Beyond the Fate: an interview with Victor Arduini of Freedoms Reign

This year has seen many highlights already in its first few months and none more enjoyable and invigorating than the self-titled debut album from Connecticut metallers Freedoms Reign. Brought to ‘life’ by original Fates Warning guitarist Victor Arduini on his return to metal, the band has created a brawling sound of energetic intensity and hungry passion with their first album and a collection of songs wrapped in an incendiary mix of strong and potent flavours. It is a thrilling and invigorating release which does not break into new creative pastures but owns those existing with aggressive enterprise and adrenaline honed contagious mastery. Offered the opportunity to talk with Victor we seized the chance to find out more about the release, band, and what he has been up to between leaving his former band in 1985 and Freedoms Reign.

Hi Victor and welcome to The RingMaster Review. Thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

You have just released your excellent self-titled debut album, how was the adrenaline and nerves upon its unveiling?

We have been anxious for months. As we began recording it we learned quickly it was going to get a great sound and bring out the best in the songs. I haven’t felt this kind of excitement and purpose since Fates put out Night On Broken. There’s no difference 30 years later. I’m still excited to have someone hear music I’ve written. The band worked really hard together to make something special and we’re very happy how it came out.

It is a powerful and scintillating encounter, rapacious even, has your sound organically evolved from all your personal tastes and experiences or was there a deliberate direction set in place for your sound from the start?

When I write a song it always starts with a riff or putting something over someone else’s. When I go back to my roots I always find Sabbath. Iommi is the master of riffs, so is Blackmore…they were a huge influence in my musical upbringing and when I write today it’s no different than 30 years ago. Still gotta have a great riff and then your other influences fill in the gaps. It’s never deliberate. I just start playing and you just know when you got a good one. The fact that some people including myself hear some phrasings and styles similar to that when I played in Fates is because I’m still into the same stuff with another 30 years of experiences to add on.

Has there been expectations placed upon the band from your past in Fates Warning and if so have they helped or been an obstacle to go past?

I’m not sure what people are expecting. If they’re fans of the earlier stuff then they might dig some of this as it’s similar in its aggression and heaviness. A bit of prog riffs but nothing near what Fates has become, which is a purposeful thing for me. I’d like to think earlier fans of Fates may pick up on the similarity of my style and playing and enjoy it for what it is, not looking for a “Fates” record.

The band formed in 2011 I believe, how did the line-up come about and members originally meet?

The band was actually in place for 2-3 years before I joined. They were just writing riffs but not doing much else. I offered to record a demo so they could take it to the next level. We knocked it off over a weekend and then I took the tapes home. While mixing I began to really like the music. There was something there I connected to. I asked if I could do a vocal (their singer was nowhere in sight). I wrote some lyrics, and the tune and then added solo. It was very organic and soon I found myself finishing 10 songs. I was asked to join and it’s now two years later. Mike (bass) and I have known each other since 1972 and we both played with Steve Zimmerman of Fates Warning before it became FW.

Was there the instant understanding between you all which seems so open on the album itself?

We understand each other pretty well. We don’t fight, Everyone takes direction and constructive criticism well. Our goal is to make some great music and get the opportunity to play it on stage. We all share the same excitement and dedication. It’s really a cool thing to be a part of.

The songs on the album are varied within the adrenaline honed tempest you unleash, how would you describe your sound and what are the major influences which have given your creativity food for thought?

I like an album to have the ebb and flow I used to enjoy on many classic albums. No matter what kind of music you play it always needs this to keep the listener (and yourself) interested. Some songs are just 5 minutes of driving power and energy. Others need space to breathe and change direction a bit. Fates started doing this on Spectre which was a reflection of what we enjoyed listening to and beginning to learn how to write an album and not just 10 songs. I took a lot of time just to get the song order right as I’m a big fan of songs that flow together well. Influences are too many to list at this time of my life but Sabbath and all the classic bands from the 70′s – 80′s are always somewhere in a song.

How long did the album take to make from the songwriting through to the release?

We began writing about a year before release. Brother was the first written from a riff Tommy showed us.  Up From Down and Believe were  next…We sat on those for a few months and did some shows. It became apparent our new music was gonna be quite different from our earlier songs. We were now writing together as a band and the songs became a bit more complex, intricate and focused…and quite a bit heavier..

Are you a band which have songs ‘finished’ going into the recording or continue evolving them in the studio as you record?

The general skeleton of the song is done before we go in. We rehearse twice a week and are always going forward with new ideas and a lot of practicing. By the time we get to a studio we know our parts and what we want, however I always leave a bit of the unknown in the process. I will have general ideas for solos but I write them in studio. Vocals are pre-demo’d but again things are open for change. Some of my favorite parts on the CD are the ones made up in studio. It keeps it fresh for us.

You recorded the album with Nick Belmore (Toxic Holocaust/Hatebreed), how was the studio this time around compared to previous experiences, did you approach the album differently to others you have been involved with?

Nick has a great studio with simple but quality equipment. I still like to record like I did with Fates. I don’t want pro tools to fix my CD. I’d rather just do the track again and let the studio just capture and reproduce the sound I’m looking for. Nick took us to another level. He understood us as a band and was another creative member while we did it. It was a very relaxed experience and I’m looking forward to working with him soon on the next one

It has been impossible to choose a favourite track from the album, though Ritual, Shadows Of A Doubt, Believe, and No Excuses all stand to the fore. Is there a track or moment on the album which sparks the biggest strike of pride or you realised the band had found a real potency?

Depends on the week…we tend to change our minds a bit but I’d say Shadows Of Doubt is a very strong song with a powerful in your face attack. The cool thing is every track is a bit different and I like them all because they each stand alone in their own way. When I did Spectre Within it is was the same feeling as each track was killer and the album was a flowing piece of music

Is there a certain link or thought which unites the songs or themes the album other than to make them as creatively impacting as possible?

I wouldn’t say there’s any  specific link or theme to our CD. It’s 10 songs that all carry a certain feel and sound, each one taking you a bit deeper into its progression. I do tend to write a lot about death or the afterlife or just trying to get the listener to think outside the box a bit.

The album is the first release since your return to metal, can we ask what has occupied your time and creativity between the 1985 release of the Fates Warning album The Spectre Within which was of course your last record, and now?

I left Fates to concentrate on my family. I had a daughter on the way and back then there was no money to be made even in FW. I raised two great children Jillian and Steve and wouldn’t change a thing. I have played on/off in a few local metal/rock bands throughout late 80′s-early 90′s. At that time I decided to go back to school and I became a Registered Nurse. I work with geriatric population and specialize in Alzheimer’s Disease. I also recorded a self-produced CD titled “Painted Horse” which I may re-release in the future. I got back into playing around 2003 and played with Connecticut’s best musicians in a Classic Rock cover band called The Remains. After 8 years I started to want to expand away from the scene and began jamming with friends. Little by little the music got a bit heavier and complex. The timing was perfect when I agreed to produce Free Reign’s (our original name) demo. I’m now 100% back into what I do best and this CD is the best thing

What triggered the fire to return with Freedoms Reign for you?

The desire was just to start writing some cool songs. I was ready to become creative again and once you start it’s like a drug that just propels you to do better each time. I love making music… the whole process from the first riffs to mastering the final product. I just felt the desire to go back to who I was in 1985 and continue what I started. Today feels no different than then. When you’re in the moment with writing and rehearsing it still feels the same and the riffs are even heavier..

How have you found metal as a situation when it came to releasing the new album and how have things improved or become less helpful since The Spectre Within?

The industry has changes so much. I’ve learned a lot talking to people like Tom Phillips (While Heaven Wept) who has guided me through the process and schooled me on today’s metal scene. I still think and act like 85″ but it’s far from that. I do still believe when it comes to someone listening it is still the same. A good riff, a great sound is still what matters and that’s what we’re trying to produce.

Have you returned to touring yet, what was the anticipation for that aspect like for you and the fans?

We have begun playing up/down the east coast. We’ve already done around 10 shows. The reaction to the new songs has been great and there’s been some excellent feedback on the CD. We have some dates lined up with ARGUS in July and will be playing with ATTACKER in August. Touring is great and we want to play this music to as many people as possible. We really need to get over to UK. Our music will do well there. There is an audience and fan base for what we do and we’re hoping we get the opportunity to do some festivals/shows within the year.

Is playing live a bigger buzz for you or is it the creation of songs which burns fiercer for you?

I think every member of the band may have a different answer for this one. Personally I love to create new songs and be in the studio. I do enjoy playing live too but nothing beats making an album. I don’t like doing both at the same time. Once we shut down you won’t see us until the next one is out.

What is on the horizon of Freedoms Reign and its members after the fire of the release and its promotion has dissipated in intensity?

We’ll promote this until it stops breathing then do it all over again. I enjoy the process and we all plan to write even better songs and make a better album. I generally don’t want to look too far ahead but I know this is only the beginning and we have more to accomplish together

Once again thank you for talking with us, any final words you would like to leave your growing legions of fans and the readers with?

To anyone who’s an old Fates fan, Thank you so much for remembering me and having an interest in what I’m doing now. Give it a listen and I think you find something you like…and if you do tell someone else. There’s just so much music out there these days it’s hard to know what’s good, bad or indifferent. We plan to keep making some cool music and look forward to playing some killer shows this year.

