Metal Army spent some time chatting it up with PRONG front man Tommy Victor regarding the bands’ new album Carved Into Stone (Longbranch Records/SPV). Tommy is never one to hold back on any topic, so he candidly shared his feelings about the band, recording, past successes and failures, other notable projects and people he’s worked with and a look back his career.
MAA: Please tell us about the making of Carved Into Stone.
TV: It was a long process. It started about two years ago writing the material, maybe even longer than that. I had some stuff on my computer I was fooling around with out of the initial five songs I started with, maybe one little part made it on to the record. Tony (Campos) came in and we did a couple of tours together, we were writing on the road together at Motel 6′s or what have you. Then we made a demo with Alexi (Rodriguez). We got up to fourteen songs and then up to twenty-five songs and more demos. We did a last pre- production demo before we did the actual recording, kicked a whole bunch of songs out, rearranged somethings in the last ten days before we went in the studio with Steve Evetts. We knocked out twelve basic tracks, eleven made the record. From twenty-five songs completely written down to eleven on the album! In the studio everything was done on the grid, like it was done back in the 90′s where we just played it live, all the basic tracks. It wasn’t a computer record at all. There’s no samples, no drum replacement, no quantizing, no cut and paste on any of it. It was just preformed. That’s what was so grueling for me. I was working on MINISTRY records where you’d lay a riff down and they’d cut and paste it a couple of times, ya know and bam bam! That why people have been doing since people started using Pro Tools and digital technology. Steve had me play every little thing, it was all dialed in precisely, the solos were designed, there was no improvisation. Same thing with the vocals, they’re completely doubled exactly and harmonies done without the use of Melodyne, etc.
MAA: What’s it like working with Steve Evetts?
TV: He’s an extremely hard worker and I needed someone like that to kick me in the behind because I’m getting older and stuck in my ways and he directed me to be more clear with the vocals and that was one of the big main reasons we got him for the work he’s done. I was really impressed with the vocal sound and the way he was able to get great performances. At first I thought he was a lot of using technology to do it but he was like ‘No! I get the guys to sing this stuff, the way it is’. I was like ‘Oh wow! Ok he’ll take a crappy singer and make him sound golden. I’m not saying I’m a crappy, but I needed work and he was great on that aspect of things. I knew he could get the guitar sounds and drums and the actual sounds together. Until we actually got in there I didn’t know how he was doing it. Everything was done outside the box. The only difference between then and back in the 90s was its on a hard drive rather then tape. Other then that everything was external and done really pure. Having a little bit of engineering experience, I really appreciated that. We talked about that right before we went in. He’s done like ninety records and his repertoire is unbelievable. We needed somebody broad based. He’s worked on THE CURE to THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN it’s just a broad base of that. He’s unbelievable. He’s a genius all business it was strict work. I’m not saying it wasn’t fun, but it was really hard, strict work.
PRONG in 2012: Alexi, Tony and Tommy.
MAA: You have been critical of your own output at times. How does this new album stack up to the history of PRONG?
TV: I thinks its one of the best ones, I mean it doesn’t have the cutting edge impact that Cleansing did where we were going in a new direction for heavy music in general. It isn’t anything ground breaking, but I think it’s up there in the quality of songs are up there with the best we’ve ever done. That was important for me. I wouldn’t know where to start to try to break any ground anymore, it seems like everything’s been done. So with that in mind, it was a matter of just getting the best songs we could possibly put together in reflection of the previous PRONG records, without going off in a complete different direction like we did with Scorpio Rising for instance. Where I think it failed, it wasn’t the right time. We didn’t work at it as hard. I just had a batch of songs I was just fooling around with. This wasn’t like that. This was much more intense. We put the work in and let the chips fall where they may. I feel this is one of the most hard working efforts I’ve ever done as far as PRONG goes. As far as anything really.
MAA: Carved In Stone has a lot more thrash feeling and a lot more lead guitar playing on it. Was that a conscious decision?
TV: It was conscious decision. I felt if the solos meant something or were designed properly, that was something I had the energy to work on. I was never been the kinda guy that practices and sits around figuring stuff out. It’s just been when I’m forced to do that like learning like with either MINISTRY: Mike Scaccia’s guitar parts or in DANZIG: with Glenn, John Christ and Todd Youth’s parts. I felt my chops got better. So I was able to do some solos that weren’t a bunch of noise or something that was completely off the cuff. I didn’t wanna do that. We had the option to design some solos that were precise that are actually part of the song, again. I wanted it to be a guitar record and a song record, rather then relying on haphazard routes like loops or other things to get more dynamics.
MAA: Between your work in DANZIG and MINISTRY would you say one or either have a reverse influence back to your work in PRONG?
TV: Not at all! PRONG is a completely different entity, it’s its own mindset. I don’t really listen to a hell of a lot of stuff. It all comes from the heart, really. I’m not out there scouring the charts or delving into countless hardcore metal records to find influences, I don’t have he energy to do that. I’m not being a snob, I just don’t have the time and energy to do that. I don’t want to do that or bring in any other project I’m involved in. I worked on the last two DANZIG records and Glenn has his own way of arranging stuff. Then with Al, I mentioned with his process, is highly computer oriented and I didn’t wanna do that either.
