Metal legends Iron Maiden released their 15th studio album "The Final Frontier" on August 16/17 and reached new heights by attaining the No. 1 sales chart position in several countries including Canada and the UK.  Trax like "The Final Frontier", "The Talisman", "Isle of Avalon" display why Maiden remains Metal's leading act. 

 

Visit Iron Maiden's page on LoudTrax.com.  Buy Iron Maiden T-Shirts Here

While they were in Montreal in July, I had the great pleasure of doing video interviews with Maiden's legendary manager Rod Smallwood and guitarist Janick Gers. 

Both interviews were done moments before they took the stage and prior to the release of the Final Frontier album.  The interviews were done for the metal news site Bravewords.com and were originally posted in their "Brave Videos" section.

Below is the Janick Gers interview.



Below is the Rod Smallwood interview.

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Thanks to Vicki and Anastasia at EMI, and Metal Tim at Bravewords for making this happen.

 

 

 

To highlight the promotion LoudTrax.com and Relapse Records are holding for the Kingdom of Sorrow "Behind the Blackest Tears" release, we had the great pleasure of speaking with the metal legend Jamey Jasta. The Hatebreed singer released the second album for this side project which also features Kirk Windstein from Crowbar and Down.

For a limited time, the "Behind the Blackest Tears" album is avialable for $6.99 (only at LoudTrax.com).  Jamey also offered us an autographed CD to giveaway, so enter HERE! 

LoudTrax.com:  First off, Happy belated Birthday (August 7).  Did you do anything special?

Jamey Jasta:  Thanks.  Yeah it was fun.  Together with friends and stuff, cake, was cool.

LoudTrax.com:  Can you tell us about the Behind the Blackest Tears album and how it was different than the first?

Jamey Jasta:  This time around I had demo-ed a lot prior to giving ideas to Kirk.  I had 14 or 15 songs that I was able to hand to him, which he was then able to listen to and jam along with and give creative input.  Even though I wrote about half of the first record, I probably had more input in the writing on this one.  I had more time to get all the lyrical concepts together.  I wrote all the lyrics on both albums, so I felt a little more pressure this time to not kind of repeat myself and starting to go into different areas and out of my comfort zone a little bit.

I would say that’s the main difference.  It’s still stays with the concept of the band being a “place” – The Kingdom of Sorrow.   We wanted to be able to go to that “place” musically & creatively.  Overall I think this record is a good growth.  There’s some progression and we both went out of our comfort zones as far as the writing, singing and the riffs.  Feels good. 

LoudTrax.com:  Did you spend a lot of time together writing, or was it done each on your own?

Jamey Jasta:  It was pretty much done separately and when we got together we just bounced ideas back and forth, changed the stuff as we could.  We played riffs to each other and showed each other different ideas and feeding off the vibe.

LoudTrax.com:  There are more and more successful artists that have side projects that they work on alongside their main band.  I’m thinking of yourself, Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson of Testament, Mike Portnoy, and a several others. 

Would you say that the fact that you are involved in different successful projects helps you bring something special or of extra value back to each of the projects?

Jamey Jasta:  Yes I think it’s a creative thing.  Sometimes you need a different outlet and when you’re able to step away and do something, it helps your main outlet.  For example, I was talking to someone the other day about sports and how a lot of sports players go and play golf really well, or try a different sport. 

I think some musicians can do that as well.  It’s still an activity that’s creative and involves music and writing lyrics, but within a different genre or different emotional relief.  For me, when I do Hatebreed songs, I’m trying to look myself in the mirror and take a hard look at myself and say something that’s going to keep me motivated.  Hatebreed is me being my own drill sergeant.

Kingdom of Sorrow is completely different.  It doesn’t come from anger, or the same place.  It’s more about an emotional release from a different area of my life.  And it’s the same for Kirk.  He’ll tell me “I have a riff will fit best with Kingdom”.  So it’s just a different creative process too.

LoudTrax.com:  I take it you must also feed off the energy of the people within a specific project.

Jamey Jasta:  Yes totally.  There’s a power too with the fans.  When they embrace something, it’s very gratifying.  When the first Kingdom of Sorrow record was released, Kirk and I were both out in the public eye a lot.  With Hatebreed on Roadrunner Records and the main stage on Ozzfest.   At that time, we had just passed 1 million records sold – one of the only Hardcore bands to ever do that and being one of the most successful hardcore bands ever.  That comes with a lot of criticism and people speculating all the time.  So when we started Kingdom of Sorrow, there was a lot of criticism and a lot of doubt.

When the record came out and performed very well and got decent reviews, followed by the tour, it became very successful and was very gratifying for both Kirk and I to have proven a lot of our nay-sayers wrong.  That record sold more than some main bands studio releases that had more marketing.  So for a side project to do that well, was very fulfilling to us and made us want even more to pursue that avenue.

LoudTrax.com:  It seems like the second record “Behind The Blackest Tears” is on the same path.

Jamey Jasta:  It’s only been a month and it’s already increasing in sales each week.  I feel like if we actually tour more and if Kirk can get his life together and start be able to come on the road with us it would do even better.  I’m hoping we can do something at the end of year.  We want to go to Canada, after Hatebreed does Eastern Canada, we’d like to do some other shows.  Hopefully the Crowbar dates do not conflict.

Relapse Records does a great job too and helps us reach out to a new audience which is great.

LoudTrax.com:  So did I understand properly that Kirk is not on the upcoming Kingdom of Sorrow tour?

Jamey Jasta:  Yes.  Right now it doesn’t look like Kirk will be able to do those 8 shows.  He didn’t do another tour with me, so I’m used to doing shows without him.  I really don’t want to, but I’m kind of in a bad position.  If I cancel, I’ll hear from a ton of people complaining.  I did an 8 week tour without him and it went great, so I am hoping these next shows also go well.

LoudTrax.com:  You played the HeavyMtl festival in Montreal a few weeks ago.  What did you think of the event and did you have a chance to see any of the other bands?

Jamey Jasta:  I didn’t get to see any of the other bands because I had my daughter the day before and day after the show, so I flew in the morning and flew out right after my set. 

But the Jagermeister signing we did before the set was incredible!  One of the biggest of the day.  All our diehard fans were there.  There were fans that came from all over the world, which was amazing – there was people from South America there!  From Asia!  It was incredible.  It’s so professionally run and was so nice and welcoming. 

I thought the first time we did it was incredible too.  You don’t hear another band’s name chanting when you’re going on before Iron Maiden.  So to come out on stage and have the whole place chanting “Hatebreed” was amazing.  This time was just as great!

LoudTrax.com:  I was looking at your tour schedule.  Your last show with Hatebreed is Aug. 15, and then 2 days later you hit the road with Kingdom of Sorrow.  That ends on Aug. 24 in Mansfield, and the next day you play in Germany with Hatebreed, and that leads you all the way to Sept 14 in Canada.  Are you psyched about Sept. 15? 

Jamey Jasta:  Lol.  Actually, it looks like on Sept. 15 I might be flying now to do another project! When you’re job is fun it doesn’t seem like a job.  That’s the beauty about everything that’s been going on right now.  It’s been fun and creative and artistically creative.  I still get a real charge out of picking up a guitar or my pad to create lyrics.  When I have the creative juices flowing its when I’m at my most excited and motivation, inspired.  So I just roll with it.  Sometimes you get burnt out and you need a little bit of a break, but right now it’s been great.

LoudTrax.com:  What are your plans after the tour ends in Sept?

Jamey Jasta:  Looks like we’re going to the South Pacific and play all new countries that we haven’t done yet with Hatebreed.  We’re playing in the Philippines, Singapore, and China - all places that we’ve never been.

Visit the Kingdom of Sorrow page and they're official MySpace Page.

LoudTrax.com:  So there are no plans to record something with any of our projects.

Jamey Jasta:  Actually yes there’s a little break in there someone where I will re-record vocals on some Jasta tracks, and then mix some Jasta tracks.  Back when I did some Jasta shows opening for Madball, and some solo shows headlining, I played some new material and the fans went crazy.  I’ll probably release a single on iTunes, or maybe a free CD like we just did for free on the Mayhem fest and Ozzfest.

