Projecting Your Mortality With BRUCE DICKINSON

Projecting Your Mortality With BRUCE DICKINSON

Interview by Kris Peters
It’s been almost 20 years since Bruce Dickinson released his last solo album Tyranny Of Souls back in 2005, but the wait is almost over with the release of The Mandrake Project on March 1. Much has happened with Dickinson both professionally and personally between albums, and he pours the bulk of it out on this, his seventh solo album, which is once again completed with the assistance of Dickinson’s long-time collaborator Roy Z. Dickinson is no stranger to releasing albums between his solo project and Iron Maiden, but we pose the question if he still gets nervous in the weeks before an album drop. "Nervous… I wasn't so much nervous about this one,” he measured. “I was just really excited and frustrated. The whole thing is we spent seven years making this record because of COVID and all that rubbish and various other things. I got sick for a year with throat cancer, but basically after seven years we got together and made the record, and it's been ready for release for about a year now. So people who have heard it are freaking out about it saying isn't it amazing, wow, this is the best thing you've ever done, and I'm like 'I JUST WANT IT TO BE RELEASED’." The Mandrake Project is an album seven years in the making, giving Dickinson time to pour more of his heart and soul into the musical aspect of the recording than usual. As a result, the album is more than just another hard rock release from the solo project of a famous frontman. It is more of a musical journey that transcends time, space and expectation that eventually comes back to the true essence of what got Dickinson interested in music in the first place. “Well, obviously, back in the day looking at stuff I dealt with Roy Z,” he recalled, “who’s my partner in the record and the producer. He co-wrote probably two-thirds of the songs with me, the rest of them are all mine. We did two really good records, Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding, which in the back end of the 90s people thought was a very influential record. And then we did Tyranny Of Souls then back in Maiden, so this was like unfinished business. There's definitely another album here that we could do. Continue the line as it were, because we started to diversify a bit on the journey. Chemical was fantastically heavy, and we wanted to kind of go beyond both of those albums so have more diversity on this record but also make it… when it was heavy, it was really heavy (laughs). Things we couldn't do, for example, in the context of Iron Maiden. Because Maiden’s got its own style, and we've got gazillions of songwriters in Maiden, so this is very much stuff where you say… some of this you would never hear on a Maiden record. So that was the basic idea with the album. I do need to mention that it looks like a concept album, but it's not. There is a 12-episode comic that goes with… as a companion to the album, but it's an independent, free-standing entity also called The Mandrake Project and the first issue was released on January 15. The Mandrake Project is going to go on for the best part of three years, so every three months we'll do a new episode of a 34 page comic. End of this year will be four issues, or the first book if you like, and that will come out at the end of the year as a full, complete issue, and then we'll crack on.” “That and the album combined look like a concept,” he continued. “From a presentation perspective they are, but from an artistic perspective, they're separate. They're like two free-standing trees next door to each other. You can't see the connection, but it's there because the roots talk to each other. But that's in fact what they are. If you listen to the album, but you never bother to have a look at the comic, that's just fine. And vice versa. But if you dip in and out of both, it's a lot more fun." Looking through the album track listing, there’s no song actually called The Mandrake Project to be seen, so we ask Dickinson what greater significance the title has. "That's quite an interesting point,” he smiled. “There's no title track per se. The original title of the album was going to be If Eternity Should Fail, which is actually pulled from a Doctor Strange episode of the comic. That song got pulled off and put on the Maiden Book Of Souls album, so I was cool with that. I thought I will repossess the song when we get around to doing the album - which of course we didn't for years because of all the circumstances. But when I finally came around to record that song I actually changed the title to Eternity Has Failed because I tweaked some of the lyrics and some of the story in the comic - there's our little two trees connected by the roots again - and I thought I need a title that sums up both the record and the comic and ties it all together. And this is where the two things really start getting linked. I've had two pages of scribbling absolute garbage, silly names, I won't tell you some of them because they're embarrassing (laughs) and I just kept churning at it saying "no, no, almost, no, oh my God get down the pub and forget about it" and then finally - I don't know why - the word Mandrake popped in my head and I had a good search of who else used anything Mandrake. I like Mandrake. I like The Mandrake Project because it sounds like some secret government clandestine thing. It sounds mysterious and you think what is that? That's a great intro to a world. And that worked for the comic as well, because The Mandrake Project is the name of this scientific organisation that is clandestine, which has developed technology to effectively bottle the human soul at the point of death and store it and then re-introduce it into something else. I invented these two characters, Dr. Necropolis and Professor Lazarus and a very basic story. By the time seven years had gone by, and I'd been locked up for three years (laughs) in a little apartment with my girlfriend binge watching Netflix, the story had moved on and I'd actually done a bit of work on it and taken a bit of advice from friends of mine who are Hollywood screenwriters. I ran the story past Kurt Sutter, who wrote Sons Of Anarchy. We had a zoom call together, and I ran the development of the story, and he was the one who said that would make a great comic. I said what do I do, do I write a script and send it to Netflix, and he said no, it will go in the bin but do a comic. So it ended up at four episodes in one book, so I wrote a couple of episodes and thought no way is this four episodes. Eight episodes then, and in no time at all it was no, this is twelve episodes and that felt just right. I rang the comic company and they were great. I expected them to show me the door, but they loved the story. They loved the idea. It's not a superhero comic by any stretch. It's much darker." The Mandrake Project has become a deeply personal album for Dickinson, with the vocalist admitting tapping into his fears, problems and truths brought out the absolute best in him. "I mean, all albums should be personal experiences,” he shrugged. “In my opinion, the best albums are, usually. This album wasn’t like therapy for me, but it kind of is in there's a big sweep of emotion on the record. In particular, the last three songs really go to some very moving but in some ways tragic places. And I couldn't have done that 20 years ago. There's a lot of mumblings about life and death, quite a lot of death on the record, and that's because I got a little bit closer to it than I really wanted to when I had throat cancer. I imagined I did anyway. You confront the possibility you might not be here in a couple of years, and you think well… how does that make me feel (laughs). Years ago when people asked me if the experience changed the way I thought about life I went ‘no, no, no, nah. No. It was just a bad cold’. But looking back nine years ago when I got diagnosed… looking back I realised actually yeah, it has changed the way I look at life. My perspective is unbelievably precious. Everybody should hang onto it and squeeze the last bits of life out of life. Right until your croaking breath because this may well be the only one you've got, and The Mandrake Project kind of addresses that. It's like, is there a God? And if there is, what kind of God is he? Is he a poet? Maybe it's just the force, Luke? Or maybe he does nothing at all. There's a few things along with that. There's a lot of underworld references, there's a lot of… not too much sci-fi on the record.” Before finishing up, we feel obliged to ask Dickinson what we can expect from the Iron Maiden tour of Australia later this year. "Death, destruction and skull doggery mate,” he promised. “It's gonna be amazing. I do 40 shows solo starting in April until 21st July, then I go lie down in a darkened room for two or three weeks and I wake up in Australia, and we start rehearsals in Perth. I'm really looking forward to it, we all are. We love Australia as a place, as a country, as the people who live there. We’re gonna have a blast. The only thing that would be almost as good as touring there with Maiden would be bringing this project down to Oz at some point. Obviously we're not gonna be doing 10,000 seaters,

