Sex sells in music, advertising and just about every aspect of life these days. In the world of music, it seems that a lot of bands and record executives think that if you take a hot chick, put a microphone in her hand and show lots of cleavage that it’s an automatic formula for success. Well, in the long run, that grows old and the true talent rises while the gimmicks fall to the wayside. If you close your eyes and listen to the music, you can’t hear if that female singer is hot, but you can tell if they are really good or not. Benedictum lead singer Veronica Freeman is a prime example of that.
Her voice is one that is highly respected in the metal world and it’s equal parts power, passion and determination without having to 
rely on the sex card to make up for a lack of talent. It’s like listening to a metal hybrid of Tina Turner and Ronnie James Dio, if that makes sense to those of you reading this. Freeman and her band Benedictum, comprised of Pete Wells on guitar, Rikard Stjernquist on drums and Aric Avina on bass, are poised to unleash their new album Obey via Frontiers Records on November 29th (Europe) and December 3rd (US). I had the chance to talk to Veronica recently about their upcoming album release as well as touring plans and other aspects of her busy life.
Veronica/Benedictum: Hi, is this Johnny?
Johnny/RockRevolt: Well, that all depends. Do you have a subpoena?
Veronica: (laughs) How did you know? This is the FBI! I’ve got your dossier right here buddy.
JP: Ok, now I’m really scared (laughs). Hi Veronica, I do hope that you are doing well today. What do you say we jump right into this and make some magic? Let’s talk about this kick-ass album Obey that you’ve just put together. It’s your fourth album and you have John Hererra on board producing. Have you worked with John before?
Veronica: No, but this has been a hell of a lot of fun. I always say it’s a great learning experience, but he is truly a wealth of knowledge. We did a test run with him when he recorded my vocals for a song that I was doing with A Sound of Thunder. You know, it’s a very personal thing when you have someone producing you, so you want to make sure you get along. So, before we completely sealed the deal, we did a couple of things like that. We ended up deciding that we could do this and we actually became really good friends with him. He’s extremely talented; very thorough and the time that he put into this album; god bless him.
JP: How did it differ working with him as opposed to Jeff (Pilson) or Ryan Greene? He did he approach things any differently?
Veronica: Ryan was quite technical when he would go over the guitar parts with Pete. We called Ryan the “Bionic Ear” because he would really hone in on him, making sure he did everything perfectly and that was really cool. John differs in that he wants to go more on how something feels. So, what happened on this album that hasn’t on any of the previous ones is that the rhythm tracks were layed down live, so to the speak. They weren’t in the same room, but it was at the same time. The guys were plugged in direct and John was in the booth, everyone had their headphones on and the rhythm section was done like that and it really made for a different feel that I think comes across on this album. His premise is that there are just certain things that you’re going to capture in the moment that you can’t capture if you do it spot on perfectly ten times. There’s definitely something about that spontaneous energy and staying in the moment that can’t be forced.
JP: I agree, you can definitely hear a difference in the rhythm section on this album and I was going to ask you about that. You have two new additions to the band in Rikard Stjernquist on drums and Aric Avina on bass and those guys seem to have fit in perfectly to the mix. To me, a solid rhythm section is needed to be the foundation to create and build upon. I know they may be new to the band, but they have a lot of experience that they’re bringing to the table.
Veronica: Rikard is the former drummer of Jag Panzer and he’s actually been with the band for over a year now and it just clicked. His style really compliments Benedictum’s style as well. I do agree with you; you do have to have that solid foundation going on and that rhythm section has to click. Rikard has a real feel for the groove and it really does make a difference. Aric is just awesome and it’s so great having him on board. He’s a real trooper because just a few days after jumping on with us, we went straight into the studio. He really did his homework and he brought it…and it was great.
WATCH THE EPK FOR OBEY:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX42khzh41A&feature=youtu.be]
JP: Now, I also read that you did some work with Jeff (Pilson) again on this new album. What was the extent of that? (For those not in the know, Jeff Pilson of Dokken fame produced the band’s first two albums.)
Veronica: I’m glad you brought that up because I think there’s been a little confusion as far as who the producer was. John Hererra is the producer, so you got it right, gold star for you and Jeff was involved in some of the pre-production. I’m so glad that he did because we’ve missed him. His schedule is just so crazy, but we really wanted to work with him again. We consider him family and the bond that we have with him is just amazing. We worked on “Retrograde”, “Fractured”, “Evil That We Do” and one other. There’s a certain type of creative spark that he knows how to bring out in us. It was great to be able to see him again and recapture that stuff, even if it was just for a few days.
JP: Speaking of creative sparks, I want to talk a little about the two duets on the album. I’m a self-professed music nerd and I listen to all types of music, regardless of genre. I love finding new music that moves me and sometimes I think it finds me.
