En tête d'affiche de la dernière édition du Hellfest, le groupe mythique des années 70 a décidé d'appeler sa tournée 2017 « The Long Goodbye ». Après 49 ans de carrière, Deep Purple semble vouloir faire ses « adieux » à la faveur d’un nouvel album intitulé « InFinite ». A ce titre, nous avons rencontré Don Airey qui a remplacé Jon Lord aux claviers et dont le curriculum vitae reste l'un des plus impressionnants du circuit (Michael Schenker, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Judas Priest…). Aux débuts des années 80, nous l’avions découvert au sein de Rainbow, groupe de l’ex-guitariste de Deep Purple Ritchie Blackmore. La boucle est ainsi presque bouclée.
Don, la première fois que je t’ai entendu jouer du clavier, c’était sur l’album de Rainbow, « Difficult To Cure » (1981). Est-ce que tu gardes un souvenir particulier de cette période ?
Don Airey : Tu parles de Rainbow ? Excuse-moi je suis un peu sourd après avoir jouer de la musique pendant plus de 40 ans (rires). « Difficult To Cure » était un bon album même si je préfère le précédent « Down To Earth » (1979) qui, selon moi, était un bien meilleur disque avec Cozy Powell et Graham Bonnet. Je crois que c’est un des mes albums préférés car j’ai contribué à l’élaboration de certains morceaux (ndlr : quand bien même ce dernier n’est pas crédité). J’en suis très fier.
Comment définirais-tu tes collaborations avec un nombre impressionnant de formations. Est-ce que le terme de « musicien de session » peut te convenir au regard de certains de tes travaux en studio ?
Je ne me définis pas comme tel car, la plupart du temps, je faisais parti des groupes. Je dirais plutôt que je suis un « working musician ». Ce n’est jamais un travail facile, il faut toujours se maintenir à niveau. Tim Rice (ndlr : parolier et présentateur de radio britannique) a un message amusant sur son répondeur qui dit : « Hello, c’est Tim Rice, il n’y a personne à la maison pour le moment mais j’y veillerais » (rires). Si tu veux survivre dans le business de la musique, il faut être sur la brèche en permanence. J’écris d’ailleurs un livre à ce sujet.
Peux-tu nous en dire plus sur la façon dont tu contribues à la musique de ce monstre sacré du rock qu’est Deep Purple ?
C’est toujours difficile d’intégrer un tel groupe. Jon Lord (ndlr : le claviériste d’origine décédé en 2012) avait un tel aura dans Deep Purple. A l’époque, je travaillais sur différents projets quand les membres du groupe m’ont fait une proposition que je ne pouvais pas refuser (rires). J’ai été très surpris par le fait que Jon soit obligé de quitter Deep Purple. Ce fût quand même l’un des principaux compositeurs, chose assez rare pour ce type d’instrument au sein d’une formation de ce genre… La maladie l’a forcé à arrêter et il n’avait plus rien à offrir au groupe. En 2002, quand j’ai vraiment rejoint les autres membres, tout le monde était accablé par le départ de Jon. Puis, nous nous sommes progressivement remis au travail et nous voilà, 49 ans plus tard avec un nouvel album !
Avant de rejoindre la formation, avais-tu un album préféré de Deep Purple ?
Oui, c’était « Who Do We Think We Are » (1973) car je trouve ce disque merveilleux. Selon moi, il contient tous les ingrédients qui font un bon groupe. Aujourd’hui, j’ai un peu changé d’avis car je trouve que « Deep Purple In Rock » (1970) est également un très bon album. « Who Do We Think We Are » est très intense et vraiment très bien interprété. De plus, il y a une véritable atmosphère, un truc indéfinissable, comme si le groupe était au bord de la rupture (ndlr : ce qui est arrivé 6 mois après sa sortie puisque Ian Gillan et Roger Glover ont quitté le pourpre profond).
Peut-on parler de « InFinite » et de ta contribution à ce 20ème album de Deep Purple ?
Le processus de création du groupe a toujours été le même, c’est-à-dire que les musiciens jamment entre eux jusqu’à ce que les idées jaillissent et que l’on commence à les développer pour en faire de vraies chansons. J’apporte quelques idées mais tout est une question d’instant, de moment particulier où tous les éléments vont converger pour donner naissance à un morceau. C’est de cette façon que les compositions d’« InFinite » ont été conçues. Une fois cette première étape achevée, toutes les compositions sont passées par le filtre de notre producteur, Bob Ezrin. Il nous donne des directions, nous demande d’explorer certains passages, de développer certaines idées qu’il considère comme pas assez abouties. C’est un producteur extraordinaire. Il y a beaucoup d’interactions entre lui et nous. Bob essaye de rendre notre musique plus claire, plus lisible, dans le bon sens du terme.
Est-ce que l’on peut dire que ce « filtre » vous permet d’aller à l’essentiel ?
D’une certaine manière… C’est ce qu’est sensé faire un producteur. Il doit comprendre les choses aussi vite qu’il le peut et apporter sa vision de l’ensemble sans faire de compromis au niveau de la qualité. Si tu laisses un groupe seul face à ses compositions, au fait de devoir réaliser un album, cela peut prendre des années ! (rires). C’est pour cela qu’il est important d’avoir un point de vue extérieur pour être sûr d’avancer et de finaliser le job.
Peut-on parler du matériel que tu utilises actuellement en tant que musicien ?
Je joue sur un orgue Hammond A 100 qui est un vrai Hammond appelé « The shop » de 1962, c’est mon préféré de la série. Je dis ça car, l’autre jour, j’étais interviewé par un type qui m’a demandé ce qu’était mon instrument. Je lui ai répondu que c’était un orgue Hammond A 100, il m’a certifié que non (rires). Cet orgue a été comprimé pour en réduire la taille et il a été conditionné dans un caisson différent de celui utilisé habituellement pour ce type d’instrument. Comme les français pourraient dire : « C’est un vieux vin conditionné dans une nouvelle bouteille ». Sinon, sur cet album, j’ai utilisé un ampli guitare Pure Tone classe A et un Marshall Silver Jubilee. Lors de l’enregistrement de « InFinite », avec Bob, nous avons décidé de faire un mix des sons produits par ses deux amplis. Outre mon orgue Hammond, j’utilise également un synthétiseur Kurzweil 2600X qui est vraiment extraordinaire. Il est doté d’une station de travail Midi sur lequel j’utilise 4 ou 5 canaux… Mon matériel comprend également un vieux sampler pour les cordes, des effets, un Minimoog Voyager, pour les solos, un Moog Little Phatty et un Mellotron M4000D Rack qui est une recréation digitale du mythique clavier Mellotron.
Sur « InFinite », vous vous répartissez les solos avec Steve Morse (guitare) . Comme s’organise cette collaboration ?
Rien n’est vraiment bien déterminé à ce sujet. Nous n’avons pas l’obligation d’exécuter chacun un solo. Steve est un guitariste exceptionnel, il a le devoir de produire quelque chose de vraiment bon car la référence de Ritchie Blackmore plane toujours sur le groupe. C’est sans cesse un challenge pour lui. Nous pensons en permanence à la façon dont les fans vont accueillir ces nouvelles compositions. En revanche, pour un claviériste, c’est toujours dur de trouver la bonne configuration, de s’imposer dans un groupe de heavy rock. La plupart du temps, tu joues en coordination avec la section rythmique, le bassiste et le batteur. J’essaye de beaucoup écouter ce que Roger (Glover, le bassiste) fait et, en même temps, je dois suivre le guitariste. J’occupe vraiment un poste de musicien transverse. Jon disait qu’il créé un halo de son qui enveloppe tous les instruments. C’est ce qu’il faut faire mais c’est assez complexe à réaliser. Tu dois sans cesse endosser la casquette du « lead player » et celle du « rhythm player ». C’est probablement l’un des postes les plus durs à tenir dans un groupe de rock. Que faire quand le guitariste exécute un solo ? Je me dis toujours que cela sonnerait mieux sans aucune partie de clavier… La guitare, la basse et la batterie sont suffisantes.
C’était vrai pour des groupes des années 70 comme Black Sabbath ou Led Zeppelin…
Exactement. Le son de ces groupes était fantastique avec seulement ces 3 instruments. Je me pose donc toujours la question de savoir quoi faire, quelles sont les parties de clavier les plus pertinentes à produire. Cela demande donc de vraiment réfléchir avant de jouer la moindre note.
As-tu des titres favoris sur ce nouveau disque ?
J’aime bien « The Surprising », « One Night In Vegas », la reprise des Doors, « Roadhouse Blues ». Au départ, je ne pensais pas que c’était une bonne idée de reprendre ce titre. C’est Ian Paice qui l’a suggéré et nous avons finalement livré une interprétation avec un feeling différent de l’original. Au final, j’aime beaucoup ce titre.
Est-ce que tu as été influencé par le jeu de Ray Manzarek, le clavier des Doors ?
J’aime ce qu’il a fait avec les Doors mais, pour moi, il n’a pas été une influence. Les musiciens que j’admire sont plutôt des musiciens de jazz comme Jimmy Smith, Bill Evans, j’aime ce que Jan Hammer a fait avec le Mahavishnu Orchestra, Keith Emerson avec E.L.P ou ce qu’il a produit pour The Nice.
