Mit ihrem Debütalbum und ihrer Tour als Support von DORO spielten sich die Kalifornier um Stimmwunder Veronica Freeman in die Herzen des deutschen Metal-Publikums und veröffentlichen nun mit "Seasons of Tragedy" ihren Nachfolger. Grund genug für einen Smalltalk mit der Frontfrau über die musikalischen Veränderungen und die Ziele für 2008. Interview mit Dennis Rowehl:
D.R.: Great new album! This time you also cooperated with Jeff Pilson as producer. Are you content with the work he did?
Veronica Freeman: Thanks for the compliment. As far as being happy with Jeff Pilson--Absolutely! He put even more of himself into this project than before and we feel very grateful for all of the hard work and dedication he has given us. I can't imagine Benedictum without Jeff Pilson. He is our 6th member!! As with the last album we learned even more about song writing and production and felt that he went even further to help us realize the vision that we had for this album.
D.R.: Well, I listened several times to the new album and I'm sure it's different from the debut album "Uncreation" without really being able to say what exactly this difference is. So you wrote the songs, you sang the songs. Can you explain in just a couple of sentences the difference between "Seasons of tragedy" and "Uncreation"?
Veronica: For me the difference lies in the production quality. The album just "sounds" better and I think more time was taken to make that happen. Also, there is a bit more of a variety when it comes to "Seasons of Tragedy" which I think is good for us. I got a chance to show some other sides of my voice and also I just think Pete really shines on this album! Jesse and Paul got a chance to show their prowess, and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Having other guest players like Manni Schmidt, George Lynch and Craig Goldy didn't hurt the mix either!
D.R.: Last time you supported DORO right here in Germany the feedback was amazing. Apart from the festivals like Wacken will you support a German band or will you play a headliner tour in Germany?
Veronica: That all depends on what the label and our booking agent have planned for us. Right now we are waiting to hear back from everyone in regards to a tour in February or March. We of course would also like to do some festivals during the summer and would love to plan some shows around the festivals as well. If we have the opportunity to do another support tour we would be thrilled to do it but I just dont know the details on what is planned for us right at the moment.
D.R.: What are the seasons of tragedy?
Veronica: Interesting question. The song "Seasons of Tragedy" depicts a soul on its journey through life on this plane. At each Season the soul is met by a bird which represents the message to the soul, the wise owl of winter, the raven of summer, the eagle of autumn and the sparrow of spring. Each Season depicted by each bird departs a message to the soul on its journey. Live with no regrets, rise over sorrow, even though all may seem barren, life abounds, master your thoughts and your world will align and so on. It really is about the different phases we go through on our journey in life and if we are open, how much there is to learn form our experiences along the way.
D.R.: On "Uncreation" you covered two Black Sabbath tracks and especially on "Mob Rules" you sound even stronger than Ronnie James Dio who's one of the best Rock singers ever. This time I was a little bit confused because you covered "Balls to the wall" (Accept). Udo Dirkschneider has surely a charismatic voice but honestly he's not really a good singer. Was there really a challenge for you to cover Accept? Wouldn't it have been better to play a Rough Cutt song?
Veronica: Hmmm! Balls to the Wall is one of those songs that I would hear and always get pumped up about. I thought it would be cool for a woman to cover that song and so off I went! I had a lot of fun (and tears) doing it and just did it for the love of the song. It was cool to have George Lynch add his particular flare to the solo as well and to have Jeff Pilson play bass on it.. A mini Dokken reunion if you will ?
D.R.: Regarding all the release parties is there anything you want to mention for your German fans?
Veronica: HELL YES!! WE WISH WE COULD BE THERE! Last time around we couldn't be there for the CD releases but I was certainly hoping that at this stage of the game we would be able to come out and be there for the release parties but the label didnít go for it so here we are sitting here wishing we could be there. We still love Locomotive but damn that would have been cool to be there for the Release Parties. This is an exciting time for us and I can't thank you enough for paying some attention to Benedictum! Keep it Metal People!!! And we hope you enjoy "Seasons of Tragedy" we had a blast recording it for you!!!
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