Jorn Lande responde a las críticas de que su disco tributo a Ronnie James Dio se lanzase justo en este momento para aprovecharse del reciente fallecimiento del cantante.
"Es un asunto muy delicado. Cuando Ronnie murió tan de repente, se decidió que sería peor retrasar el lanzamiento del álbum en unos meses, en vez de continuar con él según lo previsto. Al lanzar el álbum como estaba previsto, sería obvio que no se hizo para sacar provecho de la situación, ya que no es posible hacer un álbum de buena calidad en un período tan corto de tiempo.
"Algunas partes del álbum fueron grabadas el año pasado, y algunas de las canciones en octubre / noviembre de 2008. "Song For Ronnie James" (que abre el disco) fue escrita en 2009 y grabada este invierno. También hay un par de temas que se hicieron en 2006/2007. "
Lande también reveló cómo escogió las canciones que forman el álbum.
"Tomé la mayoría de canciones basándome en lo que me gustaba, y no sobre la base de cuáles fueron las más populares. También pensé que era demasiado obvio grabar las versiones de canciones como "The Last In Line", "Holy Diver" y "Rainbow In The Dar", además del hecho de que las versiones originales de estas canciones suenan tan bien que creía que no podía hacerse nada mejor...
Jorn Lande has reacted to criticism that his Ronnie James Dio tribute album has only been released now to cash in on the great singer’s recent death.
Talking exclusively to Classic Rock about the album (titled Dio), the Norwegian singer has said of these comments:
“It is a very sensitive matter. When Ronnie passed away so suddenly, It was decided that it would be worse to delay the release of the album by a few months rather than proceeding with the release as planned. By releasing the album as planned, it would be obvious that we didn’t run into the studio to benefit from the situation, since it’s not possible to make a good quality album in such a short period of time.
“Parts of the album were recorded last year, and some of the songs were recorded in October/November 2008. Song For Ronnie James (which opens the record) was written in 2009 and recorded this winter. There are also a couple of tracks that were done in 2006/2007.”
Lande also revealed how he chose those songs he’s covered on the album.
“I picked most songs based on what I liked, and not based on which ones were the most popular ones. I also thought that the original versions of songs like The Last In Line, Holy Diver and Rainbow In The Dark were too obvious to record, plus the fact that the original versions of these songs sound so good that I believed theycan’t be done any better.
“I always favoured the darker and heavier side of Ronnie’s work, plus the more uptempo classic hard rock/metal songs. Shame On The Night is an epic dark masterpiece that many people have forgotten, and Push is a great song to remind us of the later Dio era. Stand Up And Shout is a personal favourite and the ultimate metal song.”
Lande will be one of two singers – the other being Glenn Hughes – who’ll be performing with Heaven & Hell at High Voltage, when they do a special, one-off tribute set to Dio. They’ll be on the main stage on July 24. For Lande it’s a chance to pay homage to one of his heroes.
“I discovered Ronnie James Dio when he was in Rainbow in the mid-70s, and I played songs like Gates Of Babylon, Stargazer, Sixteenth Century Greensleeves, Man On The Silver Mountain, Starstruck or Lady Of The Lake over and over again.
“It was the power, feeling and drama in Ronnie’s performance that captured my attention. The impact he had on me when I was just a young boy was huge, and his royal roar made the hairs rise on the back of my neck.”
Find out more about Heaven & Hell’s special set at High Voltage at
http://www.highvoltagefestival.co.uk