The Metal Mag n°17 - May 2017

Hello Friends and supporters,

This new issue is special, first on the fifth of February after leaving the great festival ‘ Anthem of Steel ‘ I had a car accident. I died and got reanimated, after two month I got back to my feet.. well with sticks. Two broken fingers, open all the belly and one bone grief in my left foot. So I took the mag where I left it in the hospital , secondly I got lucky Heather Williams decided to share interviews for the mag. (available on many online zines - I made my own design thx) Teri Stahl still having interviews on her section.

I must thank also all the labels, PR, bands who send me mails to review their albums. I got at least 300 per months and unfortunetely I can’t deal with all as it would need just one week and it never stops. Again some known musicians left this world...

Once again a great thank you to Marie ©www.les-lutins-de-lart.fr for her amazing painting she’s selling so fast I can only use the pic. Also thank you to Dave Softee Kletzel for sharing his interview! (don’t forget to listen to his live interviews) as we say ‘Sharing is loving’ !!!

Sadly some bands never reply or after asking an interview don’t have time so it might get in the next issue... some are coming the day it’s supposed to be online and I still have to chase few. Whatever it’s free or not deadlines are for everyone thanks for your understanding.

United we stand , e # Assassin’s Blad # Aitalla The Editor Franck Michaud ons # Veil of Delusi ) anol / English # Evil Killer (Esp # The Lust # Dissector # Spitefuel n Group # Jimi Anderso # Wretch # Bludy Gyres er # Crimson Calib letzel # David Softee K - Persefone

in Drummers # Teri Stahl Rock el Woods - Tammy Mitch

- Jon Papineau

- Sue Kusch

- Pete Holmes

ix - Lewy St rdini va ia - Jeff C

- Roxy Petrucci

# T.O.W.E.R.S #SpeedRush ams # Heather Willi - 1349

t - Simmon Wrigh

- Mike Lepond

- Trym Torsen

# Hydrogyn # Worhol # Final Coil ©The Metal Mag # Jenner www.themetalmag.com # Seide ay w h ig H s es #Restl

1/ Who started the band and when?

Jacques: Assassin’s Blade was Peter and David’s idea. The band formed in 2014. I’ll let Peter say a bit more about how it started.

Peter: The beginning of Assassin’s Blade goes back to David’s and my previous band/project Trap. David and I were the main songwriters for that band and we had a lot of material. When that band fell apart we felt that we wanted to do something with the material, just to have the songs recorded for ourselves basically. When writing the songs we always said like “how great it would be if a vocalist like Jacques Bélanger would sing this song, etc”. One evening after sitting at David’s house drinking whiskey we just said let’s try to contact Jacques and see what he says…

So for us it was a dream come true to be able to work with one of our heroes! We enjoyed the first recording sessions with Jacques in Sweden so much that we asked him if he was interested in forming a real band together. There is an earlier link that might explain a bit how it all came together, as I am the webmaster of the Exciter homepage, www. longlivetheloud.com, and because of that I have been in contact with Jacques on and off for the last 16 years.

2/ How comes you made that album between Canada and Sweden?

Jacques: Well, the band is mainly established in Sweden, and I live in Canada. When we decided to lay down vocal tracks, I flew over to Sweden to work at Peter’s studio for a week. Then, David, Peter and I worked on the vocal arrangements and recorded the tracks. We managed to record vocals to six songs, all of which appeared on “Agents of Mystification”. At first, we had no specific directions. We simply wanted to work together and see if something happens. Record labels liked our material but would rather release a full album than a six-song EP. Peter and Dave had more songs in store and asked me if I could record the vocals to five other songs, but from Canada this time. I called my good friend Manfred Leidecker, with whom Exciter had recorded many Exciter albums, and we agree to record the rest of the vocal tracks in Manfred’s studio.

3/ How did you record that album? Do you use the net to rehearse?

Jacques: So basically, all basic musical tracks and half the vocals tracks were recorded at Peter’s studio. The second half of vocals tracks were recorded at Manfred’s studio. Then, most of the lead guitars were recorded by this excellent Swedish guitarist, Janne Stark. He recorded the lead guitar tracks from his own studio. Janne’s guitar tracks and my vocal tracks were sent to Peter by Internet. Then, Peter only had to import those tracks into the songs main projects.

Peter: We rehearse and record all the music at my studio. We felt that it was important to keep the basic foundation of the music organic and that is the main reason why the record wasn’t edited and quantized like most records are today. We kept some “mistakes” just to keep the feeling of the music. A great take is not the one where you can simulate a drum machine the most but the one where you feel the nerve of the performance.

4/ Your album is sold in Sweden on big cartel's site, and you are signed to Pure steel Records in Germany, how can you explain all those countries for one album?

Jacques: Well, Pure Steel is responsible for worldwide distribution of our albums. However, we, the band, are allowed to sell the CDs along with merchandise (t-shirts, patches, LPs etc.). We deal with Big Cartel to sell our merchandise along with the CDs. 5/ Why choosing this name? Many bands and video games have 'assasin' already..is it from an old band?

Jacques: Since Peter founded the band and defined the musical orientation, the band concepts, etc., I will let Peter answer this question.

Peter: The band name just fits well with the music and the visual image of the band. In a way, the “assassin’s blade” can be thought of as the tool to reach your objectives. In hindsight, maybe we should have chosen a different name due to all the comments about “Assassin’s Creed”, but on the other hand why should we compromise?

6/ Who designed the logo?

Jacques: Here’s another Peter question.

Peter: I did the initial draft logo, just to have a basic idea, and then a friend of David’s reworked it and made it look good!

7/ Are the lyrics a story that matches the cover?

Jacques: Peter, this one is for you.

Peter: There is no overall concept behind the lyrics of the album, however the cover is connected to the title track and the text on the back cover. The character in the middle could be seen as the mastermind behind the agents of mystification. The basic concept of the “Agents…” is that there are agents throughout the world who are working against humanity in the sense that they are obscuring the truth by altering everything that has been written and documented since the beginning of the written word. This is done by changing the meaning of translations or edit it into something that is different from its original purpose.

8/ How did you get that voice? What do you do to keep it has good?

Jacques: I started singing quite late; I was 17 years old at the time. I was just this kid living in a small village (2000 souls) and I did not have much exposure to heavy metal. But some of my friends made me discover AC/DC’s “Back in Black”. I liked Brian Johnson’s voice so much that I started imitating him; and I was pretty good at it. That’s how I started. But soon I discovered Judas Priest. When I heard Rob Halford’s voice on the live album “Unleashed in the East”, I thought: “This is what I want to sound like”; I was so impressed. Then I started listening to Dickinson (Maiden) and Dio. The table was set: I spent a good ten years trying to imitate those three amazing vocalists. And even if I never managed to do as well, I ended up developing a style in which one can recognize those three influences. Improving and keeping it good is then only a matter of time. These days it is still the same. It is quite rare to hear vocalists in their fifties still using the screaming metal vocals. If I want to be able to sing the way I do in Assassin’s Blade, I need to take care of my vocal apparatus, to remain healthy and to exercise my vocal cords on a daily basis.

Contrary to what some people thought, I never took vocal training, but I should have. To any young singer, I would strongly suggest to work with a vocal coach who will help him find his natural range and then expand it safely and rationally.

9/ Your album is coming as LP, do you collect them?

Jacques: I am not a collector at all. For instance, I have nothing left from any of the bands I have worked with, including Exciter… not even a t-shirt. But Peter… holy shoot!!! His house is a metal shrine. His metal collection is simply fascinating. Isn’t it Peter?

Peter: Well, I have been a metal collector for many years. It was very cool to show Jacques an original Anvil poster (back from when they were called Lips) and he had actually seen them live around that time, while I was barely born then… ;) Our house is filled with metal memorabilia and we even have a separate room with just CDs. All the vinyl is in the living room, of course. The “Agents of Mystification” LP has a given place in our collection!

10/ What are the news for the future of the band?

Jacques: The news are quite simple. We are in preproduction mode for the next album. We aim at a release in early 2018. A lot of songs are written already. We are recording them, testing them and deciding which ones will make it on the album. We are still using the same method as for the first album: music is recorded in Sweden and vocals are recorded in Canada. Assassin’s Blade will also be playing its first gig ever at the Metal Magic Festival, (July 2017). We are also starting to plan a brief tour for 2018.

11/ Have you got tour coming? With which bands you would like to play live?

Jacques: So yes, there are the shows I mentioned earlier. Who would I like to play with? Wow! There are too many to name. I have already shared the stage with some of my favorite bands. Let’s say that I would love to play with Blind Guardian, Michael Schenker and Iron Maiden, just to name a couple.

12/ Are you singing in another band?

Jacques: No. When it comes to music, I devote my time to Assassin’s Blade. The rest of my life is already quite busy with all sorts of activities.

13/ You have that high pitch 80's vocals, which bands inspired you ? Are people sometimes comparing you to other singers?

Jacques: Well, I already mentioned my main influences, namely Halford, Dickinson and Dio. Some critics hear hints of Halford and Dickinson, but my vocal style has also been compared to that of King Diamond or David Wayne.

14/ Your website is not updated, who is dealing with it?

Jacques: Actually, we are. We must confess that we have neglected that part of our public relations, and have rather concentrated on the Facebook page. Now that the band is progressively establishing, we will need to update the website appropriately.

www.assassins-blade.com

1/ This is your fifth album, what was the challenge compared to the other ones?

I really can’t think of any challenges. I think, in general, this album was easier to record because of what I learned from recording the last album.

2/Since the band’s name is obviouly yours, did you have line up changes or arguments?

The original band was formed in 1991 while I was stationed in Holland in the US military. When we were trying to decide on a band name, the original singer suggested using my last name since we were playing songs I wrote and it was an original sounding name.

That version of the band broke up when I left the military and went back to the US in 1993. While I was still writing new songs, I didn’t pursue my own band again until 2009 after I just got tired of being in bands that had the same cycle of forming, learning songs, playing out for a while and then breaking up. Since 2010, there have been a few different line ups of Aittala, but, for the most part, people that left the band had schedule conflicts and could no longer continue with the band.

3/who compose the songs? have you got special thoughts before getting to create the album?

I compose all of the lyrics and music. I don’t generally have a specific theme for the songs. Just write to write and when there are enough songs, it’s time to record an album.

4/you are writting lots of lyrics, how do you keep them in mind? are they stories or you get them inspired by the news of the world or a book?

I have a note book that I’ll jot down ideas when I have them. Sometimes they are inspired by something I’ve seen or read and sometimes it’s just words that I think sounds cool to actually write a song, I’ll go through my notebook and group similar ideas together to start creating verses and choruses. It really varies on how the song comes together.

Sometimes an actual story will be formulated as I’m writing and sometimes songs are just words that sound good together with no real meaning to me.

5/How come you are releasing your own albums? have you had already labels interest?

Would love to have an album released by a label, but it has to be the right situation. There are tons of small labels out there and have talked to a few. Most of them aren’t really going to do much more than someone can do as an independent artist that invests the time. With almost any type of label situations, there will be a requirement to sign over the master recordings of the album. It’s going to have to be worth wild to me to want to turn over the album masters.

6/You are not much known in Europe, have you got connections? is facebook helping a lot these days?

I would say we’ve probably have as many fans overseas as in the US. But there are so many bands out there, it really is hard to get notice from people and keep their attention. We’ve actually done a couple European tours (countries listed below) and we’ve gotten a great response from the people that came to see us. Facebook, and other social media definitely helps get the music out. But, as I mentioned, there are so many bands doing the same things, it can be hard to get more notice.

7/have you got a studio place? any engineering skills? or view on what you want the album sounds like?

Besides the drums, I do all of the recording and track editing in my home studio. I’m not much of an audio engineer,

so I have someone else mix and master it.

8/how do you start a song? one riff , one sentence...

It really can be either. I will generally write the lyrics as I mentioned earlier. I’ll also be recording riffs and song parts and creating loose song structures. Then I’ll just sit down and experiment with words and music to put them together. Usually, once I start adding words to the music, it’ll reshape the song arrangement which will end up a completed song.

9/Do you have endorsement ?

I do not have any endorsements. I’m in the market though.

10/Tell us about your gears, do you try new equipment or keep the ones you bought long time ago?

All of my guitars are the Ibanez Universe (7-string). I’ve been playing those since 1991. My stage amp is a Peavey 5150II which sounds phenomenal. I don’t use any effects other than a little chorus and delay for leads. I’ve been using that for about 15 years now. So, no, I’m not into changing equipment. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

11/are they any bands you often gig with? Which bands you’d like to share the stage with?

With any local scene, you’re going to usually play with other local bands quite a bit...too many to name really. As far as bands we’d like to play with, that’s a tough one. There are tons of bands that we respect and love to play with, like Mastodon, but it’s as slim chance it would happen.

12/have you got an agent or you search the gigs for yourselves? have you had opportunities to play in festivals?

We book ourselves. As far as festivals, we’ve played on shows that are billed as ‘metal fests’, which are like mini- festivals. In the US, there aren’t as many festivals where a smaller band like us would have the opportunity to play compared to other parts of the world.

13/have you played abroad?

We have done two short European tours (10 days); one in 2014 and this year (2017). We’ve played in Holland, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland and Austria.

www.aittala.com

1/who started the band and what was the idea?

Veil of Delusions was formed a little over a year ago in late 2015. All members except Zoë carried over from the band Desolace Divine which got formed 6 years ago in 2010. Desolace Divine started out when our guitarists Martin and Xander were looking for a new band. In late 2015 Veil of Delusions was born, we welcomed Zoë as our new vocalist.

2/are you all time friends or you just met through magazines..?

We are friends and we started as friends.

3/have you sing in other bands or this is your first?

Yeah, I did some other projects, My inner Peace was my first band actually.

4/who are your favorite singers and did you see yourself in a band?

I’ve always loved music in general, it’s in my blood. I’ve always been trying to do something with it, but in different ways…I finally found my way but i’m still learning. Music is also just like a mirror, everytime I look in it, I see many reflections about life…. I do have a lot of favorite singers, it depends on my daily mood… Let’s see: Alice cooper, Phil Anselmo, James Hetfield, Winston McCall, Joe Duplantier, Bruce Dickinson, Johan Hegg, Angela Gossow and many more!

5/do you play any instrument?

I play piano a little bit.

6/who is writing the songs? is there one creator or the whole band gets together?

We do this together.

7/who chose the bands name?

Martin, It’s mysterious.

8/ are you getting inspired by books or movies?

Sometimes, I get inspired by myths.

9/what are you doing with Sugar Factory?

Sugarfactory is a nightclub and live music venue in the heart of Amsterdam, attracting a young audience in search of diverse entertainment in an intimate yet inspiring setting. I’m not working there anymore, but it’s a really nice place,

you should check it out haha!

10/ you already have three albums, how did you do? are they self releases and have you worked it all or some previous songs were already written by other members?

No we only have one album, and two singles so far. Yes some songs were already written by other members and we released it all very soon.

11/Do you have someone in the band who is working in the music biz?

No not at the moment, but we do have a lot of close connections.

12/have you got an agent? is it easy for you to play live gigs?

We only have a Dutch & UK booker at the moment, it’s never easy to play live gigs, we have to work hard for it.

13/You have a melodic voice, mixed with a growling male one. Isn’t anoying for you to share the vocals? what is the meaning of it?

It’s a difficult mixed combination, but it’s just my way of expressing myself. I can put a lot of my energy in it, in many different ways, it just feels good this way. And no it’s not difficult to share haha 14/do you have your own mic and sound equipment? if so which trade do you use and why?

I use a Shure PGX2, because it’s a nice mic haha 15/have you taken vocals lessons?

Yeah, since I was little and i’m never done with it haha there is always something to learn.

16/who inspired your singing?

My vocal teacher, Niki Manshanden.

17/are there any bands you would like to play or share vocals with?

Yes a lot haha & we all have dreams & ambitions! But to be honest it feels good to play with any other band.

www.facebook.com/veilofdelusions/

1/who started the band and what was the idea?

The band started in 2012, Reptil Vera and myself Mikel we created a band called Rising Sun, in the vein of classic Heavy Metal: Angel WItch, Tokyo Blade and Accept. One day I decided it was the time to create another band slightly different.

I met Ray and we created Evil Killer.

1 / quién empezó la banda y cuál fue la idea?

La banda surgió en 2012, Reptil Vera y yo(Mikel) tocábamos en un grupo llamado Rising Sun, en el cual tocaban clásicos del heavy metal de bandas como: Angel WItch, Tokyo Blade o Accept. Un buen día decidimos que era el momento de empezar a crear nuestros propios temas. En ese momento se unió Ray y creamos Evil Killer.

2/who found the name and why this one?

The truth is after several months of rehearsing we had already prepared our first demo but we still lacked the name.

Finally after giving a thousand try to this subject and turned out completely horrible names , we realized that the name we gave to one of our songs did not sound bad at all ... and that’s how Evil Killer came about.

2 / quién encontró el nombre y por qué éste?

La verdad que tras varios meses ensayando ya teníamos preparada lo que es nuestra primera demo pero todavía nos faltaba el nombre. Finalmente tras darle mil vueltas a este tema y barajar nombres completamente horribles nos dimos cuenta que el nombre que le habíamos dado a uno de nuestros temas no sonaba mal del todo…y así es como surgió Evil Killer.

3/Are you old time friends or it took years to get the right line up?

We are friends since many years ago, we live in a small community and we are few people who walks in heavy metal, some of us have known each other practically since we were born, Mikel and Ray are brothers ... we have spent many years listening to music and filling concerts together , It’s a nice metal story !!

3 / ¿Son amigos de antaño o tardaron años en obtener la alineación correcta?

Somos amigos desde muchos años atrás, vivimos en una comunidad pequeña y somos poca la gente que camina dentro del heavy metal, algunos de nosotros nos conocemos prácticamente desde que nacimos, Mikel y Ray son hermanos…llevamos muchos años escuchando música y llenado a conciertos juntos, es una bonita historia de metal!!

4/Spain is more into Heavy Metal but is coming more and more into Thrash Metal, what is the scene like other there?do you know many Thrash bands?

España está despertando de su letargo, antes solo había power metal…desde hace unos años somos varias las bandas que apuestan por sonidos más clásicos y duros! Hay bandas cojonudas como Angelus Apatrida, Skull Bastards, Korgull The Exterminator o Nuclear Revenge, poco a poco el Thrash Metal se va abriendo camino a golpes…no podía ser de otra manera!

4 / España está más en Heavy Metal, pero viene cada vez más en Thrash Metal, ¿cuál es la escena como la de otros ?, ¿conoces a muchas bandas de Thrash?

Spain is awakening from its lethargy, before there was only power metal ... a few years ago we are several bands that bet on more classic and hard sounds! There are similar bands like Angelus Apatrida, Skull Bastards, Korgull The Extermi-

nator or Nuclear Revenge, little by little the Thrash Metal is opening the way to blows ... could not be of another way!

5/how did you get your label?

After several frustrated agreements ,“Eventhink Metal Records” contacted us and we were very pleased with their proposal so we decided to work with them, We are very proud to be on this label. For the vinyl edition we are working alongside “Alone Records” from Greece. And we were lucky to edit on cassette with “Witchcraft Records” 5 / ¿Cómo obtuvo su etiqueta?

Tras varios acuerdos frustrados “Eventhink Metal Records” contacto con nosotros y nos agradó mucho su propuesta asi que decidimos trabajar con ellos, Estamos muy orgullosos de estar en este sello. Para la edición en vinilo estamos trabajando junto a “Alone Records” de Grecia. Y tuvimos la suerte de editar en cassette con “Witchcraft Records” 6/you seem to play a lot abroad, have you got a great deal ? how do you get your everyday’s life going?

Little by little we try to make a place in Europe and for us to play in France or the vinyl edition of our last album with the Greek label that I mentioned before is a big step towards our goal. Our big problem is that we are people who belong to the working class and it is very difficult to combine a job and a band.

6 / Parece que juegas mucho en el extranjero, ¿tienes mucho? ¿Cómo consigues la vida cotidiana?

Poco a poco intentamos hacernos un hueco en Europa y para nosotros tocar en Francia o la edición en vinilo de nuestro último disco con el sello griego que antes comentaba es un gran paso hacia nuestro objetivo. Nuestro gran problema es que somos gente que pertenecemos a la clase trabajadora y es muy difícil compaginar un trabajo y una banda.

7/One of you is ridding mountains, are you all sporty?

Yes, our guitarist is a mountaineer and he’s crazy! It has toured all the Pyrenees and part of the Alps hahah the others we play sports when we can but I think that all of us the sport that we like most is to climb to a stage and destroy it with metal!

