The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2 collection is comprised of RONNIE JAMES DIO‘s mid-nineties releases; Angry Machines all the way up to his final, twenty first century album Master of the Moon. Remastered lovingly by longtime DIO producer Wyn Davis, under the supervision of WENDY DIO, all of the tracks from somewhat random albums sound good next to each other. From Magica you get “Lord of the Last Day”,”Fever Dreams”, “Feed My Head” and “As Long As It’s Not About Love”. From Killing the Dragon you get “Along Comes A Spider”, “Better In The Dark”, “Push” and the title track. Off of the Master album you get “The Eyes”, “One More For The Road” and “Shivers”. While Machines offers two more tracks that mix things up. After listening to this you’ll notice Ronnie’s voice does not change. He has this timeless quality that makes every song sound like they were recorded all in the same day.
The musicianship on this beast comes mainly from guitarist CRAIG GOLDY, drummer SIMON WRIGHT and keyboardist SCOTT WARREN. Bassists; RUDY SARZO, JEFF PILSON, JIMMY BAIN as well as drummer VINNY APPICE and guitarist TRACY G are all showcased here. No matter who’s playing on what, they all deliver what’s needed. DIO and company always showed you that you don’t need to play a hundred miles an hour, or rely on super technicality it write a great song. It really is a lesson in straight-forward heavy metal.
It’s a perfect collection for the causal fan and there’s also enough extras on here to get the faithful fans interested. With studio bonus tracks such as “Prisoner Of Paradise”, “Electra”, a live version of “Hunter of the Heart” and possibly the last DIO guest appearance- “Metal Will Never Die” from the 2010 DAVE ROCK FIENSTEIN album, Bitten by the Beast you get a lot of value in this collection. Not a bad way to honor a true icon.
THE SWORD’s newest release, Apocryphon is one of the highest profile recent ones for Razor & Tie, who has re-established itself as a rising metal label, with indie ethics and major label distro. This is THE SWORD’s fourth album and a follow-up to a fairly successful album, Warp Riders. After contributing to the soundtrack of the box office smash The Avengers and playing METALLICA’s Orion Festival, they are a band to watch.
Apocryphon starts off strong. On “Veil of Isis” vocalist J.D. CRONISE channels a bit of OZZY OSBOURNE’s style. A nice visual of Armageddon is definitely a good way to open a metal album. The band seems to be warning the listener of their arrival with lines like “the dead will rise and the living must depart”. Another track, “Dying Earth” sounds similar to MASTODON’s “The Creature Lives”. The opening of “Dying Earth” has that same trippy feel to it. It is fitting since Cronise sings of magic and sorcerers. The concept of a post apocalyptic world is maintained.
“Seven Sisters” is the most standout song on the album. It is catchier than the rest and also causes the listener to consider their life. The sisters in the song spend their time trying to find solace in religion/superstition and wasting their lives away. Other characters wonder how much there is to know. The lesson to be gained is that one should not waste their life waiting for something that is never going to happen and should instead focus on learning from experience throughout their life.
THE SWORD chose to be particularly ambitious with this release. When writing the album many subjects were explored, which is reflected in the final result. Although this has enriched the material it has also presented the listener with much to think about, maybe even too much. This means that the album requires multiple plays in order to grasp it all. It turns out to be both a curse and a blessing for the group.
The album as a whole accomplishes the band’s task of transporting the reader to another place. This is done by presenting the image of a world after the “end” as well as having the listener consider the big picture. It is a big undertaking, but THE SWORD does just fine with it.
THE SWORD crafted an ambitious gem, to blow your mind.
It’s debate time again at Metal Army. We figured you were all burned out by the election and enough time has passed by now, so we could bring you all a worthwhile topic: Women in metal. We are always interested in analyzing social paradigms (I know, a heady concept for metal heads). I’ve always felt there was a wide contrast between how many powerful and talented women there are in the metal community and how they are treated and portrayed by that same community. Since I am not a woman, I consulted three of Metal Army’s best writers (of any gender) in Melissa Campbell, Rachel Hacker and Lynn Jordan. They each have a unique perspective to share on the subject. We have also included some concert photos of our favorite women in metal, doing what they do, so read on…..
