Metal Rules!! Interview With
Ken Jacobsen of Unleashed Power
Reviewed / Interviewed August 13, 1997 by EvilG
Unleashed Power are an aggressive power metal band based out of New
York. U.P. are not at all new to the metal scene. Below is a summary of
their background from their bio.
Unleashed Power, now U.P., had it's origin way back in the mid-eighties
where the Danish band, Avalon, recorded an LP called "Unleashed
Power", produced by Metallica renowned producer, Flemming Rasmussen.
Guitarist, Ken Jacobsen and vocalist, John Mathias were the corner stones
of that band. Avalon dissolved with the forming of Unleashed Power in 1989
when Ken Jacobsen and Ed Owen (Drums) joined together. The band now had
it's foundation in New York and was on it's way to record the first demo
"Blindfolded" in 1991, followed by the critically acclaimed demo
"Quintet of Spheres" in 1992. Members changed when singer, Joe
Karavis, decided to part ways due to musical differences after the demo
recordings in 1992. However, the decision to proceed with the full length
album "Quintet of Spheres" had already been made, so John
Mathias received the call to fill the vocalist position anew. The now
transatlantic lineup had a massively impressive response to their 1993/94
debut album "Quintet of Spheres". After a string of shows in the
northeast of the United States, tragedy struck in the summer of 1994 with
the untimely death of bassist, John Lievano. Ed Owen's disillusionment
with the destitute prospect of finding a replacement and recording another
album sans label, culminated with his departure. Enter Jörg Michael,
renowned German drummer, whose credentials include: Mekong Delta,
Stratovarious and Rage. Bassist, Tony Spagone joined for the album to fill
the vacant position and last, but definitely not least, vocalist, Brian T.
Chaffee received the call, as he and U.P. exchanged demos awhile ago. John
Mathias had left the band in 1995 feeling unable to do justice to the new
direction the group had undertaken, which requires a heavier approach.
U.P.'s new CD 'Mindfailure' is a power metal fan's dream come true. Not
many bands write this style of music any longer, and few of those that do
(besides Nevermore) can play it with as much finesse. Most songs clock in
at well over the five minute mark. However, on most of the songs you don't
notice that the song is long or dragged out. The intricate song structures
make for an enjoyable listen. Some of the riffs in different songs do
sound similar to one another but I guess when the entire CD is written and
produced by one person (Ken Jacobsen) this can happen.
The strengths of this band lie heavily in the lead guitars and to a
lesser degree the vocals. Lead guitarist Ken Jacobsen has definitely been
influenced the flashy technically orientated playing school. Such
shredders as Yngwie Malmsteen and Eddie Van Halen come to mind during some
of the the lead sections. When asked what he thinks of being mentioned in
the same breath as players of this caliber Ken says its a "Very
flattering comparison, indeed. I don't think I represent the same school
as the above mentioned guys. My style is more rhythmical (right hand) and
considerably heavier as well. My main influences are Thin Lizzy, Judas
Priest, Rush, old Ozzy etc. We all grew up with the NWOBHM and early 80's
stuff."
The entire CD has a very professional layout with full color band
pictures and lyrics. As you can see the album cover art for 'Mindfailure'
is phenomenal! "The artwork was done by my friend Frans Theis Jensen.
It represents the brain, personified with faces. Mindfailure is about
stress and Gateway [the first song on the CD] is about sins (greed,
jealousy & wrath). Those are the songs that's been emphasized on the
cover. It was also done on a computer which was a new method tried."
Last time I spoke to Ken (July 1997) he was in Europe promoting 'Mindfailure.'
"The Promo tour went alright. I went to Germany, Denmark and Holland.
The album is only out in Europe so that's the reason why we are doing
promo there. There was quite a good response in Europe on the 'Quintet of
Spheres' album and we wanted to target those people who gave us attention
then, first."
It is of no surprise that Europe has been more open to progressive
power metal with the likes of Helloween, Gamma Ray, Mercyful Fate, etc..
Why is there is a larger European craving for power metal? "I think
that you have a point, but there seems to be a major buzz in North America
for metal at the moment and I think that metal will be stabilized by that.
The scene in Europe is very crowded by tons of bands. Power metal is
gaining momentum in southern Europe and will go through a change in
Northern Europe. "
My favorite song on "Mindfailure" is the title track. I
really like the introduction with the intense drumming, comparable to
something Slayer could write (Check out the MP3 clip of this intro below).
Ken's favorite song on 'Mindfailure' is Gateway. "It represents a
quantum leap in song writing for me. Intensity is the key word here. I
also feel I've accomplished to make a 8 minute long song sound like a much
shorter song, it has a very high difficulty level and it was a great
challenge to get the lyrics to flow properly. It was something I had
planned out in my head as far as the arrangement is concerned, so all in
all it represents the pinnacle of riffing, melody etc."
The band's tour schedule for now will be concentrated mainly on Europe.
"It looks like we will play a festival in Belgium (Mindview) and some
shows in Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and we are waiting for some shows
in Germany. We hope to play the Powermad festival in Baltimore as well, in
November. We will fill in some more shows in the Northeastern part of the
States."
Don't expect to see any videos from U.P. yet. " We can't justify
the expense." However, Ken has been "...learning about
multimedia and there is a good chance that we'll put some kind of CD-ROM
together if we have the time." That could be quite interesting!
When asked about U.P.'s hopes to have a single picked up by mainstream
radio Ken had this to say. "I think that radio in the States has
serious merit, but is of secondary importance in Europe. We seem to get
good response from radio in the States on this album, but it's very early
and there has not been any real promotion done yet. We have special
versions of some of the songs for radio. Our hope is to have a label make
a radio CD that will be distributed to all the radiostations. But touring
and word of mouth is the most solid method."
So what then distinguishes U.P. from the other power metal acts?
"We don't use any triggering or sampling because it makes the drums
sound the same. When all is said and done, music is about expression, so
why spoil it by using synthetic methods. It takes a lot more work to do,
however. We try to have some positive messages and speak about trying to
better yourself by not getting over on other people, have faith and know
right from wrong. Last but not least, practice."
Recently Ken was in the studio to record drums for a few new songs
scheduled for European release this winter. The EP tracks are: A New Me,
Stasis, Calendar, Perpetrator of Dreams & .....at the Lowest Point.
U.P.'s future goals include: "#1. to get 'Mindfailure' released in
North America & South America. #2. To get the EP released in Europe
this winter after a tour in Europe. #3. I'm planning to go back into the
studio this winter to record another album that I hope will be out next
spring. #4. We will also try to get gigs going in the States."
Lastly on the title of this page, (Metal Rules!!) I asked Ken if he
agrees...his response? "It rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" In a time when
metal is to some a dirty word lets be glad for bands like U.P. who aren't
afraid to use it!
For more information on Unleashed Power and details on how you can pick
up your own copy of "Mindfailure" visit their webpage at www.unleashedpower.com
Reviewed / Interviewed August 13, 1997.
©1997 Metal Rules!!