Angry Metal Guy

White Wizzard // Over the Top
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Would’ve been the kings of metal in 1982…
Label: Earache
Websites: myspace.com/whitewizzard
Release Dates: EU: 08.02.2010 | US: 03.09.2010

There is an interesting irony to throwback bands like White Wizzard and a lot of the other thrash throwbacks that are coming out right now, which is that at one point in time what these guys were doing was forward thinking. I know it’s hard to believe, in a world where metal is used to support stupid ideologies, backwards thinking or just generally brutish and retarded behavior, it’s hard to think of metal as progressive, but in 1980—metal was outside of the box. Bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard were just cutting their teeth, Lars Ulrich was busy stealing their riffs and ideas and heavy metal was fresh, young, innovative and above all rebellious and really, really interesting.

These days are long gone. Metal has genrified so much to the point where one can’t hold a conversation with another metal dude who likes exactly the same bands as you, and you’ll probably argue about everything: but you’ll both agree that Iron Maiden slayed back in the day. The only other time in metal history that was as exciting as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, in my opinion any way, was probably the Bay Area Thrash scene (though I’m not the biggest fan) and the Swedish Death scene in the early 90s. But those days are gone… They remain, largely, not forgotten however as is proved by LA native metallers White Wizzard who return in 2010 with an album that would have put them on top of the world in 1982..

Now I won’t be coy: I’ve already unveiled how it is that I feel about retro heavy metal. Sure, it’s got its moments, but all-in-all I think that these styles are better left in the past. However, Over the Top is definitely a record to give a shot if you’re even a passing fan of the style. White Wizzard does a good job of capturing the things that made the scene great: the dueling guitars, the epic riffs and the song structures on Over the Top sound like they come straight out of Killers-era Steve Harris’ playbook. Tracks like “High Roller” and “Iron Goddess of Vengeance” replicate that sound with ease and to pretty good effect. The band is tight and solid and the production is good, showing that real bands playing real heavy metal don’t have 13 guitar tracks so that you can actually hear the bass sometimes. The title track, as well, is old school, rocking and fun to listen to.

On the other hand, just like those old metal records, Over the Top has its share of filler. “40 Deuces”, “Strike of the Viper”, “Death Race” and “White Wizzard” all left me wanting more and feeling underwhelmed. These tracks don’t have the same kind of pop that one would hope to get out of an old school metal band. They lack the kind of fire that I look for when I go back and listen to classic metal. I also thought that the song “Out of Control”, while a pretty good track, had some pretty lame lyrics that sort of point out what’s going on here: a group of dudes who are longing for something that ain’t coming back. And in a way that’s sad.

The high point of the album for me personally is the track “Live Free or Die” which not only embodies the Heavy Metal spirit, but also has the vocalist (I think, or it’s another member of the band doing it) backing away from his metal voice and showing that he’s got some good melodic sense and some good pipes behind his metal shriek. This song and “Iron Goddess of Vengeance” (another just kick ass track) show off the talent that is definitely contained within this band. I just wish that they could do something musically that wasn’t so campy and throwback. But that’s me: I’ll probably be a bitter old guy living in the past some day and I’ll love the Gothenburg throwback bands because they take me back to a time when I was cool and on top of things.

Aeternam // Disciples of the Unseen
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Solid debut, can’t wait for more!
Label: Metal Blade
Website: myspace.com/aeternammetal
Release Date(s): EU: 15.02.2010 | US: 02.16.2010

Egyptian metal is apparently a genre now! I didn’t have any clue! I just thought it was kind of a thing that Nile did. And then it was Nile and Behemoth. And then it was Nile, Behemoth and SepticFlesh. And now it’s Nile, Behemoth, SepticFlesh and Aeternam! I think that counts as a genre! So, that’s pretty cool in and of itself. Oh, and it turns out that Aeternam is pretty cool themselves, leading to a generally all around happy feeling for a few fleeting moments before the general irritants that keep me so angry all the time come crashing back in.

Though, really, Egyptian Metal doesn’t describe much except the mode the band plays in all the time, so as a responsible reviewer it is my job to elucidate what exactly it is that this band is doing and what they’re doing well (and not-so-well). Like many other bands, Aeternam is fundamentally a melodic death metal band. Though, they border the line into what I would call “progressive” death metal, due to the use of acoustics, tribal drums and other not-necessarily-metal kind of things to build atmosphere and songs in general. But fundamentally Aeternam still whips out the melody, guitar harmonies and mid-paced riffs and growls enough to make you feel comfortable calling them melodic death metal. The other side to the band’s sound is a blasty death metal style that is definitely Nile influenced. However, due to differences in production and writing style (an ear more towards melody and drums much lower in the mix), the band manages to differentiate itself from the Egyptian metal giants pretty easily.

The writing on here is solid and dynamic, as well. Not only is the band obviously influenced by death metal bands, there is a pop sense and power metal sensibility on here that very rarely shows up in death metal. On tracks like “Esoteric Formulae” and “Goddess of Masr” you can definitely hear power metal influences (the two that spring to mind repeatedly are Iced Earth and Symphony X). One could say that this is partially due to the band’s vocalist, who has a great baritone range and is not afraid to show off his pipes. However, he’s also not overly showy with his vocals and they only grace a few tracks on the whole album, keeping them sparse and effective. However, there is a distinctively power/classic metal guitar approach on a lot of these songs.

Disciples of the Unseen is a fantastic debut record for this Canadian quintet. While the band isn’t breaking a whole lot of new ground, they are melding some sounds into something that is definitely their own! The more melodic take on Egyptian Metal with the fantastic grooves (like on “Ouroboros”) and excellent vocal performances, as well as a great band performance is definitely a recipe for success.  Some of the tracks on here (most notably “Through the Eyes of Ea”) are a bit too spotty, in my opinion, but in general the flow and consistency of Disciples of the Unseen are very good. In an era when metal is desperately seeking a new take on melodic death metal to take it into the future, a band like Aeternam might just have what it takes to work us in that direction with work like Disciples of the Unseen.

Rage // Strings to a Web
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — A surprising, catchy release
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: rage-on.de | myspace.com/rage
Release Dates: EU: 05.02.2010 | US: TBA

When I was in my big power metal phase, which I guess would’ve probably been around 2000/2001, I stumbled upon a Rage CD in a great used CD store that I used to go into all the time (those were the days). I thought for sure it was going to be great just from looking at it. Turns out… not so much. I don’t recall hating a record more than that one. I thought it was a major pile of shit. I’m pretty sure it was the record XIII, but I can’t be sure as it was sold away a long time ago. Needless to say I wasn’t even a little bit excited when I received this record. I was fully expecting this record to be totally crap.

However, the German hockey metal has struck: and I’ve been addicted for about a week to this CD. For fans of the band, I’m sure that this review will probably be not as good as it could be, because I don’t have a lot of reference for the band’s earlier work, however, I’m going to describe this from the perspective of someone who’s really hearing these guys for the first time. Rage is like a blending of 80s Yes with Blind Guardian. They have all the thrash, the classical influences (and these guys actually pre-date Blind Guardian by a few years) and the “hockey choruses” as one individual I know calls it, that make Blind Guardian, Nocturnal Rites and bands of that nature addictive. On the other hand, there’s a progressive bent, that keeps things fresh and that really is reminiscent of the 1980s.

