Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush at Le Petit Campus Montreal, Quebec, Canada on July 15 2018. Bush Spoke about the upcoming Studio album by ARMORED SAINT, the current tour, his contribution to the second upcoming Metal Allegiance album and the possibility of touring playing Anthrax songs from his era with the band.
Watch the interview here:
When asked about the musical direction of the song he sang on the new upcoming Metal Allegiance Album called Volume 2 Power Drunk Majesty
“It’s cool it’s heavy it’s kind of like sounds old school but has a new school vibe to it. Cool riff it almost has a little Anthrax feel to it. It’s powerful some cool lyrics that Mark Menghi wrote about a Vietnam vet.”
When asked about Armored’s Saints Plans and time line on new Album.
“There is certainly a lot to write about, the way I usually write lyrics that are not about one particular topic. The songs I write have three different meanings running through them. I kind of feel if I am writing about a subject that is about a current time period, then it takes it away from being timeless. So I use metaphors and sometimes puns so there are double meanings. We have demoed five songs for the new album so far. I would like to get a new album out by the later part of 2019.”
When asked about the possibility of him touring the Anthrax songs he sang on
“The agent we have has been bugging me about doing this and I finally said I am open minded to doing. I am interested in doing some dates here and some dates there not a full 6 month tour. I have a few artists for this band, guitarist Paul Crook who was part of the recording of two of the Anthrax records (Vol 8 the threat is real, Stomp 442) I did. We shall see I am open to it.”
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently interviewed current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio) who called in from his hotel room on a headlining tour with Foreigner in North America.
Watch the interview here:
When asked about his legendary answering machine messages
“Actually there was a bootleg a long time ago of my answering machine messages. There was a period, especially in the 90’s when I would just make these epic answering machine messages and I sort of got known for it, so then I felt obligated to continue. One time I did Pilsonian Rhapsody, I actually did, Bohemian Rhapsody done to an answering machine message. I went crazy with all the voices and music. I did the Batman theme, but of course I said PIL-SON instead of Bat-man and again played all the instruments. If you can ever hear the bootleg there are some pretty hysterical stuff.”
When asked which of the three bands Dio Foreigner and Dokken he is most proud of
“It would be Dio because there was a connection about Dio. It was the most heaviest powerful band I had been in and I took what I learn in Dio and brought in back to Dokken later on. I would say Dio but I am really proud of Foreigner. Foreigner is on a headlining tour now and we worked our asses off to get back here of course we have Mick Jones great songs but we had to work our way back”.
When asked if Foreigner will be writing a new studio album
“I don’t see us do a whole record of new material like we did in 2009 that was a tough situation for us because we are on the road so much that it was really tough for us to come up with a whole record of new material, it was a lot of work and a lot of stress. I don’t really see that happening again. What I do see happening is what we had done on the last couple of years is that we will put out a new song here and there maybe include it in some package. I see us going recording of new songs but not full albums.”
When asked if Foreigner is still Foreigner without Mick Jones can the band exist without Mick
“It’s a fair question but I will ask anybody who asks that have you seen the band live. When Mick is not there, it’s still very much Foreigner. It’s sanctioned by Mick. I understand how people feel about original members but with Foreigner it’s really about the songs. Lou Gramm was one of the greatest rock voices ever and it’s not taking away from Lou it’s actually flattering Lou that his performances were so universal that we can carry on and do those songs even when he is not there, so we can also do those songs when Mick is not there. The only way it could exist without him being there is if he passed away because he will always be connected to Foreigner. Even if Mick Passed away the legacy of the music is so strong to me yes Foreigner could exit but I don’t anticipate it existing without Mick in some way or form.”
When asked if there are any unreleased Dio Songs?
“As far as me having it no, as far as being unreleased material yes there is. There is actually a fair amount of unheard material. There is talks and they are in the works of someday the music seeing the light of day. In order for it to be releasable there would have to be things done to it . Yes there is Ronnie on songs that people have not heard does exists.
However I do remember playing Ronnie a riff and us starting to work on a song and I believe the riff is going to surface on the upcoming Dio Disciples record.”
When asked if there will be a new studio album and a US tour by the classic Dokken lineup
“The reunited Dokken gets offers all the time and we talk about most of them, we are all on speaking terms and we get along fine. It’s down to opportunity. I think all of us have somewhere in us where we would like to do perhaps one final studio record together. So I see that as a distinct possibility somewhere down the line but as a whole US tour the problem is kind of obvious it’s our scheduling. Maybe someday some limited shows, its not impossible and I think a recording is possible but it’s kind of first things first. The last time we talked about a recording Don was starting to work on his Dokken album, fair enough, there is no hurry. Maybe some day but nothing in the books right now.”
