על נפילת האימפריה – והעליה של Fairyland

An Ancient kingdom, a gorgeous queen, and a warrior in service of the forces of light – These are but few of the landscapes and characters inhabiting "Osyrhia", the creation of French keyboardist Philippe Giordana, the man behind symphonic power metallers Fairyland. The band, founded 8 years ago under the moniker of "Fantasia", released its debut album in 2003, bringing another facet to the world of "Fantasy Metal", dominated by the likes of Blind Guardian and Rhapsody – and it was well received by fans around the world. After a few lineup changes, eventually taking form as a complete band, Fairyland are back with "The Fall Of An Empire", a continuation of the story they started with their debut, taking the listener to new imaginary places. To find out more what the band is about, Philippe gave us the low-down on their story so far.

After a successful debut and the introduction to the world of Osyrhia, Fairyland returns with "The Fall Of An Empire", what can you tell us about the story behind the new album?

Without unveiling the whole plot, I can say that the story continues right after the battle that ended the first chapter of this chronicle. The armies of the light are defeated and condemned to be slaves under the reign of Cenos. Doryan is put in an eldritch sleep for 500 hundred years, until he slowly awakes and prepares a counter-strike to free the people of Osyrhia.

Why was the album released first in Japan, and only now in the rest of the world?

Japan often gets the exclusivity for an album’s release, due to the prohibiting price of CDs out there. For a Japanese fan, its cheaper to import a euro CD than buying a Japanese edition. That’s also why Japan almost always gets a bonus track. The delay between Japanese and Worldwide release allows the sells to be boosted a bit there during that laps of time….

How did you come to sign with Napalm Records? They are not your typical label for a Symphonic Metal band such as yourselves.

The deal was worked out by our management company, Intromental Management. We are very lucky indeed to have signed with such a serious label as Napalm, which is not usually turned towards symphonic speed metal. Maybe the evolution we presented in our music fits more with their perceptions and tastes…

The cover artwork for the new album is very different then the first one, which was more Light-Fantasy oriented, the current one is with of an Epic battle theme. How did you choose the concept behind the new artwork?

It was worked-on very hard by Genzo, our illustrator, and myself. We tried to make it fit with the concept of this second album. The creation process was quite similar to one of a movie: I gave the basic ideas, then Genzo came out with different designs for the characters, landscapes, armors… We decided together of what was the more suiting and finally came up with that result, which is way beyond my expectations…

Since your first album came out, Fairyland has gone through some line-up changes. What happened to the previous members and why were they replaced?

We decided to get rid of Willdric after some personal and professional struggles. It was just impossible to work with him anymore. TFOAE is, by the way, a good evidence that he was not un disposable. He now has his own band: Hamka. Elisa decided to let us go along our own path so she could take care of her project: Dreamaker. We still are in very friendly terms with her, and nothing excludes her from being a guest on one of our next albums…

Why did you decide to create a fantasy world of your own for the lyrics rather then use something that was already made and maybe more developed?

First of all, it is harder (and more expensive) to use something that exists already. I also find it a bit restrictive regarding the musical creation it could generate. About development, Osyrhia is a concept that tells a story on a very long time period. The events told on OWIO and TFOAE only last 500 years in the whole, whereas the full Osyrhia story lasts more than 6000 years. Even when the journey of Doryan and the great war against Cenos are over, we’ll still have plenty of material for further albums, which we’ll be free to pick from any period of the full story…

As a fantasy metal band, I guess you read quite a few books in this genre, which are your favorites and why?

Terry Pratchett is my all-time favorite. He’s witty, funny as hell and yet manages to create a fascinating world where everything can happen. He is also one of the best critics on the human condition, stupidity, smartness… Tolkien is great too, of course, but that’s a classic.

Will this world you created be featured some day in something other then your music, like books, movie, etc'?

Well, if time allows it, Genzo and i will be working on a comic book to try and tell the whole story of Osyrhia. If we cannot complete that work, I still have the draft of the concept, and a few weeks rewriting would probably make it a decent book for die-hard fans. I’d love to have it turned into a movie or animated movie, but Hollywood hasn’t contacted me yet. *Laughs*

Was the recording process any different than in your first album and what was it like?