Avec de telles racines musicales, on peut se demander pourquoi tu as accepté de jouer avec Ozzy Osbourne, par exemple…
En fait, je connaissais Ozzy depuis un moment. J’avais joué dans Black Sabbath (ndlr : il était musicien de session sur l'album "Never Say Die!" de 1978) . Quand j’ai rejoint le groupe d’Ozzy en solo, je me suis vraiment posé la question de savoir si cela était une bonne opportunité, d'autant que Randy Rhoads était de l’aventure. Ce guitariste jouait d’une façon qui ne ressemblait à rien de ce que l’on pouvait entendre à l’époque. En ce qui me concernait, je ne savais pas comment aborder ma participation à cette formation. Ce n’était effectivement pas la musique que j’avais l’habitude de jouer. Randy m’a dit qu’il fallait rajouter des effets à mon jeu, des sonorités différentes, il m’a montré la voie à suivre pour coller à son jeu de guitare. C’est un groupe avec lequel j’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir…
Malheureusement, tu n’as pas été crédité sur certains titres mythiques du groupe comme « Mr Crowley »…
C’est vrai mais quand Ozzy a réunit la formation, il n’avait pas d’argent. Il avait beaucoup d’ennuis… Je lui ai alors dit que j’allais enregistré avec lui gratuitement. Il m’a alors demandé de réfléchir à une intro pour « Mr Crowley ». Je lui ai demandé de revenir dans 1h30mn. C’est comme cela que cette partie instrumentale a pris forme. J’ai fais partie de la formation d’Ozzy pendant 5 ans et je vis toujours dans la maison que j’ai pu m’acheter suite aux tournées que j’ai faites avec lui (rires).
Comment va se dérouler cette tournée avec Deep Purple ?
Nous allons faire pas mal de date. Cela a commencé au printemps 2017 et nous serons en tournée jusqu’en décembre de cette année. On aura un « coach spécial » qui est un jet privé (rires) et qui va nous emmener un peu partout. Deep Purple est organisé comme un unité militaire. Nous avons 30 personnes avec nous sur la route, 3 bus, 2 ou 3 camions pour transporter 3 configurations de scène différentes. Je me retrouve donc avec 3 orgues Hammond et le matériel qui va avec… C’est très compliqué à organiser mais, heureusement, nous ne nous occupons pas du tout de cette logistique. Nous avons juste à décider de ce que nous allons jouer. Malgré toute cette logistique complexe, ce qu’il y a de plus important à la fin, c’est comme tu vas assurer une performance de qualité.
Propos recueillis par Laurent Gilot Photos : DR
Deep Purple, InFinite (EarMusic - Verycords) Sortie le 07 avril 2017
After the release of the live DVD "Let Me Feel The Power" and before the forthcoming album of Saxon, we wanted to talk to Nigel Glockler that started drumming in the English band in 1981. Interview. You have been Saxon's longest running drummer, having rocked with them for nearly thirty years. You've had an amazing career with Saxon, appearing on twelve studio albums, and six live albums. You've played the biggest festivals , with the biggest names in metal, and appeared in numerous music videos. How has it been ?
Nigel Glockler : Bloody hard work! - but great fun at the same time and i've visited countries that i might not have gone to otherwise, met loads of people, made a lot of friends, both in and out of the music business. It's been a fantastic career - there have been highs and lows, the normal stuff that everyone goes through during their lives, but i'm proud of what I've achieved, and proud of what we, as a band, have achieved too. Long may it continue!
You were in Saxon during the height of the 80's metal scene, right in the heart of the NWOBHM movement. What a ride that must have been ! What was it like ? Any wild stories that stick out ?
N.G. : Wild stories ? Too wild for you !! (laughs) Seriously though, as I said before, it was a great time. I was buying a lot of heavy rock albums, and a lot of these guys were coming to our shows, so it was really cool to meet them. I remember the Tygers Of Pan Tng came to our Newcastle gig on that first tour I did with Saxon. Then in Germany, the Scorpions came to a few shows, on the next UK tour Brian Johnson came down to see us in Newcastle, the local curry house got hit both nights and these were people in bands I loved. Again, as I said, it's been so good to meet all these different musicians down the years, and, in some cases, been able to play with them.
You joined Saxon in 1981 and then left six years later to join GTR, a band founded by former Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe, and former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. What propelled you to leave a six year running time with Saxon ? GTR has a completely different sound as well. Stark contrast to the heavy metal sound of Saxon. No sooner than you joined GTR , everything was abandoned. Why ? It was after this you immediately rejoined Saxon...
N.G. : It was nothing to do with the band as such... I just had a mega problem with our management at the time... I'm not going into this in any detail but I just had to get away from the situation. We were being treated so badly that I couldn't go on so, when I was contacted by Brian Lane's office offering me the GTR gig, this was my escape route and yes, I know it was a different genre of music, but it was actually closer to the kind of stuff I was listening to... To play with Steve Howe, wow, that was a privilege. Steve Hackett had left by this time, which was a shame, as i'm a huge Genesis fan. We started recording the second album but there were a lot of politics going on in the background - not with the guys in the band I must say ! Brian Lane had been Yes' manager, and Asia's, and I think, with the success of the Trevor Rabin Yes, Brian was maybe looking at an album with the other Yes members, however, I'm not saying that this is what happened. Maybe it was a plan by the record label. Steve was the only one signed to the label and, with about three weeks to go to finishing the tracking, Arista pulled the plug, we were all gutted ! I think it would have outsold the first album. Then a few years later, the Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe album comes out on Arista ! So who knows what went on. It was such a waste. I'd love to go back in the studio and re-record the whole album, get it finished, mixed, and put it out. A while after GTR fell apart, I was contacted by Saxon's management asking If i'd do a tour with them and record a live album, so there I was, back in the fold !
In 1998, you left Saxon a second time because of torn muscles in your neck and shoulder, and doctors had advised you to stop drumming. Two years later, you made a solo album with Saxon guitarist Doug Scarratt titled Mad Men and English Dogs. Why did you start drumming again against doctors advice and why the solo album instead of the return to Saxon ?
N.G. : I was told to stop playing for around five months to allow the muscles to get better, but I still did some writing with Saxon. I did a small synth intro on Metalhead and then, a couple of years later, I was involved in writing sessions for Killing Ground. I went up to the studio we always used and co-wrote three or four songs on that album, playing drums during the process. There was never a question of me having to stop for good. I was asked if I wanted to rejoin but I didn't think it was fair to Fritz to take the drum stool away from him as he was doing such a great job. He just wasn't into composing and that's why I went up to the writing sessions. Later on, a couple of tracks from Lionheart were started at my house, with Paul and Doug, Witchfinder General was one. As for Mad Men…
Mad Men and English Dogs is an awesome album ! Sensational guitar and drum playing. It needs more attention! Where can people purchase this gem ?
N.G. : Thanks for the compliment! I started writing it during the period where I had to allow the torn muscles to heal and then asked Doug to join me in the project, he was living in the same town as me, just around the corner actually, and so we continued with the composing until we had the makings of a complete album, it took a couple of years because of Doug's Saxon commitments and the fact that I had to make sure I was 100% ok to drum again, quite a few tracks have been used on TV programmes all over the world. If anyone is interested in buying it, please send me a PM on Facebook, Nigel Glockler, and we can get it sorted out !
You eventually did return to Saxon in 2005, two years later making The Inner Sanctum album. Lemmy Kilmister appears on this album. How did you guys approach him about being a part of it. He was in the video too which was awesome. What was it like working with Lemmy ? How did his death affect you guys ?
N.G. : We were really good friends with Lemmy, the guys had known Motörhead for a long time, I think they toured together a lot in the early days. Motörhead and Saxon were on the same label around this time so it made sense to get him on that track, we've toured a lot with them down the years, or our paths have crossed at festivals, the final time being last autumn, just before he passed away. We had toured the US with them that summer and one could see he wasn't in the best of health, he was such a nice, genuine man, on that tour he was more concerned with my health, after the brain operation, which really humbled me, but every day he made a point of asking me how I was feeling, was iI ok ? It was a terribly sad day when he died but he was so frail towards the end. I know it hit Phil and Mikkey really hard, Phil and I have been friends since 1977.
In December of 2014 you suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm while on tour with Saxon. Can you tell us about that ?
N.G. : We were coming to the end of a particularly brutal tour, by which I mean, not many days off, long travel distances... This was one of the days off and I was in my hotel room in Gateshead, reading the news on my laptop, when my head exploded with pain, like the worst migraine you can imagine, my vision went blurry, as if I was underwater, and my neck seized up, then I started being violently ill, I collapsed onto the bed during which time, Gina, my wife contacted me. To cut a long story short, she heard my speech was slurred, she googled the symptoms and got an ambulance ordered - this was urgent, and basically, she saved my life by her quick thinking. I was rushed into hospital, first in Gateshead, then Newcastle, where I had two brain operations, one through my skull, where they clipped the bleed. I was there for a month, stuck in bed over Xmas and New Year.
