Interview with Emerald Rage's Jacob Wherley

Emerald Rage is a heavy/power metal band from Akron, Ohio. Not that long ago I covered the band's latest single, "Wrathful Eyes". You can check out my review of the song by heading here. Now it is my pleasure to present this interview that I recently conducted with band member Jacob Wherley (vocals/guitars). Enjoy!

Andy- Could you please introduce your band and give us a brief history of how you came together.

Jacob- Emerald Rage actually started out as a strictly viking/folk metal band around summer of 2016. You know your bands like Tyr, Ensiferum, and Bathory. We had almost a complete lineup as we were missing another guitarist. I figured I might as well put out an ad online thinking I'd get nothing due to the lack of attention those bands get here in the United States. Patrick responded to it sending material he had made already and I was just astonished that someone else in the area actually listened to that stuff. Tyson and Josh were not in the band yet either. Patrick knew Josh from some classes the two both took at Kent State and he soon fit in perfectly. I met Tyson through a website for finding band members. He initially joined on bass before Josh came into Emerald Rage, but with complications with our former drummer, we found he had a great talent behind the kit and was enthusiastic to play drums. We finally stabilized our current lineup around October of 2017 and have been making lots of progress since.

Andy-What made you decide to call your band Emerald Rage?

Jacob-My dad actually played in a band called Emerald Rage in college. It was a cover band that only played two shows for fun and a little beer money haha. I tried coming up with names although I didn't have much luck. I thought the name gave a good representation of us as if you were to say 'Emerald Rage' you could either envision a power metal band from Germany, a traditional metal band from England, or a classic foot-stomping heavy rock band like Thin Lizzy. Of course, all these types of sounds are huge inspirations you hear and will hear in material to come.

Andy-Your sound pulls from a few different genres of metal. Is that the result of individual tastes or just one person's vision?

Jacob-It's a collective sound. We have plenty of different styles from hard rock to black metal and everything in between. What's great about our band members is that we all have a common ground, and also our own tastes that we contribute. For instance, our bassist Josh is a HUGE punk rock fan, I myself am the reason for the power metal sound, Tyson, for the thrash, and Patrick for the black/folk metal style. On top of that, we each have a large variety of sounds we share like Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, etc. it's just a great combination because we always have more ideas. In fact, the next demo you'll be hearing soon draws more influences from bands such as Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, and UFO.

Andy-As a follow-up to the previous question, what are some of your influences?

Jacob-If you had to narrow it down to five bands, I'd say Sabaton, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, and Helloween. You of course hear the classic metal sound of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Saxon there. But there's tons of scenes over the years that grabbed our attention. Aside from the NWOBHM and Bay Area scene that's a common feature in many American metal bands, we have a huge inspiration from the German speed metal scene with bands such as Running Wild, Blind Guardian, Kreator, Sodom, and as I mentioned earlier, Helloween. The Swedish melodic metal scene has also played a crucial role in our sound as well. HammerFall, Sabaton, Amon Amarth, just to name a few have been of influence at some point.

Andy-Who is responsible for writing song lyrics?

Jacob-Our guitarist Patrick is usually the one who creates the lyrics. Every now and then I contribute a few lines.

Andy-You mentioned another demo. What can your fans expect from it?

Jacob-Well our envision as a band has always been to expect anything from Led Zeppelin to Slayer. This will be a bit more on the bluesy side of Emerald Rage. Our fans should anticipate a bit of a reference to Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, and Motorhead, with a kick of melody.

Andy- In the past few months Emerald Rage has released two singles and a demo. That is an impressive body of work for such a short stretch. Do you guys have easy access to a studio?

Jacob-Our guitarist Patrick has a quite impressive rig when it comes to his recording equipment. We've actually never been to a professional studio as a band and we use his equipment to record all of our work. He has access to quite a bit which gives a really solid sound!

Andy-Who are some of the bands that you’ve shared the stage with?

Jacob-Aeraco, hard rock/heavy metal band out of Chicago. Definitely one of our favorites so far. Great group of guys and amazing tunes! Radiatrix is another one, M102, Half Raised Heathens, and Stone Wicked Souls.

Andy-Prior to our conversation here we talked about you performing covers and then how you planned to play all original material moving forward. What are some of the bands that you’ve covered and then how many original songs have you guys written so far?

Jacob-We have covered Metallica, Judas Priest, Sabaton, and surprisingly to most, The Misfits! We have around 20-25 originals written but not fully complete. As of now, we can perform around 5 to 6 originals and that number will likely move up in the up and coming weeks.

Andy-You have some local shows booked for the next couple of months. Care to share that information with our readers?

Jacob-Absolutely. We have a show March 17th, in Akron, Ohio at the Empire Concert Club. April 14th at Bullshooters in Ashland, Ohio. April 17th at the Outpost in Kent, Ohio, and a Cleveland show on May 26th is likely but I cannot say for sure as of now.

Andy- How can our readers reach you?

Jacob-We are on Facebook, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Reverbnation, and we also have an email at emeraldrageband@gmail.com. Fans and readers can reach out any time they'd like!

Andy-Excellent! I just want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. As we close things out is there anything that we didn't talk about that you would like to mention? Any final thoughts or comments? The microphone is all yours...

Jacob-Thank you for asking us for the interview! As for closing out, I hope your readers take time to listen to our music and even better come out to see us live! We always love to put on a great show... If you're looking for your next talented big name band, I hope you see it in us!

Kings Will Fall Interview

Kings Will Fall is a thrash n' death metal from Italy. Earlier this month I covered the band's new album, "Thrash Force.One". It is now my pleasure to present this short interview that I did with the group.



Andy-Could you please introduce yourselves and tell our listeners how the band came about?

Fabian-Kings Will Fall is Luk on the drums, Rene on the guitar, Vance on the bass and me, Fabian on the vocals..at the very beginning Luk and Vance jammed together. Soon enough Rene joined in.  I was the last member to join. I got in touch with the guys by responding to a Facebook announcement.


Andy-How did you decide on your band name?

Fabian-There were many thoughts as far as choosing the band name. We decided to take this one because it sounded right and it fits really well with our style.

Andy-I completely agree. It's a fitting name for a band like yours."Thrash Force. One" is a dynamite debut album. What was it like recording it? Did you expect it to turn out as well as it did?

Fabian-First of all thank you for the term. We did not have a clue how it would turn out at all. There were just some common guys that wanted to record an album for the love of music.. we took our time, step by step. The sound engineer did a fantastic job. It was a great experience.


Andy-Yes, the end result speaks for itself. Your style of thrash n' death is fresh and exciting. Does the sound come from everyone's personal influences?

Fabian- I think we're all bound by the love of oldschool thrash metal. That is what unites us. The individual tastes of everyone is different. Surely we all add a personal note to the music.

Andy-You included a Motörhead cover on your album. Do you play any other cover songs live?

Fabian-No we don't. This one is unique. It is driven by the love of this musical hero. From the beginning it was clear to us, if Lemmy passes away (we never believed), we have to do a cover in honor to this great personality.

Andy-He truly was great. There will never be another Lemmy. As an outsider looking in, Italy seems to have a growing heavy metal/thrash scene. Everyday it seems as if another one just pops up from out of nowhere. Does that make it easier or harder for your band as far as the competition goes?

Fabian-It's just a good sign if there are so many bands in the metal genre. It shows that the love of real music is not dead yet. In the local scene we are just one of a very few thrash bands. But competition would be good for business.

Andy-As a follow-up to that question, are there a lot of clubs and/or venues available to play at in your neck of the woods?

Fabian-There are a few. It's hard for live music clubs nowadays, but hopefully they will rise again...

Andy-What has been the reaction to your new disc?

Fabian-The reactions are great. There are a lot of good reviews that we have got from all over the world.

Andy-Do you have a lot of shows booked for 2018? If so would you like to promote any of them here?

Fabian-Some are already fixed. One is a special one, on the 3rd of February. The Inquisition Metalfest is a indoor festival which is organized by our band. This will be 4th time in a row.

