Five years after their previous release, Power Metallers KALEDON are due to release their upcoming tale Legend Of The Forgotten Reign – Chapter VII: Evil Awakens. Ahead of this release, Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham grabbed a quick chat with guitarist Alex Mele about the album, influences and mental health.
For those who haven’t heard Kaledon before, how would you describe your sound?
Well, basically we are a power metal band but we use to play many different kind of metal in the same album! I don’t like to do 10 identical songs, so you can find power metal but also hard rock, classic metal and now also something more aggressive like thrash metal.
Who are your influences? Personal and band.
My musical father was Brian May from Queen! He still is my main influence. Then I also like a lot of Adrian Smith and David Gilmour! I don’t like guitar heroes, they are boring. I mean, 99,9% of time you can only hear thousands of notes without any feeling. About the band, I can say that we are very different and each one of us has different influences. We listen to Vivaldi from Pantera.
You’re due to release Legend Of The Forgotten Reign, Chapter VII: Evil Awakens. It’s a brilliant album. Was 23rd September the intended release date or was it pushed back due to Covid?
Thanks, I really appreciate that you like the album. September 23rd is the intended date! During the pandemic we all made other things! I have released my solo album and other albums with ScreaMachine and the Rock Opera Mindfar.
For those new to Kaledon, what is the tale of Legend Of The Forgotten Realm about?
It is a Epic/Fantasy novel about the Reign of Kaledon! If you like Game of Thrones well, we are in that mood!
When creating the album, did you have the story in mind already and then write the songs or is it the other way around?
All Kaledon’s albums are related with the main saga so when I write a new album, I choose the part of the story that I want to speak to, and I divide it (that already exists) in a correct number of chapters, of course any chapter is a song. With this “canvas” I write the music.
Which song on the album was the most challenging to create?
Well maybe The Dawns Of Dawns because of the main chorus but also Life Or Death (first song ever written by Manuele di Ascenzo), for its very complex structure.
Which of the songs are you looking forward to playing live the most? I can imagine Blessed With Glory and Emperor Of The Night going down well.
Yes, Blessed With Glory is one of them, but of course I would to play the singles The Dawn Of Dawns and The Eye Of The Storm. I think it will be very awesome live!
At Rock Out Stand Out, one of our missions is spreading mental health awareness. In particular, illnesses such as depression, anxiety and others. What’s mental health awareness like in Italy?
I suppose that day by day there is always more awareness about these delicate things! But depression is not yet seen as a disease but only as a passing thing.
As family members, friends, partners and work colleagues; what do you think we can do more of so people feel comfortable opening up about their own mental health?
In particular if they are struggling, it is a very complex thing. Each of us is fighting a war that the others know nothing about, and often we cannot find the right person to speak with. I am not talking about doctors or professionals but also a good friend that listens to you without judging you. I really don’t know how to answer, it is very difficult!
What do you like to do to help relax and unwind particularly after a stressful day?
Model making and nerd stuff.
Which five people would invite on a quest? They can be dead or alive, fictional or non- fictional.
Steve Jobs, Freddie Mercury, Christopher Colombus, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dan Brown!
Do you have a message for your fans?
Yes, and the message is: Please remember to support music! Listening to your favourite bands only on Spotify (or similar) will kill medium and small bands in the next few years! This is very important to understand. Hope to see you guys on the road soon.
Thank you Alex for talking with Rock Out Stand Out today and best of luck with the album release.
