Lamb of God takes it all in with Sacrament

Baaaaaad to the bone Lamb of God defines American death metal by Christine Leonard December 14, 2006 Metalcore comes in many shapes and sizes but when you’re talking about Virginia’s nihilistic quintet, Lamb of God (L.O.G.), things couldn’t be any less cute and fluffy. Building their own vicious empire, these malevolent thrashers arose from the putrefied ashes of the band known as Burn the Priest. Eschewing their all-too-obvious moniker in favour of the curlicued creature biblically associated with Jesus Christ, they have gone on to achieve far greater heights than even they could have imagined. Founding member Chris Adler took a break from the band’s demanding tour schedule to share his insights and experiences as chief percussionist for L.O.G. "Our bass player John Campbell and I are the ones who started the band back in the day," Adler fondly recalls. "My brother Will is our main guitar guy and he’s always bringing in new guitar riffs for me to try out. I then have the advantage of taking my time and thinking about the perfect drum beats to go with his melodies. We don’t want to sound like your average Joes, but then again we’re not reinventing the genre or anything. We just want to create something genuinely unique. My part is to decide where my body’s going to be in the piece – where I want my limbs to fall amongst the guitar and vocals." Stepping out of the ordinary and finding new vistas to conquer has given Lamb of God the freedom to further explore their sound and to flesh out their take on American death metal. Looking back at a discography that encompasses releases such as Ashes of the Wake, As the Palace Burns and New American Gospel, the band is thrilled by the reception given to their DVD debut Killadelphia (Live), that gave many fans their first glimpse of L.O.G. in action. Since then the Atkins brothers along with fellow band members – guitarist Mark Morton and acid-throated howler Randy Blythe – have returned to the studio to hammer out their latest album Sacrament with the help of producer Machine (King Crimson, White Zombie, Godflesh). "Sacrament is not as progressive as it could have been, but by the same token we’re not trying to perpetuate the notion that we’re a partying groove metal kind of affair," Adler explains of their meticulous approach to the recording process. "Our goal was to select songs that include a variety of styles and to showcase our potential in the best light possible. There was a lot of pressure to do something we haven’t done before. Our previous albums have typically been dark and depressing, creepy and strange. We’ve done our best to break away from the two-and-half-minute formula; every song has a different vibe to it."

FEAR FACTORY - Interview with Burton Bell by Christine Leonard-Cripps

Don’t fear the reaper

Fear Factory remanufactures death metal

Churning out alt-metal thrash for over a decade-and-a-half, Fear Factory has earned legendary status among the myriad of industrial bands that emerged in the early ’90s. Founding member and vocalist Burton C. Bell was fresh from his days with Hate Face when he crossed paths with percussionist Raymond Herrera in Los Angeles. The two formed the band’s earliest incarnation under the name Ulceration. They quickly joined the lineup of a compilation entitled L.A. Death Metal and soon thereafter found themselves signed to Roadrunner Records.

Inspired to broaden their horizons the newly formed (and appropriately renamed) Fear Factory began experimenting with remixing techniques and adding new instruments, producers and players to their roster on a regular basis. By 1998 they had released an impressive array of albums including Soul of a New Machine, Fear is the Mind Killer, Demanufacture, Remanufacture (Cloning Technology), and Obsolete, and had established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

Pioneering a new industrial genre and taking the hardcore scene by storm, Fear Factory continued to push the envelope with a unique esthetic that layers techno-oriented augmentation on top of classic hardcore metal. Dabbling with elaborate remixes of everything from Gary Newman’s "Cars," U2’s "I Will Follow" and Nirvana’s "School," Fear Factory have proven that they are comfortable enough in their own skins to step outside the box and create musical arrangements that appeal to their senses on all levels.

"When people ask what our influences are, I just tell them to look at the songs we’ve covered over the years," explains Bell of the band’s eclectic musical tastes. "It doesn’t matter what genre a piece comes from, we just have fun with it while trying to keep it recognizable. Our music is directed towards people who like everything from hardcore to industrial to new wave to pop."

This past fall Roadrunner Records released a Best of Fear Factory CD that has rekindled interest in the band’s oeuvre and recruited new adherents across the metal scene. By tying together such diverse elements into one intellectually stimulating and physically exhilarating package, Burton and Herrera have seemingly struck upon an inexhaustible well of musical inspiration that has proven to be a veritable fountain of youth. Backed by guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers and Strapping Young Lad bassist Byron Stroud, the group is eager to reconnect with its fanbase and re-establish their presence on the world stage.

"It’s almost overwhelming playing in front of an audience again. We’re revisiting material we haven’t dragged out in 10 years, but people seem to be pretty happy with the results. We usually focus on picking our heavier material, including a couple of tunes we haven’t performed live since 1994. It’s a real trip back to the rack, so to speak," says Bell.

