Figure in Black Til The End...

I've had this idea for years and am finally writing it and revising it, and re-writing it for real now. It's my idea, and all I want is to put it into story form for myself, and for the few that might find it interesting. If you enjoy it, then stay tuned.

I could hear his feet pounding on the sidewalk as he took each step towards the edge of the curb. A calm suburban neighborhood packed with cookie cutter houses and plenty of trees, all flourishing with life… Unlike me. He’s a young guy, looks like. About, 18? A senior in high school, as I’ve come to know they’re called. I dunno who THIS guy is. I just had seen him, and he was so weak willed I just took over his body. Wasn’t missed, wasn’t noticed. A nobody. After I’m done with him, no one will notice he’s gone. It feels gross to be trudging around in this guy’s old dull sack of flesh and bones. But this kid… this kid is in his prime. The thing these two both have in common? They’re weak willed… nobodies, but I’ll change that. Oh yeah. I’ll change that. I've been through several bodies so far, but none I've seen of a kid who is this... this pathetic. This is a perfect opportunity.

    “Hey, watch it, Junker!” “Ohh! I’m sorry!”. A girl about his age and her gang of friends knocked past his shoulder as he crossed the street, clearly intending on hitting him, but he apologizes anyway. “Hey, Junker. Why don’t you quit being such a prissy prick, and grow a pair?” She tossed up her hand as if to cup the pair he needed to grow. The spikes from her wristband glisten in the morning light as the chains rattle from her arm on her jacket. She looked on at him in a cynical impatient manner. “Are you gonna say somethin, or just stand there in your stupid slacks and pink shirt and stare like a dork, Adrian?” “Hey, my shirt is salmon!! I don’t wear pink!”. The raven haired girl and her gaggle of studded and spiked friends crack up. Adrian Junker? So that's your name.

    The day for Adrian went on in a similar manner to this. He went to school, sat in class, listened intently to what the teachers had to say, all while the typical assholes would snicker and throw random shit at him. Tell you the truth, I don’t blame ‘em. The kid has no spine. I’m not even sure how he doesn’t slink over when he goes to walk. If he came from the realm I’m from, he’d be a pile of steaming organs by now… or, rotting, for that matter. What puzzled me was when he was on his way home he stopped at this “auto repair” place. He sat in the lobby for a while, then just left. What the hell, is that his secret place or something? Well, either way, I better get out of sight. He can probably see me from over here... But what the hell will he do? Piss his slacks? Ah, best not to arouse suspicion.

    The sky shown almost red over the neighborhood as the sun reached a mid point in its setting path. I approached the Auto Repair lobby. It’s been about a week I’ve watched Adrian. I think he’s seen me a few times. Great actor, he is. If he catches a glimpse at me he does this stupid face, then tries to gather himself, then scuttles away. I noticed he put this little knife in his backpack this morning, almost as if to show he was doing so. Oh, I'm so scared! Ha! It might not have even been real for all I know. Probably some popsicles sticks he painted and sharpened. Even if the kid does put up a fight, it won't be much to me. I'm still growing accustomed to humans and their ways, but where I came from I had to fight every day, and fighting is fighting no matter what universe or plane of existence you're in or on. I'm tired of fighting for what seems like no reason; I got out, I got here, and now I want to live. I don't care if I still have to fight, I'm good at it, but there better be a fucking reason for it. There will be. I won't trash another decaying body. I'll use Adrian's and find immortality. I still have to go back there and pry it from that eternal narcissistic Prick Quorthon's dead hands. Pft, what a dumb name. Suits him. I don't know when I'll be able to do that at this rate. I'm not sure how the process of occupying a body permanently quite works, yet. But I'll find out. I want a good vessel, and I want it now. I will have it. I want the life I've fought for. Do I deserve it? Probably not to others, but to myself, there's nothing I deserve more.

    "Sigh". Adrian plopped down on the seat nearest to the door and slouched in the chair as he closed his eyes. I've been leaning up against this greyish-green gross looking wall going to towards the back room for a few minutes now. Long enough to see his pathetic ass walk in and sit down to do whatever the hell he does in here. But I'm not interested in what he's doing here. I'm interested to see where this goes once he notices me. I'm not sure if he will at this point even if he has seen me. I've morphed this body through rituals I've learned over the past 100 years. I've managed to get it to a younger state, but that just makes my time shorter. Each year I shave off to make it younger equals another year shaved off its lifespan, speeding the aging process. But I'll be ditching it soon. I've got another day or two before I start to decay. I also grew hair (the guy barely had any... Had the yarmulke bald thing goin' on) about down to my middle back. It had been this light brown greyish color, now it's black with some grey still in it. I guess I haven’t perfected the process yet. I also got some other clothes. I had been wearing some office shit with a slightly stained shirt on. But whoever's room I stole from mid-day (when everyone seems to be at work or school) a few days ago had good taste in music. I managed to grab a Black Sabbath shirt with the logo and winged devil on it, some tighter pants- I had to drop some serious weight off this fucker. And the smell! Ugh! It was a mix of onions, BO, human, and stinky-ass hoagies. I also nabbed a studded wristband, and a denim vest I had to take all the patches off of because I hate that shit. I managed to find some combat boots in what looked like the parent's room. The room I had been in had small shoes. Must've been a girls'... Maybe that one picking on our boy over there? Good possibility. I could have gone to a store, but then I might've gotten caught stealing, wouldn't I? And I don't feel like doing a ridiculous ritual to get rid of whoever I'd have to kill that SAW me stealing. I'll have to do that after a while, but not now. When is this kid gonna notice me? It's no fun if I scare him... Wait, what am I saying?

    "Hey, bud!" I grinned and stepped forward as the small amount of light coming from the window shown on my face. I had been obscured by darkness from the hallway up until now, so the little squirt can see me. "AAHH!" his eyes popped wide open and he jerked up in his seat as it slightly shook under him. I grinned some more. This is gonna be fun. "You! Y-you're the guy that's been following me, aren't you?!" Hm. Guess he's more intuitive than I thought. He reaches for his backpack and shoves his hand in the front pouch quickly and takes out the switchblade I thought I saw him put in there last week. "I-I have this knife my Dad gave me!! You better stay away!!" I walk up to him through the lobby. The sun is beginning to set at a faster pace now. It must be right at dusk at this point. I stop about a foot from him. He holds the switchblade towards me, shaking profusely.  "…a knife, huh? That’ll get me good. Where you gonna stab me?" I sat in the chair adjacent him. He didn't respond, just looked over me wildly with wide eyes. He looks petrified. Now that I have a good look at this kid, I'm going to have to do some serious changing when I finally take over his body... good God. That short comb-over-looking red hair, those bug-eyes.. his lack of a jawline.. It's almost like he has a complete oval face... with freckles everywhere. And let's not forget those lame clothes. I'll just use the stuff I've got on now, I guess.  It'll take a lot of work, but it'll be worth it.

    I throw up my left hand as if to say "well?" and rest my head on the other as I lean in the chair towards him awaiting his response. "….w…what? What do you want?" He's still shaking, holding that dinky little thing to my face.  "I want an answer, Mr. Salmon shirt. I said where you gonna stab me? Simple question. You said you have a knife, that obviously means you’re going to use it. Unless I’ve got a bottle of beer I don’t know about that needs to be opened." I lean forward towards him almost putting my nose to the knife with a patient expression on my face. " …. You’re crazy… I’d stab you! I would!" He creeps back even further into his seat, still holding the knife to me, his back pressed against the ratty, faded red fabric of the seat. "Pfft" I snatch away the knife and look at it peculiarly. I hear footsteps from the back. I don't know if Adrian does.

    A younger guy, a bit older looking than Adrian approaches us from the back of the hall, he turned on the light. I see he's wearing an oil and grease stained mechanic shirt. The guy must work here... or did. Now he's the closing crew or something. Shame! I whirl the knife around in my hand once, get up and walk towards him. He doesn't notice the knife and opens his mouth to say something to us. I whirl the knife once more as I raise it and plunge it right above his sternum and below his neck. The blade is sharper than I thought. Clean cut right through. Huh, maybe if the kid had a pair like that girl said, he could have at least held me off, hm? Blood is pouring, staining his grey shirt as i drift back into the situation at hand. " GGYYUUAAAAAHHHH!" He grabs for his throat. I look on disgustedly. Pathetic. He flails his hands upwards towards the hand I have holding the knife, I glance back and see Adrian is screaming and clamoring for his chair. I guess he jumped out after I stabbed this guy. I stab him again deeper in the same spot, look back at Adrian in the dimly lit room again, and smile. The mechanic's hands fall slowly to his sides and his head hangs back as his body goes limp and falls to the floor.

