As previously posted, BLACKDIAMOND of Metal Shock Finland has recently conducted an exclusive interview with legendary singer BLAZE BAYLEY (WOLFSBANE, ex-IRON MAIDEN) during the recording of new material in a studio in Italy.
When discussing the recording of the album Blaze said “I don’t like to spend a lot of time in the studio, I don’t feel it’s a very creative environment. I like to spend most of my time on an album in the writing process and the composing. I feel that’s the bit that really counts. I’m always thinking of the audience, the fans and how I’m going to perform the songs live.”
When asked if Blaze could give any ideas what the new album will sound like he said: “It’ll be a bit different to what I’ve done before because I’m producing it. There will be a lot of heavy metal as you would expect from a Blaze Bayley album. We decided to have no rules, if we feel something is appropriate to sing or play, we will, it’s all about the vibe and passion. I’m very hopeful it will turn out to be my best work.”
And also Blaze mentioned all his fans and Metalheads around the world as the true Kings of Metal.
You can listen to this Interview below:
As previously posted, DJ BLACKDIAMOND presented a special BLAZE BAYLEY show which include her interview with Blaze on Jan. 31st. Also this show is availble for streaming online on this loacation.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to a great keyboard player and musician from England, Steve Williams. Perhaps you remember him in DragonHeart and now he is leading a great British Power Metal band, POWER QUEST who have released their fifth album, “Blood Alliance” in 2011. If you are a power hungry metalhead and if you like Pumpkinish Metal then you will perhaps like POWER QUEST as they play Metal with a powerful and loud style.
Steve also works for the IT industry and I want to wish him luck and success in both jobs. I had my chance to have an interview with him recently and ask him some questions that you may find interesting.
Hey Steve, how are you doing today? Is there any Shocking news for us?
Hey dude! Hope you are doing great! All good here…..very busy at the moment as I’m starting a new job in Nottingham in a couple of weeks. The big news from PQ is that we have 4 shows with Freedom Call in Europe in March and then an appearance at PPM festival in Belgium in April. Can’t wait!
For my first question, I’d like know what passion made you choose learning and playing Piano and music when you were eighteen?
Well my parents actually started my piano lessons when I was 7 years old and I continued with my studies until I was 18 years old. I also studied violin for 6 years and am a self taught guitarist and bassist.
It seems your professional career as a musician began when you got a message from Herman Li to join DragonHeart (Dragonforce). And now after all of these years I’d like to know how you feel about your past career and music and what was the main factor that made you choose Metal music?
I guess DragonHeart was where people first noticed me but you have to remember that I’ve always worked a day job too. I’ve worked in the IT industry for 20 years and without that income I would not be able to afford to keep PQ active.
Let’s go forward to the POWER QUEST-Era, It seems you had some problems recruiting permanent members into the band, would you tell me about those days?
I was lucky having Alessio, Andrea, Steve and Francesco with me until 2007 and since 2009 I have had Andy, Gav, Rich and Paul….and now Colin as well. Of course we have had a few line up changes over the years but these were mainly due to people wanting to different things in their lives. The great thing of course is that almost everyone who has been in the band over the past 11 years are still my great friends.
British power metal band Power Quest
Let’s talk about the POWER QUEST’s fifth album, “Blood Alliance”, why did you choose Chris Fielding as the producer and Felipe Machado Franco for designing the artwork? I’d also like to know more about the ideas of that artwork, especially about the portal that maybe is a way to another world.
We decided to record at a different studio for the first album with the new lineup and we chose the studio where Chris works (Foel Studio in Wales) because we had heard great things about it. I first worked with Felipe on the Master of Illusion album artwork. For Blood Alliance, we worked very closely on the concept together. The main theme being that the Master of Illusion character has traveled to the 21st century via a portal.
How has the album been received so far?
I’ve been very pleased with the feedback and reaction to the album. Of course it has been out for a year now but I was curious as to how the fans would react to a PQ album with a whole new line up. Luckily the fans and the press really liked the record and many have said its the best PQ album so far.