Actually, the biggest surprise here is that a band with such big, modern production can still sound so genuinely 80s. I know that, of course, these guys started making music in the early 80s, but honestly.. no one sounds like that anymore. These guys have not shyed away from the things that made the 80s unique and campy, including a Top Gun love scene kind of soundtrack moment (the track entitled “Fatal Grace” and starring a Kenny G wannabe) in the big “Empty Hollow” track (a 5 part epic, that kicks ass). But despite all of this, it still manages to be good and somehow avoids the camp. It has all of those simple rock beats, straightforward melodies and guitar driven compositions that one associates with the 80s, but somehow they just make it work. There must be something in the tone or the production that I can’t quite put my finger on, but this record manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and relevant.

But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a glam album either. It is consistent with good German thrash metal and just generally addictive. Very few bands tempt me to headbang at the desk while I’m writing the review and listening to it. Few bands produce melodies that are so intensely addictive as the choruses on this album (see: “Empty Hollow,” “Hunter and Prey,” “Saviour of the Dead”). My biggest complaint about this record, honestly, is that the lyrics are pretty lame. As a buddy put it “Show me a power metal band with good lyrics and I’ll show you the holy grail,” and that’s probably true.. but you’d think that someday we’d be able to get past the embarrassing lyrics that show up on this record (and many other power metal records). It’s a shame, because everything else about this record is great—but just listen to the lyrics to “Hellgirl” and tell me that you’re not embarrassed.

Criticisms aside, I was pretty much wowed by this album. I’ve heard bad things about this band’s later material, so it sounds like this record isn’t at all representative of that era. If you’ve been a fan of this band in the past but quit listening to them, now might be the time to give them another chance. And if you’re a fan of power metal, prog and German thrash you should definitely check out this album.

Blaze Bayley // Promise and Terror
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — 55 minutes of kick ass and darkness mixed
Label: Blaze Bayley Recordings
Websites: blazebayley.net | myspace.com/blazebayley
Release Date: February 1st, 2010

I must say that, if you don’t already know this, I have been anticipating this record since I heard of its release. Sure, things have been busy around here, but I even managed to slip in a few listens to the record in spite of the heavy schedule of listening that I’m forced to adhere.  Written and recorded in the aftermath of one of the most terrible tragedies in Blaze’s life, and really in the life of a neophyte band trying to break its way into the music scene on the strength of independent promotion and raw, hard work, and non-fashionable music, Promise and Terror has the chance to show the medal of this band and to testify to the absolute spine of one Blaze Bayley. While The Man Who Would Not Die was a record that was written in the face of the adversity from the outside world and sounded, frankly, like a big aural “fuck you” to all uninterested parties, Promise and Terror has a different role to fill.

Let’s think about the title and I think it really gives a sense of what one should be expecting from this record. Every new thing that one encounters in the world can contain both terrifying and promising things. A new lover contains both of these things: the promise of things to come, but the terror of losing someone. This sense of terror compels people to act completely irrationally sometimes in order to try to maintain a relationship that they’re, in essence, pushing away by acting crazy. As a musician you are also facing the same kind of thing a situation that is risky. Do you lose relationships with those you’re close to? Do you spend loads of money and push yourself into debt for nothing in the end? Or do you live the life you want to live. And, I think the ultimate example of this is freedom. In some ways being independent from the group is a scary process. There is no one telling you where your limits are. But then you don’t have limits. Such promise can frighten people.

In losing his label and going through everything that he’s been through, Blaze has certainly experienced both the promise and the terror that are embodied in this well-written, well-produced and perfectly executed example of modern power metal. Promise and Terror is uncompromisingly heavy, pushing its way into melodic death metal territory if there wasn’t an English baritone singing over top of it. The riffs are melodic as hell, but definitely catchy and the guitar work is textured and very cool. The fast is dynamically offset by slow parts (and even a slow song, which is one of the strongest tracks on the album “Surrounded by Sadness”) which work functionally to remind you of the darkness and sadness contained within.

The production on this record is definitely a step up from the band’s previous effort, to my great pleasure, and the drums sound great (Hey Larry, damn straight triggers are for pansies! Well played!). The whole thing is thick as hell with great performances from everyone involved. Though, I must say that, oddly enough some of the only questionable performances are caused by Blaze himself seeming a bit lost on the melodic side with a few of the riffs (see the chorus in “1633″, an awesome song.. but Blaze just sounds kinda off). This, however, is few and far between. And while his voice isn’t as powerfully produced as it was when Andy Sneap was producing it, he does still sound very good.

Lyrically, Blaze borders on profundity throughout the whole album. Honestly, this guy may be at his best right now. Ironically, one of the complaints that his old band had about him, which resulted in some of the more questionable lyrical content from Blood & Belief, was that he wasn’t writing personal lyrics. This record shows that he certainly can write convincing, interesting lyrics which express his inner pain and the things that are going on for him. Sometimes these lyrical excursions almost seem at odds with the music, but for the most part the darkness of this record permeates everything culminating in probably one of the darkest tracks he has ever performed since he was on The X Factor, “Comfortable in Darkness”.

Honestly, I view this record as a triumph for The Little Band That Could. Hopefully more people will pick it up and get into it, because this is easily the best thing that Blaze Bayley has sung on since Tenth Dimension. It has all the balls of Silicon Messiah and all the darkness of The X Factor and all the honesty that was missing from Blood & Belief. Even if you’re not a Blaze fan, you should at least head on over to their MySpace and give the tracks a spin. You might just be impressed.

One of the most promising bands that I’ve ever encountered in my time in the underground has been Luna Mortis. Within the scene that they were surrounded by, it was basically taken for granted that if someone from the scene was going to take off it would be them (at the time called The Ottoman Empire). To no one’s surprise they got bigger, got better management, got a better band together and continued developing. To no one’s surprise they started getting good press and good reviews and making contacts. To, I think, a lot of people’s surprise they ended up getting signed by Century Media. Not that they didn’t deserve it, but just to think that a group of local kids were getting picked up by the label that had shepherded so many of us into the extreme metal scene was pretty astounding.

It was with some disappointment and, frankly, a little bit of bitterness that I heard that they had been dropped. Having spoken with Mary Zimmer (the vocalist) around the time that they had been signed, it sounded like they had been given a a hard sell: “we will let you develop.” That, obviously, didn’t happen. I caught up with Mary and got it on the record. Here’s the transcript of that encounter.

AMG: Yeah, well the last time we talked you guys had just gotten signed and the album was on its way and everything was hunky dorey, and yeah.. when did you guys find out that you were getting dropped by Century Media?

Mary Z.: Well, there’d been talk bopping around about what we were going to do for the next thing, you always have to talk to the label about what’s going to happen. You know, for your next album what are you going to do. And when are you going in and when are you going to start. Actually, technically, I don’t think our option period has technically arrived yet, but the owner got together with a bunch of staff and he cleaned house. I mean, that’s basically it, and they decided that due to whatever reasons certain bands they weren’t going to reinvest in. So, we’re not the only ones. But we are the only ones who just came out and said “we’re getting dropped,” and that was admittedly on me, but I figure why should we have to sugar coat this shit? It’s metal, let’s just fucking say what it is. Everybody wants to spin everything and say “parted ways” and blah, blah, blah it’s like no, they’re dropping us. It doesn’t mean that we failed or something or that we’re not going to go to another label or put out another label, it just is what happened and I’d rather just say what happened.

