IM:
We just need to start this interview off my telling you that you
are in the presence of some serious fans here.
LM: Yes, I’ve loved everything that you’ve put out-everyone from
our ‘zine are huge fans of Manowar.
EA: Cool! Then you are really going to dig the new album!
IM: Well, we are excited for that! What is
going to be about?
LM: Yeah, tell us a little bit about it.
EA: Well, we are going to do two songs from it tonight.
IM: Oh-I thought you were only going to do
one from the set lists I’ve seen of this tour.
EA: Well, we add songs from the new album as we go along. People
at the beginning of this tour only heard one song, but then, like,
in Dallas we started playing a second song, and as we go on we’ll
add a third. So, when we get to Europe we’re going to be having
the three songs from the album that we’ll be playing.
IM: Very cool-we’ve been watching the set lists as they get posted
on the Internet to see which songs we’ll get to hear.
EA: Have you?
IM: Oh, yeah. Right away people start to say
what you guys play…and we all think “sweet!”
EA: Yeah, a lot of it is like what we started out with…but the songs
are kind of intermixed now. There is hardly any talking in the set
list. It is like one big medley of songs. Boom, boom, boom, boom
(snapping fingers).
IM: Great, that’s what we want.
EA: Yeah, it’s smokin’, it’s really smokin’.
LM: That’s great. What about the process of the new album? How do
you guys get to where you have the songs selected? I mean, is it
just…
EA: Usually it’s if, I mean, if Joey writes the song, if he comes
up with the idea, he generally comes up with the idea and--I don’t
know why but it is usually two or three o’clock in the morning,
because I get the phone call about that time-and he’ll always say,
“I can’t continue on this song until I hear if it’s in your key,
if it’s good for you.” So I come over to his house, right away,
while he’s hot and we work on it together. Once we come up with
a melody together, we kind of piece the song together, and then
everyone gets over to his place (we have our own studio over at
his place) and we work on it as a band. Then it’s a song. Then we
move on to the next one. And that’s how it is. Then, we generally
go back to it after awhile, with fresh ears, and we listen to it
with new ideas. Then we add the new ideas in. Then we leave it alone
for a while. Then we move on to the next song. Then we come back
to that one with fresh ears again, until we come back to that song
and we say, “OK, does anyone got any more ideas?” And then when
everyone has said, “Nah, I can’t think of any, I think that’s it,”
then that’s it-the song gets put to bed and we move on. Because
you can overproduce a song as well, if you keep on it.
IM: So who all gets to have input? I mean,
do you go down and ask Scott, and Carl???
EA: Well, everyone is right there. I mean, for the final listening
session we always-we always call ‘em “listening sessions”-we get
down and sit down as a band. We say, “OK, this is what we have so
far. Let’s listen to this song.” And we listen to the song and we
say, “OK, stop the tape. OK, now, Eric, Scott, what do you have
to say about this? Does anybody got anything to say about this?”
See what I mean? And then if anybody’s got an opinion about it-like,
Scott may say, “Well, I think maybe we can add another chorus in
there,” or “I think we can maybe triple the vocal on that chorus”-we
can do that on computer now to hear how it sounds.
IM: So you guys all do the tech stuff yourselves?
EA: Yeah. And if it works on the computer-fine. Then we make that
note and when we go to record it, we record it like…like that.
IM: Sweet.
EA: Yeah! It’s cool. It’s very, very fast. We can record, like,
one chorus, one verse, and one bridge, and from that we can piece
the song together…
IM: Extrapolate it out…
EA: Yeah. We can say, “Ok, I want to start the song with the chorus-OK,
that doesn’t work-let’s start the song with two verses, then the
chorus-OK, that seems to work-let’s throw two verses, a bridge,
then a chorus, two verses, a bridge then a chorus.” Then we just
enter it in there (pretends he is typing his fingers on a keyboard)-then
we listen. Now, it’s the same words, cuz I only laid down one vocal
pattern. Then we listen and we hear how it is going to fall into
each other, and if it works, then we deal with the lyrics later.
