October 13th 2007



Interview with DC Cooper and Juergen Steinmetz (Silent Force)

First Question DC how are you doing?
DC: Very good, very good. Tired, really tired you know. I have to fly tomorrow and these guys drive home and, but yeah we get another space and energy here coming for next half an hour and drink a beer and then we’ll be oke.

How was the show last night in Germany?
DC: It was good

Better than today?
DC: I don’t like to compare shows wetter then they are good or bad you know. You know

Juergen: It was funny
That was a Alex his home, home area, home land, so I let him do much of the talking between the songs and stuff, and half the stuff I had no idea what he was saying, but it seems funny. Everybody was laughing so, it was a good show, it was a good show. Tonight it was a lot of fun too you know. I think performance wise for us was definately better tonight. There was a rock sound on stage and it hard when you do festivals because you don’t have a sound check or a line check. It’s like go on and there you go and there you are. So, sometimes it took a song or two to really get dialed in get to feel the stage or get to feel the crowd. Everybody was really responsive tonight it was great.

How was Japan last week?
DC: Japan is always great, that was like my ……it was my 13th time in my career. It is always fantastic there. Japanese tread you great. The record company, the promoters, what ever you need it’s there they take care of you and the fans are always extremely receptive and yeah we had a good time. We were there with Harem Scarem and what I’ve understand is that they are retiring I guess?

Juergen: they doing a last show of the bands career in two weeks in Nothingham at fire fest.

And then they stop?
Juergen: It is what they say and was written everywhere on the internet that they stop afterwards.

Between the first album The Empire of Future and Walk the Earth is there differences between the albums technically or.
DC: I like using the term we constantly maturing. Maturing as musicians and as friends together and as writers.

Juergen: It is a natural development, come together.

DC: a lot of times. It is very weird when a new band comes out with a first album they have there sound, they have their style right away. It will takes a couple of albums to develop where you want to go, what is the band want to represent, what kind of music you know what direction what the band want to go. I think you know definitely on this album we finally found it’s not Worlds Apart I think we had a good. It is hard for me to say which one, which album I like better. Worlds Apart or Walk the Earth. It’s kinda hard. I like them equally as well.

Danielle: You didn’t know each other before Silent Force in 1999. How did you all know that you get along with each other?
Juergen and DC: We didn’t . It is like a relationship you know. You just like somebody or yeah you have to try it. If the vibes are good. DC: Technically with Alex and Andre. I am meeting Alex through my management company a cross the studio. Picked me up at the airport and I spend a month with him and we get a long and Juergen came on board.

You wrote all the songs music and or the lyrics yourself or with Alex?
DC: Well the guys do all the music together and I do the lyrics nowadays and we know found stuff back and forward. I need part change. I think Alex send me like I don’t know 12 or 13 songs I didn’t like any of them (laughs) I liked two so now then he have enough material to do an solo album, so songs I don’t like he is making an solo album. Back to the drawing board….put Walk the earth together and I decline one song I turned out totally and there was one song I record in the studio with Dennis Ward and we were going to …pilot tracks and checking my melodies and checking my pilots and demo’s and everything like that. He taped the song and he said: what the hell is that? And that was a song he never had heard before. So that was King Of Fools and a half hour later I came back with the lyrics and melodies and boom so now.

Who designed the cover of the new album?
Juergen: What’s his name DC: who designed it? Juergen and DC thinked very hard…. He is from Columbia

Juergen: Pretty cool with the internet you know , you can send stuff… back and forward and send what you think about that. Just happened get something just finished… way we are not together in the rehearsel room so much. Just gets loss sometimes. DC: I don’t know Internet is the great thing it’s also downfall because I don’t spend much time with these guys I don’t come in into the studio anymore because I don’t have to. They send me the material and sing my stuff ……or Dennis his place.

And that works good?
DC: Yeah, it worked well with this album. I released five albums this year for Steel Seal. I never met them before. They send material and I sing and I send it back. …..Virg… he send me material I never met him and I send it back. …Vocals it is a good thing or it is a bad thing, because …steel away from musician ship actually spending time together so.

Juergen: We have to play more live back to music somehow.

Is the rock metal scene different in the United States than in Europe nowadays?
DC: I don’t know, I have no idea really….5 years into 12 year since Royal Hunt did the last US tour 12 years ago we did 5 concerts and I don’t really how many shows because this the whole vibe the whole feel is totally different than what it is here in Europe. Beeing in Europe and I don’t want to say anything because I said stuff before no talking mad about America, but I just don’t know. ……European musicians.

I’ve just read that In From the Dark & Pictures of a Dream inspired by the poetry of Nataly Chastaya? She is a Russian?
DC: She is Russian yeah, she is a very good friend of mine. she is absolutely a sweet heart and she’s got phenomenal poetry and she’s been sending me stuff and she is popular the past year and a half and well longer than that almost 3 years. I decided to kind of use a little bit of her poetry to kind of direct those songs. And in develop those songs based around her poetry. I wished the best for her I really love to see her get poetry published because the poetry is absolute phenomenal.

Are you going to use some of her poetry for….
DC: Future Stuff? It’s possible, sure it’s possible. I stay in touch with her. I have an idea for the new solo album, I have an idea for a song. I want to see maybe what she can do with it. As far I like the basic of an idea if she come up with something good. I take it for best of two songs In from the Dark and Goodbye my Ghost.

I want to know from Juergen that Alex gave work shops or does he do that and are you have plans to give workshops in the near future?
Juergen: Alex and I are working for Ampeg and Crate amplifiers, there are some work shops planed on tradeshows and in music shops..

Are you going every year to Frankfurt to the Frankfurt Messe?
Juergen: Yes, we present Ampeg and Crate amps at the Musik Messe, we do that also at dealer events and trade shows outside Germany.

You do also other projects besides Silent Force?
Juergen: yes with my wife in Rock Ignition you know that? I do also another project with Oliver Palanti from Kamelot/Doro together with a Belgium singer Luca ? He is mainly the bass. It is really progressive/ symphonic. We’ve met once check and recorded a demo, but nobody knows what is going to happen. It just for fun . You never know.

DC you are also busy with other projects for example the opera/rock opera.
DC: yeah right now it is pretty low key. Take a little break, but the next thing is still working on the solo album but I’m trying make sure, I am trying and I am hoping that to have that that is my next released. I am in my third rewrite. I have enough material for 3 albums but I need the next solo album is to be the best out of those songs. And I think I am pretty much close and I go back in. And I totally re-record in a big studio to record the songs and I shopping again for deals. I need to have to better deals. See what’s happens.

Do you want to say something to our readers?
DC: Finally glad to meet you. It was very nice We had in touch for a long time. Thank you for your supporting and stay in touch, stopping by on my space and say hello. We try to replay as much as I can.

Interview and Photos: Silvana Breur