It was an awful and scary time. Finally got home at the beginning of January and two days later, having been away for ten weeks, I had to have my cat put to sleep as his kidneys stopped working - so not a happy time at all ! Anyway, March came along, the tracks for "Battering Ram" were recorded, and in April I played my first live gigs. In summer, I had a CT scan/angiogram for my local neurosurgeon, and I was given the all-clear and discharged although he couldn't believe I was back touring so quickly, he thought a year to eighteen months before I'd be ready ! The first time I saw him in february, before i'd even sat down in his office, he said I was a very lucky guy as one in three people with this never get to the hospital alive.
It's awesome you've been up and working after that happened. You're back performing live, you guys just released a new album last year called Battering Ram. What are the 2016 and beyond plans for Saxon ? Do you guys have plans for another album? Any upcoming tours and festivals ?
N.G. : We're doing a load of festivals this year, and then a UK/European tour is being finalised for the autumn/winter - the best thing to do is to have a look at the Saxon website - saxon747.com - all the dates will be up there, plus other news. We're starting the writing process for the follow-up to Battering Ram shortly too.
Album review time ! Now this is just my opinion. I've heard all of the Saxon albums you've been on. "Power and The Glory" was a great old-school heavy, metal classic album, then later albums were a mixture of rock and metal, a few ballads. But , wow, starting with "The Labyrinth", it's as if Saxon's sound just got straight up metal all the way around. I'm talking hard, heavy metal. For me, Sacrifice would be first, followed by "The Labyrinth", "Battering Ram", "Call To Arms", in terms of heaviness. What brought about this sudden change in Saxon's music? Did the arrival of guitarist Doug Scarratt change things a bit ?
N.G. : We never set out to write in a certain direction although outside forces can influence you subconsciously, by that I mean what you've been listening to etc. One thing is that we will tend to decide if an album is going to be more heavy, or less heavy, or more straight ahead rock'n'roll, but we write how we write, end of, again, a lot of that is down to the production. Also, towards the end of the process, certain songs might be left off because they don't suit the general vibe of the album, maybe we'll come back to them at a later date. We tend to compose stuff we like, we won't let any old thing go on an album, it's got to be great. When a new member joins a band, of course things change a little, when Nibbs joined, and later on, Doug, the sound of the band went through a change each time - I think that goes for any member, instrument... Also, producers can influence you a lot, every producer does things his way, has his certain sounds ... Although, obviously, Saxon plays like Saxon, so that nucleus is always there, the bedrock so to speak. But I must say that I honestly think we're improving all the time as writers, and also as players, so that must influence things too.
You've done some work with Paul Di'Anno and Dennis Stratton, both former members of Iron Maiden. Tell us about that.
N.G. : That was through Lea Hart, who was the singer in Fastway at that time... He and his friend Chris were writers and producers and, after Nibbs and I had recorded the Fastway album, "Bad Bad Girls" (1990), Lea asked us to do other sessions for them on various projects they were involved with, and Paul and Dennis happened to be part of the equation. We did some recording in Lincolnshire and London.
You've played with some other bands besides the ones mentioned in this interview. Can you give us a brief overview of the other bands you've played in ?
N.G. : My first professional band was Krakatoa - I still do a lot of composing with the guitarist, Roger Adams, an amazing player! !, and one of my best friends. The keyboard player was Hans Zimmer, of movie soundtrack fame ! The main one really was Toyah, I'd been with her band since the end of 1980, we released an album and three singles during that time, all top five in the UK charts, and toured twice around the UK. The album was Anthem, and the singles were "It's A Mystery", "I Wanna Be Free", and "Thunder In The Mountains". I left them in autumn '81 to join Saxon. Through the GTR connection I obviously met Steve Howe so I played on some of his solo stuff, a track on Guitar Speak, and a couple of tracks on Turbulenz. I played some tracks on Asia's Aqua album, plus a few more on the Archiva vol1 and 2 Cds, Geoff Downes was producing GTR so that's how this connection came about. Tony Martin's first solo album. Fastway, Lea Hart solo albums, Iron Men, Paul Di'Anno, A Japanese soundtrack for a cartoon-type movie, Kaizoku, and Lea and Chris were again involved. Steve Ellis, ex-Love Affair,The Associates, Chameleon, 39, Lyon Street, an Associates project, Adrian Lee, Bernie Torme, Turn Out The Lights", "Winter's Reign", "Desperate Dan Band, Thunderstorm, The Muffin Men, Max Bacon, Charlie, not the band ! , Celtic Spirit, that was more for writing a track.
A question I always want to know is how musicians got their start playing their particular instrument. Tell us the beginnings of your drumming journey.
N.G. : I started playing at the age of seven when my parents bought me a snare drum and a cymbal - before that it had been the usual, setting up a circle of tins, metal plates,... On the floor and pummelling them with forks and knives... But a friend of the family noticed I was always tapping along with music so he had a little word in my Dad's ear ! A bass drum and hi-hat turned up one Xmas but I then started getting interested in guitar, however, I noticed that I was always listening to the bass parts so a sacrifice had to be made, my Hornby Dublo three-rail train set went and a beautiful Hofner Senator bass joined the household ! So there i was, playing along to Cream and the Moody Blues amongst others. Then I had a go on another kit at school and decided that the drums were for me ! We had a school band playing songs by Jethro Tull, Free, Procul Harum, Hendrix stuff, all sorts and we gigged locally too ! After that i played with various local bands until Krakatoa came along and offered me the gig with them. However, being a professional musician wasn't my first choice of career, I really wanted to be a vet but you needed to pass Latin exams and I was useless at it !
In all the time you've been drumming, who are the most notable acts you've shared the stage with ?
N.G. : There have been so many down the years, nearly always at festivals, two that pop into my head are Saga, Ian Crichton is an astounding guitarist, and Toto, Simon was playing with them at this time, but I don't want to leave anyone out so i'm not saying anymore !! We've shared stages with some wonderful bands.
You play other instruments besides the drums, among them being the bass, piano, keyboard, guitar, mellotron and talking drum. What is a mellotron and talking drum? What made you stick to playing drums ?
N.G. : I just think that I was more into drums than any other instrument at that time... I was more proficient on the kit than I was on anything else... I can play a bit of bass and guitar when it comes to putting ideas down, the same with keyboards... I'm no Rick Wakeman unfortunately ! Talking drum ? I didn't know i'd used one ? I just grab things and play around with them, half the time I don't know exactly what they are but I like experimenting ! A mellotron, now that's a different thing entirely, my favourite keyboard, the flutes on the Beatles track "Strawberry Fields "come from a mellotron, It was the first sampler I believe, and all the sounds were on tapes which were operated by pressing the keys, Genesis used it a lot as did Yes, The Moody Blues, and King Crimson, among others.
That's cool how you participate in writing other musical parts for Saxon such as guitar riffs using a keyboard. How do you do that ?
N.G. : Basically, I'll either use a guitar sample and play a riff on the keyboard - so it sounds like a guitar doing it - or i'll use other sounds, like strings, to play the riffs or melodies and the guitarists will transpose the ideas to their own instruments.
Are there any other drummers that have influenced you ?
N.G. : Too many to mention, my favourite all rounder is Simon Phillips, but Bill Ward was an early influence, I like different players for certain things, Vinny Colaiuta is an amazing groover but then he'll throw in a crazy fill which stuns you and then go back to the groove for the rest of the track, he is such a tasteful player. I also like Lenny White, Billy Cobham, Neil Peart, Phil Rudd, as soon as he starts, your feet start tapping instantly, a great example of groove playing ! There's Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl, Thomas Lang, Phil Ehart, Phil Collins... And i've been watching some real jazzers, Buddy Rich, Papa Jo Jones, Joe Morello... I don't think you ever stop learning !
Do people still call you The Rex ? How did you get that nickname ?
N.G. : I studied Geology at school, and I've always been interested in dinosaurs, particularly the T-Rex, I love movies with dinosaurs in, particularly the Ray Harryhausen ones, and I was blown away by the T-Rex in Jurassic Park and the sequels... I know the CGI ones are more realistic but, as a kid, the jerkiness of the old films made the creatures more scary and menacing to me, also, the original King Kong is a masterpiece ! So I guess that's where it came from, plus I've got smallish hands, compared to a lot of people, as did the Rex, no-one calls me that now though.
You appear in a book called "Mad Bad and Dangerous : A Book of Drummers Tales". Can you tell us a Nigel Glockler drummer tale ? One that stands out the most.
N.G. : I set my roadie on fire once! I was using some sticks with rags on the ends which had been soaked in lighter fluid, during my solo, my tec would soak these behind me, the lights would go out, he'd light the rags, and hand me the sticks, this one time the flaming rag came unwrapped and coiled around my hand and arm so, as to avoid getting badly burnt, I threw the sticks away behind me, they landed on the towel which soaked up any excess fuel, promptly set it on fire, and i have this vision of my roadie with a look of horror on his face as the flames shot up his trousers and generally around where he was sitting, I, of course, kept solo-ing whilst various fire extinguishers were brought into action... I'll never forget his face, he was ok thank god, just a few singed leg hairs !
You appear in a book called Mad Bad and Dangerous: A Book of Drummers Tales. Can you tell us a Nigel Glockler drummer tale? One that stands out the most.
