Metal Blade Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel took some time to chat with us recently about a ton of different topics. Having had a very strong year in 2012, including releases from Between the Buried and Me , Six Feet Under , Cannibal Corpse , As I Lay Dying + many more, we got to pick the brain of Slagel about all things metal. Along with Metal Blade’s 2012 releases, Slagel spoke with us about competition in the business of metal music, GWAR continuing on after the death of guitarist Cory ‘Flattus Maximus’ Smoot , releasing the first ever Metallica song + much more. Check out our exclusive interview with Metal Blade Records head honcho, Brian Slagel. Between the Buried and Me just released ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence’ and it’s an amazing record. When was the moment that you knew that you needed to sign this band, once they became free agents? I’ve always been a huge fan of theirs, we’ve had so many bands that have toured with them and I’ve seen them around. I’ve hung out with them so I always liked them not only as a band, but because they are really, really good people. Pretty much what happened was, I didn’t even know that they were free agents, but one of the managers that we work with a lot, this guy named Paul Conroy, he ended up managing them and he called me up and said, “Would you be interested in signing Between the Buried and Me?” I said, “Are you kidding me? In a heartbeat!” So it came pretty quick and we were able to put it together just great because we all love those guys. It was really that simple? Was there any sort of bidding war for them or did they just jump straight on? Luckily for us they really wanted to be at Metal Blade, so there wasn’t a huge bidding war or anything. I think basically what had happened was the band and the management decided, “Well let’s go to Metal Blade if they’re interested and if they just give us basically what we want then just go there!” It was really super easy and like I said, I was unbelievably happy because I always have been a huge fan of those guys. Metal Blade has definitely had a strong year with new Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under and As I Lay Dying records. The new Goatwhore record is phenomenal, along with Between the Buried and Me, of course. What’s your personal favorite Metal Blade release of 2012? Oh boy, that’s always difficult because I really do like all of them. I kind of go through phases; if you would have asked me six months ago I would have said Cannibal Corpse, and then if you asked me four months ago I’d probably have said Six Feet Under, and a couple of months ago it would have been As I Lay Dying. My current favorite now is the Between the Buried and Me record because I’ve been listening to it over and over and over again. We get these records really early so I tried not to overdo it. I wanted to wait until closer to the release date, so for the last week or two, I’ve been listening to it non-stop. So, as of today, I will say Between the Buried and Me. One of your most legendary bands is Gwar and the majority of their albums have been put out on Metal Blade. They’re starting another tour with their new guitarist Pustulus Maximus. How has the band been dealing with having to replace the late Cory Smoot? That’s never a fun thing to do. Cory was such a great guy and losing him so suddenly was horrible. Those guys definitely have done an amazing job of how they’ve handled it. I mean, it was obviously hugely difficult for them, but I think doing a tour without Cory and kind of doing it as this big tribute to him was really amazing and they’ve retired the character and got a new guy in there. I think that everything that they’ve done has been right. Whenever we talked about this stuff and they said, “Hey this is what we’re thinking about doing,” I said all along the way, “I think you guys are doing the right thing.” So as difficult as it is I think they did a really impeccable job of remembering Cory and celebrating his life. He will always be a part of that band because he was such a huge intricate force for them for so long. I think they’ve done a really good job, I think they’ve done it classy and in the right way. When they really got a chance to sit down, did they ever just consider remaining a four-piece or did they know they’d become a five-piece once again when they found the right guy? Well, definitely the right guy was a huge issue. I think the way that so many of the songs were written, you need to have a five-piece, and also it takes a lot of the pressure off of Mike Derks. He’s a phenomenal guitar player and I think he did a great job while they were doing it as a four-piece. He didn’t really go and say, “I’m missing a lot,” but they do need that extra thing there. So much of the stuff that Corey had a big hand in was stuff that you need two guitar players for, so they knew that they had to do it, but they had to get the right guy and they definitely took their time before doing