Ian Chains talks Cauldron, Chainbreaker, and Stained Class Records (2017)

Last I interviewed you, it was 2013, a lot has happened since then. You've had another album come out, several music videos done, and much more, just wanted a chance to catch up the new happenings.

Hey Olivia, thanks for taking the time to interview me again!

Photo by Nic Pouliot edited by Aaron Franks

Chainbreaker is about to come out with a full album, would you say it has the same feel as the two tracks released previously on bandcamp, or the most recent ones, rather?



Yeah I would say it has a similar feel. Some of the songs on the new album were written around the period that “Enslave Your Masters” was written so naturally they all fit together. There are a couple more “rock ‘n roll” sounding songs but overall it all has that slimy vibe that we enjoy so well.



Has it been a big task to get everyone together to record the new Chainbreaker album, and where was it recorded?


It’s never hard to get the band together, but we did have a lot of down time last year and didn’t progress much. I’m really glad we finally got our asses in gear and recorded it. We did it at the same country and western studio where most of the Cauldron stuff is done (Lincoln County Social Club). I’m already familiar with that studio, recommended it to the boys and thus it’s where we ended up. We recorded 12 songs in March/April and currently have the album being mixed.


Chainbreaker formed in 2013, what brought that about?


I used to go over to Al’s house with my friend Craig in the dead of winter. We’d fire up the wood stove and just get black out drunk jamming Razor and Slayer songs. Originally Al would sing and play drums and Craig would play bass. We weren’t really planning to form a band or anything, but Al started recording our jams and piecing together random riffs we were coming up with and forming songs out of them. Some of those recordings are hilariously awful, but that’s how it all came about. Eventually Craig split and we got Rob on vocals and Curtis on bass. But wait, there’s more! Curtis was replaced last year by Phil Zeller who used to play with Al in Toxic Holocaust, which is now our current lineup.



Who did the drawings for Chainbreaker? That logo is awesome, as well, did how it look just kind of come natural, or did it take a bit to think of how it would look?



Rob drew the logo and the “Enslave” cover. Even though those are pretty crude sketches suited to us he’s actually a very talented artist and creates some pretty amazing stained glass works for a living. I can’t remember who drew the “Constant Graving” cover but needless to say my mom was not impressed with it. I think Rob was going for a bit of a Diamond Head vibe with the logo, but he’s since then drawn a much improved logo which will be on the new album.

Photo by Kevin Nunes

The collaborative minds of this band seem to have put out these evil sounding speed-filled riffs, have you wanted to do stuff like that for a long time?



I guess since I learned how to play guitar by jamming along to Reign in Blood and all that stuff, I kind of missed playing that sort of stuff with a band. I figured if I had another band, it wouldn’t sound anything like Cauldron.



The demo came out late 2013, did it take a while for that to come together, and were the songs made quickly from just jamming around and stuff?



Yeah I feel like the demo together really quick, and then we just decided to ride it out for a good 5 years before doing something else! Most of the songs were either written by Al or pieced together and demoed by him in his garage first.



The latest two songs on Chainbreaker's bandcamp that just came out entitled "Enslave Your Masters" and "Deterioration" seem like they might've even gotten more aggressive and fast than the previous tracks off "Constant Graving", even having some blast beat action in "Deterioration", would you agree with that? And do you feel the band's sound has gotten more aggressive over the past few years?



Now that I think about it, all that stuff was written around the same time. If anything we’ve kind of branched out in both directions, with more aggressive sounding songs and then slower greasy numbers to balance them out.



Chainbreaker, in this instance, seems to be your side project, of course, from Cauldron, has it been difficult to balance the two, or just more-so fun? Have the ideas for each band just been separated in your mind when you'd think of a riff or something, or was it stuff you had done and didn't feel fit with the Cauldron sound?

