We met in The Hague at the concert with Edenbridge last year. I was very disappointed that you didn’t play my favourite, “Race Against Time”. Drummer Tobias Brutschi told me recently that you hardly remember how to play this song live. But do you remember the lyrics at all?

“Haha, yes, I would probably have to take a quick look at my lyrics sheet again, but basically I still know the lines – especially the chorus is definitely still there. 😊 By now, with five albums, we have quite a large collection of songs, which unfortunately means we can’t include all of them in our live set anymore. When putting together the setlist, however, I always try to create a balanced selection from all the albums.”Before we get to DEEP SUN’s new full-length album “Storyteller”, how come there are such good female fronted metal bands in Switzerland? I just discovered a new one, Rebel Rose. Is it the clean mountain air?

“Probably! And surely also because here in Switzerland we have many strong and courageous women who have something to say with their music. I absolutely love that, and I especially enjoy being on the road with other female fronted bands. We singers just understand each other, because we know what it means to stand our ground as women in the metal scene. The song “Fierce” on our new album is also dedicated to all the strong women out there – it celebrates female solidarity and mutual support instead of envy and resentment.”Okay, “Storyteller”. Before you started to write songs for this album, did you feel you had so many stories to tell and where does all the inspiration come from?

“After the studio recordings for “Dreamland – Behind The Shades”, where we delved deep into the different realms of dreams, I started thinking about where we could go next, narratively, with DEEP SUN. What do I want to tell as a musician? What do we, as a band, want to share? And the more I thought about what stories we could still tell, the clearer it became to me that, as musicians, we are storytellers – telling tales from life, from fantasy worlds, about epic adventures and deep emotions, and also stories that perhaps should never have been told. I wanted to see what would happen if we let go of a specific theme and simply started storytelling – both lyrically and musically. And here we are now with “Storyteller”. 😊 I draw inspiration for lyrics and melodies from life itself, from experiences, personal growth, change, and nature. I move through the world with open eyes and ears, observing what influences, fascinates, and inspires me.”The first video off the album was for the title track and album opener “Storyteller”. You hold a shiny crystal ball and sing in the first two lines: “Come on in and take a seat, it’s time for fairytales. We’ll tell you everything you have never heard before.” Is “Storyteller” meant as an intro to the other 9 songs on the album?

“Yes, you could definitely say that. Tom and I deliberately wrote the song “Storyteller” with the intention of making it the opener. The lyrics were created with that in mind, and for our live shows we even have a longer intro version of the song, because “Storyteller” will also be the opener for our concerts. But “Storyteller” is not  just the opener of

the album – it also sets the tone for the epicness, drama, and power that will follow throughout the record. The song is a call to awaken your inner child and to rediscover the joy of life, which sadly so often gets lost in the hustle and stress of everyday life. It’s meant to remind you of how you used to laugh and feel pure joy as a child. That very laugh – that’s what this song is about. The first verse you quoted actually goes a bit further and ends with the line: “…because what follows now it’s your own story of life.” That’s meant to introduce the idea that all the stories we hear, see, experience, and pass on are always a part of ourselves. We are shaped by the stories of the past. The future is always something we can only guess or imagine – but stories have already happened, they were lived by someone, and they continue to live on through our telling of them.”

The second track is titled “Tales That Should Have Never Been Told”. That makes me very curious, what tales are you talking about and can you at least name one?

“Well, I love writing out-of-the-box and with layered meanings, which basically leaves the listener plenty of room for interpretation. And “Tales That Should Have Never Been Told” can definitely be interpreted in different ways as well. It’s a dark, atmospheric song that, on one hand, speaks about unspoken truths and the hidden abysses of life. The lyrics lead into a world of forbidden secrets and desperate cries that are never heard. The chorus describes the torn silence that lies over life’s stories, covering those truths that are meant to remain hidden. On the other hand, the song also refers to the history of humanity itself – a history marked by wars and all the worldly abysses. All of this has already happened and is written down in the history books. These are exactly the kind of stories that should never have happened – and therefore should never have been told.”

