Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’anno. Di’anno spoke about his new live album which will be released on January 31 2020 Hell Over Waltrop Live in Germany on Metalville records, working on new material and his thoughts on K.K. Downing rejoining Judas Priest for 50 year anniversary celebrations.
Watch the interview here:
When asked about his new live Album
“We recorded a lot of nights on Tour with our sound engineer (Producer)Thomas Mergler who we have been friends with for a long time. That recording was the weirdest concert we played because it was mostly pop bands on the bill from what I remember but fortunately there were load of metalheads there as well. The show was in 2006 with my German band at the time Phantoms Of The Opera at a city festival in the small Westphalian town of Waltrop. The thing is we had such a horrible onstage sound because the guy from the festival obviously worked and did sound with pop bands and you know didn’t have a clue what to do with a rock band. A couple of months back I got a message from Thomas Mergler from Germany and he said he found the live tapes of that gig from and he would clean them up and he did.”
When asked about playing Iron Maiden Songs on Tour
“I have been playing these songs for a long time and you have to find different ways to make them interesting for yourself so I play the songs a little more punkier and heavier which keeps the amusement up a bit, you have to find different ways of doing it. Just like Ozzy has to play a bit of Black Sabbath, playing a few songs from the band he came from so do I. I did make a mistake many years ago in America with Battlezone we didn’t play any Maiden songs and the crowds were ready to lynch us. But I am very proud of my heritage with Iron Maiden I want to play some of the songs. I’m thinking next time tour I should be playing a lot of songs off of my repertoire of music but also if we have to do a couple of Maiden songs I would like to do something different and play the songs people have not heard in a long time.”
When asked if he is working on new music
I’m working on new songs with a friend of mine who’s we’ve known each other all our lives pretty much guitarist Chop Pitman who plays in the band Airforce with former Iron Maiden drummer Doug Sampson. Chop is coming up with a couple of great ideas and he sent them over to me and we will see where it goes from there. In terms of style it will be back to classic metal it’s all a mixture of Sabbath type stuff and a little punk metal stuff. As a musician I don’t like to stick to one niche which can be a bit suicidal I suppose but I do like venturing a little bit into something different but it will be heavy for sure. But first and foremost is I’ve really got to concentrate on my health and I think coming out with a new album would be great but I can’t make any definite plans right now.”
When asked if K.K. Downing should rejoin priest for their 50 year anniversary tour
“I’ve got a lot respect for K.K. he’s a brilliant guitar player and yes I think K.K. Should be back for the 50th anniversary I don’t see why they would say no. It would be great.”
Hell Over Walltrop – Live in Germany, the result is 100% kick-ass rock without tricks and overdubs. The band presents itself in top form and serves the audience various classics from Iron Maiden’s early phase and from the solo career of Paul Di’Anno
the self of Iron Maiden are Dennis Stratton and Paul di Anno….