The Metal Mag N13

March - April 2016 #13

This new edition has many improvements, first you can see the ‘new’ logo, it came to my mind with the evolution of internet it was necessary to have an emoticon that looks like the modern designs. It’s for now on just on the websites links and adress bar.

Thanks to Kim Nielsen for giving me a photo of her cat to make that number special. A really warmth hug to Teri Stahl for her commitment and interviewing Mudface’s drummer for the ‘drummer section’ you should find in other issues.

An awesome thank you to Caroline Pelletier for her great art that surrounds the cover.

You want your add in the mag ?! get in touch!!!

Thanks to the labels for their support and the readers of course! don’t hesitate to share, it helps! Many ask for a printed version , I’m sorry but I can’t afford it, it has been online for years now and it goes to fast to waste money on paper, I don’t interview the bands you see everywhere there is no point but if you wanna give something don’t hesitate they are still costs in working!

Sadly facebook people don’t care and didn’t respond to the contests to be part of the mag.

yours,

Franck Michaud

#P 2-3 Lee Aaron #p 4-5 Trouble #p 6-8 Salem #P 9-10 Sorizon #p 11-12 Krazy Madness #p 13- 14 Teri’s drummer section #p 15-16 Aeons Of Hate #p 17-19 Hot Hell Room #p 20-21 Now Or Never #p 22- 23 Guillaume Tellier #p 24-25 the Phoenix #p 26-27 Martyr #p 28 From Womb To war #p 29- 30 decembers fall #p 31-32 Sacred seal #p 33- 34 Seventh Calling #P 35 reviews

www.themetalmag.com

©Francine Photos

knows the studio inside and out will be able to dial the sounds up. I feel very blessed to have been able to work with Ben Kaplan and John Webster on this album.

4/contrarely to some artists you aren’t afraid to talk about your variety of musical style, this album regroups many.

What was the reason to not make a ‘Hard Rock’ album like in your ealier carreer?

1/it’s been a while since your last album, yet it’s amazing how did you get that flame alive? Have you been singing all along or you just worked out your voice?

1. I am honored that you call it a flame! I don’t feel like I have ever lost that spark...my enthusiasm and passion for music is very much alive and well. Staying a fan of music is an important part of that. As well, I still do quite a few shows in Canada so I’m always singing and performing throughout the year.

2/It seems your lyrics are about relationship, do you relate to your own life? would you have written those ealier or it just comes from recents thoughts or age?

2. I am totally fascinated by the human condition so themes of love, loss, pride and redemption, etc. really interest me. Especially how those themes reoccur again and again in my own life. We get older and hopefully wiser yet core parts of ourselves don’t change. We spend our lifetimes trying to fix our brokenness. I feel that I ‘m able to see things from my past - bad choices, failed relationships - with more insight and wisdom and the songs on Fire and Gasoline are like memories or reflections on that.

3/you have recorded in the studio where Metallica and Bon Jovi made their albums, what’s so special about that place? you’re talking about the SSL table, have you got sound knowledge and do you have your say?

3. I chose to record in a studio that had an illustrious history. So many great rock records were recorded there.

Places like that have an energy about them that goes far beyond the studio gear and because I wanted to record my live band off the floor this made sense. So many albums are done these days by file-sharing, where musicians are never even in the same room together. It’s a shame. I love the producing process and have produced my last 3 albums. Hiring a great engineer is essential.

I may know what I want to hear but an engineer who

4. Making an album that sounds exactly like what I have done in the past would have been easy, but I don’t think it would have been the right direction for me to go personally or professionally. Some of my all time favorite albums encompass a range of musical styles but the common thread is the same musicians and/or writers. Fleetwood Mac Rumors was like this for me. You go from Christine McVie’s tender piano ballad to “Second Hand News” which borders on bluegrass, to “The Chain” which is bluesy rock to “Dreams” which is pop. I love albums like this because it takes you on a musical journey. I wanted to make a record like that.

5/back in the days you were ‘a queen’ in the medias on the line with Lita Ford then disappeared, your new album as a touch of Lita’s style from latest album, would you say you are linked in a way? Do you know her?

5. I don’t know Lita Ford personally. I think she is a very gifted guitar player. We are linked in that we are both part of a sisterhood a female rockers that need to support each other. We’ve both survived in a wild, male dominated genre of music so I’m sure if we ever meet in person we will have a lot to talk about!

6/can you tell us who are the musicians on this new album? how this energy got together to compose such diversity of music style compiled into a masterpiece?

6. I am so blessed to have amazing musicians in my band.

John Cody (drums) is my husband. John has played with everyone from Bo Diddley to BTO. Dave Reimer (bass) has been in my band for about 10 years. He is a great singer as well and is the back ground voice you hear on all the tracks on the album along with me. Sean Kelly (guitar) is former guitarist for Nelly Furtado. He and I met about 3 years ago and had an instant chemistry. Besides being a great guitarist, Sean is a gifted writer and he and I wrote 5 songs together for the album. The other 6, I wrote alone. I used my live band to record the whole album. We recorded bed tracks in 2 days and guitar overdubs in 2

days. I don’t believe in doing lots of takes to get a song right. I’m a strong believer that the first couple of takes has the best energy and you never capture it better after that.

7/if having kids change the life of everyone , would you say it does something special on artists?

7. Absolutely. Having children makes the well go deeper in every respect. Everything you felt before and expressed in your music now has a different spin because you need to move from a place of selfishness to selflessness. Your children couldn’t care less that you are, or were, once famous. It’s very humbling. Your entire world view is altered and I think that in many ways this makes you a richer songwriter.

8/ what’s your view on the music scene today?

8. I feel like the music scene today needs something to come along and turn it upside down again. Just, like punk killed prog and grunge killed corporate rock. Digital technology has enabled a music industry where you don’t even need to be able to sing in tune or play your instrument. You simply need to be adept at music software. Saying that, there are plenty of great new artists like Sufjan Stevens and....you just need to search harder because you’re never going to hear them on the radio.

9/you have made two videos, was it to get your album going faster? do you think it’s necessary today? was it easy to make and who released them?

9. I grew up in the era of MTV, so I still look at visuals as another art form that can be used to help enhance your music. We initially shot 2 short promo videos with an iPad and put them out ourselves. The video for Tom Boy was shot by a Vancouver director named Brian Sword. I love the idea of putting pictures to music still.

Thankfully, it doesn’t cost $100,000 anymore...

10/most musicians use digital technology to record but you’ve been into a real studio, are you still a person who likes it the old days and worship that sound?

10. Yes, but most studios now use some form of digital technology as well. My belief is that the best records are made using real musicians that have chemistry together, and recording tracks in the same room, live off the floor.

11/have you recorded more songs you will maybe use someday or you kept the ones to fit the album?

11. I’m always developing new song ideas, but I feel the best songs at the time made it onto the album.

12/are you gonna release an LP? 12. There are plans to release a limited edition vinyl

with an unedited version of Wanna Be and some extra photos.

13/you have a great and powerfull voice, what do you think of those tv shows when artists decide the new singers, would you do this? what’s your view on those?

13. I think that shows like American Idol and The Voice are great entertainment but personally I don’t watch them. The world seems to thrive as much on watching people lose as they do win. Shows like this rarely ever discover a great original artist..I mean really, who has ever gone on to have a long standing career? Kelly Clarkson maybe, but she is one out of hundreds...

14/do you teach vocals? any advice on young singers who want to reach your step?

14. I am asked all the time to teach vocals, but at the moment I do not. I’m too busy being a full time parent and an artist. My advice to young singers is practice, practice, practice. To be great at something takes a lifetime commitment.

Study the singers you love but work on developing your own unique voice. Don’t try to be like anyone but yourself.

15/is the label yours? would you say it’s easier for you to do what you do?

15. Big Sister Records is my imprint and yes, I think it’s easier to retain creative control over your music when you structure things this way and set yourself up with a really good distributor.

16/do you know if your old albums are still selling good? what is the fans base now? are you on social medias?

16. I know that everything I have ever recorded is still in print so I’m assuming there is still some demand for Lee Aaron music. Yes! I am on social media here: https://www.facebook.com/lee.aaron.7564 https://www.facebook.com/Lee-Aaron - F a n p a g e 270213811866/ Twitter: LeeAaron@LeeAaronMusic

interview with Bruce Franklin

1/it’s been three years since your last album, what has been the overall reaction? have you been touring intensely?

It’s been almost three years, as The Distortion Field was released in July 2013. The album received a lot of praise from reviewers and fans alike, charted on Billboard and landed in the Top 50 Rock Albums on CMJ. The more people that see us perform with our current line-up, the more they realize that this is the best that Trouble has sounded in many years. The songs that we play live from The Distortion Field go over very well, and we see people singing the choruses and cheering for them. We haven’t toured intensely since the album’s release as our schedules don’t allow for that, but have done two European tours in Europe, 1 short U.S. tour, and a couple of one-off festivals like 70,000 Tons of Metal.

2/ few years ago nuclear blast repressed your early albums on LP, have you been part of this and would you say that made the band getting back many fans/followers?

Well, for the younger fans that didn’t get a chance to buy those records on vinyl in the 80’s/early 90’s, it is a cool thing. We are talking about small numbers of pressings for those though; I think it was around 500 copies for each. We actually didn’t have a whole lot to do with that. Record companies are always looking for more ways to sell copies of product.

3/your last album is very heavy, how would you describe your evolution?

I think we are always trying to grow as musicians and songwriters. We also try to stay true to what Trouble has been, but also don’t want to make the same record over and over. In the case of The Distortion Field, we thought that we could incorporate some styles and sounds from throughout our career, so there is heavy grooving stuff, some straightforward metal stuff, and also some slower heavy somewhat doom type stuff. I feel that it is the best record that we’ve made since the early 90’s.

4/it seems old bands are having singer issue, do you think it’s just the fact it hard to keep a voice going after those years?

Yeah, that might be part of it. It is also tough to keep all the same people, whether a singer or other musician, for many continuous years. People have personal lives which doesn’t always work well with all that a band has to do to survive. Sure big bands that make a lot of money have an incentive to stick together even when they don’t get along (Rolling Stones/Who), but it can be a lot tougher for members in bands that don’t make that kind of money to stick things out.

5/’the distortion field” has a violet color reminding Deep purple is it made on purpose or it has nothing to do with it?

