[Interview] Paul Cooper - A Clockwork Opera - April 2015

Based in Manchester, A Clockwork Opera fuse symphonic metal with all things Victorian and steampunk. Having recently made their live debut at the first edition of the UK's only symphonic metal festival Northern Symphony, I caught up with the band's guitarist, songwriter and all-round main man Paul Cooper.

What's the meaning and concept behind the band's name, A Clockwork Opera?

To be honest it seemed like a natural choice for the band's name. I came up with this relatively early on. The first few songs I wrote were quite Steampunk themed so the Clockwork comes from there. The Opera part is simply from the fact that it was always going to be a Symphonic Metal band but I also had the intention of including some form of theatricality to our image.

You recently made your live debut at the Northern Symphony Festival, what was that like for you and do you think it was a success?

Northern Symphony was amazing. It showed the wealth and diversity of the current Symphonic Metal scene. We were all very excited about playing there, especially considering it would be our debut. It was definitely a success from our point of view and it was a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to the right audience and meet new friends at the same time.

When can we expect to see an album or EP released?

There are no guarantees yet but we plan on entering the studio in the next couple of months. We are likely to release an EP first since we're so eager to share our work with everyone.

What plans are in the works for the band?

More gigs, obviously. We can't reveal the details at the moment but we will be announcing more dates very soon. And also recording. At the moment we have Rowan Andrews, who created our logo and the artwork for Femetalism (support this site!) working on some concepts for sketches for us.

What are the major lyrical themes and concepts in the band's music?

Whilst we try not to pigeonhole ourselves so people can interpret what we do in their own way I think it is rather obvious that we have a strong Victorian theme. We write about history and we write stories but we try to make everything relevant to the period. Everyone has their own input to the writing process but I mainly write stories. There are characters and there are plots. Like any author, every character I write about has a back story and a life of their own.

Where do you see the band being in five years?

I think it's a little bit too early to know at the moment. This band is still in it's infancy and we are just trying to get a name for ourselves. I'd just like us to still be here in a year, let alone five at the moment.

Given the chance, which band would you tour with?

Everyone in the band would answer this one differently. I'm not sure I could pick just one either. My biggest inspiration musically is a band called X Japan. Not many people over here know them but in Japan they are MASSIVE! I would donate limbs to support them (Not mine, obviously). On a smaller more achievable scale, there is another band from near us called Reign of Sirius who are excellent. Their music and themes are of a style that work very well with our own and we would love to do more shows with them in the future.

How did the idea for A Clockwork Opera come about?

I started this originally about two years ago on my own. My intention back then was to make a Steampunk metal band. I soon came to realise that this gimmick would wear thin very quickly and would have been so niche that it would probably never catch on. That's how it came to expand to having a Victorian theme, Steampunk stories would still work whilst then having a much larger scope of themes to draw from.

A Clockwork Opera online:
http://facebook.com/aclockworkopera

[Interview] Raedon Mac - Control The Storm - Feb 2015

Having recently reviewed Control The Storm's upcoming album Beast Inside, I caught up with the band's keyboardist Raedon Mac to pick his brain and see what makes him tick.

What were the main inspirations and influences for the new album, Beast Inside?

We didn't really start out with a vision for the finished product, we started work on the album 2 years ago and in all honest we were a very different band back then in terms of what we thought we were doing. One theme that has always been a part of our music is " personal struggle" and how best to overcome against the odds. With changing the lead vocalist 3/4 of the way through the process and totally re working the whole album to suit Kate's writing style, ultimately the overall feel of the album changed and started to make more sense. Myself and Rich work very well together in coming up with melodies that work and he is very good at fitting heavy guitars over my plonks on the piano so it's a good partnership.

Are there any major themes running through the new album?

Personal sacrifice, the ongoing battle against the daemons in your mind, suicide and loss, regaining strength through overcoming the battles of day to day life. If you really get into the lyrics you will see that it start out with a battle and as the album progresses you get a bit of drama, tension, suspense, and then the reality that the beast inside, that's been holding you back, controlling you, or ultimately just who you are deep down is a part of you and it's up to you how you let it be a part of your life.

