Yesterday, I was talking about how Alex Mele‘s debut album Alien Doppelganger so epic. His music actually, provoked me to know more about the album process, theme, and composition. Check out below more about his album, and the difference between his release and Kaledon‘s ones.
● Symphonic and power metal have been the only styles that you performed since the late 90s until now?
Hi there well, I like a lot of musical genres so when I write something I really don’t care about the rules of the schemes! I just think that I write Metal music without any restrictions! With Kaledon I made very different styles! In our albums, you can find hard rock, classic metal, death metal riffs, AOR, etc. Then… in my solo project, I experimented a little more with sounds and… I am very happy about the result.
● ‘Alien Doppelganger’ provides a great diversity of symphonic, power, and heavy metal influences. What is the story behind the composition and recording processes?
Basically, it was composed in very distant periods… so different periods, different styles! Ehehehh
● Tell me more about the album’s lyrical themes and what do you mean by Alien Doppelganger?
It is based on a concept story about an old Alien civilization that arrived on earth in prehistoric times and began to clone all mankind! After this process, you have the “original human”, and the Alien Clone! I call them Alien Doppelganger. This clone is the same as you but… Evil!
● You had a long history with Kaledon, don’t you think that the decision of being solo was a bit late?
The original idea started in 2013 but, I was too busy with Kaledon so… I worked on this album only in the day-offs!
● You have collaborated with Mindfar in The Shadow Out of Time. Since your background was symphonic, how did you find your experience with the opera metal band?
Oooh yes, it was a very cool and different experience! I liked it very much. Work with many different people is very stimulating.
● Alessia Scolletti was a great choice indeed for the album, was it intentionally planned for her to join from the beginning, or did you need a female voice in general?
The project started with e different female singer but, when I listened to Alessia for the first time it was love at first sight! She is the perfect voice for my music. She is incredible!
● The chemistry and harmony with the rest of the lineup were pretty obvious, so was it planned while writing your album to choose your Kaledon bandmates?
When I chose Enrico Sandri for the bass lines, he was not yet Kaledon’s bass player but about Manuele and Paolo, I wanted to work with trusted people to get a good shot! I am very happy about the result.
● Well, the effect of COVID-19 still exists, wasn’t it a bit risky to release your debut album since there’s no much live scene nowadays worldwide?
Alien Doppelganger is a studio project so I will never take it to live. For this reason, COVID-19 did not ruin my plans
● Finally, I’d like to know more about your future plans, are you aiming to focus on your work with Kaledon’s or gonna release the second album soon?
I am working on the new Kaledon’s album these days so I hope to release it at the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022. At the same time, I am working on a new secret album! Maybe I’ll be able to tell you more, the next time. 🙂
