LANFEAR -finally successful??

The German metal band Lanfear was founded back in 1993 and their debut album “Towers” received a lot of positive reviews. Their previous album called: “Another Golden Rage” is already three years old and finally they release a new CD with the “mysterious” title: “X To The Power Of Ten”. The band has got a new singer called Nuno Miguel de Barros Fernandes and with him and their new album Lanfear would like to gain new fans and sell more albums as well. Every album, this is their fifth one, received great and positive reviews, however the band still has got an underground status; time for a change, right, Markus?

Yes, that would be nice, of course, but it is not that important as we do not need to live from our music, we all have jobs and music is “just” a hobby. Maybe it is even better if we do not become the next big thing, ha ha…. As you probably know we have always had very positive reviews and with our new record the reviews are again great, except for one…. Some reviewer wrote that we sounded like Gamma Ray or Dream Theater, well I think that he/she did not really listen to the record otherwise he/she would not write down such stupid remarks, right?

In 2006 you parted ways with singer Tobias and he has been recently replaced by Nuno Fernandes (ex-Anguish), why did Tobias leave the band, or did he have to leave???

No, there was no fight or so. It just did not fit anymore, if you know what I mean. We are all music junkies, but Tobias was not, he was just a completely other type, a completely other person and he also lived too far away from the rest of the band. So, that is why we decided to part ways with Tobias and go on with Nuno. Richie knew Nuno from a band called Ivory and he said that he would be the perfect vocalist for us. And indeed we can now say that he was/is the best singer for us. He really got a very recognisable voice and he can sing very high, but also very low. He also has a lot of emotion in his voice and that really gives a new dimension to our music.

You also changed record labels, why was that?

Well, we did “The Art Effect” and “Another Golden Rage” with Massacre Records but their promotion was not really that good. They had a tendency towards trash and death metal and we did not fit in there anymore. So, we changed to Locomotive and they spend lots of time in “their” bands, they really support us.

Your music would be ideal for Inside Out, or not?

You would say that, would you not? We contacted them several times but they never responded, no reaction whatsoever!! I think that they do not care for German bands, they are not interested in the German scene at all; at least that is what I presume….

Did it really take 3 years to finish the new album?

No, the songs were ready much earlier but we had some personal problems and therefore it took almost 3 years to complete the CD.

How would you label your music, power metal?

No, not power metal actually, although we do have some Metal Church influences and some real American power metal characteristics, but I hate those typical prog rock staccato riffs. We like to use as much varieties as possible in our music as we all are real musical junkies.

I hear Threshold influences or am I completely bonkers?

No, I hope you are not, ha ha…. I am honoured that you say that as I really love Threshold as they have the same musical approach as we have; so thanks for the compliment.

“My Will Be Done” kind of reminds me of Metallica…

In fact that song should have been called: “Our Will Be Done”. It is a concept song about us and we chose that Bay Area title of course by accident, ha ha…. But not really….

Any chance of a Lanfear DVD in the near future?

No, I do not think so; we are too small for that, we are still an underground band. Once we had the intention of adding a bonus DVD with one if our albums but somebody forgot to press the recording button for the sound, so it was a really weird DVD, pantomime actually, ha ha…. But, seriously who wants to listen to our music in Germany and besides that who plays our songs on the radio in Germany???

You should release a single to promote yourself better and my suggestion would be: “Brave New Men”…

Good idea maybe and a good choice of song but I still think that it would do nothing in Germany as youth ranging from 14-20 only know 5 bands and I can tell you that Lanfear does not belong to those 5 bands, which is again sad but true. Music with German lyrics sells like shit and I hate German lyrics. I like the music of Herbert Grönemeyer and his lyrics are really not bad, but the fact that they are in German….. I cannot listen to it, sorry… I think that the German language is not suitable for singing, at least in rock/pop music.

What are the plans for the future?

We will go on a tour consisting of about 10 to 12 gigs in February/March 2009. It is so expensive to go on tour that we cannot do more than those 12 gigs. We want to keep the entrance tickets at a fair price as we do not want to “upset” our fans, most of the concert tickets are far too expensive and also the prices of merchandise are mostly out of proportion.

We will be planning a gig in The Netherlands, so maybe we can meet there and talk some more? Thanks for your time and your interest in Lanfear. All the best.

www.lanfear.eu
www.myspace.com/thelanfear

Interview by Martien Koolen, martien "at" rockunited.com
(c) 2008 RockUnited.Com, 03 Oct 08