#iron maiden interview
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Watch the full interview here.
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
bruce dickinson
#does anyone know the year or the interview ?#iron maiden#mine#bruce dickinson#bruce dickinson gifs#bruce dickinson photoset#brucedickinson#brucedickinsonedit#maiden#ironmaidenedit#ironmaidengifs#inspiring#up the irons#heavy metal#music#cute#bruce when he say things like that my heart melts#crush big time#iron maiden gifs#iron maiden photoset#iron maiden interview
48 notes
·
View notes
Text
i lied, put your clothes back on. i want to talk about how social media has completely ruined the music scene to the point that bands are not recognized for their actual musical talent anymore but are instead made popular by how well they can work the algorithm to make the most viral video possible. no i dont want to guess who your drummer is, go make actual fucking music. and on that note, while people making singles for the sole purpose of getting incredibly popular and neglecting the rest of the album has been a thing for a while, it feels as though people are now not even bothering to make the entire single good; they only give a fuck about that little ten second clip that’ll get all popular on tiktok or whatever the fuck
#chorus centric music is the bane of my existence#it can be good#but a lot of the time its just boring and you can tell its made just to be catchy#chat can we maybe put some nuance into our music#idk#makes me think of that one iron maiden interview where steve (?) talks about how they dont write singles#they just choose them after the album is completed#i feel like thats the best way to go about things#i hope this doesnt come off as old man shouting at a cloud type thing#i think we just need to be putting more substance in our music#music#rant#blah blah blah#musician#text post
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
youtube
Guys this BD interview is one of the best out there! 🥰 (It is from 2017 when Bruce's autobiography What Does This Button Do? was released in the 19th of October. )
Seriously... 🥰😌
I have been watching it for two weeks now (last week and this week, which is our fall break 🥰) xd
Watching this has become an early night ritual for me, while drinking a tea in the kitchen 😊🥰
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Double shift last weekend and this is the only picture I got (which my coworker actually took with me for her Facebook story RIGHT when I looked like shit and it was low effort makeup day because I had to be there early to open the bar)
#a drunk girl in the bathroom called me pretty and two other regulars kissed me on the cheek and called me pet names this is why I'm gay#one of those regulars (who's the bff of my coworker i haven't worked with yet because she's taking a break) asked me to have shots with her#she and the other girl are the sweetest every time i swear they're there almost every weekend and they call me Schatz and Maus#the moment i came back in after putting away my bag and jacket on saturday a middle aged guy mentioned my volbeat hoodie#talked about all the metal bands he's seen like judas priest acdc saxon iron maiden and showed me some new songs he's been into lately#later sang mama i'm coming home to/with me and he and another guy gave me lots of career advice and encouraged me to be bolder in interview#a metalhead dude with long blonde hair and beard (who was also at a concert I worked at last month) winked at me and gave me like €4 tips#and every time he ordered his drinks he put his hand on the back of my head to say it in my ear#because the music from the speakers above was kinda loud but technically not loud enough to do That gjsgfjdshhh 😭😭#he's so hot too he looks like a kind boyish viking idk if that makes sense but 😫😫#the amount of people who have flirted with me or acted a little bit 😏 in the last three months#but nothing came of it so far just trusting they'll come back soon when i'm working the shift again#no phone numbers no insta handles we pine like in the old days and smirk when we see each other for the first time in a while#my face#the bartender chronicles
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
youtube
I think this is my favorite song off this album, and while there are MANY notable things about this song musically (or lyrically; god damn, Phantom Blue had the best fucking lyrics in ALL OF '80S HEAVY METAL, or maybe even of all classic heavy metal?), can I just say: THOSE DRUMS, THOUGH...especially in the outro. Linda McDonald KILLED IT on this, omgggggggggg.
And thank FUCKING GOD there is live footage of this song, because, OH MY GOD...it's orgasmic. And I absolutely never say that, but it's necessary here. Everything about the band's performance (ignoring the probably drunk concertgoers who get up on stage, lol) is fucking perfect. And the combination of Michelle Meldrum and Nicole Couch...holy fucking shit, does ANY band (but I suppose I would, especially in heavy metal?) have a combination of such skilled guitarists [who can alternate covering lead, and, might I add, PRETTY AMAZINGLY, TOO, IN BOTH REGARDS]?!
youtube
Go ahead, watch this. And then pick your jaw and panties up off the floor, among other things...
