Shadows
Of Eden
Shadows Of Eden is a genuine
diamond! It's one of those bands that bring chills to your spinal chord
and make your heart pound in excitement, cause it's not ordinary or usual
nowadays to come across such a high quality, original and true heavy metal
band. Dan White, the band's mainman gave us some really great and informative
answers, so read below and keep the flame of metal forever alive!!!
1. HELLO DAN! CONGRATULATIONS ON “DANCE OF
THE GYPSIES”! IT SOUNDS GREAT TO MY EARS. SO, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU
TO COMPOSE THE 4 SONGS THAT YOU HAVE INCLUDED HERE? WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST
PROBLEM THAT YOU HAD TO FACE DURING THE SONGWRITING PROCESS AND THE RECORDINGS
OF THIS MINI-CD?
It only took about a month to write the first
four songs. The melody lines would just come to me, I would be at work
and a melody or idea would just hit me. I didn’t really have any problems
with the song writing process except for the leads. I didn’t have a chance
to work on them at all. I just went in and did one or two takes and what
ever came out, came out. I just played off the top of my head. Now the
recording of the album was rough, all together I think we had maybe 2 full
days in the studio. That is the way of a small indie band though. Jim Newlon
is great in the studio, he is almost always dead on time and very proficient.
I think Jim Gossau got short changed the most; he didn’t have any time
to experiment with his vocals or vocal tracks. It turned out pretty good
for all the B.S. though. (ha, ha)
2. BEFORE YOU FORMED SHADOWS OF EDEN, YOU WERE
A MEMBER OF THE DOOM METAL BAND SPIRITUAL MEANING. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
IF YOU HAVE RELEASED ANYTHING WITH THAT BAND AND WHICH EXACTLY WAS YOUR
ROLE THERE? I MEAN WERE YOU JUST A MEMBER OR DID YOU ALSO PARTICIPATE IN
THE COMPOSITIONS?
I was one of the song writers and founding
members. I played lead guitar for them. It started out as a live band only.
There was one official album released, “The Angels Cry”. I wrote
the title track and another song called “Burning Fever”. The band started
to take off quit well, but other members started to get full of themselves
and it just all fell apart.
3. AFTER YOUR PREVIOUS BAND DISBANDED, YOU’VE
LEFT THE GUITAR ASIDE FOR 2 YEARS. WHICH WERE THE REASONS THAT MADE YOU
FEEL SO DISAPPOINTED? WHERE DID YOU FIND THE STRENGTH TO START ALL OVER
AGAIN WITH SHADOWS OF EDEN?
I always put my heart and soul into everything
I write, I always play what I feel. Spiritual Meaning was doing so well
and it just got to a point where I had to drag everyone along and take
on most of the workload. The other members were buying into their own hype
and they thought they were just so good that they didn’t have to
practice and they were above the fans etc…. towards the end I just couldn’t
stand it, the fans are the whole reason you are where you are, support
them as they support you. We were recording a second album “Lurker In The
Dark” and we split in the middle of it. An unofficial version was released;
it was scratch tracks and not mixed. It was never finished, and I don’t
know who released it. It was a horrible embarrassment and after all the
childish bullshit I had to put up with I just ended up being burned out
on music. I started playing again because I had to; this is what I am meant
to do. It haunted me week after week, month after month, until I picked
up my guitar again. This time I am leading the way and I have the final
say. I am not a tyrant but I won’t sacrifice this band in any way. It will
always be true to itself and to the fans. If you buy a Shadows of Eden
album it will be true, true metal. If you come to one of our shows, we
will play our hearts out for you.
4. BESIDES YOU, THE BAND HAS ALSO GOT 2 OTHER
MEMBERS, FOR WHO, IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN, SHADOWS OF EDEN ARE THEIR FIRST
METAL BAND. CAN YOU TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THEM?
