LIZZY BORDEN - Lizzy Borden

On the event of an Appointment with Death, how would you feel? Metalzone had the honor of doing an interview with the legend of heavy metal Lizzy Borden. Lizzy talks to Metalzone.gr and Vasso Prassa about the new album Apointment With Death, the history of Lizzy Borden, the new guitarist of the band, the involvement with George Lynch, and the chances of an 80s feeling comeback. Read along as the legend unfolds… \r\n

\r\nWhat news from Lizzy Borden’s camp?
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\r\nLizzy: We just released what is arguably the best Lizzy Borden record of our career. We just went top five on college radio and everything is in full swing.
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\r\nYour new album, "Appointment with Death", has been pushed back to October 30th in the U.S. and November 2nd in Europe from the previously announced October 2nd.What forced this delay?
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\r\nLizzy: We wanted to re-master it, I just wasn’t happy with the master that we had and the record company wanted another month to promote.
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\r\nYou also shot a video for the song "Tomorrow Never Comes". Could you give us some details about the script of the video or the shooting process?
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\r\nLizzy: The meaning behind the lyrics in a nutshell is, do it today because there might not be a tomorrow. The video is about a girl locked in an insane asylum trying to get out; every day is the same and every day she is just stuck in this hospital and for her, tomorrow never comes. For me, the asylum is a metaphor for life and she’s stuck in the revolving door searching for a way out.\r\n

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\r\nHow pleased are you with the final result of the album? Are there any things you would like to have done differently?
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\r\nLizzy: Never satisfied! I tend to over analyze everything so yes there are things I would change but I would say that about every record that we’ve done.
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\r\nThere is a new guitarist in the band Ira Black. How did you get in touch with him? And what was the main reason for his recruiting in the group’s ranks?
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\r\nLizzy: Ira was recommended to us from a friend. We auditioned about 10 or 15 guitarists and Ira was the last guy to come in. He was a fan of Lizzy Borden and new the old songs but played them in his own style and that’s exactly what we’re looking for, we hired him on the spot. The reason why we needed new guitarist was because our old guitarists Alex Nelson passed away in a car accident.
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\r\nThere are also lots of guest musicians in the album and from different areas each one of them. The most surprising for me was the participation of Eric Rutan although he’s done also the mixing of the album. What’s the story behind your cooperation with him?
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\r\nLizzy: Because the new record was epic in proportion, meaning a lot of tracks,. Brian Slagel from metal blade thought it would be a great idea to have someone mix it that did not come from a background of doing records like this, so he recommended Erik Rutan. While he was mixing the album I asked him if he wanted to play on one of the songs and he loved the idea so off he went.
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\r\nAnd what about George Lynch’s involvement? Was his name on your wishing list from the start or it just came out in the process?
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\r\nLizzy: When we decided to invite some of our friends to come and play on the record, George is one of the first names that we mentioned. Marten Andersson also used to play with George when he toured so he was a friend. But if we had a wish list he definitely would be at the top of it.
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\r\nGive us a small description about the album’s music. Are there any new elements that you would say that consist a difference relating to your previous releases?
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\r\nLizzy: what we tried to do with this record was make a traditional Lizzy Borden record, that meant going back to 1983 all the way to 2000 and try and encompass years of making music and weave that into the music that were making now. I think we succeeded; there are 11 songs on the record and to me each song could very well have gone on different records from the past and that’s what we wanted.\r\n