Yeah, that is how it’s done. (Smiles.)
LM: So, that process…I mean, obviously it’s taken you many years
to get to the point where that process is very quick.
IM: Yeah, so, I mean, why the 5 or 6 years? What have you guys been
doing?
LM: Yeah? (chuckles all around)
IM: We missed you!
EA: It’s funny. Somebody might pick up an album and say, “That one’s
1996, this one is 2002-WHAT THE FUCK have you been doing?”
IM: Exactly--what HAVE you been doing?
LM: Well, you put out the DVD, the live albums.
EA: We put out the DVD, then the live album, double live album-so
that is two disc right there, that we had to not only tour the world
to get those songs live, then we had to, after that was done, we
had to mix down every song, we had to listen to each Manowar from
every show, each Blood of My Enemies from every show, to see which
one is the one. And then we got that done-boom-the artwork gets
done-that album gets out. Then, the journalists wanted to know,
“Why didn’t you play this song? Why didn’t you play Guyana? Why
didn’t you play this?” A lot of the old songs…One guy, he pissed
me off, he said, “You guys can’t play this anymore, cuz Eric, Eric’s
voice isn’t as high as it used to be..bah, bah, bah. So I says,
“Joey, we need to make another double album.” (We all laugh)
IM: Yeah, show ‘em up!
EA: Yeah…I says, “Let’s just do a set with all our old material,
just to let these fuckers know that we still do this stuff.” So
we says fine. And we went and toured the world again. We toured
the world three times to record four albums, actually. So we have
four albums out there. Then we did the three re-releases of the…the
silver edition that we did…so that is seven products out there.
(LM: Right.) And all the archival work
that went with that, and all the interviews with the original members
of the band.
IM: Plus all the creative efforts that go
on on the side, like the artwork.
EA: Yeah, the artwork. Then the DVDs came out-Hell on Earth Part
I is done. Hell on Earth Part II is done. It is scheduled to be
released at Christmas time.
LM: Thank God! Yes!
IM: Great Christmas gift!
EA: Hell on Earth Part III is done.
LM: Oh my god, you are doing a Part III?
EA: It’s done! It’s in the can and waiting to be released. Blood
in Brazil is done, and it’s a live show in Brazil that we did at
the Monsters of Rock festival and it’s…I mean...it’s just a sea
of Brazilian fans…
IM: And they are just crazy…
EA: And they’re crazy! And it’s a twelve-camera shoot, so you get
a lot of angles...And it’s in 5.1 audio sound. I mean… fuck! …It’s
pretty cool.
IM: Where is the concert, the audience, where you just had the best
experience…where you though, “Damn, this is what it’s about…”
EA: Hmmm….You know, I can tell you this. (stops to think)
IM: Can you think of one?
EA: You know, I can’t…because there isn’t just one…because, when
I play in Milan, it’s the Italian fans, when I play in Hamburg,
it’s the German fans, when I play in America, it’s the American
fans. You know, last night’s show in San Francisco-it was an INCREDIBLE
gig. It was a sold out, INCREDIBLE show and it was great. We had
a good time doing it and I’m real close to the fans. And on the
other hand there is like 4 or 5 hundred people there, and…3 weeks
from now I’m going to be playing for 30,000 people. (IM:
Right.) You know?
IM: So, so you feel the same energy for both?
EA: Oh, I feel the same energy-it’s the exact same energy for both-there
is just more bullshit at a bigger show. I mean, there is more bullshit
that you have to put up with. People constantly backstage checking…Even
me! I mean, they keep checking my pass! (Touches laminate around
his neck). I mean, it becomes a habit to just throw this on in the
morning and wear it everywhere you go. Cuz I mean, one time I was
out, you know, with this chick and I couldn’t get back stage! I
said, I mean, “What the fuck! I can’t do the show!” So I started
laughing, and this guy would NOT let me in without my pass so I
say, :”Well, the show is not going on until I get back there.” So
I just hung out in the car and waited for them. And I just waited
for them until someone came out looking for me, then I went and
did the show. So you gotta put up with a little more shit like that.
