Interview Interrogation: Karmen Klinc from Venus 5 (International)

     It cannot be denied that metal music has transformed and shifted into many sounds since Black Sabbath recorded their first ever riff, as time has passed the genre has taken on many forms and styles, uniting and dividing fans in the process but above all keeping the industry on it's toes for the next wave of music innovations. 

   One avenue that does not seem to have been explored until now, is the thought of having a metal vocal group backed by musicians, enter Venus 5. Imagine the Spice Girls taking on a metal form, and delivering a sound that is darker and dirtier than their looks and outfits suggest, yes Venus 5 may straddle themselves between pop and symphonic metal, but the force they present is so captivating and original, you would find it hard to name another band as unique as Venus 5; not even Babymetal makes it close.

If Vanilla Ninja, Amaranthe and Within Temptation had a child together, then Venus 5 would be the offspring, spewing out modern symphonic anthems that would set any stadium alight.

GMA spoke with Karmen Klinc, one of the five vocalists fronting Venus 5. Check out their music video "Because Of You" down below.

Venus 5 has very humble beginnings, could you explain how the group came to be and where the name originated from?

     "The group was actually put together by Frontiers Music Srl.; Serafino Perugino (who is also the owner of the label) got the idea of doing something new and different, something that hasn’t been done yet in the European area. So him and Mr. Mario De Riso decided to find five girls, from five different countries and make a metal band in the form of a pop group. I’m not actually sure, how we got the name, but I think it’s quite obvious, they named us after Venus – the Roman goddess of beauty and love. There’s 5 of us, each one is different, so here comes the Venus 5."


How would you describe your personalities - who is the funniest, feistiest, etc? What was it like meeting for the first time?

     "Oh, we definitely have totally different personalities. Herma is our Italian power-girl, who cooks for us if necessary, and takes care of our videos. She’s a very capable girl. Tezzi is the kindest pure-hearted woman. Jelena is very honest and will never hesitate to speak her mind. Erina, who’s the youngest is also the funniest towards me. There’s always some funny story she has to tell, and she speaks in such an adorable way, you just have to laugh. And then there’s me, it’s hard for me to speak about myself, but I do know that I always try to stay positive and that I can act a little goofy from time to time 😊"


Arguably 'pop metal' has become increasingly popular over the past few years, how would you describe your sound if not pop metal?

     "It’s quite hard to describe, since there’s many different mixed genres on the album. But I could say it’s a mixture of melodic / symphonic / heavy metal. Sometimes a little bit of hard rock as well."


You released your single / music video "Tom And Ms. Amy Lee" back in February, does it have any relation to the vocalist of Evanescence?

     "Well, the Lyric was actually written by Per Aldeheim (Def Leppard, H.E.A.T, Stanfour, etc.) He was once watching 'The Voice' talent show, and there was a guy, who worked as a crane operator. He used to sing soul covers up in his crane, and he didn’t dare to show his talent to anyone. So his brother was actually the one who got him to the show without even telling him. And Ms Amy Lee isn’t the famous Amy from Evanescence, even though a lot of people think so. It’s a made up story about a girl, who was picking up cans from the street and making sculptures out of them. She was hiding those sculptures in the attic. If she dared to show her piece of art, she would become very rich and famous. So, the song’s about taking risks in life, because you never know what might happen if you don’t try. It might surprise you."

As you all deliver various vocal styles, was it a challenging process in recording the debut album - knowing which vocals belong where?

     "No, not really. Some of the vocal lines were already predetermined by the song writers, Aldo Lonobile, Jake E, Stefan Helleblad and Per Aldeheim. They knew how our voices sounded like and they chose which part is going to be sung by whom. But it is true, that in studio things often change. So If we saw, that some part would be better for one girl, and another one for other, we changed the positions a bit. The most important is the final result, and I think we really made it great."


Behind the sonic vocals you have a backline of 6 musicians, did this pose more challenges for your debut album?

     "I think the sound is amazing, and the more musicians that cooperate on such an album, the better the result you can get, because everyone leaves a piece of themselves in it. I think having so many talented musicians playing and singing is also the reason why our album is really coloured with so many different sounds. All together we got an amazing result with the sound of Venus 5, and we’re very happy with it."


Your debut album clearly has something for everyone, with varying different song styles, how did you choose the songs for the album?

     "It does have something for everyone. Not only because of the melodies, but the lyrics as well. I always say, anyone who loves metal, rock or even pop, can identify with at least few songs on the album. The songs were chosen by the label Frontiers Music Srl. I can remember there was one song, that I liked very much at the beginning, but it didn’t end up on the album. Today I’m not sorry that it didn’t, because I like the album just the way it is."


Would it be fair to say that Venus 5 is bringing a new dimension to metal music in the form of being a metal vocal group?

     "It definitely brings a new dimension to the metal music. It’s something fresh and special in the European area. And that is why some metalheads have a problem accepting it. Just because the form of the band reminds them of pop groups. Even though the music is high quality in my opinion. We’ll see where it takes us, opinions are always on both sides. But I’d like to say, we have to stay open minded. In music and art everything should be allowed. With no changes, there can be no progress and we could only stay at one place for decades. Imagine nothing would change since the 80’s… we don’t want that. We want to bring metal also to people who don’t listen to it. And that’s why we’re pushing the boundaries. Sure, It would probably be fair to say that it’s a vocal group, but we should not forget, we always have our band with us."


What are your plans for the 2nd half of 2022 and do you have any greetings / thanks, that you wish to send out to people?

     "Maybe we will get some more shows, the next half of the year. It would be amazing. And of course I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart in the name of all Venuses, to
everyone who supports us and our music. I hope people enjoy it and of course I hope to see everyone at one of our shows very soon."


"Venus 5" is out now via Frontiers Music srl.

https://www.facebook.com/Venus5Music/
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