The Metal Mag N°20 - October / November 2017

THE METAL MAG N°20 This new issue has been hard to close due to the usual two months schedule. Teri’s Drummer rock section is still here but she has life issues. Thanks to Matt Drummond who joined for reviews which is much appreciated and brought new readers. I want to give a warm thank you to Donna Labate who supports bands and makes a big job. Thank you to Travis Brooks who made an interview for the mag, hope to get more from you.

The cover photo set the idea for the whole design, as I love wood and been a joiner it was a good one to try. Thanks to Maggie Bolcsfoldy for the live photos. Always spreading people’s work so you ‘ll read Lion Music and Ever Metal interviews. Thanks to the bands who want to be heard and spread!

Due to the amount of mails and demand from labels and Prs I had to clear up things, noone works for free. This passion has become more than expected.

The Editor Franck Michaud Cover Artwork : ©Adeline Photographies http://adelinephotographies.wix.com/adeline-photos www.facebook.com/pages/Adeline-Photographies/146033465511448 ©Noemy Langlais model www.facebook.com/noemy.solstice www.solstice-promotion.com/

Interviews :

# Crooked mind # Saad Jones (Français / English) # Tara Lynch # Marching Out # Starblind # Eyestral (Français / English) # Alien Weaponry # Jason Aaron Wood # Teri Stahl Rockin Drummers: - Marc Wieland - Autograph - pete campbell - Pentagram # Lion Music: - Day Six - Lars Eric Mattson # Maggie Bolcsfoldy live photos # Gravehuffer # Beth Jones Ever Metal: - Baleful Creed # Travis Brooks : - Down for Five # WildeStarr # 1000 Dead # Psycobolia (Français / English) # Cloven Hoof

Adverts and info for labels and PRs 1 Review = $5 1 Interview = $10 Quater page advert + 1 album review= $25 Half page advert + 1 interview + album review = $ 70 Full page advert + Three Bands interviews and album reviews = $120 *prices subject to change

Get in touch : info@themetalmag.com

©The Metal Mag www.themetalmag.com

Interview with : Linn van Vugt 1/Who started the band and what was the idea?

The band Crooked Minds was started by the guitarists and drummer. The idea was actually very simple, to make music and enjoy themselves. At first they were only playing covers, but after a while they wanted to write their own. That’s when I joined them and we started writing songs together. The process is actually a delicate work, because we do the song writing when we are all together so each member of the band has a say in the music. Despite it taking more time than just writing everything yourself, we can honestly say that every song is a group product.

2/ Was it difficult to get the line up? Have you been through several tries?

We actually were very lucky on that topic! Shortly after I joined the band, the bass player quit because he wanted to make a different kind of music than the ideas that we had and direction we we’re heading. So our start was incomplete. Luckily, we found another great musician in Calvin for that role!

3/Are you all in different bands?

Maarten (the drummer) used to play in another band called ‘No loose ends’, but they split up half a year ago. I recently joined the Symphonic metalband Pictura Poesis, which is really different than the vocals I do with Crooked Minds, but I love to do these different kinds of things.

4/What inspires your lyrics? Have you got loads?

I must say that most of the time I’m a lyric monster haha! I am blessed that I somehow manage to write and produce lyrics very fast. The inspiration for the lyrics varies a lot, but mostly I get inspired by everyday life, stories and other music. I always strive to write a story, a lyric that is in some way meaningful no matter what the topic is.

5/You are working with Veils of Delusions, what are you doing with them? Are you a roadie...

Last year I worked with them as their lighting tech, but I did a lot of other tasks, like selling the merchandise (together with Sharon), or setting things up on stage. In the past, I used to be their old vocalist and because they are my friend, is just kind of kept coming to their shows and helping out where I could. I am really enjoying hearing the songs that I worked on again, and seeing that I somehow contributed to their shows and helped them make the first steps. I’m not sure if I will work with them in the future, because I’ll probably be really busy singing in my own bands but who knows? Maybe someday we might play together at a gig.

6/Are you working in the music industry?

No I’m not working in the music industry, as a matter of fact I am still going to school for my social work education. I do work at a venue as a volunteer light technician though, called ‘De Groene Engel’ in Oss, but it’s not my profession so I’m not that good . The people there are kind and always helpful, and I enjoy watching and working with the different bands.

7/When watching your live videos on you tube you seem to have already enough songs to record an album? we still don’t have enough for a full-length album, however we are working on our first extended play release as we speak. We noticed that, for a venue to book a band, we must provide them with some work to get an idea of who we are and what kind of music we make. So, we decided to record a couple of songs first, before writing new ones. The recordings of our first EP are almost done, so we hope to release it as soon as possible!

8/Is there one song writer in the band or you all sit down and create?

As I said before, we strive to let everyone have a say in the process so the music that we make Is really a combination that reflects every member of the group. It takes more time, but we think that in the end it helps us find our own unique sound.

9/Who found the band’s name? what is the meaning of it?

The first members of the band, Rick, Maarten and Remy discussed that. The name was already decided for before I joined the band. There isn’t really a meaning behind the name, but it got inspired by the song ‘crooked minds’ of billy talent and the band ‘them crooked vultures’. I like to think that the band’s name is also a reflection of how we write our music: all minds together.

10/Your facebook page shows a cover with a logo design, have you worked on this before the music?

We started on the music and the design around the same time. We thought that it would help focus our thoughts, as well as show an image to the public. The design is inspired by the band name so that It would fit no matter what kind of direction the music and song writing process would take.

11/Who deals with the website? it’s not in English, are you trying to get heard in your country first?

The guitarist of the band, Rick, designed and makes the website. Because we haven’t really played a lot, and have a lot of fans outside of the Netherlands we started with it in Dutch. At this moment, we’re busy making a new one that looks more professional, as well as translating everything to English so that everyone can read it.

12/You have some Rock, Jazz, Hard Rock tunes, are you trying to be out of a sticker?

One of our key elements is that we don’t want to limit ourselves to one thing. Despite the main genre of our music is (hard)rock, we like to use songs and music from every genre as inspiration. This results in a recognizable construction with unique and refreshing elements.

13/How is the music scene other there? are you opened like northern countries?

I’d say that the music industry is hard to work in. It’s sometimes difficult to contact bookers or venues, and the scene is actually pretty closed if you don’t know people ‘on the inside’. I’ve noticed that it’s also a big task to make the step from being a band that plays at some café’s, to playing at bigger venues with more well-known bands.

14/Is it easy to play live gigs?

As I said, it’s not always easy to get booked, but when we do the live gigs are great. Everything is arranged quite good most of the time, and up until now we only have played for (almost) full café’s/venues.

15/Who is your favorite singer? Anyways to learn vocals or you just do it?

There are so many amazing singers out there, so I can’t just name one haha! One of my favourites is Anders Fridén, I like his sound and how he produces the different vocal sounds in his songs. I also love Izzy Hale and the raw voice she has. And finally I must say Alissa White-Gluz, not only because of the amazing voice and technique she has, but I’m a big fan of her overall performance. Even though these are my favourites, I must admit that I get inspired even more by the vocalists that I know from my own country and bands that I know personally. Somehow seeing that people like you do their best, sounds awesome and actually just don’t give a damn about what others think is a real confidence boost. For me, I used to just sing and do everything as I thought it felt good. Call it trial and error, but using my own hearing, and listening to music and examples I formed my own sound. I am planning to get some singing lessons in the future so that I can get better and perform at my best.

16/You talked about a band you recently joined, how did it happened? Are you willing to sing in several bands at a time?

Yeah, I recently joined Pictura Poesis as their lead vocalist. When working on my vocal skills, I noticed that I wanted to do something totally different with my voice. Since I have always loved metal and used to sing in one, the choice wasn’t hard to go and search for a metal band. I ended up finding Pictura Poesis, and after auditioning they decided to take me in. I think that singing in two bands at the same time is really great actually, it keeps me focused and I get a lot of inspiration from the different genres that I’m working with.

17/ Pictura Poesis is an extreme Metal band, isn’t getting your voice hard times?

Despite of what a lot of people think, it isn’t harmful for your voice if you use the right technique. I even notice that doing grunts and screams is easier for me than clean vocals and it comes more naturally. It gives me the opportunity to really experience the music instead of focussing on control a lot so in a way it’s really refreshing.

18/How do you do with rehearshals shedule? when they are live dates how do you cope?

I have set dates with both bands for rehearsals, depending on the urgency of why and when we need to practice and with live dates I just use the ‘first come, first served’ principle. However, I think that communication is key, if I keep communicating what is possible and what not everything goes great! There hasn’t been a situation that this is a problem, and I’m sure that it won’t be in the future.

19/ Do you write the lyrics? What are they about?

Since I’m new with the band the songs and lyrics already existed and were mostly written by Mike Vogels (previous vocalist) and Sheree Hoogenberg(Synths/lyricist). Because of that I was able to learn them a bit quicker and get used to their way of working which was very nice. The lyrics are mainly about historic events and stories, but also a lot more diverse topics. I think it’s also a good thing that the lyrics regarding history are as close to truth as possible/ historically correct so in a way they are also very educational. In my opinion, they did a great job doing that. In the future, I will write lyrics for the new songs, but probably with help from the others because they have a lot of knowledge regarding the subject.

20/ Do you think singing for you is just a hobby?

At this moment, it is. Of course, like most musicians, I wouldn’t mind doing this fulltime. However, the music business is hard to work in, and financially it’s a difficult task to accomplish. I like to think rationally: I try my best, give it all I got and most importantly enjoy every aspect of it and if it happens to become bigger than I imagined at first you won’t hear me complaining!

21/ As you said you like Alissa White-Gluz, do you want to achieve the same goals? will you sing two different vocals in the futur like symphonic /death..?

I would love to do what she does one day, especially because I think she is a real inspiration for women in metal. I still think that there are a lot of women out there who are really good musicians/vocalists in the metal genre, but because of stereotyping won’t make their move. I notice that it slowly starts to become a bit more normal to do grunts and screams as a woman, but we still have a long way to go and I hope I can play my part in that process. What I will do in the future Is still unknown to me, at this moment I’m just really happy to do what I do and hope to continue on this journey for years to come.

22/Do you play any instrument? How do you find the melodies for your vocals? no I don’t, not really that is. I tried to learn some instruments in the past, and used to play a little bit of bass guitar.

However, I kept coming back to singing so I decided to focus on one thing at a time. Melodies and songs are a great way to come up with vocal lines for me. When I hear something, I almost immediately have vocal line in my head that goes with it. That’s also what I love about Pictura Poesis: the music speaks to my imagination a lot, and it’s written really well.

23/ In Crooked Minds you say it’s a band creation , is it the same for Pictura Poesis?

I haven’t worked with Pictura Poesis very long, so I’m not sure how this will be in the future. Most of the music is written by Harald Bouten (Drummer), and I think that this band is in a way a reflection of his musical talent. He starts and writes a concept, and the rest fills in their additions. Easy to say that I can’t wait to work with each and every one of them on our new songs!

I ‘d like to thank you for the lovely interview, I loved answering your questions and wish you and your readers the best of luck and enjoy every aspect of this beautiful scene!

http://crookedminds.nl www.facebook.com/picturapoesismetal

1/ Peux-tu nous dires si Saad Jones est ton nom d’écrivain ?

S(a)ad Jones est effectivement mon nom de plume.

J'ai choisi le prénom de S(a)ad car il porte une ambivalence intéressante: "Sad" en anglais veut dire "triste", et "Saad" en arabe veut dire "heureux". Dans le contexte actuel, c'est un clin d’œil aux racistes de tous poils qui pullulent dans nos pays, et qui ne voient pas plus loin que leur bocal... J'ai choisi "Jones" comme nom pour sa connotation internationale et sa banalité. C’est un nom de famille à l’origine galloise mais aujourd’hui présent dans le monde entier.

1/Can you tell us if Saad Jones is your writer’s name?

S(a)ad Jones is my pen name.

I chose the name “S(a)ad” as it has an ambivalent meaning: “sad” in English is obvious, but Saad in Arabic means “happy”. It is a way to make fun of the racists and fascists that currently feed the news with their stupidity.

I chose the name “Jones” as it sounds international and is very common in Wales where it is from, and anywhere else in the world.

2/Qu’est ce qui t’as motivé à écrire ce livre?

L’envie de conter une histoire. Je suis un touche-à-tout (peinture, architecture, musique…) et j’avais l’intention de dessiner cette histoire en bandes dessinées (Je me suis arrêté a 3 planches). Mais, alors que je voyageais beaucoup, je me suis mis à écrire car c’était la seule façon pour moi de créer ; avec mon ordinateur portable sur les genoux. Et j’ai découvert que l’écriture me donnait une liberté incroyable…

2/What motivated you to write this book?

I wanted to tell a story. I did painting, architecture and played music, and the plan was to do a comic based on this story (I draw 3 pages). But during a period I was travelling all the time, I found that writing with my laptop on my knees was the only way I could create. And then, I discovered that writing offers an amazing freedom for any creative mind.

3/Il y a énormément de détails on a l’impression d’être le personnage, est-ce une réelle fiction ou tu as vécu certains de ces moments?

Oui, certaines scènes sont directement inspirées de ma propre vie. Par exemple la scène de dédicaces est inspirée du passage de Fear Factory dans ma ville pour le Obsolete Tour.

3/They are so many details we have the impression to be the character, is it a true fiction or you have lived certains of these events?

I lived indeed some of the scenes from the novel. As an example, the signature session was inspired by one done by Fear Factory in my home town during the Obsolete Tour.

4/Plusieurs passages font penser à des actes connus ‘la mort de darrell’ , ‘le concert du batclan’… as tu pris ces réalités pour aider ton histoire?

Le prologue et l’histoire de mon personnage Dan sont directement inspirés du meurtre de Dimebag Darrell.

Le roman était déjà presque terminé quand sont intervenus les évènements du Bataclan. Le plus étrange est que des personnes présentes au Bataclan et cachées dans les toits connaissaient mon histoire et y ont pensé pendant cet acte de barbarie.

Le roman est aussi truffé de références à Metallica, Orphaned Land, Black Sabbath… Je laisse le soin aux lecteurs de les identifier…

4/Several parts make me think of known events like the death of Darrell, The Batclan’s concert...did you took those realities to help you writting the story?

