Bullet For My Valentine

There just may be something in Britain’s water supply that causes the country to produce some of the finest heavy metal bands the world has ever known. Black Sabbath, Cradle of Filth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest…the list goes on and on. Now, 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the Valentine, as Welsh rockers Bullet For My Valentine unleash “Scream Aim Fire” on an unsuspecting public.

John 5

John 5 is a musician’s musician.  Currently on tour with Rob Zombie, John has played with everyone from k.d. lang to Meat Loaf to Marilyn Manson as well as releasing his many instrumental solo albums. He is known for playing country music as he is shredding with metal bands, and is currently up for two nominations at Guitarworld.com.

The band is now touring with Ozzy Osbourne, in support of the new “ Zombie-Live! ” CD.  In the midst of this tour, John took a few minutes to talk with us at Maximum Ink about his vast body of work and what we can expect from him in the future.

Cealed Kasket

By all accounts, Cealed Kasket puts on one heck of a show.  There are swords, beer, wenches and a self-proclaimed, 553-year-old wizard named Sarsicus, led by the ringleader and vocalist Mortal Death in an effort to entertain the youth of America. The band’s latest album, “Penetration,” was released this past July on Reckless Records. 

The band will appear at Maximum Ink’s Halloween Spooktacular on October 27th, so we thought it fitting to warn…err, inform concert-goers in the Madison area just what they might expect from these medieval metal rockers.  It seems that the traditional sex, drugs and rock and roll is on the menu, and Cealed Kasket knows how to deliver the goods.  After sitting down to chat with Mortal Death, the best warning?  Be afraid…be very afraid.

Blaqk Audio

Sometime around the year 2000, AFI’s Davey Havok and Jade Puget started to discuss the possibility of making their mutual love of electronic music reality in the form of a side project called BLAQK AUDIO.  Though AFI’s success kept both of them so busy that talking was all they could do, seven months ago, the duo managed to steal away some precious time and record CexCells.  The album has done well, far exceeding the expectations of both Puget and Havok and the single, “Stiff Kittens”, placed as high as number 20 on the rock charts.

Fans of AFI’s hard, rock and roll sound were taken aback by the dynamic dance music that filled the speakers after purchasing CexCells, but it seems that most have since accepted the side project and all it has to offer.  The name BLAQK AUDIO was the brainchild of Puget, who thought the name suited their desire to make dark, electronic music.  He claims that the unusual spelling was a simple twist on the obvious, as well as being a nod to the Aphex Twins song “Drukqs”.

Although the tour officially ended September 27th, with a final show in Los Angeles, Puget and Havok plan to continue to make music as BLAQK AUDIO in between their commitment to AFI.  Now that the two are, hopefully, resting before picking back up with AFI, Puget was able to sit down for a chat about the tour, the sexual content of CexCells and his plans for the future.

Maximum Ink:  Are there any questions that you are tired of answering?
Jade Puget:  I guess the obligatory meaning behind CexCells, all the usual stuff.  I actually don’t mind answering that stuff either, if there’s something you really want to know.  A lot of people aren’t that familiar with Blaqk Audio as a side project.  If you want to cover some basic information, that’s fine.