Sveitserne i Distant Past er aktuelle med skive.

Distant Past@www

Jeg fikk bandet i tale, og vi tar for oss skiva og litt rundt bandet. Bassist og vokalist, og originalmedlem, Adriano Troiano, henger med.

Welcome to Norway, welcome to Heavymetal.no, life’s good?

«Everything fine, thank you. A new album release is always a busy time and we have the first vinyl release of Distant Past and it’s very exciting!»

You guys have a new album out, your fifth if I’m not mistaken? What can people expect if they decide to taste it?

«Yes, it’s the fifth but only the second with this new line up and since being a live Band. As we have released the last album The Final Stage to a lot of acclaim, we did not change an awful lot overall, we kept the style and groove from that album and created some new tunes in the same vein. So it’s classic NWOBHM Metal with high soaring vocals, innovative drumming, pumping Bass and fantastic guitar work to support the varied songs on many interesting topics.»

And it is over twenty years since the band kickstarted, what is the biggest difference between the early stuff and the last one? Music wise?

«Yes, I started my own little studio project 20 years ago, but with the new line up an since +/- 2019 we are a “regular” band. The earlier albums were more experimental and had more prog influences. They were also very much in the vein of the people in the band at the time. With the new line-up there are other dynamics, more of a reduce to the max approach, that seems to expand our audience.»

Switzerland, not a country with loads of bands with international success, but there are a few. What local/national bands inspired you guys back when it all started?

«None, really. When we first stared in Emerald in 1995 (me and Jvo were Members), there was no traditional metal around.  That changed when Hammerfall came along in 1997. I was in that band for a long time and were still friends, but at one point I wanted to explore my own stuff. But without the experience in Emerald, I wouldn’t had the knowledge and experience to try the same thing with Distant Past.»

Cover – artwork – concept

I love the cover on the album, ‘Solaris’. What’s the story behind the picture? How is it connected to the title?

«Yes, the visual concept and the song Fugitive of Tomorrow is based on Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 novel Solaris. It’s the 1972 film of the same name that inspired me. It’s a tale of the discovery of a strange new planet, that wants to communicate and let’s people of your past come to life on the space station. So, the deceased wife of the protagonist shows up, not knowing why she is here. He gets rid of her, only for her to show up again the next morning.

Somehow Solaris plays let our deepest and darkest memories come to life. The story is very fascinating, and my short rundown doesn’t do it justice. If someone is moved to watch the movie or read the novel, I’ve accomplished something.

Also, the designer of the cover, Tomasz Moranski, is from Poland, as the author of Solaris, so he had to read the book in school. So, he was into it from the start. The album booklet then tells more about the story.»

Feedback

How has the feedback been on the new album? Is it easy to get interviews etc? There are soooo many bands now, I feel a lot of good ones drowns in the insane amount.

«The feedback has been great. Everyone seems to enjoy the new album and even mention it’s flow. There is a lot of work going into the production of an album, so it’s nice for someone to mention it. Fortunately, we’ve been around for a while, so I know many people. The secret is longevity. There are many bands and releases, it’s never been easier to put out a song. But I don’t worry about it and just enjoy what I’m doing, believing in the album format and the continuity of our musical journey.»

Les anmeldelse av skiva HER.

Traditional

You are making a point of being traditional when making music, recording music. What is it about the new stuff you don’t like?

«We are stuck in the distant past, also music wise. We’ll I grew up with this sound, it has a soul and a morale, it’s full of life and imperfections. New stuff, for me is like a unholy creation, to sound perfect and not made to last, just to survive the next trend. But everyone shall enjoy what they like, knowing that they will all come back to classic rock, sometime in their life.

Yes, we are making a point to play old school metal, but our production is always state-of-the-art, I think the bands in the past always used the newest technology to breathe life into their songs. Although, I understand that some bands use vintage instruments and recordings techniques, but we don’t go that far.»

I’m an oldschool metalhead myself, growing up with Nwobhm and classic stuff. So I get your point in being traditional. But are there any new bands, styles, not only metal, you like?

«I am so old school, apart from new albums of established acts, I rarely listen to anything post 90’s. Knowing I bite in my own flesh, as I would not discover my own band this way. But that’s just me. I like a lot of 70’s psychedelic stuff and classic Thrash Metal, I listen to everything in this range. But I also work as a DJ occasionally, so put on danceable music, but these songs are also from the past. No new stuff, it hasn’t passed the test of time, I guess.»

You guys were on Pure Steel earlier, and I guess the label is a bit in hiatus still? You were one of the bands they let go when they had to pause?

«No, I didn’t know about that. The guy that supported us at the label left, so for the next record, we were free to look for other opportunities. That’s all.»

And the new label? Was it easy to find a new one? And how is being on a new label? Better? What’s better if so?

«The new label’s great. Very passionate people and they offer great support on so many levels.

Well it’s never easy to find a label nowadays, but we were lucky to find Art Gates, they have a variety of metal styles and we are their old washed up NWOBHM-Style Metal Dads band, hahah. Most music on the label I cannot get into. But I’m sure they’re great in the genre. I think we benefit from these circumstances.»

Lineup

Lineup, there have been some changes through the years, why? And what is the strength of the 2025 crew?

«As I said, we were a project, so naturally there are changes, as the people were merely guests on the album. Only as we started to play live from 2016 onwards, the initial line-up was only there for a few shows, then we found a stable line up, the same that did The Final Stage did Solaris – very proud of that. But as life goes on, there are line up changes on the horizon. I have been doing this for over 20 years, so it’s a normal occurrence.»

So, we got to know Distant Past, hopefully people will check out the music and support you guys. Any final words? Hate, love, people important to the band not given to much attention, merch, links…:

«Yes, please do check out our new album and get suck into the mystic of Solaris. The music is available everywhere, even on vinyl on our shop.

Thank you Yngve for your generous support! You rock.»