Check out the review of  Freedoms Reign’s album @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/freedoms-reign-self-titled/

Interview by Pete RingMaster

17/05/2013

 

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

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No fear just imaginative provocation: an interview with Dale Crover of Melvins

Any real rock fan knows that the legendary Melvins never shy away from invention, exploration, and mischief within their continually impressive creativity and releases. Three decades have seen the Washington band ignite the senses and imagination as well as music itself with their one of a kind ingenuity, and the release of Everybody Loves Sausages presented yet another album to lift the emotions and provoke the senses. Consisting of cover songs from bands which the members of Melvins have a passion for themselves and featuring an array of guest vocalists the album is one of the biggest sparks to strike 2013. Intriguing to find out more about the album and its creation we had the pleasure of asking drummer Dale Crover about the release, particular songs, and some of those additional friends helping bring the album to life.

Hi Dale and many thanks for sharing your time to talk with us.

You have just released your excellent album Everybody Loves Sausages, a collection of cover tracks. Did the fact that the songs were not yours originally bring a different emotion and feeling compared to your previous releases as it’s unveiling to the world loomed?

We started recording cover song with the idea of releasing them as singles. It wasn’t until we had a bunch of songs done that we realized we had a decent albums worth of material. We didn’t treat this record any differently than any other release.

Did its recording also offer up a different type of fun just because they were songs which you had no involvement in the writing of?

We’ve always done cover songs since day one and we’ve always liked playing covers. Almost every record we’ve ever done has a cover song on it. If we’re going to do a cover, we try to own it like we wrote it. We either try to improve it or at least do it justice.

The time and attention given to each track and your interpretation suggests the songs and bands were ones which had a strong impact upon yourselves, is that the case and the reason for their choosing?

Well yeah, these are all songs by bands that we really dig!

Was there an extended debate within the band over chooses or the songs were relatively unanimously agreed on from the start?

No! We’re all in agreement here. We have pretty much the same musical tastes. I don’t know if Coady and Jared knew much about The Fugs, but they seemed like they were into it. That’s a band that has a pretty big influence on us. Listen to that song, and then our song Black Bock and maybe you’ll hear it.

In the choice of tracks was there any element of mischief, making choices to catch people off guard maybe?

We thought going from Venom’s War Head into Queen’s Best Friend would throw people for a loop. From totally aggro to I love you! It works perfectly! We weren’t trying to be ironic doing either of those songs though. We really do love the Queen song! It’s a great tune!

You are no strangers to doing cover songs as you said but how big a step did it feel making a full length album of them and did it offer experience or problems which your own compositions do not inspire?

In case you haven’t noticed by now, there’s nothing we’re afraid of doing. I’ve read reviewers say that we did a covers record because we have nothing left to say. Obviously these people haven’t been paying attention to what we’ve been doing. In a space of a year we put three releases by three different versions of the band, toured across Canada, did a record setting tour of the US, released a series of split 12″, toured Europe twice and now put this record out. I’m sure I’m probably forgetting about something as well.

The album also sees a wealth of your friends vocally adding their individual touch to many of the tracks, was it a concentrated decision before the start who you would bring in for what or did the tracks almost invite obvious choices for you?

Some of them we’re well planned. Mark Arm from Mudhoney doing Scientists for example, or Jello Biafra doing Roxy Music. I think we had a few different ideas for Jim Thirwell. He chose Bowie.

Did you give them precise directions to approach the songs especially vocally or let them run with the idea and ball? I ask as our favourite track on the album In Every Dream Home A Heartache, which sees Jello Biafra transforming the Bryan Ferry bred shadows in an organic almost improv like evolution before the ear.

We worked with these different people because we like what they do. We wouldn’t dare tell anyone what to do, or how to sing. I did however tell Clem Burke from Blondie that he was going to do a drum solo. He asked what type of solo to play. My only instructions were to “freak out”!

How long did the album take to make and was it all recorded in one studio or across varied stages with all the guests involved?

We did most of the tracking the winter before last, mostly at Sound Of Sirens studio. A few things were recorded elsewhere.

Is there any particular song or moment which lit your personal fires a little more intensely on the album than most?

Hmm, that’s hard to say. I like hearing the songs when they start to gel. Usually that happens in the overdub process, after I’m done with the basic structure of a song. That’s when I start to get ideas or hear parts in my head. That’s the moment for me where I feel the most creative and exited.

I have to ask about The Jam track Art School which features Tom Hazelmeyer on vocals with a great tongue in cheek cockney accent to song and the following skit end. Was it coincidental that his closing fun felt like a mischievous pop at the middle class background of the great band riding the supposed anarchy of the punk movement in their early days?

Less coincidental and more whiskey fuelled. The English are an easy to target to poke fun of.

Is the album something you would look at doing again, have already ideas of songs to cover prompted thoughts in that direction?

We recorded way more than what’s on the record. For the vinyl we’re going to release each song as a single with unreleased B sides.

Melvins is an iconic band who has inspired so many bands across your influential years, what inspires your creativity most potently?

Everything that surrounds us.

Will you be taking the album or tracks on tour and if so will your friends on Everybody Loves Sausages be lured to make their part too?

I doubt it, but I would like to play some of those songs live.

What is next on your horizons as a band and individually?

We’re doing our 30 year anniversary tour of the US this summer. After that I’m not sure. Probably more of the same. Hopefully I’ll get to produce more records. Our engineer Toshi Kasai and myself produce bands under the name Deaf Nephews. We recently worked with the bands Qui and Federation X. Toshi has a studio now and we’re for hire to produce and perform on projects.

Once more a big thank you for sparing time for us, any last thoughts or temptations for the readers?

Yes, I know what the real meaning of life is, and its…

Read the review of Everybody Loves Sausages @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/melvins-everybody-loves-sausages/

http://themelvins.net/

The RingMaster Review 16/05/2013

 

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

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Sculpting voices: an interview with Grace Savage

One of so many highlights from the recent Dizraeli & The Small Gods gig at The Boileroom Guildford was supporting artist Grace Savage. Singer songwriter and beatboxing champion, Grace mesmerised and thrilled the audience with her skills in the craft of beatboxing but also with a wonderful and engaging vocal performance which radiated from her equally impressive songs. Knowing next to nothing about the lady before she stepped on the stage that night, we thought we would learn more by letting Grace herself reveal all in an interview which she very kindly agreed to.

Hi Grace, thank you for taking time to chat with us.

Having just seen your wonderful performance at The Boileroom in Guildford supporting Dizraeli & The Small Gods, the first question has to be where have you been hiding up until now? 

I’ve been working with Producer Dee Adam in the studio over the past year, developing the sound of the album and doing very low key gigs around London…I’m just about being unleashed into the big wide world of announced gigs now!

What inspired your hunger for music and also beatbox?

Most of my performance experience is rooted in theatre; I started going to stage school at about eight years old and it was there that I had my earliest experiences of learning and performing music. It was around that same age that became interested in writing creatively and even a few songs… inspired by my biggest musical influence of the time – The Spice Girls. I even started my own girl band ‘Flash’ and auditioned people during lunch times at primary school!  I’ve not really had any formal training in music; I think I have grade one in piano, grade 5 in classical singing and had a few guitar lessons but I always eventually lost interest once it came to being assessed and graded. That all changed when I discovered beatboxing! There were a few beatboxers in the little town of Crediton where I grew up in Devon and I was lucky to be mentored by one of them who happened to also be my good friend and 2009 World Beatbox Champ, Bellatrix. She taught me the basic noises when I was about 16 and I caught the beatbox bug instantly. Two years later I found myself performing my first gig on stage at the QEH, Southbank Centre in London with Shlomo and The Boxettes for 2,000 people!

…And your biggest inspirations?

As a young girl with a serious lack of role models in the media, I have always been inspired by strong women in music. Early influences include Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Eva Cassidy, Alanis Morrissette, India Arie and Pink. As for the beatboxing, Bellatrix and Shlomo certainly played a big part in my development but right now, my biggest inspiration is probably Reeps 1 because he is seriously changing the game and pushing the boundaries of beatboxing. My inspiration for rhythms and beats comes from listening to a lot of hip-hop, dubstep and drum and bass but equally can come from everyday noises, if I hear something: a door, a police siren or a phone buzzing, I feel compelled to imitate it…I think it’s a syndrome!

I am right in believing you were singing and playing music long before you developed your other immense talent?

I was playing guitar in an all-girl rock band at the age of 14 (with Bellatrix!) and was taking classical singing exams throughout my later school life but music was never a career choice or serious ambition for me. I went on to study theatre at Leeds University and that was what the path I had always planned on following. Things changed when I started working on projects as a beatboxer throughout my final year at university, as a result of that I decided to move to London and have a go at being a professional beatboxer. It was tough at first but I soon met producer Dee Adam and before I knew it I went from singing privately in my bedroom to singing on stages and officially pursuing a musical career! I had never actually sung in public until a couple of years ago. The thought of it terrified me. So it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster to say the least

From the gig alone we can see you are trying to combine the beatboxing and your songwriting and performance, is it an easy mix or two aspects you have to carefully craft in to a union?

It’s been a learning process for sure, especially in the studio. As far as the beatboxing is concerned, it was a challenge to find the right balance; we wanted it to sound authentic and recognisable as a human mouth but didn’t want this to compromise the overall muscle and punch of the songs.  Most are a mixture of beatboxing and programmed drums and so work together to create an organic but still hard hitting sound. Having said that, some songs have no beatboxing in them at all which is just as important to me as having it in – Beatboxing is a unique aspect of the music but the strength in the records comes from the left field production, emotive lyrics and soft vocal tones; first and foremost I want to be seen as a singer. The Beatboxing will have the most impact as part of the live Grace Savage experience. Ha. Did I just say that?!

First can we talk about the beatbox side, when did you ‘crack’ it so to speak and beyond being a UK female Beatbox champion which you were last year is there a limit to its potential musically?