MAA: Where do you get your lyrical inspirations from?
TV: I think its in personal troubles and a way of coping. I try to find a way to deal with emotions. Then I have opinions too, so its a combination of those two things. There’s also some strict writing on this album, which is more like story lines. Like with the single, “Revenge Best Served Cold”, that is something completely outside. The title track also has a universal element to it where I feel there’s an external power that enables PRONG to still survive. Some outside force that is from the future, from the present and the past. Something paranormal. Then you get the angry ones like list of grievances. Then you have a song like “State of Rebellion”. I have a close friend who’s always talking politics with me. I try to leave these type of things to my songs a little bit. But when I’m hanging out or something I just don’t wanna hear about it. Let’s just ‘watch the game’ and shut the fuck up!’ That’s what that’s all about. I’m over it, ya know? I’m old school. I was brought up to never talk politics or religion with people. I’ve learned the hard way not to do that. (laughs) It’s not necessary.
Know your history.
MAA: Looking back did you know at the time that Beg To Differ and Prove You Wrong were going to influence so many other bands?
TV: For years I didn’t really see that. People have been saying that for a long time, its mainly people in the press. We’ve toured with younger bands, I don’t wanna name names, but the attitude we got was ‘Who the fuck are you guys?’ I mean completely unfamiliar with PRONG and didn’t like us. I almost feel like I’ve gotten more of that attitude out there then any congratulations. But on a personal side, I had to re-investigate the early PRONG records recently and I listened to Beg to Differ. I haven’t heard it in years! I was like ‘oh my god!’ How did this thing come about? It’s bizarre to me. I don’t know how that really came together like that. It’s like that song “Carved Into Stone”. It was something outside myself made that happen. I have not a clue! I wasn’t even really playing guitar that long when PRONG did that record. Its bizarre to me the things that go down. It wasn’t even calculated. On a personal level, I’m happy with the discography, but it’s not like I go down the street and people are ‘Oh Tommy!” I don’t hear it that much. It’s mainly press people, but other bands, they either don’t recognize it or they don’t know. If anything about the past, like when I was forced to re-investigate Beg To Differ, I just kinda of zap it into the void. Like anything in the past, I think everyone needs to do that, its like a personal psycho-therapy in a way. It’s all good. I don’t have any bitterness towards anything, maybe at one time I did. It’s been so worn out, I just have a different attitude about that stuff.
Long running Goth metal masters MOONSPELL have an ambitious new release which is the double album Alpha Noir/Omega White out on Napalm Records. Drummer Miguel (Mike) Gaspar caught Metal Army up to speed on why it took so long to make the new record, how the band approaches recording, their love of Peter Steele (RIP) and TYPE O NEGATIVE, other influences- metal or not and the state of the metal scene in the bands’ native home of Portugal.
MAA: Please tell us about the writing and recording of Alpha Noir/Omega White?
MG: Many thanks for the interview let’s do it brother ! This album was very different from all albums in the past due to the time, four years apart from the Night Eternal. We never took so long to put out an album. The success of the previous album also kept us on the road quite a bit. So we did not want to rush things and just let things flow naturally. In the begging process we had no idea we would release a double album. In reality this was more of a concept that would enrich our composing skills dividing them in half. We would write heavy songs on some days an others would go more into the Gothic style more melodic elements. Benny Ritcher came from Germany three times during the four years to help us out with all arrangements. Never had worked with him and found a new understanding. He really felt like a member of the band with a lot of enthusiasm to work until late hours just to get the songs right. It was strange to work with someone younger than us never happened before. He was like a little brother full of talent and skills that impressed us and contributed a lot to this magnum album.
MAA: What is the concept behind each part of Alpha Noir/Omega White?
MG: Alpha is more like a battle until the end in an arena full of blood, passion and determination. In the arena there is no time to play around our you’ll be killed. You fight for your honor and family paying respect to all those that have fallen before you. This was inspirational for a heavy dark album we wanted no compromises, just the best metal that we could accomplish. With Omega it’s a different story it is the time for the warrior to recover his mind and body. To bathe cleaning the wounds and the soul. To eat and drink celebrating the victories. A time to think and remember one’s family and loved ones, to salute all good things and pleasures so that one day we shall fight again.
MAA: Was the wealth of material the reason of the four year break between albums?
MG: Many reasons took us to have this decision. For one the Night Eternal tours were crazy we travelled all over the word making new fans everywhere and also welcoming back the old. We just had to do all the shows it is for us the main reason bands should exist! You have to do the best shows possible, it is the ultimate experience like no other. There was also the question of which label we would end up on but that became something that we did not want to worry about and just did the albums freely until the end before signing to anyone. We were confident and just wanted to release our best work to date. The acoustic project we did in Portugal called SOMBRA also took a bit of our time. We were 13 people on stage with Cellos, female vocalists and percussionists. It ended up even giving us a push for the Omega White album. One other reason that come to mind is just the fact that we make twenty years of MOONSPELL this year and it would be our ninth full length album. There was no reason to rush things the music could not be compromised so we said the hell with it just take our time.
MAA: It’s been said that the Omega White album was in part inspired by TYPE O NEGATIVE. What about them is particularly inspiring for the band?
