EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet recently gave an
interview to his webmaster about "The Scarecrow", the
third installment of his AVANTASIA solo project. The
album is being produced by Sascha Paeth, who also
played the rhythm guitar on the CD. The drums were
laid down by KISS/ALICE COOPER drummer Eric Singer and
the bass is being handled by Tobias himself. The
complete chat follows:

Q: Tobi, how is the new AVANTASIA album production
going?

Sammet: Really great. I have a lot of work right now,
but doing another AVANTASIA adventure is a dream come
true. Yet, there's a lot of work to come and I don't
see an EP to be ready before summer.

Q: So you'll do an EP prior to the album "The
Scarecrow"?

Sammet: If I sign to a label that agrees on releasing
it at a very low retail price I will. The full album
will take a lot longer until it will be finished, we
have too many songs. But they're all great, so I guess
it's a quite luxurious problem. I think it would be a
terrific starter to come up with an EP full of new
first class songs at a fair price. Songs that will
belong to the album, but actually not be on it. We did
it with EDGUY on the "King Of Fools" and "Superheroes"
EPs and our fans just loved it. We didn't make any
money with it, but the reaction was incredible cause
the songs were no B-sides but high quality songs. Fans
pay it back in loyalty and show even more interest in
the band's forthcoming releases. And AVANTASIA has
been off the map for so long, it would be a perfect
big bang to return with a killer EP. Well, I'll have
to talk to labels about this, but this project
deserves to have a special resurrection for the fans,
don't you think?

Q: But you said you wouldn't wanna do AVANTASIA again
at all? How come you changed your mind?

Sammet: No, I said I couldn't imagine it back then.
And by the time people asked I was honest every single
time I've said it. "The Metal Opera 1 and 2" had been
so much work and they had become too successful. To
this day it is the biggest selling album that record
company ever released. For some people these albums
have become all time classics. Whatever that means —
it sounds like a big honor. But on the other hand it's
a big thing to match up to as well. I don't wanna
sound cocky but I am really not down and out enough to
do it for the money and end up with just a nice album.
I am aware that as an artist I have a moral duty
towards myself and the fans, right? Whatever you do:
Do it with your heart, do it big time and do it as if
it would be the last thing you'd ever do! And there
I've come to the point I had to say: I have the
ambition, the vision and the ideas to make it the best
piece of music I've ever done. It's the right time now
and I got into this business because I want to be my
own boss, so why should I not do what I so desperately
want to do? This new album surely won't be a copy of
the old ones, nor will it be an EDGUY album. But it's
definitely AVANTASIA! AVANTASIA 2007. Big, epic and
yet it's definitely not kitsch.

Q: So, what is AVANTASIA 2007 going to sound like?

Sammet: Diversified, pomp metal with some classic rock
elements, Classic orchestrated moments and Celtic
stuff, a big timeless production and so on and so
forth. It's going to consist of many different
elements. Bombastic kick ass music with a lot of heart
and depth. You will hear that the songwriter is the
same guy who also wrote songs like "Avantasia" and
"Seven Angels" and of course pop stuff like "Holy
Water" or "King Of Fools" and "Save Me", haha. Just
wait and have a big happy smile on your face when
you'll hear it! Of course I am sure some people will
say that I sell out because we'll have a very
commercial rock song, which would do great as a single
by the way. And even a ballad. Disgusting, isn't it? I
should feel guilty. And I won't wear a frock coat. But
so what?! I've been in in this circus for 15 years,
I've achieved to feel comfortable and find myself in a
situation where I can afford to do what I wanna do,
the way I want to and without compromising. We'll show
how to do a conceptual classic metal album without
dragons. No "Spinal Tap"! It will be interesting for
all metal and rock fans, and for those over 14 years
of age as well, haha.

Q: A lot of people keep asking which guest musicians
you will have on the album. Can you already give us
some names please?

Sammet: Oh, there'll be some. I can exclude the Pope
and Elvis, everyone else might very probably, if not
certainly be on there, I just don't wanna make names
too important, people shall love the album because of
the music, not because of names. The star is the team,
which is the music and the final result. Don't get me
wrong, there'll be great musicians and you'll know
their names. For example I've just been to England to
work with my friend Bob Catley who's gonna be one of
the guests on the album. By the way, his band MAGNUM
is going to tour Europe in May, tell people to check
them out, I think they are the greatest art-rock band
of all times. People keep asking for my musical
inspiration: Here you go, check MAGNUM! There'll be a
lot more guests and I'll let you know on this website
first.