KRYSTA CAMERON, EX-IWRESTLEDABEARONCE
Melissa Campbell: Overcoming obstacles to love metal
Ever since I became a fan of metal, I knew that I some were going to look down on me for being a girl. There have been plenty of moments where I’ve been laughed at by male metal listeners or told by them that I can’t listen to “their” music. Thankfully I’ve found plenty of guys who don’t care what gender I am. Those more negative experiences with metal guys have not caused me to harbor any bad feelings towards guys either. I idolize men like RONNIE JAMES DIO as much as women like AMY LEE.
LYRIS HUNG of HUNG
MLNY PARSONZ of ROYAL THUNDER
Another problem I encountered in the past was not being allowed to go to metal shows. My father forbade it because he believed all those terrible stereotypes related to shows where males were in high attendance compared to females (i.e. rapes, getting hurt in pits, being kidnapped). Even though I promised to have my sister with me at all times, he was quite uncomfortable granting me permission. In his eyes, we as women were not capable of handling ourselves alongside “those types” of men.
KIMBERLY FREEMAN of ONE EYED DOLL
However, in 2010, my mother bought me and my sister tickets to go to Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. My father was not too happy about it and claimed he was unaware we had been planning to attend. He started to trust us more when we returned alive and we are now able to go to shows with relatively low complaints from him.
JILL JANUS of HUNTRESS
All that being said, gender discrimination in the genre has gone down in recent years thanks to the rise of female fronted (or completely female) bands. A few decades ago women were mainly viewed as sexual objects in the metal community. To those whose main goal was to just be a groupie and have fun that was alright. Other females who wanted to be taken seriously as musicians often had trouble with it (i.e. LITA FORD). The best contribution I can make (since I don’t want to be a musician) is to continue going to/writing about gigs and representing the female community.
Rachel Hacker: The Made-up Stigma
I read Jezebel every damn day of my life. Maybe if i stopped reading it, I’d get a boyfriend.
Nah.
So. Women. Consistently considered the lesser sex throughout history. Always being chastised for what we can’t do compared to men. Men are the “invisible demographic,” making them the standard for comparison on woman. However, comparing both of them side by side on every issue is absurd. This is essentially the classic apples-to-oranges argument, but this time we’re comparing penises and vaginas.
FARIDA LEMOUCHI of THE DEVIL’S BLOOD
In the ever commercialized musical world of “Call Me Maybe”, there is an equally commercialized world of hard rock and heavy metal. Through seeing the 1996 stock photo of MARILYN MANSON in the local newspaper, or that GUNS N’ ROSES poster your dad secretly displays in the Man Cave, almost everyone has an image of what metal is “about.” The standard for what men wear and do as a rock artist was set in the 60s, while many women were still taking care of families to develop a true voice in metal and hard rock.
RAE AMITAY of MARES OF THRACE/THRAWSUNBLAT/WOODS OF YPRES
SUSAN WENDELKEN of DORMITORY EFFECT
It’s only been in the past few decades that women aren’t put down on account of not having a family by age 30. Women don’t feel pressured to rush through getting married anymore, and we have some pretty damn good years of vitality in our 20s or older. The hoards of young women, with non-sagging breasts and sharp minds, are ready to do something different than clean diapers. Why not make play some metal and look hot doing it?
CARLA HARVEY and HEIDI SHEPHERD of BUTCHER BABIES
Some women and men find the “hot chicks in metal” to be degrading and embarrassing. Who’s embarrassed? Not me. The sex industry is huge, which means there are obviously people buying the porn that women and men make. Separating our sex and our music isn’t going to change much, considering most of the world is desensitized, anyways. Individuals who believe women should “cover up” are also playing the “chivalry card.” This ideal is essentially is built upon that women are “delicate flowers who can’t do anything on their own.”
Bullshit.