Photo by Nic Pouliot

Well I guess it’s all the kind of stuff that doesn’t suit Cauldron, but there’s been more than one occasion where the Cauldron guys want to pinch a riff or two from the Chain boys! It’s been pretty easy balancing the two, especially since our rehearsal rooms are right next to each other. I’ve definitely come up with a couple riffs and thought “there’s no way Cauldron will play this”.





Chainbreaker seemed to have a lot of gigs already, was it easy to get together with other bands, and what have some of your favorite shows you've played been?



I feel like it’s easier for Chainbreaker to have other bands to play with just because the music is more aggressive. Cauldron’s always been “Ok you can either play with this one old band or 15 thrash bands”. The best Chainbreaker shows were opening for Municipal Waste last December, playing with Midnight and Shitfucker a couple years back, and the BAT/Chainbreaker tour we did in the states.



Al Biddle was in a lot of other bands, including your other band Cauldron. He did drums when you guys first started, so did you think to ask him whenever Chainbreaker formed? Or had you guys had the project in mind for a long time?



Well Chainbreaker is really Al’s band, even though I’ve got a Chain in my name... I guess Al called me up one night and asked if I wanted to jam some tunes in his garage. We definitely didn’t have any ideas of forming a band at that point.

Photo By Kevin Nunes

Is it often you guys get a chance to practice, and where do you practice?



We usually rehearse once a week right next door to the Cauldron room. That’s the same room that Cauldron’s been in for over 10 years now.



There are some great metal acts in Canada, what are your thoughts on the metal scene there, and what are some of your favorite bands? Would you like to have any Chainbreaker shows with any specific ones in the future?



The current metal scene? Maybe I’m wrong but I feel like it kind of dried up in recent years. I remember 10 years ago there was a lot of excitement in the air about new Canadian bands. Or maybe it’s that I’m 10 years older now and really just want to listen to The Raspberries and Todd Rundgren. I won’t shake a stick at a chance to play with Exciter or Razor though!



There was a small gap in between recording "Constant Graving", and the most recent two Chainbreaker songs released, what was the reason for that? You all seem to have a lot going on.



I think we got stuck in a rut of constantly reworking songs to the point where we couldn’t remember how the fuck the song was actually supposed to go. We really just needed to commit to certain songs and get them ready to record, but it took us a while to get there. We are all really busy but I think there was more to it than that. I don’t think any of us have that “Look, this is how the song fuckin’ goes, end of paragraph” attitude. Maybe we just don’t want to piss each other off. Jason’s the guy with that attitude in Cauldron, and doesn’t care about pissing anyone off, which might be why we seem to get more shit done!



Cauldron's latest album "In Ruin" came out in January 8th, 2016. Did it seem like a long time coming? I know the tracks from "Tomorrow's Lost" had been recorded when you guys were working on "Burning Fortune", did this album seem to take less time?



Oh yeah, every album seems like a long time coming. We usually start writing the next album before the current one is even out yet. We took a lot of time off last year and didn’t really start working on songs until the summer or fall, so I’m sure this next album will seem like an eternity since “In Ruin”. We do have about 9 or 10 new songs though that we’re really going to crack down on when we get back from our Euro tour in June.

Photo by Kevin Nunes

"In Ruin", in my opinion, seems to be the band's pinnacle in terms of overall atmosphere for the songs, and how they seem to have almost a different sound altogether, while still keeping in the Cauldron vein of sound, would you find any truth in that?



Thanks, I think “In Ruin” really captured what we always strive for more than any album before. It’s definitely the one I’ve been most happy with when it was completed. At this point I think anything we do together will sound like Cauldron. Now that we’ve established that we can really do whatever the fuck we want. The next album will probably be the most atmospheric and varied one yet.



Where did the art concept come from for the album, and who did you guys go to to make it?



I think Jason had a still from the movie Poltergeist that he turned upside down. It looked creepy yet budget, so we asked our friend Squid from Edmonton to come up with something based on that. He drew up a few sketches and the last one was the one we all agreed should be the cover. He’d already done some t-shirt designs for us a few years back and also the cover for Enforcer’s “From Beyond”.