Q: Any other interesting details on AVANTASIA? What
about the conceptual story this time?

Sammet: Well, there's billions of news and details but
you'll have to wait and see what they are. It's gonna
be huge and I am the happiest man on earth to be able
to do it. Now let's talk about something else.

Q: Okay, you will tour the USA with EDGUY and headline
Germany's Bang Your Head!!! festival? Isn't that a
great honor, especially because the list of bands that
have headlined over the past few years reads like the
who-is-who of rock history: SCORPIONS, ALICE COOPER,
MOTÖRHEAD, DEEP PURPLE, WHITESNAKE, to name a few...

Sammet: Great, isn't it? The promoters seem to have
faith in us and we're going to give people a great
show in return. We've played so many tours now, I
think we know how to put some life into a party on
stage. As for the USA we've been touring there before
and whatever bad things people say about the U.S.
metal market, I can't agree. Let's face it, the mass
media don't really support traditional metal, but so
what? To me it seems like the industry and young bands
as well always wail and whimper. But what do they
expect? Going out to play stadiums? Wake up, kids! Of
course it's only clubs, we have played six European
tours and only one "real" proper U.S.
coast-to-coast-tour so far. We'll go out and kick ass.
I have got many friends in the USA, I don't like the
ignorance in the U.S. entertainment business, but that
won't keep me from liking the country. I don't like
German pedantry, Italian mafia and Australian insects.
But I'd never dislike those countries. I am looking
forward to go to the U.S., play to our fans, meet my
friends, and show the U.S. press, what Deutschland's
entertainment machine called EDGUY is all about. I
love going back to States and if any band hates it,
well... then don't go!

Q: Okay, last question: We've been talking about your
big plans with AVANTASIA, but when is a new EDGUY
album coming out?

Sammet: We've got a DVD filmed in Brazil a few months
ago, we'll edit that and then find a release date. I
am going to be busy with AVANTASIA for the next
months, but later in the year we'll be back in the
studio with EDGUY. I don't know about the timing,
never do the second step before the first. You may
sprain your ankle. Now is AVANTASIA time.


British doomsters ORANGE GOBLIN have issued the
following update:

"It has now been revealed that the new ORANGE GOBLIN
album, 'Healing Through Fire', will be released
through Sanctuary Records in the U.K. and [rest of]
Europe on Monday, May 21st, and in the U.S. and the
rest of the world on Tuesday, June 26th. The album
will initially be released as a CD with a bonus DVD
featuring live footage from the band's headline show
at London's Mean Fiddler in December 2006."

The full track listing for the DVD is as follows:

01. Some You Win, Some You Lose
02. Quincy The Pigboy
03. Getting High On The Bad Times
04. The Ballad Of Solomon Eagle
05. Hot Magic, Red Planet
06. Round Up The Horses
07. They Come Back (Harvest Of Skulls)
08. Your World Will Hate This
09. Blue Snow
10. Scorpionica

KQRC-FM, the station which brought MOTÖRHEAD to
America for their only North American date in 2006,
has confirmed GODSMACK, BUCKCHERRY, BREAKING BENJAMIN,
THREE DAYS GRACE, SEVENDUST, CHEVELLE, PUDDLE OF MUDD,
SALIVA, DROWNING POOL, THE EXIES, BLACK STONE CHERRY,
OPERATOR, BURDEN BROTHERS, THE FEDERATION OF
HORSEPOWER, and RED LINE CHEMISTRY for this year's
event.

Rockfest will take place at America's only World War I
monument, the Liberty Memorial, in Downtown Kansas
City on June 9.

As editor of RIP magazine from 1987 to 1994, Lonn
Friend has volumes of stories to share from the
"decade of decadence" that was Eighties metal and he
now brings those stories to "The Hairball John Radio
Show" with the weekly feature "Tales from Planet
Rock". Each episode of "Tales from Planet Rock" will
feature Lonn Friend relaying a treasured story from
his numerous interviews and tours with some of hard
rock's biggest names.

