H.S.- Do you feel that even though it sounds the same, the same vocals and music, which you want to add something new and exciting to the industry so that people know that there are different types of metal out there?

Chuck Billy– Well since we have been around there are so many different types of metal, there’s speed metal, black metal, grind metal you know? There are so many different types of metal but I think that it’s all just metal. Anything that has an attitude. I think metal always has this thing about the dark side; the good and evil, there aren’t many genres’ that touch on that subject. There’s room for every body.

H.S.– Do you like where the scene is going, as an older band looking at the current wave of everything?

Chuck Billy– I do. I just like the fact that there is lot of this style of music and there is a totally new fan base. We are noticing coming to our show, young kids that are getting turned on. They get exposed; they do their homework and find out about the old classic stuff. There is defiantly a new breed of young fan and generation of fans, and bands. I defiantly like where it is going. I just wish that the industry would give it more of a chance. Back in the 80’s there was probably 150 stations across the US, not just college but mainstream stations that would play heavy metal. It was during the day not just drive time. It wasn’t limited to an hour show at midnight. They also had Head banger’s ball and MTV was playing more metal and now it is totally gone. The only real exposure is college radio or the Internet. Hopefully some body takes that chance and goes with it again. I don’t know why or what the problem is but you got rap stations that are much worse I think with the lyrics and their message, of violence is more than any heavy metal band. That just confesses me a little bit.

H.S.- It’s just the cycle we are going in right now. If you look at music from the 50’s and then the music of today, up to 2010 it is very pop oriented. Then when you got to the late 60’s early 70’s and then the late 70’s when Motorhead was coming out and the metal was coming out and it was still relatively new, no body wanted to take a chance on it. It is always the process that metal seems to go through, its part of it’s evolution.

Chuck Billy– Yeah but it is the same thing, it has to take the tail end of everything. It’s just that corporate that takes that chance or just plays rap videos. I keep going back to rap because it just upsets me that there is so much of it and so much exposure of it and that there message isn’t on anything positive, or even more positive then what heavy metal bands are singing about.  It just tweeks me a little bit because metal did have its chance and there was opportunity that I think a lot of people in the 80’s had and they are long gone. Like program directors and stuff like that. I don’t know when it is going to change. It’s the new generation of people who are going to go ‘this is an obscure type of music I’ve found, lets expose it and get it out there. Once they do, there might be that slight madness all over again.

H.S.-It’s always the crap that seems to last the longest. In the 60s you had like Paul Anka who was writing horrible music and rap is almost the same equivalence to it. There is no actual meaning or message behind it. I understand where you are coming from on that.

Chuck Billy– Yeah especially with metal heads and they are so loyal to the music and what’s out there and they support everything. They seem to be more into it. There is such a huge underground metal scene that it seems like it is hidden or even taboo.

H.S.– do you feel that any of this was inspiration for new album.

Chuck Billy– I don’t know about inspiration. The new record when we wrote it’s just, a lot of this record that we wrote on, it’s always hard to top your last record or even think you can. I think “The Gathering” and “The Formation” record were some pretty defining records. I think we found who we are and todays age. With this record, after the reunion in 05’ with the original members, then with Louie, for me when that happened there was a kind of a sense of confidence in our performance as in a live band. It made it feel like we are really back together and we get to finish something that was started together. It just really built our confidence and after doing it for 7 years now that when we wrote the record, we in the past have always had in the back of minds, what are the fans going to think what are the critics going to think, do we need a slow pallet and we haven’t had on of this in “The Dark Roots of Earth” or “Cold Embrace” that thought didn’t even cross our minds. We thought ‘this sounds good and feels good let’s go for it.’ We didn’t even look back. Then for the record to get perceived as well as it did, it was really gratifying for us. We went with what we were feeling and they get it. That was definably rewarding.

H.S.– Maybe that’s the crave of metal that every body is looking for instead of that crappy rap anymore.

Chuck Billy– (laughs) I hope so. For me it’s just making such a mark on it. Were right up there on the nice end cases of the record stores and were up there with all those rap records and I think ‘Good I’m glad were making our metal statement”. It’s a good feeling.

H.S.- I always say no body pays attention to the person throwing flowers at the building on the out side, they pay attention to the person pulling the fire alarm inside. 

Chuck Billy– (laughs) Yeah. I think that’s why we always thought it was a good topic to write songs on, especially in metal. I didn’t want to write, as we say, typical metal lyrics.  I put that in my music, that’s what I’m into you know?

H.S.– Are you guys working on new music right now or are you just worrying about the tour?

Chuck Billy– Just worrying about the tour. We got a couple of songs that we didn’t put onto the record that we didn’t finish. We might finish them to add more tunes. We are seeing where the industry is going. There are not a lot of record stores anymore; it’s either Best Buy or Wal-Mart. Then there are some little ma and pa’s.  Tower was a big record store for us in California and there’s nowhere now, they’re all gone. We are just seeing its going. The Internet is where it’s going, with YouTube and stuff like that. I think it opens up opportunities for the bands, and specially the fans not having to wait. We were thinking wouldn’t it be kind of cool 6 months from we deliver an EP on the Internet. We don’t make it a product we give the public four or five new tracks. That’s only release in iTunes or something. I think that’s where it’s going. Who knows in ten years we may not even have record stores or anything. We are gearing up and thinking in that kind of mind set. We think it might be cool to keep new records out there. I read a Nirvana book and what those guys did were way ahead of their time. They were really clever thinkers. Every tour they have ever done they put out a single or two songs. They would put our like 10,000 pieces and go tour on it. I think that was really smart. Bands go on tour they have a new piece of product and let’s go.

H.S.– There are bands that still does that. She Wants Revenge at their concerts they have a B-side they burn for their concerts. A band called Angelspit they do that too. Zoog has a pack of cds that you can only find at their concerts.

Chuck Billy– That’s cool. I think that’s smart and I think that’s worth knowing.

H.S.– Yeah, everyone loves a good B-side lets be honest. A lot of the best songs are the B tracks that never even made the record. You have the Deftones who did B-sides and rarities and they had some the Cure covers and all kinds of other bands. It’s the B-sides that’s where it’s at.

Chuck Billy– I think its cool. It keeps people talking its like “hey did they put out a new record? I didn’t know that?” It keeps t he vibe going, it keeps people talking about you. As a band that’s what you want.

H.S.– Yeah and my metal friends, they all go to metal stores