7 / Uno de ustedes está librando montañas, ¿son todos deportivos?

SI, nuestro guitarrista es montañero y está loco! Se ha recorrido todos los pirineos y parte de los Alpes hahah los demás practicamos deporte cuando podemos pero creo que a todos nosotros el deporte que más nos gusta es el subirnos a un escenario y destrozarlo a base de metal!

8/your album cover is about witches, can you explain it? have you participated in the creation or sent the lyrics to the artist?

We are from Navarra, here the Holy Inquisition made authentic barbarities in the population with the excuse of witchcraft, that theme has always fascinated me. Hence all references to witches. We had clear that the disk trina that call WItchcraft to do a tribute to all those victims of the abuse of power, once with the idea in mind we contacted our artist and he created the cover, of which we are very proud .

8 / tu portada del álbum es sobre brujas, ¿puedes explicarlo? ¿Ha participado en la creación o ha enviado la letra al artista?

Nosotros somos de Navarra, aquí la santa Inquisición hizo autenticas barbaridades en la población con la excusa de la brujería, ese tema siempre me ha fascinado. De ahí todas las referencias a las brujas. Teníamos claro que el disco se trina que llamar WItchcraft para hacer un homenaje a todas aquellas víctimas del abuso de poder, una vez con la idea en la mente nos pusimos en contacto con nuestro artista y el creo la portada, de la cual estamos muy orgullosos.

9/musically you have Heavy Thrash riffs and your voice is sometimes high pitch mixing Helloween to Sacred Reich for example, how do you create your songs?

We are very anarchists in the elaboration of the songs, they sometimes arise from a vocal melody and others from a riff, then all this we rehearse in the local until the song comes out. Every time we go towards paths more Thrash Metal, but it is something that is leaving us alone, it is not premeditated. We are already composing something for our next album and there is yet another twist.

9 / musicalmente tienes riffs de Thrash pesado y tu voz es a veces de tono alto mezclando Helloween con Sacred Reich, por ejemplo, ¿cómo creas tus canciones?

Somos muy anarquistas a la hora de elaborar las canciones, alguna vez surgen a raíz de una melodía vocal y otras a

raíz de un riff, luego todo esto lo ensayamos en el local hasta que sale la canción. Cada vez vamos hacia derroteros más Thrash Metal, pero es algo que nos está saliendo solo, no es premeditado. Ya estamos componiendo alguna cosa para nuestro próximo álbum y aun hay otra vuelta más de tuerca.

10/did you take courses or you are self taught?

We are all self-taught although at the time of perfecting and polishing details we have taken classes with a professional to be able to carry on, especially the drums and the solo guitar.

10 / tomaste cursos o eres autodidacta?

Todos somos autodidactas aunque a la hora de perfeccionar y pulir detalles hemos tomado clases con un profesional para poder seguir adelante, sobre todo el batería y el guitarra solista.

11/you like Flying V guitars, have you got many guitars?

The truth is that we have a few guitars in our house, it’s like a drug! I love the brand Jackson, Vera has a taste for the wider guitars heheh 11 / te gustan las guitarras Flying V, ¿tienes muchas guitarras?

La verdad es que tenemos unas cuantas guitarras en nuestra casa, es como una droga! A mí me encantan las de marca Jackson, Vera tiene un gusto por las guitarras más amplio heheh 12/Tell us about your gear and effect you are using, are you trying many?

The truth is that we do not use any kind of effects, just a booster to raise the tone of the guitars when we perform the solos. We prefer to sound as pure as we can. Otherwise we use amplifiers that mimic the sound of the “mythical peavey 6505”, so far we have no money to buy the original hehehe 12 / Cuéntanos sobre tu equipo y el efecto que estás usando, ¿estás intentando muchos?

La verdad que no usamos ningún tipo de efectos, simplemente un “booster” para subir el tono de las guitarras cuando realizamos los solos. Preferimos sonar lo más puro que podemos. Por lo demás usamos unos amplificadores que imitan el sonido de los “míticos peavey 6505”, por el momento no tenemos dinero para comprarnos los originales hehehe

www.facebook.com/EvilKillerOfficial/

1/How did you end up singing for The Lust?

Yan asked me twice about it, first in 2010, unfortunately I had no possibility then so that’s why the real collaboration happened only in 2015. At this year we made one song «Paradise» for Yan’s second project Dissector, you can find on the album «Pride & Hate». We wanted just to try what we can do together and result was astonishing so we decided to continue. Thus there were three more songs and the concept of «Black Dahlia Poem» began to take shape.

2/How did you meet Yan? We were some kind of internet friends in one Russian social network.

3/Did you want something different than Decadence dust?

Of course! I wanted to explore my songwriting and singing skills in different projects. And when Yan wrote me in 2015 I was looking for some interesting musical bands to join.

4/You seem to dance and sing, what other arts do you practice?

Actually no. I do not dance. I sing, I do photoshoots, I paint and I write poems and articles sometimes.

5/When did you start singing ? Did you learn and do you teach?

I started singing when I was 17. First I studied myself. I tried to repeat technique of Tarja Turunen by listening songs of Nightwish. I was inspired by her classical vocal skills. Then I found a teacher in my small town where I lived to practice with a professional. Few years later when the charm of a classic vocal sound has passed for me and I started to learn how to sing in a pop way. At that moment I already lived in Saint-Petersburg where I found a new teacher. So as you may see I have already tried different styles and my voice continues to evolve.

6/Did you write all the songs from ‘the poem’?

I did the lyrics and the vocal parts, yes.

7/What are your favorite bands?

My tastes always change. At the moment I have few favorite bands that really inspire me: Marilyn Manson, Garbage, Lacuna Coil, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson, The Sisters Of Mercy, Paradise Lost, Tori Amos, David Bowie, Hole, Evanescence, Nirvana, The Cure.

8/Who inspired your way of singing?

As I already said it was Tarja Turunen at the beginning of my way. And then Christina Scabbia, Shirley Manson, Courtney Love…

9/Do you sing live ?

I used to sing live earlier. But now it is in the past because all my current projects are studio.

10/Which song do you prefer on the album?

I really love our first single «Pieces», then «You got me», «Loaded Guns», «In death Embrace» and «Wish You Were Here». I’m proud of our cover experience – I love «I almost loved You» by My Dying Bride and «Cassandra» by Theatre of Tragedy, this tracks you can find on our second edition of Black Dahlia Poem.

11/The album got so much success you are repressing it with bonus tracks, what are those bonuses?

Well yes. We see great interest to the Black Dahlia Poem and that’s why we make second edition of album with some bonuses. First of all, it will be one new song that should end up the story of Dahlia – «Sweet lullaby». This is a very dramatic and heartfelt song that's perfect as a PostScript to our concept. Besides there will be new versions of tracks «In death Embrace» and «Don’t be Afraid» and also there will be cover-songs that I already mentioned – «I almost loved You» by My Dying Bride and «Cassandra» by Theatre of Tragedy.

12/Are you well known in Russia or the net is a big part of that success?

The Lust is well known in Russia due to its great discography since 2002. But after the break which lasted several years until 2015, the group was forced to re-earn audience's attention. As you can see the success of the new album on the Internet really helps in it.

13/You replaced a singer, how was your thoughts about it? How the fans accepted you?

To be honest it was not a replacement because the vocalist spot in The Lust was vacant when I appeared. And actually I don’t know how the fans accepted me but I know they do love new album. That’s all I need to know.

14/Did you know the band before joining?

No, I did not. I don't know how this could happen.

15/Have you got your own equipment or you just use the ones in the rehearsal room/studio?

I have my own stuff but in studio we use what they got.

16/Have you got any other projects?

For a while I have two projects: The Lust and Decadence Dust. But I still get different offers from other musicians.

Many of them deserve attention but I have no time to do something else because Decadence Dust is in the middle of recording first full-album and The Lust prepares to comeback to studio. No time at all.

17/Are you playing any instruments that help your melodies?

No I don’t. All melodies exist only in my head and my voice helps me to let them out.

18/Do you create once the music is done or you sit and see how it will go with the musicians?

This way works for Decadence Dust but not for The Lust. In The Lust I get finished demos from other musicians to write the vocals.

www.facebook.com/THE-LUST-114814615203198/

1/Did you start the band? who gave the name and why?

– Hello! We have started Dissector together with drummer Andrey “Circle” Glukhov, bass-player Oleg Aleshin and singer Vladimir Yarkeev in 1992, first under the name Distimiya. After some line-up changes we got the name Dissector in autumn 1993. As far as I remember it was my idea to use this word, though we had several other variants (Igniter, Impostor, etc.). We have found it in a medical dictionary. I know, there were/are several bands with the same name on the planet, but we couldn’t know about it those days, without Internet and in such isolated place as our home-city Magadan.

2/Due to all the line up changes and years to get the band going why not changing the name?

– Since I have left my home town in 2002, my ex-bandmates from the current line-up have used this name maybe for one year or so, and after eventual split-up no one was interested in continuing the story of DISSECTOR. 2003-2004 in Saint-Petersburg I have started THE LUST and was completely busy with its needs. During making new songs for the next album of THE LUST in 2006 I decided to try again with DISSECTOR, first with guest musicians under the same name. At the end of the day it was me who gave this name to the band. So I didn’t see any contradictions to start the band from the scratch as DISSECTOR. And actually I didn’t even think about changing this name really.

A couple of years later, in 2008 together with the members from the first line up Andrey Glukhov and Oleg Aleshin we decided to continue the band as studio trio. So the name DISSECTOR was more than suitable in this situation.

3/Have you tried to play in other bands?

– Yes, besides DISSECTOR I have another main project THE LUST, where I play kind of goth-metal stuff with beautiful voice of our new vocalist Anna Dust. I also played or participated in several other music projects – Inside, Tartharia, Satanation, Green Brothers. Some are still active; some don’t exist anymore. But all bands are running as studio projects at the moment.

4/How do you find the illustration for the covers?

- All artworks for DISSECTOR, began with EP “Cry For Me” created by my friend and countryman, designer Pablo “The Elephant” Antonov, who also designs all releases of THE LUST and worked many years with many other different big and small bands in Russia and abroad. Usually I give him the idea of the album, and Pablo creates then the whole artwork with full booklet, posters, singles etc. Or I choose already existent artwork which is suitable to the main theme of the new album. It is neither here nor there, because the quality of Pablo’s artworks is always brilliant.

5/You are singing and playing, do you create the whole songs alone?

– The basic track I compose alone and give it then to drummer and bass-player. They add independently their parts.

Sometimes it sounds like it wasn’t planned in my head, but I prefer team work, so if it doesn’t discord with the whole idea of the song, I choose the variant of my colleagues. Usually we add lyric and vocal lines at the last moment and lately use lyric of our friends.

6/Have you got sound engineering skills?

– Unfortunately, not. My skills are enough only to record guitar demo stuff at home with laptop and to make some simple editions and mixing. Sometimes I envy people who can connect all this shit properly, control all this software and hardware together and make finally great sound. Sure it comes with experience and some important knowledge, but it was determined by history, that I just compose many songs and just try to record it somehow without spending much time in the studio. I have patience only for that.

7/Tell us about your gear, your guitar, your mic..

– I don’t play live since 2005, so I own only guitars at the moment – Washburn and LTD, no pedals, no amplifiers.

The stuff for the record I get directly in the studio if needed. Of course I would like to have my private big studio with many different guitars, gears and maybe sound engineer, and in addition it would be great to have a lot of time to operate it.

8/Which band inspired you? What inspires your lyrics?

– I think I was inspired by so much different bands, that I can’t list them all. Beginning with classic stuff and disco as I was a child, thеn AC/DC and all those heavy-metal heroes, Judas Priest, WASP and other bands at school time, then classic thrash, death metal and many other metal styles at the university as we already started DISSECTOR. Now I don’t listen much modern music and prefer bands I always liked or collect their music on CD’s – Carcass, Paradise Lost, At The Gates, Killswith Engage, Sentenced/Poisonblack, The Haunted, Nightrage, Katatonia, some Finnish stuff like Charon or Entwine, Rotting Christ, Yearning, Anathema. I’m also a fan of non-metal stuff like Ludovico Einaudi, Blackfield, Seal, Clannad, Norland Wind, Dead Can Dance, Deep Forest, Lighthouse Family… A lot of music I listed here has a nostalgic connection with my life, of course, or correlate with its. I like music when it connects with your state of mind or current situation. It could be Soilwork or Lacuna Coil (definitely not the last one), Sinatra or Moya Brennan, Rage or Queensryche - only dark, sad or nostalgic emotions count and has power. I don’t like and never will like happy music that much. Most of it is idiotic and full of naive and primitive shit. As to lyric, I don’t write lyric for many years now and use lyric of friends or other third-party.

9/Have you toured a lot in your country and abroad?

– No, I never toured abroad and gave concerts with different project only in local clubs. We were never big or live enough for big touring.

10/You are playing in other bands such as The Lust, Decadence Dust... do you want to show you like different type of music?

– No, I don’t look to show the world that I like different styles of music. I just compose a lot of different songs all the time. Earlier, as I had only Dissector as my main project, we played during one concert different songs - thrash-metal stuff, ballads and rock-songs. Last years I tried sometimes to select recorded demos stylistically or compose particular song exactly for one or another band, but it’s not the point. If the slow beautiful song suits for Dissector’s album as coda song, for example, or for guest appearance, I will use it. Currently I record stuff for Dissector/The Lust in parallel, and I also plan to record one or two new albums with the band Tartharia this autumn, should it turn out to be possible timing-wise. I don’t have anything to do with Decadence Dust – this is the main project of our singer Anna, and they do their own thing, though similar to us.

11/As a musician what are you looking for?

– I don’t have any expectations about music business or big sales. Dissector exists since many years only as studio project, without live activities, and definitely not as a commercial one. Of course, I’d like to record much more songs as we did before, and to do some well-designed merchandise too, but still we do every year musically something. That is more important for us – music. So that’s what I’m looking for – at least for a small creative realization, for possibilities to record and spread our music just for fun, without bid ambitions. Now, after death of our dear friend and drummer Andrey Glukhov last year we have recorded material for a couple of next releases. And we will release it one way or another, maybe till our 30 anniversary.

12/What is the scene like in Russia? what type of Metal is the most played?

– Frankly speaking, I don’t follow it at all. Russia is a big country. Sure, there are thousands of different bands here.

I guess, pagan and folk-metal are popular nowadays, but also gothic, black, melodic-death, deathcore or power/ heavy-metal. Even grindcore. Earlier we had big punk and Russian-rock movements. Russian scene was always kind of isolated from European market and much more from American market, for a variety of reasons. Not much modern Russian metal-bands have become big enough for touring abroad or to get a really good deal.

www.facebook.com/Dissector-107484652627160/

Interview with Stefan Zörner (singer) from SpiteFuel 1/ What happened for you to change the band’s name? What does it mean?

Hey Franck! Nice to talk to you again! Well, easy answer, our old bands (Strangelet und Devil´s Darling) split and the five of us decided to found a new band!

We are full of spite and metal is our fuel, hahahaha! So ya can get, where the name came from, buddy!

2/ Musically you have taken a slight change, as for the cover that has a 70’s classic look. What was your wish for that album? Was your first band too perfect?

Hmmmm... too perfect? Good question... The sound of SpiteFuel is indeed more heavy, more organic and comes with much bigger balls, ha! I think it was a natural progression. We wrote and recorded the new tracks in just a few weeks... so the complete album is very unique and comes in one solid piece, I think!

3/ Your voice has evolved, did you take courses to modify your way of singing?

Thanks! No, please don´t forget about my past as singer. I also used to sing in Lanfear years ago with a more proggy and metal edge, and I started to sing in a Doom/ Thrash band! I think, the way I sing in SpiteFuel is 100% Stefan.

That´s the way I feel and I am very proud to listen to the final tracks!

4/ Is this band ready for a long career? Have you got live touring dates?

Of course it is! But no one knows, what tomorrow will be! We try to do our very best und make some great records ans play some awesome shows! That´s all I can say! Life live NOW! 5/ Once again you have hit singles, are you working in a music studio? You have a musical knowledge that helps to brings great songs?

Hahaha, again thanks! No, we all have normal “9 to 5”-jobs and we do this all just for fun and for the spirit of metal, man! The greatest hobby!

6/ What drives your lyrics? Do you write in German and get it translated?

All the things I see, I feel, I hear and that touch me are my influences. Life itself is the greatest storyteller! Love, hate, fear, joy, devotion. As long as I don´t have to write about shiny dragons or ancient warriors... I feel fine and satisfied with my lyrics, smile!

No, I write in English. A part of my family lives in the USA, so English is no problem for me. I even dream in English sometimes ;-)

7/ You have a strong fan base on the net, is it big in your country too? Would you say social media helped you?

Our fan base is growing day by day... soooo fantastic! We are so fuckin´ proud and thankful! Our supporters and fans are actually based worldwide, so cool! In Germany we play some festivals these times, so we hope to win more fans and friends this summer, too! All is working fine!

Social media is necessary in my opinion! And hell yeah it HELPED us! I spend many hours in social media promotion or just to keep contact with our fans and friends. Great gift!

8/ How did you find the musicians to replace the ones gone? Did you use the paper ads or they are friends of yours?

No, we were friends before the splits and it was no big deal. It just was like to end writing a chapter... turn the page.... and begin to write a new one.

9/ How did you find your label?

Markus (Rösner) is also a good old friend. Actually it was HIS drive to found SpiteFuel that quickly! He was involved from the very first day in that story. So he and MDD Records are not just partners... it is much more! Something REAL special, my friend!

10/ Who made the cover and have you had any impact in it?

The cover was created by American artist Travis Smith! Yeah he was my number one... I really love his work for iconic bands such as Anathema, Death, Opeth or Katatonia! I just asked him... he said “Yes, I will do!” and that was all. Great and a real BÄMMM for us!

11/ Have you worked hard to get this album as great as it is? ...yeah, man! Very hard, muahahahahaha! Just kiddin´! We worked our asses off to realize the album in that few weeks and I still think “Woah... how the fuck did we this in that few weeks, man?”

12/ What difficulties you encountered? Did you pushed yourself more?

No, not really! There was just that hmmm “call it “constructive pressure” to record and finish “Second To None” and the “Sleeping With Wolves” Single in 2016. And we prevail, haha!

13/ What do you tell the fans of Strangelet? is it like a new beginning?

Definitely! But most of our fans from the Strangelet/ D.D. days are happy with SpiteFuel – and don´t forget, we still play some Strangelet and Devil´s Darling track live! It is just following the road to a new destination!

14/ Which songs are your favourite?

Hard to say. As told before, all tracks are part of a short, intense and great period of writing, rehearse, record and finalize. So it depends form day to day which single track I would declare as “highlight”. I feel still very fine with ALL of them!

15/ Do you still play songs from Strangelet live? Or it’s over you don’t want to talk about it anymore...?

God no! Strangelet was a fantastic experience and a very important chapter in our lives! Strangelet was the foundation to all that we do now and opened many doors for us! There was no bad blood or so. And I still wear my Strangelet shirts, haha!

16/ What led you to choose that title for the album?

Good last question, dear friend! Everyone out there! Buy our album, listen to the tracks, play ´em loud and think about it, ha! Thanks and metal on!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/Spitefuel/

1/Why have you chosen JAG (Jimi Anderson Group) rather than your name or another one?

1) JAG is an abbreviation of my name : Jimi Anderson Group It gives the option of just my name or using JAG as a group name which is much easier to say and makes it feel like a band and not Just me 2/The cover album is excellent but the title is like added later as normal writting, why? why not keeping the awesome artwork as a one album or ask a design for the title? 3/Who designed that great logo? have you had ideas of it or you left the designer dealing with it?

The Artwork was done by a former guitarist as a logo so I couldn't really ask him to amend the artwork at a later time to use as an album cover. However I do thank him very much for it.

4/That album has the songs from your previous mini albums, what has changed apart from the sound?

the album is both Eps rearranged repackaged for people who don't know my music in album format and songs have been remastered. I think it was a great idea and of more interest to people as an 'Album' 5/Do you have a complete line up or it has changed since the release of the album?

The songs were played recorded and produced in conjunction with Sandy Jones & Greame Duffin of Foundry Music Lab (FML) in Scotland and all parts played between the 3 people. It was never going to be a "Live" band with those guys innit so I have 5 new people playing the gigs with me 2 guitarists, bass, keyboards & drums .Members Subject to change 6/Like famous bands you have a special release in japan with bonuses, is it the label wish or you wanted that way?

ha ha ha yeah the label Pride & Joy have a guy called Shige An Yoshimura who releases their albums in Japan so was their idea. again another good guy and very supportive. Just need to go tour there to promote the Album.

