A TALK WITH KALEDON
Interview by John Paul
Yesterday, we had a chance to have an interview with Alex Mele of Italian power metal band Kaledon. It was a rather light and casual conversation. This is how it went:
Hi Alex! How are things doing recently?
Alex: Hi there, well… things are going very well… Thanks for this interview!
Let’s start with your career as a whole. You guys have been around for a quite long while now, and not a lot of bands manage to stay that long together with the same intensity. What is your secret ingredient in keeping the power alive?
Alex: Well, it’s true! This is the twentieth year of Kaledon’s activity! There is no particular secret, just love for the music, passion and a great desire to have new challenges! Of course today, the only surviving original members are Tommy Nemesio and myself… We lost the other guys along the way for the most disparate reasons..
In those twenty long years of experience, along with the changes and all the challenges that you have encountered along the way, what do you think is the most important lesson that you have learned, you personally and you guys as a band? Follow up: How did all the negative experiences affect you?
Alex: The most important lesson it is always the same… You must be humble! You always need a bag of humility!
There is always someone that is better than you, so… fly down and remember that you never stop learning
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You need the negative experiences to encourage you to do better next time! For me they represent new challenges..
Wow, such wise words from you! That’s the mentality that every members of every bands should have!Now let’s talk about your genre. Italy houses one of my all-time favorite power metal band, and power metal vocalist. I guess you know who I’m talking about!How did Rhapsody inspire your music?
Alex: They are simply MASTERS! We know Fabio Lione very well… We see him often and we made a tour together in 2013! Press have often compared us, although we are different from the basic! Of course we are the same knightly themes, although they often use them as metaphors.
Back in 2013, you recorded “A Dark Prison” with Fabio. How does that feel?
Alex: Oooh very good vibes! We met in the studio after the tour and we made that song together! He was fantastic… A real maestro!
I noticed that he loves guesting for newer bands. One of my new favorites was his collab with “Wings of Destiny” (fom Costa Rica) on the song “Angels and Demons”. What can you say about that seemingly undying enthusiasm?
Alex: Oh yes, he is a very kind guy, professional, dedicated, incredibly precise. Of course when is time to play… he plays too hahahaha, He loves to sing with as many bands as possible… It probably makes him happy
I’m a big big power metal fan. Now tell me your top favorite power metal bands, albums, and songs!
Alex: Well, probably the very famous! Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Iron Savior, Hammerfall! Songs are probably too many but… I love the entire Hammerfall: Legacy of the Kings, or Stratvarius: Vision, Helloween: Keepers (Probably 1&2)
Oh man those classics will always be in the history books! Now, DragonForce is undeniably becoming one of, if not the biggest power metal band of the new age. But not every power metal fans are convinced by them. Being a twenty-year veteran, what is your personal opinion on DragonForce?
Alex: Well… To be honest… I NEVER heard an entire album ahahah
Well I guess I know what that indicates.. hahaha Now, change topic. Carnagus – talk us through it. Your songwriting routine, inspirations, everything we need to know.
Alex: Well… nothing huge to say! I simply keep a guitar… and I start to play riff…If I hear something cool, I open protools… And I press the REC Button!With Carngus was a bit different because I used 7 strings guitar… So the main riffs were heavier, but the entire song writing process was the same of the previous albums!Usually I wrote around the 70% of the album but in this case I received many help also from Tommy, Michele and Paolo Campitelli.
Very good job!
Are you guys currently on tour? If so, can you share us the dates and venues?
Alex: Not now!We’ll play some separate shows in june, october and november for now! Maybe something will be added in the future!
Okay now Alex, this magazine has reader around the globe. Any shoutouts? Promotions? Message to the fans?
Alex: Yes, a very important message to all the guys! This is a very sad and heavy moment for the music industry!
PIRACY IS NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME…Remember that to support the music “you” must buy original stuff! Cd, Vinyls, mp3 (on iTunes or other platforms) Today a very big number of people don’t buy music and only listen to it on the streaming platforms like spotify…You have to know that the musicians receive something like 15 usd every 10.000 listening… that means… for free…The only way to survive is still sell/buy physical copies…Hope this message is clear… 🙂
Pau: Alright! I think that wraps it up! Thanks for your time Alex! Appreciate it. Good luck for your future, keep thriving forward! Say hello to Fabio for me okay?
Alex: Ok man… Thanks to you! See you on the road!
MHF Magazine/John Paul