I can’t remember a specific time when I suddenly felt like I had cracked it. It’s just something that comes with practice, it’s a gradual process and the more you do it the better you get. Getting over nerves and stepping on the stage to perform live is half the battle because beatboxing when you are short of breath is not easy! Being relaxed and feeling the groove is one of the most important things to remember when first learning, when I started relaxing I definitely started getting better. Whenever I start to think there might be a limit to beatboxing, someone does something to prove me wrong and the new generation of beatboxer’s are a clear example of that. Technically things have advanced an incredible amount over that last few years because as music changes and becomes more technical/electronic so does beatboxing. Reeps 1 just posted a video called ‘metal jaw’ where he beatbox’s heavy metal music which I never thought was possible! Having said that, unless you are absolutely exceptional, I do think there is a limit to beatboxing as a solo act. The beatboxers that are most successful and doing the most interesting work (in my opinion) are those that experimenting in different areas, theatrical shows, developing notation for classical concertos, dance shows, incorporating technology.

One imagines it takes constant work and practise to stay at the heights you have achieved, does this impact or distract from your other musical invention at all?

You have to be very disciplined if you want to get better and no matter how good you are you can always get better. I’m nowhere near where I want to be with it. I’m competing for the title of UK Champ again this summer and will need to start putting the hours in soon to refresh my material, construct new routines and learn new covers. But I have been so focussed on my singing, loop station and guitar playing recently; I have kind of neglected beatbox practice. Naughty Savage. Inspiration comes in waves!

Does it also place stress on what is your powerful and soaring vocal beauty, or is there a mutual use of vocal factors in both aspects?

Only certain noises in beatboxing are harmful to your vocal chords, usually involving throat bass which I avoid anyway…mostly because it sounds terrible when I attempt it! The physical power of Beatboxing comes from the plosive and percussive sounds made by the lips and tongue, breath is achieved quickly and often taken in whilst making a noise ( inward snare noise for example) whereas the power from singing is made using a different breathing technique entirely, deep and from the diaphragm.  So although I am using my voice and body as an instrument for both singing and beatboxing, they are very different disciplines to learn technically.

I will be honest and say I was expecting just a display of beatboxing on the night, not knowing of you before, so was wonderfully surprised by your outstanding vocal performance and stirring songs. Who has inspired that side of your invention musically and personally the most?

Within the beatboxing community creativity is respected and imitation is not, it forces you to be original and that mentality has certainly transferred into my music as well so I wouldn’t say there is anyone I am significantly inspired by in terms of musical or singing style.  People love to make comparisons and I’m sure they will but I really am just trying to be myself and hoping that will be enough. I wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t for Dee Adam, she is a seriously talented producer and songwriter and her sensitivity & creativity combined with my odd little mind, we have managed to find the sound of Grace Savage, which I believe is something quite unique. But we will have to wait and see!

Are you a lone songwriter or do you work with others to create songs?

I’ve been keeping a diary most of my life and started scriptwriting a few years ago so have always been in the habit of observing people and recording my thoughts. Initially it starts as a lone process, sometimes it’s an idea, a verse, a title, an image or a story I’ve heard but once I take this to the studio it very much becomes a collaborative process and I’m very lucky to have developed such a strong song-writing partnership over the past couple of years with Dee.

Where do you get your inspiration for songs predominantly?

Relationships. I know, how predictable. Since working in the studio over the past year or so I have had a few for want of a better word ‘dramatic’ experiences within my relationships, these experiences have naturally bled into the mood and lyrics of the songs that we write.

Do you place a rich personal element onto your compositions then?

It’s important to me that the lyrics are personal and that I am singing from a place of truth.  A few writing sessions have turned unexpectedly into therapy sessions over that past few months! However, if every song related to a personal experience, it could become a bit emotionally exhausting. ‘By a Bullet’ is one of my favourite songs lyrically and that was written about the last woman to be hung in England, which I obviously have no personal connection with but we had to get into the head of her as a character in order to write the story. As a singer, sometimes you are bearing all and sometimes you are simply telling a story, lyrics can be a personal diary or a fabricated script and therefore sometimes you have to act.  Either way, if you are good at it, the audience will never know and I think that is fine, we all project our own emotions onto songs and create our own meanings for them anyway.

I believe your debut album is on the near horizon?

Yes, nothing happens overnight though!

What can we expect from the release?  Any clues or details you can reveal?

Beatboxing. Big Chorus’s. Freshness.

How did the link-up with Dizraeli and the gang come about?

I was asked by the promoter if I could perform as a solo beatboxer, I sent them my music as an alternative and they liked it. I actually know Dizraeli through Bellatrix (who plays bass for them) and also worked with him teaching workshops in primary schools a couple of years ago so it was a real nice vibe at the gig.

Tell us about your two companions on stage; are they a factor in your work beyond the live shows?

Yes, we write together too, it’s a really great team we have and I’m so lucky to be working with such talented and generous people.

Apart from the album what is next for and from you?

I’m performing at The Social on May 13th, As One In The Park festival 26th May and have just been confirmed to play at Kent Uni summer ball alongside Chase and Status, Labrinth and MistaJam in June! I have a music video for Wrecking Ball which is being released soon and I am performing at The National Theatre’s new space ‘The Shed’ throughout August as part of a verbatim musical piece called ‘Home’. It’s all go!

Once more many thanks for giving us an insight into Grace Savage.

Any last thoughts you would like to share?

Just a cheeky social network plug if I may

https://www.facebook.com/gracesavageofficial

http://www.twitter.com/_GraceSavage

And lastly…who did that ironing board belong to?

The keys player from Dizraeli’s crew!

Check out the live review of Grace Savage and Dizraeli & The Small Gods  at The Boileroom Guildford@ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/disraeli-the-small-gods-guildford-boileroom-saturday-march-30th/

The RingMaster Review 17/04/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

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Exhausting Speed: an interview with Full Throttle by

Russian metallers Full Throttle is a band on the rise, their adrenaline fuelled classic metal sound capturing the attention and imagination of a growing greedy audience. Our big friend in Israel, Kostya Aronberg has stepped forward to find out more about the band and their music, concentrating on  their new EP.

Good afternoon guys. How’s the band Full Throttle doing this days?

Good afternoon, we are fine. We continue to work in a heavy direction, preparing for the further implementation of the ideas.

With you solid playing classic heavy metal you have had some success: being signed by European promotion project GlobMetal Promotions for example. How did you do it?

With some degree of certainty it is a credit to each musician individually and the team as a whole. When forming the musical and textual components of songs, maybe we have invested part of the soul which is transmitted to listeners. We think, aspiration and persistence  also played a significant role in achieving objectives.

Of musicians who was behind the Full Throttle? How to promote the creation of the band?

The group was founded in the city of Kaluga by guitarist А.Gunko in 2004. Initially the creation of the team was carried out in conditions of significant difficulties, was to find the priorities and directions, that also was a professional test for individual group members, and the formation of will to move forward. Originally the musical style best suits “soft rock”, but from 2006 with the arrival of new musicians we began to play in the style hard’n'heavy. Having played a few shows with a new repertoire, the band began preparing for an album, but unfortunately due to some disagreements, in January 2007 the group’s activities were suspended. We gathered again only in 2010. Right now we are working without a drummer, but hopefully will find one soon.

Perhaps this issue will affect one of the main secrets of the group – which is a planned full-length album? Will there be any special, breakthrough ideas that will further progress throughout the musical level of the team?

We are located deep in thought, will the next release be a long play or another? This will depend on a combination of meaning and music products to all songs which is an integral part of the whole, and without necessarily to link a single concept. A few songs from the new material are already written, some  to determine in time. Necessarily to add a new sound to music lyrics are carefully checked, and trying to make every song memorable work, we think about every note, appreciate every word. We hope to convey to the audience the very important life components: the constant need for proper selection of vital categories; manifestation of will in overcoming any barriers and obstacles to the goal.

Where was the  recently released EP “Roads of Life” recorded? What roads did fate take this record?

EP “Roads of Life” even six months ago, was not planned in this format. We wanted to produce a long play album. Recorded in Kaluga studio «Machine Band», for mixing and mastering the tracks were sent to Belarus. There were some difficulties, not enough free time during recording to edit some arrangements, sometimes had disagreements over individual understanding of participants. Because of this recording and mixing stretched about six months, but in general we think was good.

Will the Full Throttle shoot their first official video? How do you imagine it?

The idea of creating a video has been around for some time. Most likely, the shooting (already decided on what song) would start after the studio recording of the next release. In the video we want to fully express the inner atmosphere of the team and the semantic content of the conceptual ideology. We will not do, of course, without the special effects.

Heavy music old style is going through hard times, it is difficult to resist the new fangled trends. How are things on the stage of your hometown?

The general trend of heavy music fashion dictates the rules, and in the city of Kaluga  this is no exception. In addition to representatives of the classical styles of metal, there is, of course, a large number of groups implementing new areas of heavy music. Even though the popularity has declined, heavy metal lives, that is periodically confirmed by participants at urban music concerts.

Whose music has an indirect impact on the work of Full Throttle? Whose level do you want to achieve? And in what ways do you plan to do this?

The formation and development of the group took place under the indirect influence of both local masters – “Aria”, “Kipelov” and foreign: Manowar, Nightwish, Metallica, Sonata Arctica.
However, the music of these artists is for us the example of the creation of creativity and performance, but in no way it is not plagiarism.
In terms of improving the limits for themselves, bands must constantly evolve. We hope to reach a minimum level of Dream Theater, everybody understands that it needs only two things: a strong desire, and “hell work”, which is always the most reliable ally. We will try to.

Thanks for your time, what would you wish to our readers?
To readers we want to wish good luck to the boundless, the implementation of plans and ideas, true friends in life. Nothing is impossible!

