Former DRAGONFORCE Singer's I AM I Taking A 'Bolder Path' With New Material

Felicity Hall of GetYourRockOut conducted an interview with former DRAGONFORCE and current I AM I singer ZP Theart at the SOS Festival, which was held on July 19-20 in Manchester, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about the recent departures of I AM I members Jacob Ziemba (guitar),Neil Salmon (bass) and Andy Midgley (guitar),ZP said: "Ultimately, fans are there for the music, and that's the bottom line. And as long as they appreciate that and the music gets played right, then [that's all that matters]."

He added: "You have to have the hunger, and after all this time, I've still got the hunger. Everyone else doesn't necessarily feel the same way about it as I do, and there you go. Things move on. I'm out here to be onstage and do music, and that's all I care about. And I wanna surround myself with people that feel the same way. Onwards and upwards."

Regarding I AM I's plans for the follow-up the band's debut album, 2012's "Event Horizon", ZP said: "We've already started writing, so there's a lot of stuff in the kitty already. And we're gonna take the next few months to sort all that out." He went on to describe I AM I's new material as "very different. Ultimately the same, but very different. It's a bolder path we're taking, I reckon, and a lot of people are gonna be really puzzled and surprised at the same time. It's new energy. It's new people involved. So far everyone's [getting their ideas in]. We're actually sitting in a rehearsal room and coming up with riffs and working it out in the good, old-fashioned way."

Ziemba, Salmon and Midgley announced their departures from I AM I in February "due to internal struggles and ongoing issues within the band."

A founding member of DRAGONFORCE, Theart made four studio albums and a live record with the band and toured the world for a decade, eventually performing to audiences of up to 85,000 people. His time with the group also saw him nominated for a Grammy in 2009.

After his departure from DRAGONFORCE in 2010, ZP worked tirelessly to put together his own group and, after catefully handpicking a set of expert musicians, the result was one of the most exciting new rock bands of 2012, I AM I. A promotional single entitled "Silent Genocide" in the summer was followed by the release of a debut album, "Event Horizon", in September 2012. Written and produced by ZP and Polish-born guitarist Jacob Ziemba and mixed and mastered by Roland Grapow (HELLOWEEN, MASTERPLAN),its stunning blend of melody-filled metal and riff-based rock topped off by ZP's soaring vocal performances completed a package that was acclaimed worldwide by critics and audiences alike.