MG: Everything we were huge fans from the begging of our career. They were the few bands that incorporated different styles in their music. Going from Hardcore, to Gothic sounds. The deep vocals would make your knees tremble and the lyrics were so intense and dark. They were everything from the street attitude with violence to romantic and sensual atmospheres to emotions that would comfort you on those terrible days that you, yourself wanted to slash your wrists. The identification with this band was brutal in the early years and to our luck did one of their biggest tours in Europe in `96. We became good friends and especially Pete was always on our side, helping us out in everything we needed. He left a deep mark in us. The tribute to him and TYPE O will always feel weak compared to the reality of what a divine band they where and the many that followed them. They will never be forgotten in hearts and in our music. Salute Pete, he was a true gentleman, we miss him a lot and having a song dedicated to him and the past just helps us cope with this tragedy. Hope he´s smiling somewhere and we will jam one day!
MAA: The band worked once again with Tue Madson producing and mixing. What does he bring to the process that appeals to the band more than another producer or producing yourselves?
MG: The pure calmness of his persona is so important to band that is from south Europe and can get a bit edgy and confusing at time. We have no real tradition of metal in Portugal so we had to learn for our selves and many times the hard way. Tue understands us very well and always gives 200% to make sure we are comfortable and satisfied with the results. He has no big ego and really just wants to get the bands idea and sound to the fans. He himself is a huge Heavy Metal fan and played guitar in his own projects. Also, a little bit older making him more like a big brother. Family is the key word when we feel that kind of environment I think we do our best stuff at least at this time in life. We have enough chaos and excitement all year round on the road. Can´t wait to see what we do next together. He just is a wizard with the sound and mixes all our elements without it getting confusing, he can make everything just sound spot on!
MAA: Who are some of the heavier bands inspiring you these days?
MG: For me personally I’m just a huge fan of the 80s. As a kid VAN HALEN and MOTLEY CRUE were bands I loved but as a teenager I got into bands like MORBID ANGEL, BATHORY, KING DIAMOND, SLAYER, METALLICA, DARKTHRONE, EMPEROR, ROOT, CANDLEMASS, but also Gothic stuff like SISTERS OF MERCY, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM and of course, TYPE O NEGATIVE. So really from Hard Rock to Death and black metal to avant-garde, the name before Goth. I just absorbed so many dark styles of music it just showed with our era in the 1990s were bands like us mixed the styles. TIAMAT, SAMAEL, MOONSPELL, AMORPHIS, PARADISE LOST, LACUNA COIL, THE GATHERING we were all fans and at the same time influencing each other. The use of keyboards and female vocals or just poetic song writing was all a bit new for us and that what excited us the most. It was new and part of our generation. DEAD CAN DANCE was also a band that had so much world music involved it just touched us in a special way, incorporating something so distant in a new form of metal. So I still listen to all this these days, it´s our core inspiration and I think always will be! I have a hard time listening to new stuff, I think this is normal. I will always give a listen to new material from friends or even fans, but it never really sticks like the bands you heard when you were young!
MAA: At twenty years-old, is their a moment in time that stands out to you as the biggest highlight for the band so far?
MG: I would have to say the release of Irreligious in 96. It was our first taste of mainstream success . That album opened many doors in our career and to think that only three years before we released our first demo called Anno Satanae! It was all to quick to even understand and still takes us a bit to recall the reason for so much attention from a band that played very underground black metal from the south of europe. The odds of us being on tour with major bands our album in the German charts, winning new comer of the year in Finland the massive record sails, promotion fans going crazy at shows for us was just unbelievable! It really feels like your living a dream. It all took a lot of work, sweat, pain tears and blood to get there but when we were on the Dynamo main stage back in 97 , before there were Wacken’s, Hellfest etc. playing for 80.000 people, we new that we came a long way and it was all worth it! We even did shows with KISS during there reunion tour with the make up in the 90′s. Their production was insane and we got along really well, they gave us all the conditions to do a good show! But KISS fans are tough so are SLAYER’s’ to that matter, but for some reason we always win them over!
MG: Many thanks, hope to see you soon on the road! Keep it Metal!
(Thanks to Mike Gaspar, MOONSPELL and Napalm Records)
Just in time for the release of MNEMIC’s new album Mnemesis (Nuclear Blast), Metal Army America caught up with vocalist Guillaume “Frenchy” Bideau. Guillame was nice enough to answer some tough questions about the long layoff between albums, changes in the lineup of the band, concept albums and influences.
(Special thanks to Frenchy Bideau, MNEMIC and Nuclear Blast)
So day two of Sonisphere Spain rolls around, and I ended up parking close to my spot from the day before, I didn’t want to hassle driving around in circles to only end up there anyway. The intention was to get in and see MASTODON’s set, which would mean that we would miss Spain’s VITA IMANA, and Sweden’s SISTER. Now I mention that the intention was to see all of MASTODON, but it was everyone else’s as well. By the time we made it through all of security, they were almost done with their set. I caught their last three tracks “Curl Of The Burl”, “Blood And Thunder”, and “Creature Lives”. What I saw was good, for everything that is said about their vocals, they were pretty good on this occasion. The instrumentation was top notch as always.
CHILDREN OF BODOM was on the second stage, not really a fan, did check them out for a bit, and the crowd was eating them up. More power to them, and glad they had so many people checking them out. Alexi is a great guitarist, just not my thing.
