EverythingRock recently conducted an interview with
guitarist Glenn Tipton of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST.
A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
EverythingRock: It's pretty well publicized that K.K. Downing left earlier this year and he was replaced by a significantly younger
guitarist, Richie Faulkner. Some critical fans might argue that he
doesn't fit in with the bands image. Do you believe choosing someone who isn't
within your own generation has better for the band?
Glenn Tipton: The only thing that was important for us was the guitar
playing, really. At the end of the day, we wanted a guitar player that fitted
in but it was the audio side of things that was important. We needed a person
that fitted in musically and we got along with as well and it wasn't a concern
for us whether that person was 50 years old or 20 years old, as long as it was
the right man for the job.
EverythingRock: Just like Tim "Ripper" Owens and Scott
Travis, Richie Faulkner was relatively unheard of until he joined PRIEST.
These musicians hadn't necessarily proven themselves on the same scale as you
and you could say it was a bit of a risk. What makes you take this risk?
Glenn: Well, it wasn't really a risk once we'd heard him play. I mean, I
take your point. It was a difficult time for is, it was time when we almost
gave up and if we hadn't have found Richie, I don't think we'd be on
tour today. It had to be the right man for the job. Richie was
recommended to us and we checked him out online and I asked him up to the
studio and said, "Show me what you can do," and I just knew straight
away he was the man for the job. The beauty about Richie is he's never
tried to replace what Ken did. He does it in his own way and that's the
magic of it. Straight away we were all amazed at the contradiction; that he can
do his own thing but he really blends in and works with PRIEST, we were
all astonished by it.
EverythingRock: JUDAS PRIEST are well known for their dual lead
guitar sound. I imagine that because of this, you and K.K. must have
built a pretty strong musical relationship. Did you find it difficult to adapt
to playing with Richie?
Glenn: Well, no, and that's the reason it works with Richie and
works so well for us. Straight away there was something there, a connection
there. I don't think it matters how good a guitar player you are, to try and
represent what me and Ken have got is a very difficult thing to do.
We've worked hard through the years to forge a path ahead between twin lead
guitars and we're very proud of that and I think a lot of people were inspired
by that. It was a difficult thing to achieve but Richie is just
astounding, really, because he's stepped in and in his own way he's just
blended into the band so well.
A billboard announcing Alice Cooper's appearances
this September as part of the Soundwave Revolution festival in Australia has gone missing from its original
location high above Sydney's
Enmore Theatre.
Chugg Entertainment is offering two tickets to the Sydney show on Alice Cooper's "No
More Mr. Nice Guy" tour on Monday, September 26 at the Enmore Theatre
to anyone who can offer any information of the billboard's whereabouts.
According to Music Feeds, a representative from Century Venues alerted the Chugg office this morning of the missing artwork; saying
that the 3 x 4 metre billboard had been untied during last night's torrential
rain from the framework and stolen, with no traces of how. Scaling the awning
and ascending somehow to the billboard framework, several meters above the
awning, the stealth mission was no mean feat. It is also clear that this was no
blowaway Alice;
as the billboard on the other side of the framework remained completely intact.
Frontiers Records will release URIAH HEEP's "Live
In Armenia" 2CD+DVD
package on September 23 in Europe and September 27 in North America.
In October 2009, URIAH HEEP released its 40th-anniversary "Celebration" album, containing new studio recordings of 12 of its most successful, classic
tracks, plus two brand new songs. This recording heralded an exciting new phase
for the band, taking their classic sound right into the future.
The band hit the road to celebrate 40 years at the top and opened new frontiers
in Eastern Europe, Australia,
South Africa, Japan and America. The band has played 53
different countries in total. The band's motto has always been "if the
people cannot come to see and hear HEEP music, we will take it to
them," and based on that, when the band was invited to play for the first
time in Armenia, they did not think twice and went for it. So when the band
agreed they were approached by TV and film crews to document this concert which
shows an epic performance and an incredibly strong and powerful audience
reaction.
"It was unique because it was a first for us, and the fact that our music
meant so much to so many people, was just wonderful," says Mick Box.
"It cannot get any better than that. There were some technical problems to
overcome, as we played on hired equipment, but the emotion of the night won
through, and if asked, we would indeed go back and play again".
URIAH HEEP, who indisputably invented hard rock in conjunction with BLACK
SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and LED ZEPPELIN, have sold in excess of
30 million albums since their inception in 1969. From their early incarnation
as THE GODS AND SPICE, through record breaking tours, gold and platinum
selling albums, timeless chart scaling anthems and a fiercely dedicated fan
base of worldwide proportions, URIAH HEEP can rightly claim to be one of
the greatest U.K. progressive heavy rock bands of both the 20th and 21st
centuries.
"Live in Armenia" will be exclusively released in a glossy digipak 2CD+DVD package and on a
limited 2LP gatefold sleeve version (including only the audio portion).
The full track listing is as follows:
CD1:
01. Wake The Sleeper
02. Overload
03. Tears Of The World
04. Stealin'
05. Book Of Lies
06. Gypsy
07. Look At Yourself
08. What Kind Of God
09. Angels Walk With You
10. Shadow
CD2:
01. July Morning
02. Easy Livin'
03. Sunrise
04. Sympathy
05. Lady In Black
DVD:
01. Wake the Sleeper
02. Overload
03. Tears Of The World
04. Stealin'
05. Book Of Lies
06. Gypsy
07. Look At Yourself
08. What Kind of God
09. Angels Walk With You
10. Shadow
11. July Morning
12. Easy Livin'
13. Sunrise
14. Sympathy
15. Lady In Black
MANOWAR will embark on a U.K. tour in November. The dates
are as follows:
Nov. 01 - 02 Academy - Glasgow, Scotland
Nov. 04 - 02 Academy - Leeds, England
Nov. 05 - 02 Academy - Brixton, England
Nov. 06 - The Great Hall - Cardiff, Wales
Nov. 09 - The Academy - Dublin, Ireland
Nov. 10 - Mandella Hall – Belfast, Ireland
Commented MANOWAR bassist and producer Joey DeMaio: "After
16 years, MANOWAR will return to the U.K. — I mean, the whole of the
U.K.: England, Scotland, Ireland, North Ireland and Wales. The 'Battle
Hymns' 2011 U.K. tour will feature MANOWAR performing the entire 'Battle
Hymns' record plus classic metal hymns that you've come to know. See you there.
Fuck the world! Hail and kill!"
MANOWAR recently returned to the studio to resume work on its
long-awaited new album, "Hammer Of The Gods".
DeMaio previously stated about the status of the songwriting and
recording sessions for "Hammer Of The Gods", "The truth
is this: [original MANOWAR drummer] Donnie Hamzik is officially
back in the band, and that changed everything for us. So all the songs that
were written have been completely fucking thrown out, completely ditched —
gone, never to be heard from again. The writing has changed because Donnie's
back in the band and he's burning like a mad motherfucking demon on drums. So
this album is gonna basically sound like I told you before — like somebody put
gasoline on your fucking balls and lit it. So it'll be worth the fucking wait,
'cause when it comes, it's coming back."
"Hammer Of The Gods" was previously described as the first
installment of "The Asgard Saga", the band's unique multimedia
fantasy adventure with best-selling author Wolfgang Hohlbein.
Michael Christopher of The Boston Phoenix recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY
CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.
The Boston Phoenix: You get recognized by many as
the leader of MÖTLEY CRÜE. Do you look at it as your baby or like your
family you're trying to keep together?
Sixx: No, we're a band. Like all families, we each have a role, and I
don't think it works without all the family members. I definitely have a role,
but so does Vince [Neil, vocals], so does Tommy [Lee,
drums] and so does Mick [Mars, guitar]. A lot of times people will
go to different band members for different sources of energy and sources of
information. If you hate us it's okay. I get to be in a band with Mick Mars, Tommy Lee, and Vince Neil; it's kind of amazing. I'm the pretty
solid rock guy and that's because I've worked on that — I wasn't always like
that. "Nikki always returns our calls, he always gets back to us,
he's always available for conversations and stuff and he'll always go and talk
with the band." But at the same time, I am the fucking broodiest, moodiest,
crankiest . . . I am a fucking rock and roll snob. So they might have to go to Vince and say, "Hey man, we want to do this tie-in with this company, and Nikki is just like, doesn't want fuckin' nothin' to do with it because he don't think
it's cool." And Vince is like, "Yeah, I can see where he's coming
from, but let me go and talk to him." And Tommy will want to do this crazy
energy thing . . . and we all just feed off each other. We all are a rock to
the band in one way or another and we all are the downfall of the band in one
way or another. I'm just surprised we're even still around.
The Boston Phoenix: What's it like onstage these
days with the CRÜE, 30 years in?
Sixx: My friend saw us play the Hollywood Bowl and he said, "Man,
we you came out and did 'Wild Side', it was fucking mind-blowing!"
And I said, "Oh." And he wanted to know why I said that. Because
that's the first song, and I'm trying to see which people I'm gonna douse in
blood. And he said, "But you were prowling back and forth, it was so
intimidating!" I wasn't "prowling," I was looking for anyone who
was cringing. Anyone who is cringing is on my blacklist and looking to get
baptized in a bucket of blood. I only think about insulting and assaulting. I
want to fuck them hard. I love Tommy, because he's like the clown, he's
so happy and brings so much excitement to the show and Vince is like the
ringleader and Mick and I are kind of like outcasts of our own band when
we're onstage. It's the interaction between the four of us that creates this
complete perfect package of energy. The other night there was a moment where I
looked at Vince and Vince looked at me and looked at the person
in front of me and he just nodded his head with disappointed like, "Go on
. . . . " There was this guy in like, a Polo shirt, tucked in and he had
like, Dockers on and some really nice shoes on and Vince was just like
[lets out a big sigh].