Deep Purple is probably my favorite band, but they had nothing to do with the color of the artwork. We just thought that was the right color for the cover, and that dictated the overall theme for all the artwork.

6/who wrote the lyrics ? what was the main line to follow for the album?

Kyle, as the singer, wrote most of the lyrics. I contributed lyrics for one song and co-wrote another with Kyle.

There is no main line to follow really. Each song stands alone as a separate work. Some are written about real life situations, and some are of a more spiritual nature.

7/have you got your own studio? any knowledge in recording sound?

We don’t have our own studio, but have learned a few things over 30 years of making records given our access to different studios, various equipment, and working with some top rate producers.

8/when you look at your history, what do you remember ? was it easier or better in a way back then than today?

Well, there was more money on the artist side of the music industry pre-2000, and that made things easier for a band like us. I have fond memories of life in my 20’s and early 30’s because I was living the life of a professional rock musician and that’s all I ever wanted to do. There are still some bands that are able to live that dream, but not nearly as many achieve that level and do it full-time. These days the members of Trouble commit as much time to music as is possible, while balancing our other interests. We have been playing about 25 or 30 shows a year for most of the last 10 years.

9/do you compose many songs or you just sat down and wrote together the whole album?

This record was a little different than previous Trouble records. Rick and I split the songwriting duties, each contributing half of the songs on the album. The one song that we kind of worked together on was “The Greying Chill of Autumn”. And as I stated earlier, Kyle wrote most lyrics and vocal melodies, while I contributed some lyrics and vocal melodies also.

10/music has changed , what did you change to make that new record? using digital equipment? new gear?

Yes we used digital recording equipment. Everyone is using digital now because of the ease and convenience. We didn’t use any new gear. Same amps, for the most part. All the same guitars, pedals, etc. Trouble has a distinctive sound and we like to keep that sound because it is somewhat unique compared to most metal or stoner rock bands.

11/when u see all the bands coming from the 70’s n 80’s still going strong what’s your view on it, would you say it’s easier for a band like you?

I love to see bands still going from the 70’s and 80’s, especially if they are still good at what they do. It’s easier for a band like us compared to some of the bands that were kind of just part of the pack, but not unique. However, there are bands like Slayer or Testament that had a fair amount of success and are able to still do very well today.

http://newtrouble.com

Hi. Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you!

1/would you call it a ‘come back’? or you’ve been waiting to get the perfect album?

• We have come a long way since our “In The Beginning ...” album that brought the band back together again. Our “Forgotten Dreams” album in 2013 is our first studio album, with some great new songs, which got an excellent reception. It has opened so many doors for us already. “Dark Days” is the result of our continual progression and I hope you like it. We are enjoying writing and playing our music – and intend to keep on going.

2/did you stay in touch together or they have been line up changes?

• After 1983, we slowly drifted in different directions: Simon moved away to the south east of England, and I moved to the south west, leaving the other three guys back in hometown Hull, in the North. It was a bit of a challenge for me to track everyone down in 2009, when I got the invitation to release our 1980s recordings. It was great to meet up again and Salem is still the same band as in 1982-83; the same lineup that recorded about 70% of the “In The Beginning ...” album.

There have been a couple of times when Paul (drums) has not been available for gigs, so we have been very grateful to Ricky Squires (now with Battle Axe) who helped us out in 2012 when we were in Italy and Belgium, and Oli Davies who came with us to Dubai in 2014 and will join us again for MuskelRock this summer. I think that having been together for so long helps us understand each other better, and I believe that this is evident in our music and performances.

3/The album is called ‘dark days’ is it related to the band’s life?

• There is an underlying moody theme through “Dark Days” that delves into some of our personal difficult life experiences. One thing is certain about being older (LOL), life brings exposure to a variety of incidents and relationships, some of which are great and some which are definitely not. However, whilst the album considers that life is certainly not always easy, we keep on looking for the positive outcome – the light at the end of the tunnel.

4/what do you like with Puresteel Records?

• The guys at Pure Steel Records have been very supportive of us – for all of our albums. We have learned a lot from them about the music industry and its processes, and whilst they largely leave us to get on with our music in the way we want, they are direct and honest and sometimes make suggestions for improvements. This is a helpful and healthy approach.

5/you are like most NWOBHM english band still alive , would you say that helps a lot? What you think of the new scene ?

• Having our roots in the early 1980s, at the time of the NWOBHM movement, probably does give us some advantage. It’s good to see our fellow NWOBM mates reuniting and doing well. There are a lot of great new bands that we get to play alongside at festivals such at Rockwich and Wildfire, bands such as Bad Touch, Bigfoot, Orangefall, The Parallax Method and the brilliant Press To MECO. 6/music has changed a lot since you started, which bands you’re listening to now? are you following new bands and do you try to change your music to fit?

• The band has quite different musical tastes. I personally have always listened to a wide range of music from rock/metal to some jazz and classical music – and I’m forever checking out newer music. Whilst the great heavy rock bands of the 1970s are still a massive influence on my music composition, there will be many phrases, rhythms and emotions that I have also picked up up over the years that find their way into our music. Some of these newer bands might include Avenged Sevenfold, Muse, Alter Bridge, perhaps even a little Dream Theater – as well as some jazz and classical elements too. However, we have never deliberately tried to sound like

anyone else – new or old. We all contribute to our music, in one way or another, and this brings an assortment of musical styles. We take this variety of songs into Adrian’s studio – and they come sounding like Salem.

7/so how did you write that album? was there a line to follow, a story, trying to stick to your best songs...

• We are always composing new music, and get in to the studio to record the ideas whenever possible. However, as we live in different parts of the country and due to various circumstances, it has taken about 18 months to do the whole album. In terms of the music, as mentioned above, the compositions are all quite different as we don’t have a standard formula to rigidly follow. However, the lyrics are generally written by Simon (singer) with Adrian (bass player and musical director) so there is more of a consistency there. Then we keep writing and recording until we consider (with some Pure Steel guidance) that’s enough for the album. We already have plenty of new music composed for the next album – and the next. I have loads of ideas, and I spent last weekend with Mark (other guitarist) putting some of his new tracks together.

8/when you look back would you say it’s been better at some point or a long time fight?

• The world has changed much since the 1980s – mainly for the better: it is so easy to communicate around the world now, travel is faster and relatively cheaper, and so on. However, because it is much easier to record, I think that less time and effort is put into its creation, and this results in a vast amount of poorer music so it takes longer to find the good stuff.

9/do you still use your old gears or you moved on and tried different ones?

• I don’t think that any of the band still uses any of the gear we had in the 1980s. I had two 70s Fender Strats and a Marshall stack – now I have a PRS Custom 24, an Ibanez super Strat and a 90s Fender Strat, Marshall Vintage Modern and an Orange Micro Terror amp. We have also been checking out Blackstar stuff – that really rocks. I’ve been dabbling with extended-range guitars – maybe we’ll have some on the next album?

10/have you got relationship with other english bands? (tyger of pan tang, the deep, House of X, Savage...)

• We have so many more links with other bands then we ever did in the 80s, which is great! Such UK bands include (in no particular order) Jaguar, Avenger, Spartan Warrior, TysonDog, Dealer, Tytan, Holocaust, Soldier, Dream Overkill, Toledo Steel, and many others ... as well as growing connections with the likes of Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang and Oliver Dawson Saxon!

11/seeing the social medias and your news , you have great live gigs, do you do it all yourself or someone is helping you out? how do you find those live dates, are the bands on the same style?...

• Yes! We are pleased to be playing more and bigger gigs and festivals – this year we are already playing at well established event such as Headbangers Open Air in Germany, MuskelRock in Sweden, and Heavy Metal Maniacs in Netherlands. And so far, we have done this all ourselves – like all bands, I’m sure, we’re constantly looking for opportunities, building contacts and promoting ourselves, and so we’re delighted that this is paying off. We obviously hope that our new “Dark Days” album will help to raise our profile – it is a strong album and I am sure this will help us to become even more recognised in the rock/metal world.

12/is there a lack of support between bands in the uk? some bands seem to have more difficulties to find dates, have you tried to help others?

• Whilst big bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, etc always sell out their gigs, I think that it has been difficult for underground bands to get gigs, especially in the UK. However, I believe that this is slowly changing. There are more and more festivals like BROFEST, Wildfire and SOS that are helping to raise the exposure to a new audience, and obviously this is a very good thing.

13/do you know your fanbase and where it is located in the world? are you chatting with them online?!

• Of course! With modern social media, it is great to see how our support has grown around the globe from Europe to the Americas to Australia/NZ to Japan/China to India and the middle east and back again! I have had many chats with friends around the world – and it still amazes me that I can be home in England and having a conversation with people for example, in the Philippines, in Argentina, and Poland, all at the same time.

It is great to chat with all friends and supporters.

14/do you find social medias a plus compared to the early days? what do you see it has brought up to your band?

• Carrying on from the previous question, the internet and all social media has made a huge difference to how we communicate – and it brought Salem back together again. Having posted some Salem music on MySpace in 2009, I was contacted by the Record Company and invited to release our 1980s recordings on what became “In the Beginning”. It’s given us worldwide opportunities to raise our profile, share our music and videos, do interviews via skype or email (like this one – LOL!) and so on.

15/have you tried to make a new band? do you play in other formations?

• I think that most of the Salem members have played in other bands over the years – and some still do. I think that this helps to broaden our horizons and pick up different ideas/approaches.

Many thanks! Hope you like the new album. twitter.com/SalemBandUK facebook.com/SalemBand reverbnation.com/SalemUK youtube.com/c/SalemUK wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_(UK_band)

http://www.salemband.co.uk

Answered by Dr. Danny Mann 1/what means sorizon? who got the idea and who made the logo?

Sorizon just means us and our sound really. One of our main goals is being unique and making up a new word is one way of describing something new! One of Keith’s friends, Natalie Clarice, made the original logo for us, and we have always loved her awesome work with that. Since then, we’ve had a couple artists stylize it for the Somnus and End of Entrapment albums.

2/you are mixing heavy metal and swedish death metal, have you had line up changes that affected the music?

I think the lineup changes have affected the music even though the primary songwriters (me and Keith) have been consistent throughout our history. Most recently, having Kevin in the band made our band feel wilder on-stage, and I think that may have translated into the songs I wrote on End of Entrapment.

