{"id":12995,"date":"2012-10-25T16:20:48","date_gmt":"2012-10-25T05:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=12995"},"modified":"2012-11-13T09:35:34","modified_gmt":"2012-11-12T22:35:34","slug":"torpedohead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2012\/10\/torpedohead\/","title":{"rendered":"Torpedohead"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At May The Rock Be With You we take great pride in uncovering awesome rock from all corners of the globe to share with you, our readers.\u00a0 But sometimes, that awesome rock finds us, before we can find it.\u00a0 That is the story of Torpedohead, who we were alerted to way back in 2009 by their singer\/guitarist Sven Spacebrain.\u00a0 That first introduction was their debut album Lovesick Avenue, <\/em>followed on by the EP Let\u2019s Go For A Ride <\/em>and now comes their eagerly awaited new full length album Greetings From Heartbreak Key.\u00a0 <\/em>Straight ahead, high octane rock n\u2019 roll with massive hooks, sing-along choruses and blazing guitar solo\u2019s, you know, all the fun, essential rock n\u2019 roll stuff.<\/p>\n

Sven and Torpedohead have been massive supporters of May The Rock Be With You over the years and it\u2019s great to have been along for the ride from the very beginning.\u00a0 Greetings From Heartbreak Key <\/em>is an album that deserves to be heard by the masses, so check them out and if you dig, do your bit and spread the word.<\/p>\n

We checked in with Sven Spacebrain for an in depth chat about the new album\u2026<\/p>\n

Hey Sven, thanks for taking the time to do this interview.\u00a0 You have your new album \u2018Greetings From Heartbreak Key\u2019 coming out in late October.\u00a0 What can you tell us about what we can expect from the new album ?
\n<\/strong>Imagine a 70\u2019s stadium rock n’ roll tape coming through a trashy 90s pop-punk stereo, digitally remastered today for speeding down the autobahn !<\/p>\n

For those of us familiar with your past releases \u2018Lovesick Avenue\u2019 and \u2018Let\u2019s Go For A Ride\u2019 how would you compare those to the new album?
\n<\/strong>Our first album was written and recorded before we ever played a live gig and we were still looking for a sound that would fit us. \u00a0For us we didn’t focus on making a record to please the press or the audience, it was all about having a blast and making music that we love. \u00a0So there’s a big range in style on Lovesick Avenue<\/em>, that focuses around the rock n’ roll river and all it\u2019s side arms. \u00a0We just let ourselves drift along and got back to shore whenever we liked. \u00a0In the end we had a very fresh sounding record that we produced DIY.<\/p>\n

When we started touring and playing gigs, we found out more and more what sound fit us and we worked on shaping that to its best. \u00a0We wrote a ton of songs that all had a more fast forward rock drive than our debut album. \u00a0After doing a lot of demos we decided on working with a producer whom has a big name in the German rock\/metal scene called Siggi Bemm, because he is known for his huge rock sound.\u00a0 We wanted to move away from the garage sound of the first album and take it to the next level.<\/p>\n

The EP Let’s Go For A Ride<\/em> was a preview for our second album. \u00a0Not only production wise but also from a song point of view. \u00a0We made the fast rock tunes faster and we made the melodies bigger. \u00a0So what we’ve got now is a rock album that leaves no questions unanswered. \u00a0You’ve got action, riffs and killer hooks, all you need for a good drive on the highway !<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I always love to find out the meaning behind the choice of an album title…so \u2018Greetings From Heartbreak Key\u2019, what does that represent?
\n<\/strong>Heartbreak Key<\/em> is a song on the album that was inspired by a lot of personal turmoil going on with some of the band members at the time. It seemed that everyone was into their heads with strange relationships that didn’t seem to work out and moved on from one to another.\u00a0 After this, the band took a holiday to get their heads cleared up again, because the tension grew heavy on the whole band and got in the way with the whole project.\u00a0 While on leave, I was reading\u00a0 a book by Tim Dorsey down in France on the beach, which is set around the Florida keys and I suddenly had this picture of Heartbreak Key<\/em> in my head, took up the guitar and it started to pick up from there. The whole song is a kind of satirical view on the relationship business.<\/p>\n

When looking for a title for the album we came up with \u2018Greetings From Heartbreak Key<\/em>\u2019, because a lot of songs on the album seemed to fit with this comical view of the subject. “Hey everybody come down to “Heartbreak Key” and get your ass beaten and heart broken by the octopus-woman… ha ha “!\u00a0 After our graphic designer showed us the picture of the lady that ended up on the cover, we where just stunned because it seemed to fit right on the spot. \u00a0That’s it, that’s how “Heartbreak Key” looks like !<\/p>\n