There’s also another compilation that we’ll be giving away on the Uproar tour that includes Fear Factory, Kingdom of Sorrow and hopefully this Jasta track.

LoudTrax.com:  We were talking earlier about working on different projects.  Is there an artist not necessarily in Metal that you would love to do a record with?

Jamey Jasta:  A Canadian artist, the girl Lights (http://www.myspace.com/lights).  I did a remix for her and thought it came out cool.  We’ll put it out as a benefit.  I’d like to do more stuff with her, she has a great voice and really nice person.

LoudTrax.com:  You worked on the song “Beast” on the Acacia Strain album.  How did that come about?

Jamey Jasta:  Zuess arranged that.  They’re good New England boys about an hour away from me so I just drove up and did the track.  It came out brutal!  Kids have been twittering me and posting on my Facebook that they like it, so that’s cool!

LoudTrax.com:  Thanks for interviewing our Rock, Metal, Punk download site and having this cool promotion going.

Jamey Jasta:  Appreciate the interview and glad you dig the album.

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Thanks to Betsey, Bob and Pat from Relapse Records for hooking up the interview and cool Kingdom of Sorrow promo.

We caught up with Testament singer Chuck Billy for a phone interview, during the on going American Carnage North American Tour with Slayer and Megadeth.

Buy Testament albums Here.  Visit Testament's Official Website

LoudTrax.com  I saw you guys playing Heavy Mtl on the 24th of July.  Now I have seen you live in different scenarios… as an opening act, headlining, and now the festival setting. What type of show do you prefer personally for Testament?

Chuck Billy When you headline you get to make sure everything is correct.  Monitor, sound, and everything.  But when you’re in a festival situation, you kind of just have to be at the mercy of what it is.  You don’t get sound checks, and don’t really have a chance to check your stuff.  You kind of just get up there and just play and hope for the best.
Fortunately for the Montreal show I think everything went pretty smooth.

LoudTrax.com  You’ve played many festivals in Europe and North America.  What do you find is the biggest difference from festivals in both continents?

Chuck Billy  Well Europe has been known for the festivals for 20, 30 years or more.  The closest thing in America would have would be Ozzfest.  I think the big difference is the culture.  You could be 14 years old and look old enough to order beer at the bar in Europe!  You can’t do that in America.  In America everyone is “sue” happy and everyone wants to sue someone for something.  So I don’t think you can get away with having a festival like that in Europe over in America or Canada.
It’s just the culture, the way people are raised and being exposed to alcohol and even drugs and marijuana at a younger age.

LoudTrax.com  In Jan 2011, you are part of the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise ship tour with several other bands.  That’s just crazy.  Has Testament performed on a cruise ship before? 

Chuck Billy  We never played a cruise ship!  But when we heard about it, it sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun.  There’s a lot of bands!  As we accepted a lot more of our friends bands accepted like Death Angel, Exodus  and so on.  Many bands will be there so it sounds like it’s going to be a big party.

LoudTrax.com  Do you get to do a full set?

Chuck Billy  Yes I think we get to do a full set, hopefully for at least an hour if not longer.

LoudTrax.com  Is Alex Skolnick part of that tour?

Chuck Billy  I’m not sure yet.

LoudTrax.com  In a recent interview with Roland Grapow of Masterplan and ex-Helloween and he mentioned how he just loved the sound and work of Andy Sneap, specifically on the Formation of Damnation album..  I know you and Eric co-produced the last album, but tell us what Andy brings to the picture.

Chuck Billy  Well he’s a musician first of all before being a producer, and so he understands the style of music and what it takes.  If you get a producer who hasn’t produced a metal band before, it won’t sound good even though he does a good job with big bands that aren’t metal.  There’s a real art to making fast drums and heavy guitars sound clean.  So there is a challenge for mixing metal bands and I think Andy’s really got a grasp on that as a musician.

LoudTrax.com  You guys have been working on the new album.  What can you tell us about it?

Chuck Billy  We really want to pretend like we’re still writing songs for Formation of Damnation!  We kind of just want to have that mind set and write 10 more tunes as if they were supposed to be on that record.

LoudTrax.com  Is it also being produced by yourself and Eric?

Chuck Billy  Yeah.  Eric and I will produce it and Andy Sneap will mix it and kind of produce it with us.

LoudTrax.com  So it should kick ass like Formation.

Chuck Billy  Well it’s definitely not going to be 9 years with breaks between records.  We’re really excited now to get another record out there and tour again for a couple of years on it.

LoudTrax.com  You’ve become a legend in the metal world and many younger bands look up to you guys and to you specifically as a front man.  Is there someone that you still look up and still get inspired by when you’re on stage?

Chuck Billy  As far as vocalist, Rob Halford.  Ronnie James Dio.  Guys like that that we’ve toured with, that you end up learning from since they’ve been doing it longer than you have.  Those are 2 guys I look up to and see how they treat their bands and life in general.

LoudTrax.com  I usually ask some musical tastes as my last question.  So if I may, what’s you fav Iron Maiden album, Testament album, and Judas Priest album?

Chuck Billy  Maiden album is Number of the Beast.  Testament is definitely Formation of Damnation.  And Judas Priest is going to be tough, I’m a big fan and love all their stuff.  I will pick something from where it all began for me and that's Stained Class.

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Thanks for Rikki and Maria at Adrenalinepr.com for hooking up the interview.

 

 

 

Bruce Kulick released his 3rd solo record, "BK3" earlier this year.  It was received with much acclaim given his status in the rock world, and the impressive list of special guests which include John Corabi, Nick Simmons, Kenny Aronoff, Steve Lukather, and Bruce’s former bandmate, Gene Simmons.  Bruce took some time to speak with Rock, Metal, Punk download site, LoudTrax.com and below is the text version of our conversation.

Download BK3 Here .  Visit Bruce Kulick official site Kulick.net

LoudTrax.com:  BK3 was released in Feb 2010.   Before releasing the album you said that you were 99.99% happy with this album, as you were with the “Revenge” album.  After 5-6 months of having lived with it, what are your thoughts on it now?

Bruce Kulick:  I’m still thrilled with it.  It took a lot of time and a “no compromise” approach.  Even before I had it delivered to have it released, I had to approve the masters that I was mailing off.   I remember listening to the album 4 times in a row on headphones really carefully, and I never got tired of it.  I get that kind of response from fans that write to me saying that it doesn’t leave their CD player.  In this day and age, that’s a compliment given the fact that you can switch things on an iPod so quickly as soon as you get sick of a record.  So hearing those type of comments, I obviously feel really good that BK3 was able to accomplish something special.  Even though I have special guests on it, the material has a lot of range.  It’s not all Hard Rock, not all Metal, not all Pop, but contains touches of all of that.

It still hasn’t in anyway dropped in the level of my excitement about the record, still very excited about it.

LoudTrax.com:  There are some very interesting collaborations on BK3.  My favorite being the song “No Friend of Mine”,  which was co –written and sung by John Corabi, and your producer Jeremy Rubolino.  Tell us about that song and working with John.

Bruce Kulick:  Very easy to work with John.  We have a lot of history together and good chemistry together from the UNION project.  We did 2 studio albums, the live record, and DVD, so we got to really be creative together in the late 90’s.

John sang a song for me on “Transformer”, my 2nd solo record.  But I really wrote that song for him to sing on it.  The approach on BK3 for Jeremy and I, was more for the singer to be more involved with the writing.  Jeremy and I already had most of the ideas for the music.  In fact as far as I can remember, the music was completely demo-ed and recorded.  John dug the track right away.  And we started working on lyrics and melody right away.  It was fairly easy for John to get an idea for it.  John’s always the “tortured soul” kind of person.  Because Jeremy was such a big fan of not only KISS, but also the UNION project and “The Blue Room” album especially, our goal was to make it as big and as good as the best of UNION.  And I think we achieved that goal.  For many people, that is their favorite track, especially for the fans of Union or John. 