IM: That’s classic.
LM: There are so many different bands that are out there that have
been pulled in so many directions…I mean, commercial directions,
and radio-friendly…and you guys have always remained true. You’ve
always remained the same and you’ve never sold out. You’ve never
disrespected your fans.
EA: Yeah.
LM: So, what is the secret to doing that? There are so many bands
that have never learned to do that.
EA: It is very, very simple: you gotta have a set of balls on you
to look at the record companies and you gotta say, “Fuck you!” To
the record companies. Because the record companies don’t give a
fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about your fans. All they
care about is money-how many albums they are going to sell. What’s
hot. What worked for the last big sale that they had. You know?
Was it what type of songs. Was it what you were wearing on stage?
Was it how you were wearing your hair? Was it your image? And then
they try to change you to make you a duplicate of their last big-selling
group. And when you fall for that trap, and play from the wallet
instead of playing from the heart, that is when you are going to
fuck your fans. And, ultimately, you are going to fuck yourself.
So, you’ve gotta look at your fans, and you’ve got to say, “Listen,
record companies (I mean, that is why Manowar has been with over
20 labels), we say Fuck you, we aren’t gonna change.” You know,
we aren’t gonna change. We are proud to carry the banner of metal
around. We are! You know? Tonight is an indication of this. Ok?
We’re gonna play tonight, and you are gonna get the same show tonight,
with the same fuckin’ energy that they’re going to see at the Gods
of Metal festival in Milan. It’s gonna be the same fuckin’ thing.
You know? Because those fans that are waiting down there right now
have waited to see this fuckin’ band and they are excited to see
it. I mean, there’s people who come from all over this place. So,
please--we’d be fuckin’ our fans if we ever changed, and that’s
one thing we never could do. You know?
LM: And they respect you for it.
EA: And they respect you for it-because they know it-they know that
we really do believe in our fans. Because without our fans, bands
do not exist. And this fucking attitude of like, “Fuck you, I can’t
be bothered with you any more”-that’s BULL shit. That is really
bull shit. I mean, you’ve gotta understand one thing. All of the
members of Manowar were all fans-we were all in the front row with
our arms up in the fuckin’ air, you know, for the best band that
we thought was the greatest band in the world. I mean, we just jumped
up on stage and turned around, but our hearts are still in the pit.
IM: So, who were those bands? Who were those
bands you thought were the greatest?
EA: When I…I used to be a Deep Purple groupie, a male groupie. I
mean, I would go to every show, every show. Every show, no matter
where they played because I loved Ian Gillan’s voice, you know?
Uh…Ozzy Osbourne, Sabbath shows, Judas Priest shows. I mean, I’m
a big fan. If it was true metal, I was there. You know what I mean?
And I just had the opportunity to step up on stage and turn around.
IM: And we’re happy you did (EA socks IM in
the arm)
EA: But my heart is still down there with the fans. It’s not like
I just got up on stage and said, “OK, I’m here on stage, so fuck
you all!” You know? It’s not like that…I’m not like that.
IM: Yeah, and it comes across that way, like you care.
LM: Yeah, it does.
EA: Because, it’s meant. It’s not bullshit. I mean, I can’t say
it in any other way-it’s not bullshit, we really do play from the
heart. And I think what we feel. And what the fans want. I mean,
they wanted more epic style songs for this album, and that’s what
we gave them-because they wanted it. We really do believe in our
fans. We bring them up on stage. We let them do what they want.
And it’s a real cool atmosphere. (LM: Yeah.)
I mean, we are-it’s a family. When we say, “Brothers of Metal and
Sisters of Metal,” we mean that-it’s a family. It’s one group. And
it’s “Warriors of the World”, not “Warriors of America” or “Warriors
of Germany.”
