Interview Tom Tas (Entering Polaris):


"Initially, these four records were not conceived as two double albums"


(December 2024, text Henri Strik, edited by Peter Willemsen, pictures provided by Tom Tas)



In 2023, the Belgian musician Tom 'Tee' Tas released his first double album titled Atlantean Shores and And Silently The Age Did Pass. Only one year later, Tas released the second double album: Myths In Motion and Songs Of Ivory And Obsidian. These albums contain extremely different musical styles: six-string guitars and melodic progressive metal, fully acoustic dark and atmospheric music, seven-string guitars, modern heavy and progressive music and ending with delicate piano and emotional music. Of course, Background Magazine wants to know why Tom Tas produced such a majestic musical project and additionally we would like to know what his musical roots are and in which bands he participated.



Hello Tom, would you please introduce yourself to our readers?
"Well, I hail from the misty realm of Belgium, from Flanders actually, which is the Northern part where we speak a kind of Dutch. I started playing guitar about the age of fifteen inspired by bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden, like so many guitarists of my generation, I suppose. When we eventually got internet
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Tom 'Tee' Tas
at home in the nineties, I discovered the bands of that era. These bands were still unknown to me at the time, like Helloween, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Gamma Ray, Rage, Kamelot, Symphony X and so on. I could hardly believe what I heard and experienced. While I had been playing some guitar already by that time, I discovered that absolute wealth of bands and classic albums. It just felt like opening a treasure chest, and I knew I wanted to try and make music like that myself someday. So, many years later there's Entering Polaris and Thorium."

When and why did you start Entering Polaris?
"In reference to my answer on the previous question, it might seem strange that it took so long to start something like Entering Polaris. After all, I'm in my forties by now, so you might wonder what I did in the meantime. Before I started Entering Polaris and Thorium, both around 2016 and both with debut albums in 2018, I played in a number of different bands. There was the excellent prog rock formation Neo Prophet. Check out the ambitious album T.I.M.E, which we're all still immensely proud of to this day! I also played in the instrumental and experimental group Offworld with a superb and mind-bending release in 2016. I continued playing in the heavy modern rock band 23 Acez. This band recorded a mind-blowing record in 2018 called Embracing The Madness, which I urge everyone to check out, and we have Quantum Fantay, an awesome instrumental band with phenomenal musicians. Recently the band started again, and you should check out this band live, if you have the chance. Of course, there was Ostrogoth in which I played from 2016 to 2018 and out of that band grew Thorium. That was a whole bunch of stuff after this summary! All these records and groups were fantastic, and they opened many doors. But above all, these bands were responsible for a fairly part of fun I've ever had in my life. However, I kept the feeling that I needed to do things on my own at some point, and eventually I made work of my own songs and albums. I had so many great ideas piling up through the years, and as time went on I began to realise that I ever wanted to give my own music the time and attention it needed. Hence, the start of Entering Polaris."

When did you get the idea of releasing two double albums with different musical styles at the same time?
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Myths In Motion
(click to go to review)
"The notion of two double albums only came - perhaps surprisingly - when it was time to think about how and when to release the albums. At this point, now that both double albums have been released for some time, it seems like the most logical thing ever to me, but initially, these four records were not conceived as two double albums. When I'm in the fury of writing, recording and producing, I'm usually not too concerned about how or when to release an album. I would rather work and write until the songs and albums have been realised the way I want them to be. Afterwards, I consider the practical side of things, which - I must admit - has created unexpected headaches for me in the past. There were some people in whom I had confidence, mostly people from the record label and promotion, who suggested to release two double albums. In hindsight, they were absolutely right. This way, both double albums highlight two quite different sides of me, both as a person and as a player and songwriter. It gives the releases a wonderful 'Yin-Yang' vibe. I love working with contrasts in music: the heavier the heavy passages are, the more fragile the quiet moments feel and vice versa."