When asked who much truth there was to the bickering and hatred of Don Dokken and George Lynch
“It was a drastically over hyped version that something that is essentially true. The two of them get along pretty good now but there was a time in the early days they didn’t get along great. What really blew it all up is when we were doing publicity for the Tooth and Nail record we had a publicist who wanted to come up with a publicity angle that would really help sell the band. So what they centered in after talking with everybody was wow Don and George don’t like each other and that just exploded and it became the media hook that got stuck with the band and then it became a self fulfilling prophecy and then it became our worst enemy. Did George like the fact that the band was called Dokken, of course he didn’t like that he just wanted to have a regular band name. ”
When asked when he joined the band was he an equal partner in Dokken
“It was equal right from the beginning and that was the brain child of our managers Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch and they new about the personalities of the band and the name so right from the start it was an equal split except for Breaking the Chains album cause I wasn’t on it but they gave me a little piece of it. Don and George also encouraged me to write and to be a participant right from the beginning. ”
When asked how the whole band fell apart after Back for the Attack Album
“It was our personalities exaggerated by drugs.”
When asked about him producing the new Last in Line album and a timeline on it’s completion
“Right now they are talking about January 2019 as a release date, the record is not completely done recorded.”
When asked about his memories of the late Vinnie Paul from Pantera
“I didn’t know him well, actually Pantera opened for Dokken on our very first tour, Pantera they were really sweet to us, they were just starting out. My memory of Vinnie was that he always brought fun with him, he was a very nice man. There were some strip club trips in the 90’s , he was always up for a good time. I hope he rests in peace.”
When asked about his new band/ project and new album project with George Lynch, Robert Mason (Warrant) and Mick Brown
“That record is actually done although it’s going to come out until April 2019 it is phenomenal, it’s a very inspired piece of work. We have a new band name but we are not announcing it yet. George is playing his ass off on it. The music is very natural to what we are there is a bit of Dokken in there, there is a bit of Lynch Mob in there, it’s kind of that direction although it gets a little deeper, we got pretty musical and deep on this record. We are trying our best to do a couple of live shows at some point. The whole record is recorded and done it’s being mixed right now to be released April 2019.”
For The Metal Voice former singer of Anthrax, Neil Turbin was at the Los Angeles Strikefest at the Regent Theater on June 23 interviewing NIGHT DEMON, Canadian Thrashers RAZOR and reuniting with former touring Canada’s EXCITER after 35 years who used to tour with Anthrax in their Turbin era.
Watch the interviews here:
EXCITER When asked Exciter about their upcoming studio album(note-Exciter and Neil Turbin with Anthrax toured together in 1983 and haven’t seen each other in 35 years)
“We are in pre-production of the new album and we are just writing the tail end of it.” – Dan Beehler
“There are so many ideas we talk all the time, we bounce ideas off each other, we are constantly throwing ideas at each other, we just want to make sure it;s a great album.”- Allan Johnson
“The upcoming album has got to match the first three Exciter albums and we don’t want to rush it.” – Dan Beehler
When asked about reuniting the original lineup after so many years
“We started to realize all around the world so many happy Exciter fans and that it was way bigger than the three of us. Exciter has made so many people happy in the past couple of years a lot of people didn’t think it was going to happen, including us. We are having a great time meeting everyone everywhere we go, coming back after 30 years it was like it was yesterday.” – Dan Beehler
“Dan is the guy who dragged me in. I didn’t do anything music wise in the 90’s, Heavy Metal to me kind of died out back then. In 2002 I met up with Dan and he played me his Beehler demos and I was blown away, I said this is the best stuff you have done and I want in. I was telling John Ricci (Guitarist) it’s more fun now then it was in the 80’s. We are really having fun. Who gets to do this? There is no ego, everything is so cool now. ” – Allan Johnson
RAZOR When asked guitarist Dave Carlo of Razor about their upcoming Studio Album
“Music is done, the lyrics are in progress, the recording is going to take place in October 2018 and we have a couple of guests that are going to be on our album. I can’t say who they are right now but they are big surprises that are going to appear on bonus tracks. To get the guest we needed to adjust to their schedule. It’s not going to really affect the timeline, the new Razor record should be out early 2019. The album is going to be relentless and well executed metal.”
