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We talked to Lancer's founder and guitarist Fredrik Kelemen, read now the interview where we learn more about Lancer, a powerful Swedish band.
Sweden natives Lancer recently released their new studio album, called Tempest.
And in This Day In Metal we had the opportunity to interview the band's guitarist and founder, Fredrik Kelemen, I leave you with the interview with the founder of Lancer where he talked to us about their new album and more.
Edson: I appreciate your time for conducting this little interview, my name is Edson Escalante, from the staff of This Day In Metal.
Fredrik: Hello Edson! Nice talking to you!
Edson: I want to start this interview congratulating you on the release of your new
album, I just finished listening to it and I found it a very good work, very solid
and interesting.
Fredrik: Thank you very much! We have been working on this album for about five years now, and it feels amazing that we got so many positive reviews from all
around the world. It really seems to be the general opinion that Tempest is a
good album, and that the long wait since our last album was worth it, even
with the line-up changes and the slightly different sound of the album. And it’s
great to hear from all the fans again after such a long time, we have really
missed them a lot!
Edson: How was the recording process for the album? As far as I know, it’s Jack
Stroem’s first album as lead vocalist.
Fredrik: The recording process usually goes very smooth for us, but this time all kinds of things delayed it to an extreme amount of time. Yes, this was Jack’s first
appearance as a lead vocalist, which also made him very picky with the vocal
recordings. He actually recorded the entire album only to decide that it wasn’t
good enough so he had to do the whole thing again, haha! But he did an
awesome job and it turned out so good once he was finished.
During the mixing and the mastering our sound engineer lost two family
members in a short amount of time, so that process was delayed for a long,
long time as well, before he felt good enough to start to work again. It took
almost two years from start to finish. But that won’t happen again, next time
we’ll set the time limit to a few months, haha!
Edson: Jack’s voice copes perfectly to the band’s sound, dare I say it is as if he was
born to be the vocalist of Lancer, how complicated was it to find a voice like
yours?
Fredrik: I totally agree! We are so happy that we finally found him, really a perfect match. He is not a typical power metal singer, in my opinion, more of a classic rock vocalist that can sing really high notes. I would compare him with some of Yngwie Malmsteen’s singers, like Mark Boals.
But it really took about two years to find him too. We asked so many different
singers to come and try out with us, but no one really felt perfect. The first one
we asked was actually Christian Eriksson (ex-Twilight Force) but this was right before they announced that Northtale existed so he naturally declined right
away.
Edson: Throughout their career they have had several changes of musicians, has that somehow affected them?
Fredrik: It has only affected us in a positive way, I would say. All our previous
members are very good at what they do, but every time a new member joins
the band automatically gets new energy. That is always what happens when
you bring in new people into a group, the dynamics change. But finding both
Jack and our new drummer Pontus has given us a huge boost, and we all work
great together and have our minds set on common goals for the band.
Edson: Listening to Lancer I can imagine what influences they bring, I dare to mention maybe Helloween and Edguy, but what other bands or genres did influence them? Do you hear anything other than metal that influences your
compositions?
Fredrik: Yes, of course Edguy and Helloween are two major influences. We play European power metal after all, and it’s hard not to draw inspiration from
them, especially on our first two albums. But with Tempest, I would really say
that we have moved away a bit from both of those bands. We have really
worked on to remove the biggest clichés, and find our own sound, stuff that
just sound like Lancer. But personally, I still find inspiration in bands that can
write really strong melodies and cool key changes, for example Night Flight
Orchestra, Dream Theater, Seventh Wonder and Toto.
Edson: Is there a favorite Lancer album for you?
Fredrik: I understand that this is a boring answer, but Tempest is the best album we have done so far! We really want to move away from the typical power metal tray, and start to explore music a bit elsewhere. It will always sound like power metal, since that is where we come from, but mixed up with a lot of different
kinds of music. And I think that Tempest is a big step to start in that direction.
I’m very proud of all our albums, but new music always feels like the best you
have inside you at the moment, so it’s always more interesting for yourself.
Edson: Talking about shows... So far there is a concert that has been completely unforgettable? why?
Fredrik: I will always cherish the first time we got to go to Japan. We performed in a sold-out venue in the middle of Shibuya in Tokyo, and the crowd was totally
awesome! They started to scream well before we entered the stage and
wouldn’t be quiet until long after we finished playing. After the concert we
spent almost two hours writing autographs, taking pictures, receiving gifts
from the fans. A real Rockstar-moment, haha! They even found out what
hotel we were staying at and waited for us in the lobby. Crazy!
I must also mention the crowd in Warsaw, Poland. During our song ‘Behind The
Walls’ they started the very first circle pit that we ever got. That was also a life
goal!
Edson: It's amazing to hear that, the way his fans are showing loyalty and passion for Lancer. Talking about the future... What are your plans? You are now promoting Tempest.
Fredrik: We are doing a few release shows here in Sweden, and after that we need to get back on tour here in Europe. It was such a long time since last time we
met the fans so it needs to happen soon, we don’t know exactly when but we
are working on it. But we have never been across the ocean to Mexico either,
so it would really be a dream come true if we could come and tour there!
Really hope so!
Edson: I hope so, that we can have Lancer with the European heavy metal powerhouse in Mexico and Latin America very soon. I thank you very much for your time to answer these small questions, I bid you farewell by greeting you from Mexico.
Fredrik: Cheers and thank you very much! Hope to see you soon!
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