Now John has been working on his own solo record for some time and I heard some of the material he’s working on and like it.  But I think when he heard the final mix of “No Friend of Mine”, it just made him realize he needed to work extra hard so he could get “10 of those” for his own album.

I really feel like that was an unusual perfect storm of Jeremy and I coming together with the right track and John putting his best talents forward on it.  Sonically that song just sounds huge.  I know when I want to show off the record so people can hear the sound the engineer got, I show off that one!  I’ve even had some of my guitar player friends who are in some famous bands tell me how the rhythm guitars on that song just kill!

LoudTrax.com:  The song “Hand of the King” was written with Nick Simmons. When I first heard about it, it kind of sparked the idea of a Nick Simmons album.  Have you guys written more songs together?  

Bruce Kulick:  No not really.  Nick is dabbling and kind of exploring what he wants to do more and more.  Last time we spoke he wanted to learn more about guitars and asked me about guitar teachers.  

Jeremy and I gave him the opportunity, as we had a couple of songs that we weren’t sure who we wanted to collaborate with.  Nick gravitated straight towards “Hand of the king”.  Just like John’s song, we had a really strong demo of the music track.  In fact, if for some reason Nick didn’t work out and we couldn’t get anyone else with a “big” voice, John probably would have sang it.

Obviously it was really thrilling that Gene offered Nick up right away.  It was a learning curve for Nick because he doesn’t have a lot of studio experience, but I really think what he was able to do with that song was terrific.  We were able to get a really strong vocal out of him.  And as much as some people think they can hear Gene in his voice, I personally think he has his own style.  It’s a bit “bluesy-er” than Gene, it’s a big voice and I think his emotion and everything in that track really brought it to life.   It became the iTunes single and a lot of people reacted well to that song.  

As much as it was a real score for me to have Nick on my record, he really delivered.  I wasn’t going to just put it on because it was Gene’s son, but I knew he was going to do a great job and the result worked out well.

Watch video of Nick Simmons perform with Bruce Kulick:

LoudTrax.com:  The one time you guys performed it live, it also turned out quite well….

Bruce Kulick:  Yes we did it live at the 1 gig I did so far this year!  I’ve been so busy with Grand Funk and it’s been hard for me to plan my own stuff.  It was also in the “Family Jewels” show so that was good.  

I actually saw Shannon last night at the Jay Leno show with KISS on TV and we were talking about Nick.  It was real interesting to get to know the guy, he’s a very eclectic, bright kid and I really like him.

LoudTrax.com:  He doesn’t seem like the typical “spoiled brat kid of the big celebrity”….

Bruce Kulick:  Absolutely not…interesting story… One time when he came over to my house to do some work, it was his birthday, and he came over in a new car.   It was a beautiful car, but it certainly wasn’t the most expensive car that you can drive around in Hollywood.  There are cars that cost twice as much that people who are not famous drive all the time.  And I could tell he felt a little guilty about it!  He made a point to explain to me that he had to trade in his other car and did not mean to brag about it.  

He’s very aware of his father’s status, but he doesn’t want to carry that “rich kid” tag at all.

LoudTrax.com:  Gene Simmons sings on “Ain’t Gonna Die”.  How did Gene singing on your solo album come about?

Bruce Kulick:  I am very fortunate to have Gene work with me on BK3.  Gene and I were actually working on something else together and he kind of tried to re-write what Jeremy and I already had.  I wasn’t too crazy about where he was going with it, so we kind of just changed directions completely.  

I remember when I was in his guest house writing, I heard him singing “I’m never never gonna die…”.  So we got together one more time and shaped it.  Then Jeremy and I demo-ed it and sent it to Gene so he could listen to it.  Then it was ready to record in the studio.  We didn’t have all the lyrics so we actually wrote them in the studio.  The clock was running on my dime, but it was the best way to get Gene in and be creative.  In the beginning I know he was going to go to a little deeper with the lyrics, but I wanted to keep it more “Screw you and the paparazzi kind of thing”.  Because people always pick on Gene, but the truth is he’s iconic with what he created and his legend will never go away.  And there you have “Ain’t Gonna Die”.

Bruce Kulick, Jeremy Rubolini, Gene Simmons

LoudTrax.com:  Was the atmosphere similar to the sessions on the KISS albums?

Bruce Kulick:  A little different in the sense that if the title of the record is “KISS” and I’m going to write with either Gene or Paul, they’re going to be in charge.   For BK3, I was as respectful for Gene’s offer to work with me as possible, but both of us knew, and he would remind me “this is your record…how do you like it….?”.  So he had that approach about it which was cool.  I didn’t need to ask him which mix he liked and so on.  Really it’s my dime, it’s my name on it.  But having said that, he was confident that I would come up with something of quality. 

That was the only real difference.  As for the rest, we both love music and had fun being in the studio.  You have to remember, KISS recorded “Sonic Boom” last year, but they hadn’t done a lot of recording for a while.  I know it’s something Gene enjoys doing.

LoudTrax.com:  Continuing with the BK3 album.  The song “Skydome”, it sounds like you were really having fun, kind of jamming and letting loose at some points.

Bruce Kulick:  Now “Skydome” is the bonus track that was part of the deal with Frontier Records.  If you bought a US copy of my record, “Skydome’ is not on there.  Frontiers got involved for the rest of world and they asked for another song.  That one actually came from the “Audiodog”, my first solo record.  I really like that track ‘cause first of all, Kenny Aronoff is on drums and he’s an awesome drummer.  He also plays on the instrumental track with Steve Lukather “Between the lines”.  

It’s funny cause that song has a Canadian connection to it.  The title really came from me being in Toronto during the time of the Audiodog record and really being impressed with that giant tower, the CN Tower and the Skydome.  So I called it that.

It was a cool jammy kind of thing.  I’m actually thinking of including that track more when I do the solo clinic.  But to be honest, it’s just Kenny and me!  I’m glad it feels more like a band to you!

LoudTrax.com:  That’s funny cause I was going to say that the bass sometimes goes off into some cool little parts and so on!

Bruce Kulick:  Well I know how to jam with myself that’s for sure.  You probably wouldn’t know but I played bass on some of the big KISS songs.  Most people don’t know ‘cause KISS does not really credit different things.  But yeah I played bass on “Forever”, on “Psycho Circus”.   

LoudTrax.com:  We were speaking of John Corabi, and I always found that the 1 album he did with Motley Crue is one of those great under-rated albums.  The UNION albums were also quality releases.  Are there any plans for a new UNION album?

Bruce Kulick:  We get asked that a lot.  I don’t know.  If there was some kind of offer, “business-wise” from a label, or promoter, then maybe.  John and I are still very close.  Brent our drummer is very busy with Slash now, but he plays on a lot of my record.  If you think about it, on some songs it’s 3 quarters of Union!

John Corabi & Bruce Kulick

I don’t really know.  I don’t rule that out, but there are no plans right now.  Sometimes Eric Singer, John, myself and Chuck, the Alice Cooper bassist do gigs as “ESP”  Eric Singer Project.  Eric’s been obviously very busy with KISS the past couple of years.  We’ll probably do that again too where John and I can be on the same stage.

LoudTrax.com:  On BK3, you’ve had a lot of support from the KISS family, and also from the KISS fans.  Tell us about what it’s like to be part of that KISS family, not so much with Gene or Paul, but more so with the fans and knowing that the fans are still behind you.

Bruce Kulick:  When you’re a KISS fan, you are part of some brotherhood and it’s quite interesting how people get excited about the band.  The reaction to the band is so passionate and it’s worldwide.

I’m very fortunate of course with being in KISS for 12 years.  It gave me exposure that is quite priceless and it just continues.  I get emails all the time, like for example, Kiss was just in Europe and I got an email from a 14 year old in Finland saying “We named our cat Bruce!”  When I do the KISS expositions, they’re still well attended with families that come.  So all of a sudden I’m meeting teenagers or younger that are supporting me and checking out my music.  What can I say, that’s just incredible!