How long did it take to record the individual albums and how did you find all the different lead singers?
"This was one of the biggest and most ambitious challenges of my life, no doubt about that! Apart from the actual songwriting, which entailed hundreds if not thousands of hours of painstaking and diligent work, the recording and production period took a little less than two years with about twelve hours of work a day, every day. I must admit that the gigantic work load and the seemingly ever present prospect of hundreds of hours of more work really got under my skin at times, and absolutely tired me out, but I firmly believe the end result was worth it, and that every second of that hard work shines through in the quality of these four albums and 42 (!) songs.
As for all the singers finding and contacting them was actually fairly straightforward, and I have Arjen Lucassen to thank for that. I once read an interview with him where he was asked the same question, he just replied: "That's easy, I just ask them. If they say yes, then that's great, and if they say no then that's okay too and I just keep on searching." All you can do is ask and try to present yourself and your music in the best way possible. As we tend to say in Belgium:'no' is already present, 'yes' can only be acquired by asking."

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Tom Englund Tim 'Ripper' Owens Damian Wilson Roy Khan

Which singers who sang on your albums are you most proud of and did some vocalists you asked refuse or say that they didn't have time?
"Well, that's a tough one to choose! While I'm totally blown away and thankful to be able to work with each one of the vocalists, I'm of course especially excited by a number of the bigger names that usually don't even do guest vocals. People like Tom Englund (Evergrey), Tim 'Ripper' Owens (British Steel), Damian Wilson (Arena) and Roy Khan. The inclusion of Roy in particular is truly a special one for me! I've been in love with his voice since the nineties, even before he joined Kamelot, and he still sang in Conception. To hear my own lines and lyrics passing through his vocal cords feels almost surreal to me. As far as singers are concerned, I wasn't able to involve; there weren't so many, honestly. Without mentioning any names, there were three or four people I would have liked to work with, but who didn't have the time, or they were simply unreachable, but apart from that, I got everyone I wanted!"

You also worked with Franky de Mangelaere on piano, David van Ransbeeck on violin, Karolina Prieels on cello, Maarten Taelman on double bass and Louis van der Linden on drums. How difficult was it to get them for the acoustic albums?
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Tom 'Tee' Tas and Franky de Mangelaere
"Involving the instrumental musicians was easy since I know them all personally and I know I can just contact and ask them to work and record together. Luckily, some aspects of this job can sometimes be straightforward."

In particular Franky de Mangelaere is very impressive on the piano. Was it difficult for him to play the parts you wrote?
"Franky de Mangelaere is a beast on the keyboards. He honestly is one of the greatest and most impressive talents we have in Belgium, and I urge everyone to check out his own music with Circle Unbroken, with the magnificent Marieke Bresseleers on vocals. In that respect, and knowing what he can do, I'm pretty certain he didn't have too much trouble playing these parts from a technical point of view - however, I know Franky put in a staggering amount of time and work in order to arrange and record every note as perfectly and intricately as he possibly could. When you really sit down and listen to the piano album, you'll hear the dedication, the delicacy and the amount of detail he put into these tunes. The result is absolutely haunting, in the finest way possible."

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Joris van Daele
You played on the electric, acoustic and bass guitars. But still, you have Joris van Daele doing some guitar solos. Why?
"That's an easy question. It's quite simple since Joris van Daele is Belgium's best guitarist. I'm not kidding or exaggerating, his playing, phrasing, technique and skills are out of this world. I even go out on a limb here, but what you hear on the Entering Polaris records is only a fraction of what he can do. Just like pianist Franky De Mangelaere, Joris is an example of some of the stunning talents that we have here in Belgium, and who deserve so much more. I firmly believe that if some of these players were born in Germany, Sweden or in the USA, they would have had massive, international careers. As it is, I guess we're all kind of fighting the same uphill battle of working in a musical style that doesn't get recognised or appreciated in Belgium. It remains largely unknown and therefore completely overlooked by potential fans from across the globe. All this being said, seek out Joris van Daele on social media and YouTube. His record Magic Number Eight is out now, and it honestly is stunning, and on par with anything Steve Vai or Joe Satriani have ever done."

Which album of the four are you most proud of and why?
"Ooh, that one is hard to answer, haha! In hindsight, I tend to say Atlantean Shores, from 2023. It's the longest of the records, it contains the most variation, perhaps the most richly colourful lyrics, several epic tracks, and it has Roy Khan on vocals. Then again, that's just me picking that album if I truly had to choose
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And Silently The Age Did Pass
(click to go to review)
only one of the four. All four records were difficult to make. The acoustic record And Silently The Age Did Pass also holds a special place in my heart."