"We are extremely honored to have Lonn joining our
show," says host Hairball John. "As huge fans of RIP
magazine, we have strived to create a radio show in
the image of RIP with its musical diversity and in
depth artist features. The slogan for our show is 'the
past is back to kick your ass,' and very few people
bring that past back as vividly as Lonn Friend with
his 'Tales from Planet Rock'."

"John is an authentic fan of heavy music," says
Friend. "I entrust him with the proper dissemination
of my torrid, timid, twisted tales. Planet Rock spins
in his good space."

"The Hairball John Radio Show" is a syndicated radio
show featuring the best of hard rock, past and
present. It is broadcast worldwide by more than 30 FM
and web-based affiliates.

DREAM THEATER has announced more dates for its
upcoming U.S. tour, which is scheduled to kick off
late July. Support at all shows will come from
REDEMPTION (the Los Angeles-based progressive metal
band led by guitarist/songwriter Nicolas van Dyk and
featuring vocal legend Ray Alder of FATES WARNING) and
Canada's INTO ETERNITY. So far the following dates
have been confirmed:

Jul. 27 - Gibson Amphitheater - Los Angeles, CA
Jul. 30 - E Center - Salt Lake City, UT
Jul. 31 - Paramount Theater - Denver, CO
Aug. 02 - Nokia Theater - Dallas, TX
Aug. 03 - Verizon Wireless - Houston, TX
Aug. 07 - Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI
Aug. 09 - State Theater - Minneapolis, MN
Aug. 10 - Rosemont Theater - Chicago, IL
Aug. 11 - Tower City Amphitheater - Cleveland, OH
Aug. 21 - Bank Of America Pavillion - Boston, MA
Aug. 24 - PNC - Holmdel, NJ
Aug. 25 - Jones Beach - Wantagh, NY

MASTODON, PAPA ROACH, BIFFY CLYRO, BILLY TALENT,
AIDEN, HINDER, FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, REUBEN, REEL BIG
FISH, HAYSEED DIXIE, BETWEEN THE TREES, KIDS IN GLASS
HOUSES, NECRO, LEZ ZEPPELIN, THIS ET AL, HARDCORE
SUPERSTAR and BEYOND ALL REASON have been confirmed
for the Download festival, set to take place June 8-10
at Donington Park, Leicestershire, England. The
festival billing is shaping up as follows (in
alphabetical order):

Friday, June 8:

Main Stage:

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
VELVET REVOLVER
WOLFMOTHER
DRAGONFORCE
MEGADETH
HINDER
BUCKCHERRY
TURISAS

Second Stage:

KORN
ENTER SHIKARI
FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES
TURBONEGRO
ANJ

Third Stage:

HAYSEED DIXIE
I WAS A CUB SCOUT
JOB FOR A COWBOY
THIS ET AL

Saturday, June 9:

Main Stage:

LINKIN PARK
MARILYN MANSON
SLAYER
MACHINE HEAD
BOWLING FOR SOUP
30 SECONDS TO MARS
AIDEN
SHADOWS FALL
HELLYEAH

Second Stage:

MÖTLEY CRÜE
BIFFY CLYRO
GALLOWS
BRING ME THE HORIZON
BLOODSIMPLE

Third Stage:

NECRO
LEZ ZEPPELIN
BEYOND ALL REASON

Sunday, June 10:

Main Stage:

IRON MAIDEN
EVANESCENCE
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
STONE SOUR
LAMB OF GOD
MASTODON
PAPA ROACH
CHIMAIRA
REUBEN

Second Stage:

BILLY TALENT
DREAM THEATER
DIMMU BORGIR
WITHIN TEMPTATION
DEVILDRIVER
UNEARTH

Third Stage:

REEL BIG FISH
BETWEEN THE TREES
KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR
DRIVE BY ARGUMENT

The Download festival is a three-day rock/metal/punk
festival held annually at the spiritual home of rock
music in England — Donington Park, which hosted the
Monsters of Rock festivals between 1980 and 1996, and
2002's Ozzfest. It takes place in early summer, and is
owned and managed by Live Nation.

