FALLEN MAN
Hell Spawn » Interviews » FALLEN MAN
Fallen Man is a band we discovered last year, we at Hell Spawn were pretty much impressed by the music of these guys! We sended out some questions to main man Mike, who was more than eager to introduce his band to the European metalheads!
Well first off, probably not that many people over here know FALLEN MAN, so can you tell our readers something more about FALLEN MAN?
I came up with the name back in 1993...knowing I would be starting a new heavier band. I'd been a guitar player in a band just before that, and when that came to an end, I knew I needed a good name. From 1993 I've been working under the Fallen Man umbrella.
Can you tell us why you choose for the name FALLEN MAN?
Actually I heard a VJ on MTV mention in an interview. "what are you guys like the Fallen Man?. That VJ was Kennedy...who I consider the mother of Fallen Man!
I know of "Reborn" and the new album "Mercenary", are there any other releases?
I released a few Cds, before those the main one being "Blink." which came out in 2001. "Blink" is the Industrial Fallen Man...lots of snyth's and samples. "Reborn" was the birth of the new Fallen Man. I finally found a studio who could capture what I was going for. "Reborn" is the first cd of the new Fallen Man.
If I'm not mistaken all the releases are self financed, is this by choice? For on your MySpace it reads 'NO SPONSORS, NO LABELS, JUST METAL'!
Yeah that's just some sense of humor and some frustration with the labeling of metal genres! I think Metal can be a varied genre, sometimes music fans get too caught up in what is Metal vs. everything else. Yes we are completely self financed...which is both a blessing and a curse..there is never enough time or money to complete all the ideas I have in the studio!
I was totally blown away by "Reborn" it has a cool groove, some rawness, some industrial and interesting lyrics! How did the cd do it?
Thanks, I think the cd came out well. I was very happy with the tone and the overall feel. I think if more people were able to hear it, they'd get into as well. We're doing something new, something different than most of the metal being made in America so I think it takes time to truly appreciate it.
On "Reborn" there is a very nice WASP covertune for "LOVE machine", it sounds great and fits very well, you kinda made it your own!
Yeah Rich (bassist) and I are fans of W.A.S.P. from way back, and we thought it would be fun to do a cover of that song. We spent a lot of time in the studio making sure we captured a heavy yet respectful version...we didn't change the arrangement much just added a few changes here and there. I wanted to do it legit, so I made sure we paid all royalties upfront etc. We've gotten a lot of positive responses from W.A.S.P. fans!
If I'm not mistaken the lyrics are very important for the band, am I right? Can you tell us something more about that! There lots of politics in it right? Are you very busy with that and what your opinion on the current US politics?
I tend to write a lot about the struggle between the left and the right in politics. America has swung very hard to the left with the last Election. Socialism and communism are not forms of government we are used to. so many Americans now rely on the Government for their money, soon we'll have socialized medicine and technology has allowed "The Government" to hear and see us in our most private moments, scary stuff.
Your new cd "Mercenary" is so far only availble through i-tunes, why is that? Will it appear on cd aswell?
Yes, very soon I'll have a nice digipak ready to go! It'll look fantastic and it'll have some bonus tracks.
You got the mighty Ed Repka for the artwork of "Mercenary", how did you get in contact with him and was he easily convinced? Happy with the endresult?
I'm very happy with the result, it's Iconic and it represents exactly what I was going for. Ed has been doing a lot of covers recently and it's great to have some truly great artwork. I hope to work with him again in the future.
How do feel about MySpace, do you also agree that it's a good thing for bands these days?
I think MySpace is great, it's a great way to promote the band, and to reach fans from all over the world. The internet is constantly changing, so I'm sure something will come along that will eventually replace MySpace. Right now though it's a great way to the word out. MySpace seems to really want musicians on their site, and they work hard to help promote, make things easier for bands.
Do you guys play lots of shows in you area?
No actually I spend most of my time working on material in the studio. The rest of members live in other cities, and the local scene isn't really that vibrant, at least for Metal.
Anything left to add ?
