Virgin Steele's David Defeis

Rodrigo

Heat in 7
Apr 17, 2001
883
3
18
Southern California
Recently, UM had the opportunity to chat with David Defeis, the man behind the Virgin Steele. We touched upon a lot of different subjects like their recent tour in Europe, the upcoming reissues of the first two Virgin Steele albums, a possible live album as well as a DVD, and his passion on swords.

We had a great time and I want to thank David for giving up his time to talk with me and Century Media for setting up the interview.

Ultimate Metal: What have you been up since the release of the last album?

David Defeis: We went to tour for 2 months in Europe and we got back in the beginning in March. Right now I am preparing to go back into the studio, which I am going this week to work in the reissue in the first two albums. Actually, I was already in the studio in preparing special mixes for the second stage presentation of the metal opera “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” which premieres on June 7th. When that’s done I will work on the reissues for the first two albums. So its been quite a lot of activity. No down time at all.

UM: How was your tour in Europe?

DD: That was great, it was really, really cool! Most of the shows were sold out. We went to 14 different countries. Response was rather good and I am glad we went.

UM: Did you encounter any problems or was everything smooth sailing?

DD: The only real problems we had were getting across the border of the Czech Republic. For some reason at the border there were some problems. Basically it was a shakedown, they wanted money for whatever for tour buses and all. That was really the only problem.

UM: With what other bands did you play?

DD: With Freedom Call, they are German group like Gamma Ray. We also played with HammerFall.

UM: Are you a fan of those bands?

DD: Well I wasn’t originally. I really did not know anything about them until doing the tour. They were very nice people and they were good. I did enjoying touring with them and grew to like some of the music that they played.

UM: What kind of songs did you play?

DD: The setlist changed pretty much nightly. There were certain core songs we would play almost every night like “Wine of Violence”, “Invictus”, “Great Sword of Flame” but then it changed. Sometimes we would do “Kingdom of Fearless”, “Voice is Weapon”, “Emelaith”, “Don’t Say Goodbye” from the second album, “Life Among the Ruins”, “I Will Come for You”, “Nemesis”, “Through Blood and Fire”, “Veni Vidi Vicci”, “Defiance”, “Through the Ring of Fire”. So yeah we played quite a bit of things and it changed quite a bit.

UM: So you covered pretty much all of your albums?

DD: We try to cover as much as we could with the time on the stage that we had. We could only get so much time on the stage.

UM: How much time did you usually have?

DD: It depended. Some nights we were told to play 45-50 minutes and of course we ended up playing 55-60 minutes. When we were told to play 60 minutes, we would play 70 minutes. It varied.

UM: How big are you in Europe in the term of people attending your shows?

DD: It’s a difficult question to ask. I mean how big is anybody? (Laughs) The show is basically the size of the room we are in, from anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people to 1,500 people. I don’t think of the venues we played at were smaller than like a 1,000. That’s basically whether you are Virgin Steele, Savatage, or anybody else. Those are the rooms you basically play in no matter who it is. They aren’t the kind of venues like you have here in the States. You have the soccer stadiums where they seat 20,000 people or there are these venues like combinations of movie theaters, opera houses or clubs and that’s where everybody plays.

UM: Do you have any idea how many albums you sell?

DD: At the moment no. I would need to look at the next statement. If you ask me what the “House of Atreus Act II” has done I wouldn’t be able to tell you right now. It is not something I keep up on when the statements come in. I just check them to make sure that the money that its on the check is equal to the amount of the statement. I don’t run around and say “Oooh, how many albums have we sold in Sweden?” (We both have a good laugh.) I don’t really think about it that way. I only think about it when we are going to play those countries and I want to know what record sold the most to get some kind of idea how to prepare the set list.

UM: You mentioned about the upcoming Opera, how cool is it that your albums are made into Operas?

DD: It’s great! It’s a whole another exprience and avenue to pursue. We did the first one “The House of Atreus” and it has been performed over 50 times and it’s still going. We are doing the second one , which is the earlier work, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” Opera, and that premieres on June 7th and hopefully that will be as succesful as “House of Atreus” was. I hope that it has a well a run. “House of Atrues” premiered about a year ago and it is still going.

UM: Have you seen it?

