by Vpower
The Band: Masters of Disguise
Country: Germany
Country: Germany
Answers by:
Kalli Coldsmith (guitar)
Since I first listened to this German act some
years ago I knew they had the essence of the classic Metal stuff. But with time
they have developed their very own sound and they are not a child of Savage
Grace any more, you can be sure of that listening to their new album
"Alpha / Omega" out in October 20th, addictive guitars and
one of the best vocalists of the moment, Alexx Stahl. Enjoy this great chat
with axeman Kalli.
Hello Kalli! "Alpha / Omega" is your
third album, to be released in October 20th, how do you feel about it regarding
your previous releases?
Kalli: Hi
Alberto, regarding our past releases, we feel like we might have forged the
hottest piece of metal in our career. Everybody who heared "Alpha /
Omega" so far seems to like it as much as we do.
That sounds pretty good. Masters of Disguise
was formed in 2013 and with "Alpha / Omega" you reach your third
full-length, plus 2 Eps, you work hard…
Kalli: We
released our first album "Back With A Vengeance" in 2013, that's
right, but we formed the band in late 2010/early 2011 already. But you are
right, we try to keep paces high and since "BWAV", we literally
released new material each year.
One of those Eps is “The Fine Art of Aging
Gracefully” released in 2016, where you deliver a bunch of great covers from
fantastic bands of the underground as Cirith Ungol or Omen. How did you decide
to go for it?
Kalli:
"TFAOAG" was the first recording effort with our new guitarist Wolle.
We wanted to try things out and I needed to know how we would work together in
a recording situation. So we decided not to go the obvious way and record our
third album but rather build a comfortable working atmosphere while recording
some of our favorite songs. It was more like taking any pressure from the band
and having some fun. Plus we were playing some gigs with the mighty MANILLA
ROAD, so we wanted to offer something new for the tour. We did not release
"TFAOAG" over our label Limb Music but wanted it rather to have that
special touch of an underground release, strictly limited, with handnumbered
copies, and no booklet and stuff. Just us and six cover songs. Pretty basic.
And that's the story behind it.
A clever movement, indeed. So, it seems that Ep
was a warming up for this great "Alpha / Omega", when did you start
composing it and how was the process?
Kalli: You
are right! After "TFAOAG" I knew how we would work together. Although
I was not in a hurry, it took only three months to finish songwriting. I knew
that Wolle would contribute tasty leads and I already had much confidence in
our rhythm section. And I never worried about that Alexx, our singer, wouldn't
do a great job. So it was pretty relaxed since this time I didn't try to follow
the songwriting paths of the past, when I was wondering how SAVAGE GRACE, the
band we emerged from, would sound nowadays. The songwriting for
"Alpha/Omega" shows a cross section of my musical preferences, so to
speak.
You are a band that follows the classic roots,
two blasting guitars and a great vocalist to lead the sound, any guy leading
the pace or more a team effort?
Kalli: It
was always more or less Alexx and me playing "leader of the pack". As
you can imagine, Alexx' voice is maybe the most important part for MASTERS OF
DISGUISE, followed by the song material. Nevertheless, every band member
contributes to the success of the band and I'm very thankful that we have such
a great line-up. There are no big egos and we are more than five guys sharing
rehearsal room and stage. It's more like a bunch of buddies accidently playing
in the same band!
By the way, for those who doesn’t know the origins of the band, you got your name
after Savage Grace's debut album, but currently you stand with a sound totally of
your own
Kalli:
Yeah, SAVAGE GRACE was one of the big US speed metal bands back in the 80s and
we actually were part of the SAVAGE GRACE revival in 2009/2010, at least Mario
and me! We toured Europe and wanted to record a new album in late 2010, but SAVAGE GRACE leader
and original band member Chris Logue did strange things and needed to leave the
country and SG disbanded. Having a whole album in the tradition of SG's debut
album "Master Of Disguise" from 1985 up our sleeves, we soon decided
to form MASTERS OF DISGUISE and release the songs. This resulted in our debut
album "Back With A Vengeance" from 2013. In 2015, we recorded the
successor "The Savage And The Grace" with which we kinda veered away
from the pure SG song writing for the first time. Now, for
"Alpha/Omega", our third full length, the idea is reinventing the
band instead of walking old paths. For the first time, we do not feature
Knutson, the sadistic cop, on the album cover. Nevertheless, we still keep
telling his story with the third part of our "Knutson saga" with
"Knutson III: Nemesis (I Am The Law)". But this song in particular is
maybe the most unorthodox song of our career and would have never fit into the
narrow SG context.
Yes, it seems the beast has grown up and is totally
unleashed. Alexx Stahl is a singer with a long curriculum, but maybe he is in
the best moment of his career according to his performance on "Alpha /
Omega"
Kalli:
That's exactly what I think, too! Alexx always was a great singer, but his
performance on "Alpha/Omega" really nails it! Our approach for
recording the album was more loose and spontaneous, just like the songwriting
was. Often, the first takes had such an intensity that we did not change them
anymore. Alexx came, sung, and conquered!
