Kaledon is a heavy metal band from Italy that has been around since the late nineties. Just recently I had the pleasure of talking to the group's founder, Alex Mele. I would like to thank Alex for taking time out of his schedule to chat with us about his band and the group's upcoming album, "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness".
Andy-Would you please introduce yourselves to our readers and tell us how the band come together?
Alex-Hi there, my name is Alex Mele, the founder and main composer of the band KALEDON! We are together since 1998… it was a very long trip but… we are still here…
Andy-I'm sure you've been asked this question countless times before, but how did you settle on your name?
Alex-KALEDON is the name of the fantasy reign where our concept story is set.
Andy-That's cool. How would you describe Kaledon to people who have never heard any of your material?
Alex-Well… The press says that we are a power/heavy metal band. I can say that this description isn’t correct enough. We play many different kind of metal. In our albums you can find, hard rock, classic metal, power metal, thrash metal, speed metal and other things… Our music follow the emotions of the lyrics so… Expect different things every time.
Andy-You have a new album coming out in May. What can your fans expect from it?
Alex-This is a very important moment of our career! It is the first album with new line-up and of course we are very thrilled about this. We really can’t wait to go on the road and meet many cool people, new fans and new friends.
Andy-Kaledon has been around for a long time now and the band has seen it's fair share of line-up changes. How do you keep everything consistent Alex?
Alex-To coordinate and work with 5 (6 with me) different people, it is very complex and difficult! Very often there are, different point of view, different goals to achieve, different expectations so… very often people left or… in other case… people were fired! Now… for the very first time in more of 18 years… we have the same goals to achieve so… we’ll see what happen… J
Andy-Speaking of different people, "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness" will be the first one with lead singer Michele Guaitoli. What does he bring to the band and how did you go about recruiting him?
Alex-Yes… it’s true! In 2014/2015 we made more than 50 auditions… Michele was one of them.
We met him through facebook and, after a first step/audition with some mp3 that he made at his place, we met him in studio and… it was immediately love! J
Andy-Wow, 50 auditions! That's crazy! What are some of the band's influences Alex?
Alex-Ooooh so many…. I can say Vivaldi to Pantera ahahahah! We listen every kind of good music without any exception.
Andy-If I'm counting correctly, "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness" is the band's 10th studio album. Other than your new lead singer, what would you say makes this album stand out from the previous ones?
Alex-We have 9 studio album (with Carnagus), 1 Best of album and a Re-Mastered Edition of Chapter 4:Twilight of the gods (2015 edition). As I said before, this album is very important because we have a new mighty line-up. Michele Guaitoli – Vocals and also the new drummer Manuele di Ascenzo. These guys have brought new file to the band so… the recording process were very exciting and… this is the main difference compared with the past.
Andy-Is there a narrative behind "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness" or is it just a collection of epic metal tunes?
Alex-Well, EVERY Kaledon’ album is based on a fantasy metal concept (that I wrote in 1997) named “LEGEND OF THE FORGOTTEN REIGN”. This saga is a 6 chapters romance and, the first 6 Album were Chapter 1 to 6! After Chapter 6 I decided to make an album for every character of the story.
Same facts but narrated from HIS point of view. For the moment we have made one album on ALTOR (the blacksmith), one on ANTILLIUS (the king of Kaledon) and now one on CARNAGUS (the king of the darkness)
Andy-Sweet! Where can our readers go if they want to find out more about the band and your new album?
Alex-…of course on our website website or on Facebook!
Andy- Changing gears here, but how would you describe today's scene as opposed to when your first formed?
Alex-Oooh it is very simple! Today the scene is overcrowded. Too much bands, too much labels, too much of everything and… the result is that we are loosing quality. I preferred the scene of 20 years ago! But I suppose that this will make me look old aaahahahh!
Andy-Well, I'm right there with you. Compared to the scene when I was in my early twenties, 2017 sometimes seems as if there are far too many mediocre metal bands as opposed to high quality ones. That's a big part of the reason why I try to review releases that are actually worthwhile! But anyway, is there anything about Kaledon that your fans might be surprised to find out?
Alex-Yes… In the new album there is a thing that we never did before! Ahahahah Just wait for it… J
Andy-That's a bit of a tease for the fans LOL! Will you be touring behind the new album?
Alex-Of course we are working on that right now! We’ll try to play more shows as possible and, we really hope to come in the US for the first time.
Andy-I hope that works out for you guys. Now, I always let bands have the last word. Is there anything else that you would like to talk about that we didn't cover? Do you want to address your fans or even the naysayers? Words of wisdom for local bands in your scene? Here's your chance to say whatever is on your mind!
Alex-Oooh not so many other things. We have covered all the important things. I can say of course that I really hope that you guys will like the new album, and I’ll hope to see you on the road during 2017 and 2018. MAY THE DARGON BE WITH YOU!
Andy-Thanks Alex.
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