Hello, and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share some information about our newest release, "Ravenlord"!!! I'm doing fine and feel so excited and proud of it!!! And let me tell you, the feedback from the audience as well as the press is amazing!!!

Yes, the last year has also been very busy, up until now we have produced lots of bands in the studio, and we have a very busy schedule for the next few months. Right now I'm organizing the next steps of promoting "Ravenlord", which includes touring mostly. Besides that, I have been working on DEVIL'S TRAIN, the new band I have formed with drummer Jörg Michael (STRATOVARIUS),bassist Jari Kainulainen (ex-STRATOVARIUS, ex-EVERGREY) and guitarist Laki Ragazas, we have the upcoming debut album to be released worldwide on February 17th, 2012, from Edel-Ear Music ...

We have definitely evolved since "Fireangel" and this is probably because in this album the songs were written by 3 people, me, Markus and Connie, instead of two in the previous album, 6 songs were written by me and Markus, and the other 5 by me and Connie. I believe that the new album has versatility and freshness, because more than two people worked on making it. A new, good musician, always adds something fresh in the band...

As you have probably noticed, this time it took us 2 years to make this album. It was reasonable that, after touring with STRATOVARIUS in early 2010, the band needed some time to write new songs. Besides that,"Fireangel" entered the German charts in 77th place, and in order to make a good album reach the top takessome rather serious effort. So, the only thing we focused on for the last two years was making some really good new songs, to satisfy our audience who warmly support us for the last ten years.

Yes, "Ravenlord" is actually a concept album, and if you have a look at the lyrics of the songsyou will have a better point of view. We have 11 song and each one represents a warrior, who takes place in the last battle. The Ravenlord is the above all and, of course, the only winner of the battle ... Death ... Each warrior has his own perspective of the battle, and they describe it in their own way, one fights for his faith, another is a mercenary and does it for the money, one other is a natural born killer and wants to quench his thirst for blood. If you look, even these days everything is still the same, for thousands of years war prevails for the same reasons as I mentioned above, nothing has changed and the only true winner in the end is Death. In the album, the Ravenlord takes the form of Death in the battlefield. There's no winner in war, there's only Death…

We consider ourselves as evolving musicians, and in order to maintain interest and keep our fans intrigued by our musical vision, we have to surpass our level every time we make an album, but also, everyone can see that MYSTIC PROPHECY has a very strong identity as a band. So, it is essential to alwaysgive a clear and strong message with every new album, this time we managed to give the massive soundwe know we can, and combine it with new, fresh ideas.

I believe that the most important thing in a song is the way it's arranged, how it's laid and the feeling it gives you, the song's message is very important to me. I've been the producer in all MYSTIC PROPHECY albums, so it's not something new to me, of course, when we make new songs, I know very well what I want in order to have the desired results at the end of the production. There's always a vision when I start working on something, and this vision has definitely improved over the years.

Yes indeed, we too loved the way it was made. One day Markus told me that he did "Miracle Man" in another tempo. I listened to it and liked it a lot,because he gave the song some more aggression and rhythm. I believe it's rather boring to make a song cover and not change anything. Of course, the original always sounds so great, but you just have to do something different in it, to make it interesting, in your own way and in this way, it might actually be a good ideato have an album with the songs we love the most ... who knows ... maybe with the next album ))

Of course it has, and even though, when Gus G left the band, many people said that it was the end of MYSTIC PROPHECY, we proved that the band's future did not depend on some musicians alone. It's always been very important for us to stay united. A band never depends on only one person, you have to work as a team, or else it's gonna be difficult to keep it together and through the yearsMYSTIC PROPHECYhas managed to get over all the hard times and member changes without losing their strength, integrity, and passion for making great music. Besides, if one observes the band's history they will see that the band has significantly improved its status after the first 3 albums, and in "Fireangel", the 6th album entered the German charts in 77th place and now "Ravenlord" seems to be doing even better.

We strongly believe that the best way to stay in touch with our audience, who we love so much, is to be out there and play as we always do, stronger and louder than ever.
So far we have confirmed shows for ProgPower USA, Noaf Festival Germany, Metal Fest Germany, Austria, and many more, and we have lots of invitations coming in, but first we have to check and confirm before we announce them. Just stay in touch with us and visit our Official Website, where you can see the band's activities.

Singing of course, singing on some great music, like the music we make with MYSTIC PROPHECY. You know, being a composer besides a singer, gives you a great chance to shape things the way you want in a song and as I said before, it's in the way it's arranged, how it's played and the feeling it gives you and once I have all these combined in the best way possible, then it's very easy for me to sing and give my very best in every song. After that, it seems pretty natural for me to be a producer, the vision is quite clear in my head.

Right now I'm working with a band from Austria, THE LAST WARNING, they move in the Modern Metal Core genre. Just four weeks ago I finished the second album for Greek Power Metallers CRYSTAL TEARS and in a few months we're
gonna be having Belgium's FIREFORCE in the studio for their second album. I am also mixing another Greek band called IVORY TOWER.

I believe that everybody who knows MYSTIC PROPHECYand watch the band's career they know that we always show our best in every new album, actually better every time. For us, quality in songwriting and sound is absolutely crucial, and there's not a chance that we let our fans down with any musical experiments. The new Mystic Prophecy album has got balls, power, melodies, fast and mid-tempo songs, anything a metal fan needs to be happy. Guys, stay healthy, and we hope to see you on tour in 2012.

Thank you so much one more time, it's been a pleasure talking with you, see you soon in our concerts!!!