The first album was totally engineered by Willdric, between his bedroom and a friend’s home studio. It also took a year as Willdric was learning the recording process as he went along. On TFOAE, we recorded the guitars, bass, keyboards and choirs in my bedroom, using low budget equipment, and then went to Melody Studio near Paris, where Didier Chesneau (Headline) recorded the drums and lead vocals. Together with him, we then reprocessed the home recordings in order to give the ensemble a more homogenic touch. The mastering was then performed by Peter In De Betou at Tailor Maid Production.

What is the meaning of the name "Eldanie Uelle" and who is the female singer featured in this song and in "In Duna"? How did you get to her?

Eldanie Uelle is the name of the queen of The Havenrod, one of the seven kingdoms of osyrhia. She is very important throughout the ages for some reasons: First of all, she is the direct link between the Gods and the people of Osyrhia. She was made immortal to fulfill this task. She also leads the largest army of the light: The Army of the White Mountains. And finally, she is the advisor and councilor of the other kings, as well as a personal friend of doryan.

The female vocals on Eldanie uelle and Look Into Lost Years are performed by Flora Spinelli, singer of the young French symphonic band Kerion, which I sometimes help with recordings. In Duna is performed by Sarah Leyssac, from the French band The Outburst. She is as good friend of us and accepted to appear as a guest right away…

On the album you can hear many progressive keyboard maneuvers, how does it fit with your Epic / Speed Metal music?

If I knew… *Laughs*. These ideas just pop in my head as I’m trying to visualize a certain moment of the story. Since I work in a linear way when composing, they naturally fit in the song. If they don’t, then they’re not on the CD. Easy as that.

Do you use any special instruments in the recording or is it all keyboard work?

Sadly, there are only keyboards on this album. We were really limited by time and budget. But if we ever get the opportunity, we’ll try to have as much “live” instruments as possible…

You said that Fairyland was influenced by bands such as Rhapsody and Blind Guardian. What do you think about the change in these two bands in this genre, and do you think it will happen some day with Fairyland?

I still love BG. It would be hard for them to lift my heart again as high as with NIME, but even if it takes me a bit of time to fully apprehend their latest work, I still like it a lot. On the other hand, I haven’t been able to get touched by Rhapsody’s work after Dawn of Victory. I don’t know what exactly changed, but there was something in the first albums I couldn’t find anymore on their later works. Regarding Fairyland, we will continue to evolve, and I hope we won’t loose whatever our fans love in our music. I will do all I can to avoid that…

Do any of the band members listen to more extreme metal bands? And in specific, bands that have such epic themes / soundtrack influences like your own, such as Bal-Sagoth for example?

Each member has his own tastes, and we don’t always share them. I know I still listen to death metal such as Cannibal corpse or deicide, and so does Tom. On the other hand, he also listens to Bumblefoot, which is his favorite band. Piwee is a bit more classical, and Anthony is 100% Glam and melodic speed metal. Max listens to everything, from death to pop…

Speaking of movie soundtrack, can you tell us which are your favorite composers and what soundtracks are your favorites?

John Williams: Jurassic Park, Hook, ET. Danny Elfmann: Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare before Christmas. Hans Zimmer: Gladiator, The Rock, Madagascar. James Newton Howard: King Kong, the 6th Sense.

Are there any tour plans for Fairyland and do you plan to bring anything special on stage, other then your music, of course?

We have a few ideas already, but will wait a bit further before securing anything. Bringing something else on stage would be cool, but do you just know how much it costs to feed a real dragon during a 30 days tour???

How was the feeling to tour with Sonata Arctica a few years ago, when you jut started? Any first-time stories you're willing to share?

It was exhilarating. Anthony and I were BIG fans of SA, and it was a great experience to be with them in the bus, backstage…They have been really nice to us, and made us promise that we’d do the same if we ever get headline on a tour. As a first time story, i would just remember that on our first gig ,in Strasbourg, all the members of SA were waiting for us backstage and wished us good luck. When we finished playing, they were all once again waiting for us, clapping and sheering. Great memories.

Other then touring, what are the future plans for Fairyland members in the band and outside?

Personally, I will start working on the third album as soon as I get a bit of time. No other projects beside Fairyland. Anthony has started a side project, Stelaria, although I don’t know how advanced it is yet. The other guys haven’t mentioned anything yet.

And for conclusion, any last words for your fans in Israel?

Thanks for supporting us. We truly hope that you’ll have as much fun listening to this album as we had writing and recording it. Hope to see you all on tour, and meanwhile: STAY METAL!!!