it. Unfortunately, with that band, there’s been a few guys in and out [Laughs] so they’re a little used to that. Another landmark for Metal Blade was when As I Lay Dying released “Frail Words Collapse,” which sort of launched them into the stratosphere of metalcore. Were you surprised to see how huge that they became? Yeah, you never think that things can get as big as they were, but we did really feel something. It’s kind of funny when you look back on things; it seems like every turn of every 10 years, every decade, there seems to be some new stuff coming in. You know, we felt like with bands like As I Lay Dying and Unearth and that crop of metalcore or whatever you want to call it; bands that we felt like were something really new and cool and fresh and we love the sound, and the As I Lay Dying guys are really smart and made a good record. We knew it was going to do well, but we never would have predicted they would have become as big as they have. I wanted to ask about one of your lesser known bands, but still a very fantastic band, Ipsissimus. What is their future with Metal Blade going to be like? It’s cool that you like them, they’re an awesome band and those guys are really great dudes. It’s hard to say; it’s not really a “band band,” so it’s kind of a project, but those things are always difficult to do. They’re fun to do because it’s really good music, but without a lot of touring and other commitments they make, it’s kind of difficult to do. So, it’s a good question; it’s really up to them and I think we’ll see how far they want to take it and what they want to do with it. Metal Blade was the first label to ever put out a Metallica song — on that first ‘Metal Massacre’ compilation. What was it like seeing an act that was just a local band at the time turn into legitimately one of the biggest metal acts ever? [Laughs] It’s still crazy when you think about it. I was friends with Lars before there even was a band; I knew those guys before they existed, so it’s still pretty surreal. I’m still friends with all of them and Lars and I are still good friends. When they get to these milestones like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and some of these other milestones, we end up getting together and just sitting around and going, “How did all of this happen?” It’s amazing but it’s also a huge testament as to how dedicated, smart, and talented those guys are. I mean, they get bashed here and there, obviously from other different things, but those guys are the same people today as they were 30 years ago — same guys. They haven’t been affected by everything else. I think they did an incredible job of kind of pulling up that flag for a long period of time so yes, it’s pretty crazy. I’m just insanely grateful to play a small part in it and those guys have been nothing but great to me. Do you credit any one band that kickstarted and really made Metal Blade records? It’s hard to say. Obviously the first ‘Metal Massacre’ with the Ratt, Metallica and stuff certainly helped paved the way. I think in the early days there were probably three separate things that happened; the ‘Armored Saint EP’ that we did and they immediately got signed at Chrysalis Records, that was the third or fourth release that we’d done. Both Chrysalis and the band were really good about giving us a lot of credit, so that really helped us in national magazines and stuff. Probably ‘Show No Mercy’ by Slayer was the first record that we put out where we really got to that next level, so the building process of the label kind of came, that was kind of the next step. I can’t really pinpoint one thing because it was such a small growth process, but certainly the first ‘Metal Massacre’ and that Armored Saint release was big in giving us that exposure. Back then, independent labels were just tiny and nobody knew that we existed. Are there any other labels you feel like you’re in constant competition with in terms of continually signing great bands and releasing both classic and modern albums? I guess theoretically we’re competitors with all of the labels, but we’re also all fans, so we’re kind of all in this together. So whether it’s Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Relapse … There are times where we compete for bands, where there’s a band and there are two or three labels working with them, but it’s never gets to a bidding war because I think all of us work together all the time. We have bands that do tours together, so we know everybody really well and ultimately we’re all fans of the music and we all want it to be better, which I think is one of the reasons why the metal scene is pretty healthy, because we work together as opposed to “being competitors.” In your opinion, what direction do you see metal heading? I guess I should get my crystal ball out now. [Laughs] You know, I don’t know. It’s always really hard to say because I wish I could predict everything perfectly, but I definitely feel that bands that have real singing; that sort of thing is coming back quite