"To Dimension Logic" was one of the most prominent progressive metal albums. Its authors, the band named Vauxdvihl, are from a distant land Australia. The CD was released back in 1995 by Advent Records and gradually achieved a 'great-album' status. The band always was a slightly mystic one. In a couple of interviews that I have read, they were giving hazy answers and it was hard to get what it is all about, i.e., when to expect a new album, has the style actually changed, etc. There was a 3-songs demo released in 1996, which surprised many because of more industrial approach.
I tried to clear the things up and talked to Paul Read (a.k.a. Paulpot), the original member of Vauxdvihl who did not participate in the recording of "To Dimension Logic", and Eddie Katz, the former bass player. Both of them have founded a new band called Where Echoes End which, stylistically, is very different from Vauxdvihl. Yet, they claim, that emotionally they are not that far away... "Next Weeks Miracle" is the title of their first demo.
According to their words, only Fab Gallen (guitars/vocals) and Chris Delov (drums) from "To Dimension Logic" line-up are the members of current Vauxdvihl. The paths of Vauxdvihl and Where Echoes End go in different directions and lead to different places...

Paulpot: After "To Dimension Logic" nothing happened. Band members changed and then settled on a line-up for a while. Music was still being written and various music types were being absorbed. Vauxdvihl is a slow moving beast, sloth-like at times. In the last few years, only one or two rehearsals took place with a full line-up. A demo was recorded and then VV sat back for a while to see the reaction. A new CD is not far off. I'm not sure if it's a full CD or a half a dozen songs, but I am in no position to say now as I have limited contact with the Vauxdvihl guys.

It's probably more correct to say that you stopped playing progressive metal and began to play ambient, instead of saying 'you changed the style'. What were the REASONS?

Paulpot: The new music may have ambient elements to it, but it's still dark with lashings of atmosphere. The majority of people that have heard the demo tell us that it is very disturbing. The feeling of VV may still be there but it is being expressed in a new way. Progressive metal is quite limiting in some ways to the point where some progressive music has that sound about it and you know it's progressive. We don't believe that it's changing or being progressive to keep going the same route. It's more progressive to change and grow musically, that's the meaning of progressive, to progress, don't hold back. Where Echoes End may go heavier than VV yet, it's just not evident on the demo.

Eddie: I found being in a progressive band very limiting musically. Progressive music in Australia is stagnant and has been for years, no one seems to be doing anything innovative, and innovation is exactly what a progressive band should be striving to achieve. To innovate and progress, that's what it's all about. Being the bass player in Vauxdvihl was the most frustrating time as a musician for me because of the limits placed on me by other members of the band. With Where Echoes End, there are no limits, we decide on a direction and a concept and we work towards those goals. To put it bluntly, I've never been happier personally or musically and that's something I never found in Vauxdvihl!

Can you run deeply through the whole history of Vauxdvihl and Where Echoes End? When did Where Echoes End born?

Paulpot: VV is like a pimp and then we're the whore's. Once upon a time, Eddie, Paul and Fab, wrote music and for a long time could not find a singer or drummer. As time passed, drummers went through and Chris was the man. A singer then came along who sounded remarkably like Midnight (Crimson Glory). We rehearsed for a year and did a few gigs then exploded. Eddie, Paul and Chris joined up with Fred (guitarist) and rehearsed a different style of music all together, then that split, too. Eventually Chris went back with Fab and then Fred joined in. A demo was recorded... Eddie came back down that VV road again and shazam! "To Dimension Logic" was recorded. After its release, Eddie was out again. Fred's then out. Paul back in. Demo '96 done. Started work on a CD in 1997. Paul out again. And now Fab and Chris are VV. (They may have alias's now due to the VV factor!)
Then a healthy new baby weighing in at around 170 kilos was born in late May'97. We named it Where Echoes End. It was not a difficult birth as we have been together musically on and off for about 10 years.

Have Vauxdvihl had any recordings besides "To Dimension Logic"? I have heard that there were more than 10 songs ready back in 1996? Were they prog metal?

Paulpot: Only one VV CD has been released up to this stage. In 1996, there were probably 17 songs ready to go. Quite a few were acoustic, quite a few were heavy with an industrial feel and even some underground techno sounds. A few sections may have had a progressive feel due to Chris' drumming. These songs were extremely diverse. VV may put out a folk album one day, who knows?

There was a 3-songs demo somewhere at the end of 1996 still under the name of Vauxdvihl. Can you talk more about it?

Paulpot: The three-tracks demo was recorded with the Fab, Chris and Paul line-up and these three songs may end up on the new VV recordings I would assume, but I never like to assume because as Benny Hill put it, "It makes an ASS out of U and ME". The three songs show a change in direction, they were more direct and shorter. The unessential things were cut out, but, at the same time, there were more electronic sounds included.