3/the cover is full of details, who made it and have you participated to its creation?

The cover art was done by Tony Koehl, and the Sorizon logo and album title were designed by Jeff Hall (Tim’s brother). We decided to invest more than ever into artwork for this EP, and I think the result speaks for itself!

4/what is the message with the lyrics?

I’ll do my best to answer for Keith since he writes all the lyrics. For the latest EP, the lyrics focus on breaking free from challenges and restraints in life, but Keith has written more fantasy-style lyrics in the past. He has a broad range of lyrical styles.

5/how do you compose? is there a chemistry or everyone comes with their own idea?

I typically will bring in a song, and Sean will often get really involved with arrangement and polishing it instrumentally. Then, the other guys learn the songs and sometimes add their touches before Keith writes vocals. We have had some periods of more collaborative writing like for Somnus, but me and Keith have always composed the most material for Sorizon.

6/the last song is acoustic like the LA bands in the vein of Skid Row, is it a link to a change into your creation for the next album?

Haha, not quite. It’s actually an acoustic version of a song from our first album, Behind the Emerald Starscape.

Cosmic Eden is one of our fan-favorites, so Keith thought it would be cool to make an acoustic version. I’m happy with how it came out.

7/you obviously have a good following, what is the reaction of people with the mix of influences?

Thanks! Overall, people react well to Sorizon. They find it hard to categorize us, but they like it. It’s really important to me that we are original, and I think we have achieved that.

8/have you got label interest so far?

We have received some management offers, but we haven’t talked to labels yet. Send them our way!

9/have you all played in other bands before or are still in different formations?

Yes, Keith, Sean and I were in a band called Joust before Sorizon, and right now, Keith and Kevin are in a band called Monolith. I have been working on a solo project with Sean on drums called Double Yeti. Taylor is in a band called Saber, and Tim is an opera singer, haha!

10/do you know many bands to play live with you or you just try to get into places where Metal is alive and strong?

We have some good buddy bands in the area like Voices of Ruin and SIVA, but we play with lots of different bands!

11/have you got a physical CD? how did you get it recorded and mixed?

We have CDs for our first two albums, but the latest EP is a digital release only right now. We have recorded and mixed all the albums ourselves. Sean has been the leader for that, but I’ve been teaming up with him more and more over the years. The first two albums were professionally mastered by engineers who did Opeth, Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Symphony X and more.

12/do you play live covers if so which ones?

We usually don’t play covers, but the one we have played the most is Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar. We recorded that one too… look it up on YouTube!

13/what do you think of the metal scene today? are they bands you follow?

I think the metal scene is thriving and evolving in a healthy way. We all follow different bands, but right now I particularly love Mastodon, Baroness, Opeth and Iron Maiden.

14/due to your influences have you got metalheads in your familly or you just came to listen bands from friends?

I think for most of us, it was through friends, BUT I’m pretty sure all of our families can at least kind of appreciate metal after all the hell we’ve put them through, haha.

15/are you using the new tech to get faster into the Metal world? have you got sound knowledge?

Yeah, we’re doing our best! We’re trying to get Sorizon out there as much as possible. And yeah we got sound knowledge , can’t you tell by our riffs?? Thank you for this interview!

www.sorizon.net

1/seeing your band logo you’re an ozzy fan?!

ed.”

Patrick Bellemare: “It’s the foundation. It’s where it all start-

2/you have different age members, have you had hard times to get the right people?

P.B.: “Was it hard? Yes. Did I have a hard time, no. It’s natural.

KRAZY MADNESS is natural, it all falls into place, through all the hardship and all the hurdles.”

3/what’s the purpose of your videos except from breaking things?

P.B.: “Obviously you didn’t look any further, you didn’t watch until the end, if you think it’s all about breaking stuff. The purpose is for the people to feel good, to make them laugh, make them smile, make them feel good, entertaining is the first purpose. Make them forget about their bullshit. Everyone takes themselves so seriously then they die. Fucking live now, don’t wait ‘til it’s too late.”

4/have you got your own songs or you’re just covering your favorite bands?how do you compose the songs? the lyrics...

P.B.: “We have over 70 songs, of our own songs and we cover, what I call “The Soundtrack of Our Lives”, for the people...live. It’s the foundation. Anything built on solid rock will stand the test of time. Anything built on anything else will sink into the abyss.”

5/what made you create the band in the first place?

P.B.: “I’ve got 10 answers for that one. School of Rock, what made me create the band, my kids...fuck, my family. Banned video games in the house and gave everyone musical instruments.”

6/you are from canada, are you playing live dates in other states? how do you get gigs?

P.B.: “For now only playing in Canada because exorbitant fee per member to go to the United States of America. As we are growing and getting bigger nothing is impossible! We are planning to play for our fans everywhere on the fucking planet.”

7/from what I read you all playing different instruments,have you been into music school? or you just like to try everything?

P.B.: “I never had to learn to play drums, just sat there and knew how to play, longtime ago. I started playing guitar because as a singer and song writer it is hard to get people to play what’s in my head. I don’t have to sit with somebody and try to explain what’s in my head. I like to try everything, except banjo.” (Laughs out loud) 8/have you got a label?who deal for the band?

P.B.: “Nowadays it actually is better to do our own thing then to be on a label. Seems to be the way to go. No one dictating the way to go. Everyone wants to be a record executive, a graphic designer, a photographer, a video-grapher, a musician, only real artists can keep doing their art regardless.

Too many generals, no soldiers. Nobody wants to be the audience, everyone wants to be the rock stars; do it the fastest. Only real artists do it for the people. Channeling real emotions, touching souls. We’re here to make people feel good with the tunes, not go 100 miles per hour...only sometimes. Nowadays heavy metal is so aggressive, no body is really that pissed off. We are everything. We do everything ourselves.”

9/is the band supposed to provocate the masses?

P.B.: “Yes!” 10/in which part of the world you have the most fans?

P.B.: “Canada, next the United States of America and next The United Kingdom.”

11/how many albums have you done? they aren’t many infos on your facebook page...

P.B.: “As an artist for 35 years, I made 3 albums and 1 EP. KRAZY MADNESS has 1 EP with another one coming as an album. Side A will be the “Just For The Hell Of It” EP and Side B will be new songs, all together to make a full album.”

12/do you have friends in the music, who supports u?!

P.B.: “Yes, Zakk Wylde, Black Label Society, Rudy Sarzo, Roger Hodgson, Ian Gillan, George Lynch and many more, such as ANVIL!!! ANVIL, Rudy Sarzo, Zakk Wylde! We know where we came from, we know where we’re going.”

Patrick Bellemare is CEO, Founder, Lead Singer, Rhythm Guitarist and Song Writer of the Rock N’ Roll band KRAZY MADNESS. Patrick was born in Québec City, Québec, Canada. Performed throughout Canada, Germany, The United States of America in various bands and in his early days being a roadie for legendary bands touring Québec, helping bands like King Diamond, Motley Crue, Y & T, Garry Moore. Currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, Patrick started KRAZY MADNESS with his family, some are band members and other are upcoming band members. Patrick stays in touch with his fans on social media and is always creating music and visual excitement.

Thank You Franck!

https://www.facebook.com/krazymadnessband

Teri Stahl Stahl ‘section ‘section :: Teri “Rockin “Rockin Drummers” Drummers”

TIM DAVIS DAVIS TIM

1/Where you live?

Mountain View, California

2/When did you 1st pick up set of drumsticks?

I picked up my first real pair of drumsticks around age five. I’m not counting the Tinker toys and wooden spoons that I banged on Mom’s pots and pans when I was younger.

3/Drumsticks you use & why?

My stick of choice is a 5B size, cut from American Hickory, and capped with a nylon tip. I prefer to use Vater brand sticks for their quality and consistency. They just feel right to me. Other brands can be a little too heavy or stiff for my taste. I like nylon tips for durability and to get a nice crisp definition on the ride cymbal.

4/Drummer who Inspires You & why

Jerry Gaskill of King’s X is a very inspirational player to me. The drum parts which he crafts just speak to the music so beautifully and soulfully. I just love the choices that he makes about what to play, and what NOT to play!

Jerry is an inspiration not just because of his drumming talent, but his strength and spirit as a human being. We each suffered heart attacks in early 2012, and went through similar experiences of rebuilding confidence and finding a way back to the passion of making music. His story kept me going through some rough times of my own. He is a large part of why I’m still playing.

5/Fav Drum Solo to play?

I honestly haven’t done a drum solo for years! I just feel I haven’t got the flash or chops to do a really impressive solo. I run out of gas in like 15 seconds! I used to be able to play Neil Peart’s solo from All The World’s A Stage nearly note for note, but it has been a really long time. I guess I would have to name his solo as one of my favorites.

6/Fav song to Rock with?

Limelight by Rush. I always love playing to Rush, and when I finish playing that song, it’s like…the hair on the back of my neck is standing up, my heart is pumping, and I just feel this euphoria surging through me. Lots of songs are fun to jam to, but Limelight is almost like a religious experience.

7/Bands You Have Rocked with over the years?

Brazen, Tramp, Dave Abbott Band, Mr. Meanor, Echoes, Tomorrow’s Dream, Bomb and Scary, currently drumming for Mukagee and Mudface. I was also lucky enough to play a song onstage with Jimmy Bain of Dio a few years before his passing.

8/Advice to Upcoming Drummers?

Having people skills is equally important as being a good player. Being in a band is like being married to numerous people at the same time! The ability to form a strong and lasting bond amongst your band mates can have a more profound impact on your musical experience than anything else.

Learning to play a melodic instrument like guitar or piano will help build a good rapport with your fellow musicians so you can communicate ideas more freely in a collaborative setting.

Learning to use your ears first is very important. The best players are listeners first, and players second. Hearing the nuances of the music and playing into them rather than over or through them is what elevates good music to inspirational art

www.mudfacemetal.us

1/who started the band and when?

1. The band was created in early 2012 when Nikos (guitars) joined forces with Stamatis (drums) and started rehearsing. Later that year Aris joined first on bass, then also took over the vocal duties, thus the band was complete.

2/The band’s name as the songs titles describe hatred, what made you go onto that direction?