Daniel (bass)-There are plans to make a mini European tour in November. Northern Italy, South France and Spain are the countries we plan to visit.

Andy-Cool. I wish you guys all the best for the tour. How can fans pick up a copy of your new album?

Daniel-They can contact us personally on Facebook or anywhere else. Or simply visit our bandcamp site (here) to get a physical or digital copy. You can also pick up other with merchandise there. Otherwise you can find it digitally on all the common sites like amazon, iTunes, spotify and so on.

Andy-Excellent! Now, I like to close interviews by letting the artists have the last say. Is there anything that we didn't touch up that you would like to mention?

Daniel-I would like to thank everyone who is reading this. Thanks to all of you for your support. Visit our social media channels, leave some likes, comments and listen to Thrash Metal, as it will never die.
Thrash on \m/

Interview with Running Death's Simon Bihlmayer

Running Death is a powerful thrash metal band from Germany. Last week I covered the group's new album which is entitled "DressAge". Now it is my extreme pleasure to present this follow-up interview that I conducted with guitarist/vocalist Simon Bihlmayer. To read my review of "DressAge" just click on the following link.

Andy-It's been a longtime since we last talked. How are things for you guys?

Simon-Hi Andy! Thank you that we are able to make this interview with you! Now it`s an exciting time for us because of the feedback of our new album! Thank you very much for your review! It made us proud to read that! Apart from this all is perfect! We have fun to play music, we love it to hang out together! A really great feeling in this line up!

Andy-Your new album is something else Simon! Was this a group project or do you have one or two main songwriters?

Simon-Most of the songs Jakob (the drummer) and I wrote together. I came with a guitar riff, Jakob made a beat to it. Then we thought how the song could go on. We jammed till we found it out! Then sometimes Jakob would send me voices (lalalala) via handy, and than we had a good refrain for a song! Sometimes it was so easy and then some songs we got more grey hairs! We are a good team. We have been writing songs together for 12 or 13 years now and the most important thing is we want to create the same music! It`s hard if the two main-songwriters have different aims in the music! But it's not always 100 %  just the two of us.
For example Dani contributed to song "Beneath the Surface" and our ex-bass player Max wrote a riff for "Heroes of the Hour"! Our new bass player Andrej joined the band when the songwriting process for "DressAge" was nearly over. But we will write new songs again and he has amazing ideas! I`m really looking forward to write the next album with all four of us involved!


Andy-What was the recording process like? Are you all pros at this by now or do you learn something new every time you set foot in a new studio?

Simon-I say to you, Jakob is a Pro! He nailed the drums in a day and a half! That includes building the drum set up and then taking it down! Every time we learn new things and after every production we hear things that we could use to make things better next time. That`s normal I think. But it was good! We practiced a lot before we entered the studio and our producer Sebastian Moser (Grotesque Studios) did an amazing job! So, with all of that in place we couldn't make many mistakes! 

Andy-Well, I don't hear any mistakes on your new release! "DressAge" is a interesting album title. Is there a story behind that?

Simon-That`s easy to answer! Look at the cover artwork and you will see what we mean!  I wrote that title  because I wanted the reader to have a look at the cover. Sorry!

Andy-That's cool. I get it. Have you played any of the album's new songs live? If so what has the reaction been like?

Simon-Yes. One time we played "Courageous Minds" and "Heroes of the Hour" and the people liked what they heard! The next gigs that we play at we are very excited about the feedback of the crowd! I think some people will love it, and for some it is too melodic. Because many people just want to hear uffdauffdauffda and shouts.

Andy-Yes, I can see that. No matter what you can't please everyone.  Are you planning any kind of tour for this album?

Simon-We will play some gigs this year, but not really a tour. It`s hard to organize that for a band which is not as well known like we are. Maybe we can get support-slots of a tour? Unfortunately we don`t shit money!

Andy-That's a problem that I share with you Simon! LOL! Where will our readers be able to buy the release?

Simon-Ooh, good question Andy! Normally at Amazon, different online shops and record stores. We have distribution nearly all around the globe. Please, buy directly from us if you can! We see 0% of all other sells! You can write us via Facebook or you can send a email to me (sbihlmayer@gmail.com). You can also buy it on our Bandcamp page (link)! We made a Limited Edition (300 pieces) version with tray card and a poster and we normally are the cheapest provider!

Andy-That's for letting our readers know about the situation. What would to you like to say to all of your fans Simon?

Simon-Everyone who listens to Running Death has the best taste in music which is possible to have :-)
It is awesome for us that you listen to it! And don't be shy about contacting us! We like it very much to hear which song is the one you like the most and how the heavy-metal scene in your area is doing. Maybe there is a chance to find a gig there for us? 

Andy-Thanks for your time Simon. Where can our readers find out more about Running Death and do you have any final words?

Simon-Thank you Andy! At Facebook you can see about our live activities and read other news (link)
You can stream or buy our music at bandcamp. Also, over on YouTube there is a video for our song "Courageous Minds". It is one of the songs from our new album "DressAge".

 Andy-Awesome!

Open Burn Interview

Open Burn is a up-and-coming heavy/power metal band that has been active since 2015. The group is compromised of Eric W. Johns (vocals), Dell Hull (guitars), Glen Cook (bass), and drummer Jerry Hartman. On April 25th I covered the band's (highly-recommended!) debut EP (link) and now it is my pleasure to present this follow-up interview. I would like to thank the members of Open Burn for taking time out of their busy schedules to sit and talk with us today.

Andy-Open Burn is a new band with some familiar faces. Would you mind telling us how it all came about?

Jerry-Dell, Eric and I all hooked up at a outdoor Bar-B-Q. We were drinking and enjoying some live music when we tossed the idea around of jamming together. The rest is the outcome of that evening.

Glen-The other guys hooked up and had written most of what is on the EP before I joined in to record.

Andy- How did you get hooked up with vocalist Eric Johns?

Glen-Eric and I had been in a band together for several years when he happened to meet up with Dell and Jerry and started what was to become Open Burn.

Jerry-Eric has been a part of the local music seen here in the Cincinnati area for a long time and we run around with a lot of the same friends. We all had time and decided it was a good idea to get together and write some tunes.

Andy-Your debut EP came out in late January. How has the response been from everyone?

Glen-So far the response has been very positive. Lethal fans have been supportive and it seems a lot of other people like the music as well.Jerry: For me it's been very well received. New and old fans, friends and family all enjoy the new material.

Dell-Yes, it has been pretty well received so far and we have really only had a very limited reach to this point. Like Glen and Jerry said, not only are we getting a good response from Lethal fans but we also seem to be gaining new fans as well, particularly in Europe.

Andy-The CD version of your new EP is all sold out. Do you have any plans to print up more copies of it?

Dell-That is actually in the works. For now we are doing another reprint of the same disc format but are considering a few options for having the CD reprinted on a wider scale with jewel case, an additional booklet, lyrics, etc.. If that happens we will discontinue the original disc once they are all sold. Unfortunately there was an issue with the printers on the reprint or it would have already been on sale by now.

Andy-Has Open Burn played out at all since forming?

Glen-We had planned to play some shows this spring but life sets the agenda so that has not happened yet. We are looking forward to hitting the stage soon.

Dell-Hopefully soon! We are mainly focusing on writing new material and getting our debut EP out there but we would love to play live as soon.

Andy-When you do play live will you be performing only original compositions or will you throw in a cover or two?

Glen-I've never been very interested in playing cover tunes but I'm not opposed to reworking a cool song. Mostly I would rather make original music.

Dell-I agree. I feel like playing a cover song is almost like repainting someone else’s artwork but I’m not opposed to it as long as it’s done in our personal styles. We have done a couple in the past but they were really done as filler.

Jerry-I do enjoy playing our original music more than covers. That being said I do like playing all kinds of music including cover tunes. When you get to see Open Burn live I would expect to hear our originals but you never know, we could always throw in something surprising.