#the keep reading is there to hide the fact that I am speaking very nsfw-ly/maturely about this so read/watch at your own risk :P#HELLO DO YOU ALL KNOW THAT LINDA MCDONALD IS A SELF-TAUGHT DRUMMER? because I JUST now read that on Wikipedia.#excuse me while I (later - after I sleep) look around for some interviews with her. I gotta learn* more about her I mean wtf#*learn more about her prior to/beyond drumming for Iron Maidens because I'm not an Iron Maiden fan so idrc about that...#oh wait I also just read that she was influenced by Phil Collins. OF COURSE SHE WAS...I'm not surprised.#I feel like at least two of my favorite drummers were influenced by Phil Collins so yeah. lol and I should include her as a fave of mine to#Phantom Blue#heavy metal#music#MY JAM#Youtube
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
I love being an elitist and a hater, it keeps posers out
#talkosaurus text#this is about vinyl and music i was at a record shop and some dude genuinely tried to misogyny me by asking name every band member#TO ME. WITH THE MUSIC SPECIAL INTEREST AND BAND INTERVIEWS HOBBY. thats right cower and writhe beneath me like the worm you are.#it was duran duran and iron maiden btw.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
youtube
Dave Murray sees himself in Eddie form!
#mayday I’m DYING#look at him??!?!?#god fucking bless this man#it is rare that we get an interview with Davey one on one so I am rreeeellingngngng#his little Hawaiian shirt and the hat is absolutely killing me#also I’m so happy his Eddie incarnation is wearing The Blue Outfit TM#iron maiden#dave murray#davey#Eddie#Eddie the head#heavy metal#metal#80’s#1980’s#Youtube
5 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello 👋 there, I saw your Iron Maiden post and figured I'd ask if you'd like to follow my blog? I'm a metal bassist and Harris is my favorite. I will send you a sample of my stuff
yesss i will follow you!!
#my blog was just a pure iron maiden blog for a while but i've recently slowed down on posting them#to branch out into other bands#but there will still be maiden posts off and on#also there's a lot more under the iron maiden tag#and/or their names#or concert names#or song names#or interview names#if you ever feel like searching that on my blog#i still have to organize all of those gifs one day
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
no-one in this whole wide world except me understands the link between iron maiden and my chemical romance no-one understands how my chem literally could not would not never could be what they are without maiden no-one understands how musically, thematically, and THEATRICALLY they set the stage no-one gets it. no-one ever wants 2 discuss this with me. i am so alon in world
#GERARD TOOK TWO TSHIRTS WITH HIM ON THE WHOLE ENTIRE DANGER DAYS TOUR AND ONE WAS AN IRON MAIDEN SHIRT..#MEYBE IT MEANS NOTHING TO U. BUT IT MEANS THE WORLSD 2 ME#if u count the bands most often mentioned in all mcr interviews ever i bet my life u come up with two top answers. misfits and maiden.#and i would bet SO much money that maiden actually come out on top.#I JUST NEED 2 TALK TO THE MEMBERS OF AMERICAN ROCK BAND MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE I NEED TOO SPEAK TO THEM..
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Repost: @/richroll:
——
What drives a heavy metal icon to fly 757s into war zones?
This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Bruce Dickinson(@/brucedickinsonhq), Iron Maiden’s legendary frontman and true polymath, along with acclaimed filmmaker, close collaborator, and mutual friend Sacha Gervasi. We explore Bruce’s captivating journey from bullied schoolboy to global rock star, commercial airline pilot, and Olympic-caliber fencer.
We dive deep into Bruce’s humanitarian missions—including a historic concert in war-torn Sarajevo—and how embracing genuine curiosity manifests extraordinary possibilities. His insights offer a masterclass in connecting with audiences and living authentically, while his unique theory of ambidextrous cognition illuminates the fascinating intersection of aviation, artistry, and much more!
EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY: To mark this special conversation, newsletter subscribers can win a signed Iron Maiden collectible statue and comic book valued at over $700! Subscribe now—link in shownotes.
Now available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere you enjoy the RRP.
Episode 869.