It’s not much unlike the Beatles where the music keeps growing with the generations.  Kiss has absolutely proved that.  I know the guys (Gene and Paul) are very proud that they’ve managed to be successful after all these years.  They don’t even have to have Ace or Peter in the band.  What KISS represents is something iconic that people respond to.  I get to kind of wave the flag as well even though I’m not really there.  I kind of represent the “Unmasked” era.

LoudTrax.com:  To me personally, I never saw you as not being part of KISS anymore, but more like that version of KISS no longer exists.

Bruce Kulick:  Well that’s right cause if you think about it, they took off the make up very briefly for Vinnie Vincent during the Lick it Up tour.   Then they started building back up during the ANIMALIZE album and even though I was not really on that record, that was my tour.  The record featured Mark St. John, but once he got sick, it gave me the opportunity to walk in and they realized I was the right guy.  So 12 years of that!

I kind of explain to people that I represent the non makeup years.

LoudTrax.com:  It’s fair to say that if that version of KISS were to re-unite, that you would be part of it.

Bruce Kulick:  Well I would like to think that if they were to take off the makeup and do a “Revenge” style tour…I don’t see it happening….but I think it would be more appropriate for me to be there than to have Tommy doing “Revenge”.  Tommy does a great job with the “Spaceman” character, and Eric is a great drummer who can play anything and is cool with being in the Cat suit.  They got a solid drummer, not someone who’s not happy as Peter never seemed to be.

LoudTrax.com:  Getting back to “Bruce Kulick”…Grand Funk Railroad has been keeping you busy.  Can you tell us what’s it like playing with them live?

Bruce Kulick:  It’s 10 years now!  I have to say that we all get a long really well and everyone is really talented.  There are so many bass players that are influenced by Mel Schacer.  Don Brewer is one of the more solid drummers out there.  KISS fans don’t always know about Grand Funk, but once I start mentioning the titles of the songs and singing the choruses, they actually do know them!

I get to solo on every song and get showcased quite a bit.  Mel doesn’t move around as much as Gene, and we don’t have a Paul Stanely in the band.  But Max Carl is a great singer and performer.  I do get a lot of attention from the crowd.  We just got back from a long summer tour, the fans love it.

LoudTrax.com:  Have you guys ever gotten into a writing mode as a band?

Bruce Kulick:  There’s a couple of songs that are new that we perform.  There’s a beautiful ballad that I wrote with Max that we played for a little while.  But we seem to have this set that’s really fine tuned, it has a couple of new songs in it.  But really people are buying the name when we do a gig so we really have to do the hits that the band’s known for.  I can’t really promise that there will be new product coming from us.

It’s a great gig for me, but I didn’t create the band and I don’t control the band, so I kind of go along with what they want to do.  We take any situation that we get into and make the best of it and have fun it.  For example, we’re playing with STYX and Joan Jett coming up and people just go away loving it.

LoudTrax.com:  Ending off, what are your plans musically for the next few months leading into 2011?

The summer is really the season for Grand Funk, so still quite busy with that.  I will head to Australia for their big “NAMM” convention.  I am very excited about going back to Australia.  Aside from that there’s dates for Grand Funk almost every month.  I’m looking at going to South America at the very end of the year because it’s been too long since I’ve been there.  

Since I put out the BK3 record, I haven’t really performed or done promotional events of my own except for the one here in LA.  So I really enjoy the whole Grand Funk gig and I work my own schedule around that.  I also have a song on the Lordi new album coming out.

LoudTrax.com:  You have worked with them in past on their 2006 album.

Bruce Kulick:  Yes correct, but I only did some guitar playing on that one.  On this one, I co-wrote a mid tempo ballad which I solo on as well.  I’m very happy with my relationship with them.  He was actually a huge KISS fan and ran the KISS Army Finland and now he becomes a big star in Europe with Lordi!  

LoudTrax.com:  Thanks for taking the time to chat, it’s been a pleasure.

Bruce Kulick:  Well thank you, I’m glad you liked the album and best of luck with LoudTrax.com.

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Thanks to Dustin Hardman at Frontiers for setting up this interview.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whitechapel's June 2010 release "A New Era of Corruption" achieved a remarkable Top 50 entry on the US Billboard charts.  Not a common occurance for a Death Metal band.  The Metal Blade artist is currently on the Vans Warped Tour, and we had a chance to catch up with guitarist Alex Wade for an interview.

Download link for "A New Era of Corruption"

LoudTrax.com:   Congratulations on the success of your new album, A New Era of Corruption! What can you tell us about the writing and recording process this time around?  How long did the whole process take, including songwriting and recording?

Alex Wade:  We took about the whole year of 2009 with the writing process, at home as well on the road.  The recording process took about a month down in Florida with producer Jason Suecof.  It felt alot easier this time around than This is Exile because we had more time to write material.  We didn't have to write anything in the studio, we went in prepared.  We changed some stuff around and cut some songs from the track listing but all of the songs were written when we went in.  It was nice feeling prepared.
 
LoudTrax.com:    If I'm not mistaken, some of the material was written on the road during your last tour; is that an experience you'd like to try again? Why or why not?

Alex Wade:  Definitely not, it's really hard to write on the road unless you have a tour bus and can set up in the back lounge, which we don't get the luxury of very often, so for the next record we are going to make it a point to take a few months off from touring to write the record and then go in and record it rather than writing a piece at a time here and there.
 
LoudTrax.com:    How are songs normally put together for your albums? Does the music come before the lyrics? Are most of the songs based on collaborations?

Alex Wade:  Songs start with the guitarists writing and riffing together, and then we take the riffs we like best and think will work well together and put them together to make songs.  Sometimes someone will write a whole song and we'll use all of it or maybe just part.  Phil puts his lyrics and vocal patterns to the songs after they are done so he kind of has a canvas so to speak to lay out his vocals on, rather than pre-writing lyrics and trying to just shove them into a song.
 
LoudTrax.com:   Many bands says their new album is their best one to date. How would you rate this one compared to the previous albums? What are some the tracks that stand out to you so far?
 
Alex Wade:  Hahaha hate to sound cliche but this is definitely our best release as well. The song writing and production just came together so well on it. My favorite tracks on the new CD are Reprogrammed to Hate, The Darkest Day of Man, and Breeding Violence.
 
LoudTrax.com:   As mentioned earlier, A New Era of Corruption is a great success; it debuted in the top 50 albums on Billboard! Now, considering how “un-commercial”, your music is, what was your reaction to see it do so well in its’ first week of release?
 
Alex Wade:  We were extremely excited to see the first week sales hit 5 digits (10,600) and to be in the top 50 on the Billboard 200.  We never thought we would be able to accomplish something like that when we started this band 4 years ago.  Especially playing extreme metal.

 
LoudTrax.com:   Do you think this will bring up new opportunities for you? For example different touring opportunities, late-night talk show appearances (after all, Slayer did recently perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live).

Alex Wade:  I sure hope so, the more album sells you have the better tours you do get and we would love to be on a late-night talk show.  I love watching old videos of Slipknot and Deftones playing those and it would be awesome to play something like that.
 
LoudTrax.com:   Who were some of your favorite guitar players growing up and who has had the most influence on your playing style?
 
Alex Wade:  I'm definitely more of a riffer.  I couldn't solo my way out of a paper bag so I like guitarists who can write sick riffs and well formulated songs rather than super shreddy dudes.  My favorite guitar player of all time is Stephen Carpenter from Deftones.  I just love how his riffing is so simplistic but yet so captivating and atmospheric at the same time.

 
LoudTrax.com:   You were part of the Mayhem tour and now part of Vans Warped. If Whitechapel were to create its own touring festival, what bands would you like to put on the bill?
 
Alex Wade:  Slipknot, Deftones, Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Suicide Silence, and Whitechapel.  That would be the most insane tour ever hahaha.

LoudTrax.com:  Your music is so intense and so brutal, how do you guys “chill” from that after the show is done? How do you unwind?