Eric-I don't mind playing a cover if we can make it our own. I guess it boils down to finding a song we could all agree on.

Andy-What are your influences? Individually and band-wise?

Glen-I find inspiration everywhere but from a bass player perspective it would be Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) and Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath).

Dell-Like Glen said, influences can come from anywhere. Whether it’s something you like or something you don’t like it’s still influencing you. My personal favorites have always been The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden, as the top 3.

Eric-When I was young and just starting out, my influences were all of the all time great metal singers: Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate, Rob Halford, to name a few. My first favorite singer, though, was Roger Daltrey. I still listen to the Who's "Next" album all the time. As I got older, I discovered lots of other kinds of music and lots of other great singers. There's a lot more to singing than hitting the high notes and the power notes. Ultimately, it's all about telling a story that people can relate to and feel.

Jerry-I've always enjoyed a wide variety of music and still do. The bands that really made me want to play music are the standards for metal in my opinion. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Iron Maiden.


Andy-You have a full-length album in the works right?

Glen-We are working on new material. Initially we wanted to round out a good set of music to play live but of course a new recording is the ultimate goal. Whether that is a full-length album I suppose depends on the circumstances. Trying to self-produce a full-length album is very time consuming and fatiguing. If we have a lot of support to do that it's worth the burden but left to our own devices we may just record another EP to get new music out quicker.

Andy-Do you have any new song titles that you would like to share?

Eric-There are two songs that are pretty much finished. The first is called "Seven Orchids". I got the idea from reading about the rituals used to canonize Saints (most of which were martyred) in the middle ages. The second is called "Dissection Lullaby". The title was inspired by my 9th grade biology class. The teacher would play classical music anytime the students were assigned to dissect animals. She claimed it was calming and helped students focus on the assignment. It just thought it was odd to hear Brahmn's Lullaby while I'm cutting apart some poor unfortunate creature and smelling formaldehyde.

Andy-Where can our readers find out more about your band?

Dell-We try to keep our Facebook page up to date first but you can also check our pages on bandcamp, Reverbnation, CD Baby or our YouTube channel.


Andy-How are you guys able to find time for both projects?

Glen-Lethal has not been very active so there are no timing conflicts between the bands. Mostly for me it is just finding enough time between family and work to make music in general.

Dell-It hasn’t been an issue so far.

Jerry-For me whenever I can get together with either band I do what I can to make it happen. All these guys are my friends, family and brothers in music.

Andy-I'd like to thank you for stopping by and talking with us. Any last thoughts?

Glen-It's been good chatting with you Andy. We appreciate this opportunity to share some thoughts and provide a little insight into our band.

Dell-Anytime Andy. We really appreciate your support. Stay tuned, there’s more on the way!

Jerry-As always I'd like to thank everyone for checking out our new tunes and for all your support. Cheers!

Andy-It was my pleasure!

Interview with Absinthe From Society

Absinthe From Society is a three-piece metal band from Edmonton. Late last month I covered the group's new EP, "The Angels Ignored US ", and now it is my pleasure to present this follow-up interview. I would like to thank Beverly Thornton for her help with setting up this interview and I would encourage all of our readers to check out this extremely-talented trio.


Andy-Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Would you please introduce the band and tell us how everything came about? 

Absinthe From Society  (AFS)-Our current line-up is made up of Ian "Saint Absinthe" Harper who is our main vocalist, lead guitar and pianist, Lexi "Shitkicker 9000" Graham who plays bass and back-up vocals and Adam "The Caveman" Roberts who plays drums.

Andy-I love your band name and everything about "The Angels Ignored Us"! Let's touch down on the name part first. Is there a story behind that or was it just a lightning bolt to the old brain one day?

AFS-The name came from Ian who really likes absinthe and also was writing some songs he felt were outside the realm of usual societal norms. In a sense it's a play on words for being absent from society but with his favorite alcohol mixed in. We know he looks like a pirate, and while he does like rum, absinthe is still his favorite alcohol.

Andy-I'm down with absinthe. As far as your new EP goes I am completely floored by it! Can you tell us about its creation?

AFS-We chose the songs that we felt were the best songs that had the strongest messages and the ones we believe our fans, new and old, will enjoy the most. We took a lot of feedback into account from people who have seen us live regularly and we decided on these four. The EP was recorded in a timely fashion in just under a month. It was over the Christmas holidays and into January. The three of us are different in many ways but when in the studio, on stage, or creating music, it all comes together in a very unique and collaborative way. Everything is open for discussion but we tend not to step on each other's toes. Except when Lexi and Adam scheme up an instrument change and spring it on Ian at a show.

Andy-"The Angels Ignored Us" has this natural vibe about it. Thankfully it isn't overproduced. I'm guessing that was the plan all along. Am I right?

AFS-We like the raw sound in our music. We believe our musicianship and emotions show through much better without too much filter and we believe fans appreciate that. These days with autotune and technology, it's easy to sound great and spot on but it just doesn't feel very real. We wanted this EP to be raw and natural. That way if you see us live you get the same sound. Maybe we will always have raw recording, you never know.

Andy-Why was there such a long wait between this EP and your last one?

AFS-The former AFS had gone their separate ways. The former drummer, Alliye, had moved to Calgary and Lexi returned to university. It wasn't until Ian met Adam and Lexi rejoined, that things began to really take off. Adam adds experience, stage presence, along with raw talent and the ability to play with just about anyone. Paired with Lexi's powerful vocals and solid beats, they make a fantastic rhythm section that has propelled Absinthe From Society ahead and we have progressed rapidly.

Andy-Has the reaction from fans and critics been everything that you hoped for?

AFS-Any reaction is a good reaction. So far the reviews have been all good, which is always surprising. We were not quite prepared for the amount of exposure that we have received and we are simply thrilled to have been played on radio stations, and all around the world too. To have someone take the time to review our music is something we appreciate immensely. Yes our sound is RAW on the EP. Certain critics and fans need to realize that if you're not signed to a record label you're on the hook for paying for your music to be produced. We had limited resources, time and money. It will be fun one day soon to go back into the studio and record a whole album.

Andy-I think your sound is perfect as is, but that's just me! Lyrically-speaking, "The Angels Ignored Us" seems rather personally. Was that the case or did the EP turn out better than expected?

AFS-The lyrics to all the songs have some relation to what has happened in Ian's life. He is our main lyricist and has gone through some pretty rough patches in his life and instead of seeing a shrink, he writes songs. The EP name, The Angels Ignored Us is a line from the song "Never. Never "is about a former girlfriend that Ian had, loved deeply and lost. It's not always easy for band members to agree on anything but when that name was tossed around we all liked it immediately and it was chosen. It's funny how the name of the EP means something different to everyone we talk to. We think that if you have been through tough times you might feel forsaken, and ultimately ignored by God and the angels, and there are other metaphors in there as well and we guess that's why so many people love the title.

Andy-As someone who has been through some really tough times I can appreciate that message. That's just one of the reasons why I love this EP so much!  Another reason why I love it is because of its vast array of influences. Are these Ian's personal influences or is this the band's influences?

AFS-We all bring something different to the band. Ian loves the Tea Party, NIN and Nirvana, Lexi loves Insomnium, Linkin Park and Metallica and Adam loves Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Led Zeppelin and Dave Grohl. We all play in our own style and sometimes, that makes a really good song.

Andy-There are a lot of artists and bands that you mentioned that I also love. In my personal collection you'll find Stevie Ray Vaughn, Led Zeppelin, N.I.N., Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and Metallica (well, pre-Black album Metallica, but still). That's all good stuff. Along with these influences comes cover songs I guess. Or at least your Facebook page mentions cover songs. Who do you cover in a live setting and what songs are they?

AFS-We cover NIN's "Wish", "Suck", "No, You Don't", and Marilyn Manson's "Anti-Christ Superstar" and "Sweet Dreams". We also occasionally cover "Zombie" by the Cranberries (Lexi sounds amazing on that song), "Cut the Cord" by Shinedown, "No You Don't" by Nirvana and we have even done "I Don't Care" by Apocalyptica. We have also been known to cover "Strawberry Gashes" by Jack Off Jill, "Mobscene" by Marilyn Manson, and "Psychopomp" by The Tea Party.

