Dushan Petrossi's Iron Mask have just released a stunning neo-classical album with Hordes Of The Brave.  The Belgian guitarist Dushan Petrossi is one of the most prolific artists in the genre and continues to improve with each release.  We got the low down from Dushan on the album as well as whats in store for the rest of 2005.

:: Once again you have delivered the goods in Iron Mask - Hordes Of The Brave.  How do you manage to keep the quality so high and consistent across your releases?

Thanks a lot Andy, that’s really great to hear such kind words.  Well, I just try to write catchy tunes, good vocal melodies which are very important to me and energetic musical parts.  If people like my vision of the music and like my harmonies and song structure then I’m happy. Guitar work is important in the neo classical style but above all you need very strong vocal melodies and over the top class singers.

:: When did you initially start writing for the album?

I think my first ideas were mainly riffs and song choruses which started to grow  in September 2002.  It was in the south of Spain, I was there taking a vacation, actually very early after ending the recording of the first Iron Mask album. I kept a lot of those song structures and vocal lines in my head without any recording, if these melodies are still in my head after a few  weeks then the test is ok and I know people will like it coz its catchy.

:: How long did the recording process take?

This time we changed studio twice but it took one year from the very beginning till we started the mix in France in the same studio I recorded and mixed the Metal Kingdom album ‘Metallic Tragedy’.  We started to record in July 03 and we completed the mix in August 04. I had to take the time and not rush it because the Magic Kingdom album had just been released and I didn’t want to release 2 albums in a year.

:: The production is much more powerful and clearer compared to Revenge Is My Name, have you acquired any new skills or equipment which has helped produce a better end product?

No, I just recorded the new stuff in a much better studio; following the professional way we did the last Magic Kingdom album.  The first Iron Mask album was a very small production, this time Lasse Mattsson (head of Lion Music) gave us more money to record something really professional with very good singers and I think you can hear it.

:: The song writing sees a great mix of classic neo-classical rocker, more commercial numbers and some power metal tinted tones.   I presume that these merging of styles epitomises your influences.  Would this be a fair statement?

I wanted a really diverse new album.  I kept my instrumental songs for the future because I think there’s enough instrumental releases on Lion Music, but its true that I like neo classical which is the root of my writing process.  But I also like simple heavy metal or more commercial, almost AOR sounding refrains, these are the best melodic lines, Hordes of the Brave is in a way my ‘Odyssey’ kind of album (laughs).

:: What do you feel is better about “Hordes Of The Brave” compared to “Revenge Is My Name”?

Everything is better; musicians, production, melodic vocal lines.  Its a  great album, every song is strong and there’s no filler at all, you can remember each refrains after one or two spins and that’s most important. 

We wanted a really wild recording, we didn’t rehearse much.  Anton Arkhipov our drummer sometimes didn’t know the songs, I just told him “ok lets rock let s record”. He just warmed up 3 or 4 times with one of the songs and then when the song structure was in his head for a couple of minutes he recorded and improvised some very good breaks and licks.  With the stress and energy you are boosted and your performance is just great. A live gig feeling, that’s just what we wanted. There are so many robotic, programmed productions, I just hate it.  I had to do it for the drums on the first Iron Mask album and this was the first and last time I will do that.  A drummer needs to play live, all the rest is bullshit.  Some bands need that kind of production or if they don t get enough money to get a drummer.  Iron Mask is not Rammstein and will never be, we need life in our sound. but don’t get me wrong it doesn’t mean you have to play out of tune or not in the tempo there’s enough rap metal shit for that (laughs).

Getting back to the recording process Vassili Moltachanov recorded all the bass tracks in only 3 days. And Richard Andersson did all lead keys in one day.

:: The band is very solid on the album using some members of Magic Kingdom, where did you find these guys?