    "Were you gonna do that to me with this?" I say holding up the knife, now dripping with blood, still hot. “AAAAAHHH!! You…. You killed him! He didn’t even do anything, and you killed him!" His voice is shaky as all hell and he still hasn't seemed to get a hold of that chair soaked in sweat and piss, no doubt, by now. "Listen up REAL good, because if you don’t, I WILL have a reason to kill you, and if he looks like this-" I hold up the bloody corpse by the collar "then what’re YOU gonna look like buddy boy?" "Auuuh! Alright, alright!!" He yells. "What? What do you want? All you’ve been doing is following me around, day and night! You don’t say a word, then you disappear! If you want to kill me, do it, already! You've already killed that poor guy!" His eyes start tearing up as he looks in terror at the body on the floor only visible from the light coming from the back through the hallway. The rest of the lobby is shrouded in darkness, and the windows are too dirty to see well out of in the dark. "Kill you? Hahaha. Kill you…. Yeah, I suppose that would be the easy way out for you, wouldn’t it?" This kid is like a scared animal... looking frantically around. He rests his wide eyes on my shirt.

     "You’re sick…. What are you talking about? And what’s that on your shirt?! You’re so sick you even have twisted stuff on your clothes!! Is that the devil?!" I look pleasantly down at my shirt, then back at him. "…. I would be doing you a favor if I killed you, wouldn’t I? You don’t even know who Sabbath is! My old buddies would have done it for me. What’s the matter with kids these days? What do you even listen to you little shit?" "You just killed someone, possibly the only person here, their corpse is lying next to you, and now you’re insulting my taste in music?! You're the sickest person I've ever met!!" his voice is cracking, he's shouting so loud as he holds himself forward on the arms of the chair. "Thank you! First thing you've said I agree with." "I can't take this anymore! I'm outta here! I'm getting the cops!" He starts for the door. WHAM. A cloud of dust escapes quickly from the door frame as I command it shut. I learned well back home! In his ready-to-lunge position he had, his body freezes and his head whirls around to me with a look of pure confusion and revulsion. "AAAUUUH! Y-you’re a freak!! What are you?" I hold my hand to my forehead in frustration and roll my eyes, then sit back down. "... Siddown and shuddup, kid."

    . "N-no! I'm g-getting outta here! A-and you can't stop m-" I hold up the knife "I know how to hurt ya real bad without killing you, ya know.  I just sealed the door on you without moving. I can be here all night." he sits down reluctantly as his knees shake. He keeps looking at that damn corpse. "Here, is this distracting you?" My boots thud on the crusty matted carpet as I go to snatch the poor sonofabitch off the ground. I drag him by his blood soaked collar into the bathroom in the little hall right next to the service window and slam the door. "There. Ya happy?" I turn and look over him for a second, while he squirms in nervousness and discomfort with stifled sobs leaking from his tear soaked face.

"You’re a creep! What are you even looking at me like that for? You got that long hair ‘cause you wanna be a woman or something? Y-you like guys or something?! Creep!" I look at him sharply with a grin. I guess fear and terror bring out a bit of wit, eh? "A lotta talk for a punk who got a big bad knife snatched out of his hand a bit ago. I'll just cut to the chase, as fun as it's been- "Your soul. You usin’ it?" "WHAT? Y-you’ve got to be joking! Is this happening? You escaped from the loony bin, didn’t you? That's it! Yeah! You're an insane murderer! And you never answered my question, what the hell are you?!" "Hmph... I’m not from here." I say in a cynical manner. "Not from here…. That’s the answer you’re giving me now? You shut that door on me without moving! That’s not something you see some regular guy from New York doing!!" "Have you had their tap water? I dunno ‘bout that." "Quit it with the jokes! God!" I turn to him and push my wristband up. My body is rapidly changing... running lower on time than I thought. I'm getting thinner and my hair is turning more gray. "God? Hahaha. God. Yeah. I know that guy. He’s a lazy sunuvabitch… I’m not from here as in I’m not from this world. I’m simply using this body as a vessel. But I can only use the unwilling for so long. I need a permanent… uhh… how you would say “house” for me to exist on this planet." I cross my leg over the other and watch his now bright white face, somehow it became paler than before. His expression amuses me... confused, terrified, and perhaps he needs to use the bathroom... again?

      "…. So you want to possess me?!" He yells as a fresh set of water works gets going with his hand over his face. I shake my head and scoff. "You humans and your perception of other-worldly spirits. No, I’m not gonna inch my way into your body and make it decay like little Regan. I want to live a full life, like one of you… well you’d be a lot cooler if you were me." "You really are insane, aren’t you?! You have one of your friends outside pulling strings with a fog machine ready or something? And possession? And why would you want to live here? This is so crazy and... and impossible!! What reason do you even have?!" I pause before responding, standing in front of him. Even as a thin, lanky man with my clothes getting baggier by the minute, he still is terrified. He looks up at me with a gaping mouth, those blue eyes filled with fear look at me, and those freckles... they bother me. "Reason? … You want a reason? Alright. Because I’m bored. This planet seems to have some of the best music I’ve heard, too. None that you probably know you shit. I want in. And who are you? I’ve been watching you the past few days. You haven’t talked to one person, and no, I don't count being jeered at, haven’t done anything of the slightest interest, have some fucking milk-toast parents, and on top of it all, you don't even know who Black Sabbath is! Get real!" I bend towards him with a disgusted look on my face. I am growing increasingly impatient with this waste of space. I can smell the tears and other questionable odors emanating from him. Yuck. I am ready to end this encounter.

    I stand back up and shake my head again. "What are you even gonna do with yourself?" I throw my arms up "You’re not usin’ your soul, so just let me have it, why dontchya? Or would you rather grow old and watch shit on TV with some hag that orders you around?" He's still just sitting there looking at me appalled. I can feel a hot rage fill my belly. This little shit is wasting my time! "Well?!" I grab him by his collar and yank him to my face. My skin starts to flake off... Oh shit... it's happening, I need to do something, soon. I'm decaying. His eyes dart all over my face seeing high speed decay right before his eyes. He screams, I scream to mock him and wave my head around.

     "Hey!" It looks like he's not conscious. "HEY! Ade! Give me your damn soul!... Haha. You can't hear me can you?" I laugh enraged ".... and your pants are wet... Wonderful." I drop him to the old looking stained carpet on the floor. I look over his now disheveled unconscious self. "Hmph. Oh well. Just makes it easier…. What’s this shit?" I kneel down and look at a necklace that seemed tucked neatly once under his shirt. “Yours forever- Mary"... What?  How could this kid have a girl? Is it his Mom? I didn't see anyone with him the whole week. Whatever. This’ll do." I yank the necklace off his neck with ease, stand back up and drag the the guy I had offed a while ago towards me. I pat it down with what's left of my prints for good measure. "That should do fine, this body won’t exist soon." I mumble to myself. Shoving my hand out to swing open the door I see it's a full moon tonight... Perfect.

    He walks into the abandoned parking lot next to a vacant stretch of road towards to woods as the moon's light illuminates the studs on his wristband, and whole chunks of skin fall to the ground and disintegrate all while he sings in a deteriorating voice "giiive me your sooooul, giiiiive me your soul for the deeeead!"

A+ "Bargain Bin" Bands (Part 2)

A continuation of the article I previously did about bands I feel others overlook in the sea of metal, but for my own reasons I keep coming back to them over and over again, and have stayed with me through the years.

Rogue Male

An overlooked London band, in my opinion. They formed in '83, and dropped their first full length album "First Visit" in '85. I remember first hearing this track thinking it was great, and really liked how the vocals stood out from other stuff I was hearing at the time (mainly thrash and NWOBHM... I was a snob). This song below intrigued me, and so I listened to the full album, as it was still on youtube at the time... probably a little while after youtube came into being, actually. I liked them so much I went and found the record for dirt cheap because... well... read the title of the article.

There are some videos of interviews with them floating around on the internet alongside live clips, which is where I realized that the guy on the cover was supposed to be the dude singing and playing guitar in the band- Jim Lyttle. I was slightly confused at what I was seeing, but also amused. It was sort of a gimmick, the way they looked and dressed, but their music was up to par, and as long as that is the case, then for me it's all good. They released another LP after that entitled "Animal Man", much like their first release in keeping with the musical feel of it. Pretty enjoyable, but I think "First Visit" has a place in my heart it can't take, as I had heard it years later.