Andy-I would LOVE to hear Lexi's version of "Zombies" sometime! It's not common knowledge, but I really like the Cranberries. I feel in love with the group thanks to "Linger" and I'll still find myself listening to their first two albums.  Let's say you could release one whole album of covers. What would the track list be?

AFS-Probably some of what was listed before along with things we have planned to do but haven't started yet. Lexi would love to cover Tool's "Forty Six and Two" and anything by Metallica. For sure we would do NIN's "Wish" and "Suck". Other ones like: Foo Fighters' "Burning Bridges" or "Everlong", SoundGarden's "Superunknown", The Cure's  "Love Song", Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings" or "Heart Shaped Box", and Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy" (but like a metal version).

Andy-Damn! I've got another confession to make. I'm in full geek mode about the idea of your band doing a cover of "Love Song". Honestly, I thought I was the only person out there that loves The Cure and all things wicked metal. Amazing enough I'm not alone! LOL. Let's change things up now. Who are some of the band's that you have shared the stage with?

AFS-We have shared the stage with some amazing artists. The Stephanie Harpe Experience is one band that is just incredible and one very young talented band called Savage Playground who could go places. We have also played with many local bands in the area such as Alleviate, Black and Blue, Our Darkest Moments, as well as David and the Titans.

Andy-I'll have to check out those names.  If you could plan the dream line-up then who would you play with?

AFS-I think we would all fight over who our favorites are. Lexi would love to play with some crazy bands like Rammstein or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Adam would give his last dying breath to open up for The Foo Fighters or Queens of the Stone Age. Ian would probably give up his left nut to share the stage with Manson! Ian would totally die to join Trent Reznor and Jeff Marton too.

Andy-What should people expect from one of your live shows?

AFS-We bring a lot of energy to our performances and we try to get the audience engaged. One of our songs, "Asshole", usually gets the crowd going pretty good. Adam incorporates a lot of trick shots while drumming to keep the crowd fully engaged with entertaining antics to boot. We have fun at our shows, we meet new fans, but Lexi signs the most chests. Adam and Lexi sometimes switch instruments which is always intriguing and entertaining.

Andy-We briefly touched on the subject, but I'd like to take it a bit further if you don't mind. Are there any local bands that our readers should check out?

AFS-We like Savage Playground, Striker, Forsaken Rite, All Else Fails, Our Darkest Moments, Stephanie Harpe Experience, Blues Puppy Trio, Devil's Sons, RC Sindicate and David and The Titans.

Andy-Again, I'm going to have to check out those names. Especially seeing as I like to give some of the more less known bands a chance to be in the spotlight. If that describes any bands that you know then please feel free to point them my way. Now, it is almost impossible to make a living by being in a band alone. What (if any) is every one's day jobs?

AFS-Lexi is currently a student but during the summers she tends to work driving trucks, forklifts or just general labour. Adam is a carpenter and a jack of all trades. Ian has no regular job but a couple of sources of income.

Andy-Cool. Where should our readers go for more information on Absinthe From Society?

AFS-People should check out our Facebook page, Twitter (link) and our website, 

Andy-What's the next move for the band? Are you able to tour any or do you play mostly local shows?
AFS-So far we have stuck to playing in Edmonton. We would like to tour our province (Alberta) this summer and maybe go to BC for a week. Other than that we have no touring plans just yet. We hope to have a video finished this summer as well. We know a few people who could help us out with that. We definitely want fire in that video! We are currently working on a couple of lyrical videos as well.

Andy-Fire is always a good things! Hey, I'm still a bit lost in the greatness that is your new EP. Is there anything that I missed out on that you would like to address?

AFS-If you haven't already listened to the earlier EP, "Project Infection", we would recommend that. And we really do want to share this new EP with as many people as we can so anyone who wants to help should buy the EP and help promote it so we have more sales and more fans. Maybe we can get big in Europe and go on tour!

Andy-That would be great, but I also want you to make it big here in the U.S. so that you can play somewhere a little bit closer to me! I like to close interviews by letting the bands have the last word. The microphone is all yours so have at it!

AFS-What good is a mic if we can't scream into it? Ha ha. Seriously, we just can't wait to play for more venues, for more people and eventually record a full-length album - that shit will be awesome! Thanks for the
help and keep on rocking!

Andy-I will and the same goes for you three! Keep on rocking and rolling!!

To our readers: You can buy "The Angels Ignored Us" by heading here.

Interview with Traverse the Abyss

Traverse the Abyss is a Pennsylvanian-based outfit that combines elements of metalcore, nü-metal, traditional heavy metal, thrash, hard rock, modern metal, and power pop. Earlier in the week I reviewed their highly-recommend debut album, "The Gamble of Life", and now it is my extreme pleasure to present this recently conducted interview. 

Andy-Would you please introduce your band and tell us how you first came together.

Traverse the Abyss-Traverse the Abyss is Eric Abyss vocals, Iron Mike White Guitar, Seth Cardona Guitar, Mike Bnoc Bieniecki Bass/Backing Vocals and Nelson Negron Drums.The band first came together around April 2016 from members of Without a Martyr and Threatpoint.  Eric, Bnoc, Iron Mike and Phil Luongo (TtA's original drummer) were the members of Without a Martyr, the band broke up at the end of 2014. Shortly after that Iron Mike and Eric joined a band called Threatpoint. After some time Eric was no longer part of Threatpoint and started to jam with Bnoc and Phil again. Shortly after that Iron Mike left Threatpoint and started writing music with Eric, Bnoc and Phil again. Although the members were the same as Without a Martyr, the new songs had a whole different style to it and decided it was best to go with a new name Traverse the Abyss.

Andy-I love your band's name! How did you settle on it?

Traverse the Abyss-We settled on the band name after a few weeks of brainstorming band names. Everyone was spit balling ideas, but none really clicked. Then one day Iron Mike called me (Eric) and said "Traverse the Abyss"and I paused for a second and said I like it, we presented it to the band and everyone was game with it. Iron Mike got the name from playing the video game Dark Souls, although we like to think of it as passing through dark times in your life. Life always has ups and downs and you must proceed through the bad to get to the good.

Andy-I couldn't agree more. Your debut album suggests a band where everyone listens to a little bit of everything. Is that the case or are these influences limited to just a few individuals?

Traverse the Abyss- That is definitely the case. everyone in the band has a very wide music taste. When writing we also like to approach each song with the idea of how can we make this song different then our others, but still have our sound to it. So that plays into having songs like "Aces High" and "All In" on the same album as "Bullets" and "Royal Flush".

Andy-There wasn't a lot of time between your formation and the album's recording. How in the world did you make it sound so professional and well thought out? I mean some of these songs sound as if they are longtime favorites of the band!

Traverse the Abyss-Well we were all pretty comfortable writing with each other since we were in past projects together. So the chemistry is there from the get go.  The huge sound of the album was from JL studios, Joe Loftus is the man and is the reason our album sounds as big as it does. As for song writing and such, We like to try and do something different with each song to give our fans something fresh with every song. We really don't aim to sound like any band in particular, we just write what and how we like while a lot of bands till write specifically to appeal to a  certain audience. We still toss up if it helps or hinders us, but at the end of the day we say screw it and keep doing our thing. Two of the songs on the album are recycled Without a Martyr songs "Diamonds" and "21 or Bust"that we really didn't get to push as much as we liked so those two were the first songs we rehearsed and then we wrote "Royal Flush" as the first Traverse the Abyss song.

Andy-How has the response been from your fans and other critics?

Traverse the Abyss- The response to our album has been pretty good so far I would say. We sold over 150 physical copies ourselves in a month or so of the release, put the album on Itunes, Spotify and Google Play. A great amount of positive response and a fair amount of negative as with anything.

Andy-Have any labels showed interest?