DD: Oh yeah. I was there for the premiere of “The House of Atreus” and I have gone to subsequent shows. They did a nice job. I will be there for the premiere of the new one as well.

UM: How faithful are they to the albums?

DD: Well, it is the album. What I did was make special mixes of the music, various selections of the records without the lead vocals. So the live actors and actresses were singing live in stage and the effect is that they are singing with Virgin Steele behind the curtain. Of course Virgin Steele is not behind the curtain, it is just a well done mix of the CD. So that’s how its done. In effect we are there.

UM: Could you tell me how the progress of the reissue of the first two Virgin Steele albums is going?

DD: I haven’t started yet. I will be starting on Thursday (May 3rd). The tapes are from the early days. They have to be baked before they are played. I will find the results of the baking on Thursday.

UM: Will they have the same treatment as your other reissues (Life Among the Ruins, Noble Savage)?

DD: We will have bonus tracks and special packaging just like those.

UM: When do you think those would come out?

DD: I hope to have it ready by the end of September so that they could release it on October. I hope. It should be feasible.

UM: When will your next studio album come out?

DD: I can’t say exactly when because I have to work on the reissues. Then there is some talk about reissuing the entire catalog again. Not Noble Savage and those albums but the other albums and release them with bonus tracks. They (record label) want to do a whole campaign for it. So that might happen and if it does it will take time away from doing the next studio album. Also, they are talking about a live album and a DVD. I really want to do those but I don’t know if that’s going to come before the studio album or not. But quite possible what could happen is that I would do these two reissues and dive right into the next studio album. I am not sure but I will know within the next two months exactly what I will do and in what order but I do know that the reissues will come out this year before Christmas.

UM: I would definitely be interested in a live album since living in Los Angeles I get the feeling that you guys coming here is not in the near future?

DD: Well the label is there. It’s not totally impossible but there are no plans for that at the moment.

UM: Since Noise was bought out by Sanctuary, have you notice any difference at all?

DD: Somebody else asked me that today, the short answer is No. It happened while we were on tour, it happened on January and I still deal with the same people I always deal. I haven’t noticed any major change yet. I am hoping for new energy, more power, more promotion and more of everything. I think its too soon to tell. Once these upcoming records come out we shall see. The things is that in the States there is no real issue there because Century Media handles things here. Ask me again in two months. (Laughs)

UM: Were you happy that Noise was bought out?

DD: I don’t know because like I said I haven’t noticed any difference and that is basically good because I was happy with the label. If everything works like it did then that’s great. If things work out better then that’s better. But if it is at least the same as I am used to then that’s fine.

UM: Your last two albums (The Atreus albums) dealt with Greek mythology. The work in those albums really shows how well educated you are in this subject. What interests you so much about Greek mythology?

DD: Well like all myths in general. I am just partial to the Greeks because all the characters whether they are humans, Gods or Goddesses or Demons they all have feelings. They all behave very real, their emotions are the same as any human being. The stories themselves have a timeless quality. They can happen today, 2,000 years ago and 2,000 years from next Friday. So its those kinds of things that appeal to me: the timelessness and the humanity.

UM: I haven’t read much of Greek mythology but of the things I have read I like it a lot.

DD: It’s strong stuff. It should be in everyone's diet.

UM: Would you consider working with an orchestra in the future?

DD: Yeah, I actually would like to do that. There is this guy in Greece who is trying to make that happen. There is a place called “The Mansion of Music” which is a very big concert hall over there. They play what they call “serious music” not rock. They are trying to bring us in there and do something with an orchestra there. It could happen. I don’t know if it will definitely happen in this particular place. But at some time down the road I would like to do that. I think the songs lend themselves to that because we do all kind of orchestration on the records. Why not have the real instruments do it? Maybe for a live recording do some different versions. I would love to see “Emalaith” live with an orchestra or some of the things from the new records.

UM: That would sound really incredible.

DD: It would open up a whole other dimension and live is a whole other world anyway. Its a logical step for us. I am exhausted of doing a lot of work by myself. Of course I could go ahead and do it but it would be nice to do that.

UM: What influences do you draw upon when you write your music and lyrics?