2. First of all, the name “Aeons Of Hate” was used by Nikos’ group with his brother Lakis and his friend Manolis, who used to play Venom and Celtic Frost covers. The reason behind this choice is mainly because of the impact hate has had on the human race throughout the centuries of its existence. Mass killings, violence, wars and bloodshed, they are all a result of the innate human misanthropy, which is vivid, yet hidden till unleashed, all around us.

3/Is Alone records your own label? why hand signing the album?

3. No, Alone Records belongs to Manolis Emmanouilidis since 1995, but he’s been known to the band for a while, so we ended up in a very agreeable deal for both sides.

4/how is the metal scene in greece? many death metal bands?

4. Except for the old, big bands which everybody knows abroad and enjoy success, there is a ton of local bands, especially in the more extreme genres, who deliver both in the studio and live performances. So, we can say the scene not only remains active, despite the crisis in economy, but continues to grow and expand.

5/you have inspiration from Thrash and early Death Metal, is because each member has different influences?

5. As every individual around, yes, we do have different influences, but we all share the same passion for the oldschool mid-80’s sound, when Thrash and early Death and Black metal delivered raw aggression with force. This is our musical axis.

6/have you got a tour going, with which bands you are playing the most?

6. No, there is not a tour going for the moment, although there are some tour ideas which we are working at for the later part of the year. When things are certain, there will be announcements for sure 7/who wrote the lyrics ? are they all linked?

7. All lyrics are written by Aris, our frontman. Although most of the songs deal with different themes, they are all based around the axis of hatred and misanthropy.

8/are you all time friends? was it hard to get a complete line up?

8. Nikos and Stamatis have known each other for years through the music scene of Thessaloniki, Aris showed up much later. The chemistry that evolved around us made it no difficult for us to decide and remain a three man piece with no further line-up changes.

9/who are your favorite artists? who inspired you?

9. As mentioned above, the oldschool sound of mid 80’s thrash and early death/black metal is our common musical passion. Just few of the bands would be SLAYER, SODOM, CELTIC FROST, DEATH, BATHORY, KREATOR, ASPHYX, IMMORTAL. 10/can you tell us about your equipment? are the instruments expensive cos imported or you have instruments made in the country?

10. Nick has an epiphone flying V model 1986 with emg pickups. He also uses ENGL and PEAVY heads. All the instruments are imported. They are not rather expensive. Aris has two 4 –string basses, an LTD B-50 and a DEAN V Metalman. Both imported.

11/ have you played abroad yet?

11. We haven’t played abroad yet, although we are looking forward to it.

12/do you have a view on your fans? in which country you are much loved?

12. Due to the fact mentioned above, the only way for us to be known abroad is our CD, which enjoys a lot of positive feedback both inside and outside Greece. We are thankful for all those who support our band and we tryour best to deliver musically for them.

13/the album has no title what ‘s the reason for?

13. The debut album is self-titled as the band. We think of it as a tribute to the meaning of our name, which is all about “Aeons Of Hate” stands for.

www.facebook.com/aeonsofhate

FRANCAIS

ENGLISH

1/Pouvez-vous nous dire pourquoi avoir choisi ce nom de groupe?

ALAN RAOUL (Basse) : C’est Loïc le chanteur qui a trouvé le nom du groupe, il n’y a pas de signification précise derrière, c’est juste un jeu de mot qui sonne bien, un nom qui nous a plus et qui se retient facilement. Ce n’est pas toujours évident de trouver un bon nom de groupe et Loic est un crack pour trouver des noms simple qui fonctionnent.

2/Votre nouvel album a une pochette sombre et rejoint le nom du groupe, est-ce une volonté de rester dans l’ombre?

Pour la pochette nous avons utilisé un tableau ancien : Le Pandémonium (la capitale de l’enfer), c’est une peinture réalisé au début du XIXe siècle par le peintre anglais John Martin. Cette oeuvre correspond à l’ambiance générale de certains textes de l’album dont le titre « Architect Of Chaos ».

3/Qui écrit les textes? Il y a t’il un lien, une histoire sur l’album?

C’est Loïc qui écrit les textes , ce n’est pas un concept album, mais il y’a certaines similitudes avec certains titres et des métaphores dans les paroles : par exemple les textes de Chamelon et de Architect of Chaos parlent des sociétés secrètes qui oeuvrent dans l’ombre depuis des siècles et perdurent toujours à notre époque, Somber Days fait allusion a la fin de nos civilisations, Book Of Regrets traite sur la nostalgie et le souvenir. On peut retrouver aussi des textes plus légers et rock n roll comme sur New York Bird et Nobody Came !

4/A voir votre bio, vous avez tous les éléments pour un grand groupe, pourtant il n’y a pas de CDs, avez vous cherché un label qui pourrait vous faire tout ça? Comment faites vous aux concerts sans merch?

Nous sommes actuellement en train de démarcher les labels, vu la conjoncture actuelle, ils sont beaucoup moins disponible pour signer des nouveaux groupes ; mais nous ne nous désespérons pas pour autant ! L’album version physique sortira dans le courant des 2 prochains mois, on fera une annonce officielle quand ils seront disponible sur notre Facebook. Les CDs seront en distribution dans un

1/ Can you tell us why you chose this band’s name?

ALAN RAOUL (Bass) : Loic the singer who found the name. no special meaning it just sounds cool. We liked it and it’s easy to remember. It’s never easy to find a good name but Loic always find simple stuff that works.

2/Your new album has a dark cover and close to the band’s name, is it a wish to say in the dark?

For the cover we used an old painting, (the hell’s capital) a painting from XIX century from the English painter John Martin. This art represents the spirit of the album and some lyrics as the title “architect of chaos”.

3/Who wrote the lyrics? is there a link between songs on the album?

Loic writes the lyrics, it’s not a concept album, but there are similarities between songs for example : the text from Chameleon from Architect of Chaos talk about secret societies which are deep in the darkness from centuries and still on till now. Somber Days talks about the end of our civilization, Book of Regrets is kinda a nostalgy from our memories. They are also lighter lyrics into Rock N roll such as New York Bird and Nobody came.

4/While reading your Biography, you have all the elements from a big band, but there aren’t any cds, have you searched for a label to deal with it , how do you do at your show with no merch?

We are actually searching for labels, due to the crisis, they aren’t much available at this time to sign new bands, we don’t desperate! The physical album will be done in around two months time. We will advertisewhen I will be available on our Facebook page. The CDs will be distributed first via Bandcamp page. As for Merchanside we still have the first album on CD “Kai Yuga Bonfire” in Digipack format (while waiting for the new one) Shirts and other things will com soon!

5/How did you get Pros to mix your albums, and release videos?

All has been done from relation, or meeting people.

premier temps via le Bandcamp du groupe. Niveau Merchandising, nous avons des Cds du premier album « Kali Yuga Bonfire » en digipack (en attendant le nouveau). Des T shirts et d’autres surprises vont bientôt arriver !

5/Comment avez vous fait pour avoir des pros mixer vos albums, et faire des vidéos?

Tout c’est fait par relation, ou par des heureuses rencontres.

Pour le dernier album « Architect of chaos » et ainsi que le précédent « Kali Yuga Bonfire », je connaissais Andrew G qui a produit le disque depuis des années, j’avais déjà travaillé avec lui avec d’autres projets musicaux par le passé, c’est un ami ainsi qu’un excellent ingé son. Pour Beau Hill qui a Masterisé notre premier album démo en 2009 ça c’est fait très simplement et par le plus grand des hasards. Cela remonte à l’époque de Myspace (à l’époque ou Myspace servait encore à quelque chose pour la musique). Un jour je suis tombé sur sa page et je lui ai fais une demande d’ami sans idées derrière la tête, avec juste le souvenir d’avoir écouté pas mal de ces productions dans ma jeunesse comme les albums de Ratt, Winger, Alice Cooper ou encore le Prisonner In Paradise de Europe. Des le lendemain à ma grande surprise, j’ai reçu un long message de sa part disant qu’il avait écouté nos 2 titres en écoute sur le Site et qu’il voulait travailler avec nous.

L’album était déjà mixé mais pas masterisé. Il nous a donc proposé de faire le mastering. Nous ne désespérons pas de retravailler un jour avec lui. Pour les vidéos, c’est Eddie Norman un ami d’enfance de Ludo notre batteur qui les réalisent, c’est quelqu’un de très imaginatif, créatifs et de doué. Il connait très bien notre musique ainsi que notre univers.

6/quel est l’intérêt de dépenser de l’argent pour des super productions qui finalement ce retrouvent compressés en téléchargement!?!

Je dois bien avouer que tout sortir en numérique n’est pas une volonté entière de notre part, nous sortons aussi des albums en physique et nous les distribuons par le biais du Bandcamp officiel du groupe.

7/Avez vous des compétences dans le milieu technique ou simplement des boulots artistique qui vous permettent de prendre plaisir avec le groupe?

Nous faisons la musique par passion, c’est une expression artistique avant tout !

8/Sur ce nouvel album ‘Architect...’ les influences sont nombreuses de Pantera a Guns ‘n roses... quel est la raison? il y a t’il une envie d’exprimer vos gouts musicaux ou vous composez ensemble et prenez ce qui sort le mieux?

C’est une bonne question, Nous avons pas mal d’influences diverses au sein du groupe, même si l’ensemble reste je pense relativement Heavy et Rock, on ne se pose pas trop de question sur l’élaboration des compositions, tout ce fait naturellement et tout le monde prend part à l’écriture de la musique.

Ce n’est pas évident pour nous de définir ce que nous faisons mais ce qui compte avant tout pour nous, c’est d’essayer d’écrire de bonnes chansons, c’est naturellement qu’on peut y entendre des éléments métal, rock, Voir parfois légèrement

For the last album “Architect of Chaos” as for the precedent one “ Kali Yuga Bonfire”I knew Andrew G who produced the album for many years. I worked with him already on other musical projects in the past.

He’s also an awesome sound engineer. As for Beau Hill who released the master of the first demo album from 2009 it’s been simple and by strange hasard. It’s back to Myspace (when it was usefull) One day I found his page and just sent him a message without thinking he would bother. I remember listening his productions such as Ratt, Winger, Alice Cooper.or even The Prisoner in paradise from Europe.. The next day to my big surprise, I received a long message when he said he listened the two tracks on our page and he wanted to work with us. The album was already mixed, but not mastered. He proposed to master it. We expect to work with him again in the futur. For the videos it’s Eddie Norman a long time friend since childhood with Ludo our drummer who made them. He’s very creativ, lots of imagination and really gifted. He knows pretty well our music and it’s world.