Jim Gossau is a good friend of mine and has
been for a while. He has been playing around the area in a cover band (Live
Wire) for years. We have wanted to work together for a while but we never
had the chance until now. Jim Newlon has been in and out of every kind
of band you could think of. He answered an add I placed for a progressive
drummer and we just hit it off. He is a fan of Dream Theater, Iron Maiden,
and Symphony X etc…. So needless to say, who couldn’t like the guy? (Ha,
ha)
5. EXCEPT FOR BEING FANS OF HEAVY METAL, YOU ALSO
LIKE OTHER KINDS OF MUSIC LIKE JAZZ, BLUES AND PROGRESSIVE ROCK. DO YOU
THINK THAT THESE DIFFERENT LISTENINGS OF YOURS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR MUSIC?
DO YOU PLAN TO EXPAND THESE NON- METAL INFLUENCES IN YOUR FUTURE RELEASES?
I find inspiration in all kinds of music.
I love music in general, I am mostly a metal head but I don’t have tunnel
vision as far as music is concerned. I play what I feel, from the heart
and as long as it is heavy and true I will go with it.
6. FROM YOUR BIO I READ THAT YOU ARE THE MAIN
COMPOSER OF THE MUSIC OF SHADOWS OF EDEN. SO WILL YOU CONTINUE LIKE THAT
OR WILL YOU LET THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BAND CONTRIBUTE IN THE SONGWRITING?
AREN’T YOU AFRAID THAT BEING THE ONLY COMPOSER IN THE BAND MIGHT LEAD YOU
TO START REPEATING YOURSELF?
I don’t mind if the other members write anything,
I welcome it. It is hard to find someone who can write a song though, most
just write a riff or two and that’s it. I think Jon S. from Iced Earth
put it best when he said, “Just because you’re a musician don’t mean you’re
a song writer.” We will see what happens as the band progresses.
7. ENOUGH WITH THE HISTORY LESSONS ?. LET’S TALK
A BIT ABOUT YOUR RELEASE “DANCE OF THE GYPSIES”. IN MY OPINION THIS RELEASE
OF YOURS HAS A GENUINE 80’S METAL TOUCH. DO YOU AGREE? DID YOU DO THAT
ON PURPOSE? AREN’T YOU AFRAID THAT THE WAY YOU SOUND MIGHT NOT ATTRACT
THE INTEREST OF THE YOUNGER METALHEADS?
I think it does and it doesn’t. I didn’t do
that on purpose it just kind of does, but then again it doesn’t. I think
the younger metal heads will love it as well. All in all I am not trying
to win a popularity contest; if I was I wouldn’t be playing metal. I would
cut my hair, castrate myself and form some industry controlled boy band.
I am just writing music and playing my heart out. If people love it and
support it then they can always count on Shadows of Eden to come through.
If they hate it, well….Fuck em.
8. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HERE, WHICH BANDS AND
ARTISTS YOU CONSIDER THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOU IN THE WAY THAT YOU WRITE
AND PLAY YOUR MUSIC. NAME 5 OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE METAL ALBUMS…
I can’t really say who influences me the most,
I listen to so many different things, and it is really hard to say. My
five all time favorite metal albums? Hmmm…only five? (Ha, ha) Death-Spiritual
Healing, Blind Guardian-Imaginations from the other side, Helloween-Keeper
of the Seven Keys, Iron Maiden-Number of the Beast, Symphony X-Devine Wings
of Tragedy, King Diamond-Abigail and Iced Earth-Dark Saga. Hmm…that was
six, oh well. It is so hard to narrow the list down.
9. “DANCE OF THE GYPSIES” IS A CONCEPT STORY.
SO CAN YOU TELL US WHICH THE STORY IS SO FAR? DO YOU PLAN TO CONTINUE THE
STORY IN YOUR UPCOMING RELEASE AS WELL?