Download festival 2006 — which featured headliners
TOOL, METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES — was said to be a
huge success, with 75,000 visitors each day.



Luxi Lahtinen of Metal-Rules.com recently conducted an
interview with CELTIC FROST frontman Tom G. Warrior. A
few excerpts follow:

Metal-Rules.com: What about this co-headlining tour
with Kreator? How's it been turning out for you so
far?

Tom: I think it's been turning out just fantastic for
us. The audiences have been fantastic. There's been a
lot of sold out venues and we wanted to play in Europe
for so many years as it's been a while since we had
something like this going on here last time; a long,
well-organized tour, y'know. On the other hand I think
it's as far as you can go with, bringing CELTIC FROST
and say we are with another heavy metal band, that's
pretty much as far as you can go. CELTIC FROST is a
band that has very strong roots in heavy rock, and in
heavy metal. CELTIC FROST goes much further than that.
And I don't mean that even such a mental way. But I
think KREATOR being such a very dedicated heavy/thrash
metal band, is probably as far as you can connect
CELTIC FROST with a band like that.

Metal-Rules.com: Then let's have a couple of your
words about your new album, "Monotheist", which was
actually a quite huge comeback album from CELTIC
FROST. When you actually started writing the album,
did you have a clear vision since from the very
beginning how the album would end up sounding after it
would have gone through all the mixing and mastering
process?

Tom: Yes... yes... yes. We had an EXTREMELY clear
vision what it was going to be like, and that's the
reason why it took four and half years to record this
album. We didn't want to do an album where some record
company or some management says: "Here's a cheque for
$$$ for the recording..." If you do a comeback, and
you have like two months time, it's not for a band
like CELTIC FROST. We wanted to do it the right way.
First of all, when Martin [Ain, bass] and I sat
together, discussing about this album — it was 2000 or
something like that, we had exactly the same idea what
the album would be like which this tour confirms the
time was right for this album. And number 2: We said
we are not gonna accept any outside pressure, or any
outside influence. We are gonna form our own record
company, and we are gonna form our own publishing
house to have a full control over this album and
everything — and we produce it ourselves. We took as
much time as we wanted. We could have never taken four
and half years with a record company. We wanted this
album to be a very strong CELTIC FROST album, and we
wanted the band to be a real band — and not just put
together for a cheque. So, we took a long time to
reform the band, and to re-grow our friendships. But
we had the time; we took the time issue. If it had
taken to 10 years to make this album, then it would
have taken 10 years. Above everything was the music,
and the fact the album had to be the true CELTIC FROST
album.


Metal-Rules.com: I think many people have already
asked from you already when CELTIC FROST will release
their first ever DVD, so when do you think CELTIC
FROST will fulfill those demands from your fans'
direction? Have you, for example, been shooting any
DVD material during this tour?

Tom: We have already shot tons of DVD material.
There's also a Swiss film crew that has been following
us around for like a year. They are doing a
documentary about CELTIC FROST which will eventually
come out as a DVD as well. They'll put a context into
the whole history of CELTIC FROST. When I'm done with
touring, this crew will go and shoot some footage from
the old rehearsal room of HELLHAMMER. Then they'll
travel to a tiny farm where I grew up and I'll show
and introduce them some places there then. There'll be
a lot of CELTIC FROST history in there, so I think
it's gonna be a really comprehensive documentary about
the whole history of CELTIC FROST. But we are very
hesitant to issue just a record live DVD because
there's so many live DVDs out there in the market
nowadays and for me they are all the same. You see
concerts; they are good or they are bad, but basically
they are all the same. We have very ambitious plans
for a concert film and it will cost a lot of money and
a lot of logistics to do it the way we would like to
do it. It's a project that no other band has attempted
to touch thus far. As we speak, we are talking to film
crews and potential investors to do this right now
because we just cannot finance it completely from our
pockets. We hope to strike a deal even if I cannot
guarantee it now. But if we are able to strike a deal
for making it happen, maybe within a year or so we'll
be able to do a concert film unlike any other concert
film any heavy metal group has ever done. It'll be
typical CELTIC FROST, but on the other hand, it's
gonna be something totally unique at the same time as
well. It's a very ambitious project, so there's no
guarantees yet if it's gonna be made or not. However,
we are trying very hard to make our plans reality.

