Artist Interview

If artists like Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Iggy Azalea are the heroes of conventional rock and pop radio, the bands that comprise the lineup of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest— Slayer, King Diamond, Hellyeah, The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, Sworn In and more—are its unabashed villains. So when it comes to the topic of supervillains, who better to talk to than these malevolent Mayhem-ers?

Below, read an excerpt from the issue's cover story, written by Senior Writer Jon Wiederhorn. In this section, Hellyeah vocalist Chad Gray discusses what his superpower would be, Jay Z as an arch nemesis and eggplant kryptonite.

The next issue of Revolver is on newsstands now and is available for purchase online. You can view the cover below, which was illustrated by DC Comics' Jae Lee.

REVOLVER What would your superpower be if you were a supervillain?
CHAD GRAY I'd be The Screamer. I would be absolutely out of control and cause complete destruction and annihilation. That's kind of the way I was back when I partied. I was out of my mind.

How were you like a supervillain back then?
I'd trash shit and not give a fuck. I'd be loud and obnoxious just for my own amusement. I liked to make people feel uncomfortable. I'd say nonsensical shit just to get a reaction or to make a tense situation even worse. I'd show up at record label meetings drunk with a bottle of liquor in hand and just be crazy.

Explain The Screamer's powers.
When I scream, I can wipe out everything and make people lose control of all their bodily functions. And I can control it so if I heighten the scream they shit and piss themselves, their ears bleed, their whole skeletal system collapses, and their brains explode. Then their body collapses, turns to dust and blows away.

Who would be your arch nemesis?
Jay Z. He's a crazy-rich mogul who throws money around. He's burning cash while us metalheads are just trying to make our house payments. And now he's got that fucking Tidal digital music platform, which he says exists for the artist's benefit, yet he's only paying a half-cent for every music stream and we'll be lucky to see that. It's that kind of shit that's gonna put me out of work. With his name, power and influence, he should be fighting the digital music companies like Spotify and Pandora, not hopping onboard.

What would be your kryptonite?
Eggplant. I hate it. I was forced to eat it when I was a kid. My parents decided one time they were going to go vegetarian, and because I lived with them I was taken along for the ride. Almost every meal was fried eggplant or fried okra. It was completely disgusting and it totally fucked with my world. Just thinking about it makes me shiver.

Full Devil Jacket's Josh Brown recently stopped by the Revolver Magazine studios to hang out and talk about the band's new album, 'Valley of Bones,' rebirth of the band, and the upcoming tour with Hinder. Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments!

To get 'Valley of Bones,' visit iTunes. For more on Full Devil Jacket, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Earlier this month at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio, Revolver hosted backstage interviews in the artist lounge. Check out our interview with Scott Weiland below, where he talks his new group, Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts, and more!

With Slipknot and Lamb of God teaming up for the Summer's Last Stand tour, we jumped on the phone with the frontmen to figure out what kind of antics will ensue. In this excerpt, taken from the June/July issue of Revolver, Corey Taylor and Randy Blythe talk how they first met, '80s KISS, and Strictly Swayze Saturdays.

by Richard Bienstock

REVOLVER Can you think back to when you guys first met each other?
RANDY BLYTHE Ozzfest.
COREY TAYLOR Yeah, we were both on Ozzfest in 2004. So just running into each other there and hanging out. And Randy would always have his whip [laughs]. It was fucking awesome. I had Grif [Taylor's son Griffin] out with me, and at the time he was only two. I'd borrow Hatebreed's four-wheeler and I'd drive Grif out into the parking lot, and I'd see you out in the middle of nowhere, practicing with your whip. I'd be like, "What the hell is going on out there?"
BLYTHE [Laughs] Our lighting tech was advised for years about working with us: "Don't do it! Their singer's a fucking lunatic! He's got a whip!" He told us, "All I knew about the band, I kept on hearing about you with this fucking whip! I'm not gonna work for someone with a whip!"
TAYLOR I'm sure every band you've toured with was like, "Beware the whip!" But from my point of view I was like, "Well, I've gotta get to know this guy..." Probably at first it was more for self-preservation, like, if I make him my friend he won't come after me with that fucking whip! And I think you swung it at me once. It might have been when we were walking into one of the venues or something. But Randy actually had his whip-maker—and I don't know if I'm breaking the façade here but, yes, Randy has a whip-maker—made me a tiny one, which I still have.

