For those of you that missed it, I’m back at Metal Army America doing reviews, and interviews for them. Here is a link to the first one that I’ve put together, which covers Angelus Apatrida’s new album The Call.
The latest episode of the Mars Attacks Podcast contains interviews with Chris Poland of Megadeth fame, and Mike Orlando of Adrenaline Mob. Chris discusses what he is currently up to with Ohm, and Ohmphrey, and addresses his solo work, and why Damn The Machine came to an end. His tenure in Megadeth is not discussed as this portion of the interview will form part of this month’s Classic Albums Column.
The episode also contains a review of the Iced Earth, White Wizzard and Fury UK show that host Victor M. Ruiz took in this weekend.
You’ll hear tracks from Megadeth, Adrenaline Mob, Ohm, Damn The Machine, Sick Speed, Dave Reffett and Iced Earth during the episode.
Pictures courtesy of Chris Poland and Mike Orlando.
The podcast can be streamed or downloaded from here:
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During the latest episode of the Mars Attacks Podcast we interview Mark Hunter of Chimaira and Dave Reffett. Mark discusses the band’s new album The Age Of Hell, some of the band’s line up changes, releasing the new album for free in the UK, and what it’s like to have Chimaira associated to shows like Mythbusters, The Farmclub and Deathklok. He also fields a bunch of listener submitted questions.
There isn’t enough I can do to thank Dave Reffett for his help, he has assisted us in obtaining quite a few guests. As a result it is my pleasure to include him in the episode. He discusses his album The Call Of The Flames, what it was like to feature people like George Lynch, Chris Poland, Glen Drover and Mike Mangini, among others that appear on the album, his gear, and briefly touches on future projects he’ll be working on. He didn’t want to mention a whole lot about the latter, but I’m sure it will be cool none the less.
Pictures courtesy of Chimaira and Dave Reffett.
The episode contains tracks off of Chimaira’s Age of Hell, and Dave Reffett’s The Call Of The Flames
The podcast can be streamed or downloaded from here:
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During this episode we bring you two interviews, one with Chris Howorth from In This Moment, and another with Patrick Kennison from Heaven Below. During Chris’ portion we discuss the making of In This Moment’s latest album Star Crossed Wasteland, what it has been like to tour with the likes of Ozzy, Dave Mustaine, being part of Talking Metal on Fuse, and his feelings towards Maria Brink’s involvement with such things as the Hottest Chicks In Metal, and what affect, if any, it has on the band. During Patrick’s interview portion we discuss his former band Union Underground, what it was like to put Heaven Below together, working with Ben Moody, and some misconceptions people may have about artists whose songs are frequently used on TV.
During the episode you’ll hear the following songs in this order:
Heaven Below – Heartbreaker
Union Underground – Across The Nation
Heaven Below – When Daylight Dies
In This Moment – The Gun Show
In This Moment – Just Drive
In This Moment – The Great Divide
Topics discussed include:
Warped Tour, Mayhem Fest, Blondie, Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Chimera, Stone Sour, Union Underground, Heaven Below, Dave Mustaine, Megadeth, Schecter Hellraiser, EMG Pick Up, Krank Amps, Dunlop Pedals, In This Moment, The Dream, Star Crossed Wasteland, Chris Howorth, Kyle Kontiel, Jesse Landry, Trent Reznor, Hottest Chicks In Metal, Maria Brink, Talking Metal On Fuse, Blake Bunzel, Ernie Ball, Pantera, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Lacuna Coil, Blondie, Disturbed, Lincoln Park, Drowning Pool, Static-X, Ozzy Osbourne, Countdown To Devil, Reworking The Devil, White Stripes, Cher, Peavy, B.C. Rich, Coal Chamber, Korn, Marshall, VHT Pitbull, TC Electronics G-Force, Lexicon MPX2, Ozzfest, Marilyn Manson, WWE, Ben Moody, Motorhead, Bob Dylan, Chris Isaak
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During this episode we speak to Blitz from Overkill and Jose from Bonded By Blood. The original intent was to release this episode sometime back in July, but with all of the circumstances revolving around my life it made things difficult to do so. For those of you that don’t know my wife had been pregnant, and was bed ridden for most of two months. Unfortunately she had a miscarriage a little after this interview was conducted, and life was pretty much put on hold. A little after this happened my company had to make some difficult decision to help the company stay a float, and anyone that had unemployment benefits was let go. And you guessed it I was given the pick slip at the time. With all of this said, things could be worse and as my brother always says, no matter how bad things are, there is always someone that’s worse off than you are. Luckily, things are looking good for the future, so I can’t really complain.