The Boston Phoenix:
What's the deal with that guy down in Florida
who says he took over for you back in the mid-'80s?
Sixx: That was one of those weird things where management came to me
when I was off the road, and said some guy is saying he's you and Kerrang! magazine wants to do an interview you basically can make fun of the guy or
something." I said, "Dude, I've been on the road for 13 months, I'm
not doing any interviews, I'm writing songs right now." I was actually at
the time getting off drugs after "Girls, Girls, Girls". So
they went and did an interview with the guy, and he told this story about how
he was me and I'm not me and it got picked up and took off in the press. And I
kept ignoring it and ignoring it until it actually turned into a problem.
Which, legally, then the guy had to get his ass kicked. It comes up every now
and again and I go, "No kidding — isn't that bizarre?"
Motley
Crue got to the glam-metal party five years before Poison, and, in the mind of
bassist Nikki Sixx, Motley was more punk, more metal, more dangerous, more
real, more everything.
He
even said at one point, "No way in [expletive] hell would we ever, ever
tour with a [expletive] band like Poison. ... That would be the death of us.
... I will not be attached to that kind of fake [b.s.] ... ."
This
year, Motley has chosen to toy with death by inviting the poofier of the
hair-metal bands to bury the hatchet and spend the summer with its members.
Before
the tour even started, there was a bump in the road.
Poison
frontman and Butler native Bret Michaels told
the Arizona Republic that Sixx apologized to him for
Motley's negative comments in the past. Not so, said Sixx, who tweeted,
"Just to clarify, Bret Michaels recently said I apologized to him about
derogatory comments that Motley made about Poison in the past and that isn't
what i said. What I did say was 'I personally never had anything against you guys
as a people but Motley just sorta though you [s---ed] as band but let's give
the fans what they want and go out and have a good time.' "
Motley
Crue/Poison
With:The New York
Dolls.
Where:Stage AE, North Shore.
When:Doors at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets:$89. 1-800-745-3000.
What
a way to start a tour.
Part
of the occasion for it were dual anniversaries, as Motley Crue is turning 30
and Poison 25.
The
Crue formed in early 1981 and broke out of the LA's Sunset Strip later that
year with "Too Fast for Love," flashing the big hair and mascara to
go along with a trashy, thrashy pop-metal style. While producing platinum
albums like "Shout at the Devil" and "Girls, Girls, Girls,"
the band took the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll idea quite literally, nurturing
a reputation for debauchery that was exquisitely documented in the memoir
"The Dirt."
The
band raised hell together till 1992, when singer Vince Neil first left the band
(no one can decide whether he quit or was fired). When his replacement didn't
work out, he returned in 1997 for "Generation Swine." But with
drummer Tommy Lee then departing, that was the last time the foursome was
together for a record until 2008's "Saints of Los Angeles," a
throwback to the "Shout at the Devil" sound. Three years later, all
is still well in Crue-ville.
Poison
formed in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, as Paris
two years after the Crue, moved to LA in 1984 and made a splashy debut in 1986
with "Look What the Cat Dragged In." Poison became the poster boys
for pop-metal with hits like "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Every Rose
Has Its Thorn." The band hit its own rocky period in the '90s and reformed
in 1999 to tour and produce the comeback albums "Crack a Smile ... and
More" and "Hollyweird."
With
Mr. Michaels focused on solo work -- and keeping himself alive following a
near-death experience in 2010 -- Poison continues to tour off and on but hasn't
released a proper studio album in nine years.
We
talked to him when the tour was announced in the spring and to Motley Crue
singer Vince Neil once it started.
Vince
Neil
You
guys are playing a new venue [Stage AE] for like 5,500 people, so it's going to
be more intimate.
Oh
really? That would be the smallest place we play on the tour then. I hope we
can get our whole show in there.
There
hasn't always been the best relationship with Motley and Poison. How did this
tour come about?
Well,
that's not necessarily true. It was just a thing Nikki had with Poison. I've
been friends with Bret for many years. I've had nothing against them, but for
some reason Nikki did. I don't really know what it was all about.
Have
the bands been getting along well?
Well,
yeah. Of course. When you're on tour together, it's not like you see each
other. We don't all hang out in a big room before the show. We get there at all
different times. I don't get there until Poison is on stage, and they're
usually gone by the time we get off stage.
Have
you seen the [opener the New York]
Dolls on this tour, and can you tell me what kind of influence they were on you
coming up?
Well,
if you read our bio, you would see the New York Dolls were one of our biggest
influences when we started. We kind of stole their look, their image, and if
you listen to songs off our first album, you can hear a lot of Dolls in there.
I saw the very first show in Dallas
[on this tour]. I thought they were great.
Albums
these days aren't doing especially well, but it seems like "Saints"
was a success. Were you pleased with how it turned out?
I
love the record. I think it's one of our best records. We play "Saints of
Los Angeles" on this tour. People love it. They know the words and stuff,
so it was a good album. Now it's time to move on.
You
never really had the critics in your corner, but does it seem like they've come
around to you a little bit ...
Ah,
I don't know. Some do, some don't. Some are always the same. The band has been
playing amazing every night. We haven't had one bad show. But you know, still
people will just always wanna write [expletive] about us. And that's the way it
is. No one in the band really gives a [expletive] about what the critics have
to say, because, really, it's what the fans say. You have these social
networking things -- Twitter and Facebook -- where thousands of people say
we're an "amazing show," "you guys sound great" and that's
what matters. Not some idiot that didn't even go to the show but writes a
review about it and how terrible the show was.
You're
playingat this venue the night after Slayer. In the '80s, you were both targeted by
the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center]. How do you look
back at that, and did it help you more than anything?
Well,
absolutely. Once we had that warning sticker on the album, the album sales shot
up a hundred percent. So they actually made it worse, because kids wanted to
just buy anything with a warning label on it. It actually helped all the bands.
Are
there any thoughts about a next album?
Well,
we're going to be on tour until fall of next year. We're just kind of getting
started. We've been out about three months now. We've got a long way to go, so
the album is the last thing we're thinking about right now.
Is
anything happening with "The Dirt" movie?
We
have nothing to do with that. That was bought by Paramount Pictures when the
book came out. And it's over 10 years ago. If they decide to make a movie, they
make it. If they don't, they don't. It's been out of our hands for many years.
If it gets made, great, if it doesn't, I don't really care. It doesn't matter
to me.
The
way your tours go now, in terms of backstage antics, are there things that would
be added to "The Dirt"?
You're
comparing stuff that happened when we were a new band. That's what people seem
to forget. All new bands do exactly what we do in "The Dirt," but
people just love the fact that we talked about it. You can't think it still
happens now. Nikki's got his kids out, Tommy has his kids out. It's different.
The one thing that matters is being on stage, not what we do after the show.
Are
you as excited to be out there as you ever were?
Oh
yeah. Even when Motley's not on the road, I'm out there with my solo bands, so
I really haven't had a break since, like, '03. I love the road.
I
saw this story about how you had some critical comments about Nikki in your
book, and then he tweeted that you didn't write it. Is there anything to that?
No,
there isn't, because that's the first I've heard of it. Obviously, you can't
write a book without writing it. Know what I mean?
Does
anything stick out in your mind about performing in Pittsburgh?
It's
always a great crowd. We always have a lot of fun. I love the city. I was just
there doing something right before we left on tour. And I'm a Steelers fan, so,
there you go. I was actually there the night of the big rain storm with the
Dolphins playing. I was going to sing the national anthem that night.
How
did you become a Steelers fan?
I
just like the team. I'm a Steelers and Miami
fan. Being from LA there really isn't a team. And I live in Vegas, so, uh, I've
been a fan for a while.
Bret
Michaels
First
of all, what was it like to play that homecoming show in Pittsburgh last summer?
It
was the most exciting night ever. Here's why. For me, being out there solo and
having my family with me and all my buddies I grew up with, it was just an
amazing feeling. And you know what added to it, besides the normal tailgate
barbecue I have with the 150 members of my family backstage: I went up with
Lyrnyd Skynyrd at the end and sang "Sweet Home Alabama"
with my kids and when they say something is priceless, that's priceless. Pittsburgh to me, besides
being a true homecoming where I was born, it's always an exciting show. Good
energy.
How
did this summer tour come about?
Very
simple. I was going out solo this year. I have a brand new tour and CD, Bret
Michaels, "Get Your Rock On." I was going out solo, and we were going
to do a couple dates with Poison for our 25th anniversary. Well, I mentioned at
a couple venues that I thought it would be great if Motley and Poison toured
together for our 25th and 30th anniversaries. And I took a lot of flack
[laughs] from certain members of Motley Crue who vowed they were never going to
do it. Well, here we are doing it. I look at everything I do as a music fan. I
think Motley and Poison touring together is going to be an amazing summer tour.
The bottom line is, all that matters is that we have a good time and the fans
get completely rocked.
So
what has the relationship been like with the bands over the years?
Here's
the funniest thing. Vince has toured with Poison many times solo. We get along
great. As far as Motley and Poison, there hasn't been much of a connection.
This is the first time we've ever done a tour together. I know over the years
that Motley has a certain way they want to brand themselves or want themselves
to be seen. With Poison, we just want to go out to play for fans and the people
who show up. If there's going to be a friendly competition as far as wanting to
go out and put on a great show, absolutely. As far as saying anything bad about
them, I just don't.
As
far as getting along, I'm not around them enough to know or really care how
they feel. Even if they like Poison or don't like me, I'm playing to fans who
show up. It doesn't have to be a lovefest between our two bands. I don't want
the fans to be separated. Motley fans are Poison fans are rock fans. Music is a
universal language.
