Interview with Ross the Boss

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing the one and only Ross the Boss. Well known thanks to his time in Manowar, Ross is currently playing with the epic power metal act Death Dealer. Their full-length debut album, "War Master", was just recently released and you can read my review of it at the bottom of this page. I want to thank Ross for taking the time to do this interview with Heavy Metal Time Machine as this talented guitarist does lead a very busy life!
Andy-You've had such a long and fruitful career in metal Ross. Can you tell us how you first got your feet wet as a musician?

Ross-Well I started playing piano when I was 7 then unfortunately switched to violin when I was 11. By the time I turned 13 RnR and the ladies were calling me so that put me on the path I'm still on.
 
Andy-I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times over, but I've always wondered how did you get your nickname?

Ross-My nickname ?? Well, I can tell you I don't like it, but its more to do with me playing baseball than music! hahahahaha
 
Andy-You've seemingly done it all Ross, from playing in a punk band (which I fondly remember discovering as a teenager!) to having been a founding member of one of the greatest epic heavy metal bands of all times! Are there any moments that stand out more then others?

Ross-Good question. I'll tell you what really stands out is the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that had to occur if anything was to succeed . There was a lot of sacrifice that went down in the early days of The Dictators and Manowar, but now I look back and its very satisfying .
 
Andy-While your life almost reads like a bucket list for many are there any regrets for you? Is there anything that you never got around to that you wish you had?

Ross-Regrets? Yes. What comes to mind is the insanity of me being asked to leave Manowar weeks before the release of "Kings of Metal". We were really a good band on the brink of greatness. The following tour would have been amazing! I could imagine a live CD OMG, but alas it wasn't meant to be...oh well.
 
Andy-Your new band Death Dealer features a whose who of heavy metal veterans. From a time standpoint was it difficult to get everyone together to record "War Master"?

Ross-Actually forming DeathDealer  was very easy. With Sean , Stu, Mike and Kenny on board it was a no brainer!
 
Andy-Both you and Rhino played in Manowar, but not at the same time. How did it come about that the two of you played together on this project?

Ross-Well, as I said, when Sean told me Rhino was on board I jumped for the opportunity to be in DD, but I would have joined on the strength of our music which is the most important reason.
 
Andy-Are there plans to make this a long-term project?

Ross-DeathDealer is the band that all of us want to be in. I can tell you we are here for the long run. This is not a "project". No way!!
 
Andy-Will the band be able to tour behind this album or is that just way too impossible with every one's schedule?

Ross-Touring for DeathDealer ?? Hahahaha! Absolutely, as I said DD is our band. We will be a touring juggernaut! 

Andy-I'll leave you with the last word. Anything else you'd like to add or say to your fans Ross?

Ross- I salute my fans and hope to see everyone real soon. Spread the word DEATHDEALER!!! Thank you.

http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Death+Dealer-War+Master 

Death Dealer-War Master

Self-Release/Independent
2013

How's this for a line-up? You've got Sean Peck (Cage, Empires of Eden) on vocals, Ross the Boss (ex-Manowar, Dictators, Shakin' Street, Manitoba, etc.) and Stu Marshall (Empire Of Eden, Paindivision, Saint Lucifer, etc) on guitars, Mike Davis (Lizzy Borden, Halford, Angel Rot, etc) on bass and Rhino (Manowar, Angels Of Babylon, Jack Starr's Burning Starr and tons more!) on drums! If that's not the very definition of a "super-group" then I'm not sure what is! But, the key question arises then. Does it live up to such a lofty billing? Well, let's delve into the matter at hand and see. First things first though. It is worth mentioning that Ross The Boss (who really should need introduction if you call yourself any kind of heavy metal fan!) and Rhino both played in Manowar, but neither of them at the played at the same time. So, it's more then a little interesting that they both found there way into Death Dealer right? And since you do have two former members of Manowar that means that it is more then likely you'll pick up on some of that epic metal on "War Master". Well, at least I did. Honestly, right from the word "GO" I was envisioning this Manowar meets Judas Priest power metal group. That last part has everything to do with the lead vocals of Sean Peck. On "War Master" he pulls off a fairly decent impression of Rob Halford. While it's not on every track (as he does have more of an original lead of pipes on him when he tries) it was more then enough to give me visions of the legendary front-man of Judas Priest. Moving on our way we find a backing-band of musicians that is probably as good as you'll ever get. The familiar sound of Ross The Boss can be picked up fairly easily which is always a good thing! Meaning the other pieces fall easily into place with everyone playing their part with professionalism and enthusiasm being two key words. And indeed this is both a profession sounding recording and an enthusiastic bunch of musicians so that should be all it takes to make this one killer album. Well, yes and no. As I played this album I found myself being fully charmed by epic power metal with more then enough muscle and technical wizardly to keep my attention focused on the matter at hand. As each new track opened I was further pulled in to what was some fantastic metal. Or at least through the first three tracks. For whatever reason tracks number four ("Children of Flames") and ("Curse of the Heretic") put a halt to any enjoyment I was having with "War Master". With "Children Of Flames" the band goes for more of a U.S. power metal sound, but it just never reaches it's full potential. I give them credit for trying, but it left me wanting more. With "Curse of the Heretic" I really dug about 70% of the song. How? Well, the music on hand tries to be a steamrolling Judas Priest on speed and for most of the track that does work. Unfortunately I couldn't past what was some "talk-singing" taking place behind the music. It just ruined for me what could have been this insane number! Thank the metal gods then that the next track, "Hammer Down", really kicks some serious ass! It's more then enough spunk that you're pulled back into "War Master" and for the remainder of the album you soak up some killer power metal from a band that (hopefully) proves to be more then just a side-project. With 8 tracks out of 10 hitting all the right notes (or at the very least enough nice notes that this album would warrant repeated listens) this is the kind of debut-album you want for a group like this. So, hopefully they keep at it as there is always an audience for epic power metal like this!