What the other three guys from "To Dimension Logic" are doing now?

Paulpot: "The Dimension Logic" line-up was Fab, Chris, Eddie and Fred. Stacey Handchild was not a member of the band and I bailed out before the CD was recorded. Fred has been studying music at college and I've heard he has recorded a fusion CD. Fab and Chris are still VV. So that leaves Eddie with Where Echoes End.

Is "Next Weeks Miracle" the only release of Where Echoes End so far?

Eddie: "Next Weeks Miracle" is our first but certainly not our last release. The 6 songs on the tape represent a cross section of the material we have written over the past 3 months. When we recorded the demo we chose songs that varied from one another to give the listener a better idea of the new direction we have taken.
In the near future, we will be recording a full-length CD which should contain as many as 22 songs, most of which are nearing completion. We are extremely exited about the new material which contains music influences ranging from Celtic and Classical to the more progressive styles of music with a dark atmospheric feel. The CD will run in chapter form through 22 stages and 5 chapters. We also have some revolutionary ideas for packaging and art work for the CD which we are developing with a talented young photographer named Charles Prochazka.
Paulpot: It's true.

Was it difficult to be a progressive metal band in a country like Australia? Can you mention some other good Australian bands of similar style?

Paulpot: It was extremely difficult to be anything but a straight out rock band in Australia. If it's not a cover band or something people can listen to without thinking about it, then the market in Australia is a tough one. We tend to wait for the rest of the world to give a trend the nod, and then a year down the track Australia follows. I'd like to mention some other bands of similar style to VV, but I don't hang out in those circles anymore and therefore I don't know of any..
Eddie: People don't care....they don't understand it....they don't want to understand it....and they just don't get it. Progressive music is just too much for the average Australian to handle. It's a different culture here and we are a minority which makes things pretty difficult.

"To Dimension Logic" was VERY WELL accepted by progressive metal fans all over the world. Still, sales-wise it does not have big figures, right? What reasons of that do you see? Distribution was more or less decent, wasn't it? What role your geographical location has played?

Paulpot: The sales were good considering that the majoring was sold due to word of mouth. The management was dodgy and within the band some of us only got told selective things, so we never really knew exactly what was going on. It is truly amazing that "To Dimension Logic" did nothing at all considering all the positive feedback.
I have no idea how the distribution was but I can say that we received a lot of emails asking where they could get the CD as it was extremely hard to find, nobody could purchase the thing without going though huge dramas. I could go on about this question for ever but it would turn ugly........... people seem to enjoy ripping others offfff.........ect........what the fuc....................... bastar....d........s...
Eddie: Demographics play a major role. We are so far away from where the action is that most bands just die or fade away in a cesspool of pub gigs. Its also very easy to get ripped off, and because we are so far away people take advantage of you. You can't deal face to face with anyone because of the distance.

Present the concept of Where Echoes End.

Eddie: Where Echoes End is a unique blend of ambient sonic textures, distressing sampling ,dark mysterious moods, and themes with strong melodic hooks throughout which draw the listener into a panorama of sound. "Next Weeks Miracle" is just a small portion of a much larger work which addresses issues ranging from religion, science, psychology, war, culture......the list goes on. Where Echoes End is a vehicle for expressing our opinions. It allows us to put forward our ideas (musically and mentally) and receive feedback from people all over the world. I have read a lot of books over the past 3 years on topics ranging from Physics, Evolution, Science, Mind, Mysticism, Astronomy and I incorporate what I learn with the music I write.
In the future, Where Echoes End may tackle subject like The paradox of quantum physics or Naked singularities or The big bang theory or The theory of relativity, we may look at Mind and Consciousness or Fuzzy logic and its infinite shades of gray. Who knows where this journey will lead us. Paulpot: What it is, Bro! The big band theory, that's the one where Glen Miller and Tommy Dorsey come back to life via the magic of the stretched pantiehose, cotton wool and 3 very small coat hangers. The science confederation will soon proclaim the Big Band Theory as the answer to all of the big Questions and a few tiny problems will be put to rest also, e.g., why does only one sock disappear in the washing machine?

Would this project be possible without a philosophical background (some of which is stated on the tape cover and on the press kit)?

