Interview By Marc "Peston" Sels

 

 Angeli Di Pietra is a very talented Belgian gothic/power metal band with an excellent cd on their account, "Storm over Scaldis", released in 2009.  I'm sure we're gonna hear more from them (they are gonna be HUGE) I had a talk with the leadsinger of the band, Sjoera Roggeman. Besides her the band exists of Guy Van Campenhout (male vocals), Kurt Hermans (bass & backing vocals), Vincent Pichal (drums & piano) and lead guitarist Gaël Sortino and Quevin Smeyers on rhythm guitar.

According to your website, you're back in the studio for recording. Can we expect new material very soon?

At the moment we're not in the studio, but we're already hard working with the preparations. All songs that will be recorded, are ready, the plan is to hit the studio in the studio in March-April. It will take quite a while before the CD is really finished and available.

By the way, how were the reactions and selling of "Storm over Scaldis"?

Quite good, especially from Germany we received very much reviews, most of them very positive. On the internet "Storm over Scaldis" turned up all over Europe in blogs, forums etc. , and we are very pleased with this. Of course we also had a few negative reactions, but you have to live with that. A lot of bands that are big now, were in the early days torpedoed, that happens to everybody. And, sometimes the critic is right, and you can learn from such a negative review.

A Belgian band with an Italian name, singing in English, can't it be more international?

Everybody react surprised about our Italian bandname, but there are enough bands with Danish, Norwegian or Swedish names that are not originated from these countries at all. Or Italian bands with an English name, you see it all the time. We wanted something original and striking, and I think we've succeeded. It's a name that sticks, that you recognize when you see it on a poster or cd.

Sean Killey (drummer of Alice In Chains) once said :"All good singers are freaks". Are you a freak?

I think I'm a quite common, normal person who likes to be on stage, and who gives the best of herself. A freak? What is the definition of a freak? Someone who's not like 99 % of the population? Yes, than I'm a freak. I refuse to be labeled and I really don't feel the need to be just like everybody.

Which cd's, books, comics, movies would you take with you to a deserted island? And please explain?

Books : "Magician" from Raymond E. Feist because it's my all time favourite book and Terry Pratchett because his books are just hilarious, the perfect books to kill time on a deserted island. For CD's I'll take Sabaton for sure, a great band and we have beautiful memories of their appearances with a bunch of drunken fans from all over Europe are connected to them. Also HIM, because I'm a die-hard fan since I was 13 and Mozart, just because that man was just a genius.

In Antwerp, almost one on three votes for Vlaams Belang (an extreme right political party). Isn't that frightening?

We are a non-political coloured band and we like to stay away from the political scene. Therefore I prefer not to answer this question.

Do critical lyrics about society have to come from the punks, or can a metalband also be engaged?

As I told you in the last question, we dissociate us from such lyrics. Music must be available to all, and not only for the followers of a political party. Of course everybody has his own vision, and I don't see why a metalband couln't write such lyrics.

What do you prefer, performing live or recording new songs in the studio?

It both has its charm, at live gigs it's about the kick you get when you got the audience with you, the adrenaline when you're running around on stage. Most of the time there is a heavy party with the bandmembers and fans after a concert. The studio is quite different, you're together with the other bandmembers, and in spite of it is hard labour, I usually have the time of my life. We are very close to eachother, and a few weeks together sometimes give the most hilaric situations.

Do you have a lot of studiotime at your disposal to record a new cd? And how does such a recordingsession work?

This time we planned the same amount of time as with the first cd, we go into the studio for about a month. It all went well that time, so it shouldn't be a problem now. Because we all have a job, it is impossible for all of us to be at the same time during the complete recordingsessions in the studio all the time. Guy and I for exemple come to the studio together when the instruments are almost done.

Kivimetsän Druidi is singing in Finnish sometimes, Elis in German, Dalriada in Hungarian.....Don't you want to sing in "Antwerps" (the local dialect)?

There are no plans for it, first of all because it doesn't really fits with our style and secondly Dutch isn't an open and/or wellknown language. The biggest part of Europe still thinks Belgium is a complete French speaking country, that proves how much people know about Dutch. Finnish and German still have some "cool", Finnish because it is the language in Black metal and German because a lot of bands made that language popular. Dutch is hardly sang. Now Heidevolk set the trend, and who knows, maybe many will follow when it seems to touch some strings but not for Angeli Di Pietra.

The Belgian metalscene is quite small, but there is a lot of quality (I think for example about Serpentcult, Theudho, Taranis, Gwyllion...). Do you know eachother, or do you all live on their own island?

Often after a gig we stay and have a beer with the other performing bands, so we surely don't live apart. I think in the Belgian metalscene there is a lot of good-fellowship, but of course that depends purely from the personal attitude of the bandmembers. With some bands we get along very well, because one or more members were already friends of us, or because we started talking after a show.

Channel Zero is back together, they've sold out the AB (well-known concerthall in Brussels) six times in a row and they will perform at the Graspop Metal Meeting this summer. What do you think of it?

I don't have an opinion on this, when Channel Zero stoped, I was 10, an age I wasn't into metal quite yet. It's very nice for those guys that they're so successful back immediatly but I never listened to them and I never had any connections with them.

By the way, can we expect you at the Graspop festival or the Metal Female Voices Fest?

I hope so. Which band does not dream of being on stage at one of these festivals? At the moment there are no concrete plans, but that can always change of course.

When you release a new cd, it comes with extended touring. Can we expect you on the Flemish podia?

We hope not only to conquer the Flemish podiums but also the rest of Belgium and outside. We're writing especially at the festivals in France, Germany and the Netherlands, we'll see what comes out of it.

Any further plans for 2010?

Conquering the whole world of course, keep working on our road to fame. It's like AC/DC said : "It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock'n'roll".

And at last, any 'Famous last words'?

Powerfolk to the masses!!!

So that's all, folks! Anyone who wants more info about the band : you can visit them at their official site (links below)

 

Links

Sjoera Roggerman Official Profile

Angeli Di Pietra Official MySpace

Angeli Di Pietra Official Site

 

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