Look,
I've toured with Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice in Chains, you name it,
Kiss, and we've always had a great time. I think the bottom line, Motley
probably made a couple bold statements in the press that were probably
unnecessary, and I think the bottom line is, it all came around to us going out
and playing to a lot of fans, and I think it will be the tour of the summer. I
know I'm going out there to have a good time after all I've been through.
What
about the Dolls? Were they an inspiration to you?
New
York Dolls were a very big inspiration. I think they have a couple really good
songs. I was probably more of the AC/DC-Led Zeppelin-Skynyrd guy. I think our
drummer, Rikki [Rockett], was really influenced by them, as was C.C. [DeVille].
We were definitely influenced by some of that sound -- that Ramones/Dolls
glam-punk sound -- and I think it had an effect on our music. I think they have
some really cool riffs and songs that affected Poison and Motley Crue somewhere
in our career.
So,
how do you feel now after what you went through last year?
You
mean almost dying? [laughs] Let's just go through it. After being a lifelong
diabetic (four shots a day), emergency appendectomy, brain hemorrhage,
mini-stroke -- right? -- then the hole in my heart, which it turns out I had
for a long time. After all those operations were out of the way, I'll tell you
the truth, and I say this and I mean this ... grace of God, meaning it just
wasn't my time to go yet. Good medicine and great family, and I have a fighter
instinct -- coming from the Pittsburgh
area we all got a fighter instinct -- that's what kept me in the game. I'm
thankful to be here and to still be rockin', and I feel pretty damn good.
Poison
had to wait on the sidelines while you did your solo thing and got through all
this stuff. What's it been like for them?
Well,
let me state this very boldly. I never look at Poison ever on the sidelines. We
all grew up together. They all know that in the band, I'm extremely driven to
want to do stuff. And I've never looked at Poison as a sideline, it's just that
as we got to a certain point in our career, I needed to fulfill much more of
what I got into it for. I'm very passionate about creating and touring and
doing stuff. If you think about it, we were just out with Def Leppard two years
ago. Last year, they were off. Next year, I'll be out solo again and we'll come
back in '13 and go all the way to our 30th anniversary.
Will
there be any more Poison recordings in the future?
I
sure hope so, and if not, at least one song. In the meantime, we've got a new
Poison record coming out, a double collection. I want to make sure the fans
understand. I got into music for one simple reason: because I want to create
music. The first thing I built when I bought my ranch was a studio. I want them
to know that I still play music for simply the love of music. And I think that
you find ways to go out there and tour and take it to the people. And I hope
Poison will one day make a new record, but if not, I'm just going to continue
writing and recording my own music, and going out and playing.
You're
playing the 5,500-capacity Stage AE. Is that unusual for this tour?
I
don't know. I thought we were at the amphitheater [First Niagara Pavilion].
Maybe they're trying to do a more intimate show down there -- and the fans are
going to be very up close, so I think it will be an amazing show. Again, the
Motley guys are booking a lot of these shows, so I don't want to pretend I know
what their rhyme or reason was for doing that.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11202/1161738-388.stm#ixzz1SoB2dIZQ
Queensryche
has sold over 20 million albums since rising out of Bellevue, Washington
in 1981. Over the years they've cultivated their fanbase and produced music
spanning several sub-genres of rock, everything from the classic metal sound on
"The Warning" to the more polished "Empire". Of course, we're talking about a
band that hates traditional categories and has made a career of sorts out of
re-invention and boundary pushing. We talked to lead vocalist Geoff Tate about
all this and more including their latest album, a sometimes sexy and swanky
affair, "Dedicated to Chaos".....Read on.....
Q:
You've done some new interviews for this new album, "Dedicated to Chaos" and
have stated that the album is best listened to with headphones and it was sort
of created as such and has a heavy emphasis on the drum and bass grooves. What
led to that kind of songwriting this time out?
A:
With each album we do we sort of sit down and map out where it is we want to
go, and how we wanna get there. We have long conversations that sometimes last
for weeks where we don't even play notes of music at all but just sort of sit
and talk about what it is we want to do, what we want to accomplish. Out of
those conversations, the music starts happening. Usually, with each record we
do we have a jumping off point. This time around, that point that we jumped
from, started from, were the tracks that Scott (Rockenfield, Drums) and Eddie (Jackson, bassist) had
written and brought it. We just really collectively liked those tracks that
they had brought to us first and of course because they're composing them they
have more of an emphasis on drums and bass. Like, Eddie's tracks that he
brought to the table, he also played guitar on them and he just has a very
different approach to music and songwriting that launched us off in a new
direction as a band. One of the other things people are surprised about in
regards to the new album is that we tried to come up with new ways to play our
instruments. Scott set up his drums differently but especially with the guitar
we wanted to take it to a different place and make different use of it. We felt
that the rhythm section was already established on these tracks with the bass
and drums and we wanted to use the guitar as more of an accompaniment. Michael
(Wilton,
guitars) and Parker (Lundgren, guitars) really played around with different
sounds and effects/amp combinations to try and bring something different, other
than the traditional wall of rhythm guitar on every track.
Q:
Kind of like creating guitar "lines" as opposed to standard riffs?
A:
Yes. Exactly. Taking a more melodic approach to the instrument. In fact if you
listen to the record, a number of people have made comment that it's a keyboard
heavy record but I must say it really, really isn't. We only used keyboards on
4 or 5 tracks on the entire album but what sounds like keyboards is often
actually guitars. We used some really cool and interesting guitar effects and
things like slide and e-bow and things like that to bring a different sound to
the guitars. We did a lot of cool, mutlitracked experiments with the guitar
stuff. The third thing we were trying to do on this album was to write a
collection of songs rather than writing under any type of conceptional format.
I mean, we've done two conceptual albums back to back with Operation Mindcrime
2 and American Soldier so we just wanted to sort of take a break and spread out
and experiment.
Q:
Operate and write as a "normal" band for a spell.....as opposed to continuing
on with the concepts that so many have associated with you guys?
A:
Yeah, and it really sort of frees you up as a band cause you don't have to
connect all the dots. You can have all these completely unrelated song ideas
and not have to tie it all together. You can write much more when you're
working on each thing as a stand alone piece. You don't have to be concerned with
whether each song fits lyrically or whatever and it sort of made it a fun
project to do honestly.
Q:
Does it make it harder or easier to promote an album when it's a collection or
songs or a playlist as opposed to a concrete, linear concept album?
A:
Well, as far as the industry goes, they're not calling them records or albums
anymore, or even singles for that matter. They're actually predicting the end
of "complete long playing albums" now. I guess at this point (laughs) they
might as well be called playlists or mp3 collections or whatever (laughs).
Q:
I want to tackle a few of the misconceptions that people have about the band
these days. I've seen and heard grumblings about some moves the band has made
these last few years.....like the cover album or the Queensryche Caberet (adult
themed carnival type show).
Is
it difficult for you guys to introduce different or novel concepts to a crowd
that still consists of lots of the original 'headbanger's ball" core audience?
A:
No. It's been real easy (laughs). I really strongly believe that music is a
personal journey for everyone. It is DEFINITELY a personal journey for the
artist or composer, you're writing about how you feel the world or look at the
world. You're utilizing your inspiration and craftsmanship to come up with
ideas and compose songs. It's also a personal journey for the audience ideally.
How they take it, and how they hear it, varies so much. One person we meet will
love a song like "Take Hold Of the Flame" from THE WARNING album and another
person will not like any of that older material but they'll like something like
"Della Brown" off the EMPIRE album. It just varies so widely from person to
person and you can't just use someone's opinion as a gauge because everyone
enjoys things differently and everyone experiences things differently and
personally. So.......what we've always done is we just write what we like you
know?? We write what inspires us, we write what collectively is interesting to
us and when we're done with it, we share it with the world and what they think
of it or what they do with it, you never know. What we do know is that we don't
ever wanna be in the position of where we're trying to cater to people because
once you start doing that you lose whatever it is creatively that was special
about you to begin with. You have to create music you enjoy, that inspires you,
not cater to your audience or you will totally lose your inspiration. Then it
becomes totally a situation similar to clocking in to a job and putting in your
hours, where you can't wait to be finished and be gone. None of us have ever
been interested in feeling like that. We like to and we NEED to experiment and
try new things as a band. From our perspective though, we hear just as many
people liking the new material and new sounds as we do people who are into the
old output. It's really hard, as artists for us to be subjective about our work
and differentiate about the old versus the new and things like that. To get
back to your original question though, yes the albums have to originally be
"for us". They all have been, "RAGE" was for us, "EMPIRE" was for us, the cover
album you spoke of was "for us". The covers album was all very well thought out
and personal to us. They were all songs that were individually inspirational to
us and we selected them from a very large pool of songs that we considered.
That was the approach of that covers album, it wasn't to cash in, it wasn't to
appease fans, it was for us. I don't mean any of this to sound arrogant, I'm
just trying to tell you the truth. This is the way artists work. I know a lot
of bands use the slogan "we do it all for the fans" but it's not really 100%
accurate, it's more of a marketing slogan (laughs).
Q:
Well, if it is true then it's almost worse because then they're just laboring
on a product to appease the fanbase and not really being artists at all but
more master marketers.
