Dan Rhodus and Mistress Tina (of DesDemon) - January 2010

Matt caught up with drummer Dan Rhodus and vocalist Mistress Tina of Long Island-based dark power metal contenders DesDemon, fresh from a triumphant return from the Halloween Metal Meeting festival in Belgium. A classic heavy metal tale of picking up the pieces, DesDemonwas formed after the dissolution of the bands Tenebrae and Metadox. The band has just released their debut EP The Awakening and has been playing shows in support of it. We discuss their influences and the excitement of playing in Europe, as well as many other great topics in this interview which we hope you enjoy!

DesDemon: From left to right: Pelagius (bass guitar), Lord Metadox (guitar), Mistress Tina (lead vocals) and Dan Rhodus (drums)

Matthew Bankes (MB): Hello! Hope everything is well. First off, DesDemonjust got back from the Halloween Metal Meeting in Belgium. What was the experience like and how did the audience there enjoy your music?

Mistress Tina (MT): It was amazing! The people are really great over there. They really express more openness and genuine care for music! It's nice to have people come up to you for an autographed CD when they haven't even heard you yet, and also to see over 200 faces in the audience during our performance and really getting into it...CHANTING, HORNS and ALL!

Dan Rhodus (DR): It was unbelievable. The crowd response was great, the people were extremely nice. They are so passionate about the music over there. The audience was into the music the entire show, and were so receptive to us after the show, coming up to the merch[andise] table to get CDs, autographs or even just to say hello and chat a bit. It was great. Personally it was probably one of the most if not the most enjoyable show experience I’ve had. I also want to thank Danny and Diana from Music Minds Memories for putting together such a great show and for taking care of us and the other bands so well!!! They were awesome!

We also had the pleasure of meeting a great band from The Netherlands who also played the show, Ceremony of Opposites, please check them out as well. They are a great band and awesome people. We are in the planning stages to do a small tour with them over there sometime during the spring of this year.

MB: How much different is playing at a big festival in Europe compared to playing a show in the States?

MT: More people definitely stick around for the unsigned acts in Europe.  In the States, locals usually get more support from their friends and family and maybe a few new faces every once in a while. 

DR: Yea, just like Tina said, everyone, fans and other bands, definitely are very supportive and pay attention to everyone, even bands they have never heard of. The fans are great here too but over there they just seem to still have that 1980s heavy metal passion about the music still you know (laughs). Also the promoters over there seem to really cater to the bands, it’s not just "how much money can you make me???" you know? They really take care of the bands.

MB:  Dan, what was the spark that made you want to start playing music? Who are your favorite drummers?

DR: Well, I expressed some interest in playing drums around the age of 13, it just seemed fun and I loved music. My parents took a chance and bought me a drum set for my birthday and my aunt got me started with some drum lessons and the rest is history (laughs). Favorite drummers.... wow, there are a lot. To keep the list short though, some of my favorite and the most influential drummers on me have been:  Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Johan Langell (former Pain of Salvation), Brent Smedley (Iced Earth), Casey Grillo (Kamelot), Ginger Baker (Cream) and the list goes on and on (laughs). 

MB: Tina, what set you on the path to becoming a singer? Who are your favorite vocalists?

MT: I've always enjoyed singing but didn't get more serious about it until high school.  But I've taken classical lessons since I was 14. Ann Wilson's (Heart) such a great singer, so is Floor Jansen (After Forever).  They have such power and control.  And I didn't hear of After Forever until a few years ago and thought it was great because I didn't know of anyone else who incorporated clean vocals with operatic. It was nice to hear it and it really inspired me even more.

MB: What band or bands were you a member of before you formed DesDemon?

MT: I was in a local band Tenebrae with Dan before we formed DesDemon.

DR: I think she answered that for me. Tenebrae was the first serious band I was in.

MB: When and how did DesDemon come together?

DR: I’ll try to keep a long story short. Tenebrae broke up in early 2007 (a whole other story in itself). Tina and I decided we didn't want to stop playing, it was something we loved to do so we wanted to continue on. Tina presented me with her vision and musical ideas for what was to become DesDemon, and of course I was on board. She started writing some music and it became time to find some other members. We contacted Frank (Lord Metadox), whom we met in 2005 in Canada at a music conference where Tenebrae and his band Metadox were playing. Over those two or so years we became good friends and both bands played shows together constantly. As it turns out Metadox broke up shortly after Tenebrae and when we contacted Frank, he was definitely interested.

After a few rehearsals, it was a no brainer, we knew we had found the core of DesDemon. Tina and Frank started writing what was to become "The Awakening.”  After a few shows and a few different members, Ronald Porcelli (Pelagius) answered an ad for a bass player we had posted. He came to one rehearsal and we knew we found our guy! We definitely lucked out with him, he became a core member of the band instantly.

We are now working with our new keyboardist, Nick Gatti. And there will be a lot more coming from DesDemon in the future!!!!

MB: How would you describe DesDemon to someone who has never heard your music before?

MT: Dark power metal or blackened power metal.

DR : That pretty much sums it up. The music is definitely heavier and a bit more abrasive than most other operatic female-fronted bands. We draw influences from many different styles of metal.