NIGHT DEMON When asked Jarvis Leatherby about any news on the next Night Demon album
“Space and Time can be the concept. All of our albums have started out as concept albums, we have always had an underlining theme I am just obsessed with concept albums. There are so many concepts we have tried to do in the past but I don’t know if its a financial reason or just having the time but they have never really been seen through 100%. We don’t have a time frame for the next studio album and it sucks. I do have working titles for the next album but I can’t even talk about it. We have a song called SHIT SHOW but it’s a working title. “
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke with Greek Guitarist Gus G (Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne). Gus G spoke about trying to make it in music business in Greece, his audition and contributions in his time with Ozzy Osbourne and his new album “Fearless”, which was released April 20 via AFM Records.
Watch the interview here:
When asked about his audition with Ozzy after the departure of Zakk Wylde
“I ended up being a touring guitarist for Arch Enemy, so there I was at Ozzy Fest with Maiden and Sabbath my first big American tour. What happened that summer there was an announcement that Ozzy was parting ways with Zakk Wylde and he was looking for a guitar player. So I popped in the production office on one of those days on the tour and I just left a Firewind CD on the desk and I said hey I’m on the second stage with Arch Enemy and I heard you were looking for a guitar player. But nothing came out of it and I didn’t hear anything because Zakk continued with Ozzy they made another record Black Rain. Fast forward into 2009 I was having a little bit of success with Firewind. I got an email from Sharon’s Management and they asked me to audition for Ozzy. It was crazy I couldn’t sleep for 3 days I couldn’t believe it . At that point I was thinking I didn’t really expect anything would come out of it. I didn’t think of myself being that good for the band and for the part of guitarist for Ozzy. I thought if anything else it will be a thing to remember for life, that will be a story to tell. I got nothing to lose.”
When asked what songs he played during the audition for Ozzy
“We played ‘Bark at the Moon’, ‘I don’t know’, ‘Suicide Solution’, ‘Paranoid’, ‘I don’t want to change the world’. Five or six songs. Ozzy looked impressed right from the get go, I guess somebody showed him some video of me before and it was like this is the guy! Ozzy even told me before the audition don’t have any stress I saw some videos of you and I have a really good feeling about this so if you make mistakes don’t worry about it . The audition went well.”
When asked what was Ozzy reaction after the audition
“Ozzy turned around and said you are fuckin great and his people went into a room and they chatted for a few minutes and came out and asked me if I wanted to come back and play a gig. They never said anything after that gig they seemed to be pretty pleased. Then I did another gig, after that Ozzy invited me to his house to listen to some of the new material on Scream, I ended up staying for a few days and played some solos, it was a little bit of a trial period Then I went back home and didn’t hear anything for about a month and then I got an email from Sharon asking me to come back to play on the whole album to play all the guitars. “
When asked if he was allowed to contribute to the Scream recordings?
“They had already done the record, they were already happy with the songs. It’s wasn’t a situation where we were going to go in and rewrite the whole thing. There is two ways about this you can try and stand up and say I would like to bring in my songs and they can either listen to you or like go home we will get somebody else. That was not the gig not the requirement. “
When asked if he wrote any material after Scream for a new album for Ozzy
“I wrote a lot of ideas preparing for a possible next album. At some point Ozzy even texted me and asked me to send him a bunch of riffs, think I submitted like ideas for 12 or 13 songs. Nothing came out of that. We even wrote a couple of songs together on the road on the Scream tour. Actually one of them I ended up using on my new solo album Fearless, it’s called Don’t Trend on me. Not with his lyrics or melodies.”
When asked about his new albums ‘Fearless’ musical vibe
“Just a good hard rock metal songs. Taking what I have already started on the first two solo albums and taking it further and making it sound like a band effort rather than an experimental record. Because that is what the first two records were. But this time I had a solid co-writer/ producer Denis Ward. It sounds more cohesive compared to the first two records. My style fits into the whole 80’s scene. When I say 80’s I don’t mean Hair metal and Sleaze rock. I mean the classic 80’s metal , you can hear those influences all over the record.”
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to vocalist Eric AK Knutson and guitarist Michael Gilbert from FLOTSAM & JETSAM. The two spoke about the making of their new upcoming studio album The End of Chaos, The music industry today, Cookie Monster vocals and Thrash Music today.