Right, let’s talk about the last changing line up of POWER QUEST, “We are thrilled to welcome Colin into the band. He impressed each and every one of us at his audition a couple of months back and he really understands what Power Quest is all about. His voice and personality are exactly what we have been looking for. Welcome aboard brother!” was what you commented. Would you tell me the story of how Colin came to join the band? And is he comfortable with band now?
Colin is great guy and a fantastic singer. I’ve known him for a few years as he’s been a PQ fan for a long time. He has gelled with the rest of the guys amazingly well.When we were looking for a new guy…..I played some of Colin’s band Karuna to the rest of the band. They really liked it so we flew him in from Ireland. We also checked out a handful of other singers as well and, although it was a close decision, Colin really did deserve to get the gig.
Perhaps you answered these questions a lot these days, but would you tell me what’s your and the bands plan for 2012 and 2013? And when do you think you’ll start working on some new material?
Well as I mentioned earlier, we have some shows with Freedom Call and then PPM Festival after which we will look for a few summer festivals and start working on some new material. I’ve got a lot on with my new day job as well as I’m working for a blue chip organisation so things will be quieter this year for PQ.
Have you any plan to share the stage with Helloween or Gamma Ray or Stratovarius in near future as they are the best known of the leaders of Melodic Power Metal (Europian Power Metal)? And I’d like to know if any of them have been influencial for you, let me know if there are other bands or musicians that may have influenced you too.
I love all those bands, especially Helloween who I have been a fan of since 1985. We were lucky enough to tour with them back in 2006, which was a dream come true.I guess Iron Maiden, Helloween, Dream Theater, Van Halen and Marillion are probably my biggest influences as, apart from DT, I grew up with all those bands.
We have some super-bands like Symfonia and Unisonic today that are formed by legendary musicians that Rock the flag of Power Metal, do you think this is a beginning of an age of a Super-band Era in the Power Metal music industry? And I’d like to know which musicians you feel were or are the most influencial in the whole of the power metal history?
I’m not a big fan of people being in multiple bands but very few people can make a living being in one power metal band these days, mainly due to the downturn in CD sales. I’ve had a lot of offers to work with other bands and projects over the years but one band and my day job take almost all my time.
Thanks for giving me your time mate, feel free to leave a message to your fans and our readers here.
No worries mate, thank you for the opportunity to do this interview and I hope your readers enjoy reading it. I’d like to thank you all for your support as it is you guys who keep PQ alive! Remember…….the Quest must go on !
Yiddish Metal band GEVOLT, founded in 2001, hails us from Israel. In 2006 GEVOLT released a debut CD called Sidur (ritual metal for practical use). Later the band changed the concept and started to sing in traditional European Jewish language Yiddish, covering some classic Yiddish songs. Their second full-length album AlefBase was released in February-March of 2011. MSFinland’s Kostya had a chance to interview band’s vocalist, Anatholy Bonder, please join the conversation…
1. Hello Anatoly, welcome to Metal Schok Finland
Hello Metal Shock Finland!
2. Tell us more about the band’s history and how you met with other guys?
Oh, it all started long ago in 2001. Since then, the band has significant changes. In the beginning we were four of us: me, Yevgeny on guitar, Max on bass and Oleg on drums. I then worked as a sound engineer at the record studio where they rehearsed in a progressive metal band “Soul Enema”. Soon an opera singer (Dina) and violinist (Marina) joined us. But after a recording of our first album, Dina went to the band “Stormy Atmosphere”. When Marina decided to stop her music career, we found Eva. My old friends Dmitry and Vadim gradually became a part of us. Long ago, in the nineties we played in a punk rock band (I was on bass, Dima on guitar, and of Vadim on drums). So, Vadim replaced Oleg and Dima took the synthesizer. Soon Yevgeny (our guitarist) formed his own band (“Sumo Elevator”) and left us. And Max is now in “Stormy Atmosphere”. In their places now play Michael and Mark, we knew they from the local scenes.
