New York’s Twisted Sister became a household name in the mid ’80s with the success of their 3rd album Stay Hungry, and more so with the hit single “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and the comical videos created for the Stay Hungry singles, as well as the follow up album’s videos. But my favorite from Twisted Sister is their 2nd album – You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll in 1983. The album may not have been a huge commercial success, but it was the band at their best, before the hilarious videos, and the attempts at appealing to the mainstream. You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll was full of straight on edgy and angry TS rockers and anthems. You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll was actually the band’s first North American album release, as their debut Under The Blade was recorded in the UK and did not get a US deal & release until after the band had found commercial success; it was remixed and issued in 1985 in Canada and the US. It was produced by British producer / Engineer Stuart Epps who, at the time was producing Wishbone Ash and Vandenberg, and who’s previous engineering credits included Elton John, Chris Rea, Bill Wyman, and US band Shooting Star. Also recorded in the UK, where the band had built up a strong following and would issue 3 singles from You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll. The cover art was simple – with the band name in huge pink letters accompanied by the TS logo on a dark background, Difficult to miss, very to the point!
One thing Twisted Sister albums always had were great intro songs, Under The Blade had “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)”, Stay Hungry and Come Out And Play both had strong intros with the title tracks, and You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll had “The Kids Are Back”. Drawing on those rebellious / outsider teen ideas, with a chorus (like many TS songs) that’s not overly complicated but easily burns into your brain. The next 2 tracks come at you aggressively first with the opening riff to “Like A Knife In The Back”, followed by “Ride To Live, Live To Ride” and heavy metal battle cry “The Power And The Glory”. “I Am (I’m Me)” went in to the band’s sorta poppier direction, catchy, but ..ok; was probably a good choice as a single.
Side 2 opens with “We’re Gonna Make It”; a good song, tho the riff reminds me of Sammy Hagar’s “There’s Only One Way To Rock”. A couple of solid rockers in “I’ve Had Enough” and fast paced “I’ll Take You Alive”, followed by the closest thing to a ballad in “You’re Not Alone (Suzette’s Song)” – penned by Snider for his wife; not one of my favorites here, but it’s a decent forerunner to future ballads “The Price” and “I Believe In You”. The album closes with the title track,; another great anthem, intro & title would’ve fit well on an AC/DC album! Cool video to boot.
The 2018 2 disc reissue contains 3 bonus tracks, as well as 1 disc being the band’s 1983 performance at the Marquee in London, UK.
The band followed this up with their break through classic album Stay Hungry in 1984. That album I remember picking up at the time, then later going back to get the previous 2 some time later. It was their biggest success with a couple of huge hits & videos, but the band’s next album Come Out And Play veered more in to the commercial direction, lacking a bit of the weight and anger, but heck I loved that album, and played the crap out of it! It is also notable for including the return of Alice Cooper (I was a huge AC fan then, and this was his first ‘new’ thing when he came back). The band’s last album was 1987’s Love Is For Suckers. And whether I wasn’t paying attention at the time or what, but I don’t recall hearing anything about it until I walked in to the local Sam The Record Man and saw it on display. I liked that one too, tho’ not so crazy about the production (heck, I don’t think TS ever found a great producer to capture them properly, and consistently). The band split after this album, and Dee Snider (who also wrote the band’s songs) went off to other projects, but by then I’d moved on and didn’t keep up. I have gone back and picked up some of the archived and later released live albums, as well as Dee’s last album For The Love Of Metal, and the excellent For The Love Of Metal : Live, released last year.
Thor – the band formed around vocalist Jon Miki Thor, a former body builder turned rock star. Thor delivers heavy metal with some awesome riffs, some comic book influence, melodies as well as power metal rockers, and anthems…. Alliance features 17 tracks, as well as a lengthy and impressive list of guests, most notably Chris Holmes [ex W.A.S.P.] and ‘Ross The Boss’ Friedman, guitarist [and former bandmate] Frank Soda, Al Harlow [of Prism], and numerous others. Kicking off with the anthem “We Need Musclerock”, Alliance contains plenty of fun hard driving rockers, with favorites being “Power Hungry”, “Bounty Hunter”, and “Rock Around The World” [w/ Danko Jones]. “Queen Of The Spiders” is my favorite song here though, it’s with Frank Soda, a bit more laid back, a bit of a Doors feel. I am not so familiar with Thor’s back catalogue, but this is a mighty collection of hard rock & metal tunes that [presumably] anyone who’s familiar with these guys will enjoy, and a cool start for those unaware.
Metal Titan THOR Forges The Ultimate ALLIANCE With W.A.S.P.’s CHRIS HOLMES & ROSS THE BOSS In A New Video/Single From His Forthcoming Album!
Los Angeles, CA – Like the Heavy Metal Avengers, heroes and icons from all over the metal world have united behind the legendary god of metal thunder, THOR, on an epic new studio album, entitled Alliance! Only a figure of such mythic strength and power as the mighty THOR could unite such an astounding armada of artists including W.A.S.P.’s Chris Holmes, Raven vocalist John Gallagher, Soilwork singer Björn Strid, Danko Jones, Anthrax’s Neil Turbin, Ross “The Boss” Friedman and many more. Together, this battalion of champions fuse their talents to create one of the heaviest, most melodic THOR albums of all time! Just check out the album’s first single, “The Ultimate Alliance,” a heart-pounding, metal riffing powerhouse of a track that features some stellar guitar solos from Chris Holmes & Ross The Boss as well as the vocal talents of A Sound Of Thunder singer Nina Osegueda and Lords Of The Trident frontman Fang VonWrathstein! The track is debuted here alongside a superbly fun, special-effects heavy video.
Alliance features stunning artwork from Timo Wuerz and will be available July 16 on both digital as well as on CD in a digipak and limited edition silver vinyl in a gatefold jacket! Watch for Thor to launch several shows and festivities in this year as he celebrates his 39th studio album and an astounding 50 years of metal mayhem as well as co-starring in a feature-length action movie “Pact Of Vengeance,” which will feature music from the new album!