Are you guys enjoying the record label "The End Records" you all are on now, and how have they been treating you?



They treat us like kings! Well actually they’ve been enthusiastic about the band and keep in touch regularly, and came out to see us when we played in New York last October with Satan. We haven’t been doing much lately other than working on new songs so we’ll see how everything goes when we get into “the next album” mode.



The short release of cover songs you guys did back in 2014, Moonlight Desires, had the title track, Iron Beast, and Sacrifice. What made you guys chose them, and how'd you all come to sing on the track Sacrifice?



Well Moonlight Desires by Gowan is sort of a radio staple up here in Canada. We’ve always liked the song and knew nobody else was going to cover it, plus everyone outside of Canada would think we wrote it! Larry Gowan (of Gowan) heard our cover and wanted to meet us when he was at our rehearsal building. We were actually drinking in the park across the street. Had we known he was looking for us we’d have tossed our beers and ran back! Iron Beast is a tune by Kratos from Cleveland. It was one of those songs we’d always crank in the van on tour so naturally we started jamming it. It was really hard deciphering the lyrics to that one. I’m pretty sure they’re all wrong! For Sacrifice we’d usually do that as a soundcheck song and we’d each sing a verse/chorus to check the mic’s. We had our friend Kyle record a show for us and the soundcheck version he recorded was way better than the live one, so we threw it on the tape.

Photo by Kevin Nunes

The topic I didn't particularly want to touch on was the first US tour being cut short by the van accident you sustained significant injuries from, which I am very glad you all are alive and well, as I'm 110% sure everyone else is, too. Was it tough to get back to your normal self again, and what helped you through such a tough time?



Thanks, and no problem bringing it up! It was over a year ago now and feels longer ago than that. Yeah it was really tough having that level of excruciating pain, having to lie down all the time and not being able to sleep. In short, it was bullshit and it sucked! I got really depressed and had to wear this turtle shell brace all day and night. My girlfriend Claire helped me immensely and stuck by me the whole time. A huge part of it was getting off those horrible painkillers I was on. Jason and Myles getting me to come down to the jam space and go through some songs again really helped out too.





Aside from the bad luck (that's an understatement) you guys had in Texas, was touring enjoyable, and where were some of your favorite places you guys played?



Well funnily enough I felt like some of the most fun we had on that tour was in Texas. New York was great too, as was Vancouver, LA and anywhere else that we had good friends show up.



Where did the idea of "on the road" footage come from for the videos, "Burning at Both Ends", and "No Return/ In Ruin"? Or moreso, what made you all decide to go with that concept for them? And will there be any other videos coming in the future? I saw a few pictures and snippets from one...



Well the “on the road” footage from “No Return” is just us driving an hour down the highway to a friend’s place who let us set off pyro in his back yard. I guess we considered the “Burning” video to be more road themed. I’m not sure why we did that, it seems pretty stock doesn’t it? We filmed a video for “Hold Your Fire” but we’re still in the midst of adding some b-roll to it. We were planning to have it out before the tour but then I went and put the kibosh on it until we have more useable footage.

Photo by Nic Pouliot

I think I've asked more than enough questions at this point, and hopefully they're better than last time haha. So I'll close with this question: What are some future goals for Cauldron, and what are some for Chainbreaker in the future?



Cauldron: Break big then break up

Chainbreaker: Break more chains

At first I thought that was the end of the interview, but completely forgot I had not asked him about the record store he owns along with Inti Paredes, and was nice enough to answer a few more questions. So here it is- some info on Stained Class Records!

Photo either by Inti or Ian

Stained Class Records is music store packed with cassettes, vinyl, tapes, tickets for local shows, shirts, pins patches, and much more! The store is located in Toronto at 1614 Queen Street West, in the back of Parkdale Platters (in case you’re fairly local or a local and haven’t been to this place, and if you haven’t I’d slap you in the face, because you need to go). This store was started by none other than Ian Chains and Inti Paredes of Manacle. Was this a long time coming, and what was the collaborative process on both your parts to get the spot for the store and everything started?



