Lion Music artist Torben Enevoldsen has recently put together a pretty cool new band called Section A. He has surrounded himself with some very good talent and has really hit a home run as far as songwriting goes. After working as a solo artist, Enevoldsen wanted to grab the next level. I recently had a chance to chat with him about the band, the album, and a few other things. Hope you enjoy!
Heavy Metal Resource: Hi Torben! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Let's start off by looking at the band Section A. Talk a bit about how it was formed.
Torben Enevoldsen: Well, I initially got the idea for Section A in the beginning of 2001. I had done a couple of instrumental albums and needed a change of pace. I simply wanted to do a vocal album… The basic idea was to put together a band of musicians I admired and wanted to work with. First I contacted Andreas Lill, the drummer of Vanden Plas, and he was interested right away.
Then I needed a singer. As luck would have it, Andy Engberg had just parted ways with his band, Lions Share, and was immediately interested in joining Section A. The formation was complete in May 2001.
HMR: For those unaware, the caliber of musicians that are now Section A is quite impressive. So at this point is the band a permant or one time deal??
TE: Section A started out as a project, but as we got to know each other, we quickly decided to turn this project into an actual band!
HMR: Okay, that's good to hear! I really liked your work in the past. Your guitar style is very fun to listen to and I was glad to see it in the new album. Was it different working as more of a project/band this time around??
TE: The big difference is working with a singer really. Normally I do everything myself - melodies, arrangements etc. With Section A, Andy and I were working very closely with the melody lines. I composed and arranged all the music, but the melody lines were a collaboration between Andy and myself. I found that to be very refreshing actually…!
HMR: Well, I wanna say that the album is very cool! It really grabbed my attention right away. How has the album being recieved by the fans?
TE: The response so far has been incredible! We’re still in the early stages of the release, but so far it seems that people really like the album a lot!
HMR: From a marketing standpoint, tell the fans where they can get the album.
TE: Well, the album should be available the world over, but I’m aware that the distribution isn’t working perfectly everywhere unfortunately. The album is however also available through various online vendors, so I sincerely hope that those interested, will be able to obtain a copy without too much trouble… If you have any questions regarding distribution, please check out my labels web site : www.lionmusic.com
HMR: Something that might be cool is a rundown of each song on the album.
TE: Okay, hear are some quick thoughts on each song:
The Seventh Sign – I pretty much completely wrote this song on the keyboard. When the song was completed and Andy had done the vocal parts, I felt that this song would be the perfect opening track. It has got a lot of power and energy to it and I think that Derek Sherinian’s soloing fits the bill perfectly… I don’t really know what inspires me to write these songs however. The music just seems to come out by itself…
Riot – I remember writing the intro riff of this song by mistake so to speak. I was working on a completely different thing and all of a sudden, this riff just came out of nowhere. The song was written in no time and just felt really good and Andy’s vocals truly takes it over the top!
Pray For Rain – This song was also written very fast. I had a good feeling about this song from the very beginning. Now it’s definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album…
Nightmare – This song was based on the intro riff and like with “The Seventh Sign”, I wanted some keyboard soloing in there as well. I am very happy with this song and I really like the outro chase between Derek Sherinian and myself…
Tomorrow – This song was build from the piano intro actually. I wanted to make an epic song with some prog influences. I really wanted to experiment with this one and I definitely like the outcome. I might add that I wanted a completely different ending at first, but after trying that out in the studio, I finally decided to ask Günter Werno of Vanden Plas to do an outro solo instead. I think he did an excellent job!
The Man In The Mirror – Yet another song that was written really quickly. I wasn’t entirely sure about having this song on the album, but now it’s one of my favourites…
Killing Fields – This was the second song I wrote for the album and actually the first song on which I got to hear Andy Engberg sing my material. I am very happy with this song and I am particularly pleased with the guitar solo parts on this one…
Into The Fire – This was the first song I wrote for the album. The intro keyboard/guitar riff was composed on the guitar and I simply built the song from there. Andreas Lill did a great job on the drums! I know it wasn’t an easy gig…
HMR: Thanks for that rundown. It's really cool to get on the inside or so to speak. Looking at you as a guitarist, who would you say are your influences. I really dig the sound you have in your playing.
TE: Thanks! I am heavily influenced by a lot of different guitar players: John Petrucci, Michael Romeo, Tony MacAlpine, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Steve Lukather to name but a few.
HMR: A lot of greats for sure! That group seems to influence quite a few. The touring season definitely is in full swing. What are your touring plans?
TE: We have no immediate plans of touring unfortunately. I am currently in the middle of writing new material for the second Section A album and I hope for a spring release next year. After that, I sincerely hope that we will be able to do some touring…!
HMR: As much as we'd love to see you tour, a second Section A release would be a very cool trade-off. I was checking out the artwork on the album and found it very cool.. I understand that Thomas Ewerhard did it for you. What is the meaning behind the cover?
TE: I agree. I definitely think that Thomas did an outstanding job! There is no meaning as such to the artwork. The idea was simply to have the artwork match the music and I truly believe that we succeeded!
HMR: I totally agree! Hey, out of curiosity, what kind of music would we find in your cd player??
TE: I listen to a lot of different music, but right now I mainly listen to Symphony X : The odyssey, Frank Gambale : Coming to your senses and Shania Twain : Up!
HMR: Definite diversity going on. Being from Denmark, who do you know from that scene that fans might be interested in?
TE: Well, I know bands like Royal Hunt, Prime Time, Pretty Maids etc.
HMR: Great bands for sure. Well, in finishing up, do oyu have any parting thoughts for the fans?
TE: I hope that everyone who reads this will go out and buy “The Seventh Sign” and I sure hope to see you on tour some time soon!
As I mentioned earlier, I am working on the second album right now and hoping for a spring release next year. Apart from that, I really would like to take this band out on the road, so hopefully a tour in the near future…!
HMR: Well, once again, I do appreciate your time. The album is defintiely worthy of any metal fans collection and I really do mean that. Good luck and let's chat again sometime!
TE: Thanks Dave!
More Info: Lion Music Artist Webpage
Seventh Sign Available Now!
