When you released your debut (the self-titled album Jacobs Dream) album there was talk about Biblical references. Did you ever feel that it came in the way of the music?
    "There was definitely that in our music cause we wrote basically from our experiences, what’s inside of us, our experiences we’ve had in life. That bled over into the music. Our music has a message in it. We have something to say to the rest of the world. We share what’s inside of us because of the music. We’re hoping as time progresses to get better, to make better music. That our message is more received and that we can be more excellent at what we are doing because we love music. That’s what we are trying to do. To perform our music and to fulfil our calling in life. There were a lot of biblical references on the first album for Metal Blade.

When you picked the name Jacobs Dream did you anticipate the questions this name would
raise in the future?
    "We were at first named Iron Angel a long time ago. Not to be confused with the other Iron Angel in Europe. We couldn’t use that name if we ever released anything nationally, out on the market. We tried a couple of other names that we could not use because of copyright reasons or because they didn’t work. So we sat, me and the guitar player John Berry (The rest of the band being Derek Eddleblue – guitar, James Evans – bass and Bill Queen – drums) and threw some names in a hat, different combinations and stuff. This is no joke or lie but we drew this combination out of the hat and it sounded kinda catchy to us. There was no purpose behind it but as time goes on I think we will find a purpose. It’s like a fate kind of thing. - I thought that people would probably ask and I would tell them just like I told you how we got he name. People will naturally want to know what a name like that means but for me it’s just that as times go on we’ll define that. Jacobs Dream is turning out to be… there are definitely some biblical references but we never initially started out with that. We were just looking for a name. We needed a name before we released a demo and that was the name we came up with."

You released a MCD on your own, ended up on an Unerhört CD form German magazine Rock Hard and then got signed to Metal Blade. Was it a dream come true being signed to Metal Blade?
    "Oh yes, definitely. It was a dream come true. It was something that every serious band out there that plays hopes for some day. Metal Blade has been excellent to us and very helpful. I can’t thank them enough, we can’t thank them enough. In a sense they have helped our dream come true but I guess that was also part of the dream that we had a record contract with an internationally well known label."

Did you ever reflect over the fact that Metal Blade and their Metal Massacre compilations
were where Metallica got started?
    "I thought about that because I remember reading something about it way back that Metallica started on Metal Blade and I was: “Wow, that’s history”. Metallica has become one of the biggest metal bands today. They are where they are today because of hard work but through Metal Blade back then they gave them the chance and the opportunity and I’m sure they appreciate that very much. For me and the rest of the guys in the band it’s awesome that we have signed to a label that has contributed to greater bands and greater things.

When you formed Jacobs Dream did you have a master plan with different goals that you
ticked as you realised them?
    "When we first started Jacobs Dream we felt that we were meant to play music. God gave rock’n’roll to us. We knew that we had a purpose, like everybody has a purpose, a gift and a talent no matter what it is. We wanted to follow that and even though Metal Blade had not contacted us we wanted to do our music so that people could get to know us. We were hunting for a label to sign us. We certainly had a plan to eventually get signed. We’ve had this wonderful, tremendous dream come through. We chose Metal Blade simply because they seemed to be the best. That was our plan and the plan is to continue to get better and to make more excellent music and to keep the metal thing going."

I just got to ask. What is a “Theater Of War”?
    "The Theater of War is a terminology used especially in USA. Our military usually calls the landscape, the lay-out of the land and all the following encompassing factors in combat or on a war like situation, the fields and all that is involved in the fighting a theatre. That started me thinking that it’s more than that. Theater Of War means more than physical war that people have experienced. It deals with the physical realities of war but it also goes on to demonstrate that war is a conflict between two fighting forces. We wanted to throughout the album demonstrate that there are different levels of conflict. Not only physical but also emotional and all aspects of human existence. So the Theater Of War represents the all encompassing conflict, not just the physical and emotional."

There’s a song on the album called “Theater Of War” but how does the title tie in with the other 8 songs on the album?
    "For example like with “Sanctuary” is calling to every person… “Sanctuary” deals with the spiritual aspect of man in that there’s been a sacrifice according to what I believe in God and Christ. It’s like a struggle for man to define what he believes in. “Sanctuary” refers to a spiritual struggle, finding the voice of reason aside from all the other voices in the spiritual realm. “Theater Of War” obviously deals with the physical actions of man into an ultimate end. “Traces Of Grace” is another song referring to man finding himself in the middle of this world and it’s system and defining and finding himself. “Voice Of Reason” again is a conflict. There is reason and no reason, foolishness. It’s a struggle between defining a purpose and just being left to the chaos. As for the other tracks. We got The Machine Is God which is an instrumental. Critical Mass deals with the atomic bomb and how it’s a serious threat to us in this day and age. It started out as a solution that has become a danger to this world."

On this album there’s a song that is so specific in its title that I can’t help asking if that one is
about an actual human being. The one I’m thinking of is Sarah Williams.
    "It’s an interesting story behind that. Sarah Williams is an allegorical reference for all the people that has died as a result of being killed in a drunk driving accident. It is a very serious thing. After the accident, after somebody has died there are consequences. What Sarah Williams does is it tells the perspective of the person who was the alcoholic, who was the drunk driver who didn’t know when to stop and now have to live with this the rest of his life. It’s a horrible tragedy. It came out of a friend of ours who put together most of the song. He’s a former guitar player and a wonderful person but he learned…, nothing did actually happen, he did not hurt anybody but he drove home drunk one night and he woke up and didn’t realise how he got there. He got very upset wondering what happened. He watched the news to see so that nobody in the local area had been killed or injured because of drunk driving. He sat down and penned most of the beginning of that song and I worked with him to finish it. Basically a person that has to live with decision that could have been tragic."

Your sound is very close to a mix of Queensrÿche and Iron Maiden. Have you ever had anybody come up to you and say that you suck and that you’ve robbed Iron Maiden and Queensrÿche of everything?
    "I think that honestly I haven’t had anybody come up to me and say that but I have read in reviews that we have been compared to them or that we try and imitate them. All I can say is that I personally find it a compliment to even be compared to these two. To me there are four vocalists that stand out as icons in heavy metal. They are Geoff Tate, Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford. I love those guys of course I’ve listened to them and of course they’ve influenced me. But as far as sounding like them. I don’t go out of my way trying to sound like them. That is the way I sound. I guess that’s the way I am, that’s my voice. God made me this way. To my critics there’s not much I can say. I’m sorry that you don’t like me but at the same time I find it a compliment that I would remotely be compared to these guys. I think they are fantastic vocalists and they set a standard for heavy metal. That has to be recognised."

What have you learnt since the release of the Jacobs Dream album that you didn’t know before and how has it helped you making the new album?
    "I certainly always believe that there’s more to learn about the fans and about being in a band. I guess I just didn’t realise the huge receptions we’ve gotten and it did not seem to register with me, how many people there is that appreciates our music. It just humbles me and we feel humble. It’s a big thing to realise. Everything I’ve learned from this album and the first is that we need to do more touring. I really want to work on our live show. To be one on one with the fans. We love the fans. They’re the lifeblood. When we do a new album I learnt from this last album that we need more preparations. I want the next to be excellent, I want it to rock and thunder and to bring down the thunder. I want to please the heavy metal bangers."