Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Since May 2010 Norwegian musician and composer ANDREAS NERGÅRD has written material for a metal musical entitled MEMORIAL FOR A WISH. “Musicals and concept albums have always fascinated me,“ Andreas says eagerly. “I created this project because I wanted to make an album with the singers and instrumentalists who have inspired me to start playing music. It’s because of them I’ve become a musician and a composer.”

Some days ago I had a chance to interview Andreas and ask him more about this project. Here’s what we talked about…

Hi Andreas, welcome to Metal Shock Finland! How are you doing today?

Thank you Tarja, I’m fine, sitting here drinking coffee and listening to the awesome new album from SAXON while writing this. It’s a great way to spend the afternoon.

So let’s start from the beginning… when and how all began? I mean how you came up to an idea to compose a metal musical?

The idea for this project first came to me in April 2010. I had an idea of writing an album with all the artists that has inspired me through the years and I wanted the album to be very big in every way; musically, production-wise and in the line-up.   
    
This is your first professional release on your own. Can you tell me was it difficult to start the project? and if so, why?

Well, starting the project was actually very easy, at least in the beginning. The first thing I did was to send out emails to the singers and instrumentalists that I wanted to work with on this release, asking if they were interested in joining such a project. After receiving only positive feedback I started working on the music and storyline for the musical. I haven’t met any big difficulties yet but I’m sure there’s something ahead, it’s been way too easy so far. Off course, there’s been a lot of hard work but I’ve been enjoying every minute of this project. 
 
A musical has for me a mystical charm… What is your attraction to it?

I’ve always been quite fascinated by musicals and concept albums because every song is related to the same story. Writing material for a musical is very different from writing music in other settings because you have to write the entire musical as one long piece of music and not every song for itself. I love writing music this way; it’s much like writing a novel, only with music. When I, as a composer, introduce the listener to different musical themes it’s just the same as an author introducing you to different characters in a novel. I try to re-use some pieces of music throughout the story, themes that are connected to certain aspects of the mental stage of the main character, Peter O’Donnel; sorrow, hate, desperation, rage and so on.  “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Loyd Webber is my favorite musical because of Webber’s incredible capability of writing music this way. In fact he’s the textbook example. 
   
How would you describe the musical, music-wise?

It’s a mixture of hard-hitting classic heavy metal, dramatic symphonic metal, melodic rock and pop music. I would say there’s something for everyone who likes rock and metal in this musical.   
 
The musical is entitled “Memorial For A Wish” and will come out in couple of days (June 14)… The line-up is quite impressive. Would you like to present us the musicians?

June 14th is the release date for the promo EP, “The Beginning,” only. The entire musical will be released on two separate albums (ACT 1 & ACT 2), the first will most likely be released this fall. Everyone who contributes on this album are artists who have inspired me since I was a ten year old kid. Because of these guys I decided to become a musician myself. Here are the musicians I’m so fortunate to work with so far.

Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum)
Tony Mills (TNT/SHY)
Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, Gamma Ray)
Mike Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen, Loudness)
Åge Sten Nilsen (Wig Wam)
Helge Engelke (Fair Warning)
David Reece (Bangaloir Choir, Accept)
Michele Luppi (ex-Vision Divine)

More singers and instrumentalists will be announced during the coming months.

How was it to work with these persons?

It’s been a blast working with these guys, they’re all incredible musicians and extremely professional. I feel honored to work with them, it’s such a special feeling to hear ones childhood heroes singing and playing on the songs that I have written. And the songs have turned out great!
   
The story of MEMORIAL FOR A WISH is set to Dublin, Ireland, in 1890… what else you’d wanna tell us about the story?

Peter O’Donnell is a young man who is arrested and wrongfully accused for a crime which he did not commit. He is sentenced to twenty years in prison and is forced to leave his pregnant wife behind. When he is released from jail twenty years later he is told that his wife died while giving birth to their daughter. He learns the bitter truth when he sees their grave with his own eyes. Peter is torn apart by the grinding hands of sorrow and turns into a devastating state of mind that eventually makes him commit suicide.     