Interview copyright Kostya Aronberg

12/04/2013

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.audioburger.com

 

Prying open shadows: an interview with Lonegoat of Goatcraft

All For Naught, the debut album from Goatcraft is one of this year’s biggest impacting releases so far, a release which ignites and inspires hungry thoughts, imagery, and emotions through the neo-classical bred instrumental shadows and compulsive ambiences it holds within its walls. An intrusive and captivating tempest of passion and creativity reaping the essences of black, death, and occult metal and infusing them into unique and emotive key sculpted tracks which offer a powerful narrative and soundtrack to deep questions and experiences.  Goatcraft is the solo project of San Antonio based Lonegoat, and the innovative musician allowed us the pleasure to find out more about the album, his music, as well as touching on the existence of us all and other thoughts.

Hello and thanks for taking time to talk with us at The RingMaster Review.

Tell us about the spark or inspiration which brought Goatcraft to life.

Hi RingMaster. Thank you for taking the time to write these questions.

During 2010 I woke up one morning and had a cup of coffee; then I decided that it’d be worthwhile to kill some time by recording a seventy-plus minute piece on piano. It was done in one take and sounded decent enough to keep. I burned some discs; inscribed ‘Lonegoat presents Goatcraft’ on them, then I figured it was good enough to mail around to my friends. The responses were positive and the advice from them was to do an actual project.

Shortly after, I recorded the tracks that were on the Goatcraft demo that PaleHorse Recordings released.

The concept that stemmed from the demo has been extended into the album. I believe it’s better executed than the earlier recordings.

Information about yourself has stated you were disillusioned with the state of music in your favoured genres, has your frustration at the Occult and death metal scenes tempered now with the release of your stunning album All For Naught or is it still a fire which drives you on as much as your creative exploration?

I perceive the occult as if I would an esoteric thought process. The esoteric should never be commercialized in bland forms. I’m not keen to how some metal bands use the esoteric for commercial reasons. They usually water it down and make it ‘fun’ and ‘hip’; something that aimless people latch onto for an image.

Honestly I think my viewpoint on reality/existence/consciousness is the driving factor. In the end we’re not even dust. The sun will supernova; the universe will eventually return from whence it came. I think a realization of how minuscule our existence is could provide a better understanding in our lives. What are we to do with this time? I would rather defy the crowdist method and devise something that is my own.

Do you feel the audience has also changed along with the direction of those genres and if so do you feel you have to rebuild an appetite in people as well as that of the music itself?

Of course the audience has changed since its inception. A lot of extreme metal has been commercialized. It’s a ‘product’ that isn’t very profitable except for a few gimmicks that parade around like carnival acts. There are good bands that have defied the rock music mind-set and stayed true to their concepts. However, I think all of this stems to Metallica. They ushered an influx ‘jocks’ into the scene in the 80‘s.

Further, metal as a whole has become much more accessible. Those who are truly interested in it will unearth the classics, as well as delving into other quality acts.

Tell us about those early times of the project in 2010, did you find a ready to accept audience at live performances from the start or did they need some persuading that your ‘return’ to the original vision of the aforementioned areas of music was a hunger they could also devour?

Much like an author collecting ideas for a story, Goatcraft was in its adolescence stage during 2010-2012. I had grown weary of playing in bands, but I went through many changes for my own personal project.

Mike Browning from Morbid Angel and Nocturnus has been telling me since I was 20 to do this project. I suppose acknowledging my own abilities then fermenting a purpose to it solidified the concept. Now that the project has established itself, I will extend and strive to further Goatcraft.

I read that there were times where more people came to shows to focus on your work than other bands on the bill, even the headlining artists, how many artists did this piss off? Ha-ha

There were only a couple of shows when this happened, but no one was upset. They were rather small events; most of the time I’ll play first to set the mood for a death or black metal show. I’ve received the ire from numerous bands that have toured through. Negura Bunget, Eclipse Eternal, and many others have confronted me after playing.

What came before Goatcraft for you and your creativity?

I’ve spent most of my life wandering, as if trying to find some sort of meaning or purpose. The ultimate conclusion that I’ve came to is that there’s only nothing. We’re the result of cosmic randomness. I recently turned 28 and I’ve lived all over the United States and Japan. I figure it’s time to imprint myself on this world. However small or large; there will be something of me left behind for others to unravel. We create our own purpose and shouldn’t falter from indirection.

How have your sound and your approach to it changed from those opening steps of Goatcraft to the emotive and striking sounds on the album?

The result of the newer compositions is of a better understanding of what I’m executing. Some of it is off-the-cuff, but my abilities are strong enough to not warrant dwelling on certain compositions to death.

I am right in believing from reading the promo sheet for the release that the rich ambience aspect which powerfully evokes the senses and emotions on All For Naught were not yet explored in the initial invention of the band?

The effects of ‘wind’ or ‘wisps‘, have always been an underpinning to heighten the sound of the piano for Goatcraft. Those sounds can also be heard when I perform live.

What was the trigger to expand your imagination and exploration into those rich and compelling shadows of sound too?

There wasn’t a trigger other than having preferred the settings after years of playing. It’s the most sensible sound for what I want to convey. I don’t foresee this changing in the near future. If there is experimentation, it’ll be warranted and not aimless.

Can you tell us about the period when you refined and honed your sound to what has emerged on the album, and how long did it take to write the impacting All For Naught?

I recorded a few hundred tracks in 2012. I decided to choose the pieces for the album from personally liking them. However, I’m sure that I have some other pieces that people would enjoy.

There is a very cinematic breath to the album, though more in being a soundtrack to personal and social shadows and malevolence than for an actual movie, though they could also frame such a thing perfectly. Was this an aspect you wanted to craft within the music or something which has naturally bred itself?

The cinematic nature of the album emerged naturally from how I conceptualize music. Music to me is storytelling, or letting different melodies and riffs tell a story by how they change over time. Much as in metal, which is usually told from a history or “big picture” viewpoint like religion or biology, my music denies the human individual. Reality is given the foreground, and humans are tiny little yeasts clustered in a corner, forgotten. When you think about it, most music is about an idealized human individual in a situation of high emotion. Yet in life, all of the most important moments aren’t that way. You have to think about something broader than the human individual and its animal emotion. This gives Goatcraft the “epic” feeling that is also found in movie soundtracks.

Some pieces are pure elegance with equally rich dark tendencies whilst others are raw intensity upon the senses coated in sheer ambient beauty, how easy is it to combine both extremes for a mutual impact?

Both elegance and sonic intensity are techniques that are used to tell a story. If you make the whole album one or the other, it will end up either saccharine or redundant. To avoid this, I treat all of my techniques as colors being applied to a painting. You don’t want too much of any color, but you do want a balance. You can mix colors, but if you do it too much, the painting is washed out and looks like an error. The result is that there is a balance between elegance (sacredness) and intensity (the profane). Like life itself, it is the divine nature of consciousness clashing with the crass and “bottom line” reality of survival. Together these two portray life both as it is, and how it can be.

Another aspect which I love about the album is that tracks make their ‘statement’ than leave, meaning pieces can last a brief breath of time or tell a longer aural narrative, no toying with excesses and outstaying the potency of their impact. When does a piece of music tell you that it is at that point?

I am thrilled that you regard to it as a narrative. I believe I’m executing a musical narrative in Necroclassical.

Is there an underlying theme across the album, a thread which links each piece of music to each other rather than an overall umbrella of intent?

Human negation can be frightening for the average ego bound individual, or it can be something of beauty in regards to how powerless we are to Earth’s elements.

Have you read about the Toba catastrophe theory? One volcano bottle-necked human evolution 75,000 years ago. We’re long overdue for another cleansing. Overpopulation, ecocide, religion, politics, false sense of self, and so forth would be put in their places by a new major catastrophic mishap.

I wonder what the world would be like if everyone turned off their TV’s and looked at how horrible we’ve kept ourselves and surroundings. Perhaps it’d still result in war and commerce. Devolution appears very probable regardless of any societal progressions.

Humanity will recoil.

Can you tell us about your personal presence within the music, how much is bred from your own beliefs and personal experiences and how much is just creative imagination as the seed?

Do you like Salvador Dali? If I’m not feeling any motivation for challenging myself, I’ll immerse myself in some of his paintings to clear my mind. Beksinski used to be a good inspirational source as well. I also wrote one piece after reading HP Lovecraft’s Ex Oblivione.

What is next for yourself and Goatcraft?

I’m writing more music for a split with the Neoclassical Dark Ambient project Khand. We’re talking to labels, but I have a feeling that Forbidden Records will be involved.

After that, I suppose it’s time for the second album.

Again many thanks for talking with us.

Thank you for taking the time to inquire about my exploits. It means a lot.

Any last thoughts you would like to share?

Only a few resources that I’d like to direct people to if they’re interested in checking out Goatcraft.

Stream the entire ‘All For Naught’ album: http://forbiddenrecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-for-naught

The Official Goatcraft Website for happenings: www.goatcraft.net

Forbidden Records for the physical copy of the album, as well as $5 CDs in the distro:  http://forbidden-records.com/

Goatcraft on Faceplant: https://www.facebook.com/goatcraft.texas

Thanks again!

Read the All For Naught review @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/goatcraft-all-for-naught/

The RingMaster Review 11/04/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.audioburger.com

Emerging Canvas: an interview with artist Anja Tvrtkovic

For every album, single, book, or DVD there is a cover or accompanying piece of art to portray what is within and tempt the emotions into the heart of the host. Always looking out for emerging independent artists The RingMaster Review had the pleasure to come across a young artist from Serbia, Anja Tvrtkovic, whose work has already grabbed thoughts and attention. Such the potency of the few things seen we felt the need to find out more about the lady and her work.