Eddie: Where Echoes End revolves around a philosophical background. The views expressed on "Next Weeks Miracle" are our own and I think we will always express an opinion with our music. As I mentioned above, the forthcoming CD will revolve around a concept which looks at life and the problems we face as a result of being too numerous, too greedy, and too mobile. Greed is one of the major factors which drives the human race and could cause its down fall. Everybody wants something... more money, more power, more respect, more children, more sex, more land, more food and some of us will stop at nothing to get what we want. Next Weeks Miracle and the forthcoming CD will uncover what people want and how they go about getting it. It will show how the group or superorganism rather than the individual is what really matters in the quest for the things we want.
Paulpot: And so say all of us.

Can you give some explanations behind the phrase "we have met the enemy, and he is us"?

Eddie: We Have Met The Enemy, And He Is Us ... sums up the entire concept in one simple phrase. It basically shows how we are our own worst enemy. We go to war in the name of religion, we kill for the right to speak, we stand by idly and watch as Rwanda moves from hunger to holocaust, we commit unspeakable acts for illusions we believe in, murder, muggings, robberies and rape, where will it end. The greatest flaw in mans consciousness is our perception of time. When the human species became aware of the passage of time everything began to change, possibly for the worse. Awareness of time means awareness of death, and awareness of death means that you can foresee your own mortality. From this awareness, we establish a sense of self, and from the self the ego is born. Most of the worlds problems that exist today are caused by this ego driven monster we call man, eliminate the ego and you solve the problems.
Paulpot: The world would be a terrific place without man-kind !

Did your landmate Black Lung influence Where Echoes End in one or another way?

Paulpot: I've only heard Black Lung briefly and, in fact, I went to see Black Lung live a few months ago and I left before the end. They have no influence on us.

Is it difficult to promote Where Echoes End? It's not progressive metal, and therefore you have to strike to the different areas... Different record companies, different distributors, different audience, etc.

Eddie: I think its difficult to promote anything truly original and experimental, having said that I also think we may appeal to a broad range of listeners. The response we've received in Australia has been extremely positive, everyone, who has heard the tape, has commented on how original it sounds and most of these people are listeners of progressive metal. So it's fantastic.
I think if you can detach yourself from what we did in Vauxdvihl and listen with a clear and open mind you will be rewarded. I'm a listener of progressive music but my taste in music has matured and grown to the point where I can appreciate a whole range of different styles and I think it shows in the music we are writing.
Paulpot: yeah.

"Next Weeks Miracle" has probably got very controversial reactions...

Eddie: Some of the sampling is quite disturbing and intense which some listeners may find a bit controversial. The samples we have chosen for the songs are very important, they make the song come alive and gives the music a strange ambient atmosphere. With each song we try to put forth a view or a certain mood and the samples help to achieve that goal. When you deal with issues such as religion and politics you are bound to get some negative reactions from some people.
Paulpot: that's correct, negatoria.

What can you say to disappointed fans that were waiting for something in the vein of "To Dimension Logic"?

Eddie: It's time to progress, I consider listeners of progressive metal to be some of the most musically open minded people around, all that we ask is that you let us guide you on a journey to uncharted territory, to places you thought you would never explore.
If you liked "To Dimension Logic" you must be musically open minded. And if you are musically open minded you will like Where Echoes End, it's that simple. It's time to change, nothing stays the same and I hope that fans of Vauxdvihl continue to mature and grow as much as we have over the past few years. Just look at this as the beginning of a long quest that could take you anywhere.
Paulpot: And you don't need a compass or map.

Eddie: We are considering vocals but it would be minimal at this point. I think the sample we have chosen express everything we wanted them to and we're having so much fun working this way that it looks like we may continue without vocals, but you never know. When we work with samples, we take small parts from a range of sources and arrange them in such a way that the song tells a story, so there are lots of fragmented sections combined to make a coherent and cohesive whole. Basically, we use anything that interests us or fits with the concept or theme, anything that can help put forward our views.
Paulpot: Indeed.

Who is Helen?

Paulpot: Helen is my girlfriend and personal secretary. Helen put the VV web page up and took care of e-mail correspondence. She is also helping with Where Echoes End.

What will you do now? Is the question of Vauxdvihl reformation in the original line-up excluded? Has "Next Week Miracles" been mailed to many record labels/magazines?

Eddie: At the moment we're working on building a following and just letting people know what's going on. In the next 2 months we hope to put the finishing touches to the last of the songs we have written and then its into the studio. We recently had a meeting with the sound engineer we will be working with in the studio and everything seems to be running along smoothly.
I don't think either of us will be working with Vauxdvihl in the near future or the distant future. Our first priority will always be Where Echoes End and I hope we will always look to the future not the past and continue to progress, we are extremely happy with the new material and I don't think we will ever go back to the way we were, its time to move on.
Paulpot: "Next Weeks Miracle" has made its way to you first and now it's going all around the globe, we are not too interested in pushing it in Australia.