7/Have you got lots of fans in japan?

no but hopefully that will change would be great to play out there and build a following in Japan. I'm sure there are lots of people there who would love JAG 8/Do you have plenty of songs not on that album and ready for the next one?

yeah I have lots of songs ready to record and ideas for more songs so hopefully I'll get back in the studio very soon to begin work on the next CD 9/How many years it took you to get that album done?

well I've been writing & performing for 30 years but nowadays it is affordable to finance your own recordings if you go into the studio well prepared so I'd say modern technology has made it possible for smaller acts to get quality recordings of their music available to their fans 10/Reading the list of the songs it’s like you had something to say, what is the general idea of the lyrics?

yeah the best songs for me have good lyrics and hooks and after many years of writing you can choose the best songs to record. I like to have a positive message of hope in songs like Welcome to the Revolution, Necessary People, Let's Get Serious, Relationship/Life issues In the ballads Where Do We Go From Here which I wrote for my wife Karen before we got married BetterThis Way lyrics drawn from my life experiences which hopefully everyone can relate to 11/Pride and Joy music is the label you signed onto, how did you find it?why choosing a german label rather than a uk one?

Europe seems much more open to AOR/Classic Rock and I was very impressed by Birgitt Schwanke and her enthusiasm so trusted my instincts and haven't been disappointed. Pride & Joy have been fantastic so far

12/you sing in a cover band ForeignerJourney would you say it helped your voice getting power / melody?

I think trying to emulate Steve Perry & Lou Gramm brought out different qualities in my voice and singing in that range for a few years certainly increased my power & my vocal range but I'd like to think the melody & tone of my voice was always there 13/Are the musicians the same in your album than your other band or you searched for different ones?

same answer as number 5) 14/Can you tell who did the funny video about the dinosaur? does the story matches the lyrics?pretty unusual for a band do you have others stuff like that coming?

ha ha yeah I like that video. No that was done by the guy I wrote 'Feel Like Letting Go" with Mark Rowen. It was just for fun using a public domain video and setting it to my music. He's a clever guy 15/Your music as your voice reminds lots of band like Bad English etc, would you say that you got the voice of your idols? what is the hard work to get a voice going like this?

sure being compared to any great vocalist is a compliment. I have many vocalists I love who all have different qualities to there voice and I tried over the years to incorporate these qualities into my voice . Guys like David Coverdale Ronnie Dio Paul Rodgers Billy Joel Neil Diamond Steve Perry Lou Gramm Bono . Lots of practice and trying to put great feeling into the words you are singing. I am always trying to improve my voice and songwriting 16/your album has everything to become a huge explosion in the music biz, although we are in 2017 and time has changed. Is your label doing the whole job or you need to get the most of it to accomplish what others used to do in the 80’s?!

firstly thank you for the compliment that's very kind however I think unless you are with a huge Label or management company who will finance tours or get great support slots on big band tours or get radio airplay on the big radio stations it's so difficult to get the exposure required to be a worldwide hit Spotify etc have taken away most of the income from small bands and it's impossible to sell albums in the vast quantities they used to do in the modern technological era 17/Do you have a European tour coming? which bands you’d like to tour with?

Not at present. There's quite a resurgence of AOR at the moment. A band I absolutely love just now is H.E.A.T. From Sweden Inglorious from the UK is another band doing really well but because playing Live is the only way to make money these day and so many bands are out performing it would be impossible to get to support these bands I think 18/who’s copping with your website? do you have knowledge of the new tech?

No one really, my wife does what she can but I really need more time to devote to this and learn more about the technology. I'm pretty useless at it to be completely honest 19/Do you have a studio? have you got your own singer gears?

I have a little studio at the back of our house where I practice, write and record rough demos which is a great thing and saves a lot of time shaping and honing songs for professional recording or live performance 20/who mastered your album? did you ask for the sound to match your wishes?

Sandy Jones from FML Mastered the album and did all of the recordings/Mixing. He also produced the album with me and together we had an overalll feel for how we wanted it to sound. I trust Sandy's judgements completely and I'm glad I did and I'm very pleased with the end result. He also went way beyond his duty and put a lot of extra hours into making the CD sound so good

http://www.jimianderson.co.uk/

1/Why did you change singer? how did you find Juan?

1- we started working on the new cd and Ron was having some trouble in the studio so he decided to step down. I’ve known Juan for ever from the Cleveland scene and thought he would be a perfect fit!

2/Did you have the songs written with your other singer before changing or you created the album with him?

2- Almost all of the songs were written before we got Juan. I think we added a couple after Juan joined.

3/Your last album is from three years, what happened?

3- We were writing new songs for our next cd and it was going slowly then we had the problem with Ron and it just took a while to get everything done.

4/What were the difficulties compared to the other albums?

4- Really the biggest problem was we built our own recording studio and it took a little while to figure out what the hell we were doing!! Hahaha!!!

5/As an American band what do you like in German Pure Steel Records?

5- Pure Steel has been great to us!! It seems that they are better at supporting metal bands better than other labels.

6/Would you compare your guitar playing as Slayer, Judas... a duo?

6-I think Mike and I work a lot like Dave and Adrian from Iron Maiden. The way we do our harmonies was learned from them.

7/How do you create/compose your songs?

7-I write most of the music. Most of the time a lot of my ideas come from me just messing around on the guitar. I’ll stumble on something I like then add to it until I finish it.

8/Are you writing lyrics as juan?

8-Mike and Juan write all of the lyrics. They seem to do a great job of it.

9/You have Thrash riffs giving the album strengh and power, does that come from your other bands?

9-I don’t think so. I grew up listening to a lot of melodic and heavy stuff. So I think I tend to mix them together.

10/You have eleven songs, does that mean the next album is already written?do you have tons of riffs / songs recorded you might never use?

10-Well we always have extra songs laying around plus we’ve been working on a bunch of new songs. We always like to have some extra songs to choose from.

11/You are playing also in Destructor, what led you to and does it interfer with Wretch?

11-When Colon, our original singer left, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the band and Destructor was looking for a guitarist at the same time. I’ve known Dave and Matt for 30 years so we got together and it just sounded great and they’re such great guys that I joined them. There hasn’t been any problems with interference with either band so it’s all good!!

12/Did you have a special idea what this album should sound like?

12-No. We just started writing and they just came out the way they did.

13/Are you still listening the 80's Metal bands ? which ones influenced you the most? are they any new bands you are following or supporting?

13-Yes!! I still love listening to all of the 80’s stuff!! I’m a Helloween fan, especially the keeper of the 7 keys albums. Most of the new stuff I listen to is like Stradivarius and stuff like that.

14/How do you keep inspiration? do you take courses or teach people? Do you play everyday?

14-I don’t play every day anymore. I probably should!!Hahaha!!! I used to teach guitar a long time ago but got out of it because there’s not enough money in it. Plus I have 2 kids and they used to eat up a lot of my time. They’re older now so I seem to be playing a lot more now.

15/Tell us about your gears, what you love about them, do you change with new tech?

15-I play mostly old Ibanez rg760 guitars. I used to play Jackson’s but I seem to like the necks on these old Ibanez guitars more now. I’m playing through an Engl Powerball amp that sounds amazing!! I use very little effects.

Maybe some delays on my solos that’s about it.

16/Have you got a studio? is one of you has tech skill?

16-Yeah I built a recording studio in my basement. I learned all of the recording software and hooked up a 32 channel board and use that for the interface. I’ve learned a lot of the tech stuff recording the last cd.

Hope that’s ok brother!! Let me know if you need anything else and sorry for taking so long.

www.wretchmetal.com

Hello Franck, I’m Tommy Stewart, the vocalist and bassist of Bludy Gyres.

Thank you and here are my answers to your interview: 1/What made you start this band in 2014?

1). In my case, I was finished with the last line-up of Hallows Eve and decided to do something completely different, which is what I usually choose. So I contacted my friend and band mate Chris Abbamonte, who has this remarkable tone suited for Sabbath influenced doom and he had expressed interest.

2/The band’s name is pretty unusual, what is the meaning and why choosing it?

2.) The first name I came up with was Ogres of Bloody Sorrow! Chris, for whatever reason, asked me to try again and so that name became a line in a song. Bludy was just an interesting way of phoenetically giving it an accent and Gyres would be a plural of the origin of the word giant or anything large, maybe an ogre, and implies swirling.

I figured that what I was about to start writing sounded like a bloody giant swirling vortex in my mind and so aptly named.

3/coming from Thrash and then play Doom, would you say it’s a matter of evolution or getting older?

3.) The question is funny because I often joke that doom is old man’s metal. I have always felt slower tempo was more challenging because then you have more room to deal with melody. Plus another quirk of Bludy Gyres is that we do a scattering of time changes and odd moments that are created more for feel and atmosphere than seeing how many rushed patterns one can mathematically play. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy that, too, but that’s not how I feel when I’m expressing me, myself, as an artist. Plus I’ve already made certain styles of music so I would now like to make other styles. I have more than one trick, some don’t.

4/having long songs, is it a wish or it happens you can’t stop yourself?

4.) The songs are only as long as they need to be to tell the story. And this is the style of this band. My other band, Tommy Stewart’s Dyerwulf, is much less long songs and simple to the point structures for that style.

5/Have you got more songs you couldn’t include in the album?

5.) We do have more songs that are being developed for a next release. There is one song titled “Behold! Your World Now Burns” that was released in digital form only a couple of years ago. We’re working up a new version of that one. Why not? There can be different versions! The last version was eighteen minutes, maybe we’ll go for a whole concerto with three movements.

6/The band’s logo is pretty heavy, did you want that way? what does it represent?keeping the Metal image...

6.) It was sent to us by an artist imprisoned somewhere in South America. It looked like it was meant to be.

7/how did you find the label?

7.) There are a couple of labels I would have liked to do this album, but this one, Soman Records, offered a deal first. A friend of mine named Med, introduced us. I figure the one coming to you offering a deal is probably more enthusiastic than the ones you have to beg to be interested. And I’m way not much of the begging type.

8/it took you three years to release the album, what happened for you to decide? was it just a fun thing for yourself you finally wanted to share?

8.) That was a matter of practicality. I decide to open a studio and production service for the public and, of course, then I can record my own projects at will instead of paying another entity. Plus my production would be more personal with me actually taking care of my band’s artistic endeavors instead of a stranger. The name of my studio slach production service is Blue Ogre Noise Lab. 9/the album cover doesn’t have a title although the press kit has one, why?

9.) I think art is very important to the presentation of music. So We opted for less text, more art for the cover.

The name of the album is ‘Echoes of a Distant Scream’ , which refers to the subjects of the songs or buried issues way back in the mind and from private places in the heart that may stem from a long while back in someone’s history. I like the idea of people finding their own meanings to the art and music and not being so pushy about how I think they should feel. So the title is not so pushed, the lyrics not so direct, the painting is open to interpretation. What it means to me or us may be different than you. I know what it means to me and it’s in the dark pit of personal memories.

10/you already have lots of shows behind you, how was it to bring people when they didn’t know you?

10.) Thankfully, crowds who don’t know of us seem to instantly like us and we’ve had nothing but positive feedback. We do stick out in a line-up of death and thrash noir, but sticking out is a good thing. My goals were not to fit in and be one of the many. How to endeavor to be extrodinary if your band is ordinary?

11/did you choose the cover or you had and artist to propose it?

11.) This particular cover caught our eye in the works of Jeff Grimal, who also plays in The Great Old Ones. He is an amazing artist and well noted. I get lost in his paintings often.

12/do you think the color blue fits better your music?

12.) Blues and aqua greens seem to have an other wordly feel. Our outer world is so covered in all the other colors and therefore I’ve always felt that my inner world was a watery, somewhat darkened world where I can peacefully work out whatever is in me. The album cover looks a lot like dreams I’ve had, which are nearly monochrome. There’s something Lovecraftian about the cover as well, though I haven’t been able to put my finger on it.

13/have you written a story to get that album five songs with those intensity?

13.) No, they are little stories unto themselves. I’m not surprised you asked as I have done several thematic albums. One was Hallows Eve’s Death and Insanity in which each song was about a different aspect of death. None of that here, though each song does tell a little tale, in a way.

14/how do you write / create the songs?

14.) I live, then I write about it. I live with the song playing in my head for a long while before showing it to the band. With the whole band and in the case of these songs, some of it was written without me there and I applied bass and vocals in a lone sessions after recording the rest of the band. In the case of “Discipline Man” I even came up with some of the lines as I performed them. the recording is when I thought of them.

15/what’s your view on Metal music since you’ve been playing for while? what is different or more difficult than the 80’s?

15.) Other than now there are a zillion bands and I can’t keep up with it, I have nothing to offer on that subject.

For me, that’s the main difference. Dennis Reid, our drummer, and I discuss this all the time. That back in the day there were a certain bunch of bands and labels. There were a certain set of players. We all knew of each other and everything was in order. I’m laughing at that idea, but it was close to truth. Now it’s so many bazillion bands, I can’t keep up. I just do my thing and somebody will like it.

16/are they new bands you are following? supporting? ask to play live with you?

16.) I recently guested with a band I love, their name is Khaotica. They are brilliant and I was very happy to have made a brief appearance with them. My regular daily listening is varied, but usually involves mid career Pink Floyd to Electric Wizard.

17/would you say without the social medias it would be harder to get yourself out of the masses? your past band gives you a lift ?

17.) I do love the internet, social media, and how the music world works today. Honestly, the old system of relying on others approval to make an album and get it heard was like a slave system. Now anybody can just put it out there. Better. And yes, having 4 decades of releases that made a mark gets me 5 minutes with anybody in the business when you’re the one who wrote, produced, and other wise directed a great deal of it, not to disregard my band mates who I couldn’t function without. However, I better have something worth saying in the five minutes. An open door isn’t always a good ticket, you have to have something to bring to the table.

18/is the line up the same from when you started the band?

18.) Almost. We had one guy as a drummer in the very beginning who called himself Jughgernaut. We call him juggle nuts. He was an idiot. Now we have the best line-up. Izzie Herman is an amazingly fluid guitarist that we depend on a lot, then Chris Abbamonte, who I spoke of, and our drummer Dennis Reid. Dennis and I play bass and drums like our own little band in the middle of the whole thing, so he’s very important to me.

19/have you got the old instruments or you have tried many different ones? do you use the new tech?what’s your view on this evolution?

19.) I use a Shec Omen series 5string for most things. I like Ibanez as well. I’m a solid Gk user and have all their amps and speaker sizes. as far as new tech, I still use the old craft of mixing the drums for Bludy Gyres and we like to do most of the recordings live together though there is a lot of production on my part afterwards.The whole album was 164 hours of production for me in the studio. I have used triggers on kick drums, but not for any of my bands. I think you use whatever sounds right for you on the part.

20/ are you playing in other bands?

20.) At one time I was playing in too many bands! I’m now only playing in the group Bludy Gyres and my solo band Tommy Stewart’s Dyerwulf. That band’s album comes out on June 15th, also on Soman Records. Izzie also plays in Dead Rites and Dennis also plays in Rust n Thunder. I spend the rest of my time in the studio working on future projects and producing other bands. That’s plenty for me, thank you.

Thank you for the interview! As I answer, I sometimes learn perspectives on myself as an artist that perhaps I hadn’t thought about till I say out loud. Cheers!

http://bludygyres.com/

1/when did you start the band and what was the direction you wanted to take?

We started this band just over a year ago around April 2016. We wanted to form a thrash band and play traditional style thrash metal, which is rare these days, and for which I have a passion for. I wanted a creative outlet to be able to speak about personal issues and also global problems that are constantly on a lot of our minds 2/why this name?

I honestly can’t remember a specific or definitive moment where we thought of the name - it just came through a few sessions of brainstorming band names and once I had it, Amber and Sean liked it as well so once we confirmed it was available we were happy to adopt it as the band name.

3/your MCD has a very good production, do you have knowlege for mixing?

Thank you! We’re glad you like the production quality. I have limited mixing and production knowledge for metal so we were happy to bring this project to Octave Studios Med Hat where an excellent job was done and we can’t wait to get back there next time.

4/the reading of the designs are not easy, do you want to get it underground or you haven’t found a logo yet?

We have a logo and we are thrilled with it. It was drawn by our good buddy Matt Semenok, I’ll provide a photo of it below.

5/how did you get together? are you friends?

Well my girlfriend of almost 5 years Amber Lowe and I were the ones who originally formed the band, and shortly after our drummer and my best friend of over 10 years, Sean McLean joined the fold.

6/you’re doing basically everything, are the other ones never give their say?

We all contribute significantly to the writing process, but I do write the lyrics and the guitar parts. But we all know the drums and bass are the structure and backbone of every great band. They deserve a ton of credit.

7/which bands have inspired your songs?

Our inspirations are all over the place. Just to list a few of each of our favourites - Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, System of a Down, Gojira, Pantera, Toxic Holocaust, Havok, Lost Society, Slipknot and Marilyn Manson.

8/the canada scene seems to grow, is it easy to get into? have you got lots of friends to support your band?

The scene here in Canada has been great for us so far. Although we live in a smaller city, we’ve had great responses to our live shows and yes, quite a few of our friends have been making it out and showing us their support, which is extremely encouraging.

9/are you playing in other bands?

As of right now Crimson Caliber is the only band I’m in, but Sean and I might be starting a death metal side project.

We used to play together years ago in a death metal band, and the genre has always been a passion of ours.

10/you abviously done it all for your band, patches, shirts,..how long you’ve been pushing your band to?

We’ve been pushing hard and promoting this band since a few months before our EP ‘Red Dawn Rising’ came out on February 25th. So I suppose even around December 2016 when we were in studio we were promoting this band.

11/have you got more songs ready for an album? do you play covers live if so which ones?

So far we have a couple songs completed and are working on a cover for our next release. Yes, we play Nuke the Cross

by Toxic Holocaust as part of our regular set, for now at least.

12/you are a three piece , have you tried another guitarist before or you find your fit this way?

We find with this lineup at this point in time we are happy moving forward as a three piece. I’m not completely opposed to adding another guitar player however, as long as it’s the right fit.

13/have you sent out cds to labels? how did you get Asher Media?

We plan on sending CDs to labels and gauging interest soon. As we’ve had a few labels reach out to us already, we’re patiently waiting for the right label.

14/ tell us about your gear, are you changing to get the brand new stuff, using digital?

As for my gear, it’s pretty straight forward. I play a black Jackson King V through a MXR M116 Fullbore Metal Distortion Pedal. For amps I use a Marshall AVT50 head through a Garnet half stack cab. Old school metal tone achieved.

www.facebook.com/CrimsonCaliber/

Dave Softee Kletzel: Hello I see the band formed in 2001 in Andorra Spain and has already four ablums, this is your fifth coming out on Vicisolum Productions. So lets talk about who found the band’s name?

Carlos: it’s our first interview with USA, we started very young as a band and knew which musical direction we wanted to go. We had many names but didn’t really like the ones we thought and then we had this mythology story and found it sounded good as a name, then later with the second album we wrote the music based on the story from the book itself. Then we got in love with that name.

Dave Softee Kletzel: How could you describe the sound of your band, although I read its Melodic Death Metal I can here the Progessive, Technical and melodies but tell me how you describe your band due to all the music mix?

Carlos: we used to called the band ‘Music’ cos you know those labels are too complicated for us. They usually use many like Melodic, Death, Symphonic...we use the music as our journey to express ourselves so yeah it’s definitively a Metal band. So we use all the music tech we learnt and love but at the end you can tell what you want it’s a Metal band.

Dave Softee Kletzel: You have seven members in the band which is not common, so how did made up the line up?

Carlos: yeah we have seven musicians and always had, we are three guitarists, a keyboardist who sings melodic voice, a bass player , a Death Metal singer for the growling voice and a drummer.

Dave Softee Kletzel: so who writes the music and who writes the lyrics of this band?

Carlos: we used to work as a team but now it’s more like myself and the keyboard player. We’ve been writting music since we are fifteen years old. We are great friends and it’s like a familly you know. They aren’t many musicians around so we have to get on together and work the music. We met the rest of the band and talked about the story we wanted to express after we visited museum, we like to write music with things we want to say. So at the end although few musicians work on their own, the whole band is working together for the band to release the music and the lyrics.

Dave Softee Kletzel: So who mixed the album and where ?

Carlos: you know after those years we know how to create music and do it all by ourselves so we have our own studio , we record everything here and then we went to Summation Street in Sweden with the great and amazing Jens Bogren who was kind enough to work with us and made this amazing sound of the album. He told us stories about our idols like Marty Friedman etc..we really had a great time.