Traverse the Abyss- No labels yet, but we are a endorsed artist of Dirtbag Clothing. (Shout out to them) #dirtbag "wear it til it stinks"

Andy-Cool! Are you guys working on any new material?

Traverse the Abyss-We are working on material. We have some upcoming studio dates that we will be tracking new songs and aiming to have an EP release towards the end of summer/ fall.

Andy-I look forward to hearing it. What is the scene like in your neck of the woods?

Traverse the Abyss-Our scene is pretty tight knit up here. At times it can seem divided with genre, but not often. Mostly punk, metal, hardcore and covers bands here. Nonetheless, we have many talented artists and great bands in this northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA).

Andy-What's the farthest you've gone for a show and do you ever come to Ohio?

Traverse the Abyss- The farthest I have ever gone for a show as Alabama I believe and probably California for Iron Mike and we have played in Ohio several times, these shows were with Threatpoint. With Traverse the Abyss we should be on the road by next year.

Andy-You'll have to let me know when you come to my part of Ohio (Cleveland/Akron). Who are some of the bands that you've shared the stage with?

Traverse the Abyss-Some bands that we have shared the stage with are Slapjaw, Glass Skeleton Death March, Threatpoint, City of Ember, Earthmouth, The Aegean, Corners of Sanctuary and many more.

Andy-You've added some new members since the release of your debut album. Why the changes?

Traverse the Abyss- We do have some new members Seth Cardona Guitar and Nelson Negron Drums. We have always talked about bringing in  second guitar player to the band since formation. Around January a friend of ours referred us to Seth and it was a perfect fit, he came down our band room playing our songs for us without us showing him them. Although during that time our drummer Phil Luongo parted ways with us and we brought Nelson in to fill in and he was a solid fit and decided to stay with us.

Andy-Where can our readers go to find out more about your band?

Traverse the Abyss-You can find out more about us on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reverbnation pages. Twitter @traversetabyss and Insta @traversetheabyssofficial. Don't be shy shoot us a message.

Andy-Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. I like to wrap up interviews by letting bands have the last say. Did we miss anything? Do you have any shout outs to give? Whatever it is have at it!


Traverse the Abyss-Nothing missed to me, great interview, thank you for having us. 

We encourage you to stay updated and interact with us on our social media pages,that you enjoy our album "The Gamble of Life" and we hope to see you at a show soon, Tell a friend!

 

Andy-I will! Please let me know when your EP drops so that I can cover it.

Interview with Kaledon's Alex Mele

Kaledon is a heavy metal band from Italy that has been around since the late nineties. Just recently I had the pleasure of talking to the group's founder, Alex Mele. I would like to thank Alex for taking time out of his schedule to chat with us about his band and the group's upcoming album, "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness".


Andy-Would you please introduce yourselves to our readers and tell us how the band come together?


Alex-Hi there, my name is Alex Mele, the founder and main composer of the band KALEDON! We are together since 1998… it was a very long trip but… we are still here…


Andy-I'm sure you've been asked this question countless times before, but how did you settle on your name?


Alex-KALEDON is the name of the fantasy reign where our concept story is set.


Andy-That's cool. How would you describe Kaledon to people who have never heard any of your material?


Alex-Well… The press says that we are a power/heavy metal band. I can say that this description isn’t correct enough. We play many different kind of metal. In our albums you can find, hard rock, classic metal, power metal, thrash metal, speed metal and other things… Our music follow the emotions of the lyrics so… Expect different things every time.

Andy-You have a new album coming out in May. What can your fans expect from it?

Alex-This is a very important moment of our career! It is the first album with new line-up and of course we are very thrilled about this. We really can’t wait to go on the road and meet many cool people, new fans and new friends.

Andy-Kaledon has been around for a long time now and the band has seen it's fair share of line-up changes. How do you keep everything consistent Alex?

Alex-To coordinate and work with 5 (6 with me) different people, it is very complex and difficult! Very often there are, different point of view, different goals to achieve, different expectations so… very often people left or… in other case… people were fired! Now… for the very first time in more of 18 years… we have the same goals to achieve so… we’ll see what happen… J


Andy-Speaking of different people, "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness" will be the first one with lead singer Michele Guaitoli. What does he bring to the band and how did you go about recruiting him?

Alex-Yes… it’s true! In 2014/2015 we made more than 50 auditions… Michele was one of them.
We met him through facebook and, after a first step/audition with some mp3 that he made at his place, we met him in studio and… it was immediately love! J

Andy-Wow, 50 auditions! That's crazy! What are some of the band's influences Alex?

Alex-Ooooh so many…. I can say Vivaldi to Pantera ahahahah! We listen every kind of good music without any exception.

Andy-If I'm counting correctly,  "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness" is the band's 10th studio album. Other than your new lead singer, what would you say makes this album stand out from the previous ones?

Alex-We have 9 studio album (with Carnagus), 1 Best of album and a Re-Mastered Edition of Chapter 4:Twilight of the gods (2015 edition). As I said before, this album is very important because we have a new mighty line-up. Michele Guaitoli – Vocals and also the new drummer Manuele di Ascenzo. These guys have brought new file to the band so… the recording process were very exciting and… this is the main difference compared with the past.


Andy-Is there a narrative behind "Carnagus - Emperor of the Darkness" or is it just a collection of epic metal tunes?

Alex-Well, EVERY Kaledon’ album is based on a fantasy metal concept (that I wrote in 1997) named “LEGEND OF THE FORGOTTEN REIGN”. This saga is a 6 chapters romance and, the first 6 Album were Chapter 1 to 6! After Chapter 6 I decided to make an album for every character of the story.
Same facts but narrated from HIS point of view. For the moment we have made one album on ALTOR (the blacksmith), one on ANTILLIUS (the king of Kaledon) and now one on CARNAGUS (the king of the darkness)

Andy-Sweet! Where can our readers go if they want to find out more about the band and your new album?

Alex-…of course on our website website or on Facebook!

Andy- Changing gears here, but how would you describe today's scene as opposed to when your first formed?

Alex-Oooh it is very simple! Today the scene is overcrowded. Too much bands, too much labels, too much of everything and… the result is that we are loosing quality. I preferred the scene of 20 years ago! But I suppose that this will make me look old aaahahahh!


Andy-Well, I'm right there with you. Compared to the scene when I was in my early twenties, 2017 sometimes seems as if there are far too many mediocre metal bands as opposed to high quality ones. That's a big part of the reason why I try to review releases that are actually worthwhile! But anyway,  is there anything about Kaledon that your fans might be surprised to find out?

Alex-Yes… In the new album there is a thing that we never did before! Ahahahah Just wait for it… J


Andy-That's a bit of a tease for the fans LOL! Will you be touring behind the new album?

Alex-Of course we are working on that right now! We’ll try to play more shows as possible and, we really hope to come in the US for the first time.

Andy-I hope that works out for you guys. Now, I always let bands have the last word. Is there anything else that you would like to talk about that we didn't cover? Do you want to address your fans or even the naysayers? Words of wisdom for local bands in your scene? Here's your chance to say whatever is on your mind!

Alex-Oooh not so many other things. We have covered all the important things. I can say of course that I really hope that you guys will like the new album, and I’ll hope to see you on the road during 2017 and 2018. MAY THE DARGON BE WITH YOU!

Andy-Thanks Alex. 

Interview with Simon Straumann, drummer of FreaKings

FreaKings is a thrash metal band that I just covered earlier in the month. Now it is my extreme pleasure to offer up this interview that I recently did with the band's drummer, Simon Straumann. Enjoy!


Andy-Welcome! Please come in and introduce yourselves for our readers. I apologize, but your rhythm section is a band of brothers correct?

Simin-We’re FREAKINGS, an old school thrash metal band from Switzerland. Yes, that’s right, Toby (bass) and me, Simon (drums), are brothers.

Andy-The Metal Archives suggests that you are all were in Lion Of Juda. Rock? Metal? 

Simon-Yes but that was about 20 years ago. The three of us were part of that band and our sound was something between rock, metal and punk.

