Originally published in unknown Swedish newspaper · October 1997
John Myung interview
InterviewJohn Myung2 min read
Q: This autumn’s most anticipated metal album is FII. At least here in Sweden.
A: Yes, but in the US not many people cared before it was released, but that is changing now.
Q: Why three years between albums?
A: Three years...It seems we always need three years to make a new album. But the reasons are different this time. It was births, deaths in the families, and record company problems that made it take so long.
(Interviewer gives his praise about FII)
A: You don’t find it too radio friendly? We were kind of afraid you Europeans wouldn’t like it. I know Awake was a big hit in Sweden, but it flopped in the US which was a real setback for us. [Obviously they had to shorten their tour by a full 9 months because of this.] But the worst thing was that we didn’t know why things went wrong. But now we’ve realized that the problem was melodies. There were too few melodies and too much heaviness for the major radio stations to play our singles. And without airplay, the US is lost.
Q: So now you’ve sold out?
A: No! Absolutely not! But we’ve found our way back to the balance I&W had: radio friendly melodies in metal shape.
Q: How do you think the faithful European fans will react to this?
A: Well, you have to understand that while Swedish bands want to make it in Europe and the rest of the world, there’s nothing American bands want more than to make it in the US.
About the sound of FII:
A: We’ve had the freedom to be creative in the studio for the first time. Earlier all we did was enter the studio and documented already finished material. This time I played around with a number of different basses - fretless, 4-, 5-, and 6-stringed ones. In short, we had one hell of a good time!
Q: What about the comparisons between you and Rush/Queensrÿche?
A: I get both sad and proud when people call us a Rush cover band. Rush once were my idols, and I think they’re great. But to say that we copy them is unfair. We have our style and they have their’s.
Q: Will we see you in Sweden on your upcoming tour?
A: I don’t know. We’ve only set aside ten days in Nov/Dec for European dates. This is because we’ve had such good response to our radio single, so we want to wait and see what happens, and keep our options open for as long as possible.