Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to acclaimed Metal author Martin Popoff about his new book Metal Heart-Aiming High with Accept
The book covers the complete Accept biography discussing all the bands albums and songs. It explores all era’s, from the Udo Dirkschneider beginnings and success, to the David Reece dramas and break up, to the rebirth and relevance with current singer Mark Tornillo.
Popoff tells ‘The Metal Voice’ about Accept’s break out album Balls to The Wall,” Balls to the wall had this uniform smoothness to it and edge in the lyrics and that’s a whole story that’s talked about in the book. Gaby Hoffmann at this point is writing all their lyrics, a female, the manager of the band and some of the songs are written perhaps from a female point of view. Then they came out with this whole gay controversy on the album cause there is a picture of all of them with their shirt off and the Balls to the wall, the guy holding a ball, the big wrestler leg thing. It had this very funny sub current story line behind it. But I remember getting it and just thinking this is a really a multi dimensional band.”
Popoff goes on to discuss the bringing in of American vocalist David Reece and firing of Udo in 1989 an attempt for more commercial success (Eat the Heat album),” there is a funny quote from David Reece, Dieter Dierks takes David Reece aside and says, if this album fails were both going to get blamed or if it’s successful we both going to be heroes, of course it fails.”
Popoff concludes on the overwhelming acceptance of Mark Tornillo in the present, “ This is a textbook example of being able to change their singer and having it work out perfectly because Mark Tornillo is totally accepted as a member of Accept.”
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon of Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to legendary German guitarist Michael Schenker who just released a live DVD/CD called Michael Schneker’s Temple of Rock“On a Mission: Live in Madrid”
When asked about the making of his new Live DVD CD “On a Mission: Live in Madrid”
“The record company had an idea of making a 3D (sound) listening. I picked Madrid because I always wanted to make a live album in Spain because the fans are playful and very enthusiastic. Later I found out we could not even fix anything because in 3D listening effects you put ambient microphones everywhere and if you try to fix something you still hear the wrong notes, there was something I wanted to fix but I couldn’t so I left it the way it is. We had a really good night, We played well together, the audience was great and it was a great result, no hanky panky.”
When asked about the Michael Schenker fest at this years Sweden Rock Festival
“Michael Schenker fest having Gary Barden, Robin MCauley, and Graham Bonnet there and the original Assault Attack rhythm section line-up. This is the beginning of something bigger to come because I want to take things to the next level. I want to perform my past and present with the original singers and so the newcomers can experience the way it used to be and so that means bigger venues, bigger shows.”
When asked if he would ever record another album with Graham Bonnet
“That is a possibility.”
When asked if he would ever consider recording with the Scorpions
“No I can’t because I am very disappointed in Rudolf, what I found out about Lovedrive (Deluxe edition) bio. I was 23 when I finished with UFO, when Rudolf found out I had left UFO and Mathias who just joined could not do the album with the Scorpions to their liking, they asked me to help out. I came over and when I finished my work on the Scorpions Love drive album they didn’t want to let me go, they got rid of Matthias. They basically persuaded me to be in the Scorpions after the Lovedrive recording and all the management in America they were all very interested in wanting to sign the Scorpions. I started touring but after two weeks I could not do it I went away and was too shy to confront them I couldn’t do it . My brother found me he called me back he cried on the phone and it was so embarrassing I came back a second time and after the second time I realized, this is not it . I need to stop this and I went away again. I found out they got Matthias back.”
“Later I get a phone call from Rudolf if I would let him play my black and white guitar design, I said okay. He also asked me if I would give him the song writing credit for Coast to Coast, all the melodies were written by me and I didn’t pay attention. I was the six part (member) of the Love drive album and I have a contract everything was divided by six.”
“So when they approached me just recently for the Scorpions (Lovedrive ) Deluxe Box I found out that they put a bio out that was completely the wrong story. I found out there was nobody credited for what I wrote on Holiday, it’s the intro to Holiday 45 seconds long, that intro that I wrote. And then Rudolf asked me to give the melodies for Coast to Coast. And those two things were the most tastiest and the easiest parts to copy because Rudolf is not really a great guitarist. And all the managers finding out they wanted to sign that band the Scorpions that I was part of I guess he figured how he can misrepresent and fool people all these years because I didn’t pay attention until just recently. There was not a picture of me on Lovedrive, there was no mention on Holiday who wrote and played that intro and of course Rudolf persuaded me to give him the Coast to Coast melody. I must say I am now finding out more and more weird stuff about Rudolf. I have to stay away from him and I can’t trust him anymore period.”
Watch the interview here:
Joining Schenker at the show were Doogie White (vocals), Herman Rarebell (drums), Francis Buchholz (bass) and Wayne Findlay (guitar, keyboards).