Women in metal are still being treated as if they can’t make their own decisions. “Oh, you’re topless, you must not be intelligent enough to know what you’re doing, let me help you.” It was only 100 years ago that masturbation was a mental illness, or that women still had sex while partially or fully clothed. So why are we still trying to cover up women- figuratively and literally?
SOM PLUIJMERS, ex-CEREBRAL BORE
If you’ve got a good rack and wanna show it, go for it. And while some tiny corner of the internet blogs about your lack of modesty, you’re too busy driving to the bank to care. Unfortunately, most of the bands with the “hot chicks in metal” don’t have music I actually like, but there will never be a moment where I feel like telling another women to cover up. The fashion standard for women in hard rock and metal should be the woman’s choice, not someone else’s choice. Therefore, if men are “apples” and women are “oranges,” the way they handle metal shouldn’t even be compared beyond the thought that “it exists.” The last thing we need is someone else like Mitt Romney.
TRACY MYZERI GONZALEZ of EYES LIKE CYANIDE
AMANDA DANIELS of ENABLER
Lynn Jordan: Women in the Metal Scene
PAUL STANLEY of KISS was once asked his opinion about a female hard rock performer. His response? “You need balls to rock ‘n’ roll”. MARC STORACE of KROKUS was doing record reviews for a magazine, and when one for a female performer came up he said,”…she should be doing better things. Like giving me head.”
I read both of these quotes many years ago. As you can see, I haven’t forgotten them; they remain etched in my brain.
ARCH ENEMY, led by ANGELA GOSSOW
I have to admit that when I first started playing bass, my inspirations were mostly male. There were women I loved that were famous with the heavier music that I admired that were writing their own songs, putting out great records and putting on incredible shows. As talented and gutsy as these women were, many male music fans still had a hard time giving them props. How dare these women get onstage and think they have what it takes?
How dare they?
But despite that, to this day no female Metal artist or all-female band has garnered the gushing recognition or respect that their male contemporaries receive as a matter of course. Why not?
STEVIE FLOYD of DARK CASTLE/TAURUS
I believe that for men to acknowledge and respect the female presence as Metal musicians is to give power to women that they don’t want them to have. Heavy Metal is a testosterone-fueled monster with images of blood, war, cars, devil worship, drinking, fucking, death, etc. None of these things are considered feminine. Men do these things. Women were intended to hang in the sidelines to worship, clean up, pay the bill, swallow, look pretty and smile while providing various services (comfort, food, shelter or sex-related) to these battle-scarred warriors of musical carnage. Many men don’t like women to be sweat-streaked, angry and storming a stage. Many men don’t like it when women speak their mind. Others don’t like a cursing, spit-fire bitch not taking their shit. Some men get defensive when a woman does something they think is exclusively theirs. And they certainly don’t like it when a woman can do something as well as they do, and does not need their approval to proceed as they please. So the very genre that prides itself on speaking its mind, empowering its listeners and letting its aggression out really doesn’t want their women to be a part of its voice.
SIGRID SHEIE of HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE
There is also that double-standard of image vs. talent. If a female musician is beautiful, even if she is gifted, she had to have used her looks to get ahead. If she isn’t that attractive, but is talented, she is dismissed because some dude doesn’t want to “pee in her butt”. It’s a bitter pill and a tough choice for female musicians to make. Do you tone down the sex for respect and get shorted in attention and sales, or do you ramp up the sex, get the attention, alienate some female fans and get less respect from the male ones? It’s a tough call. Male musicians do not have this dilemma. They either are good or they aren’t.
OTEP SHAMAYA of OTEP
As 2012 comes to a close, I do not see this changing much. Metal has popular bands with women in them, We have noted bands with women in them, such as ARCH ENEMY, IN THIS MOMENT, OTEP, LACUNA COIL, THE AGONIST, NASHVILLE PUSSY, FIREBALL MINISTRY, SISTER SIN, ALL THAT REMAINS, STRAIGHT LINE STITCH, a slew of female-fronted Goth and Symphonic Metal bands, and (on the lighter side), EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM. With all the females that can play Metal well, the mystery remains as to why it never coalesces into a one kick-ass band, and when they do…it’s a cover band playing songs originally made popular by men. We still can’t have our own voice from the stage, but we do get the annual “Hottest Chicks in Metal” pictorial. That’s another tough choice – to pose or not pose for band promotion (if you’re deemed “hot” enough to make the cut)? Is one reduced to something less than an equal once you’ve shown your ass?
