Concernin the debut "Into the Enchanted Chamber" Mikael Holst of Timeless Miracle answeared the questions of out editor Nathalie Mohr via Instant Messanger.
But please have a look for yourself...
you can find the german translation here
Hi! Thanks for taking the time to answear some questions. Well, would
you just introduce the band to the people who don't know you?
Hi! My pleasure :)
We are a swedish power metal band called Timeless Miracle, we started in 2001
with a couple of demos as most bands do, and now we're about to release our first
album at the end of june.
We are just 4 guys, Fredrik Nilsson (guitars, keyboards), Sten Möller (guitars),
Jaime Salazar (drums) and me Mikael Holst (lead vocals, bass), playing the music
we love and to have fun.
How did you come up with your style? Are there any influences of other
bands or your musicial past?
For example you remind me very much of Blind Guardian :)
Well, Blind Guardian is certainly a influence… I have also played in a
Black Sabbath influenced band before and a punk rock band so some of that is
still in the system I guess. When it comes to our style; that was something
that just evolved during the years so if you would listen to the music we did
before 2001 and the music we do today you would notice a big difference, mostly
in the structure and melody. The songs from the old days were more melancholy,
the lyrics where semi-political and not about the supernatural as they are today.
Do you like this style so much that you wanted to do the same or are
there things you want to do better?
We wanted to do metal with very distinct melodys, as we are big fans of the
german metal scene but we didn't try to copy anyone, just keep the genre elements
like double kicks and fast guitars but there’s always room for improvement.
We are always trying to make things bigger and better.
Who had the idea for the bandname and what meaning does it have?
Its actually an old song we did along time ago, it have no special meaning....its
just a cool band name to us but we tried to incorporate it on the cover and
logo with the clock and hourglass. We searched for a suitable band name for
over six months. We were looking for something that felt fresh and new but at
the same time a name that works with the genre.
The lyrics and songtitels are very dark, but the music is very happy,
why?
Yes, perhaps a little strange but we didn't want typical power metal lyrics
with dragons and swords so we decided to go with the horror theme. But in essence
we just combined two elements we liked, horror stories and melodic metal.
Who had the idea for the cover? I guess there's a reference to the
title?!
That was actually Mattias Norén's (the cover artist) idea. When he heard
the album name he suggested to do a chamber going into the earth. The only thing
we requested was the wolf head by the entrance.
Which connection do you have to the middleage and such themes of werewolves
and witches? Do you like the literature about it? Or do you even play some of
that fantasy role playing games?
Well, we learn about this in school in sweden, the folklore and old legends,
but most of the inspiration for the lyrics are drawn from old horror movies
like "The Wolf Man". .. but also from pop literature. I have always
been interested in certain parts of history, especially the more morbid ones
like inquisitions and witchcraft.
Hey cool we don't learn anything about that.
Don't know if they do it anymore but they did when I was a kid.
How do you approach the songwriting process? Did you have any help
from others doing this great album? ;)
Thanx a lot! :) All music and melodys are written by myself and Fredrik. Usually
either him or me has a basic idea for a song and then we work on it together
into a complete song. Most of the lyrics are written by me. We had the aid of
two great producers in making this album; Anders “Theo” Theander
and Pontus Lindmark of RoastingHouse Studios here in Sweden. Concerning the
actual songwriting they let us do pretty much what we wanted to do, but when
it came to the “sound” of the album they proved to be invaluable.
I read that there were many not so good reviews on your album. I really
can't understand it. What did they not like?
Well, from what I have read, they didn't feel it was original enough, they didn't
like the sound of the keyboards, also they had problems with happy melodies.......some
of this is a matter of taste so we didn't take it to hard.
But we have also received great reviews from other magazines and webzines so
it seems like you either love it or hate it, but in the end its up to the listener
to decide for him/herself and then the reviews don’t matter.
Hm okay... well a review can never be 100 percent objective, but you
just have to try to, so if you don't like the style you can't say that it's
bad... I would have to say to every Black Metal album that is only some noise ^^ But well, I really like it :) Just should give you some greetings from one guy
in our board who can't wait until the realease :)
hehe, thanx a lot… its always nice when people like your music. I have
actually read some reviews of the album where they didn’t say anything
about it at all but rather criticised the genre as a whole…that pissed
me off a bit.
A funny question: Why do you all have "short" or really no
hair?
Thats a new one :), I can only speak for myself, I used to have really long
hair but it became a total mess after a while so I grew tired of it and shaved
it off, I keept the beard so I still look a bit metal.
Did you have any singing lessons or something in the past or are you
just a natural talent in singing that high? ;)
I really don't go very high compared to some other singers but Yes, I took a
couple of singing lessons but they didn't make any difference.
What are your favorite bands?
Lets see, King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Gamma Ray, Rage, Running Wild etc
Also there are two new Swedish metal bands that I like a lot, VII gates and
Sabaton.
What do you do in your spare time, if there is any, do you have special
hobbys?
No, not really, with a regular job and the music there's not much time for anything
else, but I like cooking....
What are your plans for the future?
Everything happened so fast for us so we haven't really had a chance to think
about it, but we are hoping we can do a second album and perhaps go on tour.
How would you describe your music to an alien ^^?
It sounds like a freight-train but you can still sing along.
What's your attitude towards intenetmagazines?
I think its really good! You get the latest news everyday, it's free and they
are usually run by the fans and people who care about the music and not some
stif.
I never read regular metal magazines anymore.
Well finally some brainstorming:
(just say what comes in your mind spontaneous)
Lord of the Rings: Wizards
religion: hate it
fans: the faithful
festivals: beer
Thank you very much, the last words belong to you!
Thank You!
Never give up the stuff you love even though the people around you does.
interview: Nathalie Mohr
photos: Timeless Miracle
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