Jorn Lande - The norsk, thundergod of Rock n Roll...

Jorn Lande is well known for his participation, in famous or not so famous projects and bands (ALLEN/LANDE, AVANTASIA, MASTERPLAN, SNAKES and more..), but he also maintains a group of his own. His individual voice and the energy it contains, has made him, one of the most "in demand" singers in the metal field. All things aside, Jorn avoids interviews, when he is on tour, but for us, he made an exception. Let us see what he had to say.

HMC: Good evening Jorn, Good evening Tore (Moren, guitars), how are you?
J.L.: We are ok, were here in Milan, and we are preparing our selves for tonight’s show. The tour is going really well, every night we're playing in front of 8oo+ more people, and almost all our concerts have been good so far(everything is coming up roses)!

HMC: We don’t have much time, so I will get straight to the point. Tell us about all your projects you have or those that you are preparing.
J.L. & Τ.M: (he breaths deeply and drinks a sip.) Hm, There are a lot of things on our minds and schedule. To start with, I must tell you that after the tour, we are preparing to enter the studio, to record a new JORN album. We want it to come out exactly one year after our previous album. The songs are almost ready, and we want to support this project. We want this to be our main issue of our career. Our previous albums were made a bit hastily, and according to our inspiration and the available time, the results were widely different. I believe that all the albums have good songs, but this time we want to make something that will take us really high!
HMC: Avantasia 2? Allen/Lande 3?
J.L.: Yes…the funny is that I had a chat with Tobi and he wants me in 2, I have written some stuff and i have sung on some that wasn't on part one so logically I will re-enter the studio sometime in 2009, to record some more vocals if nothing changes. I know that Tobi will get back to it when the tour with EDGUY is over.
HMC: I saw you in this year Sweden Rock!
J.L.: What did you think about it?!
HMC: A really good show, a fine assembly of great musicians, I saw Sasha Paeth live, what a guy, what a good guitarist…there was you and Tobias, Andre, o Bob…do you want more? It was fantastic.
J.L.: Yes, a great show my friend, a lot of people, a fine production. Sasha is amazing, a really good producer and a nice guy, everyone where great. I remember it with great pleasure.
HMC: lets stay on the subject. Allen/Lande 3: give us some information.
J.L.: It’s been written almost exclusively by Magnus, we enter studios sometime in 2009 and it will be probably released by the end of that year.
Τ.M: (laughing) it will be called.. : A/L 3: "The make-up"
J.L.: (burst into laughing) yes, if you see the artwork, in the first one there were monsters, in the second they were fighting each other and in the last one they will make-up! …Hahahaha, frankly I have no idea. Magnus is writing the songs, we just sing it, I think it will be very good.
HMC: How comes and you never stay in a band? In almost every case, except your own band you just do a couple of albums and then you leave.
J.L.: Hm..  Different reasons each time. First of all I get bored very easily and if I notice that the level of the band drops low, this is a very good reason. Some other times people breaks their promises, either financial ones or any kind and I don’t want to work with people who not treating me well. Will you ever work for free? On the other hand some other times things just goes too well, like AYREON, which are one-offs. That’s why I want to concentrate to my own band, from which I can’t kick myself out of! (Laughs). You know my friend, life is like an amusement park, with little ponies, the carousel, you know.. and some times you go up while some other times you go down.
HMC: Are you not afraid that the market will be stuffed with your products and that may bore, the potential listener/buyer;
J.L.: Not that much. I see it as a job, but also a necessity. If the albums are good, then there will be listeners/buyers and you know things have changed lately. In old times you could pull it off with only one album a year. Now you have to focus on the music, doing a lot of tours and produce material, because many people “download” and you are left with all the bills to pay, which don’t decrease. My newsvendor also sells fish, to earn an honest living  !??! ( laughs his head off)
HMC: Εh;;;;;;
J.L.: Yes, yes…
HMC: (What ever you say boss) Which were your influences? How do you feel when they compare you with David Coverdale or R.J.Dio ?
J.L.: All these old hard rock and metal bands are our musical inheritance. I really enjoy em. I listen to other things as well, but I don’t let them pass along in our music. I like many traditional and a lot of experimental stuff. But to get back to your question to compare me with “such” great names is an honour for me. Sometimes I come “close” to them, but believe me, it isn’t done intentionally. It is more like a tribute. I am really cool with what I am! Basically I would like to do something different some time. An album with Bjork and Kate Bush. But I don’t think it would be so good, maybe everyone would turn around and say: What the $%@&% is this .Ha,ha. But it would be interesting and out of the ordinary. Naturally, if Ritchie, Tony, or anybody else from them asks me to do it, I will go running, but I won’t hold my breath.
I really want to focus on my band, and do some selective projects.
Τ.Μ: I will tell you all about it. He has done some secret project with Nana Μοuschouri. (they both laugh their heads off)
HMC: Why a raven and not an eagle? Even on the live album, isn’t that a raven on the cover?
J.L.: I don’t know. I always liked the starling, it is such a strong symbol, magical, an omen, and we are “hard”, “strong”, with not many “fal-lals”, “independent”, and it ties up as a symbol to the music we play. The raven is the King/the Duke of his species, of it's domain. There are many of them, where I live, so maybe it is subconscious.
So in its metaphoric symbolism is what intrigued me. The raven is “strong”, “devious”, “cynical”, “aggressive” and “black”. It fits perfect with our music and our current society.  It is just very beautiful and nominal.
HMC: How do you discern, today’s music and its industry, and how does it seem for you to be a HARD ROCK band from Norway (one of the few together with CONCEPTION, WIG WAM, TNT), the land of Black Metal ?
J.L.: It has its ups and downs; the situation is out of hand. Every one can release a CD and half of them are awful. If you want us to be more critical, things can get better and if the labels put some serious money on us, the metal scene will grow again.
Τ.Μ: I agree with Jorn, a lot. You need efforts to build a career and you must have some luck with people willing to believe in you and put money and work, on you.
J.L.: Also you need strength and you must be focused. You can’t “crush” from all the drinking or getting crooked by drugs, you have to hold on to your contracts, so, when you become 50-60 you will still do your thing. Then the “idol”, will really be an idol. Take for example DIO!
As far as black metal, I don’t know, it doesn’t move me so much, although I have played with Hellhammer, who is an incredible drummer. Many of those bands- are crap, others stand tall, but for sure their vocals and their style keeps them away from the mainstream. You know, they are many of them, and only few of them have something to say.
Τ.Μ: For us, it is really bad, as was the grunge, or the British pop.
You know many of your band members, from this present group, had toured with severally famous names of extreme metal, but only a few were interesting. I just think that this is a weird metal scene/genre.Too many bands, with weird attitude and not all of them good.