a bit. A band for example like Ghost has gotten quite a lot of success and they’ve gotten this huge deal and stuff. Personally, I’m like that because I lived in the ’70s and ’80s so I love singing stuff. So many of the new bands that are coming out are doing that, but anything that’s kind of happening now all has a really big influence of the late ’70s and early ’80s, so whether that’s the more melodic stuff or there’s a lot of really cool thrash components, it’s kind of coming back again, that really old school thrash. Anything that has those sort of influences, it seems like these younger bands are taking that and making something fresh and interesting out of it. Newsletter Sign up Form Receive the latest rock and metal news via email! Email *
Victory Records Swedish metal band Sister Sin are gearing up for the release of their new album ‘Now and Forever.’ The band is also set to invade the United States by supporting Doro on a string of dates next year. When we recently had the opportunity to chat with Sister Sin singer Liv Jagrell, she spoke candidly about the new album ‘Now and Forever’ ( available here ) and how the band has fought tooth and nail to make it in the music business for almost a decade. In addition, Jagrell dished on women in metal today, as well as why she thinks so much good music keeps coming out of Sweden. Check out our exclusive interview with Liv Jagrell of Sister Sin below: What does the album title ‘Now and Forever’ mean to you? The title ‘Now and Forever’ is kind of a statement for us as a band. As a band and as individuals we have been through quite a lot of things, a lot of troubles and things that might break up bands but we’re so dedicated to this band. So that’s the title – we are here now and hopefully forever. We won’t give up even if something goes wrong – it’s tough to be in the music business today. Sister Sin have been a strong unit for a decade, for you what keeps the band going, secret to your longevity? Yes it’s been almost a decade at least for me and Dave [Sunberg] the drummer because we started the band from the beginning and yeah it’s kind of a decade now – that’s a long time. It’s really hard today with the business, there’s so many bands, so much competition out there, no money whatsoever and all the things with downloads – I mean it could be could but also bad, depending on how you look at it. When I started to play music at 15, the music business and scene was totally different and you could actually make money from it. When I was 15, I just decided, “I’m going to play music my whole life and I’m going to be a rock star” — that kind of attitude. So I spent all 15 years to convince myself that that’s the only thing I will ever, ever do so that’s why I can’t give up because I programmed my brain to believe that I will do this forever. I think that’s why we don’t give up and why sometimes other bands do – they find other opportunities and other things they love too, they have something else you actually can do and you’ll probably do that because that will make you money and a better living. If you just prepare your whole life to be in the music business and tell yourself “This is what I’m going to do, I’m not going to do anything else” it’s kind of foolish and childish but in that way you just can’t give up. People of course give up and I’m not saying I’m not going to do it years from now but right now I still feel like I have to fight for that dream that I had as a teenager. Obviously we all have gained a lot and experienced so much but we’re still a little bit far away that whole kind of – living with the music or for the music thing – close but still far away. [Laughs] I think that’s what drives us. What have you learned being in a band for almost 10 years that you didn’t know at the start of the journey? I’ve learned very much. [Laughs] I’ve learned that I love to be on tour and I love to be onstage and I only feel that I am myself. I’m one hundred percent Liv when I’m onstage. I feel that’s the only time I’m just me. I’ve also learned that I thought it would be ten times easier and I thought it would be not as hard as it is. Of course I want people to fight and live for their dream but they have to understand that the dream comes with a lot of sacrifice and I don’t think people understand really how much being in a band, how much sacrifice comes with being in a band. If you can do the sacrifice then you should be in a band because when you’re onstage, when you tour, when you record your songs it’s the best thing in the world, absolutely the best feeling in the world. What is your opinion on the way women in heavy metal are viewed today? Today is very much better than when I started, I’m very happy that I can see the progress. There are more women, more girls feel that they can take a spot in the metal scene – I didn’t really feel that when I started. There was this all girl Swedish band called Strange Stockholm and when I saw them I was like “If they can do it, I can do it too.” Before that I had