AMG: Yeah, I think one of the things we’d talked about was that you were confident that they were going to let you guys develop.

Mary Z.: Yeah, well, that’s what we were told. That’s not what happened, but that’s what we were told. We were going to be able to develop over a few albums. They told us that they thought we were a career band, you know. Suddenly, though the economic crash made everybody start thinking completely differently, and I think their mind changed about business in a lot of ways in a short amount of time.

AMG: So you don’t think that they were just blowing sunshine up your ass when you guys got signed…

Mary Z.: I don’t know, dude, to be honest. I don’t know, I really like a lot of the people from Century and a lot of these people are still my friends. I think what happened is that Century Media has a lot of successful, very big bands right now and if you get down to the basic numbers of it we’re a small fish in a very big pond. So they still have a small staff even though they have the “big pond” and they don’t have a lot of time to develop new artists as much as they did, so if it doesn’t hit on your own, you’re kinda left… they did a lot for us as far as publicity goes, and that was great and I am thankful for them for that, but again like I said, there’s a lot of big bands and when you only deal with such a small staff of people there’s only so much they can do. So, we’ve got interest from other labels and things, and I’m hoping that we will find the right one that will have more time to invest in us.

AMG: So do you think you guys went too big too soon?

Mary Z.: No, I don’t think we jumped into anything too big too early. I think being on Century Media really helped us a lot. Like I said, they did do a lot for us, getting the name out and everything so we got a lot out of it. We got an album out in Japan. It’s not that it was a bad thing or too much too soon it’s just that you’re talking about a label thats size doesn’t match the success of some of their bands, you know. They need more people and it’s hard to make your label bigger when the record industry is in flux. I’m not trying to say that I’m not perturbed that we were dropped, don’t get me wrong, I am not happy about it one bit. Because I think people should invest in artists and I think that’s the problem right now is that people want “instant instant instant” and throughout history all of the big bands weren’t “instant instant instant.” So the thing is that we were a small fish in a big pond, you know, and so getting the attention and the focus and the clout and the pull that the big bands get is hard to do. We were not the number one priority because we weren’t selling 100,000 records immediately. But at the same time when all the attention is on the band selling all those records it’s hard for people to focus on artist development. I’m not trying to say that’s good or bad, I’m just trying to say how it is. Take it for what you will.

AMG: Are you guys still working with the same management group, though? I mean, you haven’t had a major shakeup have you?

Mary Z.: We haven’t had the same management for a long time but we still have the same booking agent and everything. In general everything is cool, we’re all going to do Luna Mortis we’re going to do it all the way still. Some of us are also going to pursue other projects in addition to Luna Mortis. Audition for other things and kinda expand our musical endeavors that way, if you would. Which is something that for the last 10 years, at least Brian [Koenig] and I, we’ve been like bam, bam, bam, bam, bam with only this band and neither one of us have ever really looked at anything else. So, we’re going to keep doing Luna Mortis and we’re going to keep doing it like we are now, like the full deal but we’re also going to make other music and work on other things a lot of us. Because it’s just that time, if we’re going to do that, we should do it.

AMG: Do you see how that could look a little defeatist?

Mary Z.: Oh yeah, it does look defeatist, I mean.. The thing is we have other label interests and we’re pursuing it. Like, me personally, I wanna try and do other things in addition to Luna Mortis, you know, there’s a lot of musical stuff I’ve always put on the back burner and when you sign with a record label they always get first dibs on whatever project you’re doing. So if I’m going to do that it’s a good time if we’re in flux with who we’re signed with. It’s a good time for me to try and see what I can do elsewise and there are other projects that I’m going to do vocals on. But this side stuff isn’t going to be full time like Luna Mortis.

AMG: Yeah, I see, it’s just that in some ways it could be see as “Ah, well, we had the shot and it went to hell, so.. time to move on.”

Mary Z.: Yeah. I mean, sometimes it feels that way but now that people are coming out of the woodwork a little bit more it feels less that way.

AMG: What happened with your management? I don’t know if you want to get into that or not. I know that other bands that I know had issues with the very same management company that you guys had.

Mary Z.: Yeah, that was so long ago already. We just decided that our old manager was not the manager for us. That’s not something that we talk about publicly that much because it would just sound like shit-talking. It’s not shit-talking it’s just about the fact that business-wise and goal-wise and things like that it just didn’t jive. We’ll just put it that way. It did not jive. So… So we just have been without a manager for a long time, since the album came out.. Since before the album came out.

AMG: And does self-managing work for you? Are you guys able to multitask that kind of stuff?

Mary Z.: Well we were always putting out indie releases and doing stuff before on our own, before we had label and management, agents, any of that kind of stuff. We did everything ourselves. So when we decided not to have management anymore we kinda thought “well, back to the same old.” The thing is that we’ve got very good relationships with a lot of people we work with in the music industry. So, there’s really no need for a manager at this point. There’s really no need for a liaison. We’ve been looking for other management but the thing is that until a manager can really show us that there’s something that they can offer us that we can’t do ourselves or that they’re going to put in as much effort as we’re going to put in, we’re not interested. Because a lot of people who want to manage bands want to just like say they manage a band and reply to a couple e-mails once in a while they’re not proactive. And we’re a proactive band always. So we need a manager who is as proactive and finding that is really hard. Until we find that we’re just going to do what we do.

AMG: But what does a manager offer a band that’s proactive aside from contacts?

Mary Z.: That’s there, too. But we don’t really have a need for that right now. We have those. There’s contacts but there’s also like, if you can get a good manager that has a good business sense, that’s rooted in the genre that you’re playing and they have contacts and connections they can work on your behalf to work with publicists, tour planners, other things and just sort of be the mouth for you. And make stuff happen. Also, it’s always good to have a neutral face when you’re dealing with people because the one thing that makes not having a manager hard is when you have to throw down and be like “No, this is not how we’re going to do it.” Then it’s the band that’s telling people, so it is good to have that buffer. There are some really good managers out there who can make shit happen. We’re just waiting to see. We’re not really actively pursuing it, you know if someone comes out of the wood work and they’re like “I’d like to manage your band.” We’ll consider it, see what’s going on. But we’re not actively looking because it’s really not needed at this point.

AMG: Are you guys going to be recording anything? Pumping out a demo for shopping or anything?

Mary Z.: Brian has been writing for months and we are going to be rehearsing. The people who have been pursuing us label-wise have been popping up and talking to us haven’t been asking for any demos at this point. I think what we have out there is enough to tell people what it’s like. But I think we want to record another album no matter what, like, Brian and I and everyone else are pretty much ready to get rehearsing again and get another album out. And whether that.. you know if a label wants to pick us up and put the money into it, great! If not, then we’re doing it ourselves like we did before and we’re just going to hire some people to help us with it and work with it and so it’s going to come out. We’d really like to this time around, no matter what the situation, no matter who we’re signed with or not signed with. We really want to put the album out in Europe which did not happen this last time.

