The call came through at half past two in the afternoon Moscow time (half eleven in England). Vadim's first question was about Moscow's weather — I honestly told him that winter had arrived late but decisively, and it wasn't particularly warm. A further half-minute was spent on clarifications; the musician briefly mentioned his command of the russian language.
I came to London ten years ago — russian has been slowly getting worse (laughs), since I have virtually no russian-speaking friends here. (For the record, Vadim did himself a disservice: I had no trouble understanding him throughout the entire interview.)
The past year was absolutely crazy in terms of intensity — you played over 150 shows, I counted specially. What can you say about the year overall, the tours, how did they go?
The year was genuinely very rich for DRAGONFORCE. We completed two world tours — the US, Japan, lots of European shows including headline slots. We met many fans, and had quite a bit to drink along the way. The upcoming concerts in russia are very exciting for us. I've never been to Moscow and have long wanted to visit. It's a great opportunity for the whole band to get acquainted with your country and culture. We're preparing now — buying warm clothes. We're very much looking forward to these russian shows; it'll be our first time, and we want to meet the fans.
Half the band's 2006 shows were in the USA. In your view, where does this extraordinary popularity come from for a band playing power metal in America?
Honestly, our music was in demand there almost from the start. Even our demo attracted interest. We waited for the right moment to get out there and do a proper tour — America is a big country. The opportunity came after recording an album; we'd just changed label before that, and ended up doing a whole run of US shows. As for the American popularity — I genuinely don't know. That style is actually more popular in Europe. Though I wouldn't say we play pure power metal — there are a lot of elements from other genres, including black and death metal, blast beats, extreme backing vocals. Lots of layers. At our shows you get fans of very different genres, including punk rock. Everyone finds something they like: some come for the melodies, some for the guitars, some for the keyboards — yes, actually, the keyboards are the main instrument, never mind the guitars (laughs).
What's the largest audience you've ever played to?
I'd say Download Festival at Donington. 75,000 people. Interestingly, big festivals and big stages are actually easier to play than small venues sometimes.
You've mentioned in various interviews that when you joined DRAGONFORCE you wanted to play guitar. Do you still play it, and are you planning to in the future?
Yes, I used to have an electric guitar, but since the constant touring began I have absolutely no time for it. Besides, I'm more interested in keyboards right now — I want to develop them, make people more interested in the instrument. To show that it's no worse than a guitar. A lot of people have this stereotype that keyboards aren't cool, which is why most people learn guitar instead. The keyboard is an interesting instrument live too — I play with a portable MIDI keyboard, for instance.
I was just about to ask about that. Will we see you with it at the Moscow show? Is it a Roland?
Yes, it's a Roland AX7 — I repainted it. I spent a long time thinking what to cover it with, and someone suggested nail varnish, because it adheres best. So I painted it red. During the show there are a few songs where I come to the front with it, but obviously not for the whole set.
Can you name a keyboardist who has significantly influenced you? And what music do you listen to yourself?
I honestly don't know — I try to play in my own style, not imitate anyone, because it gets boring when lots of musicians play in the same manner. You know, right now it's fashionable to angle the keyboard as much toward the audience as possible — the STRATOVARIUS keyboardist did it first, and everyone started copying him. Why — I have no idea. In general I listen to very different music: power metal, a lot of progressive bands, some pop groups, fusion, electronic music — I like many things, but I don't borrow sounds or musical effects from them in my own playing.
Which songs on the last album are yours?
On "Inhuman Rampage" — "Storming The Burning Fields," "Body Breakdown," the ballad at the end of the album "Trail Of Broken Hearts," and the Japan-exclusive bonus track. So four songs in total. In general I try to write as much as possible, including parts for other instruments — I show the others what I want to hear in a piece on the keyboards.
Vadim, do you write only music, or lyrics too?
I write both music and lyrics.
When do you plan to start recording a new studio album, given your touring schedule?
I genuinely don't know — we already have a lot of ideas, sketches and plans. I think toward the end of the year, closer to winter. The ideas are already there and we could start recording, but it's absolutely impossible to do it on tour: constant shows, then everyone drinks, then there are beautiful girls — not much recording getting done. (laughs)
What are your expectations for the Moscow and St. Petersburg shows?
I really don't know. To be honest, I'm not sure how popular this kind of music is in russia, but we constantly get emails from fans. At our shows we always see plenty of punks alongside metalheads — I don't know what they find in our music — and a lot of emo fans. You know the ones I mean?
Yes, of course. (I laugh — at this point Moscow has barely a soul left who hasn't seen those curious black-and-pink creatures with fringes down to their noses.)
Well, they show up, and many other people too — some who seemingly listen to nothing but trance, yet still come to our shows. As for expectations — I honestly don't know. I've already told the guys that russia has the most beautiful girls (collective laughter). Their expectations are entertaining in their own right: one is wondering if the mafia will show up and grab us all, another is worried about freezing — but I'm sure everything will be fine.
Vadim, if you don't mind me asking — what city in Ukraine are you from, and do you speak Ukrainian?
I'm from Chernihiv. Ukrainian has faded more than russian. I've been in London for ten years — at first I thought it was impossible to forget languages, but then I started to feel it getting harder to speak. (The only problem during the interview was a poor connection; otherwise I understood Vadim perfectly.) But I speak russian very little now. Almost all my communication is in English.
Do you know anything about the russian or Ukrainian metal scene?
The first thing that comes to mind is ARIA and KRUIZ. I have a few albums — my father listened to them. We do get a cable channel here and I sometimes see videos by russian rock bands. By the way, in England people generally listen to bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, various hardcore bands — us too, of course. What I genuinely can't figure out is why punks like us.
Are you planning to record a live album or DVD in the near future?
Of course, we've been thinking about it — but we feel that we still don't have quite enough studio material to justify it. We're still a relatively young band, even if we've been around for seven or eight years, and we only have three albums. Possibly after the next album we'll record a DVD — there'll definitely be live footage, and maybe we'll make a documentary-style piece with a selection of other material as well.
What was behind former bassist Adrian Lambert leaving right before the album came out, and why wasn't he included in the lineup?
Adrian had a baby around that time and simply didn't have the bandwidth for the band — he couldn't go on tour. So we decided not to include him in the lineup, since it should reflect the current members; otherwise fans would see someone listed in the booklet who wasn't on tour and be disappointed. But our current bassist Fred plays brilliantly. He was actually a guitarist before — and now he's our bassist.
Did you feel absolutely exhausted after the past year?
We were tired on tour, of course — but there's also the inverse effect. I've got so used to having a show every evening that I often feel unnatural when I rest for, say, a week. Right now we've had almost two months off and we're already really looking forward to the new shows — and the first ones will be with you, in russia.
If you don't mind — for such an international band, what's your poison of choice?
Oh, everything gets drunk (collective laughter). ZP (vocalist) likes sake, for instance. Part of the band drank beer every single day without exception for the entire tour. How they managed it I simply don't understand.
We then had a brief conversation about the russian language and some of its more colourful folk expressions — let's call them esoteric — after which I thanked Vadim for an almost 40-minute call and we said our goodbyes.