WITHIN TEMPTATION is a fairly popular band within the Spanish metal community, I for one am not a huge fan, as a matter of a fact, I’ve always seen the female fronted symphonic, gothic metal, or what have you as the cliché that followed Nu Metal. Hot looking chick, some detuned guitars, semi-programmed drums, and symphonic keyboards to boot, and ta-da, you have a fad, epidemic, or whatever you want to call it. Now before you get all bent out of shape, they’re a good band, just not my cup of tea. If I want to listen to them, there are quite a few other female fronted bands that I’d choose before them. Watched a bit on the big screen behind the sound table, and then walked over and waited for GHOST to come on.
GHOST was the revelation of the festival for a lot of people. Well I should say this; people either loved, them, or hated them. Their show was everything people had talked about, the Nameless Ghouls in the back, this time dressed all in white, with Papa Emeritus out front. The set was short, yet powerful, with highlights that included “Con Clavi Con Dio” and the closer “Ritual”.
I actually hung out around the second stage till ENTER SHIKARI came on, SLAYER was playing on the first stage, but I had checked their setlist out online, and it was essentially the same as when I saw them two years ago at the same festival. So I figured I’d watch the beginning of ENTER SHIKARI then head over to SLAYER for their encore. The band kicked into “System” when Rou Reynolds jumped over the barricade and started singing the first track from the crowd. The security guards went nuts trying to keep tabs on him as the masses embraced him. Before they started “…Meltdown” Rou mentioned, “what are you guys doing here? You do realize that’s SLAYER on that stage, why are you wasting your time with us? Is it pity? We don’t need your sympathy?” And so the track began. Very energetic sets, one of the best on day two, if not the festival. Always enjoyed their mix of different genres of music, others do it poorly to come off as a joke, something this band is not.
Over to SLAYER, they are powerful, commanding, and as I mentioned above, have been playing essentially the same songs since Dave Lombardo came back to the band. Nothing wrong with that, highlights for me include “Dead Skin Mask”, “Raining Blood”, “Angel Of Death”, “South Of Heaven” and “War Ensemble”.
METALLICA was up next, the moment I walked into the festival on this day I could tell there was a lot more people than the day before. Sure the bill was chalked full of a lot of great bands, but the majority were there to see the biggest metal band in the world. Love them or hate them, they were there to give back to their fans, and celebrate the most sold metal album of all time, their self-titled album, also referred to as The Black Album. For all of the bands flaws, they are also the first to auto-critique themselves, for all the things they do wrong, they usually rectify in some fashion. What I’m getting at is for everything people bitch about Lars Ulrich, he’s the one that puts the set lists together. He’s the one that sits there and painstakingly sees what tracks they’ve played the last few times through a city or country, and makes sure they give them something different. For example they started off with “Hit The Lights”, went into “Master Of Puppets” and then gave us “The Shortest Straw”. Everyone went nuts. They followed this with “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and the somewhat new track “Hell And Back” off of Beyond Magnetic. All of this before launching into The Black Album in reverse order. Highlights for me off of the album included “Of Wolf And Man”, “Through The Never”, and “Don’t Tread On Me”. Their encore consisted of “Battery”, “One” and “Seek & Destroy”. They blew every other band away, that includes everyone that came on before and after they played. They had a show, giant video screens, ramps, a “snake pit”, pyro, lights, etc. All of this to accompany all of the classic tracks they laid down on the audience. Someone mentioned afterwards, it’s not fair; they have an unfair advantage, why don’t they allow everyone to use their entire stage setup, lights, etc. And I thought, hmmm, I wonder if OZZY OSBOURNE let them use his stage on the Bark At The Moon Tour? What about VAN HALEN, SCORPIONS, or DOKKEN for that matter on the Monsters Of Rock tour throughout the US? I bet they were relegated to using a fraction of the headlining bands, and blew them away night after night! There is a reason why they are this big of a band, it didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t come without a ton of hard work. For all of you keeping score, they didn’t start to headline until …And Justice For All, they were the second band to play each day on that aforementioned Monsters Of Rock tour. Getting back to Sonisphere, I was happy that I was witnessing a special event with them performing everything off of The Black Album, especially since it’s uncertain if they’ll ever do this again. The band was also gracious, and thanked the crowd several times not only for coming, but for allowing them to be as lucky as they are as a band, and have the longevity and celebrity they’ve achieved. Most people’s gripes about the show had to do with a few flaws Lars Ulrich had in his playing. Me personally, if you want perfection, stay home and listen to the album! I’d prefer to hear him screw up than finding out there was a drum machine behind him at the live show. Also, when you’re the biggest metal band of all time, you’re also going to have more detractors than most. To them I’d say we get it, you don’t like the band, let the rest of us enjoy them, if so we choose.
GOJIRA was after it seemed as if everyone went over to see them. I’ve always felt that the band sounds better live than they do on album. The production of their albums has always left me feeling a little cold. Too much bottom end, too much distortion, that is until I heard their new single “L’Enfant Sauvage”. The studio version sounds punishing as ever, but clean and intricate where it needs to be as well. The track was the next to last song and sounded spot on as well, and definitely one of the highlights of the entire day. A lot of people mentioned that they were their favorite band of the festival. Other highlights of their set included “The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe”.