Metal-Rules.com: When do you think CELTIC FROST start
writing their next album at earliest, at least in
theory? Have you already written some new stuff since
the song writing sessions for "Monotheist"?

Tom: Yes, I'm writing music constantly anyway. When
I'm home, let's say even for 4-5 days, I'm sitting
there and working on new music. I'm working on my solo
album and I am also writing music for a potential
album of CELTIC FROST. However, I cannot guarantee
that there will be another album for a while. I think
the band, the management and the record company would
like to have a new CELTIC FROST album out within a
reasonable time, but to be honest it's not that easy
to be in CELTIC FROST and write stuff for the band. As
I said many times before CELTIC FROST is made of three
people with very explosive and volatile characters —
and it is for me personally extremely difficult to be
a part of this band. I'll see how I'm gonna feel later
this year. I believe if we are doing another album, we
can talk "Monotheist"; we can make it another piece of
art, something completely unusual. But right now I
don't know if I have the strength for that, to be
honest. But what I'll certainly do, is a solo album of
mine — that's already for sure, and we'll see...
Musically I'd be very much into the idea of doing a
CELTIC FROST album. I think we haven't done our
greatest work yet; it's still to come.

Former MEGADETH and current F5 basist David Ellefson
has issued the following update:

"We had a blast at the F5 show [in Phoenix] last night
[Saturday, April 14]. It was great to see our friends
and fans driving in all the way from Utah and
California to catch the show and hear the new songs.
In fact, for those of you that were at the show, you
now know that the whole reason we played was to try
out a bunch of our new songs we've been writing over
the past few months. In fact, seven of the nine songs
in the set were all new material, which worked well
with 'Cause for Concern' and 'Dissidence'. We chose a
wide variety of tunes so we could 'test-drive' them
and see if they were working from the stage. It seems
we are on the right track....always trust the
instinct!

"Our friends in the band CRUSHED invited us on the
bill, which was good timing for us, as they were doing
their CD release party last night. Our mutual friend
Mike Clink produced their new album so good spirits
were abound and was a good home town show for us all.

"More to be follow on the new songs and recording of
the next album..."

F5's debut album, "A Drug for all Seasons", was
released in North America in September 2005 via
Cleopatra Records. The original version of "A Drug for
all Seasons" is also available in Asia on JVC Victor
Entertainment and in Europe on Mascot Records.

F5, whose sound is being described as guitar-heavy
melodic hard rock, recorded the album last year at a
Phoenix-area studio with producer Ryan Greene, who had
previously worked with Ellefson in 1991 on the demos
for MEGADETH's "Countdown to Extinction" album.



MOUNTAIN OF POWER, CRAZY LIXX and ANDROMEDA have been
confirmed for the SR Stage (Swedish Radio Stage) at
the 2007 edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, set to
take place June 6-9 in Sölvesborg, Sweden. The
festival billing is shaping up as follows (in
alphabetical order):

AEROSMITH (US)
AFTER FOREVER (NL)
ALL ENDS (S)
AMON AMARTH (S)
ANDROMEDA (S)
ANEKDOTEN (S)
ANNIHILATOR (CAN)
AXEL RUDI PELL (D/US)
BACKDRAFT (S)
BLACK DEBBATH (N)
BLACK OAK ARKANSAS (US)
BLIND GUARDIAN (D)
BLOODBOUND (S)
BLUESTONE COMPANY with Chris Duarte (JAP)
CIRCUS MAXIMUS (N)
CRASHDÏET (S)
CRAZY LIXX (S)
DARK TRANQUILLITY (S)
DIMMU BORGIR (N)
ELDRITCH (I)
FALCONER (S)
FASTWAY (UK)
FOCUS (NL)
GOV'T MULE (US)
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR (S)
HEAVEN AND HELL (UK)
HELLFUELED (S)
ICED EARTH (US)
KORPIKLAANI (FIN)
KREATOR (D)
KRUX (S)
LION'S SHARE (S)
MARDUK (S)
MCQUEEN (UK)
MEAT LOAF (US)
MOTÖRHEAD (UK)
MOUNTAIN OF POWER (S)
NOCTURNAL RITES (S)
NOVEMBER (S)
POINT BLANK (US)
PRETTY MAIDS (DK)
QUIET RIOT (US)
QUIREBOYS (UK)
RANDY PIPER'S ANIMAL (US)
REO SPEEDWAGON (US)
SCORPIONS with special guest Uli Jon Roth (D)
SKID ROW (US)
SOLID GROUND (S)
SÖREN BERLEV'S GAS SHOW (DK)
SUZI QUATRO (UK)
SYMPHONY X (US)
TALISMAN (S)
THE ANSWER (UK)
THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW (AUS)
THIN LIZZY (IRL)
THUNDER (UK)
TIAMAT (S)
TOKYO DRAGONS (UK)
TRAIL OF TEARS (N)
TROUBLE (US)
TYR (FAR)
U.D.O. (D)
VOMITORY (S)
WARRIOR SOUL (US)
WHITE LION (DK)
WOLF (S)


