You're currently working on your second album, how would you describe the sound of your new album and how different it will be from your previous release? What is the major evolution between these two albums?

We are really proud of this new record. For us, everything's looking better: we're gonna try to have a better sound (and I say try because the mix is not done for the moment, but even the basic tracks are sounding great!!), the compositions are better, with more influences (I mean you can hear a riff wich sounds like Thrash, another section more progressive..), the choirs are really powerful, as we used 16 voices each time.... well, in fact my guitarstyle is not the same as the fomer guitarist, Chris, so there's some differences on this point... So, to make it short, I think everything's better... but that's the way it should be in fact!! :)

Will the new album be called "Sign Of The Winner"? What is the meaning behind this title?

Yes, the title is "Sign Of The Winner". Actually we've got a song intitled "Sign of the Winner" and we thought it could be a good idea to use it as a title for our album. This song deals with a man who's lost in the sea, searching for a fantastic land; but an angel is guiding him, a superior force is showing him the way through his quest. As a title for an album, we could say that it's the second album, we worked hard on it and now we feel like winners! Well, that's only my point of view, maybe should I ask the other members about it! :)

"Sign Of The Winner" holds 10 tracks. Can you take us through the songs and tell some comments about them? What are the lyrics dealing with?

"Until The End" A man's reflections upon war. He tells about what he had gone through during the war, and its consequences. A long song, normally the last one on the CD... fast parts, melodic parts... beautiful bridges with a lot of orchestrations... "The World Will Be Better" The message is: "Is there something more beautiful than the world? So why do we keep on destroying it? Look around you, you will see that we need to protect and enjoy the world we are living in". A really strong song... lot of melodies... I really like the solo parts :)... "Still Believe" It is the year 3030, machines and androids, which have become too perfect, revolt against mankind. Men fight to protect their own existence, threatened to perish. Lot of sections in this one, really strong choirs... "Condemned To Die" A young man, suffering from a disease, is afraid to die. Knowing that the end is near, he asks to be guided towards death. Maybe one of my favorite... Alex Beyrodt plays on this one... for me it sounds sometimes like Iron Maiden, and so I tried to play my first solo like Adrian Smith could have done it... he's one of my major influence, so this solo is bit dedicated to him :) "Destiny" Feeling like an outcast of society, a man meets an alien, who shows him that his destiny is not to live on Earth, but to accomplish great things on another planet. Really powerful... the intro is really heavy... choirs are strong on the chorus part... "Sign Of The Winner" Typical Heavenly song.... really fast in the last part... a kind of hymn!! :) "Words Of Change" When you are feeling depressed, you must find a force within you to carry on, to start a new period of your life. I really like this one, because of the rythmical part in the middle, it sounds really well... a cool song! :)))) "The Angel" The sequel of "Condemned to die". The man is crossing the line between life and death. "The Sandman" When you are a child, you have great and fantastic dreams, where you feel so powerful that nothing seems impossible. As an adult, you sometimes wish to call the Sandman to go back to these dreams. Another typical Heavenly stuff... again, cool choirs in the chorus... Alex play also on this one!

As you said before, there will be a special appearance by Alex Beyrodt from Silent Force, right? Is he a friend of yours? And, by the way, what do you think about all these "special" appearances in Metal albums nowadays?

Well, we met Alex on our first tour and now he's a real friend... he's a really good guitarist and that's a pleasure to have a friend who's playing on your record!! we spent so many nights laughing together that we thought about him as a guest on our record... Special apperances are great: When you're a young band, it can help you, when you invite a friend, it's really cool, and when you're invited, it should be really cool too! :)) Of course people can only see the promotional side of the thing, but in fact it's also about fun and friendship!

One year after the release of "Coming From The Sky", how would you judge this album? Did it sell well?

As I'm a new member, I ain't got the same look on this album than Ben or Max... I think this album is a real good one for a first album; it also sold well for a first album... now, the compositions sound more mature, and I hope everybody will see the differences :)

How is the promotion work of Noise Records/Sanctuary?

