Τετάρτη 12 Νοεμβρίου 2014

WALPYRGUS, a new Heavy Metal sensation - Interview with Scott Waldrop

WALPYRGUS is a new metal band from United States with some very well-known underground metal musicians from bands like TWISTED TOWER DIRE, WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, OCTOBER 31 etc. Having their first EP just released by No Remorse Records, I had the chance to talk with my good friend and guitarist Scott Waldrop about everything around the band. Enjoy!

 
-How did Walpyrgus created their cult?

Scott: I wanted a band in Raleigh to write and play live with, as my other band Twisted Tower Dire isn't fully functional. Marc and Dave (TTD), live somewhat far away from me and I needed to do something more consistent because I was going crazy with boredom. One day at the beach 3 years ago, I was drinking beer and smoking cigarettes by myself watching the sunset over the ocean. I was feeling sorry for myself that I couldn't get all music ideas out and generally pouting. I decided right then and there, that I was going to call people from Raleigh and get a band going instead of sit there like a helpless turd for a moment longer. I needed a great guitarist so I called Charley Shackelford. I knew him since 1999 when Twisted Tower Dire used to play shows with his then-band Iskariot. In recent years he had a band In Raleigh called Hellrazor and I really liked his guitar work in that. Anyway, I told him I wanted to do an all-original band and described it as The Misfits meets Iron Maiden/Black Sabbath and he was in. Next I called Peter Lemieux. He's filled in on drums for TTD before and was in a Raleigh band with our singer Jonny Aune called Viper. He grew up with Jonny and they do great vocal harmonies together. He's an amazing drummer and was my first (and only) choice for the band. I then called Jim and Jonny and told them what I wanted to do and they were both totally into it. So there it is. Walpyrgus was literally conceptualized and formed in a about 1 hour while I was drunk on the beach. We got together the following week, started playing cover tunes, writing originals, and have been enjoying playing together ever since.

-Having Walpyrgus active, does this mean that Twisted Tower Dire is on hold, since 3 of the present Walpyrgus members were playing in the last TTD album, "Make It Dark"?

Scott: Yea pretty much. TTD may have gotten another album out by now but who knows. Things move very slowly in that camp. It was a good time to take a break. I don't think "Make it Dark" did as well as we or Cruz Del Sur expected and it certainly wasn't our "come back" album. Some anonymous reviewer from Terrorizer Magazine went as far as to say there was "no reason for us to exist". That hurt pretty bad seeing as how it was a major publication that championed us in the past. I'm sure whoever wrote that nothing of it and that they were writing something insightful and clever about the scene but we pour our hearts and soul into TTD - don't get paid - and it fucked us in the head. With Dave joining Volture also, I think it was really time to let TTD rest for a while. We may not have admitted it at the time but we were all pretty disheartened at the time. We weren't getting any younger and no new opportunities were knocking on the door. I was afraid we were becoming those guys who had stayed at the party too long and TTD deserves to be remembered with dignity especially looking back on our work with our late singer Tony Taylor. If there is a TTD album it's going to be very well thought out and special album. I'm not going to do it just to do it. I'm honestly not really sure that anyone who is or was a fan of TTD will really accept the band without Tony singing. Jonny is amazing but Tony was so different sounding and such a big part of TTD's "brand". It's a weird problem. I want to keep making music but I have no fucking idea what other people want to hear.

-For me, Walpyrgus is something like a logical step after "Make It Dark", so which are your influences and the things that inspire you today?

Scott: Yea that's exactly what it is. Some Walpyrgus songs were going to be TTD songs. Somewhere around '05 I started writing my songs on acoustic guitar with open chords like a folk song, then I word turn the chord progressions into metal riffs. I started becoming really interested in traditional song writers completely outside of metal. Some of my favorites are people like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, Simon & Garfunkle etc. I would have never admitted that a few years ago but I'm old and don't really give a shit. I also cry watching children's movies and still listen to death metal (but not new death metal, only early 90's stuff).

-Having your first release out now from No Remorse Records (and previously on tape by Swords and Chains) what's the background of these songs and do you have more songs and recordings ready?

