Interview mit Ivan Adami und Riccardo Toni von Stranger Vision

Hello, thank you for taking time to do this interview. How are you these days?
Riccardo: It’s going great these days! Last friday our single “Wasteland” with Hansi Kürsch was released, we are very happy about this collaboration and the first public welcome of the video. And in general, all the new singles had a great reception, we are happy about that.

Your debut album „Poetica“ came out only a year and a half ago. How did it come about that you have already finished your second album?
Ivan: During the first lockdown due to the Covid 19, we had to postpone the „Poetica“ recordings from March to September 2020 . We didn’t want waste time, so we began to work on new material. Before we could enter the Domination Studios for „Poetica“ we had already composed several tracks and chosen the concept for „Wasteland“.

How have you developed as musicians and band since „Poetica“, what do you do better on „Wasteland“?
Riccardo: I think “Wasteland” is a better album than “Poetica” in many respects. First of all, from a compositional point of view: right from the start we had a clear idea of the sound we wanted to achieve. We composed the music in such a way as to achieve that sound, eliminating everything that might be superfluous. Secondly, with “Wasteland” our lineup was consolidated into four members – vocals, guitar, bass and drums. The whole creative process was easier and everyone concentrated on making their instrument sound its best. Thirdly, being a concept album, we had a guideline to guide us both in writing music and lyrics. I think the whole creative and executive process was better and you will hear that on the album.

Your sound is very melodic and a bit proggy, but above all full of passion. I especially like the guitar sound, which is different from other power metal bands. How do you create your sound, what goals do you set for yourselves to sound independent in a genre with a massive amount of bands?
Riccardo: Thank you very much! Creating an original sound nowadays is not easy. The sound of the guitars is the result of the research done together with our producer from Domination Studios. I wanted a powerful sound, like in thrash metal, but at the same time it should be combined with keyboards and orchestrations. It’s nice to hear that it is recognized that – even within the power metal genre – we managed to create something new.

Orchestrations are always present in your songs, even if they don’t play the main role. What makes them nevertheless so important and valuable for your sound?
Riccardo: The addition of keyboards, synths and orchestrations differentiates us from classic heavy metal and takes us more towards power-prog metal. We have always loved these sounds in our reference bands Blind Guardian, Angra, Stratovarius, and it is in this way that we want to insert ourselves by creating our own sound. Of course, they are never the main character of the sound, but they help to create atmosphere and differentiate the guitar sound.

Which bands would you describe as your biggest influences? Do you orientate your songwriting or the creation of ideas on certain role models?
Ivan: The origin of our sound is inspired by power metal bands like Helloween, Blind Guardian, Symphony X and Savatage, to which we tried to give a further boost with powerful riffs based on thrash metal bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera and Testament.

Besides the „Wasteland“ concept, the album title of „Poetica“ also indicates that you are generally very interested in poetry. Is that so and if so, where does that come from and what generally fascinates you about poetic works?
Ivan: We are very interested in the humanities, especially literature, poetry and philosophy. We try to enrich our songs with sophisticated lyrics open to free interpretation. We think the universal value of the topics we deal with will excite the listener.

The concept of the album is based on Thomas Stearns Eliot’s poem „The Waste Land.“ What fascinates you about it, why did you choose it as a concept?
Riccardo: “The Waste Land” has always been a book I have loved, because of what it deals with and also because of the brilliance of the writing. It is a poem full of images, visions, predictions, references to other poems … it has a very vast inherent richness. That’s why we decided to draw on that book. To continue the poetic inspiration of the first album, but not with scattered poems, but with a thread to guide us in our writing. In addition, this year was also the centenary of its first publication. So, we decided all the more that it was the right choice.

Basic themes of the „The Waste Land“ are disillusion and loneliness in a modern world. In which way does this make the poem relevant and modern in todays world?
Riccardo: You got the point. Although “The Waste Land” is 100 years old, I think it still has a lot to say today. The situation has not changed at all, as in essence Eliot is talking about modern man. Certainly, disillusionment and loneliness are themes he deals with, along with inability to communicate, inability to create deep relationships … all things we also experience in our day. And only with an inner quest like that of the reader of “The Waste Land” can it be addressed.