Well I hope they'll do a good job for this album, I think they believe in us and in this new record so everything should be ok!

The original line-up was changed... how did you reach the present line-up? What has happened with the departing members (Laurent and Chris)?

Laurent left the band before the tour with Stratovarius... Pierre Emmanuel joined HEAVENLY something like one month before the begining of the tour... the band was looking for a keyboarder for this tour and after a lot of problems and persons, they contact me 2 days before the first gig with Symphony X, Double Dealer and Majestic! I never heard the songs before so I learned them in one night! :) Chris left the band before starting the recording sessions for the new album, and now he's got his own band, NORTHWIND... And so, because I'm in fact a guitarist and not a keyboarder (really NOT :)), the band immediately called me after Chris departure... and this time I had one week to learn the song for the new album!!! :)))) not a lot, but at least better, don't you think? :)

How the work of composition is divided in the band?

For this album, everything was composed by Ben, like on the first album in fact! I only composed the Japanese bonus-track, "Tears"... it's an instrumental one. As I found a real musical partner in Ben, maybe we'll work together for the next album... but Ben is the musical spirit of the band...

You've been on tour with Stratovarius and Silent Force to promote your first album, what do you think of the music of these bands?

I became a fan of those bands... I like music, the stage act and most important, the persons.... but before the tour, I must admit I had only heard 4 or 5 songs of Strato, and 1 of Silent Force (shame on me :)) I'm more into brutal stuff, like MORBID ANGEL, PESTILENCE, ANTHRAX, BRUTAL TRUTH... but I'm big fan of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, SCORPIONS, ALICE COOPER (my god!!!:)), MSG, ANNIHILATOR, SYMPHONY X, etc,etc... but anyway, yes those bands are GREAT!! :)

How was the tour, have you been well-received? Any exciting or funny stories you'd like to share?

We were really happy to see that the crowd reacted so well, sang with us and everything... well, there's a lot of funny stories during this tour... mmm.... everynight's got it's own story... we were on the same bus with SILENT FORCE, so you can imagine!! :) Anyway, if you wanna know more about it, Pierre-Emmanuel wrote a tour report, and you can find it on our website, www.heavenly.fr.st

There are at the moment tons of melodic metal bands out there. What do you think makes you different from all those other bands?

As I said before, this album contains more influences than the typical "HELLOWEEN-GAMMA RAY" influence... our choirs could sound like Symphony X, my influences for the guitar are sometimes neoclassical, sometimes really Heavy rock, sometimes melodic...

Which new bands/cd's have been interesting to you lately? Both international and from your own country.

Well, I will only talk for me... I like the new Scorpions album, "In Trance" :) NO, seriously, mmmm... the last new band that I liked was Hate Eternal... I'm sorry but I prefer the 70's and the 80's...

Could you describe us the actual Metal scene in France, is it Traditional Metal, Melodic Metal, Black...?

Well, there's a lot of different kind of style... a lot of melodic metal, some death-metal, some black-metal... but a lot of good bands in fact: Dyslesia, Carnival in Coal, Misanthrope, Seth, Killers, Agressor...

You have a great looking web site. How important is the internet for a band with regard to promotion these days?

Thank you! :) Well I think this is a good opportunity for a band to have a website, cos it's possible to stay close to your fans, by doing interviews, giving some news...

Finally, will a tour follow soon? Do you think we have a chance to see you on stage in Spain? ;-)

Well nothing's really planned for the moment, but of course we wanna tour as soon as possible... and of course we would like to meet our Spanish fans... therefore I could learn a bit of spanish... :)

Thank you Fred for the interview and good luck with the new CD. If you want to add something go ahead...

Thanx a lot to those who believe in us and support us, I hope that you'll enjoy our new record! I hope we'll meet soon and share some beers together!!!! SEE YA!!!!!!!

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