How has the
response been on your new album “Revolutions”
and what kind of expectations do you have for it?
Michael Heck -
The response is really good so far. We get a lot of positive feedback and
we are really happy about that. You know, each band says about every new album
that this is their best work so far…And so do we… ;-) . But seriously…it’s the
most intense album we ever did and we’re really proud of it.
In case of our expectations…we hope that as much people as possible will hear
and enjoy the album, our music in general. Maybe they get more familiar with
LIQUID HORIZON and we hopefully see these people someday at our concerts.
If you should choose one song on the new album, which represents the essence of
Liquid Horizon, which one would that be… Personally I would choose the trilogy
about the French revolution, the centerpiece of the album, and one I feel
captures the essence of Liquid Horizon perfectly.
Michael Heck -
Exactly… In my opinion this “ 3 – piece “ has really everything that
LIQUID HORIZON stands for. Powerful guitar riffs, tight breaks, rich keyboard
parts, melodic vocals and interesting lyrics. Not to forget the dynamic parts
within the song(s), which builds some tension and makes it more interesting to
listen to the music more than just one or two times. I hope people enjoy
discovering something new in the songs after listening to it several times.
If you had to describe your music to a complete musical ignorant – what would
you tell him? I call your music progressive metal somewhere in the grey zone
between Savatage (old), Vanden Plas and Dream Theater.
Michael Heck -
In the last few years, the word “ progressive “ is used a lot again,
especially in the rock and metal scene. On one hand it’s a good thing that a lot
of bands try to do a kind of special and “progressive” music. On the other hand
you have to be careful not to ruin this wonderful genre of music, when every
band that leaves the 4/4 – rhythm in a song for one time is immediately called a
progressive-metal-Band. ;-)
I like your description of our musical grey zone. All the bands you mentioned
are an influence to us, no doubt about it. We try to make a mixture out of these
influences and create our on style in doing so. When this works we’re as happy
as we can be...
Tell us a bit about the album art work… An Amazon warrior or…
Michael Heck -
The artwork is done by a very close friend of the band. He likes our music
and we like his pictures. He has also done the art work for our former CD “
Urban Legends “.
This guy loves to combine the topics “ women “ and “ swords “ in many of his
pictures, haha…
He gave us the picture that became the final artwork a long time before
finishing the album. Of course we knew that there’s a certain risk about a cover
like this - some people think that we are a True- or Power-Metal band…. WE’RE
NOT !!!!! ;-)
The
production is good, who produced and mixed the album?
Michael Heck -
We produced this album in our own studio. For the final mixing and mastering
we have worked with Markus Teske this time. He has done some really great albums
with Vanden Plas and worked with bands like Symphony X, Threshold or the former
Dream Theater – vocalist Charlie Dominici….
I like his “Sound “ for years now and with this album we’ve had the feeling that
he’s the optimal choice to get the right sound. We’re really happy about the end
result.
All of the
lyrics are inspired by revolutions, why this subject and what made you choose it
for an entire album?
Michael Heck -
After our last Album “ Urban Legends “ we have talked about the idea to work
on a concept album. We thought that it would be an interesting challenge for the
band to take.
The “ Revolutions “ – topic was one of the first ones that came to our minds to
write about. Everybody liked the idea and the writing went really smooth. After
the first couple of songs we realized that the idea was working, and so here we
are with a whole album about REVOLUTIONS…
How did you get your name Liquid Horizon and is there strange story behind?
Michael Heck -
I don’t know if the story of getting our name is a strange one… *laughs*
As we started the band back in 2000 we had to think about a name pretty fast.
We’ve had a bunch of very silly names on our list…and one day, we sat down with
a piece of paper and some beers and tried to find out which one would be best
for the band.
At one point ( and a few beers later ) ;-))) we had 2 names left on our list.
But there was always somebody who didn’t like one of the names. So we ended up
putting together half of each name we liked most to our final band name LIQUID
HORIZON….This combination sounded great to us and more and more people got
familiar with this name and the people and band behind it in the last, nearly 8,
years.
What do you consider to be the biggest accomplishment for you personally and for
Liquid Horizon?
Michael Heck -
So far our biggest accomplishment for the band is the release of the
REVOLUTIONS – album. Also the 2 gigs we’ve done with VANDEN PLAS or having the
chance to play a small tour with former Guns ‘n Roses-drummer Steven Adler. All
these are great and also important experiences for us…personally for me and for
the band.
What are the strengths and where can Liquid Horizon improve?
Michael Heck -
I think the chemistry in our band is a really good one. We enjoy making
music together, the writing is really smooth and we also enjoy playing live
together very much.
I would say that we can improve in our live performance. But it’s not so easy to
do a big stage performance when the singer has also to play guitar….But we’re
working on it….. ;-)
What immediately tasks lay ahead of you, any touring plans?
Michael Heck -
At this time we have 3 concerts left until the end of the year. All single
shows, no tour in that sense, but we would love to do a real tour if this would
be possible. Apart from the gigs we’ve started writing songs for our next album.
You know….” The show must go on “.
Name an album, person or event that has had a huge influence on your life … and
why?
Michael Heck -
Musically I would say that IMAGES AND WORDS from Dream Theater was really
mind blowing for me, back in 1992, because I never heard such a kind of music
before and since that I’m a true fan of this band. Going to as many DT-shows as
possible. And I’m a member of the German DT-Fan club “ The Mirror “….(greetings
to everyone there) ;-)
As a person I would mention the guys from Vanden Plas. They are really great
guys and really into their music and in all that they do. We talk to each other
from time to time and maybe we do some more shows together in the future. That
would be great as far as I’m concerned.
Who were the
first bands to inspire you to get into music?
Michael Heck -
I guess it’s different for all of us….for me, the first major musical
influence was ABBA. I also liked a lot of the stuff in the 80’s….And as I said
before, the almighty “ IMAGES AND WORDS “ from DT… ;-)
Give me your
shot at some albums you’d rip for your iPod if you were to be sent to the MIR
space station tonight…
Michael Heck -
I personally would prefer to be shot to the ISS, because the MIR is lying in
pieces on the ground of the ocean if I’m not completely wrong *laughs*
But about the music….I would take the whole DT-discography with me for sure
(including all the Live – CD’s and (official)!!! Bootlegs)….Then also a lot of
the good 80’s – stuff and some records of a band I’ve discovered
recently….PAGAN’S MIND...
Which album(s) have put a big smile on your face and has made you bang your head
in the past year?
Michael Heck -
Again I have to say Dream Theater…. ;-) - “Systematic Chaos” is one of my
albums of the year 2007. Also “Fear of the Blank Planet” from PORCUPINE
TREE….and….not to forget…Also a big musical highlight for me this
year…..”Revolutions” from LH…. ;-)))
I thank you very much for participating in this interview and sharing this
information and your thoughts with us - these last lines are entirely for you.
Any final words you would like to round off with?
Michael Heck -
Thank you for the Interview….It was a pleasure…..
And to everybody out there I would like to say that I hope that many of you are
checking out our songs at our website, or at our Myspace-site…
www.liquid-horizon.com
/
www.myspace.com/Liquidprog
And… Visit one of our shows if possible! We’ll see you there….. Spread the word
of LIQUID HORIZON…..and…..ROCK THE PLANET !!!!!
All the best….
Interviewed by Kenn Jensen. | 