Can you summarize the story you are following on the album? Which core themes do you deal with and which characters do Kürsch and Englund embody?
Ivan: The scene opens on a deserted, unproductive, devastated, spoiled land. This land is the symbol of the winter period where the cycle of life closes and is stopped to prevent rebirth, re-flowering. Modern society is described as a hell of alienation and sin. Man is nothing more than a pile of bones who are afraid of death, unless a personal search for meaning and a message takes place, which leads to rebirth. „Wasteland“ is the opening song where Hansi Kürsch represents Tiresias who accompanies the listener, represented by our actress, in the various chapters of the concept album and in the various emotions of man, a bit like Virgil in Dante’s hell. Tom S. Englund performs in the song of chapter 4, „The Deep“, which is about death caused by water. Water is not seen as an instrument of purification, but as a punishment. Tom plays Phlebas the Phoenician in this song, symbol of the ancient sailor, Ulysses and all the navigators who died in the deep.

With your „Bright Eyes“ version you won the “Imaginations Song Contest” of Blind Guardian. What was the experience for you, with which goal did you participate and what has changed for you through the victory?
Ivan: We found out about the contest just a week before the deadline, we had just finished the recording of “Poetica”, and we decided to „accept the challenge“ to arrange and record in a few days. We are true Blind Guardian fans and we absolutely didn’t want to distort the nature of „Bright Eyes“, we wanted to make it our own by enriching it with more modern sounds. The result for us was phenomenal. We experienced the whole selection with great tension and then finally a liberating enthusiasm for the victory that we did not expect. The Guardians were really generous with us, we made a call of almost 2 hours where we spoke to each other. Then a year later they hosted us backstage of an incredible live concert in Italy, Rock the Castle 2022.  Hansi, Andrè, Markus and Frederik gave us an immense gift.

Besides Hansi Kürsch, whom you probably got to know a bit through the Song Contest, Evergrey singer Tom S. Englund is also featured on the album. How did the guest contributions come about and how was it to work with both of them?
Ivan: During the call done with Blind Guardian after the winning of the “Imagination Song Contest” we asked Hansi to collaborate with us. He asked for a deeply description of our concept album. He knew and loves this poem and for this reason he embraced the cause with enthusiasm. Hansi is not only a great cocalist and front man, we discovered a really good person. We contacted Tom through a common friend. He was so busy at the time, however he tried to find time for our project. He worked on “The Deep” suggesting some changings on the chorus that we immediately liked. Both help us to enrich our story with their vocal shades.

Apart from „Bright Eyes“, you started with other cover songs. What do you like about covering other songs and are you planning to continue to cover songs?
Ivan: At the beginning it was not in our plans to record cover songs. We did it because we were completely locked during the first lockdown due to Covid-19. We started that project from Gurdjieff’s Theory. We have chosen 3 songs: “Mad World” by Tears for Fears, „Moonshield“ by In Flames and „Space Oddity“ by David Bowie to explain the connections between soul, music and universe. We like cover songs and we do not rule out making them in the future if we have a good inspiration, however we prefer to compose our music.

Let’s conclude with our traditional brainstorming. What comes to your mind first when you read the following words?

Current favorite album:
Riccardo: Led Zeppelin – IV from the past … in 2022 I can say “Survive” by Stratovarius.
Ivan: Blind Guardian – Imaginations From The Other Side.

Best Movie-/Series-/Book-Universe:
Riccardo: “Lord Of The Rings” / “Dark” / “The Waste Land”.
Ivan: “The Dark Knight” / “The Boys” / “Moby Dick”.

Something that makes every bad day better:
Riccardo: Music and family.
Ivan: Drinking a beer.

Best way to relax:
Riccardo: Playing guitar.
Ivan: Drinking a beer.

STRANGER VISION in ten years:
Riccardo: We hope to be able to play in one of those big summer festivals that everyone talks about and to make Pride & Joy a major label.
Ivan: With more studio albums, more live shows, more experience and we hope more fans.

Thank you once again for your time! The last words are all yours.
Ivan: Thank you for this great opportunity. Thanks to everyone who will buy „Wasteland“, come to our shows and support our work. We are very grateful to you. Follow STRANGER VISION, we have so much more to say.

Publiziert am 2. November 2022 von Stefan Popp