G THÉRÈSE LANZ of MARES OF THRACE
MEG CASTELLANOS of TOTIMOSHI
JEANNE SAGAN of ALL THAT REMAINS
All that said, let us be the women behind the men, and we soar without barrier. OZZY would be dead, or at least strung-out, broke and on Skid Row, if it wasn’t for SHARON OSBORNE. Love her or hate her (I happen to think she’s awesome) without her, OZZY would have been a footnote in BLACK SABBATH‘s history and Ozzfest would never have happened. MELISSA CROSS has been the vocal coach for male Metal screamers in SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD, among many others. SUSAN SILVER was a manager who brought us SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS. DEBBIE ABONO managed such extreme bands POSSESSED, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, FORBIDDEN and OBITUARY. “METAL” MARIA FERRERO was mentioned in many a Thrash band ‘thank you’ list as a promotional force back in the day, which she continues now as the founder of ADRENALINE PR. MARSHA ZAZULA, is co-founder of Megaforce Records with her husband Jon, and they have signed METALLICA, ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT and more. Many bands have started out with their girlfriends or wives acting as managers, promoters and helping to book shows. Many Hair Metal bands have admitted that if it weren’t for the ladies that gave them a place to sleep, something to eat, encouragement and support, they would not have made it – literally and figuratively. Maybe the day will come when males of the Metal scene will truly appreciate the depth of strength women bring on AND off the stage. The more we succeed as a unified supportive front, the more Metal music succeeds overall, and the more powerful we all become.
Another stunning masterpiece album cover by John Baizley.
Another of the most anticipated albums of 2012 dropping this summer is by BARONESS. I have been a huge fan of the band since before they were popular so I will admit I have been excited for this album like a little girl getting a pony on her fifth birthday. After 2009′s Blue Album blew up and catapulted them to the top of every taste makers lists (it ranked #2 for me that year, by a nose behind MASTODON’s Crack The Skye), I didn’t have to rave about this band that few knew about anymore. Usually two things happen when a band reaches this level: they plateau and disappoint or they rise to the occasion and deliver a masterpiece. Rest assured, BARONESS has done the latter and then some.
With a sweeping double album, Yellow and Green has continued the journey the band has been on for several albums. Although the songs are still full of spirit and vitriol and packed with Olympian guitar work, musically the band has moved away from metal and potatoes Sludge influenced Prog-rock. What they have done is transform their sound, without constraints and wrote flat-out brilliant songs. They may lose some long time fans in the process, but similar to MASTODON and OPETH, this has been a long time coming. Some songs rage and others ebb and flow gently. All of them have a character and a soulfulness lacking in a lot of today’s music. Tiny details, amazing little bits of genius carefully put into the tracks that make each listen more rewarding. It is the sound of a band fully gelling, although defined and led by John Baizley’s creative fire
Yellow… is the more uptempo and rocking side of the two, but not in strict terms. After “Yellow Theme” sets the table as many BARONESS records have done before you have the rollicking singles like “Take My Bones Away” and “March To the Sea”. Without the use of metals’ clichés of over-driven amps and palm-muted chords, these songs stand on their own, and still damn heavy. Still, the beauty of the album is in mellower, but deeper cuts like “Little Things” and “Twinkler” that will be a treat for your ears and heart. Heady and emotive like all the greats: QUEEN, THIN LIZZY, late-era LED ZEPPELIN or early psychedelic-era PINK FLOYD, these albums took you on a mental journey into mystery the first time you heard them. “Cocanium” is a straight out 70′s Pop-Rock delight that could have been at home on a JOE WALSH or STEVE MILLER album. Gritty, mature and possessing dynamite bass lines and keyboard parts. Baizley actually played all of the bass on the album too since new bassist Matt Maggioni hadn’t joined until late in the writing process. Whether it’s the catchy “Back Where I Belong” or the transcendent “Eula”, every song has goose-bump inducing moments from both Baizley and Peter Adams in the guitar work.
