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***Photos used by permission of Dani Nolden***
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Metal Pit : Hello Dani,welcome to the Metal Pit ,it's so cool to finally get a chance to chat with you.
Dani: Thanks for having me, it's a pleasure!
Metal Pit : First of all allow me to congratulate you and the
band on the release of your new cd "Angel with Horns". This cd was a
long time coming but I think your fans will consider it well worth the
wait.
Dani: I hope so, we certainly put our hearts into it! Not that we hadn't
done that in the past, but this time we are just so happy with the
results that when we left the recording studio, we felt like posting it
all over the web already because we wanted to share it with everyone
(laughs). I'm glad you like it!
Metal Pit : Where did the title for the cd come from and does it have some specific meaning to you and the band?
Dani: The idea behind it is that we all have a hidden personality that's
dying to get out and that we do our best to hide it. We went back and
forth with several titles that were related to the mind, persona and
lots of psychology terms that just didn't have the impact we wanted.
They were too soft... too intellectual. So we decided to go with Inner
Monster Out. It's aggressive and we needed that. This album, both
musically and lyrically, is meant to be our scream to the whole world.
Metal Pit : I have been a fan of the band since the beginning
and no disrespect to any of your previous cds ( which I loved as well )
but this new disc seems to take the band to a whole other level of
musicianship,what was the band's goal when setting out to make this cd?
Dani:
Not disrespecting my own previous material but I agree with that
(laughs). At first, the goal was just to make something better than we
did on the past albums, that's always our goal when working on new
material. We always aim to top ourselves. We also wanted it very heavy,
very angry yet melodic, not overly simple but not complicated either. We
wanted it to be somewhat raw, nervous and beautiful at the same time.
Other than that, we decided that we would please everyone in the band at
all times, no matter what. In the past, if 3 members were happy with a
particular song or arrangement, we would go with it. Sometimes, we would
go with it if 2 were happy. But this time we wouldn't stop working on a
song until everyone was entirely satisfied with it and not only "ok"
with it. We felt that if we could manage to please four band members
with such distinct musical tastes and not sound like any of our
particular influences, then not only we'd be on the right track to
create something unique and our own, but we would also perform it better
since we all love what we're doing. And I believe that's what
happened... we sat down and said to each other "it's now or never". We
were all enjoying ourselves very much during the whole writing and
recording process, we had time as a band to play together since we now
have a stable lineup and we toured right before locking ourselves up in
the studio. We worked as a band from start to end of this album, we were
all involved, you know? Everyone was doing their best, searching for
one thing and nothing else - the best album of our careers.
Metal Pit : There is literally not one weak tune on this cd but some
of my favorites songs are "Angel with Horns" , " Inner Monster" and "A
Smile upon Death",do you have any song in particular that has a special
meaning to you?
Dani: They all have a very special meaning to me, because most of them
are true stories or at least exaggerated versions of true stories. But
since you mentioned it, "A Smile Upon Death" is extremely special. It
tells the story of the day my aunt died. She died of cancer last year
and even though she had been sick for a while, everyone in the family
was pretty devastated. Everyone except for her son. He was calm, happy
at moments. It was like he was celebrating it but he loved his mother,
it was just a very weird reaction, kinda like it didn't sink in or he
truly believed she was still alive somehow. I don't understand why
reacted like that so I didn't judge... I just wrote exactly what I saw
and experienced. It had such an impact on me that I had to write about
it. Musically, one of my favorites is "Waste of Life" because I was
allowed to play a lot with my voice on that song. I had fun doing it
because I could just go crazy (laughs). I was able to experiment, see
how far I could go, explore all these different ideas... as a singer, it
was amazing. The track is also one of the heaviest we've ever done, I
love the energy in it.
Metal Pit : You also have some special guests featured on the song "Inner Monster",how can you tell us a little about that?
Dani: When we started working on that song, it was clear we would need
guests. The lyrics are kinda inspired by detective stories, when they
are searching for a cruel serial killer and have to be careful not to
become just like them. So the lyrics have all these different
characters... the detective, voices in the detective's head, the killer.
