Sirenia is no new name to the wails of symphonic metal, in fact their status is notorious, given most of their work is considered of highest quality, despite how some fans and supporters may feel with the frequent, though circumstantial replacement of frontwomen. The beautiful and talented Emmanuelle Zoldan, current main vocalist and front woman of Sirenia, took time out to conduct a brief interview with MetalBite, that we are most grateful for, given Sirenia is of mainstream status – and she could have easily given us the mainstream middle finger. This new era of the band has seen much success, though not exempt from harsh criticism by many who have their preferences and biases - yet Emmanuelle Zoldan unshakably continues to display her remarkable growth and improvement as the current Sirenia vocalist, more than able to hold her own while reaching new heights in her musical career.

Alex

Since being the main vocalist and front woman for Sirenia, what do you think your presence has brought to the band?

Maybe more stability, something stronger in the band relationship. 

How have the fans been receiving you?

Very nicely for the most of them, I received a lot of encouragements, love and support. In the very beginning a very few haters came in the way of course, what was expectable, but to be honest I never really paid attention to them, I like to stay away from negative energy. It's only a very few people. The great majority of the fans are showing lots of support and appreciate my work in the band.

The previous Sirenia album "Arcane Astral Aeons" is your strongest recording effort since you started as main vocalist for the band; songs on there are very catchy and memorable ('Love Like Cyanide', 'Desire', 'The Voyage') amazing songs! What would you say was the main reason for that?

Maybe more maturity, experience with time, confidence… This great complicity in the band that grew also with the fact of being included/involved in the creative process (French lyrics for me, guitar solos for Nils and Jan Erik) and the amazing rendition of Jacob Hansen's mix.

From a vocalist standpoint, how did you approach "Arcane Astral Aeons" in contrast to "Dim Days of Dolor"? I ask because you sounded far more confident on "Arcane Astral Aeons" than on "Dim Days of Dolor".

"Arcane Astral Aeons" came out after some time, after a lot of tours and shows, my place in the band was better built and my confidence had the time to grow tour after tour.  When I recorded "Dim Days of Dolor" it was a bit different, I had less time to go through the songs as the time was very short between my arrival in the band and the album release. It also was more written for soprano voice (Ailyn, who was supposed to record the album) than in the « perfect range » for me as a Mezzo. "Arcane Astral Aeons" has been written for my voice. That's maybe why you have the feeling of a more confident performance on this one.

Did you have any input creatively (album direction etc.) on those records?

On AAA yes (I wrote the lyrics in French on 'Nos Heures Sombres') on DDOD there was some French Lyrics also, but it was some translations of Morten's Lyrics.

Thus; would you like to have more creative freedom for future Sirenia albums?

I am a creative person, I need creativity to feel alive, so, of course answering negatively would be a lie :-) Creation is the more exciting thing in life for me.

On that thought, is there any new music in the works or completed?

We are working on a new album right now that will probably be released next August. This will be a great album. Morten is still evolving a lot in his creations and reaches a higher level, album after album.

Looking forward to sharing it with the fans :-)

What are some of your favorite songs to perform live from both of your debuting albums as front woman for Sirenia?

The new songs are of course more adapted to my range as they have been written for me, and most of them are sounding really powerful on stage ('Dim Days', 'Goddess of the Sea', 'Into the Night', 'In Styx Embrace', 'Asphyxia', etc.) but some of the older songs are fitting to my voice too, and I love to perform 'The Other Side' for example or the powerful 'Path to Decay'.

When performing old songs from the Ailyn and Henriette eras, how do audiences respond?

Most of the time I have really good feedback, people saying that they love the more powerful version I give to the songs; of course, I suppose there will always be people disturbed with hearing another voice on songs they are used to. I can understand that :-) the human ear is easily disturbed by something unusual, especially with the voice.

Do you think you give good renditions of earlier material?

Hard for me to answer this question, what I can say is I always do my best to sing them with my own personality and sensibility, maybe mine is darker than the previous singers, I never try to lie in imitating Henriette, Monica, or Aylin, I just want to be myself.

I understand you were originally a choir member in Sirenia before being tasked with the role of fronting the band; what was your reaction when approached?

I have always been hired as a soloist singer, and consider myself like that, in every area of my music engagements; Sirenia was probably one of the « extra » employment I did as a choir singer. So, I never really had the feeling of "becoming" a front woman, it's what I already was. (Opera and other rock projects). But becoming this way more involved in Sirenia was exciting, because Morten has been a friend since 2003 and I followed his evolution through the years with a great attention and interest.