Track List: 1. We Need Musclerock feat. John Gallagher (Raven) 2. Niflhel (Realm Of The Dead) feat. Björn Strid (Soilwork) 3. The Ultimate Alliance feat. Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), Ross “The Boss” Friedman (Manowar), Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder) & Fang VonWrathenstein (Lords Of The Trident) 4. Ode To Odin feat. Dan Cleary (Striker) 5. We Will Fight Forever feat. Neil Turbin (Anthrax) 6. Because We Are Strong 7. Rock Around The World feat. Danko Jones 8. Queen Of The Spiders feat. Frank Soda (The Imps) 9. Power Hungry 10. Bounty Hunter feat. Frank Meyer (The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs) & Dennis Post (Warrior Soul) 11. Battlements feat. Trevor William Church (Haunt) 12. Thor vs. The Juggernaut (War Of The Gods) feat. Sean Peck (Death Dealer) 13. Generation Now feat. Joey Killingsworth (Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre) 14. After The Laughter feat. Martin Gummesson (Thundermaker) 15. Good Stuff feat. Al Harlow (Prism) 16. Congregate feat. Joey Roads & Sheldon Byer (Roadrash) 17. We Will Fight Forever (Reprise)
“The Ultimate Alliance” video credits:
Written by: Jon Mikl Thor / John Leibel
Lead Vocals: Jon Mikl Thor
Special Guests: Lead Guitar: Chris Holmes Lead Guitar: Ross “The Boss” Friedman Lead Vocals: Nina Osegueda Lead Vocals: Fang VonWrathenstein
Lead Guitar: John Leibel Rhythm Guitar: Matt Hamilton Bass: Ted Jedlicki Drums: Tom Croxton
Video Directed by: Josh Grambo
Special Effects and Editing: Josh Grambo and John Magz Videography: Josh Grambo, Javier Cedillo, Kevin Stuart Swain, and Lisa Freakrock Additional Videography: Don Watson, Matthew Szablewicz, Ty Christian, Josh Schwartz, and Catherine Holmes
Icon Of Sin is based around the vocals of Brazilian metal singer Raphael Mendes, who has made a name for himself for his remarkable vocal similarities to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickenson. In fact listening to this album, it may be easy to forget the title for a moment and think you’re listening to something new from Maiden. If you’re waiting patiently for a new Maiden album and need something to fill the time, this would be well worth checking out. Musically, it even sounds like Maiden in places, as well as influences of WASP [post ’90s], Sabbath [w/ Dio], Rainbow….. Check out tracks like tracks like “Road Rage”, “Shadow Dance”, and “Clouds Over Gotham” to see what I mean. But, really – great playing, a solid metal album – even if much of it sounds familiar, plenty of really good songs. Favorite tracks being “Arcade Generation” and “Night Breed”. Will be interesting to hear more from Raphael Mendes.
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the signing of ICON OF SIN, a new project centered around the vocal talents of the popular Brazilian YouTube sensation Raphael Mendes. He is joined in the band by two other stellar Brazilian musicians, Sergio Mazul (SEMBLANT) and Marcelo Gelbcke (LANDFALL).
Raphael Mendes has become a very popular figure in the Youtube world due to his jaw dropping vocal covers. His recognition as one of the hottest new talents in metal started in 2016 when he was invited by guitarist Fabio Lima to record a YouTube video that wound up going viral. Encouraged by the reaction, Mendes launched his own YouTube channel to create more videos for fans to enjoy. As more and more fans around the world started to discover him, he was invited to join other musical projects, including Marius Danielsen’s “Legend Of Valley Doom Part 2”, which also featured Michael Kiske, Vinny Appice, Mark Boals, Michele Luppi, and Diego Valdez, among others.
One of the things that made Mendes’ reputation grow considerably happened earlier in 2020, when a video series called “What if Bruce Dickinson sang in other bands” was launched. With Mendes Dickinson-esque singing style being used to cover songs by Megadeth and more, these versions impressed fans worldwide and word quickly spread in the metal community. Collaborative versions are now being made with some emerging rock artists and also musicians from the global metal scene, such as drummer Aquiles Priester (ex-Angra, Primal Fear, W.A.S.P.).
Raphael’s videos ended up reaching the eyes and ears of Frontiers, a label known for signing and nurturing the most promising new names of the next generation of rock and metal. Frontiers has recently started to work more and more with South American based talent and had the thought to pair Raphael with two outstanding musicians of the Curitiba metal scene, both of whom have already unveiled their musical talents through the label: Sergio Mazul, singer of Semblant and Marcelo Gelbcke, guitarist of Landfall. While the music of their respective bands are quite dissimilar, both have a passion for traditional heavy metal and knew they could craft amazing music for Mendes to put his vocals to. They have already set to work with Raphael in the creation of a no-nonsense, straight ahead classic pure heavy metal album.
“Music is my passion, a way of life!” says Raphael Mendes. “It’s really been and continues to be a fantastic experience, working on the Icon Of Sin album. The songs are so powerful and it has awakened something in me that I haven’t felt for a long time from a heavy metal album!”
Tracklist: Icon Of Sin Road Rage Shadow Dancer Unholy Battleground Nightbreed Virtual Empire Pandemic Euphoria Clouds Over Gotham Arcade Generation Hagakure (Intro) The Last Samurai The Howling Survival Instinct
Pyromide is the 3rd album from Finnish metal band Temple Balls. If you just want to hear some all-out 2 guitar, heavy, pounding hard rock & metal, with cool lead vocals, melodies, and big vocal choruses – then check this out. There’s a number of kick-ass rockers here in “T.O.T.C.” [Thrill of the chase] , “Fallen Youth” [shades of Dio as this one starts] , and “You Better Run”.
Fave cuts here would be “Bad Bad Bad” [an easily likeable tune, a bit less metal, and a bit of pop, the anthem “Heart Of A Warrior” , and the power ballad “If Only I Could”, which starts on piano and becomes pretty heavy, no mushy stuff here; killer guitar solo. I really like the production and sound of this whole thing. This just gets better after a few listens. Now I am curious about the rest of this band’s stuff. Pretty cool album cover as well from Jan “Orkki” Yrlund.
About:
Temple Balls are an energetic hard rock band from Finland. “Pyromide”, their Frontiers debut and third album overall, is a tour de force of melodic hard rock that sees the band pushing themselves onto the world stage. Produced by none other than Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), “Pyromide” is a tour-de-force of hooks, powerful rhythms, and anthemic rock ‘n roll like it was meant to be played.
For the past couple of years, Temple Balls has kept busy both in the studio and on the stage. Opening for such bands as Sonata Arctica, Queen, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep, the band has proven to be more than capable to handle stages of any size, whether it be a big festival or your local club’s stage. Live, this band will set your friggin’ pants on fire and turn you into a believer.
The band’s first official single, ’Hell And Feelin’ Fine’ was released in September 2016 and got loads of airtime on Finnish Radio Rock. The band’s debut album was recorded at Karma Sound Studios (Thailand) in May 2016, and saw the daylight on February 24, 2017. The album was produced by Tobias Lindell, who is known for his collaborations with Europe, Mustasch, and H.E.A.T. Fall of 2017 started with a sold out tour across Finland with Battle Beast. The band also played in Japan for the first time and did a five day tour of Ukraine in late 2017. After their swing through Japan, the readers of the biggest Japanese rock magazine Burrn! voted Temple Balls as ‘the second brightest hope’ and additionally were chosen as ‘The Newcomer of the Year’ on Masa Ito’s Rock TV.
