Queensrcyhe singer Todd LaTorre joins The Metal Voice and gives his top 3 picks of 2021, as the metal guys count down their best of 2021.
Watch below.
And the Top Metal Album of 2021 is………..
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Jimmy Kay along with Queensryche singer Todd LaTorre interviewed former Ozzy guitarist Gus G about his new Instrumental solo album ‘Quantum Leap’ which was released October 8, 2021 via AFM.
Plus Gus G also shared his thoughts on Ozzy’s first four albums.
When asked which of the first Two Ozzy albums (Randy Rhoads era) he prefers
“I cannot really pick which one I like more. The biggest hit of course is on the first album (Blizzard of Ozz) ‘Crazy Train’ but the second album (Diary of a Madman) is the one that I was exposed to first. From an emotional side, that was the first album I heard from Ozzy. They both have my top spot. What made the Randy Rhoads’ albums so special was a combination of things, it was the way he blended a European flavour of playing with a classic American rock style. Randy Rhoads was able to play metal riffs and leads and kind of put them in a sort of pop rock song format for the radio. What Zakk Wylde had said was that Rhoads was like the prototype of the modern metal guitar player and I really agree with that statement. There are just so many things that made Randy Rhoads special.”
When asked about his opinion on Ozzy’s Bark at the Moon Album
“The title track, it has to be one of my favorite Ozzy songs and when we played live with Ozzy we opened the shows with that and it was fantastic,”
What about The Ultimate Sin?
“I love the song ‘Shot in the dark’ and there are also a lot of hidden gems on that album too like, ‘Lightning Strikes Again’, ‘Killer of Giants’. I Remember telling Ozzy how I liked the album and he told me how much he hated the album because it was a bad period in his life and he didn’t like the mix.”
About Quantum Leap
Quantum Leap was assembled in pieces, featuring new compositions and material taken from Gus’ “riff vault”, where he stores unfinished ideas and revisits them when he’s able. The album started as a full-on solo outing, with Gus programming drums and playing guitar, bass and keyboards, but a chance encounter with drummer Vincent Velasco – who volunteered his services and subsequently blew Gus away – opened up the production. Producer / engineer Dennis Ward, who was responsible for mixing and mastering Quantum Leap ended up laying down bass tracks on eight of the 10 tracks.
Unlike many instrumental albums, Quantum Leap doesn’t feel like a musical root canal or long and drawn- out brain surgery. Each of the 10 tracks are solid and compact musical ideas, with Gus’ guitar acting as the voice. In this respect, writing Quantum Leap was a challenge because he is so used to writing in a specific formula utilizing vocals. He found himself falling into the loop of overplaying a few times during the production because of the lack of vocals, but was able to overcome the problem once he acknowledged it.
“When I first wrote ‘Exosphere’, for example, there were so many things going on in the track but it wasn’t saying anything,” says Gus. “I really needed to have the guitar taking a vocal approach. I knew that if I just kept the playing technical it wasn’t going to be enjoyable. So the playing isn’t always about technique, and once I found the formula it was easier to create melodies for the record.”
“I’m a guitar player and I cannot stand most instrumental guitar albums,” he adds. “The classic are the classics, but very rarely do I get into them because after the third track it just seems like an endless guitar solo where everything that sounds the same. That’s something I wanted to avoid on Quantum Leap and I think I succeeded in doing that.”
GusG. (Guitars), Dennis Ward (Bass, Vocals), Will Hunt (Drums)
The Metal Voice’s Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon recently interviewed legendary songwriter and bassist Bob Daisley (Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath) about his Book ‘For Facts Sake’. Bob has appeared a few times on The Metal Voice going in depth about his career with Gary Moore and his court proceedings and time with Ozzy.
