MUEN: HI FRANCIS! SO TELL US ABOUT THE "METALAPOLIS" ALBUM PROJECT, AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR LIVE SHOWS OR POSSIBLE TOURS?

FRANCIS SOTO: "Metalapolis" is a virtual city that offers a home to the different styles of rock, hard rock and metal and attempts to put all of these styles in one bag, melt them down and produce another original style. Our principle is: There are no boundries, everything is allowed that sounds good. We�re hoping to perform at various festivals this summer to support the album.

MUEN: WHAT PAST ALBUMS HAVE YOU HAD OUT, AND HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR MUSIC HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

FRANCIS SOTO: METAPOLIS is the first album bearing my name. Of course I had releases out with my previous bands, WICKED SENSATION, SUBWAY and DARK HORSE. My music has moved with the times and I�m not shy of experimenting, for example, the use of electronic beats and samples.

MUEN: WHERE DID YOU RECORD "METALAPOLIS," AND WHO PRODUCED IT?

FRANCIS SOTO: METALAPOLIS was recorded in our own studio using the digital solutions widly available today. The album was also produced by us with the exception of SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT, which was mixed by Achim K�hler, the producer of PRIMAL FEAR.

MUEN: WHO IS ARMIN SABOL? AND WHAT WAS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH HIM?

FRANCIS SOTO: Armin Sabol is a hero of the eighties, Peter Schillings guitarist, who was responsible for German language hits such as "Major Tom" and earned himself 2 gold records in Germany and Canada.

MUEN: ABOUT YOUR PAST BANDS, "SUBWAY" AND "WICKED SENSATION" ... HOW LONG WERE YOU WITH THEM, AND WHAT DID YOU ACCOMPLISH WITH THOSE BANDS?

FRANCIS SOTO: I was with Subway and Wicked sensation for 7 and 6 years respectively. The musical direction was more eighties metal and AOR orientated. From the two, Subway was the more successful of the bands having success in Asia. The albums were produced by such people as Fernando de Garcia (VICTORY) and also the producer from KISS, whose name escapes me at the moment. :-)
With Wicked Sensation I worked closely together with David Readman (PINK CREAM 69) who was responsible for all the backing vocals.

MUEN: YOU HAVE SOME GREAT RECORDINGS UPLOADED TO YOUR MYSPACE.. SOME OF OUR PAST FAVORITES ARE "OLD PHOTOGRAPHS" AND "TALK".. WHO DOES THE BACK VOCALS ON "TALK?" AND WHO ARE THE OTHER MUSICIANS ON THESE RECORDINGS?

FRANCIS SOTO: Talk is a remake of a song from my old band Subway. The song was released in 2000 on the album "Don�t look back" I found the song to be strong enough to ressurect. The feedback I�ve had about the song has proven me right. The backing vocals are also down to me, believe me, it was a lot of hard work. Old Photographs is simply a nice love-song dedicated to the beautiful Lola as all the people who know us on myspace are already aware. There are also a few guest musicians on the album, for example, JONAS H�RNQVIST (TREAUSURE LAND), THOMAS LARSON (Ex-GLEN HUGHES), VESA NUPONEN (EXCALION), BERND HEINING (SAIDIAN), ALEX RAUTI (DREAMLAND), LARS RATZ (METALIUM) and a few more.

MUEN: PLEASE TELL US "OLD PHOTOGRAPHS" MADE SOME SORT OF IMPACT ON RADIO, OR SOME OTHER PROJECT... DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE GETTING THE CREDIT YOU DESERVE FOR THESE GREAT SONGS?

FRANCIS SOTO: I can�t complain, even though Matalapolis hasn�t yet been released, a lot of the songs have had exposure around the world on radio. Naturally there are a few songs that are very radio playable such as OLD PHOTOGRAPHS, TALK and of course SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT. I would think that when the album is officially released that we�ll get a lot more time on the airwaves. Promotion on the radio is the BEST type of promotion, one can never get enough of it.

MUEN: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RE-RECORD "SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT" AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU MAY HAVE ADDED TO THE SONG BY DOING SO?

FRANCIS SOTO: Actually it was my guitarist who suggested doing it. I was a bit sceptical at first, but now I�m happy we did it, it has brought us airplay and attention that we otherwise wouldn�t have had.

MUEN: HAVE YOU LIVED IN GERMANY ALL YOUR LIFE, AND HOW DO YOU THINK ROCK MUSIC IS APPRECIATED THERE AS OPPOSED TO THE U.S.?

FRANCIS SOTO: I myself am not strictly German. I come originally from Greece although I was born and raised in Germany. Rock music in Germany doesn�t carry the weight it does in the UK or USA, but the situation is slowly getting better and good guitar music is being played more frequently on the radio.

MUEN: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED IN YOUR MUSIC CAREER AS FAR AS YOU ARE CONCERNED?

FRANCIS SOTO: There are a few things, but at the top of the list it has got to be the tour with legends like KANSAS, ASIA and JEFF SCOTT SOTO�S TALISMAN. It�s interesting to work with musicians you listened to as a teenager. Somehow it feels especially good.

MUEN: WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU PLAN ON ACCOMPLISHING BEFORE 2008 IS OVER?

FRANCIS SOTO: It�s difficult to believe but METALAPOLIS is still unreleased. That�s my main aim for 2008, to get the Album on a Label that fits our requirements so that the people finally have the chance to get their hands on it.

Interview by G. Cataline