Green… is very interesting by itself. I listened to the entire album together many times already, but Green has its own merits alone too. It’s not a case of one side being rockers and the other a chill out. Quite the opposite. Both albums have their different tones and timbres. “Green Theme” is actually a little less somber and more up beat than the earlier side intro song. Drummer Allen Blickle might have had to hold back a little more overall than his usual ferocious attack, but it may very well be his best playing of his career. “Board Up The House” has wonderful dynamic range as does “Mtns. (The Crown &Anchor)”. Baizley’s philosophical story telling gets an additional boost from some harmonized vocal lines that will make you think of THE BEATLES. “Collapse” is another gem of song craft also. “Stretchmarker” is soft and introspective while “The Line Between” is one of the hardest songs of the set. “If I Forget Thee, Lowcountry” puts a dreamy end to the opus. Yellow and Green is not only the perfect soundtrack to summer, it is the best album of this mighty bands’ career.
BARONESS sheds the typical trappings of metal for something more.
Metal Army caught up via email with GRAND MAGUS front man JB. The band has an excellent new album out, The Hunt, their first for Nuclear Blast. JB is never shy about his feelings on many topics and it was cool to touch base with him about what is going on with the band.
MAA: Please tell us about the writing process of The Hunt?
JB: The Hunt was a bit different than our past records because of the drummer situation. We knew that Sebastian (Sippola) as going to leave the band so we needed someone else to play on the album. At the same time we had tours booked that Sebastian had committed to do, so we couldn’t just bring in someone new for the writing. Anyway, three of the songs were written – jammed together- by me, Fox and Sebastian. The rest were written mainly by me and some by Fox and me.
MAA: The sound of the album is very crisp and analog sounding. What did you do in the studio to achieve that balance?
JB: Nothing special, just avoiding all kinds of triggers and sound replacements. All you hear on The Hunt is miked up drums and cabs, nothing else. I guess that makes it sound more analog, because it is, haha! Seriously, it’s weird to me that so many have reacted at the sound, that kind of shows how crazy the current standard of sound is. Super compressed, all replaced and streamlined to the max. This is something we wanted to avoid. The Hunt is meant to be played loud on a proper stereo. I guess this is not that common anymore.
GRAND MAGUS.
MAA: What has Ludde Witt (SPIRITUAL BEGGARS) added to the writing process since joining the band?
JB: He hasn’t really had a chance yet, like I explained above. He certainly contributed with his drumming on the album, that’s his vision entirely. On the next album, I’m sure he’ll be part of the actual writing too.
MAA: The band have always had such a classic early metal sound. After ten years do you think people have caught up to the sound of the band?
JB: Yeah, it’s about time too, haha!
MAA: Your vocals seem to be more powerful than ever lately. Who are some of your influences as a singer?
JB: RJD (RONNIE JAMES DIO), DAVID COVERDALE, ERIC ADAMS, ROB HALFORD…. You know, the classics… also JOHN LAWTON, PAUL RODGERS… too many to mention really, haha.
MAA: Tracks like “Valhalla Rising” and “Son of the Last Breath” really tell great stories. What was the inspiration behind these songs?
JB: Personal experiences in both those cases actually. I’ve always tried to follow the Scandinavian story telling tradition in my lyrics. The Hunt as a whole deals with man’s relation to nature in general and The Wolf in particular.
MAA: What are the touring plans for the near future?
JB: We’re doing festivals in Europe this summer and then we’ll tour in the fall. We’re actually doing our first transatlantic gig ever in the fall: we’re going to Calgary, Canada. Hopefully we can do some US dates within the near future as well.
MAA: Sweden is always known for so many great bands. Who are your favorite bands among your countrymen?
