that he tried to find an idea for that but the magic didn’t happen. So I wrote another song and that was Legends Rise. So good, good for me that the second song, which was supposed to be sung by him, didn’t work out because I think Legends Rise is probably the best song of all. Now, on about 2 of the songs, you’ve had the team of Jesse Damon and Paul Sabu. What was it like working with both of them? I mean, Jesse’s awesome, and Paul’s got credits like crazy. [Laughs] Well, I discovered Jesse, when seeing a video of Silent Rage in the late ‘80s after a rehearsal of my very first band. We were sitting there and I saw Silent Rage on MTV and I said, well, the song is not necessarily my cup of tea, but what a hell of a voice this guy has!. It was in ’89 or something. So when Jesse came on board, I very quickly wrote the ballad especially for him because I wanted to have his smoky voice in a ballad. And I’m not at all your ballad-type of writing guy, I always write riffs and heavy songs. Paul Sabu, I didn’t have any contact. Somehow, Jesse convinced Paul to add backing vocals and Paul obviously liked the songs and did that. That was like a surprise for myself and very good one, because I can go to the next room and show you all the Sabu CDs I have. I really appreciate and respect Paul a lot. I love his work, but I have didn’t have any contact with him. So it was like, surprise! You’ve got Paul Sabu on your album too. [laughs] Rob Rock, now, he’s got some crazy credits too. Not to mention his solo work, he worked with Axel Rudi Pell. What was it like to have someone like Rob Rock in the album? Well, let’s say Rob Rock and Steve Grimmett, for myself, were kind of the same musical corner. They come more from the heavy metal genre than the other guys who are more from the AOR or melodic rock genre. Rob Rock, was also very easy-going, however, it was very interesting. He was the one who had the most input in the final mixing of the song. I was positively surprised that he was very interested in details also concerning the mixing which also showed that he is very very deep into what he is doing, in any detail. That was a learning experience for myself because most singers are not interested in all that, let’s say, technical kind of stuff when an album is finally being put together. But he was. He was very focused on detail. And you mentioned Steve Grimmett, let’s talk about him, and Grim Reaper. Grim Reaper and Rock You to Hell was one of the first heavy metal LPs the guy living next door owned. And each time when his parents were away, we were listening to Rock You to Hell all on volume 10 and playing air guitar. So, having Steve on board was, really almost surreal for myself. I mean, you probably know that he lost a leg a few years ago. I mean he’s a living legend. So I really HIGHWIRE DAZE
December 2021
have lots of respect for him for not giving up and for still doing what he does. I was writing to him by Facebook early on a Saturday morning. And I thought, okay, now you write to Steve because I had a song which I thought could fit to him and he replied almost immediately within a few seconds. And, even before I could have my first coffee on that Saturday morning, I had Steve Grimmett on board, and that was very cool. Steve was featured in a radio show amd said some nice things about myself I got goosebumps hearing. You know, because he’s a legend. A very nice guy and real British gentlemen. And of course, we have to talk about Zak Stevens of Circle II Circle and Savatage. It must have been a treat working with him, what was he like? Also, very easy-going, he was, I think What Lies Beneath was the first vocal track which I got back from singers which I contacted. And before he worked on the vocals of the lyrics, he asked “What kind of subject do you have in mind?” And usually, I do not have any subjects in mind because I just compose music and then the singers and lyricists are free to act what they are inspired with. But that was during the lockdown, so I said “Well Zak, maybe you can work something out with the subject of the whole pandemic situation and what it does with us. We all sit at home, we are isolated; cannot meet people like we want to; musicians are locked up in their offices.” And I’m interested in the subject, “What is this whole situation doing with with our minds, and with our hearts?” And this is exactly what What Lies Beneath is about. In My Mind by Danny Martinez, also, it’s the same subject. So I thought it was cool that he worked out the subject, which really was just a spontaneous idea of myself. However, you need to know, he did not write the lyrics. The lyrics for both songs, which he sings were written by his 43