Courtney Love but that’s not metal but I thought Courtney Love was really cool – she played the guitar and she was just a very outstanding person. Strange Stockholm was metal and it was an awakening that I could do this if I really want to – so for me that was the big thing when I discovered them and after that I just tried to push my way into the metal scene. I think it’s easier today, I hope it’s easier today – in Stockholm today we have a lot of female-fronted bands or all girl bands. I hope the girls today feel like they have people to look up to and I hope I can be one of them. I discovered Doro later, maybe 22 so when I was 15 I didn’t know much girls in metal. You did a cover of a Motorhead tune, what is another band you would like to cover that you haven’t yet. There are so many, I so love Twisted Sister. I really wanted to cover a Twisted Sister song but not their most known songs maybe some of the least known but a Twisted Sister song that would be really fun to do. Sometimes it’s better to think outside a little bit and not choose the very normal suggestion, people tell us all the time “You should do a Motley Crue cover or you should do a Judas Priest” but that’s kind of too easy. Sometimes it’s fun to find those diamonds somewhere in a song that people don’t know so much with a band – maybe that’s not even metal but you can make it your own. Many talented bands have come out of your home country of Sweden like In Flames, Opeth, Arch Enemy just to name a few. What do you think it is about all of this music coming out of Sweden that has such a broad appeal to people internationally? I think it could be two things, the first is that Sweden has always been a very good country when it comes to music – from when we’re a child we have opportunites to get into music school for free or for a very small fee at least when I grew up, I know it’s kind of changing now because we have another political power right now. When I grew up they would try to get kids into artistic things like music or theater stuff like that, it was that or sports. So you either get good at sports or music or art and drama so that’s why I think many people are very good musicians from Sweden because we learn from a very early age to do all of these kinds of things. The other thing is that Sweden is very cold, you can’t just be on the beach the whole day and surf or do many things outside, other than a couple of months, in December you have to be inside because it’s too cold here. So again if you want to do something at home – you go and play music or you go and do sports so I think that could be a reason why a lot of people in Sweden are dedicated and they have this kind of music coming out. There’s nothing else to do here, people tend to be drawn to being together and playing music. 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John Shearer, Getty Images Drummer Matt Sorum looks upon his tenure with Velvet Revolver as some of the best times of his career, but he definitely has some reservations about whether the band will continue. Speaking with ‘Source of the Sound With Wendy Campbell’ (audio below), Sorum initially referred to the band in past tense while using the term “broke up,” before correcting his wording and explaining, “I can’t say we’ve broken up because it’s a hiatus.” When asked about the possibility of continuing with former frontman Scott Weiland , he moved on from the notion quickly and changed the topic to Slash and his satisfaction with his current band. Sorum explained, “I think Slash is really kind of happy being Slash and not really dealing with the drama of being in a band. He’s the leader of his band and they go on stage on time and they play songs. And I’ve gotta kind of respect Slash for that, because he spent most of his career waiting around for people to show up. [laughs] [So he wants to just] go out on the road and have a nice easy go of it. Get on a tour bus [with] a new band, play songs. I totally respect that.” Sorum says of his time with the band, “Velvet Revolver, in my opinion, was a miracle, in a way. Because here we are, guys in our 40s, putting together a band that’s gonna be [perceived] as a modern rock and roll band. And we achieved that. We were competing against much younger guys, we had a huge success with it. I got my first Grammy, which was amazing and it was really, for me, one of the highlights of my life, because number one, I was an original member for the first time ever; I was always the guy that came in and took somebody’s place. Velvet Revolver [consisted of] guys that I already played with before, but it was considered a new band.” Though Velvet Revolver continues to be on hold, Sorum hasn’t let it stop his musical pursuits. He’s been working with a group of rock vets called Kings of Chaos, and also taking on more production roles of late. He recently finished a record with Diamond Baby and is heading into the studio to oversee another band’s record. Sorum also turns up on the ‘ Re-Machined ‘ Deep Purple tribute