Published by : twilight.hu
Interviewer : S.P.
Published on : March / April , 2002
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Although I'm not a big Manowar fan and all the other editors would go crazy for this interview, but I had to do it, and honestly I didn't repent it. I had a nice talk with Karl Logan guitarrist, and this guy surpassed all my expectations, he was very sympathetic and helpful, and he replied even to my provoking questions on a calm and intelligent way. Let's say he's a great guy.
It's only your second album
since you have joined the band. Don't you think that this 6 years
were a bit too long?
K.L.: It's a misunderstanding, when people think, that it
took 6 years for us to write the songs for the new album. If then
we only make a short tour and since then we were just sitting on
our ass, then I say ok, we are lazy. But during this 6 years we
were touring continuosly, we released 2 double live albums and a
live video, which the fans have been waiting for a long time. So
we were very busy. Selecting and cutting parts for the video, and
we watched hundreds of hours of materials to decide what is going
to be on it. That stands for the live albums too, plus the mixing
and etc took a lot of time. I can say, that we started to think
about the new album around 2 years ago. But before that up to
1999, the end of the Monsters of the Millenium tour we were
playing wherever we were invited. So ok, it seems for an outsider
that we needed 6 years to come out with this new album, but in
reality this part only took 1 and a half or 2 years.
Ok so the live albums and the
video were released. What was the reaction of the fans?
K.L.: They gave a tremendous reception to them. I said it
before that these were not just our ideas, the fans asked for
them. We got tons of E-mails, and we have been asked wherever we
played: when will be a live album released? When will be a video
released? Ok there were lots of bootleg recordings from diferent
shows, but I think I don't have to talk about their quality...
You are the newest member in
the band. How are you feeling in it? And how does it feel to make
music with the others?
K.L.: It's a fantastic thing. This is the loudest, heaviest
rock band of the world, which never turned back to traditional
heavy metal. We are playing great music with classical
influences, but we are hard bonebreakers too. If you are a metal
musician, then this is the band, which you wanna be part of. And
I'm granted with this.
There was a legend, that Rhino,
Manowar's ex drummer burned his old drum kit when he joined the
band. Have you done something like that then?
K.L.: Ha-ha! No, I only burned the phone numbers of my ex
girlfriends. Ha-ha! By the way, I'm playing on the same guitar
for nearly 20 years.
Ok, ok, I didn't exactly mean
the pyromaniac suscepts, but something symbolic action.
K.L.: Music has been part of my life since my childhood. At
the age of 14 I told my parents: "I'm a rock star". I
just had to prove it in all the other parts of this world. But
don't misunderstand me, I hate too the word "rock star",
so let's just say, that I always wanted to be a professional
musician.
What do you think about
Manowar's image? I'm thinking of the lyrics, the covers, the big
Harleys on the stage, and things like these.
K.L.: If you look Manowar's image, then you look Judas
Priest's image, and look many other band's image, you'll see,
that this is the heavy metal image. Heavy metal always meant some
kind of rebellion against the system, against conformism. For
instance the long hair. In the past few decades it always has
been the symbol of rebellion, and I think, no one can deny, that
most of the rock musicians have long hair till this day. What's
the reason of this? Others, the outsiders say, that how funny
looking are those who has long hair, and how much shit they can
say about this little thing. The Harleys? You know, motorcycling
was a symbol of something too, freedom, that you are not a person
who is locked inside four walls, and you are able to leave behind
those shits, which are the symbols of these days. And I hink this
is heavy metal. And if we wear this exteriorities, then we are
symbols of this all.
Then this question comes from
this, how many percents are you, and how many percents is posing?
K.L.: Image is 10 percents, 90 percents ourselves. Don't
misunderstand me, I don't wake up every morning and dress up in
leather. The attitude, the style, I have to be free and live my
own life, never mind, what others think about me. This is me.
If you are not on tour or in
the studio, what do you spare your freetime with?
K.L.: I'm motor racing. (here he says the sport's name, but I
don't understand it - SP) It's like motor crossing, you have to
do it with enduro motors.
On amateur or on professional
level?
K.L.: I do it on amateur level, I'm racing in amateur
championships, but last year I was the champion, so I think it
goes very well for me.
Let's talk about the new album,
but first about the upcoming single, Warriors of the World United.
What do you think, does a heavy metal band need to release a
single?