Inti and I used to work together and in between hating our jobs we’d daydream about opening our own metal shop. We called a lot of phone numbers in empty store front windows but gave up pretty quick when we realized rent was going to be through the roof no matter what. A good 2+ years went by before the current location sort of fell into our laps by good fortune.



Were you and Inti familiar with the owner of the store before you decided on the spot, and how was it to split the spot, and how has it turned out for you?



Inti and I had both been into Parkdale Platters and bought records off Chris. Eventually we started doing a consignment metal section there just for the hell of it. Chris had a vintage shop in the back of his store that moved out, so he asked us right away if we’d like to move into the back. It’s been pretty good so far, people really seem to care and we get a lot of touring bands and people from out of town stopping in. When Midnight was in town opening for Kreator I took them down to the shop after their show for an after-midnight shopping spree.



The name of the store is a classic Judas Priest song and album title off their best album entitled “Stained Class’. How did you guys come to choose that name?



That came pretty easy. What is the greatest metal album of all time? Stained Class. We considered calling it Nostradamus but it didn’t have the same ring.

Photo by Kevin Nunes

Where do you guys get all of the stuff you sell in the store?



A lot of stuff is either from collections of used records/memorabilia we’ve bought off people, or from people coming in to sell us records. It helps that people have started coming to us instead of the bigger stores where they pay them a nickel per record, although it is really hard to have a steady stream of used records coming in. It’s a glorious feeling when someone comes by with a bag of old Slayer records to sell us. We’ve also been ordering in new records to offset all the obscure stuff that nobody knows or wants haha.


Did it take a long time to get everything moved into the store, how was moving, and who did you get to move with you guys?


We started paying rent in December of last year and officially opened on the 18th, so it took us just over 2 weeks to get everything set up. We pretty much just had our friends help us. Al from Chainbreaker built the record displays and hauled them down on the roof of his station wagon, and Jason from Cauldron also drove down a ton of shit and helps out at the store quite a lot.

Had you and Inti always wanted to have a record store? I think you guys were roommates at one point according to some article I had read about Inti’s cat or something haha.

Well I don’t know about Inti but I never really wanted to have a record store until he kept bringing it up! I guess he won me over. Yeah we lived together for less than a year, and when I moved out I couldn’t bring my cat, so now he’s the proud owner of Jez (named after Jez from Peep Show)!

Photo by Nic Pouliot

How has it been to have the upkeep going in the store with being stocked and staffed?



It’s a constant struggle. It’s hard working 2 jobs and being in 2 bands. We always find someone to work the shop though if we can’t. Jason and Myles have both covered shifts as well as Kevin from Manacle and I’m sure a million others.



What jobs have you had in the past, and which one made this job seem like the best thing you could have possibly done? Or just what was the worst job you’ve had, if you don’t mind sharing.



Well I still don’t work at the shop full time, so I still have my “real” job at the moment. I’ve had some shitty jobs in my time! My very first job was in a butcher shop and about 2 weeks in the manager killed himself which kind of set the mood. The worst job I’ve ever had was at this tea manufacturing place in between Cauldron tours. Everything was just ridden with maggots, but it was still being bottled up and sold to major supermarkets. Just disgusting!



What are some of your favorite pieces of merch that have passed through the store? Do you guys get donations, and do you ever keep any of it and just slip some cash in the register… if that’s how it works.



There have been some great records to come through that I wished I’d grabbed for myself after they sold, but I guess that’s not the point. We had the Saracen “We Have Arrived” single on the wall for a while, I guess because I figured no one would know what it was and I could grab it at any time. But then Ryan and Nick from Municipal Waste stopped by and it was no more! When Midnight came by Athenar donated a really nice old Loudness poster to us. We’re also looking for any and all copies of Krokus’ “Headhunter” just to give all those millions of lonely copies a home.

Photo by Kevin Nunes

Who are the frequents at the shop, and how has business gone overall so far?