N.G. : I set my roadie on fire once ! I was using some sticks with rags on the ends which had been soaked in lighter fluid, during my solo, my tec would soak these behind me, the lights would go out, he'd light the rags, and hand me the sticks, this one time the flaming rag came unwrapped and coiled around my hand and arm so, as to avoid getting badly burnt, I threw the sticks away behind me, they landed on the towel which soaked up any excess fuel, promptly set it on fire, and i have this vision of my roadie with a look of horror on his face as the flames shot up his trousers and generally around where he was sitting... I, of course, kept solo-ing whilst various fire extinguishers were brought into action... I'll never forget his face, he was ok thank god - just a few singed leg hairs !
Your current kit is known as "The Monster". What does it consist of ?
N.G. : Actually this kit i'm using now is either referred to as HMS Glockler or Starship Glockler - i'm a big Star Trek fan. I have two 22" kick drums, eight toms - two 8", 10",12",13",15",16" and 18" - plus various snare drums, and a battery of cymbals. A new kit is being built for me with two 24" kicks, other sizes as above, that one will be stored in the US, where I live now.
What advice would you give drummers just starting their craft ?
N.G. : I always tell people to get together with friends who may be starting out too and play, just play, it might sound terrible at first but it will teach you to interact with other musicians, just don't be a solo bedroom player, obviously one has to learn the basics and here i say, don't be in a rush to play fast, your body has to get used to playing certain things so start slow and, gradually, as your body gets used to it, the speed will come... I always remember a drum intro on a Spooky Tooth album, first track on the second album, there was a bass drum pattern with off beats that i just couldn't play, but I slowed it right down, practised and practised until i got it. That's what you have to do. Then, once you get more confident with your playing, get in a band with people better than you, that will push you to improve your own standard of drumming. Again, one can practise and practise on one's own, and learn all the rudiments, play everything at 200 miles an hour but what does it mean ? Nothing, you have to play for the song and not solo over everything, and play with a click, learn to groove. Just don't be in a rush, people often ask me how I play the kick drums so fast, actually, compared to some players, I don't !... But I tell them it's taken me time to build up to it, it didn't just happen !
Do you have any social media sites fans can look you up on ? a website ?
N.G. : I have a Facebook page - it's just a fan page but people can send private messages to me. I have a website, www.nigelglockler.com, but, and this is terrible, I haven't updated it in years and I mean many, many years ! Mark, my webmaster, puts stuff up from time to time, but he's incredibly busy with his own life, so I must get onto that as soon as possible, but the Facebook page is fine for info too ! I have a Twitter account but I've never used it and, quite frankly, I don't see the point of sharing every second of your life with the world. There's also the Saxon website.
Time for some fun! Tell me : 1. Things you hate to happen while drumming
N.G. : Any piece of equipment breaking or falling apart whilst i'm on stage, luckily it doesn't happen very often nowadays, however, it tests the roadie if I go through a drum head during a show, he has to replace it in situ !
2. What has been the most expensive drum equipment you've ever bought ?
N.G. : I bought myself a Tama 'Imperial Star' kit back in '76 when it first came out, cost me a fortune, eight concert toms, two floors, kick, snare... I played three shows with it, one with a local Brighton band I was in, then my first two shows with Krakatoa, it was huge, anyway, we were travelling to a gig in the North of England, the four band members and two crew (Hans hadn't yet joined us) - and we got rammed up the backside by an articulated lorry, at night, our truck ended up on it's back still facing the same way ! And my kit got totalled ! I watched it disappearing down the motorway under the wheels of passing trucks in hails of sparks ! Luckily we all got out, the Police said it would normally look like a butchers shop with no survivors ! Cymbals were expensive too ! When one got broken it was the end of the world ! The most expensive stuff I buy nowadays is for my studio, keyboards...
3. How do you spend your time away from the drums? Do you have any hobbies ?
N.G. : I love reading about World War 1 Naval warfare, and also the Victorian Navy, ironclads..., and the first pre-dreadnought battleships, actually all the campaigns the British fought in the 19th century interest me, The Napoleonic Wars, The Afghan War, The Crimea, The Boer War, The Nile War, Zulu Wars..., but it's mainly the naval side i'm most interested in... I collect books on that subject, and documentaries, which drive my wife mad ! I like to read and also watch tv documentaries on nature, big cats, birds, the countryside in general. I also grow chillis which I use in my curries, I'm mad on Indian food ! I have a friend who's a pilot for an Air Museum near Dallas, he takes me up in old warbirds from time to time. Apart from that I love sitting down in my studio and firing up all the keyboards and synth racks... Then I turn into Tangerine Dream or Enigma or Vangelis !
4. What are "resonant heads", "tension rods", and please explain what the term "kick drum" means.
N.G. : Resonant heads are the bottom heads on a tom etc or the front heads on a bass drum, in other words, not the ones you hit, but the other ones that resonate with the struck head. There was a time that a lot of players, me included, only used a single head on a tom so there was no resonant head, but I went back to the two-headed toms as I preferred the stick response, more bounce ! Tension rods are just that, you adjust the sound of the drum by tightening or loosening the heads with these. "Kick drum" is egal to "bass drum", don't ask me why this term came about, I haven't a clue either !(laughs)
Edited by Heather Williams
Photo : Rhythm Magazine
Le moins que l'on puisse c'est que les quatre américains nous ont fait attendre. 8 ans et voilà « Hardwired…To Self-Destruct » qui déboule et tente de retrouver le feu sacré, la spontanéité qui a pu parfois manquer au combo à force de trop vouloir complexifier sa musique. Décryptage de la nouvelle livraison en compagnie de James Hetfield.
Entre la sortie de « Death Magnetic », en 2008, et l’arrivée du nouvel album, « Hardwired…To Self-Destruct », le 18 novembre 2016, il s’est écoulé quelques années. Comme expliques-tu cela ?
James Hetfield : Je n’ai pas l’impression que nous ayons fait un break depuis 2008. Nous avons eu quelques moments de répit mais le temps n’est pas une donnée importante dans Metallica. Nous gérons cela à notre manière car, tu sais, nous sommes très occupés par tout un tas de projets. Ce n’est pas comme si nous nous torturions en permanence pour sortir quelque chose et que d’autres n’attendent que ça. Il y a pas mal de choses qui se passent dans la vie du groupe, que ce soit avec les tournées ou tout ce qui se passe en dehors. Et puis, il est vrai que nous avons également nos vies de famille et elles sont naturellement primordiales, mais cela ne justifie pas vraiment tout le temps que nous prenons pour réaliser un album. Nous avons juste envie de bien faire les choses.
Est-ce que le single « Hardwired...To Self-Destruct » est représentatif de la direction musicale de ce nouvel opus ?
J.H. : En fait, « Hardwired...To Self-Destruct » est la dernière chanson que nous avons écrite pour ce disque, c’est donc une sorte de synthèse des idées qui nourrissent l’ensemble de cet album. Il est vrai que c’est l’une des chansons les plus courtes de ce disque. Nous sommes réputés pour avoir des titres dont la durée est longue et il y en a sur ce disque. Il y a également différentes ambiances, c’est ce qui nous plaît. Nous aimons tout ce qui est rapide, lent et entre les deux.
Quoi qu’il en soit, « Hardwired...To Self-Destruct » est maintenant officiellement terminé…
J.H. : Il est vrai que certains peuvent nous taxer de perfectionnistes, ils le peuvent, et je pense que nous le sommes. Mais, il y a toujours une raison à cela. Il y a sans cesse des moments où l’on se dit que c’est trop long, qu’il faut couper des passages, qu’il faut essayer de rendre plus dynamiques certaines parties. Tu sais, nous sommes des artisans et nous nous efforçons toujours de rendre nos chansons les plus efficaces possible. C’est comme cela du début jusqu’à la fin du processus, même au sujet de l’ordre des morceaux. Il y a toujours quelque chose qui nous vient en tête pour livrer un disque qui soit le meilleur possible. Nous réfléchissons en permanence à tous les petits détails qui vont améliorer le tout.
C’est la raison pour laquelle la version vinyle sera un double disque…
J.H. : Oui, c’est pour toutes les raisons que je viens d’évoquer… Nous avons au total 12 titres et, pour que le rendu sonore soit le meilleur possible, il fallait que l’on choisisse l’option du double album. C’est comme ça que nous fonctionnons.
Est-ce que vous allez effectuer une tournée pour promouvoir « Hardwired...To Self-Destruct » ?
J.H. : C’est sûr, nous allons effectuer une tournée mais je ne sais pas du tout comment cela va s’organiser. J’aimerai jouer partout où il sera possible de le faire mais tu sais, de nos jours, avec l’âge, nous voulons pouvoir le faire dans les meilleures conditions possibles. Il y aura donc une certaine organisation à mettre en place afin de s’assurer que nous soyons bien en forme pour chaque prestation Il y aura donc moins de dates et nous allons gérer tout cela de manière intelligent afin de fournir les meilleures concerts possibles.
Que penses-tu de cette mode du bashing systématique et, en particulier, celles de certains fans de Metallica qui cherchent à vous dénigrer, à vous accuser d’être des vendus ?
