DORO PESCH Says She Would Like To Collaborate With NIGHTWISH Singer

German metal singer Doro Pesch recently spoke to Greece's Metal-Temple.com webzine about her upcoming AFM Records debut, entitled "Classic Diamonds". Due on September 20, the CD contains reworked classics from Doro's 20-year career as well as several new songs which were specially composed for this project. Special guests on the CD include Blaze Bayley (BLAZE, ex-IRON MAIDEN),Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY, ex-HELLOWEEN) and Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT). Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Metal-Temple.com: Can you tell me some things about [the new album's] creation? How did you work together with Udo etc?

Doro: "The idea was like...two people came and said it was a benefit thing and they asked if I wanted to participate and I said what is it and they said it had to do with the Metal Classic Night Orchestra and they were looking for some guests to sing classic metal songs and I said that sounds good and I did want it in my life in year 2000 with the Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra and it was really good. But, you know, I was like very classical and these guys, and Udo, looked like headbangers and it sounded interesting, so we met and then we did a benefit festival and had arrangements and it sounded really good and the atmosphere was great and we played some other songs of mine and some other metal songs and I thought that’s really cool and then we did it again with Blaze Bayley… We were on tour, we became great friends and he is a great guy. We played 'Fear of the Dark' together and the whole festival was good and it would be a shame not recording it. So, we started in January and recorded a couple of the classic songs, like 'All We Are', 'Fur Immer' and 'Breaking the Law' by JUDAS PRIEST and I asked Udo if he wanted to participate and he said 'OK, let's check it out.'"

Metal-Temple.com: You've worked together with many classic heavy metal stars like Udo Dirkschneider, Lemmy, Slash… but you also don't hesitate to also work together with much newer artists like for example Pete Steele (TYPE O NEGATIVE). So what about these cooperations?

Doro: "Usually it always develops in a natural way. You know, you meet or it happens by accident. On the 'Fight' (2002) record we had this song, 'Descent', and then my bass player Nick Douglas — who's actually Greek! — he was singing the male parts because we thought it was nice to have a male voice too. So while he was singing I said, 'Hey Nicky, you know what? It sounds so much like TYPE O NEGATIVE doesn’t it? He agreed and I went, 'I should call Pete Steele,' and Nick said, 'That would be great!' But we were just talking about it and one week later I went to New York at a concert there. I met up with a girl I knew, who's actually from Germany and she asked me how the new album is going and I said cool. She asked me if there is going to be another duet on it and I said no because the last record had a duet with Lemmy and I loved it. So I told her I didn’t know who I’d be singing with, what the choice will be. I mentioned that there’s one song which is quite dark and it's called 'Descent' and that Pete Steele's voice would be perfect and she told me that Pete Steele's her best friend! I went 'No way!' and she asked me if I wanted her to call him up and ask him and I said 'No, no' because I was too shy to ask him but…she called him anyway! [Laughs] Pete called me one day later and said 'Hi, this is Pete, our mutual friend called me and I'd be really interested in listening to that song of yours.' We got along really great and we said 'Let’s do it.' So he did it and I think he did a great job. It's one of my favorite songs on the album and it's really extra-special to be working with someone you like. With other musicians it's great too but with Lemmy or Udo or Pete it's that they all have like a special magical feeling!"

Metal-Temple.com: Is there anyone you'd especially like to work together with?

Doro: "Yeah actually, maybe with Tarja from NIGHTWISH! I was just in Finland a month ago mastering the record and there's really a very big scene over there, everybody's very excited over there. I don't know though for sure because I'm going to start doing the next album by the end of the year so we'll see...but yeah I think it would be interesting to have another female on the album. I did something with Sabina Classen (HOLY MOSES) at a Wacken show; it was a 'Too Drunk To Fuck' improvisation and it was real fun! So it depends…it doesn't necessarily have to be female or necessarily male."

Read Doro Pesch's entire interview with Metal-Temple.com at this location.