INTERVIEW WITH MIKE STARK FROM HARD ROCK HEAVY METAL

From left to right: Stefan (Drums) Mats (Lead Guitar) Mike Stark (Lead Vocals) Tommi (Guitar and Vocals) Tommy Jee (Bass)

MIKE STARK – STORMBURNER
 
Hi, it’s a pleasure for us to have on Hardrockheavymetal MIKE STARK of STORMBURNER !! Welcome!!
 
Hi, it is a true pleasure to be here, you are doing great work for the metal community so it is really an honor for me.
 
On Dec 6th you are ready to unleash your debut album entitled SHADOW RISING. We had the chance to listening to in preview and we were really impressed! Can you tell us somethin’about its composition process and style?
 
Thank you very much. Well yes, it took us almost two and a half years to write the songs, record the songs and then get them out to the world thru our great record label Pure Steel Records.
Our rhythm Guitar player Tommi usually gets an idea for a chorus melody and he then makes a simple recording which he sends to us. After this we usually finish the songs at rehersal.
The process is that we build the songs around a strong chorus and go from there. Mats who plays lead guitar also contributes with great riffs whilst I write the lyrics and vocal melodies.
 
Can you tell us somethin’about the birth and the name of your band? Which artists or bands impressed you the most as musician?
 
I got in touch with Tommi after I put an ad out in a Facebook group wanting to form a Heavy/True Metal band.
We decided to meet and discuss what we wanted to do which was a good idea since we hit it off really well and shared the same influences (Priest/Saxon/Manowar etc).
We wrote down our long term and short term goals and we have stayed true to this plan since that day, we are delayed with about a year due to different circumstances but other than that we are on track.

SHADOW RISING will be out on PURE STEEL RECORDS. Can you tell us somethin’ about relationships with them?
 
-Well, yes! I knew them very well because we were signed there with my previous band Starblind so it was a very easy decision in what label we wanted to work with.
We recorded a few demo songs which they liked and offered us a deal.
Pure Steel are very supportive of their bands and they really put their soul into the work they do for us and their other bands and everything works extremely well for us.
They have done all we could have asked for and more.

 
There’s a great return of format such as vinyl and cassette. What’s your thinking about these classic format..love for vintage or is it impossible a future for music outside digital?
 
-My favorite format is Vinyl, I mean I grew up with Vinly and Casette in when I was a child but I always wanted the big Vinyl covers. When I was 9 years old in 1988 I had all the KISS albums up to then on Vinyl. Casette was good for trading music with each other but I never loved it as much.
The vinyl is holy to me and I believe there will be a market for it for many years to come.
Digital will probably be the big platform but there will definitely be a market for Vinyl. Casette, I don´t really know as I would never buy one in this format today.

 
Inside your songs what’s the role of lyrics in the composition process? Words follow music or vice versa?
 
-In most cases the lyrics are written when the music is already finished or almost done. I usually write a first draft really fast just to be able to sing.
Then when all vocal melodies are done etc I rework the lyrics and fine tune them to the song.

 
Can you tell us somethin’ about your live plans?
 
-Well, we have our Relase Show on Friday December 13th at the well known Anchor Bar in Stockholm, I really do hope thatwe can get some sort of tour and maybe a few festival dates in 2020, this is the plan at least.
I guess it will depend on how well the album is received by the market.

Shadow Rising

We love the cover of SHADOW RISING! Can you tell us somethin’about?
 
-Thank you very much, we love it too. We decided to contact Ken Kelly (Manowar, KISS, Rainbow) as he is a living legend and the best artist in the world according to us. We ended up speaking on the phone and he really liked our first single (Men at Arms) and expressed his will to work with Stormburner.
He then made this piece of art based on our idea and he exceeded every expectation that we had.
We will continue to work with Ken for sure. There are new Tee-Shirts in stock att our website with the
Ken Kelly cover for anyone interested
.
 
Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal!
 
-Thank you very much, hopefully we will speak again soon. Burn the Storm!

Read the Interview at Hard Rock Heavy Metal