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Calling Out False Metal With GATTOPANCERI666 From NANOWAR OF STEEL

Calling Out False Metal With GATTOPANCERI666 From NANOWAR OF STEEL

Interview by Kris PetersSince 2003 Italian comedic heavy metal outfit Nanowar Of Steel have been spreading the joys of metal with their infectious, over-the-top and often hilarious musical workings.Over six previous studio albums, Nanowar Of Steel have delivered an endless stream of musical magic, combining their laconic sense of humour with heavy music to devestating effect.Now, as the band prepares to unleash Dislike To False Metal on the world from March 10, Nanowar Of Steel have brought in the heavy hitters to hopefully allow their music to reach an even wider audience.Sabaton's Joakim Broden joins Nanowar on the parody track Pasadena 1994, about the year Italy lost the World cup Football final, plus Elaine's Madeleine Liljestam lends her vocals on the track Winterstorm In The Night.More than just a parody band, Nanowar Of Steel see themselves as more of a serious musical project that adds a touch of humour to their artform meticulously.Bass player Gattopanceri666 joined HEAVY to discuss things in more detail."For those of you who haven't heard about Nanowar Of Steel, we are a very serious band based in Italy," he introduced, "and we are doing this kind of serious music since 20 years already. We've got a new album coming out called Dislike To False Metal which really means we should dislike false metal, whatever that means, but at least don't kill it. We are against... let's replace the death to false metal part with dislike and make it more tolerant. That's the message."We press Gattopanceri666 on how he is feeling about the imminent release of Dislike To False Metal."I've been listening to this album for the last nine months," he sighed, "so I'm kind of bored of listening to it. I just hope the listeners won't get bored so quickly so we can get some revenues from streaming even in years to come. That's my hope; that's my wish for the album."In the full interview, Gattopanceri666 talks more about the songs on the album, maintaining humour in music, getting the balance right, using guest artists and what they brought to the sound, the writing process, the cover artwork and the myriad of things to be found, touring plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Maalis 202321min