They reformed in 2008, and released "Nail It" in 2009. Did they? I wouldn't know, because I'm a scared little girl when it comes to giving old bands with new albums chances. Except Carcass. Good god, Surgical Steel is amazing. But, I digress- If you haven't heard Rogue Male before, you should give them a listen and consider dressing and acting like them....

Stormwitch 

I don't even feel like this is bargain bin stuff, here. Stormwitch (which I just accidentally spelled "stormwich"... yum?) is definitely A+ stuff for me. Germany pumps out another amazing metal band from the apparent factory that seems to be deep underground there. These guys formed in '81, and released their first big'n in '84 called "Walpurgis Night", which is the more well known compared to the album I've embedded below, but I did put that album down there for a reason, but I'll get to that later. They went on to record 9 studio albums- Tales of Terror being their second studio album in '85. They ranged from '84-'15.

Now, again, I will be honest in saying that I haven't heard their most recent releases, but they had solid releases up until '89 to my knowledge. Everything I heard I liked, and maybe I shouldn't be so scared and go give them a listen along with Rogue Male, if not for the music, at least to satisfy my curiosity. Anyhow, these guys are some traditional- OR WHATEVER GENRE CALM DOWN- metal good for a go through if you'd like to hear some solid tunes for a few hours. They have a very Steve Harris bassline and tone in this album, as well. Enjoy! And if you already have.... Well then.... They're good, aren't they?

Sabbat

Ah, one of my favorite bands! Most people seem to really like the Japanese Sabbat. They're pretty good, just not quite my cup of tea, i suppose. If you do like them more than this one, that's cool, but man, I love this band. They have a constant lyrical theme it seems of mythical mischief, Paganism, and history- Three of my favorite topics! They execute each song so well in the story telling and in the music itself. The vocals were what got my me hooked after the first thrashy riff blew my mind, because sometimes with bands it can be that they have great riffs, but vocals that just lack that something special you're looking to pair with them. Not this band, oh no, Andy Sneap's singing and guitar playing go hand in hand with vocals like no other (In my opinion) and riffs to match- dark, beckoning, and almost hypnotizing.

I listened to this album so many times, and then I eventually moved on to their following release to "History Of A Time To Come" (1988), called "Dreamweaver", and let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed. They kept up the high expectations I had after hearing HOATTC. More stories, more insane riffage, more true thrash! If you're up for a wicked ride, and a sure fire way to get you in a thrashy mood (I've got a "thrash" count going now...), then look no further! Hit that play button, and treat your ears!

Also- I need this on vinyl. If anyone would like to gift it to me my name is Olivia Franks. Thank in advance.

Sword

Another band that it is a no-brainer to spew out my feeling for! Another in the line-up of bands that got me into metal- Sword of Canada! The first video I saw of them was actually the video for 'The Trouble Is". I was instantly wanting to hear more and proceeded, as I often did, to listen to the whole album, and went on to listen to their second and final release "Metalized". Now, most people I've noticed seem to like that release far more than "Sweet Dreams", grant it, the title ain't the best, but come on, it's what's inside it that counts!

I really enjoy both releases and feel they still hold up as strong as they did back then to me as they do now. I'm not sure why "Sweet Dreams' gets crapped on from some reviews I've seen, but it is actually my favorite out of the two, probably because I heard that one first, and later heard Metalized. I had/have a bad habit of giving one specific album/artist a listen to one too many times to the point of potentially annoying my husband. That aside, if you like some heavy metal with high octane, and high spirits, then give these guys a listen, you won't regret it!

Hexx 

This band was introduced to me by my husband Aaron Franks. There was no question about it, they rule! Those vocals- damn! "Under The Spell" was the album Aaron showed me first, so I knew the vocals of Dan Bryant before that of Dennis Manzo on their first release "No Escape". I think that Dennis has a great voice, but nowhere near as notable as Dan's. Dennis' voice reminds me more of Jon Arch formerly of Fates Warning, while Dan's voice sounds like no other to me. That coupled with the pounding metal and evil songwriting made for a definite lasting impression left on me. I've found myself going back time and time again to listen to those two albums.

After those two, it went downhill for me. It seemed like they turned what was a volatile pulsing pile of metal talent into a volatile pulsing pile a dog poo... I had such high hopes when i turned on that album and immediately after turning it on, I promptly turned it off. Now do NOT get me wrong- I love me some classic death metal like Devastation, Morgoth, Cancer, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Dismembered, Nocturnus- you get it, but that.... That sounded like a bunch of nonsense to me, like they saw where they thought the 90s were probably going and thought- Yep! Let's pack it in, guys, let's just suck.

I might be being a bit harsh, and they were just trying something new, but after those first two albums, it was just a disappointment to me. Back to my main point here, this video below will blow you away if you haven't heard it before, and if you have, then you know what I'm talking about.

Warrior

This band is a bit iffy for me, but made the cut because their first album I thought was pretty unique in a way, and had some good tunes on it. They're supposed to be future based, and NO, I would not make up a whole other sub genre called "future metal" for this.... most sub genres to me are a waste of time. Metal is metal. Anyway, this band has some class and inventiveness in their craft, and no, I'm not saying futuristic stuff was unique for the time. In fact, I'd even say it was extremely overused in the 80s- but there was a certain charm and cheesiness about it that kept me sticking around wanting more. The perception of the future from then is funny to most people, I'd assume.

Warrior writes about alien attacks and fighting for earth, so if sci-fi themed metal is your thing- then this album is for you. The releases following this seem to fall short of me recommending them, to put it nicely. It seemed like they went from exploring the sci-fi future themed stuff to watching too many documentaries on the discovery channel on how farmer Jeb saw aliens land on his farm and tell him how the pyramids were built... I was not into "Ancient Future", which was their follow up release to the one I put Below "Fighting For Earth". I still feel the album stands out enough to mention here, despite the following releases not peaking my interest.

Dementia

Here's a slice of thrash from the past, for me. I had saw this album on sale on discogs for dirt cheap and thought "I guess... Album art is questionable, but I really like that logo". I don't know where the album was actually shipped from... I think Greece or somewhere like that, but whoever shipped it did not give a shit, because I remember it came in pretty much two pieces of one ply cardboard tapped together. Luckily it was intact, so I went up to my room and gave 'er a spin. I liked it a lot! I listened to it again recently, and realized I liked it a hell of a lot more back then. I mean, I still really liked it, but I remember telling people about them like I had just heard Metallica for the first time or something.

Some of the riffs are a bit repetitive, but it has history with me, and I still enjoy it for what it is- a decent thrash release from the 80s. If you've gotten this far in the article and haven't insulted my writing 60 times yet, then thank you. Even if you just skimmed it, thanks all the same, and let me know what you think of the bands and any thoughts you have on what my next installment should be in this series.

Beastmaker Interview with Trevor William Church

Photo taken by Sally Townsend
Edited by Olivia Franks

Beastmaker is a heavy band from Fresno- California. I've heard you mention in other interviews that Fresno is not the place for a metal scene, does this still hold true, and do you feel you guys have had any effect on the area?

There still is not much of a music scene here for us. there are other genres of music that have some stuff going on but for us we just kind of try to focus on touring. I don’t think we’ve had much of an effect on the actual scene but I know that people look up to what we are doing.

When the band first formed in 2014, did it take a while for things to start to get going with recording and getting gigs? And did you guys have a lot of gear back then?

everything happened very quickly. we put out the you must sin demo and then we were signed by rise above records. we had some gear. not as much as we do now but a good amount. we started recording right away and gigs kind of just fell in line for us.

Being from Fresno, and going by what you had previously said about it being pretty baron of music, how is it that you came to meet and form a band with the other members- Andres Saldate (drums), and John Trucker (bass)?

Andy and I go way back and have played in other bands together. John was in a local band that was ending and he is actually a bad ass guitarist but since we really needed a bassist I thought what the hell he might say yes. Obviously, he did. I think the timing for us to do Beastmaker was just right.

This seems sort of the quintessential interview question, but I like to know the answer to this question, as I'm sure a lot of other people do- How was it that you came up with the name Beastmaker, and was that your first choice for the band name?

I came up with the name Beastmaker a long long time ago. I was traveling in an indie rock band at the time that sucked ass but I got to travel so I was along for the ride. I was in Texas drunk as fuck I don’t drink anymore but there was this band dressed in all leather playing guns n roses type rock and I really dug them. I thought their names was Beastmaker and I was like that is an amazing name turned out their name was Peacemaker…I was disappointed and was like well this name is awesome I”m gonna use it.