A:
Exactly. At that point, when you're not creating to satisfy yourself it is no
longer art and I truly believe that music is and can be art. People can enjoy
it either way and many do in many different ways, that's why it's so extremely
subjective. Some people listen to music and they just hear a wall of sound,
other people listen to music and they immediately pick out an instrument and follow
the drums or the guitar and that's how they listen. Neither one is wrong, just
different. Then there's also the way that people attach music and musical
moments to their lives. If you're a young person and you don't have a lot of
experience listening to music, you may hear something and identify with it and
you latch onto it and it becomes important to you. The way that modern
marketing goes, they put music into different genres and categories, "well, if
you like artist A, you'll probably like artist B". It's strictly a marketing
tactic.
Q:
Maybe there is something in the DNA of the band, that experimental nature, that
tends to ruffle feathers. I will admit something. Sales wise, EMPIRE might have
been one of your biggest landmarks but as a fan I could not STAND it aside from
the title track and "Anybody Listening". It really rubbed me the wrong way. Of
course, hindsight is 20/20 and looking back I can see there's a lot of quality
in that era but as a fan of Operation Mindcrime that left turn pissed me off.
(laughs). Is that a good sign in the sense that your fans are so passionate and
emotional that they have negative or positive reactions like that?
A:
Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn't want it to be any other way actually. I wouldn't
want them to become complacent or just blindly like everything we do. And it's
funny you say that about EMPIRE because I've heard that about every album we've
EVER made (laughs). I heard the exact same thing when "MINDCRIME" came out,
people didn't like it, they didn't understand it, get the concept. Dating back
to when we came off of THE WARNING to make the album RAGE FOR
ORDER.......people really, truly hated RAGE FOR ORDER because of how much
different it was from the album that came before it. When THE WARNING came out,
the critics just slammed it. With each and every new album we make there are
people who get it and like it and people who don't. From our experiences over
the years, the people who initially didn't get it tend to find some
appreciation for them over time.
At
one point or another some song from that album they didn't like will grab them.
Q:
Is there a segment of the fanbase that for whatever reason thinks Queensryche
isn't supposed to write "sexy" or "romantic" songs?
A:
I don't know what they expect (laughs). I live my life with very few
expectations, I find that way I am always surprised and not sure what's around
the corner. I think in terms of writing, that LIFE in general is just one big
source of inspiration as far as things to talk about. One of the most
interesting things that I tend to find inspirational is the dynamic of personal
relationships. All relationships, friends, family, as well as intimate
relationships.....there's just so much there to work with and talk about. It's
also a universal experience, almost everyone has at least some relationship in
their life and even one relationship has a lot of different aspects to it. One
of the driving forces in my life are my wife, and my five daughters. I am
constantly inundated with their lives, their thoughts, their dreams and a lot
of times they become the inspiration for a lot of my ideas. There's a song on
the new album, "Broken" which is a song written from the experience of my
grandmother passing away and her relationship with her husband. They had this
beautiful relationship where they were very much in love for their entire adult
life and were together, side by side for 55 years. Even when he died, he was
still a part of her life, she constantly talked to him, he was there around
her, constantly, in her thoughts. I suppose in her way of looking at the world,
he never left. That song is really a conversation between he and her because as
she was laying on her deathbed she was talking to him. I was in the room at the
time and could hear the whole conversation happening. It was surreal and like
he was in the room because she was definitely having a conversation one on one
with him, answering questions from him, making statements. It was a very, very
strange experience for me.
Q:
I think that's just it. A lot of people don't expect that kind of raw,
emotional content in a Queensryche album. They expect this cold, clinical,
robot, insect band....(laughs)
A:
(laughs) Well, I am absolutely interested in that as well. I like a lot of
things and I like to use the music as a vehicle to talk about a lot of those
colder things. Everything from our dependence upon computers to our
relationships to technology to ACTUAL relationships......In this band we don't
have any rules or any things that are considered off limits to talk about or
write about.
Q:
Tackling some other misconceptions.....It seems like some people on web pages
or message boards are laboring under the delusion that Queensryche is the Geoff
Tate show. That you guys are like a lot of veteran acts that have one or two
core original members when in reality you have 4 of the five members from the
1981 lineup.
A:
Right. Well, I would caution you to begin with to not really read too much into
what's said on the internet to begin with (laughs). It's a great technology but
it seems that there are a lot of whacked out people that suddenly have a voice
and a stage on the internet. Some of these people are people you normally
wouldn't be friends with or strike up a conversation with if you actually met them
on the street but you find yourself reading what they think or feel about
whatever because it's the internet. A lot of people, the loudest people often,
base their argument from a platform of complete ignorance about whatever it is
they may be talking about.....including music.
Q:
You said something great in your interview with Bravewords.com where you said
"Queensryche albums don't 'suck'" ….. you were talking about some of these
internet soapboxers.?
A:
Well yeah. People use that term without any basis or often any deep thought.
It's just something dismissive to say about something that personally doesn't
sit well with you. Again, not saying it to be arrogant or defiant but
.....we've been doing this for over 30 years and we're all professional, career
musicians. We've all had plenty of musical training prior to that even.
(laughs). If we've made this much of a career out of it and we "suck" than what
does that mean to that person??? It's impossible to think in those terms. Now,
someone can not LIKE what we do but that's just subjective and that just means
that for whatever reason they don't get it or appreciate it compared to
something else they do "LIKE". Maybe it's something that's very personal within
themselves, something about what we've created doesn't fit into their
interpretation of what we do. There could be a million reasons why, a billion
reasons why someone would have an opinion about a song or record. The thing is
that the internet has now given a voice to all the people who choose to have an
opinion and shout that opinion. What's happened now is we often spend
inordinate amounts of time reading WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE THINKS....rather than
just forming your own opinion about things based on experience. (laughs). Years
ago, nobody would ever hear most of that which in a sense makes this a
fascinating time to be alive. There is so much information out there and we are
communicating at an unbelievable rate of speed, I think society at large is
changing and I think for the most part that is a very good thing.
Q:
I'm afraid that the crud, not the cream rises to the top often times though.
The more negative, sensational or abusive the topic the more interest it
generates.
A:
Well, I think it's important that we try and remember if we're going to all
collectively focus on those dark aspects than it's important to try and offer
not just an opinion but a solution. Try to focus on finding something that may
be constructive or helpful rather than just adding more bile and negativity to
the stream. Who wants to spend their precious few moments on earth in such a
negative mindset? Life is amazing. Ge out there and live it.
Q:
My thinking was that if they were really following the band they would know it
isn't like Foghat where it's just the drummer left from the original band. I
mean if it were truly a fan page, the fans should know it's you, Scott, Michael
and Eddie the same guys that played on EP in 1982 right?
A:
(Laughs). Well, you know a band is a delicate mechanism. It has leaders and
followers, ebb and flow. There are times in a band's career where certain
members are more prominent as far as what they bring in to contribute. In some
bands there's periods of time where some members of the band don't contribute
at all and that's just life. You can't expect everyone in your band to be
prolific ALL the time. So we acknowledge that in our band. We realize that
there are some times where someone might have a LOT
to contribute and we encourage that, and explore that. You have to try their
ideas if you want them to continue to function and be in the band and be happy.
I would not be able to stand it or be in the band if I brought an idea in and
nobody gave it a glance, if everyone just dismissed it right off the bat. I
wouldn't like that and I wouldn't want to continue to bring ideas in. So we
recognize that and you'd be surprised at the results sometimes when people
don't feel shut down. Like on this album, Eddie and Scott had a lot of really
good things for us, things that made the rest of us wanna pick up from and go
in that direction. Other times, in the course of the band, they haven't and
that's just normal.
Q:
I wonder if sometimes people underestimate the importance of the rest of you
guys in songwriting by overemphasizing the importance of Chris (De Garmo,
former Queensryche guitarist).....That's no slight against Chris, I love his
playing but if you look at a lot of the song credits there are quite a few
names listed in addition to his.
A:
Well, let me maybe clear up another misconception (laughs). A band is not a
democracy. It's not an equal situation on everything. But.....it's not that way
that was as a commandment from another member, it's that way because that's how
others sometimes operate. Michael (Wilton,
guitars) is not a songwriter in the sense that he comes to us with a song and
hands it to us and says "Ok, this is how it goes......." and shows it to us. He
has never been that way, he's always been a guy that comes in with a riff and
it might be something we all work on and build on and something happens based
on that riff. Years ago, he would contribute quite a few riffs as a result of
Chris working together with him on riffs, they'd collaborate and bring a lot of
ideas to the band like that, just by bouncing ideas off each other. Since Chris
left, Michael hasn't really had anybody to collaborate with in that sense. He
will still, to this day come in with a great riff and we'll work it out and
build a song around it but he's never been a prolific songwriter. He and Eddie
are not prolific writers that have written tons of material but when they get
on a roll over the years they have done some pretty cool stuff. It's not a
matter that they don't write quality it's more of a matter of where are you at
at a given time, how much can you contribute at a given point. Everyone has a
life outside of Queensryche, wives, kids and you just never know, sometimes
they're not writing much at all and other times they're writing EVERYTHING. I
really wanna make clear that I'm not trying to disrespecting Michael or anyone
at all. He is a fantastic guitar player and an amazing musician he just hasn't
written a lot on these last few albums for whatever reason. On the other
hand.....his guitar playing has never been better, he's just incredible on
these last few records on the performance side.
Q:
You sound like you do sort of understand the mindset of the fans who are big
Chris Degarmo supporters. Is that accurate?
A:
Well, I think as a performer you just like it when someone appreciates
something that you've done in your career. If they're big fans of some of the
stuff Chris wrote that's great. We've done something they enjoy, that's cool.
Q:
Back in the day, Chris used to help you a lot in terms of interviews and
promotion and things. Do you ever feel overworked on that end of things?
A:
(laughs) Well, its part of my job. It comes with the territory I guess. Eddie's
never been one to do interviews, very very rarely. Same thing with Scott and
Michael actually (laughs) so it's just something I've gotten used to. It's my
job to pick up that end of things.
