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Interview With David DeFeis - Virgin Steele
The following interview was made on the 17.09.2002. After assuring that David was in good condition, the question assault could begin.
Let's start with talking about the first two albums (which were released on 23.09 2002). It has been a long time since 1982 and 1983, and they have never been on cd before. Has it been a long process getting them re-released and on the market?
Not really, I only had the time to really think about doing them properly within the past year, after I finished The House Of Atreus Act II, and went on tour in 2001, came home, I guess it was march 2001, that was the first time I could really find time to actually get to the tracks and see, so I did some work then and I finished up this past summer, so it was really only a month to put everything together, but it was a healthy amount of work finding the right photos and all that kind of stuff, the packaging, and I don't know if you had seen the actually booklets and everything, but it is a very very nice package.
I only got these promo things, but I will be buying them very soon ha ha.
There was some discussion also on the internet, with some problems with Jack Starr (first guitarist on VS 1 and 2), has that been resolved?
Yeah that's a resolved issue. He tried to put them out himself, but we were stopping him from doing that, because he doesn't have the right to do that. So we basically worked it out, it is a done deal, it's a done issue, its nothing to be concerned about.
So no bad vibes or?
Ah no good vibes, no vibes at all, it ancient history and I'm not interested in persons such as him.
Thats an attitude I can clearly understand, the main issue is that they are on the marked, and to me they sound great
Thanks.
And with cool bonus tracks also.
Thanks a lot man.
On the first album the original mixes and the new mixes are a bit changed around, I noticed, Still In Love With You features only the new mix, is there a reason for that?
The original mix didn't survive that well, but the multitrack is very faithful to the original mix, only that it sounds better, stronger and clearer. Yeah I could have used some inferior secondary copies that I had, or taking it directly from the vinyl, which would have been horrible, rather than do that I chose to remixed it from the original performances, the original multitrack. All the remixes are quite faithful to the original mixes, the difference is that they sound better, you can hear what is going on.
Its pretty cool that the last four songs, three of them are the original mix so you can listen to what the progress has been, that is a good idea.
I would like to talk a bit about your career, not so for hours, but there are a clear progress from Virgin Steele I to Guardians Of The Flame and then on to Noble Savage, was it a natural process for you in writing more symphonic and epic songs?
I think so, the first album was done after we had only been together for three weeks, so it was just a product of jamming, and just going for it. Then we had a bit more time to reflect a little bit in the song writing process for Guardians Of The Flame, so things got a bit bigger so we said ok what was good about the first album, what could have been better, how could we push the envelope on the second and that is a result of that.
And then I think the EP stuff came out at a good time, that was probably the best demonstration of what that particular line-up could do, it had the most aggression, not that it was sonically any better than Guardians, but it captures a really good vibe or attitude of the band at that point of time, so I was happy to include them as bonustracks on Guardians Of The Flame.
And then yeah Noble Savage was really the first album, it was the first album which had a proper budget, and more time reflecting upon what we were doing, still recorded at breakneck speed, but we were also getting much better and more profession at doing such things.
Some of the bonus tracks you put on Noble Savage in the version from 1996 are pretty fantastic I would say. Were they tracks that was just laying around or some that didn't make the LP version ?
Ah the bonustracks from Noble Savage, what were they... Obsession, Come On And Love Me and Where Are You Running To Now were recorded during the sessions for Noble Savage, also Hot And Wild which appears later on The Book Of Burning, and Saturday Night was from that time.
It was a question of what we wanted to include in this album, you know what can fit in 40 minutes on the vinyl, what shows the strongest performances, what were the strongest mixes you know, the original mixes of some of these tracks where not as good as what the other songs where, they didn't quite hold up.
So let us hold on to them and maybe put them out later, but later got later and later. It was a nice thing to go back and visit those things, and bringing them up to speed, you know sonically master them, and I remixed things like Where Are You Running To Now, and worked a lot of those tracks so that they had the original performances, but they are much more pleasing to the ear.
A track like Thy Kingdom Come is surely one of my all time favourite tracks ever made.
Thanks man.
