In November, Pikes Edge released their second output, called All Of Our Beauty. DutchMetalManiac’s Alessandro already reviewed it here, now he interviews the mastermind of Pikes Edge, Pike. Read it below!
Guys, I’m very honoured to be granted this interview and want to say again, I love your album. I hope my 10/10 at DutchMetalManiac means something for you! So, tell us the origins of your band name, how you met, are you all actually friends or is it just business and then ‘get away from me’?
Hi Alessandro,
I’m very pleased to hear that. Especially from you, someone who understands our music and gave us 10/10 points. It honors our efforts and empowers us to continue writing such a great music.
Pike is my nickname. I like the English meaning of that word – it in a way inspired me to name the band Pikes Edge.
We are 5 friends which spend a lot of time together. We actually got together via music and private life. Our combination really works out, we share the same passion for music. This is really important to me, that’s our common ground. With such a foundation you’re able to create great things together. Of course the financial side of it shall not be forgotten, at least for the long run so that we can reap the benefits of our work. However, the main scope currently is thankfully our performance and music. We’re still able to afford this kind of luxury.
This is my first long distance interview from Canada; is the world a better place with this new technology for spreading the gift of music or was it better to copy LP’s to cassettes and spread it around?
With the new technologies we’re able to reach out to fans all over the world. Sometimes I am really surprised in which corners of the world our music is been heard. Of course this is more than positive. Music connects. That is one big benefit of the new technology, the environment is faster than it has been 10 years before, especially the functionality of recommending music to others is a turning point.
The downside of course is that it seems naturally to download music for free, even that certain platforms offer entire albums for free. This fact, financially damages or even destroys the smaller bands. But in spite of this current difficulties, I still remain an optimist. You could even say it’s a good promotion, which leads to more people coming and enjoying our concerts.
Your music is intricate and heavy; When and where are your best times for inspiration?
Life is my best inspiration – current instances and experiences are the main pulse.
The feeling of powerlessness which occurs when you reflect on what is going on out there – terrible wars that repeatedly plunge mankind into bitter grief and misery –triggers that inspiration. These thoughts and feelings I then try to transcribe into my songs. You know for the individual itself the power is limited, we have to move masses to create change. The masses just have to realize which power they have.
I love the pic on your website with Pike “taking out the trash’ as it were. Denial of Service is a real story you encountered or just what you artistically want to do to agents in general, lol? And, who’s the shadowy figure in the background?
I love that picture. If we continue what we do today, this will be the leftover – this is been represented by the picture. Our world became a playground of big companies and the financial sector. Warmongery became a common fact, mainly to gain business and money out of it. The leftovers are shadows of themselves, victims without religion, race or nationality.
Great suit n tie look! Why don’t you all wear suits?
The suit and tie look tries to pursue a different kind of ideal. A kind of storyteller which stand for our themes and represents it. An individual with a hands on mentality and the drive to change certain things. Besides the main character we strongly foster individualism – every band member has his own style. And that by the way enables us to rock the stage and have fun.
Do you consider your metal classy?
I would describe our style as a harsh and rough one, still down to earth but always willing to give the audience a kick in the ass.
Without being disrespectful to a band’s originality, I always like to cite some influences that my ear picks out or I think picks out; do you guys do this when you’re working out your arrangements? You have some great influences! Who’s everyone’s favourite band?
No worries, I guess all musicians have their key influencer. Lukas and I wrote the album. In Flames has impact on both of our styles. The result is a combination of my heavy metal style and Lukas’s modern way of playing – we merge our own interpretations with our styles. You see the outcome of that in our dynamic album.
Onstage, 90% and live to fight another day or 110% and see what happens the next day?
On stage we do everything in our power to transfer our passion for music to the audience. We perform every show like it’s our last one. That is our slogan which we love to share with the audience.
Speaking of stages, you’re not on an especially heavy tour schedule as of yet; are there more dates lined up for 2017? Any chance you’re coming to Canada?
We are still in the planning phase of the current year. I hope to publish additional dates soon. We will surely include one or another tour within Europe. To perform on Canadian soil would be great, of course, we hope that someday soon we will have the opportunity to do so.
I want to thank you so much for taking the time for us!
As we go, give us “Pike’s Picks” for 2017:
1. WW III or Peace on Earth ?
Hope Peace
2. Aliens Land – Aliens Keep On Going?
I guess for Aliens the humans are not really interesting, due to the fact that we’re too much focused on constantly fighting each other.
3. Music Industry Better – Music Industry Worse?
Seem like it’s getting worse – we’re fighting for ourselves, so we don’t care.
4. German Beer Better – Canadian Beer Better?
Sorry Alessandro but the Bavarian beer is the best – buzzword “Oktoberfest”. 🙂
Is there something you want to say to DutchMetalManiac’s readers?
Alessandro, thank you very much for your time and interest. I hope that someday soon we’ll come to perform in Canada. If that’s the case, we’ll meet and drink the one or other Canadian and Bavarian beer.
We as Pikes Edge state “together, let us enjoy life – we’re all human beings”.
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