J.H. : Oui, il y a plusieurs versions qui circulent sur le net avec toutes ces personnes qui nous détestent et cherchent des sujets de polémique… quels qu’ils soient. Ils ont un certain ressenti envers le groupe depuis 10 ans et ils n’hésitent pas à descendre en flamme notre nouveau disque avant même d’avoir pu en écouter une seule note. Cet « exercice » ne ressemble plus à une critique musicale construite, c’est juste une manière de déverser ces frustrations. Dans ses conditions, on essaye de ne pas prêter attention à toute cette merde. Nous aimons ce que nous faisons, ça nous plaît et nous composons la musique qui nous avons envie d’écouter. Nous sommes des artistes, c’est aussi simple que cela. Tu pourras porter tous les jugements possibles sur nous, cela ne nous empêchera pas de faire ce qui nous convient le mieux.
Comment pourrais-tu analyser la façon dont le son de Metallica a évolué au cours de ses 35 dernières années ?
J.H. : Je dirais que nous avons évolué dans notre façon de faire de la musique. Mais, je ne vais pas juger les artistes qui produisent le même album encore et toujours. Si cela leur plaît et qu’ils se sentent à l’aise avec cette façon de faire, je ne chercherais jamais à les critiquer. Il y a toujours quelque chose de positif qui peut en sortir. Nous sommes des explorateurs, nous aimons essayer différentes choses et repousser les limites.
Aujourd’hui, est-ce qu’il reste quelque chose à accomplir pour Metallica ou est-ce que vous êtes arrivés à un point où vous vous dites qu’il faut juste profiter du moment présent ?
J. H. : Je dirais que c’est un peu des deux. En tant qu’explorateurs, nous nous demandons quelle va être notre prochaine aventure… Quoi qu’il arrive, il y aura toujours des défis pour nous et nous ressentirons le besoin de le relever. Nous avons encore envie de faire des « premières fois », certaines n’ont pas vraiment marché alors que d’autres ont failli nous tuer ! Je fais référence à certains films et autres qui ont demandé des investissements divers… Mais, nous sommes toujours à l’affût pour tester de nouvelles choses, prendre du plaisir et faire sourire nos fans, c’est ce qui me donne la banane.
Peux-tu nous parler de cette aventure qui consiste à ne plus être signé sur une major compagnie et à sortir vos disques sur votre propre label Blackened Recordings ?
J.H. : Je peux t’assurer que Blackened Recordings est un projet majeur pour nous (rires). C’est fondateur pour Metallica de posséder son propre label. C’est quelque chose que mes enfants ne peuvent pas comprendre. Ils disent des trucs du style : « Qu’entends-tu par le fait de posséder ta propre musique ? Pourquoi est-ce que ça ne serait pas le cas ? ». J’essaye de leur expliquer que c’est la façon dont les choses fonctionnaient il y a encore quelques années, le fait de posséder nos bandes master nous rend maîtres de notre destin, en quelque sorte. Aujourd’hui, nous pouvons assurer par nous-mêmes le pressage de nos disques vinyles ce qui est vraiment cool. C’est un nouveau chapitre pour la créativité de Metallica.
Est-ce qu’un jour Metallica décidera un jour de s’arrêter ou est-ce que vous allez continuer jusqu’au point de rupture final ?
J.H. : Je ne sais pas, nous n’en sommes pas encore là... Il n’y a pas de règles. En tant qu’artiste, à quel moment tu t’arrêtes ? Est-ce que tu es supposé t’arrêter ? Si tu t’arrêtes, est-ce que tu meurs ? Quand je repense à l’exemple de Lemmy, le mec continuait à botter le cul de pas mal de gens jusqu’au dernier moment… Pour moi, c’est une attitude respectable. C’était vraiment sa façon d’être, le mode de vie qu’il avait choisie. Pourquoi est-ce que tu devrais mourir assis sur un rocking chair ? Aujourd’hui, je ne sais pas ce qui va se passer pour nous.
Source : 93.3 WMMR radio
Texte : Laurent Gilot
Photo : DR
Metallica, « Hardwired...To Self-Destruct » (Blackened Recordings)
Sortie le 18 novembre 2016
King Diamond performed its classic second album, 1987's concept effort "Abigail", in its entirety on his latest U.S. tour and on the forthcoming shows in Europe, this summer. King Diamond will also release three now albums in the coming years. A good reason to talk to his drummer : Matt Thompson. He speaks to us about the band and his carreer as a drummer.
When did you get your start playing drums ? What did your first drum kit consist of ?
Matt Thompson : It was in 1978. My first kit was a Slingerland 4 piece, it came with hi-hats, a ride cymbal, a crash cymbal and 2 roto-toms.
You've been drumming for King Diamond for 16 years. What's kept you staying ?
The love of playing metal drums for a metal legend.
What were you doing musically before joining King Diamond in 2000 ?
I was at the U. of N. TX for 4 years and had just graduated. At the time, I was playing with Shaolin Death Squad, Maylee Thomas, and freelancing around.
What's it been like drumming for King ? I'm sure people are thinking "wild"...
It's been a great ride, and I hope it keeps going.
How did you come about being a member of King Diamonds band ?
I was recommended by a mutual friend of mine and King's, the owner of Nomad studios. Nomad had it's own little scene at the time, many bands were in and out of there. I was doing a lot of playing for Michael Harris and working at the studio. King heard me on a recording and called me a couple years later.
Has King ever approached you about playing drums for Mercyful Fate, asked you to do any pieces for albums, or stand in on any Mercyful Fate shows ?
No. No need, Bjarne Holm is a great drummer.
Being the drummer for King Diamond, you've played some pretty big shows/festivals. What has been the biggest festival you've played ? Was it a good or bad experience ?
The biggest festival so far has been Wacken Open Air in Germany. We played for close to 100k people. It was an amazing experience. I've said it before, It was on my bucket list to just attend that festival let alone play the darned thing !
How has touring with King Diamond been ? What in your opinion was the most interesting country visited while touring? Any bad touring experiences ?
It's been an amazing adventure, I've learned so much... mostly about myself. On tour, there is no hiding your bad side. I learned quickly that I have a bad side, everybody does. Hard to say which country was most interesting, there are interesting things to find everywhere! I'm not going to say there were any "bad" experiences. However, there were certainly plenty of things that were..."less great". Sometimes it can be boring, or you have to have bad food...but these are so trivial, I've been a dishwasher, a painter, I've had all kinds of jobs and this is by far so much better that complaint about any of it seems really dumb.
What's it like being behind the drumkit and playing in front of thousands of people ?
It's awesome, exciting, and it's my happy place. I never tire of it.
You played on three studio King Diamond's albums: "Abigail II : The Revenge" (2002), "The Puppet Master" (2003), and "Give Me Your Soul...Please" (2007). I like the "Puppet Master" best. It's heavy and your drumming was awesome on it. Has there been any other discography for King Diamond you've appeared on ?
Thanks ! I am also on "Deadly Lullabyes Live".
Have you been in any music videos for King Diamond ?
Yes, I am in "Give Me Your Soul...Please".
I think everyone wants to know if there is a new album in the works for King Diamond.
That is the plan as far as I know.
You're a member of another band called Shaolin Death Squad. How long have you been with this band ? Is it something you do when not busy with King Diamond ? Any albums or tours planned for this band ?
I've been playing with Shaolin Death Squad since college, we are close friends. And yes, when King is not touring, we play shows and work on music. We have 5 cds out, a couple are on vinyl. Last year we put out "As You Become Us", it's an e.p. We played 3 shows during this break, now it's countdown to the Europe King Diamond Abigail shows
Why the costumes in Shaolin Death Squad and why did you pick the "Ninja" ?
Long ago, Brian Lewis (Bat Castle, Xenos, Dr. Brainwarp) joined. We were thinking about a look, consolidating the image kind of thing. We weren't that serious. We decided we would all wear black for a show (daring). Brian showed up in full Kabuki theater costume, mask and everything. It looked amazing. He pretty much set the course for our live look. We had to choose characters. I dig the whole ninja thing so I just ran with it
Have you ever had a hand in writing any lyrics for King Diamond or Shaolin Death Squad ?
Certainly not with King, I mean that's one of the things he is known for, right? I wrote some music for Shaolin in the past, the lyrics for "Last Stand" are mine, you can tell by how ridiculous they are.
You have been associated with the following bands: Legacy of Disorder, Aghora, Deuxmonkey (ex Anthrax Dan Spitz's band), and Synkronizity. Are you still a member of any of these bands ?
I was a member of Legacy, they are top blokes, good on 'em. I am still a member of Aghora, although we aren't doing anything at the moment, we are busy with careers and daddy duty. I was never a member of Deuxmonkey, although Dan fired me as one, that was all very confusing stuff. Synkronizity was a project I did with Santiago Dobles and Tony Choy, awesome music, some of the most challenging I've ever worked on. Not a member though for reasons.
Ronnie Dio once said when he writes songs he goes to "the dungeon". How do you go about writing drum tracks for songs? Are there any particular conditions for you that make it easier to write music ?
Well...it's a little more complicated with drums. It's always been in practice rooms that I've rented.
When doing big festivals and shows, do you use your own kit, or is one provided for you? How long does it take for you to set up your kit at shows ?
I use my own kit. With King we have a professional drum tech so he sets it all up. With Shaolin, etc., there are a lot of variable. At the club level, there are often 3 or more bands on a bill in a place that has given zero forethought to gear logistics so it can take some time to get set up.