The second album, “Untamed” dropped on March 8, 2019 and immediately got fantastic reviews from music media such as Soundi and Burrn! magazines. The band also toured Europe as support fro Sonata Arctica, cementing their reputation as a stellar live act.
Temple Balls third album, “Pyromide” is now ready to be unleashed. Produced by none other than Jona Tee (H.E.A.T), it is a stunning punch in the face for all lovers of anthemic and melodic hard rock.
Tracklist: Thunder From The North Long Ways, Long Lies T.O.T.C. Fallen Youth Bad Bad Bad What Is Dead Never Dies Unholy Night Heart Of A Warrior You Better Run If Only I Could Something To Die For
Line-up: Arde Teronen – Vocals Jimi Välikangas – Bass Jiri Paavonaho – Guitar Niko Vuorela – Guitar Antti Hissa – Drums
I gotta start by saying I am not a huge Stryper or a LA Guns fan, no particular reason why, But I do like some of the side projects Michael Sweet has done, such as his albums with George Lynch, and I do like this! Very heavy stuff. Not sure why there’s the forgettable band name, just call it after the 2 main forces here Sweet & Guns [OK, maybe that doesn’t sound so good either]. Regardless, probably the heaviest thing either of these guys have done. “Life” leads this album off with a cool guitar intro, Sweet throwing in one of his many screams here, and the band kicking in to an awesome fast paced rocker. Lots of great guitar heavy rock here, love Tracii Guns’ tone throughout, especially on slower Sabbath rockers “Take Me Away” & “World Gone Wrong”, driving tune “No Tomorrows” [something about this reminds me of Ozzy’s “Steal Away The Night”] , and the not-too-soft ballad “Been Said Before” [a nice summertime feel with the acoustic guitar]. I really like this album, it’s got a ’70s Judas Priest / early ’80s Sabbath feel, IMO. 11 excellent tracks, no filler. Makes me wanna dig a bit more into Sweet’s and Tracii Guns other projects.
SUNBOMB is a highly anticipated new musical alliance between two steadfast warriors of the U.S. hard rock/metal scene, Tracii Guns and Michael Sweet. They have put together an absolute blinder of a heavy metal album, melding influences of classic metal bands such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest with Tracii’s love of metal subgenres, specifically doom metal.
Tracii leaked the news of the new project in a March 2019 tweet, where he described the project’s debut LP as “the Metal record I would have made when I was 17 years old.” In May 2020, he mentioned on “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that “The SUNBOMB record is really kind of like [L.A. GUNS’ 2019 album] ‘The Devil You Know’ times three. It’s more on the heavy side of ‘The Devil You Know’ album. And Michael Sweet, he’s a really fantastic metal singer.”
The music style on the record is much heavier than what one would expect from these two musicians and is firmly planted in the ‘metal’ category. While Tracii wrote the music for the album, the fact that Michael Sweet has been writing in an increasingly heavier style on latter era Stryper albums made him a very logical choice to sing for the band. And since doom metal, often known for having powerful singers like Messiah Marcolin from Candlemass and Eric Wagner from Trouble, was a massive influence on Tracii’s songwriting here, Sweet’s ability and range were a perfect match.
Drums on the album were handled by Tracii’s old L.A. Guns bandmate Adam Hamilton and bass was handled by Mitch Davis, with the exception of the track ‘They Fought’, which features current L.A. Guns bassist Johnny Martin.
Tracklist:
Life Take Me Away Better End No Tomorrows Born To Win Evil And Divine Been Said And Done Stronger Than Before Story Of The Blind World Gone Wrong They Fought
Line-up: Tracii Guns – Guitars Michael Sweet – Vocals Adam Hamilton – Drums Mitch Davis – Bass Johnny Martin – Bass (We Fought)
You know, those albums that go together as a set, if you have one – you got to have the other[?] They are linked in some way, be it – cover art, band line-up / personnel, success, sound, lyrical themes and song titles, etc…
So, I’ll start with one of the easiest pairs of albums for me, and that is the first 2 Ozzy Osbourne albums [aka the Blizzard Of Ozz band]. 1980’s Blizzard Of Ozz and 1981’s Diary Of A Madman – the same band, written & recorded less than a year apart, for the same label. These 2 go together as a set, more than anything else in Ozzy’s career, and for me it was all downhill after these 2 albums. Both were major successes, and gave Ozzy’s post-Black Sabbath career a huge lift-off. (I’ve also added in some detail & recall).
“I went to a gig in London, and there was a band called ‘Girl’ playing, and they were a Jet Records band; Widowmaker had also been on Jet Records (as you probably know). I was looking for work myself, and I thought ‘well, it’s always good to put yourself around and see who’s about!’ I met Arthur Sharpe – who had been working for Jet Records, and it was Arthur who introduced me to Ozzy. Ozzy told me he was about to form a band and would I like to go up to his house in Stafford, and have a play, and he’d get a couple of local musicians in, and I said ‘Yes’. So I went up there, and he knew I’d just come from Rainbow; he said he liked my playing and would I be interested [?]. And I said ‘yes, I’d be interested in getting a band together with Him, but I wasn’t so sure about the local drummer and guitar player that he’d got in. And he said ‘OK, leave it to me, hang on a minute.’ And he walked out of the room and in to the studio that was in his house and said ‘OK guys – it’s not working out – Now pack up your stuff and go!’ [laughs]. And that was how he told them, which I thought was quite funny. Then he got on the phone to Arthur Sharpe and said ‘Bob and I get on like a house on fire, and the fire-brigade’s just left!’ And we went from there. He said he knew a guitar player that he’d met in LA called Randy Rhoads, so Jet Records flew Randy over and we started auditioning drummers…. He [Lee] was the last drummer we auditioned, and we must’ve auditioned 30-40 drummers at that time. We almost decided on 1 or 2, but they didn’t work out, and we had one more to audition and that was Lee Kerslake…. We auditioned down at The Who’s rehearsal place at Shepperton in London, and he perfect within the first number! I think the first song we did was ‘I Don’t Know’, and as soon as Lee started playing he just went for it ‘big time’, broke sticks, bits of sticks were flying everywhere, and Randy and I looked at each other and thought ‘this is the guy!’. He was like a bull in a China shop – he was perfect!” – Bob Daisley, 1999
To start you had a new band [for any doubters, look up earliest band photos] that featured the line up of Ozzy Osbourne [fired from Black Sabbath, but who had a distinctive voice and was a major character], along with Bob Daisley – ex of Rainbow, Widowmaker, and whom would pen most of the lyrics on the 2 BOZ albums], Lee Kerslake – the last to join, had been a huge part of Uriah Heep’s classic line-up having played on their biggest albums, And a young American guitarist named Randy Rhoads – Rhoads was a guitar teacher, and previously played with LA glam rock act Quiet Riot; he could play classical guitar, as well as contributed huge riffs and solos. He had a sound of his own, and as far as ’80s guitarists go, he was #1 for me – NO one sounded like him, or was as creative.