Weren't you afraid that lovers of a certain musical style will enjoy one or two albums but not the other ones?
"Actually, that was an extra motivation behind the release of these records as double albums. In the end, you must be honest with yourself and realise that if the acoustic second discs had been released separately, they probably wouldn't have done very well in terms of sales and attention. Especially in today's rushed climate of diminishing attention spans where gimmicks and video reels of sixteen seconds are the norm. In a way, we more or less force the acoustic records on the listener, and that's all right by me. Sometimes you must be assertive and say: this is worth it; this is what we're presenting in terms of music, both heavy and non-heavy material, and it all deserves to be heard. Incidentally, the acoustic guitar record And Silently The Age Did Pass, was a collaboration with Hans Audenaerd, another amazing musician as we did this record together. I firmly believe we created a masterpiece: haunting, atmospheric and almost gothic in its execution. I feel that it is also interesting to note that both Hans and I really consider the acoustic guitar record to be a metal album. It's not acoustic in a way Ed Sheeran or Bob Dylan might have presented, but rather something you might have expected from the likes of Opeth or Nevermore."

Maybe some people compare your work with musical projects such as Ayreon and Avantasia. Were you inspired by them?
"Well, I must say that I'm honoured beyond words, if I'm mentioned in the same breath as these timeless huge artists! However, I would like to add an important side note. Entering Polaris stands on its own merits and we do things differently than Ayreon or Avantasia. Of course, this is exactly what an artist should aspire for: to have a voice of their own and to do something others haven't done yet. The albums of Entering Polaris aren't concept albums, and therefore they don't belong to the rock opera category. Also, I dare to say that Entering Polaris is a bit heavier, a bit more experimental, and overall, a bit more riff-oriented too. I'm absolutely inspired by Ayreon! I'm a huge fan, and I even worked with Arjen Lucassen on Empires In The Sun (2021), the second album by Thorium! He played the part of the minstrel on the closing epic 1302. So, check that this out as well if you're reading this!"

How do you look back at the results of the four albums and can you explain the album titles?
"Absolutely! Here we go! Atlantean Shores is slightly more traditional prog metal, the album title refers to the fleeting nature of things. We're all forever standing on the shores of beautiful things that are ever in danger of being washed away by tide and time which makes our time here more urgent and precious.
And Silently The Age Did Pass is the acoustic guitar album I was talking about earlier. The title has an
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Songs Of Ivory And Obsidian
(click to go to review)
ironic ring to it. After all, how could something as grand as an age or an era go by silently, without much fanfare? And yet that's precisely what happens in our lives and through time itself. Ages pass, empires fall, the tectonics of politics and power shift beneath our feet, and we ourselves grow old and say goodbye to past eras of our lifetimes. In fact, it happens in the blink of an eye. Especially, on a personal level, we all experience shifts in our lives, things that have major and lasting impacts on us as individuals while the world as a whole spins on obliviously. At times, things have certainly felt that way for me, and I expect most of us will be able to relate.
Myths In Motion is the heaviest of the four albums, played on seven-string guitars. The title is an alliteration, which also refers to an overlooked album that I released in 2019 under the moniker In Motion. It featured the vocalists from Soilwork, Revocation, Dagoba, Uneven Structure and others. Simone Mularoni mixed the album, and it was a very aggressive, yet progressive and ambitious record as well. Unfortunately, it remained under the radar, and it reached only a few people despite receiving excellent reviews from almost all the big media from across the globe. In a sense Myths In Motion slightly refers to that album, which incidentally is also still available on the website of Entering Polaris. So, check that one out too!
The title of Songs Of Ivory And Obsidian refers to the black and white keys on the piano, ivory and obsidian. Of course, the title refers to the songs on the album, which are both light and dark in terms of mood and atmosphere. Again, here's that element of contrast which remains a running theme throughout the albums."

What are your future plans?
"Well, I've been hard at work on the next albums for about a year now, and it's again a great heap of ambitious material. It's all going to take more time to finish, though, but with the four current albums out now, there should be more than enough music to tide anyone over until the next releases."

Tom, thank you for answering all my questions.
"It was my pleasure, Henri! Thank you, for this in-depth interview with these great questions!"


More info about Entering Polaris on the Internet:
       Website
       bandcamp
       facebook

       review album 'Godseed'
       review album 'Atlantean Shores'
       review album 'And Silently The Age Did Pass'
       review album 'Myths In Motion'
       review album 'Songs Of Ivory And Obsidian'






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