IM: Well, you have the most fanatical fans,
and they are all over the world.
EA: Exactly! And so, when it’s all together, it’s like one big family.
That’s the only way I can describe it, and it’s how we’ve kept our
fan base and it just does nothing but grow. Because we have the
strongest fans in the world.
LM: I mean, you guys are unique in the metal world in that you have
that…there is that understanding between you and the fans in that
they know what they are going to get when they come in the door
or when they buy an album, and yet you also understand exactly what
they expect and you respect that.
EA: They expect the very best that we can give them. And the highest
quality that we can give them. When you buy a Manowar T-shirt (tugs
at IM’s shirt), it is going to be the best quality shirt. You can
wash it 250 times, and it ain’t gonna fall apart. Other bands, they
buy a shirt for $10, they sell it for $30, and you wear it twice
and then you can’t wear them anymore. I mean, we think about that
stuff. We want the artwork to be just right, we want to spend the
extra money to make sure it is quality, quality, quality…or it does
not go out on that shelf. Period. And it is not only for the shirts
and all the other merchandise down there. It is for all the albums,
the artwork, that comes through.
IM: Do you still have the same artist doing
the coverwork for the new album?
EA: We do. Ken Kelly. He’s done our artwork for years.
IM: Awesome. Yeah, and how many tattoos do
you think are out there of your stuff?
EA: Yeah, tons!
LM: Yeah, her boyfriend has your album cover
on his arm.
EA: He should send it into the fan club! I mean, seriously, take
a picture and send it into the website.
IM: We will. Definitely.
EA: I mean, it’s crazy how many people want our tattoos. I had one
girl in Germany she had a tattoo of my face right there on her arm.
I mean, she took a magazine cover with my face and she took it to
the tattoo artist and he put it right there on her arm.
IM: So what did you think when you saw that?
I mean, what was your reaction?
EA: (looking flabbergasted) I mean. . .I freaked out! I looked down,
she was sitting in the front row…I’m singing, and I look down at
her and I stopped the show! I’m like, “Honey! You’ve got a tattoo
of my face!” I mean, it was unbelievable!
IM: What was the feeling?
EA: Umm…
IM: Crazy? Flattered?
EA: Excitement. Do you know what I mean? I mean, I’m really excited.
They believe in us so much they tattoo their bodies and that’s there
for life. It’s not just part time, and it’s not just a whim. That’s
there for LIFE. So that’s saying something. It makes me feel proud,
you know, that we have that kind of… (IM:
Impact.)
EA: Yeah, impact. It’s cool.
LM: So, the future of the band. Really, you
see the future of the band by looking at the past. You don’t have
any plans to give this up, do you? Any time soon?
IM: Please say, “no.”
EA: (laughing) No.
LM: And that is one of the things that we always hear-that Manowar
is so constant. I mean, they’ve been around, you’ve been around
for 22 years now.
EA: Yup, 22 years.
LM: And, hopefully, we’re going to get another
at least 22 years.
EA: Well (laughing), I don’t know about 22 years, but you’re going
to get a lot more out of what we have. I mean, we are just going
to keep playing until the asses stops going in the seats. We are
just going to keep playing. And I can’t imagine-and not any of the
other brothers can imagine-doing anything different. I mean, we’ve
got a group of guys now that test our limits, test our boundaries
as far as how we can go in the metal world. And we haven’t found
those boundaries yet, so... It’s kind of cool that we can explore
every album. I mean, this album is the most versatile that we’ve
ever come out with. We’ve done songs on Warriors of the World that
sound like the Kings of Metal album. We’ve got the anthem songs
on there. We’ve got the rip-ass fast songs on there at the end.
And then in the middle we’ve thrown in Nessun Dormo, which is like…
LM: A Puccini aria..