In any event, the interview with Blitz was done back in January before Ironbound, Overkill’s latest album came out. Among the items discussed during this interview are Ironbound, and subsequent tour, the early days of Megaforce Records, the “Big Four”, his 30 year musical partnership with DD Verni, Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, the NY Steel Benefit Show, the project he did with Dan Lorenzo called The Cursed, Hail! and his involvement in Turtlehead!
During Jose’s segment we discuss how the band was started, comparisons to other bands, some of the festivals they were about to play when the interview was conducted, and the recording of their latest album Exiled To Earth
Items discussed during both interviews include:
Korn, Iron Maiden, Angelwitch, Raulph Patland, Cannibal Corpse, Twisted Sister, Brutal Assault Festival, Bloodstock Open Air, Suffocation, Thrash Assault Forum, Exodus, Exiled To Earth, Feed The Beast, Alex Lee, Jerry Garcia, Overkill, Forbidden, Big 4, Suffocation, Bobby Blitz, Overkill, Ironbound, DD Verni, Immortalis, Dave Linsk, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden, Feel The Fire, Killers, Punk Rock, Warbringer, Hardcore, Pop, Green And Black Army, Exodus, NY Steel, In Union We Stand, 9/11, Sid Falk, Sebastian Marino, Merritt Gant, Rob Cannavino, Bobby Gustafson, Tim Mallare, Rat Skates, Joe Comeau, Megaforce, Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Alex Parialas, Terry Date, Chris Tsangarides, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Anvil, Colin Richardson, Pete Townsend, Peter Tagtgren, Death Angel, Megadeth, Slayer, Kreator, Destruction, Randy Blythe, Lamb Of God, Gigantour, Dave Mustaine, Willie Adler, Chris Adler, Jamey Jasta, Dan Lorenzo, Hades, Non-Fiction, The Cursed, Black Sabbath, Turtlehead, John Ostronomy, Fuse, Motorhead, Mike Portnoy, Frank Bello, Hail!, Tim “Ripper” Owens, Andreas Kisser, Dave Ellefson
The following tracks are featured during the episode:
Bonded By Blood (off of Exiled To Earth) – 600 A.B. (After The Bomb), Genetic Encryption and Prototype – Death Machine
Overkill (off of Ironbound) – The Green and Black, Bring Me The Night, Give A Little
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Here’s a link to an album review I did for for Metal Army America. The group is called Serenity Dies, their from the Maldives, and their album is called Hacksawcracy. The album features Rob Caggiano from Anthrax. You can read the review here:
During this episode we interview Rane and Jason from Kings of Modesty, as well as Cory Proctor from Free Reign and the Dallas Cowboys. These interviews were conducted roughly a month ago, and originally were going to air on Mars Attacks Radio. But around that time, we made a conscious decision to listen to the feedback we were receiving, and switch the format so that the radio show is more of a music oriented show, and the podcast (which was launched around that time) became an outlet for the interviews that are conducted for the show. Sans the odd live show, like last week, we will adhere to this format for the foreseeable future. In any event thanks to all of you that listen on a weekly basis to the radio show, and to those of you that have been making the podcast very successful!
That said, let’s get back on track here, Kings of Modesty discuss the making of their full length album, the recording of their previous EP with Emppu Vuorinen from Nightwish, what it was like to tour with Tarja Turunen and Michael Schenker, as well as their desire to bring Kings of Modesty to North America among other things. On the Free Reign side of things, Cory discusses the differences with playing on stage as opposed to on the field, the process behind recording the band’s first full length album and their EP Tragedy, what it was like to take part in the Golden Gods ceremony a few weeks back, and how difficult it is at times to balance life, football, and music.
