Interview EVERGREY : The storm within

Johan du groupe Evergrey a répondu à quelques questions notamment sur The Storm within le nouvel album mais aussi sur la tournée qui arrive bientôt ! ​ • The Storm Within is out now, can you say what is the purpose of this album? We wanted to make a record that felt desolate, barren, desperate, dark, cold, hopeless. Those were some of the key words that helped us focus on what we wanted to acheive. I think we made it! • What about the writing process, producing storm within…? We started writing after we came home from the North American tour in September last year. It was mainly Tom and Jonas doing the bulk of the work with the rest of us coming in with our two cents. I think "Disconnect" was the first song written and it set the tone and vibe for the rest of the album. ​ • Could you describe your music, particularly your album concept? The concept is about love and the loss of love, going through the turmoil and chaos of separation, and finding out who you are in this new situation. • You make many references to human relationship and the different faces of human nature, are you inspire by this subjects? Of course. It's life, you know? We all interact with people all the time. There are stories everywhere if you just look. • Is family and friends give you some inspiration? Yes, obviously the ones closest to us, people we see everyday, is an inspiration. Sometimes good, sometimes not. • Can you tell us about your dreams for Evergrey? I think we're in a very good place now, as a band. We do things our way, on our terms which is really liberating. But, of course, there are countries we haven't been to that we'd like to play, like Japan for instance. Still many things to do and places to play. Onwards and upwards! ​ • The tour will began in October the 14th at Cologne, Germany. Are you exciting? Tell us more about it. Yes, we will be special guest to Delain, and have KOBRA AND THE LOTUS as opener. It's a five week tour that will take us all over Europe including some places we've never been. It's going to be great. We're really looking forward to it. • What band did influenced you? Artists, songs or albums? There are too many to mention, but I'll give it a shot: Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Pink Floyd are some early ones. Deftones, Tool, M83 are some newer ones. • How do you feel the music business today? Well, bands don't sell as many records anymore, which makes it difficult to make a living doing this. You have to find other areas, like touring and merchandise. • In France, it is very difficult to a metal band to produce is own music. How is it in Sweden? On one hand, it's easier since you can make a decent recording at home. You don't have to rent an expensive studio. On the other hand, it's hard because there's so much music to try to get through. I don't have a good answer. • Your first album is “The Dark Discovery” in 1998, in what way Evergrey have evolved since? I think any progress has been natural, in the sense that we're not forcing anything that shouldn't be there. But, we're not going to make the same record over and over again. That's not who we are. We like trying different things. • Do you work on the new Samuel Arkan's album, “Epysode 3”, if yes, can you tell us more about it? I did not. I think @Tom did, though. • What message do you want to send to the new generation? Dream and dream big. Work hard to be the best you can be, because nobody will do it for you. And surround yourself with people who support you and lift you up. • Thanks for this new album, it’s awesome, what next for Evergrey, a new DVD Live? Thank you! Well, we have some touring to do. That's priority one. As far as a new DVD, it would have to be something special for us to even consider doing one. The right venue, the right circumstances. I don't know. Never say never. ​ Un grand merci à Johan et à Evergrey !