AMG: What?! You guys didn’t get a European release!?

Mary Z.: Yeah, it never got released in Europe. It got released in North America and Japan.

AMG: How the hell did that happen? I would think that Europe would be priority?

Mary Z.: The rationale that I was told was that they were afraid that if they released it overseas and it didn’t catch on then people wouldn’t want order it on the second album. I don’t know if I agree with 100%, I can see where the logic comes from, but it doesn’t really matter at this point because it’s over. But now we have the freedom to either negotiate with a label and say “look, really want to focus on Europe and Japan and not focus on the United States.” That was a big part of the problem with this last album, a lot of the focus was pushed to the Americans, for advertising the press everything. The release. It’s just the wrong audience. The Canadians dig us, the Americans not so much. So only a certain percentage of North America is really willing to get on board with a new metal band, you know? And the Japanese are much more friendly. I’m very glad that we got released in Japan. I think that if we would’ve had a European shot it would’ve done a lot better.

AMG: Not to dwell on this but isn’t that what they did with Iced Earth, I mean that was the big deal, they took Iced Earth to Germany. Then they let the Germans go nuts over them and then they gave them four albums before they even produced a quality CD. And then they finally got good and then their cool vocalist quit…

Mary Z.: That’s the thing, Century Media has historically been very good with developing artists. Iced Earth is a great example of a time when they did that. I love a lot of the people that work there very dearly and a lot of them really put their best effort into the band, but the higher ups were not willing to reinvest. And it sucks. And I’m a little perturbed that it never got a European release. A great deal of our orders that would ship prior to signing go to Europe. I mean, a majority of them. Europe and Japan. To not be released in Europe at all really I don’t think ultimately helped us and with the ordering thing I can understand the logic but I think now that everything is more digital I don’t think that would matter. I don’t think it’s that much of a risk and wherever we go this next time or whatever we do. Europe is our focus, we’re going to push it hard over there, because that is where I think our audience is.

AMG: Sorry, I was really taken aback because I always assumed that if you guys were going to be marked anywhere it was going to be Germany, it was just the logical assumption… huh. Well, but personally do you have another projects in the works or are you just exploring stuff?

Mary Z.: I’m exploring stuff. I have a good friend of mine who wants to do an industrial project and help me do some vocals on that. The music is really terrific and I’m going to do that. It’s a project, a studio thing it’s one guy. It’s not like a touring thing. It’ll be cool to do that because I’ve never done an industrial project and there’s a lot of not-metal music that I’m really, really into. As far as like gothic, industrial music goes. That should be cool. I don’t know about everybody else in the band, what’s going on as far as their other projects. That’s all I have going on at the moment. There’s a couple female musicians, actually, my sister is an excellent guitarist and a female drummer that I met. I’d like to put something together with all women, not because of the cliché, but there are not a lot of metal bands that can play—besides the Iron Maidens [laughs] and Kittie, I think they can play pretty good whether you like them or not, I think you have to give them their props—where the bulk of the musicians are women. That might be an interesting experiment. But again, this is all secondary to Luna Mortis. I just want to like use some of the connections and things that I’ve been able to do as our careers develop. And Luna Mortis is still going to continue touring and everything as well, we’ve got this Primal Fear tour in May and we’re going to keep booking. I’m hoping that if we put something out overseas, again, I’m hoping that the majority of that will happen off the North American continent.

AMG: I’m assuming you saw Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey. The whole thing on women in metal, I guess I should ask you this, what do you think of his conclusion about women getting more into metal and being more considered as equals in metal? Do you think that’s actually true as a female vocalist in a metal band who, for example, ended up in a calender?

Mary Z.: Well I think Sam Dunn should do a documentary on women in metal [laughs]. I love his documentaries, I love that and Flight 666. Here’s the thing man, I always pretty much get my respect as a musician. I very rarely get the “you’re a chick in a band, you’re a novelty” type of treatment. Most of the people in the metal scene, especially the people that have seen our live shows and seen that yes this does work live and we are a band and I can pull this shit off live. Especially those people, they treat me with all the respect in the world. I don’t think that metal is an intentionally sexist genre, I think metalheads are pretty broad thinking people and I think that most of them will give you a shot. If you can play you can play if you can sing you can sing. And it doesn’t really matter to a lot of them if you’re a woman or a man. Some people prefer listening to one or the other and that’s just an aural aesthetic type of thing. I get that. But I think that if you can do it you can do it. And people in the metal scene just respect musicianship and that’s the most important part. There are some exceptions, right. I think some people use it as a gimmick. Bands that use it as a gimmick where the chick sucks at what she’s doing kind of ruin it for some of us that kinda take it back a couple steps. I think that as long as you get up there and have confidence and you are good at what you do and you are serious about it and you can get up there and contend with any of the guys in the scene than you should not have a problem. Look at Doro, people don’t think of Doro as a gimmick even though she was one of the very first people to do it because Doro kicks ass.

AMG: What do you think about the double standard that women in metal must be attractive, particularly women in bands? I mean, metal dudes aren’t exactly the most attractive men out there if you’re outside of Sweden where they’re incredibly pretty. But if you’re anywhere else they tend to be paunchy, bearded, balding. I mean think about Devin Townsend for example…

Mary Z.: I think Devin Townsend is sexy, but not because of the way he looks, because of his music.

AMG: It’s the skullet that does it for me.. [laughs]

Mary Z.: He shaved that off now.

AMG: Oh did he? I saw SYL open for Meshuggah a few years back and I was duly impressed with his skullet.

Mary Z.: Dude, he’s like one of my all-time favorite musicians.

AMG: But the double-standard though, don’t you think there’s a pretty major double standard there?

Mary Z.: I would agree with that for sure. I like to be feminine, I mean, unfortunately my genetics are my genetics and I’m hardwired to like dudes, so I like being feminine. And I like being sexy at times so I try to keep a little bit of that when I’m playing and I understand that there is that double standard. Because you can be like the fattest, ugliest dude and get up there and nobody cares. But if you’re a chick you’d better not be a fat, ugly chick, I mean yeah I get that. And that does suck. But I think that is not necessarily a metal standard for women, I think that’s a societal standard for women because I can’t think.. The only band I know of any genre that has any success with a pretty stereotypically unnatractive woman, meaning like what society is unattractive is Gossip and she’s like enormous, she’s like 400 pounds. She’s very beautiful in the face but, it’s hard to break out of what society should be beautiful for all women. Not just in metal. I think that pressure falls on all women and you need to meet a certain aesthetic. I mean, people, plastic surgery everything. It’s just a world standard, I think dudes in any band can probably be somewhat ugly and get away with it. Does that make sense?

AMG: Yeah, yeah, I think you’re probably right. But you don’t think that the standard gets sort of.. becomes a bit more extreme in what could be seen as the very hyper-masculine aspects of heavy metal?

Mary Z: No, I mean, no I don’t think so. I actually think it’s more lenient in metal. I think that people are willing to accept a little bit more dirt and grime. Like on tour when I haven’t changed my clothes for three days because I’ve just kept playing shows and passing out in the van and playing shows again, and my hair is greasy and even though I still have makeup on and I still look like me, I’m not a super model. [laughs] So, I think they’re willing to accept that, I think that might even be more badass. I think there are a lot of particularly glamorous metal sings, I think.. Simone Simons [Epica], Tarja Turunen [ex-Nightwish], there is a lot of glamorous metal singers but then you also have your ones that just came in their t-shirt and jeans like Anneke [van Giersbergen] from The Gathering you know?

