Elixir Interview - The Median Man

The Median Man spoke with Phil from Elixir about the band’s history and the new album.

The Median Man spoke with Phil from Elixir about the band’s history and the new album.

MUTUAL LOVE OF ROCK

What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?

We were kids with a mutual love of Rock music and thought that it would be great to form our own band. We were influenced by the classic bands that had been our heroes – Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Michael Schenker, Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest. We were also influenced and inspired by a couple of the more Progressive Rock bands that were starting up just at the time that we were, Mercyful Fate and Queensryche.

How do you approach songwriting, and how has this approach evolved since ‘The Son of Odin’?

We don’t approach songwriting in one set way. Most times a song starts with a guitar riff and a lyric that fits to it and we expand on it from there. Other times we have a lyric idea or vocal melody in our head and figure out the music from that. Songs are like gifts, they sometimes just appear out of nowhere! Back in ‘The Son Of Odin’ days, we were mostly writing together in the rehearsal room. These days, we all live far apart, so that is not possible. Out of necessity, I started 9 out of the 10 songs on the new album, here at home and the others added their own input during the recording process.

SON OF ODIN

How do you approach songwriting, and how has this approach evolved since ‘The Son of Odin’?

We don’t approach songwriting in one set way. Most times a song starts with a guitar riff and a lyric that fits to it and we expand on it from there. Other times we have a lyric idea or vocal melody in our head and figure out the music from that. Songs are like gifts, they sometimes just appear out of nowhere! Back in ‘The Son Of Odin’ days, we were mostly writing together in the rehearsal room. These days, we all live far apart, so that is not possible. Out of necessity, I started 9 out of the 10 songs on the new album, here at home and the others added their own input during the recording process.

DEAD MAN’S GOLD

Were there any themes that you explored on Voyage of the Eagle, and if so why?

Yes, which is how this came to be an Elixir album. Elixir had been inactive since 2012, but when I was working on a few song ideas at home I started looking for lyrical subject matter. I thought back to a track we have on ‘The Son Of Odin’ album called ‘Dead Man’s Gold’ which was a pirate story. I thought it would be good to expand that story and make it into a pirate adventure across an entire album. As it was based on an Elixir song, I thought that this should be an Elixir album, so I asked all the guys whether they would like to make another record. They all said yes, except for Kev (bass), and so we got Luke Fabian in to record the bass.

Has the music industry changed a lot since you released All Hallow’s Eve? If so how do the changes compare to when the band started?

I don’t think that the music industry has changed that much since ‘All Hallow’s Eve’ in 2010, but it has changed a lot since when we started out in 1983. The live circuit has virtually disappeared in the UK. All the regular, great, venues in London, such as The Marquee, The Ruskin Arms and The Royal Standard have all closed down now. These places used to have great live bands on every weekend in the 80’s. This is the same through all UK cities, and it is a struggle to find a thriving Rock Club where you can put on your own show. By the time we released ‘All Hallow’s Eve’ we were playing festival bills mainly in Europe with similar bands. This is commercially viable, as you get big audiences come to these events to catch multiple bands that they love.

THE ROYAL STANDARD

Has the music industry changed a lot since you released All Hallow’s Eve? If so how do the changes compare to when the band started?

I don’t think that the music industry has changed that much since ‘All Hallow’s Eve’ in 2010, but it has changed a lot since when we started out in 1983. The live circuit has virtually disappeared in the UK. All the regular, great, venues in London, such as The Marquee, The Ruskin Arms and The Royal Standard have all closed down now. These places used to have great live bands on every weekend in the 80’s. This is the same through all UK cities, and it is a struggle to find a thriving Rock Club where you can put on your own show. By the time we released ‘All Hallow’s Eve’ we were playing festival bills mainly in Europe with similar bands. This is commercially viable, as you get big audiences come to these events to catch multiple bands that they love.

WHAT WORKS

KEEP IT TRUE

What plans do you have for the future?

The immediate plan was just to get the band back together and make another record. I am delighted with how it has turned out and think we have something special on our hands. We have just signed to Dissonance Productions, who have done a fantastic job with the package of the CD with 24 page, colour lyric booklet, and vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve. They will be re-releasing our back catalogue in a CD box set, and on individual vinyl LPs in the near future. Hopefully, the new album and re-releases will help spark renewed interest in Elixir, and we will get invitations to play some great European festivals again. We have already been invited to play at Keep It True in Germany, and Into Battle Festival in Greece, plus next year’s Bro Fest in the UK, and that is before the album has been released, so the future looks positive.