“He [Randy] was admittedly influenced by Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, and certainly Eddie Van Halen, you can hear a bit of the Van Halen thing in his playing. But he had his own interpretation, and he had a great musical background, having come from a musical family – his mom ran a music store and Randy had been a teacher for quite a few years himself. It really fell together right, the chemistry was right, we got on well as personalities.” – BD
Although the band would co-produce both albums, Max Norman engineered Blizzard, while serving as co-producer on Diary [while Lee & Bob were cut out of the credits on this album]. You had Don Airey playing keyboards on the first album, while Johnny Cook played on the 2nd [uncredited]. And even though the album covers aren’t very similar, they do feature what would become Ozzy’s classic logo, as well as a photo of Ozzy in some scary setting [with upside down crosses], taken by legendary rock photographer Fin Costello.
“That was the idea – to make it a sort of comic book image. It took on legs with ‘Diary Of A Madman’ and with ‘Bark At The Moon’… It worked in establishing Ozzy after the Sabbath imagery. It’s the same stuffed cat on the first two. The cover for Japan’s Tin Drum cover was shot on the Diary set on the first day of construction.” – Fin Costello
I can put on either of these albums any days, both feature 8 classic songs [OK, Diary features a short guitar piece by Rhoads titled “Dee” for his mom, and “No Bones Movies” may have been a later add on that isn’t quite as outstanding]. But, both featured killer intro songs [“I Don’t Know” vs “Over The Mountain”], followed by a classic rocker that would be the major hit single off the album [“Crazy Train” vs “Flyin’ High Again” and become one of Ozzy’s trademark tunes, followed by a ballad [or lighter track\ featuring Randy Rhoads on acoustic guitar [“Goodbye To Romance” vs “You Can’t Kill Rock n Roll”]. Each featured another killer rock song with lyrics based on dark subjects to kick off side 2 [“Mr Crowley” vs “Little Dolls”.] “Little Dolls” would feature 1 of 2 big intros from the drummer.
“It was just on the spur of the moment. And as we were writing it, and I went ‘I’ve got an idea for this’, and I did, as simple as that!” – Lee Kerslake, 2014
Also included would also be a fast paced rocker [one that is under appreciated IMO – “Steal Away” vs “S.A.T.O.”] , as well as an epic track featuring classical guitar and strings [or synths resembling strings] [“Revelation (Mother Earth)” vs “Diary Of A Madman”] – both have the band coming off like an metal orchestra! And not to be forgotten were 2 other fan favorite / classics [“Suicide Solution” vs “Believer”].
Unfortunately, the band would be split with Daisley & Kerslake being fired before the release of Diary Of A Madman [hence, no credits and a photo of the ‘new’ Ozzy solo band on it]. A shame there are no official live releases from the one UK tour this band did, though there was a 12″ Live EP released between albums featuring live versions of “Mr Crowley”, “Suicide Solution”, and the non-album track “You Said It All”. The BOZ albums stand above and apart from anything else Ozzy did in the years [and decades] to come, and I eventually lost interest.
“Over the Mountain, Flyin’ High …- They’re great tracks, they’re so different. And I was the first to ever put triplets in to an introduction of a song, also a single on Over The Mountain.” – Lee K.
Randy Rhoads was tragically killed in a plane crash on March 19, 1982. A live ‘tribute’ album w/ Randy was eventually released, featuring much of these 2 albums, but with Ozzy’s US touring band.
“He was a very dedicated musician; he practiced a lot, he was really in to music. He was a very young up and coming guy. I think he got an award as one the ‘best new talents’. He certainly was and still is an influential guitarist for that sort of music, and he certainly had a lot to do with the success of Ozzy’s career as well!” – Bob D.
Bob and Lee went on to join a reformed Uriah Heep after their departure from BOZ, and .bring some of that ‘heaviness’ and energy to the albums Abominog & Head First. Bob would return to work with Ozzy, while Lee stayed with Heep for the remainder of his career. The pair reunited for 2004’s Living Loud project [along with Don Airey, Steve Morse, and singer Jimmy Barnes] where they did an album which included a number of remakes from Blizzard Of Ozz & Diary Of A Madman. In 2007 Lee was forced to retire, due to health issues, and sadly passed away September 19, last year. He made record a solo album in his last few years [recently released] titled Eleventeen.
Following the loss of Randy Rhoads, Ozzy carried on – first with a live album of Black Sabbath tracks [guitarist Brad Gillis doing an excellent job], followed by 1983’s Bark At The Moon. By this time Bob Daisley had left Heep and returned to write [uncredited for a few more Ozzy albums]. Max Norman was also back for Bark At The Moon, and the live albums, as was Don Airey. I liked that album [Bark] at the time, to me it tried to keep to the pattern of the 2 BOZ albums, and Jake E Lee [who would also get hosed, as well as not credited for his writing] did a great job. But the album was less heavy and less consistent, as well as including the ridiculous sappy ballad “So Tired”. Bob would go on to work on Ozzy albums The Ultimate Sin and No More Tears, as well as record with Black Sabbath, Gary Moore, and The Hoochie Coochie Men. He also wrote his book “For Fact’s Sake”, published in 2013, which detailed his career, with plenty of insight and stories into his time writing and recording Blizzard Of Ozz & Diary Of A Madman, and generally setting the record straight about his years working with Ozzy – a must read, really. Don Airey would eventually join Deep Purple, and Ozzy would carry on recording solo albums [with one released last year]. and with much of his live repertoire reliant on classics from the albums the original band created. I haven’t bought an Ozzy album in years, [mainly, but] not just for it being that last few I heard sounded forgettable, but the treatment of former band members [Sharon once referring to Lee & Bob as ‘session players’], the re-writing of Ozzy’s early history by Sharon, and Ozzy’s overall rise to fame as a TV star / celebrity, with his ‘metal’ persona and music taking a laughable back seat were about it for me. I was happy to see him with Black Sabbath 4 or 5 years ago, but I’m done with adding to my Ozzy collection in this lifetime – unless I come across something already out there of the original BOZ band I haven’t heard or have.