So Randy has a great big whip and you have a tiny little whip?
BLYTHE [Laughs]
TAYLOR I'm kind of upset that you'd bring that up in such a casual way, sir. And you know, it's not the size that matters. I don't want you to go thinking I can't get that thing to work. I can make it fucking crack!

So do you two have anything special planned for the tour?
TAYLOR You know, stuff like that usually happens organically once you get on the road together. That kind of stuff usually comes up in conversations at catering, or while hanging out and watching each other play.
BLYTHE Like '80s KISS!
TAYLOR [Laughs] I was just talking about that the other day...

'80s KISS?
BLYTHE On the 2005 tour—it was us, Slipknot and Shadows Fall—somebody started a big argument about which era
of KISS was better. And all of a sudden, people were screaming about '80s KISS. So members of Slipknot and Shadows Fall did an '80s KISS cover band that opened up the show a few times. And Sully, who was a Slipknot tour manager, was Gene [Simmons]. They got him in a harness and pulled him up to the top of the arena. And he was like, "Ahhh! This is killing my balls!" And they wouldn't let him down.
TAYLOR Right! Sully was Gene, and Matt [Bachand] and Johnny [Donais] from Shadows Fall were Vinnie Vincent and Paul Stanley. Then Joey [Jordison] was Eric Carr. This sounds like a pretty elaborate setup.
TAYLOR It was! '80s KISS only did four songs, but they opened two shows. I still can't believe they got away with it. They went on as the doors were opening. So people are coming in and they're fucking playing "Heaven's on Fire" and "Lick it Up." And I remember one night Clown and I went out in the audience to watch this shit go down. It was in Madison, Wisconsin, the last show of the tour, and we're standing there watching this fucking buffoonery. And that was the show where the techs walked on, and they were supporting '70s Kiss. They walked through '80s KISS' set with signs that said "Strutter" and "Love Gun," just clowning the shit out of it. And right next to us was this dude with the biggest fucking liberty spikes I've ever seen in my life, and he was just screaming, "FUCK! YOOOUUUU!" Like, louder than shit. Just so pissed off that this was happening to his life. It was one of the funniest fucking things I've ever seen.
BLYTHE You know, that tour was also the birth of Strictly Swayze Saturdays.

What?
BLYTHE I became obsessed with Patrick Swayze movies. So people started bringing me DVDs from truck stops. And every Saturday was strictly Swayze. I would have a Swayze movie playing on the video screen before the doors opened.
TAYLOR I think that sparked a giant con- troversy between you and I on what is the pinnacle of Patrick Swayze: Next of Kin or Road House. I remember an argument, like, "What are you talking about? Road House is, like, quintessential Swayze! There's no dancing!"
BLYTHE So as you can tell, things like that just kind of happen on the road.

Now I understand.
TAYLOR Are you sure? Because we still don't!

For the rest, pick up Revolver's June/July 2015 issue, which is on newsstands now and is available for purchase in our webstore.

The following is an excerpt from Revolver's June/July 2015 issue. It is available for purchase in our webstore.

by Chris Krovatin

For many listeners, Till Lindemann is German hard rock. For over 20 years, Rammstein has shaped their motherland's musical landscape with their ferocious brand of pounding industrial metal, and so much of the band's appeal has been Lindemann's chasmically deep voice singing in authoritative German. But last year's announcement that they would be taking time off from the studio left fans wondering when they would next hear new material from Deutschland's greatest export. So when Lindemann announced he would be releasing a solo record, the horde rejoiced.

But the new Lindemann record, 'Skills in Pills,' is more than a Rammstein clone. The album is a collaboration with Peter Tägtgren, frontman of Hypocrisy and Pain and producer of such under- ground metal icons as Immortal and Dimmu Borgir. Driving, dramatic, and dripping with sexual deviancy—song titles include "Golden Shower" and "Ladyboy"—'Skills' feels like a distillation of the Till Lindemann way of life, expressing both filth and purity, strength and weakness. And while it's still full of the goose-step riffs, gothic choral moments, and bizarre erotic fantasies that Rammstein fans love, the singer's choice to trade in his signature harsh German for English will no doubt give some headbangers pause.