The prologue and Dan’s story (one of my character) had been inspired by the murder of Dimebag Darrell.

About the Bataclan barbarous attack, it is weird because at the time it happened my novel was almost finished, and I know some people hidden in the attic knew and thought about my story on that day.

There are also in my novel a lot of subtle references to Metallica, Orphaned Land and Black Sabbath. I’m keen leaving the readers tracking these references.

4/Qui a eu l’idée de la pochette avec ce design?

J’ai tout fait de A à Z. Je souhaitais une couverture simple (un œil) mais avec une référence au Metal et à ses fans (les cornes du diable).

4/Who had the idea of the cover design?

I did it all from scratch. I wanted a simple cover (an eye) with a reference to metalheads (the devil’s horns).

5/As-tu d’autres livres ou c’est le premier?

C’est le premier. Le second est en préparation. Mon histoire commencera en Afrique ou le Metal est bien vivant… Il est possible que l’on retrouve des personnages de VIOLENT INSTINCT. 5/Have you written other book or it’s the first one?

It is my first novel but I started sketching the second. The second will take place partly in Africa where Metal is very much alive… and it is probable that some VIOLENT INSTINCT characters will come back.

6/Une grosse partie de l’histoire se passe au Liban, guerre et religion, quel est ton message? Un rapport avec ton histoire personnelle?

J’ai vécu quelques années au Liban. Ce pays extra-ordinaire a changé ma vision du Monde, de l'Homme, de la vie, de la religion, de la politique, de la guerre et de la violence. J'ai essayé de décrire ce pays de contrastes le mieux possible dans mon roman. J’ai eu aussi la chance de voyager dans de nombreux pays en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient, dans des pays du tiers-monde et des dictatures, et le Metal y est pour beaucoup une bouffée d’oxygène et de liberté…

6/A big part of the story is happening in Lebanon, war and religion, what is your message? Linked to your personal story?

I had been living in Lebanon for a few years. This extra-ordinary country changed my life, my vision of the World, of human kind, of religion, of politics, of war and the use of violence. I tried to describe this contrasted country the best I could. I also have been lucky to travel across Middle East and Africa, in poor countries and dictatorships, and for many there, Metal means freedom.

7/C’est supposé être une histoire inventée pourtant au début du livre tu écris « à tilio », cela donne une impression de réalité?

Tilio est une personne réelle qui a marqué ma vie. Lui donner le nom du héros de mon roman était une évidence, même s’ils ne se ressemblent pas du tout.

7/ It’s supposed to be a fictional story but at the beginning you write «to Tilio» , this gives an impression of reality?

Tilio existed and had been part of my life. I gave my hero his name despite the fact they have nothing in common.

8/ As-tu pris des cours de journalisme où tu t’es fait aider par une personne qui connait l’écriture?

J’ai écrit ce roman et l’ai fait lire par des proches. Ils m’ont fourni leurs commentaires et corrigé les milliers de fautes d’orthographe. Dans la vraie vie et sous mon vrai nom, je n’ai aucun lien avec le monde de l’Edition et du journalisme.

8/Did you take journalism courses or you’ve been helped by someone who knows the books?

I wrote this novel and passed it to relatives to give me their comments and corrections (thousands of). In my real life under my real name, I have nothing to do with Publishing and Journalism.

9/Comment publie t’on sur internet? as tu des royalties , des choses à payer…?

Je pensais qu’aucun éditeur ne serait intéressé par publier un roman sur le Metal, donc j’ai décidé de tout faire moimême par l’intermédiaire de Createspace d’Amazon.

J’ai une totale liberté sur mon œuvre mais si l’écriture est un plaisir, l’Edition est un métier. Je dois faire toute la promotion depuis chez moi, et tous les frais de communication sont à ma charge (envois des exemplaires aux journalistes, flyers, site Internet… etc.). Je découvre un autre monde, mais je dois avouer que dans la communauté Metal on peut rencontrer des personnes fascinantes…

Mes royalties sont très légèrement plus élevées que si j’étais passe par un éditeur, mais dans le même temps je me passe d’un soutien logistique qui peut s’avérer crucial.

9/How do you publish your book on internet? Do you get royalties, things to pay..?

I thought no editor would be interested by a novel about Metal, so I decided to do all by myself using the Createspace/Amazon platform. I have total control of my work, but I have to do all by myself.

I have to pay for all marketing tools such as Website fees, copies to journalists, flyers, etc.

I discovered a new world, but I reckon I also encountered fascinating people in the metal community.

My royalties are slightly higher than if I had had an editor, but I do not have any logistic support.

10/Quelle est la raison de faire une histoire sur un chanteur de Death Metal?

J’aime toutes les formes de Metal mais j’ai une préférence pour le Death, donc quand il a fallu trouver un sujet pour mon roman, il m’a semblé naturel de parler de ce qui me fait vibrer…

10/What is the reason for you to write about a Death Metal singer?

I love all kind of Metal but mainly listen to Death Metal. So when I decided to write a novel, I thought it was better writing on what I liked the most.

11/Joues tu d’un instrument ou chante dans un groupe?

Je suis batteur et j’ai pratiqué dans des groupes de Heavy et de Death en France il y a quelques années. Je n’étais pas très bon mais assez pour tenir la cadence et avoir mon nom dans l’Encyclopaedia Metallum.

11/Do you play any instrument or sing in a band?

I’m a drummer and played in various Heavy and Death Metal bands a few years ago. I was not a very good one but enough to be mentioned in the Encyclopaedia Metallum.

12/Es ce que le fait que tu sois français est la raison pour laquelle ce livre est en français?

Ce livre est en français car c’est ma langue maternelle, et comme je souhaite plus être comparé à un conteur qu’a un écrivain, j’ai choisi d’écrire VIOLENT INSTINCT en français. Etant bilingue, j’ai débuté la traduction et la version anglaise devrait être prête en 2018.

12/Is the fact you are french is the reason the book is written in French?

French is my mother tongue, so it was natural writing in French to tell a story. I started translating VIOLENT INSTINCT into English and it should be available in 2018.

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100018324781876

1/What or who made you want to play the guitar?

From the moment I was born I’ve always been a major music enthusiast. By the time I was 10 years old I knew I had to play a guitar. My brother had one and was always playing it, but he was 5 1/2 years older than me and told me I couldn’t touch it for fear that I would break it because he saw me as a little kid. By the time I was 11 I got the nerve to play it whenever he left the house. He finally caught me in the act, was surprised at my skills, and gifted it to me on the spot!

2/You are playing and singing, why not playing in a band? Have you already had bad experiences? Was it hard to sing and play?

Since I write all the music and lyrics for every song I do, that, to me, defines a solo artist. In a band, everyone usually contributes to the writing and the sound. It is very important to me to have complete control over my music, the way I created it, the way I hear it in my head. No, I have never had any bad experiences. This is just the way I naturally want to do things. It is a little challenging sometimes to sing and play since I’m actually playing leads often while I’m singing. Day by day it gets easier, though. Soon I’m sure I’ll do it without even thinking about it.

3/How did you manage to get all the great musicians to play on your album? will this make it hard for live shows as they are all in different bands?

It was very easy, actually. They’re all personal friends of mine to begin with, so It was a simple as calling and asking. I will try and schedule my tour dates around theirs. In some cases, we may be playing at the same festivals and they can do double duty. We will work it out. It’s not as difficult as it seems.

4/Have you been learning in guitar school?

I am completely self-taught. No school.

5/Which bands inspired you ?

Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Megadeth, Scorpions, Michael Schenker Group, Metallica, King Diamond, Iron Maiden

and Judas Priest.....to name a few. More importantly, are the guitarists themselves that inspired me: Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen... again, to name a few!

6/You have a nice logo and even your avatar, who designed this?

I came up with the concept for the avatar and a fantastic artist by the name of Mitch Hubbard worked closely with me to bring it to life, and he also designed my logo.

7/Are your lyrics all about your personal history?

Yes, indeed they are. It’s a very honest record, very autobiographical.

8/How many guitars do you own? which one is the most used ?

I think the headcount is officially over 80 at this point. The one I use the most, my absolute favorite, is my customized Ernie Ball Silhouette Special that used to belong to my good friend (and guitar hero) Vinnie Moore. He recorded many of his albums with it, so it’s an honor to use it on mine as well. It’s a perfect fit.

9/Tell us about your gears, do you use digital?

My gear is extremely simple. I’m using both Diezel and Friedman heads and Marshall cabs. I use a Boss Digital Delay pedal and that combined with the natural distortion that comes from those amps is pretty much all I need. It’s all in the hands!

10/How do you write your compositions? are some old ones you have modified along the way?

I usually start by just riffing and build from there. I use Logic to record all of my demos. I do not read or write music traditionally, I play by ear, so I compose by recording directly into the system. The guys playing on my record are always surprised at how complete my demos are, because I’m playing all of the instruments first. They literally have a finished recording to listen to and learn from.

Yes. The “Trustless” single has been modified a bit for the album version. For starters, Vinny Appice is drumming on the album version, which gives it a whole different feel. So I rewrote the rhythms and play them a little differently. I am also playing all of the synths and keys on the album version as well. It’s a night and day difference on the production quality for the album. I’m very happy with it now.

11/How does it go with the other musicians, do you tell them what to play or it’s like a normal band?

As I said earlier, I’ve already recorded the instruments myself, so they just listen and learn from those demos and then put their own personal style and vibe on it.

12/Have you got other albums? which albums you have guest on?

Yes. I am a guest lead guitarist on Belgian band Beyond The Labyrinth’s fourth and most recent album, “The Art of Resilience.” I play solos on three tracks: “Someone’s Watching Over You,” “If You Believe” and “Can’t Get Over You.” 13/Are you a studio musician or you like the live experience as well?

Both. Look out for tour dates in 2018!

http://www.taralynch.com/

1/Can you tell us which country you are from?

Nakayama →Japan, Osaka 2/Why there is no English on your pages? Is the band young?

Nakayama →We just do not make it. The band is not young! We are looking for a staff who will handle such things right now.

3/is the band’s name related to Malsmteen album?

Nakayama →Yes, I and guitarist like him! Though There is other meaning 4/Are you all in other bands or this is the first one? You sound like professional musicians..

Nakayama →Thank you very much! I'm only in this one!

5/In your video « rock will never die » you have several singers, is it the normal line up or this is a project?

Nakayama →This is bonus track, we have normal line up song! If everyone has a quest, we would like to play live with members of bonus tracks 5/In your video « rock will never die » you have several singers, is it the normal line up or this is a project?

Nakayama →This is bonus track, we have normal line up song! If everyone has a quest, we would like to play live with members of bonus tracks 6/The sound is so excellent, is one of you working in the music business or have studio skills?

Nakayama →Thank you very much! All members except me are professional musicians. They can also do clinics and teach instruments at schools etc.

7/Do you play live shows? Are you playing abroad?

Nakayama →We are now looking for a manager and are not doing live activities, but we did an album release tour last year..Mr. Suganuma who is MARCHING OUT drummer plays abroad, but the other members are not playing!

8/Which bands influenced you?

Nakayama →Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, MSG, Gary Moore, Yngwie, Impellitteri!

9/How did you composed the songs? is there a band’s creation? tell us how you work.

Nakayama →I make lyrics. There are two ways to compose the songs. including melody they are two cases when I make a song and when a guitar makes a song. Arrange is done throughout the band!

10/Have you learnt at music schools?

Nakayama →No,the other members have learnt!

11/What are the lyrics about?

Nakayama →Only English. Motifs are rock, history, war, peace, love etc.

12/Tell us about your gears, are you on the top ones or keep your old loved instruments?

Nakayama →I'm singer, I have my own microphone and stand! I will go sing anywhere if called! Rock has no borders and can be one!

13/Did you go to the normal line up changes before getting this album done?

Nakayama →We changed the guitar and bass player while recording. The new member did a nice job and I am very satisfied! Especially the guitarist decided to arrange with me for many hours and made a good job. The base gave ideas to various arrangements! Now our songs are played in 11 countries and reviewed in many magazines!. We are looking for a manager to make overseas expansions. Please help us to do! Thank you very much! ROCK WILL NEVER DIE!

http://marchingout.com

1/ The cover of your new album has a boat in glass, what was the theme of the album?

Well, talking about the album cover; It´s pretty much based on the story of the title track. If you wait patiently for the album to come out, things are gonna make sense.

2/ Who did the cover as boats are on every cover albums this year?

The cover art was made by Timo Wuerz. It´s the first time we´ve worked with him and it turned out absolutely amazing.

3/ What has changed from the previous albums? the way you compose, line up…

The biggest change from our previous albums is that Starblind now has a new singer. It isn’t an easy job to shoulder Mike’s energy and power from the earlier albums, but when we found Marcus we know we found the right guy! From the very beginning he became a part of Starblind and could write and develop the lyrics and song melodies.

4/ How did you approach the creation of the songs, did you practiced old songs or just composed together working hard to get something new?

The way we work in the process of song writing is that someone has an idea, a cool riff or an almost finished song. We try it at rehearsal and see if it fits and feels good to play. If everything feels right, we work as a team to polish it and develop it.

5/ Do you see it easier today for creation and live dates than when you started ?

It´s actually never easy, nor has it ever been. The music industry is like a battlefield with so many bands struggling to get their music heard. The trick is to somehow overlook all this stress and chaos and just enjoy the ride.

6/You are once again on Puresteel Records what do you like from this label? will you stick to them? Do you collect Lps?

Pure Steel has been nothing but good to us. Well organized with great promotion and distribution.

None of us really collect LP´s. We buy what we like.

7/Are they bands you play live often and get a long? Have you met new musicians friends?

We toured and played with a lot of bands. And I think we go along with pretty much everyone. Meeting other bands and share you experiences and "Spinal Tap-moments" is one of the more positive sides of being on the road.

8/ Have you worked as a band or there is still one creator in the band?

All the members of the band write songs and we all help each other with ideas and when we get stuck in the writing process. We play the new songs many times together to see how it fits and we could make adjustments.

9/Have you got your own music studio or still play in rehearsals?