MB: What bands are the biggest influences on your sound?

DR: There are many bands we are influenced by as I’ve said. But a few are probably After Forever, Kamelot, Nightwish, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, and Iced Earth on top of each other’s individual contributions to the band’s sound, seeing as we all come from different musical backgrounds.

MB: Can you describe for us the making of your debut EP The Awakening?

DR: It was a long process. It went relatively smooth though, much better than some previous recording sessions I’ve been involved in. Tarik and Artie and the whole PrimeTime Studios team (Yonkers, New York) did an amazing job, we highly recommend those guys. Things were backed up due to some keyboardist issues, long story but we had to let our keyboardist go during the recording. Luckily though a friend of Tina’s stepped in to help out. Nickolas Henriksen is an amazing keyboardist from Norway, Tina informed him of our situation and he offered to do the keyboard tracks for us. We sent him one song ("Iago") and within a day and a half he sent the song back with completed tracks. It blew us away, we knew we wanted to have him perform on the CD, which he did and he did an outstanding job!! He is also in a great progressive metal band, ASPERA, they are on Inside Out Records and I highly recommend checking them out. That pretty much completed the recording and we had it ready to go for the trip to Belgium, which was the ultimate goal. Nickolas also flew down to Belgium and performed the Halloween Metal Meeting with us, and of course did an amazing job!

MB: What is the concept behind The Awakening?

MT: Basically it's the story of a woman's [Desdemon(a)] revenge for being murdered under false accusations.  In her afterlife she becomes a demon queen and her followers are women and men who have endured the same fates.  They torment their accusers, slowly killing them.  Fate has other things in store for her. She was an innocent young woman who was simply angered but didn't see what it was doing to her and it was turning her into something different.

MB: In your opinions, what was the most memorable, and on the flipside, the worst live performance experiences that you have had?

MT: Belgium, being as it was our first European gig! The worst so far would be crappy monitors on stage. We need ear monitors!

DR : Agreed, Belgium was definitely one of my personal favorites and definitely most memorable gigs so far. As far as worst experiences (laughs), haven't had too many with this band, with the exception of your normal sound difficulties, although Frank’s amp kinda blew up on stage in Belgium, which was interesting but we made it through the song and rest of the gig just fine so all in all it wasn't that bad (laughs).

MB: If you could form a dream band with any musicians in the world, who would they be?

MT: Wow, there are so many great musicians out there! I think it would be a heavy metal orchestra with a heavy metal choir!

DR: Good question, that's a tough one. I'm really not sure, but there is something I would love to see again, as far as vocalists are concerned. Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Floor Jansen (After Forever/ReVamped) did an amazing metal duet of “Phantom of the Opera,” I would definitely like to see them collaborate again.

MB: Name three albums that you would take to a desert island.

DR : Wow that's tough. Helloween: Keeper of the 7 Keys part 2, Dream Theater: Metropolis 2: Scenes From A Memory and probably Saigon Kick’s first CD. Shut up! I don’t care, I admit I like Saigon Kick! (laughs).

MB: In your opinions, how do you rate the worldwide heavy metal scene?

MT: I think it's sadly dwindling.

DR: It’s hard to tell really. Some places the scene is dying or there is no scene at all. Other places its alive and growing stronger. It’s much smaller now especially here in the States, but with some of the great bands out there, I believe there is still hope and metal will take over once again!!!

MB: Is there a full-length album in the future, and if so, how long until it would be released?

MT: Yes, there will be a full-length within the next couple of years.  We're constantly writing new things.

DR: We are concentrating on promoting and shopping The Awakening right now. But as Tina said, we have already started working on new material so don't worry, there will be more DesDemon music coming soon!!!

MB: RFUSA is planning on starting its own online radio show in 2010. Would you be willing to travel to Pennsylvania to appear on the show?

MT: Of course.

DR: We would love to Matt, you just let me know and we’ll be there, man!

MB: Thank you both so much for your time. I regret we lost touch after the dissolution of Tenebrae. It is so awesome to see that you're kicking ass with DesDemon. Do you have any closing thoughts for our readers?

MT: Go out and enjoy some local shows! You never know what you're going to hear and you may be unexpectedly surprised at the talents out there.

DR: Definitely support your local music scene!!! I just wanted to thank everyone for all of their support. We have received so many kind words about this band, which we truly appreciate. As far as Tina and myself, we have had a lot of fans and friends stick with us from the Tenebrae days and are with us still and supporting us with DesDemon, I can’t tell you guys how much that means to us. You are all the reason why we do and can do what we love to do!!! THANK YOU!!!

And thank you, Matt and everyone at RFUSA for taking the time to do this and support DesDemon. I’ve know you since the old Tenebrae days too and I really appreciate your help in the past and for sticking with us through DesDemon. Hopefully we can help you guys out along the way too, man!!

Thank you so much, Dan and Tina! We are so happy to see that you are keeping the fire burning with DesDemon! Keep kicking ass and taking names! We’ll be there to catch a show very soon! Check out http://www.desdemon.com!