3. You are called “The first Yiddish Metal band”. How the idea to play Yiddish Metal music was born?
Well. First we did the cover on “Tum Balalaike” in 2005 and later the “Zog Nit keyn Mol” and “Shpil Zhe Mir…”. And in 2007 we released a promo single on CDRs with 2 tracks (in some versions there was 3 tracks) in “Yiddish Metal”. Since then we knew what we will do next …
4. What bands influence the most on Gevolt’s style?
Each of us have a different taste in music. We do not limit ourselves on some special style. It’s hard for me to tell what influenced us, because, every one of us have his own personal influences. What I can tell – is my personal influences: So, I was very impressed by the folklore. Also by music from some Russian bands (Auktyon and Grazhdanskaya Oborona). I love what Serj Tankian is doing. I like Gogol Borderllo and Emir Kusturica’s band, Fintroll, Rammstein, Metallica, Nirvana… But when I listen to something , I don’t care about the style. I listen to the core – to music.
5. In 2010 you released the second album “AlefBase”. Tell us about the writing process.
It was a hard and long process. We started the recordings in 2005 in the record studio where I was working. Then we recorded 3 tracks (“Tum Balalaike”, “Zog Nit Keyn Mol” and “Shpil Zhe Mir…”). When the drummer changed we re-recorded drums, Then, when Violinist changed, we re-recorded violins… In the same time we were working and performing, so we had a little time for recordings , so we had long breaks. Then, when guitarist changed, we re-recorded guitars, then we arranged and recorded the 4 last tracks with all the current members. And in summer or spring (I don’t remember:)) of 2010 we started to mix. All mixes and pre-mastering we did by ourselves at home. Mainly I was working on it with a help of Dmitry and Michael (They’re soundmen too). It was a bit hard, cause the recording was in different studios with different sounds. We mixed, listened, remixed, listened, tried many ways of sound. And in February of 2011 we just stopped and said “this is it!”. 🙂
6. How the album has been welcomed in the world?
“AlefBase” (by what we saw) has been welcomed very well. Many people was waiting for it. We received a lot of good responses from many countries. Yeah, there was “not-so-good” responses too. But in comparison to good ones, it was just a drop in the sea, so… You know there is nothing in this universe that everyone can like.
7. At the beginning of 2012 the band released new video for the song “Thsiribim Tshiribom”. Tell us about the shooting process.
It was spontaneously, wildly, crazy, and insanely. We just agreed with the camera-man (our friend Tim Slovin) and published the date of the session. We requested our fans and friends for help in making the shooting. We got help with light and sound equipments and generator transporting. The video had no scenario, no storyboard… We just plugged in and played the song 15 times.
8. It sounds like you are really satisfied with the clip?
Yes, we are really satisfied with the result. But for me, personally it took a lot of time to learn the video editing program :). 9. What plans Gevolt has for 2012?
Man makes plans – God laughs 🙂
We are working on new material, plan to shoot more videos and play more gigs.
Maybe tour out of Israel – it will be nice to meet on the same stage our friends from Sweden “Dibbukim” and to play live for all these people from all over the world who want to see us live .
10. Good luck! Thanks for the interview! Any last words for our readers?
BLACKDIAMOND of Firebrand Rock Radio andMetal Shock Finland has recently conducted an exclusive interview with legendary guitarist MICHAEL SCHENKER when he was in London and discussed the upcoming “Temple Of Rock” album amongst many more things.
When asked about working with various different musicians on the new album “Temple Of Rock“, Michael said: “‘I didn’t have any of those things planned. At the time I was working on a touring project with Herman Rarebell and Pete Way and I was also looking for a studio to make a new record. Michael Voss offered his studio, so I asked him to help me out with vocals and when I heard him I said ‘wow he can sing!’ so I asked him to join me, then Pete and Herman wanted to join in. So I then thought it would be great to have musicians I worked with in the past and they were all available.”