We want our albums to feel dynamic and have the live feeling. Thats why we record all the songs live in the studio/ rehearsal. The only thing added afterwards is the singing, harmonies/chorus and, in this albums case, the keyboards.

10/ Have you evolved with gears ? trying to get a different sound?

Looking at the individual instruments I believe we always make small adjustments from time to time. A different guitar or bass amp and so on, just because it’s nice and fun to try different gear. But it’s hard to really change the sound because as a guitar or bass player you always have an ideal sound that is hard to get away from. The biggest change on this album is the fact that we added keyboard to some of the songs, just because we felt that it was the extra spice to make it as we wanted.

http://www.starblind.se

iewc v r e ve Intwith / A ajora tM An

ENGLISH 1/Qui a démarré le groupe et quel était l’idée?

Moi (Ant Majora) chanteur et guitariste et David Ayme, guitariste, avons fondé le groupe fin 2012. Petit à petit nous avons recruté un batteur (Baptiste Collay) et un Bassiste (Valentin Chouaf) et avons enregistré une demo en 2014 puis un EP "Beware the Rat King" en 2016. Changement de line up fin 2016 avec l'arrivée de Nicolas Di Costanzo à la basse.

En 2017 nous avons signé chez un petit label indé, Music-Records et avons enregistrés l'album Beyond, puis notre batteur Baptiste Collay nous quitte et est remplacé par Hugo Blanguernon. L'idée de base est de faire de la musique qui nous plaît en mélangeant les genres qui nous intéresse (jazz, rock, metal...). Nous sommes influencés par des groupes comme Coroner, Death, Symphony X... mais aussi des musiques de films, du blues... nous essayons de pas nous limiter musicalement, être ouvert d'esprit et voulons essayer de proposer quelque chose d'original.

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

Me (Ant Majora) singer guitarist and second guitarist David Ayme, we started the band at the end of 2012. One by one we recruted a drummer (Baptiste Collay) and a bass player (Valentin Chouaf) then we recorded a demo in 2014. After that we recorded an EP «Beware the Rat King» in 2016. Line up changed at the end of 2016 Nicolas Di Costanzo on the bass. In 2017 we got signed by little label Music-Records and we recorded the album «Beyond», then our drummer Baptiste Collay left us and got replaced by Hugo Blanguernon. The main idea is to make music that we love mixing many genres we’re interested in (jazz, rock, metal...). We are influenced by bands such as Coroner, Death, Symphony X...but also movie soundtracks, Blues...we are trying not to limit ourselves musically , open minded we want to propose something original.

2/Que veut dire le nom et qui en a fait le design?

Pour le nom nous voulions quelque chose qui sonne bien et qui ne soit pas déjà pris, un nom original en gros. C'est un mélange entre le terme Astral et le mot Eye (oeil) en anglais.

2/What means the name and who designed it?

For the name we wanted something that sound good and not already taken, original in fact.

It’s a mix between Astral and Eye. 3/Quelle est l’histoire derrière cet album de RAT? C'est plusieurs choses en fait, le roi des rats est une sorte de légende comme quoi plusieurs rats s'entremêlant la queue forme un groupe de rats, ce qui ressemble à un rat géant. C'est aussi une influence d'un épisode de la série animé Batman des 90's avec Batman opposé au roi des égouts. Et aussi Tortues Ninja avec le personnage du roi des rats, et aussi le maître Splinter :D. 3/What is the story behind that RAT album?

It’s a combination of thing in fact. The king of rats is a sort of legend like several rats enterweaving their tails to form a group of rats, which looks like a giant rat. It’s also an influence from the Batman comic tv serie from the 90’s with Batman being opposed to the gutters rat. Also Turtles Ninjas with the character of the king of Rats, and the master of Splinter :D

4/Est ce que le changement du line up a beaucoup changé les compositions et la direction musical du groupe?

Non pas vraiment, nous avons essayé de trouver des musiciens capable de jouer ce que nous faisons, donc nous ne prenons pas ça en compte lors de la composition. Nous essayons de composer des choses qui nous plaisent et qui soit assez original.

4/Is the line up changes has changes a lot the compositions and the musical direction of the band?

Not really, we tried to find musicians capable of playing what we are doing , so we don’t take granted in the composittion issue. We are trying to compose things we love and are original.

5/Tu joues dans plusieurs groupes n’est-ce pas compliqué? Comment fais-tu pour travailler toutes les compos? Est-ce qu’un jour tu resteras dans un seul groupe?

Oui j'ai actuellement 3 groupes, Eyestral mon projet principal, mais aussi SubStanS groupe de Thrash/Death qui va bientôt sortir son album et aussi Ménos groupe de Metal progressif influencé par la musique de groupes comme Tool ou Meshuggah qui va aussi sortir son album. Ce n’est effectivement pas simple par moment de gérer les emplois du temps, mais on y arrive. Ça fait du bien aussi de jouer des styles de musiques différentes, même si ça reste du Metal les trois groupes sont assez différents. J'ai aussi un projet de cover glam xD, donc ouais j'aime jouer avec du monde, et j'aime la musique, donc c'est pour ça que je fais ça. On verra par la suite comment ça évolue, et si je pars d'un des groupes ou non, car c'est vrai qu'on a moins de temps libre pour faire autre chose.

5/You are playing in several bands , isn’t complicated? How do you manage to work the compositions?

Is there a day you will stick to one band?

Yeah actually three bands.Eyestral being my main project, but also SubStanS Thrash/Death Metal band which will soon get an album out and also a progressive band Ménos influenced by Tool and Meshuggah will also get an album out soon. It’s definitively not simple sometimes to deal with schedules, but we manage. It’s also good to play different music styles, even if it’s just Metal each bands are different.I also have a Glam project xD, so yeah I like to play with people. And I love music so that’s the reason I do this. We will see in the futur how things goes, if I live a band or not, it’s true there is less time to do something else.

6/Votre style Thrash a beaucoup d’influences techniques et speed, quel est le groupe qui vous a le plus influencé?

Comme je le disais dans la première question, nous sommes principalement influencés par des groupes comme Coroner, Death, Megadeth, Symphony X... donc des groupes assez technique mais qui sont quand même énergique sur scène et ça nous plait. Après nous avons chacun des influences diverses, David adore la musique progressive, moi j'aime les bandes sons de jeux vidéo et films, et les groupes des 70's/80's. Hugo notre nouveau batteur vient plus du Rock que du Metal et Nico le bassiste est pas mal branché Jazz, donc tout ça se retrouve mélangé dans la musique que nous faisons.

6/Your Thrash style has many influences with technics and speed, which is the band that influenced you the most?

As I said in the first question, we are mainly influenced by Coroner, Death, Megadeth, Symphony X...so most technical bands and with lots of energy on stage and that ‘s what we like . We all have own influences , Davidlove the progressive music, me I like soundtracks from movies and video games, and the 70’/80’s bands. Hugo our drummer is coming fromRock and Metal and Nico the bass player is into Jazz, so this is spilling in our music.

7/Qui écrit les textes?

C’est moi qui écris les textes. J’écris des choses sur des sujets que j’ai vécu ou qui me parle, comme les relations humaines, la société, l’horreur, la fiction etc… Dans notre nouvel album Beyond, il y a 3 chansons Beyond SIght, Beyond Comprehension et Beyond Acceptance qui sont reliés, une sorte de concept. C’est une histoire influencé par le style de David Lynch que nous aimons beaucoup. J’essaie de ne pas trop me répéter et de trouver des sujets intéressants.

7/Who writes the lyrics?

It’s me who writes the lyrics.I write about subjects lived or that speaks to me, such as the human relationship, society, horror, fiction etc... In our new album «Beyond » they are three songs «Beyond SIght», «Beyond Comprehension» and«Beyond Acceptance» are linked. A kind of concept, this is a story influenced by David Lynch style we really love.

I try not to repeat myself and find interessant subjects.

8/Est ce que vous créé en groupe ou il y a une personne qui compose plus?

Pour la composition musicale c’est David et moi qui s’en chargeons, nous composons chacun de côté chez nous, c’est plus efficace que de faire ça en répétition. Après nous sommes ouverts aux idées des autres, nous allons voir comment ça se passe pour le prochain album.

8/Are you composing as a band or their is one composer?

For the composition it’s me and David who are dealing with this, each compose on his side it’s better than rehearsing.

Then we are opened to others ideas, we’ll see how it works for the next album.

9/Comment vous arrivez à trouver des concerts?

Avant c’était moi qui s’occupait de trouver des dates, de contacter les salles et groupes avec qui jouer. Depuis que nous sommes sur Music-Records c’est eux qui nous les trouve, c’est plus reposant. Nous avons 3 concerts en fin d’année pour la sortie de Beyond (Disponible en digital et CD le 10 novembre), puis nous allons préparer une tournée pour l’année prochaine avec eux. Nous espérons jouer dans d’autres pays comme l’Angleterre, l’Allemagne…

9/How do you find gigs?

Before it was me who was searching for live dates, contacting places and bands. Now we are with Music-Records they deal with this to find dates, it’s less tiring. We have three gigs at the end of the year for the album «Beyond» (availabel in digital and CD on the 10th November) then we will start a tour for the next year. We hope to play in other countries like Uk and Germany...

10/Jouez-vous souvent avec les mêmes groupes?

Nous essayons de jouer avec le plus de groupes différents possible, nous pouvons jouer avec des groupes de Hard Rock, comme avec du Black Metal, nous sommes assez polyvalent là-dessus. Nous avons déjà jour plusieurs fois avec des groupes, mais en général nous essayons de jouer avec des groupes avec qui nous n’avons pas encore joué. Mais ça dépends aussi de la disponibilité des groupes etc…

11/Do you often play with the same band?

We are trying to play with the most different bands as possible, we can play with Hard Rock bands, as Black Metal, we are polyvalent. We already played with many bands, in general we are trying to play with bands we haven’t shared the stage with. that depends also on bands availability...

11/Quels sont vos équipements? Utilisez-vous le numérique?

Pour les guitares nous utilisons encore des têtes à lampes, moi un Peavey 6505 et David un Laboga Caiman 50w. Pour l’instant nous restons dessus, mais peut-être que dans le futur nous utiliseront du numérique comme le Axe FX ou autre, car c’est vraiment plus pratique à transporter quand tu fais des concerts. Les têtes et baffles c’est cool, mais ça pèse une tonne ^^.

11/What gears do you use? Do you use digital?

For the guitars we still use amplifiers head with tubes, me a Peavey 6505 and David a Laboga Caiman 50w. For the moment we are keeping that way, but maybe in the futur we will use digital stuff like Axe FX or other...it’s just easier to carry when you are play live gigs. Head amp and cabinets are cool but very heavy.

www.facebook.com/Eyestral/

1/Where you guys are from?

We are from the tiny town of Waipu in Northland New Zealand. Our tribal roots are Ngati Pikiao from the central north island. Our tribal homeland is Rotoiti which is in New Zealand’s lake district.

2/When I see your video « ru ana te whenua » it came to my mind you have Indians roots, is it true or you just tried to be different or try to do like Sepultura…?

We are from Maori and Dutch decent. Maori are the native people of New Zealand and our song Ru Ana Te Whenua is in New Zealand’s native language Te Reo Maori. It’s funny because when we first started singing in Te Reo Maori people started making the Sepultura comparisons and we had really never listened to Sepultura before this. I don’t think we sound all that much like them but I think people are latching onto the “non English” nature of our stuff and saying Sepultura. We take it as a compliment. We are actually playing with Sepultura next year at a festival in Europe so might get to meet them in person. I don’t know, another reason people might think we sound like them is that we probably have similar influences ie the big 4 from the early US thrash scene. We listened to a lot of Metallica and a fair bit of Anthrax as kids.

3/How did you get that name from? what’s the meaning? Who designed the logo?

The name came from the movie District 9. It had a big influence on us as kids as it was produced by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) and all the special effects were done in New Zealand by Weta Workshop so the movie was quite famous here. The video for Ru Ana Te Whenua was in fact shot by Simon Raby who was first unit director of photography on District 9. He also worked on Lord of the Rings. This was a complete coincidence. New Zealand is a small country.

4/You seem quite young but have already all what big bands do, have you got family in the music business?

Our father worked for many years as a studio recording engineer so I guess we have that connection. We grew up with music in our house pretty much 24/7 so it was inevitable we would have some interest in music. We don’t have wealthy family in record labels or publishing in fact when we started the band our parents were bankrupt and Ethan’s dad was in prison so not the kind of privileged upbringing some are imagining. We do come from a culturally rich family though and for that we are very grateful. Politics and intelligent discussion are valued in our household.

5/How do you write your tunes?

We almost always start with jamming some riffs or grooves and songs will often have no lyrics for a month or two till Lewis gets around to writing something for it. Lewis does most of the lyric writing and we all work on the music and arrangements. We have pulled form our own family history in New Zealand for our Maori songs. Ru Ana Te Whenua is about the battle at Pukehinahina (Gate PA) where our great great great grandfather Te Ahoaho lost his life fighting the British invaders. A lot of our stuff is also in English and we cover things we feel passionate about. Without passion there is no reason to write songs.

6/You’ve been on tv and are playing many live shows, how do you get all these? Have you got a manager?

We are lucky in that our father is able to manage us in New Zealand and Australia and we have signed an agreement with German based music agency Das Maschine who manage us in Europe and the rest of the world. We are also lucky enough to have won several music awards including the coveted Apra Silver Scroll Maioha Award for song writing and are nominees in the upcoming New Zealand Music Awards so we are very much in the media eye at the moment.

We don’t however want to take this for granted as metal bands don’t often get noticed by main stream media in New Zealand. It’s a rare privilege.

7/What are your lyrics about?

We write about everything from a school yard fight (Rage it Takes Over Again) to New Zealand’s brutal colonial history and the ancient custom of eating the flesh of your fallen enemy (Kai Tangata) Thrash metal is a good vehicle for social commentary of any sort and should have no boundaries.

8/Which gears do you use? why did you choose those ones?