Brilliant lyrics, and I would say that Noble Savage for many stands out for as a classic in Metal history, I guess that you are pretty proud of that?
Thanks, yeah I know that, I definitely am. It is a album that got a lot of people into the band with, so I think of it as the first album, and the track you like so much, Thy Kingdom Come, was written at a really low point in my life, and that song made me come back to life again so to speak. I can picture myself right now at my desk, my wooden desk writing the lyrics before going in to sing it, and I remember where I was at the time, I actually recall very clearly the season I recorded the vocals for that song, and Come On And Love Me in the same evening. I remember doing that and taking the tapes home, and listening to them back home in the car.
Age Of Consent is the next stop on the way. That was a more difficult album for you to make, as I can read in the notes, but still the songs for me are in the same league as Noble Savage. A song like The Burning Of Rome is still a classic today. Why was that more difficult to make?
Yeah, Noble Savage was relatively easy to make, the engineer in the studio understood what we were trying to do. Every album has its own little problems, it took maybe 6-7 weeks from start to finish, recording, mixing taking days off and stuff like that so it was relatively painless.
Age Of Consent on the other hand was like 8 month of torture, because I really didn't get on with the guy that was engineering the record, and we were at odds every day, and I were also doing a head where nothing sounded good to me. We would go in and record stuff all day, the next day I would go in and listen back, to begin doing overdubs and something on a song, and I would end up erasing everything we did the day before. This went on for weeks, yeah it was like insane, and I drove poor Eddy completely crazy ha ha, and I drove myself crazy.
Had many fights with the engineer, stormed out of the studio many times, it was a difficult difficult album to make, also because the band was pulling in different directions, we had a manager at that time who wanted us to be like Bon Jovi or Mötley Crue, and some of the guys in the band wanted us to be that way, you know, the drummer and the bass player was ok lets jump on that bandwagon, Edward were somewhere in the middle, he just wanted to make a good record, he didn't care what we did basically, he just let me do my thing, and I was more in for doing the full hardcore Metal thing.
So we were at odds and I tried to appease that fraction or split as much as I could, but it was difficult, definitely difficult. And then we sort of fractioned, the bass player was not even on the album, I ended up erasing all his tracks, he never came to grips with the actual learning any of the material properly, so I ended up playing bass on the record, so it was a very strange time.
Next stop is Life Among The Ruins, could the difficult time with Age Of Consent have something to do with the relatively many years that went by before you released something new?
Yeah we were still trying to play live, and doing our thing. We were a bit burnt with the whole industry thing, the experiences with the manager who where'd been fired. So we had to rebuilt, regroup and reform the whole concept and that took some doing.
Life Among The Ruins was the first result of that reconvening kind of thing. Marriage 1 really kicked the door in and from that point forward I was like "well everybody is against us, so I'm just going to do it myself and let go", and I found some people in Europe who were keen on the band and stated working with them, and just went full steam ahead from that point forward.
There is a different style on Life Among The Ruins, more direct and maybe a bit "fresh", but a good album.
The next one The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Part 1, that really set a new beginning for me when I listen to the albums, lyrically The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Part 1 is for me very complex, was that an overall aim to make some very poetical lyrics? I can se that there are connections in themes an songs between Heaven 1 and 2, but for me it is more the overall themes that connect the albums, can you see it that way?
Yeah, I was really trying to push the envelope in all directions both musically and lyrically, I was trying to refine my sort of romantic and barbaric sensibilities into my own voice so to speak you know. It was in the lyrics, so the lyrics could be read as poetry on their own, separate from the music and of cause within the music, to be able to make sense as something sung, and sound like they made sense. And largely how I work is when I'm writing I work with sounds and shapes and sometimes the initial lyrics do come and I keep them from the original inception, and sometimes I just sing certain sounds that not necessarily make sense. I found words that fits those sounds, which then again have to have meaning which again is a difficult thing because I'm trying to operate from with what fits the voice well, you know, as comparative as the initial spark comes out of me unto the tape recorder when I'm writing.
Yeah so the Life Among The Ruins album was kind like a throw back to the earlier influences, like the Zeppelin kind of things, and what we did in the beginning Edward and I when we were first jamming together before Virgin Steele was formed.