Harnessing Energy With PATRICK MIRANDA From MOVEMENTS

Harnessing Energy With PATRICK MIRANDA From MOVEMENTS

Interview by Kris PetersSouthern Californian post-hardcore outfit Movements are on the verge of their Australian tour with British rock outfit Boston Manor, kicking off in Brisbane on March 9.It will be Movements first visit Down Under since 2018, and, armed with 2020's successful album No Good Left To give the shows are already selling in record time.HEAVY sat down with vocalist Patrick Miranda just before the band boarded a plane for their long flight to see us.One of the features of Movements music is the heavy emotional content within their lyrics, with issues such as relationships, loss and mental health a prominent feature of the bands music. Because of this we ask Miranda if it can be difficult delivering an upbeat live performance of some of these songs despite the heavy emotional content which doesn't necessarily lend itself to happiness."It absolutely can be," he nodded. "I'd say that is an experience that we've kind of... tried to pinpoint and shift with our new music because, yeah, a lot of our songs and a lot of our content is very heavy and very dark. And it's not always the most fun thing to talk about every single day. But I think that it's good because it's always a great way to share a cathartic experience with the people who are listening and being able to share these negative emotions with somebody and maybe it helps them feel better or get through whatever it is that they might be dealing with. With that being said that's definitely something that we wanted to... kind of shy away from in the new music and have it be less emotionally draining and a little bit more fun and energetic in the live setting so we could have a little bit more fun with the songs and not have it be such a depressing, sad, down moment. I think that there's something positive to be said about either side of that argument."In the full interview, Pat talks more about what to expect from the shows, what has changed with the band since their last visit in 2018, touring with Boston Manor and why they chose them to co-headline with, some fun times on the road with Boston Manor, their blending of musical styles and where it comes from, album number three and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Maalis 202315min

At The Forefront Of  Music With PHIL SOUSSAN From LAST IN LINE

At The Forefront Of Music With PHIL SOUSSAN From LAST IN LINE

Interview by Kris PetersWhen the genesis of a band consists of musicians paying homage to one of the greats, then you just know from the outset something special is brewing.But when that band comprises members from that same band they are paying musical respect to the end result is infinitely more grandiose and exciting.Starting life to finish recording and releasing music originally penned by Dio - by none other than drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain, guitarist Vivian Campbell, and keyboardist Claude Schnell - Last In Line reunited along with vocalist Andrew Freeman to perform the Dio songs they originally recorded. The band released a studio album of original material without Schnell titled Heavy Crown in February 2016.From there Last In Line grew more into a band of their own volition, still performing music from that great era of rock, but adding a touch of their own spice to the mix to give it their own unique flavour.The band are preparing to release their third studio album, Jericho, on March 31 and on the back of lead single Ghost Town have promised more of the rock fuelled greatness for which Last In Line have continued to stage their name and reputation.Current bass player Phil Soussan joined HEAVY earlier in the week to talk about the new album and the enduring legacy of Dio."Very happy with the album," he nodded. "It's been a very long time coming because we had to put this together during a trying and difficult time - as I'm sure everybody can appreciate - and I think we came out with something that we're proud of. Actually, better than I thought it was going to be because we had no idea how it was going to be with all of the hurdles and restrictions that had been placed in front of us during the process of coming up with this record." "I think people who have listened to the second album noticed a definite progression from the first album," he continued. "Obviously, sadly, Jimmy Bain is no longer with us and he was very much part of that first album. I originally was asked to come in to finish some shows for which there had been some obligations from the first record and during that time we realised there was a great chemistry going on with this band. Then the second album came up and when that was written, obviously I brought in some different influences and so people would hear the progression from that first to the second album and I'd like to say that we continue that trajectory to where Jericho now is. So it's different from the second album and it's definitely an evolution from what we did on that record. I think it's really nailed certain things that make this band unique and different from others."In the full interview, Phil talks more about the new album, writing to a formula, continuing the legacy of one of the biggest rock outfits in history, recording the album live and what that means, the early days of Last In Line, his joining the band, his relationship with Jimmy Bain and how that influenced his decision to join Last In Line, touring plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Maalis 202320min

