Interviews
Savatage / Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery recently guested on That Metal Interview Podcast to discuss the new release from his side project, Spirits Of Fire. During the chat Caffery shared some Criss Oliva stories and discussed his beginnings with Paul O'Neill and Savatage.
He also addressed the ongoing topic of a Savatage reunion.
In a new interview with Simfonia Metàl·lica, former ACCEPT singer Udo Dirkschneider was asked to name the biggest mistake he made in his professional career. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can tell you. This is the only thing I'm really not happy with. I was creating the name ACCEPT. And then, when we came — let's say in '80, '81, we had to sign a lot of documents
In a new interview with "R.A. Nation", ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna touched upon the fact that the none of the "Big Four" bands of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER and MEGADETH — sound alike despite the fact that they had a lot of the same influences.
He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Speaking of the 'Big Four', the whole lineup and that stuff, it was really nice to have differential type of bands and different sounds and vocals and just the whole aura of it all; I love that part."
"I don't think we were worried about having hits in the first place. It was a time when pop bands made singles and rock bands made albums.
So long as we kept coming with albums that people seemed to like, we weren't worried about having a Top 40 hit; if they came along, it was like a bonus. Now, the only time we got concerned was towards the end of Ritchie's [Blackmore, guitar] tenure with the band, as he was losing interest...
Former ACCEPT frontman David Reece says that he was high on the list of candidates when JUDAS PRIEST was looking for a new vocalist to fill the massive shoes of Rob Halford in the early 1990s.
"I was in Tennessee, and I hadn't fully retired yet, 'cause I had obligations before I decided to retire," Reece recalled in a new interview with "Waste Some Time With Jason Green" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada's The Metal Voice recently interviewed longtime Krokus frontman Marc (The Voice) Storace. Strorace spoke about his new solo album coming out in December and his upcoming documentary, and gave an update on the status of Krokus.
In regards to the musical direction of his solo album, Storace reveals: "It's energetic, heavy, melodic hard rock.
When a fan comes to see the band, they expect certain songs — always. And when a band says, 'Here's some new stuff from our new album,' that just means they're not playing stuff that the public wants to hear. And we decided a long time ago, 'We wanna play exactly what they wanna hear.'
That's one of the reasons why we were so successful — we played exactly what they wanted to hear.
The Metal Voice recently spoke to Udo Dirkschneider (original voice of iconic band Accept) about his upcoming U.D.O. album, Game Over.
When asked if there will be a future album from Dirkschneider & The Old Gang featuring former Accept members Peter Baltes (bass), and Stefan Kaufmann (guitar), Udo reveals: "We did the EP and people were saying is an album coming too?
By the end of the 1980s, heavy metal – and, in particular, thrash metal – had become something of a musical arms race. “It was all about impressing the other bands with your heaviness, with your speed, with your technical prowess,”
Metallica frontman James Hetfield recalls to Guitar World. “Everyone wanted to come up with the heaviest riff on earth or the fastest song possible.”
Former Iron Maiden frontman, Blaze Bayley, has offered a tantalizing glimpse into the band’s recording process in the 1990s, explaining that they made a conscious decision to drop one of the key elements of their distinctive sound ahead of his vocal debut on 1995’s The X Factor.
Speaking about his recent shows which have seen him playing a ‘Maiden Years’ set, Blaze said; “The anniversary set was kind of my favourites and the ones I really enjoy doing;