Scott: "We Are The Wolves" was going to be a TTD song. That's why it sounds like TTD. The lyrics are about ancient inhuman beings who watch civilizations come and go. It was originally called "We are the Ones" but my wife misunderstood my demo vocals and I heard her sing "we are the wolves, we are the wolves" around the house and I was like, "That's it! That's way cooler!". "Cold Cold Ground" is about this recurring nightmare I have that I’ve killed someone as a teenager on LSD. Just for the record, I have never killed anyone while on drugs but I have nightmares about it. I started plinking around on the acoustic guitar with that "rock & roll" intro riff and it all just spilled out one evening. I think it has its own unique vibe because it's in an unusual key for metal: G minor but we're drop tuned to e flat so it's played in the position of A flat. So...if you're a guitar nerd you understand that's a fun position to play in. "The Sisters" was stolen from Joe Walsh and The Scorpions but I won't say which songs. Listen to them all and see if you win the quiz. The lyrics are about supernatural twins. I don't know where the chorus came from. It popped into my weird brain one day while I was driving. I had to scribble lyrics on a napkin as fast as I could without killing myself. As for new songs yes we have a whole album’s worth most of which we are currently demo-ing. We plan sending the demos to labels around December or January and seeing who is interested and what our options are. No Remorse Records will get it first :)

-I see the band is very active regarding live shows in your area. What's the feedback you receive from people?

Scott: It’s been good! We’ve got one guy that comes to every show so that keeps us going. If we didn’t play in Raleigh clubs we’d just be in Peter’s basement jealously guarding our own music like a dog playing with a cat turd. We play out locally a lot for two reasons really. The first is because on live show is worth ten practices. It makes you tighter as a band and it gives you the chance to see what works and what doesn’t with your songs. We wanted to have a lot of live experience together before recording an album because we think the experience will come shinning through in the recording. Of course the other reason being that if we ever get offered to do any higher profile gigs outside our area we’ll be ready.

-You started your journey in the underground metal scene of the 90s. Which are the differences for a new band to achieve its goal in the 90s and now?

Scott: I don’t really know what I was expecting back when I was a kid in the 90’s other than I felt compelled to do it and wanted to be part of things going on around me. I grew up in Washington DC where there was a really active death metal scene centering around King Fowley/Deceased and there was the whole Maryland doom thing centering around Pentagram and the Hellhound bands. I think from this area stemmed the “do it yourself” attitude you got from the famous punk and hardcore scene there. I grew up seeing all these hand drawn Xeroxed flyers and just being part of all this stuff and playing the 9:30 club seemed cool to me. Then, I went to Europe in 1990 and went to some underground metal record stores and picked up some zines and shit there. I learned about the European & black metal scene, started trading tapes and always just kind of enjoyed participating in the scene. I never looked at LA Metal bands in the 80’s and thought that could be me. I had “Shout at The Devil” posters on my wall in ‘84 but I was never set on being “commercial” with my music. Maybe if would have lived over there as a kid it would have been different because I did indeed travel to California a lot in the early 80’s as a kid and was very enamored with the music situation over there. But I’m a product of 80’s/90’s DC completely. Having grown up in that environment I’m content in my advanced years of 38, to just enjoy doing shit and by shit I mean anything centering around the music I love and not getting paid to play Kid Rock covers in a North Carolina sports bar. I’m a pretty happy guy. I have a beautiful wife and an amazing son, a nice place to live, a good job, great friends, and people always seemed to think my music was decent so I’m in a pretty calm place in life. Basically, to answer your question, nothing has really changed over the years for me. I do know however that I don’t like touring and don’t want to. Not sleeping well, eating crap food, not seeing my family or dogs, no place to exercise, being made fun of for excursing, being encouraged to drink and do drugs all the time, being stuck in a van and going insane to the point where the only other humans you can relate to are you band mates....I’m over it. I’m to old and I get grumpy. I still love doing though for like (maybe) 72 hours at a time. 

-What does "underground metal" stands for you?

Scott: For me it’s not being afraid to be personal about things and not being concerned about being a “super group”. I mean, it’s okay to let people know you’re a human being. Don’t be worried about conveying your promo kit to make yourself appear like the next Ratt. Those days are over. I think bands should work hard, practice a lot, put a lot of thought into their music, lyrics, artwork and everything. Have an artistic vision and don’t worry about finding a people to fit in with. Being underground is only cool when your one of those bands were people are like “damn! they should be bigger!“. Being underground and having people be like, “damn! those motherfuckers don’t know WHAT the fuck they’re doing!“ is not what you’re aiming for. Pretty much everything is “underground” now anyway. The internet has provided everyone with a giant unending playground. It’s a blessing. You can put shit out and if people like it, it will stick. It’s not like you have to trade tapes anymore and spend a million dollars on postage or tour for 3 years straight. Just put your shit out. You don’t really need the labels to bank roll shit for you anymore other than finding a way to make yourself sound good on a recording.