Short version of the story: A band of gypsies
(the Vestinie), come to a small town on their travels and stops to rest
and make some money. The townsfolk treat them very poorly, saying they
are the devil’s children. But at night the men and some of the women from
the town show up to buy things and have their way with the gypsy girls
for money. The men can have any of the gypsy girls they want for the right
price, all but one that is. The Madams daughter (Esmeralda) is not to be
touched. Esmeralda dances for the crowd at midnight and one of the townsfolk
(Edward) decides he loves her and has to have her. She refuses him, so
he grabs her and carries her off into the woods while no one is looking
and rapes her. After he has had his way with her and the lust is gone,
he can’t believe what he has done. So he threatens to take her life if
she ever tells anyone. He tells her that things should go on as normal.
He loves her and he wishes to see her dance again. The gypsy girl wanders
around in a daze and finally makes her way home. The Madam sees her daughter
and is told of the deed. Edward goes to the gypsies the next night to see
the girl dance and is approached by the madam who offers to read his fortune.
He goes to the madams’ wagon and listens as she unfolds the story of the
girls’ misfortune and the curse he has brought upon himself. Edward bursts
out of the wagon and runs off into the woods as the gypsies begin to scream
and chant. He can hear the madams voice as it echo’s “The caravan of the
dead will come”. But as the night goes on, no one is chasing him and he
makes his way home. He doesn’t understand how the woman he loves could
betray him, she belongs to him and why did they not come after him... The
second half of the story will be on our next release. “Dance of the Gypsies
pt 2” (The Seer and the Damned).
10. IN EVERY SONG, IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN YOU HAVE
SOME THEMES REPEATED. DO YOU DO THAT ON PURPOSE IN ORDER TO UNDERLINE THAT
“DANCE OF THE GYPSIES” IS A CONCEPT ALBUM?
Yes, I used a reoccurring theme to tie the
whole thing together.
11. WHICH ARE THE DIFFERENCES AND DIFFICULTIES
BETWEEN WRITING A CONCEPT ALBUM AND A SIMPLE ONE? DO YOU AGREE THAT THE
MAKING OF CONCEPT ALBUM’S IS LIKE THE MAKING OF A MOVIE?
A concept album is a lot harder to write because
everything has to be just right to keep the listener going. I do agree
that doing a concept album is like doing a movie. You can’t have too much
but you can’t have too little. It has to be just right.
12. DAN, A QUESTION THAT HAS A LITTLE TO DO WITH
MUSIC. DO YOU READ BOOKS OR WATCH MOVIES? CAN YOU PROPOSE US A BOOK THAT
YOU HAVE READ OR A MOVIE THAT YOU HAVE SEEN AND SOMEHOW INFLUENCED/INSPIRED
YOU?
I love to read and I love movies. I think
the Dragonlance trilogies with Rastlin are my favorite books. I could watch
Conan the Barbarian a thousand times. The music makes the movie and James
E. Jones.
13. WHICH IS THE MOST EXTREME THING THAT YOU HAVE
EVER DONE CONCERNING HEAVY METAL MUSIC?
I don’t know, I have set guitars on fire,
band members, trashed hotels, cars, and houses. I chased a guy through
the audience swinging my guitar and trying to beat the shit out of him
for throwing a glass bottle at me. (I was young and pissed at the world,
I am still pissed but I find other ways to let go of my aggression nowadays).
14. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME! IT WAS
A PLEASURE DOING THIS INTERVIEW. PLEASE WRITE AN EPILOGUE FOR THIS INTERVIEW
AND LEAVE A MESSAGE TO THE READERS OF BEHIND THE VEIL WEBZINE…
I would like to thank Nick for his enthusiasm
and support. Shadows of Eden have received a huge welcome from the metal
community and I hope to gain their trust and support. We are setting bonfires
across the world for those who will light their torch and keep the flame
of metal alive. May the flame burn forever, for we are waiting in the shadows….
Dan White
Nick “William_Kidd”
Parastatidis
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