Lucifer’s Friend’s brand new album “Black Moon” is out! [see my review], and fans of this well aged German band [fronted by an English singer] will be happy to hear it! Fan and album artist Damian Bydlinski [of Lizard] also gives us a few words on how he got involved and his favorite LF songs!
Singer John Lawton was with the band in the beginning and has sang on all but 2 of the band’s 11 albums. Here John answer questions regarding the band’s brand new album and updates on members and future Lucifer’s Friend plans.
LF has been back together for 4+ years and Black Moon is the bands 4th release. Did you forsee the band being so busy and are you happy with the reception overall that the bands return has received?
John: Yes I think so. After such a long time away fans of the band were naturally curious to see what we had to offer. That we could play Sweden Rock festival made it easier to reach quite a few new fans. Overall the reaction has been good plus the fact that it gave us the push to write new material.
The first thing that stands out on the new album is the artwork. I like how it ties in with the bands debut from 1970. Can you tell me a bit about how that piece came together and if bandmembers had much input (idea wise)?
John: Actually the artwork was put together as a backstage pass by Damien Bydlinski the singer with our support band Lizard on our Polish tour. He is not only a good musician but also a graphic designer. We loved the idea and after a few tweaks we had it…..
How do songs for LF come together nowadays – pieced together through emails or is there a time where you’re all in the studio together?
John: The days when bands spend time in the studio rehearsing before they record I think are gone. Firstly, the logistics of spending the amount of time it takes to go through say 10-15 songs arrangements, keys etc. is really time consuming. These days with so much computer stuff available to musicians, it’s easier to sit at home and fine tune everybody’s parts….. It the same with LF, Peter Hesslein or Dieter Horns will forward to me the basic track which I can the add the vocals too. I record my vocals in peace 😎😎here in the UK and then via the wonders of the web, they are sent back for the guys to work their final parts. The only time we spend together apart from gigs is in the rehearsal room before the live stuff. But even when we are not recording or gigging we are on the phone to each other at least a couple of times a week…..
You write the lyrics – what sort of inspires you for ideas and topics these days?
John: A lot of the lyrics are based upon stories I hear in the news or read about. For instance on TOO LATE TO HATE some of the lyrics relate to the thousands of refugees trying to get to Europe for a better life. Even 2 years later this story is still making headlines….
Can you give me a bit of insight into particular songs on the new album – how they started, ideas – really like the title track, Call The Captain, Little Man, Passengers,
John: CALL THE CAPTAIN is based on recent stories again in the news about mental heath issues and how younger people are being manipulated by social media, wanting to be like the celebrity’s they see in magazines. The title is just about trying to reach parts of the brain (the captain and pilot) for the right direction….🙂🙂
LITTLE MAN relates to my 2 grandsons and watching the grow up. PASSENGERS is written to open people’s eyes to the shit we are doing to the world….
BLACK MOON – Really just about those days when everything seems doomed to failure but you struggle through….
Any others that you’re particularly happy with?
John: I’m happy with all of them, they all have meanings hopefully not only to me but also to the listener…..
There’s a number of guests on this album, really dig the horn solo on Black Moon – classic LF touch. Can you comment on how some these (or this one) come up?
John: On BLACK MOON Peter and I were talking about a particular solo part and we tossed around a few ideas until Stephan (drummer) suggested a trumpet player who was with the James Last Orchestra (Chuck Findley). He lives in LA but very kindly went in the studio and put down (I think) a blistering solo… On FREEDOM Peter new Stephan (violin player) from studio days and again asked him to put something together….and he did and I think it’s one of the highlights of this album….
What can you tell me about Simon Hesslein and his involvement with the band?
John: Simon runs a very successful music business in New York and has hits under different names, he has always wanted to produce a Lucifer’s Friend album so we said hey go for it. Unfortunately, it was at the wrong time as he was also very busy so that’s why the delay in the release. Simon is very accomplished at what he does and we are very proud of the final mix….
How is everyone’s health?
John: Not so good actually. Peter really needs an operation on his shoulder as he is in pain daily. The only drawback is that the operation is very complicated and the recovery time is long…at least a year and the surgeons have told him there is no guarantee of a complete recovery…it’s very sad that it happened to Peter but we hold out for him to get back to playing ASAP …. Dieter Horns has recovered well from his problems, which is a great relief and I’m getting there slowly….oh the joys of getting older 🤪🤪🤪🕺🕺
Will we see many LF shows this year and will there be plenty from Black Moon in the set?
John: For the foreseeable future we won’t be performing live, some people have said “we could get another guitarist to stand in for Peter or another bass player for Dieter” – but we couldn’t go out as LF without those 2. I am hopeful that one day we could be on stage again together…. We still have one more new album to release….I still need to do the vocals etc. but that looks like 2020 release…..
You’ve used Jogi [Wichmann] on keyboards over several LF projects, but he’s only a guest on BM. Was it just easier for Peter to do keyboards or something else?
John: Jogi was very busy doing studio work around that time and he was playing keyboards in the musical CATS….. Peter had put down most of the keyboard parts that he wanted Jogi to play but his were really good, so we stuck with it….
One thing – there is no vinyl edition of Black Moon (or previous few releases). Any chance this can be fixed ? 🙂
John: At the moment I don’t think so, unless we sell quite a bunch of CD’s the company is a bit reluctant to go vinyl…..There was talk of TOO LATE TO HATE on vinyl but nothing concrete yet….
Next year Mark’s the 50th anniversary of the first Lucifers Friend album. (A couple of things) – do you have any long outstanding g memory or stories fro. Making that album?
Will there be any anniversary reissue or show to celebrate it?
John: Wow – is it that long [?]….it has stood the test of time, I think 🥳🥳 It was a strange time for me, coming off the back of doing vocals on Asterix and then going straight to something really heavy was a bit of a kick but a good one….. Looking back, it was a great time and when I think that there was no rehearsal time, I was it in at the deep end with heavy lyrics 👹👹👹 The guys were looking for an English singer and I happened to be there at that time…. I don’t think there will be a re-issue as the there have been so many bootleg copies etc. down the years but it’s not such a bad idea….
From the Album’s Cover Artist – Damian Bydlinski :
“I am a big fan of Lucifer’s Friend. The proposal to make a cover was a great honor for me.