DD: It is really the music you grew up that is always with you whether its Zeppelin, Queen or Sabbath. Those elements are there because you were trained by that music. Its inheritely obvious but I don’t think our records sound like Zeppelin or Queen. That is what is inside me. Of course, there is everything else inside you and that you live through has an effect on you. Everything that you read and like. I always read Ray Bradbury and various other writers and I am sure that comes out, whether its consciously or unconsciously. Everything that you experience as well. I try to base my lyrical ideas on things that I have lived through or observed. I “encode” and disguise them in the word of the myths. But those are really just jumping off points. I am really actually talking about specific things with the things you live through, heard about or observed in some fashion.

UM: Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors.

DD: That’s great! I love all his stuff. I think I have read every book that he has ever written. I think I have them all.

UM: What is your favorite book by him? DD: I really like “Dead Like Wine”, “Martian Chronicles”, “Fahrenheit 451” and “October Country”.

UM: How did you get involved with the Avantasia project?

DD: Basically Toby called me up and asked me. He knew somebody from our label. He got my phone number from the label and called me up and asked if I wanted to do it. So I said “Well, sounds interesting send me the music and if its something I think I could do then I would do it”. So he send me bits and pieces of things. I just did it one day when I was working on “Atreus Act II”. For the recording he sent me like a guide music track and he sent me the vocals and I sent it back and they had to sync up my vocals to their music.

UM: Have you heard the album?

DD: I actually haven’t played through the entire thing. I have heard bits and pieces of it. I have heard the finished versions of some of the things I have done but not all of them. Some of them weren’t used on the first record. It was pretty interesting. I have to sit down and observe the whole thing.

UM: So I hear you are a big sword collector how did that occur?

DD: I collect swords, maces and all kinds of things. I am interested in that because I grew up in a house where my father was involved in a theater and in his plays there would be all these props around like swords. I liked them from an early age. I like how they feel in the hand. Of course, its related to the kind of music that I am doing. I like the way they sound when they cling together. I like to record them on the records. I always use the same pair on songs like “Kingdom of Fearless”.

UM: Do you have a prized possession?

DD: My favorite sword perhaps is the one I had made for me. In 1983 or 1984. It is a big monstrous thing which is so heavy. You would have to be Scwharzenneger to kind of lifted. I mean I can lift it but to really wield it is tough. It must be like 80 pounds. Its over 5 feet. The blade itself is 6 inches wide and a good 2 inches thick. Its got these giant curved horns. Its insane! It is quite a piece of work.

UM: Why did you decide to make music?

DD: I was born into a theatrical and musical family and I wanted to contribute as well. I formed my first band when I was 11 years old as the singer. I tried to imitate the sounds I was hearing. I was given piano lessons when I was 8 years old. I grew to enjoy playing the music and writing it. I like composing, it was just a natural progression from listening to music to doing covers to doing my own music.

UM: What does Virgin Steele , the name of your band, mean? I am just trying to end my curiosity with this question.

DD: It was kind of during the time when bands had names like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly and of course Iron Maiden. These names were combinations of opposites, the light side, the acoustic and delicate side, and the more darker and aggressive side. So Virgin Steele was new metal, fresh, unspoiled. That was the mindset of it.

UM: In your free time, if you have any, what else do you like to do? DD: (Laughs) I am really into wine, I love to drink it. I really like the beach. Where I live we have great beaches as I am sure you have there in Los Angeles. I am really fond of the beaches here. I try to keep in shape by working out. I just moved into a new house so I am working on the house in my spare time. Cleaning the swords every now and again.

UM: Is there anything else that we haven’t talked about that you would like to discuss?

DD: I would just like to say thanks to everybody who has been listening. Hello to all of your readers out there. We haven’t forgotten about America. We are happy now that we have a label that has put out 2 records in a row. Hopefully, we will reissue the entire catalog here in the States. Hopefully, we could do more live work in this country. Stay tuned, the best is yet come! We are really just scratching the surface. Out of all these records we have just begun to scratch the surface and definitely the best is yet to come!

UM: That sounds great! I think you guys keep improving and getting better with each album you put out.

DD: That’s the intention. To always push the envelope. I feel responsible for myself as an artist but also for the genre to keep pushing it forward because people pay a lot for these records.
 
Surprised that David used DragonForce's old name when discussing the support bands....glad to hear he liked them too!