Other items discussed:
Samuel Hjelt, Raino Simoinen, Henrik Tuura, Mikael Hjelt, Jason Flinck, Faces of Modesty, Kings Of Modesty, Nightwish, Emppu Vuorinen, Hell or Highwater, Jere Putkisaari, Tarja Turunen, Michael Schenker, Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, John Petrucci, Nicko McBrain, Scott Rockenfield, Chipster PR, MSG, Impelliteri, Rainbow, Dream Theater, Amazon, iTunes, CD.com, Free Reign, Dallas Cowboys, Cory Proctor, Super Bowl Shuffle, Mark Colombo, Leonard Davis, Justin Chapman, Alex Gerst, Indian Trails Recording Studios, Vinnie Paul, Dave Lombardo, Joey Jordinson, Taylor Hawkins, Killswitch Engage, Megadeth, Mercedes Lander, Kittie, Steel Panther, Carrot Top, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Gretch, Pearl, Sabian Cymbals, Granada Theater, Orange County Chopper, Dave Mustaine, Lemmy, Pantera, Creed, P.O.D., Golden Gods, Tony Romo, Tragedy, Taylor Hawkins, Bullet For My Valintine, Nub Graphix, Heavier Than Metal.com, Goldengodsawards.com, Journey, House Of Blues, Byron Davis, Doc Coyle, God Forbid, Bill Meis, Chip Ruggieri, Jen Farhood
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The second Mars Attacks Podcast contains an interview I conducted with Joey Z from Life of Agony Back in November 09.
Items discussed during this interview are the shows being done in commemoration of the band’s 20th anniversary, the live album that will follow in 2010, Keith Caputo’s original departure from L.O.A., River Runs Red, Ugly, Soul Searching Sun, Broken Valley, Whitefeld Crane, Steromud, Eric Rodgers use of the Steromud name, Peter Steel, Carnivore, Type of Negative, Josh Silver, Metallica, Andreas Kisser, Sepultura, Road Runner Records, Ill Niño, Dave Chavarri (confused him for Joe Nuñez during the interview, sorry), Megadeth, Dave Mustaine, Seak N Destroy, Isolated Fear, Misfits, Devil’s Whorehouse, Schecter Solo 6, Gibson Les Paul, Jimm Archie, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, Peavey, Seymour Duncan, Boss Kelli, Pink Floyd, Road Runner United, Misery, Coery Lowery, Stuck Mojo, Perfect Self, Sony, Epic Records, Sick of it All, Anthrax, The Greatest Fear, Sworn Enemy, Incubus, System Of A Down, Korn, Snot, Ozzfest, Seven Dust, Soulfly, Tool, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Super Metal Records, System 2 Studios, Randy Rhoads, Kirk Hammett, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Method of Groove Studios, his production work, and the possibility of recording new material with Life of Agony.
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White Wizzard´s Over the Top is in my opinion one of the most anticipated releases of 2010. They were signed over at Earache last year, and if you recall the folks over at that very label voted their EP High Speed GTO the best release of 2009. Aside from this they have already been featured in magazines such as Kerrang, Guitar World, Metal Hammer, etc. So the publicity machine is definitely in motion, and justifiably so, if I do say so.
Let´s get to the issue at hand; I´ve had Over the Top since the beginning of this year, courtesy of the swell people over at Earache (Thanks Anthony!). The album has (in my opinion) lived up to all of my expectations, and surpassed them. For a long time bands have been worried about how fast they can play, how much they can growl, how many arpeggios they can fit into a given space, and have forgotten about composing good solid music. To their credit, White Wizzard has crafted nine stellar songs, with no weak links in the bunch. For those of you that have checked their MySpace page out, you´ve already been hearing the title track “Over the Top”, and “40 Deuces” for a while now. For those of you that aren´t familiar with the band or have only heard the EP, everything has been taken up a notch with the inclusion of (for the most part) a new band. If you like the Maiden/Priest influence of High Speed GTO, add some Saxon, Scorpions, High N Dry Era Def Leppard, and some Dave Mustaine like soloing to the mix. And don´t expect to find any ballads either. The album is full of infectious tracks, with melodies and choruses that just hook you in and stick in your head.
