Rebellion
Rebellion have recently
released the second part of the trilogy dealing with the Viking sagas and
this time we find these fierce warriors on their way to Miklagard, which
is no other than Constantinople, confronting all kinds of enemies and hardships
and finally becoming the most reputed and honored warriors of Byzantium.
Well I think that "Miklagard" is the best soundtrack, the best way to follow
those Vikings on their adventures and take a glimpse of their valor! Uwe
and Tomi are here offering us many interesting and informative answers
concerning their newest creation...
1. HELLO! FIRST OF ALL MY CONGRATULATIONS
ON “MIKLAGARD”! IT IS YOUR BEST RELEASE SO FAR AND I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE
TO THANK YOU FOR TOUCHING A THEME SO CONNECTED TO GREECE AND THE BALKANS
IN GENERAL. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ALBUM? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE
TO CHANGE?
Uwe: Hey, this is Uwe from Rebellion. Thanx
for the congratulations! We´re happy, that you guys like the album.
To your question, we´re really satisfied with "Miklagard". Nothing
to change at the end of the day. I think this album is the heaviest and
epic album of Rebellion.
2. THIS TIME I SEE YOU HAVE SOME NEW MEMBERS IN
THE BAND. CAN YOU INTRODUCE THEM TO US? WHERE DID THEY PLAY BEFORE JOINING
REBELLION?
Uwe: So, Simone, our new guitar lady, was
playing in a band called Misfit, which is based in her hometown. But that
band didn´t have any album releases. And Gerd is in the band since
the Sagas of Iceland Album, a fantastic drummer from Frankfurt, who is
(by the way) the guitar player in a band called "Courageous".
3. BY THE WAY HAVE THE NEW MEMBERS CONTRIBUTED
IN THE COMPOSITIONS OF THIS ALBUM? WILL YOU GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO
CONTRIBUTE IN THE FUTURE RELEASES OF REBELLION WITH SOME IDEAS OF THEM?
Uwe: Of course, if a good idea comes along
and fits to Rebellion, no problem with that!
4. MIKLAGARD IS NO OTHER THAN CONSTANTINOPLE THE
CAPITAL OF THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE. HOW DID YOU COME WITH THE IDEA TO
WRITE A CONCEPT ABOUT IT? HAVE YOU READ BOOKS ABOUT THE THEME?
Uwe: Yeah, Tomi our Bassplayer wrote tons
of Books about that, and he came up with the idea to write the album about
a dangerous journey to Miklagard.
Tomi: So far I have read more than 10.000 pages
about the Vikings and their history, this includes historical literature,
historical sources, archealogical records and historic novels, I have also
read the book by Stephen Lawhead you have mentioned, I daresay I have read
almost everything which is available on that topic.
5. BY THE WAY A YEAR AGO I READ A BOOK BY STEVEN
LAWHEAD CALLED BYZANTIUM AND IT WAS INSPIRED BY THE SAGA OF MIKLAGARD.
ARE YOU AWARE OF THIS BOOK OR THE WRITER?
Tomi: Yes, I have read that book! A very authentic
historic novel and entertaining too.
6. THERE IS A STRONG EPIC FEELING IN THE WHOLE
ALBUM, SOMETHING THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. CAN YOU TELL US WHICH
CIRCUMSTANCES OR STIMULANTS HELPED YOU TO CREATE THIS FEELING?
Tomi: There is not really any kind of special
magic or stimulants to it, basically it is solid and hard work driven by
a fascination for the topic. Uwe and I have worked together very intensly
to connect the topics of the lyrics with the music.
7. ON THE ALBUM CHARLES RYTKONEN ALSO PARTICIPATES,
WHO HAS WRITTEN THE LYRICS OF THE SONG HE SINGS. HOW DID YOU COOPERATE
WITH HIM AND DID YOU TELL HIM WHAT TO WRITE OR DID HE DO IT ON HIS OWN
BECAUSE HE LIKED THE CONCEPT?