JB: BATHORY, UNLEASHED, DISMEMBER, ENTOMBED, MARDUK, NIFELHEIM, DISSECTION, WATAIN… there are more… Swedish metal bands in general are excellent players and songwriters I think.
The late Cory Smoot A.K.A. Flattus Maximus recently passed away while on tour with GWAR in late 2011. But before he passed away, he recorded an album that was originally titled Religion Is Fiction. The album was going to have notable singers from the Richmond, VA metal scene doing vocals on different songs, but due to scheduling conflicts, he ended up recording all vocals himself and renaming it When Worlds Collide.
Right away, you can hear the awesome riff fest this album will offer in the initial shredding on “The Blood Red.” It’s a straight up heavy metal track, with slight elements of groove thrown in. The initial verse sections are reminiscent of late 90’s/early 2000’s heavy metal (no I’m not talking about nu-metal) in terms of how the music is written. One thing that makes this track stand most of the others is the awesome quality and originality of the riffs provided.
Sure to become a favorite among the metal community, “Religion Is Fiction” is a groove metal masterpiece. While it’s really short at only two and a half minutes, the guitar riff that’s played throughout the song is another excellent example of Cory’s uniqueness with his song writing. Another notable aspect is that he basically keeps the same riff throughout the song, but implements different patterns to make it a completely badass track.
If there’s one song that has the closest relation to GWAR, it would definitely be “Mandatory Purgatory.” From the song title alone one can get the correlation, but after hearing the semi-thrash metal song and the lyrics to the song, you can immediately see it. Dave Brockie lends some vocals on this track as well, which helps explain the similarities even more.
Overall, after listening to this awesome album, it stands as the perfect swansong for Cory Smoot.
Metal Army America caught up with heavy metal legend KAI HANSEN to talk about his new project, UNISONIC. The group reunites Hansen with his former HELLOWEEN band mate/singer MICHAEL KISKE for the first time in twenty-five years as a writing partner. Their debut, self-titled album is out in America after being released this spring in Europe and Japan and is a must have for fans of old-school heavy metal, power metal and rock. KAI was very gracious with his time and covered a lot of ground with us, so it was a really fun interview.
(Special thanks to KAI HANSEN, Earsplit PR and Eagle Rock Entertainment)
MAA staffer Ridge “Deadite” Briel recently caught up with vocalist Mark of Roadrunner Records newest signing At The Skylines. You’re probably wondering, why is a post-hardcore band on here? Well, these guys are much, much heavier and, at times, a lot faster than the post-hardcore that is out today.
Ridge: You guys are relatively new, with little to none information about you guys. Tell us a little bit about where you’re from?
Mark: We centralized in Huntington Beach, CA. We all used to practice in Redlands and basically just met from friends of friends and other people that have known each other from high school. Some of us played in marching band together and that’s where we started to come together.
Were you guys in any bands prior to At The Skylines?
David and Billy were in a band called 7 Ages. Shawn was in a heavy-death metal band that I forgot the name of, and this would be Chris’ first band. Lucas was in a band from San Diego called City Delivered, and I was in a band called Cease to Aspire.
So tell us a little bit about your debut album The Secrets Of Life. What are some of the lyrical ideas behind the album and what does the album title exactly mean?
Basically what the Secrets To Life is about is that me and Chris decided to come together and gather up all of our past experiences of life and just releasing them using music as an outlet. Getting them off our chest and coming to the realization that life is living and learning. Going through everything and growing as a person, to grow from them, and to make your choices from them.
So I have to ask, what was it like having a death metal legend like Fredrik Nordstrum produce this mostly post-hardcore album? What was that experience like for you?
It was gnarly man! We went before to a studio in North Carolina to do most of our pre-production. When we got there, my mind was just blown because most of the heavier bands I got into were produced by Fredrik. My uncle showed me some of these bands when I was in 10th grade. It was so weird to piece it together and think “Oh man, we’re really going for it.” He was such a great dude, really funny and possesses a crazy personality. We were kind of worried about going into a different country because of the different cultures, but in the end we all got along. I can say he’s the life of the party!