✌🏼🌱 - Rich
——
November 4, 2024
Link to video on YouTube
#this looks like an INCREDIBLE interview#can't wait to listen!!#iron maiden#bruce dickinson#interview#podcast
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
i really wanna make playlists but then id have to listen to even more mediocre hard rock/metal than i already do and i dunno if i am strong enough
#i already listen to a fair bit...fuckin love deep purple. scorpions. ratt. iron maiden. but i am so picky abt what hits#playlists other ppl have made rarely match up with what i wanna do#but if you're the person who made the 41 hr 'ricky lafleur tpb 🚬🖕🇨🇦' playlist...#please message me i wanna fight and smooch (platonically) in equal measure i wanna interview u like a hack 1902 psychologist
1 note
·
View note
Text
Ana's Tags
⇢✶written with quill《Ana’s results》
[Questionnaire Results]
⇢✶about the iron crane maiden《Ana’s headcanons》
[Headcanons]
⇢✶thinking out loud《Ana’s musings》
[Musings]
⇢✶interview with the crane maiden《Ana’s answers》
[Ask Replies]
⇢✶trials on the horizon 《Ana’s rp replies》
[RP Replies]
⇢✶electronic and mechanical beats 《Ana’s soundtrack》
[Soundtrack]
⇢✶of welding gloves and wrenches 《Ana’s aesthetics》
[Aesthetics]
⇢✶the iron crane maiden 《Ana Crane》
[Main tag]
⇢✶ravenqueen pirate sniper 《Ana Main Verse》
[Main Verse - One Piece]
⇢✶the admiral and god slayer 《Ana’s fandomless》
[Fandomless Verse - god slayer ]
#⇢✶written with quill《Ana’s results》#⇢✶about the iron crane maiden《Ana’s headcanons》#⇢✶thinking out loud《Ana’s musings》#⇢✶interview with the crane maiden《Ana’s answers》#⇢✶trials on the horizon 《Ana’s rp replies》#⇢✶electronic and mechanical beats 《Ana’s soundtrack》#⇢✶of welding gloves and wrenches 《Ana’s aesthetics》#⇢✶the iron crane maiden 《Ana Crane》#⇢✶ravenqueen pirate sniper 《Ana Main Verse》#⇢✶the admiral and god slayer 《Ana’s fandomless》
0 notes
Text
all i need is one conversation about iron maiden with ray toro
#i need to hear his Thoughts..#does anyone know if hes done like an in depth interview or something about his iron maiden etc influences#im soooo curious now actually
0 notes
Note
i think gerard is so cute especially when they were like a senior in highschool. but i know if i went to high school with him i would think hes a freak and that really does smth to me. he would be smelly and draw ppl during class, and just idk. need her bad
OMG this was so long ago i totally thought i already posted smthn with this ask 😭
tw dubcon? oblivious!gerard, youngeerr!gerard
NO BUT FR! whenever i see his high sch pics i just 😫😫😫 he looks like the nerds i wanted to fuck in high school like actually...
have you guys read about that interview where gerard talks about his first kiss and he said he wasn't an initiator and also "i ended up obviously really being more into that sleezy, dirty type thing. -i was way into it." yea. yea...
you wanted him to ask you to hang out, but he never seems to get the hint so you just flat out ask if you could come over to his house.
and then there's his horrible attempt to clean his room (which meant he took all of his stuff and moved it to one corner.) and you could smell the axe perfume gerard showered himself in.
a little later, you try to make a move on gerard, little touches here and there, accidental brushes of initmate places, and he seems to just brush off your not-so-innocent touches. ugh, he was so clueless.
ok fast forward a little later and you're giving him a full on handjob while iron maiden plays in the background. he didn't really tell you to stop, nor did he say to keep going? so you guessed he liked it. he was a mess, biting his lip and squirming a bit.
and he came a little too fast, you thought it was cute but it got literally everywhere, including your clothes and arm. he was way into it.
#i hope this is socially acceptable#gerard way x reader#gerard way smut#all2angels#gerard way#mcr x reader#mcr smut#my chemical romance x reader
287 notes
·
View notes
Text
Brothers Beyond
Slipknot may never fully recover from the passing of Paul Gray, but their imminent return to the stage at UK’s Sonisphere is going to be an act of catharsis for fans and band alike. Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan and Joey Jordison open up to Hammer exclusively.
