid back guys with a huge passion for our music and where it could take us. Point Blank Fury.



(Q) How did each band member become involved with Point Blank Fury?

Russ - I was approached by Rob and Dani (ex Sweet Seduction) to start what we looked apon as a 'supergroup' with the best members from a couple of the better bands in Birmingham.

Dani - It was pretty cool how the band came together because when me Rob and Bate (our bassist) were looking for members, two names and really only two names that came to mind were Russ and Dale. we'd seen Russ play with Creeper and Dale with his band Black Wednesday and as far as I was concerned they were the guys we needed to complete PBF and I was right! shame I don't have the same luck with the lottery numbers eh?

(Q) Who would you regard as your influences?

Russ - Every metal legend influences us in some way as well as general daily life. We take our influences from everywhere which shows in our songwriting as we can't be pigeonholed.

Dani - Yeh we could reel off a list of the obvious ...Iron Maiden, Metallica, lThin Lzzy, etc but isn't that who all us metal heads are into? ha. I was influenced as a kid by my parents. my dad's a Beatles, Clapton, Pink Floyd fan which is probably where I get the blues from and my mum always played neil diamond and other singer songwriters and as far out as listening to Tina Turner and Gloria Estefan as a kid sounds PBF have plenty of similar influences to get the juices flowing!

(Q) Initially Point Blank Fury began as a side project, what would you say led to the transition from this to "a force to be reckoned with"?

Russ - Well as I said this is a sort of 'supergroup' that needed time to evolve.

Dani - Yeh, we knew we had to players and the talent all together to make something really great but we needed a few songs to prove it would work and pretty soon we proved ourselves right.

(Q) You have a CD launch scheduled for release in mid-November what can you tell us about that?

Russ - This will be part of a big promotional push for the band. The CD includes 3 new tracks with a video of one. The package includes our 3 track demo which you can catch on our myspace

Dani - We're aiming to get our music in front of as many people as possibly and this is an important step in doing so. Even though we spawned (Black) Sabbath and (Judas) Priest, Birmingham isn't the metal mecca you'd hope to think. in fact the UK as a whole tends to put metal as a whole on the back burner but we hope to work through that and get to the people who still live for the riff and live for the guitar solo!

(Q) I see you are doing all the work for this yourself. would it be fair to say this is fair to say this is due to you having a clear idea about your own sound?

Dani - Yeh pretty much. we like what were doing at the moment, things are going well so don't fix what isn't broke eh? obviously we are looking for people 'in the know' who can help us progress from an unsigned band but with times been financially hard for most people doing our own leg work means you can still pay the rent and have a beer at the end of the week! Our demo track was self-produced partly in a garage and partly in a bedroom and thanks to Dale 'mega-mixer' Jones we have a really good recording made with nothing more then pure blood sweat and beers!

(Q) Point Blank Fury are scheduled to perform at a number of shows in the coming months, what do you have to say about this?

Russ - We like to play live, simple as. our live show always gets a good response so the more the merrier!

Dani - Writing songs that you now people will like is one thing but getting out on the road and seeing their reaction when the see you live is the biggest buzz you can get in a band

(Q) What do you think it is about Birmingham that gave birth to Black Sabbath and so many more metal bands in there wake?

Dani - There's a lot of talent in Birmingham, there was back in the Sabbath days and there still is now. Birmingham's never been short of great bands or musicians so it will always produce some kick ass metal. We hope to be on the list of names that made it passed the M6 ourselves pretty soon ha

(Q) Out of all the band's which emerged in the Birmingham area which would you say was your favourite?

Dani - That's a tough one....i could't single just one out. Sabbath, Slade, Mott The Hoople, Dexy's Midnight Runner's, ELO, Priest, they all do something for us as individuals (Rob's your UB40 man!) 

(Q) What are the hopes of Point Blank Fury in the future?

Russ - To make a successful career out of playing our music to our fans and always pushing ourselves to better ourselves and live the dream man!

Dani - If we inspire one person to pick up an instrument off listening to or seeing us play then thats job done for me. it would be pretty cool not to have to get out of bed for a crappy 9-5 job aswell ha

(Q) Thank you for your time, is there anything else you would like to add?

Russ - cheers for the interview - hopefully next time we'll be a successful band!

Dani - Fancy another race Russ? promise I won't hit you this time haha  

Dakesis are a relatively new metal band from the same city that introduced Black Sabbath to the world. Describing their sound as "progressive power metal" they take a style which, for these ears, sounds not unlike 1980's era Iron Maiden and introduced an extra dimension of synth / percussion.  After recently reaching the semi-finals of the Metal 2 the Masses battle of the bands competition on their first attempt Dakesis have proven they are very much here to stay.

MySpace : www.myspace.com/dakesis
Website : www.dakesis.com

(Q)Who are Dakesis, and how did you all meet each other?