I (Henry) play Mapex drums and am sponsored by UFiP Cymbals. I play Mapex because that’s what was for sale second hand at a good price when I went looking to buy a drum kit. Lewis and Ethan use Marshall backline for the same reason. It was cheap on Trade me (NZ’s version of Ebay) Lewis uses two vintage JCM2000DSL’s through vintage 30 quads to get his sound. He plays DBZ guitars because he likes the V profile neck and picked his first DBZ guitar up really cheaply on Trade me. He has 4 DBZ guitars now. DBZ are now owned by Diamond USA. The band won a lot of great gear through the Rockshop when they won the Smokefree Rockquest and Smokefree Pacifica beats music competitions. We managed to get some great pedals and a digital mixing desk and Lewis bought his ESP EII seven string that way. Ethan got his Sansamp and Soundblox 2 pedal that way too and he is sponsored by Spector basses in the USA. He is New Zealand’s only Spector endorsed artist and the youngest Spector Artist in the world. He uses NS2000 basses both 4 and 5 string. We are super grateful for the support from our endorsement partners. It means a lot to us.

9/Have you had another guitarist or you always been a three piece?

No we have always been a three piece. Funny thing is we had a major label interested in signing us a while back but when we met the A&R guy he suggested that they would want us to get another guitarist. We did not sign with them.

10/Who has designed your website?

It was thrown together with the help of our dad. I do computer programming at school and website design is part of the curriculum. So it’s not that hard. It’s a simple site.

11/What your other skills apart from playing music?

I (Henry) have been working part time as a mechanic on cars. I have been doing a day a week at a local mechanical workshop. I also work for a coffee shop at weekends and a local mobile coffee and ice-cream truck over our summers.

Lewis rides the unicycle and skates. He works in a local restaurant waiting tables and doing dishes. He is a great artist and draws a lot. He also plays in a Caribbean steel pan band and writes music in other genres like rap.

Ethan also rides Unicycle. He and Lewis met at a local circus school. He does gardening for a couple of clients in the weekends. He is also very keen on basketball (he is 6ft 2) He has a girlfriend now so yeah that takes up time hahaha.

We all still go to school too (I finish at the end of this year) but we all have jobs to pay for our gear and recording time etc.

12/How did you learn your instruments?

We are basically self taught from Youtube. Lewis had a couple of formal guitar lessons but drove his teacher crazy because he wanted to do his own thing all the time. Ethan was 10 and couldn’t really play when he joined the band.

He was taught to play bass by Lewis and Youtube. He is pretty fucking good now.

13/Do you think it easy to create a band today? You’re using indiegogo for your first album, how did you learnt about this? are you plugged into social medias?

I think playing in a band is one of the hardest things to choose to do but also one of the most rewarding. You can just play for fun but we chosen to try and make it our future career. It gets much harder now as we feel like we have very little personal time. Summer is coming here in New Zealand and all our friends are going to the river or the beach and we have rehearsals so we miss out. We rehearse three times a week for about 5 hours in the evenings and we work our jobs the other days after school so it’s pretty full on.

We came across Indiegogo when we started looking at crowd funding options. There were some other bands on there already and they seemed to be doing well with their fundraising. A fan had suggested we get a Pratreon account and that got us looking into the whole crowd funding thing for the album but for us Indiegogo works best I think. Here is the link https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/alien-weaponry-debut-album#/ Yeah we are all on Social media. Facebook is pretty important to the band as we have a lot of our interaction with fans that way. We have 19 thousand followers and counting, pretty surprising for a New Zealand metal band. We really appreciate all your support, see you in Europe 2018 \m/\m/ PS. the logo was designed by Dave Thompson who was the director of our music videos Urutaa and Raupatu. He just modified a font we had already been using since we started the band in 2012.

All photos © Lisa Crandall

http://alienweaponry.com

1/What inspired you for this new album?

After releasing my previous album "Escape" at the end of 2016, it actually took a few months to figure out what I was going to do next. Musically, the inspiration started with the idea to use my 8-string for all guitars on the entire album, sort of as a personal challenge to myself, as well as an experiment to see what I could do if I used only one guitar without any alternate tunings. Over the next 5 months, a lot of the inspiration came from the idea of duality. In a way, every song on the album follows a theme of duality, a struggle between seemingly opposing forces. Overall I let myself get a bit darker with the lyrical concepts on this album than on previous Jason Aaron Wood albums, a bit closer to the type of stuff I have done in my other one-man-band Ol Sonuf.

2/How do you create different songs since you are the only composer?

To me, "writing" automatically includes recording as I go along. I've developed a few methods of doing this as quickly as possible over the years, but in a nutshell, my go-to formula is "improvise, harmonize, fix." I'll just program a basic drum beat first to record over, and then just improvise the first part, often the rhythm guitar part, but sometimes the lead guitar, or a synth, or even the solo. Then I go one part of the song at a time, and fill in the harmony and the rest of the "band" with the other instruments. And since I improvised the first part, sometimes it's a bit of a rough take, so when needed I'll go back and play it better (although pretty often, the first take is what you hear on the album).

Lyrics and vocals generally come last, after all the instruments are recorded. I have a love/hate relationship with doing lyrics, so I have kind of a weird way of doing them. I mostly write the lyrics as I'm recording the vocals, one phrase at a time. As I plan out what I want to say, work out the exact wording and pronunciation, and how the syllables are going to fit into the rhythm, I hurry up and record it before I forget what I meant to do. I may even come back after a few listens and completely re-record it differently, but only after I get a chance to hear it a few times and see what bothers me about it.

3/Are you using other musicians or you really do it all yourself?

It's all me. I don't actually play drums, but I do study drum tutorials constantly because I know how quickly people dismiss a band when the drums are obviously programmed (myself included), so it means a lot to me to put everything I've got into making them sound as real as possible, like a human played them. But yeah that's all me; I play the guitars and bass, perform all the vocals, and then I program the drums, synths, and other instrumetns, and then I go about finding or creating any other sound effects that are needed.

One exception though was in 2013 for my Ol Sonuf album "Glass Idols" where I had my wife (and my Todesbonden bandmate) Laurie Ann Haus perform guest vocals on 2 songs, which was a really great addition to the album. I haven't had her on any albums since then, but I'd definitely like to have her sing again on one of my solo albums. Her voice is truly magical.

4/Why going from Death Metal growls to melodic voice?

This kind of goes back to how I write my lyrics and vocals. Since I write and record one line at a time, 2 at the most, sometimes it feels like a line should be spoken by a different voice, almost like each line or section has a different personality. It all depends on which voice feels like the right vehicle to deliver that thought for the right impact.

5/Who designed the cover? have you asked for the design?

Since 2013 I've always gotten Cihan Berk from 7 Ensigns to design the cover art for my albums. His work is the perfect compliment to what I want to convey with my music. For the new album "Emanations," I did give him a mockup and we discussed the symbolism behind the idea of the 3 pillars, one of fire and one of ice, the subtle reflections of the scene in the bottom of the picture, and the way that all of that referred to songs and lyrics on the album. So despite all that detail, I left it up to him to make the magic happen like only he can, and I was really excited when I finally saw the final image he came up with. Once again he surpassed my expectations and totally nailed the symbolism.

6/You have a bonus and a different version from the first song, what made you go that way? are those songs not included in the normal version?

The instrumental version of the song "Emanations" is actually the original version that I wrote. I often compose the vocal lines for a song using lead guitar initially, and after a few months of listening to that version, I still felt like that version was something fans would really enjoy listening to, even after I had done the vocal version, so I decided to include it as a bonus track. I also included "To The Victors, The Spoils" as an additional bonus instrumental track, because it was actually the very first song I started writing for this album, and although it never ended up getting vocals like I originally planned, that was the song that sent this album in the somewhat orchestral direction in which it ended up going.

Both of those are only available on the physical CD, although they were also included for my supporters on Patreon for the early release of the album on that platform. But they won't be available in the Bandcamp digital version.

7/In which box would you categorize yourself (Death / Prog / Heavy‌)?

Hmm... that's kind of difficult. I guess I'd probably go with "Progressive Melodic Doom" if I had to categorize what I'm doing, at least on this album and my previous album "Escape." But I tend to do a different style on just about every album I do so I would classify my previous 4 albums rather differently.

8/Do you have live shows? or you are just a studio man?

I used to play live quite a lot, but since about 2010 I've spent all of my efforts to create the best work I can in the studio.

Perhaps at some point that will change, but my real passion is for painting soundscapes on the musical canvas and really aiming to create virtual worlds for the listener to visit. To me that's so much more of a magical experience than playing live.

But all that said, I'm not ruling out live shows. It would be really fun to be able to play this stuff for a live audience one day.

9/Have you participated as guest on others albums?

I am actually in the midst of doing that on 2 different projects right now, but they aren't complete yet so I can't really say which ones. But I do enjoy doing so - a lot of the time it really gets me to think differently than I normally would and I love that challenge.

10/Who inspired your guitar playing or the one that made you want to play guitar?

Originally, Iron Maiden, hands-down. That's the band that made me decide "You know what? I want to be a bad ass guitar player one day!" Over time of course I gained a lot of other influences, starting with Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, and John Petrucci.Â

A bit later into my guitar playing I was inspired by more extreme metal guitarists like Trey Azagthoth (Morbid Angel), Samoth and Ihsahn (Emperor), Carl August Tidemann & Knut Magne Valle (Arcturus), Dan Swano, Muhammad Suicmez (Necrophagist), and Stephan Forte (Adagio). Most recently I've found a lot of inspiration in Guthrie Govan's playing.

11/Have you learnt at school or you have a special teacher?

I only had lessons for the first 3 years of playing, which did give me some basics to build on, but for the most part I'd say I'm pretty much self-taught. Not that I didn't study constantly on my own, but during the time in my life when I really would've needed a teacher the most, there was no one available who taught Metal or appreciated it on the level that I did, and I just kind of had to figure out how to do what I needed to do based on where the notes were and what was the most efficient technique approach in terms of economy of motion and which finger to use in which situation.

In a lot of ways that's what led me to create ShredMentor Rock Guitar Academy in the first place, to BE that "Metal teacher" for others that I was never able to find for myself, and show people how to achieve the results they want without all the trial-and-error that I had to waste so much time going through.

12/You are teaching guitar, is it a full time job? What do you like in this field? Are you learning from students?

Yes, that is my primary source of income. I wouldn't say it's "full time" but it definitely occupies more than half of my waking hours every day of my life. So I'm sure I spend more than 40 hours a week working on ways to help more people learn more quickly, although I don't actually spend nearly that much time in actual teaching sessions.

What I really love about what I do is that I get to work with people that are motivated and inspired to improve in an area that we're both passionate about. That kind of energy is contagious and really motivates me to stay improving, myself, so that I can keep giving them my absolute best.

And a nice bonus is that yes, I do find that I learn things from my students as well. Which is great because it never lets me take any aspect of guitar playing for granted, and causes me to always think about not only how I'm going to teach each subject in the future, but also how I'm going to approach each technique in my own playing.

13/Let’s talk about your gears, you have an 8th string guitar on your facebook pic, on the video you have a guitar with 30 frets.. what does it bring to you? How did you come to those guitars? have you got your own signed guitar made?

Well the 8-string only has 24 frets, but I do have 2 six-strings with 29 and 36 frets respectively. :) I was kind of skeptical about 8-strings for quite a few years, and I had sort of written them off as superfluous since I was happy with 7-strings. But eventually I saw one in a store and decided to try it out, and found myself unwilling to put it down after an hour. Something about the even number of strings really revealed a whole new layer of things I could do.

I really love extended range guitars because in a way each one is a specialized tool for certain types of jobs, just like some keyboards have 49 keys, some have 61 or 76 keys, and others have the full 88 keys that an actual piano has.

Having a wider range of notes just opens the door for more musical possibilities. That's the way I approach it at least.

At the moment I don't have a signature guitar but I have definitely formulated what I'd want in the perfect guitar many times in my head and on paper. I'm just not working with a guitar company (yet?) at this point. One day maybe though!

Jason Aaron Wood ShredMentor Rock Guitar Academy

http://shredmentor.com/

Hi Terry, Name : Marc Wieland Where you live : Los Angeles When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix : I must have been about 9 years old when a friend gave me some drumsticks he found to replace my wooden Spoons from my moms Kitchen. The pots and pans got replace by drums 3 years later.

Drumstix you use & why : Vic Firth 2B, I’ve been using them for over 20 years now, and they are part of my body by now.

Drummer who Inspires You & why : Every drummer, no matter what skills or what style inspires me one way or another Fav Song to play drums to : The song that plays in my head at the time.

Fav style of Music to Rock with: Rock’n’ Roll, Hard, Heavy and Loud!!!

Bands You Have Rocked with over the years : Phuse, Level, Nabiha, Flood, Autograph What your up to now Just released a new Album “Get Off Your Ass” by Autograph that just hit #21 on the Billboard Hard Rock Charts. I recorded and mixed the Album as well as playing drums. Staying busy touring extensively in support of the new Album. www.facebook.com/marc.wieland.14 Best, Marc

Name : Minnesota Pete Campbell Where you live : St.Cloud, Minnesota When did you 1st pick up set of drumstix : I was bangin on pots and pans with wooden spoons at age 4. Got my first kit at 5...a childrens Muppet Show set if I remember. Then started  to build a real kit piece by piece until I saved enough money to buy a Ludwig 5 piece!

Drumstix you use & why : I use Pro Mark 5B nylon tip exclusively. Great heavy stick! I love the weight for discipline and working on speed and endurance. I'm also endorsed by Pro Mark and couldn't be happier with them!

Drummer who Inspires You & why : I love all kinds of drummers. I'm a slave for groove and swing. Drummers like Louie Bellson, Sandy Nelson, Gene Krupa, Max Roach, and Joe Morello are my hero's. In the Rock world I love Ginger Baker, Brian Downey, Ian Paice, Peter Criss, and Cozy Powell. I love a lot of Funk and Soul music too. Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!!

Fav Song to play drums to : Wow that's tough!!! I'm gonna have to say "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck. Joe Morello groove and time signature on that tune was so iconic!

Fav style of Music to Rock with : I've been a hard rock drummer for 30+ years. I still enjoy that alot with my current band Pentagram. 70s Rock drums are so fun! While not on the road and at home I love playing Jazz and Swing and all kinds of Funk!

