German Symphonic Metal band Elvellon just released their second album entitled Ascending in Synergy on May 17th. The band’s guitarist, Gilbert Gelsdorf, took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about their new album, the music scene in Germany, their latest single “My Forever Endeavor”, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Your band, Elvellon, just released their new album entitled Ascending in Synergy on May 17th, what can you tell fans about your latest release?
Gelsdorf: By and large, we have remained true to our previous style on the new album. Our fans can therefore look forward to the release with great peace of mind. Of course, we’ve already had a few new influences in the songwriting and the songs are fresh and well-developed. Thematically, we have opened up a bit and not developed all the lyrics along a single concept. Nevertheless, there is a common thread running through all the songs.
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being your band’s second album?
Gelsdorf: The songwriting was exactly the same as for “Until Dawn”. That means that Pascal, Martin and I sat down together in the rehearsal room to develop new ideas. There was a change in the lyrics though, because our singer Nele wrote most of them this time and did a wonderful job in my opinion. The recording process was also very similar, but this time we recorded a lot at home or in the rehearsal room. I bought a lot of new and expensive equipment especially for this. The fact that we could work on the recordings for as long as we wanted, because we weren’t tied to booked studio days, helped us a lot.
MER: You recently released a single from the album entitled “My Forever Endeavor”, what kind of feedback have you been able to receive?
Gelsdorf: The feedback so far has been very good. As we had only released the song with a lyric video, we knew that the reactions to it would not be as numerous as those to our first single “A Vagabond’s Heart.” “My Forever Endeavor” is a very poppy song, but fortunately people have responded very well to it. As far as I know, there has been little to no negative criticism of the song so far.
MER: What do you see as plans for you and the band for the rest of the year?
Gelsdorf: Unfortunately, as we don’t have a booking agency at the moment, we won’t be playing that many more concerts. We are still hoping for a nice tour offer as support for a bigger band. You can keep your fingers crossed for us. Personally, I’m already looking forward to getting back to songwriting. There are still a few demos left that we really want to finish, and we really believe in them.
MER: Who do you hope to tour with and why?
Gelsdorf: We don’t have any particular preferences. Our previous experience has taught us that, above all, it has to be a good fit on a human level. Then touring is a lot more fun. Because unfortunately it’s very exhausting with all that driving and little sleep in cheap hotels. If you don’t get on with the other band, the tour can quickly turn into a horror trip.
MER: Where do you hope to play live and why?
Gelsdorf: We don’t have any specific ideas here either. But of course it’s nice if the clubs have a certain size so that there’s enough space on stage and the change-overs to the next band can be stress-free. Especially big festival stages feel great for us and we are happy to win new fans there who probably wouldn’t have noticed us otherwise.
MER: How would you describe the music scene in Germany?
Gilbert: I have to admit that I only notice very little of it. I don’t listen to the radio or watch any form of music on TV. But I can say that we have a very wide range of musical styles in Germany and that there are many bands outside the charts that fill large halls, regardless of their chart position.
MER: You’ve played a number of large festivals such as RockHarz Festival, and Rock Fest Barcelona, what are some memories you have from playing these events?
Gelsdorf: At the Rockfest in Barcelona, our stage manager was from Germany, which caused some confusion at first and then made us laugh a lot. We have fond memories of this, especially as this moment was filmed and can also be seen on our DVD Until Dawn (Live). You usually remember something like that more than the concerts themselves.
MER: Your band formed in 2010, since then your hard work has surely paid off, what is some advice you would give to a band just starting out?
Gelsdorf: I would recommend that you professionalize yourself with your own recording equipment. You can learn a lot and usually get better at playing if you can listen directly to what you’re playing before you enter a real recording studio. Capturing ideas early on and working on them without a time limit does work a lot for becoming a better band.
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