I have known Vassili, our bass player for 12 years.  He played with me in all my bands even in our first Iron Maiden cover band we had way back.  That was a lot of fun and drunken nights, especially when we played in Metalmorfosis in 94; it was NHOBHM sung in Spanish, people just loved us when we toured in Spain, 5 years ago.   After the first Magic Kingdom album release; he just introduced me to Anton when we were searching for a drummer. He knows a lot of Russian guys here in Brussels; it seems all the white Russian metal musicians is now here=)),but Vassili is from Moscow, his brother was the drummer of Master in the 80's,by the way Anton s a very good pianist too  and  he also get a jazz- fusion band  here in Brussels. He also was the drummer of Exhumator in the 90's, a very popular death trash Russian band; but now his priority is Magic Kingdom and Iron Mask of course (laughs).

:: Getting Richard Andersson on keyboard solos was an excellent idea, your solo trades bring something back to the neo-classical genre not heard for years, did Richard get to hear your solos first, or vice versa?

Thanks a lot, he just asked me to hear the demos and he said yes coz he loved the stuff.  He just recorded his solo then I did mine, he’s the best neo classical keyboardist IMO. He plays exactly what I like - fast, classical themes, improvised and some wild notes with a good sense of melody.

He loves the album a lot he s listening to it a lot, he also likes Goetz and Oliver very much.

:: Can you see yourself and Richard Andersson working together again in the future?
Yes of course, why not? If our schedules are ok then there’s no problem with that.

:: The use of 2 vocalists on the album has again worked very well.  Oliver Hartmann and Goetz 'Valhalla Jr' Mohre both perform well with the tracks they have, when composing did you think "this one will work well for Oliver"?
Cool to hear that Andy.  Goetz is an old friend of Oliver, and Oliver introduced me to him, they played together in a band in the 80’s – Merlin - Oliver was the guitarist back then.  To get back to your question; no, I just wrote the songs, the best possible vocal harmony; then Oliver just choose the songs he liked more and want to sing  coz he s only a guest and that’s it. The rest was for Goetz; they added their great voices and performances to the melodies, putting their feeling, sometimes changing some words or small melodies variation and the result is just great.

:: Your website mentions the possibility of some live gigs in Japan, is there any more information on these?

We’ll see that in a few weeks coz it really depends on the sells figures in Asia. To tour is expensive and we need some money to go there.  The sales are very good so far, thats what Avalon our Japanese label told me and I’m getting a lot emails from Japanese fans eager to see us live. We’ll go there for sure coz we love Japan, its just a matter of time.

:: If this were to happen what are the chances of a live DVD being filmed?
Yes; we’ll do that once we are sure to go there for a tour. Richard (Andersson) and I really think it would be good to tour together; I mean Space Odyssey and Iron Mask together for a great neo classical tour, so we’ll see, it all depends of our labels now.

:: Artwork on your albums is also something that makes you stand out from the pack, what led you to getting this great artwork and do you have any favourite's covers from other artists?

Thank you very much, Leo Hao and Eric Philippe will be happy! I like the last few Kamelot covers, I may ask their guy for the next Magic Kingdom album, we’ll see.

:: Getting back to Hordes Of The Brave, do you have any personal favourite performances or tracks?
I like them all, I really can’t choose, there are so many different feelings, you just have to hear the album, play it loud and sing with us.

:: What next for Dushan Petrossi in 2005?

I m now working on a new project, a full symphonic instrumental album, only me on the guitars, the orchestra and the big epic choirs.  Its called Trinity / An electric guitar Symphony, something like a movie score  with heavy guitars, ot so much like the Yngwie’s one, I hope to release it soon.
 

In September, we’ll  also start recording the new Magic Kingdom album with Tommy Hansen in Denmark, we have a great new singer here too, his name is Lance King. The new album is 80% composed and will be in a more operatic/extreme vocal mix but still with a lot of neo-classical speed metal and a big dose of traditional melodic vocals. It will be the chapter 2 of the new metal style I created on Metallic Tragedy, expect a release in 2006 trough LMP.

:: Anything else you would like to tell the readers?

Thanks a lot for the support and please check our new album

:: Dushan, many thanks for your time.

Keep on Rocking

Cheers-Dushan