Andy- I'm guessing it was the same message, but was it more obvious or less?

Simon-It was rather obvious back then, more than nowadays. It’s no secret we are Christians and that’s why our songs often contain Christian topics. On our latest album ("TOXIC END") we address the current situation of our world, war, terrorism or ecological calamities.

Andy-I understand where the message is coming from. You cite a lot of Christian influences, but (sound-wise) it's just Grade A thrash to these ears! Other than what's in the Dixie cups that you drink from on stage, FreaKings might as well be the next big thrash band on the block!! So, why is that you've (independently/sans record label) released three stone cold slamming LPs by yourself?

Simon-We just love making music! Our texts are only a part and as mentioned above, there’s not a lot of Christian influence on our latest album. We stick to our own schedule and with a small budget it’s very challenging to find a label. So that’s why we released the albums by ourselves.

Andy-I've heard the same thing from a lot of metal bands. For a lot of groups it is just easier to release their music by themselves. But anyways,  "Toxic End" reminds me of the eighties as much as it does the retro-scene that is everywhere these days! Did you (vibe-wise) have a goal in mind or was it more along the lines of "No Life Til Leather"? (


Simon-We never had an exact goal in mind. With "TOXIC END" we just created exactly what we wanted: simple but solid old school thrash!

Andy-That it is! You've got a couple of great guests on your new disc. How did that come about?

Simon-We’ve been knowing Damir (Gonoreas) for a long time and originally met him at a gig where we both played. He’s a great guy and and superb guitar player. We’ve been to several Dust Bolt concerts so I knew who Lenny was when I saw him in the audience at one of our concerts. We started talking and a bit later we asked him if he’d play on our album.

Andy-Cool. From what I've gathered, "Toxic End" is nothing but golden reviews (and well-deserved ones at that!). That's got to be a good feeling after all the years and wear and tear on your body! After all, it's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll...or is that "bang your head"? LOL

Simon-Thanks a lot, that indeed is a great feeling! It’s pretty cool that people we have never met write so many good things about our songs. There’s still a long way ahead of us but you never know what might come. It’s not up to us how far FREAKINGS can go, it’s mainly our fans who decide this.

Andy-Yeah, fans are so important to a metal band's ultimately success. Not just financially, but as a driving force and key source of support. I always like to say that being a metalhead is like being in a huge family where there is so much love and support. We all need that. Moving on, I have no doubt that you've played with some idols and some real up and comers. What's the best one (band or artist) of both as you see it?

Simon-Difficult question… We’ve seen so many awesome bands, it’s actually impossible to name a certain band !

Andy-Yes, that was a tough one. Where does the next leg of your journey take you?

Simon-We hope for a lot of gigs with our new album, a little tour would be cool! We definitely will do anything we can to spread the name of our band and our latest album!

Andy-Hopefully our site can help with that. Digitally at least, "Toxic End" can be picked up at the usual places. How about CDs?

Simon-At the moment, the easiest way is buying it at our concerts or in our online shop. We’re also in talks with a few potential distribution partners.

Andy-I'll try to provide some links for our readers. Thank you for your time and insights. I like to leave things off by having the band's have the last say. Is there anything we didn't touch on that needs addressed? Do you have words of advice for new bands, metal or not? Want to thank your loyal fans? Whatever "it" is, here's the mic and the stage is all yours!

Simon-We thank you, we really appreciate every kind of support. All you metalheads out there: try our new album and if you like it, buy it. Thanks to everyone who backs us. THRASH WILL NEVER DIE!

Andy-Amen to that! Thrash it up friends!!

For more information on this insane thrash act be sure to head over to the group's official site . Also, be sure to leave a like on their Facebook page. You can download "Toxic End" on iTunes and for the band's physical merchandise click here.

Interview with Serbian death metal band Nemesis

Nemesis is a five-piece death metal band from Serbia. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with the group. 

Andy-First off I would just like to thank you for taking the time to talk to us. How are things going for you today?

Anja-We thank you for reaching out and noticing our work! Everything is going great! Winter is harsh this year so we were hibernating a little, but we are back on the metal horse! We will try to make this year prosperous and successful.

Andy-Would you mind introducing yourself to our readers?

Anja-Nemesis is an all-girl death metal band from Serbia. The band has five members: Sanja on vocals, Aleksandra on lead guitar, Tijana on rhythm guitar, Anja on bass and Selena on drums. We all come from different cities, of various education and taste, and we do think that this makes us different than a usual band.

Andy-How did the band first come about?

Anja-Nemesis is a band founded in 2013 with idea to gather female musicians and do something totally unexpected – to form a death metal band. Serbia is a country where folk music (not in a good way folk) and EX-YU rock are mainstream and are cherished dearly by the audience. Death metal music seems appropriate music to fight stereotypical concerts with tribute bands that play songs that we heard so many times. We wanted to make something different.

Andy-I think you succeeded in that! Now, I believe that I read somewhere that you were named after an Arch Enemy song. Is that correct?

Selena-That is partly correct. We love Nemesis song by Arch Enemy, but our main idea was to name the band after the Greek goddess Nemesis. She represents everything we fight for: Justice, order, truth and punishment for those who are arrogant and think they are above gods, or in our case, laws.

Andy-Very cool. Besides Arch Enemy, who are some of the band's main influences?

Anja-There is a lot, each band-mate has a different taste, making us unique but also strange. There are few bands that we would point out: Kreator, Death, Pantera, In Flames, Amon Amarth, Gojira, Trivium, Nevermore… The list is very long and we could say there are a lot of genres that are influencing us, we are pretty sure that it will be noticeable in our upcoming recordings.

Andy-Word has it that you have a new EP in the works. How is that going and when came fans expect to see it?

Sanja-Yes, that is correct. This week we will be recording final parts of vocals and songs. It should be sent for production-mixing very soon. Hopefully it will be out by the end of April. We are very excited and we cannot wait to see reactions and comments from our fans, we really did put a lot of effort in making these songs!

Andy-Are there any song titles that you can share?

Selena-Sure. Our audience already had the opportunity to hear our first single "Vengeance", which will be on EP, and other three are: "Living Dead People", my personal favorite, "Savages" and "Divine Retribution".

Andy-I just love the video for your song "Vengeance"!* How did that come about?

Sanja-The video at the first, didn’t have any story, we wanted to present ourselves as a band, hence the classical band on a stage video. Thankfully to our great friends and supporters Branislav Radovanović and Relja Ilić we were able to make this video look brutal, full of colors and present us in the best possible way. First thing that was filmed was us playing in Cultural Center in Pančevo (town near Belgrade), but we felt like we wanted to spice it up. The parts were I am the only actor was a little bit spontaneous representation of me as an "avenger". It was a great experience, a lot of fun and I cannot wait to start filming our upcoming video!

Andy-If there is such a thing, what is a typical show like for your group? 

Sanja-Typical for our show is – energy! Each show would be fueled with energy, sweat and people jumping and moshing around. I think that we communicate and share our energy with audience each time, even people who would see us for the first time would feel good and end up moshing and headbanging. At the end of show we would get lots of hugs and compliments. We love our shows! 

Andy-Who are some of the group's that you've played with so far? 

Sanja-There was a lot of awesome bands with who we shared the stage, but we would like to highlight few local bands who are also our friends – Jenner, Void Inn, Demist… Of course we would point out and very popular Pero Defformero, with who we will be playing on March the 3rd in Belgrade. When it comes to foreign bands with who we played I would highlight Brazilian band Nervosa. We hope to play with them again soon, the girls are so awesome and sweet! Maybe we should mention a upcoming gig that will definitely be great? We are going to Ljubljana on March the 11th and we will be playing with famous band Hell Cats! Our colleagues from band Jenner will be playing also! We are very excited and we will do our best to travel outside Serbia as much as possible because we would like to spread the word that Serbian metal bands exist! 

Andy-It sounds like your band is very active. Do you have a favorite show that sticks out?