Amazing. No filler in your album, and a big
range of styles from speed metal, heavy metal and even some epic tunes
Kalli:
Thanks, we tried to be a little more diversified compared to our past efforts.
I mean I love albums that don't throttle down from the first to the last
second, but if you get to write more than one album with your band, it will
most likely happen that you want to keep things interesting. You don't want to
write the same album over and over again.
Sure, that’s the point! Shadows of Death is in
my opinion a very complete song, a good picture of what will find in the album
Kalli:
Yeah! "Shadows Of Death" is an epic tune, one of the band's favorite
songs on "Alpha/Omega" and I can tell you that we're working on a
lyrics video for it. This is a very special song because we never tried
something like this before. Alexx' performance makes me shiver and maybe
"Shadows" has the biggest chorus of our career. It's outstanding and
unique while the rest of the album is slightly different: We got pure and
pounding 80s heavy metal feeling delivered by "The Rise (And Fall) Of
Kingdoms" and "Sign Of The Cross". The latter was written by
Chris Logue and has never been recorded and released before. So that's
something special for the old SAVAGE GRACE fans out there. But the biggest part
of the songs is fast and speedy. We have "Sacrifice",
"Witchhammer", "Killer's Redemption" and "The
Leech" at a breakneck pace. "Demons From The Past" is fast,
catchy and takes a little break before it comes to its fulminant ending. And
last but not least there is the title track "Alpha/Omega", which is
melodic thrash metal with another huge epic part. To me the best song on the
album!
A great summary Kalli, and Nemesis shows your
more aggressive face, for sure it will be a hammer in your gigs?
Kalli:
Right, as I stated earlier, it's quite unconvenient for us, but has a powerful
and catchy chorus. It will surely be a live smasher with hundreds of voices in
the audience singing "I Am The Law".
Brilliant and addictive riffing and solos
thoughtout the whole album, any war
between you and Wolle to be under the spotlights?
Kalli: The
riffing is crucial to any heavy metal record! If the rhythm guitars suck, the
whole album sucks! So to me, this is the most important instrumental part while
recording and we put a lot of effort in it to deliver tight and scintillating
rhythm guitars. Regarding leads: I like the different lead guitar styles on
"Alpha/Omega" very much. Wolle has a smoother, maybe more technical
approach while I'm a rougher player and I like to use the Wah pedal a lot. So
you could say that we try keep the leads interesting with our different
approaches and styles. But we both always keep the melodic aspect in mind and
never shred just for shred's sake.
Talking about gigs, any tour already in your
agenda to present your new album?
Kalli: In
the past, we toured with our American friends from MANILLA ROAD and OMEN and
always had a good time. For "Alpha/Omega", it will be difficult,
because last year Alexx got an offer to join a bigger German band and now he
can make a living on being their singer, which would have never happened with
MASTERS OF DISGUISE, because we are too small and special. I really don't know
any band in the speed or thrash genre that was formed in the new millenium and
earns enough to quit their day jobs. So that was and is a great opportunity for
Alexx and we respect his decision and support him in any which way we can.
Alexx already offered to leave the band because of his tight schedule, but we
all agreed that we want to keep him in the band, no matter if it effects
touring and gigs. And I must say, I'm glad that he is still with us, because
his singing is awesome on "Alpha/Omega" and he still gets better!
Well, I suppose you are talking about Bonfire,
yeah, it’s a big deal for him. Many of you guys have played in many bands, but
I suppose Masters of Disguise is right now your priority, right, apart of Alexx
maybe?
Kalli: We
have played and still play in other bands, but MASTERS OF DISGUISE is very
special because there are not many bands playing this style any more. Close to
thrash metal but yet melodic, not cheesy, with commitment and craftsmanship and
a vocalist that acts beyond doubt. So it IS a priority to keep going and I
think "Alpha/Omega" is the perfect album to express our attitude.
With your experience, what do you like and what
do you hate of the current Metal scene?
Kalli: I
like that the scene is still friendly, no brawls and stuff at gigs and that you
can rely on most people being involved. I don't like that the more people and
bands want to be part of the game, the more money gets lost. This means that
you might barely cover your expenses. You only get peanuts for selling albums,
with Spotify you literally earn nothing. I don't know any professional that
works free of charge! Do you know any baker that gives away his bread?! Most
records sound all the same because they need to be produced on low budgets.
Many studios don't know how to properly record a whole drumkit anymore because
it's usually all out of the box! I think people should regain awareness that if
you don't want to pay for quality, you can't expect any quality in the long
run.
Yeah, you are very right, future will tell what
is to come. Great chat, man, thank you very much Kalli and congratulations for
your great new album!
Kalli:
Thank you for the interview! We're looking forward to the release of
"Alpha/Omega" and also wanna say "Gracias!" for the great
review we got from Metalbrother.es! The video for "Shadows Of Death"
will be released around October 20th and I hope that many of you will check it
out! All the best to you guys and keep the fire burning!
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