Words: Dom Lawson Pics: Steve Brown
Metal Hammer 218 - June 2011 (drive link)
Editor’s note: The dark lord speaks…
16 Gigantic Balls.
That’s what Slipknot had to have to get back in the saddle after the inestimable loss of Paul Gray last year, and judging by our breathtakingly candid interview this month, their appearance at Sonisphere this summer is going to be one for the history books. Slipknot’s return is nothing short of heroic, and we hope you’ll love reading Dom Lawson’s piece as much as we did putting it together.
But then Hammer’s always been about getting under the skin of things to bring you a depth and breadth of metal coverage that you won’t find anywhere else, and this issue’s packed with the kind of chest-swelling bravado that makes real metal bands tick. From Biff Byford’s frankly inspiring quest to defy trends and stick to his guns, to Mastodon’s rise from the depths of obscurity to become one of the world’s foremost lords of the riff, to our first glimpse of Iron Maiden simply fucking killing it on a world-tour that’s more like a global victory lap, Hammer is all about the sorts of tales that make the musicians we love as inspiring as the music that they create. Oh, and metal in… Botswana? The metal empire is truly growing at a staggering pace – be the first to read and read about it.
And as we barrel ever-closer to this year’s positively thrilling Golden God awards, we hope you’ll take the time to add your votes to the hundreds of thousands we’ve already received. It’s also your chance to win tickets to what’s sure to be the most ridiculously metallic award show in history. I mean really, Devin and Twisted Sister on the same night? Whollee. Fucking. Shiiiit! Just head to www.metalhammer.co.uk/goldengods to cast your vote and take a part in heavy metal history.
Before we kick off these headbanging proceedings, let’s take a moment to spare a thought for the late, truly great Scott Columbus, erstwhile Manowar drummer and an inspiration to any metalhead who’s ever felt their pulse quicken to the sound of a mighty drum. Our thoughts are with his friends and family in this difficult time. Horns at half mast.
STAY METAL..
Brothers Beyond
Slipknot may never fully recover from the passing of Paul Gray, but their imminent return to the stage at UK’s Sonisphere is going to be an act of catharsis for fans and band alike. Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan and Joey Jordison open up to Hammer exclusively.
Words: Dom Lawson Pics: Steve Brown
When the news broke last December, you could hear the cheers of elation and sighs of relief from the hot streets of Rio de Janeiro to the sun-blistered stone of the Parthenon. Despite having endured an horrific year that had seen them reduced from a seemingly invincible nine-man wrecking crew to a wounded but dignified band of brothers, following the tragic death of founder member and bassist Paul Gray back in May, Slipknot announced that (sic) were going to return, headlining the Sonisphere festival at Knebworth this July and playing a handful of other prestigious dates. The events of 2010 unquestionably pulled the rug from underneath this seemingly unyielding band’s feet and plunged them into a period of mourning and destabilising uncertainty; the endless and often witless speculation of pundits and fans on the internet only adding to the sense that the Iowans’ rudder had fallen off, leaving them lost and directionless. In the end, those who were predicting the end of the Slipknot story looked very foolish. The end of Slipknot? Don’t be fucking ridiculous.
Four months on from that announcement, drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist and visual king Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan, the other two parts of the unholy trinity of Des Moines miscreants who put the band together in the first place, are in a far more buoyant and defiant mood than many may have predicted after watching the heartbreaking press conference that followed Paul’s death. Speaking to Hammer as the wheels of progress start to grind into action, both men have plenty to say about the past, present and future of their band and, despite having barely spoken to the press since the passing of their friend, both are happy to answer the questions that fans have been dying to ask during those months of sorrow. First and foremost, we have to ask what prompted them to stage their comeback in Europe rather than at home in the US.
“If we were gonna return, why would we not go to Europe first?” states Joey. “It was the right decision at the right time. Europe’s always been amazing to us, especially the UK. I still remember our first show there, on December 13, 1999; I still have dreams about it! It was one of the biggest landmarks of our career so why not go back now? Slipknot is not going to die. It’s a lifeforce, man. With all the feelings and emotions and the passion of one of the people who really helped to start our band pushing us forward, this is how we start again.”
You always seem to have had a strong relationship with the UK; ever since the self-titled album came out in 1999 and UK metal fans immediately embraced what you were doing, arguably more so than in any other territory. Is the show at Knebworth going to be the most important of all?