The producer of this musical is Conor Patrick. Can you tell me about this collaboration…

Conor is a very creative musician and producer who I’ve been working with many times before during many different recordings, all from pop and metal to world music. Our collaboration is great, I love working with him. He has another approach to the music than the typical metal producers and that’s great. At the same time we have similar perception of what will work or not so it’s very easy working with him. However, if the budget for the album gets a bit bigger I’m tempted to have someone who has mixed and mastered some of my favorite albums. But there’s no guarantee that it will happen yet. We’ll just have to wait and see.

How are you gonna support this musical? going to tour?

Well, I have put together a fantastic band to do some promo concerts in the forthcoming months. We’re having our live debut this Thursday at a venue in Stjørdal, Norway. Hopefully we’ll do a lot more shows during the summer and fall of this year, and maybe some of the shows will feature some of the well-known artists from the album as well.

What expectations do you have on this release?

I just hope people will like the music I have written. That would be a great bonus after all the hard work. Hopefully it will also get a lot of attention from media as well as the average listener.

Talking generally about a musical… how it differs from other projects, I mean comparing it to a “normal” album…

Well, on a “normal” album every song is usually on its own with individual stories. In a musical every song is related to the same story and has lyrics that are sometimes written as a dialog between the singers. And like I said earlier, the music in a musical is written with a different approach. It’s not only the lyrics that are telling the story, but also the music.

And now I’d like to discover something about your past… you’re still young, but you’ve done already a long road. Tell me about how you got into music…

I remember being drawn to music at an early age, and I used to listen to my older brother’s Guns N’ Roses records. I expanded this interest when I started to take drum lessons at the age of nine. When I was sixteen I started studying music theory in school, which I did for three years. I also had piano lessons during that time. In 2009 I attended the Norwegian folk high school Trøndertun, which is one of the best schools of music in Norway. During that year I wrote and recorded the album “Lots of Fun and Some Serious Stuff” by Acid Pilgrims. The album can be found digitally on the net. I also laid down the drum tracks for the forthcoming debut album from my Progressive Metal band Rudhira after finishing the recordings with Acid Pilgrims. Since May of 2010 I’ve been working as a freelance musician while writing “Memorial for a Wish.” 

Your main instrument is the drums, but you play also other instruments…

I play bass, piano and keyboards besides the drums. The piano is the most important instrument for me when it comes to writing music. I’ve written the entire musical on a piano, that’s maybe the main reason why the music is so melodic. I usually play all the keyboards on music I write. The bass guitar is very important for me when it comes to writing riffs. When it comes to recording bass I normally let somebody else play because I love hearing how other people’s approach to my music. 
    
Where are coming from your musical influences?

My influences in music are many and varied. Some of them are Nightwish, Saxon, TNT, Mezzoforte, Weather Report, Earth Wind and Fire, Toto, Stage Dolls, U2, Manic Street Preachers and James Horner.

Do you have some other projects going on?

We’re finishing up on the debut album from my Progressive Metal band Rudhira right now, which will hopefully be released sometime during the fall of 2011. You can find us on myspace and facebook. Apart from that my only focus right now is in this musical.

What next? I mean have you already some new ideas for the next projects?

Well, I haven’t had the time to think seriously about any other projects yet. I know this musical will take up most of my time during the coming year. However, writing another album for Acid Pilgrims would be fun. Or even write a new musical. We’ll see what happens when “Memorial for a Wish” is completed. 

When you want to relax, what do you do?

Going for a walk in the woods is something I really enjoy when I want to relax, or just having a coffee while listening to music. 
    
Now the word is yours… what would you tell to our readers?

First of all I want to say cheers to my Finnish brothers and sisters of metal. Hopefully we’ll see each other on tour. Check out the musical on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. There are many exiting updates to come during this summer. And remember to check out the first three songs that will be released June 14th!

Andreas, thanks a lot for this interview. Wish all the good winds for this musical! 

Thanks, Tarja, and thanks for having me on Metal Shock Finland!

Interview by Tarja Virmakari- Photos by Ina H Stenvig

Website:
www.myspace.com/memorialforawishmusical – http://www.facebook.com/memorialforawish