Speaking to Lindemann and Tägtgren is like trying to have a polite conversation with Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein—one is all atmospheric baritone, describing music with colors and flavors; the other is full of nuts-and-bolts enthusiasm, referencing bands and genres. Both of them laugh a lot, and seem genuinely stoked to discuss the new record. When Revolver asks the singer why he waited until 2015 to write a solo album, he seems unsatisfied with the term. "It's not a solo album," he says. "It's a side project."

REVOLVER It's interesting to discern a solo album from a side project. That implies that you wanted to create a new band entirely.
TILL LINDEMANN Really, me and Peter never thought about making a whole record—we just started with a song, and then another song, and all of a sudden we found ourselves with seven titles, and we decided to continue. And all of a sudden, a record was done.
PETER TÄGTGREN We've known each other for a long time, and we always knew we wanted to do something together. Then in 2013, Till invited my family and I to a Rammstein show in Sweden, and afterwards he said, 'Now is the time to do it.' We'd been talking since 2001 or 2002. Till had done some vocals on my Pain project. So we figured we'd just write some songs together and put them in the bucket, as we say. All of a sudden, we found ourselves sending MP3s between each other. One thing lead to another.

Till, did you ever worry how Rammstein fans would respond when they found out you were doing something different, especially in English?
LINDEMANN At first, I didn't like the English sound of my voice, and so it took some time getting into it, because I never really did it before and wanted to experiment. But now I've become very proud of the way it sounds. I wanted to use this language to represent English-speaking people. Nobody speaks German outside of Germany. So I wanted to provide more access to my thoughts and lyrics to the people in Chile and Russia and France or whatever. It's a new horizon right now.

That's brave. Many of the fans, especially in America, love the guttural sounds of you singing in German.
LINDEMANN Yes, but I think the whole aesthetic of the music is totally different. It's more gothic, filled with more melodies, and isn't as harsh music as Rammstein. Rammstein's music demands German lyrics. But I feel that Peter and I found a great way to frame the English vocals. It's a big difference. Doing this with English, it was like a totally new garden was opened. In German, there are only so many things you can write about. With English, I opened the gates and I entered the garden, and I plucked my cherries. Everything was totally new.

For the rest, pick up Revolver's June/July 2015 issue, which is on newsstands now and is available for purchase in our webstore.

The following article is from Revolver's June/July 2015 issue. It is available for purchase in our webstore.

by Richard Bienstock

"It's not every day you can say, 'I'm releasing my tenth album with the same band,'" says Max Cavalera about Soulfly's upcoming effort, 'Archangel.' What's even more impressive, according to the 45-year-old Brazilian frontman, is the fact that "for a tenth album, I think it's one of the strongest we've ever done."

Archangel is also a very different type of album for Soulfly, beginning with the way in which it was recorded. "I wrote the riffs at home, but when we got into the studio with [producer] Matt Hyde we basically just jammed freely," Cavalera says. "We never really do that. It became almost trance-like. Some jams went on for an hour, and we just let the music take us over. Then we took the best things out of those jams. I think it gave the album a kind of freedom. Because there were no rules."

In addition to the title track, which Cavalera says will likely be the album's first single, other songs slated to appear on 'Archangel' include "Sodomite," which features guest vocals from Ministry's Al Jourgensen; "Live Life Hard," with King Parrot singer Matt Young; and "Mother of Dragon," which "closes the record and has all my kids on it."

Then there is the album's leadoff track, a "total thrash anthem" called "We Sold Our Souls to Metal." Says Cavalera, "It's a killer track. It's really fast, and only about two minutes long. It has a really cool, catchy chorus, but then the rest of the song almost reminds me of older Cannibal Corpse. And at the end it goes into this metal-meets-Pink-Floyd kind of thing. It's really wild and weird."