“The show at Knebworth is going to be heavy, man,” says Shawn. “We thought Download was fuckin’ heavy in 2009, but this’ll be something else. I don’t even know how to describe it, because the UK kids know us, man. I remember the first show at the Astoria in ‘99. I walked into the Astoria and there was a kid in an orange jumpsuit and a clown mask, and he’d paid £85 to have the mask made so he could be me. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d achieved everything when I got to the UK; the UK totally gets us. That show will be the heaviest show on the tour by far. There’ll be a lot of tears that day.”
“The feeling right now between all the bandmembers is the same feeling we had when we first came to the UK,” adds Joey. “This is a special event. It’s not like being on tour. We’re doing this out of our hearts and out of respect for our band and mostly out of respect for our fans. This isn’t contrived, some list of tour dates. This is speaking directly to the UK and to Europe. This is not bullshit. People will be pleasantly surprised by what we’re bringing.”
One of Slipknot’s strengths has always been that they’ve been adept at presenting a united front to the world. Even though it’s always been apparent that this is a band full of wildly differing personalities, the whole point of Slipknot has often seemed to be the expression of a single, focused purpose, uniting band and audience in a grand outpouring of righteous anger and joyous energy. As a result, the last year has been a little unsettling for those observing the band, not least because for the first time it has been made plain that not everyone in Slipknot has been reading from the same tight-lipped, thoughtful page. In particular, frontman Corey Taylor has been making frequent public pronouncements that have carried a faint air of pessimism and negativity.
“Part of me is ready [to carry on with the band] and there’s a part of me that’s not,” he stated back in March. “I have a lot of trepidation about it. I don’t know how to feel. I know a lot of the guys in the band are trying not to show that side, and I can’t.”
In light of the fact that Slipknot had already announced their intention to return, thus strongly implying that the band could well continue beyond these few shows and make another record too, Corey’s comments, seem, at best, a little unhelpful. Do his publicly expressed doubts about the future of the band run deeper or is this simply a case of one man’s emotions leading him away from the general consensus?
“Well, I would get into a lot of trouble if I try to speak for people, so it’s important that you print it like I say it, and I’m saying that I’m not speaking for anybody except myself,” states Shawn, firmly but diplomatically. “But in my opinion the majority of people in the band need Slipknot, want Slipknot, have no doubt that Slipknot will continue. There may be people in the band who may have a harder time feeling what they’re experiencing and only they can get over that and only they can make themselves feel that way. Hopefully their feelings will work out, and that’s exactly what we’re doing, getting together to celebrate Paul’s life, his love for music, his love for Slipknot, his love for his fans.”
The last few years have been upsetting for rock fans, with numerous major figures passing away, leaving huge gaps that can never be filled. The loss of Paul resonated as loudly and powerfully as any, partly because he was such a talented and revered figure within the metal world, but also because Slipknot have always seemed to be impervious to the hazards that cause most bands to noisily disintegrate or feebly fizzle out, whether they be as trivial as ‘musical differences’ or as monumental as mortality itself. And yet, despite having been temporarily stopped in their tracks, few would bet against Slipknot roaring back into action at full strength and with renewed vigour when they hit the road again this summer. As another band appearing at Sonisphere this July once sang, “You cannot kill what doesn’t die…”
“It’s always been that way,” agrees Joey. “Our first tour was Ozzfest in ‘99 and we fuckin’ blew every other band off the fuckin’ stage, every night. It was not even a competition. It’s not like we were trying to beat anyone; we were just being ourselves. We toured with Coal Chamber and some other bands that year too, and I recall my friend Dez Fafara telling me that one guy from one of the other bands had looked at him when we were playing and said, ‘Can you see what we got ourselves into here?’ They tried to kick us off the tour, every band did. One show in Oklahoma City we couldn’t fit anything on the stage and they kicked us off the show and we still outsold every other band’s merch! That’s the strength of what we are when we’re together as a band. That’s not ego talking, it’s the truth. It is what it is, and I’m so happy and so fulfilled with everything we’ve done and everything that we’re gonna do.”
“A lot of people won’t know that we were done with All Hope Is Gone, and we were going to take a break like we do after every record,” says Shawn. “That’s why people love our band; we’re not trying to get off our label and make a bunch of shitty records and try to shove ‘em down fans’ throats. We take time off to get physically and spiritually sound, then we get bored and take what we’ve learned from where we’ve been and we apply it to right now and we get busy with art and music, then we come and kick the living shit out of you. That’s what we do.”