Please explain what "heel up" and "heel down" playing is. Which one are you ?
"Heel up" is when your heel is not touching the pedal. "Heel down" is when it is. With King I'm 100% heel up. With Shaolin it's like 98%. For me, heel down is for gigs that require softer dynamics, like restaurant gigs.
Are there any other drummers that have influenced you ?
Yes. Too many to list.
What are your thoughts on drumming ?
It's awesome, and any household that has kids and no drums should be investigated for other abuses.
Any social media sites fans can catch you on ? Do you have a website ?
Yes ! I'm a real renaissance man. www.mattthompsondrums.com Facebook.com/mattthompsondrums, youtube.com/mattthompsondrums, you can find me on twitter, instagram, all that stuff. The links are on my webpage.
I have musicians that watch Laurel and Hardy, take martial arts, garden, and read - what do you do when not playing music ? Any hobbies ?
I love sci-fi, the outdoors, things that I can't do because I live where I do like skiing, surfing, hiking. There is a hiking trail here but it charges $7 every time you want to just take a walk. It's so criminal that it's criminal.
Former Venom members, Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray (drums), have decided to start up a new band as Venom Inc. because they didn't want to find a new name. With bassist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan, they released three albums with Venom : "Prime Evil" (1989), "Temples Of Ice" (1991) and
"The Waste Lands" (1992). Dolan and Dunn are also involved in MPire Of Evil and they released two albums : "Hell To The Holy" (2012) and "Crucified" (2013). Venom Inc. played his first gig at the Keep It True festival (germany) in 2015 and toured with Vader in Europe. Interview between past and future.
You started out in a band called Guillotine in 1978. Was it like Venom in the sense of it being "black metal" with themes of Satanism ? Why did you change the name from Guillotine to Venom with the arrival of Conrad "Cronos" Lant ?
Anthony "Abaddon" Bray (drums) : Ok. To set things straight, Jeff had a band and I had a band, neither were black metal or satanic in any way. I joined Jeffs band and set about getting my singer Clive Archer into the band. My guitarist, Eric Cook, later became Jeffs tech and subsequently Venom manager. It's at this point we became Venom. Long before Cronos joined. I then got rid of the rest of the band and Jeff met Lant and brought him in as guitarist. He moved to bass when I eventually sacked the bass player as well.
Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) : I have heard this so many times and it is simply not true. The band was never called Guillotine, it was a name that I had floating around as an idea but there was never a logo designed nor was it adopted as the band name. The band was actually called Venom before Cronos joined and the line up was myself on guitar, Dave Rutherford on rhythm guitar - Dave was the guy that I first started a band with -, Clive Archer on vocals, Abaddon on drums and a bass player whose name I honestly can't remember. Prior to this, myself and Dave had another bass player called Dean Hewitt and a drummer whose audition had been him playing along to the Genesis live album "Seconds Out", and a short lived vocalist, both whose names escape me. When the drummer and vocalist left. Abaddon came down to audition after meeting him in a local music store after he responded to an advert I had placed there. He was the same as me, a noise merchant, much to the displeasure of Dean, who was a really good bass player, who consequently left the band. Abaddon introduced me to a friend of his, Clive Archer, who was a huge Judas Priest fan like me and first time I met him I vividly remember "The Ripper" being embroidered down the side of his jeans. After a meeting in the Percy Arms bar in Newcastle and the meeting him and Abaddon again at a Priest gig at the City Hall he came in as vocalist. It was during this period that a friend who used to hang around at rehearsals suggested Venom as a band name. It just stuck and that was it.
When Venom was formed, Cronos came in on guitar. Why did he switch to bass duties later ?
M. : I met him at my girlfriends best friends house. A bunch of us used to go around and just hang out and listen to music when her parents were out and, this particular night, I was introduced to her new boyfriend and it was him. We spoke for a while, I mentioned I had a band and he said he played guitar. Dave had just left the band so I was on the look out for another rhythm guitarist, he also mentioned he was doing a government Youth Opportunity Scheme at Impulse Studios, owned by the founder of Neat Records, basically making teas and coffees and picking up whatever knowledge he could along the way. I invited him along to a Venom rehearsal on a saturday afternoon at Westgate Road Church Hall to see the band. He joined as rhythm guitarist. He switched to bass when the bass player left and he offered to give it a try.
A. : We felt that Cronos' bass sound was full enough to not need a second rhythm guitarist.
In 1980, Clive Archer left Venom and it was just the three of you (Cronos, Abaddon, Mantas). You kept this lineup for six years. Cronos took over vocals while still playing bass. Why did you not just find another vocalist ?
M. : We had been in Impulse Studios to do our first demo and prior to that I had written a new song, "Live Like An Angel, Die Like A Devil", and I asked Cronos if he would try singing it. The idea was that Clive would go off stage for a costume change and Cronos would sing this song then Clive would come back on for "Schitzo". For some reason Clive was feeling unsettled in the band and chose to leave and it was at this time Cronos had sung on 'Live Like An Angel' so we decided to stick with it that way, no other reason, their vocal styles in those early days of the band were not that different to be perfectly honest. A lot of the early songs were written before Cronos joined the band and I still have a cassette recording of a rehearsal in the church hall from 1979 with Clive Archer singing "Angel Dust", "Red Light Fever", "Buried Alive" and "Raise The Dead", the last two songs mentioned there obviously didn't appear until "Black Metal".
For six years it was Mantas, Cronos, and Abaddon. The three of you had recorded five albums together, one of them a Live album. In 1987, why , after five albums and much success with that lineup, did Mantas decide to leave ?
M. : I actually left in 1986 and it was after a disgusting and totally unnecessary incident which occurred at the Loreley Festival in 1985. There had been other things in the years prior to this but this was the straw that broke the camels back as we say. It was not musical differences and it was not financial.
Two other guitarists were brought in after Mantas' departure. Mike "Mykus" Hickey and Jim Clare. This lineup (Cronos and Abaddon, Mykus, Jim Clare) recorded an album "Calm Before The Storm". Why did that album move away from the familiar themes of satanism that Venom was known for to sorcery and magic type themes ?
A. : I was responsible for hiring Mike and Jim to try to get a more modern sound. However, this backfired when other bands were getting heavier. Cronos turned us into van Halen or something
M. : My answer would be to satisfy his Dave Lee Roth fantasy trip.
Why did Cronos leave Venom in 1987 ?
M. : Ask Abaddon.
A. : I told Cronos I didn't want to continue in this vein any more and that it wasn't Venom and he should continue as the Cronos band, which they did. I contacted Tony Dolan, The Demolition Man, who I had tour managed and supported since his days with Atomkraft. I said I had a deal with Music for Nations and I was going to ask Jeff to give it another go. We recorded "Prime Evil", my favorite Venom album and this line up had a successful ten year career.
Demolition Man, you came into Venom in 1989 after Cronos left taking over vocals and bass duties. You recorded three albums and an ep with Venom up until 1992. Who approached you about joining Venom ? Explain how it all came about. Why did you not go back after leaving in 1992 ?
D.M. : It was actually 88' but "Prime Evil" was 89'. Basically, I had just come off of a very successful tour with Atomkraft, but the singer we had decided to leave as well as the lead guitarist, so although the drummer wanted us to keep going, I personally didn't feel I wanted to go back to start all over again so I was thinking about what to do next when Eric Cook - Venom manager - and Abaddon invited me to a pub for a drink. They explained Cronos had left, and there was a deal on the table from Music For Nations for some albums, and did I want the job ? I said ok why not and began to write for "Prime Evil". That riff actually coming from Sammy Hagar's "This Planets on Fire", but slowed down by Abaddon, which I thought would not work but did, very well. At the point they asked me there was no Mantas, he was asked and said no. Then we spoke about how it could work and he agreed. For me, I did not think a Venom without two members could exist really. I think because there needs to be that fusion. Once we had completed the contract, also doing Live 90' video and an album supposed to be for Russia called "Kissing The Beast" but disappeared without a trace until some years later turning up in Europe on something called Benilux, don't ask, no idea, we had a choice, renegotiate something, a new label, what ? However, I had moved to London and a new job, and we seemed to have lost the initial vigor that got us going. There was no meeting or discussion. It just kind of rolled to a natural stop, and that was that.
Why did Venom disband between 1993 and 1995 ?
M. : For me personally I just felt it had run its course and I must be honest and say that my heart was not in it, not in the way it was being handled.
Mantas, you reunited with Cronos between 1995-1999, recording an Ep and an album "Cast In Stone". What prompted this reunion ?
M. : Andre Verhysan, the owner and promoter of the Dynamo Festival, offered us the headline spot but it actually took 2 or 3 years for us to agree to do it. I was the first to say no, I simply wasn't interested and no, before anyone mentions money, as someone always does, it had nothing to do with finance !
The final time any of you three were in Venom was in 2002, when Mantas was still a part of the band known as Venom. In 2005, Cronos stayed on in Venom up until the present day sans any of you. Why, as I'm sure everyone wants to know, is Cronos continuing on in the band known as Venom , while two of the founding members, and one of the original members move on as Venom Inc. ? Who's idea was it to start Venom Inc. ?