Dave Softee Kletzel: So who designed the CD cover and the logo?

Carlos: the cover was made by Travis Smith (Opeth, Nevermore...) , when we were 16 I liked his work so I thought ‘one day I’ll have one like this’ , and so we worked with him since the last album ‘Split on Migration’. He did this one too and it ‘s like a dream come true. As for the logo, we had one for years and I tried to change it but I’m not a painter so I did a sketch and sent it to a Japanese guy who made the third album cover. He did the whole thing and we loved it so we kept it.

Dave Softee Kletzel: I see your facebook page has 30000 likes and as a small band from a small country it is impressive! Lots of views on your Utube page as well...

Carlos: yeah you know those are numbers, we are a small band and we just make the music we like . Megadeth, Opeth

are big bands we have to work everyday we have a daily job. Maybe one day we will live from music and be a big band but for now we just play the music we love and live to express what we feel in the music. Selling to the world our music is great and seeing all the followers makes us happy cos we are reaching out more people who discover our music. We can meet more people too so it’s enjoyable. On our Utube channel we see lots of numbers but we are realistic, so we stay quiet about it and see how it will go.

Dave Softee Kletzel: so I see you have a Website, Facebook, Bandcamp, CD baby...what would you say to the people who are discovering you ,where to listen and buy your music is would be the best place?

Carlos: we’ve been working with companies to make sure we can sell all over the world and I know there is a store in the states where you can buy our albums. If you check the website or Facebook they will always redirect to the best seller of your country. But to me the best is to interact with the band, if you like us buying is just numbers but the best way to suppport the band is to talk about it to your friends and share the music this way the band gets more fans.

Dave Softee Kletzel: What merch do you have? have you got T-shirts, Patches...?

Carlos: Yes we have T-shirts, Hoodies...we are working on new things so you’ll be able to purchase at gis and in stores.

Dave Softee Kletzel: So have you already toured?

Carlos: No April is the first tour we are starting to support this album in Europe. We supported already Obituary etc.. now it’s time for us to Headline our shows to get the fans hear the new album live.

Dave Softee Kletzel: Do you know which band you will tour with?

Carlos: Yeah we will tour with a Greek band called Poem. They are nice poeple but more into Progressive musci not like our music. They are very tight and professionnal and that’s what we like.

Dave Softee Kletzel: The band is 16 years old, what are the best moments?

Carlos: The best moments are when we played Japan, China playing in festival with lots of people. We’ve played with Iron Maiden as well. But the best moments are the fact we are still playing our music and the band although we’ve been through hard times is still here and we are still enjoying what we do.

Dave Softee Kletzel: But you never had line up changes?

Carlos: At the begining we had like three drummers so far. The most of the musicians are still the same and we always try to work it out to make our music. Doing our best.

Listen to the whole interview on Dave’s Utube channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeu_cheDUCA&t=391s

Name: Tammy Mitchell-Woods Where you live: Broken Arrow, Ok When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix: I first picked up a pair of sticks the summer after my 6th grade year. I was 12 years old and determined to teach my self to play.

Drumstix you use & why: I play CooperGroove Precision Drumsticks only. They are the most balanced sticks I’ve ever used. The grooves almost completely eliminate the sticks from slipping out of my hands. They reduce strain on the hands and joints. After i tried them for the first time, i didn’t want to use anything else. I am now a proud artist endorser for CooperGroove.

Drummer who Inspires You & why: Oh so many but my top 2 are Anika Nilles and Emmanuelle Caplette.

Anika is truly unique in her approach to drumming, the way she writes, her grooves, her fills. I love everything about her style and we've become friends over the years. She is a true inspiration to me.

Emmanuelle's personality and style is very different than Anika's. In my opinion she plays with a technical precision that can not be beaten. She also has amazing groove and finesse. She is very creative and i love that she is happy when she plays and teaches and it shows. We've also become friends and I've actually taken Skype lessons from both of these amazing women.

Fav Song to play drums to : Actually any song from Dirty Loops or FLR Project.

Fav style of Music to Rock with: I love progressive pop/jazz/funk/groove/soul Bands You Have Rocked with over the years: Ive spent many years playing with Christian and gospel bands and in Jr high, high school and college I played in jazz bands and for the choirs.

Advice to Upcoming Drummers: Practice, practice practice. Get good instruction. For online instruction I would go to Mikeslessons.com. He (Mike Johnston) is the very best!!! Also get connected with other drummers and musicians and play many different styles to stretch yourself musically.

What you’re up to now : I am playing with my band, Beacon Drive (classic rock covers) and I just started another band with a male vocal lead, drums, guitar, bass and we are doing covers and originals. Mostly soul/ funk, groove, pop from the 70s to now. I am having a blast and always looking for new opportunities musically.

Name: Jon Papineau Where: Las Vegas NV

When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix: Got my 1st pair of sticks when I was about 5 or 6.

Drumstix you use & why: I prefer power 5 B just feels right to me.

Drummer who Inspires You & why: Latley I’ve really been diggin Todd Sucherman from Styx. He is flawless and has total control and the drum itself.

Fav Song to play drums to :My fav song to play is rainbow in the dark or heaven and hell by RJD Fav style of Music to Rock with: Fav style to rock to is 80s metal Bands You Have Rocked with: I have had the pleasure of opening for KISS , Motley Crue , Megadeath, Great white, Lita Ford, Saliva just to name a few Advice : My advice to new up and coming drummers is practice practice practice !!

What you’re up to : I am now in a band from Vegas called Crackerman please give us a like on Facebook!

Name: My name is Sue Kusch Where do you live: I live in Hagen NRW Germany (not far from Dortmundm Cologne) When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix: The 1st time I played drums I was 18 years old, it is 30 years ago

Drumstix you use & why: I use Vic Firth drumstix 5b i love this brand. The stix are perfect for me to play. They have a good balance and weight. Short: perfect stix :-) Drummer who Inspires You & why: Not drummers or a drummer inspires me... the music inspires me :-) I make music since I was 4 years old Fav Song to play drums to Fav style of Music to Rock with: Rock and Metal main and a bit funk and blues Bands You Have Rocked with over the years: Many projects but I dont want to speak about this... my love is now with my main and own band Adligate!

Advice to Upcoming Drummers what your up to now ty keep rockin: Groove is the importanst to be a good drumer, not fast playing is all, not technic alone is all... it must groove, make a good balance and set points perfect between the other instruments....

Thank you again very much for your interest Sue Kusch -QuSound ...your partner for professional sounds, management, organisation and more... www.qusound.de info@qusound.de Name: Pete Holmes ‘Have had the Honor of Rockin Many Shows with Rockin Drummer Pete Holmes \m/’ - Teri -

Where do you live: Los Angeles When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix: Started playing in 1967 Drumstix you use & why: I use Ahead Drumsticks because I like the feel and durability...and the guys at the company are great people.

Drummer who Inspires You & why: Every drummer at that time...

Fav Song to play drums to Fav style of Music to Rock with: I love playing every song I’m playing at that moment..I love playing rock,prog and fusion.

Bands You Have Rocked with over the years: Black’N Blue,Michael Schenker,Uli Roth,Ian Gillian,Juan Croucier,Malice,Monster and many others...

Advice to Upcoming Drummers what your up to now ty keep rockin: Up and comers need to listen to different drummers and styles,and practice as much as possible.

What you’re up to :I’m doing summer shows all over the U.S. with Black’N Blue and Juan Croucier as well as studio work with several artist.

"Lewy Stix" - Detroit, Michigan I picked up my first pair of drum sticks at 5 years old at my cousin's house because he had a really cool 'Tiger-Eye' pearl drumset and a record player that played loud enough to play the drums along. I began truly playing that kit and my homemade practice pad by 6 or 7 years old. At the time my main influences were Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and Johnny Cash. I started formal lessons with the director of percussion from Wayne State University at 8 years old.

I play 'Lewy Stix' signature model Xcel Drumsticks and Tosca Percussion signature model Rods and Brushes. I use 'Stick-Dip' or colored sponge medical wrap on my Signature Model Xcel Drumsticks which are made of maple and are a cross between a 5A & 5B, a quarter inch longer, with a thicker taper, and a tear drop bead.

Drummers that inspire me come from a lot of 'diverse genres' and are diverse style drummers themselves. Because they have studied many styles and genres it helped influence me and many young artists, and are called to play a lot more gigs with multiple artists if you are a well-rounded percussionist rather than just a drummer. Being open to multiple genres of music is essential in your musical growth because one style or genre can feed off the other and vice versa, especially if you strive to be a well rounded percussionist.

My early influences are Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Alan White, Ian Paice, Keith Moon, Peter Criss, Billy Cobham, Bill Bruford, Chuck Ruff, Bill Lordan, Charlie Martin, Mark Crany, Graham Lear, Alex Acuna, Peter Erskine, Phil Collins, John Bonham and so many more. I'm very much a 'drummer's drummer' in that there is not one drummer or just one song that is my favorite...I gravitate to all great drum songs with great grooves and drum parts albeit Rock, Funk, Latin, Fusion, Blues, Jazz or other genres with drummers who play for the song.

I've played with members of The Animals, The Frost, Hide from Cleo, Iggy Pop, and every drummer and musician that has graced the 'Ox & Loon Bash'. I do not limit my exposure to play any style or genre of music. I'll play with anyone at any time. I'm always able to drop in and play with any group at any time just by listening and adapting to the groove and the music.

My advice to young drummers is to 'be a sponge' and listen, study, and learn to play all styles and genres of music.

Take lessons from a good teacher or multiple teachers, learn to read music and the Nashville Number System, and never stop learning and exploring sounds, styles and techniques.

I'm looking forward to working with several big name Nashville and west coast based artists in the near future and hitting the road with my new show 'Lewy LIVE Online' meeting, interviewing, and playing with all my friends and seeing all my fans on the road.

My tip to 'Keep on Rockin' is to stay healthy, evercise, and watch what you eat and drink. Your body is your temple, so take good care of it so you can play for many years to come.

Peace, "Lewy Stix"

Name: Jeff Ciavardini Where you live: Corona, CA When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix : Age 12, but before that I was banging on pots and pans at 6 years of age.

Drumstix you use & why: I love Vater brand because they are the only sticks that get me trough a three hour set. I've tried others but they seem to break too quickly. I go for the 5B or ROCK series with Vater brand grip tape.

Drummer who Inspires You & why: Tommy Lee because of his showmanship and power. John Bonham, for his steady in the pocket solid back beat on the kick. Vinny Appice, always enjoyed his precise and clear fills on his work on the Ronnie James Dio albums.

Fav Song to play drums to Fav style of Music to Rock with: Fav Song to play drums to My first favorite at a young age was "I Love It Loud" on the Creature of the Night KISS album. It's very simple but loud and it just had that anthemic beat that i couldn't resist.

Fav style of Music to Rock with: All time favorite is Hard Rock, but I do appreciate some steady blues and reggae jams.

Bands You Have Rocked with over the years: "Ultra Lux", an original project sounds like Social Distortion meets Kyuss. "Death Valley Pornstar", had some radio interest with local spotlight shows, the band's style was along the lines of Velvet Revolver meets Eagles of Death Metal. The "Chixie Dixx" was a hilarious cover band where we played only Female fronted artists, Adele, Madonna, Dianna Ross, Cyndi Lauper etc, but as hard rock and metal versions. My current project is "Lovedrive", a tribute to the Scorpions which I started in 2013. We've been going strong playing casinos in So Cal, Nevada and Arizona, along with state fairs and larger venues like the Riverside Municipal Auditorium with a capacity crowd of 3,000 people.

Advice to Upcoming Drummers: Follow your dreams into being the best drummer you can be and always know that you can get better each time you play. Always practice and build your endurance, so when those long sets come along, you will always be ready to last all night. what your up to now: As I mentioned I am currently rocking a full catalog of Scorpions songs in my "Lovedrive" tribute band. It's like living a dream!! The Scorpions have always been one of my favorites for many years and we even met Klaus Meine, Herman Rarebell, Rudolf Schenker and Uli Jon Roth.

Name - Roxy Petrucci When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix - I was 14 yrs. old and eager. Once I learned how to play the simplest beat I fell in love with drumming. My father would drive me to drum lessons every week, he and my older brother Remo encouraged me and pushed me to practice harder when I needed it. I was a kid, the discipline helped me to focus and I'm so thankful for that!

Hometown - Detroit Rock City!

Drumstix you use & why - I use ProMark 5B Wood tip. I've tried other brands in the past but ProMark just feels right, they're made well and I've been gripping them forever!

Drummer who Inspires You & why - John Bonham! He was a natural and he hit hard as hell! Bonham's feel was instinctive, he had a signature style, played in the pocket and his fills were effortless.

Fav Song to play drums to - Anything that requires a groove so sexy it'll bring you to your knees! I also love a heavy metal hard driving double kick barn burner!

Advice to Upcoming Drummers - I have (3) pieces of advice to drummers just hoping for a shot with still no guarantees.

1) Play

2) Play Often 3) Play More!

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing! You can't program it. what your up to now - I'm currently performing live shows with Vixen and planning to release a CD in the future.

My other band Madam X is set to release a new album late summer followed by live shows. I have another side project with my Axe shredding sister Maxine called 'VIP Aftershow'. We recently released 2 singles featuring Mark Slaughter on vocals. 'KILMISTER' a tribute to Lemmy and our latest release FULL METAL JACKET. Both tunes are available for download at all digital outlets!

To the fans I say Thank You for 'Stickin' with Me! I'll see you on the road!

Rox n Roll Muuah..\m/

1/When and who started the band?

1. I started the band with our drummer nick august 2016 2/What was the idea, just having fun with covers or creating your own tunes?

2. We started off by learning alter bridge - find the real. Then have written our own stuff since with the odd cover here and there.

3/You spread videos of yourself singing is it to show what you can do? just to make your band adverts?

3. Singing is my biggest passion so a bit of both really 4/have you taken lessons who you just realised you might sing well so why not starting a band?

4. I did a lot a musical theatre as a kid, I always wanted to be in a band and started out as a drummer but didn’t like sitting at the back.. ha 5/you seem to play many gigs, are you searching on your own?

5. Some gigs I book, a lot of gigs we play are through playing with other bands and then asking us to play with them again and word of mouth.

6/have you got already a small ep to present or sell?

6. We’re recording our ep this Saturday and will be out soon!

7/do you play other instruments?

7. I play the flute ha and the drums 8/what are the lyrics about and what inspires you?

8. My lyrics are about everything really, I can’t set a time to write I just get inspired at the weirdest things then just write it down and work on it over time or with the band

Whiskey helps and is a common theme haha 9/have you already played/sung in other bands?

9. I’ve been in other bands in the past but never really got anywhere with them. Towers was the first band with members who I worked with the best creatively 10/have you got many musicians friends to help you out or there is a competition?

10. I have many musician friends, they’re great with advice 11/how is the scene like? many pubs have closed down since 10 years...

11. I think nottingham has an amazing music scene which is why I’ve stayed living here 12/which bands influenced you?

12. My biggest influences/ favorite bands are nirvana, black stone cherry, Pearl Jam, audioslave, hole, Joan Jett, Aerosmith, scorpions, Motley Crue, kiss, alter bridge, I could go on...

13/how do you create a song? is there a special thing?

13. I couldn’t tell you! Heart shaped box gave me goosebumps! That songs special tonne ‘Tonne‘ To me

14/have you got a rehearsal place?

14. We practise at stuck on a name 15/who chose the name and what is the meaning?

15. It’s my last name, we really struggled finding a name that wasn’t taken and our drummer nick suggested it 16/you always move from the second song starts, like Cyndy Lauper or Bjorg..what your body expresses while the band is playing?

16. Not sure 17/you are a sporty woman, are you always on the move? are the other members following you?

17. Yes I do bouldering, mountain biking and weight lifting. Retired gymnast, did that for 13 years 18/have you got your own gear or you just use what’s in the place?

18. All our own gear

www.facebook.com/holly.towers.16

1/you started the band in 2005 and have your first album end of 2016, do you think it’s usual for a young band or you think it took too long?

It is definitely not usual to take so long to release an album. We had many problems with members in the beginning and time in general. It was hard for us to find common free time for all members due to our daily jobs to rehearse, so much more to put our asses down and record the album! but in the end we don't regret it took much time because nothing was done hasty and we are satisfied with the result!

2/obviously you chose the band’s name to play speed, appart from the line up changes what other troubles would you say didn’t speed the process? mostly the timing issues as it was difficult to coordinate everybody for the recordings. Also some "special" difficulties…. Some years ago we had already started the recordings, and while we had done a large part of it, our (at that time) producer's hard drive crashed so we lost all the material recorded until then! It was a big disaster for sure that "damaged" us in a sense, but looking back, I think I prefer the way the record turned out now. We have a saying in Greek, "every obstacle happens for good" so I prefer to see it that way.

3/you did several self MCD, do you still sell them or it’s part of your past?

No we did not, we only had a promo-single on CD-R in 2008 with the song "Chains of Misery" that we gave away mostly to some friends and fans. We surely don’t have any copies of that, I think I myself even don't have one haha 4/on your album do the songs have changed over the years due to line up changes? not really because no matter who the main composer is, usually the rest of the members can contribute ideas so its always kind of a mix, but with a clear vision of what the core of our music should sound like.

5/you played live shows with Razor (Can), Necronomicon (Ger)... is it easy in Greece to play with known bands when you just started? how did it happen? nothing is easy, we were mostly lucky to play in those shows.

6/they are lots of bands in your country, how do you keep up the band going? are you playing with the same people? yes there are a lot of bands from Greece and this is very positive, also we don't play with the same people all the time 7/Do you have other bands or you focus only in this one?

Almost all band members have other bands that we are involved, you should check Nightbreed, Noise Disorder, Endless Recovery, Grinding Tank and Mental Assault!

8/how did you get that cover? did you participate and is it easy to get such art?

We were very lucky to work with Philip, he is a great guy and very helpful. We participated with our ideas too of course.

I don't think it is easy to book an artist like Philip, we had luck on our side and we enjoyed the process too, I like the result a lot!

9/Does internet gets you lots of support and exposure? yes, It definitely helps us to spread our music, make contacts and meet new people!

10/are they countries more into Speed Rush than others?

We are an underground band without big sales and we just started, we have sold album copies to Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, USA, etc etc, but I would say that apart from Greece, we received many good words from German fans.

11/what story did you write for the lyrics ? have you tried to get inspiration from older bands?

We have a lot of inspiration from older bands for our music, but not for our lyrics. The songs are about many topics, such as the destruction we as humans bring to our planet, about media manipulation and social issues in general, and also about the magic of Heavy Metal!

12/ how did you get the deal with Eat Metal Records? why the lp is pressed by Floga records?

When we were searching for a label to release the album, Floga records were one of the labels that were interested, and we preferred to work with them because I like the quality of their releases, and indeed the vinyl looks killer! We also know personally the guys from Eat Metal label, they liked our material so this was a good cooperation too, we are pleased with both our labels!

13/tell us about your gears..did you buy them abroad? in the album and in general we use esp Jackson and kramer guitars and diesel/sound city amps. Many of the gear was bought abroad.

14/have you played live in other countries or closed to the borders? until now we played only in Greece, we have boked our first gig abroad in November, in Malta, and we are working on other gigs abroad too!

15/is the thrash scene great? the thrash scene in Greece but also worldwide is very alive, we see tons of new bands and records being released, this is great because there is quality competition. Not all releases are good of course, but there is a lot of variety to choose from.

16/you are playing thrash from early 80’s how did you come to listen and get influenced by those bands? traditional old school thrash metal is something we all really love as fans in the band, and because of this, its natural that we compose this kind of music. We grew up with this genre since teenagers and after so many years its in our blood now!

www.facebook.com/speedrushmetal/

Heather Williams : 1349 blows you away and unleashes a brutal, unforgiving, demonic assault on your soul, taking you to the dark, shadowy realms of Hell. I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing them.

**1 First of all, let's get to something cool. You guys just recently signed with Season of Mist Records for a WORLDWIDE release deal. Are you in the process then of making a new album?

ARCHAON: Thanks! Yes, we are currently writing material for the next album, which will be handled by Season of Mist worldwide. We have as you might know, already got relations to the label, albeit only on US shores, so this is something that we regard as highly exiting indeed.

**2 Tell us also of all upcoming festivals/shows/tours for this year and even next year if possible, to give fans a heads up.

ARCHAON: Well, we’ve got a string of shows lined up during the summer. First off, we’re returning to UK to headline the Incineration fest on the 14th of May, thereafter we’re scheduled to play Leyendas of metal- festival in Spain, before Summer Breeze in Germany. There might of course also be more shows added to this list we have to play it by ear and see what comes up.