It wouldn't make much sense to have just one person singing it, it
would kill the idea of dialogues, we'd either have to change the story
or get other people to sing with me. I started working on the melodies
and wrote parts for possible other singers and not only we all agreed on
Björn Strid of Soilwork and Niklas Isfeldt of Dream Evil, I wrote those
melodies with voices like theirs in mind. We invited Niklas through our
producer Fredrik Nordström since they are in the same band. Björn is
friends with our manager so she made the connection with him. Mikael
Stanne then came as a surprise. I'm a big fan of his voice too and we
made friends with Anders, Dark Tranquillity's drummer, while we were
recording in Sweden. He came by the studio on the day Björn was
recording to say hi and see how the material was coming along but he
brought Mikael with him. They were all talking in Swedish while Björn
was recording and all of a sudden Fredrik and Mikael ask me if he can
record too. It was an awesome surprise and we ended up with a vocal
dream team of three excellent singers that added a very special touch to
the song. I'm really glad that I was able to write for these guys - and
perform with them!
Metal Pit : Did you write all the lyrics Dani because some of them are pretty intense?
Dani: All but Habitchual, which was mostly written by a Scottish friend
and guitarist called Garreth Neilly, I just helped with some parts, and
Waste of Life was written by Ricardo Piccoli and myself, but the idea
was his. Intense is a very good word to describe the lyrics... they are
all extremely personal. I took a deep long look inside my own head and
wrote down all my fears, hopes, personality traits, life experiences and
even went on to reflect about things that haven't happened to me but we
all know it's out there such as domestic violence. The reason for that
was both the music that we came up with and also my own state of mind, I
was very reflective when I started working on the lyrics but they also
had to match the music, which is pretty intense too on this album.
Metal Pit : Where does your inspiration come from when writing?
Dani: Life in general... mine and of people close to me. When I say life
I don't mean just things I experience, it can be a book I read or
important news that impressed me somehow. The world is my inspiration...
everything that sticks in my mind for a few days ends up being a topic
to write about. Not all of them become lyrics, there are several
sentences and verses I wrote that never made it as a Shadowside song,
either because I didn't like them very much or didn't have a strong
feeling or opinion about the topic.
Metal Pit : The band has also just released a video for the
title track "Angel with Horns",can you tell us where the concept for
that video came from?
Dani: "Angel with Horns" is about escapism and double personality. The
video tells the story of a guy who's frustrated and bored with his own
life and puts all his hopes on a screwed up person that he knows he can
never have, someone capable of being both sweet and meek as an angel yet
cruel and mean. She plays with his mind, lures him in but always says
"no". He's addicted to her. Then on the musical side, what better place
for the band to play than in a junkyard on top of heavy metal machinery?
(laughs) We wanted it dark and dirty, in a good place a Metal band
could have fun and rock the hell out as loud as possible!
Metal Pit : I love the vid Dani but I gotta admit,it's kinda creepy
with the whole stalker thing,I hope this is something you have not
experienced personally,haha?
Dani: (laughs) Kinda! A few friends
of mine gave me that nickname, I'm the "sweet bitch" type, you know?
(laughs) I can be sweet and naive sometimes but I can be a little evil
when necessary. Sometimes I don't even notice when I'm being each. I
don't always realize I said something cruel until someone points it out
and it's common that my friends can't believe how innocent I am about
certain stuff and think I'm faking it. (laughs) So they started calling
me that and I wanted to have fun with it... so I took that "Angel with
Horns" character and the man character extremes and exaggerated the
whole story to make it more interesting. Anyone who plays a stalker like
that in reality is asking to get killed! (laughs)
Metal Pit : I know making videos is hard work Dani,but is that process something you enjoy doing?
Dani:
Very much, yeah! I feel challenged. To me, it feels like I'm performing
for one person only. I want to connect with each individual, fan and
potential fan, one at a time. There isn't a crowd watching the video,
it's just you and me. It's just another way of expressing myself and to
give additional life to a song. Making music videos is a bit demanding
and this time we had to work during the whole day, we started very early
because we needed sunlight for the story and then when it was dark
enough, we started shooting the band and then we just rocked the night
away until the director felt he had enough footage to work with. We had
to stay in the same position during all the time, we were kinda sore
when it was over (laughs). I had a great time and I'd shoot a video for
each song if I could!
Metal Pit : You are the front person of the band and the main focus
but you also have an incredible band working with you.Can you tell some
of our readers about the rest of the band and what they bring to the
table both musically and personally,yourself included of course?
Dani:
This is something I always tell people, I would never be able to get
anything done if I didn't have these guys with me. A good singer is
nothing without a good band, just like a good band will go nowhere with a
crappy singer. We need each other, especially because we all have such
different musical tastes and personalities that we found our own
workflow that would be hard to recreate. Fabio and I are the opposite
ones, we are the ones that do the fighting (laughs). He's the skeptical,
pessimistic guy and sometimes manages to joke about everything and be
in a horrible mood at the same time (laughs). But he's also a
perfeccionist, everything he does will be properly done. He's the one
with the most extreme tastes... his favorite bands are Slayer and Tears
for Fears... very similar, you see (laughs). Raphael is the easy-going
guy, as long as he has his videogame, it's all good. He's one of the
most creative guys in the band and has musical mood swings, one day
he'll listen to New Age, the next he'll be cranking up some Pantera.