“Right now I’m doing 3 guitars – I have the Retro guitar, one called Strangers in the Night and I’m promoting a new one, a ‘Kaleidoscope’, a very colourful guitar, which is only a prototype. So these are the 3 guitars I’m playing and promoting now.” When asked about the new signature Dean V guitar due out this year, Michael said.
ANVIL is a legendary Canadian heavy/speed metal band that formed by Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and Robb Reiner in 1973. To date, the band has released fourteen studio albums, and has been cited as having influenced many notable heavy metal bands, including Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica.
I recently had an interview with the legendary LIPS from Anvil, read what he had to say about the ups and downs the band have been through in their career and also an exclusive on the departure of Glenn Five!
Hi Lips, how are you doing? What’s happening at the moment?
Hi Mohsen, I am doing well, Thanks.
I never had a chance to see you on stage, fingers crossed though, but I saw several videos of you playing guitar and sliding using a vibrator (lol) , I think that’s a genius way of use, but would you tell me the story of how did you discover that you can use a vibrator as a slider? And don’t you ever have any problem in airport or security with that?
Back in our early beginning of the band we had decided all of our songs would be about woman and sex….we would put things like panties, braziers, and nylon stockings on our microphone stands. I thought it would be a good idea to play my guitar with a vibrator as when I was a kid I discovered that small electric battery powered motors produce sound when placed near a guitar pick up. The vibration causes the strings to play and the hard plastic curved plastic worked great to use as a slide. Only one person could get away with this kind of novelty and it’s me!! The airport security always has to take a second look to believe their eyes but they never make an issue of it…..
Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow
We are doomed to live our life in the present, no way to the past and nor to the future, but we are able to think about them and analyze them or make some plans for future. I’d like to ask what was in your head in 1981 when you were recording “Hard ‘n’ Heavy”? Did you think that you were going to be a legend someday?
When we started we believed we had something special…we were a very strange anomaly as we played our own music that was considered very heavy. We knew that it was a lifelong journey and we followed our dreams and desires. Robb and I made our decision to stick with each other forever and meant it!
Robb Reiner, House Of Blues LosAngeles. Photo by Kevin Strada
When you and Robbo first started playing music together in 1973 and even from the first incarnation of the band in 1978, did you think you would still be creating music together over such a long period of time?
There was never any doubt what so ever…only our health will ever stop that from continuing.
Can you tell me what feeling encouraged you in those years and what passion made you write such great songs?
The things that inspired us most was going to see live shows. Robb and I were lucky enough to see some of the original heavy rock bands in their big moments. Like for me, seeing Black Sabbath in the summer of 71 was an experience I have never forgotten. It has stayed with me my entire life. I understood what they were before anyone did….they were the future of rock music and most of the people that were at that show didn’t see it the way I did! They were there to see Three Dog Night doing Jeremiah was a Bullfrog!! When Sabbath played Children of the Grave I lost my mind! I’d never heard it before but I remember thinking that it was the heaviest thing I’d ever heard!! They played an incredible show that day….and in fact there is a bootleg recording of it I hear recently…it was as I remembered excellent!
Let’s talk about “Juggernaut of Justice” album, How do you feel now after releasing such a METAL piece of work? And how has it been received so far? And I’d like to know if you have any particular memories during the recording process.
We feel it is our best work ever! The sales have gone well and even more importantly people love hearing the new songs live. The recording and writing were great! It was a lot of fun recording the bed tracks at Dave Grohl’s studio in Los Angeles. The huge Motorhead flag hung up over the studio glass added an ambience of pure metal inspiration!
“Juggernaut of Justice” Takes Top Honors In the ‘Metal On Metal’ Listener Poll, but I’d like to know what album is the top of 2011 in your opinion?
I have no idea!!! I haven’t bought anyone’s cd this year to compare it with…..
Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, The Fillmore SanFrancisco. Photo by Raymond Ahner
There is a point in ANVIL history that I couldn’t find any clue, In 1983, you signed a contract with David Krebs, but he suddenly changed his mind and stopped returning phone calls and did not get the band a major label recording contract, i’d like to know why? And what happened during that time to you?