**3 Can you please tell us about Alvheim? Is the band still active? Any demos or albums we can listen to?

ARCHAON: As far as I know, that was 20 years ago and no interest from any parties to resurrect this band. It was however where a few 1349 members met and united, before 1349 was formed.

**4 How did you come up with such a unique, interesting name like 1349?

ARCHAON: It was Ravn’s idea to name the band after the year the bubonic plague hit Norway and took the lives of 2/3rds of it’s population. It was chosen because it’s suitable link to our music’s raw, brutal nature.

**5 Ravn sang and played drums at the start of the bands formation in 1997. Why did he cease playing drums three years later in 2000 and bring drummer Frost from Satyricon in? Frost has remained steadfastly with the band since then.

ARCHAON: Because we needed a faster drummer who could handle the altered, then-new music of 1349. It had become far faster and intricate than 1349 at its demo stages.

**6 1349 has been around for twenty years! What's kept you guys going for so long?

ARCHAON: I know, right? Quite an accomplishment to keep it up like that… But when that’s said: The ever-burning passion for dark, heavy music and art is at the core of the band, as it has always been. We have more sparks to ignite, you’ll see…

**7 Lars "Balfori" Larsen and Andre "Tjvalve" Kvebek were both there at the band's formation with Balfori leaving a year later and Tjvalve leaving in 2006. What are the stories behind their departures?

ARCHAON: Balfori was part of 1349 very briefly as far as I’ve been told, and has since joined a band called Lunaris.

Tjalve was a part of 1349 for the first 3 albums and is now active with several bands, both within and outside Black Metal, I believe.

**8 1349 has had four touring drummers since Frost joined in 2000. Did you have to bring them in because of Frost's commitments to Satyricon? How do you guys maintain that balance between 1349 and Satyricon duties? Why has it been so important for Frost to remain a member of 1349?

ARCHAON: 1349 are us four; Ravn, Seidemann, Frost and myself. We have our ways of creating our art, in which we get along and work in the most constructive ways. However, as you mentioned- Frost is occationally busy with his other band Satyricon’s obligations, something that we’ve learned to work our way around with some very capable drummers helping us out.

**9 1349 has played many festivals and tours around the world with many great bands such as Triptykon, Carcass, Suffocation, Aborted, Cannibal Corpse, and Skeletonwitch which is awesome. It's amazing being able to play in many different countries around the world and meeting metal heads of different cultural backgrounds. What has been an experience that has stood out the most for the band/you while on the road be it bad or good?

ARCHAON: It’s a privilege to get to do this to the extent that we do. Metal as a genre is constantly evolving (even if not always in a direction that suits my liking), and we’ve had the pleasure of touring with some pretty awesome acts, yes. I guess you forgot Celtic Frost above, which was pretty fantastic too. One thing that I remember vividly was the jam on 70 000 tons of metal with Barney (N. Death, Orion (Behemoth), Stu (Venom), Janne (Ensiferum) and myself, playing Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath”. That was pretty neat. Apart from that, it’s countless of great times, and also many struggles to make the show going on.

**10 DISCOGRAPHY: Some 1349 albums I had questions about.

Your first demo came out in 1998. Is there no title? Please explain.

ARCHAON: That was a demo that was called “Chaos Preferred” that was sent out to a few labels. This is prior to me & Frost joining, so the line-up was Ravn, Tjalve & Seidemann.

1 BEYOND THE APOCALYPSE is my favorite album out of all 1349 albums. Some songs on this album deviate from the traditional Norwegian black metal sound of the Liberation album. Aiwass Aeon and Singer of Strange Songs are both fucking AMAZING! I love the old-school 80's thrash metal element in Aiwass. Singer of Strange Songs so perfectly dark and heavy. What are the whispering words at the end of the album in the song The Blade?

ARCHAON: Thanks, I still appreciate that album a lot myself too. Something magical happened right there, we tapped onto a nerve that would secure our development on an exiting path, I’d be bold and say… The whispering words are a poem/lyrics, I do not remember them. But “Beyond the Apocalypse” definitely brought 1349 further from the debut full-length Liberation, into more progressive/innovative ways-something that I’m still very proud of.

2 On the album HELLFIRE, "I Am Abomination" has an insane guitar riff! It's said you guys intentionally made the length of the closing song Hellfire 13:49 to spell out the band's name. What was the idea behind doing that?

Would you consider this album to be more in the vein of progressive black metal?

ARCHAON:” Hellfire” was the album that kind of paved way for us into more interest at many different holds.

It’s got high quality material on it for sure, and reflects a very hungry, very potent band. The title track at the end was close to the length (I believe 13:20 or so), so it seemed like a cool curiosity to extend a little to get them numbers in the display.

3 REVELATIONS OF THE BLACK FLAME: This album slows down A LOT and totally deviates away from your traditional sound. It's a cool, interesting album, mostly instrumental with a variety of sound effects.

How did you get those sound effects of people screaming etc. on some songs such as Invocation and Horns?

Tom Gabriel Fischer co-mixed this album. Does he lend his voice on any of the songs? One song Serpentine Sibliance sounded like he was singing on it.

ARCHAON: At this stage, this was something that felt natural for us to do for a variety of reasons. I get that people turned away though… It is a lot to ask acceptance for something that different, perhaps. But anyway; Tom produced it yes, and even played some (I believe on the Pink Floyd-cover). However; it seems to me a lot of people have come to find their liking for it with time, as the oddball in 1349’s discography.

4 DEMONOIR: My second favorite. This album goes back to your original form but with a darker tone. I feel a darkness when listening to it. The song Devil of the Deserts has a beautiful piano piece at the end of the song. Who is playing the piano?

ARCHAON: “Demonoir” is, in my eyes, the most brutal and eerie album we’ve done. It has a lot of interesting twists and turns on it and showcases our black art in a more technical way, I suppose. It held many grand challenges at the time and it took every single bit of effort from everyone involved. The piano was performed by a pianist called Tony Caputo, formerly in a 70’s prog band called Lynx. He happened to be aroumd, and strummed along on the piano- and we recorded it and asked for his permission to include it, something that worked wonders.

5 MASSIVE CAULDRON OF CHAOS: This is a solid album and it sounds like there are some death metal elements in the mix. Someone brought up the point that all the other 1349 albums have black covers except this one. What is with the white album cover?

ARCHAON: Simply something different to suit the contrasting dark musical art in the sound contents. The idea was Frost’s but we all liked it, hence the choice of colour on the cover. 1349 are always looking into extending/broadening our horizons when it comes to our art. As far as the music goes, MCOC was 1349 exploring black metal through a scope of tribute, merging our fancy for bands like Bathory and the early Black Metal wave from Norway, with the classics such as Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Mötorhead and Blue Öyster Cult, to mention a few. The fact that we’ve always drawn inspiration from many sources in the harder forms of music (particularly thrash & death besides black metal) is quite evident on this album, I believe. It did clearly re-position us in certain circles and brought us further on the path that we’re on.

6 You emphasize the concept of AURAL HELLFIRE as being the primary concept of the band. You also mention the album "Revelations of the Black Flame" being slower, darker, and more ambient while still retaining the "spirit of Aural Hellfire". Explain what the "spirit" of Aural Hellfire is. How do you create that effect? Does it come naturally to you guys as a unit or do you intentionally create it?

ARCHAON: As far as the genre Black Metal goes, individuality on the path that one’s on holds a crucial torchburning bright and casting its shadows. Everyone will at some point enter the search for their own core and be affected by this in one way or another. The grand chance that it holds has proved to be highly beneficial in a perspective of art- be that musically or other ways- something that we are taking advantage of in 1349. Its inside of us, at the same time as it nails us firmly to the task of creating further offerings in the name of the great powers that lies in the words: Aural Hellfire. In turn, it is part of us.

7 1349 BLACK PALE AND PALE ALE. What brought about this idea? How has that venture been going for you guys?

ARCHAON: On the US tour we did with Tryptikon in 2010, we met Todd Haug (currently with Three Floyds brewing) who at that time worked at Surly brewing. Myself & Frost were hanging out in the bar where he came over, and we started talking about beer. Since then, we’ve developed a good friendship and met up several times- in 2014 also together with the Norwegian brewery Lervig. The two breweries and 1349 together brew our first beer, the” 1349 Black ale”. Thereafter, we took a rather opposite angle and brewed the “1349 Pale ale”. A new beer is currently also in the works… Let’s see what the future holds! We are all very passionate about beer in 1349 and have been tasting quite some beers during the last 7 years.

**11 Where in your opinion do the roots of Norwegian black metal lie?

ARCHAON: I struggle to answer the one-dimensional question… That depends on your angle: Whether you mean the musical genre, the way of living or the spirit inside. The bottom line lies in the trinity, a combination of these I’d believe. Musically, Bathory has a lot of what I think of in connection with today’s scene, together with a handful of Norwegian bands. However- there were also those who came before…

Thank you so much for this awesome interview.

ARCHAON: Likewise, thanks!

http://www.legion1349.com/

Heather Williams :You've had a very impressive drumming career.

It covers such a vast area that it's impossible to cover everything ! **1 You’ve been in some very notable bands like AC DC and Dio. It was really cool watching you in some of the music videos for them. You're playing is aggressive in a sort of calm way, very solid. You played on three of their albums: Fly on the Wall, Who Made Who, and Blow Up Your Video.

Thanks, yes those are the albums i recorded with ACDC.

** 2 Do you know why Phil Rudd left in 1983? How did they approach you about joining? What was it like working with the guys in AC DC? Any wild stories to tell? Any that stand out for you?

I don’t know why Phil was fired they never really talked about him. The band put an ad in a music paper called Sounds in England, that read " Drummer wanted. If you don’t hit hard Don’t apply " so i thought well I hit hard.So I go down to the rehearsal place and I meet a Tech who asks me to play along to three tracks by Zeppelin,DC and ZZ Top. So I finish and he says , Great, be in touch. About three hours later he calls and asked if I could come back tomorrow , i told him that would be difficult because i didn’t have any money , so he says dont worry get in a cab and I’ll sort it out.

So I go the next day and he meets me in the lobby and says follow me, and as I’m walking I see all the flight cases in the hallway with ACDC painted on them, so I stop him and say "your fuckin joking right" and he smiled and calmly replied " no" Mal , Angus and Cliff were inside we shook hands and asked me what songs I knew and off we went, played about 5 or 6 songs , took a break and I asked am I in the band and Mal said "looks like it". all very low key.

Then my whole life changed, so to speak. **3 It looks like the Fly on the Wall videos were made with some of the same actors and in the same settings. Can you set us straight on that?

Yes, a lot of the same actors, filming was done in and around Brooklyn NY.

**4 The AC DC album Who Made Who was written for a Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive. How were you guys approached to make the soundtrack for that movie?

Steven is a huge ACDC fan and wanted to include the bands music in his film.

**5 It seems like you were having a good run with AC DC, making albums, videos, a soundtrack for a movie, touring, including a six month tour in Australia, etc. With all that success, why did you leave them to join Dio?

It was a gradual thing, I wanted and needed to branch out with my playing, spread my wings a bit. I had been with the band about 7 or 8 years and the time just felt right to move on and that’s when I was fortunate to hook up with Ronnie. **6 Amazing you played on four studio albums and two live albums with Dio (Lock up the Wolves, Magica, Killing the Dragon, Master of the Moon, Evil or Divine - Live in New York City, and Holy Diver - Live) Those albums were so magical. What were those times like and what was it like working with Ronnie James Dio? How did you meet him?

How did you get approached for playing with the band?

I had ran into Ronnie a couple of times before i left DC and i found him very clever, smart and a great sense of humor, a friend of my wife at the time mentioned he was looking for a new drummer so one thing led to another and we did some rehearsing and it clicked. Working with Ronnie was a great pleasure, he was a workaholic, which I liked. He had a way about him that would draw you in and he would always push you to be a better player. As years went on we became great friends and I miss him terribly , I’ll be surprised if I ever meet anyone like him again. **7 Do you know why the young Rowan Robertson only appeared on one album? Was it different working with someone so young as opposed to someone older?

Rowan went on to form a band with Lynch Mob singer Oni Logan called Violets Demise. Working with Rowan was great , he was young but an incredible guitarist. We are still good friends. **8 Why did you leave Dio one year after joining him only to come back seven years later and spend twelve years with him?

Well Ronnie got an offer to go back to Black Sabbath and the Dio band kind of disbanded, I went on to work with UFO and Rhino Bucket for the next couple of years and then rejoined DIO in 98. **9 Ronnie was planning Magica II and III at the time of his death.

Were you going to be a part of those albums? Are there any FINISHED songs from Magica II and III and if so will they ever be released? What would be done as far as who would sing them?

Yes he was writing with Craig Goldy and I was around too, I would say there are 3 or 4 song ideas, good ideas, that at some point might see the light of day but that is up to Wendy at the moment. Even though he wasn’t feeling good he still had lots of ideas and the whole concept of Magica 2 and 3 worked out. **10 Tell us about your time with UFO. When and why did you replace drummer Andy Parker? What albums did you record with them?

Well it all started middle of 94 when I got a phone call from Bella Piper who was Micheal Schenkers manager at the time, she asked if I would be interested in being in Micheals band MSG. I said I’d love to , anyway didn’t hear much for a couple of weeks then she called and told me it’s not MSG its going to be UFO and are you still interested , I said " of course I am" .

I really enjoyed my time in UFO , they are great people, never a dull moment, hahaha, lots going on. So I guess I was with them from 94 to middle of 98 then I rejoined DIO. **11 You joined Rhinobucket in 1993 and made an album with them in 1994 titled Pain. What prompted the hiatus in 1996 and why did you come back in 2007? You made two more albums with them, Pain and Suffering (2007) and The Hardest Town (2009). All the albums are really reminicient of the Bon Scott era of AC DC. Were you on their European 2010 tour?

The middle of 94 I took a break from Rhino Bucket to join UFO. The thing with Rhino Bucket from then on after that was we remained good friends so when ever they got stuck for a drummer I would help out, I get offers to do shows and I need a band I can call on them , so its a mutual thing. They have had a solid line up for a few years now with Drummer Dave Ducey and are recording a brand new album at the moment. **12 Did you record on Tytan's full-length album Rough Justice (1995)?

I thought Les Binks joined up at the time of recording and that you joined up after they had already recorded and toured with Tygers of Pan Tang. I recorded 2 tracks on the TYTAN album Rough Justice, Les Binks played on all the other ones.

**13 Did you make any albums with A II Z?

I’m glad you asked me this question Heather, I recorded 3 songs with AIIZ . 2 tracks on a 45 called ‘I’m the one who loves you ‘ {Russ Ballard song} B side was Ringside Seat. Another song was recorded called Flames but was to my knowledge never released. I did NOT play on the live album called Witch of Burkeley or on the EP No Fun After Midnight. **14 You played drums on Geoff Tate's Queensryche album Frequency Unknown, on the songs Cold and In the Hands of God. Why were different musicians used on different songs in that album? Geoff 's version of Queensryche became Operation Mindcrime because of a legal dispute with drummer Scott Rockenfield's Queensryche. What is your current role in Operation Mindcrime? Any more albums planned?

You would need to ask Geoff about that, I know it was put together very quickly. I know Geoff likes to work with a lot of different musicians, its the same with Operation Mindcrime , there will be another mindcrime album to complete the trilogy , not sure when that will be out though. **15 What was the Big Noize Project. I know it was a project you were doing in Iraq. Was it done during a dangerous time? For instance, could you hear fighting going on around you?

Big Noize was a band that was formed by Vinny Appice and he couldn’t go to Iraq so they called me and yes we were looked after but you could hear the conflict going on in the distance, speaking to and hearing stories from the soldiers was quite an experience, I have the utmost respect for the armed forces around the world. **16 You once cited Cozy Powell and John Bonham as influences. What about them was so influential for you?

Those two guys to me were so powerful, there are lots of others too but what I heard and saw in them was as I said power with just enough finesse. They were very influential but I’m still learning **17 Where can people find more information on you such as social media sites, websites etc?

I have two facebook pages Simonwright a personal page and Simonwright musician page, plus there are usually links to me on some of the previous bands I’ve been in pages. **18 You've been drumming almost 40 years. What would you say to drummers out there who dream of having a career like you've had?

Well first of all my career is not quite over yet,hahaha , My advice is consider what you want to do first, a hobby that you love or a career that can be extremely difficult at times but worth it if you persevere through great times and hard times. I still love to play drums and its a good thing because at my age its too late to do anything else. Haha.

**19 DRUM TALK TIME! A. I know you've been behind MANY drum kits. What to you would be the PERFECT drum kit?

I have played a lot of kits,perfect kit is simple, my kit.

B. Which would you use less, a China or a Flat Ride?

That would be Flat Ride because i dont own one.

C. Do you or have you ever used "ported heads" on your drums?

Yes on the front of my kick drums.

D. Have you ever used peripherals when they playing drums on stage or at home or anywhere, be it an iOS / Android device, a computer, or something?

I never have, this next Disciples tour with the hologram I need to use a click track live to sync up with Ronnie’s voice, so its a first for me live.

E. Have you ever broken your drum sticks right in the middle of playing a show?

I break sticks during every other show i would say. **20 What do you do when not behind the drum kit? Any hobbies, favorite foods, books, or movies?

I generally stay quiet at home, I have a pool and a garden which I look after, cook some Indian food.

www.facebook.com/simon.wright.7

Heather Williams **1 First of all, let me say your bass playing is amazing. How did you get your start playing bass?

You play rhythm guitar as well and your rhythm playing appears on your solo album Silent Assassins. Do you play any other instruments in addition to these? Why did you choose the bass over all other instruments?

ML - I started playing bass after I saw a KISS concert at age 13. Gene Simmons was spitting blood, breathing fire, flying around the stage and I wanted to be just like him. The only other instrument I play is guitar. It is easier for me to write songs on guitar rather than bass. **2 Let's talk about your solo project Silent Assassins. This really is a unique album. Your bass playing really stands out on the whole album with amazing, beautiful bass playing on Oath of Honor. You wrote all of the lyrics and music.What made you want to get into a solo project?

ML - My first love has always been classic heavy metal and I have always wanted to release an album in this genre. I felt that many of today's bands are not capturing the true spirit of heavy metal and I wanted to bring that back to the younger fans of today. **3 How did you assemble the members of Silent Assassins?

ML - I wanted to hire local musicians so I could sit in the recording studio with them. I assembled the best guys I could find. Alan Tecchio (Watchtower) on vocals, Metal Mike (Halford) on guitar and my bandmate from Symphony X, Michael Romeo on many instruments. **4 How did you come up with the name Silent Assassins? What does it mean?

ML - I didn't want to call the band "Mike LePond" or "Mike LePond and friends", hahaha. Silent Assassins is just a better way to say "friends". Also, in my lyrics, the Silent Assassins were the Greek warriors hiding inside the Trojan Horse. **5 How long do you plan on keeping Silent Assassins going?

ML - My goal is to make Mike LePond's Silent Assassins my side band. We could record and go on tour when Symphony X is off the road. This keeps me working the whole year. I am a workaholic and music is my life so this is the perfect situation for me. **6 Ok, let us in on things. You're in the studio recording a second solo album. What is going to be the name of it? Any more solo albums planned after this one you're recording now?

ML - I am now preparing to mix the 2nd Silent Assassins album. The name will be called "Pawn and Prophecy" and I am hoping to release it in the Spring of 2017. Alan Tecchio is back on vocals as well as some new great musicians from here in New Jersey, USA. **7 Have you toured or done any shows for your solo project? Are any planned?

ML - I have not toured yet with this project but I would really like to do this. I am working on getting a tour in Europe next year and I would really love to play South America as well. I am just waiting for the right offers to come in from booking agents and promoters.

SYMPHONY X **8 18 years with Symphony X. How'd you come about joining up and what's kept you staying?

ML - I was introduced to the band through a mutual friend in 1999. After two tough auditions I became a permanent member. I have stayed with Symphony X because I truly believe we are the best metal band in the world and I still get excited to record CDs and tour with them

**9 Listening to Symphony X, I hear many different musical elements mixed together. It can be really heavy, proggy, epic, and symphonic all in one song, maybe even some technical elements here and there. It's great! In your first two albums with Symphony X, there are significant symphonic elements, and I mean that literally. I heard somewhere that there was an actual symphony used in some albums. But in The Odyssey there was less, and in Iconoclast, there was none or hardly any. The Odyssey is my favorite album (love Inferno (Unleash the Fire) with Iconoclast in second (End of Innocence is awesome). Walls of Babylon off of the Paradise Lost album is my favorite Symphony X song.