AMG: It’s interesting to think about, though, because either you put chicks on a pedestal in metal ’cause they’re a chick in metal, or you accept them as one of the dudes. And then in that sense then you de-sexualize them.

Mary Z.: Right, I mean, I get both reactions from people.

AMG: But how do you deal with it? I mean, in a lot of people’s minds metal is still a masculine thing. So there’s almost no way to deal with it…

Mary Z.: Well, sometimes I think it’s humorous. [Laughs] Sometimes I laugh and think “man I scream into a microphone for a living.” Sometimes it’s just funny. Not because it’s masculine or feminine but just ’cause it’s ridiculous to scream into a microphone sometimes. All metal is funny, like.. all the time. Anyway, some days it is hard, I mean some days you just wanna punch people. I mean, when you’re out on the road and stuff and security dudes, people who aren’t in the know, just people at the venues who won’t let you in because they think you’re just a roadie, or that you’re not with the band because it’s a metal show. You just get so fucking tired of it. I’ve fucking elbowed security guards and pushed through ‘em, it’s not a good thing.. but I get really tired of it. That gets old.. that does get old. You feel like sometimes you constantly have to be asserting yourself like with this badass “get the fuck out of my way” type of attitude. Some days it gets a little salty because you’ve gotta put that on a lot. Everyone thinks that you’re a groupy. But little do people know that if metalheads could get laid they would have groupies.. [laughs] but since they can’t… the girl is most likely a musician. I’m just being funny.. or maybe I’m not.

AMG: No, no, you’re not.

—

And that was about it. A little small-talk, but I concluded the interview there because of the long and tedious task of transcribing these things. I, of course, wish the band best of luck in the future and recommend that everyone go and check out their debut CD from their former label: The Absence and hopefully it’ll get a European release at some point.

Blaze Bayley is quite possibly one of the more controversial figures in modern heavy metal history because of his stint in Iron Maiden as the, unfortunately unpopular, frontman who replaced Bruce Dickinson.  More recently he suffered some very personal tragedies, with the crumbling of his band (the excellent BLAZE) and the death of his wife.  I’ll be reviewing his DVD and live record coming up, but apparently there’s more news that I was unaware of.  A book, called At the End of the Day, will be released on the 25th of September and can be ordered via the band’s website.

Here’s the full press release:

After ten months of intensive touring, the band are back in the studio writing their new album.  Recording is due to begin at the end of September after their headline show at Metalfest, UK.

The double live album and live DVD ‘The Night That Will Not Die’, recorded at Z7 in Switzerland, have been released on Blaze Bayley Recordings; the concert filmed by director Kris McManus and all audio mixed and mastered by producer Jase Edwards.

On 25 September the book ‘At The End Of The Day’ will be released.  This follows the story of ‘Blaze’ Bayley Cooke from Wolfsbane to Iron Maiden to BLAZE and, ultimately, to the current self-titled Blaze Bayley band. However, this book is not solely about Blaze; rather it traces the history of all the band members, back to their roots in New Zealand, Colombia and…Bristol.  ‘At The End Of The Day’ is available to pre-order from the band’s website.

So there you have it, folks. I’m thinking about getting my hands on a copy of that book before the interview. That’d be pretty sweet, right?

Leaves’ Eyes – Njord
Rating: 2.5/5.0 – Mediocre
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: leaveseyes.de | myspace.com/leaveseyespage
Release Date(s): EU: 28.08.2009 (out now!) | USA: 09.29.2009

Fame has its benefits.  Getting signed immediately after you leave/get fired from your other band is one of those things.  Of course, the inevitable problem with fame is that no matter how far away from what you got famous for, you will always be compared to it.  And for me, Liv’s voice will live on forever in Theatre of Tragedy’s classic album Velvet Darkness They Fear.  Leaves’ Eyes is not Theatre of Tragedy and Njord is definitely not Velvet Darkness They Fear, and while it doesn’t need to be that album all over again for me to like something she’s done, I know it can be better than this.

Firstly, this record isn’t Theatre of Tragedy, as said, instead it’s Nightwish.  While Liv’s voice is, and will always be, infinitely better than Tarja’s voice, the whole style is becoming a pallid replica of itself and is not terribly interesting.  The pompous, plodding songs push their way through your speakers and only occasionally catch your ears with something interesting.  But honestly, the music feels uninspired most of the time, and sometimes it just truly is flat and boring.  The cover of “Scarborough Fair” is a perfect example of this, it takes something well known, puffs it up and turns it into a melodramatic caricature of the tune, all the while conforming to the worst elements of the genre—huge production (courtesy of Sascha Paeth), double bass drums, pulsing keyboards, an unnecessary guitar solo—while never even being close to interesting or heavy.

There are some good moments and melodies on here, and for the gothic metal fan with a thing for female operatics and the whole approach, there are things that I’m sure one will find exciting and interesting.  For the most part, as stated earlier, it’s the melodies that catch a listener.  The undeniable radio single “My Destiny” has a very catchy chorus and a very sexy hook, marred by a Evanescence-style rappy guy on the chorus.  As with “My Destiny,” it is the chorus that stands out in “Take the Devil In Me,” with razor sharp claws sinking into your gray matter and not wanting to let go.  And of course, the highlight of this album on the track “Ragnarok” which is actually truly heavy and dramatic, pretty much the only point on this album that felt dangerous.  It is these moments that stand out, get stuck in your head and are pretty good.  But there certainly aren’t enough of them when you have to compete against filler like “Through Our Veins,” which has no build, no drive and no point.

Liv, of course, is tremendous as always.  Her voice is gorgeous and her performance is flawless.  But if she had wanted to be in Nightwish, why didn’t she go and join the damn band?  She would’ve been a perfect fit, and at least then she would’ve been in the real deal instead of a pale imitation of it.

Ravage – The End of Tomorrow
Rating: 1.5/5.0 – Disappointingly mediocre and rehashed
Label: Metal Blade (EU|USA)
Release Date(s): EU: 15.08.2009 | USA: 08.18.2009

Certain styles are, and should remain, dead.  There was a breed of melodic thrash metal, primarily propagated by Germans (a la Helloween) that should now be left to die.  Now, I want to be fair, much of that music has transformed into Europower, which has some great bands in it.  The style isn’t entire lost or dead, but one thing should be made clear: the bands that kept it alive are bands that did something new with it, that made it their own and that could be distinguished from the masses.  None of these things actually describe Ravage or their new album The End of Tomorrow.

No, instead of giving us a delightfully updated look at 80s thrash, or NWOBHM revival while adding something personal and great to it, Ravage just rehashes what every band that has tried to do this style since the mid-80s has done.  Let’s be perfectly clear: Ravage is made up of obviously talented players, but there isn’t a lick of originality in this sound or in this band.  There are some good riffs and some very good solos, but for the most part this record vascilates between boredom and torture, depending on the vocalist’s “singing,” a terrible mixture of cock rock and German thrash.