That was just a collection of songs we had, and there it was, it wasn't supposed to be over the top epic, but I wanted to get back into that style quit quickly and that's where all the Marriage things happened, but I do really love the Life Among The Ruins album, it was quite personal to me, but I was also writing some of the things that appeared on Marriage 1 at the same time, songs like Blood And Gasoline and Forever Will I Roam were written around the end of the writing sessions for Life Among The Ruins.
Great songs too.
Thanks.
Invictus is the next stop, and I must admit to you that Virgin Steele is my forever favourite band and this next album is my forever favourite album
Oh thanks man
It has an extremely special meaning to me, full of honour and human strength, the ability to face odds is very relateable. Was there any kind of inspiration for you writing that concept album?
Yeah there comes a point in your life where it seems everyone is against you, and Invictus was one of those times, and I just felt like I wasn't getting the co-oporation from people, even those who should have been my friends, so Invictus was just like one long scream of rage against a lot of things, and a lot of my philosophy was kind of crystallized between the Marriage and the Invictus album. This feeling of, what is it with these gods and goddesses whatever, and why should we pay some kind of tribute to these things and what was it about religion.
I was really against all of this organised religion stuff, and I was just trying to say on those records that we are divine, we are the gods and goddesses, and this is an old old concept that dating back to paganism. I guess if I had to clarify or put a label, which I don't like to do, upon what I am, I guess I am some sort of pagan you know, I don't really find solace in organised religion, it's fine for some people, great, go ahead, I wouldn't stop anybody from believing whatever they want to believe, but it is not for me. I'm more from these older older mystery cults types of things, where you worship nature and you worship yourself and try to evolve as human beings, and that was what the Invictus album was kind of saying, it was like an overthrow of the heavens so to speak, so that's why it is so angry. And it was also inspired by a car accident I had as well.
Yes I read that in the booklet.
It is also for me a great album because it says no boundaries for human activity as I read the lyrics. Just a great album.
The next one is The House Of Atreus Act I and II, which really sets a new standard for symphonic Metal, extremely bombastic, and dramatic, do you think that you on these two releases have reached some kind of limit, or can you push it further?
I think we definitely achieved something of a high calliper, a high magnitude, hopefully I can go further. I have other ideas and things I want to do, and I wouldn't like to think that that was the summit of my powers you know. I would like to go and peruse different avenues of emotions and expressions, but I definitely think that those are among my favourite songs, having written them I'm really perhaps proudest of that collection of stuff, you know from the Marriage and forward, and these things all along the way, but as a large collection I'm especially found of things on Act I and II even more so.
Yeah they are extremely full of emotion, especially some of the piano/vocal parts, they're classics already if you ask me.
Thanks, thanks.
That is also something that makes Virgin Steele very special, nobody sounds like you guys, especially when you make it so dramatic as in your resent releases.
Another thing is the history in The House Of Atreus. I read somewhere that they were some lyrics some Greek guy had written in ancient times, and you maybe coupied something on to it yourself, is that true?
The House Of Atreus myths are, you know, myths basically, and they are stories written by various people who explored the subject of Agamemnon, and his son Orestes and the wife Klytemnestra, mainly the books of Aeschylus or "Asechylos" whoever, they pronounce it in different ways in Greek.
They are a series of books this guy wrote 2 to 3 thousand years ago, that this story is based on. I'm trying to tell that tale in my own way. I did change some elements along the way. It is pretty faithful to the concepts of the original myths. Orestes doesn't kill himself in the end, that is one major difference, I had him kill himself, that was my addition to the thing. I just felt he had to do that to sort of atone for all the sins of the house. There had to be a sacrificial lamb, and that was something that there was a lot of at that time, you know the mystery cults I call them
The mysteries of Isis in Egypt, or Dionysus which are the Greek equilibrant, they were sacrificial lambs, sometimes it was a person, sometimes it was an animal, and sometimes it was a vegetable in these more vegetarian more peaceful orders. They would sacrifice these things for the city, the populace, someway to atone for the crimes, and sometimes it was a goat, and that is where scapegoat comes from. Sometimes that scapegoat was a person, and he was treated with great great honour for a year or so, and then sacrificially slaughtered. So Orestes becomes the sacrificial lamb for me at the end of The House Of Atreus.