6/what’s the point of spending money with excellent productions to finally get them compressed onto the net while downloaded?

I must say it’s not a full wish to get it digital. we are releasing physical cds we are selling through Bandcamp.

7/Do you have knowledge in the technical musical world, or it’s all the artistic side that helps enjoying the band?

We are playing for passion, it’s an artistic expression after all.

8/On that new album ‘architect...” the music as many influences from Pantera to Guns n roses... what is the reason? is there a will to express your influences or you just compose together and takes what’s best to come?

It is a good question, we have a lot of influences among the band’s members, even if I think it stays mostly into Rock and Heavy. We don’t really think about it , everything comes naturarly and everyone gets an input into the creation of the songs. It’s not easy to categorise what we do , basically we are just trying to write good songs. It’s obvious we can hear elements from Metal as Rock even a bit of Progressive and a bit of Dark ones.

Might have some Pop but we don’t do it on purpose it just comes.

9/Did you have a lot of line up changes since you started the band? how the music has evolved?

At the begining it was a trio until the guitarist Shazy Bob in 2012, then Hot Helle Room became a 5 piece band with seb on the second guitar at the end of 2013.

9/Depuis la création du groupe avez vous eu beaucoup de changement de line up? Comment votre musique a t’elle évoluée?

Au début le groupe jouait en trio jusqu’à l’arrivé du guitariste Shazybob en 2012, puis Hot Hell Room est devenu un quinquet avec celle de Seb à la seconde guitare fin 2013, ce qui a permis à Loïc de ce concentrer plus sur le chant, car il faisait double emploi à l’époque. L’apport de Seb et de Shazy ont apporté une certaine richesse et un atout majeur dans le développement des compositions !

10/Jouez vous dans d’autres groupes?

Oui, certains membres du groupe ont d’autres projets musicaux en parallèle. Loïc joue dans Invading Chapel depuis de nombreuses années, Seb accompagne Toine, un Chanteur guitariste, Ludo Travaille sur son projet Voices Of Lies et pour ma part, je travaille sur des trucs mais il est un peu tôt pour en parler.

11/Quels sont les groupes français avec lesquels vous avez plus d’affinités? Essayez vous de jouer souvent ensemble?

On a partagé souvent des scènes avec des groupes locaux qu’on apprécie comme par exemple Useless concept, Onirik Illusion … nos styles sont différents mais on s’entend bien. Ce sont de très bons musiciens!

12/que pensez-vous de la scène française?

Il y a de très bons groupes et de très bons musiciens en France, mais il n’y a pas beaucoup d’aides et de soutiens pour les faire connaitre. On passe souvent à coté de perles sans s’en rendre compte. Chez nous, hélas le métal à toujours du mal à être reconnu comme un style musical à part entière aux yeux du grand public. On est un des rares pays ou ce genre musical navigue encore dans l’underground, contrairement aux pays scandinaves, l’Allemagne, le Portugal et d’autres. Il n’y a pas de culture rock en France et c’est bien dommage !

13/Quels sont les groupes que vous suivez ?

Nous aimons pas mal de groupes , pour ma part ( la je parle pour moi) j’écoute pas mal de choses différentes (en essayant de faire court, car la liste serait vraiment trop longue « Rire ») : King’s X ,Ghost, Black Stone Cherry, Kiss, Rush, The Haunted, Alice In Chains, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Days of The New, Dead Can Dance, Winger, KXM, Katatonia, The Vintage Caravan, Faith No More, Type o Negative, Tool, Soilwork et pas mal d’autres choses Récentes ou de d’autres époques…C’est dur de faire court ha ha !!!

14/avez vous beaucoup de fans a l’étranger? Est ce que les réseaux sociaux aident parmi la masse de groupes?

Grâce aux réseaux sociaux on a pu se faire connaitre un peu dans quelques pays, comme aux USA, certains pays d’Amérique du sud, en Suèdes, en Angleterre, en Russie…

Internet est un bon moyen pour être écouté dans plusieurs endroits différents du globe.

It helped Loic to concentrate on the vocals. He used to play the guitar..the new members Seb n Shazy brought a rich sound to the compositions!

10/Do you play in other bands?

Yes some of us have other projects. Loic plays in Invading Chapel for many years, Seb plays with another guitarist Toine who also sings. Ludo is in a project called Voices of Lies and me I’m working on something but it’s too early to talk about.

11/Which french bands are best mate?are you trying to gig together the most?

We shared the stage with local bands we like, for example Useless concept, Onirik Illusion... music style are different but we get on pretty well they are good musicians.

12/What do you think of the French scene?

They are good bands and very good musicians in France but there aren’t many support to help getting heard. We usually miss big bands without realising it.In our country unfortunetely Metal still have hard time to get appreciated and recognized by the public so we stick to the underground contrarely to Scandinavia, Germany, Portugal ...there is not a rock culture in france and its a pitty.

13/are there any bands you follow?

They are many bands and I speak for myself. I listen a lot of different stuff but the list would be long lol.

King’s X ,Ghost, Black Stone Cherry, Kiss, Rush, The Haunted, Alice In Chains, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Days of The New, Dead Can Dance, Winger, KXM, Katatonia, The Vintage Caravan, Faith No More, Type o Negative, Tool, Soilwork and many other old and new very hard to make it short ahah 14/Do you have a lot of fans abroad? Do the social network helps among the masses?

Thanks to the social network we manage to get noticed in the states, south america, sweden,England, Russia...

Internet is a good way to get heard around the globe.

www.facebook.com/Hot-Hell-RooM

progressif avec des éléments dark ou dans une moindre mesure pop, rien est calculé en fait.

Ranzo

1/What was the main reason for creating the band? Why this name?

• After having played with Pretty Maids and had a break of several years, Ricky decided to create a new musical project. Ricky and I have met in kindergarten and have grown up together. Having played with him many years for various projects such as the creation of Sultan among others. It’s logical that he contacted me to create Now Or Never when he returned to Geneva (where I live).

• It’s always hard to find a name that should be short, punchy and have a meaning. We are not young anymore and time is important for us. So we immediately thought of “Now Or Never”, it’s quite appropriate to the situation of the group.

2/Did you write most of the music before getting the whole band together?

• Ricky is the main composer in Now Or Never, I generally take charge of the texts and we work together the arrangements. For our first album, we updated some old songs written long time ago but have kept in very little in the end.

Before the band was completed, we had already written almost the third of the album.

3/choosing another musician from Pretty Maid was easier? Did you want something heavier?

• Now Or Never is primarily a story of friendship. Choices were done so. No way for us to seek to engage the most famous musicians of the Metal circuit.

• Jo Amore is someone with whom we have collaborated in the past; we took pleasure to meet him again to propose to take the microphone in Now Or Never. About Kenn, the Pretty Maids adventure was shared with Ricky for few gigs. Naturally he agreed to join us, so we’ve made no other search to find other musicians. We are together for over 4 years now.

4/Seems like you made your recording in France and signed by a Belgium label, what led to those directions?

• We chose to record at Peek studio in France for our two albums, just to work with our very dear friend and almost the fifth member of the band, Patrick Liotard. He’s a true genius of sound, an excellent musician and melodist. A rare person and a true friend.

• About the Belgian label Mausoleum, we prefer not to talk too much about it. We left them quickly because they have not worked to promote our music. Today we have signed with Mighty Music and they are much more serious and professional.

5/How did you meet Jo Amore, why choosing him? how it finally happened?

• As I mentioned above, we’ve known Jo for very many years and have already collaborated on a project that didn’t finalize. Jo is one of the best metal singers in Europe, our choice was simple to do.

• How was he recruited in Now Or Never ? Very simply, we called him and he said yes ;-) 6/Is there a story in the lyrics for that new album? Did you write them?

• Ricky taking care of about 90% of musical compositions and I am the text writer for 90% of our songs. The remaining 10% is made inversely. Is that clear enough? ;-) • If the texts of our first album were punchier, the songs of “II” are darker. I lived difficult things personally and these experiences have fed my texts. I speak about the difficulty we all have to live in this absurd world. We have everything to live happily but human race will not survive his desire for power and control over its environment. Mankind is a Cancer on earth; it will be certainly the species that disappears the faster from this planet than all other species before it. Not very pleasing as a concept right? ;-) 7/The cover artwork has a deep meaning, who designed it and what does it express?

• We kept the theme of the angel but this time in more tragic way to stick with the dark songs.

• We asked the very talented Stan W Decker to do this artwork. He works for the biggest bands and it is a real honor for us to count among its clients. He became a friend. This guy is very friendly and his humor that fit very well with ours.

8/Is Mighty Music a new label for you? why having them on the new album?

• As I said before, Mighty is more active to promote our new album “II”.

• We chose them because they have worked with big names like Pretty Maids or Ghost and have excellent reputation.

We visited their office; there are lots of people working for artists all day long.

9/who released the video in which we see live shots?

• I have personally (and modestly) done this promotional clip with footage from our fans.

• Using what is filmed by the public seemed ideal to me to illustrate the song “Sonic Ecstasy” speaking about links created between a band and its audience.

10/have you tried to sing or write a solo album?

• To my knowledge, none of us had yet worked a project solo album. Even if some of us are composing music four ourselves. But maybe one day, who knows?

11/Have you had propositions to play in other bands to replace a member?

• Yes, for some of us, we’ve received proposals. But for reasons of distances or musical divergences, we have denied them. I will not give the names of the bands of course ;-) 12/Do you have other projects or you are commited to this one?

• Jo is the only one of us who has side projects. He plays with his brother David in “Temple Of Dio” (a Dio tribute band) and in Oblivion.

13/Tell us what is your gear, why did you choose them? Do you use digital?

• Ricky plays Charvel USA and his amp is a H & K Coreblade with 4 4x12 cabinets filled with V30. I mostly play on Tama and Zildjian cymbals.

• We also use some samples on stage to improve our music with arrangements and intros. We can be very close to our album on live, so no need to have ten musicians on stage ;-) Everyone is working like that today; technology greatly improves the quality of bands in live conditions. But it’s not so easy to do for a drummer, lot of work and precision to play with machines.