Revelling In The Darkness With MOTHLORD From MUNT

Revelling In The Darkness With MOTHLORD From MUNT

Interview by Kris PetersMelbourne metal outfit Munt could easily lay claim to being one of the most brutal acts this country has produced. Their music is frenetic, dangerous, aggressive and strangely beautiful - to the point that despite the visceral carnage going on around you, you can't help but be swept up in the sonic musical landscape as it materialises and then disintegrates right before your ears.They are a formidable live machine - as anyone who has been in the same room as them with a stage anywhere near the vicinity can attest - but seldom does a band capture the feel and essence of the live arena as meticulously as these guys.As if to prove the point, Munt today drop their third EP Pain Ouroboros, five carefully crafted slabs of musical mayhem that obliterate the lines of traditional metal, in the process morphing into something much more sinister.HEAVY caught up with frontman Mothlord earlier this week to talk about the EP, starting with the last single released Apostate Sermon."An apostate, by the dictionary definition, is someone who defies or rejects religion in a political way of thinking," he measured. "And obviously a sermon is... I guess it's like a paradox. A sermon would be something you think of in a religious context , but instead it's a sermon for people who've shed that skin so to speak. The opening line is "my brethren I sing a song of joyful wrath", so it's kind of a call to arms and a message for like minded people."Apostate Sermon follows on from the first single The Vengeful March, so we press Mothlord on if those two tracks are a good sonic representation of the EP as a whole."Oh, yeah," he replied without thought. "I think we very intentionally chose those two songs to do music videos for. Like I said, Apostate's a bit more of the blackened epic sound, whereas The Vengeful March is a little bit more in the class of hard hitting, grindy sound of things. It's a very good representation of what we're about at the moment."In the full interview. Mothlord goes through each track individually and explains what they were going for with that particular song and what it's about, the title Pain Ouroborus and what it means, their sound and where it comes from, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

2 Maalis 202319min

Muddying The Waters With VILLA MORTA

Muddying The Waters With VILLA MORTA

Interview by Kris PetersAustralian heavy outfit Villa Morta have pulled no punches with their recent single The Abstract.The track highlights the maturing side to Villa Morta's music, helped in part by a professional production team that enabled the band to pull from parts of their musical psyche that hadn't been tested before.The Abstract comes with a thoughtful video clip which sees the band exploring their own unique personal experiences and the notion that each person has a different perception to the world around them.Vocalist Mosh and guitarist Masa joined HEAVY earlier this week to talk about the new single and more."I'm personally a big Northlane fan," Masa replied when asked to describe The Abstract musically, "so there's definitely a lot of influence for me in the type of riffs I like to write. But I also do the metalcore riffs, so I was definitely trying to blend all of the different elements that I like from a bunch of different areas of metal into a track. There's a lot of new things we're writing but it's all part of the process for me and figuring out the ways that work for me in writing the songs and putting it all together."In the full interview the boys talk more about the structure of The Abstract, making the music video, the benefits of using a professional production team, if The Abstract is part of a bigger musical picture, changing with the times, their upcoming single launch party at Stay Gold in Melbourne and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