Another thing that I have noticed is that Virgin Steele's music fit concepts very well. Is that something you have plans for in the future, developing new concepts, or maybe your next album will be different themes, are there any plans?
There are plans, and there will be another concept type of recording, I'm doing another theatre piece for the theatre that presented the stage presentation of The House Of Atreus and the Marriage works which is called "Die Rebellen" in Germany.
I'm doing another piece which will premiere in June I believe, based on some ancient Sumerian texts, concerning the figure of Lilith who was the first wife of Adam, as in Adam and Eve, and she was kicked out of the garden, and she was too much of a woman for poor Adam, so I'm working on that now. I'm also working on series of songs that are related, but there isn't a story you have to follow. So I'm doing all sorts of writing at the moment.
Ok but that's a good sign ha ha.
Yeah I think it is a good sign. I'm very happy with it, there are some twists and turns, and I think that it will be another string to the Virgin Steele bow, this next recording, so there are some different avenues that I'm exploring here.
But not some new release planned in the near future for Virgin Steele?
Ah no, I think we will wait for a while because we have done so much music in a relatively short amount of time. We would like people to digest it all before we bring out something new, so we will wait a bit.
There was some talk a while ago about making some live shows, some very long ones, and maybe they could end up on a live cd release. Has that been put on the shelf?
No no we are still thinking about that, a DVD, a live album, sure all those things are definitely in our minds to do. Maybe we will be back in the winter sometime. We are trying to negotiate various shows right now and we have been offered several dates and we're trying to see if it makes sense. So you may see us sooner than you think ha ha.
Ha ha I would sure hope so.
Us too, we enjoying playing live, and it is a wonderful release, and just an amazing feeling of communication, I really enjoy that. You're in Denmark right?
Yeah
I don't know if you came to Sweden Rock, but we really enjoyed that performance.
I read a bit about it, but I couldn't be there myself. But I saw you in when you were in Copenhagen on the Hammerfall tour.
Ah Right that was the last show of that tour ha ha.
Yeah some interesting elements in the show ha ha. It was a great show and I hope to see you here in Europe soon.
Yeah we hope to come back, like I said we might be there sooner than you think. There are quit a few dates that we're being offered. It seems that there is a lot of interest in bringing the band live out, so were just trying to work at the details. And around all that I'm trying to maintain my writing schedule, so I keep everything spinning around.
What about the tour, is that only you or maybe other bands?
I think that it will be a headliner tour sure, there are some talks about doing some shows in Spain with Blind Guardian, but other than that it will be our own shows.
I must say that with Edward Pursino in the band you surely have a strong guitarist.
I will tell him
I admire his work very much, and he has surely progressed through the years also. On act II, the solo in Arms Of Mercy for example that just blew me away.
I read that on your site, actually I did tell him that. That solo, (pause) when we record a lot of the time we do guy tracks, you know, you do the basic bits, guy keyboards or whatever guy vocal, and we end up keeping a lot of the guy tracks, because we always go for that mood, that was the original guy solo he played, and he wanted to re-recorded it, and I said no no I like leave it alone, it's fine it's good ha ha.
Ha ha another thing is that you appear on the Avantasia project and part 2 has just been released for a couple of weeks ago. Are you satisfied of what it has become?
Yeah people enjoy it, I think that he did a nice job on the whole thing. Sure I would like that the part had been a bit more fleshed out, if he could have had a few more passages for me to do ha ha.
Yeah sure ha ha.
But I can se that it makes sense. That was his vision and what he wanted to do, and I'm totally fine, I'm cool with that. Some characters has very small bits and some have these large parts, but that is the way it is in any story I guess. But yeah I would like to have had a few more lines for old Jacob to sing ha ha.
Well in the future are you open for things like this, or only in special occasions?