Q:
Did some of that non-music stuff start to wear on Chris before he left the band
or is that something you're even aware of?
A:
I can't explain Chris Degarmo to you. I really can't. It's not that I don't
want to or don't understand why people ask it's just that he is hard to explain
and I'm not in his head. (laughs). It's up to the man himself to explain
himself. When he left the band, he never gave us a reason WHY. He just said
"This is a thing I've gotta do and he left". I will tell you honestly John that
it was a very, very difficult pill for us to swallow. He left us there in the
lurch without any warning at all really. It was a really tough time for the
band. We had to figure out how to continue on without him which was really
difficult to do. Like you said, he shared all the interviews with me, he was a
big part of the songwriting and business side of things in the band. It was
basically a big, giant hole to fill and we were left there to figure it out on
our own. It was an adjustment, definitely.
Q:
There was never a moment of shock when you guys thought, to hell with it, let's
go do our own things and go our way?
A:
Oh, heck no. No way, no way. That would be terrible. We love what we do. We really
NEED to do this, it's not something we could all live without. I have to
create. I have to write.
Q:
That's a great thing to think about....you don't just WANT to be in
Queensryche, you NEED to be in Queensryche....it's your salvation.
A:
(laughs) It's true. I need to be in a musical, functional, creative environment
in order to be happy and live. I could do it without Queensryche but I choose
not to, I like working with the band. These guys are my oldest, oldest friends.
We've been together over thirty years. We work together, we hang out together,
all of our kids have grown up together, we barbeque at each others houses and
we're just really, really intertwined together as people. It's a real family at
this point.
Q:
Back to the business, are chart peaks and sales kind of goofy measuring sticks
for an artist to be aware of? I'm looking at the figures for RAGE FOR ORDER
which peaked higher than OPERATION MINDCRIME but as a fan it sure feels like
that's kind of an odd thought to process.
A:
(laughs) To use your term yes...very GOOFY. I like that term actually. I would
wonder why an artist would give such a rip about such things. There are better
things to be focused on for sure. When you start focusing on things like
charting and marketing you start putting music into like a sporting event
category. Music is not something to keep score of. So much of our art in this
country is looked at from a competition standpoint and viewed only on those
terms and in some ways it is kind of disheartening. There are countless artists
that you know that are great and creative that don't rack up massive sales,
sales that don't really MEAN anything other than massive monetary returns. As a
country, we've been taught, we've been trained, as a population to think in those
terms. Art in general, music in general, I don't believe there's any BAD music
or GOOD music, there's just music. It's people's expression, it's their heart,
it's their artwork. You wouldn't say to a kid that shows you their cartoon
drawing (laughs) "Man ….that SUCKS!!" (laughs). You know what I mean? They put
their soul into it and worked on it and love it, they may have worked on it for
days. You don't tell them that you tell them "Ohh, that's interesting" or "I
see what you're going for' or something. You may look at it 3 years from now
and say "Wow, I really like that cartoon drawing of the orange cow". You may
end up framing it and putting it up in your house.
Q:
You have sort of become a beacon or statesman of the metal community over the
years, looking back on the old albums, the tours, I mean you did HEAR N' AID!!
Is it true that you were initially hesitant to join Queensryche because you
didn't want to be known as a metal singer?? The demos of your old band MYTH
recently made it onto a Ryche compilation and that material in of itself
still
sounds pretty heavy to my ears. Is this another misconception?
A:
Well.....there's a sort of a little bit of truth in that rumor. The truth is
that at that point Queensryche didn't exist. They weren't a band. The band did
not exist until I joined. Prior to that they were called "The Mob" and they
were a cover band that I knew of. I had played some shows with them at various
points while we were both coming up in the Seattle area. It was all covers of other bands
music, mostly like Scorpions, Priest, Montrose, things like that. It was like
an hour long set of cover songs and I wasn't interested in doing that, I wanted
to work with a band that was writing it's own stuff. So I left and worked with
the band MYTH and were were working on all original material. Consequently,
because of me leaving The Mob, Chris and those guys started writing their own
material. They came to me a year or so down the road and said "Hey, we have
some song ideas now, do you wanna check them out, we wanna go into a recording
studio and cut some demos". So I did listen to it, and it was really cool stuff
and I stepped in. We started Queensryche at that point. So, long story short I
didn't want to be in The Mob because I didn't want to be a cover singer.
Q:
I'm gonna go ahead and sound like a total fanboy nerd here because I'm 36 and I
don't care. I love, love, love the bands visuals and cover art over the years.
I really love the art and logo on the debut 1983 EP. How did that original logo
design and cover art come about?
A:
That is something that we came up with when we were getting set to release our
first release. First off, of course, we came up with the word, the name
Queensryche. A friend of mine Wes, who was my roommate at the time came up with
that logo design. I had said to him "Hey Wes, you can draw can't you?" and he's
actually a really great artist. He just sat down and came up with that artwork.
Q:
The Queensryche logo, the spear, the tri-ryche, has been a part of your art and
presentations for as far back as I can remember. You may not want to give it
away, I don't know but I have to ask....what personal meaning do you attribute
to that symbol?
A:
Queensryche is not a normal or usual word in language. It's not something that's
easy to understand or pronounce or even spell and it doesn't really mean
anything pertinent to civilization...(laughs). So we thought, well we have this
symbol that has always been with us....it's on the back of the first EP. Maybe
we should use it to sort of represent the band and people can identify it with
us even if they don't understand the name or how to pronounce it or even
recognize the name of the band. We started to make it a focal point to include
it on each release and in our presentation to sort of symbolize the band
really.
Q:
You could go crazy with interpretations of what it "means" I imagine.....it's
got the three levels...it sorta looks like a tripped out space needle....
A:
(laughs). Well, being from the Washington
area, we tried to put it up on top of the Space Needle actually (laughs). We
were shooting a video actually in Seattle but the family that owns it wouldn't
let us place our tri-ryche on top of the Space Needle.
Q:
Some of the videos that the band has made are obviously expensive, almost
cinematic or high art and then some of the earlier ones could be considered a
bit more typical for bands of that era. What do you remember about the whole
evolution as far as coming up with those video concepts?
A:
Oh no! I enjoyed them a great deal. I've always enjoyed every aspect of the
creating process. I can't imagine not liking it. Back in those early days of
course, "Gonna Get Close to You", "Queen of the Ryche" it was a learning
experience as far as how to do it. We would come up with the ideas, and try to
figure out, like a movie and try to find a way to make it actually happen
economically. The whole entire process was always one of the most enjoyable
aspects of the band for me.
Q:
You are literally the first person to ever tell me that in hundreds of
interviews. If someone else has ever admitted anything other than disgust it's
news to me. Most artists tell us they were an incredible pain in the ass.
A:
Really? That seems kind of...I don't know. We have always viewed anything of
that realm as just another creative thing. We've always been involved very
closely with the directors who make the videos. We talked to them about what
they can do and what we wanna achieve. We would map it all out on storyboards
and figure out every aspect in the planning stages. We were very involved and
interested. It's all connected to our art so I don't know how to not do that.
We couldn't just hand it over to management or director and not be involved in
something so important.
Q:
You guys toured with KISS on the WARNING TOUR in 1984. Was that as strange of a
combination as it sounds or did it go over perfectly?
A:
I really enjoyed the KISS tour. That was a really interesting time of course,
it was our first full length album. We toured with KISS, Ozzy, Twisted Sister,
Bon Jovi who were also just getting started. We had a great time out on that
tour. We had fun and got along with all those bands including KISS. Really it's
always an interesting experience opening for other acts like that. In theory,
they are not only sharing their stage but they're sharing their audience with
you. Most bands that we have toured with have been very confident in their own
show and their own abilities so they tend to be very generous. KISS gave us
full lights and sound and that sort of thing, they were really great in that
they gave us the full run of the entire stage, anything we wanted they gave to
us. I think from the audience's point of view it went well, we were definitely
different and throwing some curve balls at the audience but at least a large
segment of them seemed to still appreciate what it is we do. Prior to that tour
we had just toured Europe with Dio and in the United States we had toured with
Quiet Riot and Twisted Sister on a tour.
Q:
You've said before that most artists don't sit around listening to their own
music but I have to ask.....Have you ever had a "Stairway" moment, like they
allude to in the Zeppelin biography where they were all sitting around and
realized they struck a bit of genius with "Stairway to Heaven"?
A:
(laughs). That's a good one. Usually, what we do which is kinda "our thing"
with each record, we all sort of get together and we go to the studio and
listen to it on the monitors, the whole thing all the way through. We celebrate
the finishing of the record and then we put it away and go on to the next
one.....we already have with this one.
Q:
So you guys weren't sitting around the campfire with jaws on the floor,
high-fiving when you wrote "I Don't Believe in Love" like I always assumed you
were?
A:
No....(laughs). We high-five upon each record completion, we listen and if
somebody, anybody is not happy with some aspect of the record that's when we go
in and voice our opinion about it. Collectively we either tell them that they're
off their rocker or we agree that they have some sort of merit to what their
concern is and we work on fixing it. Most times we are almost always on the
same page and there's nothing we want to fix or correct. We open a bottle and
celebrate. I will tell you though, recently, it was the 25th anniversary or
celebration or something of EMPIRE and the label called up to contact us
because they wanted to release some sort of SPECIAL EDITION of the album. They
were looking for us to see if we had any extra tracks or stuff we could
contribute to the package. We dug out the masters and we listened to all these
different takes of songs and versions of songs and stuff and we actually found
3 or 4 songs we recorded that we never put on that record. But what was funny
about it was that NONE of us actually remembered writing those songs (laughs
hard)....and here they are. They're pretty much totally finished material with
all the solos and vocal parts and we just did NOT remember writing any of them
at all. We did do the Special Edition but didn't include those songs....they
are sitting there still, waiting to be released. It's weird when that happens,
when you can't remember writing something at all.