“On A Mission: Live In Madrid” track listing:
Disc 1:
01. Ocean Odyssey – Intro
02. Doctor Doctor
03. Live And Let Live
04. Lights Out
05. Where the Wild Winds Blow
06. Natural Thing
07. Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
08. Victim Of Illusion
09. Lovedrive
10. Coast To Coast
11. Vigilante Man
12. Rock My Nights Away
Disc 2:
01. Saviour Machine
02. Too Hot To Handle
03. Only You Can Rock Me
04. Lord of the Lost and Lonely
05. Rock You Like A Hurricane
06. Rock Bottom
07. Horizons
08. Attack Of The Mad Axeman
09. Communion
10. Blackout
Disc 3:
01. Searching For Freedom – Outro
Bonus Materials
* Rehearsal
* Before The Show
* Soundcheck
* Individual Interviews With Each Bandmember
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon of Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet about the current AC/DC situation in regards to the rumors of Brian Johnson potentially retiring from the band and who would make a vocalist good fill in on the remaining rescheduled tour dates.
Sweet told The Metal Voice,”First of all, you can’t replace Brian Johnson they have been at it so long they are so classic, they are legendary. I see it as why would you even want to do that? But at the same time, if the other guys want to continue on, they have lives they have a career, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do so. I don’t think you can replace Brian Johnson because but let’s just say Brian can’t tour and the guys decide to replace him and he is in agreement with it and it works out . So the question is at that point in time who? I think there are only a few guys who can pull it off. The guy from Krokus (Marc Storace) yeah no doubt about it, he’s got that vibe, he’s got that tone and he’s got that persona when you see him perform on stage he can fit in right there with AC/DC. The other guy that I think is brilliant, I was floored when I saw him live at Eddie Trunk’s event, I performed with him, the singer for Accept (Mark Tornillo), he is phenomenal he would tear up the AC/DC stuff.”
Lead singer and guitarist Michael Sweet of STRYPER recently joined Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon on Canada’s The Metal Voiceto review the new album by Avantasia entitled Ghostlights and to give a first impression on the new live DVD/CD/Blu Ray by Judas Priest called Battle Cry
On Michael Sweet’s review on the new Avantasia album Ghostlights
“My first impressions, there are good and bad. The good being there is no denying the talent that is involved in that makes up the band, everybody, the musicianship levels are high, the vocals levels are high. Everything is obviously top notch in that regard . What didn’t do it for me, I guess as a producer, I wasn’t 100% floored by the production. As I kept listening to it, I kept thinking gosh I would have loved to produced this, just to see what it would have sounded like. My first impression it almost sounds like a modern day Meatloaf, that rock opera Jim Steinman, very complicated songs, parts and structures. I just felt like the production was lacking a little bit. I wanted to hear a little more punch, a little more crispness, it just sounded flat in that regard. ”
On Sweet’s first impression on Judas Priest’s new live album/dvd
“My first impression was how great the band sounds, how great the guitar tones sound, the drum tones. Rob being who he is and how old he is, what he has done. I’m thinking gosh this guy sounds amazing, he sounds incredible and I just love Priest. There is an energy, the minute you hear them start playing there is this energy they have that not very many bands have. So I love it, I love Priest. For a live album for what it is it’s awesome.”
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to former Iron Maiden Vocalist Blaze Bayley about his new, first of three albums (concept trilogy) and his upcoming tour.
When asked about the story behind the new concept album ‘Infinite Entanglement’
“I think this is a really big story, so I started thinking about it like Dune and Lord of the Rings and if I was going to do something like that then it will be done in three albums. This is album is part one of a trilogy. And the story is told across three albums.”
“To keep it very simple it’s about a man who does not know if he is human, It’s set 100 years in the future and he is on a spaceship and it’s how he deals with the fact that he will be one of the first people ever to live for 1000 years because of the advances in technology. And the question, is he human or not? And the story expands from there. Everything is not what it seems and he has been chosen for the mission. It’s a mystery, horror set in space and this is part 1.”
One his thoughts about writing a concept album
“I really wanted to do something like War of the Worlds style and Operation Mindcrime. I wanted it so as a listener you can enjoy each song without knowing the story but if you want to look at the sleeve notes, if you wanted to get deeper into it, you can see the connection. I would like something that I can listen to 100 times. I want to create that Holy Diver, the Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, the Iron Maiden The Number of the beast, I want to create one of those classics and each time I create an album that’s what I want to do.”
On his release date for the second and third albums
“We have half of the of album for two written and we have some of the music and one of the songs for number three. As we go along on tour and I am writing the rest of the story, then we will come up with the rest of the songs.”
On his plans to release this story in a book format
“I’m planning a book, its will be with album three, the book will come out but it will be a limited edition just for the fans.”
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon of Canada’s ‘The Metal Voice’ recently spoke to legendary Rock Author Martin Popoff about his two books, (fan voted) The top 500 Heavy Metal Albums and songs of all time which he wrote a few years back but stand the test of time. Paragraphs dedicated to each album and songs. Both books were mathematically compiled with his father.
“These books are a little old but I would like to update them to see how they have changed over the years. I would ask rock stars, I would go in person to clubs and I would ask the whole road crew and a lot of asking over the internet. I had a mathematical system.”
“The satifying thing was to find out what the acutal anwser was, those answers are pretty steadfast , people would complain about them but I would just write people back and say he man, it’s democracy the people have spoken. “
Both books are a result of a huge, worldwide poll.Included are artist quotes and a review by Popoff, as well many album cover shots.
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