K.L.: It's very interesting that you asking this, I recently
read in a music magazine, that are these kind of releases
suitable for the record companies, and the result was no. First
we need to know, are these singles good for something. Of course
to show the becoming costumer in one song, the style and the
sound and etc of the upcoming album. I have to say, that I don't
see any reasons for us why not to release a single like this too.
On a single there is usually one song. I listen to it, and decide
if I like it or not. Then I'm looking forward, to the others, the
entire album. I listen in to the album, and I say: hey, what a
cool band is this!, and why not, I buy the album. People are
thinking this way, and the record companies knows this. Those who
buy the pre-release, which is of course cheaper than the album,
and like it, those will buy the album too. There's the
opportunity to choose. If you only show the complete album to the
people on the entire price, which is more expensive, then they'll
think twice to buy it or not.
What do you think, can you get
some new fans with the help of this release?
K.L.: Yes, I think we can, I told you the process before. If
people like a song, then they'd like to know more about the
certain band.
But how can a song like that
reach the people? I don't think that a band like Manowar will aim
the radios.
K.L.: A single like ours, isn't destined to reach the radios.
We have never been a radio-band, since we have born, the biggest
stations never played any Manowar songs. We only have to do that,
to inform those who are interested, that it's released, it's
available, you can try it. Those who read the music magazines,
watch the websites on the internet, read the interviews, those
will probably hear about this. And for all that is said above
there are some smaller stations worldwide, where they belive in
us, they play our songs, and promoting us. And these people which
I meant before knows about these stations. Although, the real
heavy metal's scene weren't, and won't be the mainstream, the
nowadays status is very good for this style.
I didn't hear the album yet,
but I think you didn't change your style or something like this.
K.L.: (here he says in half an hour that what a pity that I
couldn't listen to it - SP) I would have been very interested in
your opinion, because this album is a bit different than Louder
Than Hell. Musically it goes back to the roots of Manowar, with
wonderful orchestral parts, like in Master of the Wind, and with
bangings like in Kill With Power. This is an album which I really
belive in, and I think, we couldn't do better. The band is
unbeliveably together, we supported each other in everything, and
you can hear this on the album.
In it's entirety is this a fast
album full of energy, or monumental and epic?
K.L.: I think the last one. I don't say that we wrote 20
minutes long songs, but there are songs like Nessun Dorma, which
is an "opera-song", or an instrumental orchestral one,
which is really beautyful, but of course the traditional Manowar
songs, which are very heavy. But there's one which is like Carry
On, it's a bit like hard rock, not metal. But people will be very
surprised, because we made a fantastic album which is variated,
but united too.
How do you write songs?
K.L.: Joey (Joey DeMaio bassist) and I write the songs. Not
together, but he brings his ideas, I bring my ideas too, then we
mix them, and Joey decides, which of these has the real Manowar
sound. He decides because he's the leader, and in the studio he's
the producer. That's why it happened, that I have around 30 half
ready songs recorded some way at home, and only two is on the
album. After this we have to select again, because it's an
important thing too that which songs fits really in the album's
mood. Then if it's ready, we have to record it some way to show
it to the others, and then we make the final works on it. And
this time totally different things can come out of the songs than
we first thought, because all of us is very creative. If you look
in the booklet who wrote the songs, you can't be sure, because we
wrote all together.
You told me that you have lots
of unreleased songs at home. Don't you plan something own
project?
K.L.: Oh yes, I thought of it and now I'm planing it too. Not
exactly, but something will happen in the future. But now Manowar
has got priority in all things.
North-America has always been
an unconquered land for you. What do you think, will you ever be
succesful in the USA?
K.L.: In the United States everything depends on the support
of the media. If you make a difference between Europe and
America, the first thing you notice is the size of the countries.
Let's see New York state, where there are a lot of radio and tv
stations, and let's say we are promoting our album there, it
could work, because for x money we can put our ads everywhere.
The problem? This is only one state! In Europe there aren't as
many countries as many states are in the USA. And as a heavy
metal band like Manowar hasn't got any chance to be in the
national media, we would have to do this in every state, and pay
the lot of money. A promotion like this needs a lot of money but
heavy metal never had as big audience to allow this. But if it
would happen, and the houswifes would whistle Manowar tunes
during washing or cooking, then the spirit of our music would
disappear, metal would be "normal" and that's what
against it have been always fighting.