First of all, let me tell you, that I was pretty much impressed by 'Wish for Destruction'. I did not listen to much traditional Heavy Metal for a while, but I defnitely liked 'Wish for Destruction'. How do you like it? Are you satisfied with it?

Leanan Sidhe: Thanks! We are very happy 'cause we like this record a lot and many journalists think the same. They all have been impressed by this album and that's great for us. It's important to have good reviews, it gives us more chance to be known by the metal kids and I think 'Wish For Destruction' is on the right way!

Could you explain the cover? What does it mean and where is the connection to the album title?

Leanan Sidhe: The cover represents the cloning of some children... this is the symbol of the whole concept: it tells the story of 7 famous scientists. They work hard on a project in order to have an 'army' of clones/cyborgs. They guide those no-men through computers, and plan to murder some political leaders. The 7 ones want to creat chaos in the social institutions, but the system fails and the clones are free to kill everyone they meet. The scientists lose control on the clones, and the final solution is a total mass destruction. The title explanes very well our will to record a powerful album, aggressive and 'killer'! It's quite a hard title, isn't it? :-)

A video-clip was made for the title-track. How long did the work on it take?

Leanan Sidhe: We worked on it for 2 days, this summer. Two hot and long days! It was a new experience for us, it was the first time before a camera, under the advices of a real director... I think the final result is very good for a low-budget work.

How long were you working on the complete album, especially recording and mixing?

Leanan Sidhe: We worked 16 days for the recording/mixing session. 'New Sin Audio Design' is a very professional studio, where it's impossible to lose time. We spent every minute to search new sounds, to arrange some melodies... and at the end of the work, we realized we had been there for only 16 days... a short period for a second album, I think...

What is the basic idea behind 'Wish for Destruction'?

Leanan Sidhe: We wanted to realize a powerful album, ten killer tracks full of rage... so we composed a couple of songs that were not so 'classical' as the old ones. The new Beholder-sound had to be more aggressive and heavy, that was the direction we liked, and the result is a more interesting work, with different sound-samples, a 'new' attitude... something you maybe could not imagine by listening to 'The Legend Begins'.

What were the main differences between your debut 'The legend begins' and 'Wish for destruction', especially in the creative processes?

Leanan Sidhe: No doubt, we started working on 'Wish For Destruction' with a different work-method. We decided to write a futuristic/technologic story, and the songs had to be as 'hard' as the concept. It's important to say that we realized we could develope our style by playing on stage. During our concerts, we saw that our intentions was more aggressive, there was a great difference between our (first) album and our live-attitude. So we decided to compose songs that could show our wish to destroy everything... and we did it!

The sound of 'Wish for Destruction' basically reminds me of something between Gamma Ray, early Helloween and perhaps even a bit Rhapsody. But that's not all by far. Could you please describe the sound for our readers?

Leanan Sidhe: I agree when you mention bands like Helloween, probably for that speed-metal attitude... something that today is hard to find. But I cannot see a comparison with Rhapsody or Gamma Ray because our sound is much havier, more aggressive and rough. Our music rermins me more of Childern of bodom or nocturnal rites!I think our sound cannot be compared to other power metal bands, especially for the use of the keyboards. The keys are very important in our music, because they can reate so many different atmospheres; if you remove them from the track, you see that the song loses its atmosphere... However they never cover the massive guitar working and they never play classical Then, Beholder is known for the double vocal, so that's another important characteristic of the band. On this album, we worked hard on the 'vocal duels', in order to have two different 'ways of singing' in continuous opposition.

I like your vocals very much. Powerful and by this a perfect match to the songs, but also with a very beautiful female sound. Did you have a singing education or something?

Leanan Sidhe: Thank you. Yes, I've been studying modern and opera singing for five years. I still study and practice every day because singing is like playing an instrument... you can never stop taking exercise!!

To me personally beautiful women in Metal are still sort of unusual. Despite there are Christina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering) or Stephanie Duchene (Flowing Tears), a beautiful woman doing real heavy metal is still very unusual. Additionally, you are not really looking like Doro Pesch... I'm sorry if this sounds sexist, but I just have to ask, as I really find it interesting to know: How are you related to Heavy Metal? How did you come to it and when?

Leanan Sidhe: I started listening to Heavy Metal when I was about 14... A friend gave me some tapes and I liked them a lot. At that time I used to listen to Manowar, Iron Maiden and other bands like that, then I've discovered many other bands who played any kind of heavy metal and one day I met Beholder!

Reading the short member-datasheets on the Beholder-Website, I really had a little laugh, when I saw, that each band-member names another song 'Beholder's favourite song'. I bet, this will make it hard to chose songs to play on tour, won't it?

Leanan Sidhe: Yes, it could be hard but... we never have problems in choosing the songs for our live acts. Usually we prefer to play the heaviest ones, in order to have a very 'hard' impact on stage... and sometimes we play even an acoustic unplugged version of the 'Until Darkness Falls' ballad. I think it's a good that each member of the band has a different favourite song, 'cause it means we have a lot of good tracks!!!

Called 'Wish for LIVE Destruction', there will still be 3 concerts in Italy, 2 in Novembre and one in December. On October, 17th you had a gig in Milano... How is it to play your songs live? Are you still nervous? Do you like it?

Leanan Sidhe: Well, we adore the live-performances. I think it's the best way to let the people know your music, just as you play it! We are very happy to promote this album with an italian tour. We are going to play in many different cities, and we hope to find a great army of fans! We love when they sing our refrains, when they headbang during songs like 'Call For Revenge'... it's a great satisfaction, isn't it? So... usually we are very excited when we play live, of course a little bit nervous... but when we get on stage, all these feelings become great emotions, the emotions that only the live music can give.

What was the best concert Beholder ever played? And what was the worst one?

Leanan Sidhe: We've just come back from Ascoli where we played a couple of days ago... I think it was the best live act we've ever done. We are very happy with that performance, it was powerful and aggressive as we like. The worst one... let me think... well, it's not difficult: one of our first live gigs hehe! We were just a little band, improving our abilities, and those were our first exhibitions in front of people. What a beautiful and dramatic memory at the same time!!!

Do you know, if you will be touring Europe in 2003?

Leanan Sidhe: I hope so, but we don't have any tour planned yet. By now, we're trying to play live here in Italy... it will depend on the way the album goes... we wait for some good news...

 Many thanks for your patience and for this interview. I wish you all the best for the upcoming release and of course also all upcoming concerts. And, to add one personal note: As I myself do write short stories and poetry, let me confirm your opinion, that everything in life can be inspiration. It's just, what people make of it.

Leanan Sidhe:   Yeah, I really think so!! :-)) Thank you VERY much for this interview! I hope we'll meet in Germany after a show!! Cheerz, Leanan