EA: (looks at LM in surprise) Yeah! Puccini. Yeah! I mean, what
other metal band can do that? I mean, that’s how I started to look
at it. When I sang the parts in the studio and I listened to it
in playback, and I said, “Man! That fucking sounds good!” (laughter)
I mean, I’m listening to the strings sections, and I’m listening
to the swells, and it’s sending tingles up and down my back! (Runs
his fingers up backs of IM and LM). And I’m like, “Oh, man! That
is it! That is it!” I mean, what other metal band can do this? Nobody.
I mean, if you line up a shitload of metal bands, and you’ve got
a shitload of them sitting there, and you say all you guys I want
you to sing like this. I mean, how many of them are going to do
it? You’re gonna get this “rargh, rargh, blarg:” (EA does death
metal growls.) So those that can’t sing like that, they’re out of
the running. Plus, they don’t have the consistencies. If you line
their tracks up on the computer, they are all over the place. One
guitar, two guitar-not together. So we tell them-play as fast as
you can, but together-and if they can’t, boom-they’re out. They
play loud, but they’re not together. So they’re out. But, there
are bands out there, and they play together and they play like that…and
they are really fucking good! And Manowar is still there. And now,
you say, “I want the lead singer to sing an aria, Nessun Dormo.”
And there is no fucking band there, except Manowar. And I really
mean it, I really fuckin’ do. And the challenge has been put out.
If there is another band that can really sing that, I’d like to
hear them do it. I really would.
IM: So, we should put this challenge out?
EA: (laughing) Yeah! I’d love to hear ‘em do it! Because it’s…
IM: Why Puccini?
LM: Because he is the greatest operatist.
IM: Well, besides the obvious answer. (Chuckling.)
EA: Because, well, what we did, we decided, when we did it, we did
it in ’99 at the Gods of Metal festival, and we did it as a surprise
and as a tribute to our Italian fans. You know, I sang Heart of
Steal in German in Germany, I sang Courage in French, for our French
fans. I did the Puccini piece for our Italian fans. And, I mean,
it is Pavarotti’s closing piece whenever he is in concert. So, like,
it’s the classic of all classic metal songs-I mean classic songs.
So if I look at that as pure opera, and Manowar is pure metal, and
we just married the two together.
IM: It’s funny-because we are huge opera fans as well as huge Manowar
fans. We actually have season tickets to the opera.
EA: Oh, really? Well, there you go! Yeah!
LM: There is such a cross-over between the two.
IM: They both have that same impact and emotion.
EA: Then I think you are gonna love the album.
IM: Yeah, we can’t wait. I mean, we kept thinking-do we wait to
listen until we can buy it and have it in hand, or do we listen
on mp3.
EA: Well, you can listen to it, but it won’t be the same quality.
IM: Besides, it’s not the same some how.
EA: I mean, the mp3 that is out there right now-I mean, that’s exactly
why we aren’t releasing the cd to any press people until the week
before the release date. Because, you know, the pricks put it out
on the internet. And if it is cd quality out on the internet, then
who needs to buy the record? And I don’t blame them for that, but
at the end of the day, if the fans don’t get out there and support
the bands they believe in, that band they believe in won’t be around
any more. That’s business. You know?
IM: Yeah. But it’s like tearing at us. Do we listen, because we
want to hear it-but is that, like, betraying you guys? It’s torment.
(Laughing.)
EA: I know it. But you know what? In the end it doesn’t matter,
because the true fans always buy the albums anyway, even if they
do have it on mp3. For the artwork and everything else involved.
LM: So, where do you think metal is going
in general? Or, I mean, do you care?
EA: Yeah, of course we care. But, like I said before, we play from
the heart-so that is where it’s going, that is where it comes from.
We play what we feel. I mean, we live, breathe, eat, shit, piss…we
do everything metal. We really do. It wasn’t the first time when
I road a Harley when I got in Manowar-I rode a Harley long time
ago-wasn’t a Harley when I first started, but I have a Harley now.