Q:
Being a veteran band from the Seattle
area did you guys have a unique perspective on the whole grunge thing that
happened and the media hype over the scene in the early nineties?
A:
It was brilliant to watch. It was a complete and utter focus on marketing with
the Sub Pop record label really being the instigators of it all. It was great
to watch how they constructed this "scene" that honestly didn't really exist.
Ironically, because of their focus on it as a 'scene' a true "scene" actually
happened (laughs). Pretty amazing really. (laughs). Musicians started traveling
and moving to Seattle like they had in the past
to L.A. It was
because all these media outlets and movers and shakers made it appear that it
was the place to be discovered or signed or something. It was fascinating to
watch and I'm really happy for a lot of the bands that got noticed because
there really were some great bands that came out of here at that time like
Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Nirvana....all really great bands.
Q:
Before we wrap it up do you mind answering some questions about the MINDCRIME
series??
I
would kick myself forever if I had you on the line and didn't ask.....
A:
No, that's fine. Shoot.
Q:
I was thrilled that you guys decided to go back and revisit Operation
Mindcrime. Releasing the second act is still a culmination of a dream of sorts
for me as it was always one of my favorite albums. Was that something you had
always dreamed of doing as well?
A:
Yes, thank you. It was pretty satisfying for me as well. We had always planned
on doing it. The original plan was to release it after the EMPIRE album but it
didn't happen. We ended up putting the whole idea on the backburner. BECAUSE of
the EMPIRE album actually. EMPIRE was so commercially successful that it kinda
fucked us up (laughs). It really changed everything. Financially, we all
changed tax brackets after that album and as a band we somehow entered the pop
realm and started being asked to do all these awards shows, TV shows, grammys
and all that shit. They were talking to us about Queensryche action figure
dolls (laughs). We just put the breaks on the whole machine and said "hey, this
is not what we got into this to do, we don't intend on being big STARS, be it
big pop stars or rock stars, we just want to be musicians. Yet all these things
were pulling us in all these different directions. It was a very interesting
time for the band, a big changing point and it effected us in the sense that we
didn't really even make music for about 3 years. When we finally got back
together nobody wanted to do Mindcrime. Nobody wanted to finish the story and
jump on all that again, we all wanted to write about what was happening to us
at that time, what we were going through as a band. That became the "Promised
Land" album which was almost like a diary entry into our lives at that time, to
me it was about looking for something out of life other than commercial
success.
Q:
It kind of worked out perfectly and made sense though with the storyline being
that Nikki is released from prison 18 years later and the album being released
18 years later.
A:
Yeah. I'm glad things turned out that way too. Looking back on Mindcrime II
now, it was an interesting record to make for us. We got out all the master
tapes from Operation Mindcrime and listened to all the different tones and
sounds and really tried to recreate that same atmosphere based on those
original recordings. It was a challenge to make.... actually it was a challenge
to finish (laughs)....we had worked on it in bits and pieces over the years. We
actually had portions of it recorded and mapped out years ago so it was fun and
probably therapeutic to actually finish the story.
Q:
Is there going to be a final presentation in the form of a movie or Broadway
production? We keep hearing that. Having grown up on the albums, to me the
visuals in the original VideoMindcrime are the perfect counterpart and the live
stuff has made use of those videos further burning the images into our
heads.....(laughs)
A:
We have been approached many, many, MANY times over the years by many different
people who would like to take the Mindcrime story and make it into a film.
We've had countless meetings about it and it's actually gone into screenplay
form at least three times that I know of. Each time something has happened,
either the people behind it lost their production funding or on some occasions
people had wanted to change or modify the story from what we intended it to be
and we disagreed. So it's been shelved since then and for all these years.
However, as of right now there are two companies that are actively working on
pretty serious productions based on Operation Mindcrime. One is a film company
that looks like it's going to be a pretty serious project, I actually just had
a meeting with the yesterday about it. The other is a Broadway production of it
that is already in progress and looking like it should debut next year. They
want to start out by doing a series of regional performances of it as a gearing
up to actually doing it on Broadway.
Q:
Who wrote the original concept for the OPERATION MINDCRIME story? I had heard
the entire story was pretty much written well before you wrote the individual
song lyrics, is that accurate?
A:
I wrote that. It was a story that I had finished and outlined and I brought it
to the band and at the time we had just finished the RAGE FOR ORDER album and
were really keen on the idea of having a thematic album, we wanted to really
get deep into having a concept for our next album. So I started working on the
story. When I brought that into the band, they all read it and liked it as a
story and we started piecing together the songs and lyrics based on that
original story.
Q:
Were there ever moments in recent years, the new millennium, where you looked
at what was going on with politics and bank scandals and conspiracies and
thought to yourself …..Mindcrime....Mindcrime...because I know I have. I've
listened to a song like "Speak" when it comes on Satellite radio and I'm
driving along and thought. Wow, it's all happening again.
A:
Well, those stories in Mindcrime are really timeless, time honored tales for
better or worse. It's nothing new, there's always been political and government
corruption. There have always been evil people pushing for power, it happens
and has been happening ever since we got past the ice age and started becoming
agricultural societies. Some people started "having" stuff and they started
guarding their stuff and desiring to attain more stuff. It's really part of
human nature and that's why I say that we really weren't talking about anything
new in regards to that on OPERATION MINDCRIME as far as that goes. There are
always greedy, power hungry people that will do anything to keep their power
and their stuff and there will always be people that are manipulated by those
people and led down dark paths. There's always been addiction to drugs and
alcohol and there always will be, so there's nothing new under the sun at all
with those themes. Back in the Greek golden ages the same themes were
happening. All MINDCRIME really is at the heart of it all is a relationship
story between Nikki and Mary. All the other stuff is just sort of happening
around them, Dr. X, the Revolution, the Drugs, that's all the setting, the
scene in which their relationship develops. It's a love story really and even
that's nothing new. Back in the time when Mindcrime came out it was the ending
of the Reagan era and the beginning of the original Bush era. These two
administrations were incredibly oppressive towards the middle class. They were
all about making programs to benefit the people who were rich already and
keeping the lower and middle classes in check. At that point, a lot of
economically challenged people were justifiably pissed off about the types of
legislation that was happening because it was obvious they were only working to
help the economic status of those who already HAD economic status. For the
average working stiff, it was a REALLY rough time. Everyone was sitting around
waiting for trickle down economics to work. We saw the same sort of thing
during the second BUSH era and that was one of the main reasons we wanted to
finish up the MINDCRIME II record during that era. So much of what had happened
was happening again and it was affecting so many the same way and they could
relate.
Adam Hammer of SCTimes.com recently conducted an interview with CINDERELLA bassist Eric Brittingham. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.
On what keeps CINDERELLA coming back:
Eric Brittingham: Fred [Coury, drums] and I were even
talking and wondering why we don't still have the original bus driver. (Laughs)
We tried adding a new member back in '95 on the "Still Climbing" record and it just wasn't the same. The album wasn't successful and the record
label dropped us and the band, we split up for a few years. We got together in
'98 to do a one-off benefit show and we were like, "Wow, this feels pretty
good. Maybe we should rethink this whole split-up thing." So we did
another tour and we try to go out every other year since and just have fun
doing it. We're old enough to put some of the past things behind us and we just
have fun with it.
On what has changed for CINDERELLA in the last 25 years:
Eric Brittingham: Not much has really changed. We still do what we do;
we put on a straight-ahead rock show and we put a lot into our production. We
don't try to go out on a shoestring budget and try to do things as cheaply as
possible to make the most money. We like to go out to put on a good show so
fans want to come back to see us next time. That's always been our philosophy.
On whether there are plans to record a new CINDERELLA album:
Eric Brittingham: Not at this time. I know everyone's done their side
projects ... . In the musical climate these days and the way we like to do
things, it's not really worth doing it anymore. But that's not to say it won't
happen; it may. I'm sure Tom [Keifer, vocals/guitar] has a couple
hundred songs ready to go. Our last record cost $1.2 million to make and the
cheapest record we've ever made was $400,000. You can't do that these days
because no one even sells $400,000 worth of records, CDs or downloads.
Everything's changed. Everyone makes records in their bedrooms basically for
next to nothing and in my opinion, most of them sound like it. That's not what
we're about.
Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley will make a
very special appearance to meet and greet his legion of fans at the 2011
edition of the annual Rock And Shock horror and music convention, to be
held October 14-16 at the DCU Center and Palladium venues in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Bringing together the best elements of horror films, music and culture, the
event has grown exponentially over time, with this year's festivities promising
to be the biggest yet.
For more information, visit www.rockandshock.com.
According to a posting on OVERKILL's official web
site, the long-running New Jersey
thrashers will not take part in the previously announced North American tour
featuring ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL.
Plans for the six-week trek were originally revealed by TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy during an interview with "Metal Zone" host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The
Bone at the second show of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival on July 10 in Mountain View, California.
In other news, OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni has been writing
material for the band's next album. The group has six songs demoed so far and
is planning to hit the studio in early October, with a new release slated for
March/April 2012, followed by a U.S.
tour.
OVERKILL's latest album, "Ironbound", sold 4,100 copies
in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 192
on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at No. 4 on the Top New Artist Albums
(Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing
artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The
Billboard 200.
OVERKILL's previous album, "Immortalis", opened with
2,800 units back in October 2007 .