I love all their albums. But for the best, I think – two albums: “Banquet” and “… Where the Groupies Killed the Blues”. With favorite songs – it’s harder because there’s a lot of them and a derivation from different albums. But the most important ones are: Hobo, Burning Ships, Ride the Sky, Groovin Stone, Spanish Galleon, Dirty Old Town, Fugitive …. However – there is a song – at which time since I heard it for the first time – I always have shivers and I am overcome with emotion – “Thus Spoke Oberon” – amazing melody, arrangement and brilliant singing of John.
The history of the cover is quite simple. Two years ago – LF and my band Lizard – we played three concerts in Poland. For this occasion, I designed a poster and tickets – the project appealed to John and asked if they could use it for the new LF album. After introducing some changes in the color scheme – this cover was created.”
For more on Damian’s art [he does most of the art for Lizard albums] and to check out his band, visit – http://lizard-band.com/index.html
February of 2018 marks the return of Uriah Heep to Canada, and the start of the band’s biggest North American tour in decades! The list includes 36 shows – starting in Ottawa, Ontario, and eventually on to the US from the east coast to west and back up to Vancouver [Bernie Shaw’s home province British Columbia], and ending in Calgary, Alberta on May 1.
For the latest dates, check out > http://www.uriah-heep.com .
You can also go to the site and let other fans know which shows you’ll be attending [I’ll be at London and Toronto, Ontario]
The band has just completed recording a new album – “Living The Dream”, which won’t be out for several months, and something Heep fans are eagerly awaiting and pre-ordering – https://www.pledgemusic.com/uriahheep
The recording for the new album went fairly quick!? How prepared were you guys [with new songs written] before recording? We were very prepared as we had a 2 week pre-production before hand, so most of the ideas were in place, and it was just a matter of a nip and tuck here and there once Jay Ruston our Producer was involved in the studio. We finished the recording process in under 3 weeks which was just amazing.
I can’t imagine there’s too much you can tell at this point [too early?] – but are there any details you can give regarding Living The Dream? It is a typical Heep album with all of our usual trademarks. The harmonies, organ sound, and the wah wah guitar etc.
Is everything written by yourself and Phil Lanzon? Everything basically, but one song Bernie had a hand in the lyrics and one that Davey wrote with Jeff Scott Soto.
How was working with Jay Ruston? He’s done a lot of cool albums! Who recommended him? Jay was fantastic to work with and he brought out the best in each of us in a very understated way. When we started hearing back the first track that we recorded we knew we had the right man. He became part of the Heep family vey quickly. We were fans of his from his work with THE WINERY DOGS, STONE SOUR, BLACK STAR RIDERS, PAUL GILBERT AND EUROPE to name but a few..
Living The Dream won’t be out until the fall [that’s a long wait for us ;-)] . Will any of the new songs work their way in to the live show before then? It is still in the process of being mixed. We do not usually put songs in our set until the release of the album. If we did then they would be all over the media sites and there would be no impact on the release.
You are coming to North America in a few weeks, and in particular [for me] Canada! This will be the first time Heep plays in Ontario since 1993. How did getting the band here finally come about? We now have management Ace Trump & Adam Parsons along with an agent Keith Naisbitt of APA Agency USA who believe in the band, and they made it happen. Previously we had been in a bit of no-mans land and we were not being driven to capacity in that market, which is a real shame.
Bernie must be excited? That’s a big understatement!
Will the set list be changed much from recent shows? will it still feature a number of Outsider tracks and any old surprises? We will perform a musical journey throughout our career starting with the first album and finishing with the last one ‘Outsider.’
It must get tough when an album – such as Into The Wild and Outsider have had their tour in the live show and you have to decide what stays and goes in the setlist!? It usually sorts itself out in the end . There is only so much we can play each night, so once we get to rehearsals and the energy and ideas flow, it usually comes together reasonably quickly.
In recent years you guys have struck up a friendship with Alice Cooper [who’s on tour here at the same time]. Yes, we have become good friends with Alice. In fact Bernie and I did a tour in Germany with Alice called the ‘Rock Meets Classic,’ tour. This was with a 40 piece orchestra from Prague in the Czech Republic. Bernie and I used to get up each night and play ’Schools Out,’ with Alice on his encore. Alice also told us that he used our song ‘Lady in Black,’ as his warm up song, so there was mutual admiration there. He is a great guy.
Can you tell me a bit about the connection to Alice and his support with One Minute? Alice Kindly played ‘One Minute,’ from our ‘Outsider,’ CD on his radio show.
Phil released an outstanding album recently. Will any tidbits of it feature in the shows? and will he be bringing some copies to sell over here? That is Phil’s project so no tidbits and he is planning to sell them at shows.
The band had a strong following in such cities as Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal… do you have any great memories or a few stories to share from any places in Canada? I remember way back when playing in Toronto with Rory Gallagher and being totally blown away by him. He was the first guitarist I saw play pinched harmonics, and he did a whole solo on them. He was something special and a super great player and singer. He is sadly missed.
Lastly, the band has their own label and has been re-issuing a few things from the past few decades [Raging Through The Silence, Totally Driven…] – will there be something new in 2018 from the vaults? I am sure there will be as things are constantly surfacing at a rate of knots.
November of 2017 marked 10 years since Kevin DuBrow’s passing. This was an interview I did with him in 2004 to promote the release of his solo album In For The Kill. It was one of my favorite interviews. Kevin had a love for a lot of the same great ’70s hard rock as myself, and was very easy and down to earth to talk with. Quiet Riot [who lead the LA scene in the early 80s] were huge in the ’80s, and although the band was past their peak at this point, DuBrow could still belt ’em out. RIP.
Kevin DuBrow was the frontman for legendary LA metal band QUIET RIOT since the mid ’70s. Back then the band was relatively unknown outside of the LA scene, but also featured a young guitarist named Randy Rhoads. A few years later Rhoads would become internationally known playing on the first 2 Blizzard of Ozz albums [before passing away in a plane crash in March of ’82]. DuBrow however had kept the Quiet Riot name going with guitarist Carlos Cavazo, drummer Frankie Banali [later to work with WASP] and bass players Rudy Sarzo [also with Ozzy’s band] and Chuck Wright. The band was a huge success in the early ’80s with such albums as Metal Health and Condition Critical, both of which featured a few hit singles and great videos. [most notably a Slade cover on each!]
By ’87 DuBrow was out of the band [following QR III], but revised things in the early ’90s following a short stint as ‘Heat’ with Cavazo. From 1993 to 2001 Quiet Riot would release another string of CDs before splitting in the fall of 2003.
