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Hi,
first off I just want to congratulate you on your new album. To
new fans could your please fill us in on the history behind it
all?
ALooP - Hi. This is Peter of ALooP. The band originally
consisted of Thomas and Bexy, who had played in the same band for
several years. After a few line up changes, Thais, Bo and I joined
the band in 2002 and fortunately this is still the same stabile
line up.
How
did you get your name ALooP?
ALooP - This still remains
a mystery.
How
has your new album been received by the media?
ALooP - Well so far we’ve actually only seen 4 reviews or
so, but they all seem quite positive with nice ratings. This is a
huge boost for our self confidence since this is our debut album.
How
would you describe your music to an outsider?
ALooP - Brutal, energetic and melodic. I really think it
contains a lot of different elements from within the metal genre,
without ever being to hard to comprehend.
If
your music were an emotion, which one would it be?
ALooP
- That
question is just way to HMO to answer…sorry.
Who
and what inspire you when you write a song?
ALooP
- We
all contribute to each song we write so it is really hard to give
a fulfilling answer to that. I can tell you that when I joined the
band, each member basically listened to very different kinds of
bands within the metal genre and we actually still do. Inevitably,
this will result in different kinds of inspiration for each and
every song, which I think is one of ALooP’s primary forces and
what makes our music so diverse.
Who
has produced and mixed the album? Are you pleased with the result?
ALooP
- Jacob
“No Defence” Hansen produced, mixed and mastered the album. We
all helped out in the mixing process and quite a lot of exciting
material was done in that process. We can honestly say that we are
pleased with the result. Jacob has been great to work with. We
really felt that he had things under control and we will not
hesitate to use him some other time.
Do
you feel that you sound will evolve in some different direction,
in the future, or you will still follow the same path?
ALooP
- Well
a lot of the songs on the album were a couple of years old when we
recorded them (summer 2004). Almost right after the recordings we
went on to make new tracks and I think these new tracks show a
more brutal and technical side of ALooP. We’ve all evolved as
musicians during and after the recording and I think this really
shows now. However, you will still be able to recognize the ALooP
sound with songs containing both aggressive riffing and very
melodic parts.
Who
has done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have
a great cover?
ALooP
- Morten
Albertsen, who is a friend of ours, did all the art work. Very
early on in the process we contacted Morten to explain to him what
we wanted with the songs and the album as a whole. Morten has got
this dark and sinister style, which we all like. I think it is
very intelligent and it never seems to be just too much. The art
work really came to fit the album and we are quite proud of it.
Do
you have any touring plans?
ALooP
- Right
now we are planning gigs, but I can’t reveal too much about this
yet. Of course we will play gigs in
Denmark
in the near future and then we will just have to see…
Let’s
speculate – you have been granted a free slot on a tour of your
own choice – who would be your ideal touring partners?
ALooP
- Considering
that we listen to different kinds of bands, I think that one band
we could all agree on would be Killswitch Engage. Their fist
record really served as an inspiration for us all I think. It
contains a lot of the same elements as the music we play…just
call us goddamn it!
How
do you feel about the co-operation with your label?
ALooP
- Well
so far we haven’t been too much in contact with Edgerunner. We
signed the deal and the album has finally been released during
October/November. I expect that we will just have to wait and see
what we can offer Edgerunner and what they can offer us. I know
this for sure though, we are ready to put an effort into this
project and we are well on the way with new crushing tracks to
follow up this album.
The
Internet is a very important source for many metal fans – how do
you use the Internet and how important is it for you and other
bands?
ALooP
- We
use the net in every aspect of our work not directly connected to
the song writing. We found our label through the net, we’ve made
contact with new fans, other bands we’re interested in touring
with and of course we promote all of our material on the net. I
think it has become vital for a band in this genre to use the net
extensively. Combining this with great music and great concerts is
the only way to “fame and fortune”.
And
how do you feel about the metal scene in general at the moment?
ALooP
- A
lot of interesting things are happening right now, especially if
you look at the Danish scene. It seems that metal in general is
coming back after a few years sleep. Bands are more willing to
experiment now and blend different genres into their music. This
makes many bands, both old and new, much more exciting to listen
to.
Which
song do you consider to be the best one you have ever written?
ALooP
- I
would have to say “Global Crisis”, since this is one of the
songs we worked on the most. It is perhaps not the catchiest song
or a likely hit, but we really worked our asses off with that one.
If you listen to it you will know what I mean. There are just so
many layers in it and it has so many different parts and it still
works. It is actually one the songs we enjoy playing the most.
When
did you start playing and how old were you when you became
interested in metal?
ALooP
- I
started out at the age of 17 playing Led Zeppelin, but did not
really get into metal until I was perhaps 20-21. I started out
late and had to do a lot of catching up. It all began with the
first Metallica and Iron Maiden albums…great!
Name
an album, person or event that has had a huge influence on your
life … and why?
ALooP
- That
must surely be the first Metallica albums. Although they may not
be so technical after today’s standards, they really gave me a
kick in the ass and from then on I just wanted to play metal
guitar.
Which
music do you listen to at home?
ALooP
- At
the moment the most played CD is Nevermore’s “This Godless
Endeavour”. Jeff Loomis and Steve Smyth kick ass on that one.
Besides that I listen a lot to Behemoth “Demigod”. Brutal and
technical death metal with a lot of elements in it.
Last
question - do you have any famous last words for our readers?
ALooP
- Get
your ass down to the nearest cd store and purchase our debut
album! It rocks (and we need the money). Check out our website www.aloop-metal.dk.
Thanks…
Thanks,
Peter Laursen
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