I’ve followed this guy’s work for years. I mean, the biggest one for me is him producing At The Gates.
He’s pretty much produced everybody that’s anybody in death metal these days and I have the utmost respect for him.
What sort of influences inspire you guys to go out and produce this eclectic blend of extremely heavy post-hardcore music?
We’ve all been doing this seriously our whole lives to be honest. We all just lived and learned from being in different bands and learning what to do and what not to do. I think we got lucky that we were all from different bands, minus Chris of course. We just learned what to do that’s right and bring out the very best of what we each had to offer. We got lucky to get picked up by a great management team because that’s where everything started coming together. It’s all based on luck, especially in this scene because it’s become to over-saturated.
Being the only post-hardcore band on Roadrunner right now, what has the reception from fans of the label been so far?
I think at this moment that people are confused. I think a lot of kids these days, especially in this genre, that Roadrunner’s the big label they are now. A lot of people think Rise and Equal Vision and Fearless are the only labels for this genre because they’re the biggest. It’s not like we think we’re better than them in any way, we just wanted to go in a different direction. I mean, it’s Roadrunner, they’re worldwide, and they can bring a lot of exposure. We just felt they could do more for us. Another thing is that Glassjaw is one of my favorite bands, so being on this label is a huge honor for us.
It’s pretty crazy that they laid off a bunch of their overseas offices. What are your thoughts on that?
Well, as many people should know already, Warner bought a large portion of Roadrunner years ago, and I just think that it will just move in a whole different direction. I mean, it’s bad that all of those excellent people are now out of work.
What has it been like touring with letlive and Enter Shikari? What’s been the fan reception so far?
It’s really been different for us. It’s a different demographic for us overall and a totally different and varied crowd. It’s been really cool to meet new fans and to branch out of our genre. If you notice, a lot of tours these days mainly stick with other bands that are of similar genres. There’s only so much to grow from that same circle. It’s much better to branch out and take these risks in doing different genre tours. We don’t want to be another normal band, we have our sights set on becoming bigger than that. We definitely want to be on the radio, but we’re not trying to sell out or anything like that, we just want big things and take it to the next level.
What are your guys plans after this tour is over next month?
We have a CD release show May 18th at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. We’re playing with bands like Casino Madrid, To Each His Own, and a band from Texas called Myka Relocate. So that’s going to be really awesome, I can’t wait to release this CD. After that we will be on the Scream It Like You Mean It tour with bands like The Acacia Strain, Attack Attack!, I See Stars, and more.
It really blew my mind to see The Acacia Strain get signed to Rise after all that time on Prosthetic.
Yeah me too! I’m such a fan of what Prosthetic puts out. But I think it’s pretty cool that they’re able to take that chance and I know Rise will do great things for them. The Acacia Strain in particular I’m a HUGE fan of! At least I know we won’t be seeing any dubstep remixes coming from them.
How have the pre-sales for the album been doing so far? How’s the overall reception been?
It’s been great so far. Like I said before, we’re a new band and not a lot of people know about us yet. I think we’ve been really lucky to meet these new fans. We don’t really have too much online hype or anything like that, so we’re really depending on touring a lot. When a band signs to a label like Rise, they get a huge amount of hype from the fans because they all stick with that same genre and really pay attention to what Rise puts out, which I think is awesome for those bands. I think in the long run, everything will work out for the best. We’re not trying to rush things, we’re not trying to become big overnight, we want to build it up and gain loyal fans.
What’s been the road fuel of choice for you guys?
I love sushi more than anything, but sometimes it can be hard to find a good restaurant. I actually have I love sushi tattooed on the inside of my bottom lip. My girlfriend hates it however. If I can’t find a place, I try to eat a lot of veggies and drink a ton of water to stay healthy.
So, any last words for your fans and other people who don’t know about you guys and what they can expect to hear?
Listen to us with open ears. I think our songs are the kind that will grow on you over time. Once people realize where we’re coming from and what kind of message we represent, then it will inspire people. We hope that people will take the time to study our lyrics and hopefully sing along with them at our shows.