-Which are your most memorable moments as a musician all these years?

Scott: Tripping on absinth with Twisted Tower Dire in Germany and playing “House of the Rising Son” on stage in a whorehouse while we all wore sombreros.... and then I got in a fight with a Russian guy...Also recording with Piet Sielk and working with Derek Riggs were highlights for me. The most memorable and worst was when I ditched TTD in Wacken 2000. I got sick and I left in the middle of the night, found a cab, got to the airport and went home. Just totally freaked out. It's turned into one of those life-changing moments where you realize you're so disgusted with yourself you'll never be that weak again or let another human(s) down like that again. Also, getting briefly getting endorsed by BC Rich and having them build me the turquoise Rich Bich was a big dream come true. Still before all this really began, I met Marty the bass player from Pentagram at the time around 1993 at a house party in Annandale Virginia. He was very very drunk and could barely talk but he was a dad I remember and I was 17 at the time. He got all serious and looked at me and said, “Boy, if you’re serious about this whole goddamn music thing, and if you stick with it, you’re going to meet the weirdest goddamn motherfuckers that ever walked the face of this earth.” That was one of the most true and prophetic statements anyone has ever professed to me.

-Who are the best musicians you've met (and worked or play with, also) all these years and why?

Scott: I’ve played with a lot of great players but I’m way more impressed by creative minds. Tom from While Heaven Wept would be one. I remember even back in ‘91 he was way ahead of the curb. I was trying figure how to rip-off Asphyx  & Entombed at the time and he was already writing these amazing sophisticated songs with vocal melodies and very personal lyrics. My voice hadn’t even fully developed (I mean from a puberty standpoint) and he was already writing shit that was beyond my comprehension. I knew he was going to “be someone” in music very early on. King from Deceased would be another. I grew up worshipping them as a teenager in DC and got to play with him in October 31 for a little while. He’s got this crazy creative energy that’s one in a million. Always thinking of cool ideas. He must have a catalog of unused genius song titles and song ideas up in some massive dusty file cabinet in his brain that will never get used because there‘s not enough hours in the day to get them on paper. Some of the best creative energy I’ve had would have been with Jim Murad (the first TTD bass player). I really learned how write and understand music with him. He was/is a piano player and took music theory in college while we were starting TTD, and I was picking up on all the stuff he was learning as we applied it to TTD songs. If we’re going on pure musicianship, Piet Sielck really impressed me by watching how well and fluidly he played guitar and showed me how to harmonize and track myself in the studio.

-There is a very interesting project from DMR Books on the works, can you give us more details?

Scott: Yea, they’re putting together a group of fantasy stories written by heavy metal lyricists. Why I was picked, I have no idea. I’m more of a Lovecraft/Poe person so my story is in that style. I’ve been reading pieces of the other writers stories and I’m incredibly impressed. To be honest, when I was asked to do this project I thought the whole thing might be a disaster but it seems like it’s actually really going to be a well written and generally awesome collection. I’m looking forward to it coming out. Not sure how much more writing I can do. That story put me in a mentally unhealthy place but I got through it. A lot of it is very personal and based on real events in my life. It’s weird to put words to paper in such a way because when you read it back you realize what a fucking freak you are. Also, in that story, because of what it was written for, I put a bunch of obvious references into it from my lyrical influences like Chalmers, Poe, and Lovecraft. There’s also references to Black Sabbath lyrics in it here and there. If you’re a metal nerd like we all are you’ll be able to pick them out.

-What the future holds for Walpyrgus? ...or what would you like to be?

Scott: I just want us to get these other songs we’ve worked so hard on recorded well. Just put out more cool stuff like the deluxe EP on No Remorse Records... I’d love to be able to get us on a label that can get us in the door a little further than I could myself but I don’t have unrealistic expectations. It’s hard to get on a larger label based on you’re artistic merits and not be willing to tour. I’d actually be fine with writing the music and having someone fill in for me if it ever came to that. All in all the goal for Walpyrgus is to ideally put out the absolute best sounding album we possibly can and hopefully have people like it and be able to do some more of these fest like Ragnarokker that we’re doing in May. I’d love to return to Europe again with my music but I’m passed the days of paying for myself to get there so that future looks...hazy at best. Right now we’re just preparing to record the album this winter no matter what happens. We’ll record it on our own dollar which is realistically the most likely scenario. I actually have my Mom doing the cover art. She’s an amazing painter/pencil artist and I though it would be cool to do something that personal. She’s actually fully capable of painting something creepy and metal though she prefers horse cartoons. That’s it! Thanks for the interview Andreas!