Bands You Have Rocked with over the years : Too many to count lol. I've been in multiple Rock bands back in the day doin Bad Company covers for a pizza and pitcher of beer haha. My professional career as a touring and recording drummer have been with Sixty Watt Shaman, Place of Skulls, In Graved, and now Pentagram, Gygax, and Demonicus out of Sweden. I also play in Minnesota's premier KISS tribute KISSin Time. The future holds more studio work and other touring options.

Advice to Upcoming Drummers : Never stop learning!! With drums there is never a ceiling....never a end to the book.

Practice and bleed for your craft. Try new things and expanded your mind with all different types of music, patterns, grooves, and rhythms. Oh and less is more lol...speed kills :) What your up to now : Right now Pentagram is on a well deserved break so that opens me up to do other projects to stay busy. Recording of the Gygax album starts next week in California and I'm completely excited for that! The Demonicus album is being mixed in Sweden and will be out 2018 along with a tour. Pentagram will be doin some demoing and stuff for a new album as well! Life is good when you have a pair of sticks in your hand ;) www.facebook.com/minnesotapete.campbell

The prog sensation from the Netherlands return seven years after the successful ”The Grand Design” with their finest album to date!

‘Day Six’ music could best be described as progressive rock/metal, although it includes symphonic elements, as well as pop, electro, jazz and funk influences. Founded in 1996 under the name Peanuts, the band is known as Day Six since 2002 and changed to its current line-up in 2015. Long-time musical friends and original members Robbie van Stiphout (guitars, vocals) and Daan Liebregts (drums) share a history of 20 years of making music together. Eric Smits (bass, backing vocals) joined the band in 2011, after gaining broad musical experience as a singer and bass player in Casual Silence and several other bands. Keys player Rutger Vlek is the most recent addition to the Day Six line up (2015), and has played with Orpheo and Autumn in the past, as well as being involved in various studio projects..

Please describie the new album musically and lyrically?

A musical tribute to all those who dare to be, or simply have to be different because they ARE different.

Each song stands for a specific example in being an oddball, dissenter, recluse.....a loser or winner in the eye of the beholder.

Day Six are no exception here, in being the odd one out musically. Some slices of progrock, a chunk of metal, a handfull of rock and jazzrock, bits and pieces of blues and funk: a freaky mixture and an adventurous musical experience!

If you had to choose one artist "recommended for fans of .." who would that be?

We kind of have a discussion about that, let you coming week okay?

How does it differ from previous recordings ?

Besides the fact that it's recorded by a new lineup with new input, The contrast in the music has even grown. Day Six shows their heaviest, most mellow, technical and chatchiest side on the album.

What was the goal with making this album?

Our mutual goal was to create a kick ass album; a worthy follow up to the album "the Grand Design". To enjoy the process of writing and recording it and take the music to a lot of stages both in the Netherlands as abroad. Of course we also made plans in taking the production, the overall sound to a higher level. We're very happy to have achieved those goals.

Any specific influences towards music or lyric subject?

Musically we've been inspired by 70's bands like, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Rush, Yes and ELP as well as modern bands like Pain of Salvation, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Muse, Transatlantic and Dream theater How long did it take to make this album?

The recordings started at april 25th and finished at september 25th, so exactly 5 months of very hard work:) What has the different musicians contributed to the result?

This album, Solitary League, was written and recorded by a new lineup. Veteran members Daan on drums and Robbie on vocals and guitars were joined by Rutger on keys and Eric on bass and vocals. Since Eric is besides a great bassplayer also a good vocalist the albums contains more harmonieus vocals. And with Rutger as well a spheric as a virtuous master on keys you can call it Day Six 2.0 Writting music is still a bandproces with input from each bandmember.

www.day-six.com

Thirty years after his solo EP "Can't Go On Without Your Love" Lars now delivers "Sand and Blood", his first all electric album in four years .The album ends with first a new version of the 1987 classic "Can't Go On Without Your Love" and finally the epic ballad "Still Here Waiting" featuring the amazing Adrienn Antal on vocals. Musically Lars decided early on to make a straight ahead rock album paying homage to his early influences spiced up with the experience only someone with 30 releases behind himself can add. But most of all, "Sand and Blood" is a dedication to the love of music.

Besides having released albums under his own name Lars has released albums with "Lars Eric Mattsson's Vision", "Mattsson", Condition Red", "Book of Reflections", "Astral Groove", "Eli" (Darkness will fall) and appeared as guest on a number of releases... Locally Lars also performs live with the blues/rock band "Roadhouse" while looking for touring options with his own music.

Please describie the new album musically and lyrically?

I would like to think of "Sand and Blood" as a well structured hard rock album that fuses classic rock with modern influences and I tried to make it accessible while still original and interesting. Lyrically, except for the two last songs, everything else could be described as a concept story but it's all very personal and not necessary something I want to explain.

If you had to choose one artist that says "recommended for fans of .. who would that be? wow, that is gonna be very hard, but I think if you like the 80-ies releases by Gary Moore, Michael Schenker and perhaps Uli Jon Roth, then this might be what you like.

How does it differ from previous recordings ?

There are no instrumentals and I am singing myself everything except for the last track which is sung by Adrienn Antal who was the lead singer on the "Mattsson" albums "Dream Child" and "Tango". Also my previous album "Songs from a Different Room" was all acoustic while on this album it's all electric.

What was the goal with making this album?

I'ts been four years since my previous electric album and I really just had to do this one.

Any specific influences towards music or lyric subject?

The eternal struggle that is life, love, death, fighting, passion and a bit of obsession, but none of the lyrics are based on fantasies, everything comes from real life happenings personally or by people close to me... I believe every true artist need to live a little bit and not try to exist in a vacuum.

How long did it take to make this album?

About nine months, but as I was doing other things in between the actual time spent was probably 4-5 months.

What has the different musicians contributed to the result?

Adrienn Antal who is singing the last track is an amazing singer and she just connects to my music so well, it's just like we are soul mates, Christer Jansson on drums is super tight and he too knows what I want. While I played most keyboards myself, for the piano parts Alexander King (Condition Red) played what I simply can not do and I really appreciated his input and contributions as always. I know I am not easy to work with since I am an extreme perfectionist :-) but I think we had a good time anyway.

www.larsericmattsson.com

Interview with : Ritchie Randall 1/ Who started the band and what was the idea?

The band started in July of 2008. We had all played in a band together previously in the late 90’s, with the exception of our singer, James. It basically came down to good timing for everyone to start playing music again. The idea was to see if we still had that same chemistry that we once did, and hope that would lead to a creative spark to start writing new material. Once we started jamming again, the floodgates opened. We wrote 10 to 12 songs in the span of a few months.

We also wanted to play lots of shows, which we did after only jamming together for about 3 months. We haven’t really stopped the creative process since. Shows have been put on hold for about a year and a half, but that is all about to change with the addition of a new drummer.

2/ Who chose the name and what is the meaning?

Mike, our bass player asked a friend of ours if we could use the name, since our friends band never came to fruition.

We were initially called Krom until 2012. We changed it to Gravehuffer at that time, so as to avoid confusion with other bands called Krom or Crom. There is no real meaning behind the name, other than we thought it sounded cool and unique. We did decide to write a song called Gravehuffer, so now the name does have a little bit more meaning to it. The Gravehuffer is a creature who is born from decay who basically feasts on souls of the dead. This can have many meanings, both literally and metaphorically. That’s why James wrote the lyrics in a vague sort of way.

3/ Who did the logo? Looks like a pentagram coffin.

Mike once again gets credit here. He designed the logo after an idea from a friend of ours named Garry Moore, who was in a band with us at one time. Garry also mastered our latest album, so we kept it in the family so to speak. You are exactly right about it being a pentagram coffin design! We call it the pentagrave. It obviously fits the band name, plus it’s a wicked design. It’s seems to be catching on as something that is associated with the Gravehuffer name.

4/ How did you get the endorsements (Von York, Sinister…)?

The endorsements were something that happened by word of mouth and lots of networking with other friends in bands. Von York Strings was the first one that I got. I basically just filled out the Artist Endorsement Application on their website and hoped for the best. I had heard great things about their strings and once I was accepted, I received my first batch of strings. They do not disappoint! The next one was Sinister Guitar Picks. I think already having an endorsement may have helped me get the next one and so on. They built on each other. Sinister have a pretty big following, so I was really stoked to get with them. Their picks are perfect for our style to, as they are very durable, stay in my hands very well, and are of course great to look at! Killer B Guitars was next and the one I am probably most excited about. A dream come true really. The guitar they are making is being built to my exact specifications. It will be a V shape that looks a little like a stealth bomber, and it will have my initials on the headstock. The last one I got was Spectraflex Cables. They are very high quality, rugged, and so cool to look at as well! I couldn’t be happier with all of my gear right now!

5/ How long the band has been alive for?

We have been around since July of 2008, so just over 9 years. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long at all! Like they say, time flies when you’re having fun. We plan to keep going as long as we can physically keep playing the songs and being creative.

6/ Are you in other bands?

Mike is in another band called Skunkwerx Audio Unit. They perform soundtracks to silent movies, such as Metropolis, Phantom Of The Opera, The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, etc.

7/ Who writes the songs?

We all have a hand in writing the songs. The music can come in a variety of ways, from one of us bringing in an idea and building on that, to just jamming at practice until we form a solid structure for a good song. Occasionally, one of us will come in with a complete song but that has only happened four or five times. James, our singer writes all of the lyrics, but there are times when we will give him suggestions for subject matter. James will even chime in with arrangement ideas too, so it’s all a big melting pot in the end.

8/ Musically you are more into the extreme style with some early 80’s influences? What do you want to achieve? Is it just fun?

Yes, I would say we are definitely into more extreme styles, and the early 80’s hardcore punk and thrash scenes play a big part in that. Bands like Discharge, Celtic Frost, Venom, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, Mercyful Fate to even 70’s bands like Black Sabbath, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, etc. The late 80’s and early 90’s Earache Records scene was a big influence too. Bands like Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Entombed, etc. As far was what we want to achieve, we just write what we think we would want to hear from other bands, since we are fans of music before anything else. We also want everything we do to have some form of intensity, whether it is the fast, punk tinged songs, or the slower sludge like material. I would say at this point, we do it to have fun of course, but there is a level of it being therapeutic for all of us, as well as a hint of seriousness. We want to be as good as some of the professional bands that we look up too, but stay grounded and humble as well. Once it stops being fun though, there’s no point in doing it anymore.

9/ Have had line-up changes that affected the style of the band?

We have tried a couple of times to add a second guitarist to mixed results. Both guys were great players but seemed to have some issues with gelling with the rest of us. I think mostly because their influences were a lot different from ours, that it made it difficult for them to adapt to what we were trying to achieve. We recently parted ways with our drummer of 9 years, but are going to try out a new drummer. By the time this interview is released, we will most likely have practiced a few times with him and will know whether he will fit in or not. We are pretty confident that he will though. We’ve known each other for a while and do have quite a few similar influences. He is very talented and a little bit more of a metal type drummer, which will no doubt affect our sound. We think it will be in a positive way though, as we have been dying to get more double bass pedal work in in our sound.

10/ Which bands influenced you?

Our influences range greatly, from bands like Slayer, Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, Voivod, Morbid Angel, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Venom, Black Flag, Mob 47, Ausrotten, Rudimentary Peni, Nausea, the list goes on.

11/ Do you have a theme for the lyrics? What are they about?

Lyrically we don’t necessarily have a theme, as they tend to cover a lot of ground. James, our singer writes all the lyrics.

He tends to write about his issues with religion in several songs, as well as some personal topics. Sometimes he does write more light hearted material, like playing Dungeons & Dragons, comic books, Evel Knievel, skateboarding, and fantasy based themes. There are some other individual stories like serial killers, the Manhattan Project/atomic bomb, DC beltway sniper, Watership Down, the military and our government, etc.

12/ How did you get the label? Have you created it? Are you LP fans?

Bluntface Records were a label that we knew of through mutual friends in other bands. They had a switch at the CEO position and announced some ideas for future projects. One of them was vinyl releases. I decided to ask them about the vinyl they had in mind and wondered if they would like to work with us on something like that. They replied that we were one of the first bands they thought of working with so we decided to sign with them. When we recorded the Your Fault album, it was with every intention of releasing it on vinyl. We are indeed huge fans of LPs. We are of the age when vinyl was the main source of listening to music, so it is somewhat of a nostalgia thing combined with dreams that you have when you’re a kid of one day being in a band and releasing your own album. Bluntface will make it easier for us to realize this dream, as well as making it a fun project. We are going to put 2 bonus tracks on it that will be exclusive to the vinyl edition. One of the bonus tracks will feature a guitar solo by Carlo Regadas who used to be in Carcass, and is currently in his own band now called Monstrance. The other bonus track will introduce our new drummer to the world, so it is very exciting. We want to thank The Metal Mag for the interview, as well as everyone who supports the underground. Cheers from Gravehuffer! \,,/ \,,/

www.facebook.com/gravehuffer

John Allen / Fin Finlay – Baleful Creed Interview October 2017 by Beth Jones About a month ago I had the great pleasure of interviewing John and Fin, the guitarist and front man and founding members of Northern Ireland heavy rockers Baleful Creed. We had a very jolly 40 minutes on Skype, covering everything from Buckfast to Jaffa Cakes. So here it is: Ever Metal: For those who haven’t heard of you, can you give us a brief history of the band.

Where you came from, what you do and where you are now?

John Allen: Well it started back in 2009. Previously Fin and me had just been dabbling about with a covers band, nothing too serious, it was just a way to get out of the house, crank up the volume on the amps and the guitars and just sort of have a night out! We only did a few gigs as the cover band – probably because we weren’t very good!!

Fin Finlay: No, I think it was probably because we picked songs that we enjoyed playing, not what the public wanted!

John: Yeah, we didn’t do songs like ‘Summer Of 69’ or anything like that!

Fin: We didn’t do the stuff that people wanted to hear – so the covers band was like playing an original set – people going ‘we’ve never heard of any of this!’

John: Yeah, then just at some point, Fin came to me with this disc of four or five demo songs that he had put together.

I was fairly reticent of actually listening to it because I didn’t want to! When did he write a song? You know! But he totally surprised me and that ‘first material’ morphed into what became the debut EP. That hooked straight away on his style of writing. I think I had the guitar tone he wanted so we put that together. Plus, I had the band name as well!