Alex Wade:  Nothing too special, some dudes like to play Xbox 360, other dudes enjoy some brews.  We aren't a super crazy party band so it never gets too wild.  We're pretty mellow and just like to get on stage and deliver an awesome show and then get off and hang out and do it again the next day.

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Thanks to Sarah Lutz at Metal Blade Canada for hooking up this interview.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herman Rarebell, aka Herman Ze German has been on the front lines of Heavy Rock for over 3 decades.  He has written and performed such rock classics as “Rock You Like a Hurricane, "Dynamite", "Blackout", "Bad Boys Running Wild", "Tease Me Please Me", as a key member and drummer of the Scorpions.  Herman Ze German released his solo project “Take it as it Comes” earlier this year on Dark Star Records.

Download Album Here for $6.99 for a limited time.

We had the pleasure of speaking with on July 9, 2010.  Here is the text version of our conversation.

LoudTrax.com:  Well Herman, it’s a real pleasure to speak to you, from here in Montreal, Canada.  We’ll get to the Scorpions questions later on, but for now, let’s talk about what’s new. 

Herman Rarebell:  Let’s start by saying that I always had a great time in Montreal with the Scorpions and I wanted to say thanks to the fans for always showing their support over the years.

LoudTrax.com:  Your latest album “ Take it As it Comes” was released in March of this year on Dark Star Records.  Tell us about the new album and how it came about.

Herman Rarebell:  In fact I have been working on this album for quite a while, it was a team work effort.  I chose the songs to record carefully to ensure the quality for the listener.  Taking a look at a few songs, for example, the title “Take it as it comes” really is my life philosophy, especially now-a-days.  Be calm, be cool about things before you drive yourself crazy.  There’s also a new modern version of the song I wrote many years ago with Klaus (Meine), “Rock you like a Hurricane”.

Song No. 13 “Your Love is Hurting” is a radio version of the ballad, the difference here is that my wife does the solo on the saxophone.  I’m very happy with the end result.

LoudTrax.com:  There’s been mixed reviews on this album from critics.  More importantly though, what has been the reaction from your fans, the people that matter most, on the new album so far?

Herman Rarebell:  The reaction was really great.  There were some comments about the "Rock You Like A Hurricane" version, but I really wanted to make a new modern version of the song.  Instead of having the guitar solos, I had the saxophone solo.  This worked out well with my wife being such a great saxophone player.  It was fun working with the family along with a great guitarist from Munich which make up a killer band for the record.  Everyone in the band writes, looks and sounds great, a great band to go out and play live

LoudTrax.com:  Are you planning a tour with this band?

Herman Rarebell:  Well first I want to introduce this band and project to the public so they get to know the project and get used to the songs, and then and perform those songs live.

LoudTrax.com:  After having had so much success with the live shows, and massive hit singles, what were your expectations and goals for your new solo album?

Herman Rarebell:  I think the album has really good potential because there’s really good songs on it.  The songs were written by myself, my wife, lead singer, guitarist, so everyone contributed.  I acted as the producer and selected what songs worked best.  Now I look forward to coming and performing these songs live.

LoudTrax.com:  The album comes in a special 2 CD set which includes your audio book “My Life as a Scorpion”. 

Herman Rarebell:  The audio book and 2 CD set is a very limited edition, we only pressed 1000 of these, which I hope will get to the die hard fans.  In the audio book "My Life as a Scorpion" I give inside information about the Scorpions, because after all I spent 20 years with them, so there’s lots to talk about.  I made it a little bit funny and light, just me telling a story.

LoudTrax.com:  I can imagine there were good times and not so good times in the band.  What are some of the moments that you cherish the most about leaving your mark in the history of Heavy Rock?

Herman Rarebell:  One moment for me was really the Moscow Music Peace Festival where we played in front of 135,000 fans at the Moscow stadium.  You could see that the "Wind of Change" was going to happen because people did not want war, people wanted freedom.  They had enough of communism.  You could feel this atmosphere in the stadium and it was a great moment for me.

See Scorpions performing at Moscow Peace Festival

Of course when the (Berlin) Wall goes down and we played "The Wall" with Rogers Waters from Pink Floyd.  There was 400,000 people watching this where the Wall was and this was just a fantastic moment for me. 

LoudTrax.com:  Scorpions started off the show...

Herman Rarebell:  In the Flesh!  We started the show and came to the show with these white long limousenes and there were about 40 motor bikes on stage, it looked awesome!  So we started with "In the Flesh" and then played it later on.  This was really a show that sticks in my mind until this day.

Watch The Scorpions perform In The Flesh at "THE WALL in BERLIN"

There was also in 1983 where we played the US Festival concert held in San Bernadino, California during Memorial Day Weekend of 1983 as a special guest to Van Halen.  Imagine on this date Ozzy Osbournce and Motley Crue were the opening acts!  In the afternoon, Quiet Riot played as well.  375,000 people attended!

Here is the video of Scorpions playing "No One Like You" at the US Festival

LoudTrax.com:  Speaking of The Wall, have you seen Rogers Waters on tour this time around?

Herman Rarebell:  Actually no I have not seen him this time.  I’ve seen him on the last tour in Stuggart and I went to see him and it was good fun, but haven’t seen him since.

LoudTrax.com:  Have you seen the Scorpions perform on the recent tour?

Herman Rarebell:  Yes on the recent tour we saw each other in Munich but not since.  They want to do 2 runs on their current tour.  The first run is with the lineup they have now.  Then in 2011 they want to go out with myself and special guest Michael Schenker, and Uli Jon Roth.

LoudTrax.com:  So when you look at James Kottak, the current drummer, do you sometimes think “man I wish he would played that roll like this, or that part different…etc…”

Herman Rarebell:  Well yes sometimes, because I created and wrote those parts on "Wind of Change", "Rock you Like a Hurricance", "Dynamite", and so on.  It’s hard for him to copy exactly the way I play it, it’s my personality.  It would be the same if someone would place me tomorrow in The Rolling Stones and ask me to copy Charlie Watts.  You know what I couldn’t do it.  Would still be good, as is the current drummer of the Scorpions, but would not be the original.

It’s not the original and I don’t think ever anyone can copy personality.  If you look at Rudolf Schenker, he plays a flying V guitar.  But if I give him a Fender Startoscaster, it will still sound like a Flying V!  So we come back to James Kottak, he is a very good drummer, but he has his own style, he’s not me.  I think when you take an original part out of a band, something is missing, it’s normal.

LoudTrax.com:  Have the Scorpions heard your new album?

Herman Rarebell:  I don’t know actually, I have not given it to them yet because I have not seen them since.  I hope they have heard it, but I doubt as I did not hear any feedback form them.

LoudTrax.com:  You mentioned in your audio book what your 5 “desert islands” records are and you spoke about the bands that influenced you.  Can you tell us about someone who has had the most influence, not only on your drumming, but on your career as a musician and a rock star?

Herman Rarebell:  For me most definitely Led Zeppellin.  My favorite band of all time.  I flipped out when I saw John Bonham for the first time in Koln, around 1971.  I remember thinking to myself, “this is the way a drummer should sound”.  In my opinion, no one has topped the drumming of John Bonham.  He was my biggest influence and greatest teacher.  Of course my own personality came along, but when you speak about drummers you have to speak of him the same way you have to mention Buddy Rich.  Keith Moon was also a great influence on me not only the way he played but also his life philosophy which brings us back to “Take it as it Comes”.  In fact I am now in Brighton, England, the town where The Who started in the 60s.  Here you had the "Mods" and the Rockers and they had fist fights against each other.  The Who were "Mods", always dressed well, and (Keith) Moon was the looney as we all know and this is where it all happened right here!

So returning to the question...

LoudTrax.com:  Yes, Going back to Drum sounds and John Bonham, I strongly believe that if you would set up the exact same drum set he used, with the same pre amps, microcphones, and play the same songs he played, no one can sound exactly like him.

Herman Rarebell:  Well this is exactly what I mean.  James Kottak can play all my songs, but he will never sound like me.