There are definitely quite a few local regulars that come in every week. Quite a few of them have been collecting since the 80’s so it’s cool for them to hang out in a shop that looks like their bedrooms from 1985. Business is steady, we’re paying the bills so we can’t complain there.



The opening for the shop was a show put on by both your bands, Chainbreaker and Manacle, had you guys had that planned since you started the process of opening the shop?



Initially we were looking for other bands to play because we just figured we’d be busy enough with the whole store opening to play, but as it got closer to the day the only bands we could really rely on were our own, so that’s how that happened. We also thought of having Cauldron play but I’m done with those double duty gigs!




What have some of your favorite work days at the shop so far been, and how is the overall atmosphere on a day to day basis?



Any days where friends come by and we crack beers and shoot the shit. The days I work usually consist of me and Chris having a few sodas and coming up with ridiculous scenarios to pass the time. The store opening party was probably the best day we’ve had so far.



How do you and Inti feel about the store so far? Is it the record store you’ve both always wanted to go to, and now you guys own and operate it?



Well it’s still a very small time operation. It’s kind of difficult when your overhead to buy new stock is a bit narrow. We’d like to have more album release shows in the back, maybe some signings or whatever, but yeah it’s a fun place to hang out and spin records. It’s exceeded our expectations just because it fell into our laps so suddenly that we really can’t complain.

Photo by Nic Pouliot

What do you think the future of Stained Class records holds, and what are some of your hopes and goals for it?



We’re just hoping to keep this thing afloat for the time being. We haven’t really talked about any huge expectations just because we don’t want to set ourselves up for disappointment. It’ll always be a small niche shop, but that’s what we set out for in the first place. We just live for that next juicy score!

Ian Chains of Cauldron Interview (2013)

This is my interview with Ian Chains of one of my favorite bands, Cauldron. They're one of the finest of the traditional heavy metal bands coming from Canada. You know that Misfits song Spook City USA? Okay, good. This interview is like that, except Cringe City USA. My husband, Aaron and I, got the chance to catch Cauldron in Louisville back in October (2016). We got there a bit early and got to meet them and talked to Ian. I had asked if he remembered this interview, and he said he remembered doing one for me, but didn't remember it exactly. Well thank fuck, because damn, it was embarrassing to read what I had asked. The show and meeting them was awesome, of course. Satan (NWOBHM) was with them too, and let me tell you, they sound exactly the same as they did in the '80s. Such a great show (Possible other blog post, there)! But, anyhow, my main point was that yes, this is cringey as hell on my part, but Ian's answers are what I wanted to put this up for. Along with the awesome pictures I have for it, generously donated by those credited under the images. Enjoy! And feel free to make fun of me. At least my dumb questions could be good for a laugh.

Photo by Francois Dejonege
added to by Me

You guys are on a small break from the tour you’re on now which is the “America’s Lost” tour in support of your latest album “Tomorrow’s Lost” which was released in October of last year. Are you glad you have time to rest or, are you still in full tour mode wanting to play shows almost every night?

Well it's nice to finally get more than 5 hours of sleep, but we'd still rather be on tour more than anything else.  Going from touring for 5 weeks to trying to find work is pretty hard.  The bulk of the tour's done, but we've still got Orion fest in Detroit and then a handful of Eastern US dates in July with Volture.

Speaking of that, how’ve the gigs been? Any Spinal Tap-like things happening while doing the gigs?

The shows have been great for the most part.  We probably got our best reception in the States so far on this tour than any previous one.  Nobody spontaneously combusted this time.

What’s been your favorite place to play and why would that be?

On this tour I would say Edmonton and Brooklyn were a couple of the best shows.  Edmonton's always a good time just because we know so many people there, and Brooklyn was the first show of the Diamond Head dates.

I know some fans let you crash at their place sometimes after shows, any of that happen on the tour so far? And any specific person or happenings you remember?