"With our more recent albums like Digimortal, Archetype, and our latest release Transgression, I think one can perceive how our sound has subtly evolved on its own over time – there was certainly nothing deliberate about it."

Accustomed to touring with massive, million dollar productions such as Ozzfest and the inaugural Gigantour, Bell confirms that he is very much looking forward to engaging audiences on a more intimate basis. Hitting the highways with the Machines of War tour along with fellow headbangers Decapitated, Hypocrisy and Suffocation, Fear Factory is more than ready to assume its rightful place as the headlining act in the company of highly capable and compatible peers.

"I think that there are up-and-coming bands out there who represent our genre, but industrial music is not really getting much notice these days," says Bell of the current state of things. "Bands like Ministry and KMFDM are still around, but they’re on the backburner. Young bands that have evolved from the Swans, Einsturzende, Skinny Puppy and Nine Inch Nails are so hard to search out, they’re pretty much invisible and nobody has really made a dent in the scene.

"Basically, I’d have to say that industrial music hasn’t moved forward yet. I think someone needs to step up and take it all the way back to what it was originally about – rhythm and discordant cacophony."


by Christine Leonard

Originally published in FFWD Magazine December, 2006

DEARLY BELOVED

The Jaguars of Rock Dearly Beloved go on the prowl from Toronto’s urban jungle and pounce

by Christine Leonard September 21, 2006 When singer-songwriter and bassist Rob Higgins embarked on the journey of creating his new album You Are the Jaguar, he was so involved in wrestling with his personal demons that he couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Emerging from the shadow of successful groups such as Doctor, Change of Heart and Our Lady Peace, the Toronto-based Higgins yearned to move away from the energy-sapping teamwork approach that required him to constantly be at the mercy of his bandmate’s personalities. Add to that the inestimable stress he experienced while keeping vigil at his father’s deathbed and soon it became apparent, even to Higgins himself, that he needed to step away or risk succumbing to the mental cancer of depression and hopelessness. "I was having trouble getting down to work on the new album," says Higgins. "I was focusing so much on my father and his circumstances that I was losing my own mind. Seeing him struggling with cancer day after day in the hospital, I just lost my shit and took off and sat on the beach for a week. I was having all kinds of anxiety and panic attacks and finally getting away gave me a chance to relax. Once I calmed myself down everything gelled and I was able to finish the album quite quickly. My little excursion to Florida left me with a much better outlook and I was able to continue to be an active contributor." Upon returning from his self-imposed solitude with a suitcase full of songs and an acoustic guitar in tow, Higgins set about arranging his masterpiece. Pouring out all of his rage and angst he crafted an album that is surprisingly upbeat. Resplendent with heavy bass riffs, hard-rockin’ guitar licks and passionate he/she dual vocals, his cathartic musical venture goes far beyond the typical turning lemons into lemonade scenario. "The record is an extension of what I was going through during that period but it was never meant to be sad," Higgins acknowledges. "I wanted to make a record that was irreverent and makes you wanna shake your ass and to celebrate living more than mourning. That’s the only way I could deal with things, I couldn’t stand to be negative, that was the last thing I wanted, it was much more important to me to remain positive." Drawing on his need to vent and his love of performing for a crowd (this long-time groupie is the nephew of Rush’s Geddy Lee), Higgins discovered that his most painful experiences could be the most rewarding as he came to appreciate the kindness and support of the friends and family members who rallied around him in his time of need. Morphing from a solo act to a full fledged band in a matter of weeks, Dearly Beloved came to encapsulate fast friends and co--conspirators. Joining Higgins onstage are vocalist Niva Chow (Sticky Rice), guitarist Damon Richardson (Danko Jones), guitarist John Pogue (Change of Heart) and drummer Alex O’Reilly (Doctor). "Dearly Beloved is really just a vehicle to make our own records and not wait for anyone else," Higgins admits with a chuckle. "The name reminds us not to let things get to us and to remember the love in life. I feel the band name Dearly Beloved made sense because of who’s involved – close, trusted friends. It speaks to the great wells of strength that we have inside and how strong humans can be. It’s very admirable and inspirational. The feeling when we play live is primal and full of raw aggression, we really get into playing and it’s quite intense." Once again finding himself immersed in a group setting, Higgins is eager to take his band on the road and has planned an extensive two-month stint cordially dubbed the "Rugged Casual Tour." This much-anticipated round of live performances was chiefly arranged by ex-Trailer Park Boys Cory Bowles who invited Dearly Beloved to join the bill of his own band, Aide-de-Camp, and recognized the rocking potential that lurks within the artistic depths of You are the Jaguar. Having made peace with his past, Higgins looks forward to a bright future, one that he faces with unbridled confidence and optimism. "I’ve studied the cultures of the ancient Maya and Aztecs, so I chose the title You are the Jaguar because it represented their warrior class and what my father went through with his illness was almost like going to war. Even if war is not something you can actually relate to, in times of crisis life is reduced to the fundamentals and you have to stop and take stock. It just kept sticking with me as an image. Symbols like the jaguar are drawn from base elements and there’s no putting limits on those. No sense of pressure, just good stuff."