Join Walpyrgus on Facebook HERE

Visit Walpyrgus official site HERE
 

Παρασκευή 31 Οκτωβρίου 2014

Mike LePond's Silent Assassins

Mike LePond is known as the bass player of the US Progressive Metal band Symphony X, but for sure, for all those that are deep in metal music, the name is also known from other bands. Few days before, Mike released his first solo album which I recently listened and liked at once. So, I contacted him and exchange few words about his first solo effort under the name Mike LePond's Silent Assassins.
 
After all these years, what made you compose and release a solo album?

ML: I had always wanted to do a solo album but I was shy about it. When Symphony X finished the "Iconoclast" CD, I finally got the courage to do it. It was an incredible amount of work but I was able to achieve my goal.
 
Are these songs new or composed during the past years?

ML: Actually both are true. Some of the ideas came to my mind just a few weeks before the recording of the CD. Track 8 (The Progeny) was written when I was just a teenager.
 
These songs seem to sum up all your career as a musician, so which are your main influences?

ML: My main influences when I was younger was Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Manowar, Metallica, Anthrax. Later on, I became influenced by bands like Blind Guardian. In the last 10 years my main influence has been Blackmore's Night.
 
How did you arrange to have Alan Tecchio, Michael Romeo and Metal Mike in the album, and how was the recording procedure?

ML: I live in New Jersey, USA. I decided it would be best if I hired musicians from here as well so I could sit with them in the studio. Alan Tecchio and Metal Mike did a killer job! My band mate Michael Romeo was just amazing too.  

And how did the deal with UDR was arranged? You have some really huge labelmates there, like Saxon and Alice Cooper...

ML: After my manager heard the record, he immediately contacted UDR. I think they understand what I'm trying to do. They have done a wonderful job promoting the CD throughout Europe.
 
Next year we will see a reunion of Heathen's Rage, so what do you remember from your Heathen's Rage years?

ML: Heathen's Rage was my first true metal band. We were not only band mates, but we were all great friends. We had great times on and off the stage and to see them again is a real blessing.
 
Do you think you had a missed chance with Heathen's Rage and how things ended?

ML: Yes, we missed a big chance. If Heathen's Rage would have stayed together, I think we could have been a really big band in the metal world. We will always regret that.
 
Which are your most memorable moments all these years as a musician?

ML: My most memorable moments are always when fans tell me how my music has made their lives special in some way. That makes all this
craziness worth it.
 
Do you plan any live shows with Silent Assassins?

ML: As soon as I learn what the Symphony X touring schedule is for 2015, I will plan some shows
 
So, what the future holds for Mike LePond?

ML: Next year I will tour with a new Symphony X album, do some Silent Assassins shows and also begin working on a second solo album.



MIKE LEPOND'S SILENT ASSASSINS
(UDR, 2014)

Surely the name will be familiar to many metalheads out there... Mike LePond is the bass player of SYMPHONY X and also have played with bands and artists such as the cult US metal legend HEATHEN'S RAGE, SEVEN WITCHES, HOLY FORCE and SLEEPY HOLLOW, among others.
Now, the time has come for him to present us his first solo album with his own songs. For this effort, he couldn't find better musicians to help him out, so we have Alan Tecchio (HADES, WATCHTOWER) on lead vocals, Michael Romeo (SYMPHONY X) and Mike Chlasciak (HALFORD) on guitar solos.
With lyrics based on myths and stories of Troy, Camelot, Norse muthology and knights, evoking medieval and ancient history images, he present us 9 compositions (in a total of almost 60 minutes) of great Heavy Power Metal that sounds so fresh and inspiring, and at the same time stands in the glorious roots of Metal music. Balancing between mid-tempo and up-tempo songs, there is a background of influences from MANOWAR and JUDAS PRIEST to BLIND GUARDIAN and older SYMPHONY X, all combined with great melodies and few very enchanting song intros with beautiful guitar and bass lines. Especially the melodies in songs like "The Quest" and "Masada" are simply amazing.