Why the use of a real symphony in the first albums and why the change in future albums to no symphonies used?

ML - The truth is that we never used a real symphony. I wish we could have, but it is just too expensive. All our symphonic parts come from the keyboard. In later years we became more guitar driven and less symphonic but I am hoping we bring back that Odyssey sound again. **10 Is the Symphony X fan club still active and where can people join up? Where can people find Symphony X on social media? Where can fans pick up Symphony X albums and merchandise?

ML - We really don't have the fan club anymore but we are active on the internet and social media. We have a fan page on Facebook and you can always find us at symphonyx.com. **11 Symphony X once had a 14-month tour which I find amazing! What was that like? How did you travel, eat, sleep, etc? What countries did you go through?

ML - During those 14 months we are not always on the road. We would tour for a month or so, then go back home for a month, and then go back out. Usually we travel in a tour bus and that is where we eat and sleep. Living on the road is not for everyone but I love it. **12 It's always fun to hear tour stories. What's been your best and worst tour experiences with Symphony X? Have you had any weird, crazy things happen while playing on stage?

ML - In Symphony X we really haven't run into any crazy stories. Touring life for us is pretty routine. You wake up on a bus, you have your soundcheck and then you play your show. It's kind of like a real job, haha. **13 Any new albums planned for Symphony X? Any tours coming up fans need to know about?

ML - Symphony have not booked any upcoming shows yet but we are planning to play in the USA and Europe this summer and fall of 2017. In the meantime we have begun working on some ideas for another album. **14 You did a little work with Helstar once. What did you do?

ML - I never recorded with Helstar but I played some shows with them when their bass player was busy or sick. **15 Are you still in the band Dead on Arrival? What's going on with that?

ML - I left that band when I joined Symphony X **16 Any hobbies you do on your downtime? Favorite movies? Food? Books?

ML - In my downtime and watch a lot of TV such as the History channel or News. I love to go see local bands or see movies as well. I enjoy having dinner with friends. Italian food is my favorite. This weekend I will see the new Star Wars movie.

BASS TALK TIME! A. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of a five string bass?

ML - A five can give you the lows of a piano and I like the string spacing but it can also be too muddy sounding.

B. Do you use compression when playing bass? Why or why not?

ML - I have always used compression for recording but never live. However, I was thinking of trying compression on the next tour.

C. Tell us your favorite brand of bass to play?

ML - I still have never played a bass that sounds better than a Fender Precision.

D. How many pedals do you have? How many is too many?

ML - I'm not really a pedal guy. I just use tuner and overdrive pedals.

It was a delight learning about and listening to your work. Thank you for the interview!

ML - MY PLEASURE!

https://www.facebook.com/mike.lepond

**1 Heather Williams : Describe the style of blast beat drumming and how it got started in your opinion. Where did you incorporate if from? (ex. Any other drummers who used blast beat drumming who influenced you)

I dont know who started with blast beats in metal. Blast beats have been around for a very long time, but not with the extreme speed we use in metal music. I think the first time I heard blast beats, was from Napalm death and Morbid Angel. So those two bands probably started my interest for extreme drumming. **2 One of my favorite shows is Metalocalypse. You once lent your voice to a character in Metalocalypse on the episode "Deathfashion". How were you approached for that and what character did you lend your voice to?

I can’t remember what my characters name was, but they contacted our management when we where going to play in L.A in 2007, and asked if we would be interested in doing the voices for the show, and we said yes. **3 You were a member of Enslaved from 1991-1995. How did two young guys, aged 13 and 17 ( Ivar Bjornson and Grutle Kjellson), approach you about joining up with them to form the band and what made you decide to join ? Do you know why they named the band Enslaved?

I knew Ivar from he was maybe 10 years old, and have been playing with him for a while before we started Enslaved. Ivar played with Grutle in a band called Phobia, and when that band ended, he asked if I wanted to join them and start a new band, with a new direction of music. And I said yes. **4 You made two albums with them, Viking Veldi ('94) and Frost ('94) : 4-1. VIKING VELDI - This album was released on Deathlike Silence Productions in 1994, which is a label that was run by Euronymous (founder of black metal band Mayhem), who was killed in 1993 by Varg Vikerns (Burzum).

Did you know Euronymous? Can you give us some insight into him? How did his death affect you, and did it affect the release of this album? I understand the album is dedicated to him.

We all knew Euronymous and he was very helpful with supporting us to make a more epic style of music, as most bands at that time where playing either more kind of hardcore or death metal, and we wanted to kind of separate us from that style, Not that we did not like it, but we kind of felt it was not a natural way forward to express the feelings we where aiming for in our music. The album was delayed when he was killed, and we had to make a new deal with Osmose to be able to release it, but Euronymous was the guy who initially gave us the opportunity to record our first album, and thats why the album was dedicated to him.

4-2 Your drumming on this album adds a powerful, heavy element to an amazing, epic, symphonic black metal production, with some old school metal influences mixed in. And all this coming from such young minds. Once I thought I heard some Judas Priest influence in there which was cool. I love the eerie guitar playing at the end of Midgards Eldar. Was this album an "experimental" album if you will? Two young guys coming out with their first debut album sort of experimenting with different sounds?

We were still experimenting on both the soundscape and the style of music we wanted to make with this album.

The epic kind of landscape style was heavily influenced on this album, and of course all the heavy metal music we listen to while growing up, made the foundation to the style we where trying to achieve.

4-3. FROST - This was your last album with Enslaved before you decided to join Emperor. I found this album heavier and not as epic or dramatic as Viking Veldi. Fenris deviates from the typical black metal sound. I hear a lot of old school 80's metal influence in that song and even more in Gylfaginning. Why the stark difference in sound between Viking Veldi and Frost, two albums recorded and released in the same year?

As we became better musicians, we could now explore different aspects of the music and styles, and at the same time, we did not want to do the same thing as what we did on the first album. So pushing boundaries became a bigger factor when we start to make the songs for this album. **5 Ivar Bjornson, the founder of Enslaved, was only 17 when the FROST album was recorded. What was it like working musically with someone so young?

As I had known Ivar for many years already, I knew he was capable of creating whatever we wanted to create and at the same time he was not behaving or thinking like most people at his age. **6 What were you doing before Enslaved?

Just playing with different people for fun, and like I said before, I had been playing with Ivar for a while before we started Enslaved. **7 Let's talk about Emperor. Correct me if needed. The picture I've gotten is Samoth and Faust went to prison, and Ihsahn left as a result of that. When Samoth got out, he invited you to join Emporer because Faust was still in prison and of course Emperor needed a drummer. How did you know Samoth and how did he approach you about joining Emporer? Was my scenario on the right track? If so, why would you leave Enslaved?

I knew the guys from Emperor from before, as we had met several times, and also released a split album together on Candlelight records. When Faust went to prison, Ihsahn and Samoth kept going with Emperor, even though Samoth went to prison. They had already made a lot of the material to the next album when Samoth asked if I wanted to join them. He was still in prison when I joined them. **8 You were on three Emperor albums: Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997), IX Equilibrium (1999), and Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise (2001). I found Prometheus to be the heaviest and darkest. Heavy and dark is always the best in my book. Which one of these works of yours are your favorite and why?

I like all those albums, but Anthems is my personal favourite. This was my first album with Emperor, and this was the album that really made Emperor stand out and become a band that wanted to make music with all the aspects of what black metal was becoming, and bringing it to the next level. Its may be hard to be objective on this, but I think this album is one of the best and important albums of black metal, and I feel honored to have been a part of it. **9 Did you perform with Emperor at the under-18 Motstoy Festival in Notodden? What is an under-18 show like compared to a 21+ show? ďżź Its more or less the same, but at the same time you can see how young kids respond different to a live show like this, as they tend to get more engrossed in a live act than older people that have been going to shows for years. **10 Is the 2017 Emporer reunion for the 20th anniversary of Anthem to the Welkin at Dusk still going to happen? If so, where will it be held and how can fans prepare? Can tickets be bought in advance?

Yes, we will play a few shows in 2017, performing the full Anthems album. I'm not sure when the tickets will be sold, so you need to check with the festival you want to go to when the tickets will be sold. All the shows will be revealed shortly.

**11 So what's the final verdict? Are you now permanent drummer for Emperor or is Faust? If so, why not Faust?

I have been a permanent drummer in Emperor since I joined them. Faust only joined them last year for the anniversary of In the Nightside album, since he recorded the album, and never got to be a part of the success Emperor became. **12 You were also a member of Zyklon while still being in Emperor. You formed the band in 1998 with Samoth and produced three studio albums (World ov Worms, 2001; Aeon, 2003; Disintegrate, 2006; I like Aeon the best) and a split album with another band Red Harvest. How is a split album done and why did you do it?

Red harvest is a great band and also very good friends of us, so we wanted to release something together, and therefor we did the split album with them. **12 All of Zyklon's lyrics are written by Faust. Why?

He writes great lyrics that fit the theme we wanted to use with Zykoln, so it was a natural choice.

**13 Why did Zyklon split up in 2010?

We came to a point where all the work of both creating music, rehearsing and all the touring, became more of a strain than something positive, so we did not want to proceed down that road. **14 You played drums on an album called In the Shadow of A Thousand Suns by American black metal band Abigail Williams. How did you come to record drums for an American band? Did you have to travel there to record the album?

I was contacted by Darren Toms from Candlelight records. He has helped me a lot with different things during all these years we have been working with Candlelight, and I felt I owed him this favor, so I said yes. I recorded the drums in Akkerhaugen studio where we also recorded the Emperor albums, and then sent the drum tracks to them afterwards. **15 What does 2016 and beyond hold for Trym Torson?

Who knows? I will be doing a couple of shows with Emperor in 2017, I also have some other projects going on, and what comes after that I dont know yet. ** How about a little trivia: 1. What bands do you particularly like and listen to?

I listen to all kinds of music these days. Everything from old 70s prog rock to classical, to ambient and of course more extreme music. Its hard to say just a couple of bands, as there are so many great bands worth mention...

2. Have you ever been in the basement of Euronymous’ record shop Helvete at Schweigaards Gate 56 in Oslo?

Yes I have, several times, even slept there.

3. Why did you gravitate towards black metal as opposed to death, thrash, or power metal?

It just felt more natural to play that kind of music with the history and the nature we have here in Norway.

Our music is kind of a movie track to Norway, so death and trash metal just dont fit the landscapes the same way black metal does.

4. Any particular bass drum heads you would recommend?

Most of the bigger drum heads companies, ( Remo, Evans, Aquarian etc) make great drum heads. So its up to yourself to find what kind of sound you are looking for, and then see what kind of heads fit the sound you are looking for. Most extreme drummers nowadays use triggers on the kick drum anyway, so then it doesn’t matter what kind of head you use...

5. Are you currently giving drum lessons?

Every now and then, but not on a regular basis 6. Where can people find you? (social media etc)?

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/TrymTorson/ Thank you for the interview.

1/You had lots of changes in Hydrogyn, musically and musicianly why keeping the band going?

JW: Well you are correct sir. The changes were something that was just no way around. Julie had become discontent with what she was doing and so she left. I was in no way at that time done with the band and so we decided to carry on. There was still things that i wanted to get done with Hydrogyn that I just simply could not get done with Julie. Nothing against who she is or what she is as a musician but it was not working, so her leaving was a welcomed thing in the end of it all.

The good thing about it was that everyone came back home. Chris Sammons, Jeff Boggs came back which makes life so much easier and of course John Cardilino who has been here since 2012 was still and is still here. We got back together and along with Erica Parrott made a very tough modern opus in my opinion.

2/Jeff boggs is back does it mean you have got the energy and power from the first album?

JW: There is an unspoken energy and synergy with Boggs and myself. IT is only present with the two of us together and when we are it brings everything to a different level in playing, writing and just performance in side the band. So yes I would say that has returned.

3/You have a new female singer, how did you find her? is she already working with you on other projetcs?

JW: Well her name is Erica Parrott. She was found by our sound man and engineer The Rev. Davo Chandler. He called me up in the fall of 2015, about 6 months after Julie had left and said I have the girl for the band. He said she is everything that julie wasnt visually and has an amazing powerful voice. So I went and met her. Little thing maybe 120 pounds soaking wet. Like her personality and energy and then from there about a week later went to see her live. That was amazing as well. SO we went into the studio to see how she could create and that was another amazing situation so the decision was made to keep hydrogyn going. Right now she is only the singer in the band. I have brought her in for vocals on other projects I have produced, yes.

4/You always work music and so you released an album Westlake, what is different from Hydrogyn? the track you shared sounds similar...

JW: Well there is two different things under that banner. What I have done is I have decided to to brand myself and move myself forward. I released a project called WESTLAKE 17. That is a multi disc CD that includes songs I have co written with artist I have produced over the past 17 years . The criteria for a song to make the release is that I have co written it and I have also played on it. In some cases I ended up in the band and in some not but these are songs I wanted people to hear and have. That collection is not so different from what you hear in HYDROGYN. It is all hard rock and metal.

Their are also a couple of brand new tracks on there that I had 2 different singers for. One is called Angel and the Lie and that features a monster of a vocalist by the name of Jeff Hignite. The guy is a monster writer and singer. The other features one of my close friends Holy Hnes from Angels Revenge. I love that girl and her voice so we took an old song we had co written years ago and re worked it into a monster and its called Brainchild. Now the Jeff Westlake Solo Album that just came out is more of a Blues influenced album nothing like anything anyone has heard from me before. I am also doing all the vocals on it so it is a new step in every way for me.

5/Are you gonna release an album or play live covers for Dio and Chris Cornell?

JW: Wouldn't that be great? I would do a tour or live shows for DIO iTribute if the situation was right and I could get the person I wanted to front the thing but as you know my brother thats a tall order but I do know a few people who could do it but its more than just doing it. The stage presence and everything would have to be there, not just the voice.

6/When looking back what would you like to change or would do differently?

JW: There are things of course but those things do not need to be changed they just need to be absorbed and used to grow from. You learn a lot of things in the process of growing old and not all of them are what you expect or want and others are far more than you could ever anticipate and are great. I am just taking it all and moving forward. Never one to stand still so thats not about to change it is just a fact of life so on we go.

7/Have you written the lyrics for Hydrogyn new album? what is the theme?

JW: This new album is a product of all 5 of us. First time for that to happen but it was alot of fun. Julie did not like to create with anyone around. She was and I am sure still is very insecure in that arena. That slowed the process down and in a lot of ways hurt the process but in some ways it didn't. Erica jumps right in and does not care at all about a thing.

She is in the band and very much a band person so that made this entire thing a great time. So the answer is that we had something to do with everything on this album and I think it shows.

8/Have you still got the same line up or have to find musicians to play live and record the album?

JW: Everything is the same as the line up that recorded the album as I stated earlier. Me/Boggs on guitar, Chris Sammons on bass and John Cardilino on the drums.

9/Since you are doing lots of things, have you thought of having your own label?

JW: I have actually had my own since 2005. Rapid Fire Entertainment and that was always just to do my own thing but yes I have thought about expanding it and seeing what I could do. I have a great network of people inside the industry that I have been very fortunate to build over the time I have been touring. People such as yourself so I feel very grateful for this and yes, I may expand the label and we will see where that can go/.

10/Which bands you liked to play live shows with ? are you gonna tour the world with your new releases?

JW: Wow, we have played and toured with a lot of bands and artist. Every one from Great White to Derringer to The Iron Maidens, Vixen, Quiet Riot, Warrant, Seether, and on. In Europe though is where my favorite road partners are.

We did a tour with Nightmare and Kragens and I loved those guys along with Freedom Call as well. That was the funnest tour we have done to date and that was 2007 i think. We hope to tour it. We are ready but there are alot of crazy events going on in the world right now so we will see.

11/Have you progressed as a musician? if so how and why?

JW: I think so. One can only hope so. I am singing now which is all new too me. My friend and producer Terry Withrow has pushed me to the brink over the past two years but it has all been for the best so it is cool that I can still see growth in myself at this stage of the game in my life.

12/What’s your view on the scene? do you think it got worse than 10 years ago or just got much complicated?

JW: I think it is just complicated. SO many hands in a pot that really does not have that much in it to spread around.

The artist get taken advantage of and the entire digital download thing. All of the pieces of shit stealing the music and giving it away or selling it at a cheap rate and keeping the money and even worse is the people who do not have a problem downloading it and dont feel any guilt in it. The lack of funds from proper sales is what kills the touring side of it because no one can get out on the road and if they can it is all just bare minimum shows and dates. Just sad. Back when I was a kid you saw everyone and the scene was truly amazing then.

13/Are you dealing with the hydrogyn website? is there one for Westlake?

JW: Yes I am for right now but Jeffwestlakemusic is about to go on line very soon for my own stuff. Just a work in progress.

14/Boggs will release a solo album are you gonna play in it?

JW: He actually already did release it. It is called Strong and I played bass on it and produced it. Great album. Jeff went outside his comfort zone for that record but man did he ever deliver. You can get that on the Hydrogyn site as well.

www.hydrogyn.com

1) Who decided to create the band, you or your father?

Both my father and I share the dream of music. We both have our degrees in music and around my years in college is when we both decided we wanted to take this on full force. I remember coming home one day and hearing this incredible guitar lead playing and I thought my dad was listening to music but it ended up being him who was actually playing. I have always known my dad as a pianist, so I had no idea of his history with playing guitar. At that moment I told him, "Why have we not started a band yet?" At that point the hard work began.

2) Do you find easy to be with him? What is your relation compared to the one at home?

I am an only child so I am close to both of my parents. One of the beauties in working with a family member is that family will always come first. Yes, we have our moments where there is tension and we disagree with one another but that is only because we both are so passionate about our music and what we want it to sound like. At some moments it is hard to transition from a father daughter relationship to a business relationship but the most important element is communication and how you communicate with one another. We never say hurtful things to one another, we are there to support one another and lift each other up when one is down. Arguments are bound to happen but we never allow ourselves to cross that line where we regret saying something to other. At the end of the day we are what drives each other to keep going.

3) Who creates the music? How do you compose? Where to find your album?

When composing, there is an equal balance between my father and I. Him and I both are the song writers. Typically the way we write is I will come to him with a song I wrote based off of the piano and he will write the guitar parts and we build from there. The lyrics I write but there will be one song on our EP that my dad wrote himself so it shows another side to our music, a perspective from another story teller. My father also hand writes all the orchestration still to this day.

We love to create different sounds using true instruments and I have recently incorporated different techniques while singing. There is a lot of expression in our music and we strive to show that in unique ways. Our album, "The Awakening" will be released worldwide THIS SUMMER in July and we are so excited! This album has 10 tracks and was recorded and co-produced by John LeCompt, former guitarist in Evanescence. You will be able to find this album on platforms such as, iTunes, Spotify, our Merch Store, etc. There is a lot of passion within this album and every song has it's own characteristics. My personal favorite is Track 1, "Voices From Above".

4) Your brother obviously is doing your videos, you have all the skills in your familly. What else do you do? Recording, mixing...is you mom involved?

Our bassist, Craig is actually not my brother haha But he does do our graphic work! Craig designed our logo and has designed all of our flyers. It for sure helps when you have a team of people with different skill traits that can work together!

As far as videos we have started working with Tod Waters with Junker Designs as well as James Flynn. Later this summer we plan to travel to Los Angeles to film one of our upcoming music videos! As far as myself, I do a lot! I am always creating. Outside of music I have a book called, "Perception" that will be releasing this summer as well. This has brought my creative process to a whole other level. Not only was I able to represent my words in picture form I also composed music and filmed three different videos that will also represent some of the poems within the book. It's safe to say I will always have something up my sleeve. As far as my mom, she is our biggest fan! When we first started out she would help us by running the merchandise booth. She has always supported my dreams. I have been blessed with incredible parents!

5) Have you played/sing in other bands before?

Actually, I have not. Worhol is my priority. Although, there are many bands/singers that I would love to collaborate with as far as guest singing with!

6) You're changing your hair color a lot, is it a Worhol character?

More like my own character! hahah I have had multicolored hair ever since I was in high school. I love being able to change my look and if I could I would even have a different hair color everyday. Color allows you to express yourself and I tend to be perceived as different anyways, so why not embrace it!

7) You are acting in your videos, is it one of your talents? are you acting in movies too?

The best part of being in the industry of creative arts is you get to be someone else sometimes. Most of the time you will see artists acting in their own music videos and that can open doors. I enjoy acting on stage while performing and that has transitioned into me acting in some of my own projects as well as opening doors for film. I love being in front of the camera so I can only imagine what the future will hold. Not only do I hope to act in movies, I also have experience in scoring for film. The possibilities are endless!