LoudTrax.com:  So what is it about your sound that is so unique? I don’t mean the drum skins, the mics -  but more the approach that you take when you sit down on a drum stool and take the sticks in your hands.

Herman Rarebell:  I play with Passion.  Everything that I play, I must feel 100% about it with all my heart and soul.  Otherwise, it makes no sense to play the song.  This is why it took me a long time to think about this new album.  We had many many songs, about 50, but we only chose 12 because I wanted to make sure that every song is a killer, at least for me.

LoudTrax.com:  You are about to go on a promo tour in the US.

Herman Rarebell:  Yes I am a few days in NYC, Chicago.  I’m playing a gig with songs of mine in a club called Rockers.  Also heading to Indiana, playing the Oklhama festival,  where I will perform with Michael Schenker.  We did the same thing in London a few weeks ago.  And then form there then heading to LA.

LoudTrax.com:  No Canada!?

Herman Rarebell:  Actually not yet, you’re my first guy from Canada.  I hope more people there and in the US will be aware of this album and that way it would make sense for me to come out and perform live.

LoudTrax.com:  Let me get into your personal tastes.  Tell us about some of your favorites.  Say, Favorite Zeppelin, Yardbirds, and Scorpions.

Herman Rarebell:  Yes sure let’s start with the Yardbirds.  "Train Kept A-rollin" is a favorite of mine.  From Zep, I have so many but definetly "Kashmir" is the killer one.  But the all time best one for me is "Good Times Bad Times"!  The drumming is unreal on that one! 

Favorite Scorpions song is "Passion Rules the Game".  I wrote this a long time ago, but we never played it live.

Well can I ask you something before we hang up?  What is your favorite song from my album?

LoudTrax.com:  Ok cool.  I like "Rock You like  A Hurricane", "Take it as it Comes" is also cool and kind of stuck with me the most.  The new version of "Rock You Like  a Hurricane" is fun to listen to.  If you need the exact same version as the original, then what’s the point really?

Herman Rarebell:  Well now you said it, what would be the point!  I said to my wife, I don’t want to have the crazy guitars going as the original. So I thought to make it quiet, cool, and added the saxophone in there and I love it.

LoudTrax.com: It's been a real pleasure speaking to you Herman and thanks for doing this interview for our Rock, Metal, Punk download site LoudTrax.com

Herman Rarebell:  It's been fun and hope to see you guys when we come back to Montreal!

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Thanks to Chip Ruggieri, Jeff Swanson and Jen Farhood for hooking this up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recognized as one of the most active Chilean thrash metal bands, Nuclear has always displayed overfilled live intensity along with their heavy, skull-crushing sounding.  Their new release, and 3rd studio album "Jehovirus" is out everywhere July 20, and exclusively on LoudTrax.com since July 3, 2010. 

We caught up with guitarist Francisco Haussmann to discuss the new release and the Metal scene in South America.

Buy & listen to album Here    Visit the official Nuclear Website

LoudTrax.com:  Tell us about the new album "Jehovirus".

Francisco Haussmann:  Well, "Jehovirus" is our third studio album. After ‘Ten Broken Codes’ which is a very rough-sounding material, we were all convinced that we needed to make a different album. We searched for the way to obtain a thick sound without losing that thrash-speed vibe that we love. At the end, Sebastian (Nuclear Guitars & Owner of Audio Custom Studios) did a great job on the recordings and mixes and after that Russ Russell did an amazing work with the mastering process in UK.

LoudTrax.com:  The new record sounds great.  It captures the pure essence of what Thrash Metal is all about.  What are the band’s expectations for the album in South America, and what are the expectations outside of South America?

Francisco Haussmann:  Thanks for your words. Well, obviously what you always expect is a good reception… the idea is that Nuclear followers enjoy the album and for those who don’t know us, maybe capture their attention. In South America, people are really passionate about metal music and we have received all kind of good words about the new album. On the other hand, for a South American band is very difficult to get recognition outside but we are constantly getting feedback from underground moshers from all over the world. One of our goals with this album is to get to more people outside South America.

 

LoudTrax.com:  Many of your concerts are in South America, specifically in Santiago, Chile.  Describe the experience of your live shows.

Francisco Haussmann:  Insanity!!!. Chilean thrashers are worldwide known as crazy fuckers. We mean, it’s amazing how people enjoy metal music here. It’s beyond the way a band sounds or play… it’s all about the adrenaline you get in the moshpits & stage divings. From our personal point of view, it is really awesome to see people enjoying our shows the way they do.

LoudTrax.com:  Describe the metal scene in South America in 2010.  What style of metal is popular among the majority of fans?  What bands attract the most sales and audiences?

Francisco Haussmann:   South American scene has a lot of different metal styles, but we think that thrash & death metal have great part of the fans. When it comes to fast tempo/aggressive stuff, South America is where you must go. You could always see many fans attending to festivals, local gigs and following some tours.  About the bands, for example Slayer, Kreator, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Testament, Megadeth or Cannibal Corpse have played in front of massive crowds… very insane audiences!

LoudTrax.com:  There are talks about a European tour in 2011.  Can you tell us more about those plans?

Francisco Haussmann:  Well, we always talk to each other about taking things one step at the time. We think now (after 3 records) it is time for us to show our music outside. As we mentioned above, we would like to show "Jehovirus" to a lot more people now and for that we are choosing Europe as our first stop to do it. Actually it would be our 2nd stop because we played in Mexico and Argentina in 2008-2009 but just a few shows. We are currently working with a Booking Agency which we think is going to be very helpful for that purposes.

LoudTrax.com:  Many bands that tour in North America are paid very little money to perform, sometimes, just barely enough to cover the gas and food for the trip.   But, artists chose to do it anyway because of their passion, and  because of the hope that they will break out and grow a larger audience with each show. 

How hard is it for metal bands in South America to make a living just playing music, releasing records and touring in various cities?

Francisco Haussmann:  It’s really all the same everywhere. Metal is not a canned music style and because of that no producer is going to approach and offer you a million dollar contract. If you can handle it and live with that, then you are in the right track. We’ve been struggling with money problems since day one but we really like what we do and that is the most important thing. Of course we are chasing to make a life out of this but we are aware of the tons of bands outside chasing the same thing. It is hard, disappointing sometimes but we will keep on doing this as long as we can.

LoudTrax.com:  Who would be your dream producer for the next Nuclear album?

Francisco Haussmann:   It is hard to answer, we love some works of classic metal producers like Scott Burns or Rick Rubin but we know that there are also very good producers doing excellent work right now. Our idea is always go step by step on this, we don’t like to anticipate or rush things, but if there’s a great producer willing to work with Nuclear, it would be really amazing to see what turns out of it.

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Thanks to Ignacio Orellana at www.digmetalworld.com for making this possible.



 

 

 

 

Beers Village, New York based new Metal/Doom band MOTH EATER are releasing their debut EP "The Thunder God of Monster Island".  We're happy to have it here first exclusively until July 27. 

We also caught up with singer John Alaia and bassist Buckshot to talk about their highly anticipated release.

Buy and listen to the 4 track EP by MOTH EATER for $3.96 Here.

Visit the Moth Eater MySpace

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LoudTrax.com:  Tell us about the band, and the songs on the EP.
 
Buckshot: Moth Eater is a band of 4 dudes who love to tailgate before each rehearsal, chug beers, eat cheese burgers and play music as loud as possible. Turn Up The Evil is our motto.
 
John Alaia: "The Thunder God of Monster Island" EP is a representation of our first year as a band. The songs "Aftermath", "Our Time", and "When Bruises Leave Scars" are just a few of the songs that were written early on. We wanted to write some slow, heavy songs that kicked our own asses and we accomplished just that.  Lyrically, I had a ton of fun writing for these tracks, picking from some of my early inspirations and stories I had written. All in all, we just hope that everyone digs our shit as much as we do.

LoudTrax.com:  The music is f^%kin' heavy and very intense.  In your live shows, it seems like you guys like to let loose and have fun with it.  I assume the band is a cool way for you guys to release your energy and have a blast at the same time?
 
