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Interview with David De Feis (Virgin Steele)

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Last Updated on 09:13 PM by Lilliana Tseka

Virgin Steele are about to launch their new album ‘’Nocturnes of Hellfire & Damnation’’ on June and Metal Invader seized the opportunity to discuss some details with David De Feis.

Hi David, greetings from Greece! It’s great news that Virgin Steele strike back after 5 years of studio absence. How do you & the band feel being back?

Hail! And Cheers & Greetings to you! We are very happy to be back…but in truth we never really went away…our energies have been here and in view on all the bonus material that we have been including in all the SPV re-issues.

Let’s get straight to the point and discuss a bit about ‘’Nocturnes of Hellfire & Damnation’’. Tell us please a few things about the writing process of the album first. Did you compose the whole album (music & lyrics) by yourself or did the whole band participate?

The whole band never participates. I write either alone or with Edward, but there is one song on the album that I wrote together with Josh. That was a nice first, and a very successful track. WE DISAPPEAR is the track I am referring to. The process starts with me either sitting at the piano and music and lyrics come to me, or sometimes just the music comes and other times the lyrics will arrive first. But then the task at hand is to develop all the ideas into a coherent form. There was initially a different running order/ track-list, but all through the recording process I never stopped writing so all these 11th hour tracks came out, like for example PERSEPHONE, which I knew had to be on the album, so some of the earlier things I had planned were removed and replaced with the latest songs I came up with.

Before starting writing new songs, did u think of the music direction the album should follow? I mean, did you try to continue from where ‘’Black Light Bacchanalia‘’ stopped? I think the new album isn’t a concept also, is that right?

That’s correct, the new album is not a concept album. I don’t necessarily think…’Oh I must follow this or that direction”, I just go with the mood of where I am at, and try to express in sound what it is I am feeling…This time out I wanted to do something different than the BACCHANALIA…I wanted to create something a little bit simpler. I have already written and we have already begun recording what will eventually be the next two studio albums, and those Works are big full-blown concept pieces, and therefore I thought…hmmm…let’s get something out now that might be more easily understandable, before giving people the heavy dose of what’s to come…The new NOCTURNES album is probably pretty easy to grasp on one listening, but it still has all those ingredients that upon repeated listening one goes…”oh yeah… I never noticed that before, or oh now I see what’s happening”…the songs still go off on wild tangents and take you for a ride, but they always return you back home….It’s all about progression and development, tension and release.

So, how was the recording process? Who’s the producer and what sound were you aiming for?

I produced as usual, and the process can be easy, and natural, and at times complex, frustrating and nerve-wracking. I wanted something that sounded large and also not very polished…something raw, live, aggressive and at the same time something that had a sense of elegance to it…The songs exist one way in my head or ears, and I struggle to get them to sound like how I hear them there.

I also noticed that all songs, except one, are not short in duration. Was it a natural result to have songs lasting 5’30 to 8 minutes long?

We never have too many short songs…We also don’t plan for songs to be long…it is just how they develop that determines the length. If something can be said in 3 minutes or needs 9 minutes to unfold, it’s all the same to us. The longer the song the longer the work involved but we don’t mind the work, this is what we live for.

Really, since I don’t have the full song lyrics, tell us please a few words about what the songs deal with?

Sure. The songs largely concern themselves with what happens when one gets involved in another person, place or thing’s orbit. It concerns the negative energies that spark between entities…It speaks of our desires, obsessions, passions, loves and hatreds…I write about what I live so there are very personal things in there, but I make them universal so that everyone can see themselves in the songs, and everyone will also come away from the songs with a different interpretation of what they are about.

I must say that I fell in love from the first time I heard the song Pershephone! Reminds me of the astonishing “Emalaith’’! Do you think women names fit well with Virgin Steele? Because I’m tending to believe that! (laughs!) What is that song talking about?

Thanks so very much! I really appreciate your kindness! Yes, I agree that women’s names do fit very well with VIRGIN STEELE. I love women…most of my friends are women and I enjoy writing about females. DEMOLITION QUEEN is a song that is very pro-Woman….PERSEPHONE the song concerns itself with the Myth of Hades coming up out of the Earth while she was gathering narcissus flowers and dragging her off to the Underworld, and her Mother Demeter’s search for her and the ultimate result of the Seasons due to PERSEPHONE having to spend half the year below the ground and half above. The song DEVILHEAD also has a Greek reference and a female character. That one is in part about Cassandra and Apollo and the gift of prophecy he bestowed upon her.

Are there any thoughts of making any videoclips out of the new album?

Yes, many thoughts…I would love to film PERSEPHONE and many others…we will do something for sure.

Have you considered filming an entire show or parts of some lives and make a DVD out of it?

Yes and we have footage going back and back. Earlier last year I was told that the label wanted a DVD so I did begin work on that, and once the dust settles I shall resume work on it again…

I see that the new album will be available in 3 formats, a 2-cd digipack, a jewel case cd and a double coloured lp, each with a unique artwork. How did this come out and what will the formats include? I mean bonus tracks etc.

Yes, that is correct. The vinyl will be a double album and include the first 14 tracks and it will also include a CD of the same songs for those who want a CD for the car or whatever. There will be a normal jewel-case version with one disc of again the first 14 songs, and the digi-pack will be a double CD set containing the first 14 songs on disc 1, and 15 tracks on disc 2. Disc 2 contains new songs, like THE BIRTH OF BEAUTY, ANGER NEVER DIES & HAUNTED WOLFSHINE, etc. for example, and there is a medley of material that I re-arranged and in some places re-wrote, called “THE SAMHAIN SUITE”…it consists of a few covers and a strange “classical” piece called THE WITCH IN THE FOREST. There is also a live in the studio acoustic track of a song I wrote called A GREATER BURNING OF INNOCENCE…very moving track that one. We already did a video for that one….It is just home footage stuff…with Edward & I doing our thing.

At the end of February 2016, in Athens, you are going to headline a day in the Up The Hammers festival. You already know that you have a strong core of fans in Greece following you throughout all these years. How do you feel about that? I feel absolutely fantastic about that! I am very much looking forward to returning to Athens, and I am Honoured and Proud to have the love of the Greek Fans all these years…For me personally speaking…coming to Greece is…coming Home….Our last performance in Athens was over the top….a wonderful Evening, and I look forward to experiencing the Magick, Enthusiasm, Warmth, Beauty and the Charm of the Greek Audience once again…

Are there any plans of an extensive tour for promoting the new album as we speak? What about Europe and U.S? Are there any requests to play there?

Yes, there have been many requests for shows in Europe and the States and we will begin filling up the calendar shortly.

And a last question! Do you still consider yourself a Metal Fan, apart from being a musician? I mean, do you listen to new music coming out or you prefer to stick to the old stuff?

Yes, I do consider myself a Metal Fan still and I do enjoy hearing new sounds from the genre, and I still enjoy all the albums that I grew up listening to. I also listen to a great deal of classical music and I do want to make an instrumental album one of these days…

David, thank you very much for being here and having this discussion! I am looking forward to see you in Athens for another asskicking live!

And I thank you my Friend for all your questions and for all your great Faith and Support! I shall look forward to seeing you and all your Greek Brothers & Sisters for another Glorious Night In Athens! Eytharisto Poli…BY THE GODS & GODDESSES.

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