D.M. : Cronos has been doing shows and recording for the last 10 yars as Venom, why does he need to stop ? Venom Inc. the name was our old European agents idea and using the original logo included in the name, which is not owned by Cronos. Oliver Weinsheimer, my friend and Producer of the Keep It True Festival, invited MPire Of Evil to play last year and asked if I could fix it to have us play with Abaddon for fans doing a bunch of Venom classic songs... We did play and the fans reaction as well as promoters across the planet told us to continue be wanting to book us and see us. So following K.I.T. we kind of had a choice, do we just go and do it or not. We decided yes, why not.
Is there a dispute going on with the Venom name ?
D.M. : No
Demolition Man, I'm a bit confused. In a 1/30/2016 Facebook post you quoted "Now I'm reflecting, and it's time to consider if I personally will continue with this. I don't want comments, as I am not looking for praise or otherwise, I'm just stating a fact. I need to consider my position, forever grateful to the mighty Legions but all true fans !!!" Is this you telling everyone that you are considering not continuing with Venom Inc. ? And if so, for what reason ?
D.M. : I have two operations I must have. I have to consider when and how to fit these in. I cannot do what we just did all year again without missing these operations. I was committed to Venom.Inc and still am to the fans.
You guys just got off an extensive North American tour where you were playing shows just about every day of the month. How do you guys travel on these every-day-show tours ? It must be hard staying in motels every night, moving on the next day to play yet another show...does it ever get tiring at some point ?
D.M. : No motels, all done by a sleeper van/bus, so show and move show and move basically. Yes can be tiring. I was supposed to be sharing the driving but in the end could not as I have major hip and back pain so Abaddon helped with some drives, which was great, but difficult also to be playing then driving too. It does get tiring for all of course but it is the name of the game and when you are on stage none of that matter anyway it is purely about the fans and the music and that keeps you going.
In April 2015, Venom Inc. debuted at the Keep It True Festival in Germany, then it was off to China, Japan, Taiwan, a full European tour, a South American tour, and a North American tour. Besides the fact you love your fans and you love getting out there and playing, were these tours and festivals a way to see what kind of response you would get as Venom without Cronos, to see if people would respond to you guys as Venom Inc. ?
D.M. : No none were planned. After K.I.T., we just got offers across the globe to go and play so we did. We never sat down to consider a "game plan" it is what it is and people want it, so we are doing it, simple as that. Cronos or what he and his band do don't come into it, why should they, we play live songs that were written by Venom and that was the people that are in Venom Inc. too, more must be better ?
You were very busy in 2015 ! Do you have any plans to come up with an album of new music under Venom Inc. ? Music that is not Venom songs ? I think a lot of people would like to see that.
D.M. : That is the intention, we have to see but I have been writing and I know Mantas has too so there is something coming and not Venom songs redone (laughs)
Have the fans been receptive to Venom Inc. ? Have you had any negative feedback ?
D.M. : Yes more than we even thought about. There will always be those who prefer the original line up of Venom because that is where they came in and it has meaning for them, same as those who prefer the Venom line up now over others, some liked when Anton was there best and many love when it was us 3. More is always better, so as long as the beast is alive I think, who cares... We need it to be alive and good music is good music full stop. Choice is a great thing and people prefer what they prefer, could be coffee could be tea or they could hate both, but that's the beauty of life, choice, you don't have to, you can want to, simple. Venom Inc. has had amazing fans and support from Asia through Europe, South America, North America everywhere we have played it has been breathtaking and the places we have not yet, want us bad to go, so can't say anything but good. It s very humbling and I am totally honored to be received so warmly, best thing is, everyone gets it, what we do, they get it !
There are other bands you guys have been in - or still are in ? - besides Venom and Venom Inc. Mantas had a band Mantas and Mantas 666 - which included Demolition Man -, Abaddon had Abaddon - which sounds very industrial -, Demolition Man had Atomkraft, and Mantas and Demolition Man have MPire of Evil. Do any of you plan on continuing on with these other bands ? Mantas, why was the name Mantas changed to Mantas 666 ?
M. : The name wasnt actually changed, people just started calling it that... I suppose because of the logo design. Venom Inc is obviously very busy at the moment but I plan to continue with everything else that I am involved with when the time allows.
D.M. : Oh yes... Atomkraft, I am forever writing material for and get offered shows here and there which I agree to if I can fit them in. MPire Of Evil has an album almost completed just needs my voice and bass but I wrote a bunch and Mantas did and we like the way it sounds better then anything we did before for the band, and we still have shows offered for the band so once the album is done we must play it... I do guest spots a lot these days too, mainly recordings but I like the diversity. I just live for playing.
Tell us why you adopted the names Demolition Man, Mantas, and Abaddon. What do they mean ?
D.M. : Mine came from my original Atomkraft guitarist. We played a show somehere around 1980 and I pulled all my amps over during a bass solo, everyone had a solo spot back then (laughs), sparks and fire and mayhem followed and while trying to correct everything as to continue the show...the guitarist went to the microphone and said... ''Ladies and Gentlemen, The Demolition Man''!! lol It stuck from then. I break things...
M. : Haha. For me to know and you to find out. Lets see how many mythical stories this one generates.
Demolition Man, you have been in four movies among them Judge Dredd and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Are you going to continue on in movies as they get offered to you ?
D.M. : Well, I did a few things yes... TV, Movies, including those 2 your mentioned, some theatre also and, yes, I do things every now and then if they come up but am not focused on that and you need to be really. I have lots of famous friends because of all that and I feel privileged because of that too. I've done soundtracks for IOS games, directed some things even did a Rock Opera in Portugal, and all in Portuguese where I had 6 weeks to learn the language from scratch (laughs). I would do something if it interested me yes. I like acting on screen and stage but it isn't the same as performing music, with music you have to be real and yourself, of course the other you are not you so it is a challenge to create someone else.
Have any of you had other musical influences, other bands you like ?
M. : Well its no secret that seeing Judas Priest in 1979 changed my life and firmly set me on my chosen life path but I have so many influences, Kiss, Frank Marino, Gary Moore the list goes on and on. I'm old school, I grew up through the 70's glam era and my first favourite band as a kid was Slade ! I was also into T Rex, The Sweet, basically anything guitar driven. Then Alice Cooper invaded the UK with a number one single "Schools Out". The first single I ever bought with my own money was "Seven Seas Of Rye" by Queen. The first vinyl album that my parents bought me was "Ride A White Swan" by T Rex and the first album I bought with my pocket money as a kid was 'Hotter Than Hell' By Kiss. I go into all this stuff in more detail in my book which I am in the process of writing.
D.M. : My personal influences are well documented. Lemmy and Motörhead are the reason I wanted to play and more the way I wanted to play. Beyond that, The Dickies inspired me towards fast, Punk gave me my momentum and Geddy Lee, Billy Sheenan and a host of Jazz players made me see the approach to bass a complete different way. I was, like Lemmy, a rhythm guitarist at first then switched...
Do you have any hobbies ? Other stuff you guys do when youre not playing music ?
D.M. : I like to train, mainly boxing now as I have some hip issues and back and that stopped me doing the grappling I was enjoying at my local MMA club. I am usually busy doing promotion or writing music or consulting on projects 24/7 so training and swimming are the only other things I can fit in the hole (laughs). I like to read historical stuff and watch documentaries the same.
M. : Anything creative, I love creating artwork. I find it quite difficult to relax and always feel that I should be using my time productively hence I do spend a lot of time in my home studio writing music. Also I still train, I keep my hand in with the Martial Arts although I don't train anywhere near as hard as I use to. I trained constantly for 42 years and had my own Martial Arts gym and was a professional instructor for 19 years.
On se souvient encore, non sans une certaine émotion, de toutes les fois où l'on descendait discrètement à la cave (vers 22h50) pour écouter l'émission de l'ami Zégut et appuyer sur les deux touches du magnéto cassette pour enregistrer quelques perles obscures. Cette écoute clandestine du hard rock était presque l'un des trucs les plus licencieux que l'on pouvait faire à l'époque. Camping des flots bleus, Méphisto, gros rougeot, bobonne, le chien méchant 14/18, l'animateur de RTL nous éclatait avec sa galerie de personnes pittoresques et son cri de guerre ("Lusat bande de p'tites graisseuses et bande de p'tits graisseux") hurlé en direct du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg. L'émission de radio, qui récoltait 82,57% des suffrages dans le référendum 1985 d'Enfer magazine, revient aujourd'hui sous la forme d'une rétrospective sonique réjouissante. Entretien avec un tonton Zégut qui n'a toujours pas enlevé les doigts de la prise.
"Wango Tango", quel drôle de nom...
Françis Zégut : Pour faire un peu d'étymologie, ce nom farfelu est une expression argotique anglaise à connotation sexuelle. Quand j'ai fait les maquettes pour l'émission en 1980, sortait un 45 tours de Ted Nugent qui s'appelait "Wango Tango". Le nom était tellement dingue qu'on a choisi ce titre pour faire une émission de metal, au départ le vendredi entre 23 heures et minuit. A l'époque, le metal, comme maintenant, même si ça s'est un petit peu démocratisé, était mis de côté, ces mecs aux cheveux longs, avec des patches, buveurs de bière... Ca a été une expérience extraordinaire qui a duré 10 ans, entre 1980 et 1990.
