French metal opera band Avaland will release their new album, "Chemical Poetry", on the 30th of October. On this occasion I had the opportunity to talk with the band's two lead singers, Adrien G. Gzagg and Jeff Kanji, about their creative process.
For those who are not familiar with Avaland or are just discovering it, Adrien, can you explain the concept behind the group, the inspiration, the lore of Avaland in order to have the context of “Chemical Poetry”?
Adrien: Avaland is a metal opera with two main singers, Jeff and me, but also with many other singers. Each album tells a story that takes place within the Avaland lore, and for this new album, we have a vision that is both much more intimate, much more focused on the main characters, and at the same time a much larger dimension with the introduction of the pantheon, of how magic works and how the Avaland universe functions.
Avaland aims to be a “metal opera”. What difficulties did you encounter on this new album that you might not have encountered on a more “classic” album?
Jeff: We also learn by doing it. As we make more albums, we realize more and more that we have to pay attention to the coherence of the story, the coherence of the characters, their interactions… We asked ourselves questions that we didn't necessarily ask ourselves when we were making the first album. For example, “Ascension” is a track that didn't exist before, but it exists because we wanted to give coherence and depth to what the main character goes through. And all these questions relate to the fact that for this album, we pushed everything to the limit.
Adrien: The first albums weren't structured in such a narrative way; they were more of a patchwork. We really put a lot of thought into how to refine things with Jeff, Lucas (the guitarist), and the other musicians, and they had a very strong impact on that aspect. It's a very collaborative album, and it's not just one brain doing everything by adapting. That's another challenge: being able to work together with different desires, emotions, and egos. But given the result, it was worth it.
Was it difficult to find the right "casting" for the different characters? Did you have a clear idea from the start, were there any changes...?
Adrien: For Helle (Helle Bohdanova, Ignea), it was fairly easy because I knew I wanted a raw, powerful sound for the character of Death. For Marcela (Marcela Bovio, Stream of Passion, Ayreon), the question was more about whether the Mystic character had to be male, but since we were working with Joost (Joost van den Broek, producer) and he was in contact with her, it all came together quite quickly. The most complicated part was for Tom (Tom Englund, Evergrey). We contacted other singers we initially wanted, but Jeff had also suggested Tom, and it's partly thanks to him that it all came together.
Jeff: The idea of having a very different voice for the butler character, who's a bit like Alfred in Batman, really resonated with me, and I've been an Evergrey fan for ages. Tom's name quickly became the obvious choice, but we were also looking at other options, which didn't work out logistically. Ultimately, Tom's voice and singing style offer a really interesting contrast to Adrien's voice and mine. While touring with Sabaton, I had the chance to meet Evergrey several times: in Lyon, where they had a concert the same day, and in London, where they were playing the next day. I was able to discuss it with Tom, and then Joost helped us finalize it.
I saw that Jeff wrote the lyrics for two songs, but I know the story came from Adrien. How did you two work together? And sometimes, Lucas and you, Jeff, contributed to the music; what was it like working together as a trio?
Jeff: There's no set formula. When you're working on an album, there's a bit of everything: some tracks are already written, where we just add our own touch depending on what the song calls for, like "Fallen Leaves," while others are written collaboratively along the way. Sometimes Lucas would come up with an idea, or sometimes I'd add bridges to a composition by Adrien, for example. It can take many different forms. And for "Destiny Calls," Adrien didn't have any ideas for the lyrics, so he gave me the opportunity, and I was able to write them. Sometimes Adrien and Lucas just spend time together, and the next day we have "Sail On"!
Adrien: For “Sail On,” we had a song I’d written that wasn’t really anything special considering what that passage was supposed to convey, and Lucas sent me a nearly finished track with guitar, bass, and drums. I listened to it, and it gave me an idea for the chorus melody. I recorded it the same evening, and the next day we had the first version, without any orchestration or anything, but we immediately felt it would be one of the first singles.
Which brings me to my next question: what led to the selection of these 4 singles, absolutely not in the order of the story?
Adrien: The first aspect of our thinking was which song we could make a music video for, with the idea that we wanted to make two. We needed tracks with as few guest appearances as possible for logistical reasons. So we decided that to keep things simple, we'd go with "Sail On" and "Faded Away," and luckily, they're two very catchy and not too long tracks. The other singles were chosen amongst ourselves as well. "Destiny Calls" was the most powerful track we had, and therefore quite catchy. We also wanted a slightly more modern single to showcase Avaland's evolution, and "Face the Eternal," with its melodic death metal feel, was one of the tracks we felt had potential. It allows us to showcase a wide range of Avaland and represent all the aspects we have in this album, even though in reality it's very difficult to separate each track because each one truly has something unique, so it's very difficult to summarize this album with just four tracks. If we could have made twelve singles, we would have!