Was it tough to get gigs around town because of the lack of a music scene, or is there just not really any other heavy acts to play with, so getting a show is tough in that aspect?

There are places to play around Fresno they just don’t really have an audience. we’ve always looked at Fresno as however many friends you have is the way it goes here. We are a little older and I do not go out and party at all so we aren’t the cool party band in town. getting shows was not hard..there used to be a dive bar “Audies Olympic Tavern” we played there a lot he really supported what we did and he still is a good friend of ours but he had to shut his doors..

The first release from Beastmaker was self titled, and eventually re-recorded, or re-mixed into the EP "You Must Sin". Was there a lot you wanted to change in the mixing and recording process for it, and where was it that you recorded "You Must Sin"?In retrospect you want to change everything. at the time we did the demo we went back and re recorded it for the album. we had never really played out of town at this point. didn’t even have merch. it all happened quickly so we just jumped on board and did the best we could.

After the release of "You Must Sin" the band got signed to Lee Dorrian's record label- Rise Above Records. How did that happen, and how did you feel whenever you guys got signed to the label?

Photo by Sally Townsend

Well really our friend Tony was showing people our bandcamp page and helping promote..he showed Scott Carlson who played bass in Cathedral and is overall a bad ass homie. He showed Lee and thats was that. It was a great feeling of accomplishment to be on the same label as witchcraft, uncle acid, etc…He picked us up and took us under his wing. We owe a lot to Lee.

When Beastmaker got signed to Rise Above Records, did that change a lot for the band in terms of things going more smooth and promotion being better at all?

I mean nothing about being in a touring band is smooth. Especially not for us..we have broken down so many times in the middle of nowhere. Its crazy. but as far as getting shows and tours and what not it all became very simple. things kind of just come to us I guess. People ask us to go on tour and we did. Lee got us our first tour ever with Blood Ceremony so we had a great start because of him.

Has Lee Dorrian and the bands he's been in been a big influence on you musically throughout the years?

Cathedral is a rad band. Gaz is a great guitarist who has written some pretty stellar riffs and he is a great lead guitar player as well.

The latest release from the band was "Lusus Naturae", which features songs from "You Must Sin" along with new ones. Did you feel you wanted to include the Ep with new material you had, and was it a fairly smooth process to record and get everything done?

it was fairly easy we didn’t go into thinking ok this is gonna be tough we just played the best we could. mind you we had really just started so we were not as tight as we are now. a lot has changed in 2 years. we’ve been put to the test on many occasions. we wanted the EP to be included because rise above was releasing it and we wanted those songs to reach a broader audience plus it was only out for 2 weeks before we got signed so it was all still very new
.
What are some of your favorite bands old and new?
There are so many to name that I like it’s impossible. right now id say for old bands I’ve been really digging Def Leppard, Ozzy,  Motley Crue. For new bands man there re just so many I like Gravebreaker and Spell a lot..

What are some hobbies you have or favorite things to do?

I help rehabilitate native birds of the central valley. this all happened by default. my fiancé has been doing it for years but she is teaching full time so I started kind of taken some of the responsibility. My main hobby is music. I play drums, bass, guitar, I sing.. I have my own recording studio. I love animals..I have 3 dogs and 2 cats. I spend a lot of time hanging with them. I used to be heavy into skateboarding but at my age I’m fragile..I still cruise around.

Who are some of your main influences musically and just in life in general?

My dad Bill “electric” Church is a huge influence. he was in the sammy hagar band and montrose. My uncle Bob. Randy Rhodes and Jake E. Lee. Zakk Wylde is a new one. after touring with him I really dig his solos.

What other bands had you had before Beastmaker, and what kind of music did you play in them, or what instrument?

Photo By Bobby Cochran

Well my first real band was Scattered Fall we played punk music. after that I had many failed attempts of bands. I joined this indie rock band in Sacramento called “an angle” I hated the music but my friend Matt was the bassist so we just went from state to state causing a rawness. I eventually quit that to start Beastmaker..we played everything from Thrash, to Psychedelic stuff in the beginning. I never really got it going. I had a drinking problem in my mid twenty’s which prevented me from really staying focused on bands. I always played and stuff but I didn’t take it seriously. I was in a couple math rock bands at one time very briefly Yacht Club and Marathon. just noodley guitar stuff. it never worked out.

Has your taste in music differed at all through the years, and has there been any turning point when you found the main kind that you liked, and kept coming back to it for inspiration and enjoyment?

I grew up in a musical family. I was into everything man. Punk, Metal, Rap, Motown,..etc. Ozzy was really the turning point because I could mimic his vocals pretty well. but in my teenage years it was bands like misfits, metallica, even green day. just so much music how can one really just pinpoint one thing you like. I definitely liked underground everything. I went to a lot of punk shows when i was younger so that was were I found a lot of music. I always sought new shit to listen to.

I noticed you have a few tattoos. When was it you got your first one, and which is your favorite? I really like the Danzig/Samhain one.

Photo by Sally Townsend

I started getting them when I was 18 which was a huge mistake. I have cover ups of cover ups haha. I have 3 danzig tattoos. I always loved Danzigs lyrics. he was a big influence on me next to Ozzy because I loved to sing along. People really get things mixed up about my love for black sabbath I actually prefer Ozzy’s solo albums because Randy Rhodes and Jake E. Lee are like what I strive to do on the guitar. I love Iommi don’t get me wrong but it was Ozzy’s voice that drew me to Sabbath.



What is your main guitar, and what kind of gear do you use? And what gear would you like to have eventually?

my main guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Custom its an Sg body with 3 pickups. I have quite a few different amps here but my main one is a Hovercraft Falcon 100 with 2 4x12 worshipper cabs. I have a ton of pedals but mainly i use my custom delay by gremlin noise machine. I use a lot of pedal from lone wolf audio as well. I just bought a vintage bc rich eagle bass in white. I want a bc rich eagle in white. I have the bass now i want the guitar version.

Your Dad, Bill Church, has been an active musician with such acts as Montros and other Sammy Hagar projects. How has that affected you musically, and how was it to grow up with that going on in your life?

My Dad is an amazing musician. I had a lot of support from my Mom and Dad they always bought me guitars. when they saw me improve i’d get a new one till they got me my first Gibson Les Paul. after that I was on my own. But my Dad was very loose with me growing up musically he bought me whatever tapes i wanted..he bought me Slayer South of Heaven when i was like 7 years old. It drove my Mom mad. She thought I wanted to worship the devil. haha. but she then realized it wasn’t really all about that. They bought me skateboards. Skate Videos I was a daredevil kid in a way. I had a lot of sense though I never did anything that I thought well I don’t think you should do this cause you can get very hurt. I knew when to draw the line.

There are some definite horror influences in Beastmaker's songwriting and imagery, where would you say your love for that kind of stuff started, and has it become more a part of your life over the years getting into your songwriting and everything?

Photo by Bobby Cochran

My Dad again. We started watching Vincent Price movies at some point. I can’t recall my age but the first one I really remember was “the last man on earth”. I still to this day am terrible with movie titles I forget them easily. Same with song titles. but my Dad was into old movies so I watched a lot of James Dean and Steve Mcqueen stuff. his favorite tv show is “the prisoner” we watched that a lot. My friend Tony really opened up the world of horror for me. I kind of just watched whatever I could find. I have my favorites now mainly because of imagery. The blind dead series being one of those films.


I've seen where you often do livestreams on the Beastmaker page on facebook where you play guitar, and sometimes give tips. Do you feel that that is sort of an outlet for you to just play whatever, and get technical whereas in Beastmaker the music style is slower and very heavy?

Photo by Sally Townsend

Well I have another band Haunt where I get to explore new stuff. I just finished the demos for album 3 for Beastmaker and it’s different from what we have done. I keep getting better and better at playing guitar and change was coming no matter what. I’ve had a lot of people tell me they get inspired from my live videos so I do it for them. show them hey we all have to work hard to be good and they also witness my failures. haha.

That brings me to my next question, about your newest project, called "Haunt", which is a band you have by yourself. It seems to have a more traditional heavy metal sound with a lot of leads and fast paced heavy riffs. When was it that you decided you'd like to do this, and how did you record everything?

