Chad Bowar: Why was this the right time to do a solo album?
Ralf Scheepers: Because all the songs were recorded and mixed (laughs). We had all the time we needed to complete the album and we had no rush at all from the record company. I think it was worth waiting for.
Had you been working on it for a while, or did you do the songwriting and recording in a short amount of time?
The songwriting started many years ago at a time I never thought about releasing a solo album. But over the years with better recording systems, I have recorded those ideas in a much better quality (microphone, compressor, etc...) so it became more and more clear that this could become a record. All in all it was a process of many years. So we have to separate the writing phase from the recording phase. The writing phase took about 10 years, as I had ideas on that album which are very old already. The recording phase was done within about 2 years.
How does the sound of Scheepers differ from Primal Fear and other stuff you've done?
I would say I have a bit of more variety on this solo album. Songs like “Doomsday,” “The Pain Of The Accused” or “Compassion” would never make it on a Primal Fear album. There’s also a much more personal message in the lyrics.
How did you go about putting together the backing band?
I have got to know many great musicians throughout my career. Rhat’s a cool thing. All of my guests have something to do with my past, starting with Snowy Shaw who I met when I sang for the Therion album 20 years ago. Then of course Kai, my fellow musician and friend from the Gamma Ray times. Mat, who plays bass, also produced this album together with me. Those guys I trust personally. I also trust them musically, of course, and you can really say we became a great team.
The same with Magnus Karlsson and Alex Beyrodt. Mike Chlasciak from the Halford band played a solo for one of our Primal Fear albums many years ago and we also got to be metal brothers and good friends. Sander Gommans was visiting us at a Primal Fear show once in Holland and we got in touch with each other. Mat started a musical connection with him and he suggested him to work on my album. He has delivered two fantastic tracks for this album.
Primal Fear and Rage toure together once, that’s how we got to know Victor Smolski. I have always worshipped his guitar playing ! We call him the doctor of guitar playing. I met Tim Owens at a festival in Spain several years ago. We had a great chat about different things in music and also of singing and Judas Priest of course. We stayed in touch and became good buddies in the end. He was very postive about the idea of singing a duet with me, so we did it. Not in the same studio, but still it worked amazing ! We might do something together again in the future.
How was it working with your old bandmate Kai Hansen?
Actually Kai and I sorted things out many years ago, right after our separation.You can really say that we became buddies, although we don't live in the same area. It’s always great when Gamma Ray are close to my town or when I am close to their homes. We often meet and have a beer or two.
The working was pretty much stripped down to swapping files and not seeing each other, but it wouldn’t have been possible to meet in one studio for one solo. Nowadays everyone has good recording systems and email accounts. That’s the way you do those things nowadays for such projects. Everything else would be too expensive.
Looking back, were you better off not being Halford's replacement in Priest?
I didn’t care about it after the decision had been made back then. I went on to follow my own career with Primal Fear. The most important thing is and was, that everybody is lucky the way it is.
What has the early response to the album been like?
Amazing! I never thought that the response will be so positive. I’m really happy about that. When you are working on an album for such a long time, you really can’t judge it anymore in the end because you know all the songs inside out.
Are there any plans to do live shows or a tour to support the solo album?
So far we have not talked about touring for my solo album or doing a single one off show for it. We are very busy guys and everyone is also involved in different projects and bands. Most important will be the work with preparing our next Primal Fear studio album. I also think we should wait for the reaction of the market before discussing this issue. Primal Fear was and will always be my top priority.
What's the status of the next Primal Fear album?
We are in the writing process at the moment. We will head to South America at the end of February, and then we will focus again on the songwriting. The album will be recorded throughout this summer.
What was the response to last year's Live In The USA DVD release?
The fans were responding in the guestbook of our homepage and also on MySpace and Facebook that they loved the DVD. Also the reviews were pretty good, and I can really say that we captured the energy and the fun we have on stage pretty well on this DVD.
How did you get started in music?
I was about 15 and still in school at that time when I started to sing in a band with some other guys who were also interested in music. It was a typical kind of school band. We played covers like “Sweet Home Alabama” from Lynyrd Skynyrd and “Smoke On The Water” from Deep Purple. That’s how I got infected!
As you get older, do you have to take more measures to preserve your voice, or is your vocal routine the same as it has always been?
Actually, I warm up longer and better than I did 20 years ago. As I’m a vocal teacher and coach, I am also more aware of what I have to do on my own to make me more comfortable. I am actually thinking about it more than I did many years ago. That helps me a lot to get a right mindset to preserve my vocal cords.
What are some of your hobbies/interests outside of music?
Sports (fitness), German soccer league, Formula One, astronomy.
What is currently in heavy rotation in your MP3/CD player?
The new Ozzy Osbourne album Scream and the Disturbed album Asylum.
Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?
As I have read in so many MySpace and Facebook comments and in the first reviews, the fans of our/my music really look forward to hear my album. I am very happy that the album will hit the market soon, and I am equally happy that the result of the album is absolute fabulous! I want to take the opportunity to thank the people out there for being true and for their support.
Let me also thank all those guys who took part in this album: Mat Sinner, Snowy Shaw, Magnus Karlsson, Sander Gommans, Alex Beyrodt, Tim Ripper Owens, Mike Chlasciak, Kai Hansen, Victor Smolski and last but not least, one of our former band member Stefan Leibing who composed two song with Mat and me for this album. Also a big thank you to Achim Koehler for making it sound so killer.