Ricardo is the modern guy. He's a producer so he's forced to be aware of
what's "in" right now so he definitely helps us be current while the
rest of us make sure we don't forget our roots, so we are always modern
with our own personality. As for me, I'm a big hard rock fan but I love
anything with a heavy, fat guitar sound. I'm the annoyingly optimistic
type of person (laughs). I'm stubborn too. All of this creates
Shadowside... because we mix those crazy and different points of view
and we all get our way, you know? We all acommodate one another,
musically and personally. Fabio isn't trying to be in a thrash metal
band, Raphael isn't trying to recreate Pantera, Ricardo doesn't want to
follow anyone and I don't wanna be stuck in the 80's. We just try to
create music we all like, somehow... and it works for us!
Metal Pit : You all basically came from different parts of the world,how did you meet and decide to form a band?
Dani: We are all born and raised in Brazil, just our origins are
different... Fabio is half Lithuanian, Ricardo is part Italian, Raphael
and I have both German, Portuguese and probably a few other stuff thrown
in there (laughs). That's the typical Brazilian... there isn't one! And
we grow up under different cultures. However we are all from different
cities and we meet in Sao Paulo to rehearse. I got in touch with Fabio
through the first label we signed with, we needed a real drummer because
the first guy couldn't play so they put us in touch... he was supposed
to record only but we liked him, he liked the band and he ended up
coming aboard. Ricardo was recommended by the Editor in chief of Roadie
Crew and I knew Raphael from the local music scene. We keep in touch
with emails and meet whenever we're inspired to make some noise.
Metal Pit : Have you always wanted to be a singer and who were some of your influences growing up?
Dani: I remember dreaming of the possibility as a child, even though I
didn't start taking the idea seriously until I was 16, 17. But I was
very much into music already, I'd play with my toy guitar, steal my
mom's broom and make it my mic stand (laughs). My soundtrack was Queen,
Michael Jackson and Guns n' Roses until I was about 11, 12, then I
started listening to stuff like Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden.
Those are my old heroes.
Metal Pit : You have such a powerful and beautiful voice Dani,were you professionally trained?
Dani: No, I never found the right teacher, trainer or coach in my
hometown. I started taking lessons and went as far as breathing and
articulation, then I went the self-taught path. All the teachers I found
around here were close--minded and thought all Metal musicians were
drug addicts that didn't feel the pain of singing roughly because they
were too high (laughs). It was more productive for me to read about
techniques, get tips from more experient musicians and record myself
singing to work on what I didn't like.
Metal Pit : Do you have to take any special precautions with your voice while touring?
Dani: Other than be quieter than usual, sleep a lot and drink lots of
water, no. I'm too lazy for any special care (laughs). I avoid alcohol
on show days or when we'll have a show the next day... if I do drink,
it's one beer and that's it because I don't sleep well if I get drunk
then my voice is in less than ideal conditions the next day if I don't
rest enough. If I'm in a good general condition, my voice usually
follows and responds well. I just try not to get sick but I couldn't
avoid it on the last European tour we did with W.A.S.P. I caught a cold
on the first day we arrived and I didn't get enough rest during the
tour. From beginning to end, I had a persistent cough and cold-like
symptoms until the very last show in Finland but I didn't want to cancel
any shows, I decided we'd keep going unless I absolutely couldn't sing.
I'll definitely be more careful in the future and do my best not to
stay out in the cold... being sick on the road is not fun at all!
Metal Pit : While we are on the subject of touring,this band has
had some pretty extensive tours in the past with some great bands,can
you tell us about the new tour supporting "Angel with Horns" and what
parts of the globe you will be traveling?
Dani: I hope we'll
visit everywhere we have visited in the past and add some new places to
that list! We have played a few shows in the United States but we
definitely want to add more cities, we have been to 19, 20 countries in
Europe, several cities in Brazil. Maybe we can say "hello" again to all
the fans that already saw us and have the chance to play other
countries... one thing is for sure, Shadowside is a band made to play
live! We love the stage so any opportunities we get to play concerts,
we'll take. We are now working on promoting the album, waiting for more
feedback and then we'll see what happens, but we want to tour the world
for sure!