Fin: Yeah you had that from a long time ago!

John: He had to get me on board I think! From that, that pushed me into starting to write stuff so it then developed into what we are and who we are now.

Who were your biggest musical influences growing up?

Fin: I can answer his – Black Sabbath!! I have a really wide range of music I like – from heavy metal to… When I was about 8 or 9 my cousin gave me some LPs – Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Judas Priest – stuff like that, and ever since then I’ve just always liked rock. It wasn’t like ‘Oh I was in to rock last summer and I’m into hip hop this summer’, once you go into rock, it’s in your blood. It’s not a phase. It’s a love.

John: Queen was the first band that got me in to listening to rock. I was watching Top Of The Pops going ‘this is absolute rubbish this stuff ’, I had no interest in music at all, but I always sort of knew about Queen, and then when I got my first pay packet, I was thinking about buying an album and it was Queen and it started me down that road.

Fin: Yeah, it was the 80s – people always go on about the 80s and 80s music, and it was horrible! And the style was terrible as well!! I was just jeans, leather jacket and cut offs. I didn’t mind that look, but I didn’t like that whole new romantic thing.

John: Yeah that style of music is probably best just left in the past!!

You have recently released your second album “Seismic Shifter” how is that being received so far?

John: Yeah it went down really well – it’s been a real pleasant surprise for us! We were so shocked to get a first album out! Then to carry on and move in to a second album – at the end of the day this was all started as just a hobby and a bit of fun – but it’s just escalated – like a small snowball rolling down a hill and growing in size and volume as the years go

on. So, it was great to get another album out – it was something we probably both thought we would never do again.

It was great that we weren’t the one album only and that was it done. It’s great that we have achieved another batch of songs that we could go out and record. And the reception for it has been phenomenal. It’s been out since June and the reviews have all been pretty incredible so we’re exceedingly chuffed with that. It’s been good putting it all together for the last three years or so.

Fin: We had to do that with the new guys coming on board – the two Daves – we had to give them time – they wanted to get out and gig, so they had to learn the first album, then they wanted to gig it, so it took a while before we could actually get writing again. John had a lot of riffs from ages ago anyway, so when we did decide to write another album it was good because the Daves’ influences helped as well.

John: Absolutely, and a lot of people have said there is a definite change – it’s still the Baleful Creed core sound to it, but definitely the grooves have changed and that’s got to be down to the new engine room that’s in place! People are noticing that live and certainly on the record that there’s a wee different set of influences in there, that have just changed the way the final product is and luckily, it’s all been really positive and favourable, so we’re exceedingly chuffed with that.

We have actually commented on that , it definitely does sound different , your live sound appears heavier to your album sound. Do you prefer the measured experience of studio recording for an album, or do you prefer the rough and ready of live performance ? The heavier, the chunkier, the ‘we can whack it up as much as we want here’..

Fin: Yeah, playing live is really good. That’s what we want to do all the time, but you do have to do new material for the fans and the people listening. You go into the studio and it’s all excitement you know, but it does get a bit tedious after a while! You’re just sitting there waiting and either John or Dave’s laying down bass lines or riffs or something, and its only more fun when you’re doing it yourself!

John: Ey, the studio’s a strange place to be in! For me it’s exceedingly nerve wracking – when you’re playing and everybody’s looking at you and you’re on ‘take 55 of this wee bit’!! Like OCD to get that solo right. Whereas live, you’ve got to get out there, you play it, there’s no room for error. You make wee blips here and there and what not, but its raw – you’re feeding off what’s happening in the audience, you’re feeding off the other players in the band, you’re basically feeding off the volume cos you can get out there and get that amp cranked up.

Fin: I would actually love to be out in the crowd to hear that sound because on the stage you don’t hear that sound – you get the monitors, and you hear a bit of volume from your amps, but you don’t hear the overall sound. Some people say, ‘WOW that was really, really loud, I loved it!!’ I’d love to be out there just to hear it!

John: Yeah you can still hear a bit of what is actually going on. Obviously, the studio captures that, but the studio is always going to be quite restrained in a way, where every note needs to be just caught and put down on tape. You’re working to click tracks or whatever, so it’s all quite precise and polished. Going out live, you get that……. You know we’re just a live band at the end of the day, so it does flip over a bit. Certainly nothing changes tuning wise, it’s maybe just the volume that we operate at!

Fin: Eleven!!!

John: Mr Jeffers is a loud drummer so yes, our amps go to eleven in good old Spinal Tap world!

What is the rock and metal scene like in Ireland?

Fin: It’s ok…….!! It’s very good actually. There’s so much talent over here. The only thing is, it’s a small country so everyone’s fighting for a place. We do want to break over and get on to the mainland more because, if you just want to stay in the one wee country, you just do nothing! You can’t get out to a wider audience.

John: It’s very easy to over saturate yourself here. You’re playing to a limited audience. There is a very good hardcore of folk who will come out and support the local music and the local scene here. When you go to a big gig – and our biggest would be the SSE Odyssey which holds 8-10,000, those mainstream rock bands, metal bands crowds don’t filter down into the local scene really, and there are a lot of really good bands and really good albums that are just floating about here in Northern Ireland, because people just don’t seem to want to go out and see what’s on their doorstep. I was like that in my early twenties – all I went to see was cover bands and the big bands that came through – my night out was going out to see what band was playing AC/DC and things like that. Then I discovered a couple of local bands I sort of went ‘Hang on – there is stuff happening on my doorstep that is really good’! I think you just need to be introduced to that, then you actually just start delving in. A lot of people – us included only ever went to big gigs, and then Darren heard Citizens. I think they were supporting Blaze Bayley or someone like that and they just totally blew him away and he was like ‘What the hell’s going on here – they’re from here!!’ And he then started delving in. He set up a local festival, because his son had been really ill in childhood and it was a way of saying thank you to the hospital that had treated him. He put on all the best local talent. It was probably the most successful festival round here and that was from him just seeing one local band and thinking ‘Bloody hell there’s something good going on here on my doorstep!’

Fin: Yeah, his festival would be one of the biggest gigs over here – everyone wants to be part of it – it’s always a really good, big crowd and it’s very successful.

JA: Yeah – apart from that though, nothing like Rockwich, that you were both at, happens over here and for me it’s a big gap in the market. You get your evening gig where there’ll be three or four rock and metal bands on, but we really only have Sunflower Fest here.

FF: But that’s more main stream isn’t it.

John: It’s a bit more eclectic – its indie, its world music and stuff like that – you only get a wee bit of rock and metal coming through. So, there’s a market here for a one dayer, maybe two – day Rock and Metal festival. There’s a wealth of bands here. And there a quite a few Northern Ireland bands punching through onto the mainland, so I think for a wee small country we’re doing alright!

Is it difficult attracting exposure in England, Scotland and Wales?

How easy is it for you getting over here to the mainland to play?

John: Well we have been over about three or four times, but it was all Scotland based gigs before. Our first English gig was Rockwich a few months ago. This fella here (Fin) doesn’t fly, so it’s big money heading over with him cos we’ve got to take a ferry and a car!! But we’ve reached the point now where we know we need to get over now and we’ll invest that money just to get over and get reaching the audience. Online you can do so much as well now, you know, you can reach out to people and let them hear the band.

Fin: Yeah years ago it used to be flyers – you used to have to put flyers up or pass them around and just hope that they got to the people who wanted to come and see you! But there wasn’t a big original band scene here in the early nineties – there was a lot of cover bands and stuff.

John: Maybe then it was just we hadn’t discovered that there was all these original bands ourselves – we might have been off radar!! Whereas now we’re more clued in to what’s happening. Certainly, our focus is to listen to our contemporary bands round here.

Who is the song writer, or do you all have a hand in it?

John: It’s a mixture of all of us really.

Fin: We like to write music that we want to listen too.

John: Mostly the second album came about because of somebody bringing riffs into the room – whether that was stuff that Fin had, or myself, you sort of jam it out in the room a bit, then the Daves bring in their influence – they sort of pull and push it whatever way it needs to go, then the vocals will come in on top. This time round everybody was putting their eggs into the mix, whereas before it would have mostly been Fin. We’re all quite open. He will get an idea and tweak it to his own sort of style cos he knows how many syllables he needs to sing in a particular line, so where we might have written a novel, he’ll tone it down to a singable level but keep the gist of what the song is about. So it just goes into a big mixing pot really and gets shoved around until we get an end product that we are all pretty happy with.

What’s next for Baleful Creed? Are you writing still or are you just concentrating on the live stuff?

John: Well, we are heading into a quiet period gig wise, so this will open up the chance for us to get back in writing again. We do only get to meet once a week anyway on an evening because of work commitments and family commitments, so we do only get a couple of hours a week to get into the room and start mixing stuff up. But a goal has been set to try and get a third album out within a couple of years.

Fin: But hopefully make it a wee bit different again.

Thinking forward to that album, and the future; If you could work with one producer in the future, who would that be, or would you self-produce?

Fin: We like producing it ourselves!

John: We’re fairly fortunate that Neil up at Manor Park (Neil Calderwood – Manor Park Studios) knows our sound, and knows the sound that we like, and captures it really well for us. I think that comes through in the reviews that we have got off the album. For me it would be Martin Birch, if he’s still alive, because he is Rainbow, he is Heaven and Hell, he’s all those classic Iron Maiden albums. I’d like to work with Martin Birch.

Fin: I’ll go with what he says!!

B: You can’t do that – you’re more Bob Rock!(Laughing) If you could do a world tour, what countries would you like to gig in?

John: Errrrr….. All the countries that are connected by land so he doesn’t have to fly!!! I don’t think there are any restrictions really. I would really love to play America – we’ve a lot of good friends and supporters over there – it would be great to just get over and do a gig for them at some point.

Fin: It’s just about financing ourselves, that’s all.

John: Yeah, we run this as an independent thing ourselves, so everything we make is just churned back into the band funds again.

Fin: Yeah nothing goes into our own pockets – it all goes back in for recording, merchandise, it’s like a big wheel that just goes round and round.

John: Yeah and it’s been good fun, and everything we do we can look back on and go, ‘that’s our own achievements’.

We’ve never tried to be signed in any way shape or form.

Fin: In this day and age, I don’t think that’s even necessary – I’ve read articles where bands are actually encouraged to market themselves, to do those things themselves and cut out the middle man so to speak. We don’t want to be signed though.

John: Yeah, we have had a couple of approaches in the past and you look at it and think ‘What’s in it for us?’. There’s not a lot of money generated in this industry now, so what we are doing, we want to keep on doing. You invest back into the band and that maybe funds a trip over to the UK or hopefully further afield, hopefully from this new album and getting the merch items out there, but there’s nobody looking over our shoulders going ‘you need to get a record out by such and such a date’, so we can do everything at our own pace with no pressure. At the end of the day this started out as a hobby and it’s maybe not just a hobby any more, but there’s no pressure on us. We’re not going to get into financial difficulties, we’re not going to owe our label money or anything, so we can just do this under our own steam.

Fin: Unless we get a million pound record deal!! That would make us do a record quickly!!

What is your favourite song to play live, and why?

Fin: I Love ‘God’s Fear’, I just love that..

John: Yeah I was just about to say that. ‘Devil’s Side’ for me has a really good feel to it. That, ‘The Wolf ’ and ‘Levy’ were the last three to get put together for that new album.

Fin: Yeah and that was nearly dropped!! It’s a wee bluesy feeling, ‘it’s just too simple, it’s maybe not our sort of thing, but we just put it out and it’s become one of people’s favourites…. But for me it would be ‘God’s Fear’.

John: And for me it would be ‘Devil’s Side’ I think.

Fin: I still get a kick out of playing ‘Autumn Leaves’ though. It is the reaction that you get back from the audience – everyone loves it. It’s dark – and I like that.

Give us your best rock’n’roll story – what’s the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you on stage etc?

Fin: For me it would probably be getting completely wasted playing Dublin and making an absolute arse of myself!!

John: Yeah and then you went and re-enacted it again the next time we were in Dublin. You didn’t learn your lesson!!

Fin: Yeah you could get away with that sort of stuff back in the 70s, but not now. I didn’t really think it through.

John: Yeah, the first gig in Dublin wasn’t a good start. I brought my own amp head down, but one of the guys in the other band said, ‘to save yourself bother, just use my rig’, and I blew it in the second song! All the sound just went ffftt.

They were playing on, blissfully unaware that I was there, sweat rolling down my face, going ‘WHAT’S GONE ON’!!

Trying to find out what the hell had happened! So that was my sheer moment of panic and terror, which I hope to never experience again. Meanwhile, these guys are all stoned and pished out of their heads, because they had taken a road trip to Dublin and I think they had forgotten that they had to play at the end of it! It was a steep learning curve!!

(Note: The band did elaborate further on this, but it may have been incriminating to print it, so we have edited it a little!! Needless to say, after consuming much Buckfast and other concoctions, they were a little worse for wear!)

John: I think that is probably why we have only played Dublin three times and never been invited back!!

Fin: Yeah, I don’t do the whole drinking before a gig thing any more. It’s not enjoyable……. For everyone else there.

Maybe for me it is – I thought we were brilliant!!!

John: But it’s a different mindset now. In those early days we were just doing it for fun, but now you know you have got to get up on stage and perform.

Fin: Yeah people want to hear you playing it like the album, they don’t want you to just make stuff up as you’re going along – like Aerosmith – Houston ‘77 – which was woeful!! But the fans didn’t care because they were probably all off their heads as well!!

What would your best advice be for young kids wanting to start a band?

John: Don’t drink before you go on stage!!!!!! Er.. Just enjoy it. Try and get a bit of good equipment because I think that is half the battle – having a good sound before you get up on stage.

Fin: And if you are writing stuff, write stuff that you want to write, not what you think the crowd wants.

John: And don’t mind taking a few hits along the way – you’re not going to please everybody. Some people are going to think you are crap. Don’t take it personally, just get up and try and write another song and see what happens. Just

enjoy it for what it is – at the end of the day, you are getting up and you’re playing and if you’re enjoying it, it’s a fantastic hobby / profession to have.

Fin: I would love nothing more than to get up every morning and all I have to do is come up with riffs and lyrics, that would be great. Unfortunately, we have to work!

