Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz has to be one of the hardest working vocalists on the rock/metal scene over the last few years.  Each year you can more or less guarantee another album or project which features his powerful vocals with the most recent of these being the stunning new Evidence One album "The Sky Is The Limit".  Virtuosity One tracked down Carsten for our second interview with him to discuss this new masterpiece in addition to his preferred way or working and the status of a few other projects he is involved in at present.  If you have yet to check out any of Carsten's work do yourself a favour and amend this after reading this interview.

Carsten, many thanks for agreeing to this interview?
The pleasure’s on my side again, Andy!

 The new Evidence One album “The  Sky Is The Limit” is about to hit the streets, we gave it a glowing review, how has the general reaction been so far?
Oh, it’s going pretty good, most reviewers speak of our best album to date, which is exactly the way we feel about it! Hope we can establish ourselves or our sound and break some new grounds, if we’re lucky.

How does this third album differ to its predecessors in your opinion and how do you see the bands growth over the three albums?
Well, our debut “Criticize The Truth” basically was a harder version of what Robby did with FRONTLINE, let’s say, we were a Hard Rock band back then. With our second output “Tattooed Heart” we wanted to capture our live heaviness as a Melodic Metal band, to which we’d somehow evolved because of the live shows and festivals we did. “The Sky Is The Limit” for us should be the album to, like I said before, establish our own sound. This is, what E1 is all about, this is, how we sound, for people to probably to say, this or that band sounds like EVIDENCE ONE, instead of EVIDENCE ONE sounds like this or that band. This doesn’t mean, we won’t stay true to our roots, hell no, but it’s time to stand for ourselves.

What really struck me were the arrangements, which made a very good job of avoiding so many of the cliché’s heard in the melodic metal genre these days.  Was this intentional on the bands part?
That’s all Robby’s fault! J  He’s the man behind all arrangements and music! I know, Robby’s got some very special way of writing and producing, which is very unconventional. He loves to play around with ideas and melodies, which gives the songs a very special vibe and touch. I really love that.

Your vocals are the best yet on any project I have heard from you.  I was totally blown away how you used your voice for the likes of ‘Mr Madness’, ‘Won’t Sleep Alone’ and ‘Propaganda’ to name just a few.  You sound like you were really having fun with this material from a vocal standpoint, is this a fair observation?
Thanx again, mate! This means a lot to me. Well, I recorded all my vocal parts together with my buddy Stephen “Seegi” Seeger at his studio in Mannheim. He helped me arranging all the harmonies and simply knows, when I sing the best I can, or when I can do even better. It’s a very relaxed and intimate working base, and that’s of course, why I had so much fun, doing, what I want to. On the other hand, Robby gives me all the space, I need. He simply lets me do my thing, no restrictions – so I can do, what I think is best for the song and, of course, how I think, I do sound best as well! ;)

How did you go about working on the vocal melodies, harmonies and counterpoints that we hear on many of the tracks?
I write my lyrics with a rough idea of their lines at home right before I head for the studio (sometimes only an hour before). Seegi knows right away, what I had in mind, when I present the lines to him in the studio, it’s some sort of fine tuning, but it all happens very quickly. We decide, where to add background and harmony stuff, and that’s it. Normally takes about two hours to record all my lead and backing parts.

Do you like to go to any particular place to write lyrics and melody lines or do you prefer to be in the main rehearsal room?
I write them all alone at home on my PC. I got some weird Word-document, where I add song titles, whenever they come into my mind. So, when I need to do my parts for a new song, I go through this sort of “title library” and look, what would fit best. The lyrics themselves come afterwards. It’s always the title first. It’s the fastest way for me to write, because I don’t feel very comfortable, writing my lyrics together with someone else. I can share ideas or discuss parts, but to me, writing lyrics is some rather private act, which I prefer to do by myself.