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\r\nThis time your lyrics’ topic is about death. How did you get the idea in the first place? And how long have you been working with that?
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\r\nLizzy: I worked on the concept for about four months. I’m not sure how I came up with it, I think it was because of the passing of our friend Alex Nelson as well as a few other friends of mine from the past and present who have tried and in some cases succeeded in ending their life on this planet. Having said all that, I still try and keep this in the fantasy realm. I see what I do as more Stephen King then anything else.
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\r\nYou co-produced the album along with Joey Scott. What would you say that was the most helpful arrangement that Scott brought to this production?
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\r\nLizzy: Well Joey also engineered the record so he was the guy that was there plugging in, adjusting, and making everything go. Above and beyond all of that, he is one of the founding members of Lizzy Borden and knows first hand what a Lizzy Borden record should sound like. We’ve been working together for so long, that part of it was not hard.
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\r\nAre you pleased with the promotion you’ve had so far?
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\r\nLizzy: Well it’s only just begun, but yes the feedback is phenomenal!
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\r\nHow things are with Metal Blade records these days considering the problems you had to deal with in the past?
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\r\nLizzy: You can imagine over 25 years a lot of the staff has changed over the years, they have at the moment a top-notch staff who genuinely love metal, so even though some things are tougher to deal with than others, we are all on the same page fighting for the same things, and that’s a good thing.
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\r\nWhat’s your opinion of Brian Slagel?
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\r\nLizzy: We’ve been friends for 25 years; he’s a great friend and loves Lizzy Borden music. He knows what he’s doing in this business and it’s more than you can say for most of the people who work in it.
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\r\nThe cover of the album is quite impressive. You also designed a new logo once more. What is their connection with the album’s music and concept?
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\r\nLizzy: I try to make them one in the same. I like everything to fit together like a puzzle within the framework of the theme of the record. Logo, lyrics, the look of the band, the music, the show, everything.
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\r\nCan you give us some details about the forthcoming stage shows?
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\r\nLizzy: We’re working on the show now, I get to play the angel of death and the audience is there just in time to make their appointment. You’ll see.
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\r\nYour last release was 2000’s Deal with the Devil. Many things happened back then. The death of Alex, the tour not being what you expected and the band got into a hiatus. What was the main thing that triggered such a strong comeback?
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\r\nLizzy: Our love for this music. It’s in our blood and we can’t shake it, and we don’t want to. When you do something for as long as we have it comes naturally and it’s very hard to give up. I don’t think there was any one thing, it’s that intangible, that mutual feeling that you have for the past for the present and for the future.
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\r\nDo you think the music of the 80’s is coming again in the frontline?
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\r\nLizzy: I don’t know about that, but classic metal is experiencing some respect from the younger generation and I think that gives it credibility. When people get excited about something it becomes a sensation, but I don’t think the 80s will ever be matched, illegal downloading has already crushed any thought of competing record sales.
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\r\nBesides the lack of frizzy hair and hideous make up what are the other differences between Lizzy Borden’s present time and what the band used to be in the ‘80s?
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\r\nLizzy: I still wear hideous makeup, whatever the character requires. I never thought that I was in a fashion show; I tried to build characters that represented the lyrics I was singing about. I think that is the one thing that we have over a lot of other bands that came from the 80s, we are pretty much the same as we always have been, although I think I’m a better singer now and I’m definitely a better songwriter.
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\r\nWhat would you say that influenced you the most between Kiss and Alice Cooper?
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\r\nLizzy: Cooper introduced me to theatrical rock, but kiss was the first band that I had ever seen live doing it. That had such a tremendous effect on me to this day. I thought that they were the perfect band and still do.
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\r\nWhat about your other project Starwood? Is it still going to exist?
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\r\nLizzy: Yes, the new Starwood record will be out next year and it’s 10 times better than the first one. It’s just about done, just need to do some backing vocals and mix it.
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\r\nI’ve heard that you come from a wealthy family. However would you say that Lizzy Borden brought lots of money in your pockets all those years or it was never a money issue but only the music thing?
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\r\nLizzy: If you make a lot of money playing music you’re in the top 40 band playing other people’s music or you’re one of a select few. I love the rumors though, I heard that I won the lottery, that my families wealthy, all sorts of things throughout the years. I love it, keep it coming.
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\r\nAlthough the band was out for a quite space of time yet your fan base kept being alive and strong. What’s the main thing that consists this love affair between the band and your fans?
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\r\nLizzy: I think they just get it, for the same reasons we like writing the music and think we’re doing something interesting based on what’s out there, that is the same reason why our fans like what we do, we give them something different other than the norm.
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\r\nWhat are the best things you recall from the ‘80s and what are the worst ones?
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\r\nLizzy: The best thing was the social atmosphere on the Sunset strip, that was the thing I loved and expected every time I step foot on that street. Everyone was interacting trying to find the right combination to be the world’s greatest band, some of those combinations worked out pretty well in the scheme of things.The worst thing was watching some of my friends drink themselves to death.
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\r\nWhat music do you listen to in nowadays? Are there any new bands that attracted your interest?
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\r\nLizzy: When I’m writing I don’t listen to anyone, but at the moment I’m not writing so I’m listening to some of the younger bands like avenged sevenfold, my chemical Romance, as I lay dying, Trivium.
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\r\nIn the past you were arrested in Germany for carrying an axe in your luggage. Were there any other similar incidents?
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\r\nLizzy: During the 80s some of our shows were raided by the vice squad, some cites that we were playing for some reason thought we were coming to corrupt their children. Almost every time it made the local news and it was great for our rep, but I would’ve rather played the shows, all of that stuff is just a distraction.\r\n

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\r\nI don’t think I’ve ever heard about your real name. Is it like a top secret for you?
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\r\nLizzy: That’s another thing that makes the rumor mill, I’ve never publicly released it and I’ve been Lizzy for 25 years, there’s no going back now.
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\r\nWhat are your upcoming plans for touring?
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\r\nLizzy: We are doing Sweden rock and the bang your head festivals so far. We are in the midst of booking many shows around the world. We plan on doing a lot of touring for appointment with death.
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\r\nIs there anything you would like to add in this interview and I didn’t ask you?
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\r\nLizzy: Download all you want but support metal and buy at least one copy of appointment with death. Come by our website www.Lizzyborden.com. See you on the appointment with death world tour.\r\n

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\r\nInterview by Vaso Prassa \r\n

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