The latest episode of Mars Attacks Podcast contains interviews with Vinny Appice and Steve Zing. Both of these interviews were conducted a few months back, before Black Sabbath announced their return, and before the Danzig Legacy dates took place. As a result, some questions regarding both of these topics have since been answered.

Steve’s interview is up first, he discusses what it was like to prep for the aforementioned Danzig shows, what it’s like to switch from bass or drums (which he has played in Danzig and Samhain respectively), to lead singer in his band Marra’s Drug. Marra’s Drug is the main focus of the interview, but we give you a sneak peak of a future Mars Attacks Classic Albums Column, when Steve is asked about The Misfits. Steve grew up in the same town (Lodi, NJ), went to school with Doyle and was there when the band rose, and consequently came apart. As a result, he provides a unique point of view on the band, and the folklore/urban legend that has surrounded the band all these years later. He also discusses his tenure in Samhain.

Vinny’s interview comes up during the last half of the show, and centers around his new band Kill Devil Hill. He discusses how the band came together, their musical direction, and what each member adds to the mix that makes Kill Devil Hill. With Vinny you also get a sneak peak into a Black Sabbath album that will be featured in an upcoming Classic Albums Column that will debut this summer. While commenting on Sabbath he discusses the possibility of Heaven & Hell continuing without the late Ronnie James Dio, and mentioned several lead singer, namely Glenn Hughes, Bjorn Lande and Rob Halford. He also bring up the fact that he was asked to join Ozzy’s Blizzard of Oz before being asked to join Sabbath, how he purposely set out to differentiate himself from his brother Carmine, the project 9 Chambers, and what it was like to take part in Drum Wars with Carmine.

The episode contains music from Marra’s Drug, Danzig, Black Sabbath and Dio.

The podcast portion can be streamed or downloaded from here:

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This episode is a special joint release between Mars Attacks and Talking Metal. I touch upon this during the episode mentioning that it was put together as a tribute to Pete Steele. We deliberated at great length regarding this as it wasn’t the original intention. If you listen to Episode 306 of Talking Metal you will find part of the Mars Attacks live show I did with John and Mark last month while in the states. That episode contains an interview we conducted with Anthony Esposito from Ace Frehley, Lynch Mob fame. The next episode of Talking Metal, and Mars Attacks for that matter, was supposed to contain the first half of the live show. During this segment Mark and I interview Joey Z from Life of Agony, Stereomud, and Carnivore.

Joey was nice enough to come down to the studio, and sit in with us. He came in early, and sat on the couch while Mark, John and I did our opening monologue if you will. During the podcast you’ll hear me reference a few songs, one by Warrior Soul, and another by Slash. We spoke to Joey off mic while these songs where playing, immediately he started talking about Pete Steele. He mentioned what an honor it was to be asked to play with Carnivore, and he also spoke about how funny, and quick witted Pete was. He said Pete could come up with things right on the spot, and could roll with the punches during any given situation. I mentioned this during the Dan Lorenzo segment. He also started talking about what good man Pete was, which seems to be a common theme with all of the comments that are being posted on the web. Unfortunately this was off mic, and we had so many things to talk about (we spoke almost twice as long as we originally intended), we never really got into Pete or Carnivore on mic, except for a quick mention by Joey. Due to this, I have included part of his previous interview where he talks exclusively about Carnivore.

Joey is a great guy, who will always have an open door on any of my shows. I a big fan of his music, and have come to learn what a genuine, and nice person he truly is. He was the first person I turned to when I heard the rumor of Pete’s passing. He spoke so genuinely about Pete; it was hard not to think of him when I started reading the posts on the web. During the episode I read an excerpt of the response he sent me.

The reason I included Dan was because I read his comments on Blabbermouth.net. I reached out to a bunch of different people from the NY/NJ music scene to see if anyone might be interested in providing me with a statement regarding Pete. People treat death in different manners, I know for a lot of people this has to be a difficult situation. As a result, it would be foolish for me to be upset over people not wanting to partake. Maybe the situation is difficult for them, other are on tour, and couldn’t come on with such short notice, etc. In any event, Dan immediately came forward to share stories, and help celebrate the memory of Pete.

There are no ulterior motives here, like so many others out there we just want to celebrate the life of Pete Steele. By putting this episode together, I feel that we are doing our part to pay homage to the man, and his music. I’m sure some will say that we’re doing this to ride the publicity surrounding his untimely death, but it can’t be farther from the truth. Mark and I spoke at great lengths yesterday deliberating over whether we should release this episode now, or wait a few months. I personally think that we’re doing the right thing by releasing the interview in the format we have chosen. As a fan, I don’t want someone’s memory or music to ever die. I truly believe that both Joey and Dan have helped us to do this by sharing their thoughts, and experience with Pete.

Over the course of the next few weeks/months we’ll start to hear about Pete, hopefully all good things, but I’m sure some bad will come out as well. All I can say is remember him for what he meant to you, and don’t let others sway your judgment.

I’ll close this in the same fashion that I closed the podcast, long live the memory and music of Pete Steele.

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During this episode we feature an interview with former Vinnie Vincent and Journey lead singer Robert Fleischman.  He discusses his new band The Sky among other items mentioned below.

Speaking of the Sky here are a few videos by the band:

The following tracks are played during this episode:

Vinnie Vincent – I Want To Be Your Victim
Robert Fleischman – Circles
Impellitteri – Perfect Crime
The Cult – The Saint
Annihilator – Couple Suicide

Songs played behind my banter:

Vinnie Vincent’s Invasion – Wild Child
Aerosmith – Walk On Down
Warrior Soul – Rocket 88

Topics covered during this episode are the following:

Vinnie Vincent, Journey, Cheep Trick, Clive Davis, Arista, U2, John Lennon, Jimmy Iovine, Steve Perry, Tom Petty, Van Halen, Boston, Sammy Hagar, Barry Manilow, Depeche Mode, Poe, The Verve, Oasis, The Killers, The Cult, Whitney Houston, Chrysalis Records, Dana Strum, Bobby Rock, Kiss, Andre LaBelle, Kelly Hanson, Serafino, Foreigner, Look At The Dream, System X, Graham Bonet, Alcatraz, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Rainbow, Down To Earth, Beyond Good & Evil, Electric, Danko Jones, Angela Grossow, Jeff Waters, Sponge Bob Square Pants