That actually brings me to a point: since when does being a power metal vocalist mean sounding like shit?  How is it that people got the idea that if you don’t sound like fucking UDO you’re not a good power metal vocalist?  This vocalist (Al Ravage) ravages things, alright.  He ravages his throat and the notes he’s supposed to be singing.  Oh, and he ravages the English language with his mediocre, bordering on totally stupid, end-rhymy ridiculousness that he calls “lyrics.”  This is a level poetry that should only be reserved for those English As a Second Language students who are trying to learn the language, not native speakers who should be able to have a level of sophistication above rhyming anything with “guts.”   Sure, metal isn’t known for it’s lyrical sophistication, but at least in other styles the stupidity is hidden by growls instead of accentuated by an out of tune guy with a bullhorn.

Finally, a disclaimer: if you are a power metal purist who thinks that the best thing since Helloween is Gamma Ray, then you’ll probably love this album.  If you’re not looking for anything more than what you’re already happy, comfortable and familiar with, then you’ll probably dig this and should buy this.  But even as a fan of power metal, I have trouble with this record.

Also, the artwork is totally rad.  So, kudos on that.

Sonata Arctica is a big deal. Not just for this blog (as it’s the first of many major label interviews to come), but just in the metal world as well. They’ve got real draw power, and they have continued to develop as a band, despite some set backs here and there. Not only that, but because for many years I swore by them as the best power metal band of all time. I have been a pretty much die-hard fan of the band since I was 19, and was therefore totally fucking stoked to get a chance to interview their keyboardist Henrik—affectionately known to the label guys and his friends as Henkka—about the new album, what’s going on with the band and whether or not he’s ever been in a knife fight. Why are you looking at me like that? All the Finns do is drink, fight and make metal… right?

—-

AMG: The biggest news besides you guys having a new album is that this record is being recorded with a new guitarist by the name of Elias—how’s that going?

Henkka: Well, it’s going pretty well. I mean, he doesn’t feel so new for us because he started playing on the tour with the last album and then he joined the band during the last tour. So he’s been in the band now for two years, I think even more, you know, three years. So, you know, of course it was a new experience to work with the new guy in the studio and he’s just been, from day one, a really easy going, mellow guy and it’s just, I mean, he’s really easy to work with. He’s open-minded to whatever we can throw his way and he can actually play anything that comes into your head so that always helps.

AMG: Has it been weird working in the studio without Jani and with Elias?

Henkka: Well, the way we work nowadays is that we pretty much rehearse together and then everybody records wherever they feel like, so we usually record at different studios anyway. So, I didn’t see him in the studio at all because he lives 4 hours south from here so he was recording in his home town and then just sending us the files. The rehearsels were a little bit different when Jani wasn’t here, but it’s kind of, I think it would’ve been much more difficult if he had just joined the band straight at the beginning of the recording process. But we played the whole last world tour with him which was almost two years, and we spent so much time together before so it wasn’t really awkward or it didn’t really seem that weird at all.

AMG: With the writing then, since he’s been touring with you guys before this, does any of that happen on the road? Or do you guys come back from tours and then go into your own separate corners and then Tony comes back with songs? Or, how does that work?

Henkka: Tony writes all or most of the music, so whenever he’s home he writes stuff when he feels like it. Of course, on the road, I don’t think he gets anything done. I think nobody else gets anything done either. I mean, on tour it’s uh.. well, during the first days you can kind of have your energy and kind of do something reasonable but then pretty soon when you’re just sitting in the bus days in and days out the only energy you have is on stage and outside of that we turn into this fucking amoebas or something and you just sit there and pick your nose and play PlayStation or something. At least for me it’s really hard to get anything creative done on the road. So with this album, it was like we did the tour and then in the beginning of December last year, and then the rest of us had two months off while Tony was finishing up, he had some songs left already that he had written before. He wrote songs for a couple of months and then we got together and started rehearsing. That’s pretty much how it works.

AMG: How long is the rehearsal process?

Henkka: This time we got I think 5 or 6 weeks of rehearsing. But, we had some days off in between as well. And when we rehearse we like to work like normal people, we like to work Monday to Friday and then have the weekends off, so you can go home and reflect on things a little bit. And usually Tony almost never has all the songs ready when we go into the studio. It’s always like during the rehearsal process we have like maybe two-thirds of the album where we knew what was going to happen and then when we we’re in the studio you get this e-mail that’s something like “Yeah, this is something I made last night” or something like that, so.. it’s always like that with him because uh, well, he doesn’t need time he just needs a deadline. [laughs] So that’s how it works.

AMG: So what kind of say do you guys have in the process? Do you get to experiment?

Henkka: It depends from song to song, I mean. Some stuff, some of the demos are really rough and we have to work on it a lot to get it to work. And then some songs it’s just like, we listen to the demo and at the first take it’s like “hey, this is pretty great as it is.” Usually it’s more small things here and there that we change, and of course for me and Elias there’s always solos to play and those are never written by Tony fortunately. [laughs] I’m dreading that that moment is going to come actually.. “Hey I have this great solo for you to play,” and then I think that’s going to be a no-go.

AMG: But didn’t Tony used to write all the keyboard stuff?

Henkka: Yeah, actually, we work in a way that some of the tracks we take straight from the demos especially if it’s a song he hasn’t changed around that much because he’s been recording it at home and so on this album some stuff we took directly from the demos and some stuff he sent over to me and I used my magic mouse hand to fix his piano playing and stuff. Some stuff he played and it’s like “hey this is really great, but it doesn’t quite work,” you know, so I played it again. It depends you know if there’s like a piano part that needs to be sensitive or something like that he doesn’t always pull it off then I might go in and play it again. It’s a balance that we’ve been trying to figure out for two or three albums, I think this one we are pretty close to finding the perfect balance, like taking the stuff that I do well and the stuff that he does well and combine that. And, of course, for me I have to rehearse a whole lot of stuff when we go on the road because I have to play it all at the end of the day anyway so.. As long as you keep your mind open and don’t let your ego get in the way, then it’s OK and he comes up with a lot of really great stuff and it would be stupid not to use it.

AMG: You play on a keytar, do you record on one?

Henkka: Uh, no, no I don’t. I don’t know, I haven’t actually even tried. It’s like when you jump around a lot on the stage and stuff it’s quite hard to play… especially when you’re recording everything has to be really exact and I prefer to play a normal keyboard, it’s just so much easier.

AMG: Do you just use the keytar on stage because it’s better for live shows then?

Henkka: Yeah, I think so. It looks better, it’s more fun for me. I don’t have to just stand in the corner, but of course every once in a while I get a headache because you have to figure out how to play stuff with one hand that you did in the studio with two hands. Of course, I use a normal keyboard as well because when you want to play piano stuff on the keytar it’s really too hard. I’m too lazy for that, so for me it’s just a live tool to make the live show a little bit more interesting.

AMG: So more specifically about the new album, the name, The Days of Grays, where does that root from?

Henkka: Actually, we had another name, but again it was too dark. It would have suited maybe a death metal band, and then I think Tony was playing World of Warcraft or something with his friends and chatting on the Internet and he was saying “Yeah, we’re having so much trouble coming up with the name.” We actually had a brainstorming session one day when everyone was hung over and we only came up with really shitty ideas. So I… I think one of his friends suggested it and they were just talking and he said “what about this,” and he came in and gave said “Well, this could be it,” and we were like “Yeah, this is it.” It was more luck than anything else.