In Europe you get all types of weird mixes at festivals. Although the next group may not fit in with some of the other bands, they put on a hell of a show, and did a decent job hanging in with some of the other acts, outperforming a lot of other bands along the way. The band is EVANESCENCE, although I appreciate some of their music, I’m not a die-hard of the band. That said, the band kicked things off with “What You Want” and “Going Under” possibly two of my favorite tracks by the band, and the highlight of their set for me.
After that I stepped away to watch CLUTCH. The band is one of the biggest underground bands of all time. They have slowly transformed from a metal band, to basically a blues based rock n roll band, in the process they’ve taken thousands of fans worldwide with them on a great musical journey. Nothing wrong with that, actually it’s very commendable that they have been able to instill what they believe in into many a rabid fan. My personal favorite of their set was “Profits Of Doom” and “The Mob Goes Wild”.
Last up was FEAR FACTORY, Burton C. Bell quipped a few songs in, “we’re the last one on, we must be the headliner!” I have been a fan of the band like most, since Demanufacture. I have always gone out of my way to purchase special editions of their albums, and have seen very good things from them live, and very bad things as well. I’m happy to say this was the best performance I’ve seen by the band. Were Burton’s melodic parts off? When aren’t they? Again, I prefer that he sound off, rather than knowing they’re piping in 16 prerecorded tracks he’s just lip synchs to. They played tracks off of every album Dino Cazares played on, three from Obsolete another three from Demanufacture, two off of Digimortal, two from Mechanize and “Martyr” off of Souls For The New Machine. Highlights for me include “Smasher/Devourer”, “Linchpin”, and of course the closer “Replica”. I was shocked that they didn’t play “Recharger” which is the first single off of The Industrialist. They were in my opinion the second best act on the entire festival.
The second day of the festival was head and shoulder above day one, so many bands delivered. METALLICA, FEAR FACTORY, GHOST, ENTER SHIKARI, MASTODON AND SLAYER all did their part to entertain, and destroy the crowd. Major increase in grade! Third part regarding the entire experience is next.
After bursting on the scene a few years back, TESSERACT is a band that continues to impress me. You can call them “djent” or call them prog metal, but I just call them a really promising band. Although fans were initially split over vocalist Dan Tompkins’ departure, Elliott Coleman has more than stepped in and stepped up based on those who have caught the band on the road or late. To further cement the new-lineup, the band released a new version of their popular track “Eden” from the One album named “Eden 2.0” last fall on YouTube. Now following that up with a mostly acoustic EP Perspective, the group is proving to be as fearless as the are talented.
The EP kicks off with “Perfection” which is awash in lonesome piano and other synth ear-candy. Coleman’s delicate, amazing tenor carries the melody of the track. Slowly the song builds in rhythm and melody later surging with emotions. The bands choices musically are intricate and cool while Coleman’s legato vocal acrobatics soar over the din. There is a brief guitar solo setting up the climax of the song that has ethereal quality to it. The second cut is a somewhat unplugged re-imagining of “April” from One. In addition to Coleman’s delivery and the keyboards, Amos Williams’ pulsing bass lines almost steal the show on this song, and the entire EP. In this environment musically, his funky walking lines can’t be overshadowed by thick, over-driven guitar chords. Drummer Jay Postones again vaults his name into the conversation of best drummers in the scene with his thoughtful, tricky stick work. The next track “Origin” is a somewhat chill take on it’s predecessor as part of the “Concealing Fate” suite that launched the band to notoriety. The bass and drums are no less crushing as the original version, but the guitars have new life breathed into them by the shifting dynamics. Acle Kahney and James Montieth really bring out the subtleties in the track with their guitar playing. This also shows that the 7 and 8 string slingers have more to offer than just metallic riffs and down picked, finger staining chords. You have to give them props, since most bands known for their guitar sound would never do a project like this in the first place. The most surprising track on the EP is the JEFF BUCKLEY cover “Dream Brother”. The track is from Buckley’s last album Grace and oddly enough is out just in time for the fifteen anniversary of his tragic death on May 29th. This version is stirring and although Buckley is not an obvious choice for this type of band, it does show a lot of maturity and soul to actually do it. The fully electric “Eden 2.0” rounds out the album and is full of their patented 7-string guitar orchestrations. Killer! I personally think of Coleman as a slightly different flavor than his predecessor, and he certainly has the goods to be a superstar front man/singer. This release ought to tide the bands’ many fans and guitar geeks over until the next full length album comes out.
My review of Sonisphere will be done in three parts, the first two dealing with the music, and then a third part dealing with the experience as a whole. The Sonisphere in Spain is held in Getafe, which is on the outskirts of Madrid. This year’s edition was held at the Auditorio John Lennon, which is essentially right next to a military base. Due to my commitments as a father, I left home for Madrid later than expected, but got down there right as Lauren Harris’ new band SIX HOUR SUNDOWN hit the stage (made it down in four hours). Now by reading this, you might think I actually got to see her band. I listened to them while in traffic. See I got there and the abundance of parking that was promised was non-existent, as a result I had to park 2 kilometers (almost a mile and a half) away and walk with thousands of others that had been thrust into the same situation by the promoters. All of us were struggling to find the parking lot, when we got there, we found it was full. So if you didn’t get into that lot you had to drive in circles till you found parking on the street, 2 kilometers away! Anyway, more on this in part three, there is plenty to discuss. Now to the music.