album. Listen to Matt Sorum Discussing Velvet Revolver [button href=”http://loudwire.com/duff-mckagan-velvet-revolver-lead-singer-search-nowhere/” title=”Next: Duff McKagan Discusses Velvet Revolver Singer Search” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Nikki Sixx is a man who wears many hats. Not only is he the bassist and songwriter for Motley Crue and Sixx: A.M. , he’s also a radio host, author and master of social media. During some downtime from Motley Crue’s current tour with KISS, we caught up with Sixx on the phone for an interview that we’ve divided between Loudwire and our brother site Ultimate Classic Rock . See what he told us about the band’s new single ‘Sex,’ his Twitter rant against Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine and what lies ahead for his band Sixx: A.M. in the following Q&A. And for more on Motley Crue’s tour with KISS, as well as their plans for new music, click on the button at the bottom of this article to read Ultimate Classic Rock’s portion of the interview. Have you been happy with the reaction to the new song ‘Sex’? Yeah, you know what I’m really happy about? We wrote the song, we recorded it and we recorded it old school. We just got in a room, pounded it out, did a few of the dubs, had some fun with some synths, with some good sound to thicken it up. Vince did his vocals and we mixed it pretty quick and we had a choice, so [we decided] “Let’s not go pounding radio, the old-school way … let’s let people discover it the way that they discovered us when we were kids, the way they discover bands even now.” You hear about it, someone talks about it, someone plays it for you, e-mails it to you, so that was really exciting. Radio stations wanted to pick it up and play it, there was no agenda on our part and then the audience, a lot of the time, was hearing it for the first time the night of the show. People would say, “Dude when you were in Chicago, you know you sold 10,000 copies and when you’re in Detroit ,you sold 9,000 copies of the song,” because they’re hearing it live and they’re going, ‘Wow this is cool, new Crue, how come I never heard this?’ You and Tommy Lee in particular are very active on Twitter. Do you enjoy it as much as you seem to and is there anything you’ve tweeted that you regret? Of course. You know, I’ve done a few things. Because it’s an artist doing it, because it’s a human being doing it, it’s not an assistant or the management company, or the record company tweeting for you. You’re going to say s–t that’s going to ruffle feathers or you’re going to stay stuff that’s really personal and other people can really relate to it. That’s what I like about it, I’ve embraced it. In the beginning, when Twitter first came out, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be that open,’ but as [my radio program] Sixx Sense became such a huge part of my life, I became willing to be more and more vulnerable and just laying my life open on the radio show. Twitter didn’t feel as so scary to me. I was like, “I don’t know if I want people to know what color socks I’m wearing today,” and in the end, if something happens to me, like what does that have to do with this life? And what I found out is that it has everything to do with everyone’s life because we’re kind of all doing this at the same time, in real time. One of the things that for me that was really interesting is when [Megadeth frontman] Dave [Mustaine] was saying maybe assinine statement about America turning into Nazi America. I mean, I reached for my phone and I said, ‘This guy’s a f—ing a–hole’ and he is, you don’t say that about your f—ing country. But I was able to say that and I had a lot of people go, ‘Hey man, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and Nikki you’re in the wrong,’ and ‘That guy should be thrown out of the country,’ and other people [wrote] ‘He shouldn’t be thrown out of the country, he’s entitled to his own rights’ and it just went on and on and on and I didn’t take any of it personally. What I did was I took it in and went, ‘This is great! This is like a world conversation,’ and I was able to have my opinion and that guy has a right to have his own opinion, whether he wants to think that about our country. I don’t think that about our country but I have strong opinions on other stuff and I’ve had people come after me. It is a cool, cool thing and you can be real on it and in there’s times when you can also say, ‘Guess what? We got tickets up for sale!’ What does the future hold for Sixx: A.M.? The biggest plan that we have is to make our third record. We have had the obstacle of touring because of Motley Crue and because DJ [Ashba] is playing guitar in Guns ‘N Roses and [singer] James [Michael] is producing. It’s like every time I’m available, DJ’s on the road, or every time DJ’s off the road, I’m touring or James is in the middle of a record. I don’t believe there will be any touring on this [past] record and we’ve already starting writing ideas, except we haven’t actually gotten together. We’re gonna do the record and that album has to without a doubt have a tour. [button href=”cool http://ultimateclassicrock.com/nikki-sixx-interview/” title=”Next: Nikki Sixx Talks KISS Tour + New Motley Crue Music” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com We recently had a chance to speak with Job for a Cowboy vocalist Jonny Davy. As metal fans crammed into the tiny outdoor smoking area at New York City’s Irving Plaza, they got a first-hand look at our interview with Davy as we chatted with the deathcore vocal pioneer shortly after Job for a Cowboy’s set. In our interview with Davy, he spoke about Job for a Cowboy’s latest album, ‘Demonocracy,’ the evolution of the band since the pig-squealing ‘Doom’ EP, how Job for a Cowboy will disband if their current lineup changes + much more. ‘Demonocracy’ is your latest record. On this one especially, is there anything that you tried to accomplish that’s new from your previous albums? You know, a lot of bands find their comfort zone and they write the same record over and over and over again, which is fine; it works for other bands. But I think with us, I think it’s safe to say that when you listen to our older records to now, we’ve had a big upward spiral of progression; an experimentation almost and I feel like to make ourselves happy and to not get bored with it, we just try new things. I mean, we wrote the ‘Doom’ EP when we were about 16 years old. We’re all in our mid-to-late 20s now, so our music influences and favorites were much different from 16 to now. I think with our band, we got popular and we got a lot of recognition before we even put out a full length, which is weird; from a little ‘Doom’ EP. I think a lot of people already have their opinion on that and don’t give us a chance because of that, but things have changed so much over the years. We’ve been touring for seven our eight years now, which is terrifying and horrifying to think about. I’ve been doing it for this long already, but we like to spice things up. I think it’s very interesting because you guys were sort of the top tier of the MySpace deathcore wave. It must have been weird seeing a genre of music that you guys helped pioneer become hugely saturated online. It’s weird. In all reality, if we kept writing music like the ‘Doom’ EP, we would be making a lot more money than we are now. We just want to keep ourselves happy with the music, as cheesy as that sounds. But we’re just having fun and enjoying the music that we’ve been playing and trying new things, so I feel like it’s been working. I know it was a long time ago, but you guys dropped the pig squeal vocals. What was the mindset behind that? I mean, again, we were 16 years old when we wrote the ‘Doom’ EP and started touring. We started touring and we really made a realization. We’ve got so many influences. We were really influenced by Cattle Decapitation and Misery Index. It’s just growing up you know? I feel like a lot of people have been watching us grow up over the years and it’s kind of strange. It’s weird because most high school bands are just beginning to figure out music with their friends. That’s what it was. Everyone used to be in a high school band playing in their parents garages, not knowing what the f— we were doing, and magically we tour the U.S. and Europe and the rest of the world. It was kind of mind-blowing to all of us; so humbling when you really sit down and think about it. What was that like in high school? You know probably going from the outcast of your high school… Stereotypical metal outcasts. In reality, I feel like the majority that listen to metal kind of were outcasts, I suppose. I don’t know. I’m going to back to the word cool; it’s cool. You’re the only original member left in Job for a Cowboy. There’s been a lot of member changes over the years. What is it about this lineup? Does it feel a little more solid? I mean, to go back to the point; we started so early. When you’re that young, so many things can happen with school, college … when you go on tour, when you’re that young, so many things can happen. I feel like if we started this band in our mid-20s, we would have a solid lineup all the way through. If this lineup ever changes at this point, Job for a Cowboy is done. Really? Yeah, so if this lineup ever changes, that’s it. You’re so happy with this line up then that it would feel strange to be without it? Absolutely; again, as cheesy and stereotypical it is to say, I feel that this is our strongest lineup and I feel that if anyone were to leave it’s done. JFAC RIP. Watch Behind-The-Scenes Footage of Job for a Cowboy Recording ‘Demonocracy’
Adrenaline Mob drummer Mike Portnoy (formerly of Dream Theater) has never been shy in expressing his opinion, and a few days ago he tweeted a criticism of Matt Sorum’s drum work in the Guns N’ Roses song ‘November Rain’ off the album ‘Use Your Illusion I.’ “November Rain is an all-time classic song…but why on Earth did Matt Sorum play the SAME EXACT fill every 4 bars? (23 times to