Temperance are back with a new line-up and, above all, a new concept album, 'Hermitage', released last October. In this interview, Marco, the band's singer, producer and songwriter, talks to us in detail about this major project, the production, the guest musicians and the naration.
To begin with, how do you feel a couple of weeks after the release of your seventh album "Hermitage - Daruma's Eyes Pt. 2"? Has the feedback been as good as you'd hoped? Marco Pastorino : Very coool! We feel Great, still receveing Amazing feedbacks for Hermitage, and honestly was not very predictable. It's a concept, difficult story , long album. But the feedback Is Amazing!
New album with a new line-up - how did the integration of Marco Sacchetto and Kristin Starkey go? Did they bring some ideas to this new production? We completed the entire album before they joined the band, but at the same i rewrote some vocal Lines here and there to make Kristin Shine with her Amazing voice.
Kristin Starkey lives in the United States, it wasn't a problem to work at distance ? Or she came to Italy to recorded her parts ? She lives in Sweden since years, and she recorded all stuff at her place. Distance Is not a problem at all, i mean for sure if you live in the other side of the world, also moneywise, will be a problem because the costs, but It's very Easy to manage and Kristin move the entire band on another level.
For the mixing and mastering you worked with Simone Mularoni. Did he fulfil all your expectations? We worked with him even in the past for the First 3 Temperance albums, and now we thought It was the right album to work together again. Simone is probably one of the most talented guy behind the desk nowadays and the final result on Hermitage is Great!
Marco, you were involved in the production process for this album. Is it important for you to keep an eye on details ? In every album we are totally involved in the production. Usually It's Michele and me, but for this album i worked basically alone, from the songwriting process, lyrics and to follow every step of the production. Honestly still one of my favourite things to do
Also, we feature a lot of guest musicians on this album, starting with Laura and Fabienne. How did you get touch with them? We can tell you that they bring a touch of folk, especially on "Welcome To Hermitage"? Fabi was probably the first option came to our minds. She is one of the most talented singers in the scene and It was quite Natural try to get in touch with her. Then about Laura, i never been a big fan of Faun but then One year ago i saw them live and i was quite impressed by her, then her character was perfect for her voice.
You've also collaborated (with the great) Arjen Lucassen! How did you meet? With Ayeron's , he's used to having a lot of guest musicians on his albums. We can say here your two projects fit together as Opera Metal ? I was in touch with Arjen since 2020 when i recorded a vocal cover of Ayreon. Then when we started to think about a possible narrator, we had this Crazy idea to try to involve Arjen in the album. Honestly best choice ever. His voice Is the perfect choice to enjoy the Hermitage journey.
Lastly, we have Alessandro Conti (Twilight Force) as a guest. How did your collaboration go? Alessandro is one of my best friends in the business, and we know each other since 15 years. In my opinion he Is very underrated but still one of the best Power metal singers out there.
As well as the concept of the album, which we'll talk about later. On this album we have a new line-up and a lot of guests, so it was a challenge to deal with all these factors? It was a big challenge since the beginning cause we never did a concept album before and It was totally different the way to approach this kind of work. Then two members of the band decided to leave the band totally out of the blue, in the middle of the recording process and one month before 50 shows.... Not very Easy Honestly but we made it and we are so lucky to find Kristin and Marco.
I have to admit that I'm only now discovering Temperance. Do your previous albums have a concept behind them? Or is "Hermitage" also a challenge in the writing process? Hermitage Is the First concept album for us, It was a challenge as i said before but at the same time very exciting. For sure we will do It again in the future.
I notice that the title of this new album refers to Daruma's Eyes (Part 1), the closing track of the previous one. So the story of the two projects are linked? Back then in 2018, we supposed to release an entire track with the complete story of HERMITAGE, but then we figured out was too long and too complicated for one single track. That's the reason why we put the explenation of the Daruma meaning in the First Chapter only, with the Hope to release a complete story later. You can find tons of connections between the music of the first Chapter and the entire album for example.
Can you tell me more about the history of "Hermitage"? And what are your main sources of inspiration (films, books …) ? Hermitage is a fullstory based on time travel. Viktor , the main character, is a guy from New York. He Is not completely satistied about his life, that's the reason why he traveled the world and he reached Japan, Tokyo to try to find himself. In the Temples of Asakusa then, he found this doll called Daruma. Just touching this doll, he moved into another dimension, another world called Hermitage. In Hermitage he will find new friends and he will change his destiny.
The artwork is very impressive. I imagine it fits in with the concept of the album, can you tell me more about it and who created it? We spent days talking with Giada Belviso, the artist behind this graphic, explaining the story, the lyrics, the characters of the story. I think she did a great job and it was very cool try to put tons of different elements there.
This album follows a sort of narrative line and includes a lot of guest appearances. How do you will plan to bring it to life live? It Will be very difficult honestly cause all the people involved here are extremely busy, but at least we really would love to do something special for the next year since It Will be the tenth anniversary of the band.
You went on tour with Tarja earlier this year. How did that tour go?. Are you thinking of collaborating with her in the future? The tour was Amazing, fantastic crew and Great crowd every night. No plans so far, but It would be Great.
You've all been working on some very cool projects. I'm thinking in particular of you, Marco with Sereinty, who have just released an album. I imagine that producing and touring requires a lot of organization? Sure, but It's easier than people can think. With a Good planning, especially in Advance, you can do (almost) whatever you want.
What projects do you have planned after this release of “Hermitage” ? We are working on tons of things for 2024, tours and shows are our priority, but we are cooking even more stuff so get ready.
To conclude, I leave you with the final words :Thanks for your time and your support. See you from february on the Road!