VISIONS OF ATLANTIS Singer Wants To Know: 'What Is Success?'

Vocalist Melissa Ferlaak of the Austrian/American "epic metal" band VISIONS OF ATLANTIS has posted the following message on her MySpace page:

"What is success?

"I'm working on an education program right now at my job and one question came up, which is what I have titled this blog. What defines success in an artistic career to be more specific, but really, is a question everyone should ask themselves.

"A great teacher once told me, to be successful as a musician or artist, is to be an accomplished musician and respected. This is what propelled musicians throughout the ages. Fame never really was part of the equation as much as being considered accomplished was. So what is accomplished? To me, being accomplished means being as knowledgeable and prolific as you can be on your instrument. More so, I think it also means taking risks and being an artist who sets the bar higher on the art scale. (Yeah, I made that art scale thing up, but I think you get the point.) If you look at the great composers and songwriters through the ages, the ones that propelled the artistic movements from Classical era to Romantic, to 20th Century, were risk-takers, usually unappreciated in their time or late in their life. Sometimes they died devastatingly poor (Beethoven, Mozart),others were perhaps given horrid reviews (Wagner, JS Bach, Cage). Why? Because they did things in music that were foreign or strange to the music of the time.

"I guess the one thing that I never really understood, was where did success equal fame? Sure, famous people have a lot of material things, but what do they sacrifice in the process? One thing that seems to be prevalent today is the loss of sense of self. I think that is a tragedy I never want to see happen in my life. Fame is a bi-product of success, not success defined.

"My original intent with music was to teach music and it is still my intent. Music is such a gift, not the talent side of it, but just to have music in your life. We don't really know the very beginnings of music and when the first song was sung. We have ideas, but no concrete answer. We have no record of it. Music is a gift with origins we don't know. How wonderfully mystical is that?

"Music is an art, this we do know. Art makes life beautiful by definition. Its origins are unknown as well. Music is also losing its sense of self to this idea of fame, which is a tragedy…it is losing its art because of it. The success of music should be to give it accomplishment again, to give it respect, to stop using it as a means to sell something or someone…music is becoming a business…the antithesis of Art. Are we going to let this happen?

"I would love your thoughts on this. All of yours. Am I missing something?"

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS will release its third album, "Trinity", in March via Napalm Records. The CD's cover artwork was created by Anthony Clarkson, who has previously worked with BLIND GUARDIAN, HYPOCRISY and EXODUS, among others. "The band felt he could capture the essence of the new phase of the band, which he did beautifully," the group wrote in an online update.

With regards to the album title, the band said, "Trinity stands for many things. For one, it is the third album (most obvious). There are also three new members, and three new influences in the music making. The band all agreed in June that would be the title and thus, worked from there. [In addition] the album is due out in March 2007 (third month)."

On the subject of the band's musical approach on the new CD, the group wrote, "Expect something different from this music, heavier music, mature and more introspective lyrics, grandiose symphonic parts, yet still keeping the band roots for writing songs that are accessible and sing-a-long-able."

"Trinity" will mark VISIONS OF ATLANTIS' first release since the addition of professional soprano singer Melissa Ferlaak from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ferlaak graduated with a master's degree from New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts in 2003 for vocal performance and has worked in the operatic field, most recently as Musetta in "La Boheme", and has been singing with AESMA DAEVA.

As previously reported, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS has posted two video clips from the group's appearance at the the Metal Female Voices Fest 4 on October 21, 2006 at Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium:

"Send Me a Light" (video)
"State of Suspense" (video)

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS released its last album, "Cast Away", in November 2004 through Napalm Records.

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS will support Dutch symphonic metal act EPICA on their upcoming North American tour, which is scheduled to kick off in early September.