This time Bob talks about the making of Black Sabbath’s ‘Eternal Idol’, convincing Motley Crue not to fire guitarist Mick Mars, plus writing with Steve Vai for Ozzy and a lot more
When asked about the making of Eternal Idol
“I have never really worked with Tony before this album. Tony is great, I love his playing, his writing, his sound. Everything that he plays is a classic riff, they just pour out of him and they are just not throw away riffs, they are all really really good valid riffs. It was great for me. I enjoyed it, it was 1986. Eric Singer was on drums and Eric and I got along very well. Ray Gillan was the vocalist (at first). We all got on fine. “
When asked if he wrote the lyrics with Ray Gillan at the time
“Ray had some scratch lyrics written and a couple of the others put bits in. A lot of them (lyrics) weren’t that great. They asked me to write the lyrics for the songs, which I did. There are some lines I left in there of Ray’s. “
When asked about the exit of Ray Gillan
“I don’t know the full circumstances cause I wasn’t with the band at that point but when Ray left I don’t know if there was a fall out or what happened between him and management or Tony or whatever it was. But his vocals have already been recorded but they didn’t use them because they knew that they were replacing him with Tony Martin. So they got Tony Martin to re-do everything and released it that way. It went for years and years without anyone hearing the Ray Gillan’s version. They were Ray Gillan’s melodies and phrasing and that is what came from Ray’s heart. Tony martin did an admirable great job of replacing what Ray had done. The initial thing came from Ray. When you hear Ray’s version, it’s the version.”
When asked if he got paid for Eternal idol
“I did get paid but I was weary of the whole situation because I knew everyone was unhappy and I thought why go into a situation plus I was very happy working with Gary Moore at the time. I think the Sabbath album Eternal Idol is underrated and is a very good album.”
When asked about a seance he did with Randy Rhoads during the Blizzard of Ozz Era
“That rehearsal place was reputed to be haunted and it probably was, there were little things that happened and I wrote about them in the book. I think one night we were in that mood and we would sit down and have a seance and we did the letter and numbers and the glass and all that. Some things came out. It did say things to Randy (Rhoads) that freaked us all out. We threw all the bits of paper and numbers and glass into the fireplace and put salt on the table. Cause it was not a good vibe and it was not good news and was not a good prediction, it was pretty awful.”
When asked about the time he and Steve Vai tried to write an Ozzy album
“That was an honour as well and it was great but it didn’t really work out for Ozzy and Steve Vai for whatever reasons. I don’t know the full details. I was at home and I got the phone call will you come and co-write the next album (Ozzy). I loved the idea of working with Steve Vai and Ozzy together. So we went to Steve Vai’s studio in L.A. and we began putting down tracks with Steve on some of the stuff and then we went to New York and began writing and rehearsing in the Sony studios. But then all of a sudden it all fizzled out, the plug was pulled. I’ve got some recordings from those sessions. It was mostly me, Steve Vai and the drummer Deen Castronovo a very good drummer.”
When asked how he convinced Motley Crue not to fire Mick Mars
“That night after the show Mick Mars went on our Bus (with Ozzy on the Bark at the Moon tour) and I went on their bus so I was the only one from Ozzy that went on their bus. And they were having a meeting. What they were planning on doing was getting rid of Mick and getting another guitarist in and they asked me for my opinion. So I said if you want my opinion for what it’s worth I would say do not try to fix something that is not broken. I said I have seen it before with Lee Kerslake in the Blizzard of Ozz. I said you got a chemistry there, you got a functioning unit, Mick Mars is part of that don’t Fuc*k it up. Don’t do it. I think I saved Mick that night cause they were serious about getting someone else. Mick was good for the band, he was part of the sound of the delivery of what they did.”
Canada’s The Metal Voice recently interviewed Brittney Slayes singer of Unleash the Archers. Slayes spoke about the upcoming tour, their Juno Award winning album Abyss, working on the next album and her putting her vocal abilities before image.