Well, we're a progressive power metal band based in South Birmingham. Wayne formed the band two years ago though we've only been in our current line-up since April 2009. We like to think it was fate that brought us together - we're all from the same large circle of friends and every time a position in the band needed to be filled, we dipped into our friends until the current line-up became apparent - and we've never been happier! The only exception to this is Matt - one of our lead guitarists left the band and the same night we received an email from bandmix. Something about the enigmatic email made us contact him and it was pure chance we found the perfect candidate in Matt - a week later he had learnt our set and was on stage with us and it was like he'd always been with us!



(Q)What are the origins of the name?

The name is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning 'Illusion'. Interestingly, it is also the name of a little known mysterious cult from one of the Greek islands who were known to be magicians - hence the loose translation to illusion.

(Q)Dakesis are currently in the semi-finals of Metal 2 The Masses with a chance to perform at Bloodstock up for grabs, what are your thoughts on this and to have advanced so far against good competition?

Unfortunately, we were not successful in getting through to the finals of Metal 2 The Masses. The overall winners have now been announced and we wish them a fantastic gig at Bloodstock. It was a great experience and we met many great bands whom we wish all the best success in the future! It was definitely one of our best gigs, and we were up against serious competition.

(Q)Having seen Dakesis live at the RACP event at Old Wharf in Birmingham I couldn't help but notice the adaptability of the band in that a number of its members are multi-talented, what are your thoughts on this?

We always like to keep things interesting for the audience. After seeing us you've probably noticed we have quite a few tricks up our sleeves (and some new ones you won't have seen yet!). Being able to play quite a lot of instruments between us gives us more freedom and the ability to experiment on stage, which enhances the overall performance.

Our stage show is very important to us, and even little things like Gemma being able to come forward and play bass when singing lead vocals make it more interesting for the audience than having her wedged behind a keyboard in the corner. Also, with Amie being a grade eight pianist it would be a waste not to let her show off!

It's also very beneficial when it comes to the writing process, and of course leads to some very interesting and bizarre jam sessions!



(Q)With this in mind Dakesis stepped in to perform at this event at short notice after another band withdrew, do you think it is always important to stay prepared for eventualities such as this?

Absolutely, we are always ready to step in and have filled quite a lot of slots recently. We're gigging almost constantly anyway so we are always stage ready, but even during breaks for recording we've been happy to step in at the last minute for a band or promoter in need. We were actually on a break to record around the time of the RACPA gig partly down to the departure of our old drummer, but Jack had sessioned for us a few times before and he actually decided to join us full time on the merits of that night so it turned out pretty well for us!

Some of our best gigs have been last minute replacements for other bands, we'd have hated to have missed out on a night as amazing as the RACPA gig simply because we were unrehearsed and unprepared!

(Q)Members of Dakesis have recently formed After the Storm Promotions (http://www.myspace.com/afterthestormpromotions), what can you tell us about this?

ATS was formed by Gemma and Amie to promote local metal bands and help them establish themselves and progress within the metal community. We've been self-promoting since we first started gigging so we thought it was time to put an official name to it! We are avid supporters of the Birmingham metal scene and like to show our commitment to it by helping other bands the way many bands and promoters have done so for us. ATS is only in its infancy but there has been a lot of interest already and a lot of our friends are lining up for gigs so watch this space!

(Q)Outside of the world of music who do you have the most respect for?

Well we're going to cheat a little and say the people behind the music who often get overlooked such as the promoters, sound and lighting engineers, stage crew and most importantly the fans, without whom there would be no live music scene. Lots of people put many hours of hard work in for little known reward and their efforts generally go unacknowledged. We get our efforts rewarded, but to work just as hard behind the scenes and get no recognition is very admirable indeed!

(Q)If Dakesis were to publish a biography, what would the title probably be and why?

With the band in such infancy with this line-up we haven't really considered such a concept, but we've decided to title our forth coming album "Trial by Fire" and we suppose that would be a fitting title to describe our journey so far. Each member has faced an individual trial by fire in some way or other, be it musically or mentally, from learning a set list in less than a week to facing up to our own personal demons to make it through tough times. Luckily we've passed through all our trials and tribulations so far, here's hoping we continue to do so! Incidentally, Trial By Fire was also the first song ever composed by the band and we have adopted it as our signature song (though the context varies quite drastically!!!)

(Q)Thank you for your time, is there anything else you would like to say?

Thanks for taking an interest in our work, we hope you've been given a suitable insight into our family! Thanks to everyone who's supported us so far in our first steps, if you wish to learn more you can visit us at www.myspace.com/dakesis or www.dakesis.com for gig listings and current projects in progress or if you wish to contact us you can email us at Dakesis@hotmail.co.uk for bookings, general information or just a good old chat. We've almost finished recording our debut E.P which will be available very soon, but if you want a sneak preview there are tracks available at both our website and Myspace as well as live performances and general Dakesis tomfoolery on Youtube.