DARKANE / JAMES LABRIE drummer Peter Wildoer recently spoke with Italy's Groove Portal on a variety of subjects including his DREAM THEATER audition following Mike Portnoy's departure and his job as a drum teacher. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Photo by Peter Johansson

Q: You worked as a session man for more artists like Darkane, OLD MAN'S CHILD, PESTILENCE, etc. How do you train yourself before a recording session?

Peter: "Darkane is actually 'my' own band. My dear friend Christofer Malmström (guitars) and myself started Darkane in 1998. Besides Darkane I’ve done a lot of sessions and I always prepare the same way. First I listen to the pre-production songs a lot so I get a picture of what it’s all about. Then I start 'writing' my drum parts and try to make them as creative as I can. I love working out beats and especially cool fills, hahaha. I also do a lot of different exercises to build speed, stamina and coordination so I’m in great shape for the long hours in the studio."

Q: Are you planning some new tours with Darkane?

Peter: "We’re recording our sixth album right now. The drums are done and I’m very happy with how it turned out and almost all rhythm guitars and bass are done. Next up is vocals, melody guitars, solo guitars and some string stuff etc. The album will most likely be out before next summer and then we will hopefully do some festivals and a tour after the summer in both Europe and the US."

Click here for the complete interview.

Wildoer, who provided drums and death metal vocals on DREAM THEATER frontman James LaBrie's 2010 solo album Static Impulse, recently checked in with the following update:

"Been listening to some new James Labrie tracks that Matt Guillory (keyboards) sent me. These tracks sound fantastic and if you enjoyed Static Impulse you will love the next album! Everything is there; great melodies, heavy riffs, fast songs, heavy songs and everything else you can wish for. I will start recording drums in February! Keep you guys posted."

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Wildoer discussing his work on Static Impulse:

For some diehard Dream Theater fans, vocalist James LaBrie’s new solo album, Static Impulse, is the equivalent of a kick in the teeth. At the very least it trashes the belief that LaBrie is “just” the singer, his creativity limited to composing vocal melodies and delivering them on stage. The new record proves this is anything but the case, with LaBrie and longtime collaborator Matt Guillory (keyboards) taking what became LaBrie’s signature sound on Elements Of Persuasion from 2005 and twisting it into something much more volatile. The most provocative element in this metamorphosis – no pun intended – is the involvement of Darkane drummer Peter Wildoer. Not only does he serve up trademark Swedish thrash from behind the kit as required, LaBrie and Guillory had the audacity to invite Wildoer to lay down full-on death metal vocals. Also as required, and much to the chagrin of Dream Theater purists.

“Well, like so many times before this was pure luck,” Wildoer says of being asked to sing, aware that some people are cursing that luck. “Matt and James knew they wanted Jens Bogren to mix the album here in Sweden, and Jens told Matt that he knew a great studio called Studiomega where he wanted the band to record the songs. Matt called a mutual friend of ours – Teddy Möller from F.K.Ü. – and asked him if he knew any Swedish drummers that he could recommend, and he recommended me. Very nice of him; thanks Teddy! Matt called me one night, introduced himself, and asked me if I wanted to play drums on James LaBrie’s new album. Of course I wanted to!”

Wildoer was initially hired on for the sole purpose of laying down the drum tracks for the album. As he tells it, his double duty as second vocalist came about purely by chance.

“James and Matt had absolutely no clue I did screaming/growling vocals. They were looking for a drummer and I didn’t know they wanted those kind of vocals. So yeah, initially it was just because of my drumming. A few weeks later I talked to Matt again and he told me they wanted a guest screamer/growler to do some parts and he asked me if I knew someone since I come from a thrash/death metal background. We talked about a few guys and then I just said that I actually did vocals on Darkane guitarist Christofer Malmström’s solo album, Non-Human Level. Matt asked me to send a song, and a couple days later he said that both him and James liked my screaming and wanted me to do it. Cool, if you ask me…”

Being asked to sing on the solo album of an established and highly respected vocalist like LaBrie isn’t a small deal. Wildoer admits, however, that he didn’t feel as much pressure as one might think.

“We had a great vibe in the studio and the other guys are some of the nicest guys I know. The whole recording was very relaxed even though we had to record all drums, bass, rhythm guitars, keyboards, and the solos in just two weeks. The guys are among the finest musicians I know and they nailed it. Amazing! Because of this cool climate in the studio I was very relaxed doing the vocals. I recorded all my vocals in about four hours one afternoon.”
“It was totally clear to what I was to sing,” he adds. “All the songs had demo vocals by Matt on them, and Matt did the screaming on those as well. I tried some different things in the studio and Matt really liked the frantic screaming so we went for that. I had a clear vision of what we were doing. It was great fun.”

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