Photo by Karen Tof

This was our 4th full tour through the States so we've gotten to know a lot of people who are willing to put us up.  It's pretty hard to turn away 3 drunk Canadians right?  Portland was the drunkest night of the tour.  We stayed with Spellcaster, watched them trash their apartment with swords, axes and antlers and then took to the streets drinking until the sun came up.

After the release of “Tomorrow’s Lost” did you guys get a lot of good feedback on that? And how was it to record it?

There was a good response and a lot of press in Europe back when it came out in October, but it only came out in the States on April 30th, and it's still not even out in Canada.  There's been very little North American press for us.  To us it seems like if you don't have a beard and neck tattoos you don't get press in North America.  Recording it was pretty similar to our last album.  Same studio and engineer, we just tried to do everything better than last time.

Photo by Mieke DeVlieger

On the album, two of the three covers (all of which are bonus tracks, and come on a 45 when you buy “Tomorrow’s Lost” on vinyl, or bonus CD, if you choose that rout of media) are oldschool grindcore covers. “I Told You So (Corporate Rock Really Does Suck)” by Carcass, and “Autumn Twilight” by Cathedral. I thought it was cool how you guys chose songs that fit your sound and attitude so well. What made you guys pick those songs? Earache records, what you guys are signed with for those unaware, was a strictly grindcore label when it first started out, a suggestion or inspiration from them, or just coincidence?

That was our idea to record those songs.  Earache actually hated the idea and thought it was a mistake!  We did it anyway and now of course they like it.  Like you said, we thought they fit our style pretty well.  That Carcass tune is pretty uncharacteristic for them, so it wasn't too much of a stretch for us to play it.  I bet Earache told them it was a bad idea when they wrote that one!

The third cover, just a traditional heavy metal song, “Streetwalker” was, in fact, a cover, which a lot of people seem to be unaware of. It’s by a Louisville heavy or kind of glam metal band Buster Brown. Who’s the one that picked that?

“Streetwalker” was a song that we always listened to in the van.  That's how most of our cover choices come about, they're all tour jams.  Jason and I came across that song back in 2007 when we played in Greece.  They had these street vendors all over Athens selling bulk packs of obscure bootleg metal cd's for dirt cheap.  We bought a shit load of them and that Buster Brown album was one of the cd's.

Photo by Brody LaBlanc
added to by me

Since we were just on the topic of obscure metal, I’ve seen some pictures of Cauldron’s records and saw stuff that’s awesome not a lot of people know of. What’s some of the most obscure stuff you like?

Well we're all avid record collectors, but I guess the most obscure stuff I like never even came out on vinyl.  Some of my favourite stuff only came out as cassette demos way back when.  Bands like Ear Danger and Stash from Holland, and Excalibur, Neptune and Stormchild from Sweden. 

Who did that album art and where did the idea of it come from?

Todd Kowalski from Propagandhi painted it.  We saw the painting he did for the Sacrifice/Propagandhi split and asked him if he'd do something for us.  We wanted something in a similar style to Thomas Cole or John Martin, sort of a hellish landscape with a bright source of light.  The initial idea came from some of our favourite album covers, namely Candlemass, Entombed and Angel Witch.

I’ve noticed people complaining that the cover’s misleading, and that it seems like a death metal band cover, your thoughts on that?

It doesn't bother us if somebody strictly into death metal picks it up and ends up throwing it out their car window.

Photo by Ish Fauxtography

Are your fellow Canadian brethren Terrance and Philip from South Park some of your heroes or influences?

No but without fail, somebody would ask us every single day on tour if we liked Fubar or Trailer Park Boys.

You guys score some pretty nice records while on tour, what’d you get this time so far, and where was the best record or junk store?

I think we all came home with a stack of 30-something records each.  I got some OZ, Avenger, Possessed, Wolf, Venom, Lone Wolf, Savage Grace, Ostrogoth etc.  I'm just looking at the pile next to my record player.  The best stores were in Quebec City, Portland and Topeka.

Is there one specific thing you always seem to take with you when you go on tour besides the obvious stuff?

I always take a book that I never read.  I just end up sleeping when I'm not driving.