Hello Anja and thank you for talking with us.

Hello, and thank you for the interview!

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a person that likes to  do too many things interested in art and music. I am a student of University of Applied Arts studying Animation. In my free time I work art designs for bands, t-shirt designs and illustrations for younger children. I am playing bass and back vocals in an all-female band called Plump (named after a song played by Hole). Two months back I ended up in a band called Jailbait (an all-girl band that is a tribute to the Runaways and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts)! And I don’t know what else to say and not end up sounding like an egoistic person  haha )

When did art first catch your imagination and who were your early influences?

When I was a kid, it was my passion, so most of the time I was watching Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, The Railway Dragon and many more cartoons in that style of drawing! Of course those were the times of VHS so I would record a lot of cartoons and watch them over and over. I can’t say who would be my influence as a person. I was more in my world at the time, with an idea of dragons and dinosaurs in my head.

How would you describe your style of art?

My style? Hmmmm, I always wanted to look badass with my drawings and make people go into “WOAH!” effect, but I would always end up drawing something cute and attractive to a child’s eye. But there are the times when I get into my more serious state, but I never published it.

Is there any particular medium you prefer or find better for your ideas?

Digital art. Definitely. I am too clumsy to work traditional and would always end up all in colours and not satisfied.

What inspires your work and ideas predominantly?

Other people, friends, but mostly artists all over the world. Internet is a great tool in meeting other styles and techniques.

Music is obviously also an important thing in your life?

Oh yes, very! My bass and love for singing also helps and inspires!! Music is a big part of my life, the thing that gets me going. Every time I stay up late, working for my University, I crank up some good old grunge and metal so I could get through.

What bands and genres are your favourites?

There are too many but, there are some times when I am into grunge, rock, sometimes punk, sometimes I end up in heavy, death and some older thrash. Few of the favourite bands would be: Gojira, System of a Down, Black Sabbath, Offspring, Nirvana, Queen, Deep Purple, Slayer, Kultur Shock, Babes in Toyland Hole, L7, Guano Apes….
I have many local bands that I love and support so I would include them too: NoYz?, Hatred, Uneven, Fandango, Seljačka Buna, Cannot and many more!

When and how did the two mediums come together with you designing art work and posters for bands?

When I was in high school. Because it was a school of Design, a lot of projects were designing CD covers and posters. I was always glared down by my teachers because of doing a design for Opeth, System of a Down and a few more local bands haha.

If given just one choice would you choose working in music or illustrating for children’s books etc?

I would probably find myself more in illustrating then in music. Drawing is more my thing, I would leave music making to more talented people

I believe you are creating the artwork for the forthcoming album from Serbian band Noyz?

Yes! I am doing the cover and booklet for upcoming album. It is a lot of work, but that is a dream of every artist. To work with a band that  you love, and gets you easily inspired. So I am the lucky one

Can you give any insight as to what it will be like?

Well, Sharkey(frontman and guitarist) and I had a long talk about the album, and I know very well all the songs (yeah I am a big fan), so there is going to be greyish, a little bit dark, but with symbolic elements. I will try to keep the grunge spirit that Noyz have!

What other artists have you worked with or are looking at in the future?

I haven’t had a chance to work with other artists, but I hope I will! I like collaborations! But if you think for music artists I worked with tons!

You create music yourself so what do you feel is the biggest similarity between creating pieces of art and making music?

I literally did just one part of a song in collaboration with my friend and Sharkey, as a gift to one dear friend. I  always have a blockade in my head when I am starting to do something. Even for this song I had a blockade, I had to make the melody and lyrics and couldn’t do it. Few days later it just hit me, out of nowhere! That is the same process I am having with my art. So yeah there is a big similarity

Have you an aim or ambition for your art ahead?

I can’t say there is an aim. I am still in the shell, I don’t have goal in my life, maybe dreams, but those are still far away!

Where can people see your works of art?

For now, I don’t have an online portfolio, and my deviant art page is old and hasn’t been updated in a long time, but I am hoping in making a site as soon as possible! Some of my really old stuff can be seen here: http://njanjadesign.daportfolio.com/

Once again many thanks for talking with us.
It was my pleasure! The questions were fun!

Would you like to end with three of your favourite works of art and three favourite albums?

I would end up with: From Mars to Sirus – Gojira; Bleach – Nirvana;  Diabolus in Musica – Slayer.

The RingMaster Review 06/04/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.audioburger.com

Unleashing truths: an interview with Merc from The Karma Party

With a snarl and biting attitude which is spawn by and reflects the state of broken Britain, UK band The Karma Party has emerged as a compelling and inventive force with a musical craft and imagination as potent as the uncompromising yet thoughtful lyrical thoughts and often venom they wield. The quartet brews up a unique and irresistible fusion of hardcore, punk and dub-step with flames of electronica which come together for a fiery storm of thrilling and explosive invention. Their recently released Dark Matters EP has caused a fury of acclaim and attention their way and not wanted to be left in the wake we had the pleasure of talking to vocalist Merc about the outstanding release, the band itself, and what inspires the rage and enterprise which drives them.

Hi Merc, many thanks for taking time out to talk with us here.

No problem, thanks for having us!

For all those new to The Karma Party please introduce the band.

Hello! We are The Karma Party from the derelict holiday resort of Blackpool, nice to make your acquaintance.

How did you all meet and how did the band begin?

Me (Merc) and Luke used to be in another band with James who is now in Sonic Boom Six.

For one reason or another that band fell to pieces, after which James helped me formulate ideas and then bit by bit we assembled what is now The Karma Party.

You hail from Blackpool; is the place as run down and far from its former glory as the media portrays?

It’s worse! I mean, I watched 999 What’s Your Emergency? They went easy on the place. A lot of people come to Blackpool as tourists, which is mind boggling enough. They come to see the lights and drive down the prom unaware that one street away people are living in abject poverty. You can see the weight of the place in people’s faces as you walk around. There is a massive problem with violence and drugs and the only the thing the local authorities want to do is to make it more attractive to the booze tourists and hen nights to bring more revenue into the area, which only perpetuates the substance abuse issues.  Most people in Blackpool don’t care about anything anymore; they have become resigned to that lifestyle and believe it is the norm everywhere. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the country like it. Maybe Morecambe…

…And a place to inspire dissent, anger, and lyrical potency for songs?

It’s impossible not to be inspired in a place like that as there is so much material on your doorstep.

I think Blackpool is like a microcosm for the whole country containing every issue the country has, so definitely a main source for the lyrics.

You create a striking and passion inciting sound from blending punk, dubstep, hardcore, electronica, and more. A fascinatingly eclectic brew brought with passion and attitude I think it is fair to say. How would you describe your sound and what are the major influences musically which have had an effect on your ideas and music?

Thank you! We’re not very good with labels but we’ve been called Punk Step and Punk n Bass which kind of sums up a lot of what we do. There is such a massive eclectic taste amongst the band which allows us to see the similarities between the genres. I don’t think it would work as well if we were all into the same music. We love to watch bands utilising electronics properly as it brings another dynamic to the show. It would be impossible for us not to cite Enter Shikari as an influence and one of our favourite bands. Other artists would include: Bad Brains, Gallows, Mike Patton, Squarepusher, Venetian Snares, Reprazent, The King Blues, Sonic Boom Six, Mouthwash, Skindred, London Electricity, Nero, Rusko, Eminem, Lowkey, Clint Mansell, Danny Elfman, Capdown, NOFX and Chris Murray….I could carry on.

Do you see yourselves as a political band using anthemic music for weaponry or a band creating individual and stirring music which just happens to be inspired lyrically by the injustices of the day?

One of the main things we agreed on when we started this project was to keep it as real and true as possible. The public have a way of sniffing out lies and if you pretend to be something you’re not, I believe that they can tell. Although I can’t speak for the rest of the band (as it’s not something we talk about) I’ve never been to a protest or voted, I doubt I ever will as I don’t think either makes a difference as all aspects of the game are rigged. I do want to spend the rest of my life trying to make a difference but I think change has to come from the people. They are the ones who are keeping this system in place. We are a tiny part of a massive universe, there is  no past or future, no good or bad and we could change the world in a heartbeat if we so wished. I want people to know they are not insignificant and they are loved…..including politicians.

If everything was perfect, yes a far-fetched possibility ha-ha, would The Karma Party exist?

If everything was perfect I don’t think I would have ever picked up an instrument or have the mind-set that I do now. The famous quote by Victor Hugo springs to mind; Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters. It’s so true in my case.

You have just released your debut EP, the excellent Dark Matters EP. It is for us a five track eclectic feast of sound and invention not forgetting being greedily infectious. I imagine the songs on the release all find an enthusiastic reaction in your live shows such the impact they make on the EP.

Again thanks for your nice words. We’ve just finished the Dark Matters Tour which was our first time on the road and the response has been overwhelming. The shows have been mental, something we didn’t expect first time out. We’ve put a lot of work in making the live show stand up to the recording and from the reaction it seems to have worked. It was crazy to have people singing the words back at us on our first tour something we didn’t see coming and I’ve been humbled by almost everyone we’ve met.

How has Dark Matters been received so far, especially critically?

From our perspective it was such a personal recording that we couldn’t tell if it was good or bad anymore. We were so involved in it that we’d lost all perspective. It has been received better than we ever expected with mainstream press like Kerrang! and Rock Sound giving us great reviews and blogs and websites all over picking it up.

In all honesty we couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction.

You have released it as a free download opportunity for fans, any particular reason for that?

We want everyone to be able to listen to our music whether you can afford a CD or not. In the band we are shameless streamers, torrenters and file sharers, so for us to be precious over our record when we have “stolen” so many other peoples music would be very hypocritical.