HMC: Do you intend to make something in DVD, your videos, maybe a concert too?
T.M: Yes, I was going to tell you before, but Jorn said something and I forgot it. The live album was supposed to have a DVD. There was an issue so it will be released at the beginning of 2009. Perhaps in January. It will show our fans how we are on stage. It also shows, our American fans, that we can have a really good audience in America too.
J.L.: It will really help us climb up. We have to promote the name of our band. We enjoy what we do and we are going to do it till we reach the age of 90.
Τ.Μ.: You are not going to get rid of us that easy! (laughs)
HMC: Will we see you in Greece?
J.L.: I don’t know why we have not played, yet. We want to come. You came here, didn’t you?!! We also want to come, but we don’t want to play in a small club with a shitty sound. We want to give a great show, worthy of our fans. At our next tour, we will really try to come. Please tell your hosts and our fans, that we want to come!
Τ.Μ.: We love Greece, nice weather, nice food, and beautiful women!
J.L.: Yes, please set us up!
HMC.: Ok! I don’t think I have something else to ask.
J.L.: Thank you for the interview, thank you for coming here (from such a distance) to see us and we thank our fans that follow us, buy our albums and come to see us.
Lets go now into the club, to rock!

AND ROCK THEY DID !!!

Many thanks to Vixx, for organizing it and to Muna, for making it happen!