Can you give an account of how you became a contributor/generally involved with Sirenia?

With all these years, we have become more than a band. We have been through many things, Morten and me, and the tour life built a solid friendship with the guys as well. We can talk about everything together, built together, talk about the future objectively, there is a great confidence between us that helps a lot to make the band grow.

Do you feel pressured having to fill the shoes of past Sirenia front women?

I never really felt pressure on this project. Of course, it's easier to come with your own band and songs to be accepted by people than replacing other singers who already have a fanbase; you need to convince that you can do the job with your own qualities. It's not an easy challenge but I came as I am, never trying to imitate. I don't consider that I'm a replacement, but more the new face of a new area. I don't have to fill someone else's shoes because I brought my own shoes :-)))

Are you in any way/s influenced by former Sirenia vocalists?

No. They are all great, but it would have been a mistake to try to reproduce what has already done; there is no interest in a singer changing her ways, if she does the same than the previous ones did.

I appreciate every one of the previous singers, each quality, each sensibility and voice colors, but being influenced would have not been constructive. I had to bring something else, something new. My own universe and inspiration.

What propelled your interest in metal and at what age did that begin?

When I was a teenager I listened to more pop, rock and progressive music (big fan of Queen, King Crimson, Rage Against the Machine,), a lot of classical music, but I also some metal bands with Korn, Metallica, or My Dying Bride. I came more deeply in it when I became to record with metal bands from 2002 and better discovered the genre. I love what metal reveals of my dark side. :-) I like different kinds of metal, and especially progressive metal. 

Apart from symphonic metal, are there more extreme forms of the genre you are interested in?

I try to open my mind to a lot of different things. Even the kind of things I'm not necessarily firstly attracted by; it's always interesting to pay attention in what every genre has to say. As I said in the previous question, progressive metal is probably my favorite in metal genre with symphonic, I'm a lover of melodies and complex/experimental compositions, but I also like to listen to more extreme things.

Does your musical skill extend beyond having such beautiful vocals to playing instruments? 

I play the piano since my childhood, I also had a short experience with drums as a teenager, and I'm planning working on bass very soon :-)

Apart from once being in the choir for Sirenia, were you crafting any work for a solo project or thought of doing so?

I always did (and still do) solo projects in different genres: opera, rock and other genres, and lots of recordings.

Is there anything/s you wish could have been done differently in retrospect where the past 2 Sirenia albums are concerned?

Not really, I always try to put my full heart in what I do in the moment I do it, so I guess I always do my best at the moment;  I'm someone who likes to look ahead, what is done is behind me, I always focus on next projects;

What are some of your methods for maintaining such a healthy and beautiful singing voice?

Thanks for the compliment :-)

There's no secret, a healthy voice that perdures over time needs to be preserved. Having a good sleep is probably one of the most important things, good hydration, regular training, strong technic to be able to resist to long tours within the voice is extremely solicited, no smoking, eating healthy to avoid gastric reflux that damages the chords, learning not to push on the voice when you're tired, etc.

Given you can sing both cleanly and operatic which style do you prefer more, particularly for Sirenia?

What I like is precisely being able to switch from one style to another. This versatility is what I like the most.

How has touring been thus far with the band?

We have really great times on tour. By the time one is finished, we already are looking forward to the next one.

How's your relationship with the rest of the band members?

We all are very close, there's a big complicity between us, great communication. It is something very important in the band. We miss each other as hell when a tour is finished.

Thanks for taking the time out for this interview with MetalBite and best wishes for any new Sirenia material that may be in the works. Anything you'd like to tease or tell the fans?

Thank you. What I can say is: be ready for this album, believe me, it's gonna be a blast! :-D haha

Japanese Significant Point released their superb debut album "Into The Storm" via the German label Dying Victims Productions (review here) recently. It's an album that puts you in a good mood while listening to it and also makes you want more. Buuuut... it took those guys ten years to release it. That's already two reasons to ask the band more about it and also to be a little critical. The two guitarists of the band, Gou Takeuchi and Kazuki Kuwagaki have taken the time to answer my questions in detail. Many thanks for that gentlemen! Enjoy the interview.

Michael

Hey, how are you guys doing? Thanks for taking the time for the interview!