Veronica: Oh my god, that is so well put and you’re exactly right; I never really thought about it that way. You and I are the same like that because I listen to a lot of different types too. A lot of times, people will ask what are the five metal bands this and that and it may not be a metal band. My latest thing has been an old school country kick, like Patsy Cline and stuff like that, so I do understand where you’re coming from.
JP: I came across A Sound of Thunder online somehow a couple of years ago right when their album Out of the 
Darkness came out and I fell in love with them and I’ve done some work helping promote them. I loved the “Queen of Hell” song that you did on their EP last year. So, when I was listening to your album Obey and the song “Thornz” started to play, I was caught off guard because I didn’t know that their lead singer Nina Osegueda was going to be on there. How did that happen? Was the favor being returned or what?
Veronica: Wow, you’re really smart, I like that! It was, both yes and no. I met them at the Flight of the Valkyries Festival and I had already heard about them, but they ended up being really cool people. Nina had approached me about doing the “Queen of Hell” song and I had admired her, so we decided to go for it. I’ve done things in the past where it suited me better than the other person, but this was different. It was a complete pleasure to be on that song and I enjoyed it and had fun with it. “Thornz” was going to be a duet and, you heard it here first, I was going to do something with Graham Bonnet, but it didn’t work out because of schedules. The song was meant to be done as a duet, so I thought that I would love to have Nina on it. So, I tweaked the lyrics so that it sounded more like two women on it having a bitchfest (laughs). So, she actually came out to Phoenix and we recorded it at John’s studio and she brought her guitar player Josh (Schwartz) with her too. We all went out to dinner and actually got to hang out together, so that was really cool as well.
JP: You and Nina both have freaking amazing voices that make me shake my head because I can’t believe what you both can do with them. Now, a guitarist can adjust and tune their instrument is it’s off key, but what do you do to help exercise or maintain your voice?
Veronica: You know, I was really schooled when we went out on tour with Doro back in the day. It was so much fun, but the schedule was tough. I was cool for a night or so, but I ended up blowing my voice out. I learned to discipline myself and stay hydrated and get lots of rest. Doro would go and lock herself in her bus and you won’t see her until she’s ready to be seen. She definitely makes sure that she takes care of her voice so that she can deliver it to her fans. I would like to spend more time honing my craft and I am learning to take care of it better.
Watch “Celebrate” (Doro, Liv Kristine, Veronica Freeman – Live)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soAgtcwiLtg]
JP: Speaking of touring, what are the plans to take this new music out on the road to the fans?
Veronica: We’re looking at maybe going out on the West coast in January or February, hitting the East coast in March or April and maybe heading over to Europe in the summer. So, that’s the global plan as of now.
JP: Well, I will keep my fingers crossed that you make it to my neck of the woods. One of the dates that got cancelled was the show in Springfield, VA with A Sound of Thunder, and I was personally really bummed, so I am hoping that will get put back on the books.
Veronica: That was a heartbreaker because Nina really busted her ass to get that show and I give a shout-out to Empire and all of the people there. I know people were disappointed and it’s a business, but it was no fault of our own. All shows are very important, but that one was one we were really looking forward to. I hope you can make it to that one if we do. In this whole day and age of social media, people really do need to get to a live show. It’s nice to have someone click your YouTube link or like you on Facebook and it’s cool and I’m not detracting from it in anyway, but people really need to go out and support the bands at their live shows. I know times are tough out there and you don’t have to tell me, but making it out to maybe one or two local shows a month really goes a long way in helping these bands out.
JP: Absolutely, that’s what I don’t understand because these local shows don’t usually cost a lot of money to get into, yet people don’t make the effort to show up, but they will easily thrown down $5 for latte at a coffee shop. Now, as much as I hate to do this, I know we are running over schedule so we need to wrap this up. Is there anything that you want to close with? I know you have a few other things that are keeping you busy outside of the band.
Veronica: I have a business called Street Fighters Inc. where we sell after market motorcycle accessories and that helps to pay the bills and allows us to go out and do the Benedictum thing. The other business is called Wild Hair Accessories. I’m also doing Heavy Metal Television which is a 24-hour streaming metal video outlet and I am one of the VJs. I’m on Monday-Friday, but my times rotate. They play classic videos as well as brand new bands just starting out.
JP: Thanks so much for your time today and congrats on such an awesome new album. Best of luck to you and the guys and we’ll keep our fingers crossed on those tour dates.
Veronica: Thank you Johnny for wanting to talk to me today, this has really been a lot of fun. Thanks to all of you at Rock Revolt and to all of our fans! We hope you all check out the new album when it comes out on November 29th (Europe) and December 3 (US) and we’ll see you out on the road soon!
By: Johnny Price, Lead Senior Journalist