By the time I got into the actual festival SIX HOUR SUNDOWN, SKINDRED, KOBRA AND THE LOTUS, RISE TO REMAIN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, and SONATA ARTICA had already played. By the time I did get in, LIMP BIZKIT was on stage playing “Break Stuff”, and proceeded to play just hits, “My Generation”, “Take A Look Around”, etc. Due to the fact that I got in mid-set there were tens of thousands of people in front of me, so I decided to go to the second stage and wait for KYUSS LIVES! The organizers (Last Tour International) had the brilliant idea that for the first time in the festival’s existence they would have bands overlap one another. So even before LIMP BIZKIT was done KYUSS LIVES! hit the stage. John Garcia, lead singer of the band remarked the fact that it was odd they were playing at the same exact time; he wasn’t the only one to do so during the course of the two days. The band tore through stoner classics that included “Gardenia”, “Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop”, and of course “Green Machine”.
Next up was SOUNDGARDEN, I got to see them on Lollapalooza 96 with METALLICA, they were one of many other bands that stopped existing shortly after the tour, RAMONES, and SCREAMING TREES, being the others. I can’t consider myself a die-hard fan of the band, although I enjoy a lot of their material. I either really enjoy their music, or it bores me. That said, I know a lot of SOUNDGARDEN die-hards that were a step away from doing the O face during the band’s performance. Stand out tracks for me included “Jesus Christ Pose”, “The Day I Tried To Live”, “Outshined”, “Rusty Cage” and “Slaves & Bulldozers”. Their set was good, but for me, it was as if some of their tracks broke up the flow of the festival. It was like hitting the breaks all of a sudden, and dragging (the operative word) to a halt. Still a good set, just not someone I’d set out to specifically see.
Here is a little tidbit about the festival culture here in Spain, the headliner isn’t the last band to go on, this is something Burton C. Bell of FEAR FACTORY mentioned at the close of day 2. SOUNDGARDEN were the headliners of day 1. MACHINE HEAD hit the stage next, and if I mentioned that the SOUNDGARDEN die-hards were elated to see their band, the MACHINE HEAD faithful were down right pissed. You know all of this nonsense that Bruce Dickenson says about American crowds, and how in Europe they’re just happy to see you and celebrate? How they don’t care if you only play a greatest hits set? I think you had several thousand people really angry at MACHINE HEAD that would beg to differ. Why you ask? They played 7 tracks, and 5 came from their latest album Unto The Locust. “Imperium” and the closer “Halo” were the only two to not come off of the album. So now you’re thinking wait, they closed with “Halo”? And “Imperium” was the only other song that wasn’t. Where’s “Davidian”? The DJ that came on two hours later emphatically launched into his set and proclaimed “here’s the one MACHINE HEAD forgot” as you can hear Kris Kontos legendary intro. So, I understand both sides of the coin here, if I’m MACHINE HEAD, I’m proud of my latest album, and I want to play songs off of it, but I can also understand the fans, you’re playing seven tracks, and five come off of the new album? I didn’t hear one positive thing about the set afterwards. Spain has always been a strong hold for the band, even when the The Burning Red came out. A generation of Spanish metal heads have grown up in this country with MACHINE HEAD, SEPULTURA and PANTERA being their biggest inspirations. It was also surprising to many that with such a reduced set that Rob Flynn would take several minutes to intro “Darkness Within”. Personally I thought the set was alright, not as good as other times I’ve seen them, not as long either, and the sound was not that loud (more likely the organizer’s fault and not the bands.) I personally enjoyed the opener “I AM Hell (Sonata in C#)”, and the two classics I mentioned “Imperium” and “Halo”.
Once MACHINE HEAD wrapped up, it was off to see doom metallers ORANGE GOBLIN. They were the surprise of the day for me. Although I’ve know the name for a while, I can’t say that I know enough of their catalogue, and will definitely check them out more in the coming days. With this said I did enjoy “The Fog” which came off of their latest release A Eulogy For The Damned.
Letting the music of day one sit with me roughly 48 hours, I’d have to say the day was full of good bands, nothing great and nothing that was over the top memorable. THE OFFSPRING and ORANGE GOBLIN were by far the best acts of the first day.
SOMA RAS is a band that will quickly be the talk of the town. They are made up of some of Sacramento, CA’s more seasoned veterans in the music scene. Spencer Daly from ex-EMBRACE THE END/EX-CYANIDE ERA, John Abernathy of CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE/ex-WITH PASSION, Monte Barnard from THE ANTIOCH SYNOPSIS/ex-BEARS DOING HUMAN THINGS, Flint Marshall from ex-GARY BUSEY AMBER ALERT/ex-CYANIDE ERA, and Ryan Ausbun all team up to bring you original and brutal blackened death metal. Here is a track from their debut self-titled EP. Feel free to add SOMA RAS on Facebook.