So, I mean, it’s not like it’s a fake thing-I ride my bike wherever
I can go. OK? I live, breathe a life of metal-that’s what I live.
OK? And, I think if you live like that every day of your life, it
naturally comes out of you-they type of music that you are feeling
inside, the creativity that you are feeling inside is blasted out
into your music. If you didn’t feel like that, it would come out
wishy-washy, it wouldn’t come out metal, and I think the fans are
smart enough to understand that. So, where is the future going?
Someone asked me that awhile ago-where is the future of metal. I
said, “The next Manowar album!” And, they started laughing, and
I says, “It is. The future of Manowar is the next album. It just
is.” Here is an example, here is a perfect fucking example. You
know Phillips, Phillips Music Company in Europe? They approached
the band while we were mixing this album in Belgium and they came
to the Belgium studio and offered us the chance of being the very
first metal album to record Warriors of the World in 5.1 super audio
cd. Now, that is, I don’t know if you are familiar with super audio.
It is a new form that is coming out, that you sit in the living
room and it is like I can place the listener on stage. So you hear
the drums over here, the bass over there, etc. It’s five different
speakers of surround sound. But it is not simulated surround sound-there
is five different channels happening. So, when we recorded this,
we said, “why not?” I mean, we’re the first ever metal band to include
symphony music with metal. Now everyone did it. We were the first
ever metal band to explore the possibility of actually singing with
metal. Now people are trying that. We were the first band to ever,
ever come out with the first fully digital album, when digital music
was available. We were the first band that has spent the money to
do that. Because we saw the future, we saw that this was better
for the fans at the end of the day. So, we decided to do it. And
now, everyone does that.
IM: So, you did record in 5.1?
EA: Yes, we did. But, we did some exploring in that. We asked the
Phillips guy, we said, “We’re interested in doing this, but what
if a fan doesn’t have the 5.1 audio player? Can you still listen
on a regular cd?” They said no. You have to have the super audio
cd player. So then I said to the guy, well then this is a fucking
rip-cuz now you’re saying if you want them to listen to Manowar,
they have to buy your fucking system. What the hell is that? So,
the guy says, this, that-if they want the quality they would buy
it, you can’t get this quality on a regular system… blah, blah.
So then we says, OK, we understand that. So, we are putting out
in regular cd audio format, AND in super audio cd format. So, whoever
wants to hear it can. So, it will be offered in both. And we are
the first band ever to fucking do that. And our record label was
fully behind it-so that is cool.
IM: Awesome.
LM: You’re with Metal Blade now?
EA: Metal Blade in America, Nuclear Blast in Europe. Nuclear Blast
really said go for it.
LM: They certainly seem to put a lot of promotion
behind the live albums.
EA: Yeah, they’ve been behind us. Well, we’re the biggest band on
their label-we make a lot of money for them and they’re happy about
it. And it’s a good marriage-they know we know how to record, tour-we
know what we’re doing. So they kind of just let us do it. We come
up with really wild ideas, but when we explain it-like when we went
to record a 100 male voice choir, they didn’t get it. They thought
we were fucking nuts. But when you explain it, when you say, “Listen,
you don’t get it. You can’t just get those sounds from a keyboard.
Until you get a sample from the actual men’s voices (it can’t be
females).” We gave them the argument. So, they gave us the money
to fly us over to England to use the English choir. Now we use the
same choir on every album.
IM: And it makes the difference.
EA: It does make the difference. Like, “The Crown and the Ring.”
Come on!
LM: Similar to that, you had the Orson Wells bits. Again, I’m a
huge fan of his-how did that come about?
EA: We were in Florida making our first record, and we had already
written Dark Avenger. And Dark Avenger is on the first album. And
as we rehearsed it, I did the vocal line, but my voice was too high
for that deep, resonating voice that we needed for that. So said,
“We need the voice of a father image.” You know? We need that deep,
resonating voice. And the record label guy was down in Florida.
