Please, let us know about the band's beginning.

Well...the band was born in 1996...and was called "Avatar"...after several months we recorded our first demo tape in 1997 and we earned a good consent from the specialized italian magazines.....in 1998 we signed for Northwind records and we recorded our first cd "Heir of Power"....that was released in the beginning of 1999. At the end of 1999 we signed again for the same company and in July of the same year we started the recordings of "When the Aurora falls..." this album has been released in december 2000, so we are waiting to see the audience reaction!

What are the diferences between your first album and "When The Aurora Falls..."?

...more than a year has passed from our first album....so we have improved a lot as musicians and of course as composers. I can say that "When The Aurora Falls..." is an album that shows how we have grown....and which is our idea of Power Metal now....that is really different from 1996...he he...when we were just kidz! Now we don't want to show that we can play fast songs..or fucking hard licks....no! we just want to make songs that could be listened with pleasure....because the music is melodical...sweet...and full of feelings.....that's the difference from the past album.

How would you describe your music?

As I said before...our music is really melodic. We like to mix Classical music with fast speed-up tempos...or to re-call the tipical sound....of bands like Europe....or old Helloween....bands that we love so much! We don't care about the trands, so we just make the music we want....

Which are the main themes on Highlord lyrics?

It depends. Sometimes we like to write stories....for example "The Eclipse", of our first album, is a sort of Fantasy novel.....but often we write lyrics that talk about our experiences or feelings.....I think that lyrics are important as music....sometimes more than it!

Who is responsible for music and lyrics?

Very often I write the lyrics of Highlord...and when the words are by some other band-member, I give an hand...or just advices...because I like to write a lot!!! The music is composed by me, Alex and Vascé, but we arrange each song all together

And what about the cover artwork? Who designed it?

The cover art-work is by Royo....a famous Fantasy artist from Spain.....we have the license to use his drowings.

Did you play for other bands before Highlord?

Yeah! a lot!!!! when I started playing guitar I was used to play Punk-rock music...but my inner dream has always been play in a Metal band...so I started studying music and guitar...and now I have a chance to chase that dream!!!

What do you think about the Metal scene in Europe and especially in Italy?

Well....there are many bands here....too much if I have to say the truth... ha ha! no, I am kidding, I think that in Italy there is a big chance for underground Metal bands to see the light.....

Any plans for live shows? Are you going to tour anywhere outside of Italy?

mmm... this is very hard! we are searching opportunities to go outside Italy and make some live show, but we don't have fixed plans for it....any idea?

Any final comments?

Sure! First of all I want to say "thank you so much" for the time you dedicated to Highlord and a big big big THANKS!!!! to all the people who support us around the world!!!!

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