WATAIN front man Erik Danielsson sat down with Metal Army America on their tour bus at the next to last show of the just completed Decibel Magazine Tour as direct support for BEHEMOTH. Erik is on of the most focused, intense and articulate musicians we have ever met and we chatted about many different topics. We touched on conservative attitudes towards the band in the US and abroad, the bands’ career up to now, controversy, the notoriety that comes with critical acclaim, their next album and their new DVD, Opus Diaboli.
(Special thanks to Erik Danielsson, WATAIN and Earsplit PR)
Finnish prog metal masters SONATA ARCTICA has a new album out called Stones Grow Her Name. Henrik “Hennka” Klingenberg checked in with Metal Army about the new album, their twenty plus year career, their new music video and other influences.
MAA: What is the concept behind Stones Grow Her Name?
HK: There’s really not any big picture-type of concept, but we went in with the notion and general idea that we would make a simpler, more accessible and rocking album suitable for the stage. We also decided to drop most of the symphonic elements that were pretty dominant on the last album.
MAA: The band is almost twenty years old now. Do you feel any pressure to keep topping your previous efforts?
HK: Not really, I think the main thing is that as long as you feel like you’re working on your best album every time you hit the studio, then at least you’re on the right path. Naturally we do make an effort to top ourselves every time and become a better band, but I think that if you force it too much, then it might backfire so we’ll just keep on working our asses off and hope for the best.
MAA: Beyond the obvious, what is the song “Shitload of Money” really about?
HK: It’s really more of a warning. You should not sell things that you can’t buy back, like your privacy or honesty or stuff like that. The song wants to make you think about the true value of things, in my opinion.
MAA: Please discuss the inspiration behind the “I Have A Right” video?
HK: Originally, we saw this thing on YouTube where a girl was telling a story by drawing in the sand and we thought that would be a great way to do a music video but since we didn’t have access (= money) to do that, we went with another artist and instead of sand painting, it was done as regular painting-style storytelling (if such a thing exists). Naturally, the story pretty much follows the lyrics and emphasizes the story in the song.
MAA: Much more than Power Metal, I hear lots of Progressive Rock influences in the band. Any favorites?
HK: I think I’m the most prog-dude in the band. RUSH is one of my all-time, most important bands and of course I’ve listened to a lot of KING CRIMSON, YES, even FRANK ZAPPA, some of the earlier GENESIS, and what have you.
MAA: Does the artwork on the cover of the album tie into the story as well?
HK: It ties a little bit into the story of the two “Wildfire” songs I think, where the main point is that we should be concerned about how we treat our planet or Mother Nature will have her revenge and humanity will come to an end. Come to think of it, the world wouldn’t necessarily be such a bad place without all the shit we people do, so our planet might well be better off without us. I’m not volunteering to leave, though.
MAA: Any chance the band will ever record another covers EP?
HK: Of course there’s always a chance, but personally I prefer to do originals. I know some of the guys like to do covers more than others, but we’ll see. We always do one or two cover songs when we record an album, so eventually there will be enough to put together a covers EP.
Henrik "Hennka" Klingenberg.
MAA: Is there an instrument or a type of voice the band would like to try to incorporate into the music that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
HK: Yeah, I think there are a lot of stuff we haven’t tried yet, but I don’t want to give anything away so you’ll have to wait until the next album to see what we come up with. Personally speaking, as long as it sounds good, we will use it no matter if it’s a pig squealing or a grand piano being thrown down the stairs.
MAA: What kind of touring schedule does the band have planned for supporting the release?
HK: We’re doing festivals in Europe during the summer and then club shows in Finland and the rest of Europe during this fall. In 2013, we’ll hit North & South America, Japan, and what have you. It will be a long world tour once again. I’m really looking forward to it and luckily the shows will start really soon!!! Cheers!!!
(Special Thanks to Hennka, SONATA ARCTICA and Nuclear Blast).
Metal Army’s recent addition to our ranks, Victor M. Ruiz (Mars Attacks Radio & Podcast) chatted with SIX FEET UNDER front man and death metal legend CHRIS BARNES. Together they discussed 6FU’s brand new release Undead (Metal Blade). Barnes is always 100% honest in his delivery at the mic and the same goes for his answers to our questions! Enjoy!
MAA: In 93 when you put this band together as a side project did you figure it would still be around almost 20 years later?
CB: Oh yeah man, I had a really good idea that this band was going to be well accepted. Like the first group of songs I got and started working on, I could see the crowd really liking the music in the live situation. So, I felt it was going to be a good long term thing for myself.
MAA: The word pioneer is associated to so many people, but it’s obvious that thousands of singers have and will continue to emulate a style you helped make popular decades ago. Did you ever think what you were doing would be so influential?
CB: No, I don’t even think of it now, when you say that it makes me cringe a little bit (laughs). I don’t really think about things like that. I don’t think I’m really responsible for that, but if people want to associate me with that, I’m ok with it. I’m just glad people enjoy it.
MAA: A lot of the topics covered on the new album Undead are not new to the band, how much of a challenge is to take some of these themes and make them new again?
CB: It’s not that difficult, there’s millions of ways to kill people. I haven’t written a million, but I’ve written maybe a couple of hundred, it’s pretty much infinite. When I sit and write lyrics, I just take it as if it is the first song I’ve ever written. I really listen to the music, because I write to the music, it really takes me on a journey and speaks to me. What it’s saying to me, I really look into that, and bring out the story, following the vibe of the actual music.