INQUISITION, WARHAMMER, CORPUS CHRISTII and SAMMATH
are among the confirmed bands for the Under the Black
Sun open-air festival, set to take place July 6-7 at
Bernau, Helenenau, Germany. The festival billing is
shaping up as follows:

INQUISITION (USA)
CORPUS CHRISTII (POR)
ENDEZZMA (NOR)
ETERNITY (GER)
DECAYED (POR)
KRYPT (NOR)
MERRIMACK (FRA)
NEITHAN (GER)
SAMMATH (NL)
WARHAMMER (GER)
WITCHCRAFT (HUN)
AZAGHAL (FIN)

For more information, visit www.folter666.de.



ISIS, MISERY INDEX, TURISAS, THUNDERSTONE, MAJ KARMA,
STURM UND DRANG, PROFANE OMEN and SCENT OF FLESH have
been confirmed for the Tuska open-air festival, set to
take place June 29 - July 1 at Kaisaniemi in Helsinki,
Finland.

A total of 32 bands on three stages will perform over
the course of three days. In addition to this, a
couple of dozen bands will be appearing at the
infamous evening clubs.

Tuska 2007 billing is shaping up as follows:

Friday, June 29:

CHILDREN OF BODOM
IMMORTAL (NOR)
DRAGONFORCE (UK)
HATESPHERE (DEN)
KATATONIA (SWE)
TURISAS
IMPERIA (NL/NOR)
MAJ KARMA
MOONSORROW
SCENT OF FLESH

Saturday, June 30:

EMPEROR (NOR)
ISIS (USA)
W.A.S.P. (USA)
PAIN (SWE)
MISERY INDEX (USA)
THUNDERSTONE
BROTHER FIRETRIBE
LEGION OF THE DAMNED (NL)
45 DEGREE WOMAN
INSOMNIUM
PROFANE OMEN
NICOLE

Sunday, July 1:

BLIND GUARDIAN (GER)
D'ESPAIRSRAY (JPN)
FINNTROLL
MERCENARY (DEN)
VADER (POL)
NAILDOWN
STURM UND DRANG

Tuska 2007 is an all-ages event. One-day tickets cost
38 euros while three-day tickets cost 75 euros.

For more information, visit www.tuska-festival.fi.


Nick Snelling of Australia's Beat magazine recently
conducted an interview with former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN
and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. A few
excerpts follow:

On whether it feels good to be back on the drums after
all this time:

"Hell yeah, man. It's somethin' that I've done all my
life, but after everythin' that happened with us on
onstage…with Dime, and all that…I didn't know if I'd
ever be able to do it again or not, you know? But it's
somethin' that I really missed and these guys helped
bring me back to it, so I'm going to give it
everythin' I got."

On the fact that the friendships formed remain the
most rewarding aspect to his new band:

"I missed that part of being in a band — the
brotherhood, the camaraderie, like you're part of an
unstoppable army. The best friend that I ever had was
Dime. We did everything together, we thought alike, we
had the same mindset and everything, and I miss that a
lot. Always will. These guys — they're all great
people. When we made this record, they came down and
lived with me here in Texas, we didn't put them up in
a hotel or nothin'. We barbequed together, drank
together, went to the strip-club together, and we all
became great friends. One of the cool things about
this record, was that there weren't any egos. As a
consequence, we got the very best out of everybody
musically."

