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MK:
We are a band from NY that plays traditional or classic style metal. All
the members of the band express their individual creativity within the
mold of the music. If you’re a bass player, you’ll like what Curt
plays on the bass. If you’re a drummer you’ll like what Kato puts
forth in the music. If you’re a guitarist - there are lots of solos, and
if you’re into classic style singers, you’ll want to hear what Brian
can do. In this way - we are almost like a 70’s band. What
is the response of the media and the fans so far? MK:
Very good. Many people have said we have captured the spirit and style of
traditional and classic metal bands but it sounds fresh and new and we
didn’t just re-hash the same old songs. Why
did you name the album “Island Of Lost Souls”? MK:
The concept of the CD is a city with all these whacked out characters.
Each song represents one of these people. If you read the newspaper from
every major city, there’s all these people killing themselves, killing
others, destroying things around them and hurting the fabric of life
itself. They have gotten so far from what life was meant to be, they are
lost souls. Do you
believe that such an island really exists? (If yes, where it might be?) MK:
Well, New York - where I live- is an island (Manhattan Island). But it can
also mean this island earth. We are supposed to be a modern civilization.
It’s an illusion - we are no better than the Neanderthals and early Cro-mags,
primitive and violent. How would
you characterize your music style and what are your influences as a band? MK:
Traditional or classic metal. We have a vocalist that can actually sing,
rather than the current wave of screamers and growlers. We have guitar
solos, and key changes in the songs! Brian’s fave vocalists are Dio,
Halford & Dickinson. Curt’s fave bassists are Geezer Butler and
Steve Harris. Kato’s fave drummers are Mike Portnoy & Alex Van Halen.
So we have all this great metal influence that molds us as a band. Now I would
like you to tell us a few words about each one of the songs. (Just a line
or two for each song). MK:
“Ego Critical” - is about a guy that gets backed into a corner and no
longer wants to be a victim. He reacts in the harshest possible way. “Fear”
- is about a paranoid delusion. The guy thinks everyone is out to get him.
In the end he winds up in a mental institute, in a straight jacket. “Tattooed
City” - is about a graffiti artist who paints the walls of the city in
the shadows of the night. “Island
Of Lost Souls” - is the story of the city itself. A priest prays for the
people of his city but the violence continues despite his prayers. “Jack
City Jesus” - is about a homeless guy who finds death to be a welcome
visitor on one cold, snowy, winter night. “Hail Storm” - is loosely based on the comic book character Dr. Freeze. When there’s a big snowstorm the whole city falls quiet and becomes like a ghost town. I imagine what it would be like to have that kind of power. “Forgotten
Prisoner” - is about a child who is abused and oppressed but he is
plotting a revenge that - once in motion - will not be able to be
contained. “Virtual
Insanity” - is about a guy addicted to a virtual reality, role-playing
game. I know guys that play Anarchy online and it’s like they are in
their own world. To them that life is more important that real life. “Between
The Lies” - is about the lies of a serial killer trying to make excuses
for why he murdered. “Cathedral
In Flames” - is a short, guitar only piece. The Priest (from Island of
Lost Souls) watches as his church burns to the ground. I suspect foul play. “Nevermore”
- is about someone who has lost a loved one and spends every night in the
cemetery with his or her ghost. “In
God We Thrust” - is about the average blue-collar worker. We work and
work for a menial pay and an inadequate lifestyle. We suffer every day for
the sake of the dollar only to die with unfulfilled dreams and
accomplishments. “The
Skulgrinder Audio Icon” - is just an idea I had to present the band name
within the audio media. Which
song do you consider as the best of the album and why? MK:
That’s a hard question. I think “Hail Storm” is one of the best
recorded songs on the CD. It just sounds great to me. Lyrically, I’d say
– “Nevermore” or “Jack City Jesus”. Ok, I’ll go with “Jack
City Jesus” cause its a good song in all aspects. Who
is responsible for the music and the lyrics? MK:
I wrote most of the lyrics, just because I have a lot to say - I wanted to
make sure the lyrics were telling a story and they were kind of poetic.
Also, the band had started before Brian was in the band so some songs were
already finished. But, Brian came up with the melodies and phrasing, how
he was going to sing the words. He made a few lyric changes here and there
to fit his style. As far as the music- Curt (bass) and I created most of
the riffs. Curt would come in with a new riff every rehearsal. I’d
remember them and just put them together with other song ideas I had. Kato
would play a drum riff - like a 3/3 timing - and I would say to him, that
would go good with this other idea I have (it would eventually evolve into
the song “Tattooed City”). So, it was really all the band members that
contributed to the whole, which is the type of band I wanted. You look at
most of the great metal bands and it’s not just about one member.
Sabbath, Maiden, Zeppelin - all the band members contribute to the sound
of the whole. What
is the band doing this period and what are your plans for the near future? MK:
Right now I’m just doing promo for the CD release. In Sept & Oct. we
are going to rehearse for live shows. We are going to do shows from Nov.
to about Feb. ‘05. Then we’ll be heading into the studio to start
recording our second CD. I am personally, also recording a new
instrumental CD. It is near complete and I should have it out early 2005.
One of the songs, “Twisted Metal” is already on the Quintessence Metal
Web-zine compilation CD. What
are your influences as a guitarist? MK:
All my rhythm playing is part Tony Iommi. All those early Sabbath songs -
the riffs were so heavy yet, simple - they just stick in your mind forever.
James Hetfeild is another guitarist that I admire for rhythm playing. As
far as solo playing, it would be Michael Schenker, Ritchie Blackmore and
maybe some older US guitarists - early Ted Nugent - that was great stuff
based on blues. One of my faves today is Zakk Wylde.