OVERKILL's top-selling album of the SoundScan era (1991-) is "Horrorscope",
which has shifted more than 120,000 copies in the U.S. since its 1991 release (there
is no SoundScan data available for LPs sold prior to 1991).
"Ironbound" was released on February 9, 2010 via E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records). The CD, which was issued in Europe
on January 29, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records, was mixed by PAIN/HYPOCRISY mainman Peter Tägtgren and is described in a press release as "a
true thrasher-piece."
SIR SODOFF & THE TRAIN WRECKS, the band fronted
by DEF LEPPARD/THIN LIZZY guitarist Vivian Campbell, will
perform tonight (Thursday, July 21) at Harper's Bar and Grille in Tarzana, California.
Cover charge is $10. Music starts at 9 p.m., with SIR SODOFF & THE TRAIN
WRECKS taking the stage at 10 p.m.
SIR SODOFF & THE TRAIN WRECKS is:
Vivian Campbell - Guitar/Vocals
Lou Castro - Bass
Michael Fell - Harmonica
Kara Grainger - Guitar/Vocals
Glen Sobel - Drums
Video footage of SIR SODOFF & THE TRAIN WRECKS' December 10, 2010
concert at the Baked Potato in Studio City, California can be seen below.
Vivian Campbell recently joined the latest reincarnation of THIN
LIZZY — this time with THE ALMIGHTY frontman Ricky Warwick at
the helm.
Campbell and Warwick join THIN LIZZY alumni Scott
Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton. Also on board is
former WHITESNAKE bassist Marco Mendoza.
Toronto's WARMACHINE will release its long-awaited new album, "Left For
Dead", on July 23 via JMD Records. The CD was once again
produced by Murray Daigle and was recorded in Canada.
The track listing is as follows:
01. Moving On
02. We're The Chemical
03. Chalk Lines and Bones
04. Alive
05. Fallacy
06. Too Late
07. Inevitable Crash
08. Loved and Lost
09. Forgive and Forget You
10. Left for Dead
11. A New Beginning
Several of the songs are now available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.
WARMACHINE's "Raw in the Hammer" DVD contains footage
from the band's January 20, 2007 concert at The Underground in Hamilton, a documentary on the band's
history, behind-the-scenes footage and more.
WARMACHINE's debut album, "The Beginning of the End",
was released in 2006 in North America via Nightmare
Records.
"The Beginning of the End" features a guest appearance on
three tracks ("Betrayed", "Empty" and "Taunted
Souls") by MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.
For more information, visit www.warmachineonline.com.
Adam Hammer of SCTimes.com recently conducted an interview with '80s hard
rock queen Lita Ford. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On her summer tour:
"We're doing new music, and we're doing it just for the sake of doing some
shows," Ford said. "I'm about three-fourths of the way through a new
record."
On her upcoming disc, which will feature Ford writing and recording all
the guitar parts by herself with a little help from producer Gary Hoey:
"It's 99.9 percent Lita. I'm going through a divorce, and it's a
really bad divorce. It's given me inspiration to write. I'm wearing my heart on
my sleeve on this album. My anger is coming out in these heavy metal riffs and
my love is coming out for my children, and it's the story of what's happening to
me in my life right now. . . It's an old Lita Ford sound. It's
completely different than [2008's] 'Wicked Wonderland' [which was
produced by Ford's soon-to-be-ex-husband, former NITRO singer Jim
Gillette]. 'Wicked Wonderland' is really a Jim Gillette album,
which is why it sounds so different. I put on a couple of vocals and a couple
of lead guitar parts and he put my name on it. That was the problem. People
expected a Lita Ford album and it really wasn't. I'm not putting it
down. I'm not saying it's a bad record, because it's really a good record. But
it's not a Lita Ford record."
On the press reports that her former RUNAWAYS bandmates Joan Jett and Cherie Currie filed a lawsuit to try to stop the release of the RUNAWAYS tribute album "Take It Or Leave It: A Tribute To The Queens Of
Noise":
"It's a compliment, for God's sakes! And it's probably a kick-ass album. I
heard one track. They sent it to me and unfortunately I didn't get a chance to
play on it because I got it too late. Joan and Cherie, they've got
to take it with a grain of salt. It's a compliment, that's what it is."
THE RESISTANCE, the new Sweden-based metal band
featuring former members of IN FLAMES, THE HAUNTED and GRAVE,
will make its very first track publicly available on the sampler CD that will
only be distributed to the subscribers of Sweden's Close-Up Magazine in the August 2011 issue. In addition to the THE RESISTANCE track, which
goes by the name "An Eye For An Eye", the sampler CD will
include contributions from all the other bands that are booked for the
magazine's Close-Up Båten cruise that leaves Stockholm, Sweden
on September 8 and returns one day later.
As previously reported, THE RESISTANCE has also been confirmed for the
new Sonic Rock Circus festival, set to take place on September 30 at
Klubben in Stockholm, Sweden.
THE RESISTANCE's lineup is as follows:
* Marco Aro (FACE DOWN, ex-THE HAUNTED) - Vocals
* Jesper Strömblad (ex-IN FLAMES, DIMENSION ZERO) - Guitar
* Glenn Ljungström (ex-IN FLAMES, DIMENSION ZERO) - Guitar
* Alex Losbäck Holstad (ex-DESPITE, DECAMERON, CARDINAL SIN) - Bass
* Chris Barkensjö (CARNAL FORGE, GODSIC, ex-GRAVE) - Drums
Strömblad quit IN FLAMES in February 2010 in order to continue
receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.
DIMENSION ZERO's third album, "He Who Shall Not Bleed",
was released in 2008 via Vic Records. The CD contained "11 tracks
of aggressive, fast and melodic Gothenburg metal," according to a press
release.
FACE DOWN entered the Swedish hard rock album chart at position No. 19
with its last effort, "The Will to Power", which came out in
November 2005.
In the latest installment of his column, which appears on Reverb at SeattleWeekly.com, VELVET REVOLVER and former GUNS
N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan writes about SLIPKNOT/STONE
SOUR frontman Corey Taylor's new book, "Seven Deadly Sins -
Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good". He states,
"I've known Corey on a personal level for the last few years, and
have come to know that he is one of the smartest dudes out there. When he told
me about his journey into authordom, I had no doubt that whatever topic he
chose to write about would be deep and heavy.
"I just picked this book up last night and gave it a cursory browse. It
looks fascinating. It's a funny yet poignant look at Corey's own dip
into drugs and vice and asinine behavior in his youth, while also studying the
age-old question of whether certain personal traits are learned or bred into a
person.
"Corey Taylor is one of those people that just seems impossibly
good at whatever he chooses to pursue, and I have no doubt that this tome will
reflect this fact.
"I can't wait to see what Corey's version of 'Sloth' is! I shall
report back to you all."
Released in the U.S. on July
12 via De Capo Press, "Seven Deadly Sins - Settling The Argument
Between Born Bad And Damaged Good" sees Taylor speaking directly to his fans
and sharing his worldview about life as a sinner. While the 256-page hardcover
book is Taylor's
personal story, it's also described as "a larger discussion of what it
means to be seen as either a 'good' person or a 'bad' one."
While the rumored team-up of Corey Taylor with VELVET REVOLVER never officially took off, VELVET guitarist Slash did confirm
that the band got together with Taylor to jam and even record some new material. The Pulse Of Radio asked Taylor what they
worked on at those sessions. "We did a bunch of stuff, you know," he
said. "We did a bunch of stuff from the first album, we did a bunch of
stuff that we had been kind of demoing back and forth and whatnot, seeing if it
would work, you know, just like that, and it was a lot of fun, man. You know,
we ended up writing a bunch of stuff as well and just kind of seeing what would
happen in that creative sense, you know."
Slash admitted in a recent interview that he was the main reason why Taylor didn't get
the frontman job, explaining, "It just didn't seem to fit right to me. And
he's great, and I love Corey, but it didn't seem like the answer to the VELVET
REVOLVER problem."
Taylor told a Canadian radio station after hearing of Slash's
comments, "I guess it just wasn't working for him, which . . . He's Slash and he's entitled to have that, and I'm not gonna argue with him. But it was
cool to just be able to get together and jam with those guys and I made some
really cool friends."
Adam Hammer of SCTimes.com recently conducted an interview with SKID
ROW bassist Rachel Bolan. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.
On SKID ROW's 25th anniversary:
Bolan: "I've spent more time with [guitarist Dave 'Snake' Sabo]
than I have any wife I ever had or girlfriend ... . I've known that guy a long
time. I've known Scotti [Hill, guitar] even longer actually. It's
not like we haven't gone toe-to-toe with each other. There's been times when
we've felt like throwing each other out a window, but at the end of the day
we're literally like brothers."
On singer Sebastian Bach's dismissal from the group in the mid-1990s:
Bolan: "We thought we were disbanded and that we'd never do it
again. Then we kept getting emails and the management office was getting lots
of letters about people wanting to see SKID ROW on stage and we really
started to miss it. We knew if we got back together, we were going to do things
different."
On Bach's replacement, Johnny Solinger, who joined SKID ROW in 1999:
Bolan: "When Johnny joined the band, that really gave us a
kick in the ass. It was a different guy there and everything that came out of
that guy was positive."
On rumors of a possible reunion with Sebastian Bach:
Bolan: "Actually, there were never any talks. Ever. That was all
just total rumor. We got rid of him in the '90s and never looked back."
On whether Johnny Solinger seems like more of a fixture in SKID ROW than Bach ever was:
Bolan: "Absolutely. After the first tour it seemed like this is the
way it's always been. It's so weird, I'll hear an old song on the radio and it
just sounds so bizarre to me because I'm so used to Johnny singing it."