8) Usually Keyboardists are on the side of the stage and don't get much attention, have you thought of having a keyboard you could handle while singing ? like a guitar...

A lot of our songs are piano based and there is an undeniable connection when you see me play and sing at the same time. Since we are theatrical we have built stage props that my piano can sit in so it becomes part of the show as well.

Recently, we actually brought my baby digital grand piano and it stay center stage and I went back and forth on different songs. With some of our newer music I am trying to allow myself the freedom by just singing on more songs because we have been adding dancers on stage as well as choreography. I love the idea of having the option of having a smaller keyboard that could possibly be able to move with me, it would just take finding the right design. My dream would be to have an actual grand on stage. I would love for it to be on a platform that would be built into our show.

9) Do you play other instruments?

I have played piano since the moment I could crawl onto the piano bench! Ever since I was young, piano has been my calling and that is the instrument I choose to write songs with as well. Outside of piano I have always been fascinated with violin! During my college years I took violin lessons and loved it! Believe or not my violin teacher at the time ended up recording some of the violin parts on our album!

10) How did you get the rest of the musicians to fulfill the band? have you had line up changes? any guests?

My father and I started the band and over the course of our progression there have been a few changes. We finally have our set team that we can build and grow together and it is an amazing feeling! We met Craig, our bassist actually at a Starbucks. My father and I at the time were discussing music video ideas and we saw Craig and I asked him if he was a musician. At the time he wasn’t, but now he is! As far as Marty, our drummer, my dad found him on an online musician webpage where you create a profile and still to this day we joke that we had to pay in order to get Marty’s number! So far we have not had any guest appearances but I would love to in our future!

11) who designed the logo? have you participated?

Craig actually designed the logo! We think he did an amazing job capturing our presence in the logo. We use both our group name as well as our “W” symbol for representation. The only way I participate is by giving my opinion during the process. haha 12) Do you write your lyrics like a book? have you got a theme?

When I started writing my poetry book, “Perception” it reminded me of when I do write lyrics. Most of my lyrics typically don’t rhythm but after this book it has really opened my mind to new things for the band as well. Most of the time I write what my heart feels. A lot of the songs are very personal to me. They are either experiences I have had, struggles I have dealt with and some have messages of guidance. I have always wanted to share my experiences because you never know who else it might help. A positive message can be contagious.

13) you have a stage and band outfit, which artist inspired you? do you want to separate your band and your real life?

I am proud to say that I am who I am. If I could wear the clothing I do on stage everyday I would! I can only image the looks I would receive though! haha When we first talked about our “image” I knew I wanted a unity where we all dressed a certain way. My dad has always said it’s as if you were going to see a Broadway Musical. Every role is their own character and has a costume to match. I love creating outfits, so most of the time I will find certain things and then I will build onto that. If you can’t tell, our favorite color is black! As far as separating the band from my personal life, sometimes I do feel as if I am living two lives but the band is my life. Every day I work towards helping us reach success and I am always searching for opportunities. The way you see me in the band is the way I am in my real life.

14) How did you get the deal with ‘Imminence Records’?

Last year we signed a management deal with Extreme Management Group and they focused on getting us signed. It was a very intriguing process but towards the end of the year we had several offers and we loved what Imminence was providing us. They allow us to be who we are and they support what our goals are. I have always said it takes a team for success and when you have someone who believes in you just as much as you do, anything is possible!

15) Do you play live shows with bands you know or play the same type of music? are you gonna play festivals in Europe? which bands you’d like to play live with?

We have been fortunate to have played with many talented musicians! Most of the time we get paired up with groups that have a similar sound to us but the beauty of it all is that we all are still very unique in our own way. In regards to Europe, we have toured there and I would love to come back! And who would I choose to play live with.. that is a tough question because I have so much respect for the groups that are in our genre. To name a few, I would love to play with, “In This Moment”, “Kobra and the Lotus”, “Epica”, “Delain”, “Nightwish”, “Evanescence”, “Kamelot”, “Lacuna Coil”, “Within Temptation” and so many more! There is so much talent out there and I hope to one day share the stage with these amazing people!

I want to thank you so much for reaching out to me with these questions! I have had a blast answering them! If it wasn’t for people like you to spread our name we wouldn’t be able to grow so thank you so very much! I hope one day we will be able to speak in person!

Sincerely, Ashley Worhol

http://www.worhol.net/

Phil 1/ So Phil tell us how did you form this awesome band and what troubles did you encounter?

Hi, well firstly, thank you for taking the time to do this interview, it’s very much appreciated. I formed the band back in 2002 as a solo project while I was at University. I didn’t really have any expectations for it, I simply enjoyed recording and making music. Then I was introduced to Richard (lead guitarist) by a mutual friend and we started to develop a sound that drew on both our influences but, for various reasons (not least the fact that I moved to Poland for four years), the whole thing went on hold although we always got together during each year that I was away to do something musical.

So, you could say that Final Coil really kicked off in 2008 when Jola joined as bassist and then, after a lot of different drummers, it became a complete band in 2014 when Tony joined us on drums. His presence really kickstarted us working with a common goal and since the end of 2014 we have made an EP, signed with WormHoleDeath and recorded our debut album – not bad for just a couple of years!

In terms of trouble, I guess it’s no different to any band that’s been around for a while: finding members who care enough about the project and believe in it enough to go the distance and trying to reach an audience when there’s so much competition out there. It’s hard being in a band, but it’s also very rewarding and I wouldn’t change the time we’ve put into this for the world because it’s made us the band we are and given us the opportunity to do this album.

2/You seem to be well known in the Metal community, have you played in Metal bands before forming Final Coil?

I don’t know, to be honest, if I (or the band) are well known but I have played in numerous bands in both England and Poland. Rich and I were in a Fantomas-inspired project called Fud-u-like, which was very silly and a lot of fun, whilst I played in a Polish progressive rock band called Metanoia and I also guested with a Polish metal band called Hell Brigade, but I don’t think many people outside of the local environment would have much to say about them.

I do also write for a webzine, which helps in terms of making connections, and perhaps people know my name because of that, but I try very hard to never let the one impact upon the other because I want each project to stand or fall on its own merits, so I’m afraid I’m not going to tell you which webzine!

3/Where comes the name from? Did you choose it with the whole line up?

The name was something I created. It’s a mix of Shakespeare, who talks of this mortal coil in Hamlet, which is phrase that I think resonates with a lot of people. There’s also the fact that in old English, ‘coil’ meant turmoil or troubles.

So, Final Coil could be a metaphor for death, or you could take it to mean that death is the final turmoil (thus followed by peace) – both equally valid interpretations and thematically appropriate because our lyrics do deal with mortality and the grey shades before dawn where regret and imagination are rife.

I chose the name for band and it was already well established by the time the other members joined.

4/How did you meet the musicians?

Well, Richard and I met, as I said above, through a mutual friend who knew that we both had eclectic musical tastes. We met in a local pub, talked about our plans for world domination, drank until pretty much anything would have seemed like a good idea and then started recording songs more or less the next day.

Those early days, just us and some really old hat recording gear, were really fun, although little of the music we made back then still exists (well in the public domain anyway). We experimented with tunings and vocal harmonies a lot, and it certainly helped to set the experimental tone for the band.

5/What has changed from the previous EP?

I think we’re tighter. To be honest, the EP set the tone for the record but, by the time we did the album, Tony was more firmly embedded into the band and we’d all got much more used to working together, so the result is an album that is very natural, with a lot of one-take elements and that came from having the time to rehearse endlessly in our studio beforehand. Musically, I think that the EP was the starting gun for the album and songs like ‘Closed to the light’ gave us the confidence in writing and recording longer songs that then fed through into songs like ‘Spider Feet’ and ‘Failed light’.

6/Have you wrotten all the songs before getting the line up or you started from scratch?

We’d written, I guess, about 70% of the album before we started the process of really putting it all together. The most recent songs to be added to the track list were ‘in silent reproach’, ‘lost hope’ and ‘moths to the flame’ whereas the others had been developed over a fairly lengthy period of time. In most cases I develop the songs at home and then introduce them to the band (and Rich’s approach on ‘moths to the flame’ and ‘spider feet’ was similar). Then we work on them together and each member has the chance to add their own spin to the parts.

7/’Persistence of Memory’ has eleven tracks with many music styles and atmosphere, how did you work this whole album?

Both Rich and I think in terms of albums rather than songs, so that flow is incredibly important and so that fed very much into the album. I listen to a lot of different music, but if you were to pin me down on why some albums work better for me than others, then I’ll almost always point to variety. If you listen to Tool, Alice in Chains or Pink Floyd, you won’t have all long songs or all heavy songs – there’s an ebb and a flow and the album takes you on a journey.

So, once we’d selected the songs we wanted, Rich and I spent days listening to various sequences of songs just looking at how each track could fit into the next. When you hear the record, you’ll see a lot of tracks segue one into the other and that’s a big part of the flow we wanted to achieve and it’s a big part of our live show too.

So, there’s a flow and an atmosphere and I think that’s a big, big part of this record. I want people to let it take them on a journey where you have the heavy, riff-based tracks but you also have the more progressive moments like ‘Failed Light’ and it all makes sense in the order in which you hear it. It has songs that I guess could be singles, but I don’t think there’s really one song that you can say sounds like the whole album – the album has some great songs (I believe), but it’s best appreciated as one whole piece.

8/A funny question, you have a song called ‘moths to the flame’ is it related to Metallica? seriously reading the songs titles it seems there is a Dark writting in the whole album. what has inspired your lyrics?

Hahahahaha we wondered if anyone would ask about that! No, the song pre-dates the Metallica album release by about six months or more and has no connection, but when Metallica (of whom we’re all big fans), released the track list to ‘hardwired…’ we thought “Damn! Great minds do think alike…” almost immediately followed by “We hope Lars doesn’t sue!”

As for the lyrical themes, yes, they are heavy. My songs deal with what might be described as ‘the thoughts that go through the head when the lights go down’ and very often those thoughts are dark. I have a very active imagination and I worry about every little thing man, it’s enough to cause insomnia, and I think we live in a world today where communication is limited, where families are split and where a lot of people have to deal with that internal monologue of regret without necessarily having the people around to help them through that. You know, who hasn’t ever lain awake at night replaying an incident in their heads and wondering if they couldn’t have done it differently… so this album deals with a lot of that, but from a more general ‘what if…?’ standpoint. If you take ‘alone’, for example, it’s the main character from Hemmingway’s ‘for whom the bell tolls’ ruminating at the end of his life on the choices that

led him there. So, although it’s based in my experiences, it’s not about me, and I believe there’s a lot in there that people can relate to.

Rich also deals in communication, but his themes centre a lot on digital technology, the dangers of anonymity and the way that people feel free to say the most terrible things from behind that technological screen. So, he’s looking at similar things to me, but from a different angle and, at the end of the day, it’s all problems of communication and how to exist in the modern world.

So, yeah, it is dark, but not without hope that change can be achieved.

9/Tell us about the cover, who released it and what is the meaning ?

The cover was designed by Andy Pilkington, one of the most talented individuals I have ever met. He designed our logo and our first lyric video and I knew, as soon as we decided to do an album, that Andy was the one to do this for us. He runs a company called Very metal Art and I can’t imagine many (if any) of his clients ever want to work with anyone else.

The thing about Andy is that he’s a genuine artist and he provides the imagery, but he does so in collaboration.

So, how he worked with me is he asked for the lyrics, the music (which we had in demo form), the meaning of the album and its title and then he interpreted that. I didn’t ask him for anything – he created it all and it’s just amazing.

I’ve said this in a few interviews now, but the fact that he could listen to our album and come back with that stunning piece of artwork means more to me than any review.

As far as meaning goes, the character on the cover has a gun to their head, but it’s a metaphorical weapon, and what’s spilling out are the thoughts and feelings I discussed earlier. I am in awe when I look at that piece of artwork because it represents my innermost vision of the album, and Andy articulated that perfectly.

10/You signed to WormHoleDeath how did you come across this label and how did it happen? have you had other propositions from the UK or any other countries?

Well, I knew about WormholeDeath through my work as a writer and I knew Way of Purity, Words That Burn and Cretura so I knew that the label was eclectic in its tastes and serious in its vision of working with bands who had passion and skill. Of course, I never thought that my band would ever be on WormHoleDeath!

About a year ago, I got an email from Wahoomi (Real Sound Studios – ‘persistence of memory’ producer) and he said he liked our EP, and he’d like to work with us. He said that he’d like to present our music to WormHoleDeath and, of course, I said “sure, but they won’t want us!” So, Wao did and, unbelievably for me, the label were interested in us and our potential and so we signed. I knew the label, I knew that they were trustworthy and honest and they’ve just been amazing to us. They’ve been supportive and open to all our ideas and it’s a relationship that I hope will continue for a long time.

11/Have you learnt music? you seem to deal with everything like a man!

Unlike Rich and Jola, I have no formal training in music, although I was in various choirs for a number of years when I was young. I did learn to read music when I was learning to play the clarinet, but that goes back a long way. Mostly, in terms of guitar and synth I’m self-taught and I learn what I need to in order to serve the needs of the song. Rich and Jola are both multi-instrumentalists, and Tony is very interested in utilising samples, so, as a band, we have a lot of flexibility to try new things. But, for sure, when I’m recording the initial demos, I try to do everything and if I can’t do it, then I’ll teach myself enough so that I can do it. I enjoy the challenge!

12/how is your playing with the other guitarist? are you both playing solos?

Well, Rich is the lead guitarist but we have a policy in the band that we serve the needs of the song, not egos, so there are points where I take lead in order to get a specific feel – for example on ‘Failed light’ – and there are also points where we share lead work, like on ‘Corruption’. However, the bulk of the soloing is down to Rich and he most certainly is the better guitarist in that respect – just listen to his solo on ‘moths to the flame’ for example, it’s great! I’m comfortable in my role as a rhythm guitarist, but every once in a while it’s nice to have that different vibe and so I’ll play a bit of lead as and when the song demands it, but I’m not precious about Rich doing the bulk of the lead work because I know he’ll do the best job.

13/you have flute and synth, how do you deal with those live? are you using samplers? having guest musicians on stage?

We’ve never played a song with flute elements live, sadly. However, should we do so, Jola is a very talented flautist (she has a background in big band) and we’re more than capable of doing it and I hope that we will in the future.

As for synth stuff, we have a Roland sample pad for drums (which Tony can trigger during performance) and we also have a small Akai MPX 16, which is basically a sampler, onto which I can put all the stuff from my synth equipment.

We don’t use a lot of synth live, but on songs like ‘alienation’ and ‘you waste my time’ it’s essential.

14/Have you played live gigs with friends? how is the musical scene in your area?

All the time! We’ve played with some great local bands including Mage, Temple of Lies, Blood Oath, Resin, The Mire Deep, Pelugion and… well, the list goes on. There’s a very good scene in Leicester right now and, it has to be said that it’s mainly thanks to Resin’s Simon Yarwood who put together a promotions company and put together some really cracking gigs. It’s great to see and it it’s a pleasure to head down to our local venue, Firebug, whether we’re playing or just watching because there’s always good stuff happening now.

15/Are you planning on touring for the album? are you gonna play abroad?

Right now, we’re concentrating on getting the album out and preparing a live set that includes the bulk, if not all, of the album. Short term, we plan to play around the UK towards the end of the year and then we really hope that there’ll be interest from countries in Europe so that we can play there.

For me, I want nothing more than to take this album to mainland Europe. We recorded in Italy, which was just such a great experience and it’s such a beautiful country, so that’s a must; I lived in Poland, which is one of my favourite countries in the world because the people there are so open and friendly; and then there’s France, Belgium…. You know, we want to play as much of Europe as will have us, so if we can make it work, we will… and of course, we have an Italian label, so I believe we can make this happen. Meanwhile, if there are any European fans reading this and you want to see us… make yourselves known!!!!

16/Give us information on the gears you are using, are you keeping the same instruments or using digital?

Oh, we’re terrible gear collectors and we do focus on analogue equipment. I could write a list as long as the rest of this interview, but then your readers would be asleep before the end of it. So, in terms of general usage, Tony uses Drum Workshop drums and he has a Roland Sample Pad SPD-SX; Jola loves her Fender Jazz basses and Fender Rumble amp equipment; Rich and I both use Marshall DSL 15 Heads because we love that valve driven Marshall sound and those heads take pedals extremely well, and we both use a ridiculous variety of boss pedals to manipulate our sound because they’re super reliable. We don’t go in for the boutique stuff so much simply because it’s not the pedal, but how you use it that’s important and Boss are super-road tested (although Rich has managed to break at least one distortion pedal!) I also have a Marshall DSL 40c in the rehearsal room and, again, it’s because I love that overdriven valve sound.

In terms of guitars, I am a huge… no, HUGE fan of the chunky Les Paul sound. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II with the acoustic pickup built in for versatility, and I also have an Epiphone Genesis with the coil-tapped pick ups, but my pride and joy is a Gibson Les Paul 50s Tribute T with the p90s. It is the darkest guitar I have a and perfect for the big riffing on ‘Corruption’, ‘moths to the flame’ and ‘in silent reproach’. Rich also has an Epiphone Genesis, but his go to guitar is a PRS because it has that slightly lighter, smoother tone that allows his solos to cut through. We all use the Line 6 G10 wireless guitar system as well because it’s amazingly convenient and really frees us up on stage.

17/Do you think you have progressed in the band’s sound and creation?

Oh gosh, I hope so! My tastes are so eclectic, and as a band we are always trying to do better than before. I know I am a better guitar player than I was five years ago, and, I believe, a better vocalist and the band as a whole are always trying new things.

But the key is not progress for progress’ sake, but progress that serves the song. The main thing in Final Coil is that we make the music that we want to listen to. It might be a three-minute punk-metal whiteout like ‘Endgame’ or it might be a ten-minute epic like ‘Failed light’ – it’s all part of our DNA, but I think we’ve got better and more confident at expressing that.

18/Are you still listening your favorite bands or try to keep an eye on what’s happening and follow other bands?

Both Jola and I are music geeks. We don’t watch TV, we come home at night and put on a record and that’s our idea of heaven! We listen to our favourite bands, and we also explore a lot of new stuff whether by going to gigs or buying something new. I also get a lot of new stuff through my webzine and, right now, I’m trying to check out as much as possible on WormHoleDeath because they put out so much good music. I love Words that Burn in particular, and Way of Purity are really interesting and very powerful to name but two, but yes, I’m always trying to discover new bands and I am still old fashioned enough to believe that music with heart and soul can move mountains. I don’t care if it’s the biggest selling album in the world, or if two men and a dog are the only audience – music that comes from the heart is like nothing else. It makes the hair on the back of your neck raise up, it makes the blood shoot through your body… it’s amazing to me and I truly, truly hope that there are people out there who take the risk with our music and have that same feeling.

19/Is there a song you like the most from the whole album and why?

I know that each band member would answer this differently, but for me it’s ‘failed light’. I put my heart and soul into the whole album, but that song was written and demoed in one day on my home equipment and it just poured out of me. Sometimes writing can be hard work, but that came almost in one sitting and I think it captures a sense of hope and I think it’s the most complete song I’ve ever written. That the band could then take that and make it into what it is on the album is something that means the world to me and I’m so proud of them and grateful to them for putting so much weight behind that song and the album as a whole. It’s a moment of which I shall always be proud and I’m very grateful to have had the chance to record it with such a talented group of people.

http://www.finalcoil.com

1/who started the band and when?

6 years ago, sister Stamenkovic, Alexandra and me, Marija, have been already started our music career, forming an all girl hard rock band. Alexandra was a bassist then, and after a 2 years of problems with the members and few gigs, we decided to disband, and Alexandra had decided to learn to play guitar and to form another band.

Under my influence, it has become another all girl hard rock band but with different members and Alexandra on guitar and vocals. Then we found our first bassist Jana Bacic. That supposed to be first version of Jenner, but soon, Alexandra realised that she wanted something more, an old school heavy metal band with the influence of Judas Priest, Grim Reaper, Warlock, Rock Goddess etc, and male members with her.

Since she had no drummer, I had offered her help, and started again with that all girl band stuff, and found our singer Andjelina Mitic, and Jana Bacic had joined again on bass. After a year of hard work we accepted Alexandra’s and our friends’ influence of being an old school speed metal band and started covering Overkill, Anthrax, Exodus, Agent Steel etc. Unfortunately, Jana could not fit in anymore, she was replaced with Mina Petrovic,who played for 2 years with us, and then decided to work abroad.

That’s why Jenner is currently working hard and welcoming a new bassist, soon to be revealed.

