Intense Interview 18/02/2019
MM: It’s great to chat to you today, finally after so many years we get a New Album for you guys. How pleased are you with your new Album “Songs of a Broken Future"”
SH: You too Seb, it’s been a while hasn’t it. We’re really pleased with it , we spent a lot of time with the songs in different formats and it took a while to get recorded.. Of course after you finish recording you spot areas you could have tweaked but i think that would still have happened if we spent 20 years on it lol . I think this is a good statement of where Intense are right now, musically wise.
MM:Why the Title "Songs of a Broken Future"
SH: With our last album Shape of Rage we broke our unwritten rule of not naming an album after one of the songs (Not including the EP Dark Season in that btw ;) ) so we were a little more relaxed with it this time. Songs of a Broken Future was an easy choice, it fits with the content matter of the songs on this album and we like it .. you get what you hear with it.
MM:Where did you draw the ideas and inspirations from for the Album
SH: From the lyrics i wrote, i drew inspiration from all over the place … life today, experiences with people and there’s even a GOT influenced song in there but it’s subtle with my own twist on it, whilst all the songs have their own story i always like the fact that listeners can relate to their own experiences and make the song about them.
MM: The album itself boasts 12 amazing songs , which tracks are you particularly proud of and why.
SH: Thank you , i usually lean more towards favourite songs once we’ve lived and breathed them on tour but right now , Head Above Water which i think is probably one of the more catchy Intense songs to date ..easy to sing to and memorable i think and a lot of people will be able to make it their own and relate to it . End of Days has some great riffs and i’m really pleased with how i performed Nick’s lyrics as he always loves setting me a challenge with the stuff he writes lol . As i think now i could talk about too many of the songs .. we would be here for a while ha ha … asked me again once we’ve played them live a few times.
MM:Will you be having a release party?
SH : No plans at the moment … originally we were expecting a release around June but only found out this week that it was going to be March which was great of course but it’s caught us on the hop a bit ha ha… we were obviously keen to get it out asap after such a long absence,
MM:The Album cover is interesting can you give us some insight into it and will you be having it framed at home?
SH: The album cover is the creation of Mattias Noren who worked with us on As Our Army Grows .. He’s an awesome artist and a great guy to work with. He got the imagery from the title and from listening to the album and nailed it.. There were a couple of details we asked for through the process but he nailed it.. The images within the booklet are awesome also .. It will certainly be going up on my wall.
MM:Plans tour and Festival wise?
SH: Until this week as i explained earlier i thought we had some more time lol but now need to get on it… obviously with such a gap in the albums, to many we’ll be like who? .. or didn’t they split up ? lol .. We’ll play some UK shows of course and we really want to get over to Europe again as that’s been way too long … festivals, maybe some small fests but we’ll see what interest is generated from the album i guess..
MM: You have been quiet for nine years ,so can you tell me how difficult is it going to be to stand out from your peers
SH: Naturally we’ll have a lot of work to do get our name back out there which is fine but we’re fortunate that we have many friends out there who have been waiting for this album and will probably be in shock now that we finally got our asses in gear .. ha ha.. We feel that we under promoted our last album Shape of Rage and didn’t play nearly enough shows , something we won’t let happen with this album .
MM: Which three Band would you love to go on tour with
SH: Hmm that’s a hard one… Sonata Arctica, Lacuna Coil and Evergrey but that’s from a selfish point of view as i could happily watch their sets every night. I didn’t go for the obvious Maiden etc.. There are some very cool underground UK bands out there that would be fun to play with also.
MM: can you remember the first time you ever played live and how it felt to have people watching u
SH: Wow now that is a question. I played guitar in the band then as we were a 4 piece so had to worry about playing guitar and singing so was much more challenged ha ha.. Though i get to put more into my vocals now as i can concentrate solely on them. We love playing in front of an audience .. .we’re quite a down to earth bunch but as soon as we get on stage. .. boom, we flick the switch and you then get INTENSE
MM: Growing up which Bands posters did you have on your bedroom wall
SH: Ha Ha .. different than the other guys i think lol … Motley Crue, Skid Row..,Telsa ,Maiden...lots of Metal fantasy stuff with hot women of course and i was a big Bruce Lee fan (still am) so had some pics up of Bruce kicking ass.
MM - Who do you think influenced the world of Metal / Rock more than any other person
SH: Wow, that’s a hard one to answer. Too many people for different reasons i think, i don’t think you can state one person lol
MM - What's the most important thing to the band right now?
SH: Just to get out there and have fun with this album … we love the recording side of band life but being up on stage is where it’s at for us.
MM - If one of your songs could appear on a soundtrack or any film or cult TV series, which one would you choose and why
SH: Aha.. easy one for me. ..if they were to shoot any more Prophecy films or a re make , i’d love to see Dark Season as it’s soundtrack that would be awesome..
MM: What's the most memorable concert you've been to (other than your own) and why?
SH : I’ve been to quite a few memorable shows tbh .. if i had to pick one Iced Earth at Wacken promoting Something Wicked.,. I was in the front row and they were on fire … Matt’s vocals were amazing and the crowd were loving it.. .you felt like you were part of something special that night. Iced Earth in their prime definitely.
MM: Which are your Two favourite albums of all time and what they have meant to you personally
SH: There is absolutely no chance i can pick out 2 albums lol .. i get fixated on albums so listen to them repeatedly for an age and then move on, though of course i return at some point.
MM: Can you tell us why we should buy “Songs of A Broken Future’
SH: Absolutely, this is an album with some thought provoking songs , great musicianship (note i’m not talking vox lol) , and great riffs that will make you bang your head.
MM: Four Words to describe Intense
SH: Metal, Energy, Darkness, Complexity
MM: Quick Fire Round
1.Festival or Small intimate gig
SH: Intimate gig
2.Vinyl or Digital
SH: Digital (gasps)
3.Beer or Tea
SH: Def Tea ;)
4.Download or Bloodstock
SH: Bloodstock everytime
5. Boris Johnson or Kermit the frog
SH: Kermit the Frog everytime
Any Final words:
Thanks for the interview Seb, and thanks for your continued support. Some will remember us and to many we are a new proposition, please check us out, you won’t be disappointed.
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