Metal Pit : Name one band that you would love to tour with if possible?
Dani: One band only? You're cruel (laughs). If I have to pick one, that
would be Iron Maiden. We supported them in Rio de Janeiro this year but a
full tour would be amazing. There are other great bands I'd love to
tour with though. Any bands that are nice and professional make up for a
great experience on the road.
Metal Pit : What music would I find inside your car at the moment?
Dani: Disturbed, Rammstein, Queen and Skid Row. That's what I picked up
for the last short trip... I don't drive though! The car is in my name
but I do not drive. Too scared. Yeah I know, I'm a wuss (laughs).
Metal Pit : When you do have a few spare moments of free time Dani,what kinds of things do you enjoy doing?
Dani:
I'm a book worm... love reading! I'm also into video and computer
games, sports, I've recently started taking Kung Fu lessons, go to the
movies whenever it's possible, if it's not I just watch something at
home. Taking care of my animals is also something I really like to do.
I'm a simple person... it doesn't take anything fancy to entertain me.
Metal Pit : The Metal scene over the last several years has really
exploded with female singers and musicians and in my opinion this was a
long time coming but do you think this is just the latest trend for
Metal or do you think women in the genre are here to stay?
Dani: I think we are here to stay, not only in Metal music but on all
areas of life. The times that women sat at home dreaming of the world
are long gone. I'm not a feminist, at all! I just believe women can do
whatever they feel like doing and I honestly don't think the large
majority of people will give us trouble, no matter what choices we make.
I don't see women in Metal as a trend, because there are still far more
men in the genre than there are women and I strongly disagree with
people that say it's like that because of lack of opportunity to women.
The fact is that there are less women interested in Metal music than
there are men, it's simple as that. The Metal industry and fans are open
to men and women equally, in my opinion. One may not like typical
female voices which is a personal taste and I respect it, but it's very
common to see those people enjoy at least one female fronted band,
especially when she doesn't sound that lady-like. I've seen lots of
people tell me "I used to hate female fronted bands until I heard your
voice" and that's when you see the guy is not a macho idiot, he just
hadn't come across a female voice he liked. Only a stupid person would
be against a female in a band just because she doesn't have a penis. If
she can sing, if she can play, the world will not give her a hard time.
And more and more women are taking notice of that so in the future it's
likely that we'll see more girls getting interested in starting a band.
Metal Pit : Are you starting to notice more female fans at your shows than ever before?
Dani: Now that you mentioned, I actually am. I noticed that everytime we
tour, there's a new generation of girls... 13, 14 years old girls. And
the cool thing is that I don't see the number of older girls getting
smaller either, which means they aren't losing interest. I still see a
lot more guys at shows but a few years ago, I used to see mostly girls
with their boyfriends, just to keep them company. Now I see more women
by themselves or with friends, going to concerts because they like the
band and not because the boyfriend dragged them along.
Metal Pit : As a strong and talented woman in Metal yourself,what
advice would you give to young women who may want to follow in your
footsteps?
Dani: Always be yourselves...no matter what. Don't try to be me or
Angela or Doro, just be you. You may not think you're not good enough or
special enough but you are, exactly because no one else can be you.
You're unique, embrace and explore that. Work hard, harder than
everybody else. Practice a lot. Never stop trying to improve, even when
people start saying you're great. My friend in Helloween once gave me
precious advice about compliments... "enjoy it, but don't believe it".
When you believe it, you'll stop improving and others will catch up. If
you think you have it, dream high and go for it... just don't wait for
it to fall on your lap because it won't. Don't try to succeed by harming
other fellow musicians, just be the best and you'll make it, there's
room for everybody!
Metal Pit : Where can fans find out more about the band,your new cd and the upcoming tour?
Dani: We love to be in touch with people via social networking pages as
well as our own official website. Fans can reach us on Facebook, Twitter
and thewww.shadowside.ws website. We always post the latest news there, give away free music sometimes and keep in touch with people.
Metal Pit : What does it mean to you to be chosen as the Metal Pit's Maiden of the month?
Dani: It's an honor! I love the website and to be feature there among all those cool ladies is awesome!
Metal Pit : Dani,on behalf of myself and The Metal Pit we want
to thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to chat with
us today.I think the new cd is Amazing and I wish you and the band the
best of luck with all you do for the rest of this year and beyond.Hope
to see you on the road sometime soon.
Dani: Thank you so much, I can't wait to be back on tour. I'll see you soon!
Horns up
brothers and sisters..........
Nick
Rohm.
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