By Brandon Strader
Coldseed formed in 2005 and has already finished work on a debut album stuffed with creativity and talent that will be sure to turn some heads. Including members from groups such as Soilwork, and Blind Guardian, Coldseed has shown they are out to produce something original and completely different than what they've already accomplished in their other musical projects. The debut full-length, Completion Makes The Tragedy, is set for release on the 30th of June.
What inspired the creation of Coldseed?
We were on tour in 2002 in America with Blind Guardian, and during one of those long bus trips to the next venue I was talking with Thomen about our great life as musicians, and I asked him if he had ever played another style of metal than Blind Guardian. The idea to create something totally different apart from 'Blind Guardian' was very interesting, especially for Thomen, as a drummer he could find several ways to expand his abilities.
Is there a meaning behind the name "Coldseed"? Any particular reason this seed is cold?
We only thought the bandname would be perfect for our kind of music and nowadays it’s really not easy anymore to find a fitting name for a band.
Was it difficult for Björn to sing in the style featured on the new Coldseed album?
Absolutely not!
Björn is a very creative vocalist and likes lots of different kinds of music. He easily gave each song its own personality.
You guys have some arrangements on Completion Makes The Tragedy that are very mellow, do you think the average metalhead will embrace these sections or what?
Well, first I have to say, we compose and record our songs the way we feel them and they come from our hearts! It’s important for us to give our music it’s own soul, want to say, the band has to sound unique. Second, if we would think every minute during our songwriting about what other people could like, or not, we would make ourselves to musical prostitutes, that´s not our goal! Third, and most important point: we have been convinced, that only if we give our music an authentic style, it makes sense to create a new band besides those numerous already existing ones.
There’s another thing to explain: There are always ups and downs in real life, you can climb very high and also fall very deep, this is what it makes so attractive and exciting. The only thing we do with our music is to mirror our natural souls. This way the aggressive and mellow parts happen to be a natural result on our album.
What was it like in the studio during the recording of Completion Makes The Tragedy?
It was great to see Thorsten and Gonzalo being a perfect team as guitarists, Oli supporting the music with his bass from hell sounds, Thomen creating unbelievable new drum-rhythms and Björn singing outstanding vocal lines.
I thought it would be impossile to combine those very different influences of each artist, but I failed. We all had the same view for our music.
We had lots of fun in the studio, the musicians have become a real little family. I can't imagine a different constellation of bandmembers being Coldseed.
What is the lyrical concept behind the album?
Well, Björn gets a complete pre-production from us of all songs. Than he starts to write the lyrics in Sweden. The only concept we told him to follow was to hit the atmosphere and show his personality.
The inclusion of the synthesizer and the electronic sound in some sections creates a cool vibe, how did the idea to do this come about?
This was my plan from the beginning, to find a modern sound for a modern band. So, there are some loops and special effects and sometimes a keyboard line. In my opinion, keys in metal have to give special vibes and support the music, but mostly in the background. One day I had taken Sven, a good old friend of mine with me to Thomen´s studio in Spain. Sven is well known for creating modern effects and soundtracks for bands and movies worldwide. We worked already together several times in the past and my biggest wish was to work with him, again. Thomen was directly very impressed and so we joined forces!
I think the artwork is pretty beautiful... What is the whole concept behind the artwork for Completion Makes The Tragedy?
The artwork is a kind of poetry. It shows an angel’s life having led to tragedy. There’s no real concept behind it. It just quite perfect expresses the album title.
What equipment does each member use?
Thorsten and Gonzalo use Washburn and Ibanez guitars & Thomas Vinci guitar strings; Oli uses Sandberg und Fender basses; Thomen uses Premier- Gen-X drums, Paiste cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Gibraltar rack systems and I use Korg and Yamaha keys.
What are your hopes that this new album will accomplish?
Our only hope is, that there are people in the world we can make feeling good with our music and that they can identify themselves with it.
What plans do you guys have for the future? Are you going on any tours?
Of course, we want to present our music live on stage, as soon as possible.
We will give our best to arrange this. For shure we will go our way furthermore and develop our music more and more from each album to album.
All together, how many different musical projects do you think you've been involved in? Do you favor certain projects more than the others?
Only few ones and never more than each member can handle.
Every band has its own spirit and is not comparable.
In closing, Is there anything you'd like to say to your devoted fans?
There are already so many positive, enthusiastic reactions on our music, I’m quite impressed, I must commit!
I’d like to thank you all very much for that!
Hopefully, we will see us on any live show, soon, and you’ll make the night to a big party with us!
Thanks for the great interview.
Greetings,
Mi – the key
Ultimatemetal's Review of Coldseed - Completion Makes The Tragedy
Official Coldseed Website
Official Nuclear Blast Website