Watch the interview here:
When asked about the musical direction of the new upcoming studio album The End of Chaos
Eric- “This sounds like a little more up to date, extension of the last album. There is a little bit of everything on it. There is a lot of vocals and there is so much guitar work on this record, it’s kind of nice, as the riffs runs in and out of the melodies. ”
Michael-” Yeah there is a lot of guitar me and Steve Conley (guitarist) battle it out. Steve records his stuff at his house and I record at my house and there is a little bit of a competition to try and match what each other is trying to do. It’s a little bit of a competition, we push each other. I also can’t wait for everyone to hear what AK did on this album it’s frigin badass.”
When asked if the lyrical ideas on the New album will include any political overtones
Eric- “There are a lot of little stabs at things. Nothing really direct or particular about anything but if you are a Trump hater you can find stuff in there, if you are a Trump lover you can find stuff in there. There are little stabs with all kinds of political stuff in their but nothing about what we believe in, it’s all open to interpretation. A lot of times the band sends me a song with a title and sometimes I run with that title other times I don’t. I like to have full songs written so I can hear melodies in my head. Once the vocal melody is there then that stars sparking the lyrical ideas for me.”
When asked how many song ideas did they originally have for the new album
Michael- “I think Steve had maybe 25 ideas and I think I had 27 and we kept sending Ideas to Eric.”
When asked about more details about the new album
Eric- “The new album will be released November 9 2018, there are a lot of singles on this record, were still fighting over song order. We are putting 12 songs on the record, 13 on the box set and one more for Japan. So there is 14 good tunes that we really nailed down.”
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to Shock Rocker Lizzy Borden about his new album My Midnight Things (Metal Blade Records), his appearance and thoughts on in the 80’s documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization part 2 The Metal Years”, his 11 year gap in making a studio album and if he regards himself as a solo artist or a band?
Watch the interview here:
When asked about the musical and lyrical direction of his New album ‘My Midnight things’
“Every album has been different and I go out of my way to do that, this album is no exception. All my albums are theme albums and on this album’s theme I wanted to talk about love but I wanted to dig down deep and find anything that hasn’t been done yet to death. I found a lot of cool ideas like the song ‘Long May They Haunt Us’. That is about the people that are no longer in your lives but you think about them everyday, they are haunting you but you don’t want that haunt to go away. Also a song like ‘Obsessed With You’ that obviously a whole different kind of love. All the songs on the album kind of fit together under the umbrella of Love but there is also a multi-layered individually lyrical component to each song. Musically I went out to write good songs and I didn’t want to showcase musicians, I just wanted to write good songs and that was my whole goal on this album. ”
When asked about his influence to include multi-layers of vocals on the album
“Queen predominately. I grew up on Queen and I just loved the harmonies. I have done similar harmonies on the last four records. For this album I knew the vocals would be the star of the show and I wanted to have different personalities within each harmony so I had to work to try find somethings in my voice that it would almost seem like it would be a different person singing that part of the song. ”
When asked why it took him 11 years to record a new studio album
“I had to wait for the music industry to change. When I released the last two albums, they got released and they didn’t really find the target audience because there was no marketing no nothing so it didn’t make any sense to keep trying to record albums and try to find the audience, I wanted the audience to find my album but it wasn’t happening cause there was no structure because of the collapse of the music industry. The music industry has been crawling back to life and Metal Blade had figured out a way to use social media to be successful. Metal Blade is more successful now then they have ever been and Brian Slagel talked me into making records again. So I signed a three album deal, there will be two more album if not more.”
When asked about how he feels today about his participation in the 80’s documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2 the Metal Years
“When we did the movie Lizzy Borden was a huge part of it, about 25% of the movie was going to be Lizzy Borden and then they started getting Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and a lot of big names so our section got reduced. Director Penelope Spheeris then took a different direction with the movie and started focusing on the people that were all in and delusional. I look back and I thought the move was going to be a celebration of that time but it turned out to be a dark look that time. Which was cool. I know when I go to Europe all the kids love that movie and they don’t see it as a dark film of delusional people, they look at it as a celebration.”
When asked if Lizzy Borden is a band or a solo artist?
“We never were never a band, every album I had a different line-up. I have always done everything, it’s never been a democracy. Sometimes I market the band as a band because I think I have a line-up that I think is going to work but it usually doesn’t so then I go back to marketing myself as a solo artist. In reality I have always been a solo artist.”
My Midnight Things to be released on June 15 2018 on Metal Blade Records.
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