I have to admit that "Mike LePond's Silent Assassins" took me by surprise and will hit my personal top in the best releases of 2014. Don't let it pass you by. We need releases like this one.


Join Mike LePond's Silent Assassins Facebook page HERE

Δευτέρα 8 Σεπτεμβρίου 2014

MILLENNIUM interview with Mark Duffy & Mike Muskett

MILLENNIUM same-titled album, originally released in 1984, is definitely one of the best British Heavy Metal records of the 80s. However, after the album, there are many demo recordings, enough to create another album, that some people could consider it, even better... With the album re-released recently via No Remorse Records, including many of those unreleased demo songs, we had the opportunity to speak with Mark Duffy (vocals 1982-1988) and Mike Muskett (guitar 1984-1988) about the history of this great band.

-When did Millennium started?
Mark: Millennium started in 1982 me and Pete McArdle started writing songs on acoustic guitar in 1978 when we went to guitar lessons together then we moved on to electric guitars.

-What do you remember from the late 70s – early 80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal era, as a young fan and as a young musician? 
Mark: There was a great interest in British bands at the time and there were lots of bands and clubs putting bands on. It was a great time to see new bands that had a different style after the punk era.

-Which bands did you like back then?
Mark: The bands we liked at the time were Saxon, Heavy Pettin', Girlschool, Trespass and a local band called White Spirit. We also liked early Whitesnake and Black Sabbath with Dio.

-So, when you started writing the songs for your first record, what was your expectation?
Mark: Our expectations were to show record companies what we could do.  There were so many bands trying to get record deals so we decided to do it ourselves and hoped a record company would pick up the album or be interested to do another album with us.

-What do you remember from the recordings of your fist album and what kind of feedback did you get back then?
Mark: The recording of the album was not a good experience for the band. We had a lot of disagreements with Guardian Records who released the album and we were not happy with the way the recording was done. When the album was released we had great feedback and some great reviews but the band just wanted to forget about the album because of the bad experience in doing it and just move on and write new songs. Dave Merrington left the band after recording  the album because of the bad experience of recording it.

-What about live shows?
Mark: We only did one tour in 1985 around England and a few shows from 1986 to 1988 because we spent more time writing and recording demos during that time.

-After the album, you recorded some demo tapes and your music style became faster and more powerful. How did that came and why didn’t you record another album?
Mark: We recorded a lot of demo tapes between 1985 and 1988. I think the metal scene was changing and getting heavier with thrash metal coming through. We also replaced our guitarist with Miles Lofthouse who brought a heavier style to the band.
Mike: The musical style kept on changing, evolving, improving; each time were were knocked back by a record company we'd try to take the music a bit further, explore more avenues and heavier styles. I don't remember what was happening in general within the heavy scene, we were so caught up in wWith songs like 'Confession' and 'The Beast' I think we were finally becoming what we wanted to be; it was complex, hard and fairly fast paced, but still with some melody.
We never managed to spend enough time in the studio to make the demos sound right; most songs were just recorded without any fine-tuning or without proper arrangement; if I was going to do it all again it would be very different!
A second album would have been great, but it would have been a very different Millennium from the first album. Finance was the real problem: without record company backing it was almost impossible to achieve, back then.
Shame - I would have liked to do an album: I was writing more and more powerful music, the band was becoming really tight as a unit and Mark was a brilliant frontman.

 
-Mark, do you think that this faster and more powerful style was your first step to your next band, Toranaga?
Mark: Yes I think I felt more comfortable with the heavier and more powerful style as a vocalist and felt it was where I wanted to go. Toranaga were a heavier band with a Black Sabbath influence that I thought I could work with, which suited my vocal style.

-Mike, when did you join Millennium and which were your memories before that regarding Heavy Metal music in England?
Mike: If I remember correctly, I joined Millennium in '84/'85; the guys were looking for new direction, and I had just quit 'Skitzofrenik' and was looking for an outlet for some music I was writing - perfect timing. I'd spent a few years gigging around the North-East of England with Skitzo, but I was really still trying to learn my instrument (I didn't start playing until I was around 18 or 19 - quite late).
The musical style kept on changing, evolving, improving; each time were were knocked back by a record company we'd try to take the music a bit further, explore more avenues and heavier styles. I don't remember what was happening in general within the heavy scene, we were so caught up in what we were doing.

