Theatre of Tragedy

presents

"Built-up Emotions"

"Storm" heißt das neue Album der Norwegischen Gothic-Rocker "Theatre of Tragedy". Wir stellen dem Keyboarder Lorentz Aspen ein paar Fragen zur Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft der Band.

Hoerspiegel: Good afternoon, Lorentz. It’s been a while since we last heard of Theatre of Tragedy. What happend in the meantime?
Lorentz: We’ve been busy making music and there has been a lots of changes and work to do in the administrative part of the band. All adding up to the long time before we could enter studio to record this album.
Hoerspiegel: Liv Kristine left your band, and with Nell you found a new good singer. Whose decision was it that Liv left Theatre of Tragedy?
Lorentz: It was the band’s decision to part ways with Liv K. I know she was furious about it in the start, but I guess she is better off without us.
Hoerspiegel: Let’s take a look on „Storm“. What is the title about?
Lorentz: The album Storm is a collection of shortstories. The songs “storm” and the meaning of it, it is a story about how one often builds up emotions until it cannot longer be kept inside and needs to be “aired”.
Hoerspiegel: Is there a special song on the new album that you like most? And if so, why?
Lorentz: I really like Fade, it is a song where everything just went into one another and it contains a lot of emotions for me personally.
Hoerspiegel: What comes first? The lyrics or the melody?
Lorentz: We always write the music first and try to underline the intension in the song with the lyrics afterwards.
Hoerspiegel: When I look back to your debut album, the music changed in a radical way. On „Theatre of Tragedy“ we heard Dark Wave Doom Metal with light female vocals and Death-Metal-esque male growls, hard guitars, real drums and fine piano lines. The lyrics came in Old English language. It had the atmosphere of one of the old „My Dying Bride“ albums. Five years later, on „Musique“, you played Electro-Tech-Rock à la KMFDM with still female vocals (on brilliant pop songs like „Image“). The Death Metal growls changed into a speech-style and the lyrics turned from Old English into technoid and modern words. Now we have 2006, and your music converted once more. Less techniques, more piano again, and a Gothic Rock guitar sound. What will Theatre of Tragedy sound like in 2010? Do you have any plans?
Lorentz: We haven’t planned anything about how we are going to sound at least. It is something that just comes natural to us when we are in a creative modus. This time we were very focused on doing things in a very basic mode and add texture where it was needed. Next time we might try a different touch, but I have to say that most of the band feel very comfortable in this sound which is on “Storm”.
Hoerspiegel: By the way, how was it for you working with Dan Swanö in the legendary Unisound studio?
Lorentz: It was our first studioexperience and looking back at it now, it wasn’t a high quality studio, but it was a great experience. Dan was a really cool guy and did many good things with the recording.
Hoerspiegel: If you had the chance to compose a song with any musician who had ever lived on this planet at any time, who would this be?
Lorentz: Martin Gore.
Hoerspiegel: Thank you, Lorentz, for answering our questions. The last words are up to you.
Lorentz: Thanks for your time. Hope that many people will check out our new album and hope to see all of you on tour!!! Cheers Lorentz

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