Our band’s name IS BLACK HORIZON. We’ve chosen it using the initials “B” and “H” in memory of Seb and Dom’s friend Hervé Boucher. They had created their first band together but he died in sad circumstances when he was very young. They wanted to pay homage to him and to keep thinking about him when they play music. His disappearance is probably a source of inspiration for the dark side of some of our lyrics…
What is your name and what do you do for the band?
My name is Philip STROBEL and I’m the drummer. I joined the band in 2002.
2.Tell us where you are based and describe the scene. How do you think where you are located influences your sound.
We are based in France in the south of Paris. It's not easy here because the heavy metal scene is very closed and on radios, there are not many specialized program and I don’t speak about TV shows that are non-existing in France.
I don’t think we are influenced by our location, but rather by the number of the years we’ve listen to this heavy metal that we love.
3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people?
I do not think that the sound of Black Horizon and especially with this Album Dark Light can surprise people because it has got a very big heavy metal sound and I would like to thank Seb our guitarist whose job is to be also a sound engineer in a very large studio in Paris called “Les Studios De La Seine”
Do not forget either Achim Koelher (Accept, Primal Fear, Avantasia …) who has done a mastering of very high quality.
But if I maybe would surprise our metal fans, it’s could be that I’m very good fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Toto, Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Toby Keith, Eric Church and so many more in these different styles ;-)
4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by?
We have signed a worldwide contract with "Pure Steel Publishing" and so far we are very proud of the work they are doing for the release of "Dark Light"
We all started music 30 years ago and when we were young we all wanted to be Rock Stars ;-)) but now we are more thoughtful, but we never know with this new album, What do think? ;-)))
6.In today's digital environment it takes creative strategy to keep things moving. What creative ideas do you have to keep your band relevant over time?
At the moment, we have to rely on ourselves and unfortunately it requires a lot of energy to maintain, we are looking for a tour manager and people able to hold our website and other Facebook to dedicate ourselves only to the live and the new compositions.
For creative strategy, follow us if you want to see our future ideas…;-)
7.We've all seen a terrible live band that is awesome on CD. Is that cool with you or do you lose respect for bands that cannot pull it off live?
It's true now that I've been really disappointed with some of the younger bands, but the record industry is so changing that bands need to do their best live. So fans, who have paid for their tickets, can be happy at the end of the concert and want to come back to see the bands again.
I have no respect for the bands that make fantastic album and are not able to reproduce it on stage. Which means the album is a little bit rigged and everything is on the sound and the musical arrangements. They steal their fans doing like that.
8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know?
We are simply in the heavy metal “box”, and yes you are right today, all the bands must belong to a “box” and misfortune to the one who dares to cross this limit ;-))
For my part, I think we all must belong to the “box” of music in general and we have to learn from several musical worlds to be inspired (except RAP) and expand our musical knowledge for composed new originals songs.
9.This is a tough question but a very real reality, Is your band actually talented or just popular?
Many bands make it with a cliche or publicity stunts etc. Would you accept fame even if it was just because of being the “ in” thing or is it actually important to you that you gain favor with talent?
Oh my Gosh, yes you're right, it's a real hard question!!!
I think that the talent or the originality make that the band can be popular. Of course, we all need advertising, but one does not prevent the other.
I think that we would feel uncomfortable if we had success without talent and that on stage it would be perceved as I explained to you at the beginning of the interview. Everything is justified on stage, it's the mirror of the band and the communion with the fans.
It depends on so many things that at our level we can’t control. If a producer invests in our music to make a video clip or whatever, it is because he believes in it and it is an investment he makes, without a minimum of talent, no producer would want to take such a risk especially in Heavy Metal Music…
I hope I have answered your question because I think it is the hardest that I was asked ;-))
10.Tell us what to expect from you live. Nothing is more boring than watching bands stare at the floor and bob their heads to music nobody but the band knows. What can your band offer in a live setting that people will remember?
We have a relatively small rehearsal studio and so when we are on stage we run everywhere (not me of course ;-)) specifically our guitar and bass players (Seb & Dom), the 2 brothers really communicate with the audience, until finishing in the middle of the fans with their guitars at the end of the show. Our singer Alex has got a real gift for making singing everyone in the concert hall on our chorus, especially on this new album "Dark Light"
We spend a lot of time working on this communication, it seems essential for us because we are fans too, and when we go to see a band, we hate boring even if the music is good.
We all need to communicate
11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?
In the past, we took part in one French Heavy Metal compilation and one tribute album to a French speed metal band called Killers. We have released 3 EP:
Our debut one was “Did you hear it? After, we put out “The 1st door” and “T.I.M.E.”.
Then we released our 1st album “The Choice”.
Our new album is called "Dark Light" and it will be release on May 17th around the world via the Germans "Pure Steel Publishing"
We were lucky to have with us Blaze Bayley the ex-singer of Iron Maiden. He participates in a duet with Alex on one of our songs “Walking close to me”.
We also have a second special guest in the person of Andy Kuntz, the singer of Vanden Plas, who was kind enough to sing on an acoustic version of a love song “Miles Away”
We worked very hard to propose to our fans a product of quality concerning the sound as well as the inside artwork.
We are very proud of what we are going to propose and can't wait to share it with you.
12. If you have videos where can we see them?
We are setting up a film crew because we want everything to be done professionally so that the future video clip is in harmony with the artwork of the album.
We will start filming at the end of April.
We will communicate on our website and Facebook for the date of the broadcast.
2 videos are already on the way…
13.Everybody has Bandcamp , ReverbNation , Soundcloud , etc
Why do you think this is so important? Doesn't it seem like everyone is giving everything out for free?
You know, producing an album really costs a lot. And I do not know many bands that have just released an album and offer it to the world.
Those who do that already have a big record company or a big producer and have already been paid by them.
The other case is a band looking for a label and solutions to spread their music and make themselves known.
As far as our cases are concerned, we are our own producers and therefore we invest a lot of our own money, it’s normal that we have to reimburse ourselves to be able to produce another album later, buy merchandising, create a clip or still the trips for the tour.
There are many, including our concerts in Russia to complete our tour on previous album "The choice ».
There was one that we all enjoyed. It was a concert in Belgium for the 24 hours motorcycle grand prix at Spa Francorchamps, it was an incredible outdoor concert, full of people everywhere and a real big success for BLACK HORIZON.
15.Your message to the fans?
Hello everyone,
Be a little patient, our album release on May 17th with "Pure Steel Publishing" you will be able to find it everywhere, to listen to us on all the musical platforms.
But the main thing is that you stay all faithful as usual.
We love you and stay in touch.
All information concerning us are on our Facebook @black horizon officiel France and on our website www.blackhorizon.fr (currently under construction)
Keep on Rockin '
Peace and Rock'n'roll.
Bonus Question who do you bring back
Dime , Cliff , Dio , Lemmy , Randy
It's very hard because they're all my idols, but I really miss Ronnie.
Rest all in peace!!!
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