And we said, “You know-we need a voice like Orson Wells-that’s what
we need.” And he said, “We’ll just ask him.” And I’m like sure-we’ll
just call him up. Right. And he says, “No, we’ll just ask him-we’ll
shake the tree and see what falls out.” So he gave the lyrics to
his management, Orson read the lyrics and he understood the band
and dug it and said he’d do it.
IM: It turned out amazing. When his voice
blends with yours, it’s really incredible. I mean…
EA and IM together: Defender!
LM: Defender is an awesome song.
EA: Yeah, to his day, put chills up my back.
LM: Me, too.
EA: When we originally wanted to do it live, we wanted to have a
hologram in the back of us, have the bass, like this big Wizard
of Oz thing, then I’d come out (singing): “Father!” Damn. But the
production costs were ridiculous. So we just said forget this. So,
when we did it live, we rolled the tape and the band would play
to the tape. Orson would be getting louder and louder. They’d put
blue lights on the stage and it’d get really eerie looking, and
I’d sneak out to the drum riser, and they’d get the fog rolling
out, and is it came up to the time, I’d spring out and sing, “Father!”
And it was like…it was so fucking cool.
IM: That song. It is just one of those songs I just play on repeat.
When your vocal line and his start to meld, it’s like…YOW! It’s
a beautiful thing.
EA: I love it.
LM: All the things that you do with that epic sound-you seem to
do that so much better than other bands that have attempted it.
Maybe it’s a kind of thickness to the sound, or a kind of depth
in it?
EA: I don’t know. I mean, my heart and soul is in it. I close my
eyes before I record any track and I put myself in character. And
I am there. If I am the Warrior, I am there. I am on that hillside.
If I’m singing Mountains…
IM: Which is his favorite song..
LM: My favorite song of all time.
EA: Master of the Wind-I’m there. I close my eyes, and I’m the Master
of the Wind. I don’t want to sound like I have a big head, but it’s
like I’m apart from the world. You know what I mean?
IM: Transcendent.
EA: Yeah, it’s like you transcend. You’re above everything and you
are the master of the wind. You control the wind.
IM: And you have to think that way to sing
that way.
EA: You have to put yourself there, like you are in the sky and
light as a feather, and you’re, you know. When we did it live, we
put an acoustic guitar in, we sat on the drum riser. Joey brought
his 8 string bass. So we had a 12 string guitar, and 8 string bass,
and Scott had these sounds that he used on the album…you know, those
sounds? And I kept my eyes closed until we came to the chorus, you
know, when I sing (singing, eyes closed) “Fly, away….” (opens eyes
and raises arm) I put my arm out and I went, “Fly Away, to a rainbow
in the sky”, and when I put my arm up, my lights came down…I mean,
it was exciting. I look at the fans and they are like (opens mouth
in awe).
IM: You saw the rapture.
EA: Yeah! I mean, when that happens, it’s like I’m a sponge-I soak
that energy up and it’s a good show-it works out good!
IM: Well, is there anything you want to say to your fans right now?
Any words you want to get out there?
EA: I want to thank our fans for following us for the 22 years that
we’ve been around. I mean there is new fans every day, every new
show there is new fans, and I appreciate that, you know. I think
they know we appreciate it-I know they know we appreciate it, or
we wouldn’t be here. And, you know, I encourage all the fans to
send their pictures into the website. Send tattoo pictures into
the website, because we want to see it. I encourage any fans if
they have anything they want, like for songs-new epic style songs-or
do they like the screams, or do they like the bass solo-whatever
they want, write into the fan club and tell us that. That dictates
what we play live. What do you want to hear more live? Ok. We look
at what people write in, and there’s our set. See what I mean? That’s
what I say to the fans today-you control our lives, and we control
the music.
IM: On behalf of the fans, we appreciate it.
LM: Yes, thank you.
EA: Thank you. We’ll do Blood of My Enemies for you.
(IM’s favorite song.)
Published by : metal-rules.com
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