How do songs emerge within the band generally?

It’s a varied process, usually we demo and produce a lot of stuff in our bedrooms and over the internet and then take the ideas into the practice room for fine tuning.

Do lyrics spark songs or musical ideas, or is it a mix?

Tricky question…Musical ideas definitely inspire the lyrics in the demo process and then later the track is re-worked around the lyrics. So I guess it would be a mix.

The release contains your two singles Collapse and This Is Britain, both seemingly gained the tag infamous from a great many. Tell us about both of the powerful and lyrically volatile songs.

This is Britain – You’ve got to laugh at what Britain has become. I find it almost impossible to relate to any facet of mainstream culture. So this is our way of poking fun at what seems to be a ridiculous way of life. From the Royal Family to Ant and Dec, from our drinking culture to gossip magazines and from politicians and police to orange girls with Sharpie eyebrows, I don’t fit in anywhere. I didn’t want to whinge about all this so I tried to put myself in the mind-set of someone who loves modern Britain. It’s so sarcastic we were worried people might take it literally.

Collapse – Collapse is almost like the serious brother of This Is Britain. We wanted to talk about the poverty we see in the country. This recession and depression has been brought on by the government and they continue to shift the blame and show us statistics that say everything is ok but you only need to go out in the street to see how bad it’s getting. We want people to know they are the real power in this country and globally and politicians are counting on you to do nothing about it. Your country needs you and it needs you now.

Would you say This Is Britain has become already your musical calling card, the song people instantly refer to in relation to the band?

I really hope so, I think it’s a fine example of what we want to say and do musically. I think we’ll be playing that track for years to come.

Both songs have impressive videos, with the one for This is Britain like the song especially potent. Who did you record them with?

Thanks! Videos are a massive part of what we want to do. James Kennedy from Trifecta Films in Manchester did the This Is Britain video. We brought him to Blackpool for two days. We shot in our local and took him and his team on a sightseeing tour of the grimiest places in town. We had really good fun.

Some bands find it hard to create contagious songs without diluting the message or impact of the lyrics whilst others just concuss with noise to empower their impacting words. On the evidence of Dark Matters you have found the perfect balance. How much effort goes into your balance of both aspects or is it something which is just instinctive for you?

The rest of the band act as editors for the lyrics so when I’m pushing a point too much or what I’m doing lyrically is impacting on the aesthetics of the track they let me know. It’s sometimes hard for me to hear anything but the lyrics so it helps to have a team who know a good track when they hear it. There is definitely a group editing process.

How much impact do you believe artists and music can truly make on people in regard to social and world issues?

Art in general has the ability to change the world forever; it connects more people than Facebook and brings us together in ways we still don’t properly understand. A lot of people would call me naïve but I think doing nothing, putting your faith in political systems and hoping for the best is naïve.

What is next for The Karma Party?

Touring in April, May and June with Random Hand and Anti Vigilante. Playing Rebellion festival in August and we will have more new material / videos out later in the year!

Once more big thanks for chatting with us, any last thoughts for the readers and fans?

No worries thanks for the great questions. The only thing we want to say is a massive thanks to anyone who has given us a listen or come to show you are the reason we do this.

Grab the Dark Matters EP for free @ http://thekarmaparty.co.uk

Read the Dark Matters EP review @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/the-karma-party-dark-matters-ep/

The RingMaster Review 28/03/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.audioburger.com

Breaching the aggressive beauty: an interview with Johnar Haaland and Kristian Wikstøl from In Vain

Photo by Jørn Veberg

We may only be three months into the year but Norwegian progressive extreme metal band In Vain has made a startling claim for album of the year with the stunning Ænigma. The third album from the band is a compelling and inciting tempest of towering imaginative and inventive ingenuity evolving the rich already brewed essences of the band into a new exhilarating inspirational of fresh and sharpened ideas. Beautiful and destructive the release sets new heights and templates for themselves and for others to aspire to. To learn more about the band, their expansive music, and Ænigma itself, we had the distinct pleasure of talking with songwriter/guitarist Johnar Haaland and bassist/hardcore vocalist Kristian Wikstøl.

Hi Guys, welcome to The RingMaster Review and many thanks for taking time to talk with us.

In Vain is back with a vengeance with your new album Ænigma, a release which has taken a fair while to arrive since your last album. Was there any deliberate intent to take your time over this one or was it just how life imposed upon and dictated the journey for the album to its existence?

Kristian: First of all, thanks for a nice review and for taking your time! In Vain have always been about quality before quantity and to use your words, we are back with a vengeance with Ænigma, in my own opinion, our strongest album so far. From the fact that we are 6 members in the band with jobs and different projects in our lives it’s sometimes difficult to make things happen as productive and smooth as our fans would prefer. Kjetil became a father last year, Stig travels a lot in his job and I’m studying aviation in Florida. So yeah, it’s the result of many factors that lead to this.

Johnar: The main reason for the delay was that the songwriting process was interrupted. I am the only songwriter in the band and I had some personal business issues that I had to solve in 2011. This stole all my time and I had to put the songwriting on a halt for almost a year.

Obviously as a band you are confident and proud of the album, and rightly so, but has how it immediately ignited passions in fans and the media in any way surprised you?

Kristian: To be honest, I’m not surprised at all that people are excited about this album. I can say this because before I joined the band 6 years ago, I was a big fan of In Vain. Johnar and Andreas are my good friends and I remember being blown away by the sheer quality of the songs on “Wounds” and “The Latter Rain”. I’m still a fan though it’s always difficult to be objective to your own art and creations. We are thrilled to see that our fans are embracing this album.

Johnar: With the risk of sounding cocky, In Vain has always been blessed with great reviews. But we never take it for granted, and we also know that it has its side effects; people raise the bars for every release. It’s of course much easier to catch people off guard and surprise.

One of the triumphs of Ænigma, of so many , is that though it has the ‘typical’ In Vain sound and imagination which tells us its source without the band name being needed, it is still a distinctly different  character and encounter compared to your previous albums. Where so many other bands struggle to achieve this is it something you intently work on or just something which arises organically as you explore your new ideas?

Johnar: I think you are touching on something very important. Personally, I only listen to bands I find somewhat original, and by that I mean that I am able to know exactly what band I am hearing on the stereo, because they have their own unique voice. Thus far, I have been the only songwriter in the band and I think that has given us a consistent sound.

For “Ænigma” the idea was to continue to explore the same field, but to try also to make some shorter songs, in order to have a more balanced album. I find “Ænigma” as a solid representation of everything In Vain has done so far.

Of course the core and heart of your music is extreme metal seeded with many diverse flames of styles burning within the progressive breath of the album. One can only assume across the band there is an eclectic passion for different music which filters into your music and imagination, again is it something with naturally brews its own spices as you write or at times do you deliberately follow a certain flavour to include in a song?

Johnar: All the members of In Vain have a very broad musical taste. Personally, I listen to everything from very quiet and mellow music, all the way to extreme metal. I am also a big fan of rap music. When I make music I try to combine what I consider as the strengths in the various genres that I enjoy. For instance, I blend in the feelings in the blues, the aggression in Black Metal, the heaviness in Doom, etc. When we started In Vain I had a vision of trying to combine all these elements, without making the songs chaotic and non-cohesive.

How does the songwriting process work and once together in the studio is it a somewhat flexible stance for ideas from all leading up to the recording?

Johnar: I write all the songs alone and I prefer to present finished songs to the other band members. Consequently, I make demos where I record/program all instruments. I have a strong opinion about everything, from how the vocals should be, what rhythms the drums should play and so forth. Then I incorporate whatever feedback I receive and the songs enters a phase where I listen to them a lot and try to find areas for improvements. When we record I give each members strong guidelines, but everyone is still free to add their personal touch to the music.

Lyrically like musically, the songs on Ænigma have their equally individual themes and presences but is there any underlying connection across the album between songs, apart from being written by the same author of course.

Johnar: There is no connection between the songs on “Ænigma” or between the various albums. As with the music, we have no limits for what our lyrics can involve, except that we stay clear of direct religious or political messages. On Ænigma the lyrics deal with personal experiences, nature, philosophical reflections and our view on which direction the world is heading.

Photo by Jørn Veberg

Johnar: I believe I have a strong personal integrity in my songwriting. I have a profound view on how our songs should be, and what makes a song good or not. For instance, I am very concerned about contrasts. Variation is key because if you use the same tricks/riffs too many times people will notice and get bored. I am also a dedicated believer of the fact that arrangements are way more important than the individual guitar riffs you use. In my opinion, you end up with a bad song, even though it only has good riffs, if you arrange it in the wrong way.

How did the recording of Ænigma differ from your previous albums?

Kristian: The recording of “Ænigma” was more effective than any previous IV album. We are more experienced in the recording process now than ever and we know what to expect at this point. Another huge difference is that all previous IV recordings has taken place in our hometown Kristiansand during summer holidays where there’s been more people in the studio at the same time and, yeah, more slacking off. We recorded “Ænigma” in Oslo and tracked all instrumentations separately. Each member spent only a couple of days in the studio with their respective instruments, except Johnar who was supervising the whole process. A lot of bands, especially young inexperienced bands don’t realize the art and value of being an effective and focused band during the recording process. I’m all about having a good time, but when I enter the studio I wanna bring my A-game and be able to say I did my best for the years to come. I still enjoy hanging out in the studio, crack open a beer and try out all kinds of different stuff, but In Vain is complex music and you have to be focused and prepared when you enter the studio.

Johnar: As Kristian said, we are focused on being effective in the studio. But still, we always leave some time for experimentation and improvisation

How as a songwriter and as musicians have you grown and your approach to making music changed since your first release?