Jeff: One thing we hadn't really done before was that we all consulted each other. We made an Excel spreadsheet where everyone voted for the tracks they most wanted as singles, and Adrien made the final decision when necessary. The choices emerged quite naturally, I must say.
I'd like to take this opportunity to ask you what your favorite song is, and why that one?
Jeff: I think it's "Trinity." Very early on, even in the creative process. There's a very accessible dimension to it, which never gives you the impression that you're listening to a long track because it has a very catchy two-part chorus. The music follows the evolution of the narrative as well; "Trinity" is really the track of the big revelations. It has the most epic vocal lines for me. I think it has my favorite vocal line on the album. So the symphonic dimension, the dramatic tension, the use of the orchestral choirs… I even had the guys' guitars and bass detuned for one section because I felt it wasn't low enough yet!
Adrien: I'd say, "Chemical Poetry!" The album is a song in itself! But otherwise, I'm also thinking of "Trinity." Although "When The Night Comes Alive" and "Faded Away" are the two that would complete the top three today (it changes every day, of course). "When The Night Comes Alive" because it's one of my oldest compositions, brought up to date, and "Faded Away" both because, for me, it's the most Avaland-esque track we've ever made and it's also the track on which all five of us were really deeply involved. But "Trinity" because I really love long tracks (like Avantasia, Blind Guardian, Yes…), very narrative ones, where you're really immersed in a story for a long time. I think that with "Trinity" we really managed to do even better than what we had done with the long tracks on the first two albums. For me, we've really managed to reach a new level where the narrative is much more deeply embedded in the track, where it's not just a demonstration. This track is almost a story within a story.
Perhaps a short anecdote about the filming of the videos or about a recording that stood out for you?
Adrien: This is an anecdote where the fan speaks: while we were working on the orchestrations with Joost, he told me we were going to be able to meet the "big guy." And it was Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) who was coming for a meeting. Being able to meet him, being able to talk with him, was a very powerful experience for me. It was one of the best personal stories from the recording.
Jeff: There are loads of anecdotes. I remember rehearsals when we were finalizing “Face The Eternal.” We had a tempo for the song that was working pretty well, but I felt like something was missing. I asked, “What tempo are we at?” and they said, “130.” So I said, “Can we try 131?” because I had Queen’s “A Kind Of Magic” in mind, and we knew we didn’t have a pop song, so I wanted that kind of catchy element that keeps it going. We tried it, and that was all it needed. The difference was a bit more noticeable than I expected!
On the same track, we have a whole choral section after the keyboard solo, and we said to ourselves, "You know what, guys, there are five of us, let's all do it." It was pretty funny because to add depth, I was recording across two octaves, and we all have different voices; not everyone is a singer, even though we all like to sing a little… And Camille (the bassist) really wanted to do it across two octaves too. So he was practicing, but between Léo (the drummer), Adrien, and Lucas singing, poor guy, he couldn't concentrate! Then we have memories of "Oh, oh, oh, oh… Shit, damn it!" But the result is on the album, and it was the first take!
I noticed that "Chemical Poetry" doesn't follow the chronology of the previous albums (it's chapter 4; the previous albums are chapters 1 and 0), and that the albums are released out of order relative to the universe's chronology. So, can we get some information about what's in store for us next? A flashback, or will we continue into the future?
Adrien: What's certain is that we'll have to get album number 5 done soon, since it follows directly after number 4. But I'm not going to spoil what comes next! Ultimately, it really depends on my personal experiences, and I know there are some albums I'm not ready to write right now because I don't have enough life experience, even though I already have some ideas for some of them. It depends on my personal experience, which also guides me towards certain themes, and since each album has main themes, that's how it works. There's one I was planning for the next album, but it's being reconsidered, and we'll have to discuss it again. Things change. At one point, I had my list more or less defined, but the more time passes, the more I realize it will depend on people, on me, and on what the guys want to do. Nothing is set in stone!
In conclusion: is there a chance we'll see you in the Czech Republic soon?
Adrien: We've already been to Masters of Rock Café in Zlín, and we'd love to go back. And there are loads of festivals where you live too… I'd really like to play Masters of Rock or Rock Castle! We're really hoping for a tour in 2027, but nothing's set in stone except for 70,000 Tons of Metal.
Jeff: Everything seems to be falling into place little by little, now we just have to be patient!
Céline: I'll be waiting for you then! Thank you very much for your time.
Adrien and Jeff: Thank you!