How long did the album take to write, record and mix from start to finish?
We weren’t in a hurry. Robby came up with the first new ideas early 06, and pretty soon, we recorded a few tracks roughly. In the end, we recorded all in all about 15 songs, and, as usual, he must have done a dozen different mixes of each song. You know, we don’t record or write constantly. Robby sends over new stuff, when he feels like doing something new, no need to rush. Lets say, it took us about 1 ½ years to finally finish the record.

How was the band atmosphere during the creation of the music?
Hm, in-between the recording, we decided to officially have Jörg Wartmann as our new lead guitarist in, so there was a little disturbance in the recording process, but soon after we heard his first solos, we knew, the decision was definitely right! Fits like a glove!

Were the band locked in a room during the writing phase or did you all work on stuff individually?
Song writing for E1 is no band thing at all. That’s nothing romantic, I know, but the truth is, Robby writes all songs instrumentally and sends them over for me to work out my parts. I send the recorded vocal parts back to him and he plays around with my ideas to finish the tracks!

Are lyrics and melody lines in your head 24/7?
There’s not a single moment, when there’s no song in my twisted little mind… most of them are someone else’s ;)

I believe the band underwent a line-up change during the albums creation, how did this affect the band and what do you think new guitarist Joerg Wartmann has brought to the band?
In fact, as Warthy’s been with is for about a year now, it doesn’t feel so different to us. Warthy is able to perform a huge variety of different solo styles, and this gives the composition much more depth. His sense for melodies sometimes gives the songs surprising twists, but always hits the heart of every track! That’s exactly, what we needed!

What led to Robby Bobel deciding to focus more on production than performance?
You know, when we started E1 we didn’t intend to play live. See, even FRONTLINE don’t do live shows. That’s Robby’s business. He’s a wizard in his cellar, trying out this and that and is not used to stepping out in the limelight. In fact, he’s still the most important part of the band – but not on stage out in the public. Honestly, for us, nothing has changed! Robby and me, we wrote all the tracks, Robby produced and mixed the album as usual, played all keyboard parts and even some solo tracks. Nothing has changed indeed! He’s like our Chris von Rohr, who’s controlling the strings in the dark!

The band recently shot a video for ‘The Sky Is The Limit’ which looked like it was a blast to make.  Its great to see a band rocking out; opposed to just standing there looking bored as many bands do in videos these days. Is the energy displayed in the video reminiscent of the energy of a live Evidence One gig?
For this video, we wanted something fast, like the song is, well, yes, maybe like our live shows are – well, I at least hope, they are – a typical Rock’n’Roll video! Right in your face, nothing special, simply rockin’! And I guess, Maurice Swinkels, lead singer of LEGION OF THE DAMNED, who directed the clip, did one hell of a job!!!

Speaking of live gigs - do the band have any touring plans to support ‘The Sky Is The Limit’?
Of course! We’re negotiating right now with different booking agencys and companies. We will be on the road, but I can’t tell you right now, where or when or with whom.

What do you hope “The Sky Is The Limit” will do for the band?
Like I said, maybe open some new doors, but mainly establish us as a band and our sound as something special. …but hey, forget about that, I simply want people to listen to it and think “hell, these guys fucking rock!”

The album also saw a switch of labels from Nuclear Blast to AFM.  What led to switch and are you seeing the benefits yet?
Well, changing from Point Music, where our debut was released, to Nuclear Blast was simply a chance, no one could refuse! It’s been the one label, we wanted to on. Over the years, most of the people, that stood for us and loved our sound, you know, Nuclear Blast mainly’s famous for their way more brutal sounds, left the company. So in the end, we could have released another album over there, but it simply didn’t feel good. And since our former promoter and friend from NB Markus Wosgien went to become A&R at AFM Records, it’s been, well, natural to move again.

