“ There are so many bands right now that are struggling to keep their heads above water .
It wasn ’ t always easy , but we worked our asses off to be in this position to live from past tours .”
Since there was no one in the studio did you feel you have to draw more from yourself emotionally as a vocalist ?
SIMONE : No , not really because vocals is always the last thing to be recorded . We ’ re never all together in the recording process , only in the beginning when we are writing and when we do the acoustic recordings . This time it was extra draining because of the mental pressure that was going on In the world and things were shifting and we can ’ t control it . Some nights I couldn ’ t sleep well and became extremely fatigued . I had to take a break because I was exhausted from all the stress of tours being cancelled , bands going bankrupt and thoughts of the future . I ’ m a thinker , made an over-thinker sometimes .
Photo Credits Above and Right : Tim Tronckoe
In a former interview you stated about the change over to using live instruments as in an orchestra , and fewer reliance on programming . How has that affected your approach to these new songs ?
SIMONE : This time we worked with a full orchestra from Prague . We used to work with a violinist or a flutist but never a full scale orchestra . It ’ s not so expensive as it is in other places . We ARE a symphonic metal band and of course we use some samples , but using a real orchestra you get the little imperfections which sound more organic . We ’ ve done live shows with them and I enjoyed it immensely . It is just not feasible to tour with a full orchestra financially . It definitely adds a bigger value to our music .
What is the meaning of the song “ Code of Life ” on the new record .
SIMONE : The lyrics are about genetic modification , genome editing that kind of throws a light on all sides of it , the good and the bad . Code of life stands for our DNA , our human code and how we shouldn ’ t toy with that too much . I was watching a documentary on natural selection and I found