MAA: Given some of these themes, does it surprise you when people can’t differentiate between Chris Barnes the entertainer and Chris Barnes the person? Do they expect you to only talk about death and murder all of the time?
CB: (Laughs) I don’t know, I guess some people are surprised when they meet me, and sit down and actually talk to me. Yeah, you know it not all I really talk and dwell on. That’s my secret life that I give you guys, that I let you into. It’s the calm normal guy next door that you have to watch out for. Sometimes I feel that there is some disappointment with some fans, you know faces (they make) when they meet me, and we hang out, they expect something other than what they get, and I can’t be anyone else than the person I am. It is what it is, and I just try to have fun no matter the situation.
MAA: Has your motivation changed at all over the years?
CB: No, not at all, I’m motivated by creating music that I really enjoy myself. That’s really my motivation to create something that I’m really interested in.
MAA: So much is brought up about the lineup on this album, especially the connection to CHIMAIRA, was there ever any doubt in your mind that this lineup jell and work so well on this album?
CB: I didn’t doubt it, Rob was the first guy I decided I wanted to work with, once I decided that I wanted to sit down, and work on the album. I’ve known him for years, and I know what a conscious, focused song writer he is. His ability as a musician is amazing, I’ve always had that in the back of my head for years. I always thought, I’d like to work with him one day, and Kevin as well. So you know I really had high hopes, and everything I had hoped for came through with this album. We created a really great group of songs for the album.
MAA: What separates Rob as a song writer from other people you’ve worked with in the past?
CB: Like I said, focus, a consciousness to song writing, he’s a very intelligent guy, and he understands that there is more to writing a song then writing guitar parts, you he know how to work with a band. He really understands what I work off of, in the sense of knowing what makes me tick as a vocalist, and a song writer, and he gets what I syncopate my vocal versings against. By doing that it’s a very conscious, very focused and is a very easy way of writing to the music he creates. He really knows where my pocket is, and that’s really important.
MAA: So if it’s up to you this will be a long lasting musical relationship?
CB: Oh yeah, Rob is going to remain a song writer within the band for as long as he wants, there are already three other tracks ready for the next album.
MAA: With the last album you self-produced it, with Undead you went with Mark Lewis and Jason Suecof to help steer certain aspects of the album, how important was their contribution to the album?
CB: They’re just as important as everyone else on this album. We went outside of the band and tried to do things a little different. Even with the production we did things differently, with as much care as everything else that we concentrated on with this release. They’re both good friends of ours, and I’ve worked with Mark on previous releases that he’s mixed for us. He’s just a great guy, I love his way of handling things, it’s just great. And Jason he really came into this thing, and did the mix on the record, and just understood exactly what myself and Rob Arnold needed from this production, and pulled all of these elements together, with everyone’s tastes and likes and made sure they were incorporated in the album. I couldn’t be happier with the production, it is the best production we’ve ever had on an album.
MAA: Was there anything different you tried in the studio this time around?
CB: Yeah, I wanted to make sure that we had a relaxed atmosphere, and was not rushed to work on things and try to get the best performances out of myself that I could. I always do those things, but I was even more intent on getting that done, and I was able to due to the fact that I recorded all of my vocal tracks over the course of a year and two months. I was able to write a song, and go in and record the vocals as we went. I tried a lot of different vocal techniques in the studio; a lot of things were I would try different tones and vocal tones. I had different ways of achieving this without using studio equipment, which I’ve never been a fan of, you know processing my vocals to achieve a dynamic effect to it. So I used acoustic techniques that I developed myself over the years on the studio. This time since I had more time I could experiment more with things, like microphone placement, and other things that I had the urge to try. Those things worked well, especially where the double tracking of the vocals, you know an extra vocal track in the back to syncopate against.
MAA: Is there anything you need to do to get your voice in shape and ready to record or go out on the road?
CB: Just get my daily dose of cannabinoids, and having as much rehearsal time as possible before going on tour or into the studio.
MAA: Are you surprised by the notoriety your cover songs have received?
CB: Well, the Europeans always love TNT in the live setting in the festivals, at first that did surprise me, it’s a heavy version. The did sort of surprise me, but it’s fun doing all of that stuff.
MAA: Does it surprise you that most of the bands you’ve covered have been considered a metal band at one point, but to younger fans of metal no longer consider some of these bands to be metal bands?
CB: I haven’t given that much thought; guess that’s kind of interesting. It’s not something that bothers me. Cause you know what? What are labels? If they fade out so what, at least it’s good music. But I understand people want to put labels on something, they want to belong to something. I was one of those kids growing up. You want to associate to something, I was a metal head, I wanted to be known as a metal head, it was the most fun thing about growing up. Music was everything to me growing up, it still is, although in a different way now.
MAA: What do you feel is the biggest death metal cliché?
CB: Wow, I don’t know, I don’t really find anything to be cliché in death metal. I think it is what it is, and people make it what they want to make it. I always thought of death metal as being an open range, you sort of do what you want. Nothing that another band has done has really bothered me, I think there is room for everything. People want to stick to thinking a certain way regarding what death metal is, just portraying that, that’s cool too. There is always room for the purists, and those that want to experiment. It’s always been an interesting style to me.