Buckshot: I always like having a good time on and off the stage. My motto is Party Hard but Work Harder. I will down a 6 pack before I jump on stage and I just feel the groove of the music. Once I hear the guitar and drums kick in all hell breaks loose. We leave everything on that stage 110% every night. A shit load of booze is always consumed at a Moth Eater show. People always have a great time at our shows and the bartenders always love us.

LoudTrax.com:  Moth Eater is essentially a weekend warrior band. Meaning, you all have other rockin' side projects that also keep you busy. Having said that, you have managed to build up quite a strong fan base. Is putting Moth Eater higher up on the priority list a goal for the band?  What would it take for the band to be front and center in our careers?

 
Buckshot: I wouldnt say we are just a weekend warrior band. We will play any time and any where. But yes we mostly play on the weekends. lol.  Its just been a crazy year for me and the rest of the guys. We are building the foundation right now. Once we build a little fan base from this EP we will be out swinging the rock stick. Look for us on tour early next year. I promise.
 
John A: As long as we keep loving what we do, I don't see us stopping and anything is always possible. To answer your last question, a paycheck would be nice.

LoudTrax.com:  Your debut release is a 4 song EP.  nice tease!  Do you have many other songs written?  What are the plans for the future?
 
John A: We have a solid 5 or so others written, and that we perform live. On the other hand we have tons of material that we haven't even
scratched the surface on. I know we're itching to get into the studio and record a full length, so I'd expect and LP very  soon.

LoudTrax.com:  You consider yourselves as "Doom Metal".  That metal sub genre is emerging at a fast pace.  What are some of the bands in the genre that flip you out?
 
Buckshot: I have always loved this genre of music. I am big fans of bands like Candlemass and Pentagram. I also love bands like High On Fire, Naam, Salome and Maegashira. They all just fucking rule. There is something about the power of the riffs, the guitar and bass tones and the pounding of the drums. To me you add a heavy as balls singer and you got the best formula for a band.

LoudTrax.com:  You are giving away a free download of the lead off track on the EP.  Song called "Aftermath".  Tell us why you chose that song to help introduce the band to new fans.
 
Buckshot: I am a strong believer of bands giving away a sampler track as promo to the fans. I am not a big supporter of people stealing from bands but if people like the free track I hope they will buy the rest of the record. To me that song just makes me want to drink fast and punch people Braveheart style. It just gets my blood moving. I hope everyone will enjoy the track as much as I do.
 
John A: "Aftermath" stuck out to us just because it's so damn heavy but it still retains a great groove that you can really sink your gnarly teeth into. It's got a great mood setting to it and Geoff Kooris slammed a nasty Hurdy Gurdy track on it too which just added to the overall feel of the track! I felt that if you can dig that song, then you're bound to enjoy the rest of them. I sure as hell do.
 
Buckshot: Thanks for everyone and the folks at Loudtrax for supporting METAL. Fuck Yeah & Beers Up!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Metal God Rob Halford is currently preparing for his upcoming tour which will see him play Montreal’s Heavy MTL festival and OZZFEST 2010 with Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue.  I had the pleasure of speaking to Rob for an interview.  Here is the text version of our conversation.  Hope you like!

Visit Rob Halford's official site Here

LoudTrax.com:  You are performing at this year’s HEAVY MTL festival.  Tell us what can fans expect in anticipation of seeing HALFORD live?

Rob Halford:  Well they can expect the Halford band to be roaring that’s for sure.  It will be a wonderful time for the Halford band to return to Montreal.  Montreal is great, hot bed of heavy metal madness!  The fans have this great reputation for being so intense and hard core, and having such passion and love for their metal.

So the Halford band’s gonna come back to Montreal and tear it up and have a great time.  We’ll play a lot of different songs from our back catalog and some other places as well.  We’ll be playing about an hour, and run through as many songs as we can and give everybody a great time.  Some cool artists are appearing so it will be fun for us as well.  My friend Alice Cooper, the guys from Korn, Dave from Megadeth, they’re all good friends of mine.  Slayer, my god it’s going to be a great event!  All of these different kinds of music will be pouring out and I’m sure everyone’s going to have a brilliant time.

LoudTrax.com: The experience of going to a concert today vs. going to a concert pre-internet has changed.  For example,  the set list is easy to find, along with video clips of the show and so on.  As the performer, how much harder is it to hold that element of surprise at a concert, and does that factor in to how you plan for the show?

Rob Halford:  Yes right.  I think the actual performance is the main essence.  Regardless of whether you know what’s going to happen in terms of the set list or the clips that you might have seen on the internet.  You can’t beat being in the crowd, being in the pit – with your devil horns up at the band that you love.  Nothing beats that, that’s why live shows now are probably more than ever more successful and that’s why this Montreal one is going to continue to grow and become this huge annual event. 

The internet is kind of like a double edged sword.  It’s serves a wonderful purpose in communicating what your doing with your music and having this instant fix with whatever you need, music or otherwise.  The down side is all the rubbish that goes on with the illegal downloading and everyone thinking that they’re famous and aggravating each other!

You cannot deny that all the fans, and myself included…is that I know that if I am going to see my favorite band it’s cause I know that I am going to be seeing something that’s special in that particular moment in time.  It’s never the same when you get it from any other source, you gotta be there live.

LoudTrax.com: Some artists like to change up their set list every night, and you certainly have the catalog to do that.  Is that something you like to experiment with or do you prefer to keep a solid set list and perfect that?

Rob Halford:  With a band like Judas Priest which is the main band in my life and always will be, it’s difficult to change that set list because everything is really coordinated.  The set design, the lighting and costume changes make it hard to change the set around.

The Halford band is a different kind of animal.  We’re just a bunch of guys walking out there and playing the music.  It’s a little bit easier for us in that respect.  We’ll be going into rehearsals soon and run through more material than we’ll need.  So should the opportunity come up to throw something in, we can do that.

The set list is shaping up now.  It’s a Halford band so it’s Halford material and that’s what we’re coming to play.  The opportunity is there to play some of the Fight material as well.  The "War of Words" album is still strong in many locations.  It’s always on the iTunes Metal charts, which I check a couple of times a week and it’s been a pretty consistent album ever since iTunes had that chart.

I think we’ll look at a couple of Priest tunes.  To be perfectly frank, I would prefer not play any Judas Priest tunes cause this isn’t the Priest band, it’s the Halford band.  But I know my Montreal fans will be screaming for certain songs and it’s kind of rude to ignore.  I would like my fans to understand and appreciate that this is a great opportunity for the Halford band to play the material that we’ve made.  We’re going to probably play a couple of new songs as well.  We got a couple of singles coming out in July as well.

LoudTrax.com: Let's go back to 2000.  On the “Resurrection” album, you co-wrote and performed a song with Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z.   Can you tell us more about that experience?  Did you sit down and write together, and record together, or was it done individually and later put together.

Rob Halford:  Yes my mate Bruce.  The song was pretty much completed.  I was in the studio in Burbank in Hollywood with Roy Z doing the "Resurrection" sessions and Bruce stopped by just to see how things we’re going.  We’re just talking, as singers do, and I said “it would be great if you and I could get behind the mic sometime”.   He said “well it just so happens that I have this idea for a tune.  He played it and it was brilliant!  A little while later in another studio, we layed the track down and the result was a combination of what Bruce created and my input and Roy’s input.

listen to "The One You Love to Hate" by Halford and Bruce Dickinson  here

LoudTrax.com: When you attend a metal show today, it is fascinating to see how many younger kids are present.  Many of them are with their parents who originally attended say for example “the British Steel Tour”, and now will experience the anniversary edition with a new generation.  I always felt that the key for artists to maintain their “rock star” status, is to keep releasing quality records and not only rely on their classics.

I wanted to ask what the difference for you is to perform the new material vs the old.  Because in fact, playing the new material will then help create new classics.

