SYMPHORCE recently released a new CD, a very strong album that is very diverse, yet also very melodic at times, time for a little interview with Dennis Wohlbold of SYMPHORCE…
In the late 90s ex-IVANHOE and present day BRAINSTORM frontman Andreas B. Franck decided to start SYMPHORCE, a very successful band it seems as another strong new CD has recently been released, but when and why did you decide to start another band besides BRAINSTORM?
The question should ask "When did you decide to start another band besides Symphorce" Andy got the offer to sing for Brainstorm and since the liked the band he decided to join.
SYMPHORCE is a lot more melodic than BRAINSTORM, but what is the big difference between the 2 bands?
Brainstorm plays what i call "traditional Powermetal". Symphorce combines a lot of more genres plus a modern sound. Actually we’ve got Thrash, Progressive, Gothic and of course Power metal Influences. Anyone who can’t hear the difference between both bands must be dumb.
Back to the first album 'Truth To Promises', can you tell us about that record?
It was a completely different lineup and so the music did sound different too. Nevertheless i like it. There are a couple of really good tunes on it.
At least 4 studio albums followed and now the new CD 'Become death', please tell us all about it, songs, stories and the difference with the previous 5 CDs?
Sanctuary was the first album which Cede and me were involved into it. The Main-Songwriters have been H.P. Walter (keyboard) and me. Sadly the sound was a big disappointment for me, because it sounded to oldschool-like. After that we changed to Metalblade and got several line up changes too. H.P. Walter quit and Stefan was kicked. We decided to take another guitar instead of keyboards on board. Markus Pohl was a long time friend and our first choice. After a couple of rehearsals we decided to give Sascha Sauer the seat behind the drumkit. Phorcefulahead was the first album where we used to play 7-string guitars which was the fundament for our present sound. "Twice Second" was a huge step forward. Songs and also the sound was a way better than on our previous albums but still not as good as we thought it could be. With GodSpeed we decided to change the producer. For the very first time we were satisfied with the sound and i really think "Godspeed" is a great album, even if some guys think we did too much experiments on it. The brand new album "become death" is heavier than every album before. It contains the heaviest as well as the catchiest songs ever and is definitely the highlight of our history by now.
You made a switch to METAL BLADE and it seems this is the label you're going to stick to for the future?
We already released 4 albums under Metal Blade. So it feels like we never have been anywhere else. Who knows what the future brings?
Will the future bring more SYMPHORCE and BRAINSTORM albums and will both bands continue?
Maybe... I donīt know sorry
Finally, which band do you prefer?
Symphorce - what else?! hahaha
Anything to add?
thanx for the interview Dennis Wohlbold Symphorce
Thanks for the interview.