The album starts out with the title track (you´ve probably all seen the great video by now), and rips into the aforementioned “40 Dueces”. The song gallops along, and during its chorus Wyatt screams out the phrase “my metal heart will never die” (could this be an Accept reference?), a sentiment that a lot of us head bangers will forever hold. From here we get into “High Roller” which starts off with some dueling guitars that permeate throughout the track. A lot of Maiden flavoring going on during this track, you´ll find out that it´s a common theme that´s woven throughout the album. The next track is “Live Free or Die” it continues on the same route, with the infusion of a pre-chorus that is tailor made for Wacken, Download, etc., or any other festival, in the sense that it calls for everyone in the crowd to sing along with Wyatt. “Iron Goddess of Vengeance” starts out with some of the middle-eastern riffage made popular by Mustaine. Unlike most that try to play in this style, Erik Kluibert knows exactly how to give you exactly what´s called for, without going overboard. Said style then quickly shift to be more Maidenesque, in the sense of “To Tame A Land” or “Nomad” so as to fit the foundation Jon Leon is laying down with his bass. This band is all about paying homage to classic bands that have come before them, and as alluded to before the with Accept reference, there is a Slayer reference in this song as well. Not sure if that is done on purpose, or if it just fit. It sure does make you wonder though. “Iron Goddess” is the longest track on the album clocking in at a little over seven and a half minutes. “Out of Control” is next on deck; this song is a direct descendant of the Scorpion´s “Dynamite”. With this said, in no way is it a rip off of that song, however, the band is very keen on showing their influences throughout the album without blatantly ripping any one off, as many others have done before them. The song is shot full of that same energy that the classic Scorp´s song possess. The following songs are “Strike Of The Viper”, “Death Race”, they both are in the ilk of Saxon and Maiden. The latter recounts a Mad Max type race across the desert involving all types of weapons, while the former has another one of those choruses that will easily get stuck in your head. The regular album wraps up with the track “White Wizzard” which to me is easily the best track on the album. This is the second longest track on the album, and it takes a minute and a half for the lyrics to kick in. It is as most you probably suspect a recount of the Wizzard himself. This track mixes in all of the styles I´ve mentioned throughout this review, and brings them into the now. In doing so, it blatantly showcases each member´s prowess with their instruments. The version I purchased off of iTunes also has a cover of Cloven Hoof´s “Gates Of Gehenna”, and Judas Priest´s “Heading Out To The Highway” as you may guess are handled perfectly.
I would recommend this album to anyone that is into the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, or just strait on metal in the vein of any of the bands mentioned above. Over the Top presents us an early reason to keep our metal hearts alive in 2010!
During this episode we interview legendary Thrash Icon Bobby Blitz from Overkill. Among the items discussed during this interview are Overkill’s new album Ironbound, and subsequent tour, the early days of Megaforce Records, the “Big Four”, his 30 year musical partnership with DD Verni, Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, the NY Steel Benefit Show, the project he did with Dan Lorenzo called The Cursed, Hail! and his involvement in Turtlehead!
Here is a full rundown of topics covered:
Bobby Blitz, Overkill, Ironbound, DD Verni, Immortalis, Dave Linsk, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden, Feel The Fire, Killers, Punk Rock, Warbringer, Hardcore, Pop, Green And Black Army, Exodus, NY Steel, In Union We Stand, 9/11, Sid Falk, Sebastian Marino, Merritt Gant, Rob Cannavino, Bobby Gustafson, Tim Mallare, Rat Skates, Joe Comeau, Megaforce, Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Alex Parialas, Terry Date, Chris Tsangarides, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Anvil, Colin Richardson, Pete Townsend, Peter Tagtgren, Death Angel, Megadeth, Slayer, Kreator, Destruction, Randy Blythe, Lamb Of God, Gigantour, Dave Mustaine, Willie Adler, Chris Adler, Jamey Jasta, Dan Lorenzo, Hades, Non-Fiction, The Cursed, Black Sabbath, Turtlehead, John Ostronomy, Fuse, Motorhead, Mike Portnoy, Frank Bello, Hail!, Tim “Ripper” Owens, Andreas Kisser, Dave Ellefson
During the episode you’ll hear the following Overkill tracks:
Ironbound
Bring Me The Night
Skull & Bones
In Union We Stand
Behind my banter you’ll hear The Green And The Black
Mars Attacks Radio on Facebook Fusion Sonica The Incoherant Ramblings Of Victor M. Ruiz Blabbermouth Anti-Music Talking Metal Cast Iron Ring Decibel Geek Podcast Maximum Threshold Radio