I am open, it's just a question of, is it right for me to do, and can I fit it within my schedule. At the time he presented this idea to me I was deep into the House of Atreus act II, so I was like oh shit, I didn't know what he was going to send me. I didn't know if I had time for it, but I said send the stuff over, and if I can do it I will. And he send something's over, little fragments of music with him doing a guy vocal, and I could see kind where he was going with this. I will properly do my thing, and if he likes it he will use it, and that basically how we worked at this thing, you know I will do some stuff and some ideas, and if you like it go ahead, if you don't like it ok no hard feelings, but he used everything I send him.
Another thing I have been wondering about, if you go to the Noise Record store shop, there is something called Snakeskin Vodoo man, what is that?
Ah well it is two things, one, it is a video package, contains the song Snakeskin Vodoo Man in video form, plus it has other videos from the Life Among The Ruins album, and as a package it contains a video, an audio cassette and a full colour poster from that particular session, a body of work. There is another version of that which is just the video by itself, and it is also a song, it's a bonustrack on the US version of Life Among The Ruins. It's a blues track, a Heavy Metal bluesie track.
Is it some thing you wrote yourself?
Yeah yeah.
Ok, I was wondering about the band right now, you toured in Europe with Frank Zummo on drums?
That was just the winter tour we did for The House Of Atreus Act II, the other drummer couldn't physically be there, but if you saw us in June in this past summer Frank Gilchriest is back and well and away.
When you are going into the studio, who are Virgin Steele if you can say it in that way?
I know that you, Edward and Frank is the base of the band, are you also the three guys that is going the record the next album ?
Yeah basically Virgin Steele is me, it's Edward, it has been Frank Gilchriest for a number of years now, Frank Zummo is like auxiliary expanded family member, sometimes he will play on a track here and there because we all think very highly of him, including Frank Gilchrist, so no ego involved, everything is totally cool. And Joshua Block who played bass on tour with us for the winter tour we did with for The House Of Atreus appeared on guitar and bass on some tracks of The Book Of Burning.
He just did the dates with us in America, and he did the dates with us this past summer, and actually we are playing Saturday, we are doing a show, a rare New York appearance. It's of course me, Edward, Frank Gilchriest and Joshua Block. We are playing at the legendary Brooklyn venue called L'Amours. We have a long long set planned, it's pretty over the top, yeah I'm looking forward to it.
Pretty powerhouse set list, we start with Invictus, oh my god we are doing Life Among The Ruins, The Voice As Weapon, Conjuration Of The Watcher, Dust From The Burning, A Token Of My Hatred, Crown Of Glory, When The Legends Die, Great Sword Of Flame, A Symphony Of Steele, The Wine Of Violence, etc. etc. etc. I Will Come For You, Veni Vidi Vici you know it goes on and on.
Is it featuring any tracks of the first two albums that has been released?
Ah we might do Guardians Of The Flame, we might do The Redeemer, we might do A Cry In The Night, Don't Say Goodbye yeah, when we come over to Europe we will probably do more of that stuff.
A song like The Redeemer would work pretty well live I would think, it is a great song.
Yeah we do that sometimes sure, we still keep that up.
Just the finally question, I read that you and Edward had done some acoustic shows in Germany, is that something that you will do in the future, or maybe something that will be on an album, you know more acoustic stuff ?
Yes it is something we really enjoy doing, and it is amazing how powerful the songs sound. People sometimes think of Heavy Metal as this noisy guitar driven animal, and that's just one aspect of Heavy Metal. Heavy Metal to me is an attitude, and the songs has this built in power, even acoustically just he and I. I didn't play any keyboards, just one acoustic guitar and my voice, and it was enormously powerful, and we really enjoyed doing that, and we will do more of that in the future. yes, we will probably do that in some live show, put that on a live album, and yeah maybe mix some of those performances we did on DVD you know later on.
I sure hope to see you live soon.
I hope so Tommy yeah.
And ones again thank you for creating this music that I love very much.
Thanks a lot for listening.
Say hello to the other guys, and thank you very much for the interview.
I will man, ok take care bye bye.
Bye. | |
Written by Tommy - 10/13/2002 |
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RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by Cedric (Anonymous) - Tuesday, November 7, 2006 | He's a fucking God :(
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