And finally…Jaffa cake – cake or biscuit?!

Fin: It’s a biscuit.

John: It’s a cake. It’s sponge with chocolate on the top!

Fin: Yeah, but if you go into the supermarket, they are in the biscuit isle!!

John: Yeah, but do you know what the really big clue is? It’s on the box – it says Jaffa CAKE – it doesn’t say Jaffa biscuit!

Fin: What do you guys think?

Beth: Well I’m on the biscuit side!!

Rick: I’m on the cake side!!

Beth: Yeah, we argue about it quite a lot, so we thought we would ask everyone we interview and then collate it!!

John: Cake.

Fin: Nah I’m with Beth, it’s a biscuit all the way. Definitely a biscuit.

And that was that. The band did also tell us that they are working on a website, as not everyone uses social media, and that they are looking to book some gigs here on the mainland very soon. Thank you once again chaps for taking time out of packing merch to talk to us here at Ever Metal! We had great fun. If anyone wants to book the guys, which I would highly recommend, or if you just want to check them out, here are all the links you will need!

https://www.facebook.com/BalefulCreed/

http://ever-metal.com

Interview from Travis Brooks #1 Hi Janna and guys from Down For Five! Janna can you and the guys please introduce yourselves,their positions, instruments that each play. Also give us a little info on their backgrounds in music please?

Yes, we have Syke Mochek on lead vocals and guitar, Scott Squires on bass and vocals, Matt Gordon on drums and myself, Janna Jordan Squires on lead guitar and vocals. All of us have been involved in the local music scene for over 20 years and have played in various bands, both original bands and cover bands, since we were all very young. Speaking for myself, I have played guitar for 31 years now. #2 Janna can you or one of the guys please tell us about the history of Down For Five and information on it's progression into new music with the side projects like The Infectus 13 type projects, the other Bands that came from Down For Five and where Down For Five music is headed today?

Down For Five was formed by myself, my late ex husband Ken Kinder and drummer Aaron white back in 2001. Shortly after we formed, we recruited Syke to be our vocalist. Scott joined the band in 2005 and Matt just came on board with us a few months back when we decided to get the band back together. As far as the Infectus 13 project, my time in that was short lived. Sid realized my schedule did not permit me to commit the time needed for it so he recruited another guitarist to work on it. Because of Sid’s health, I believe the project is unfortunately halted, at least for now, but I am not completely sure on that. We are all hoping Sid can regain good health and get back to full strength soon. #3 How does Down For Five feel when they see a few local bands in OKC talking about how their music scene is dead there, or does not pay, and what can people do to try changing that everywhere please?

I think in the year 2017, it is a challenge for all of us to keep the music scene alive. Things have changed a lot. With modern technology and short attention spans, people move from this to that and it’s hard to capture them as a full fledged fan where they stay around for a long time. But I think everyone as a musician should play for the love of the music, play what makes them happy, and do their best to put out good quality music and entertaining shows. If you can connect with your fans on a personal level where they feel you are friendly and approachable, that will definitely help keep them coming back. Make it about them, not about you. #4 Guys can you please tell us a little more about Down For Five and it's music and any news that you can share with the fans today?

It’s heavy, but melodic. We do some three part harmonies. It’s a mixture of a lot of our favorite bands. Some have compared us to Queensryche meets Sevendust with some Machine Head and King’s X mixed in. It’s a lot of different flavors rolled into one. #5 Janna can you and the guys please give us a run down about the bands direction compared to the very beginning or start up of Down For Five?

At the beginning, we had hopes of making it big. Now that we’re in our 40s and some of us close to 50, we’re doing it for fun and self satisfaction. Just because your band doesn’t make it big doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. If it means something to you, then it means something period. Always play what you enjoy and don’t stop until you quit having fun with it. #6 What are some of the bands thoughts on the importance of the equipment and light shows and the bands following please?

It really is important. Quality equipment and a quality stage show translates to a much more professional and enjoyable experience for those in attendance. If you act like a pro, you set yourselves apart from the segment that doesn’t and you rise up to a higher level. Plus, being that way, you can influence others to up their game as well, which does nothing but elevate the quality of your scene as a whole. #7 Can you and the guys please share some of Down For Fives favorite Events from the past that were fun for you all or that you enjoyed most of all?

We have gotten to do some really cool stuff like open for major artists like The Misfits, Lita Ford, Vixen and we got to play the main stage at Rocklahoma 2007. We also had the pleasure of having our first album mastered at Capitol Records, which was really cool. We went out there to visit in the mid 2000s and it was really cool to see Capitol, where all that magic has happened over the years. #8 Does Down For Five like doing the larger big arena event shows, the casinos, or the smaller local type events?

We like playing where the crowd is into it and feeding us energy with their excitement about the music. Size of the venue really doesn’t matter to me, at least. It’s all about the crowd being into it. That is what makes it fun. #9 In todays busy busy world, how much advance notice does Down For Five like to have for Booking/Promotions/Building Events and how do you feel about flyers or Events advertising needs?

Because everyone in the band is so busy with their other bands, full time jobs, family lives, we usually try to book well in advance so there is time to plan and make sure there are no schedule conflicts. Flyers and advertising are key to the success of your event. If you don’t promote, no one knows. It’s amazing how many bands and venues do not adequately promote their shows. #10 How hard is it to be in a band as a working professional while holding day jobs today compared to when Down For Five first formed and what should some younger bands be prepared for?

It’s very hard. You just don’t have much down time, so you have to be ok with that. To succeed at anything, you have to work really hard. Prepare to outwork the next guy. Not because you are trying to hold him back but because you are trying to get ahead. It’s all about hard work. You just can’t succeed without it. #11 Any new Albums or CD releases planned for Down For Five coming up?

We are planning on doing some writing and hope to record some new songs in the not too distant future. #12 Can Down For Five please give the local "Up and Coming" bands any helpful tips to succeed in todays music scenes?

Like I said above, be ready and willing to work. And keep working. And then when you’re tired, keep working anyway.

Good things always happen when you’re willing to put out the work and effort. Get really good at your instrument.

Get really good at your writing. Promote your shows. Befriend your fans and make a personal connection with them.

And always stay humble, grateful, and hungry. Good things will come to you. #13 How does Down For Five feel about todays music venues in Tulsa like the BOK and what do you guys think about The Gathering Place For Tulsa, and living, and working here in Tulsa?

We are very much looking forward to seeing you soon! The BOK is the best thing that has happened to Tulsa. It’s put us on the map as an attractive city for major artists. This is a great city with a great music scene. Anything that Tulsa has that furthers our city’s growth and recognition as a great place to live and play music, I’m all for it. We have some really great promoters here that work really hard to bring in great acts. I’m very glad to be living, working and playing music in Tulsa.

Travis L. Brooks/tlb/Spartan

www.downforfive.com

Interview with Dave Starr 1/How hard was it to release this new album?

This album took over 4 years to make, much longer then we would normally take. But this situation was rather difficult.

We had 5 deaths in the family (Including both my parents and London's brother), and London and I also moved from California to Texas a few years ago. All of these things and others slowed us down, but we finally got it finished.

2/Did you try to create a different feel or sound during the recording process?

London's brother Gary, committed suicide in 2012, right after our last album "A tell tale Heart" came out. London ended up shifting gears into more of a concept album, and wrote lyrics regarding her brother, his life and death, and their relationship. I also used one of Gary's Fender strats on the album. We wanted to try and get his feel and mojo/vibe if we could. And I think we did. I also played his guitar as a tribute to him.

3/Who designed the cover?

Jonas De Ro, a brilliant digital artist. The piece of art is actually called "Moscow Ruins" Jonas has worked on many blockbuster movies as a conceptual artist, including ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’, ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’, ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’, ‘Terminator Genisys’, ‘Jupiter Ascending’, ‘Edge Of Tomorrow’, and many others!

www.jonasdero.com 4/How did you get signed by Scarlet records? Have you had US label interest or you chose Scarlet yourself?

Our first album "ARRIVAL", we put that out ourselves in 2010. We learned alot from that experience both good and bad. Scarlet took an interest in us when we were looking for a new deal for our 2nd album so we ended up signing with them. We signed with them again for the new CD. 5/ You compose all of the music, where do you pull all the inspiration from, and would you co-write with anyone outside the band.

I have written all the music and played all the guitars and bass on our 3 albums. That was not our original intention when London and started WildeStarr. We tried to get other people involved with the band, but we gave up after a while. It was too difficult finding people who shared our vision and commitment. So, we just decided to do it ourselves. Aside from Josh Foster on drums, London and I do everything ourselves. I think its worked out great, the results prove that. London and I might be doing a side project in 2018, and we will collaborate with other musicians on this. stay tuned!!

6/What skills have you learned since you started the band?

I keep getting better and better on the guitar, and as a song writer. I never stop learning, and growing. I think that is important as an artist.

7/Is that album mastered by the label ?

We recorded, mixed, and mastered the album here at out home studio in Texas. London and Josh do all of that. I'm not good with the technical recording stuff, but I have very good ears.

8/Will you go on tour?

We never tour or play LIVE. Its just the way we do things. We exist in the studio and internet only. That could change, we do get asked all the time. London and I are very private people.

9/Are you listening to other bands to give you inspirations?

I don't listen to much music, but when I do its usually the older classic metal and hard rock. Lots of inspiration in the past!

10/Did you think to give up at some point?

Not really, I'm 56 now. I think if I was to give up and stop playing I would have done it years ago. Ive had alot of ups and downs over the years. I have been fortunate to have had a long career, and its still going. And, I'm making the best music now with WildeStarr.

11/Have you guests or friends appear on albums?

No, its just London, Josh, and I. 12/What do you think of the metal scene today?

To be honest, I don't pay much attention to it. I mainly just focus on what we are doing with WildeStarr.

13/Have you tried new gears or effects?

I have used pretty much the same gear through 3 albums now. I'm not one of those "gear head" guys who is always trying new things.

14/Will the record deal will free you from dealing with sending albums etc…? Will you have shirts for fans?

We send out signed promo CD's through our publicist. And we will sell them through our website as well. We already have a nice list or pre orders for the new CD! Most of the major distributors will have it in stock as well.

15/Who is maintaining the website?

London takes care of all of that.

16/Do you have special plectrums made for you, special shapes…? which ones do you use?

I use COOL Picks. They are great, and have a nice sand paper like texture on both sides. Helps to keep the pick from slipping around in my fingers. Ive been using COOL picks for about 10 years now. www.coolmusicinc.com 17/How did you secure the EMG endorsement? Does that help in getting additional guitars?

Ive been with EMG officially as a signed artist for about 7 years. But I have used their pickups on most of the albums I have recorded going back to 1985. Great pickups and great people! www.emgpickups.com/artist/index/view/id/407 I don't go after guitar endorsements anymore. I have pretty much all the gear I need. But, If Gibson wants to send me a new Les Paul.... I'm Ok with it!

Thank You!!

www.wildestarr.com

1/Who chose this name what is the meaning?

Hello and thanks for the interview! The band’s name was Nick’s idea. We were aiming for something intriguing when reading it, and at the same time to sound cool. “Thousanddead” totally fulfills its goal.

2/When the band was born?

We started rehearsing in the beginning of 2013 and in October of that same year, we played our first gig.

3/Have you always played that Thrash Metal or moved after years of playing?

Well from the beginning we were trying to create something out of the ordinary. That’s why you hear different kinds of riffs in our music. From thrash to heavy rock and from punk to grindcore.

4/You have a bit of Nailbomb/Sepultura pounding Metal are they your influences?

Hmm no to be honest. But if you distinguish a Sepultura vibe in our music, we can take it only as a compliment!

Thank you!

5/Who is the main composer?

Nick usually builds the main structure of the songs and then we work it all together until everyone is satisfied with the result.

6/Have you recorded old songs you worked out for the album or they are all brand new?

Yes, we re-recorded the 3 songs that existed on Promo 2014. 1) The oppressor syndrome, 2) Post - war blues and 3) Dignity... A dying word.

7/What are the lyrics about and what is the theme?

The album in general has this “pissed off ” vibe musically, so the lyrics follow according to that vibe.

8/How did you sign to Metal Scrap Records and have you had other interest?

After the final mastering of the album, we started sending it everywhere around the world and Metal Scrap Records

replied back positively. So after a lot of emailing back and forth, we signed with them. Yeah, we had a couple of offers from other labels, but Metal Scrap Records was the right choice for the band.

9/Who designed the cover and have you given your say?

A great artist and a friend of ours was in charge of the artwork, Nikos “Visionblack” Stavridakis. As guidelines we simply told him, to visualize our music and he came up with this surrealistic piece of art. We love it.

10/You haven’t got a name logo is it a wish or you haven’t had the time to get one?

We wanted something as simple as possible, so the music itself would do all the work for us. Kind of like Converge or Mastodon does.

11/Does this contract helps you playing live gigs more often?

Well the last couple of months we’re in search for a drummer and that’s why the band hasn’t done a lot of gigs. Hopefully this will change soon.

12/Which bands are you playing live with? Is there one you’d love to share the stage with on tour?

To name a few, Among Ruins, Ravencult, Imperium Infernalis. If we could open for Hatebreed or Converge that would be very cool right?

13/Do you play abroad?

Not yet we haven’t, but that is because of the lack of stability in the line-up. Doing gigs abroad is one of our main goals.

14/What gear do you use and why?

6-string Ibanez BTB 676 bass, a handmade Mensgeld guitar, Marshall amps and a couple of Boss petals. Keeping it classic!

15/What’s the scene like in your country? Is the music you play well accepted?

Lots of bands and different scenes for the size of a country like Greece. There’s been a general preference in extreme music here, so yes it’s well accepted.

www.facebook.com/1000Dead/

Français 1/Qui a démarré le groupe et quel était l’idée de base?

Buru : Gogo. Aucune idée particulière si ce n'est avoir son propre groupe et faire de la bonne musique.

English

1/Who started the band and what was the main idea?

Buru : Gogo. No special idea if just having your own band and create good music.

2/ Pourquoi ce nom et d’ou vient il?