I do it the same way I do Beastmaker I write everything by myself and record it. My friend Daniel played drums on the EP. My drumming is good but I like other people to get involved in my music. it feels to weird to let it be all me. Honestly Haunt is really more my style of music when it comes to what I really listen to. When we started doing Beastmaker with John we wanted it to have a sabbath groove at the time. But that is such a small sliver of what I’m really all about. I listen to very very little doom bands. I love early candlemas and witchfinder general, electric wizard stuff like that into it. So, I guess these things just happened naturally. I needed to just be a guitarist and Haunt gave me that outlet but I ended up just doing everything. I wasn’t even going to release it but my lady just kept on my ass saying you need to put this out so after a year of letting it just sit on my computer i put it out.

Had you known how to play drums before you wanted to start the solo project, or did you pick them up with the intention of making Haunt? I'm guessing bass just comes natural since you play guitar in Beastmaker.

Photo by Sally Townsend

I write my music alone. so when you do that you need to know how to play everything. So I pretty much have a grasp on all instruments. I’m best at guitar. my drumming is ok. I can get the idea almost every time but I prefer drummers to come in and just do it. Bass is just another form of guitar really. I play bass like a guitar which might not really be the best way but I’ve always had Bass guitars around to mess around on.

What was the first guitar you ever got, and was that the first instrument you played?

It was red memphis. I was 5 years old when I got it. My first instrument was drums, but I didn’t like it.

How early on in life did you really get into music and have the interest to start playing an instrument?


I was born with an instrument in hand man. my whole life I’ve had instruments. My first recollection was a drum set I was like 4 years old. I got it for Christmas, I was stoked but it fizzled out. Guitar became my focus, but really skateboarding was my main focus for many many years. I always played but man I loved skating with my friends.



How are you feeling about the upcoming European tour that Beastmaker will be going on later this year, and have you been on the road a lot before this for as long a time as you will be for the tour?

Photo by Sally Townsend

I’m stoked to get back to europe. its hard leaving everything behind for me. I miss my lady, my pets, my house. it’s a tough deal but I enjoy it. we did a few tours this year. we went out with Zakk Sabbath for a month so it’s been actually pretty chill. next year we will do a full USA tour and Europe again. I’m trying to keep it to a minimum when it comes to traveling. when we put out an album we will go out for a support tour but other than that I don’t plan on road dogging it or anything. I prefer to write and record music.

What are your thoughts on your contribution to music thus far, and what are some of your future plans and goals to come?

Well I feel like I’ve really just gotten started. Beastmaker is evolving. Haunt is also getting ready to do a full length and I’m bringing in some homies to play with me this time around just to give it a more band feel. I’m proud of the work I’ve done thus far. I just hope I inspire people to play music and have fun. In the end I do this for others to enjoy. I’m always moving forward so really I only live in the song until it’s done and then I move to the next.

Vic Stown Volcana Interview (2017)

Last time I interviewed you, it was 2015. At that time you had mentioned a project you were starting, but couldn't reveal. That project was the doom, gloom, and ripping riffs of Volcana. What brought about the forming of this band, and how did you come to have the members that are a part of it now?

VS - I've always had material I couldn't use for Vindicator for one reason or another. Stuff I might cough up warming up to write for Vindi. Fleeting inspirations that didn't quite fit the thrash formula. Instead of tossing those ideas out or changing Vindicator's sound, I kept them. I've always been a fan of The Sword's early work and eventually how Matt Pike writes for High On Fire. And during the early stages of what would become Vindicator's longest hiatus to date, I started a studio project.
 I've known Jeff [Potts] for some time given we got our start in the same scene. The New Wave Of Thrash Metal were a tight knit group. I've shared the stage with Jeff numerous times. And I met Glen [Monturi] when Vindicator toured with Seven Witches and Vicious Rumors in 2012. Glen was filling in for Seven Witches on drums. I was blown away watching him perform that first night. And in a very short period of time, we hit it off. I stayed in contact with him over the years. When I decided to no longer sit idle and make some new music that wasn't Vindicator, I knew I wanted to hit up people I'd never worked with before. Those two individuals were the first two I contacted.


The first release for Volcana was in 2016 entitled "A Lion Among Jackals". Did it take long to record that, and where did you record it? Did you also do the mixing for it?

VS - The guitars on Lion were actually recorded in 2014 sometime. I let the project slide momentarily for one reason or another and several songs sat in various forms of completion up until 2016 when we fired the project up again. Each member recorded tracks on their own using their own gear at their own place (home/rehearsal pad). For mixing and mastering we hit up Tim Holsinger. Tim knows his way around some gear and has access to mountains of stuff that we don't. He knew exactly what I was going for.


Did you use the same guitar gear to get the tone you wanted for the doom feel for Volcana as opposed to what you used for Vindicator?

VS - I did not. I actually had Tim re-amp the guitars on that release. For the life of me I can't remember specifically what he used, either. There's a couple different amps on it. Although I believe one is of the Orange variety.


Had you wanted to do this sort of project for a long time, and had you had plans for songs well before the band came to fruition?

VS - Not really. I never wanted to take away from Vindicator. I always saw my peers doing side projects and could never understand how they did it. How the two were balanced. Initially the ideas came quick. And then I got distracted by trying to save Vindicator from its untimely break. When the dust settled I found myself in the same position. And at that point I decided to take Volcana on full time. Which isn't technically "full time" due to its being a studio band.

Photo Cred Ryan Lawson

While writing the songs, did you have help in doing so from other band members, or this mostly your project- music wise?

VS - Lemme tell you something, I'm not trying to toot the proverbial self horn, but EVERY band I've done (up until recently) is me. Also take that statement with a grain of salt. But when you hear a song from Violent Night, Vindicator, and Volcana the odds that I wrote it are high. NOT out of some weird narcissistic egotism, but out of sheer necessity. I'm a doer. I'm goal oriented and very driven. In Volcana, Glen writes all the bass and drums, Jeff writes the solos and certain accent tracks, and I write the riffs, lyrics, and arrangements. There are exceptions though, in every project I've done.


What are some of the bands that have influenced you the most over the years, and which seem the most prominent to you at this point in your life, or has it always been the same bands that held up through the years for you?

VS - With Volcana I tend to focus more on stoner rock/metal, doom, traditional metal, and rock. As I mentioned before, The Sword has been a huge influence on this project as has been High On Fire. Volcana isn't reeeaaaally a doom band. We're just filthy basement orcs playing dust covered, oxidated, heavy rock. What's truly great about writing for Volcana though is there's no bars here. I have no expectations, therefore I have no restrictions. So I find inspiration easier for this band than previous bands.


"A Lion Among Jackals" is a hard hitting release for sure- would you say the title track reflects your veiws on society, somewhat? In the fact that good people seem scarce, and thinking for one's self seems almost a strange matter in today's society?

VS - I pulled the concept from a steampunk novel I had recently read. The idea of a nobody that was in fact a somebody, and not just any somebody, but a savior, was very appealing to me. The parallels of that character and the world at large, while completely coincidental, are nearly uncanny. 


Volcana is on the record label "Austenitized Records". Can you tell us a little about them, and how you came to be on it?

VS - We actually licensed A Lion Among Jackals to Austenitized Records to be pressed on seven inch. Originally released as a digital only single, my personal mantra of "zero expectations" paid off hard when talks about a seven inch were being had. I've known Luke for some time. He was wanting to start an indie label and looking to cut his teeth on a release. We were fortunate enough to be that release.


Do you feel you are able to explore more facets of your voice and guitar playing by starting Volcana? And how would it compare to how you performed and wrote in Vindicator?

VS - Absolutely. I can utilize less grit and more melody at times. Even, dare I say, vocal harmonies. Volcana songs are typically not fast. The riffs are more rock, less tech. The downfall is, having no restraints whilst writing this stuff comes at a price. In Vindicator, the songs were constructed to be performed live. In Volcana, I write with an unabashed sense freedom. In short: I have no fucking clue if I could perform these songs live. And I'm not at all concerned about that as it's doubtful we'd ever perform live. But one can never tell...


Having been married for ten years and having children, how would you say that affected your life, both musically and overall?

VS - Musically, without Sarah, Vindicator would not have accomplished ninety percent of what we did. She was acting manager, booking agent, tour manager, merch person, driver, graphic designer, and photographer for many years. The introduction of kids, doesn't complicate things as much as most would believe. It DOES make being a musician a bit more of a challenge, but it doesn't end careers. Volcana certainly fits best in a life with kids. But Vindicator would too if I had the people. You have to make things work after a certain point. I don't see myself touring the world for months at a time for either project. Give up? Why not just toss in that stinky, shit covered towel??? Fuck that. I'll stop when I stop. On my own terms.