Uwe: We met Charles in a Festival last year,
you must know, Simone is a big fan of Morgana Lefay, and I had this idea
in my head, to let him sing the Intro in Swedish. So, we ended up in sitting
in Simones car, listen to Rebellion and Morgana Lefay, drinkin´ beers
and starting creating the Intro. We had a great time. So he did the lyrics
by himself. A great songwriter. Thank you Charles!
8. THIS TIME THE CONCEPT OF THE ALBUM I CAN SAY
THAT REMINDS A BIT OF A VIKING “ODYSSEY”, ONLY THAT INSTEAD OF ITHAKA THEY
HEAD TO MIKLAGARD. DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS COMPARISON?
Tomi: Yes and No. Yes because as Odysseus
they undertook a long and dangerous journey, went through dangers and finally
succeeded, however they were not driven by love but simply by the search
for advendtures, curiousity and the prospect of making a lot of money.
9. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT MIKLAGARD IS PRESENTED
AS A SYMBOLISM, AS A DREAM THAT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE.
DO YOU AGREE?
Tomi: Yes we do very strongly, and to us as
a small band it also means that we must believe in our chance even if the
odds may count against us.
10. YOU HAVE DONE A VIDEO – CLIP FOR MIKLAGRAD
SONG WHICH IS VERY GOOD. WHO WAS THE DIRECTOR AND DO YOU PLAN TO DO ANOTHER
VIDEO FOR THE ALBUM? IF YES FOR WHICH SONG?
Uwe: Well, the director was Katja Piolka.
She did the artwork and the photos of Miklagard, too.
11. BY THE WAY CAN YOU TELL US WHICH VIKING STORY
YOU WILL NARRATE ON YOUR NEXT ALBUM OR IS IT TOO SOON TO ASK?
Tomi: No it is not, the basic concept of the
trilogy was planned before we started with the sagas on the Iceland album.
The third album will be about the mythology and the sagas of the vikings.
12. FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU DECIDED TO RELEASE
A SINGLE FOR THIS RELEASE. WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
Uwe: To get attention from everybody. We gave
it away for free on our Website for Downloading in full Quality. It´s
been downloded over 10000 times, by the way, and we sold a lot of Singles
on our Website. Now, you can see the Video all over the Internet. On the
other hand we brought it out as a physical CD for little money. This CD
is coming up with the song "Miklagard", and the Video on it in different
formats. You can get it on our Website or on different mailorders.
13. WELL, THIS IS NOT A QUESTION BUT A DEMAND…
WHEN WILL WE SEE YOU HERE IN GREECE FOR LIVE SHOWS AND DON’T TELL ME THAT
YOUR MUSIC IS NOT FAMOUS HERE, CAUSE I WILL DISAGREE…
Uwe: So, when you guys are calling us, we
will come. So tell your Promoters in Greece, that they can book us over
our Website (Contact). Here´s the Rebellion Website: www.rebellion.st
And you can believe me, we really want to
play in Greece. You guys are lunatics and know how to party!!!!
14. BY THE WAY IS THERE A CHANCE TO RELEASE THE
VIKING TRILOGY IN A BOX-SET AFTER ITS COMPLETION?
Uwe: Yeah, it will come up with a Boxset,
and a full DVD with a lot of Video stuff from the last 6 Years of Rebellion.
With live shows, behind the scenes etc.
15. IS THERE ANY OTHER STORY THAT YOU WANT TO
TURN INTO MUSIC IN THE FUTURE?
Uwe: We don´t know yet, but I´m
sure, Tomi has an idea, or two, or three......:-)
16. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! I HOPE I DIDN’T TIRE
YOU. BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR NEW RELEASE WHICH IS GREAT! THE LAST WORDS
BELONG TO YOU…
Uwe: Thanx to all fans in Greece and watch
out for Rebellion. We hope to play as soon as possible in your wonderful
country.......Jámas!
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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