C'est l'ancien gratteux Guillaume (guitariste chez Outcast également) qui a eu l'idée...c'est la transmission de pensée d'une personne à l'autre, même si l'on ne trouve ce terme dans aucun dictionnaire! Comme quoi, inventer des mots c'est sympa aussi (tout comme Kerry King a récemment pondu "repentless", mot qui se trouve dans aucun dictionnaire).

2/Why this name and where it comes from?

It’s the old guitarist Guillaume (Outcast guitarist right now) who had the idea... It’s the thought’s transmission from a person to another one even though you can’t find it in any dictionnary! Finally it’s good to invent words (such as Kerry King who created «repentless» you can’t find in any dictionnary either).

3/La pochette de votre dernier album est superbe , comment l’avez vous eu et il y a t’il un rapport avec les textes?

Tout simple, j'ai fait une liste de 6 artistes que j'aimais bien et on était une majorité à vouloir travailler avec Paolo Girardi.

Malgré le prix, on est bien content du résultat. Pour ma part, c'est la première pochette d'album dont je suis fier. Quand au rapport avec les textes, il a un rapport avec le titre de l'album : le contraste clair-obscur.

3/The last album cover is amazing, how did you get it and is there a link with your lyrics?

Very simple, I made a list of six artist I loved and we were the majority of us who wanted to work with Paolo Girardi.

Although the price we are quite happy with the result. As for myself, it’s the first time I am proud of an album cover.As for the lyrics , there is a link with the album title between light and darkness.

4/Qui a fait le logo ? ne pensez vous pas que la difficulté de le lire repousse certaines personnes? (c’est un vieux dilemme) Gogo et notre graphiste Fredo l'ont fait à deux. Effectivement, on nous a souvent reproché cette illisibilité... Peut-être qu'on finira par l'optimiser un peu, on verra!

4/Who made the logo? don’t you think the difficulty to read pushes away people?(this is an old debat) Gogo and our graphic designer Fredo did it together. People have indeed reproached us the hardness to read...maybe we will optimise it a bit , we’ll see!

5/Qui compose les chansons?

La plupart du temps, c'est moi et Gogo. En plus d'être le batteur, il est guitariste et ramène une bonne moitié des riffss; on construit les morceaux à deux en répète.

5/Who compose the songs?

Most of the time it’s me and Gogo. As a drummer he also plays guitar and brings half of the riffs, we built the songs together at the rehearsal.

6/Depuis votre commencement y’a t’il eu de nombreux line up?

Depuis le 1er album, nous avons effectivement eu plusieurs changements au niveau du chant et de la basse. A ce jour, nous avons retrouvé les 3/4 du line-up de notre 2ème album (Delightful Carnage), donc on a retrouvé une certaine stabilité! Et nous dévoilerons notre nouvelle chanteuse d'ici quelque jours!

6/Since you started did you have many line up?

Since our first album we indeed had many line up changes for the bass and singer. At the moment, we have the 3/4 line up from our second album (Delightful Carnage), so we have found a stability!

We will soon introduce you to our new singer in few days!

7/Le fait d’avoir une chanteuse est ce que cela aide?

Lors de nos débuts, oui, ça nous faisait sortir du lot, c'était relativement rare d'avoir une chanteuse avec une grosse voix death. Aujourd'hui, ce n'est plus le cas, mais on a décider de garder cette touche féminine ; et puis ça en surprends toujours plus d'un en live!

7/The fact you have a female singer does that help?

When we started, yes, it made us get out of the box. It was rare to have a female singer with a growling Death Metal voice. Today it’s common, but we decided to keep that female touch and it always surprise most people live!

8/Comment trouvez vous les dates de concerts ?

Soit on monte des dates nous mêmes à droite et à gauche, soit nos contacts nous proposent des plans. On est aussi preneur si un booker et/ou manager qui lis ces lignes souhaite bosser avec nous.

8/How do you think the live dates?

Or we create dates ourselves here and there, or our contacts propose them to us.

We are more than welcome to have a booker and /or manager who reads this to with us.

9/Avez vous des potes avec lesquels vous faites regulièrement des dates?

Il y a quelques potes avec lequel on aime bien partager les affiches: Disgraseed, Death Agony, Savage Annihilation, etc...

9/Do you have friends you often play live dates with?

They are few friends we love to share the stage with : Disgraseed, Death Agony, Savage Annihilation, etc...

10/Jouez vous à l’étranger?

Pas assez souvent! Pas depuis notre mini-tournée européenne avec Disgorge/Beheaded/Internal Bleeding...

10/Do you play live abroad?

Not enough! Not since our small Europeen tour with Disgorge/Beheaded/Internal Bleeding...

11/Y’a t’il un thème précis pour l’album et les paroles?

Pas de thèmes en particuliers, si ce n'est la vie, la mort, la drogue, le sexe et la violence.

11/Is there a theme to the album and the lyrics?

No special theme , except life, death, drugs, sex and violence.

12/Quels instruments utilisez vous? est ce que vous aimez changer ou tester de nouveaux jouets?

Je parle pour moi uniquement car je n'y connais rien en batterie et en basse : à part ma Jackson que j'ai ramené des States, j'aime bien avoir accès à divers têtes d'ampli. Là j'ai une Crate Blue Voodoo, une Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, une Trace Elliott uber-rare, une Behringer (pour les répètes only) et je m'apprête à acheter une nouvelle bête bientôt mais j'en garde le secret histoire de ne pas avoir d'autres concurrents qui pourrait guetter les mêmes annonces!

12/What gears do you use? Do you like to change or try the modern ones?

I speak only for myself as I don’t know anything in bass and drums. Except my Jackson I brougt back from the states, I like to have different head stacks to use. Right now I have Blue Voodoo Crate, a Triple Rectifier Mesa Boogie, a Trace Elliott uber-rare, a Behringer (for rehearsals only) and I’m going to buy a new beast but I keep the secret in case other would like to steal the idea.

www.psychobolia.com

Interview with Lee Andre Payne 1/Since you started you had many line up changes, how do you keep up? how does it changing the compositions going?

Considering we are a band with nearly a 40 year history we really haven’t had that many changes of line up. In all careers how many people have stayed at the same job for 40 years? I suppose I have hey how come I never got a gold watch? lol. The truth is people and agendas change and only the exceptionally dedicated stick with it for as long as I have. If you really believe in your music then that is what drives you on to keep striving to make better music and improve and stretch your creativity.

The fans mean so much to me and as long as they support Cloven Hoof then I will keep going indefinitely. Heavy metal is my life and religion.

I always write for the singer we have firstly, I play to there strengths with the melody lines to get the best possible performance. The guitar rhythms don’t change that much from my original demo’s. I always play and sing everything on a rough demo so the band can here how everything is supposed to sound on a structure level. The guitar solo’s are where the lead guitarist can do his own thing and shine.

Injecting new blood is sometimes the only way of infusing new life into the band . Fresh vitality and enthusiasm is a positive force, my work ethic is ever onward. Stagnation is not an option in this band and we are always trying to re invent ourselves to stay vital and break new ground.There is great enthusiasm in this new line up and it is the best band Cloven Hoof have ever had both as musicians and human beings. We are like brothers in fact so there will be many more albums to come.

2/How did you create the songs from the new album? what was the challenge?

I had to make the new album our best yet because I knew our new singer George Call was an incredible singer who could sing anything I could give him brilliantly. Luke Hatton was a total virtuoso despIte his young age and Danny White and Chris Coss were unbelievable rhythm section. To do them justice I had to dig deep and deliver the goods,

song wise. I wanted to show the full bandwidth of our trademark sound and have fast, slow, catchy and epic songs without a weak track in sight. Patrick Engle is a genius producer so I knew he could get the right balance of aggression and raw power. Every song had to be dynamic and different because I hate albums that all sound the same. «Morning Star» really raises the bar and it will be tough to equal but I will try.

3/How did you get the deal with High Roller Records? Have you had several demands?

Many label wanted to sign Cloven Hoof but High Roller are fantastic people who really care about the band and are big fans. They are Heavy Metal to the core and we have an awesome relationship with them. In the future maybe we will get other offers from great labels but High Roller will always have a special place in our heart and they have been brilliant for the band. Alex’s cover artwork is amazing too.

4/Looking back what has changed for the band , the music scene…? Any regrets or things you would have done differently?

Hindsight always gives you 20/20 vision but the biggest mistake I ever made is giving my publishing away. I really regret not having legal advice when we first started. I signed away stuff that stopped us making music for 9 years. I made a fortune for other people as a result of this so my advice to the young bands starting out is… never sign away your publishing! Stay away from crooked managers too!

5/Your logo hasn’t changed over the years apart from little variations, who designed it and have you thought of changing it over the years?

I designed and drew our logo at art college back in 1979. It is good staying with a logo because people want an easily identifiable trademark. Our logo is very different from most bands and the fans seem to like it, only the colour changes from time to time to suit the record covers.

6/How do you compose, is there a line you follow or just listen to what is happening and try to keep up?

I try to not listen to other bands to not be influenced by anybody these days. I write as a fan first and for myself, the fans second and critics not at all. It is true to say I have written all the songs of CLOVEN HOOF. Sometimes I give various band members a credit on tracks, not because they helped write it, but as a way of saying thank you for the commitment to the band. I now regret that decision, because some ex band members definitely did not deserve it!

Some songs come to me in nightmares, others are based on comic books or films, but I always carry a tape recorder around with me to note my ideas. At some point I decide to flesh out the notions, and get them down as lyrics. The music always comes after the melody and storyline. This is why our songs are never basic, the singer doesn’t just sing a riff for example. Many bands do this of course, but our songs are more intricate and thought provoking than that. I think of our tracks as epic film stories, set to music, full of power and passion.

I use a drum machine to get a rough beat, and set the different tempo changes. I then play the rhythm guitar parts and any twin leads. After this I sing the melody sections as a guide, but let the vocalist interpret the lyrics how he likes.

Funnily enough I put the bass guitar on last, so I can construct bass lines that have drive and melody without cluttering. And hey presto another Hoof song is born!

7/Who design your covers albums? do you participate to the creations?

We have had various artists doing our covers. I usually give the artist my idea of what I visualised the cover being like but I leave most the work to the artist. I write a brief usually and send them some rough scribbles and then that’s about it.

For Morning Star I gave the concept to Alexander von Wieding which comprised of the notion of Lucifer after the fall metamorphosizing from Angel to Devil. In his hand he is holding the keys to Hell. Alex really kicked ass on the cover of ‘Who mourns for the Morning Star’. I think his artwork is off the scale.

8/Being one of the ‘legend’ does it help to get live shows?

Many thanks for the kind words my friend. I suppose it does but there is a big fan base all over the world because we have been going for so long so there is a big demand to see us live. We paid our dues and the fans know we are going to give 100% at our live shows. If any member of the band does not try his best for the fans then he is out… simple as that because the fans deserve THE very best.

9/Do you still have contact with the other bands from the same era? would you say there is a musicianship ?

Yes I try to stay in contact and support many bands. Mythra, Diamond Head, Jameson Raid, Oliver Dawson’s Saxon, Tytan are all good friends. There is great camaraderie between the N.W.O.B.H.M bands, they are very down to earth cool people and musicians.

10/You are playing in France, and soon spain, do you play abroad a lot? is there a country you like to play in the most? is there one you’d like to play and never have?

We loved playing in Paris and Fismes the fans and festival staff were wonderful. France is a mega cool country and we love playing there. we have played all over Europe Germany, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Greece, just about everywhere. We just came back from a tour of Spain that was amazing. We will play USA and Canada next year with possible dates in Brazil and Mexico too. I have always wanted to play in America so it is a dream come true!

11/What are the lyrics about? after writing so many songs is this becoming harder or you use old stuff you wrote on a book..?

The occult themed songs are something I personally love and we are really well known for. So there is a generous helping of that subject matter. With a name like Cloven Hoof, the ultimate blasphemy, what would you expect? At our core I feel are a very N.W.O.B.H.M band, but there is much more to us than that. Because we play complex song structures sometimes then the prog metal guys dig us. Someone called us a thinking man’s metal and that is something I like a lot.

12/Do you follow new bands? you still listening to your old records?

I still listen to the same bands that I did 30 years ago. I still love Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Blue Oyster Cult, Rush, Saxon, ACDC, Motorhead and Thin Lizzy. So called Nu Metal does nothing for me personally I love the old masters.

13/Have you changed your gears or still using the old ones? have you got endorsement?

I have an endorsement from Spector bass, they are THE Best bass guitars on the planet. I own two a Rex 4 string and the Ian Hill signature model. They are real beasts! Amp wise I use Peavy and Ampeg in stereo. I use various Boss and MXR footpedals. At home I have a limited edition Chris Squire Rickenbacker that is too valuable to take on the road and a Tom Araya Ltd 600 bass.

14/What set you apart from most of the bands today?

I think we are an important group because we are the link between Rush and Judas Priest, Cloven Hoof ’s music is a broad church and we have a large bandwidth. Sometimes we are speed metal at others we are epic and melodic. There are always multi-time changes and lyrics that tell a story like in a movie. But it is hard to analyse your music because everyone has their own perception and personal interpretation of it.

15/You seem to be stronger than before , do you think the 80’s are back cos nothing good is coming?

There are definitely more young kids coming to our shows there days and there is a reassurance of popularity for NWOBHM worldwide. Nu Metal is dying on its arse because they all sound the same and people realise that bands like us offer music that is varied and original.

When I first heard George Call’s voice at the KIT festival in Germany I knew that was the voice that I was after. I was also blown away with Danny White’s performance on drums. We made a promise that we would work together one

day, when the time was right and in 2016 that dream had come to fruition. Together we have made the greatest album in the Hoof ’s history this is what the band should have sounded like all along. The chemistry of the band is perfect and we are now ready to show the world how good Cloven Hoof is. We are fully committed to playing as many shows around the world as we can, we owe it to all our incredible die hard fans. 16/Have you got an impact on the fan base around the world? are you in touch through the social medias?

We have a very large fan base all over the world and we keep inconstant touch with the fans through Facebook, Twitter and our official web site.

We just want to thank the loyal fans sticking with us for 40 odd years. We are proud and humbled, and will always try to improve and keep making the best music we can to be worthy of their devotion. Keep playing that metal loud metal maniacs you believe in us and we believe in YOU! Lee \m/

www.clovenhoof.net