THE METAL PIT: Congratulations on the release of ‘The Old Man and The Spirit”. The album gets better with each listen! Can you tell our readers how they should imagine the songwriting process?

Peter: Thank you very much. Actually we tried very hard to put a lot of details to get the "better with each listen" effect ;)
Christopher (Keyboards) and I meet, buy a lot of chocolate or candy and start working. The working atmosphere is always great as we respect each other a lot. But even more important is that we laugh, make jokes and relax while writing music. It feels as if the creative process was something like a holiday from everyday life. Dominik sometimes joins in as well. He is very skeptical which helps us a lot to decide wether the music we wrote is good or not. He is also a great inspiration.
      At the very beginning we started with the concept of the album. We wrote a brief abstract and divided the whole thing into successive statements. Basically before the notes were written, we knew what each song had to sound and feel like and what the lyrics had to say. With these restrictions we started the songwriting process. We write the music first and recorded it immediately. Even the vocal lines are recorded but mostly with some weird instrument to emphasize that this melodic line is supposed to be the vocal melody. I remember that for the vocal lines of the "Spirit" we sometimes used a pan-flute as a guide track. I guess that something absurd like a pan-flute makes clear that it is only a guide track and has to be replaced by a real voice at the end ;)
After the melody is fixed we write the lyrics. Usually we use a very simple setup to do this. Just a computer, Pro tools LE, a guitar and a keyboard. At the end we create something like a preproduction. Apart from the drum parts everything is fixed. With this we go into the studio. Everybody knows what needs to be played or rather sung. I think we will do it in the same way on the next album. We first create a concept, then write the music and lyrics that fit to the concept and at the end we go into the studio. The restrictions given by the concept were really helpful for us. Although one might think that restrictions delimit creativity, it was actually the opposite in our case.

THE METAL PIT:  The concept of ‘The Old Man and The Spirit” is very intriguing and in depth. Can you give our readers a brief synopsis of the concept and how it was created?

Peter: We have been asked this question many times before and we are always trying to give a different answer. We believe that if you dig deeper into the story you will find that there are many possible interpretations or meanings behind it. You can find the official answer on http://www.beyondthebridge.net/content/discography/
Basically we oppose humanity to overall awareness . Of course there is a lot behind the words "humanity" and "awareness". To be a bit more accurate you could say that we oppose experience to knowledge, insignificance to sense, felling to certainty, transience to infinity, love to indifference and so on. Or to put everything in a simple question: Would you like to understand life or would you rather feel alive?
The human part is embodied by the "Old Man", while the "Spirit" embodies the overall awareness. Both characters desire what they do not have. The Album states that having both humanity and overall awareness is not possible for anyone of the characters. However, the "Spirit" offers to trade her awareness for the "Old Man´s" life. The Album will tell you whether the "Old man" accepts
this tempting offer or refuses. You just have to listen to the lyrics ;)

THE METALPIT: Can you tell our readers how the concept for the album came together?

Peter: I had this idea at the age of 19 where I had to decide what I am going to do with my life. I had two possible choices. Either I become a musician or I study physics. I believed that physics could be able to reveal the answers to the questions I have been having as a teenager. These were questions that you can find in typical popular scientific literature. Basically questions about the universe, elementary particles, quantum mechanics and stuff like that. On the other hand there was music. And I guess I don´t have to tell you that music can be the most intensive experience sometimes. At the end I decided to go for physics. But as it turns out now, I am back to music ;)

THE METALPIT: Can you tell me a little about how the band was formed? What are the collective influences of the band?

Peter: We started out as a school band. Back then it was Dominik (bass), christopher (Keyboards), and me. We where friends in high-school. After our graduation Christopher decided to become a recording engineer. The band was breaking apart as everybody left heading towards very different directions. But I knew that the three of us had to keep contact. First of all we are good friends and wanted to keep that up. But furthermore I thought that if Christopher goes for a life of recording music then we will certainly have the chance to record music in a professional studio. With this in mind I came up with the concept of the album. I convinced Christopher and we wrote the album. Five years later it turned out that my plan worked out just fine. Christopher met Simon during his studies and they became good friends. After finishing the University Simon went to the Gate Studios in Wolfsburg where he is now an sound engineer and a producer. He also recorded, mixed, mastered (together with Sascha Paeth) and produced "The old Man and the Spirit". I can not exactly tell you the main influences of everybody in the band. But the two composers are influenced by:Peter: On my part of course there are bands like Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Yes, Jethro Tull, Spocks Beard, also Mr. Big/Paul Gilbert and many more who influence my songwriting. As performance is concerned I think that Paul Gilbert and John Petrucci have influenced my guitar playing the most. I discovered these amazing guitar players at the age of 16. Apart from my classical guitar lessons I put hours of hours into developing my technique on the electric guitar and into a better understanding of Rock/Metal and Progressive music in general.
Christopher: My personal musical background is really classical music and, being a composer of classical music as well, this is what mainly influences both my songwriting and performance. I am however very grateful to have been introduced to Progressive Rock by my band mates when I was a teenager, as it has lead to a much more relaxed and playful relationship to my own instrument, the piano. I think that our different musical backgrounds fit really well together and make the music of Beyond the Bridge unique as it is.