Rob Halford:   I think its important to balance them because you’re only has good as the last thing that you did.  I think most artists and musicians look at themselves that way.  Most musicians are focusing on what they’re doing now and what they’re planning on doing in the future.   It’s nice to have a trail of material that you’ve made over a period of time.  Sometimes things go in a different direction that you have no control over.  Then 30 years later, a record like "British Steel" becomes a very important piece of work.  30 years is a very long time in rock ‘n roll for a piece of music to survive.  And so you have a party and anniversary around something like "British Steel".

You’re playing as a band some of the material that you haven’t played for many many years, but you’re also playing in the running order of the record which is very unusual and exciting to do.  You have your fans that have been with you on the same trip, along with the new metal heads that might be checking out this song or record for the very first time ever.  It’s extraordinary really.

LoudTrax.com:  Playing new material for the first time and seeing the fans reactions is fulfilling as a writer.

Rob Halford:  It’s the best feeling in the world.  You can’t beat the fact that when you’re on stage and you’re playing a song that you wrote 30 years ago and you’re seeing a new metal head going crazy for it - it’s gonna make your heart feel good.

LoudTrax.com: Fans do silly things, which I am sure you have seen.  For example, there a few prized vinyls in my collection that to the average person are not worth anything, but because of the sentimental value, i would not part with them for thousands of dollars.
Bands like Judas Priest have that kind of affect on fans and are engraved into their daily lives.  I’ve always tried to understand that concept from your perspective,  knowing that, without really being present, you have managed to be a vital part of so many fans’ lives.  Can you expand on that?

Rob Halford:  It really is something strange.  I wouldn’t be the first musician to say that a fan has come up to me and said: “You’ve saved my life”…and you think “What!?” lol….  They’ll say that they were really depressed, but then they listened to your music and didn’t go through with it!  Well, how do you answer that!?  It just absolutely blows your mind!  That’s the wonderful source of mass music.  It comes from such a pure, clean, uncluttered place and driven by passion and creativity.  As an artist, you have absolutely no thought in your mind of all these things other than enjoying the experience of writing a song and getting it out there.

I was talking to Roy Z about this the other day and we were saying how our songs are like our kids and they become an extension of yourself.  Then they run off into the world and do these extraordinary things.  The key is that they do good things, and not bad things.  There have been some very extreme moments when people would argue that point, but 99.99999% of time some music is incredibly powerful and does great things.  The source of any artist’s longevity is based on the people taking the music and living with it, and as you point out, keep it in their lives and your music becomes an important part of your life.

The fans that support me and Judas Priest with such passion is a joy and absolute blessing for me.

LoudTrax.com:  To end off, I’d just like to ask a few questions to tap into your personal tastes. Favorite Beatles record - Favorite Iron Maiden Record – Favorite Black Sabbath Record?

Rob Halford:  Ok that’s pretty cool.  "The White Album".  Just because they were going off into extraordinary writing abilities.  The Maiden album would have to be "The Number of the Beast".  Sabbath album would have to be the first one.  It’s often said that sometimes the best moments from musicians are generally in the first 2 or 3 releases because you have nothing to prove.  You don’t have a platinum album yet and you’re music comes from a very uncluttered, untouched place and there’s a purity to it.

LoudTrax.com:  Thanks for interviewing the Rock, Metal, Punk download site, LoudTrax.com.

Rob Halford:  It’s been real nice chatting with you Antonio and I look forward to seeing you guys in Montreal!

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Cheers to Chip Ruggieri at Chipster Entertainment for hooking up this interview. 

Visit Heavy MTL festival site and OZZFEST 2010 official site.

Watch British Steel 30th Anniversary promo video:

 

 

 

 

Hank Shermann has raised some hell being an original member, along with King Diamond in the legendary Metal band Mercyful Fate.  In May 2010, Hank offered his fans a new Thrash Metal band called Demonica.  Their first release, "Demonstrous" is out on Giddy Up Records.  We had the pleasure of doing an interview with Hank from his home in Denmark.  

Buy & listen to Demonica here

LoudTrax.com:  Let’s talk about Demonica.  This album is killer, it sounds great.  What was the approach when creating this album, from the writing to recording?

Hank Shermann:  My approach was to kick in a few extra gears from what Im usually doing and known for. So after deciding to form a new band, after years behind the scene, it was well thought thru in every aspect. I liked the challenge of getting the songwriting more brutal.   After recording some 3 or 4 ideas I contacted an old friend who had that type of vocals needed for this, we made some demo recs and it just worked out 100%. Good tone to his voice and the attitude was there from the get go, let me introduce “Klaus Hyr”!   Then we spent a good year to finish up about 10 songs, during this process Craig Locicero was approached with the idea of joing the band since we knew him from earlier and we are huge Forbidden fans.  Mark Hernandez and Marc Grabowski soon joined and DEMONICA was born.

LoudTrax.com:  The album was recorded in different cities.  Was it hard to capture the live kind of band feel? Did you guys jam as a band long before laying down the tracks?

Hank Shermann:  Yep it was recorded in Copenhagen, San Francisco and Denver and in 4 different studios.  No we did not play or rehearse before recording the album, we layered it up as almost every band does anyway, and therefore nada difference even if we where recording in the same studio.  We simply uploaded the HQ wave files to a dedicated server, damn fast and worked like a charm, goodbye Fedex! . When all was recorded forth and back all files were upload and beamed down to Flatline Audio in Denver Colorado for the final Mix and Mastering by Dave Otero.

LoudTrax.com:  You are the guitarist of one of the most respected and long standing bands in Heavy Metal.  How have you had to adapt from going from that level to starting off a new project with Demonica?  Especially in terms of touring and marketing the release.

Hank Shermann:  Its fairly easy transition as I’ve been around for many many years, going from Heavy Metal to Thrash Metal is a small adjustment, but in all its the same set-up with guitar/amp you just need to step it a bit!!  Touring and marketing is a team effort with label and band, you just need to work hard everyday if you want results, but too many bands out there makes it tough. You need to play live, you need to be on YouTube, you need to get up early and keep going, nowadays you have all the tools to monitor the daily progress and stats, something  Labels have kept secret for 50 years and cheated all along the way!

LoudTrax.com:   What are Demonica’s plans after the release of the "Demonstrous" album?  A tour?

Hank Shermann:  Well we have 3 shows cued up for August, 1 show in Belgium, 1 show in Holland and 1 show in Denmark, after these concerts we’ll play it by ear and see what happens. We are starting from scratch and have to built it up like it was a pyramid!

LoudTrax.com:   Have you sent the album to King Diamond?  How did he like it?

Hank Shermann:  No not yet, but as soon as I get a few spare copies I’ll ship one. I’m sure he'll dig it as it has some familiar elements!

LoudTrax.com:   The Mercyful Fate song “Evil” was featured on the Guitar Hero : Metallica game.  Do you find that has helped reach a broader audience?

Hank Shermann:  I would imagine that young generations might find it interesting, Im sure many many people dont have a clue who Mercyful Fate is, so this might be is a good way to reach new fans.

LoudTrax.com:   Have you played the song on Guitar Hero?  How did you do?!

Hank Shermann:  Nah, haven’t tried it yet, dont have any game controller, but have seen it played on youtubes, I would likely suck big time :-)

LoudTrax.com:  Many of the Mercyful Fate albums were released on Vinyl and Cassette.  Today there are countless ways fans can get your music, like Guitar Hero for example.  Has the creation process for you changed knowing that the means of communicating with the fans have changed?

Hank Shermann:  We are certainly aware of how the music biz is changing and the many diff ways to get your music out, but the making of music is the same as in 1982 .-), but much more time is spend communicating the band out via the internet, something we couldn’t do back then, so its almost 24/7 !!

LoudTrax.com:  What are the upcoming plans for Mercyful Fate?

Hank Shermann:  We have a DVD coming out with the Early years, likely sometimes in early 2011! Should be interesting with a lot of never b4 seen footage and how it all started. I’m sure we’ll record a new Mercyful Fate Album in the future, we just need to get the timeframe framed and then some patience :-)

Hank Shermann-Copenhagen June 14th  2010