Judas Priest

In 1969, while hippies pranced about the farm fields of Woodstock, New York with flowers in their hair, Birmingham, England was giving birth to a monstrous new musical genre that came to be known as heavy metal. A group called Black Sabbath released its first album that year, and while others both in the United States and England were flirting with the heavier side of rock ‘n’ roll, it was that band that nailed metal squarely between the eyes.

Five years later, Birmingham’s fertile musical loins produced another heavy metal monster, one that came to rise just as high as the first, and perhaps, at times, was even more nimble. The vocals soared over others, the songs galloped faster, and two lead guitarists were used rather than one. That band was Judas Priest.

Amazingly, both Birmingham groups have reformed after varying hiatuses and are touring together this summer with Ozzfest, still playing the aggressive, distortion-heavy songs they wrote decades ago in front of fanatical, sellout crowds around the world. Recently, Rob Halford, the outspoken lead singer of Judas Priest, was kind enough to talk with Maximum Ink about his recently reunited band as well as the resulting tour and musical releases.

Lacuna Coil

I picked up on Lacuna Coil with their first self titled Century Media EP release. It introduced the sound that would be the guiding light of their musical career thus far. Lush, soothing gothic metal, with interesting riffs, keyboards and amazing vocal harmonies. In fact, an interesting point about Lacuna Coil is that they have two dedicated vocalists, Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia. Their vocal harmonies and interplay are what set the band apart from the pack. Andrea occasionally sings in a lower, gruff - yet powerful - style in addition to his clean complimentary harmonies. Cristina leads, prods, fluffs and adds dimension to each song and vocal extremity.

Back in 1997 when these talented Italians made their debut, few folks in the US were listening to this style of music. Most people were still caught up in the repulsive remnants of the ultra trendy and overdone “Seattle Sound” or feeding the pop punk explosion. The US market simply wasn’t ready. Various other bands came onto the international scene. Nightwish, My Dying Bride, The Gathering, Therion, Tristania, and Theatre of Tragedy were becoming recognized names in the growing gothic metal realm. Lacuna Coil was right there with them.

The Burden Brothers

I ran into the Burden Brothers completely on accident at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Their crowd was as big as their sound and I was totally impressed with the songwriting, performance and energy they put out. They played together like a pro sports team, well honed. I spoke with Cory Rozzoni who left Madison to relocate in Dallas.

Damageplan

What do you do when your world-famous band suddenly breaks up? How do you respond to the fan with a question mark in his head and a “Pantera” tattoo across his chest? If you’re Vinnie Paul or Dimebag Darrell you forge a “Damageplan,” the new band featuring the x-Pantera brothers.

“We were blown away by it as much as anybody,” admits drummer Vinnie Paul about the break up. “Pantera was our family…that’s the only thing we ever cared about and the only thing we ever put our efforts on.”

Phil Anselmo, the other key element from Pantera, left to pursue solo projects and is on tour with his new band “Superjoint Ritual.” Phil also has another project, “Down,” that also features x-Pantera bassist Rex Brown. The split down the middle of the band played itself out in the media; it wasn’t pretty.

Southern Culture On The Skids

From white trash and trailer homes to the toe sucking geek rockers touring the world and eating delicacies. Where did it all begin? Who came up with such a concept? “Me,” states Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS) founder, guitarist and singer Rick Miller in a recent phone interview. “When we started the band in the early to mid 80s in the Chapel Hill, NC area, every band was an REM cover band, and that pretty much sucked. We wanted to be more of a rockabilly, “Cramps” type band. So we were just looking for something. Some kind of name that would get us some attention, ya know? We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an REM song. I like REM fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, “Ya that was REM, the sound of the new South.” I looked at my roommate and we said, “Gawd, if that’s the sound of the “new South,” I preferred it when it was on the skids.” That’s how we got the name.”

SCOTS’ new release is called “Mojo Box.” It was produced by Miller and recorded in his Kudzu Ranch recording studio. SCOTS lineup consists of Miller along with bass player and singer Mary Huff and percussionist Dave Hartman. What’s new on “Mojo Box?” Miller says “I think there are a few more surf sounds. Less of the white trash shtick. I think on this album we worked harder on our harmony vocals and that kinda countrified delivery. I think it’s kind of a transitional record for us. Our other records are a lot of concept type stuff. Like “Dirt Track Date,” and “Plastic Seat Sweat.”I know that sounds kinda funny for something that probably a lot of people consider kinda low-brow.

Slipknot 2004

Did you ever open a garbage can on a hot summer day only to be greeted by the offensive stench of a larva of freshly hatched maggots? While this image is enough to make your skin crawl and your nostrils flare, this summer will most definitely bring a new host of maggots to a mosh pit near you!

Slipknot is back and better than ever as each day brings us ever closer the release of their third album and several summer tours to get their army of maggots back into battle. I was contacted by one of the maggot leaders from their snow covered base in Iowa. He was simply called # 3 (aka Chris Fehn). We discussed Slipknot’s plans for world domination in 2004.

I often wondered what was behind the name Slipknot in the first place and since this year is really a rebirth for them as a band, I wanted to know where the idea for the now infamous moniker came from. “Basically, Slipknot was just a song title that we had at the beginning. And we were looking for a name and we just stuck with that. As far as any real significance, it’s definitely not the stupid noose thing. I don’t have a glorified answer for you about what it actually means.”