Gou and Kazuki: Hello! We are doing very well, thank you for giving us the interview!

In my opinion with "Into The Storm" you have released a super cool album that makes you feel good. What is the feedback you get about the album?

Kazuki: We have got a number of reviews and interviews. We are just feeling happy that people in overseas countries are listening to our album and giving us great responses. We have taken 10 years until we release our first album, but I'm very happy that we could make it this far. We'd like to say thank you to all the people who supported us thus far.

Gou: Thank you very much. I am very satisfied with the album's quality. It's been 10 years since we formed the band, and the album contains the entire history of the band so far. The theme of this album was to create an album with a perfect mix of fast songs, melodious songs, and many other variations, like a storybook. It was a very challenging experience for me, but I'm glad I was able to make it work. I am happy that we were able to release the album. We would like to thank all the people who supported and helped us to get to this point.

When I listen to the CD, I have a feeling of hearing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Blind Guardian on speed. Am I right or are there other influences that have crept onto the album?

Gou: All those bands you mentioned are ones I like! Let me tell you about my musical influences. I am strongly influenced by hard rock as well as heavy metal, so I think my melodic side from the hard rock influence comes into my songs naturally. The guitarist I admire the most is Michael Schenker. I grew up listening to his guitar solos on 'Rock Bottom', 'Love To Love', 'Looking For Love', etc. I love his emotional guitar sound. When I was a teenager, I used to listen to his guitar and analyze it every day. In terms of guitar orchestration, I'm also influenced by Brian May. As for bands, I was greatly inspired by Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Savage Grace, Metal Church, Cloven Hoof, Shok Paris, Liege Lord, Sinner, Agent Steel, Sortilege, Omen, Grim Reaper, Rainbow, Scorpions, UFO, MSG. etc. In terms of Japanese bands, Loudness, Wolf, Aion, Anthem, Dementia, Crowley, X, Prowler, Hurry Scuary, Vow Wow, Mari Hamada, Kuni, Flatbacker, Earthshaker and Salem have a large influence on me.

What are your lyrics about? From reading the titles I'd say they absolutely fit into the traditional heavy metal mould.

Kazuki: I basically make the lyrics in English. Sometimes I create the content from the beginning, and sometimes I base it on images that Gou created in Japanese. There is not one particular theme, but I think I am influenced by Japanese manga and Hollywood movies. For instance, in 'Riders Under The Sun', I was inspired by the Japanese manga Initial D and Beck, and the Hollywood movie "The Fast And The Furious". Also, in all the lyrics, I tried to give them a cool sound. I am not a native speaker, so there were some aspects that were difficult, but I was able to make something that I was satisfied with.

I find the cover of the CD mega cool, this was also my first reason to listen to the CD. Is that to be understood as a kind of homage to old Japanese monster movies?

Gou: Thank you very much. As for the concept of cover art, the monster is the band's mascot character and has appeared on the previous 7" EP. We may have been potentially influenced by Godzilla. Since the previous 7” EP portrayed monsters attacking people, I wanted to see the opposite this time: people standing up to the monsters. I also thought it would be cool to express the fierceness of heavy metal with intense lightning and raging seas. I had already decided to include the sound of thunder in the beginning of the title track, 'Into The Storm', and I knew that it would be an important part of the album. So, I wanted to reflect the image of this song in the cover art. We asked Mario E Lopez M to draw the cover art for this album. We gave him a brief sketch and image, and he drew a cover art that fits our musical style perfectly. We feel very happy to have worked with him.

You have two of the three songs on the album that have already been released on your 2014 demo and as a single in 2018 and now released again on the album. Do you have a lack of ideas in terms of songwriting?

Gou: The reason why I put 'Attacker' and 'Danger Zone' on the album is because they are very important songs for the band. I wrote these two songs 10 years ago when I was 18 or 19 years old, and they were the first songs that I could feel confident in. These songs are very special to me, and we always play them at our live shows, and they are one of the most exciting songs. These two songs have given us many things. That's why I had decided to include these two songs in the full album since a long time ago. As for 'Attacker', the arrangement of the guitar solo has changed dramatically since the demo. The previous 7" EP also contains a version of the song after the arrangement, but now we can play it more quickly and aggressively, so I wanted to record it again with our best performance ever.

I have lots of ideas for songs. I'm constantly working on new songs. But I try to provide the band with only the good ones that meet my own standards. I myself am very excited to see what kind of songs we will be able to create in the future.

