Hotel Hobbies: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk. I have been enjoying the new album (review here). It seems to be receiving some really great feedback.
Andreas Lill: Oh yeah, it's great. I still sometimes wonder why because this kind of music is very special. It's not everybody's cup of tea. So at this moment, the reactions are overwhelming for us. I thought maybe a lot of our fans became parents and now their kids are out of the house, they can go back and listen to whatever they want. For about twenty years now, we have had great reviews and good responses so we are very glad.
Hotel Hobbies: The band has been together for forty or so years now. What has the journey over that time been like?
Andreas Lill: If you are young, you always think everything is just going to go on for eternity. It's like I never grow old not at thirty or at forty. And when you are beyond the 40s, you're like, okay, it's not that bad! But then you get close to the sixties and you start thinking that I am probably going to die sometime! Life is short for everybody. We try to fill it with good stuff and it’s more important as you get older. It's a great thing to have a band that didn’t fall apart after a few years or after maybe one or two albums. Of course, it's great to have a band with my brother and Andy too. He came to the band in 83 and so for me, he is also kind of like a brother. I have seen a lot of bands that were great but broke up after two or three albums because they couldn’t stand each other. It’s important to stay together through rough times.
Hotel Hobbies: You recently had your first line-up change for many years. What do you feel Alessandro has brought to the band?
Andreas Lill: Yes. Günter first came to the band in 1989 so it has been about 35 years. That’s a long time to play in a band but people change – change their taste in music, their taste in wine. It’s not uncommon. When Alessandro joined, he really wanted to be in a band like ours so it fits together perfectly. It’s also something fresh. It’s like if you quit a relationship with a partner and have a new relationship, there is a new feeling. Alessandro is a great guy. I mean, he's doing so much stuff and I found out later how famous he is! It's almost like we are glad to play in his band now!
Hotel Hobbies: We are also here to discuss the new album The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things – its quite a title. It builds well on the Ghost Experiment albums but also has some elements of your classic sound too. Did you make a conscious decision to make a standalone album this time?
Andreas Lill: I don’t think we say let's do it this way or let's do it that way. Sometimes longer stuff comes because we've been involved in theatres and Andy sometimes has a long, long story to tell and so it's not enough to have just one album. It's the same thing if you watch Netflix now – you’re watching a series. It's sometimes more interesting than watching one movie for ninety minutes where the story is complex but compact. Sometimes it's better to have a series. This time, we thought we have done those concept albums so why not do a regular album. When we released our first album - Colour Temple - it was the same. Andy wrote stories which were not connected to one story but may have been connected in some way. We also wanted to go back to our roots more, not pump up the sound with everything and let the music breathe but still have the power.
Hotel Hobbies: Talking of power, following the opening with Alessandro’s keyboard, the opening track is (apart from a very small amount of singing) a blistering instrumental.
Andreas Lill: I was fighting so long for this kind of sound because we've been pumping up the sound with a lot of classical and orchestral music. I am not a big fan of that because it makes the other instruments smaller. I was going into the studio with old stuff and showing the guys things like Barracuda by Heart and Van Halen’s 1984. There are times when you really have to listen to each instrument because they have points of being quieter. In modern times, there is too much compression and making everything level. I don’t care if there’s more bass or snare drum that isn’t that loud because it gives you the feeling you are together in a band in the studio. With something like 1984, you have the feeling it's happening now because it's uneven; it’s not perfect in every way.
Hotel Hobbies: Thinking of that balance, a track such as My Icarian Flight still has a cinematic feel but through a more slightly more straightforward approach. You can pick out each instrument clearly.
Andreas Lill: Yes! I like that very much. I think its fun but you can still explore the song after three or four listens and discover something new. It makes it interesting for people who like that kind of music but it is also interesting to play as a musician.
Hotel Hobbies: Speaking about being a musician. You have developed a dynamic partnership with Torstein over such a long period of time. How do you maintain the feeling of it being fun but still challenging each other and keeping things fresh?
Andreas Lill: I have to admit when I go into a production like this, I am totally first of all into the guitar and trying to support the guitar in a rhythmic way and Torsten has to follow me! (laughing) Sometimes there is a spot where the keyboard is leading but first of all for me (maybe it is a rock and metal thing) is the guitar. But I agree you have to keep things fresh. There is a very human side to being in a band. You have to be able to be friends together. Torsten and I have a great relationship. It’s like a kind of mirror that helps you see how everything fits together.
Hotel Hobbies: There are some complex parts to your music. How do make sure as a drummer you balance those with simpler sounds so it doesn’t become overwhelming to you or a listener?