In May of ’04 Shrapnel Records released Kevin DuBrow’s solo album In For The Kill, which was an album of covers, mostly obscure ’70s classics by the likes of Deep Purple, Nazareth, the Sweet, Montrose and more. DuBrow had also put together a new band and was on the road as part of the “Bad Boys of Metal” Summer tour, which also featured Jani Lane [ex Warrant singer, RIP] and Steven Adler [ex of Guns N Roses].
You can still find In For The Kill on Amazon. Frankie Banali still carries the Quiet Riot flag these days – touring, and a new album > https://quietriot.band/
Q – Can you tell me a bit about your new solo album? K – In For the Kill was something I was approached to do in December of last year by Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records. He wanted me to do an album of all cover tunes; actually he wanted Quiet Riot to do it, but Quiet Riot had broken up in September. So, it was something I wanted to do for many many years; I had planned on doing with Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali. I had the songs selected already, so it happened very quickly. We agreed on a price, we agreed on the songs, we went in the studio within 10 days.
Q – So, it was pretty quickly done!? K – Yes, we just had to find the right musicians. Some guys he had lined up to do it, and one guy I really wasn’t thrilled about using, so we changed one of the players, and we got in a great line-up of guys. He has this great guitar player named Kevin Curry that’s just really got the spirit of the thing down, because it’s a real 70s album in the sense that it’s all songs from that era and the 80s guitar players wouldn’t really be able to cop the feel correctly. So we got Kevin Curry who really pulled it off well. He got Michael Lardie, who was going to record & mix it and also ended up co-producing it with me. He’s super-talented and a really nice guy.
Q – How did you go about picking the songs? K – They’re obscure covers, like b-sides and outtakes. There’s only one well known song – ‘Stay With Me’ [by The Faces]. Otherwise, it’s ‘Red Light Mama’ [by Humble Pie], ‘Burn On The Flame’ [by The Sweet], ‘Good Rocking Tonight’ [by Montrose], ‘Rolling With My Baby’ [by Silverhead], ‘Drivin Sister’ [Mott The Hoople]. Most of these songs have not been covered before.
Q – That’s good, because most cover albums tend to feature the same songs over and over. K – Correct. I didn’t want to do ‘Smoke On The Water’, Again!
Q – Why an album of covers as opposed to an album of originals? K – Because when you do an album of covers every song is great, when you do an album of brand new songs, only a few songs are great. He [Mike Varney] didn’t really want to do a new album from me at that time although I have a whole album’s worth of material written. I wanted to do an album with Glenn Hughes, my good friend from Deep Purple. We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve been wanting to do something together for a long time, and we probably will next year. But this is what he wanted to do. So, it was an easy way for me to release a record quickly. I was not objected to it at all.
Q – How did you approach doing the covers? There’s a few cover albums out there where they kind of do a note for note cover and then you get a few others that are a bit more experimental.
K – I’m in the middle. I did the arrangements very similar to the originals, but they weren’t note for note. They were with our personalities. We didn’t try to copy the originals but we didn’t try to do it like, say … some of those Hendrix cover albums, where they completely re-do them.
Q – Who else is on the album, other than Kevin [Curry, the guitar player]? K – Michael Lardie played keyboards and produced with me, Jeff Martin [from Racer X] is on drums, and a guy named Gunter Nezhoda’s bass.
Q – Who’s in your touring band? K – Jeff Martin on drums, Chuck Wright on bass, and Alex Grossi on guitar. It’s a really good little band.
Q – Are you doing a lot of the covers or mixing it up with the Quiet Riot stuff? K – We’re doing 3 songs from ‘In For The Kill’ and the rest is Quiet Riot stuff.
Q – Are you changing the 3 around? K – The same 3. The 3 that I really like doing – ‘Burn On The Flame’, ‘Red Light Mama’ and ‘Good Rocking Tonight’.
Q – Was there any songs that you recorded or considered recording that you took off or decided against at the last minute? K – We started to record ‘I Ain’t Superstitious’ by The Jeff Beck band, and right at that time we started having major equipment problems, so we took it as an omen that we were done with the tracking.
Q – Growing up and listening to a lot of the early 70s stuff, did you have much of a preference of the British bands or the American bands? K – I liked the British bands much better. I mean, I liked Montrose. That was the only American band from the 70s I liked. I didn’t care for many American bands. I was a big British rock guy.
Q – Humble Pie!? K – Loved them! … Free, Spooky Tooth, Bloodwyn Pig – all that stuff! We did a song by Quatermass, ‘Black Sheep Of The Family’.
Q – That’s the Rainbow song!? K – Yes, that’s the same song. They covered Quatermass’ version. I did the Quatermass’ arrangement.
Q – What will you follow this album up with? K – I’m going to do an album of originals later in the year. I’ve got the songs written pretty much. And I want to do it with, like, say Glenn, Frankie Banali on drums, somebody cool on guitar, somebody real ’70s’ on guitar; like a Ronnie Montrose or Pat Travers – somebody like that. Someone that’s got that whole bluesy thing going on. I don’t want to use somebody that’s a real ‘Whammy’ Bar, 80s kind of a guy – I’m sick of that kind of guitar playing. There’s nothing wrong with it, I’ve just had my fill of it for a while. It doesn’t have a lot of feel to me.
Q – Are you nervous about being out as a solo artist as opposed to being part of a band? K – I never even think about it. I’m just out there doing what I feel I need to do for myself. I was always the main songwriter in Quiet Riot, and the lead singer, so whatever I do is going to have a certain distinctive sound to it. It’s up to the people, if they like it and purchase and come see me play. I always try my best to give a good live show.
Q – What’s the status of the guys and Quiet Riot? I know you’re friends with Frankie. Do you have any intentions of working with those guys in the future?
K – Me and Frankie are definitely going to do something together again. I haven’t spoken to Carlos since the band broke up. Definitely, Rudy Sarzo won’t be involved in anything having to do with anything I do for the rest of my years on this planet. Life’s too short. I want to do things that make me happy, not things that make me miserable.
Q – I take it, it was a frustrating time over the past few years!?
K – OH yes, very unpleasant!
Q – The last few albums you guys did weren’t too bad. I liked ‘Alive & Well’ a lot. What did you think of that period as far as the albums were concerned?
K – Some songs were better than others. I liked the guy that produced Alive & Well, Bob Marlette. He was real easy to work with. He made it real easy. He really knew how to use the Pro-Tools technology. The song ‘Don’t Know What I Want’ [from Alive & Well] was one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written. There’s some other songs on there…once again, I don’t like to write by committee, so when you get people involved in the songwriting process that aren’t songwriters it can be difficult and frustrating. ‘Guilty Pleasures’ was a lot easier to write, but the guy that produced it wasn’t really a producer, didn’t know what he was doing, so it made the mixing process difficult. I prefer the ‘Terrified’ album we did in ’93. I really like that. It’s heavier, it’s angrier; it’s ballsier, less pop-ish. But the rhythm section … we couldn’t play blues oriented stuff…..