Anja-Favorite show would be definitely a concert with a very popular Serbian band Pero Defformero, that we mentioned question ago. Guys from the band were fabulous and were the best hosts. Also there is another show that sticks out. Our dear friends organized a road trip with 7 bands to their hometown, Golubac (near a border with Romania). There we played a gig with other metal bands including Jenner from Belgrade and we can say some friendships were made that night. 

Andy-You brought up Jenner (who I just love and have covered before) o that brings up a important question. With their signing, Serbian metal is a hot topic these days. Has Jenner's success helped the scene out any?

Selena-The girls from the band Jenner are our friends, and we are really happy for them. We don’t think it helped us in direct way, but they did help when it comes to girl bands in general. Maybe there is someone who read the name of our band for the first time in their interviews, but more important is that they are showing the world that girls can play some badass metal. 

Andy-Damn right they can! Has there been any label interest in your band?

Selena-There were some foreign labels offering to sign us, but we want to wait till we enter the studio with album material. We think that even our most loyal audience will be pleasantly surprised when they hear all of the songs. There are many labels out there and we will try our best to find the best offer there is. We want to go big or go home. 

Andy-I hope you go big! You all deserve the success and metal fans deserve more (high-quality!) death metal bands. Where can our readers find out more about you and hear your original compositions? 

Sanja-For now, this can be done by following our Facebook  page and our YouTube channel. We can proudly say that our webpage is under construction, it should look great and be easy to use. For now, you can be up-to-date by following our mentioned pages. It would mean a lot if our fans would like our page and give us a follow. Also we are inviting the readers to hit a like button! 

Andy-Yes! Heavy Metal Time Machine readers be sure to head over to the band's Facepage page and hit that like button!! It's always important to support great metal bands, whether here in the U.S. or overseas. I always let artists have the last word. Is there anything that we didn't touch on that you would like to address? Words of wisdom for other death metal bands? Want to say something to your fans or would you like to slam the hammer down on your detractors? Whatever it is the mic is all yours and yours alone!

Anja-We appreciate it! There are things to address, it could be a whole topic with few pages. Metal is really an underdog at this point, but we will make some changes, I am sure! Words of wisdom are simple – do it, make it happen! There is a lot of metal bands struggling and maybe would think that they should quit, don’t! Make a drastic change if you feel that you are sinking, or going nowhere. And when it comes to our fans, we would like to thank them, we are here because of them, because they believe in us. Their support is endless and it is pushing as forward. We would also like to thank you for making these questions for us, hopefully you will be able to enjoy new music videos and our EP.

Andy-I sure hope so and again, thank you all so much for chatting with us. Don't be a stranger and please be sure to let us know when you release your new EP.



*Here is the official video for "Vengeance":

Interview with Lipstick members Greg Troyan and Steve Smith

Nashville, Tennessee's own Lipstick recently-released it's second album, "Lipstick II". I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with band members Greg Troyan (lead vocals, guitars) and Steve Smith (lead and backing vocals, bass, acoustic and electric guitars) about that album and so much more.  

Andy-First off, congrats on the new album. It's great having you guys back and "Lipstick II" is a real fun time!



Steve-Thanks!



Greg-Thank you!



Andy-"Lipstick II" is more laid back than your debut. Obviously I loved the album, but how does everyone else feel about it? What have the reactions been like from fans and the critics?



Greg-The album just came out, so we're still waiting on a lot of the reviews from the critics so it's hard to say. The fans as a whole are liking this album a lot. I think the first album people had to get used to us and figure out exactly what kind of band Lipstick was, but the new album has a really powerful and youthful energy to it that people have been instantly drawn to. I've found people have gotten sucked in to this record much faster than the first record. And some of the songs, like "Cha La Head Cha La" and "Stop" have been concert staples for years, so people are glad to finally have recordings of those songs. The reaction to the new material live has also been really strong. We tried out a bunch of the songs live at the CD release show and they went over really well with the crowd so we probably have some new concert staples.



Andy-You guys cover a lot of topics on your new album, some of which are a little silly and some are surprising serious.  Other than "Love of Some Kind", what song sticks out the most for you and why?



Greg-From a lyrical perspective, the songs that stick out to me right away are "Love of Some Kind", which you already mentioned, "Fight Back" and "You Can't Stop The Rock". "Fight Back" is about overcoming child abuse and defeating your abusers, and it was largely written as a way to spread awareness about the issue. I felt that grunge bands would just say, "Child abuse sucks, sucks to be you," so I wanted the message to be, "Child abuse sucks, but you can change your life so don't let someone else control your life". And then there's "You Can't Stop The Rock", which I wrote to be either about God, Satan, Rock N Roll, or some combination of the three depending on your interpretation of the lyrics. I like that one from a lyrical perspective a lot. My interpretation of the song is that it's about God, but if you interpreted it any of those three ways I'd be fine with it.

Steve-"Electric Pussycat" sticks out to me. On one hand, it's blatantly a geek rock song. On the other hand, it stays true to the riff-rock roots of "Lipstick I" in spite of it. Most of the other geek rock songs tend to be punkier and less riffy. Ska song also sticks out as probably the most tonally distinct song on the album. There really was no precedent for ska on "Lipstick I"!

Andy-I don't address it very often in this blog, but I am a big fan of ska. I like everything from Madness to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (best pit EVER!). So, a little bit of ska is fine by me! Moving on, as a father of two teenagers there were a lot of subtle lines that really stood out to me. Does all of that come from having a stepson in your life Greg? Do you find yourself surrounded by other teenagers? You'll forgive me for asking this, but Steve, do you have any child of your own?



Steve-No kids for me!



Greg-A good chunk of the album was written before I had ever even met my stepson. Songs like "Fight Back" and "On The Eve of the Attack" date back to when I was in high school myself. I always try to write under the assumption that a teenager may end up listening to the album, but there weren't many subtle clues to my relationship with him in any of the songs. The one exception, however, is "Christmastime Machine", which I specifically wrote because my stepson is really into Dr. Who (Editor's note: Same here!) ), Ecco the Dolphin, y'know, time travel stuff, so I wanted to write another song about time travel for the record so he'd have a song he'd really dig. We toyed with the idea of dedicating every song on the album to someone, and that song would have been dedicated to him if we decided to go through with that.



As far as being around other teenagers, I'm less surrounded by my stepson's friends and get most of my teenage interactions when we play anime and comic book conventions. We've gotten some very kind e-mails from our teenage fans telling us how much they appreciate the music, and we're glad we were able to make them happy.



Andy-Even though I have a 18 year old daughter of my own, "Teenage Girlfriend" really hit home for me. As strange as it is, 1st loves* stick with you all of your life no matter how many other lovers come and go. Has anyone else told you how true that song is?



Steve:-Not really. I've gotten, "this song gets creepier every year" and "I'll go back in time to be your teenage girlfriend!" But nobody has really affirmed that all those guys with their songs about their teenage loves are right.

Greg:-As a huge Jim Steinman fan, I really dig all those teenage romance epic songs, but I also look at them in a very tongue-in-cheek manor. Like, I can take them seriously and think they're hilarious at the same time. "Girl Dressed as Sailor Moon" is a song about lost teenage love, but I wrote it more out of an appreciation for the art than actually pining for a lost romance. But, I remember how heartbroken I felt as a teenager and was able to tap into that emotion for the song, so maybe it's a way of time travel with emotions and that's why people dig that kinda stuff.

Andy-I hear ya. Just like on your debut album, "Lipstick II" has three tracks with rock in the title and one song with a Christmas theme. Please tell me we can expect more of the same when "Lipstick III" is enviably released!



Steve-Absolutely! Plus, 3 songs with "stop" in the title and probably at least one more arbitrary tradition that will make titling songs completely untenable by "Lipstick V".



Andy-I can only imagine! LOL! Now, there are some great names that show up in the credits, but who was the biggest surprise to you two? I mean as far as who you were able to get to help out and all.