Just as the trials of life can never kill a band with Slipknot’s fighting spirit, neither can you replace the irreplaceable; a fact that made the band’s decision to fight another day such a painful one. There from the beginning, Paul made such an invaluable contribution to every aspect of Slipknot’s music, methodology and rise to glory that the idea of someone else stepping into his jumpsuit and mask was simply unthinkable. But there are always ways a means to circumnavigate even the toughest problems, and so the news that Slipknot have recruited Donnie Steele, a member of a very early lineup of the band and a close friend and musical collaborator of Paul’s, to perform bass duties on these upcoming dates has removed a great deal of disquiet from conversations about the future.
“I’m glad you’re speaking with me today,” notes Joey. “You have called me on the first day that I play with my new bass player. I’m starting with Donnie tonight. I start working with him first and we have over 35 songs that we have to rehearse tonight! Ha ha ha! When we headline in the UK it’s gonna be a longer set, so we have to go over a bunch of stuff.”
What made you go with Donnie?
“It was an easy decision,” he says. “I don’t want to talk about my brother’s death, but once it happened, our phones all lit up with all these guys from other bands. I took it at a disrespect level. I was like, ‘No, no, no!’ and it just came to me one night. I woke up from a dream about the early Slipknot days, before it was even known as Slipknot. Donnie was our first guitar player. We only had one guitar player but we had three drummers. You couldn’t even hear the guitar before we hired Josh [Brainard, Slipknot guitarist from 1995-1999]. So I called Shawn and I said, ‘This is the only thing that makes sense…’ Slipknot is a family. It’s a brotherhood. When we started together, Donnie was there. The last time I saw Paul was when I was with Rob Zombie in Iowa; Donnie was there and he and Paul were writing a new record for [pre-Slipknot metal project] Body Pit. I said to Shawn, ‘He’s part of our family!’”
“The gentleman who’s filling in for Paul was very, very good friends with Paul,” Shawn adds. “They come from a school of death metal and black metal, both very technical players. Recently Paul had hooked up with him and they were finally going to do their side-project. Paul was a guitar player and he attacked the bass like he did the guitar, and that’s exactly what Donnie’s gonna do. So he’s bringing more integrity than any freakin’ person who ever thought they had a chance of playing bass in something as serious as Slipknot. I laughed in the face of anybody who thought they had a chance!”
There’s been a lot of speculation about whether Donnie will be performing alongside the rest of the band onstage or whether he will be behind the drum riser out of sight. Can you confirm or deny any of this?
“We still have to figure out what we wanna do,” says Joey. “Will he be behind me? Right now, yes. In the future, I don’t know. Right now, he’s behind me or right next to me and he’ll be watching my every move and I’ll be watching him but it’s not going to take away from my performance, because by the time we hit the stage it’s going to be easy.”
“I can’t predict the future, but I know right now there’s no new mask, no new coveralls, no new number,” says Shawn. “There’s eight guys on stage and the first guitar player we ever had filling in for Paul, because there’s always gonna be nine.”
Clearly there can be no upside to the loss of such a loved and respected figure, but the last year has at least enabled the music world to finally acknowledge Paul as the influential and inspirational creative dynamo buzzing tirelessly away at the heart of Slipknot. It has always been left primarily to Joey, Shawn and Corey to communicate with the press and although Paul was not averse to doing interviews, his relative anonymity within such a populous band meant that he was able to exert his vast influence on Slipknot’s music and ethos away from the media spotlight. Now, of course, it’s apparent that his death has left a chasm inside this band’s furious heart and that these forthcoming live performances present a huge emotional challenge to those who mourn him, both on the stage and in front of it. Joey and Shawn are clearly still coming to terms with the loss of their friend, both close to tears when his name inevitably comes up in our conversations. For Shawn in particular, Slipknot’s return to the stage is all about paying respects and doing what needs to be done.