When asked if the next album will be a concept album
“Yes, I think I will try and write every record from now on to have some underlying story that is the plan. It’s so much more fun and it gives you direction and it keeps everyone together on the same track during the songwriting process. Yeah that is kind of the goal. “
When will the next studio album be ready
“Well if Vinyl records don’t start coming into stock, 2023. We just want to take our time, we don’t want to rush it. We got a lot of pressure on our shoulders to meet our standards.”
When asked about her opinion about putting the music first First in Unleash the Archers and not a femininity image
“There is nothing wrong with feeling empowered by your own body as a woman, there is nothing wrong with that. If you want to use that to be a thing that your band is about then that is what choice is all about, do it, show it off absolutely. I am not going to say I have zero respect for you because you choose to show your body off. That is not how that works. But for me personally I started this band a long time ago when there weren’t that many women in the scene and really the only way to get noticed was to show off your femininity and to kind of play into that. I wanted it to be about the music, I wanted it to be about my voice. So I worked really hard vocally to come up with something that was captivating for people to listen to. I wanted to be noticed because of my voice and that is it. That has always been a huge driving force for me but that is just me. So if you want people to know about your band and how hot you are, go for it absolutely but that was just never my thing.”
Canadian melodic power metal quartet UNLEASH THE ARCHERS will release their masterful fifth full-length concept album, Abyss, on August 21, 2020 via Napalm Records.
Juno Award winning melodic metal quartet UNLEASH THE ARCHERS only just finished their recent U.S. tour, but are already gearing up to hit the road once again! Due to Covid protocols, the band was forced to not only cancel a handful of kickoff dates on the aforementioned tour, but also their European tour that was scheduled to begin soon. Rather than rest on their laurels, the band will hit the road on “The Abyss Strikes Back” tour, this time visiting both the U.S. and Canada in December!
Once again featuring support from labelmates Aether Realm and Seven Kingdoms, “The Abyss Strikes Back” tour will kickoff on December 8 in Minneapolis, MN and visit both previously cancelled and new markets, coming to an end on December 20 in Toronto, ON. See below for a full listing of tour dates.
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – *NEW* North American Tour Dates
w/ Aether Realm & Seven Kingdoms:
12/8: Minneapolis, MN @ Cabooze
12/9: Milwaukee, WI @ Miramar Theater
12/10: Joliet, IL @ The Forge
12/11: Indianapolis, IN @ Irving Theater
12/12: Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
12/13: Cleveland, OH @ Odeon Concert Club
12/14: Reading, PA @ Reverb
12/15: Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall
12/16: Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
12/17: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch
12/18: Montreal, QC @ L’Astral
12/19: Ottawa, ON @ Brass Monkey
12/20: Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
The Metal Voice East Coast journalist Kenny Kessel caught up with former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and filmmaker Drew Fortier at the Chiller Theatre convention at the Hilton Parsippany, NJ on Oct 30, 2021.
When asked if The Lucid will be a touring band
“Drew (Fortier) calls me one day and says I’m going to change the header on your Facebook Page and he puts the ‘L’ logo. He did and apparently it made international news, people seem to be interested so thank you for that. From there we started throwing some songs out just to test the waters cause we planned on releasing (an Album) in October 2021, from there people seemed to really like it. Phones are ringing to our agents, so he is actually booking some shows for us with shows overseas as well. So there are definitely some live performances.”
What is next for The Lucid
“It’s funny we actually have a drop box full of new ideas” David Ellefson
“Album number two is in the works” Drew Fortier
When asked about the movie ‘Dwellers’ produced by Ellefson and directed by Fortier
“Drew calls me up and says hey do you want to get involved with this and I said sure you know me and my motto always is say yes, I’m in, why not? ” Ellefson
“I shot it for zero dollars, over five non consecutive days in 2019. I put it together out of love and it’s a super fun thing, it is like C.H.U.D. (1984 Movie) and Blair Witch.” Drew Fortier
When asked if it bothered Ellefson that Megadeth removed his bass tracks on their upcoming Megadeth studio album
“They did what they did, I don’t think they had to do that, I asked them not to. But they did what they did.”
