Ahead of their very first performances in Australia, Metal Wani’s Jake Patton was lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk to the enigmatic voice behind Europe – Mr Joey Tempest – to discuss the upcoming tour, their latest album “Walk The Earth”, and how the band has continued to achieve further success following their twelve year hiatus.
On talking about the bands first appearance in Australia, Tempest recalls a prior missed tour opportunity stating “We can’t seem to remember the exact details but it was a management decision to tour elsewhere at the same time. There was something booked, and something planned for Australia and we were really disappointed back then and since then we have been trying to make it back”.
It’s that desire to tour Australia that Tempest talks fondly about, noting that the band is finally happy to be making the trip down under. When asked whether or not the band thought they might never make it down to Australia, Tempest defiantly states that the band had always committed to touring Australia ‘one day’, that the band had always maintained a positive outlook on making an Australian tour happen, and that this Australian tour will be the highlight of the year for the band.
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Leading on to discussions about the recording process for the band’s latest album Walk The Earth, Tempest shares his excitement about the relationship between the band and producer David Cobb, and how recording in the famous Abbey Road Studios over a two week period helped shape the bands latest album.
When asked about lyrical themes Tempest spoke of his desire to know more about origins of modern democracy, and how his research into that subject naturally weaved itself into the lyrical themes on Walk The Earth. Tempest remarks “It was very important for me to have an angle lyrically and it’s great to have a place to start, so yeah I was wondering a lot about democracy because it was pulling different directions and some of the lyrics really reflected that, like Election Day”.
The conversation finishes by discussing the challenges faced by the band during their reformation in 2004 following a twelve year hiatus, and how the band has continued to push from strength to strength in a musical landscape that has obviously changed quite a bit since the bands very early days of success.