14/How do you rehearse, are you all meeting in France or you use the net to get in touch and share the ideas?

• We are definitely the group that rehearse the least in the world ;-) Impossible to play together when the members live in three different countries.

• Of course everyone works on his side and internet allows us to exchange ideas and address some delicate music parts.

15/with your experience do you have tour planed? with which band you like to share the stage the most?

• All of us as his own heroes. Ricky will dream to play with Glenn Hughes, me with Jorn Lande. But if there is an artist with whom we would all have wanted to turn, it is certainly Ronnie James Dio. Unfortunately this dream will never come true.

www.onlynowornever.com

1/qui a crée le groupe , il y a combien de temps?

1 Le groupe a été crée sur les cendres de fukushima notre ancien groupe , dont il reste les guitaristes et moi . le bassiste et le chanteur sont venus se rajouter.

1/who started the band and when?

1The band started from the ashes of Fukushima our last band , only me and the guitarist are still here, the bass player and singer came later.

2/êtes vous des potes ou il a fallut passer par les petites annonces?

2 on est potes pour la plupart, nous avons rencontrés les autre par des connaissances.

2/Are you friends or you used the adverts?

2 We are friends mostly and met the other guys from other friends.

3/vous melanger le thrash et le heavy avec un peu de punk, comment vous composez?

3 pour les compos , on se base sur les riffs des guitaristes et une fois en repet on improvise jusqu’a arriver a quelque chose (rire). Le chanteur attend que ce soit terminé , ecrit et bosse sa voie dans son coin et lorsqu’il a terminé, nous rejoint sur le morceau.

3/You are mixing Thrash, Heavy and a bit of Punk, how do you compose?

3 For the composition we just fit the guitars riffs then in the rehearsal we are working until it comes to something.(smile).

The singer waits until it’s finished , he writes and works his voice alone then when he’s done he comes to join us on the songs.

4/tu joues de la batterie alors que tu fabriques des guitares, qu’est ce qui t’a motivé a prendre cette instrument? tu n’aimes pas jouer de la guitare?

4 Je joue de la batterie depuis 12 ans , j’ai fait de la guitare précedemment mais je n’ai pas assez poussé pour jouer en groupe et composer . Je suis luthier avant tout pour le travail du bois et le fait de lier ce metier a la musique.

4/You are playing drums but you make guitars, what motivated you to play that instrument? you don’t like playing guitar?

4 I’ve been playing drums for 12 years, I played guitar before but I didn’t work enough to play in a band and compose.

I’m Luthier first and I love working wood and the fact its linked with the music.

5/tu es luthier , depuis combien de temps as tu cette passion?

5 cela fait 5 ans que j’ai decouvert ce metier.

5/When did you start this passion as a Luthier?

5 It’s been 5 years since I discovered that craft.

6/tu fabriques des guitares et les vends comment en es tu arrivé là? quel est la difficulté de trouver des clients et d’en vivre?

6 ça a commencé avec des potes qui on testés mon travail sur mes premieres guitares et qui ont voulus la leur. J’en suis venu a fabriquer pour quelques guitaristes que j’ai rencontrés via le bouche a oreille. Aujourd’hui ce n’est pas simple de trouver des guitaristes prets a te faire confiance et se lancer dans l’aventure , il faut faire ses preuves. Et changer un peu l’image qu’on les gens du luthier , qui n’est pas plus chere qu’un magasin et qui je pense conseille mieux et apporte un vrai contact au client.

6/You are making guitars and sell them how did you end up doing this? what ‘s the difficulties to find clients and live from it?

6 It all started with firends who tested my work on the first guitars I made and who wanted to have their own. I ended up making some for few guitarists I met then it’s been from friends to friends . Today it’s not easy to find people who trust you and are willing to get an instrument. you have to proove yourself. People need change their mind about Luthier, it’s not more expensive than in a shop and also you can get better advise and closer to the client.

7/quellle est la raison du nom du groupe compliqué et la photo de l’oeil?

7 le nom du groupe est une maladie de l’oeil d’où la photo (rire) 7/what’s the reason for the complicated name and the photo?

7 The band’s name is just an illness of the eye (laugh)

8/as tu fait les guitares de tes guitaristes?

8 Oui j’ai fait la guitare de blaze , style dimebag.

8/Did you make your guitarists guitars?

8Yeah I did Blaze’s guitar in the vein of Dimebag.

9/parles nous des groupes qui t’on demandé un guitare, qui sont ils et comment cela s’est passé, des amis?

9 les groupes qui m’ont demandés des guitares sont au depart des amis, ensuite Gemini (pop rock) sur pekin , car un amis a joué avec eux . Il est resident en chine et il a fait de la batterie son metier. Ensuite Sensorial damage , groupe de hardcore de poitiers. Une V pour un des guitaristes de “REGIS” un groupe de potes de la rochelle.

9/Tell us about the bands who asked you for a guitar, who are they and how did it happen?

9 The Bands who asked me to make a guitar are mostly friends, then Gemini (pop rock band) from Pekin because a friend played with them.He lives in China and became a professional drumer. Also I made one for Sensorial Damage a HardCore band from Poitiers France. One V for the guitarists of Regis a band from La Rochelle who are friends.

10/comment trouvez vous les concerts? avez vous beaucoup des potes musiciens ou vous jouer dans d’autres formations?

10 pour l’instant nous n’avons fait qu’un concert et nous les trouvons par les potes qui commencent a avoir un bon reseau.

10/How do you find the gigs? Do you have lots of musicians friends or you play in other formations?

10for the moment we only played one gig and we found it from friends who start to get a network.

www.facebook.com/GTL-guitares-378720868921385/

1/who created the band? what was the idea?

1. GIULIA, THE DRUMMER, FOUNDED THE BAND; SHE WANTED TO CREATE AN ALL FEMALE ROCK BAND. 2/did you end up all female by hasard or it was your wish?

2. NO IT WAS OUR WISH. THERE IS NOT A HUGE SCENARIO OF ALL-FEMALE ROCK BANDS AND WE WANTED TO SHOW THAT ALSO PRETTY CHICKS CAN REALLY ROCK AND SAY SOMETHING, DESPITE WHAT PEOPLE USUALLY COULD THINK

Giulia Giulli

3/who found the name of the band , are you fan of a video games or cartoon?

3. GIULIA, THE FORMER OF THE BAND, FOUND THE NAME ‘THE PHOENIX’, WHICH PERFECTLY FITS WITH THE BAND HISTORY, AS WE HAD TO FACE MANY CHANGES AND DIFFICULTIES, BUT NEVER GAVE UP 4/which bands made you want to have yours?

4. NOT ONE IN PARTICULAR, IT WAS OUR COMMON WISH BECAUSE OF OUR PASSION; WE COME FROM DIFFERENT MUSICAL BACKGROUNDS AND THIS HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE CREATION OF OUR SOUND 5/how did you get signed to demon doll records?

5. WE GOT IN CONTACT WITH DEMON DOLL AS WE KNEW A BAND OF FRIENDS WHICH WERE SIGNED TO THE LABEL AND THEY quickly SHOWED A GREAT INTEREST IN OUR WORKS AND DECIDED TO WORK WITH US 6/have you got a complete album on the works?

6. NOT YET, WE HAVE JUST AN EP AT THE MOMENT, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON THE COMPOSITION OF NEW SONGS AND A FULL LENGHT ALBUM IS ABOUT TO COME! 7/when playing live how many covers do you play?

7. IT DEPENDS ON THE SHOWS, USUALLY WE PLAY 6-7 COVER PER GIG 8/italy has a great metal scene , did you get accepted easily? have you got friends in the music?

8. YES,WE DID.. YES, WE HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS INVOLVED IN THE MUSIC SCENE. WE FEEL PART OF THE ITALIAN ROCK SCENE AND LOVE TO SUPPORT LOCAL ROCK BANDS AND TO BE SUPPORTED BY THEM AS WELL. IT’S ABOUT GIVE AND TAKE! 9/you are stating in your facebook page you started in 2011, how come you have only a 4 trx CD? 9. BECAUSE AT THE BEGINNING WE WANTED TO BE WELL PREPARED TO GO AND PLAY IN A RECORD STUDIO..SO WE PLAYED AS MUCH AS WE COULD. MOREOVER, THERE WERE SOME CHANGES IN THE LINE-UP, BUT NOW WE ARE TOGETHER SINCE 2 YEARS! 10/what made you want to play the drums? have you got musicians in your familly?

10. THE FIRST TIME I PLAYED DRUMS I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT BECAUSE OF ITS GREATNESS AND

STRENGHT AND I WATCHED ALL MY FAVOURITE DRUMMERS KILLING IT IN THEIR VIDEOCLIP..

YES, I’VE A BASS PLAYER COUSIN AND A DRUMMER COUSIN. 11/how did you get to listen and play Heavy Metal?

11. I DISCOVERED LINKIN PARK WHEN I WAS 13 AND SO I BEGAN TO LISTEN TO ALL NU METAL GROUPS AND HEAVY METAL GROUPS..AND SO ON 12/tell us about your gear, which ones you use and why?

12. I USE A PEARL EXPORT DRUM AND PROMARK 5B STICKS, WITH PAISTE AND UFIP CYMBALS 13/have you played outside italy yet?

13. YES, WE PLAYED IN LUGANO (SWITZERLAND) IN 2014 14/is your cover your real life , sex drugs rock n roll or just the image to make it cool?

14. IT’S BOTH REAL LIFE (EXCEPT OF DRUGS) AND THE IMAGE TO MAKE IT COOL. WHAT MAKES US FEEL ALIVE AND ROCK IS PLAYING ON STAGE, LAVISHNESS APART. 15/who is your favorite drummer? what’s special for you? are you tring to practice double drums ?

15. I HAVE MANY FAVOURITE DRUMMERS BUT ONE OF THEM IS JIMMY SULLIVAN (THE REV) FROM AVENGED SEVENFOLD..HE WAS SO TALENTED AND BEYOND ALL HUMAN SKILLS. YES, I’M TRYING TO PRACTICE THE DOUBLE PEDAL FOR EXAMPLE. 16/are they any music styles you like but don’t play with your band and helps getting your own style?