That same sort of anything-goes approach characterizes the entire album. "We tried to go one step further than we ever have before," Cavalera says of 'Archangel.' "And we made a really organic and artistic record. Which is crazy, because it feels like it was just yesterday that I started Soulfly. But here we are, 10 albums later. It's been a wild ride, and I'm really proud of what we continue to accomplish."

The following article is from Revolver's June/July 2015 issue. It is available for purchase in our webstore.

by Richard Bienstock

Five Finger Death Punch might just be one of the hardest working bands in metal. It was just in 2013 that the band released the one-two, um, punch of 'The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1 and Volume 2,' and they've been on the road nonstop ever since. Now, FFDP are working on the follow-up to these two albums—their sixth full-length overall—and they're almost done with it.

"We have 14 songs so far that are keepers," reports guitarist Zoltan Bathory. "And musically they're completely recorded. Out of those, Ivan [Moody] has put vocals on five of them. So we just have nine more to go."

Bathory and his bandmates—Moody, guitarist Jason Hook, drummer Jeremy Spencer and bassist Chris Kael—have been tracking the new songs on and off since November, when they first entered Hideout Recording in Las Vegas with longtime producer Kevin Churko. "We just have a good working relationship with Kevin, and he has the perfect demeanor for this band," Bathory says. "So back in November we had a little break in between tours and we took about two weeks to lay down some ideas with him. Maybe four or five songs came out of those sessions. Then we just kept on going from there."

As far as the sound of the material, Bathory reports that, "So far, it's a harder, faster record. We don't have a slow song and I don't think we're gonna write one. So it's just a higher energy effort." As for why the material has been shaping up this way, "I think because when we started to write this time everybody was in a really good mood. The band has always been a well-oiled machine, but this is one time where we felt, 'Wow, everyone has grown up in some way as a musician.' We also stopped all the partying and the crazy shit and were really focused and sober. And because of that this record has been probably the most fun one to make. It also maybe contributed to everything being more up-tempo and energetic."

Though there are no song titles as of yet ("they're all just crazy, temporary names to use for identification") Bathory does reveal that there is one song, the potential first single, which will likely be called "Jekyll and Hyde." "That one has a funny story," he says. "Ivan doesn't sleep at night, so it's pretty often that he'll call one of us at four or five in the morning and leave crazy messages on our phones. And what happened was, Jason was going through his voicemail and found dozens and dozens of these messages from Ivan. So he copied them onto a hard drive and then we pulled out different words and sentences and put them together. And that's the verses of the song. They're taken directly from Jason's phone. It's one of my favorite songs on the record, just because it's so bizarre."

Never a band to take much of a break, FFDP already have a full tour itinerary booked, with both U.S. and European dates on the near horizon. Furthermore, many of their shows in Europe will see them opening for Judas Priest. "Everyone's really looking forward to that," Bathory says. "We became really good friends with Rob Halford after working with him [on the song FFDP song "Lift Me Up"] and we've been keeping in contact ever since. And Priest is one of those legendary and influential bands—especially in Europe, they're giants. So that will be a lot of fun. You know, people say this is the best job in the world, but it's not really a job when you love what you do."

When supergroup Art of Anarchy was announced months ago, it included vocalist Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver), guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, bassist John Moyer (Disturbed), guitarist and drummer Jon and Vince Votta. Recently, Weiland called the group a "scam" and would no longer sing for them. Here, Bumblefoot addresses Weiland's comments, the band, and his favorite guitarists.

'Art of Anarchy' is out June 2 via Century Media imprint, Another Century. For more on Art of Anarchy, follow them on Facebook.

REVOLVER Art of Anarchy is being hailed as a supergroup. How did the group come together and who were the founding members?
BUMBLEFOOT I've known Jon and Vince since they were teenagers and would record and produce their past bands. Jon called me and said he wanted to form a new supergroup, or as he jokingly called it "the Avengers of music" [laughs].  A unique group of players making music together. It was a dream of his ever since he started playing guitar. We hit the studio in May 2011 and started recording songs, laying tracks and rearranging songs whenever we could, during breaks in my touring. From there everything fell into place...

