Jacob Samuel, singer for Swedish melodic rock act THE POODLES spoke with Spain's Hall Of Metal webzine recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Hall Of Metal: Do you consider that this Clash Of The Elements is your most complete work?

Samuel: "Yes, absolutely. The musical direction on Clash Of The Elements is really no different from what we have done in the past. But we have done the circle a little wider in terms of using real string-orchestra, going even further, more dare devil in arrangements of the songs. The Poodles have always aimed for an interesting blend of styles and inputs from both producers and our collaborators in songwriting. This time we had some new people to work with; first and foremost Mike Fraser, our childhood hero, who has produced some of the best hard rock albums of all time, such as AEROSMITH, WHITESNAKE, LED ZEPPELIN, and AC/DC, to mention a few. But also Mats Valentin, who produced the album and did an amazing job. We’re very proud of this one and there is really nowhere to go from here but up, into the stratosphere!"

Hall Of Metal: Pontus Norgren’s exit was something a bit unexpected for the fans. It was pretty surprising that a guitarist who has been in several rock bands left The Poodles to play heavy metal with HAMMERFALL, even since you were on a clear upward trend as band.

Samuel: "In the end, Pontus leaving the band was probably the best scenario for all parties. He ended up in a band that perhaps suits him better as a musician, and we had the opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves with some fresh talent and new blood. Henrik has already made his mark both on- and off-stage, and you will be pleasantly surprised to hear his totally fantastic playing on Clash Of The Elements. We couldn’t be happier right now and Pontus Norgren is still a close friend, so there are no hard feelings, whatsoever."

Hall Of Metal: When will we have a The Poodles’ official DVD? Having three records in the market now, it would be such a good moment for it.

Samuel: "We do have plans for a Live DVD. We are working with a great group of guys from Australia, Steve Ravic and Vesna Trokter in charge, who will put together the DVD for us. They shot a couple of shows last summer and we have shot some fantastic material in this past months. Hopefully, we’ll have something to present to our fans by the beginning/mid of next year. I can assure you that it’s going to be explosive stuff! We’ll keep you updated."

Read the entire interview here.

The Poodles will set off on a three week journey through Europe starting October 31st.

Confirmed dates are:

October

31 - Metropolis Music Hall - München, Germany

November

2 - Capitol - Mannheim, Germany
3 - Circus Maximus - Koblenz, Germany
4 - Rockfabrik - Ludwigsburg, Germany
6 - Sala Totem - Navvara/Bilbao, Spain
7 - Salamandra 1 - Barcelona, Spain
8 - Caracol - Madrid, Spain
11 - Fabrik - Bruchsal, Germany
12 - Sounds - Essen, Germany
13 - November Rock’s Festival - Offenburg, Germany
14 - Soundtrack Arcene - Bergamo, Italy
15 - Sottotetto - Bolonga, Italy
19 - Tibis Downstairs Club - Bern, Switzerland
20 - The Rock Temple - Kerkrade, Netherlands