Do your kids dig your music, and like genres?

VS - My house is very musically eclectic. My kids love pretty much all music. But they hear mostly metal, and for the most part, dig it all. I do catch my daughter singing along with Volcana. It's extremely awesome.


What are some of your views on life, and do you feel they are heavily reflected in your songwritting and playing? Would you feel that that was stronger in Vindicator, or in Volcana? Or have both of them been two separate parts of your life, or feelings during that period in your life?

VS - Life is short. It's fragile. It's the fastest thing you'll experience. While it's easy to get yourself stuck in mud, slow down, and take in your surroundings. The mud will dry, but your surroundings will change. Vindicator was an outlet for anger and frustration. Volcana is just about making music its members dig. No specific or intentional views or opinions, for the most part. So I suppose, my views were stronger in Vindicator. Those views and feelings haven't gone away. Should we ever find the right people for the group, those feelings will still be there, waiting to snap some necks.


Has Volcana played any live shows yet, and are there any future plans to play a good amount of shows?

VS - No. And no. Having said that, playing shows isn't wholly out of the question. Jeff is in Cali, Glen in Jersey, and myself right in the middle in Ohio. It's more likely Bolt Thrower will play a few reunion shows than we'll ever be able to pull off a gig. Again, you never know. Should, say, a decent fest come our way, maybe we pull it off? Until then, making heavy music for people willing to hear it is enjoyable enough.


What are your thoughts on up and coming metal bands today? At least in terms of aesthetics vs. quality in music. I'm asking because I feel most times a lot of bands find it trendy to wear the studs and spikes, while others wear it because it's what they love, while others wear it to almost mask the lack of talent. Thoughts on that?

VS - Look, gimmicks have ALWAYS existed in music and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. Lyrical content is a gimmick in itself. I don't care what a band looks like (for the most part) as long as I like their music. And music is absolutely subjective. Music I love may be hated by someone else. My thought's on current music trends? There's nothing new, it's a never ending cycle, find music you love and support the hell out of it. Everyone was/is a poser, so own who you are.


Are there any plans to go to another record label any time soon? And what are your thoughts on Rise Above Records? Lee Dorrian has some awesome bands on there, and I feel Volcana would be welcome among them.

VS - Currently we are free agents. We'll poke around and see what's out there that's fair for us. I think Rise Above's roster is gorgeous. Would we fit on the label? I'm inclined to agree with you.






If you could give any musician who is new to playing and gigging any advice, what would it be?

VS - ALWAYS keep your wits about you. There are good people out there who genially want to further you in your goals, but there are twice as many scumbags. Don't be a dick. Support the bands your sharing the bill with. And for fuck's sake, be a fucking professional. No matter how small you are. Carry yourself like you're signed to Capitol. What I mean by that is, be courteous, on time, and be respectful of others. But most of all, have fun. If you're not having fun, you're in it for the wrong reasons.


Besides playing guitar, do you play any other instruments, or would like to play different ones sometime in the future?

VS - I can play basic bass. Some rustic percussion instruments. I wish i could play everything: piano, violin, etc. But drums, I really wish I could play drums. I'd settle for playing way up high on the tiny strings, though.


What are some hobbies you have, and have they changed over the years? Because I'm pretty sure I asked you in the last interview, but some people might not have seen it, and they might have changed a bit since 2015.

VS - I'm wondering if I shouldn't review that original interview myself to see what I said... Aside from creating music I enjoy reading, sampling a variety of beers, watching a variety films and shows, occasionally building shitty shelves, I'm just an ordinary guy when it comes down to it. Over the past several years I've slowly become obsessed with gear videos. Especially pedal demos. I should probably seek out professional help.


In order to do what you love, you have to have a job to support that... unless you win the lottery a lot or something. What job do you have now, and how do you feel about it?

VS - I'm a stay at home Dad. It doesn't pay for anything. It saves my household a boatload of money in child care. Not to mention I have trust issues, so leaving my kids with people I don't know has never sat well with me. I love it. My kids absolutely test every fiber of my being on a daily basis, but it's still better than an awful nine to five. Houses were supposed to be able to take care of themselves in the future. We're in the future and all we have is the Roomba. No self washing dishes, no self emptying garbage, no talking cats. Needless to say, a house occupied by a family doesn't take care of itself.


Have you ever considered dabbling or mastering other genres with another band, and what would that be?

VS - Not really. I just do what I do and now I have an outlet for everything I do. Vindicator gets the thrash, Volcana gets everything else. I'm pretty content where I'm at.


What are some things you think are the most important in life, and what are some things you have in mind for the future, whether it be musical, or just anything?

VS - Respect and family. I don't really have anything in mind for the future, to be honest. My only real plan is to keep writing music. I'll stop writing when everyone stops listening.


What are some future goals for Volcana, and how do you feel about the progression of your career in metal thus far?

VS - Building our catalog. Volcana is constantly in writing mode. I've accomplished more than most at this point in time. And there's still a boatload I haven't (and may never) accomplish. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with where I'm at, no matter how disgruntled I might appear at times. For being a nobody, I've done quite a bit and will slowly continue to accomplish.

Logan Barker - Barlow Interview (2017)

Photo by Brandon Richter

We are to speaking to the Bassist, and vocalist of the heavy metal powerhouse that is Barlow. If you haven’t heard them, than you should, and if you haven’t heard FROM them, then you will! That is, if you chose to keep reading, which you should.

Thanks for the interview Olivia!

Barlow is a heavy metal band out of Salt Lake City, Utah. How is it to be a metal band around there? Is there much of a metal, or just music in general, scene going on there?

Being a band in Utah is rad because there is an endless supply of killer bands of every genre, including METAL! It seems like the scene picks up and slows down but there are always good shows going on.

Adam “Smelly” Kelly used to be in a band called Killbot that formed in 2005, or so i’ve read, from the same location. Had you guys all known each other when he was in that band, and were you doing anything band wise, at the time, or had you just played bass just to play bass?

When Smelly was in killbot early on Mark (our drummer) and I were still in high school. We didnt know Smelly at the time but we idolized killbot! When killbot broke up we had a band called Merlins Beard going and recruited him to play guitar, it was a wet dream come true. We eventually progressed the band into its current form Barlow.


That brings me to this next question, do you just play bass, or do you play other instruments as well?

I play guitar as well. In Merlins Beard I played guitar and handled vocals.


You also sing for the band, when was it you started singing, and what made you choose the style of vocals for the band, and had you tried several before that?

When we were starting up our band Merlins Beard we had a really hard time finding a singer. We had tried a few classifieds ads, but no dice. So I Just started yelling and screeching into the mic at band practice, and it sort of just fell into place as time went on. I am a bit reclusive so it was never anything i had planned on doing. In the early days I had a really shitty James hetfield vibe going on but its getting better!


Is it difficult to keep a full sound live while just being a three piece, or does everything flow well? Not saying that in the sense that a three piece is not good in any sense- Venom is one of my favorite bands, so that would make no sense. Just was wondering.

Everything flows pretty well usually. Ive got a pretty nasty bass sound which helps things blend better. Being a three piece is a gravy train with bisquit wheels.

Photo by Brandon Richter
Logan ripping it up

What kind of gear do you use, and was there a specific tone you were going for on bass for this band?

Ive got a Rickenbacker 4003W bass, 1968 Peavey Dynabass head , Ampeg 810 Cabinet, and a fuzzrocious demon pedal. I picked up the head at the swap meet for $30. I would say the bulk of my tone comes from the Ric and the Pedal. I was going for disgusting.


The forming of Barlow came to be in the futuristic year of 2016. Do you recall when you all decided to be a band, or had you all had it in mind for a while?
I was getting really burnt out on our old band and decided to try something a little heavier. We started as a four piece but lost our founding guitar player before we recorded the EP. Being a three piece was easier and really helped define our sound and direction, so we stuck with it.

Is it fairly easy to get gigs in Salt Lake City, and what is it like in general to live there, anything interesting?

Yeah I think its pretty easy once you've been playing for a bit. Smelly is the only one that lives in SLC and he loves it. Mark and I live about 45 minutes north in Syracuse, which is the burbs. SLC is a rad place with lots of rad people but I'm sure its a lot like any other city. People from out of state like to make fun of us for drinking shitty beer and being polygamists but we dig it.


Who was it that came up with the idea of the cover art for the EP, and who illustrated it? I really like the art, and it stuck in my mind and I remembered the music was awesome, so I kept on looking it up on youtube and have listened to it a lot.

Amy Nelson! She is a very talented artist and also happens to be Marks long time girlfriend. We couldn't come up with any good ideas so we just asked her to draw a picture of the band being creeps. It turned out super awesome, and she even drew up the entire alphabet in the font! The bat is my favorite.


Was the name “Barlow” the first choice for the band, and how did that come to be the one?

It was the only choice, and our first guitar player Mike Elliot came up with it. Mike is super badass and was way into Stephen King at the time. In the novel/flick Salems Lot, the ancient evil vampire is named Kurt Barlow. Were easy so we accepted.

Adam "Smelly" Kelly laying down some riffs
Photo by Brandon Richter

The songs you guys have as of now on the self titled EP are available on Cd. Do you guys just sell them at shows, and do you have any plans in the future to distribute them other ways? And do you all want to release it on any different formats?

We will put the album on some streaming sites soon, but will probably sell most of them at shows.


There is music video of sorts for the song “The Witch”. What made you guys choose that song to do a video for, and who filmed it?

We filmed that in Ogden at Brook Mckees Studio/Haunted House, SunnyBrook Studios. He is the mastermind that recorded our EP, and does tons of killer live Videos at his studio. Look them up on youtube! We chose that song because its pretty heavy and we usually don't screw it up too bad. All we had to do was jam the song a couple dozen times, drink too many beers, and let him do the real work.




Do you guys practice pretty often, and where do you guys practice?

We are Utahs laziest metal band, Sometimes we practice regularly, sometimes not. We play in our drummers basement in the burbs.


So what do you guys do on your off time, and what is band practice like? Does it go on all day, just one straight play-through, or do you guys take breaks?

Were all working stiffs who spend a lot of time with our special lady friends and our families. Band practice can get derailed pretty easily, but we usually just drink 6 or 9 beers, run through the set, work on some new tunes, and hang out. We're not too worried most of the time, this band is purely a love of music. Marks got a great dane named Odin who loves to party, so we usually end up wrestling around with him a bit, or playing some Super Ghouls and Ghosts.

What would you say your lyrics are about for those that have not heard any of Barlow, and what would you say you guys are going for sound-wise, or have achieved, rather? I feel you guys have forged your own sound.

I think lyrical content is a 50/50 split. The first half being personal reflection or opinions, the second half being horror themed gruesomeness. The EP has tracks based on movies like Reanimator and Silver Bullet, but also other self written horror tales. The track titled Decide is exactly how I was feeling when we broke up our previous band.



What are some of your main influences, not just musicians, but anyone that has had an impact on you?

Valient Thorr, and Three Inches of Blood. These two bands had the biggest effect on me musically growing up and will always play a big part in my life. Nowadays my biggest influence is my wife Shayla and my two year old son Levon. They both love music as much as I do and keep me on my feet!

Mark Grey delivering the percussional goods

Is most of the writing for the band done by the whole band, or is there one person that does most of the writing?

I write all the lyrics and a big portion of the music. That being said its definitely a creation by all of us. We all have our individual styles that shine when were arranging and writing music. We will start with a basic idea and turn into something gnarly together.

Have there been good turnouts at gigs, and how has the audience responded to you guys?

We've had some really awesome gigs where the crowd was pumped and really dug us, and we've had gigs where the crowd was non-existent! You just never know.

What do you all believe a good performance is both live, and as a presentation of yourselves in the studio? As in just the attitude in general of the band, and why you all feel like sticking to what you do in terms of playing music?

We just try to be ourselves and have a good time, I think that shows in our music. Honesty and not trying to stick to one particular sound is just natural for us. The less you think about it the better it seems to come out.

Had you had any other bands before this one, if so, what were they, and what came of them?

Mark, Smelly, and I all played in Merlins beard together. Smelly is a hardcore troubadour and has played in tons of band Such as Killbot, Merlins Beard, a Gwar cover band called Scumdogs, and more. He currently plays in the best thrash band around, DEATHBLOW!!! Check em out.

I noticed that on the band page on facebook for Barlow your listed as playing the “Dad guitar”, and Adam plays “Mom guitar”, which is a reference to the show flight of the conchords, if I’m not mistaken. Is that one of the shows you guys all like? And what other shows do you like?

Haha I'm glad you caught that. Yeah FOTC rules. There's so much good television out there its hard to narrow it down but I think Its Always Sunny is the best.

Where did you guys record the EP, and did it take long to get done, or was the overall process pretty smooth and enjoyable?

We recorded it in Ogden at SunnyBrook Studios. Brook Mckee is the wizard over there and we had a killer time. We recorded the basic tracks live and it went super smooth. Lots of drinking and shenanigans. It took us a little while because we only hit the studio once a week or so. But it was awesome and we cant wait to record with him again.


Will we see more Barlow material in the near future, and perhaps even maybe some gigs in a few states sometime in the future?

Were writing some more material now with plans to record ASAP! We will see what time brings.

Thanks for your time, Logan!

Thank you Olivia! This was my first interview and I enjoyed every question!

Photo by Brandon Richter

Dimi Pontiac of Ranger Interview (2017)

Snippet of Dimi taken from a photo taken by Emma Grönqvist.
Edited by me, Olivia Franks. I know, I suck. I tried

Hey Dimi! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk, you must be very busy with the upcoming Europe tour approaching. What have you had to do to prepare for that? Do you need to pack extra light, have band practice a lot, etc., and is it a hassle, or are you guys more excited than anything?

Hey Olivia and sorry for a bit delay. The tour ended about two weeks ago now. We were really excited about the upcoming tour and of course after that really tired and exhausted. We had 23 shows in the row with no day offs! Overall the shows were great most of the time and we went places weʼve never been before. Well some of us pack light and Iʼve should done the same since I lost couple of stuff along the way.

With the most recent release from the band being “Speed and Violence”, how has the reception been overall of the album, so far, and did it exceed your expectations?
Oh yes it did! I was really surprised actually how the reception was immediately. Even better than with the first album. I think we have sold a decent amount of copies and the single of Lethal Force too. Eternally grateful whoever has stumble upon Ranger material.

There was only a year between the release of “Where Evil Dwells” and “Speed and Violence”, had you guys had all the songs written at the same time, or is it fairly easy for the songs to come together?
Well about year and a half, but yes! Some of those songs were already written in 2015 around the time first album was released. So, they are rather old, but some of them were made during 2015-2016. It is surprisingly easy and has been always.

Let’s backtrack a bit, before the band was named Ranger, you guys were known as “Turbin”, is this true? And why the name change, and the name “Turbin” to start with?
Yes, that is true. Back in 2008-2009 we were attending a band competition which was held and funded by Helsinki city and we needed a name. Since we covered Deathrider by Anthrax at that time we just quickly decided that we are Turbin for only this show and lets come up with the real name. Ranger came out in couple of months after that and it sounded immediately like us and it was simple and catchy.

How did you all meet, and did you know you were going to form a band at the time?

Photo by Emma Grönqvist

Well me and the drummer have known each other for over ten years now. Back then when we were teenagers we dreamed about forming a band someday. We then hooked up with couple of friends who were banging their heads to the heaviest metal and knew how to play and loved hard rock/metal. Rest is history!

Was the instrumental song “They Live” off the compilation demo “Combat Metal” inspired at all by the movie “They Live”?

Sorry, I had to correct you that the track They Live is not the instrumental. They Live was on Metal Gear demo in 2012. Instrumental track on that is Metal Gear. And the track Combat Metal is instrumental too. Yes, its heavily inspired by that movie! Iʼm actually thinking about that we should re-write that song. Its a hidden classic!

I get the feeling you like a lot of 70’s and ‘80s films judging by the look of the EP “Knights Of Darkness”, would I be right in saying that it shows in the style of the EP cover?
Yes, movies are for me as important as music. The EP cover is mainly inspired by Overkillʼs Feel the fire, Warriors movie and the late 70ʼs late 80ʼs New York scenery. I could mention Twisted Sisterʼs back cover of Under the blade too!

Has the following for Ranger seemed to have grown a lot since the first demo entitled “Enter The Zone” (I read that it was passed out for free at Keep It True, if there’s any truth in that, no pun intended) in 2009, and would you say there was any significant point when interest grew in the band?
Back then 2009 we certainly wanted to be a real band, but we were just too young I think. After that we were on hiatus for two years, but band was always there. So 2011 things started to get more serious. Yeah its true that we gave those demos for free and got some recognition, but as a retrospective Its not that good of a demo vocalwise! Young, naive and just hungry for metal which is alright! We have grown so much and we have done a lot of work for that too here in Finland and in Europe! The growth has become more since 2013 or something. Always new fans.

How has being on Spinefarm records been for you guys?

On promotional really good, but to be honest I donʼt think it was really a right company for us, but we have now experienced how the big company works.

Was/is it difficult to write lyrics, since English isn’t your first language? (I think your English in the lyrics is done well, by the way haha)
Here in the nordic (or scandinavia if you like to call it) they teach english for kids when they 7 or 8 years old, so I thank you for the compliment. I speak better english than I write, but I manage to do it! Here in the north we donʼt dub every tv show or every movie, so the english language has been always around here. Of course in the countryside people donʼt speak it that well, but in the big cities! So, answering the actual question: No, its easy!

Is there much of a metal scene in Finland, and are there any bands from there you think have some good stuff out there?

The scene is really good and its better than when we started since there werenʼt any proper bands around. Excluding all the big names which I do not like. Lot of younger bands and some older too like us, but too bad that some have quit and moved to other music. Theres for example: Rapid, Lord Fist, Bonehunter, Terror Cross, Satans Fall and handful others that I cannot remember now.

The skull for Ranger seems to have been around since the “Combat Metal” demo in 2013, which I remember seeing, as my husband, Aaron (then boyfriend) showed it to me, and I thought it looked awesome. Has that image for the face of the band so to speak been in your mind since you started? And does the skull have a name by any chance? I know some people are fond of naming their mascots, if that’s what you’d call yours.

Photo by Mikko Pylkkö mpylkko.com

Skullʼs name is Mr. Skull. Definite influence on that certainly was Snaggletooth, Vic and Destructionʼs skull, but we certainly wanted to make our looking skull! The image wasnʼt always there, but I drew the logo at one point and then we started to evolve from there.

It seems that merch for Ranger seems to sell out quite quick, am I right in thinking that, and how do you guys have your merch made/distributed?
Yeah, I know and it goes too quickly that we always make too small of a batch for merch. Thatʼs something where we need evolve a bit too! We are putting more shirts and hopefully patches in our store soon. We have couple of distributors for merch there in the USA and then here in Europe we do it ourselves the distribution etc.

Were you a forming member of the band, and if so, what was your motivation to start the band? Had you always felt that was what you were destined to do?

Something like that. Ever since I found bands like Iron Maiden, Priest or TS, I dreamed singing in a band. It took a couple of years, but here we are.

The band is heavily categorized as “speed metal”, would you agree with that statement, and was it your goal all along to achieve that status with the music?

Photo by Emma Grönqvist

Yes, that is alright, speed metal was the thing that we wanted to do. We were heavily influenced and still are by the american metal movement in the 80ʼs plus Motörhead and nwobhm. It was the goal, but now we want to add more elements of heavy metal. Thats been there too in the eps too.

What do you think makes a band good these days, and at any point in time? I mean music, lyrics, image, attitude, you name it, what do you think are some components that make a band real, and make them good?

Well, the songs, image and attitude is important. Theres so many bands that goes under radar since so much is coming all the time and some of them donʼt appeal to me since the band name can be so used or the image and the music is inspired by cult bands and not bands like Priest or Slayer. I think some bands are so influenced by Facebook friends and youtube that they should cut of the internet for awhile and figure out their own thing. I would say overall that the attitude and the music you are representing. You know its always cool to see if the bands looks great too. Not any spandex or anything, but just like a guys/girls from the street!

Who are some of your main influences as a person? Doesn’t have to be metal or music related, even.

Iʼm influenced by John Carpenter, James Hetfield, Tony Iommi, Stevie Nicks, 70ʼs - 80ʼs movies, Koko the gorilla and Judas Priest
What are some of your hobbies/interests outside writing, recording, playing, and touring with Ranger?

I like to play video games, watch movies, go to the gym, jogging, karate (when I have money again to do it, I have a yellow belt haha) and spent time with my gf and friends.

I know it is probably a stereotypical interview question, but I ask stuff I’d like to know as well as what I think other people would too, so what are some of your favorite bands?
Theres always some periods when my favourite band can be Rush or Laaz Rockit. But the ones that have stick to me forever are classic metal bands. My favourites are: Metallica, Megadeth, Sabbath, Slayer, Maiden, Priest, AC/DC and Anvil.

What are some of your favorite movies?

I would like to mention To Live and Die in LA, Terminator, Thief, Dressed to kill, Blow out, Breakfast Club, From Beyond, basically every John Carpenter movie, Return of the living dead, Dawn of the dead and WARRIORS.

Is it easy for you guys to get off work to go on tour?

Photo by Mikko Pylkkö mpylkko.com

It has been, but it requires a lot of savings and sacrifice on money wise. Right now I donʼt have a steady, but hope to get one soon.

What was it like to grow up in your hometown, and when did you start to really get into music, and who were some of your first main influences?

In our capital here in Helsinki is best place to grow up. Everything works and its a high standard place for living and growing up. I started to get into music through my family. My parents donʼt play any instruments but they were so into classic rock and are old hippies and stuff like that so it got me too. My uncle is a musician of somekind so he was more of a metal guy, so I definitely keep him as my main influence along James Hetfield or Rob Halford.


How do you feel about the first few demos out by Ranger? Do you still think they hold up today in your opinion, and do you ever think you’ll re-record any of the stuff off the compilation album “Skull Splitting Metal”

Holds really good except for me the teen vocals on Enter the zone haha. They Live would be cool to re-record and re arrange, but weʼll see!

You started out just as the frontman-singer. What made you go from that to being a singer/bassist, and had you previously known how to play bass?

Photo by Mikko Pylkkö mpylkko.com

Yes I know how to play a guitar bit so it was rather easy, but I did rehearse own my own. Our bass player left the band so I just took that and we were like that this is working great. I would like to do just singing in a different band just try it on how it is without a instrument.

Do you have any plans in the future to come to the states on tour?

Yes. Iʼve promised so many times that we are coming blablala, but we need to start to do something about it. We have good contacts already, so we will start working on it when its time. Hopefully soon. I would love to finally come over there.

What are some bands you haven’t toured with, or even have, that you would like to have a tour with for the first time, or again?

We have toured on our own. I would love to tour with Antichrist or Cauldron or then to open up for a bigger band.

Do you play any instruments besides bass?

well I play guitar, but not very often.

Do you look forward to certain food on tour, and what’s the food like in Finland?

On tour you eat what you can. Unfortunately its either fast food shit on gas stations or sandwiches. I look vegetarian options, or meat, as long as its healthier than the shit we are forced to eat on 10 hour drive to another city and country. Food like in Finland is just everything from all around the world. Basic Finnish foods are like meatballs, fish foods, macaroni, lasagna, pea soup etc. I tend more of a veggie guy these days so I eat Seitan and soy stuff.

The energy at live shows for Ranger seems off the charts. Would you say the crowd has an equal response to you guys, or in which place do you feel the crowd was the most powerful?

Photo by Emma Grönqvist

Thank you! It certainly is. Here in scandinavia and north we tend have the most violent shows. But on tour countries like Spain and Germany are really wild Ranger crowds too! It shines to us of course even more when its really stage diving madness. We always enjoy ourselves on stage and it shows to audience. It is supposed to be fun too!!! Even people who arenʼt into metal still likes us because we look so good on stage or that we enjoy it so much.

I think you guys keep it clean and true with the speed that comes with your music, do you think some bands may overdo it in that area and just focus on how fast they’re playing instead of the quality of their riffs and lyrics? Not trying to single anyone out, just would like your opinion, of course.

Yes I think there are few bands that overdo it in many ways. Their riffs and stuff can be alright, but everything is polished or over thought in their heads. Too much going on, that you donʼt actually can grab anything from it. I think its important that there are hooks and melodies in music.

What are your overall thoughts on the metal scene these days, and what are some of your newer favorite bands?

Metal scene is alive in well everywhere i think. I have to mention Cauldron (tho they have been active for long time now), Antichrist, Rapid, Deathhammer, Nekromantheon, Power Trip and something else but canʼt remember now.

What are some future goals for Ranger, and how do you feel about what you’ve done as band so far?

I feel satisfied and proud what we have done so far. Our future plans are to take a little break, get back to write some new songs and get a new record deal! After that, back to touring!