Evil Masquerade – ברוכים הבאים לנשף

Evil Masquerade have graced the metal world with two fantastic neo-classical power metal albums, both combining melody and heaviness to a prefect unison. With a third album out, called "Third Act", and some new members in the band, we though it prudent to chat with band guitarist and mastermind, Henrik Flyman.

Hey Henrik, hearing you have a new album is great news indeed, I understand its name is Third Act, how would you describe the album?

Very good! The previous albums spirit is still there, but at the same time it is a huge step forward production wise. "Third Act" has a greater immediate impact and is a much heavier release. I'm really proud of the songs on this one. Looking at them as a whole, I dare say it is the best collection of songs I've written so far. All the guys have done some of their best performances in their careers and even the artwork is perfect. I've said this before; "Third Act" is the album I wish I grew up with.

How similar, or different, is it from your last album, Theatrical Madness?

Even though Tommy Hansen mixes it again, I must say the sound is greatly improved. I also think "Third Act" has a much better flow through out the whole album. The two first albums had individually different characteristics and that goes for our third release as well. This is nothing that was intended but merely happened by it self. I find it interesting not being too predictable and allow for the songs to lead us. Another difference is of course our new singer Apollo Papathanasio who does an outstanding job on the new album. I feel very fortunate to be working with him.

Lyrically, Theatrical had quite a lot of dark humor running through it, is the new album the same?

Probably, because this is never anything I have thought of. Humour comes in many forms. Lyrically it's hard involving humour without being too obvious and making it silly. Instead it can be interesting to use unexpected rhymes or syllables to spice things up. I also find layered texts with multiple meanings a bit amusing. In the music it can be done many ways. I like the idea of using out-of-genre-arrangements.

I also enjoy when the orchestra plays something rarely heard to accompany a very understandable and catchy melody line. Odd time signatures that underlay 4/4 vocals can be a somewhat discrete humoristic invention as well. So can an ingenious pause. I find it ok to basically go nuts with music as long as it doesn't get in the way for the actual song. I want music first and foremost to be memorable and catchy. So if a song requires the arrangements to be more modest to allow the song itself to fly, then so it must be. "I'll Make You Burn" demonstrates this perfectly.

I understand you're doing a video for the track "Black Ravens Cry", what's in it, and why was that song chosen?

It will actually first be filmed in a couple of weeks, so it's not done yet. I don't know that much about it. I put my trust in our film crew that is considerably cleverer about such things. They will tell me what to do and where, and I will be a good boy and follow instructions. The band will be featured and some extra cast, but that's about all I know. "Black Raven Cry" was chosen because of its immediate impact. It's a very heavy tune with sing along choruses. You have to be brain-dead (or a trendy German wanna-be journalist) not to understand that melody. It's a safe song without being cheesy. I like it a lot.

I noticed that your line up changed, and that you have a different bassist and vocalist since your first two albums, what happened?

Our old bass player wanted to be able to cancel already scheduled commitments if something more interesting came up elsewhere. He suggested that we could have a stand-in if such situation occurred. That was not an option for us and he could of course see our point of view. No hard feelings involved because we solved this before any conflicting scenarios came up. Our former vocalist decided to do a solo career last year. We wish him all the best. Now we have new-motivated blood in the band and I'm really excited to move on with this great line-up.

How different is it working with the two new members compared to the old ones?

It's definitely much more effective. I have learned a lot from before about how I want things to function with recordings and rehearsals. This made it much easier to find the right guys with a similar attitude. The new guys respects my and their own time a whole lot more. They come well prepared and this allows us to focus on things we never really felt we had the time or energy to do before. I don't want time to be a preventing factor in an album production, but if something takes too much time it can really drain your creativity from functioning at its full. It's all about rehearing and knowing your stuff. There's a huge difference between recording vocals for an album in 2 months or in 3-4 days. Thor and Apollo understand this.

Apollo is known for his vocal similarity to Symphony X's Russell Allen, one of your favorite vocalists, was that one of the reasons you chose him for the part?

We chose him for two simple reasons. He has a really good and powerful voice that allows us to do basically what we want without worrying about the vocals. He's also very professional as an artist and I like him as a friend. It is very important to have a good time with the people you surround yourself with.

Apollo lives in Sweden, how does that sit in with the band's schedule?

It's not a problem. Apollo lives in the southern parts so it's not that far anyway. Of course we need to plan things a little better nowadays, but that I do with pleasure. Everything is more functional and fun now – and it's nice to speak Swedish again.

Production wise, is there anything different in the new album?

Not really. I think we as usual have gotten the absolute best from everyone. The song structures and arrangements are a bit more effective than before. Besides the fact that the sound is much improved there's a lot of the usual Evil Masquerade stuff. It's more brilliant drums from Dennis, the bass lines are still written by me so even though we have a new player – you will still recognize the melodies. I play whatever I play on the guitar to make the most out of every song. Apollo's voice is one of the most noticeable changes from before. I am 100% sure that our fans will love him. He has really shown what he's made of.

Theatrical had some classical flourishes, as did Welcome To The Show, are there any in the new album as well?

Yes, it's more of what the doctor ordered. This time we have also added some folk music to spice things up even further, and some medieval tunes. I think our old fans will appreciate the progress of the band and that we will get to see many new faces. "Third Act" is an updated Evil Masquerade anno 2006 and our influences can still be tracked back to long before 1600 if you listen carefully.

I've noticed that the band is "Big in Japan", to what extent does that reach, and what are the reasons for that?

I don't know what it is with our kind of music that is attractive to the Far East. I would guess that it's the melodic aspect of it they find appealing. I hope so, because that's what I like with music as well. We still haven't done any gigs in Japan with Evil Masquerade, but I'm sure it will come before long. To finally get to play for the many fans that supports us is something I really look forward to.

How did you get David Rosenthal to guest on the album?

I asked him if he wanted to do it. He was very busy at the time, but he really liked the music so we made it work out despite crowded calendars. This was a cool experience for me since I really like what he did with Rainbow. So to have David on the album was a true honour for me. Furthermore he plays some great solos that can make any keyboard player go home and practice.

What about live shows? What is currently planned for the band?

Now we will try to introduce us to more people. There are still too many metal lovers that haven't heard about us. That must and will change. Bring on the World!