Interviews: AVALAND

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Opera Metal band, AVALAND, from France. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Did you plan it, or did it come out just like that?

I was searching for a name that would fit the atmosphere I imagined. And as I took some inspiration from the Arthurian legends, I felt like I was re-inventing a new Avalon, in my own way. Here I found the idea of “the land of Avalon”: Avaland.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

I’m a huge fan of Avantasia and Ayreon, and the first time I saw Avantasia live, I said to myself, “Yes, that’s what I want to do: A big choral & epic project”. Power Metal was my first step in the Metal universe with all those incredible singers, melodic sounds, and all the themes you can find in this genre. For the prog and symphonic part, I guess it comes from when I was a child, listening to Alan Parsons Project in my father’s car. I’ve always been fascinated by this orchestral approach of rock music, which you can find in songs like “Silence and I”, or “Ammonia Avenue”. I’m also a great orchestra lover, listening to many romantic and modern pieces: Stravinsky’s “Firebird”, Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” and Holst’s “Planets” are some of my main references.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

At the genesis of Avaland, I knew each guy separately, and I was the one who united this crazy team. It was really weird at the beginning because we all had to learn to know each other, and now we are like five brothers knowing exactly all the best and worst parts of each other, haha.

4. Each band member's favourite band?

As for me, one band would not be enough; I’d like to say Avantasia, Ayreon, Savatage, Alan Parsons Project, and a famous French artist called Jean-Jacques Goldman. Jeff is a huge fan of Queen, Blind Guardian, Ayreon, and Savatage too. Lucas will always answer that his favourite artist is J.S.Bach, and he’s a real Technical Death Metal geek, loving Necrophagist, Inferi, Obscura… Leo loves many different genres, too. He’s a great fan of Helloween, Carach Angren, Rammstein, Epica… And Camille is maybe the most surprising guy, as he came to music with jazz; he is a huge prog fan, finding inspiration in Primus, Dream Theater, Polyphia, and Jaco Pastorius …

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Everything starts with personal feelings or experiences. Most of the time, writing songs helps me understand myself as a cathartic activity. Then, when I want to express something, I take those emotions and try to turn them into the Avaland world and shape them to fit in the lore we’re building. To help me in the storytelling work, I also take many inspirations from mythologies, fantasy, movies, series, and, more recently, also from some video games.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was in March in Lyon (FR), in an iconic club called Rock’N’Eat. We played there to open a Medieval Festival with another French band called Magoyond. And funny enough, we're gonna play a double gig in the summer edition of this festival, in Lyon again on 5 & 6 of September!

7. Where would you like to act?

All around the world, of course. There are so many places we’d love to play: Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Brazil… we can add all the places we played 3 years ago with Rhapsody of Fire, and of course big festivals like Hellfest, Wacken, Rock Am Ring, Rock Harz, Sweden Rock, Alcatraz… But one of my biggest dreams is to play at Budokan in Tokyo. This legendary place means a lot to many bands!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Well, so many names could be mentioned here again. Let’s dream big and say Helloween, Sabaton (Jeff already does it as he sings in the Legendary Orchestra!), Powerwolf, but touring with bands that inspire us like Angra, Symphony X, Savatage, Twilight Force …would also be awesome. And of course, we’d love to go again on tour with Rhapsody Of Fire, we have so many great memories from the 10 gigs we did with them. At least, a personal and dreamlike answer would be to open for Iron Maiden. They are such legends, and Bruce Dickinson is a very strong reference for me.

9. Whom not?

I would like to say: not with “problematic” guys. I don’t have any specific name in mind, but I hear and read so much about toxic people in the metal business. When you go on tour, you want to stay cool and share nice moments with kind people. I’m aware it’s quite a naïve vision, but it’s a very important thing for me. 

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

I always say it’s a good thing if I feel a bit of stage fright before a show, because that’s when adrenaline rises and gives me the good energy to make a soulful show. It could be impressive, even in front of a small audience, but once the first note is played, all the stress is released, and it’s just pure positive emotions. For the tips, I guess it really depends on everyone, but I think building a little ritual before going on stage can help face this stage fright. It’s a big jump in the void to do this, but once it's done, it’s like a drug, and you just want to do it again as soon as possible.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

I will lie if I don’t mention Avantasia. But for this new album, as all the guys brought a lot of their soul in many songs, we could notice more inspirations from Angra, Symphony X, Helloween, Dream Theater… This new album is full of diversity, and I think every person who listens to it will find various inspirations. 

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Hopefully we don’t have weird fans yet haha! Maybe the funniest was for our first gig in the Netherlands, some people came to talk to us after our gig and asked where we were from. When we answered that we’re French, they were like “No, you’re kidding! I’ve never seen a good power metal band from France! Even if I don’t agree with that, it was a fun moment to see those people discovering we are French.

13. What do you think of your fans?

They are absolutely amazing. They share a lot of their feelings with us, and they give us very constructive feedback on our show or music. Sometimes they also find cool ideas for the merch, the videos… They’re really engaged in the project, like members of the band. Some of them are also completely crazy, ready to travel 500, 1000 kilometers to see us live. Avaland’s community is not so big yet, but they are fantastic.

14. What do you think of our site?

I've been answering your interviews since our first album, and it’s always the same pleasure. I don’t read so many webzine articles. Most of the time, it’s to get key and constructive feedback on the albums and tracks: what has been enjoyed/surprising, what was missing, what we could do better… The only thing I can say to you is that it’s always a pleasure to answer your interesting questions! 

15. Something to add?

Now, three singles have been revealed, one more will arrive in late August, and our new album “Chemical Poetry” will be out on October 30. We can’t wait to share the work we made with Joost on this chapter. The guests, Helle Bohdanova (Ignea), Marcela Bovio (Stream Of Passion/Ayreon-live), Madie (ex-Nightmare/Faith In Agony), and Tom Englund (Evergrey) did an incredible job with their voices. We see more and more people supporting, helping Avaland, and it’s heartwarming. We want to thank every person who follows us, and we hope to meet all these people on tour soon.

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