16. YES OF COURSE, THERE’S NU METAL, CROSSOVER AND GRUNGE WHICH I LOVE AND INFLUCENCE MY DRUM STYLE 17/have you got other bands?

17. FOR THE MOMENT NO, I USED TO HAVE ANOTHER HEAVY METAL BAND IN 2011 CALLED MADCHAIN.

www.facebook.com/Phoenix.Female.Rock/

Rick Bouwman 1/your last album is 5 yrs old what happened? what took u so long?

Yes correct. Circle of 8 came out Nov 2011 (Metal Blade Records). We took our time first to promote and tour for the CO8 album. 2,5 years ago we started to write the material for You Are Next. Rop and I worked in my homestudio for about 1,5 years to writ eit and recording took 1 year. When the album was finished in August 2015 it took a few months for mixing and mastering. We had the luxury from the studio to no be in a hurry, so quality came first.

2/your album is released by Pure steel/into the light why this choice? what do you like from this partnership?

Pure Steel qanted to sign us for this album, but a re;easeslot would be later this year. Into The Limelight gave us an excellent offer so we combine dthe two. Into the Limelight might be a new label but it is very close to the band so the contact is very easy. Pure Steel is a big metal label so we have the great network and distribution with Soulfood. In this multiple deal we signed we also have the EAM agency for worldwide bookings. So you can imagine we are quite happy with the deal.

3/who got the idea for the cover, what ‘s the meaning?

MARTYR wanted a real colourfull cover this time for the album. Artwork that was different than what we did before and was remarkable and stood out. A cartoon. So we looked for an artist that could create that for us . Through different artists we knew and met the cartoonist Vince Ruarus was recommended to us and we gave him the job. I think it really looks amazing. It is an album cover that makes you wanna buy the album even if you didn’t hear it yet 4/how do you create the songs? it seems you have every Metal from heavy to thrash on each songs like to temper the feelings of the text...is it a whole band’s creation?

Mainly Rop and I write the songs. We grab the feel we want to habve by recordings in Pro Tools, only guitars and drumloops. Just to express to the other guys this is the arrangement and this is the feel. Then the band can fill in their own part. It is a diverse album, and maybe the heavies we did so far. Although it is diverse it is still an album that is a whole.

5/are you all playing in different bands ? or you are commited to martyr?

No we are totally committed to MARTYR mainly. Jeffrey has another band as well. But fo rmyself want to give 200% to this band only. If it’s not playing livre, then the promo, or the bookings or whatever. MARTYR comes first.

6/you have a song with child’s voice reminding Accept, is it on purpose?what did you like about this idea? who’s child is?

Yeah we like that. It is Johanna Kindt the daughter of our labelboss from Into The Limelight Records. When she recorded this she was 9 years old. Excellent job as well and also will perform this live on stage at our releaseparty April 29 Club De Helling – Utrecht - Holland 7/your video is pretty cool, did you make it yourself with friends?does it help to lift the album?why choosing this song?

It is the opening song of the album Into The Darkest Of All Realms. Besides that is is a good representative of what you can expect of the new MARTYR album. We shot the video with our fans . We wanted to make a video like we are . Always close with our fans. Around 70 fans joined us in our rehearsal room to bang with us , drink with us. Hell of a day and looking at the result we are extremely happy with it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8D0WzMcl_I) 8/what was the direction you wanted for that album? was there an old story or old songs?

Progress. We wanted to move ahead and improve on song writing, technical skills, production etc. So the album

needed to be an improvement on all these aspects compared to Circle Of 8. We succeeded in that. We are an 80’s metal band but we want to develop always. We don’t want to sound exactly like we did 30 yeard ago. Many 80’s band want to do that, we don’t. We are 30 years further, influenced again by everything we listen to . We wanted to make the best possible record we wanted to hear at first . Like we always did with MARTYR. Always believe in it yourselves first !

9/who is dealing with the website and social medias?

I am doing that job mainly when it comes to promotional activities. MarcelHeesakkers keeps our website up to date.

10/since you started, what do you think of the Metal scene, do you think the spirit is gone?

Nope I don’t think so . There is a good metal scene also here in the Netherlands. But it is difficult. As many bands drop CD’s as it is quite easy to do easy recordings. So it is an overload of releases and you need to make sure you will be noticed. In the early days when f.e. our first albums came out and you had a record deal it was something really special. Nowadays there are many bands also releasing material that is not yet matured. But still there is also a lot of talent out there.

11/do you regret your long break or you think it helps keeping the band’s image and notoriety?

Both really. The reason MARTYR split in 1987 was a lesson learned. We all kept on going in different other bands and developed. We never lost track of eachother and kept supporting eachothers bands. MARTYR always has been a close band. So getting back together again was easy in fact when it came to playing the MARTYR tunes. Being away for a while gave us a more cult status.

12/do you have old fans asking for you to play the old tunes live? are they any songs you don’t want to play anymore?

Yes we need to play our classics like “Snow and Fire“ or our fans favorite “Speed Of Samurai”. But fortunately we do have some new classics like “Afterlife” from CO8. The new album contains some classics as well. We will focus on the new album of course but will integrate some golden oldies in the set. We still love to play these songs !

13/your music is full of energy, you must steal the crowd everywhere you go?! are you still listening the 80’s bands?

Thanks so much. Yeah we like to deliver the energy ALWAYS. Wherever we are. The fans deserve it as they are so loyal to us as well .I think of all us still listen to old bands too. We do visit a lot of shows also , you know , we are also metal lovers, fans ourselves !

14/do you still have contact with the bands you played live back then or you have to start over?

We toured with many bands all over Europe and with many of them we still are in contact somehow. The guys from Lizzy Borden , Flotsam, Vicious Rumors, Jaguar, Avenger etc . We do see them on a regular base or chat with them Or when the opportunity is there support them on shows in Europe . MARTYR is a band that is the ideal support, that is what we hear from them. We warm up the crowd in an excellent way. And always seem to create a special mood where they feel comfortable with (might also be because of sharing our Jagermeister haha)

www.martyronline.nl 15/which bands you’d like to share the stage with?

Good question. Ofcourse it is easy to say the big ones.

But to be honest we like to be on the road with the bands we adore most or bands we do have a connection with. I like to tour with Loudness (one of our favorites and the band that influenced us the most), but also bands like Queensryche , BLS would be great.

And ofcourse the bands mentioned earlier and which whom we toured with in the past.

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

Corey Charles, one of our guitarist, cause we have 2 but neither of them take the title as lead guitarist was the person that had a vision to start the band.

2/who found the name, what is the meaning?

When they decided to add a singer/screamer-which is me. I had already had been thinking of various names.

One day I was driving home from work and was like. -From Womb To War- which means, we are pretty born into fighting for everything. At a young age we are already fighting to survive a never ending battle!..

3/have you played in other bands together? do you play in other formations?

Corey, Derrek, & Luis had a band together before I joined. Luis is our bassist and Derrek is our other guitarist. Our drummer Mykey actually drums in another band. They play indie rock. For me this is the 3rd band or 4th band I’ve been in since playing music.

4/what bands influenced you?

I would say a lot of our influences come from bands like -Architects, Parkway Drive, Northlane, and some other bands.

Our main influence other then other bands are each other.A band called “We Gave It Hell” from Nevada, those guys are awesome!

5/do you have a full album or still working on compositions?

At the time we are working on materiel, we almost have enough to record an E.P. We will possibly have enough materiel for a full album in the next 6 months. We are still working towards the album.

6/how do you get gigs, do you play with your friends?

Well these next 2 gigs we are playing, our friends from -Rendered Heartless- asked us to play, other then that, we can get or book gigs anytime! Some of the bands that play with us, our friends are in them, so yes, we get to play around our friends, if that’s a better way to put it.

7/have you got technic skills or you just use the digital to record at home? .if this question is asking if we record ourselfs, the answer is yes for now, we can save enough money for professional recordings.

8/texas got many Metal styles, are you mixing ones live?

Our styles of metal are mixed with Punk/Metalcore which we came up with the genre “Alternative Metal-core” which means we have roots in metal, but we still play a little on the thrash like punk side. More up beat groove metal.

9/how long you’ve been together?

We have been together only 4 months, but we connect like we’ve been playing for 10 yrs. we have a lot of good chemistry l! Great group of guys. Honestly, some of the best people I have played with musically in a while.

10/how do you create the songs, is there one who brings the idea?

Well how we work that out is, Corey-our guitarist comes up with some riffs, then Derrick our other guitarist adds his ideas then we roll with it. Then Luis our Bassist puts some funk rock bass lines to it, then Mykey throws his punk style drums to it. Then they have me scream to it. Then we work out the song or songs tell we get them where we want them 11/there is no music on your facebook page, do you think it’s not necessary?

As we progress as a band, and play more shows, we will post music, but for now we are focus on live shows, we don’t think it’s a big deal to post music to Facebook for now.

12/you have a great logo, did you ask professionals for the image of the band?

Actually it is a great logo. Corey came up with it!..

13/is there a state or country most likely to like your style?

As far as state: I would say Texas, but if you said other than the state you live in, I would say Flordia.As far as country: I would say Germany, if we could pick 2, I would also say Australia!..

1/who started the band and when?

1)Francesca started Decembers Fall in mid 2004.

2/how come you don’t have an album for sale? what’s the story behind that unavailable demo?

2) Our album “Awakening,” is up for sale on http://www.decembersfall.com/store via download.

There are two demos, the first which has the songs “Iridescence” and “October Gone” featured on our reverbnation page is very hard to find, only 250 copies were pressed, we have less than 30 of them in our possession.

The others are out there somewhere. The other is a demo we pressed ourselves, there were 1000 CD’s pressed and the ones we have are only available at our live shows.

3/is the band complete or you have line up troubles?

3) Israel and I are the band along with Santiago. Our former members were good musicians but sometimes things happen for a reason. The right band mates are like family, without that connection the band is doomed to fail.

4/what’s the reason for the band’s name? you’re not really gothic...

4) We wouldn’t say we are gothic,... but we are influenced by gothic music, we come off dark because of our New York City demeanor.

5/you have lots of videos on youtube so the band has actually lots of music, is the band on hold?

5) The bands not on hold, we won’t play a half assed show, or release half assed material so we don’t play until we’re ready or release an album until it’s ready. The fans deserve our best.