AMG: I have to ask before I say anything about it because I did a promo copy, but what album would you compare this to, as far as the Sonata Arctica discog is concerned?

Henkka: I can only choose one right? I would say it’s something in between Reckoning Night and Unia. I’m not sure that’s a statement I really would like to say, but if I had to compare I’d say that you can find most elements on the new album on those records.

AMG: Mm hmm, ’cause it seems like you guys have moved a little bit back towards faster but you’re not really doing that Silence-era material. Has that been an organic change or is that intentional? Are you sick of it? Finding it monotonous? Or that Tony is just writing more progressive music? What happened there?

Henkka: Well, I think it’s maybe a combination of all of the stuff that you just said. Unia for us was the most different album that we ever made and that came at the point when everybody was sick of this super fast thing and we wanted to try something more interesting and Tony said he was having trouble writing these fast songs. We said, let’s just roll with it and see what happens so for us that was an album we really had to make for ourselves. A lot of that stuff shines true on this album as well, but there is never any intention to go back, I think, there was never an intention with any album to go back so I think OK, maybe it has some elements from the past but we’re just heading in some other direction now. It comes pretty naturally, and also when we tour for a couple of years a lot of things change during that time, and that goes into the writing process from Tony and of course the arrangements that we do. That means that the next one is going to be again something different. We really don’t knock anything out before or have like a band meeting “like, the next album should be like this or like that,” we just roll with it and see what happens. I think the main thing is that it mostly depends what Tony comes up with.

AMG: You said that Unia was sort of a record of necessity. So, how did your fan base, not necessarily the hardcore fans, but the more peripheral fans react to it?

Henkka: We got a lot of new fans with that album, a lot of people said that they didn’t like Sonata before but this one was really good, of course a lot of people did not like it as well because they would like us to do Silence 10 times over and that’s fine. I understand that but for us, to keep ourselves motivated and interested in this business we have to keep the music interesting as well. We got quite a bit of mixed reviews but all-in-all we came out ahead and we’ll see what happens with the next one of course. For us it was not our main concern, our main concern was to make an album that was interesting for us and hope that people like it and a lot of people did like it. That’s how it goes sometimes.

AMG: Speaking of new fans, you guys have toured the US a lot over the last 5 or 6 years, I think more than probably any other Finnish band. In fact, I’m trying to think of other Finnish or European bands that have toured so fiercely… I think Dimmu Borgir toured like nuts over there for a while, or Opeth has toured like crazy too. Why have you done that? Are you trying really hard to break into the American market and has it worked?

Henkka: Well we are trying really hard, but I think there’s still a lot of work to be done. The States are really big and there’s still not that many people who know us. So far people show up at the show and it’s been great, we really haven’t had to play that many shows that are like “oh, there’s not that many people” you know, but there’s a lot of ground to cover and we’ll be going back I think two or three times with this album as well and see what comes out of it. I just got hooked up on that other Finnish bands thing, I think Nightwish has toured the US now quite a lot and Children of Bodom, at least at some point they were there really much.

AMG: That’s true, I saw Children in 2000 and I’ve seen them probably a half dozen times since then too…

Henkka: I think it’s the kind of market where you have to go back and back and back and then maybe something comes out of it, but so far it’s going well in the respect that we don’t really make that much money, but we don’t lose money so we can actually go there and tour and we stay alive. We are going to continue to go back and we will try to work it for the next few years and see what happens.

AMG: Yeah, that’s cool, and you guys are touring with Dragonforce coming up here, right?

Henkka: It’s coming up this fall.

AMG: That’s going to be a big deal…

Henkka: Yeah, I think so. I think they’re doing pretty well there, so I hope we’re going to get a lot of new fans from that crowd as well. But with these things you never know until afterwards, you know. We met the Dragonforce guys when we were playing, uh.. well, we’ve met them before as well but, we met them last year in Japan and…

[Funny story, this is where Henkka's cell phone dies.. yay! Technology!]

Ok, we were talking about the Dragonforce thing, right? Yeah, I don’t know at what point you lost me, yeah.

AMG: Yeah, you said you met them in Japan.

Henkka: Alright. Well anyway we met in Japan and had some beers and they were like “yeah, it’d be really cool if you guys would tour with us in the States” and we were like “Sure, of course.” But that happens a lot you talk to people when they’re drunk and nothing comes out of it, you know? But then a few months later we got an e-mail from management, and they said “Hey, do you wanna support us” and blah blah blah, and we were like “Sure, of course we do!” And it fit with our schedule as well, the album is coming out just before or during the tour.. so yeah, I have big hopes for that tour.

AMG: And then you’re headed to Europe after that and probably to Japan of course?

Henkka: Yeah, we’re doing a headlining tour in Europe for 5 weeks before Christmas, and then we have a Christmas break and then we’re doing an Asian tour with China and whatnot, and ending up in Japan before we head home.

AMG: So, are you guys as huge in Japan as it seems?

Henkka: I don’t know how huge we are these days because you know, when I joined the band we were really huge in Japan, but I think it’s getting a bit smaller with Unia there was… I don’t think they liked that album that much over there. [laughs] Because they really, really want the faster and older stuff. But still we’re doing pretty well there and we’re playing sold out shows, but we’re not like really huge we’re not playing in the Buddakan or stuff like that. [Laughs]

AMG: Well, that’s crappy.. [laughs]

Henkka: No, it’s still OK. We’re still playing clubs for 1,000, 2,000 people so it’s totally cool, it’s nothing to complain about.

AMG: Yeah, so it’s nothing to complain about.. [more laughing] Exactly.

Henkka: No, no no.. absolutely not!

AMG: So, switching topics a bit, did you guys get a strong reaction to the whole situation with Jani?

Henkka: Uh, yeah. Somewhat yeah, a lot of our fans were like “Hey, why did this happen?” and blah blah blah blah blah and I think, I don’t remember exactly what we said in our statement at the time, but I think it should have been made clear that this was something we couldn’t do anything about. It’s basically pretty hard to have a guitar player without a passport who can’t travel anywhere. And he was really messing his life up and not, uh… I mean, he was dodging the phone for like 3 or 4 months, so it’s impossible to work with somebody if the situation is like that. Originally the thing was like, we said like, “OK, you get your shit together and Elias is covering for you and you get your stuff done and when you’re ready you come back.” But then we still couldn’t get ahold of him and he wouldn’t answer the phone and then we were on tour with Elias and at some point we just had to say, “Look, if you’re not making this effort this is not going to work out.” So.., but I think partly he did not want to be in the band anymore but he just couldn’t manage to tell us that. That I think could have been one of the reasons that he let everything slip through his hands and go, you know, at least some statements that I read by him later.. he seemed like he didn’t want to be in the band, but just couldn’t say it out loud or something like that. Of course it was a difficult time for us, we were in the middle of recording an album when these things started to happen. Then we got the album ready and then it was a total disaster and we had shows booked for like one or two years ahead and we had no guitar player and so for us that was a pretty chaotic time for the band, but I think we got through it and things are way easier with Elias. I mean, I just got off the phone with him to call you, so.. It was a really… there were really a lot of problems and a lot of stuff that I won’t go into and that we didn’t tell the public because it wouldn’t have been fair, but basically…the tip of the iceberg is something that people know and that was eventually what led to the situation where we chose to fire him.

