Kamelot Germany recently interviewed Roy Khan while they were on tour for the 2010 Pandemonium Over Europe tour. You can check it out below!
Kamelot Germany: Thomas said in an interview that the overall sound of the new album is very Kamelot like, but the lyrics are much darker, even darker than on "Ghost Opera". What is it that makes darker themes more interesting to write about than positive and uplifting stories?
Roy Khan: It has more to do with the music which is even more melancholic and darker in its expression. Not way more though, it’s still very Kamelot, but the themes this time are spinning around serial killers, hell, failure...it's just a slightly different thing. And sometimes things are not really planned out, they just happen to be the way they are coming up. That's how we write our music.
KG: But what makes it more interesting to write about dark themes?
RK: It’s not really more interesting although it has always come quite naturally...it’s about making it fit an athmosphere that is already there.
KG: What do you think are the main differences between the new album and the previous ones?
RK: I would say that "The Black Halo" and "Ghost Opera" and the new one are not too far from each other. There is no humongous difference. Except for the fact that The Black Halo is a concept album, of course. Maybe the main difference, at least from Ghost Opera, is that there are quite a few guest artists this time. There's also a 10 minute piece I think people will love.
KG: There is an interview with Jon Oliva on the internet where he says he will be on the new album too.
RK: Yes, he’s one of the guest guest artists.
Kamelot In General
KG: Which songs of Kamelot do you like to sing the most? Don't say all of them, there have to be favourites!
RK: I love our ballads. That also has to do with the fact that I can hear myself properly on stage. When the double base is going and all the instruments are playing, it’s really hard for me to find my way through the sound picture sometimes, but I really like all the songs. Playing live is a trip especially now that we have so many albums to choose from. We all like all the songs. Of course "March Of Mephisto" is a favorite. The crowd participation is always humongous. So many songs I like...there's not one that stands out as my favourite. I can't give you one though, when fact is there is not one that stands out in this regard.
KG: And which one is the most challenging?
RK: In general the older stuff is harder for me to sing, but we can always tune everything down anyway. Like the other guys can tune their instruments down, so it’s not really about that. The ballads are easier because I can hear myself better, but it’s not like there is a song that is very different in difficulty for me to sing.
KG: I have a question regarding a song that you wrote quite a long time ago. It's the song "Will You Remember". It's one of my favorite ballads from Kamelot and I only stumbled across it accidentally, when I got it as a bonus track on the Japanese version of "The Fourth Legacy". How did it happen that such a beautiful song was never recorded as a studio version, but only as a live version for a bonus track?
RK: We just happened to do that in Germany. It was recorded at a really small Café in Wolfsburg. Well, not exactly Wolfsburg, but in the little town where the studio is. Almost nobody there. I don’t know why we never took it to the studio, it’s just one of those things. Nobody there knew us, it was just an intimate fun little thing that we did and then we just left it like that.
KG: I just think it’s very unusual to play a song live that you haven’t recorded.
RK: It is...Kamelot is also an unusual band.
KG: Which Japanese legend is "Love You To Death" based on? Can you tell us its name?
RK: It was actually Thomas who found it and he just gave me that idea for lyrics for that song. I don’t really know too much about it. It’s like famous, well actually I don’t know how famous it is, I never even read it. Thomas just explained to me what it is about and the story is very simple.
KG: Kamelot have a very unique style when it comes to stage settings and clothes. Do you have someone who develops and coordinates these things or do you guys do that yourself?
RK: We pretty much do that ourselves. I had a designer guy in Norway that had opinions of course, when we were making a new jacket or I had stuff modified, but it’s all basically stuff we either pick out or change the way we want it to be.
KG: Your new coat looks really great.
RK: Thank you. Yeah, I like it too.
KG: What fabric is it? Leather?
RK: No, it’s... I’m not sure what it is. More like...I’m not sure what it’s called.
Conception
KG: Are you still in contact with the other band members from Conception?
RK: Oh, yes, constantly. With Tore I talk every week. The other two also a little bit now and then, but not so much.
KG: Conception did two or three concerts in 2005. How are the chances for more concerts in the future?
RK: No, we haven’t planned anything.
KG: Do you know who owns the rights for the albums of the band since Noise Records is not existing anymore?
RK: They are owned by Universal now.
Future Solo Album
KG: You've been thinking about doing a solo album for quite a while. Are there any concrete plans and can you tell us a bit about them?
RK: There has not been time nor energy. I mean...the production like the one we just did takes a long, long time and then there is touring, videos and festivals. I write stuff all the time though. The songs are just stacking up. Like I always say, at some point it just has to come out, but right now it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