Johnar: For many of the songs on our previous albums I have things I would like to have changed. I think I have gotten more experience and become more “tactical” by age. By that I mean that I know what is necessary and what is not necessary to make a song good or not. Also, I have learned that the arrangement of a song is way more important than the riffs you use. I believe you can make a good song even though there are several less good riffs, as long as you balance everything and get the arrangement right. The most important for me is variation and that everything progresses fluently.

Are there any elements of the early days as a band and in making your records which have changed but maybe you in hindsight miss?

Johnar: I really enjoyed when we recorded our two EPs “Will the Sun Ever Rise” and “Wounds” back in the days. We were younger, things were less serious and we had more fun. For both those albums we just rented a studio for the whole summer and had a lot of fun.

Ænigma was produced by the mighty Jens Bogren (Opeth, Soilwork, Borknagar, etc.), what was it apart from the obvious about his style which you felt would exploit the riches of the album to bring it even more vibrantly to life?

Johnar: We chose to work with Jens because he had impressed us with his previous work. Additionally, we were looking for a crystal clear sound which would allow all the elements in our music to be heard.

Did his input and ideas change anything beyond your initial ideas upon the album?

Johnar: Jens only mixed the album after everything was recorded when he received the files from us. So the answer is no to this

Photo by Jørn Veberg

question.

In our review we felt the album was seeded in your earlier albums expanding them into a new exhilarating and inspiring canvas of fresh and sharp invention, and as we said earlier stands as something uniquely separate at the same time. Is that how you see it too from the inside of the band?

Johnar: I think “Ænigma” is a very good representation of everything we have done so far. You have more epic and slow songs (‘Floating on The Murmuring Tide’) which could be compared to ‘Captivating Solitude’ from the “Mantra” album, and you have more aggressive and fast songs (‘Times of Yore’) which is reminiscent of our earlier work. Finally, you also have tracks like ‘Image of Time’ and ‘Rise Against’ which has a more fresh and new sound.

Again you have brought in guest musicians for the album including Lazare and Cornelius from Solefald. Though it is an on-going idea across your releases to date have you not had the urge to master many of the instruments these fine artists bring and provide them yourselves?

Kristian: Having guest musicians on the album is good fun for both us and the fans but also a way to ensure that you have the best man for the job. It would have been too time consuming to learn how to play the violin, cello, sax or whatnot only to play on a couple of songs. These musicians are amazing and have spent years mastering their crafts. It would have been like using a plumber to operate on your legs or a surgeon to fix your plumbing. When it comes to Lazare and Cornelius it just felt natural to work with them since In Vain and Solefald will be teaming up this year on the stage. They are two great musicians and artists with a unique style and pitch to things and it would be plain wrong to try to imitate them instead of inviting on the album.

 The vocals on your releases and especially Ænigma just blow us away, the mix of extremes and their fluid union is always so impressive and another major aspect for us alongside the startling sounds. I have to ask though is there any rivalry over parts in songs as they are written?

Kristian: Since we all have very different vocal styles it becomes natural who’s doing what. I know my strengths and limitations when it comes to vocals and I’m not even gonna try to do Andreas shivering BM vocals or Sindre’s clean vocals. As with the former question; the most important thing is that you have the best man for the job. With varied songs, you also need variations in the vocals.

Since forming in 2003 has it become easier or harder as a band over the years, and has your gained experience along the way made it easier to deal with obstacles and arising problems within the music business?

Kristian: I think it becomes easier the older and more confident you get. As a band we are tighter, better and more comfortable with each other than ever and I think that comes as a natural consequence of us having matured and gotten more experienced. I haven’t seen the ugly side of the industry yet, but I know it exists. There are shady people in just about any business though. A lot boils down to how you let these people treat you.

April sees In Vain touring with Indie Recordings label-mates Vreid and also Solefald. Will you include the whole of Ænigma within your shows and what else is ahead live wise for the year?

Johnar: Since we don’t tour that often we will also play some old songs. Also, a big number of our fans really love the “The Latter Rain” album, so we will play a couple of songs from that disc. But the majority will be from “Ænigma”. Since our songs are quite long there is a limit on how many we can play unfortunately.

Again many thanks for sparing time to tell us about In Vain and Ænigma. Any last words you would like to share?

Thanks again! Big thanks and respect to all the supporters of real music out there! Keep buying albums and go see a good ol’ rock show every now and then. Hope to see you all soon on a stage near you!

And finally for the tour what are the sounds you most likely will take to help ease all the traveling between venues?

Kristian: I listen to just about anything within music, I don’t really care about norms or scenes anymore, only quality and passion. If you want name droppings: Neurosis, Deadmau5, Converge, Shai Hulud, Kendrick Lamar, the Roots, Radical Face, the last Deftones album is nice, Totalt Jävla Mörker, Hans Zimmer, Thrice+ a thousand more!

Read the review of Ænigma @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/in-vain-aenigma/

The RingMaster Review 23/03/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

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Reaping the exterior: an interview with Håkan Stuvemark from Skineater

With aggressively sculpted malice borne from its charnel house of blood drenched intensity and bone splintering violence, Dermal Harvest the debut album from Swedish death metallers Skineater, is an impressive and savage pleasure, a release which is equally viciously antagonistic and carnally satisfying. It is an introduction for most to a band which since forming in 2008 has instilled a primal rapture and acclaimed driven attention within a great and growing many. Seizing the opportunity to find out more about the band and its first album we had the pleasure of talking with Skineater founder and guitarist Håkan Stuvemark.

Hi Håkan and welcome to The RingMaster Review, thanks for talking with us.

Hi, it’s always a pleasure!

For those still untouched by the Skineater aggressive scourge of sound tell us about the beginnings of the band. Are we right in thinking the band was a slow moving thing for the first couple of years? What was holding it back from fully emerging or was it an intentional thing to get your sound right?

Yes, you could say we were slow moving, mostly of natural causes .In June 2009 Jeramie Kling and I recorded two songs, He Was Murdered and Dismantling, Which you find as the first two tracks on Dermal Harvest. We had them finished in September or so and sent to a couple of labels and two of them were interested but unfortunately money is an important detail overall more or less, especially in this case with Jeramie in the U.S and me in Sweden. However we worked on that issue every now and then with labels over quite some time and coming to that was kind of long time with no action, loss of great enthusiasm without losing interest though!

What was the driving intent for the band when it started?

It started when I played bass in Vicious now known as GrandExit. I hadn’t played much at all for some years, practically nothing until I joined them in 2007. Autumn 2008 we recorded their third album which I’d written a song for and it was during the recording of that song when I played the guitars etc. I woke up and Hey! This is what I’m supposed to do and I can do! I had found myself again! So that’s what drove me and still is driving me. I left the band a couple of weeks after and intensively writing songs and as you’ve heard it ended up brutal!

2011 saw Carnal Forge and In Thy Dreams drummer Stefan Westerberg join to take bass duties in Skineater, was this arguably the point the band found its impetus to move forward and break free of restraints and recognition shadows?

We had in mind to be become a five member band but as I said earlier “long time with no action……..” Stefan and I got in contact February 2011, he wondered if we needed a bass player. Yeah, sure! Then he was on board. We knew each other since we both played in In Thy Dreams. He was the addition needed, new blood in the band, new energy, another mind.

The members of Skineater have some impressive pedigrees and experience band wise between them; can you give a quick run-down of their histories before the band?

The Swedish metal inbreed haha. Well, the most essential bands of each one of us:

I (Håkan): Wombbath, In Thy Dreams, GrandExit (ex-Vicious)

Stefan: Carnal Forge, In Thy Dreams, Steel Attack, 8 Foot Sativa

Matte: Defleshed, Dark Funeral, Sportlov, Raised Fist

Jörgen: The Mary Major

Kari: Mourning Sign, Amaran

The band signed with Pulverised Records for the release of your debut album Dermal Harvest, what did the label offer which drew you to them?

Yes, we ended up there on Pulverised. About the new energy and blood to the band, when Stefan joined the two of us began chasing more deals and Pulverised showed interest and over some discussion with them and contract adjustments they had us. It fitted our plans, recording deals and all that. All seemed just fine!

Dermal Harvest we called a charnel house of blood drenched intensity and bone splintering violence, and though we felt it was not ‘re-inventing the wheel ‘, it was an impressive and savage antagonist which you can only devour greedily. How would you describe it to newcomers and are we fair with all our points?

I think you got it quite right! Groin crushing, cocky death metal in an excellent blend for everyone!

The album was recorded at various locations? Was this intentional or just the things which new bands have to deal with through finance and opportunity challenges?

It’s in many ways very practical, especially due to that we are living spread over Sweden. Would work for me as I live only 25 km from Västerås where the studio is but for Stefan and Jörgen it is 400-700 km’s one way. Economic disaster to commute. We recorded the drums in the studio and the other instruments at our own places then we sent it all to Studio Underground for re-amping, mixing and mastering.

Tell us about the recording of the album, and how long the release was in coming alive from its first seeds to release.

I think we can refer a little to the previous question about the recording. However, the recording began in August 2011 when we recorded the drums. Later, maybe in November I started to record the guitars, Jörgen had been working on the vocals for a while at that time. On top of that it was the bass, must have been February 2012 and last of all Petri Kussisto recorded his guitar solos in his studio and sent them to Studio Underground. The album was completely mixed and mastered in June that year and released in February this year (2013).

Did the album evolve much during the actual recording from the original demo ideas?

We had solid demo songs/sketches but we improved practically every song. There’s always something you wanna change, small details and new ideas coming up

From an impressive start Dermal Harvest for us built up song by song to its biggest triumphs and intrusive might. How did you go about setting the track order on the album, did as much thought go into that as say the production and the art theme?