AMG: Yeah. [Silence] Yeah.. I think I’ll just let that lie..

Henkka: [Laughs] Yeah, well.. to get back to your question, we got reactions of course, but I think ultimately people understand that we are making a living off of this we can’t just have somebody fuck it all up. And also, I think the last couple of years people saw Elias live and then you know there was no discussion.

AMG: That’s fairly common though, I think it’s pretty common for a band to upgrade with a guitar genius once somebody else has left, you end up getting somebody who can play everything PLUS some..

Henkka: Yeah, well with the music that we play we cannot afford to take a crappy guitar player.

AMG: Totally.. so, now for something completely different.. Have you ever been in a knife fight?

Henkka: A knife.. What?? [Laughs]

AMG: Well, it’s just the standard Swedish stereotypes of Finns.. that they’re drunk and violent. So I had to ask… [laughs]

Henkka: Yeah?

AMG: Yeah, so you’ve never been in a knife fight?

Henkka: Yeah.. well, once. [Laughs] We’re not that violent, but we’re drunk OK.. And things happen in the dark hours.. and sometimes you actually remember what happens, but most times you don’t and it’s, I think, all for the better..

AMG: Yeah, actually I was going to ask apropos Finland.. Why do you think it is that Finland has become the center of a lot of metal that’s coming out these days.. it seems like for a while it was Norway and Sweden and now that’s tapered off, but Finland is a hot spot right now.

Henkka: Yeah, well, it’s really hard to say. We get that question a lot and it’s always difficult to answer it. But I think that there have always been a lot of bands in Finland and there’s been pretty good bands, but it’s not until recent years have we actually gotten the business side of it with managers and record labels and so forth, up to the level that they could actually get the bands exported to other countries. And now with that, now that we have professional managers, we have book agents and whatnot then the bands who actually do know how to play and do something interesting, they now have a chance to get abroad and get on the map so people find them. And that was a problem before. And I think maybe that’s at least one of the reasons that bands get out from here. It’s really hard to say, and I think in some years it might shift, it’s going to be Sweden again or Norway again and I think it’s just how it goes. We are enjoying our time in the sun that’s for sure. I have no idea how it happened, I’m just happy to be a part of it.

AMG: OK, but there are a couple questions I have about live shows… first, why do you guys insist on doing medleys?

Henkka: We do it mainly because we don’t have time to play all the songs that we would like to play and then of course, it’s getting harder and harder with every album because there are so many songs to choose from. So instead of you playing just one song or two songs, we play one medley and we can fit a lot of songs in there and cover a lot of ground with a shorter amount of time. Of course, it’s not the ultimate decision I think the best decision would be to play three hour shows, but that’s a little bit much. I don’t know know if we’re going to play a medley on this tour, but we’ve been talking about it.. because there’s always.. you know, I want to play some songs, Tony wants to play some songs, Elias wants to play.. well, he’s pretty much OK with everything [laughs]. But this guy wants to play this, and that guy wants to play that, and I don’t like this song and somebody else doesn’t like that song, so uh, the medleys are basically a compromise. Also for us it’s interesting, instead of playing Replica for the thousandth time we play Replica with something else. Yeah it’s a hobby of ours, every once in a while.. It’s interesting for the fans as well, especially the hardcore people who have heard most of the songs anyway for them to spot “Hey, that’s from that song and that’s from that song,” and you know, for me personally I’m a bit fan of Rush and they always did these medley things and I thought as a fan I really enjoyed that, so..

AMG: I understand that, I’ve been an Iron Maiden fan for my entire life and the thing that always kills me about them is that they never play deep cuts. They always play the same damn 20 songs… Have you ever considered doing a tour where you play deep tracks, like songs that would be cool for hardcore fans but are not, you know.. Full Moon?

Henkka: Yeah, [laughs] oh, that’s a good example. That’s uh, on the last tour we were playing White Pearl, Black Oceans… and we’re still going to be playing that one live I think, and of course, sometimes we’ve thought about that and of course there’s always going to be one or two, or maybe more songs that we play that are going to be a bit more odd or a bit more special, but to make a setlist just with the weird songs might just be a little bit too much. Then, of course, some songs we’ve tried and if they don’t work then we just scrap it.. Maybe on some songs we’ve gone a little bit too far with the vocals and keyboards, and then if you want to make it work live you have to use a lot of backup tapes and shit like that and you can get lost in that kind of jungle. Definitely, we try to do something other than Full Moon as well.

So, that was SUPPOSED to be the end, but then we got talking about partying.. Of course, what unites metalheads more than beer (Metal? Nah.. it’s the beer)? Unfortunately it didn’t get recorded, but I started asking about the comment where he was saying that they just sit on the bus and play PS2.. so that is, “is the partying while touring going down” he started saying “Well, we always say…”

Henkka: … we won’t drink so much on the next tour.. we’re always bloated and tired anyway. [laughs] I think the worst one for me was The Reckoning Night tour, it got basically totally out of hand, yeah. I’m surprised that me, and I won’t say any other names, but I was not alone in that boat, some of us were pretty fucked up during that whole two year period. But uh, luckily we managed to do all the shows and not screw up. But it was.. uh, yeah. I think you have to take it to a point where you realize yourself that this is too much and then you cut back. But of course, after the show we usually drink. But maybe it’s not so out of hand as it used to be… earlier.

AMG: Yeah, they always say that being in a band is like being in a relationship..

Henkka: Yeah, it’s just five guys.. [laughs]

AMG: .. but it’s one of those things like, you have to get old and boring sometime, right?

Henkka: [laughs] Yeah, exactly. Also, I think if we continued at the pace that we used to do with the partying stuff, if we continued in that way.. I think I would be dead in 10 years. We would like to continue to work after that as well. [laughter abounds] But, uh, we were just away for a week and played two shows and got pretty wasted on both nights so.. yeah, we are trying to cut back, we are trying and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t..

AMG: Sounds like you guys need an Alcoholics Anonymous counselor on the bus or something..

Henkka: That sounds like a pretty OK idea. [laughs]

Awww, yeah.  I’m totally fucking stoked.  According to Ensiferum’s myspace page, the band has confirmed some details and we’re going to be getting a new record in September!  So, uh, yeah.. Also, for you Americans who read this thing—these guys are touring the states: GO SEE THEM.

Finnish folk metallers ENSIFERUM have set “From Afar” as the title of their fourth album, due on September 9 via Spinefarm Records. The CD was produced by Tero Kinnunen (NIGHTWISH, AMORPHIS) and Janne Joutsenniemi (‘Victory Songs‘ producer) and was mixed by Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, SENTENCED, AMORPHIS).

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. By The Dividing Stream
02. From Afar
03. Twilight Tavern
04. Heathen Throne
05. Elusive Reaches
06. Stone Cold Metal
07. Smoking Ruins
08. Tumman Virran Taa
09. The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II)
10. Vandraren (limited-edition bonus track; NORDMAN cover)