Monument of Metal: The Very Best of ANVIL (The End Records)
Drummer Robb Reiner painted the cover art work, as seen in ANVIL: The Story of Anvil
Riding high of late, ANVIL has a new retrospective. These have been interesting times for the Ontario, Canada based band since the 2009 documentary ANVIL: The Story of Anvil. They have seen their album worked on in the movie widely released, toured the world at a much more professional and regular clip and released a decent new album in Juggernaut of Justice a few months back. Now comes a deluxe greatest hits package with re-recorded, live or remastered versions. While this is a no brainer purchase for their fan base, will the recent renewed interest help new fans find the band as much more than a novelty? Let’s find out!
The first good move was that the collection is not just from the early days, but celebrates their entire career. The songs were hand picked personally by the band, this is the best representation ever of the group’s history. These tracks are also indicative of the bands versatility of style be it proto-thrash, heavy metal or rock. When This Is Thirteen was re-released by VH1 in conjunction with the film the band re-recorded new updated versions of their classics and some of these like the bands biggest hit “Metal On Metal” sound terrific. The guitars snarl and cut through the speakers with a punch they never had on cassette and you can really here Robb Reiner’s pummeling drum strokes cut right through the din as well. However, if all the band had was one great song this collection wouldn’t be much of a collection now would it? “Winged Assassins” is a killer track from Forged In Fire. Insane riffage and furious sounds with all the touch stones of early thrash/NWOBHM music in place. This is followed by the more recent “666” which is one of the fastest and heaviest anthems the band has ever made. “Thumbhang” is next. The song was first talked about in the film as a forgotten jam and it is really cool to hear it fully realized now. The BLACK SABBATH doom meets classic metal sound here is great, as is Glenn Five’s bass licks. The Steve “Lipps” Kudrow signature lead guitar sound and choice sense of humor are still there after all this time. “School Love” and “Heat Sink” are more in line with the band’s early KISS and IRON MAIDEN fascinations with the latter being the better of the two. Then there is my favorite song by the band “March of The Crabs”. “March….” even as an instrumental is on par with all of the best early thrash anthems and that includes the mighty American Big Four as well. Lipps was ahead of the pack as a lead guitarist for his generation. A powerful and emotional song with excellent riffs and beats. “Plenty of Power” is another riff-fest in the JUDAS PRIEST mold while “Mothra” is another cool old school jam. The updated (1989) version of “Jackhammer” is miles above the original Metal On Metal version, where it was one of the better tracks back then. The title track off of Juggernaut of Justice still hasn’t sold me more since the early summer, but perhaps a stronger choice might have been “Swing Thing” or “When All Hell Breaks Loose”. The rest of the collection ranges from great: “Sins of The Flesh”, “Mad Dog”, “Fire In The Night” and “Park That Truck” to just okay songs like “Bottom Feeder”. Still, if you don’t know the band beyond the film and their “hits”, this is a fine entry point to a deeper listen that will give you insight into music that has sustained for over thirty years.
Thank fucking god for 101.5 in Flint, Michigan! This weekend, they sat down with MASTODON and finally got an answer on what the fuck “Curl of the Burl” is about. We all know it’s an amazing track, but no one I knew had any idea what it was about. Check out Troy Sanders’ explanation below!
Q: ”Curl Of The Burl” is your big single. It’s a kick-ass tune, but a lot of people are wondering, “What the hell is this song about?” and I don’t know what a curl of the burl is — so could you explain that for us?
Sanders: The burl is the knot that’s found in various trees — it’s almost like a cancer of trees. Within that burl are unique swirls or curls. A lot of people will cut those down and sell them to wood-makers, wood sculptors, and furniture makers because it’s got a unique design to it. And this is a true story which happens in the Pacific Northwest — a lot of people go out in the woods with chainsaws, they find these burls, they cut them down, they load their pickup trucks with these burls, take them in to town sell them to various wood-makers, take the money from that, purchase more meth, go back in the woods and continue that circle of insanity. So it’s based on a true story. People will steal your cars, steal copper…and people will go out there in the woods and steal burls.