On how his father, Jerry Abbott, the country producer,
has gotten behind HELLYEAH all the way:

"At first, he was very leery of it all. But I just had
to tell him, 'Dad, this is what I do. I've played
music all my life, I love playin' drums and bein'
onstage, I love tourin' and seein' other countries,
and now I have this opportunity to do it again. And
the thing is, I know Dime is tellin' me to go all the
way with this thing. The last thing he would want is
for me to curl up in a shell and quit. Or do somethin'
stupid. This is the right thing for me to do. Yeah,
man — my dad totally supports me on it."

On HELLYEAH's musical approach:

"Lookin' at where metal has gone, there's been a long
time since there's been a record like this. It seems
like metal has gone in a real technical direction —
everythin' seems to get faster 'n' faster, more and
more parts, more intensity. We wanted to make a record
that had a) the best mother-fuckin' poundin' grooves
we could come up with, and b) songs that people really
relate to and sing along to — anthems, so to speak."

On how a metal drummer ends up owning a celebrated
gentlemen's establishment, the Dallas stripclub The
Clubhouse:

"Well, that's easy. I was spendin' all this time when
I wasn't onstage at strip bars, so I figured, 'Hell, I
might as well get my own and get some of my money
back.' It's been one of the best investments I ever
made — it's the coolest strip bar known to mankind,
and everybody who tours here through Dallas, Texas has
been here. It's a very, very famous place now, to the
point that we're now looking at expanding operations
and looking at some other places we can start up
another one."

On how hard it is for Vinnie, in that the first, most
natural thing for people to do is want to offer their
condolences, but then how does he move on with such
constant reminders:

"You got it, man. It just always sends me back to a
dark place, you know? I know that people loved Dime
and miss him. I understand that, but I got to move
forward now. I just got to. I know that Dime will
always be there with me, and he reminds me everyday
whenever it turns 3.33 on the clock — 33 was his
favourite number. I'll turn around to look at the
time, and it'll be 3.33 in the afternoon or mornin' —
that's his way of tellin' me, 'Hey man, I'm still here
with you'. I accept it when it comes, but it's not
something that people really have to tell me. I know
it's there — it's always in the back of everyone's
mind, but we all gotta keep moving on."


James Ridley of Australia's Beat magazine recently
conducted an interview with MASTODON drummer Brann
Dailor. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On playing tours across the globe supporting just
about every monster band in the metal world and
"slaying" their idols?

"I don't know about that. It's awesome sharing the
stage with people you admire so much and it's really
amazing to be chosen for those tours, like TOOL
inviting us out… these are bands that have fans that
would kill for them."

On piracy:

"This is inevitable. It's the 'digital age' and it's
just going to keep on moving in that direction.
Instead of getting mad about it and trying to fight it
you just have to use that energy to try and find a way
to embrace it."

On how MASTODON came up with the theme of "Blood
Mountain":

"You try and think about where you're at. We're on
this mountain. At practice you sit around a table and
go, 'Okay, what could happen to you on a mountain?'
You could get lost in the woods, you're starving and
have to kill your own food, maybe get chased by a wolf
that wants to eat you, you reach the summit but it's
snow-capped and an avalanche comes and tries to wipe
you out. Then you get hungry and eat some roots (that
make you hallucinate). You know, it's just
brainstorming. Thinking about what comes next in the
story line. We write music very cinematically, there's
always a little movie that goes along in your head
that goes along with whatever riff is being played."

On what's next for MASTODON:

"I'm not sure. I have an idea of what I want it to be,
but I can't talk about it. It's going to throw people
through a loop. There's plenty of places to go. The
imagination is hopefully endless. It's not up to me or
anyone in the band what's going to happen music-wise.
We're more of an envelope, just putting it all
together. Whatever visits us we try and deliver it the
best we can."

On juggling touring with family life:

"We've all got families. I don't have kids, but I have
a wife. Troy's got a girlfriend and a daughter who's
nearly ten. You know, her life's flying by and he's
not exactly there. So we need to take a break and
remember





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