There are many unanswered questions concerning why. David had little or no knowledge of metal music. He managed Aerosmith and thought we were a great opener, but beyond that he couldn’t find us a deal without including our first three albums in a deal. The company Attic refused to license or release those recordings in the USA. This made it impossible for David to go forward with us. He pulled us out of the contract with Attic and left us to die or what ever!! We wrote Strength of Steel and recorded it on our own and released it through Metal Blade. Unfortunately this was 4 years after Forged in Fire which made the album 3 years too late. We struggled and did it on our own from that time until we began making the movie in 2005.
“…I actually preferred being a King in Hell than a servant below” you said this somewhere and also you advise younger musicians with this: “Never put a value of money on your music, and never depend on your music to make you money.” I saw many younger musicians who produce great music but they weren’t supported by record labels, so after several years, they gave up and disbanded. Do you think we need some changes in the music industry or do we have to learn how we can make a balance between economic issues and producing music?
There will never be balance between economic issues and producing music. This is even more true now than ever before. The reason is…people don’t buy music anymore…it’s free! So how can bands afford to record if people aren’t paying money for their music? The music has become nothing more than the advertisement to buy a t shirt! We sell 10 t shirts to 1 cd a night. This is because the internet supplies the people with free music sharing, so the only reason to buy a cd is for a souvenir.
Robb Reinner. Photo by Raymond Ahner
In the summer of 2011, you played sell out dates in the UK and Europe and you said that you paid back a loan to your sister from the production of This Is Thirteen, how did it feel to be making money at last?
It’s been amazing….I quit my job at Choice Children Catering and am now making a living from Anvil. I’m working on making my first million!
As a Metal musician who has written, recorded and played Metal for 34 years, in your opinion what’s the main problem for younger Metallers these days? And what is your advice for them?
In my opinion…metal needs good singing….cookie monster yelling is not singing!!
Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, Loud-Park,-TokyoJapan. Photo by Andrew Stuart
With the recent news of Glenn Five’s departure, can you update me on the current situation in Anvil as you are touring the USA soon?
We hired an old friend to do the tour and are currently working with a new improved bassist. There was no major issue in fixing this at all and in fact everything was sorted out within a few hours of Glenn departing. Glenn tried to make it difficult by leaving without proper notice but we’ve been preparing for this for quite sometime. This did end up for the better as it is a huge improvement with our new guy both musically as well as personally.
Thank you so much for giving me your time, I hope I can have the honor of meeting you one day and feel free to leave a message for our readers and young Anvil Pounders here.
Metal is a way of life not just a type of music. It’s about the perseverance of rough times and getting everything you can out of life. I wish you all happiness which is the most valuable thing in life….All the best and thanks for the opportunity. LIPS
DEALS DEATH was born in 2007 when Erik Jacobson, originally from Gothenburg, began to make death metal music at the music university called “Boomtown” in Borlänge, Sweden. Several members from the metal band Sabaton were a part of the line up in the beginning. Band’s second album, entitled “Elite” will be released worldwide in March via Spinefarm Records. MSFinland’s Kostya Aronberg had a chance to interview Deals Death’s guitarist Erik Jacobson, here’s what they talked about…
1. Hi Erik, welcome to metal Shock Finland, How are you?
Hello Kostya and thank you! Im doing great! I have been busy as hell but finally things are under control.
2. Let’s begin with a history part – tell us how Deals Death actually was born?
The band was not actually a “band” in the beginning. It started out as a project when I attended a music school called Boomtown. In my class were members from Sabaton and we got together to play some heavy metal! But when they got more and more stuff to do I started writing heavier music and with some help from my other classmates we recorded the first album “Internal Demons”. I think that is when Deals Death officially formed. After I was done with my studies I moved back to Gothenburg and found some new members and we simply continued on the road that was before us. Continue Reading
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Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
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