First single from the new album, \u2018Rotten Radio\u2019, was released a few months ago, tell us a little bit about what inspired the lyrics to this song?
\n<\/strong>Actually Rotten Radio<\/em> is an old song that was written back in 1999 when I still had my old band but it never got released commercially. \u00a0The song got lost along the way and Hardy our bass player hit me up to get it out of the closet again. \u00a0We tried it out and punched it into shape and it just sounded great. \u00a0Meanwhile it’s gotten quite a killer on stage and a mainstay in our live set.\u00a0 At the time it was written, MTV took over the whole music scene and seemed to dictate what everybody should listen to and look like. \u00a0So for us it was like: “fu%& \u00a0this, I\u2019d rather be on the radio”\u00a0 Not specific to actually BE on the radio, but to do something else than follow this trend.\u00a0 Today, when I read or sing the lyrics, it kind of takes on a whole new meaning: Everybody wants to be a singer nowadays an appear on all those “Idol-shows”.\u00a0 So it shows more of a twisted and satirical view on the whole situation.<\/p>\n

When and where did the song writing and recording take place for this album.\u00a0 Was this something significantly different to the approach you may have taken in the past?
\n<\/strong>In terms of recording there was a totally different approach compared to the first album.\u00a0 For the first record we set up our equipment in a small cottage in the woods and used the whole house as a studio. \u00a0Kind of like the Stones on Exile on Mainstreet <\/em>but without the ocean and the villa … ha,ha.\u00a0 The recording was done by ourselves and for the mixing we moved to a studio.\u00a0 While touring with the album on the setlist we worked more and more on our sound and after writing a huge pile of new songs and adding a new drummer back in 2010 we decided to work with producer\u00a0 Siggi Bemm and record in his famous Woodhouse Studio in Hagen, Germany.\u00a0 Siggi is known for his “huge rock” sound and worked with artists like Kreator, Dave Lombardo (Slayer) and Lacuna Coil. A lot of heavy stuff but he also produced some famous German pop-rock artists.\u00a0 So he has an ear for the in between sounds and is not pushing you in one direction.\u00a0 He just gets the best out of your sound and drives you to do just that.\u00a0 We recorded the EP Let’s Go For A Ride<\/em> and it turned out killer, so we decided to go back last year and record a follow up album with him.\u00a0 For this we did a lot of pre-production in our rehearsal room and worked out the songs until every last note fit. \u00a0So by the time we moved to the studio there where no questions left and it was all up to nailing the songs down as best as we could.<\/p>\n

Would you say there were any major influences on the new album both musically and lyrically?
\n<\/strong>Musically we drew a lot of influence from our own sound because we did a lot of raiding on our own demo vaults. \u00a0We have recorded and demoed around 30-40 songs in the last years that we have forgotten about. \u00a0Good thing is that Hardy keeps a good archive on them. \u00a0We sat down a lot of times and listened to them over some beers. \u00a0Reworked ideas, took riffs and made something new out of them, or even just to get inspired again. \u00a0A few weeks before it was time to go to the studio, we figured it would be better to have some more fast n’ heavy tunes, because it was all getting a bit too pop… and out came three great new songs that all made it on the record. \u00a0Speaking lyrically, one of them is a tune called Love Is A Dog<\/em> that is inspired by a collection of poems by Charles Bukowski. \u00a0Besides his known reputation for stories about drunks and women he wrote a lot about the exploitation in the mass media business.\u00a0 It just seemed to fit the fact that being a writer of music and lyrics, that part of the industry seems to fit either way with all its exploitation ways. \u00a0But, there are a lot of other doors left open in the song, that let you read something else. \u00a0Also there is an influence we draw from old movies. The song Lovewreck<\/em> is partly inspired by an old Gary Cooper movie called The Wreck of the Mary Deare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Given we haven\u2019t seen a tracklisting for the album yet, here\u2019s an opportunity for you to mention 3 songs from the album and some comments\/thoughts on each:
\n<\/strong>1) Rock n’ Roll Satellite\u00a0 –<\/em> It’s been a hit in our live set since day one. \u00a0If our show did not grab you until that song is played in the set (which is highly unlikely if you’re into rock n’ roll !), you will be singin’ along to this track.\u00a0 Crank it up and check for yourself.<\/p>\n

2) Burning Bridges –<\/em> This song is a bit different than the other tracks, although it still has the Torpedohead sound in it.\u00a0 We do a little bit more riff raff in the middle (C-part) than usual and end that with some twin guitar soloing.<\/p>\n

3) Red City Lights –<\/em> This song was recorded completely live without any overdubs. It’s just me sitting in my kitchen strummin’ the guitar. We tried to record that song with the whole band, with overdubs, but in the end it just sounded best to play it simple, just sitting down with the guitar and singing it live in one take.\u00a0 It’s also a bit of reminiscent to our first record, which featured a lot of acoustic guitars.<\/p>\n

When you think back to the recording sessions for \u2018Greetings From Heartbreak Key\u2019\u2019, what are 3 thoughts\/memories that most immediately come to mind?
\n<\/strong>1)\u00a0 When we recorded the last two tracks Rotten Radio<\/em> and Burning Bridges<\/em> we got stuck in the snow on the way to the studio. In fact that was the ONLY day in that year that it snowed.\u00a0 But we made it through, put in some extra time and had the backing tracks nailed until the night.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 Working in the brand new studio of our producer Siggi, which has an excellent sound, as you can hear on the record and learning a bunch of new stuff production wise.<\/p>\n

3) A lot of coffee!! You have to check our studio diary for that one !<\/p>\n\n

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