“Slipknot is more dangerous now than ever and I have the fuel known as Paul Dedrick Gray in my blood,” he says. “I’ve been here from the beginning, when Paul recognized my ability as an artist and said, ‘Just do it, man! Let your thoughts out and don’t let anyone stop you from what you feel and what you think!’ So now I’ve got his blood boiling in my veins. I’m not just playing for Clown; I’m playing for him, for his wife and daughter, his legacy, his love for the band, his love for music. I’m not discrediting anybody. We wouldn’t be where we’re at without everybody. We wouldn’t be here without Corey, Sid, Jim, Craig, Mick, Chris, all of us. But in the beginning, there was this idea that was created by Paul and I. He wrote the kind of music with Joey that just made me want to put my face through glass. I helped start one of the biggest metal bands in the world and I’m not necessarily a metalhead. I’m an alternative dude or an indie dude, whatever the fuck that means. I was on my way to being like Andy Warhol or something! I gave it all up to be in this band called Slipknot and I love it and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Another major issue is whether or not Slipknot will ever make another studio album. Paul wrote a lot of the band’s music and was an integral part of the creative process on all four of their albums to date, but Slipknot have no shortage of creative brains to tap for fresh ideas. Corey added a dash of fuel to the fires of confusion when he stated recently that “there’s such a huge piece missing now, a piece that the fans can’t even understand. I mean, Paul always was that unconscious, almost lynchpin that held everything together. And he had such a great mind for the music that we created that without him, I don’t see it happening very soon, let’s put it that way.”
Given that it’s clear that at least one member of the band has doubts about the future, can fans truly be secure in the knowledge that their heroes will continue beyond these festival appearances and as far as a new album in the future?
“That’s the most important question you’ve asked so far,” says Joey. “We made this decision [to play shows this summer] out of respect for the music that we made and out of respect for our friend but mainly for our fans. Why would we not continue? It’s stupid to even think it. There are a lot of naysayers and all that shit. In the Slipknot world it’s blasphemy to say we might not continue.”
“Yes, I always knew we’d be back together,” insists Shawn. “Yes, I always thought we’d make another record. When? I don’t know. Is it being talked about? No, it is now. When would it ever be? I have no idea because I’m not a fortune teller, but in my heart of heart of hearts, and with Paul on my shoulder, kicking me in my face day after day, I absolutely believe there’ll be another record. How could there not be?”
Their unerring ability to sing from a single song sheet has been one of the biggest factors in Slipknot’s enduring appeal. From humble beginnings in Des Moines to their status as one of the biggest metal bands on the planet, these men prize collective focus above virtually anything else, and so it has been strange to see signs of hesitancy emerge in recent times. It’d be more than a little tacky to speculate whether Corey’s seemingly disruptive remarks about the future, and his bandmates’ self-evident but skilfully stifled testiness, are merely evidence that the grieving process affects different people in different ways, but it is also undeniably true that the internet age has made it more or less impossible for any high-profile rock band to conduct their affairs in private. The much-debated possibility that Corey is to be announced as Velvet Revolver’s new singer is a great example of this: what would normally be dismissed as idle gossip takes on a level of credibility far beyond what the known facts would seem to deserve. Social networking is the new grapevine, it seems, and Joey is not impressed.
“The internet can fuck off!” he barks. “I have an official MySpace and Facebook, but all that bullshit? I don’t use it. If you want to talk to me as a person, the internet is the worst thing possible. I do get it. Maybe it makes sense if you don’t have a life of your own. But that’s why i don’t use it. I have lovely people around me all the time and I’m blessed with everything I’ve been able to accomplish. I only have MySpace and Facebook to block people from imitating me. I don’t even have a Twitter account. But you know what? If I need to find where a good Mexican restaurant is, I can log on and find it. So the internet does have its uses, I guess! Ha ha!”
Bullshit and hyperbole will continue to make the world go round, but for now at least, all that remains is to get very, very excited indeed about seeing Slipknot again at Knebworth this summer. Anyone who witnessed the band tearing Download a collection of new arseholes in 2009 will be able to confirm that there are few bands more capable of commanding a festival headlining slot, and it goes without saying that the UK will welcome them back with open arms and pounding hearts, but our mounting excitement at the thought of Slipknot headlining a major UK festival again is undeniably tempered by a faint air of nervousness about the backdrop of grief and uncertainty that has coloured the band’s canvas over the last 12 months. One way or another, this is going to be extremely emotional, isn’t it?
“I don’t think any fan ever thought they were never gonna see Paul again,” says Shawn. “So it’s our duty to being it all together; when I walk on stage in tears, there’ll be 10,000 other people in tears with me and we’re going to celebrate in the salvation of music and what brings us together.”