Scott Weiland recently went public saying that "it was a scam from the beginning." Do you have any comment?
First I gotta say, Scott did an amazing job on the record, we all feel the vocals he laid down are some of the best he's ever done. We're thrilled and proud of the collaborative effort that went into the making of this record.  The public response has been great. We're very happy with the whole album. As for Scott's statement, we need to address if, or why, he made it. It was just a quote from a recent interview and we're trying to verify that he actually did make that statement. Scott deserves the respect to publicly clarify whether he actually said that. All the members of AOA feel he should have that opportunity.

Did all of the members write and track this album together in the same room or was it pieced together online trading files?
All the music was recorded by me and the other band members at my studio in New Jersey. Scott has his own studio in L.A. and requested that he'd record his vocals there with his engineer Doug Grean. Scott Weiland, Jon Votta, Vince Votta and myself all have writers credit on the album. Scott wrote all the lyrics and the rest of us are responsible for the musical end.

With Weiland's departure, do you see yourselves getting a new singer and touring to support this album?
Wouldn't call it a departure as of yet. Art of Anarchy hasn't received any official written communication that Weiland is no longer the lead singer of Art of Anarchy. There are certain legal steps you'd need to take in order to officially leave a band. We've been offered great touring opportunities with Scott on board even before the record's been released. Aside from Scott, all the band members are on board for getting on stage with this. As for with who? Stay tuned...

If Weiland ever came back and apologized asking to re-join the band, would you let him back in?
He's still technically in the band, and that all needs to be addressed. We're keeping every option and door open.

If you could pick any vocalist in the world to replace him, who do you think would be the ideal fit and why?
Corey Taylor, M. Shadows, Josh Todd, and Danny Worsnop would be topping the wish list. They're guys we all feel shine bright in any musical situation. That's what's great about Scott, he sounds amazing doing any genre of music. Availability would probably be the biggest hurdle with anyone that's already out there doin' it.

Did Scott write all of the lyrics?
Scott's lyrics and melodies and harmonies are all completely his own, yes. My favorite is "'Til the Dust." I love the dynamics of it, from clean and spacious, to double-kick, to nylon string solos, love Scott's melodies...

How do you feel this band and its style compares to your other releases throughout your career and what did you initially set out to accomplish with it. Do you feel looking back that you achieved your goals?
It's different for sure. This has a foundation of Metallica/Megadeth style metal, where my own Bumblefoot stuff was always rooted more in classic rock. I spent the most time wearing the "producer hat" and capturing everybody's identity in the music. And I'm very happy with the sound–the recording, did the mixing and mastering, it sounds like what we were shooting for. Have I achieved my goals? Honestly, I see it, life, as an infinite road that can go in any direction, and you ride it, not knowing what's around the next turn, and you're always just at the beginning, so much farther you can go. I focus as much as I can on what's ahead, doing what I can while I can, and in the end you realize there's just the journey, you don't get to take anything with you–just leave behind what you can that will inspire others on their journey.

How did the music video fro "Til the Dust Has Gone" come together and how was it working with RAGE as director?
I've known Rage for years, and knew he's the guy for capturing live performances. What really impressed me was the 'story' video–there were originally two videos, one was performance, the other with actors and a story, we weren't in it. Rage combined them into one, but each really held their own...

What are some of your fondest Guns N' Roses touring memories?
Playing the Bridge School Benefit show in 2012. I do a lot of benefit shows and it felt good to be doing that with Guns. The kids and families were on stage with us, having them strum my guitar... for me, that's what makes it meaningful to be a musician, doing what you do for a greater good. My favorite memories were with the fans–taking an acoustic guitar and sitting outside the hotel with them giving them an impromptu acoustic show, everyone singing together. They were wonderful, and I enjoyed spending time with them whenever I could.

Who are your top five guitarists of all-time?
It'd be more like Top 50, very hard to narrow down!   This list would be a bit different every time, but let's see...

