Quod me nutrit, me destruit. That which nourishes me also destroys me. So often the creative fires are fed by an internal turmoil that, while the artist and those around him are acutely aware of it, the general public remains largely in the dark. Such was the case with Stratovarius' longest-serving member, guitarist Timo Tolkki, who was also the band's main songwriter and producer for over 20 years. In 2004 it was finally revealed that the accomplished virtuoso had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder which, in all likelihood, contributed toward him falling out with his band mates and quitting Stratovarius officially in 2008. This seemingly shattering blow came near the end of a particularly dark chapter in Stratovarius' history.  In 2005, the band released their self-titled 11th album, returning to former longtime label Sanctuary after a trio of releases on Nuclear Blast, only to see Sanctuary go belly up, leading to a string of legal entanglements which left Stratovarius deeply indebted as legal fees mounted. Now, in 2009, Stratovarius has emerged relatively unscathed from what could have been a fatal situation, erasing their debts and releasing their 12th studio album, Polaris, with new ax man Matias Kupiainen on board. Keyboardist Jens Johansson sat down with Fight during the band's tour stop in Taipei in early September to discuss the hard times leading up to the release of their new album, which was written and recorded in relative seclusion in two different cottages in the Finnish countryside, the tumultuous relationship with their former guitarist, and the way forward for one of the most enduring bands in power metal.

Much has been made of the so-called Big Four of thrash, consisting of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. And though Metallica has recently taken steps to return to their punchier, thrashier roots with Death Magnetic following the industry-wide panning of St. Anger, and Megadeth has released a career-defining album this year in the critically acclaimed Endgame, Anthrax remains in the spotlight mainly due to the ongoing drama surrounding the departure of short-term stand-in vocalist Dan Nelson and the “will he or won't he” speculation on the  return of John Bush, not to mention the guessing game surrounding their next album, Worship Music, which was recorded with Nelson but now sits in limbo following his unceremonious ouster. Meanwhile, Slayer, by many accounts, is understandably starting to lose a step or two in the live performance department as the band members edge their way towards the half century mark. Thirty years of synchronized head banging is bound to take a toll sooner or later. And yet  these bands consistently enjoy more accolades than some of their contemporaries who, in a perfect world, should have expanded the Big Four into the Sinister Six, and despite a general lack of recognition save for some favorable album reviews on their latest works, are still managing to lead the thrash pack despite their advancing years. I'm talking about bands like Testament, the old guardians of thrash who have returned with an undeniable vengeance to show the retro high top sneaker and denim wearing kids of today, who were likely still in diapers if they had even been born yet at all during  thrash metal's glory days, what thrash is all about. I'm talking about Exodus, who returned in 2004 after a decade-plus hiatus to, according to band leader, guitarist and main songwriter Gary Holt, nearly singlehandedly usher in the thrash renaissance that has dominated the pages of many metal magazines for the past few years.

El Salvador’s Conceived By Hate offers an eclectic, furious debut in the four-song EP, Witness of Decay, featuring current Tainan resident Carlos Basagoitia on bass. The members of the band obviously have diverse tastes in music, and they let the best parts of their respective record collections shine through on what is hopefully an indication of what can be expected of them in the future. Vocalist Juan Carlos Oseguera has a raspy growl somewhat similar to Malevolent Creation’s Brett Hoffman, providing a fitting accompaniment the backdrop of music that resembles the death-thrash of Mexico’s Foeticide with elements of Swedish melodic death metal from the likes of Jester Race era In Flames and At the Gates, with a few unique surprises along the way.

Conceived By Hate combines brutality with straight-forward mosh sections and memorable rhythms and leads. The opening Track “Vengeance is the Law” takes the listener from one of the aforementioned elements to the next, featuring a clean interlude in between harmonized guitar leads, death metal blast beats and riffs, and a ripping solo.

This is followed by the title track, which is the first time the keyboard work of Tulio Mata becomes readily evident in the mix, providing an intensely dark atmosphere to the song. The band demonstrates that the musicians collectively possess a well-rounded sense of song structure, as evidenced by the Morbid Angel-style outro lead to appropriately compliment the track’s apocalyptic tone.

Every band’s front man or woman has probably had to deal with varying degrees of stage fright at one point or another in their career. For some, the feeling can be assuaged with an alcoholic beverage or two, while for others the thought of facing a crowd of any size requires something a bit stronger, and may involve multipble trips to the bathroom to void their stomach contents. For Lacrimosa’s main man Tilo Wolff, the cure before his band’s first show was a bottle of whiskey, an all too common remedy in the entertainment industry. But there was nothing common about Lacrimosa’s first gig.

How many bands have made their live debut in front of a festival crowd of 15,000 pairs of staring eyes? That’s not exactly open mic night down at the local booze dispensary. So how was Lacrimosa able to forego the years of paying their dues? It wasn’t so much a conscious decision as it was Tilo’s aversion to crowds that led Lacrimosa, which for the past 16 years has been headed by Wolff along with his collaborator and wife, Anne Nurmi, to delay their first concert until the release of their fourth album.