MK:
If I had to pick my 100 favourite songs of all time, 30 of them would be
Sabbath songs. So, I don’t want to get too carried away with this but
here goes. For Sabbath – “Electric Funeral”, “War Pigs”,
“Wheels Of Confusion”, “The Wizard”, “Symptom Of The Universe”,
and the song, “Black Sabbath”. “Master Of Puppets” is my fave
Metallica album. Pick any song off of that CD and you got something great,
especially the song “Master Of Puppets” and “Battery”. For Michael
Schenker - the UFO songs, “Lights Out” and “Rock Bottom”.
“Lights Out” has an awesome solo at the end. “Cry For The Nations”
is a great Schenker song. I also liked “Save Yourself” and the song
“Get Out” from the McCauley-Schenker CDs. Blackmore did so many great
things – “Highway Star” comes to mind. Actually, that whole album,
“Machine Head” is just great. “Burn” and “Speed King” are
great Purple songs, too. “Still I’m Sad” from Rainbow -the live
version - kicks ass. It was weird with that song because on the studio
album it was an instrumental tune. Then it comes out on the live album and
it’s twice as fast and has Ronnie James Dio doing vocals. “Tarrot
Woman” & “Man On The Silver Mountain” are two more of my Rainbow
faves. “Stranglehold” from Ted Nugent is a classic. It has this long,
slow, jam in the middle of the song that still sounds excellent to me
today. What
forced you to found your own label? MK:
I like playing music that doesn’t conform to what would be a big seller.
I just like doing what I like to do. I don’t think a big label would be
interested in my music - it won’t sell enough for them. Also, I like
doing a lot of stuff myself - the promotions, advertising, finding the
right artwork for the CDs. I enjoy every part of getting a CD together and
releasing it. If it was all about money, I’d write pop songs. Have other
groups signed with KM Records or are you going to release only your own
albums under this label? MK:
I am going to release a CD from the band, Cretan Lord. I’m a friend with
the guitarist. I’m limited with what I can do so I don’t really pursue
other bands. Hopefully I can continue to grow as a label and get to the
point where I have something really good to offer them. I read in
your website that you decided to become a real band only after you watched
the “Brave New World Tour”. Tell us about this experience and your
feelings after the festival. MK:
Well, we are not like all the new metal bands that are coming out today.
We are more like the older metal bands. We didn’t know if there was an
audience for this style anymore. The Maiden, Queensryche, Halford tour was
exciting because we saw the amount of fans that were still loving the old-school
metal music. That’s when we decided to do the Skulgrinder recording and
give it a try. We don’t expect to become as big as bands like Maiden and
Priest but at least we know people still enjoy this music and a percentage
of them may be willing to take a chance on the Skulgrinder CD. As I have
read you have won a guitar award and have composed music for low budget
horror movies. Can you tell us a few words about the above periods of your
life? MK:
I won a 3rd place in the Hot Licks guitar competition. It was held at this
big club in NY. There were 12 guitarists and we all got to play to a
background track. It was really cool - the place was packed and I got a
great response from the audience. As far as the horror movie, I had this
idea about doing sound track music with guitars rather than the
traditional music used in movies. I did this movie, Evil Streets with
director Terry Wickham of Mantaray Pictures. In retrospect, some parts
came out really great and other parts sound cheesy. You need your own home
studio to really do soundtrack work right. I was paying for studio time so
I was rushing through parts just to save myself money. I made some good
connections during that time and I’ve submitted Skulgrinder songs to
movies recently. “Jack City Jesus” was used in Joe Parda’s,
“Machines Of Love and Hate”. A part of “Forgotten Prisoner” was
used in “Hair Of The Dog”, directed by Terry Wickham. “Hair Of The
Dog” also has music from Symphony-X, Scott Rockenfeild of Queensryche
and OSI with Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. The music is really amazing. Now, just to relax let me ask you some weird questions… If you were living in Middle Earth which character would you choose to be and why. MK:
Whoever gets to make out with Liv Tyler at the end, that is who I’d like
to be! Did it
happen anything weird or funny during the recordings of your album that
you would like to share with our readers? MK:
No, nothing I can really think of. What amazes me is - with every
recording - some songs you just plow thru and they sound great right from
the rough tracks. A little tweak in the mix and they’re done. Other
songs you have to re-mix several times to get them up to the level you
expect them to be at or to get them to how they would usually sound live. How do you
imagine that the music world could be, one thousand years from now? And
why? MK:
200 years from now, genetic engineering is going to dictate what you will
be from birth. Parents will decide what their children will be at
conception and their embryos will be altered at the genetic level to best
fulfil those expectations. Guitarists will have six fingers; drummers will
be born with three or four arms. Horn players will be born with larger
lungs and huge elastic cheeks - like bagpipe sacs hanging from their faces.
By one thousand years from now, people will be born as the instruments
themselves. Horn players will no longer need horns because their faces
will be shaped like their respective instruments. Violin players will have
fine hairs stretched across their inner right arm like a bow.
Percussionists will be born with hallowed bone masses growing from their
abdomen. Their own skin will be stretched across these areas like drum
skins. All string instrumentalists will have only two ribs on the left
side of their bodies. Between those two ribs will be tightly pulled wires
of skin - strings! So, a thousand years from now, music will sound very
organic. Ok Michael,
I wish you the best for the new album. If there is anything else you would
like to tell to Grande Rock readers you can do it. MK:
Thanks for the interview. Check out our MP3s at our web-site: www.kmrecords.com. by George Kouvelis |