Moving onto other projects you are involved in, I guess the big question is what led to you quitting Domain?  I get the impression that it wasn’t a totally amicable split or am I wrong?
No, not exactly, to be honest. Well, it’s been a decision, which was probably the hardest to make in my whole life, but I finally had to do it. It’s been a process of a couple years, I’d say, when a growing lack of friendship simply killed all will to go on together. Simply, as I saw it, DOMAIN more and more became a solo thing, which had to be presented as a band. I don’t have problems with solo projects, I’m currently working for a couple solo artists, but they are all presented as such. So, I had to stand for decisions, which were not mine. Discussions going on over months and years, and simply nothing changed, the situation got even worse. So finally with the release of “Stardawn”, which in fact is the album I put most of myself into in all DOMAIN albums, I worked harder and my impact was deeper than on any previous albums, still the credits went some other way. I knew, we couldn’t do better than that, I knew, after the Korea tour, we couldn’t get higher than that, and I had to quit. What’s essential in a band is respect – and there was no such thing as respect amongst some members of DOMAIN in the end. I miss the music, but I don’t miss the band. I still listen to the CDs, we did, and I’m thankful for that great opportunity and all I’ve learned, but I had to go on and quit.

You are involved with the forthcoming Roger Staffelbach Angel Of Eden album, having heard a few demos from the album its sounds like another incredible release, how was it working with Roger on this album and can you give us an update on its release status?
Working with Roger was a wish of mine for quite some time! I’ve been an ARTENSION fan for years, and Roger’s talents are simply breathtaking! Ok, here’s an update: The recordings are done, the artwork’s done and the album is being mixed right now by the man Achim Koehler (PRIMAL FEAR, BRAINSTORM etc.)! Expect nothing but a major high class shred extravaganza with such extraordinary musicians like the maestro Mistheria on keys, David Shankle as guest guitarist, Steve DiGiorgio on bass… to name but a few!!! This is gonna be huge!

I believe you have started a new band called Eden’s Curse with Paul Logue (ex Cry Havoc), what musical direction will this project take?
It’s not exactly my band. I helped bassman Paul Logue and singer Michael Eden with a few songs, which I co-wrote with them and did backings. I got my buddy Thorsten Koehne of CODE OF PERFECTION in as their guitarist and made contact with the great Ferdy Doernberg on keys. EDEN’S CURSE even re-recorded one E1 leftover song from the “Tattooed Heart” sessions called “The Eyes Of The World”. They did a fantastic version of the song. The album is high class Melodic Metal mixed by Dennis Ward, guest appearances by Doogie White and David Readman, and will be released on AFM Records as well! Stay tuned for those guys, they really deserve to make it big!

Work has begun on what will be your second album with Iain Ashley Hersey, are you the main vocalist here or will the the tracks be divided between a number of vocalists as per his ‘Holy Grail’ album?  What direction is this material taking?
Oh yes, and it’s fantastic to work with Iain once again! I feel very honoured that he asked me to do the whole album this time. I loved the “Holy Grail” album, and couldn’t wait to start working on the follow up. Honestly, I was hoping for him to call me again. Iain is such a wonderful human being and a one-of-a-kind-guitarist. We’ve already started with the recording and it’s gonna be a little more melodic, yet a little more funky this time, but still Iain’s unique Classic Rock influenced style. For the first time, most of the album will be recorded over here in Germany, again at Stephen Seeger’s Seegewerk Studio. I brought in my buddys Jochen Mayer (ex-DOMAIN/ex-CASANOVA) on bass, Frank Kraus (CODE OF PERFECTION/ ex-DEMON DRIVE) on drums and Seegi’s brother Holger (MIDNITE CLUB) on keys. Iain’s also gonna add a few guests to the album, which I don’t know of, yet. Wonderful music, wonderful guy!

Do you have any time in the day to do anything other than music?
I love cooking and do some gardening. …ah, yes, and with my daytime job, I work in the porno business.

Many thanks for your time, is there anything else you would like to tell the readers of Virtuosity One.
Power To The Music! 

Web Links
http://www.evidenceone.de
Official EVIDENCE ONE MySpace Home