2/have you started as a cover band then moved on to a real one?

Yes, we've been a cover band, first covering Judas Priest, Grim Reaper, Warlock, Saxon, Accept etc, and then Overkill, Anthrax, Exodus, Agent Steel etc. After the first line-up change, we added our original songs, and continue with them.

But sure, we still play some covers on our gigs, even our first album is out this February.

3/Female thrash metal bands are rare , what motivated you to get this band? have you had male musicians you didn't get on well with?

To be a female metal band is not easy, not even in Serbia. Prejudices follow us on every step, it’s a kind of an etiquette we all female musicians must carry. To be a part of a female metal band, that’s weird to most of people. But we learnt not to pay attention and do what we love, the best as we can. There were some stories we’ve heard, that we haven’t even recorded our own demo. Some people just tend to overlook the real musical skills, not only about female bands. Sometimes it's correct, but usually they just follow some patterns and they don't wanna give us a chance. We’re trying to give our best to prove that our work and effort is not just for nothing. Female metal bands are rare everywhere but now, when our album is released and half of the world have already heard of us and have nothing but praise and admiration. In general, most of people here are surprised by our decision to deal with thrash metal. They say we have a lot of courage for we have ventured into it and they all maximally support and assist us. Stereotypes, of course they’re everywhere, but we’re not worried, we know very well what we are doing and there will always be someone who appreciate it. We had no male members since Jenner is born.

4/you made your album in 2016 and got the deal with Inferno Record , have you sent out to many labels? why this french label? are you still playing tapes?

Our label, Inferno Records from France was not our first contact with labels. Some of them have already sent us their contacts and conditions, wanted to sign for them. But we have chosen Inferno, because of the really nice contract Fabien gave us, for one underground band. The contact with Fabien occurred thanks to our friend Danilo Trbojevic, frontman of the band Nadimac. He has contacts all across the world as his band is very famous in underground scene, and he told his friend from Japanese label about us. Then that label contacted Fabien, and he sent us email. That’s how it started.

He was amazed by our demo, and also wanted to wait few months for album to be finished so he can release it. When the album came out, he was very satisfied with the response of the audience. Also, he uploaded our song How deep is your greed on his Soundcloud channel, and we had the most plays in such a short time, and in comparison with other bands signed for Inferno Records. There is only half of the total number of copies left for order in only one month after releasing! He distributed our material all across the world, and many of webzines and portals have already did a reviews of an album and interviewed us, because he has a lot of contacts I must reveal this for you, he will print us some vinyls also. Tapes are very popular in Serbia, so yes, we still play them.

5/Who is the main composer?

Main and only composer in the band is Alexandra.

6/Have you got lots of Thrash bands in your country? how is the scene?

Our scene in Serbia is small, but quite strong. We’re proud of every band we have, some of them are successful. We must hold very tight and support each other, because it’s not easy for the each of us to deal with the band, it’s very expensive hobby and we all have jobs, or going to the university. But in the end, we’re all making it, because it’s what we love, and that keeps us standing still.Serbian metal scene is underground, as it's expected for one small country, but it's quite large because we have many bands with lot of talent, quality and potential who give their best for the band.

Some of them are really successful and fond of touring the Europe - Nadimac, Infest, Alitor etc... The thing is that we usually seek cooperations and help from foreign labels, even Serbia has few of them active. We're all making it, helping each other, assist, support, and that's the most important. It needs a lot of work and sacrifices to be just noticeable. But with help of foreign labels and the internet, we're able to promote our music to the world, and it's accepted very good.

7/are you playing in other bands?

Well, the three of us, Andjelina, Alexandra and me are only members of Jenner, but our new bassist plays in another band too.

8/the cover has a nice painting looking like your singer, who made it and did you ask for the design?is it related to a song?

Artwork for an album is designed by Zeljko Manojlovic. It represents a naga, indian mythical creature, half woman, half snake. Her looks are inspired by four of us in one, and also her body and arms form the appereance of the female reproductive organ - uterus. Artwork is also our representation of our lyric themes but also, have some similarities with our looks. The original version of naga is a curious being only malevolent to humans when they have been mistreated. They are also associated as a guardians of waters and treasure. They bring rain, and thus fertility, but also disasters such as floods and drought.

9/who made your band's logo?

We think that the name of the band has a huge importance for every band, because it has to be soundly and catchy.

The name Jenner is invented from a surname of the famous Dr Edward Jenner, who invented the smallpox vaccine.

Five years ago, when Alexandra (guitar) was in medical school, she was learning microbiology for the exam, found out about Dr Jenner, immediately took a piece of paper and drew a logo. I liked it and we together presented it to the rest of the band. The same logo we use nowadays.

10/is Anđelina writting all the lyrics? what is the theme of the album?

I am the main lyrics writter, although, I got help from my husband Ivan and Alexandra too. Two songs’ lyrics – How deep is your greed and Opened (on the table) are written by our producer Luka Matkovic. Through all the songs the motive of human sufferings and fears is stretched – illnesses, the judgement day, greed, inner demons and death.

11/how do you write your songs? are you listening to many albums to inspire you?

We’re inspired mostly of the dark side of the world and human inner conflicts, and by combining them, lyrics are written and also the title of the album. Alexandra composes the songs by her feeling at the time usually inspired by some bands she is listening to, but in her own way. She is the main composer, she did all arrangements, singing melodies, solos, drum parts by herself. I wrote mostly all lyrics with help of my husband Ivan and Alexandra. Songs are based on melodic guitar solos and catchy riffs, and also the high pitched vocals with a very little of growling. The rhythm section is compact, so the songs are not to overloaded.

12/you have a strong influence from Anthrax, is this the band that led you to get that band in the first place?

Our main influences to form a band were Warlock, Judas Priest, Grim Reaper, Rock Goddess, Accept and other old school heavy metal bands. After a year we took more heavier sound with songs of Heathen, Agent Steel, Overkill, Exodus, Anthrax and others we covered then. I must say that Serbia has many talented bands, and I would pick definitely Alitor, Deadly Mosh and Space Eater as our influences, helpers and what's the most important, our friends.

13/how do you find your gigs? are you playing outside your borders?

This year, we had our first gigs in Slovenia and F.Y.R. Macedonia. The first one, was on March 11th, with two female bands, heavy metal band Hellcats from Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Serbian melodic death metal band Nemesis, Selena’s band in Orto Bar. That was the third Female Festival, called “The Day of Rock Women”. Slovenians are very nice people, and girls from Hellcats are nice and hospitable, we’d like to play together again sometimes! The second gig was in Rock Club Shadows, in Skopje, on 25th of March, with Macedonian band The Backdoor Band, and under the organization of Ride to Rock Europe. We had a gig in Belgrade also, on 15. Of April, after few months we played in our hometown with Superhammer from Indjija, and Steel Hornet from Kragujevac, both from Serbia, and our good friends. I’m not sure about future gigs, cause we’re mostly in our private stuff, job, families, studying etc, but you can see all the news we have on our official Facebook page.

14/how did you learn your instrument?} Alexandra has started at her 15, she was bass player first, then she started to learn guitar and little of keyboards. My drumming passion has begun at the same time, but I was 18 years old then. Andjelina was singing a little before entering a band, and Mina had her influence of being musician long before all of us, by her father Milutin who has recently passed away. Our influence of being metalheads is our mum, who gave us her cassettes, vinyls and old magazines and posters, so she made us being interested in metal since we've been 15 and 12 years old.All the members of Jenner are self-taught. We practiced for years and relied only on our sense of hearing. In the beginning, we had used the Guitar pro, in order to practice notes, we wrote many tablatures by ourselves, and then we had a lot of rehearsals instead of musical school classes.

15/what gear do you use? do you have tech knowledge or you have friends to help you out?

Oh, you see, Serbia is poor country, not everyone are able to buy some expensive gear. Alex plays Jackson, and every bassist we had, played Ibanez. I still have not my own drumkit. We have a lot of musician friends who are always there to help us.

www.facebook.com/jennerserbia/

Répondu par Count D. / Chant

1/ Qui a démarré le groupe et quelle était l'idée ?

Seide est né en 2007, sous la forme d’un trio : Shub Niggurath à la guitare, Herr Rikk (Nydvind, ex-Temple of Baal) à la batterie et moi--même, Count D. (Anteis Symphonia) au chant et à la basse. L'idée était de créer un dark/black oppressant, cru et direct, ce qui s'entend sur la première démo Dogma, sortie en 2009.

Answers by Count D. / Singer 1/Who started the band et what was the idea?

Seide was born in 2007, as a three piece : Shub Niggurath on the guitar, Herr Rikk (Nydvind, ex-Temple of Baal)on the drums and myself, Count D. (Anteis Symphonia) singer and bass.The idea was to start a Dark/ Black Oppressive band, dry and straight to the point you can hear on the first demo Dogma that came out in 2009.

2/ Pour les gens pas trop dans le Black Metal, est-ce que la scène française est importante ?

Il y a certainement un gros public, et de très bons groupes.

Elle se regarde beaucoup le nombril mais n'a pas grand chose à envier aux autres scènes.

2/For the people who are not into Black Metal, is the french secen important?

There is certainly a big public, and good bands.The scene is too concentrated on its own but can’t envy the other ones.

3/ Vous chantez en français, est-ce important pour vous ? Si oui, pourquoi ?

Tous les titres ne sont pas en français. Dans Beyond The Fallacy, il y a aussi de l'anglais et de l'espagnol. Sur le précédent Here Is No Truth de 2011, le titre "Ein Unendlicher Blitz" est en allemand. Mais le français reste une langue belle, inspirante, plus évocatrice, porteuse de passion et de souffrance. La souffrance est belle et elle se communique mieux dans notre langue natale.

3/You are singing in French is it important for you? if so why?

Most of the songs aren’t in French. ‘In Beyond The Fallen’ , there is also English and Spanish. On the last album from 2011 ‘Here is no Truth’ the title “Ein Unendlicher Blitz” is in German.

French Language beautiful, inspires, evoke, brings passion and suffering. Suffering is beautiful and easier to express in our mother tongue.

4/ Que veut dire le nom ? Pourquoi le logo ressemble à un mot à l'envers Un Séide est un suiveur du dogme, aveuglé, dévot. Le groupe prend le contre pied de cela pour disséquer et assassiner les dogmes. La perte du libre arbitre mène à une mort certaine, même si elle est en premier lieu intellectuelle. C'est aussi pour cela que Beyond The Fallacy sent la mort.

Le logo est différent des milliers de logos de groupes qui dégoulinent. Tant mieux. Et puis ce n'est pas sans rappeler celui des illuminati.

4/What means the name and why it looks inverted?

A Siede is a dogma follower, blind, ,devoted. The band takes the pathway to assassinate and dissect the dogmas. The lost of equity leads to death even if it ‘s intellect.Reason’s why Beyond The Fallacy smells death.The logo is different from the millions of bands with theirs spilling. That’s better, it also reminds the illuminati.

5/It’s your third ablum why it took six years to concive, what happened?

5/ c'est votre troisième album, pourquoi six années à le conWe wanted to take time to develop the ideas, noway to cevoir ? Que s'est-il passé ? get a copy of the first album.You also have to keep in Nous voulions prendre le temps de développer les idées qu’il mind the line up changes, mostly Naar Zerothon the contient, hors de question de sortir une copie du premier drummer in 2012, after the release of the first album. It album. Il faut aussi prendre en compte les changements was important for us he brought his own style to the new de line-up, en particulier l’intégration de Naar Zeroth à la compositions as to the old ones we are still playing live. batterie en 2012, suite à la sortie du premier album, c’était We worked on the setlist to get a trace on the live set important à nos yeux qu’il apporte sa propre patte non like we did on the show with Nifelheim before getting seulement aux nouvelles compositions mais aussi aux plus back to new compostions for the new album. We are anciens que nous continuons à jouer sur scène. On a rôdé proud of it although it took long to release. ce répertoire en vue de scènes marquantes comme l'affiche

partagée avec Nifelheim, avant de s’atteler vraiment à la réalisation du nouvel album. Il a mis du temps à voir le jour mais nous sommes fiers du résultat.

6/ Musicalement, qu'est-ce qui a évolué ou changé depuis le premier ?

Seide a travaillé sur ses compositions, ses idées de structures musicales et de textes, dans une direction plus introspective et mystérieuse... Conceptuellement, Here Is No Truth était la bande-son d’une "guerre de rats", livrés à leurs instincts, au chaos triomphant dans un monde sans merci.

Beyond The Fallacy (par-delà la tromperie) fouille plus profondément dans les ruines de ce néant, à la recherche d’une vérité innommable. Seide fait l’autopsie du dogme. Sa musique brûle, charcute, dissèque. Dans les entrailles du mensonge, elle découvre un arrière-monde vicié, une imposture millénaire, aspirant les espoirs naïfs dans l’abîme. Elle est la vision de terreur d’un esprit dégrisé. Un évangile de décadence et de décombres.

7/ La pochette montre des gens tomber dans le vide. Quelle est l'histoire de cet album ?

Nous souhaitions évoquer le déclin, la perte de sens qu'impose le dogme. Imager cela par un suicide collectif, conscient et programmé, nous a semblé être juste. Le premier nom donné à l'album était "L'Abandon", mais ce concept est déjà largement traduit dans le visuel. C'est pourquoi nous sommes allés plus loin avec le titre "Beyond The Fallacy".

Tous les artworks de Seide sont travaillés par le groupe luimême et peints par le guitariste Shub Niggurath. Il est essentiel de proposer notre propre interprétation visuelle de la musique, et non se le faire imposer par un artiste quelconque contre facture.

8/ Comment vous êtes-vous retrouvés chez le label M&O ?

De manière classique, nous n'avons pas souhaité reconduire un deal avec Drakkar Productions parce que le bilan était mitigé et nous n'avions pas su nous entendre. Alors nous avons fait écouter l'album à différents labels, et ce que proposait Alexandre de M&O nous a convaincu.

9/ Avez-vous des amis dans la musique ou des groupes avec lesquels vous jouez live régulièrement ?

Des amis dans la musique, oui, quelques-uns. Pas besoin de pavaner avec tout le monde pour feindre d'être dans une communauté. Nous jouons régulièrement avec Ave Tenebrae,excellent groupe français black progressif, aussi signé (fortuitement) chez M&O. 10/ Avez-vous plus de concerts à l'étranger ? Quels pays ?

Jusqu'à présent, nous avons davantage joué sur le sol français.

En espérant trouver une ouverture pour mieux faire connaître Beyond The Fallacy hors des frontières. Cela ne nous a pas empêchés de jouer au Under The Black Sun fest en Allemagne aux côtés de Horna, Von, Sigh, Melechesh...

6/Musicaly what has evolved or changed since the first album?

Seide has worked on its compositions, its ideas with musical structures and lyrics. In a more mysterious introspective direction...the concept of ‘Here is no thruth’ was the sound track of ‘rats war’, stuck in their instinct, a triumphant chaos in a world without mercy.

‘Beyond the fallacy’ searches deeper into the abyss of ruins, to find an unamed truth. Seide autopsies the dogma.

The burnt music, shreds and dissects. In the lies entrails she finds an ancient vicous world aspiring the hopes of naives. She is the soul of terror, a decadent evangelist ashes.

7/The cover album shows people falling into emptiness, what’ s the story line?

We wanted to evoke the end , the lost of the senses that the dogma imposes. Imaging the whole collective suicide, conscient and programmed feels right to us.The first album name was ‘The Abandon’ but this concept is already imaged clearly into the visual of the painting.

The reason why we went further with the title ‘Beyond the Fallacy’. All the artworks are done by the band and painted by the guitarist Shub Niggurath. It’s important to propose our own visual interpretation of the music and not beeing imposed by any other artist.

8/How did you end up in the M&O label?

The classic way, we didn’t want ot reconduct the deal with Drakkar Productions as the result was not satisfying and we couldn’t get on together.So we played the album to several labels and the productor Alexander from M&O has convinced us.

9/Do you have friends in the music or bands with whom you play regurarly live shows?

Friends in music, yeah we have few. No need to bend over everyone to show we are in a community. We are often playing with Ave Tenebrae, excellent french Progressive/Black Metal band also signed to M&O. 10/Do you have more live dates abroad? if so which countries?

As for now, we have mostly played in France. Still hoping to find a way to get ‘Beyond The Fallacy’ known outside the borders. That didn’t stopped us to play the Under The Black Sun fest in Germany amongst Horna, Von, SIgh, Melechesh....

11/ Comment les gens vous découvrent ? Internet, Fanzines...

Comme il peuvent... Réseaux sociaux, fanzines, webzines, concerts, et bouche à oreille. Remercions bien sûr ces putains de sites russes qui permettent le téléchargement de l'album alors que seuls les médias en ont une une copie. Etrange.

En tout cas nous n’essayons pas de sur-vendre l'image du groupe. Elle est sincère. Nous sommes ce que nous sommes. La broderie est inutile. Certains amis ont douté de l'équilibre de l'album, vu l'approche artistique différente de chaque titre, mais au final, la presse - nous en premier- apprécie l'album comme un tout.

12/Quels sont les groupes qui vous inspirent ?

Je ne sais pas ce qui nous inspire, mais je sais ce qui nous plaît. Des groupes comme Mgla, Shining, Infestus, Koldbrann, Aura Noir, ou encore Ravencult. C'est aussi pour cela que Niklas Kvarforth (Shining) et Blasphemer (Aura Noir, ex-Mayhem) ont participé à cet album.

13/ Y'a-t-il une personne qui compose ou le groupe se réunit et chacun ramène ses idées ?

Nous partons d'une idée qui est revue, remâchée et transformée avec le temps et les humeurs. C'est pour cela que chaque titre a sa propre identité. Les textures sont revues suivant le message porté par la chanson.

14/ Avez-vous un studio ?

Oui, pour répéter nous avons un studio. Et pour enregistrer, nous avons jusqu'à maintenant privilégié le Hybreed Studio d'Andrew Guillotin, qui s'est déjà occupé entre autres de Temple Of Ball, Glorior Belli, Ave Tenebrae etc.

Je nous laisse libre de changer d'avis pour le futur.

11/ How people discovering you? Internet, fanzines...

The way they can...social network, fanzines, webzines, gigs , gossips. Thanks to all the fukin russian websites that allows to download the album when only the medias have a copy. Weird.

At least we’re not trying to sell out our image. It’s sincere.

We are who we are, some friends doubted about the feedback due to the artistic approach approac we gave to each track, but finally it has been well accepted by the press as us who like the album as it turned out.

12/Which bands inspire you?

I don’t know what inspires us, i know what we like.

Bands like Mgla, Shining, Infestus,Koldbrann, Aura Noir as Ravencult. That’s the reason why Niklas Kvarforth (Shining) et Blasphemer (Aura Noir, ex-Mayhem) participated to the album.

13/ Is there someone who compose or the band brings ideas?

We start from an idea which we disscuss. We then work and transform with each individual mood. That makes each song its own identity. The lyrics are changed depending on the message the song carries.

14/Do you ow a studio?

Yes we rehearse in our studio. For recording we ‘ve been doing it until now to the Hybreed Studio fro Andrew Guillotin, who already worked with Temple of Ball, Glorior Belli, Ave Tenebrae etc...we are free to change in the futur.

https://www.facebook.com/seideband/

1/ Who started the band and when? The bass player and me .

2/Are you old time friends? Yes

How did you all meet? In another band are you like a familly? Yes 3/Who decided of the band’s name? We both did

what is the story? When I would leave rehearsal late at night , there was always something weird going on

the highway i drove home on , so we called it the restless highway 4/how long have you been singing for? Since high school

What led you to sing? Talent shows 5/Are you doing this for fun or you intend to get high with this band? Both 6/you are mixing rock and country music, is it a choice or just the fact each members love different music? We took country , Rock and metal and kind of just mixed it all up 7/Texas is known for country bands as a huge place for that music style, do you live there for the band or it just happened that way? Just happened that way 8/you have lots of songs on reverbnation as facebook, do you have albums for sale? Yes 9/how do you create a song? It starts with us both just throwing out ideas and finding music to fit with my lyrics 10/ what influences your lyrics? Personal experiences 11/are you all playing in other bands? Just the drummer and bass player 12/ is it easy to find places to play live shows? Yes 13/do you have bands you always play with at live gigs? No 14/how is the scene other there? Good 15/due to the popularity of the music style would you say there is a big competition between bands? Not really 16/do you play any instrument? No 17/is one of you into the music business? No 18/have you got skills for mixing albums? Yes 19/have you got your own gear? We have a rehearsal room at home

if so which one? PA

https://www.facebook.com/Restless-Highway-233694220018481/

Sherry Lenox