Pagliacci : Genèse d'un Opéra Metal

Il y a quelques semaines, j'ai chroniqué le premier EP de PAGLIACCI. Cet ambitieux projet d'Opéra Metal impliquant une cinquantaine de musiciens, et sortant un peu de nulle part m'a titillé, j'ai donc voulu en savoir plus en interviewant le maître de cérémonie de ce projet "hors norme" : Zhivko Koev.

Hello, first, could you describe your history as a musician (before PAGLIACCI) ?
I will skip the long and boring story of three different bands, each with a recorded but unreleased demo in styles ranging from melodic death metal to dark ambient and get to the first official release with my participation. That was Wartime’s second album “Solar Messiah”, where I am featured as guest keyboardist. The album was very successful and was declared “Best Album of 2012” by Metal Hammer Bulgaria. Then in 2014 Allegorist released their debut EP “Play A King”, in which I wrote the lyrics, most of the music and recorded keyboards. Also last year Vivaldi Metal Project’s album “The Four Seasons” came out, in which I wrote three of the songs and arranged most of the choir parts.

How and why did you decide to create PAGLIACCI ?
After four unsuccessful attempts to form a band, I decided to create a metal opera project, which allowed me to involve many great musicians from lots of different bands.

How did you work to write and compose PAGLIACCI ?
Well first, I recycled some of the material I had written for my previous projects, then I wrote lots and lots of new material, while the story and concept was developing in my head. The project kept getting bigger and bigger, involving more musicians, featuring classical instruments, etc. All that was way beyond what I originally had imagined.

How did you recruit and convince all the different artists you need for this opera ?
One at a time. Ha-ha-ha! Actually, the first participants were friends of mine, with whom I had worked on other projects and played in other bands. Then, as more of the music was released, people started to contact me, asking to participate. And those musicians, whom I invited, were easier to recruit, now that some of the material was available for listening.

Did you take inspiration from “classic” operas and which ones?
No. My inspiration was mostly from other rock and metal concept albums. Of course, there is a lot of influence from classical music, but not from any opera per se.

What made you decide to publish this first EP now ?
Long story short, it comprises a part of the story that is complete in itself, so I decided to release it in this form. It was not planned as a separate release in the beginning, though.

Are you far from finishing the whole project ? When do you think the record will be published?
In terms of music, arrangement and lyrics the project has been finished for a long time now. In terms of recordings there are a few guitar and bass lines still to be recorded in some songs. The main job that is still left undone is mixing and mastering. If all goes according to plan, I expect the album to be out in early 2018.

When creating Symphonic Metal, what is your recipe / secret to obtain a well balanced result ?
A well-balanced result? That is hard to tell. What I’m striving for is to achieve the best means to tell a story, to convey an emotion, an experience. Sometimes what is required is indeed a well-balanced result, other times chaos, disorder is needed. ☺ Sometimes that is the best way to express a character’s inner world.

do you have anything else to add?
I would like to thank Thrashocore for this interview and for the awesome support! May your website live long and prosper! ☺