THE METAL PIT : Fans of power metal may be familiar with Herbie who is also the vocalist for Sinbreed. How did Herbie become involved with BtB? Dilenya Mar is a relative newcomer to the world of progressive metal is she not? Her voice is nothing short of amazing. How was she discovered and asked to join the band?

Peter: Apart from his bands, Sinbreed and Seventh Avenue, Herbie is often asked to do some background vocals for many of the bands in the Gate Studios. Simon met him during one of this sessions and invited him to join the band. He liked the demos and finally joined. Dilenya Mar is indeed a newcomer. She is very young and she usually sings music which is more Jazz or Soul oriented. I actually met her in a small club in Munich. She was performing some of her songs. I went there because I had nothing else to do and a friend of mine invited me to her concert. At that time we were looking for a singer and I had a demo tape of "The Apparition" in my pocket. It was nothing on the demo but home recorded guitars and keyboards. After Dilenyas concert I gave her the tape. But I felt so silly because I was trying to convince a Jazz singer to join my Metal band. And on top of it I only had this single demo. But some days later she called me back and said that, although it is not her style, she likes the compositions and she will give it a try. And here we are.

THE METAL PIT: Your album is going to be released on January 24th in the U.S. under Frontiers Records. How did you come to sign with Frontiers?

Peter: Actually, it took us a bit less than half a year to find Frontiers. We wanted to finish the whole album before we present it to a label. We were done in April 2011 with the masters of the Cd. With the music only, that means without the album cover or the booklet we applied to several labels. Finally in September/October of 2011 we got an email from Frontiers Records. They liked the music and we signed. I guess Frontiers Records is the best possible thing that could have happened to us.

THE METAL PIT:  If you were to get an opening slot on a major tour whom would you choose and why?

Peter: Well, if we wanted to play a show with our idols it would probably be Spocks Beard, Pain of Salvation or Dream Theater. Personally, I would love to play with Paul Gilbert some time. But again from a very different point of view, playing a show with Katy Perry or Pink could be assume as well ;)

THE METAL PIT: From what I have read, BtB is not going to be just a recording. Do you have any touring plans for 2012? Any plans to come to the U.S. in any capacity?

Peter: To be honest, BtB started out as a project and became a band over the last two years. We finished a Cd and right now we are trying to rehearse and promote the Cd. But we are Newcomers. We did not have any live shows with this band setup so far. But we are planning to play the album live. Everybody is excited to take this great piece of music on stage. We put a lot of effort into the goal of creating the studio sound on stage. But we also rearrange some parts to make them more suitable for live performances. Unfortunately, we did not arrive at the point where the tour plans are supposed to come up next. At this point it depends on the reactions of the people around the world to the album. We will see if you guys can make it happen. Hence, there are no plans for the U.S., yet. But there is a strong will. Playing in the U.S. would be like a dream coming true for me and for everybody of BtB.

THE METAL PIT:  For fans of progressive metal who haven’t listened to BtB yet, how would you best describe your music and where can fans check out any mp3 samples or videos?

Peter: At first sight the songs are written in a Progressive Rock/Metal style. They contain virtuosity in both the playing and the compositional design. But it is more important to say that the songs excite the listeners. The music is touching. It will even touch you in a different way each time you listen to it. The lyrics are inspiring and ambiguous. This encourages to dig deeper into the journey of the old man.
       The best starting point to check out the music is of course our website www.beyondthebridge.net (I am glad you ask this question ;) )You can find a full song and two snippets there. You will find band photos and background information there as well. Starting from the first of January 2012 we will make an Advent Calendar leading to the 24th of January which is the release date in the U.S. ;) In the Calendar you will find behind the scene footages and also more music from the album.
We also encourage the people to share their opinion and thought with us on Facebook or Youtube (beyondthebridgeMusic). Make a suggestion or a wish and we will see if we can make it happen. If you google a lot you can find a site in japan. There you will be able to listen to some more snippets. Maybe you don't even have to google a lot as you can find the link on our Facebook page.

THE METAL PIT: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule! I look forward to hearing a lot from Beyond The Bridge in 2012 and beyond!

Peter: Thank you. It was a pleasure to answer. Your question are great and even help a newcomer to promote their music. I like that. Thanks again!