We wanted to give the listeners a good album from start ‘til end so we listened quite a lot and spent some thinking over the tracks and order. It turned out very well!

Talking about the artwork, who created the excellent cover art?

Mattias Björkbacka made it. He also produced the video for the song Dismantling we recently premiered.

The art depicts perfectly the lyrical and sonic predatory hunger and intensity of the album, did Mattias have sounds to work with, be inspired by first from you?

Mattias and I know each other so he’d heard more than one song for sure. He and I talked a lot about what the cover should look like, many ideas and details in the air. You know, one idea leads to another which leads to yet another and so on and this Ended up in perfection!

Is there a moment of the album which you feel is Skineater at its most potent, shows the purest breath of the band?

Only one and short answer on that…On every song!

What are your hopes for the album in the progress of the band and where are you taking it out live to share its glories?

That we reach out even more; get new fans which in their order will spread our word. We are hoping to get some live shows now. The album was released early which is good and festival shows would really be something. Of course other shows too!

Again thank you for talking with us. Any parting words you would like to offer?

Thank You! That’s the hardest question! -Spread our word folks in our way to conquer the scene!

Read the review of Dermal Harvest @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/skineater-dermal-harvest/

Interviewer Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 21/03/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

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Forever snarling: an interview with Charlie Harper of the UK Subs

Charlie Harper

Since its emergence in the latter part of the seventies punk rock has spawn some of the most influential and impacting bands which no one more essential to fans and the genre than the UK Subs. From 1976 the band and its founder Charlie Harper has been a driving force for subsequent bands and the genre itself over the years and as their new album XXIV shows, the band has not lost any of its strength and hunger to stretch themselves and punk, in fact they just get better and more inspiring, an incredible feat for a band well into its fourth decade, though its seeds goes back further. The RingMaster Review had the pleasure of finding out more about how the band, its ability to stay so essential, and about their twenty fourth album XXIV, by having the distinct honour of firing questions at Charlie… and this is what he revealed….

Hello Charlie and a big welcome to the site, many thanks for sparing time to talk with us.

I have to start with the obvious question of how has the band retained its hunger over the past forty years or so and as your new album shows, equally stayed fresh too?

Well…thank you Ring Master…we just have this will to have fun with the music and make it as exciting as we can.

I am aware of keeping it “fresh” but it’s not something that we work on, I suppose it’s because we spend so much time in clubs where I listen to all the other bands on the bill and I listen to what they do wrong, as well as the good stuff. We have done so many LPs  but we are just beginning  to use a studio, we also have a 5th member by the name of producer Pat Collier, we have worked together,  mostly on than off for so long now.

As we mentioned it let us talk about your excellent new album XXIV. I am sure you will not disagree that is your finest work in quite a while but what for you makes it stand out above your other strong releases over the past years?

It has more power than the previous records; I left a clue in the last track of “work in progress” in Robot Age.

There is a rich eclectic flavouring across the album brought with the expected UK Subs passion. Has this use of other musical influences been brewing up in the band and its songwriting for a while now or something you sat down and purposely filtered into XXIV?

No, there is nothing planned. We will write a bunch of songs, say 6 each and just pick the ones we think are best, this time Alvin was the first to come up with a couple of gems and set the bar very high, it was a big challenge.

There are some fine punk bands and releases around right now in the UK but arguably few seem to have the thought or want to explore and use the resources available through other sounds within rock n roll to vary their sound as you have shown upon XXIV. Do you feel the album could be a catalyst which might get some genre related bands to rethink their musical thoughts?

I don’t think so, among our contemporary’s, were bands like the Damned and Stranglers, it was all about songs. Bands now seem to go for style, same beat same sound same growl but hey…they said that about Elvis.

The album is a twenty six track feast of nothing but impressive and impacting songs. It is hard to think of many albums with such a number of songs where all have such strength and richly rewarding presences, the lack of ‘fillers’ refreshing; at what point did you personally realise how potent the album would be?

Potent is a good word and music is a powerful medium. I learned a few trick with those three chords, the killer is the one, very few people are aware of, because it’s invisible but whether you play live or on record, the first chord on a follow up song, has to be compatible with the last chord of the previous song, if it’s a good match, it will give you a high, if it’s a bad match, it can bring you down. We have to go with this, as our songs are in rapid succession.

 Is there any predominant theme or emotion which has fuelled or shaped the album?

Yes there was. It was the present conflict of the new and ancient world.

The Icon with the machine gun (baby Jesus gone) is a clue

You are a band which obviously writes for your own satisfaction and creative invention, so does it frustrate you when other bands within punk rock especially, create their sound and then almost use it as a uniform across each subsequent release thereafter, or do you only concentrate on the band and its imagination within the genre?

Well…take a band like Crass, they took that ridged uniformity to the limit but they were great. It takes all sorts and yes we just go on our merry way. I do encourage young bands to be different and find their own way

Do you think some bands underestimate their audience’s and their own adventure in taste and need, carry a fear to try new things?

Many do but there is a new batch of young musicians who are a little more brave, and that is pretty key, you have to have a musical bravery

The UK Subs seems to have found a new leash of life in many ways over the past two albums, the new release evolving the first ‘new breath’ found on Work In Progress. Is that a fair comment?

When Jet joined the band and we did the first album (Work in Progress) with him, it really felt like a new beginning and along with our not so ‘secret weapon’ Jamie, who contributed so much and Alvin coming to fruition as a major song writing force, we have the feeling that we are only just starting but that is very true of the acoustic side, we are absolute beginners.

Has this new energy to call it something, with no disrespect to past members, come in some way from the stability of the current line-up of the band since I believe 2005?

Be careful, when anyone talks of stability, things seem to happen. One drummer had a big tattoo across his chest, it said ‘Loyalty’, he left the band soon after but he has been with his present band for ten years now.

With the whole band having involvement in the core songwriting of different songs in different combinations, how does the songwriting process generally happen within the band?

Your questions are much too serious and prodding, I’m giving away all our little secrets. Well…it’s a nightmare, I was supposed to write all the lyrics but as I said before, Alvin is doing some major work, which gives me a breather. I tell the guys to keep it simple but they don’t do simple. I told them write one song for the next album, a Jet song and a Jamie song, they will struggle but I will find a way, Jamie is the best singer in the band but he is very shy, Billy Idol was just the same. Jet will sing in Japanese, some of that Japanese hardcore is amazing.

One suspects that there is an open approach within the band to ideas from the other members not involved in the original creation of particular songs as they evolve for recording?

One is right, you should pop down for the next recording your input would be much appreciated. I always look for somewhere to stick some backing vocals (B/Vs)then Jamie goes out to the mike and just does magic, mine are a bit oi.

The album also includes twelve acoustic tracks which I must admit took us by surprise in the best way possible; when did the idea to do this emerge or was it the intent from day one?

The acoustic idea was around a while, we were all writing songs but it was going to be another release but Captain Oi asked if we could put it on this release as an extra. We were not quite ready for that but we did our best. As I said we are just beginners but we write most songs on acoustic guitars, and we did the CD within the day.

Was the acoustic idea something to challenge yourselves or your audience more do you think in hindsight?

Definitely a challenge for us…I’ve played a couple of Subs unplugged, they go down very well but again, Jamie’s songs were a big challenge, Alvin took one and I took on the other, Alvin came out with the very spooky “Confessions…” I had just got back from Oslo where I was at the Puberty exhibition by Edward Munch; that was my inspiration for “Metamorphosis”.

What was the reaction towards the acoustic tracks even before people heard them and now after the release?

So far the reaction has been good, we have always dabbled with acoustics so it’s not so very new, we use the old sea shanty “Drunken Sailor” as an intro, it has a raging fiddle played by Simon Some Dog and the Subs.

Will you be taking this approach and tracks into a live setting at some point?

We were playing “Detox” on the last tour; we hope to add the “Coalition Government Blues” song and hopefully a few more.

Is there any particular moment on XXIV which gives you the strongest tingle of satisfaction?

There are a lot more on this album than most others we’ve done. As I said before, the B/Vs are my babies, as far as I am concerned , Jamie really nails them down, then there is the outro of “Black Power Salute”, the outro of “Implosion”, the noise guitars on “Failed State”, and some intro’s that I don’t remember right now and it’s the wee hours, I can’t play it.

The next day…

And anything you would have changed or tried differently now looking back?

That’s hard to say, we never get enough time in the studio and like it like that. Its nose down to the grind and making sure that we all have their stuff worked out before we walk in that day but the best laid plans… always go tits up. I hate things over produced but the early stuff is pretty horrific, right up to ‘Endangered Species’.

Yourself Charlie, and the band was inspired by The Damned back in 1976 but are there any bands or artists now who have impacted on your new ideas in regard to songwriting or sound?

I’ve always loved the Ramones, that simple back beat, the sound of the distorted Mosrite, Joe’s vocals, perfect.

I’ve always wished to write like Iggy but my style is completely different, it’s easier to write your own than try to work out somebody else’s stuff.

What is on the near horizon live shows wise of the band?

A UK tour in May. We will add more songs from the new album but no less old ones.

Once more very big thanks for sparing time for us. Any last thoughts you would like to share?

Just a big thank you, to all our followers and fans. We really do appreciate the support over so many years.

We have always found time to have a chat over a pint and some have become very close friends.

If there are any budding musicians out there…Go for it! There are ups and downs but it’s worth every mile.

And lastly once the band has released an album for every letter of the alphabet what comes next….

Hey let us get there first but we will still be on the road. I will just be too old to remember new songs.

Read the review of XXIV @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/u-k-subs-xxiv/

Interviewed by Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 20/03/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

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