When asked if he got the call again would he go back to Megadeth
“I don’t have any ill will, him (Mustaine) or them (Megadeth). “
“The Lucid” was produced by Heller and mixed/mastered by Lasse Lammert.
Track listing:
01. Maggot Wind
02. Deaths Of Despair
03. Spoiler Head
04. Hair
05. Maskronaut
06. Damned
07. Breech Boy
08. Pigs And Sons
09. Parade Of Spit
The Lucid is-
vocals: Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge)
guitar: Drew Fortier
bass: David Ellefson
drums: Mike Heller (Raven, Fear Factory, Malignancy)
Dwellers is an American found footage horror film written by, directed by, and starring Drew Fortier. The plot of the film follows a documentary crew who eventually go missing while uncovering the truths behind the disappearances within a homeless community. The film stars Drew Fortier, James L. Edwards, and Douglas Esper as themselves.
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently interviewed longtime Krokus frontman Marc (The Voice) Storace. Strorace spoke about his new solo album coming out Dec 8 2021, his upcoming documentary and he also gave an update on the status of Krokus.
How did the new solo album come about?
“I feel in a hole of lockdown Covid boredom, so I said I am going to get creative, I opened my drawer and I had a pile of lyrics and Ideas and I thought I had enough material for something. I needed a guitar player. ‘Live and Let Live’ was written with this guitar player that was a neighbour of mine and I used to go over to his place which was a little studio and we spent hours writing songs. We came out with about 20 of them. I’m not trying to be like Krokus at all. “
Tell us about the musical direction of your solo album
‘It’s Energetic, heavy melodic hard rock. There are also a couple of ballads, then there is something out of the ordinary, a blues song and the last song (should be), is quite acoustical and lighthearted. Now I am nervous and excited for the release date for the 8th of December and we are also doing our first gig at The Mascotte in Zürich, Switzerland. Plus on May 21 2022 we are opening up for the Scorpions in Zurich.”
Tell us about your relationship with the Scorpions over the years
“Scorpions and I go back to the days when they produced some of their early works from the days of Rock You Like a Hurricane with Dieter Dierks in Cologne Germany.
In those days I was in the band Tea. Dieter signed Tea up as a kind of experimental guinea pig to use his new gadgets and effects and so on. It was a great experience and it was like my first step into the professional world of music. We opened for the Scorpions and I also opened for them in Krokus a couple of times.”
Is the Krokus farewell Tour really the end ?
“Apparently it’s quite serious with Krokus actually with some members anyway. I’m not one of those and I think Chris von Rohr isn’t one of them either. We owe the other side of the pond a tour. We also have to do Mexico and Canada, I hope we can do it, Now that I have been working on my solo stuff I’m going to do a load of gigs here and the USA is calling for me for a few gigs as well. So if i don’t come over with Krokus I am going to be over by myself maybe by next Autumn. Hopefully then Krokus will follow suit in 2023. It would be nice. “
What stage are you at on the upcoming Marc Storace Documentary
“I got this documentary I am working on which is so far behind unfortunately due to Covid. The idea was to follow my old footsteps, Malta then London (Easy Money band) and the bands I was in and then come to Switzerland , then TEA, the Krokus thing tell some stories and have some guests and so on. This is where we are at right now. We had a release date but it changed because of Covid and got pushed out. In the meantime the director got involved with my solo project and he already did the first trailer with the intro of the song ‘Live and let live’ on it and a couple of days ago we shot the first video for the solo album. Which is a video of the song Live and let Live. “
Possibility of Krokus putting out a new album?
“I love doing the studio stuff but I don’t know who knows what is going to happen. One thing is for sure is Fernando von Arb will not and cannot take the flight over the big pond he doesn’t want to do the big tour thing. At the most he will do the short flights we have in Europe or take the train. he loves playing, he loves going on stage.”
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 