How does Beast Inside compare to the band's 2010 debut EP?

The reality is that we have put a lot more into the album and invested way more in it so I would say primarily that the production is better, that's not to say the original demo was poorly produced because I'd say it was as good as I could have been and in my opinion a far higher quality that most bands put out there. it was a benchmark that I feel we have shown true progression. We have included the songs from the original EP and have RE-Recorded them to bring them up to date. as you can expect if you play songs for long enough they tend to evolve and Kate did such a fantastic job making them her own and I feel she has made them better.

2015 is already shaping up to be a busy year for Control The Storm, with the release of the new album, the UK tour in March and of course the appearance at Northern Symphony. What else can we expect from Control The Storm this year?

Well yes of course the release of the debut album is going to be big for us. We are going to be recording at least 2 more music videos for this album, and will hopefully have album 2 written and recorded by December. As well as all the gigs we can get our hands on! we are looking for label backing and will also be doing as much PR and promotion as we can to get the album heard by as many people as we can and then 2016 will hopefully be a full summer of festivals and more touring.

Kate Norris was recently unveiled as the band's new vocalist. What was the fans reception of her like?

We were very sad to see Hayley leave the band. we had nearly finished the album and were looking at how we were going to move forward. Thankfully we found Kate and we managed to get half the album recorded again in a short space of time. The rest of the album just feel into place really which gave us the time to rehearse and start thinking about gigs again.

We were worried that people would turn on us a little but in all honesty, the reception has been incredible. We did build it up quite a lot and it could of gone the other way and been the demise of the band but thankfully things seem to be heading in more of a positive light. We ended 2014 on a high with 2 really good shows, gained loads of new fans and got the buzz we had experienced during 2012 when we played at Bloodstock Open Air.

Control The Storm hail from Bristol. What's the metal scene there? Is there anything you would do to improve it?

The Bristol metal scene is great, plenty of awesome venues, and great touring bands come through on a daily basis! if I were to change anything it would be the frequency that local acts play the city. And if the promoters stopped putting soft rock on with extreme death metal followed by teen core bands that would be great. I hate to say it, but maybe fewer gigs would boost attendance in the city. But that just my opinion!

What have been your best and worst gig experiences so far?

Best gig with CTS has to be Bloodstock 2012! it was a dream come true and one I want to see the band live again. I was fortunate enough to appear at BOA Last year as The Marauder Snagglefoot on the main stage with Evil Scarecrow. I now have the desire to match that experience with CTS. 2016 maybe.

Worst gig? Metal to the masses Final at the Fleece in Bristol. My laptop played up all the way through the set and Rich suffered technical issues with the cab he was supplied as the speaker cable kept on "popping" out of the back of the cabinet every time he did any palm muting! it ruined the set and left us feeling really deflated!

If you were to replace the soundtrack to any film with your own music, which one would it be and why?

I would replace the theme music from Star Wars with Beast Inside obviously and just because I can.

In your opinion, what is the best keyboard to use for music?

Personally I use Roland and I think I always will. Roland are built to last and all of mine have. My AX-Synth has had a couple of repairs but that mainly down to me dropping it or pouring beer in it!

If I had all the money in the world and could get Roland and Korg to work together?
I would have a custom AX-Synth made with a wireless midi built in and have the sound module from the old Korg Triton Extreme workstation!

To be honest, piano and synths are more about the player than the keyboard.

You have a mighty impressive beard. What advice would you give to someone growing a beard?

Never give up on your dreams! A man doesn't grow a beard, a beard grows the man! Never forget that! Also look after your beard, it will look after you! If you believe you can achieve! And if anyone ever asks you how a man shaves his beard? The only response is: A MAN DOESN'T!

Control The Storm online:

http://controlthestorm.com
http://facebook.com/controlthestorm