You guys have toured with a number of bands such as Enforcer, Municipal Waste, and more. What bands did you enjoy playing shows with the most and did you guys hangout after gigs and all?

We've been on nightliner tours with both bands, so needless to say they were non stop parties.  There were times on the Municipal Waste tour where I'd wake up in the morning and Jason and Ryan would still be up singing along to Platinum Blonde completely off key and wasted.

Photo by Al Case
Ian Chains

What was the idea behind the video “Nightbreaker”? And why was that song chosen for a video?

Earache gave us a budget to do a video for that song.  I guess they figured it packed the most punch for a video.  The idea for the video was pretty simple, we were just inspired by heavy metal horror movies like Black Roses and Rocktober Blood.

Do you guys hang out with Alison Thunderland (ex-Skull Fist, and drummer for Axxion now) and Inti Paredes a lot, who are in the beginning of the “Nightbreaker” video?

We see them at shows all the time.  Inti was also our merch guy on our last European tour.  He came with us for the US tour as well but got denied at the border for not having the right paperwork.  We had to turn back and drop him off at a bus station in Niagara Falls.  It was pretty shitty.

Sometimes it can be tough to write songs, do you guys sit down and come up with ideas, or does it just sort of happen?

We never try to force anything.  We usually come up with riffs on our own when we hear something in our heads and try to figure it out.  We do the arranging in the jam space but never sit down and say “OK let's write a song”.  It's pretty easy to tell when something is forced.

That video called “Cauldron Doing Nothing”, is that a usual practice session?

Photo by Al Case
Myles Deck

Earache asked us to give them a video tour of our jam space and talk about the story behind our new songs.  We weren't really into that so that's what we filmed and they didn't use it!  I can see why though, it's just us drunk.  Our usual practices include a lot more playing.

The newer drummer, Miles Deck, how’s it been with him, is he the man for Cauldron for sure? And how’d you guys know him?

We probably have a closer musical taste with him than with any other drummer we've had.  We met through a mutual friend who thought we'd be a good match.  So far it's working out really well.  We try not to think too far into the future!

Do you and Jason have a lot of the same styles with riffs when starting to write songs, or are some completely different sounding style wise than others?

I think we both have a good idea of what suits Cauldron and what doesn't.  I'm sure there have been a few ideas that didn't really work out but for the most part we know how to write riffs that sound like us.

You joined Cauldron right after the split of “Goat Horn”, how’d you end up with them? Did you have a band before Cauldron? Speaking of Goat Horn, were you fond of their stuff? And did you know Jason before you joined up with Cauldron?

Yeah I had a Nitro inspired hair metal band called Whyte Hott.  It was pretty fun but was going nowhere.  I was already into Goat Horn at the time and met them in 2005 when they played in Vancouver.  When I heard they had broken up and were looking for a guitar player I emailed Jason and told him I would come to Toronto to try out.

Kind of a stock question, but I’m sure people are wondering, when did you start playing a guitar and how’d you get to where you are today with playing?

Photo by Al Case
Jason Decay

I started when I was 14 by trying to teach myself, but didn't get really serious about it until a couple years after that.  Like a lot of kids I just learned every Slayer and Metallica song and tried to play as fast as I could!

How has your time overall in Cauldron been?

Well I don't lie to myself and have huge expectations because that's just setting yourself up for disappointment.  I just try to take things as they come and enjoy myself.  I get to tour and travel often so that's good enough for me.

How was it growing up? What made you pick up a guitar and is that the only instrument you play?

Yeah guitar is the only instrument I play.  The first time I remember really wanting a guitar was when I saw Back to the Future for the first time.  Michael J. Fox playing guitar behind his head and tapping was the coolest thing I had every seen.  That's what planted the seed and it's been there ever since.  Also “The Power Of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News was the greatest song I had ever heard.

Photo by Al Case

After this short break in touring, Cauldron will be playing at the Orion Festival with Metallica. You guys must be ready for that one! How do you all feel about that? Nervous, excited, ready to tell James to grow his hair back?