Q – Who’s idea was it to do the remakes on the Alive & Well album? K – That was Cleopatra’s idea. I hated the idea. I hated the way they turned out too; they’re awful!
Q – Was it just a quick sell idea? K – Yes, that was their idea. I thought it was just garbage. I can’t express how much I hate those versions.
Q – And you did the AC/DC song on there? K – That was different. That was for an AC/DC tribute album, and I really quite liked the way that turned out. That was on a one-day recording from beginning to end. It had a lot of energy and a lot of spark and we did it our own way. That I dug.
Q – One thing I like about you guys that you could always recognize, from Terrified, Live & Well, and the earlier ones, that not just because of your voice, but it’s obviously the same band and you never got in to all the experimental crap that the ’90s had. K – It wouldn’t have been believable from us.
Q – Another thing I’ve always liked about the band is Frankie’s drumming, because he’s one of those drummers that you can actually recognize the drums with. K – Great drummer! Cozy Powell was like that too. And playing with Frankie is a joy because of that reason.
Q – If you listen to the stuff he did on the WASP albums, he makes a world of difference. K – For sure.
Q – Was it ever frustrating during the late 80s / early 90s, where you’re connected to that 1 [or 2] albums that were huge and then not getting that same backing again? K – No. That’s the nature of the business. It’s sort of like evolution. In the evolutionary scale dinosaurs die off and certain animals eat their young. It’s the nature of the business. The business eats it’s young.
Q – You had a few other things during the late 80s/ early 90s, like ‘Heat’!? K – That was basically me and Carlos doing Quiet Riot with a different rhythm section.
Q – What else do you have in the works? K – Well, this tour starts, and that’s going to be my big focus. It should be really interesting – 11 guys on a 12 bunk bus starting next week for a month. It should be insane
Q – What are some of your own favorite recording moments?
K – I really like ‘Don’t Know What I Want’ [from Alive & Well] because I really love the song. It turned out so great. ‘Love’s A Bitch’ was great. We did ‘Metal Health’ because it turned out so much different than we expected it to turn out. ‘Bang Your Head’ was probably one of my greatest moments because it sounded like I envisioned it to sound when it was done.
Q – Your album’s not so much ‘metal’. Do you perceive yourself getting away metal stuff and doing more things like blues-rock? K – Yes, hard-rock / blues-rock – like Free and Humble Pie. But, if Quiet Riot got back together next year we would do a very metal record. And if Quiet Riot ever does get back together I want to continue doing solo stuff because Carlos Cavazo is not a very bluesy guitar player. He can’t do the bluesy stuff I want to do – which is OK, because he sounds right for Quiet Riot. I’d like to do other things.
Q – Can you tell me any of Randy’s guitar influences? K – Yes, Bill Nelson from Be-Bop Deluxe; he loved him. He loved Johnny Winter, Leslie West, Glen Buxton from the Alice Cooper Group, Mick Ronson.
Q – What did you think of the 2 albums he did with Ozzy? K – I thought they were produced badly, I didn’t think they sounded good [I still don’t]. I think the guitar playing was great. I think some of the songwriting’s very cool.
Q – What did you think of that original line-up with Bob & Lee? K – It was good. I think that Bob’s a great bass player, a really inventive songwriter, and Lee is a great basher drummer and plays what’s right for the songs. That was the band to me.
Q – Are you familiar with Bob & Lee’s stuff with Uriah Heep? K – I know Lee’s still with Uriah Heep. I saw Uriah Heep a million times. I got to meet Lee and Trevor Bolder. When Metal Health came out in 1983, we were in France and the French record label took us out to dinner and Heep was playing the same city. And Trevor Bolder was a HUGE hero of all of our’s, being with Bowie, and he was in Uriah Heep. So, we took Lee, Bob and Mick Box out to dinner with the French label. And, it was great! I saw Uriah Heep open for Deep Purple in like 1971 and they blew Deep Purple off the stage! So, we loved the guys. And Randy Rhoads adored Lee! He thought he was the greatest guy. And he’s the one who told me Lee wrote all the vocal melodies that Ozzy sang. I’ve not met Bob Daisley in person, but I have had correspondence with him over the e-mail, he seems like a really nice guy.
Q – Do you have any favorite old Heep songs? K – We almost did one for this [solo] album. We were going to do ‘Tears In My Eyes’, but when I went to sing it, it really wasn’t in the register for me. I really wanted to do ‘Stealin’, but Mike Varney wouldn’t let me do it; he thought it was too down tempo. So, I’ll do it the next time. I was a huge Uriah Heep fan. I loved all the bass players – Mark Clarke, Gary Thain…
Q – Yes, Mark Clarke went on to Billy Squier and was in to a bunch of stuff… K – He was in a band ‘Tempest’; I loved them – with Alan Holdsworth and John Hiseman. I’m a huge collector of that stuff.
Q – What are you listening to these days? K – I just got the Jeff Beck ‘Live At BB Kings’ in the mail today [because you can only get it from the web-site]. I love that; it’s really recorded well. I love Jeff Beck. I’ve been listening to some Type O Negative. I don’t buy too many records. I don’t like much new stuff that comes out, doesn’t really interest me.
Q – Do you find yourself [like me] looking for older bands with new albums? K – Kind of…a lot of older bands have new albums, and I don’t like their new albums. Jeff Beck’s ‘Beckola’ album with Rod Stewart, they’ve re-released it with 4 new songs on it, so I’ve got to buy that.
Q – Lately I’ve picked up a bunch of Glenn Hughes solo stuff…. K – I got all of it his solo stuff, pretty much.
Q – The one that got me back in to him was ‘Crystal Karma’. K – I love Crystal Karma! That’s my favorite solo album; that and ‘From Now On’. Midnight Meditated, Mojo – it’s a great record! I like From Now On, The Way It Is, I love the Burning Japan : Live. He has a DVD coming out, you know. It’s a live DVD and I sang back-up on it. And I also interviewed him for it.
Q – Is there any other people from your genre that you keep in touch with? K – No, not like Glenn. Glenn and me have a connection. We have a really common sense of humor. Frankie Banali played drums on the Hughes/Thrall album, so I knew Glenn from that. Nobody like Glenn, Glenn’s a special animal.
Q – Is there anything you have to add about the new album? K – Check it out. It’s got the best reviews of anything I’ve done in my career. Thanks.
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Outsider Rock 