How did it happen that you have only released one studio album all this time?

Kazuki: Heavy metal is a minor genre in Japan, especially old school metal, and there are very few young people who play this music. Therefore, when a member leaves the band, it takes a long time, sometimes several years, to find the next member. In our band, after the initial members left, the remaining members, Gou and I, continued to search for members for a long time. During the time we also went to a studio and played, and, I don't know why, but we went around to secondhand stores to look at used guitars. I think we might have wanted to do something for the band. From this kind of circumstance, it took 10 years for us to release our first album, but the quality of this album is very satisfying, and we are very happy to have made it this far.

Some of your current and former members are also active in Evil. That's a pretty different kind of metal. How does it come about?

Gou: As you know, the drummer also plays in Evil. I also played guitar in Evil for a while. Our musical styles are very different, but it's very exciting to be exposed to different kinds of music. I've also learned a lot of approaches to guitar playing that I've never tried before. I was like, "Wow! I didn't know there was such an approach!" It was so fun and a great experience that helped me grow. So, playing with Evil was a great experience. I also think that even though they and we have different musical styles, we have something in common in terms of our essence. It's hard to put into words what it is, but anyway I think they play exciting and great music.

Why did you have to resort to guest vocalist George Itoh, who also sings with Risingfall and Military Shadow? Doesn't anyone want to have the position as a permanent singer?

Kazuki: Since Significant Point does not have an official vocalist at the moment, we asked George to record vocals for the album. Risingfall, Military Shadow and Significant Point are close friends, and George is also a friend of the band members, so we asked him. We can trust his abilities and personality. Even though he did not have enough time to prepare and practice, he did that amazing job with great quality. I also learned a lot from how he sang the lyrics I wrote. It was a real pleasure to work with him. As mentioned above, it takes time to find members for a metal band in Japan. We are still in the process of looking for a new vocalist.

One of the things that really impresses me about the album is the guitars. Was it planned from the beginning that you put guitar solos so much in the foreground?

Gou: That's right. I think the emphasis on guitar playing is one of the major strengths of Significant Point, this approach came naturally. I write guitar solos with the mindset that they are "another song within a song". As for my approach to playing guitar solos, I think that technique and theory are very important, but I believe that the most important priority is the quality of the melody. Technique is just a way to assist in playing the melody, and I play the guitar with two things in mind: feeling of the moment and playing a good melody. In the world of music, each person has a different feeling, and the right answer is different for each person. For this reason, I believe that making music is a way of confronting oneself. I try to create songs and guitar solos with a clear standard for myself in order to have consistency in my music.

Significant Point as well as Evil are both signed to the German label Dying Victims Productions. How satisfied are you with the label, which is known for its pretty cool bands?

Gou: We are honored to release our album on Dying Victims Productions. We were thinking of starting work on the album in 2019 and Dying Victims Productions offered us the opportunity to release the album at that time. They have always kindly supported us, and we are very happy to be able to work with them. Japan is a country where there are very few old school heavy metal bands. But in Europe, I think there are a lot of bands. So, I have always been longing for the European scene. I was very happy when I got the offer.

Which bands from Japan can you recommend to us?

Kazuki: For example, for younger bands, I would recommend Risingfall, Military Shadow, and Hell Freezes Over. Of course, there are many more great bands out the in Japan, heavy metal is a minor genre and the underground scene is very small. So, I was very happy and grateful that the overseas scene paid attention to us with this release. I hope that the Japanese scene will become more active in the future, and that Japanese metal scene will attract more attention not only from Japan, but also from the overseas scenes. To that end, I hope our activities will contribute to the revitalization of the Japanese scene.

Gou: There are many great bands in Japan, such as Risingfall, Military Shadow, Hell Freezes Over, Evil, Bafomet, The Blue Scream, Chase The Top, and many more. I recommend these bands. If you are interested, listen to them! Of course, there are many more great bands in Japan.

Last but not least, the last words belong to you!!!

Gou and Kazuki: We hope that many people will listen to our album. This album is the culmination of everything we've done so far and contains 10 of the best songs in the 10 years since the band formed. All the members have given it everything. We believe that this album is filled with intense speed metal, melodic songs, splendid twin leads, and a lot of attractiveness. We hope you will check out the album Into the Storm!

Thank you very much for the interview!

Gou and Kazuki: Thank you very much too! Take care of your health!