Well Jason's been on holiday since getting back from tour, so we've only got a few days to cram before we leave.  I think we're all pretty excited and hope to meet Metallica.  We'll probably try to get them completely hammered.

What are your favorite things to do on tour offstage?

Records and parking lot beers.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen so far on this tour?

Myles being casual, and Ian staring down Kimo?
Photo By Kimo Verkindt

Myles and I actually saw a leprechaun in Lawrence, Kansas.  We were standing in a circle talking to some people outside the show and he appeared out of nowhere.  He had a green felt jacket and hat on, and his eyebrows were shaved off with lightning bolts tattooed in their place.  Myles and I ran to get our cameras/laugh and when we came back he was gone without a trace.

I saw a Cauldron hat before, maybe a few years ago, and haven’t seen them much; do you guys still sell them?

Yeah we still make them for every tour but they always sell pretty fast.

Any bands that have landed on the scene in the past years you like a lot?

Yeah Explorer from Italy, Evil Invaders from Belgium, Night Demon from LA and Wytch Hazel from England.

Do you guys have a reliable van to go around in now and what kinda stuff’s in it?

Photo by Kevin Brown

Yeah we tour in our trusty red old cable van that we've had for a couple years.  The inside is covered in Samantha Fox posters.

Who are some of your favorite guitarists or idols?

Tony Iommi and Criss Oliva from Savatage.

What’s your favorite Cauldron album so far? And what’s your favorite song to play live?

I'd have to say Tomorrow’s Lost because I'm not completely sick of it yet.  We've got a few favourites.  Summoned to Succumb, End of Time and Frozen in Fire would be a few.

You guys seem to have timeless tunes. When I hear songs by Cauldron, I don’t think of a specific era it reminds me of, or the specific year it was from, it just is Cauldron. Is there any formula or anything like that you guys have that you’d like to share?

Thanks, all I can think of is that we just play what comes naturally.  We don't just listen to one thing either.  We listen to just as much Dokken as we do Bathory and Savage Grace.  Maybe that has something to do with it?

Photo by Brody LaBlanc

Are there any TV shows or movies you all like to watch on tour or just in general?

We can't afford to have a tv and satellite dish installed in our van, but we're all into Breaking Bad.  When we were in Albuquerque we stopped by Walter White's house and the Octopus car wash.  We felt like we were on the show, it was pretty weird...

On the inner sleeve of the album “Chained to the Nite”, it’s almost like an I-Spy book kind of collage. One picture was of Slayer and Megadeth being crazy and drunk together. Who threw that in there?

I think I found that online somewhere and sent it to Jason just because it looked cool.  He threw it in the collage and put Steelrider next to them like he was in the photo.

What are your favorite Canadian metal albums?

That's a tough one but I'd have to say Killer Dwarfs “Stand Tall”, Razor “Executioner's Song” and Reckless “Heart of Steel”.

Photo by Ish Fauxtography

Sometimes you have to make sacrifices if you want to make metal, has it been hard on you guys to get by on the road with getting food and all through the years?

Getting by in Europe is a lot easier.  They always hook you up with food, beer and accommodations.  The States is different, you're pretty much left to fend for yourself.  It's harder to get by when we're not on tour!  It's pretty difficult to make money when we're taking so much time off.

Well I’m sure all those reading wish you guys the best of luck with everything, and I do as well. Hopefully you’ll be up for another appearance in the ‘zine someday, I know I’d certainly like to know what the rest of the tour will bring for Cauldron and how it will be doing the Orion Fest. So in closing, what are your hopes and some things you’re curious about for the rest of the tour?

We're looking forward to BBQ'ing with Volture in Richmond this July.  That's gonna be the highlight of the year for us.

Thanks for your time, Ian!
Phew... long interview... good luck with the zine Olivia!  Stay Hard!

Here's one of my favorites by them from their latest album "In Ruin". Check them out if your mind hasn't been blown by them already: