Michal Roháč & Daniel Roháč
DRAGONY
The Austrian band Dragony recently released a new album. Currently, the band is going through its experimental period, because they entered a territory where the album already has its story and chose a theme very close to them, and that is the time of the Habsburg emperors. Since history is something that many people are interested in, I prepared my questions, which were answered by the singer Siegfried Samer about the album, the band, but also at the present time.
Last year was different than years before. So how did you spend it besides composing a new album?
Since I work in online music licensing, I actually had more work to do this year than usual, as so many things were now happening online, like live streaming concerts! Also, I started doing a postgraduate program at university, so I’ve been very busy in general!
He chose the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as the theme of the new album. What fascinated or fascinated you about this story?
The time of the Habsburg emperors, especially the time of the dual monarchy under Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, is still very popular here in Austria, and especially in Vienna. So we thought it could be an interesting thing to look at these times in an “alternative” fashion, and portray it in the typical Dragony, over-the-top way!
He chose the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as the theme of the new album. What fascinated or fascinated you about this story?
We have not decided yet! It’s possible that we might make another concept album like this, but if we did the same thing for the next album but with focus on another era or monarchy, it would just look like a rehash I think. But never say never…
It's shortly after it's released, and you're sure to keep an eye on its reviews and sales. How satisfied are you with the album and what are the reactions from fans and music critics?
We are very happy with the feedback, a lot of reviews are calling it our best album so far! So that’s always great to hear. We were amused particularly by the reactions to the last single we released, “Legends Never Die”, which is a very simple and straightforward, almost pop-like song that will be great for live shows… and of course the die-hard “true” metal heads hated it and roasted us on social media immediately, haha! But it was funny to see them triggered so easily… I am sure the song will be a great addition to our live set, and people will love it at the shows!
With the new album, you also changed the label. Were you looking for a publisher, or did the publisher offer you an offer?
After 3 albums and one EP our deal with our previous label Limb music came to an end, and we were looking for a new label to take the next step in our career. Fortunately, we have some connection to Napalm Records as I used to sing for Visions of Atlantis where Napalm CEO Thomas Caser is drumming, and our bass player Herb is also still playing for Visions. So they were interested in the album, and in the end, it was an easy choice among the offers we had – after all, Napalm Records is one of the top metal labels in the world today.
In recent years, many famous bands have been moving to Napalm Records. Do you think it's because it's currently the best label for rock and metal music?
It is definitely one of the top three labels in the world for me when it comes to rock and metal music! They indeed signed a lot great acts like Alter Bridge, Hammerfall, Powerwolf and many others… We are very happy to be part of the Napalm family now!
Last year was marked by the decline of concerts and festivals. To what extent has the crown thwarted your plans?
It affected us a little bit as well, as we were supposed to go on a short tour with Twilight Force back in April, which of course couldn’t happen. But now it’s a bit more unfortunate, as we have the new album out but no possibility to go on a tour right now… so that’s a bit of a bummer. But we hope that things will go back to normal soon and that we can get back to the stages around the world and present our new album “ViribusUnitis” everywhere!
Let's hope that this year the situation will be better. You definitely want to go on tour with a new album. Do you already have any dates, or will you join a bigger band?
For this year, it doesn‘t look like we will be able to tour as most of the tours were already full as they have been rescheduled from 2020… but I think in 2022 we will be back for sure!And hopefully we will also be able to play some summer festivals already in 2021, we have several confirmed there.
A musician is no longer a job that he will make a living (except for a few bands) and many musicians still have their jobs or business. Tell us what you do in civilian life?
Yeah, we all have our normal „day jobs”. I work in law/music licensing, two of our band members are working in IT, one at a hospital, one is still studying and our drummer has just obtained his PhD in physics!
Thank you for for interview. Do you have anything else you would like to pass on to the fans?
We hope that the people enjoy “ViribusUnitis” and have a lot of fun with our “alternative” take on Austrian history! And we hope to see you all live again very soon!