1 Maalis 202315min

Enduring Two Decades Of Scars With TIM KING From SOIL

Enduring Two Decades Of Scars With TIM KING From SOIL

Interview by Kris PetersUS rock outfit Soil are credited by many as being the pioneers of a genre that has birthed bands of the calibre of Godsmack, Spineshank and Mudvayne.Regardless whether you subscribe to that theory or not, one thing that is undeniable is the impact Soil have had on the music landscape since bursting onto the scene in 1997. The seeds for rock revolution were sewn, but it wasn't until Soil's major label debut album Scars in 2001 that the world stood to full attention.One song in particular from that album - Halo - is still on high rotation around the world to this day and is instantly recognisable as Soil and their trademark style.The album was that well universally received that Soil are returning to Australia in May for a run of shows with Static X where they will be performing that groundbreaking album in full - but with a unique twist.HEAVY caught up with bass player Tim King to find out more."We've toured many, many times over the years with Static X," he mentioned, "and they are great people and a great band so we're really looking forward to this one."With both bands in the upper echelon of their respective genres, HEAVY poses the question of whether Soil still had to actively seek the support slot."The first time we ever toured with Static X Wayne Static personally invited us," he smiled. "It was in 2002 and our album Scars was out and Wayne really liked that album a lot. The tour was with Static X, Soulfly and Soil and he personally requested that we be on that tour and we became really good friends with him and Tony and the rest of the band. From there on out we've toured with Static X many, many times. That one was never a management or agency thing. It was two bands that had mutual respect and were fans of each others music taking each other out on the road, and when Static X got back with this new incarnation we actually went to the UK and Europe with them in 2019 and that was awesome. Now we're going back to Australia with them so it's great to be able to continue to have all of our bands still out there doing it and going on tour with friends. It makes it more of a what we call "heavy metal Summer camp (laughs)."In the full interview, Tim talks more about what to expect from the shows, the new look Static X and how they sound without Wayne out the front, playing Scars in full and how difficult something like that is, his view on why Scars was and is such a popular album, the term "timeless" used in respect to Soil's music, their last covers album Play It Forward and how it gave the band a new lease on life, his side project Embryonic Autopsy, new music from Soil and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

1 Maalis 202320min

Keeping The Flames Burning With MARK HAMILTON From ASH

Keeping The Flames Burning With MARK HAMILTON From ASH

Interview by Kris PetersThirty years is a long time in the music industry, and as such these milestones should always be celebrated. And what better way to do that than by bringing the band over to Australia, which is exactly what Irish rockers Ash plan to do this March.Not only that, New Zealand has also been included in the party, with Ash playing a run of shows across both countries dubbed the Teenage Wildlife Tour.Bass player Mark Hamilton joined HEAVY earlier this week to talk about the tour and 30 years of rocking out."It's kind of flown by," he laughed. "When you think it's 30 years... it seems so long. We did a big anniversary show in Belfast just before Christmas where we had a bunch of guests up and it was a wild milestone to hit. I guess when you're in a band and doing it all the time you really don't think about how long you've been doing it, because you're always looking forward. You're always looking at the next tour or the next album or whatever's on the horizon. You don't spend a lot of time looking back. It was kind of nice to do that almost greaest hits album (Teenage Wildlife) and go out and tour it. And coming to New Zealand, Australia and Japan, we had always intended for that to be part of the tour a couple of years ago but then there was the pandemic, so we're almost playing catch up to do it now."In the full interview, Mark talks more about what to expect from the tour, keeping things fresh after three decades, keeping your mind and body fit, the early days of Ash and where they fit in, the changing faces of music over the years, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

1 Maalis 202312min

Growing The Legend With AGAINST THE CURRENT

Growing The Legend With AGAINST THE CURRENT

Interview by Kris PetersThese days the music industry is a beast unto itself.While the music is, and always will be the cornerstone of a bands success, it is also the way you spread and promote your music that has a large bearing on your career.Which is why younger bands such as New York punk/pop outfit Against The Current have that edge moving forwards. Because they are a band who can truly embrace the changing face of music.Staring life performing covers on YouTube, Against The Current started forging their own career little by little, until when, in 2017, the band collaborated with Riot Games and released their breakthrough single Legends Never Die as an exclusive track for the 2017 League Of Legends World Champion game.That one song launched Against The Current into the stratosphere of music and led to them performing alongside bands like Fall Out Boy, All Time Low and Good Charlotte as well as appearing at festivals like Reading and Leeds and the Warped tour.Now, Australian audiences get the chance to witness this young, emerging band first hand with the announcement of a run of shows this September.HEAVY sat down with Chrissy Costanza (vocals), Dan Gow (guitar), and Will Ferri (drums) to discuss the tour and plenty of other things."We're the surprise, right!" Chrissy exclaimed. "We haven't been there in so long at this point the fact we're showing up is a surprise (laughs), but we're very excited to come back. Probably playing a tonne of music that we haven't played live in Australia before because it has been so long - which is part of the fun part - and hopefully by that time playing some new music that is new to Against The Current as well."In the full interview we talk tour stuff like having Monday's off, the name of the tour and where it comes from, new music and what it is sounding like, what to expect from the shows, switching to being independant artists, the beginning of the band with YouTube and how the members used that to promote their own music, working with Riot Games and the impact it had on the band, growing as a band in the public spotlight and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

27 Helmi 202313min

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