On the next song, “United Force”, you have guest vocals from no other than Michele Guaitoli (Visions Of Atlantis, Temperance). What did you have to do or offer him to get him to sing on this track?“We’ve known Meek for a while now from the concerts we’ve played together with Visions Of Atlantis. Tobias and Meek get along really well, so he just asked him if he’d be up for doing a song with us. And Meek agreed right away, without hesitation. I still remember when we were in the studio and received Meek’s vocal recordings. I was absolutely blown away! His energy, his sound – it just hit me so hard, it sounded incredible! I had goose- bumps and was so excited that he would be part of this track!”

The latest video you released from “Storyteller” was for “Worlds Collide”. A song about “inner conflict and lethargy… the story of a golden cage where time stands still and the inner fire slowly fades… and from the chaos, something new emerges.” You even sing a piece in Latin, but what amazes me most is the high regions you reach with your voice. That’s why you are often praised as ‘the Tarja Turunen of Switzer- land’. A very big compliment indeed!

“Well, I’m truly honoured to be compared to Tarja Turunen. After all, she paved the way for today’s female fronted symphonic metal. Tarja was also the reason I got into the metal scene in the first place. When I first heard her singing “Sleeping Sun”, I finally knew where my voice belonged. But I don’t try to imitate her or consciously sound like her. I simply sound like myself – and that’s a good thing. 😊 Like Tarja, I’m constantly evolving – the sound and the technique keep changing and moving forward. I experiment and discover new things. For the “Metal Meets Mozart” collaboration this year in Austria at the Metal Escalation Festival, I’m currently studying the aria “Queen Of The Night” from “The Magic Flute” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This aria  is very-well known and  features

one of the highest notes: a high F6. That’s definitely very high – even for me. 😊 But I’m currently working with a classical teacher on this aria to get everything technically perfect. My full vocal range covers a solid 3 octaves.”

Of course, we must not spoil everything for the fans who are going to buy “Storyteller”, so we skip some songs and arrive at “Flight Of The Phoenix”. Why did you record a 2025 version of this track from your debut EP?

“Exactly – “Flight Of The Phoenix” was released with our debut EP of the same name in 2013, and it’s actually our oldest song. It’s been around since the very beginning of DEEP SUN! We still play it to this day, and the fans just love it. It’s short, punchy, and gets straight to the point! Unfortunately, we don’t have backing choirs for our live shows to emphasize the increasingly epic sound we’ve created over time and to intensify the live experience even more. So I thought – let’s have the Phoenix rise from its ashes once more and give it a brand new sound. I also took the opportunity to rewrite the lyrics, as the old text was written by someone else, to give this song even more of a DEEP SUN identity. When I then heard Tom’s new arrangement with his keyboard lines, I knew it had been the best decision. Now the Phoenix sounds even more epic.”Hmmm, I feel there’s something missing on this album. Oh wait, it doesn’t have a song in German like on the previous three studio albums. Why not?

“When I hear a demo song from Angelo or Tom for the first time, I really listen closely to what the song wants to express with its tonal energy. And sometimes, other languages naturally come into play. When I first heard Angelo’s demo version of “Worlds Collide”, the pre-chorus didn’t exist in its current form yet. But compositionally, Angelo had already laid everything out in such a way that, to my ears, the current pre-chorus was the only logical continuation after the verse. And the energy the song radiated there, combined with the meaning of the lyrics, practically screamed at me in Latin. 😊 So I did some research online and looked into the Latin language a bit. With the help of translation sites, I was able to correctly translate the German meaning I had in mind. And the songs often want to express themselves in their own chosen language. For example, with the song “Mitternachtstanz” from the album “Dreamland – Behind The Shades”, I originally wrote the lyrics both in English and in German. We then played the song together and tried out both versions – and in the end, we all agreed: this song wants to be in German. The song decides for itself in which language it wants to be sung.”Tobias already told me there are no gigs in the Netherlands scheduled for this year, but can you tell us your tour plans so far?

“Yes, unfortunately it didn’t work out with the Netherlands this year, but we’re always on it and would love to come back for another show after the Edenbridge tour in 2024, when we played in The Hague. For 2025 though, we’re pretty busy – we’ve experienced our very first UK headliner tour and are also playing shows in Liechtenstein, Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. If you want to catch us live, the best way is to follow us on our social media channels, visit our homepage (deep-sun.com), or subscribe to our newsletter. That way, you’ll always be up to date.” ■

Henk van Nieuwenhoven