Interview avec Fool's game

L'interview que je vous propose aujourd'hui est avec le groupe américain Fool's game . le groupe présente des chansons assez mélodiques , assez rock et assez métal ! le groupe a déjà des compos , a déjà un album et il fût l'une de mes dernières découvertes sur myspace . je vous laisse lire :


It's an honor to talk with you as a member of the american band "fool's game " . Let's start by the classic question ( laughs ) : can you introduce yourself and your band to the tunisian metal heads ?

My name is Matt Crooks, and I started the band and wrote all the music. I play guitar and bass on the album. Vocals are from Lars Larsen also of Manticora. Drums are by John Macaluso of Yngwie, ARK and Starbreaker fame. Lead guitars are by Matt Johnsen of Pharaoh. The keyboards are courtesy of Nick van Dyk also of Redemption.

the first question that may be asked , why have you chosen " fool's game " as name ?

> I run a recording studio, and I was working on an album by Superchrist, and the singer said something to the effect of "recording tonight is going to be a fool's errand". That reminded me of the Mordred album Fool's Game, and I thought it might be a cool name for the band. I wish there was more to it than that, but that's about it!

you music , is so progressive , so melodious , and sometimes so rock . But i was a little bit surprised while reading "arch enemy" and "in flames " in your influences . can i have more explication about this point ?

> Arch Enemy and In Flames are very melodic in their instrumentation, just not in their vocal delivery. I think a lot of Fool's Game songs would sound very much like a melodic death metal band if we had harsh vocals instead of Lars. Also, our guitars are all seven strings so they are tuned to low B, which is the tuning some of the melodic death metal bands use, so some of the influence comes there as well.

the band exist still long time now , but still have an only one album . is this the calm before the storm ( laughs ) or just a lack of inspiration ?

> Well the album took a long time to record because everyone has other bands in which they play, and I have been busy producing albums for other people. We are hoping to have the album out early next year, and then to support it with some live shows. Since we don't have a label yet, we'll have to see how that all works out.

when i was trying to analyze your biography , i've found that your band members were not friends and they were just choosen between others . isn't this point causing problems now ?

> All of the members were friends in some way. I was friends with Matt and Nick, Matt was friends with John, and I was friends with a friend of Lars. So we all knew each other either directly or indirectly, and it seems to have worked out well.

and talking about members , why 2 of them were on PHARAOH ? i mean is this a simple coincidence ?

> I have recorded and produced the last two Pharaoh albums ("The Longest Night" and "Be Gone") and am good friends with Matt Johnsen. When I needed someone to help with lead guitars he was the logical choice since I talk to him on a daily basis. Tim only sings on one song on the album, he trades off the lead lines with Lars, and then sings the chorus with Lars. That worked out because he happened to be recording Pharaoh while I was working on Fool's Game. He was already in the studio, so singing one extra song was easy!

and are you the main compositor or is the whole band doing it ?

I wrote all of the basic instrumentation for the songs. Everyone else was giving (almost) complete freedom to write their own parts from there. I had ideas on what I wanted for each song, but in almost every case what they came up with was much better than what I had in mind. Lars wrote all of the vocal melodies and most of the lyrics for the songs. Three of the songs are actually poems "The Conqueror Worm", "The Wild Swans at Coole" and "She Moved Through the Fair".

and the lyrics , what are they talking about? and who is doing them ?

Lars wrote all of the lyrics, so I can't say what he had in mind when he wrote them... what I get from them is a mistrust of religion and a mistrust of society. I'd really have to ask him though!

let's move to the practical things ( laugh ) . how many concerts have you made untill now ?

None. We hope to change that soon!

and why haven't you signed with a label ?

We are in negotiations right now. The CD was not finished until a month or so ago, so we have just started talking to labels now. We are signed with Intromental management, and they are doing a great job for us. I expect to have something finalized soon.

what are your plans for the futur ? ( albums , concerts ... )

> We would like to play some festivals next year to promote the album. With members living all of the world, it is difficult for us to get together to perform, but we'd really like to make it happen. I have already started writing bits and pieces for the next album, so maybe we'll be recording in a year or so for the second CD.

we are tunisian , so we must ask you if you have an idea about the tunisian or the arabic metal scene ?

> Not really. Do you have an active scene there?

finally , i have to thank and have you something to add ?

> Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I hope I have more news about the release of the CD soon!