I am visiting Seven Thorns in Media Sound Studios during the mixing of their new studio album, "Return to the Past". In front of me is the bands duo of guitarists, Gabriel and Christian. Thanks for taking your time to talk to me. I know it is a busy time right now in the studio. When will the new album hit the shops? It should be out just before Wacken Open Air, in the start of August. Both of you did not feature on the last album. Tell us about your background and when you joined the Seven Thorns. Gabriel: I joined Seven Thorns in the summer 2008 and when I don't play with the band I am studying Musicology at the University of Copenhagen.
Christian: I joined a little later, around autumn 2008. I am also studying Musicology. Being both accomplished guitar players and students of Musicology, can you tell a bit about the music that has inspired you most during your life? Christian: Three bands come to mind: Symphony X, Dark Moore and Yngwie Malmsteen. Apart from that I am also very much inspired by classical music.
Gabriel: Yeah I am a fan of Symphony X as well. Apart from that I find a lot of inspiration in the metal of the 80’s and in classical music, especially Bach. Another single influence for me would also be the French power metal band, Heavenly. What would you say is the most exciting about the Danish metal scene right now? Well, concerning Power Metal nothing much is going on right now. We really hope that our new album will change that and furthermore that it will reach out, not only to fans of the genre, but also to people who do not normally listen to Metal. We would really like to hold the banner of Power Metal high. How will you describe the new album compared to the previous one? Of course the style of the music is not that different, but it has better songs, it is technically better and the soloing is also superior. Can you tell us a bit more about the musical style of "Return to the Past"? We call it "Happy Metal". Think positive metal rooted in bands like Gamma Ray and Stratovarius. So it is safe to say that you play traditional Power Metal? It is very much Power Metal, but some elements of progressive metal is getting in the mix too, like on the track Freedom Call or on the track Through the Mirror witch leans a bit towards early Royal Hunt. So who is writing the bulk of your material? On this album most of the material is written by Mik (Holm) and Gabriel. Christian contributes to the song writing in general as well. Will there be a tour and other stuff to support the new album? We are working on tour dates at the moment and a music video is in the making. A concert on September 11th at Elvaerket in Holbaek is already booked so there will be chance for the fans to listen to the new stuff. Thanks a lot guys for taking a bit of time out of your studio time to talk about the new album. From what I have heard in the studio we are in for quite a treat with the new album. I am looking forward to it.
Interviewed by Steen Schon
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