-Why Millennium split up back in the late 80s?
Mark: Millennium split when Mike Muskett and Steve Mennell left the band. We did replace Mike and Steve but the style had changed, we became a lot heavier and it did not sound like Millennium anymore so we changed the name to Major Threat then our bassist moved away and it started to be line up change after line up change. I then saw an advert in Kerrang magazine for a vocalist to join Toranaga which I auditioned for and then joined.
Mike: I had to quit music altogether in 1989 as I contracted RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), which badly affected my hands; I couldn't even walk for around 1 month when it first hit. That was the end of my musical career! Luckily, I had some skill in art. That we were doing.
I managed to get a job in the computer games industry, producing artwork for Codemasters video games (a small company called Optimus Software). I moved into programming and then Art Direction (with Iguana Entertainment and Acclaim Entertainment (Mortal Combat/NBA JAM). I still can't play, but I do have a small collection of guitars - I guess some things will never change!

-What about now, Mark? You are still active in the music…
Mark: I am still active in music and re-joined Toranaga in December 2010. We released a new album "Righteous Retribution" in September 2013 and we are playing live shows. We are also writing new songs for the next Toranaga album. I would also like to do a reunion show with Millennium if the opportunity comes along!

-What about you, Mike? What is your epilogue?
Mike: These days, it's great to see guys from the old music scene in Teesside (like Mick Tucker from TANK and Janick Gers) doing well. Davy Little (Axis) is doing some great stuff with 'Lies of Smiles'; I played with Davy back in the '80's just before joining Millennium - I think there was a huge amount of talent up there.
After I left the band I think they did 1 more demo, but then folded and went their seperate ways. Mark can tell you more about that part of the band's life; I was so cut up about my physical condition that I basically cut myself off from everyone and everything for around 12 months. Not a happy time, but on the plus side it led to a fantastic 15 year career in video games - priceless.



"Millennium" was originally released via Guardian Records on vinyl format in 1984.
Re-released via No Remorse Records on CD format in 2014, including 8 bonus tracks.


MILLENNIUM line-up
Mark Duffy - Vocals (1982 - 1988)
Steve Mennell - Drums (1982 - 1988)
Pete McArdle - Guitar (1982 - 1985)
Dave Price - Bass Guitar (1982 - 1986)
Dave Merrington - Guitar (1982 - 1984)

Mike Muskett - Guitar (1984 - 1988)
Dave Hardy - Guitar (1985 - 1986) / Bass Guitar (1986 - 1988)
Miles Lofthouse - Guitar (1986 - 1988)

Join MILLENNIUM on Facebook HERE
Join TORANAGA on Facebook HERE

Δευτέρα 25 Αυγούστου 2014

HOUR OF 13 - The Final Hour

Cosmic dust. We all return to it from our birthplace. And a long journey it is to make that return. An act so simiple brings forth the begining of that journey, regardless of proper timing...
Upon hearing the news of Jason McCash's passing, it left me extremely awestruck. The late night conversations we had, discussing the mysteries of the universe, the state of modern day Heavy Metal, and the amazing basslines that solidified all of Christian Death's music. All now a thing of the past. And so it brings forth this:
Last night I wrote a song for Jason, a farewell to his unquestionable legacy as one of the most solid bass players in the US Heavy Metal scene. A farewell to his kind and supportive nature. A farewell to the ideas we had tossed around of doing a project in the future.
And with this memoriam brings forth the demise of Hour Of 13.

This is the last and final document of HO13. A document that proves US Heavy Metal is still alive and strong. With many great bands around to continue to carry that flame, there is no better time to let go and begin my own personal journey. Mentally I cannot foresee any other reason to remain active, as all of the bands that mattered in the resurrection of Traditional Heavy Metal have all suffered loss, it only brings about confusion and disdain. This feeling became apparent witht the passing of my celestial brother Selim Lemouchi, and now solidified with the passing of Jason. And so it begins....
Sleep well brothers, and may the experiences you both now have unlock all of the answers to the questions we had always asked.
Regards,
Chad Davis - Hour Of 13

April 7th, 2014 


Discography:
2007 - Hour of 13
2010 - The Ritualist
2010 - Possession / Darkness EP
2010 - The Rites of Samhain
2012 - 333
2012 - Lucky Bones / Razorrock Tapes

HERE you can read one of the few and last interviews with Phil Swanson.