On whether SKID ROW is working on any new music:
Bolan: "Actually, we are. Snake and I are writing when we
get a chance. We've got about eight songs right now and we want to write at
least 10 more and pick from that. I live in Atlanta
and he lives out in Hollywood,
so it takes a little bit of planning. We do what we can through the mail, but
we never really feel right about something until we sit down in the same room
together and write. I doubt that it will be out this year, but hopefully 2012.
I gotta tell you, just saying that, 'in 2012'... When we recorded our first
album in '88, I never thought we'd still be making records in 2012. That's
pretty cool.
Ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach wants his
fans to stop asking him about a possible reunion with his former bandmates
after SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan made it clear that the group
has "never looked back" following Sebastian's dismissal from
the band in 1996.
Speaking to Adam Hammer of SCTimes.com, Bolan stated about Sebastian's
departure from SKID ROW, "We thought we were disbanded and that
we'd never do it again. Then we kept getting emails and the management office
was getting lots of letters about people wanting to see SKID ROW on
stage and we really started to miss it. We knew if we got back together, we
were going to do things different."
He added, "When [current SKID ROW singer] Johnny [Solinger]
joined the band [in 1999], that really gave us a kick in the ass. It was a
different guy there and everything that came out of that guy was
positive."
On the topic of the persistent rumors of a reunion with Sebastian, Bolan said, "Actually, there were never any talks. Ever. That was all just total
rumor. We got rid of him in the '90s and never looked back. . . After the first
tour [with Solinger on vocals], it seemed like this is the way it's
always been. It's so weird, I'll hear an old song on the radio and it just
sounds so bizarre to me because I'm so used to Johnny singing it."
After Bolan's comments were posted on BLABBERMOUTH.NET earlier
today, Bach tweeted the following in response to the article, "If
this makes even one of you stop asking me 'when are you getting the band back
together' then good. IT'S NOT HAPPENING."
Sebastian previously shot down the possibility of a SKID ROW reunion with him on vocals at this past February's press conference in Los Angeles to announce
the details of the third annual Revolver Golden Gods awards show. He
said, "No [I am not interested in a reunion], because I don't base my life
in 2011 on, like, 30 years ago. And I also... I was kicked out of that band.
Like, if you worked at Pizza Hut and you got fired, would you be knocking on
the door of the Pizza Hut, 'Please let me back in!!' You'd be, like, 'Fuck
Pizza Hut! Fuck you!' I'd be, like, 'Fuck you! You wanna fucking kick me out?
Go fuck yourself!' [Laughs] I'm always perplexed by that. You don't want me to
sing in your band? Kiss my fucking ass! Don't hurt yourself finding someone
that can. [Laughs]"
FANTÔMAS, the eclectic supergroup featuring Mike
Patton (FAITH NO MORE, TOMAHAWK, PEEPING TOM), Buzz
Osborne (MELVINS), Trevor Dunn (MR. BUNGLE, MADLOVE)
and Dale Crover (MELVINS, SHRINEBUILDER), release "The
Director's Cut Live: A New Year's Revolution" on DVD and as a
standalone audio download on September 6 via Ipecac Recordings.
Filmed at San Francisco's Great American
Music Hall on December
31, 2008, the DVD features audio commentary by comedian Neil Hamburger.
FANTÔMAS released the studio version of "The Director's
Cut" in July of 2001. The album tackles a collection of beloved and
eerie film compositions including Nino Rota's "The
Godfather", Bernard Herrmann's "Cape Fear" and Jerry Goldsmith's "The Omen (Ave Satani)". Upon its
release, Pitchfork said the effort was "as cinematic as its source
material" and NME called it "gleeful butchering."
Two songs featured on "The Director's Cut Live: A New Year's
Revolution" were not in the original release of "The
Director's Cut": Al Green's "Simply Beautiful" and Marc Bolan & T. Rex's "Chariot Choogle".
"The Director's Cut Live: A New Year's Revolution" track
listing:
01. The Godfather
02. Night of the Hunter
03. CapeFear
04. Experiment in Terror
05. One Step Beyond
06. Rosemary's Baby
07. The Devil Rides Out
08. Spider Baby
09. The Omen (Ave Satani)
10. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
11. Vendetta
12. Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion
13. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
14. Der Golem
15. Charade
16. Intermission
17. Simply Beautiful
18. Chariot Choogle
Reactivated Raleigh, North Carolina-based progressive doom
metal band CONFESSOR has released the following update to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:
"CONFESSOR is excited to announce that the band is back in action
and we have been confirmed for the 2012 Maryland Deathfest next year.
Rehearsals have already started and we hope to play a warm up show in Raleigh prior to the Maryland
Deathfest appearance. We still have some limitations with Scott [Jeffreys,
vocals] living and working in China
but it looks like he will be able to spend some more time in the States next
year.
"The current project FAR AND AWAY featuring Steve Shelton, Chris
Nolan, and Brian Shoaf from CONFESSOR will continue to write
and record and Cary Rowells continues playing with PARASITE DRAG.
"Besides the appearance at Maryland Deathfest, the band, in
conjuction with reissue specialists Divebomb Records, are putting
together a demo collection and archival DVD set entitled 'Uncontrolled'. This
will be the first time that all three legendary CONFESSOR demos are made
available commercially. The DVD will contain archival footage collected by the
band with additional material supplied by die-hard fans.
"In additional to audio and video content, Jeff Wagner (author of 'Mean
Deviation: Four Decades Of Progressive Heavy Metal') has contributed a
brand new essay to go along with pictures the band has unearthed for the deluxe
booklet. Release date for the set is undetermined at the moment, but Divebomb
Records hopes to have it available by year's end."
CONFESSOR released its latest full-length album, "Unraveled",
in 2005 via Season of Mist. The CD was produced by Dick Hodgin (ex-CORROSION OF CONFORMITY producer) and is "a wonderful
representation of the classic CONFESSOR twisted guitar riffing and
complex drumming, meshed with some more straightforward parts and a toned down
and very melodic vocal approach," according to Jeffreys.
CONFESSOR split up in the early '90s after releasing one full-length
album (1991's "Condemned") and EP (1992's "Confessor"),
with the with the rhythm section going on to form FLY MACHINE. CONFESSOR reformed in 2002 following the death of guitarist Ivan Colon, who passed
away due to cardiac complications.
Following the turbulent and successful release of "Road
Salt One" in the year 2010 and the touring activities in its support
which climaxed with shows in India and South America earlier this year,
Sweden's PAIN OF SALVATION will issue "Road Salt Two" on September 26 in Europe and October 11 in North America via InsideOut
Music.
"Road Salt Two" track listing:
01. Road Salt Theme
02. Softly She Cries
03. Conditioned
04. Healing Now
05. To The Shoreline
06. Eleven
07. 1979
08. The Deeper Cut
09. Mortar Grind
10. Through The Distance
11. The Physics Of Gridlock
12. End Credits
PAIN OF SALVATION was recently confirmed as the support act for a
massive European tour together with metal innovators OPETH.
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS is putting the finishing touches on
the material for its next album, tentatively due in early 2012. Feverishly
working since its return from its most recent European tour, the band is
looking forward to testing out some of the new songs later next month when it
returns to Stateside venues for a string of dates that is set to begin August
25 in Las Vegas and conclude when the band performs alongside MORBID ANGEL in Los Angeles on September 23.
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS' first European tour since 2009 took the group through
twelve countries in a quick 21 days. Band leader Sorceron notes,
"The shows were excellent. We had a great time with our friends in ISKALD and THULCANDRA and hope we can join them again in the future. A big
thanks to everyone who came out to the shows; we really appreciate your
support.
"The upcoming dates have us headlining in the west, including the Rocky
Mountain Goat Roast; we are co-headlining the fest with MISERY INDEX.
The Scottsdale
show has us sharing the stage once more with ex-hometown friends VEHEMENCE and LANDMINE MARATHON. And what more can I say about playing with MORBID
ANGEL other than how awesome it will be to finally share the stage with a
band we grew up listening to?"
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS' as-yet-untitled third album will be recorded in
September. Sorceron says, "The new material is a continuation of
our last album but with more atmosphere and far more extreme tempos. We are
adding back some of the symphonic elements that were on 'In the Shadow Of A
Thousand Suns' album but without sacrificing any of the edge that was on 'In
the Absence Of Light'. So far we are really happy with everything."
As previously announced, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS will tour with MAYHEM, KEEP
OF KALESSIN and HATE beginning November 2.
San Diego-based brutal death metallers PATHOLOGY have
completed work on their new album, "Awaken To The Suffering", for
a September 13 release. The CD was recorded at Lambesis Studios (owned by AS I
LAY DYING vocalist Tim Lambesis) in the band's hometown with producer Daniel
Castleman (IMPENDING DOOM, AS I LAY DYING, WINDS OF PLAGUE).
This will be PATHOPLOGY's first CD to feature the group's new lineup,
including vocalist Jonathan Huber and second guitarist Kevin Schwartz,
who have spent time on the road with their new bandmates during recent U.S. and
European tours with DEICIDE and OBITUARY.
The artwork for "Awaken To The Suffering" was brought to life
by the twisted mind of Pär Olofsson (IMMORTAL, THE FACELESS, ABYSMAL DAWN) and can be seen below.
"The recording came out great. This is by far the best thing we have ever
done. Everything is extremely heavy and very tight," explains drummer Dave
Astor.
"It's great working with Pär again on this cover. He did an amazing
job. We decided to do a pencil sketch cover this time around. We also brought
back the evil doctor to continue the zombie havoc."
PATHOLOGY's next U.S.
tour — as the support act for GRAVE and BLOOD RED THRONE — will
kick off on August 30.
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