Andreas Lill: For me, it’s very simple. If the singer is singing, I’m never going with the weird stuff! Like Phil Rudd for AC/DC. It doesn’t always need more than a simple groove. There are times during the instrumental parts you can pump it up and play more. If you play weird stuff when the singer is singing, it doesn’t make sense. I try to do more complex stuff during guitar solos or sometimes we have these special instrumental parts. I really listen when Andy starts singing and I don’t hit the crash cymbal because he wants to be heard. He wants people to understand his words. I figure out if I can choke a cymbal or hi-hat so I don’t crash into his first words.
Hotel Hobbies: From what I have read and interviews I have seen in the past, it seems the band is very much a team, all out for each other and considerate of each other’s roles. I’m sure that would liken to having a great relationship over so many years.
Andreas Lill: Yes! You have to find your place you know. This kind of music is guitar orientated and sometimes we have keyboard orientated pieces too which is great. The main thing is the guitar and he has the solos most of the time. There are a lot of bands where drummers play much more than I play, and maybe in that band, it is useful. I stopped drum solos with this band thirty years ago. I sometimes play them at little club show with a little band in my area – blues rock stuff.
Hotel Hobbies: The band are very astute at making use of powerful metallic sections while also giving space for things to develop. There is an ebb and flow to the tracks but also to the entire album.
Andreas Lill: Definitely. If there are spots in songs on the album where you slow down or pull the power, you can sound very big or very powerful following that. If you are always at full peak, you can’t feel the power.
Hotel Hobbies: That comes across in a track like They Call Me God.
Andreas Lill: What can I say? I hope so. That’s the thing with balance. You need it in life and you need it in music. There are a lot of metal bands that are on full power all the time and if people like that, that’s great. But I think of a band like Metallica and maybe the most iconic song is Nothing Else Matters. If I think of Metallica, that’s the first song I think of. That song is totally not metal at all.
Hotel Hobbies: There is something interesting I noticed when reviewing the album. I had it playing on a loop and it ended with Alessandro’s keyboard part and I then the album started again and his introduction to the album sounds like it carries straight on.
Andreas Lill: That’s great to hear that you noticed. Its not a start and end but like a circle. You want to listen to it again. You are on the other side. I listen to it and wonder if I played that well or did better. The best thing is if I listen to the old albums, I have forgotten some songs because we maybe haven’t played them live. I listen and say – that’s me or that’s a good track. Or sometimes it is a song from twenty years ago and you think we could have done that better. It’s hard to step back and just be a listener.
Hotel Hobbies: I have listened to the album many times now and I was thinking about a favourite track and its hard because I like them all. However, March of the Saints seems to draw on everything that has come before. It has the time to do that because it is a long song.
Andreas Lill: Yes. March of the Saints is long and gives us so many possibilities to play differently. In former times, it would have been just one side of an LP! Sometimes, you want to tell the story with lyrics but sometimes also with the music. It’s the way Stefan composes. He connects musical themes and Andy connects lyrics and stories. Typical songs are verse, chorus, verse, chorus, guitar solo, double chorus, end! We like to have the chance to make things more interesting.
Hotel Hobbies: Are there any plans for touring the new album coming up?
Andreas Lill: Yes, the plan is for us to go on tour in 2025. Its hard to go on tour with our kind of music if you don’t have good reviews and good sales. Good sales make everything easier.
Hotel Hobbies: Just to talk specifically a little more about you as a drummer, who were the drummers you admired when you were young and which drummers do you enjoy today?
Andreas Lill: I started to get in touch with music through punk music in about 1980. Punk was over and the Sex Pistols were over but I listened to them because we Never Mind the Bollocks and it was like the Holy Grail. We listened to it all day! I liked The Stranglers because they were kind of punk in the early days. I liked The Damned and The Clash but I really love Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. It was pure rock ‘n’ roll. I didn’t care what Johnny Rotten was saying. Yes, he had a message of course but I just liked the rock'n'roll power of the Sex Pistols. Shortly after that, I found out about Van Halen (1) and Van Halen 2 up to 1984. The drumming on 1984 is phenomenal.
I also loved Steve Smith when he was playing for Journey. David Lee Roth had the best rock’n’roll band in the world with Steve Vai, Bill Sheehan and Greg Bissonette on drums. Greg showed everyone in the rock world how to play drums. He was in Ringo’s All Star Band and you know how to play if you are in that band! Ringo was the first drummer I saw on TV when I was a little kid and I though it was pretty cool. With young drummers now, they play stuff we could have only dreamed of at that age because if you want to find something, how it works or how to play a part, you can just look on YouTube and have a look on a tutorial. So the young musicians, not just drummers, all young musicians, they play great. But there's another thing, you know. If you don’t have a band or a singer, you are just the best guitarist or drummer in town. When I started playing drums, I was really interested in being in a band. If you play music, you want to play with others.
Hotel Hobbies: Thank you so much for taking the time talk with me. It has been great fun and extremely insightful. Good luck with the album and hopefully will see you on a tour!
Andreas Gill: Thank you! I have enjoyed it! Take care!