RTL t'a confié l'antenne pour que tu passes du hard-rock et du metal. Comment as-tu réussi ton coup ?
Je ne sais pas. En tout cas, ça prouve que la radio était différente à l'époque, était moins formatée dans ces années-là. Sur RTL, il y avait aussi WRTL, arrivée une année avant "Wango Tango", il y avait une émission sur les lives, une sur la dance, il y avait Georges Lang, il y avait Jean-Bernard Hebey qui faisait une émission punk et new wave. Un autre courant musical important à l'époque, c'était le metal. Au-delà de l'étiquette qu'on veut bien coller au metal, il existe une musique d'une richesse assez incroyable, parce qu'en partant des bases du blues, on est arrivé à Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More ou Rage Against The Machine, qui ont exploré de nouveaux domaines. Pour moi, c'est un courant musical important : il remplit les salles de concert, les amateurs achètent des disques, font des milliers de bornes pour aller dans un festival, c'est plus que respectable !
Comment est-tu arrivée à cette musique ?
C'est celle de mon adolescence. Quand j'avais 15-16 ans, j'étais un fan, et je le suis toujours, de Led Zeppelin. C'était un groupe extraordinaire, avec des musiciens extraordinaires, chacun avec sa personnalité. Pour moi, une pierre angulaire. Ensuite, il y a eu AC/DC au milieu des années 70. A l'adolescence, on a toujours une musique préférée. Aujourd'hui, c'est le hip-hop ou la dance. Moi, c'était le metal, les guitar-heroes, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, ces gens-là... J'ai gardé tout ça avec moi en abordant les années 80.
Et donc, RTL te confie les clés pour une émission ?
Au début des années 80, on m'a dit, "on cherche de jeunes animateurs, envoyez des maquettes". Moi, j'ai proposé "Wango Tango" au moment où il se passait beaucoup de choses, comme l'arrivée de nouveaux groupes ou l'avènement d'AC/DC en 1980 avec “Back In Black” qui s'est vendu à des dizaines de millions d'exemplaires. Comme j'écoutais du metal, où les mecs jouent de la guitare et gueulent, j'ai décider de présenter l'émission en gueulant !
Ton attitude derrière le micro était effectivement originale !
Je ne parlais pas dans le creux de l'oreille, je gueulais debout. On a cassé un nombre d'enceintes incroyables, car on mettait à fond tout le temps ! Une heure de radio, c'était comme une heure de concert, je jouais de la guitare en carton, j'étais cuit ! J'aurais pu présenter de manière plus calme ou plus érudit rock, moi c'était plus BD, l'univers de Binet. Les Bidochon étaient l'archétype de ceux qui n'aiment pas les jeunes, qui n'aiment pas la musique de jeunes. Au final, l'émission était un mixte de tout ça, des Bidochon et de metal.
Tu pensais tenir combien de temps ?
Au début, je fais une maquette, qui est acceptée. 8 août 1980, je fais mes débuts, qui durent 5 semaines. En même temps que moi arrive une émission sur la new wave, qui dure aussi une heure par semaine. L'actrice Lorraine Bracco, qui a ensuite joué dans les Soprano, vivait à l'époque à Paris, et faisait une heure en parlant de mode et de musique. Fin août, tout s'arrête (Ndlr : euh Francis, si tu as débuté le 8 août, soit ça a duré moins de 5 semaines, soit c'était en septembre ). Bon, je ne sais pas, je me dis, en tout cas, j'ai fait un truc extraordinaire. En fait, il y a tellement de remontées, de gens qui téléphonent, de courriers – à l'époque, pas de mails – que l'émission repart en janvier 1981. Au début, que le vendredi, puis le vendredi et le dimanche, et puis du lundi au vendredi, de 23 heures à minuit.
Je crois que tu as donné un bon coup de pouce à la carrière de plusieurs groupes, français ou étrangers ?
Oui, c'est sûr. Satan Jokers avait une cassette que le groupe m'a amené. Je l'ai diffusée, et ils ont signé chez Phonogram. J'ai aussi diffusé dès leurs débuts d'autres groupes comme Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, aux débuts des années 80... On était comme des explorateurs dans la jungle, avec notre machette. A l'époque, il n'existait pas de presse metal, pas d'autres émissions de metal... Certains se souviennent, comme les trois que je viens de citer, qui sont dans le coffret Wango Tango, d'autres ont la mémoire d'un poisson rouge. Mais ça, c'est un peu comme tous les artistes. Au début, c'est formidable, "merci, je repasserai", et puis les années passent, le succès grandit, et toi quand tu appelles, on ne te répond plus...
Tu recevais des auditeurs dans ton studio, je crois ?
Oui, plein. Des “graisseuses” et des “graisseux” venaient assister à l'émission, tout le monde était dans le même trip, comme si on était tous à un concert. Il y avait une ambiance de fête, mais professionnelle aussi, car nous faisions bien notre job.
Tu n'as jamais eu de remarques de ta direction ?
Jamais directes. En même temps, l'aventure a duré 10 ans, incroyable. Passer du metal, hurler dans la boîte à tonnerre pendant 10 ans...
“Wango Tango”, c'était aussi un langage. Tu parlais tout à l'heure des “graisseux” et “graisseuses”...
C'était un univers un peu BD, à la Bidochon, où j'avais créé des personnages et des lieux, comme le camping de Flots bleus, le Gros Rougeot, Bobonne, 14-18 (Ndlr : un chien). Il y avait aussi Odette Mouillefarine, Chombier... J'avais même intégré des personnes de la radio. Nous avons eu un patron émérite Philippe Labro : lui, je l'avais mis au camping des Flots bleus, sous le nom de Don Calabro. Sa limousine arrivait au camping à 11 heures, l'arrière à 20 heures ! Un secrétaire général de la radio est devenu Jean-Michel les Dents de requin, et son groupe, les Queues de castor ! Bref, tout un univers loufoque dont je reste très fier.
Un jour, on t'annonce que c'est fini...
Oui, on m'a dit, on change la grille, mais je reste à l'antenne. Il y aura un peu de metal dedans, mais moins. Ce qui provoque pas mal de retours de courrier, auquel le directeur de l'époque renvoyait une lettre-type !
Ta programmation dans Wango Tango était-elle totalement libre ? Aucune pression de la part des maisons de disques ?
Aucune ! A l'époque, je fonctionnais beaucoup aux imports, des disques disponibles à l'étranger et pas en France. Il est souvent arrivé que suite à des passages dans l'émission, des labels se décident à sortir un artiste chez nous. Mais aucune pression.
Tu recevais aussi beaucoup de disques de la part de nouveaux groupes ? Tu écoutais tout ?
Oui. Je lisais les pochettes, je me rencardais à droite à gauche. J'achetais des bouquins aux Etats-Unis que je recevais deux mois après. La curiosité a toujours été mon moteur.
On te parle toujours de "Wango Tango" ?
Oui, partout. L'un des membres d'un cabinet d'avocats à côté d'ici m'a confié qu'il m'écoutait quand il avait 15 ans. Je croise souvent d'anciens auditeurs. Quand je fais des dédicaces pour "Pop Rock Station", on m'en parle. Quand je vais au Hellfest, je serre 2 000 mains.
Pourquoi refaire un "Wango Tango", que ce soit l'émission spéciale ou le coffret ?
Signalons que les titres du coffet CD et du vinyle sont différents. Le double vinyle comprend des petits codes pour aller télécharger des jingles, et on fait une guitare en carton à monter soi-même, avec le mode d'emploi. L'émission, c'est une madeleine de Proust : une heure avec des archives, des interventions de l'époque, et on a remixé tout ça. C'est peut-être aussi le moyen, pour ceux qui n'ont pas connu, ou les curieux, de se dire : on pouvait faire ça à la radio, à cette époque-là. Ca n'existera plus. Peut-être le Net permettra-t-il d'ouvrir d'autres portes...
Comment as-tu élaboré le contenu du coffret ? En te plongeant dans tes programmes de l'époque ?
Tout ce qui est dans le coffet et le vinyle est passé dans Wango Tango. Le vinyle comprend une photocopie de la première émission officielle, le 16 janvier 1981, après les essais en 1980. Tu y retrouveras aussi des titres qui sont dans l'émission spéciale.
Le choix a dû être difficile pour se limiter à une heure d'émission ?
Ah oui ! L'autre problème, c'est que pour retrouver des archives, à l'époque, on n'avait pas de numérique. Des bandes, des cassettes, oui, mais rien en numérique. Pareil pour les photos . J'ai quand même mis la main sur quelques archives. Joachim Garraud, un DJ qui a travaillé avec David Guetta, fan de radio, fan de metal quand il était plus jeune, m'a enregistré à l'époque. Notamment les pubs que je faisais en hurlant : on en retrouve deux, une pour un magazine qui n'existe plus, "Rockland", et une autre pour "Tiercé Magazine", avec Pierrette Bres, ça vaut son pesant de cacahuètes. Un jour, Garraud est venu me voir avec deux CD. Il m'a dit qu'il était fan. J'en ai extrait des bouts. Dans cette heure, on a essayé de placer des petits trucs significatifs, un bout de Gros Rougeot, une publicité, etc. Au final, ça fait comme une vraie émission de l'époque !
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