Kinnie Starr : in tents with Cirque du Soleil

Hip-hop diva living every girl’s dream Kinnie Starr inks record deal, then runs away to join the circus by Christine Leonard  June 1, 2003 As if signing a new record deal wasn’t enough, Kinnie Starr had to go and join the circus, too. The rising hip-hop diva has had a lot of good fortune come her way lately. The offer to sign on to Canada’s prominent Maple Music record label – home of Kathleen Edwards and The Dears, among others – came only days after her successful audition for the position of lead vocalist in Cirque Du Soleil’s new Las Vegas production, Zumanity. Set for a two-year run at the New York, New York hotel in Vegas, Zumanity is touted as an exploration of human sensuality and art that combines dance, music and contortionism. For her part, Starr describes the multi-disciplinary show as "an erotic cabaret." Although Starr is obligated to remain tight-lipped about the nature of her role in the international troupe’s latest project, she does confess that the rigorous rehearsal schedule is taking its toll. "A lot of artists do one thing at time," she says. "But six months in transition? I don’t quite know what to make of it – the physical demands are tiring, but it’s a great job, great money and great experience. Plus, I get to keep my voice in shape. Right now, I’m working 10 to 15 hours a day, six days a week, in rehearsal." Outside of endless cast practices and time spent in the recording studio, Starr does what she can to keep her temple in shape. Running, swimming, dancing, working out, martial arts and generally kicking butt all help to keep this wonder-girl feeling happy and healthy inside and out, a formula that had eluded her for years. "Whatever is in my life comes out in my work. It’s the first time in my life I haven’t been addicted to pot or anything, and it’s good to have my head above that depression. I’ve been working with my body a lot. Physical therapy and conditioning have finally relieved the chronic pain I’ve been living with for so long. "It paints the world so differently to have something like that lifted off of you. And now, I’m working with professional athletes who make their living off of their bodies. I realize that your body is the instrument for your voice. You see some singers really straining to get the right tones as they sing – my goal is to be able to relax in order to get tone." With the help of her family, friends and a multitude of musical guests, Starr has refurbished her life and created a new album in the process. Sun Again, the much anticipated follow-up to her previous full-length releases Tidy (1996) and Tune-Up (2000), is less political than its predecessors, but just as soulful. Contributors to the record include her regular core of band-mates (John Raham, Chris Carlson and Rob Chursinoff), as well as her cousin Lily Frost and friends Moka Only, Kia Kadiri, Coco Love Alcorn and DJ Murge, among others. Still basking in the glow of this eclectic musical endeavour, Starr relates that sharing her work with so many people has been its own reward. But, given the collaborative nature of Sun Again, one must ponder how such a technically polished and multi-tiered sound could be successfully transferred to the live arena. "There’s no way we could re-create those songs live onstage, so we had to strip things down to the bare bones. Really old-school, hybrid electric/acoustic stuff. Stripped-back beats, that’s the sound," says Starr. "You have to keep in mind that you never want the show to sound exactly like the album. It’s weak – and boring for the audience." Of course, Starr notes, that’s assuming the audience is willing to be engaged. She knows that no matter how hard she works, some people just aren’t going to appreciate what she’s doing. But she is nevertheless excited to tour with her band before she heads off to Vegas with Cirque. Moving away from her multilingual poetry-slam style of rap, Sun Again reveals Starr’s thoughts and emotions exclusively in English. Her sexy, spiritual beatnik rhymes are still there, but they’re wrapped in a gauzy layer of floating electronic melodies and heavy urban pulses. The record’s ear-catching beats and smooth vocal grooves smack of platinum potential, but when asked if her easy-listening brand of hip-hop could achieve a wider audience than ever before, Starr remains skeptically optimistic. "That would be nice," she admits. "But I’m not going to hold my breath. People who are well versed in hip-hop understand the need for diversity in the culture. I’m working with a really talented group of people who were all very involved in making the CD. I can remember all the fuckin’ amazing moments I had in the studio with Moka Only and DJ Spek – musicians who like to play music for music." Starr notes that her project functioned as side work for these friends, who like the untrained structure of her sonic palette. Starr learned by listening and doesn’t need classical training to express herself. "A lot of Canadian rhymers are influenced by U.S. rap phrasing and accents, and I don’t necessarily think you have to go that way," she says. "I can’t do that U.S. rap thing. That’s why I love my friend DJ Spek – his lyrical delivery is so Canadian, and you can really hear it. Hip-hop would grow so much faster if artists were encouraged to put more of their own personal style and character into it."