Steve-Kyle Hebert probably. He's a professional voice actor, so he normally collects a real salary to do things like this. He's such a great sport tho! It seems like he's always happy to do quick one-off narration for way less than he deserves for it.

Greg-Nobody was really a surprise, but I was really excited about everyone who appeared. Everyone who appears on this album is a friend of mine, so the album is a celebration of the friendship I have with all of these people. Obviously, Kyle Hebert appearing is huge thing for me because Dragonball Z is my favorite show of all time, so having someone who was such a big part of my childhood appearing on this record is awesome. And Tom Pappas has actually played on Conan with Superdrag, so it's cool to say that at least somebody in Lipstick ended up on the show! Phil Shouse and Billy Morris were the two most difficult ones to get on the record because they have the busiest schedules, so it's a testament to my friendship with those guys that I was able to get them to appear. I asked Phil to play on the record before I knew anything about his gig with Gene Simmons, so the fact that there's now only one degree of separation between Kiss and Lipstick is also pretty cool. But yeah, I'm honestly excited about every single person who appeared, because I got to make music with people I love. It's exciting.



Andy-Cool, I love that answer Greg. As a follow-up to that question, (production-wise) how did things go in the studio when it came to "Lipstick II"?



Greg-"Lipstick II" was an interesting album to record. We started by recording drums in our practice space with a drummer friend...



Steve-Jeremy Edge.



Greg-Right, Jeremy Edge, in Nashville. We then sent them off to Greg Loyacano (Gregor the Terror) in Texas to record because he has a really nice home studio and recording drums in Nashville is stupidly expensive. The rest of the stuff we wanted to record, like guitars and vocals, we realized we could record in Steve's bedroom and get the exact same quality as the professional studio we used for the first album, so we decided to do that. And, because Steve and I have years of producing experience under our belts at this point, the album recorded in Steve's bedroom sounds better than the album recorded in the professional studio!



With the technology today, and with a little creativity, you can make a really good product without needing a studio. Some good mics, a little soundproofing, and a lot of creativity can make an excellent sounding album. Steve ended up moving midway through the recording process (another reason it took so long) and his studio moved form his bedroom into a more proper studio space, but I still like the charm of saying we recorded it in Steve's bedroom.



Steve-A few of the leads (Billy Morris' solo, etc.) were also recorded remotely, but everything else up until mastering was done in my home studio. Whatever guest musician would come in; hang out for an evening; and throw down their parts.

Once we had all the instruments done, Greg and I spent months pouring over things, layering in vocals, mixing it, tweaking it, punching in extra guitar parts where there just weren't quite enough - Cha La credits five lead guitarists; honestly, four of them are mostly just different people doing that huge bend at the beginning!

Andy- As mention in one of my earlier questions, "Lipstick II" has the feel of a laid-back kind of recording. That was your goal heading into the studio right?

Greg-The first album was very much a statement. "We are Lipstick, we are here to bring back classic rock n roll, and we sound like this!" The songs were structured around making that statement, so there was a really strong cohesiveness to the product.



The second album was always meant to be an expansion on the first and wasn't meant to drastically change things. Instead of coming in with a really focused direction, it was more looking at the list of songs we had written and deciding, "Okay, which of these do we want to go on the new album?"



Steve-We're still going for a hard rock sound, but we didn't feel as much need to establish our rock cred in this album. We know who we are and don't need to prove it to anyone. So we focused on writing about what's important to us and just having a good time and encouraging everybody else to do the same!



Andy-Yeah, I can see that.  As the weather is starting to settle down some do you think that Lipstick might be hitting the road? Possibly even playing any dates up north? Like say Ohio? (Hint Hint)



Steve-We should! C'mon, Greg! Let's tour!



Greg-We're making our plans for the rest of the year right now, and I would love to come home to Cleveland to do a show. There aren't any plans to hit the road just yet, but we may do a few out-of-town shows to help bring Lipstick love to the masses.



Andy-That would be cool. Where do you see the band being at this point next year?



Steve-Signed and making a bajillion dollars touring the world?



Greg-Gearing up for the release of "Lipstick III".



Andy-Word has it that you are currently in talks with a few labels. How is that going?



Greg-You know, in today's music market, most bands aren't making any money except for huge huge bands or bands that tour nonstop and never get to spend time with their loved ones. However, having a label behind you allows for you to spend less time marketing yourself and more time working on the art. So, in hopes to alleviate some of the pressure from us having to do all that stuff, we're talking with a few people to see what our options our. We've been a self-sufficient indie band for so long, it'd be weird giving up some control but it would give us a lot more time to focus on writing new songs and coming up with fun ideas for shows, so it'd be nice to have that happen. But at the moment, we're currently talking with a couple major labels, but we're not assuming that we're definitely getting a deal, and we're not assuming that just because we get a deal means we're going to explode overnight. I know tons of people who have gotten record deals and who are working day jobs now, and I know some dudes who currently have a record deal and are still working day jobs.



But as far as how the talks are going? I'm confident in the product that we have, but you never know what somebody else is gonna think. I'm just focused on producing quality product and not worrying too much whether this label likes it or this label doesn't. "Bat Out of Hell" got rejected tons of times, so I'm more focused on having pride in my work than worrying about negotiation success. And I think that peace of mind is what we need to stay happy and successful.
Andy-Very true. I hear you have a side-project Steve. Mind telling us about that?



Steve-Man!

I've got a lot of side projects, really. The goal is to be the Mike Patton of weird, punk bassists. The project Greg mentioned was "We'd Sell Out For $50 Bucks". It was a one-off project I did with the drummer from To Slay Zombie Newton back in college. The goal was to do simple, "rail spike in the eye of the establishment" Christian punk. So over the course of a week, the two of us recorded twenty some pro-socialism, pro-anarchy, curse-laden songs about how great Jesus is.

We sold zero copies.

A few years later, I spent a weekend hanging out with him again and we recorded another 11 of these things in a day. That also sold zero copies. I don't know if we even burned more than two. Anyway, it turns out that it's super-easy to write punk songs when your only constraints are "no more than two verses" and "things you actually think, but - like - a dumbed down caricature of that". So I've got another stack of songs, and I'm trying to get the band back together by the end of February for RPM/FAWM.

Andy-Well, I would love to hear all of it! As you know, Heavy Metal Time Machine (or at least last yours truly) likes to let artists have the last word. What did I miss that you two would like to address? Words of wisdom for your fans? Want to defend yourself for liking potato salad? The microphone is all yours.... 



Steve-Hey, potato salad is delicious!

Greg-I'm actually not a fan of potato salad. That was a line that Steve wrote, but it was really funny so I'm glad it's in the song. Steve's not as into Vegemite as I am, so there were bits and pieces of compromise in that song. But as far as a final message? Be excellent to each other. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Andy. You rock! God bless!

Andy-Thanks guys and good luck with everything!


*For our younger readers, "Teenage Girlfriend" brings up a serious topic that I would like to address. When you are young and first fall in love it feels like the world stops and there will never be anything like it ever again. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten that relationship does not last. As I have told my own children, heartbreak doesn't last forever and you will likely dates a lot of toads along the way before you meet your own prince/princess charming. Again, nine times out of ten that does not happened up you are LONG out of high school so PLEASE do not think that your first breakup is the end of the world! Also, true love means your significant other will wait on you to consummate your  relationship. Never EVER let anyone pressure you into something that you are uncomfortable with and don't mistake sex for love! I'm not hear to preach to you, but having sex when you are not ready can lead to a world of complications. It's not just that you can get pregnant or that you can catch something. Every-time you cross that road with someone new you lose a little bit of what makes you special. It's old fashioned to suggest it, but saving yourself for someone who really loves you for who you are on the inside (and treasures that aspect of you of above all!) is a magical thing. To this day (and I'm almost 44 years old here) I regret giving away my virginity so haphazardly. I equated sex with love and it is was the furthest thing from the truth. It took me a long time to forgive myself, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't time travel back to the past to do it all over again if given the chance! As with everything in life, choose wisely as you move forward and grow.