6/Francesca you have obviously a lot of artistic work in music and cinema, are you too busy? do you have to choose between music and movie?

6) I’ve had to drop all other types of hobbies or interests and fully focus on Decembers Fall.

Film and plays are very time consuming and delve into the time I can work with the band. I do try to get in regular workouts though! yes, seriously busy! Music is the answer to everything!!

7/what are the main inspiration for the lyrics?

7) Life experiences are the main source for the songs. A lot is the way I feel or what I’m going through that sparks the writing. Usually what is happening at the time in my life. Sometimes a line I might read in a book that stays with me or a lyric in a song I may hear that will inspire a whole song. I was having dinner with a friend one late night and she was talking about a problem she had going on at the time. I went home that night after speaking with her and wrote the song “Comfort.”

8/which bands have inspired you to create that band?

8) Definitely GRUNGE BANDS like AIC, Nirvana, mixed in with bands like Linkin Park, Sevendust, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, A Perfect Circle, Korn, Pantera, Faith No More, and everything from Madonna to Pink Floyd to Michael Jackson to Metallica, great music knows no genre.

9/do you deal with everything for the band or you have an agent?

9) We are working with Dennis Sanders, who is awesome, he’s managed Smile Empty Soul, Papa Roach, and Static X. He got our single “In Giving In” on radio stations all across the U.S. 10/who creates the music? is it a full band’s creation? do you play guitar?

10) I write the lyrics and melodies. Sometimes I have musical ideas to work with it and sometimes just lyrics with a melody or maybe just music. I typically work alone or some times Israel plays a cool riff and I’ll say “keep playing that” and it just goes from there. We bring the song to the band after that. It’s different each time. I can play guitar a bit, but my lack of regular practice holds me back!! I need to practice more!

http://www.decembersfall.com

Laurent

Alex Jeremy

Nicky

English 1/Who Started the band and when?

Nicky: In 2014, Jeremy was looking for musicians , he already had several songs and had the project of creating a progressive album, powerfull and dark. He asked his ex drummer Laurent, who then asked me to join in.

2/Why this name, what’s the reason’s for?

The sacred Seal means hidden truth behind the symbol.

Our message is the awakening of the consciousness.

3/Was it hard to release this album?

We were so excited by this project that we worked pretty hard and made this album in 12 months. It’s funny to realize now that number 12, just like the 12 songs we did for the 12 steps of incarnation.

4/Who has written the concept? Will all album has a different theme?

I wrote this concept to fit Jeremy’s great idea of a progressive album. The future album will be more metaphysical, that’s all I can say.

5/The cover has a kind of Clock, who did it and what does it represent?

The clock you see is in fact a natal chart that I imagined to represent the destiny. The meteorit is the spirit that is falling on Earth to incarnate in a body. The natal chart is the predestined future with its karma.

6/Do you play in other formations or you are dedicated to this band only?

We are all involved in Sacred Seal.

7/Is it easy to play in a Metal band in your town?

Alex : We are living in Grenoble, which is a pretty Metal city.

8/Do you have a lot of contacts in the music biz?

We are currently working for that.

9/Is there a Metal scene or everyone is in his own?

We are lucky to own a rich and efficient Metal scene in different Metal styles. The bands know and respect each other.

Francais 1/qui a créé le groupe et quand?

Nicky : En 2014 Jérémy cherchait des musiciens, il a vait déjà quelques chansons et avait un projet de faire un album progréssif, puissant et noir. Il a demandé a son ancient batteur Laurent qui par la suite m’a demandé de se joindre à eux.

2/pourquoi ce nom ? quel en est la raison?

Sacred Seal veut dire vérité cachée derrière un symbole. Notre message est de réveiller la conscience des gens.

3/a t’il été difficile de réaliser cet album?

Nous étions très exité par ce projet que nous avons travaillés durement durant 12 mois. c’est marrant ce chiffre 12, comme les 12 chansons que nous avons écrit pour les 12 passages de l’incarnation.

4/qui a écrit ce concept? est ce que chaque album aura un theme différent?

J’ai écrit ce concept pour la superbe idée de Jérémy pour son album progréssif. Le futur sera plus un album métalphysique, c’est tout ce que je peux dire.

5/la couverture montre une sorte d’horloge , qui l’a faite et que représente t’elle?

L’horloge est en fait une carte de naissance que j’ai imaginé pour representer la destinée. Le météorite est l’esprit qui s’abat sur la terrre et incarne le corps. La carte de naissance est le Karma destiné pour son futur.

6/êtes vous dans d’autres groupes ou vous étes dediés a celui ci?

Nous sommes tous impliqués dans Sacred Seal.

7/est ce facile d’avoir un groupe de métal dans votre ville?

Alex: Nous vivons a Grenoble, qui est une ville très Métal.

8/avez vous beaucoup de contacts dans la musique?

Nous y travaillons.

10/We see that the compositions has been well worked with technic, how long it took to write the album?

Jeremy : We have been working during a year on the album. As we all composed together from the confort of our homes by sending files the difficulty was to succed in writing music with the exact intention and with a certain cohesion. There were full of trials, some mistakes of course but we finally reached the aim that we were looking for.

11/Do you have your own studio?

I have a small home studio rather well-appointed, so the recording of instruments, mix and mastering were made at home, only the vocals that need particuliar gears were recorded at the Hangar 38 studio near Grenoble.

12/with your full free download of the album on the internet, aren’t you afraid of failling to sell? Do you have a sight on sells?

Alex : We show songs samples on web platforms and for now only two titles are in free listening.

13/Which bands have influenced you?

Laurent : For the main influences there are Symphony X, Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth, King diamond, Dream Theater.

14/Did you play abroad yet?

We just had a gig in Holland on April 9th for the FeME battle in Eindhoven.

15/Is there a country or a place where you have more fans?

Right this moment and thanks to the internet we have fans all over the place. It’s somehow a bit soon to tell where they are all from.

9/il y a t’il une scène Métal ou chacun est dans son coin?

Nous avons la chance d’avoir une scène riche de styles différent dans le Métal. Les groupes se connaissent et se respectent.

10/on voit que les compositions sont tres travaillées avec de la technique, combien de temps a t’il fallu pour l’écrire?

Jérémy: Nous avons travaillé durant une année pour cet album. Puisque nous composont chacun dans le confort de nos maisons il a fallu s’envoyer les infos ce qui a résulté a une difficulté pour écrire la musique, en gardant la meme intention et une certaine cohesion. C’etait plein d’essaient, des erreurs biensur mais nous avons finit par obtenir ce que nous recherchions.

11/avez vous votre propre studio?

J’ai un petit home studio qui est plutôt bien agencé, l’enregistrement et le mix des instruments et le mastering ont été fait à la maison. Seul le chant a eu besoin d’équipement techinque et donc a été enregistré au Hangar 38 pres de Grenoble.

12/avec votre album en écoute complète n’avez vous pas peur de repousser les gens qui voudraient l’acheter? avez vous un regard sur les ventes?

Alex: Nous avons seulement des samples sur une platforme du net pour quelques morceaux en ecoute libre.

13/quels sont les groupes qui vous ont influencés?

Laurent : Pour les influences principales il y a Symphony X, Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth, King diamond, Dream Theater.

14/avez vous joue a l’ étranger?

On a juste joué en Holland le 9 Avril pour un bataille FeME a Eindhoven.

15/il ya t’il un pays ou une région du globe ou vous avez plus de fans?

Pour le moment et merci a internet nous avons des fans un peu partout. Mais c’est un peu tot pour dire d’ou ils vienent.

http://sacredsealmusic.wix.com/sacred-seal

1/You are back with a new self release after six years, what happened?

In 2012 I had decided to move back to my hometown area and that took some time to get things in my personal life organized. And I also took time on restructuring the band.

2/Did you have line up changes or life issues, if so has those modified the creation?

Yes with the move back home I did redo the lineup for the band. This took some time to get it back in order and find the right musicians. And yes with the new lineup our creation process is different than before.

3/your logo has a slight change from the beginning, would it change again?

I really like the updated change of our logo. I like this new style much better personally and we will continue with this one for now.

4/in this album although you stick to your sound, I hear influences from King Diamond and other, was it made on purpose?

King is a great influence of mine along with others. However on Battle Call I never really tried on purpose, I just tried to sing out the way I felt on each of the songs.

5/are you following bands, are you still listening the old Metal?

Yes, Metal Church is on the top of my list along with Judas Priest, Primal Fear, Ruthless, Cage, Saxon, Mercyful Fate, Ruthless, Vicious Rumors and many more.

6/your covers are always axed on the logo, is it a wish or you never found what you’re looking for?

That is more of my wish on the covers.

7/do you find it much comfortable not to have a label behind your back?

Oh not necessarily. I would not mind a label for us if things were done properly.

8/what has changed from your first album? have you tried to evolve at some point or you are quite happy with your sound?

We are happy with our sound. We feel it is a bit different than a lot of what is out there now. I feel that the band has stayed close to the direction of the first album with some slight changes such as guitar solo style or drum style.

9/do you have someone to help finding gigs and promotion?

Yes we do for promotion actually. OMP is our promotion company and at this time finding a booking agent for the band is my next mission.

10/are you giging with old time friends?

SC bassist Mike Walters and I have been friends for years. He and I have performed in other musical endeavors over the years together.

11/what do you think of the Metal scene, would you say it’s easier than before or harder at some point?

I think now the metal scene is having a great movement happening again. I am seeing a lot of classic style heavy metal being made again and a lot of these bands are on tour packing the clubs. I myself am excited about the scene.

12/so what has led your lyrics this time? have you used all riifs and demos or working from scratch?

With this record, lyrics were inspired by a lot of real life happenings that were in my combined years between Minneapolis MN and Las Vegas NV. Taking stories from the news headlines and also using personal happenings in our own lives. A couple of the songs on the record were demo tracks at one point that we had decided to revisit and actually record for the new record.

13/which advice would you give to a new band to stick to the scene?

Stay persistent. Nothing is worse than giving up on your dream!

14/do you know where in the world you have the biggest fan base?

Right now it seems we are fairly equal in fan base or attention from all over.

15/are you still using your old time gear or you have gone digital and tried new stuff?

I used to use line 6 pedals with QSC power amps but right now I actually am using a Peavey 6505 + guitar head with MXR distortion pedals. I like it very much.

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