• Eddie Van Halen–hearing the intro to Mean Street when I was 12 years old opening my eyes to a whole other guitar playing world. It inspired me to seek innovation and see how many ways we can get sounds out of the strings...
• Jimi Hendrix–the dynamics, the push & pull, the phrasing off chords, the whole cool smooth vibe...
• Ace Frehley–hearing KISS Alive! at the age of 5 is what made me want to become a musician. Ace's solos were the most singable parts of KISS songs, they were the parts of the song you hum – Detroit Rock City solo, perfect example...
• Al DiMeola–  listened to the Electric Rendezvous album as a 10 year old until the grooves were worn out. The duet "Passion, Grace & Fire" with Paco de Lucia continues to blow my mind.
• Next could be Randy Rhoads, Angus Young, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Charlie Christian, Steve Howe, Andres Segovia... let's go with Yngwie Malmsteen–he raised the bar on virtuosity and technique, and brought neo-classical metal to a place of permanent impact.

If artists like Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Iggy Azalea are the heroes of conventional rock and pop radio, the bands that comprise the lineup of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest— Slayer, King Diamond, Hellyeah, The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, Sworn In and more—are its unabashed villains. So when it comes to the topic of supervillains, who better to talk to than these malevolent Mayhem-ers?

Below, read an excerpt from the issue's cover story, written by Senior Writer Jon Wiederhorn. In this section, King Diamond discusses what superpower he would want, arch nemesis, his kryptonite, and more.

The next issue of Revolver will hit newsstands on May 26 and is available for purchase online right now. You can view the cover below, which was illustrated by DC Comics' Jae Lee.

REVOLVER What would your superpower be if you were a supervillain?
KING DIAMOND Evil-eye mind control. As soon as you looked at me I would have full control over you. And I would use that power to make all the super- heroes go to war. It would be fantastic to see Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and all those guys systematically kill each other.

Who would be your arch nemesis?
People who try to censor art or music. In the '80s there was the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center]. They wanted any music with lyrics they considered offensive to be censored or stickered. They were trying to hurt Mercyful Fate. They would say what they thought the songs were about, and I would go, "What??! That sounds totally perverted! Is that what you think we wrote the song about? You're the perverted one!"

What would be your kryptonite?
If anyone hurt children or animals in any way, that would really upset me. It might stop me in my tracks for a minute, but then you would die like no one has ever died. I might not even kill you. I might leave you like the guy in Metallica's "One" video—forever alive but unable to do anything.

Who would play your evil character in a movie?
Johnny Depp. He's an amazing actor. I love the way he can come across as a convincing character whether it's some guy that gets messed up with guns or whether he's on a pirate ship looking absolutely fantastic.

If artists like Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Iggy Azalea are the heroes of conventional rock and pop radio, the bands that comprise the lineup of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest— Slayer, King Diamond, Hellyeah, The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, Sworn In and more—are its unabashed villains. So when it comes to the topic of supervillains, who better to talk to than these malevolent Mayhem-ers?

Below, read an excerpt from the issue's cover story, written by Senior Writer Jon Wiederhorn. In this section, Slayer axman Kerry King discusses his favorite villain, what superpower he would want and toxic demon bile.

The next issue of Revolver will hit newsstands on May 26 and is available for purchase online right now. You can view the cover below, which was illustrated by DC Comics' Jae Lee.

REVOLVER Who's your favorite supervillain?
KERRY KING I really like Bane, who is one of Batman's greatest enemies. The dude is methodical and has a very destructive personality. I admire his ruthlessness and devotion to anarchy.

What would your superpower be if you were a supervillain?
To crush any other superpower and spew toxic demon bile on all who oppose me. Also, since I despise religion so much, anytime I walked by a church it would burst into flames. I think that would be really fuckin' cool.

I don't think it's fair to say you'd crush all other superpowers. That's kind of like being an athlete and saying your greatest strength is to be able to defeat anyone in any sport.
Hey, that's what happens when you headline, bro [laughs].

Explain this toxic demon bile. Does it instantly corrode whatever it touches?
I figure demon bile is appropriate since anyone who is a friend of mine knows we're gonna hang at the bar and we're probably going to drink too much. The demon bile just spews out from that and it's like blood from the creatures in the movie Alien. It's totally toxic acid.

I thought real drinkers don't puke?
I don't, I don't. I'm actually trying not to be a drunk piece of shit and enjoy my life a little longer. But if I could puke demon bile on command, I would.