I appreciate your interview, and I hope we can introduce Fallen Man to a wider audience in Europe. Europe seems to have a healthy appetite for metal :)
http://www.myspace.com/fallenman
Nico
I came up with the name back in 1993...knowing I would be starting a new heavier band. I'd been a guitar player in a band just before that, and when that came to an end, I knew I needed a good name. From 1993 I've been working under the Fallen Man umbrella.
Can you tell us why you choose for the name FALLEN MAN?
Actually I heard a VJ on MTV mention in an interview. "what are you guys like the Fallen Man?. That VJ was Kennedy...who I consider the mother of Fallen Man!
I know of "Reborn" and the new album "Mercenary", are there any other releases?
I released a few Cds, before those the main one being "Blink." which came out in 2001. "Blink" is the Industrial Fallen Man...lots of snyth's and samples. "Reborn" was the birth of the new Fallen Man. I finally found a studio who could capture what I was going for. "Reborn" is the first cd of the new Fallen Man.
If I'm not mistaken all the releases are self financed, is this by choice? For on your MySpace it reads 'NO SPONSORS, NO LABELS, JUST METAL'!
Yeah that's just some sense of humor and some frustration with the labeling of metal genres! I think Metal can be a varied genre, sometimes music fans get too caught up in what is Metal vs. everything else. Yes we are completely self financed...which is both a blessing and a curse..there is never enough time or money to complete all the ideas I have in the studio!
I was totally blown away by "Reborn" it has a cool groove, some rawness, some industrial and interesting lyrics! How did the cd do it?
Thanks, I think the cd came out well. I was very happy with the tone and the overall feel. I think if more people were able to hear it, they'd get into as well. We're doing something new, something different than most of the metal being made in America so I think it takes time to truly appreciate it.
On "Reborn" there is a very nice WASP covertune for "LOVE machine", it sounds great and fits very well, you kinda made it your own!
Yeah Rich (bassist) and I are fans of W.A.S.P. from way back, and we thought it would be fun to do a cover of that song. We spent a lot of time in the studio making sure we captured a heavy yet respectful version...we didn't change the arrangement much just added a few changes here and there. I wanted to do it legit, so I made sure we paid all royalties upfront etc. We've gotten a lot of positive responses from W.A.S.P. fans!
If I'm not mistaken the lyrics are very important for the band, am I right? Can you tell us something more about that! There lots of politics in it right? Are you very busy with that and what your opinion on the current US politics?
I tend to write a lot about the struggle between the left and the right in politics. America has swung very hard to the left with the last Election. Socialism and communism are not forms of government we are used to. so many Americans now rely on the Government for their money, soon we'll have socialized medicine and technology has allowed "The Government" to hear and see us in our most private moments, scary stuff.
Your new cd "Mercenary" is so far only availble through i-tunes, why is that? Will it appear on cd aswell?
Yes, very soon I'll have a nice digipak ready to go! It'll look fantastic and it'll have some bonus tracks.
You got the mighty Ed Repka for the artwork of "Mercenary", how did you get in contact with him and was he easily convinced? Happy with the endresult?
I'm very happy with the result, it's Iconic and it represents exactly what I was going for. Ed has been doing a lot of covers recently and it's great to have some truly great artwork. I hope to work with him again in the future.
How do feel about MySpace, do you also agree that it's a good thing for bands these days?
I think MySpace is great, it's a great way to promote the band, and to reach fans from all over the world. The internet is constantly changing, so I'm sure something will come along that will eventually replace MySpace. Right now though it's a great way to the word out. MySpace seems to really want musicians on their site, and they work hard to help promote, make things easier for bands.
Do you guys play lots of shows in you area?
No actually I spend most of my time working on material in the studio. The rest of members live in other cities, and the local scene isn't really that vibrant, at least for Metal.
Anything left to add ?
I appreciate your interview, and I hope we can introduce Fallen Man to a wider audience in Europe. Europe seems to have a healthy appetite for metal :)
http://www.myspace.com/fallenman
Nico
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