“For many years people offered me to go on stage and I was always like, no,” recalls Wolff. “Then when I finally said yes it was a festival in front of 15,000 people. And I thought, ‘If I do it, I do it the hard way.’ Because then there’s no turning back. It was the only way for me. After that concert I knew I survived; with a whiskey bottle and drinking hard, but still I survived.”

There’s an age-old story about a lethargic tortoise and a potentially A.D.D. addled hare that ends with the adage, “Slow and steady wins the race.” These words of wisdom could be applied to many areas of life: sexual foreplay, playing the stock market, world travel. However, many bands who have tried to use this same strategy in their careers have ended up on a slow and steady steamboat to nowhere. They are overtaken by bands that understand that slow and steady is all well and good at the start of the race, but if that’s the approach you’re going to take, you’d better be ready to overtake the rest of your competitors in the final sprint. Run the whole race slow and steady and chances are you’ll be crossing the finish line when all the fans have already gone home, save for those last few diehard supporters.

But Brazil's Hibria is one band which has made the slow and steady approach work for them. The band was founded 13 years ago, and over the course of their existence they have released just two full-length albums, 2004’s Defying the Rules, a concept album following the personal evolution of a character called the Steel Lord, a former arena gladiator who starts another life on the open road aboard a motorcycle, and 2009’s The Skull Collectors, the band’s second concept effort about a fighter pilot turned tortured mercenary.

“I need 3,500 Taiwanese dollars!” Into Eternity’s multi-octave vocalist Stu Block says as he pokes his head in through one of the windows beside the semi-enclosed booth at the small café inside the Taipei venue known as the Wall where the band will play on May 17th, 2009.

“OK, what for?” Asks band founder and lead guitarist Tim Roth like a father asking a son why he needs an advance on his allowance, his shaved head and severe goatee suggesting a stern figure, a far cry from his utterly approachable and outgoing personality.

“I’m going to get the logo right here on my arm! The tattoo guy next door is going to do it right now! I will pay you back!” replies Block in a staccato rapid fire manner that reveals just how genuinely excited he is about getting some new ink. Never mind that the band will be on in a little over an hour. Roth agrees and just a few minutes later Block is under the needle, getting the Into Eternity logo on his right arm between the bicep and the forearm. As many metal enthusiasts are already aware, the pain of getting a tattoo is temporary, but the mark lasts a lifetime.

This article also appears in the May Issue of Music In Magazine. For more news and features on the music scene in Taiwan and abroad, pick up a copy today.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me say this right off the bat: I don’t like power metal. There, I said it. A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. What can I say? It’s not that I hate it. I can definitely respect it, as I’m not one to put down one form of musical expression in favor of another, and I’ll never dismiss any form of musical expression as being invalid. Such arguments are useless and do nothing to further the noble cause of metal. However musicians choose to express themselves is completely up to them, and far be it from any one person  to criticize them for what is a highly personal choice. But power metal just isn’t my thing. As I sit down to write this, I would like nothing more than to pretend that I live, breathe and dream power metal, and bow down at the altar of  bands such as Helloween, Edguy and Gamma Ray. But I just can’t do it. I might be able to lie about a lot of things, and I may even enjoy it, but musical taste just isn’t one of them.

So, if I’m going to start off on this inauspicious note, I’d better back up my opening statement. Why don’t I like power metal? Though I may be alienating myself from many a reader, here goes nothing. I find the typical over-the-top vocal delivery and cheery, saccharine upbeat guitar riffs painfully cheesy. Beats that audibly resemble the galloping of a thoroughbred nag conjure up images in my mind of the final stretch at the Kentucky Derby, not god-like heavy metal status. Extended guitar solos—ostentatious. And the subject matter? When did singing about Dungeons and Dragons become masculine and cool? With all due respect to Manowar, it’s not. Does it have camp value? Sure, why not. Is it good for a drunken laugh from time to time? Absolutely. But cool? Hardly. Not that metal has ever been about being cool, whatever that tired and ambiguous term even means today, but come on.

This article also appears in the March Issue of Music In Magazine. For more news and features on the music scene in Taiwan and abroad, pick up a copy today.

Legendary progressive power metal band Symphony X wrapped up the touring cycle for their latest album, Paradise Lost, in Taipei on February 22nd, 2009. Vocalist extraordinaire Russell Allen talked to Music In about the highs and lows of being in a band that thrives on being underestimated. 

“We’re the outsiders. We come in middle of the night and steal your chicks and your money and we’re gone.”
--Russell Allen, Symphony X

A young band, its members just starting out on the downward slope towards the age of 30, sits at a unique crossroads. Nearly a half a decade into their career, and with three solid albums under their belt, each a study in high-precision, blazing guitar leads and memorable metal riffs, with vocals that pay homage to metal greats such as Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson and the like, they have yet to play a single show. They’ve known neither the crushing disappointment of playing to two people in the middle of nowhere after a 12 hour van ride through the non-descript Midwestern countryside, nor the dizzying high of hearing hundreds, or even thousands, fervently singing along with every epic-inspired lyric following a 12 hour overseas flight. In their midst is one of the greatest virtuoso guitar players this side of Malmsteen and Uli Jon Roth, and yet, outside of the shredder haven of Japan, the band is virtually unheard of.