Arch Rival - Michael Harris
Given the chance of Arch Rival’s debut album "In The Face Of Danger" re-release, Metalzone conducted an interview with the band’s legendary guitarist, Michael Harris. After all these years of music experiences we treasure the words that he shared with us... \r\n
\r\nMetalzone: First things first, how it all started back in the 80’s? Were things different back then for a band that was releasing its first album?\r\n
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\r\nWhat was different in those days was the fact that fans would actually pay for the music and would flock to the clubs to support their favorite bands. It was an exciting time. “In the Face of Danger” was actually originally released in 1991, but there was still an 80s vibe, as grunge hadn’t come in totally yet. We were excited about our new CD, as were our fans.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Beside 80’s classic bands, which bands were your main influences when you were teenagers?\r\n
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\r\nEach member of ARCH RIVAL has a very different set of influences, which are mostly 70s bands. An example of a band we all like would be King’s X. We steered the ARCH RIVAL material in a more modern and melodic direction though. \r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Arch Rival have returned after a long year absence and during these years hard rock and melodic metal in general didn’t have the best of their times. Things now are different as we see many new hard rock bands making great success and, in general, good times have come back for this music. Did you feel it was necessary for you to return, under better conditions, and grab the chance to make something great again?\r\n
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\r\nWe had actually released our 3rd CD, “Third Degree Burns” in 1997, in the midst of the grunge era, but were definitely thrilled to see our genre of music make a comeback several years later. We’d also like to make it aware for those who don’t know, that last year ARCH RIVAL recorded an EP of 4 new tunes and included 4 re-mastered tunes from our previous CDs, and several never before released live tunes (which are different from the live tunes on the “In the Face of Danger” re-release.) It is available on CD Baby. We are presently writing new tunes and plan on recording a full CD.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Do you think that your debut album left a legacy for next bands of this genre? Fans of hard rock are surely happy for your return and you have been considered to be one of the best that US had to offer.\r\n
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\r\nWe are finding more and more fans all the time who say that they have really been into the record since it was released, and that is very flattering. We feel that we created a sound that was more “hard rock” or “street” sounding than a lot of the poppier 80s bands.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: This question mostly concerns mr M. Harris, do you believe that it will be difficult to remain in the balance between two bands that sound a lot different (equally cool though!), Darkology and Arch Rival?\r\n
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\r\n I don’t think about that too much. I also have had bands such as Thought Chamber, Surgeon, or my 6 solo records, so I just have this music that I have to get out, and I do it. Each band seems to have its own fanbase.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Many have said that Arch Rival, although great musicians, have been seriously underestimated by the music industry for all these years. How do you want to comment on this?\r\n
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\r\nWe’ve always taken our musicianship seriously, and we also felt that “In the Face of Danger” should have deserved a wider exposure the first time around. But in actuality, in 1991, metal and hard rock were dying and grunge was coming in, so we chalk that up to bad timing, while still being very excited that the record is getting a second chance (thanks to Roc-a-Holics), along with the DVD.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Are you planning a world or European tour before heading again to the studio for your new album?\r\n
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\r\n We are all open to playing some shows based on this re-release. It’s more likely we’d opt for some festivals than a whole tour though. We’d love to come to Europe and play.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: After all these years, has the cooperation and understanding between the band’s members been strengthened in any way?\r\n
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\r\n We’ve all grown as people and realize you can’t sweat the small stuff and to just have fun and play some music.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: “In The Face Of Danger” was released in 1991. Back then bands like Guns n’ Roses, Firehouse and Warrant were seen as gods. In the blink of an eye, Grunge and the Seattle scene exploded putting make up, hairspray, and screaming singers and guitars aside. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and in general, alternative rock became dominant at the start of the 90’s. What was like back then for a band of your genre and how were Arch Rival affected by that change?\r\n
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\r\nI personally felt that the grunge / alt era was by far the worst era of rock music, and I think the AR guys feel the same way. It was really unfortunate that the record didn’t come out a few years earlier, but of course we had only met Steve in 1990. All things considered, we wrote & completed the record very quickly, but by the time we had started to shop it, labels (although they really dug the record) were already sensing the change in musical climate, and therefore became skeptical of its potential in the industry. \r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: I’d like to thank you for your cooperation and I have to say that your return has found a warm welcome and many of us are expecting something new from the band. In a sentence what do you have to say to the fans of the band, old and new?\r\n
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\r\nWe greatly appreciate our fans’ continued support and we are sure that they will be highly impressed with Rock-a-Holics “In the Face of Danger” remastered CD & never before released DVD dual disc package! \r\n
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\r\nInterview by Chris "Wildchild" Zarkadakis \r\n
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