“These gigs are not a job,” avows Joey. “This is more of a cleansing. All of us are going to have the most incredible shows of our career. That’s it. I’m not saying this to promote this. But this is going to be worth the wait. Of course there are gonna be teary eyes and maybe for some of us, behind the masks, but are they gonna be sad tears? No, they’ll be happy. We’re going to be there and we’re going to watch the audience explode and what better celebration could you ask for? That’s all it needs to be. Let’s just fucking rock!”
Slipknot play Sonisphere, July 8-10, 2011
“We’re gonna die for rock ‘n roll!”
Slipknot’s drummer was in Tokyo with his other band, Murderdolls, when the recent earthquake hit Japan, wreaking devastation and leading to many thousands of deaths. Here he recounts his experience for the first time…
“I was doing an interview and a photoshoot in this really rickety building when the quake started,” he recalls. “We’d already felt a smaller quake the day before, but when this one really hit it was throwing me against the walls. My tour manager Roger grabbed me saying, ‘Fuck this! We don’t need this…’ and he threw me over his shoulder and got me out of there! Everyone was trying to get out and we were the last band to leave Japan. We were like, ‘Fuck it!’ We were gonna stay and if we die, we’re gonna die for rock ‘n’ roll! That’s the Murderdolls’ mentality. We couldn’t get back to our hotel rooms because the elevators were completely fucked, so we went and stayed in the bar and got shitfaced. In the end we got evacuated. It was like, ‘If you want to make it back to the US, you need to go now otherwise you’re gonna be stuck here!’ So we finished our pints and got to the airport and, luckily, got on the airplane. Right after that is when the nuclear reactor was heating up. It was a big, intense experience. It was one for the books, I tell you…”
Shawn Crahan tells Hammer about his new band…
Black Dots Of Death
Describe your new band… “It’s a rebirth of Clown, a second coming, and it’s dangerous. It’s the next level. It’s a mix of many genres. I’m done making soft music and now I’m angry again and everything’s surrounded by death and the idea of ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ There’s a moral behind everything; it’s deep.”
What appeals to you about playing the drums? “I’ve played drums since I was eight years old, man. When you see me play drums, that’s the most personal me you’ll ever see. I don’t wear a mask. No one plays as hard as me, man.”
Do you have plans to take Black Dots Of Death out on the road? “The record is out now. Everything you need to know, you can find at www.theblackdotsofdeath.com. This is art, man, and it’s fuckin’ dangerous. But my biggest priority in 2011 is to get together with Slipknot. There will be Black Dots shows, but my biggest priority is to celebrate Paul’s life.”
Will he or won’t he?
The rumour mill has been working overtime as speculation mounts about Corey Taylor apparently becoming the new singer in Velvet Revolver. Or not. Here’s what’s been said so far…
“We recorded a bunch of songs with Corey. I think he’s fucking great – he’s the best voice of a new generation and I’d be proud to do anything with him.” [Duff McKagan, March 2011]
“He’s a guy we’ve had our eye on, but the timing wasn’t right. Weiland was available. He was out of Stone Temple Pilots. It wasn’t like we went and said, ‘Hey, dude…’ He came to us, like, ‘Hey, I’m out of my band. I’ve got time. Let’s do this.’ And it’s a similar situation with this individual.” [Sorum to billboard.com, December 2010]
“[The new singer is] a little younger, a little stronger, a little heavier rock’n’roll than we are.” [Sorum to Noisecreep, December 2010]
“A couple of people have said one thing or another, but it’s been blown out of proportion. I’ve made no comment on that one.” [Slash, February 2011]
“It’s gonna be interesting going into the third record because we’re gonna have a whole different personality as a vocalist. Chances are it’s gonna be a lot heavier than anything Velvet Revolver has done so far.” [Sorum to artistdirect.com, January 2011]
“As soon as we got off the road from the last tour and parted ways with [singer] Scott [Weiland], we got together and wrote half a dozen really great, sort of heavy metal pieces of music. It’s a lot heavier than what Velvet Revolver has put out [in the past], so I’m dying to put out the quintessential Velvet Revolver record.” [Slash to MTV News, June 2010]
“To be continued! Ha ha ha!” [Corey Taylor to billboard.com after being asked directly about whether or not he is joining Velvet Revolver, January 2011]
#if you want anything else from this scanned just lemme know#metal hammer 218 jun 11#interview#slipknot#paul gray#joey jordison#shawn crahan
65 notes
·
View notes