There are many of us, the metalheads
i mean, that believe epic metal in the veins of OMEN and MANILLA ROAD is
dead in U.S.A. SKULLVIEW are here to prove us wrong and remind us how epic
metal should sound. So read this chat i had with Dean Tavernier (guitarist)
1.GIVE A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF THE
BAND. WHICH IS THE CURRENT LINE UP?
Skullview was formed 6 years ago by
myself and drummer Joe Garavalia. The lineup was rounded out by the additions
of Dave Hillegonds on guitar, and Pete Clemens on Bass. In the early
days, I was doing the vocals, and we recorded a 3 song demo in 1996.
Shortly after our demo release, we signed to RIP Records for a 3 record
deal and released our first album, Legends Of Valor, in 1997. Legends
Of Valor featured our newest addition to the band, Earthquake Quimby Lewis
on lead vocals. In 1999, our second album was released, entitled Kings
Of The Universe. We recently released Consequences Of Failure, our 3rd
album. The lineup on the first 3 albums remained the same. We currently
are not working with Quimby any longer, and have invited Joe Lawson (ex-Dragonlore
vocalist) to join the band. He has been rehearsing with us consistently
over the past several weeks.
2.HOW HAVE YOU SELECTED THIS BAND
NAME? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
Our drummer, Joe, came up with the
name. It was just something that he came up with while he was working
on the Stacker/Reclaimer at US Steel Garyworks. He was high upon
the iron, overlooking the mighty Lake Michigan, welding away, and the band
name just came to him. He suggested the name, and it was immediately
accepted because it was so original and was obviously a name for a heavy
metal band in the making. There is no particulare meaning. It means
whatever you want it to mean.
3.RECENTLY YOU HAVE RELEASED A
NEW CD. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT IT. WHICH ARE THE SIMILARITIES
AND DIFFERENCIES BETWEEN THIS ONE AND YOUR PREVIOUS ALBUM?
ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH IT OR WOULD YOU LIKE SOMETHING TO BE
CHANGED?
We released a brand new album in 2001
called Consequences of Failure, our third full length album.
Consequences of Failure is an album that I consider to be the best we've
done to date. The album combines the best elements of our previous
two albums, and adds a couple of new ideas, and an obvious improvement
in musicianship. We really like this album, not only as a band, but
also as fans of heavy metal music. This album contains all the things
we find essential in a heavy metal album, and we are still amazed that
we wrote it. I am pleased with all of our releases. I think each
release is special in it's own way, and each album is representative of
our skill level as musicians during their time era. Each album shows
a marked improvement in our playing ability, and also shows our maturity
in our studio efforts. Our performance and the overall sound of each
album has improved with each record. So I would say that I'm happy
with everything we've done and wouldn't want to change anything about them.
4.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
DO YOU LIKE THE FANS TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES?
Our lyrics deal with topics ranging
from Violence, Insanity, War, Beasts, and Horror. Some of our lyrics
are straightforward, telling a fictional story pertaining to one of the
aforementioned topics. We do have some lyrics that have "read between
the lines" meaing to them and some may be kind of hard to decipher
the original meaning of the stories. But with each song of this nature,
the listener is able to put his own meaning to the song. We like to use
verbal imagery to set a mood for the song. We describe landscapes
and settings to give the listener a mental image to place him in the story.
I prefer lyrics that are fictional, and open doors to the imagination,
so we don't write songs that have a message or a lesson. Our lyrics
only serve as entertainment...we are not trying to preach about anything.
5.WHICH ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?
I could list nearly every band in my
collection as an influence. From early thrash, death, black, and traditional
metal, to 70's hard rock. We love the obvious bands, such as Maiden, Priest,
Sabbath, etc...but we also listen to alot of underground Death Metal bands
and Black Metal bands. We just utilize our limited abilities as song
writers and musicians to put together music that sounds good to our ears.
6.HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS?
We've done quite a number of live shows....mostly
in the Chicagoland area. But we don't play every weekend either.
We are selective of the shows that we play. We have opportunities
to play shows all the time, but we only want to play Heavy Metal Shows,
with good Heavy Metal bands on the bill.
7.YOUR PREVIOUS ALBUM CAME OUT
FROM MASSACRE RECORDS. DO YOU STILL BELONG TO THEIR DYNAMIC?
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE PROMOTION THEY DID? WHEN WILL YOUR
NEW ALBUM BE RELEASED HERE IN GREECE?
We are no longer associated with Massacre
Records. Kings Of The Universe was distributed in Europe by
Massacre Records, but they chose not to work with Skullview on Consequences
Of Failure. We didn't sell well with Massacre Records, and I feel
that part of the problem was the promotion was poor. It was good
because Europeans could find the record, but only if they knew it was released.
That is where the problem was...nobody knew who Skullview were. Unfortunately,
that hasn't changed. Most of the metal buying public do not
even know Skullview exists. The only thing that can change that is
promotion...and we still have zero promotion at this time. As of now, we
do not have European Distribution, or American Distribution, nothing.
RIP Records is handling the distribution and he is working with independent
distributors and mailorder distros, so the album is out there and is available.
But if people don't know it is out there, how can they order our records??
I hope to get someone to distribute the new record, but we have had no
offers yet.
8.WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT
THE AMERICAN METAL SCENE? HOW DO YOU FIND IT?
We have our share of good bands in
the American Metal Scene. Some great bands from the USA are The Lord Weird
Slough Feg, Twisted Tower Dire, Iron Rainbow, Nasty Disaster, and The Rauchous
Brothers. The scene in America is more geared for death and black metal
at the moment. People are starting to listen to traditional metal
again as of recently...and that is mainly because power/traditional metal
is becoming trend here. When we first started, you couldn't find but a
few people who were still listening to Omen and Manilla Road. Alot
of the underground fans were just starting to get interested in Burzum
at that time back in 1996 here in the states...not power/traditional metal.
Now all these same people who in 96 were running around with their BathoryT-shirts
are running around with their Jag Panzer and Omen shirts today, and they
act like they've been fans forever. It makes me laugh.
9.WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN'T
ABLE TO COMPOSE AND PLAY MUSIC?
I'd listen to metal and work in the
Steel Mill, until it closes down. Pretty much the same thing that I'm doing
currently.
10.IF YOUR ALBUMS WERE PAINTINGS
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOW?
I'd like to show the strong overcoming
the weak.We don't need weak people, or weak minds. People need to stand
up for themselves and be ready to fight for what they deserve. The strong
will always come out on top. It's time to stop protecting the weak and
let them wither away...let's rid this world of those dependent on the strong!!!
That is what I'd like to get across.
11.DO YOU LIKE READING BOOKS? WHICH
IS YOUR MOST BELOVED BOOK AND AUTHOR?
I don't read often. Most of the time
I read metal zines. Occassionally I'll read a book about mafia bosses or
something along those lines. I have little time to read.
12.WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMPOSE THE SOUNDTRACK
FOR A MOVIE? IF YES, WHICH MOVIE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I've never really thought about it.
Bands like Rhapsody would be much better at creating a movie soundtrack.
Skullview is just headbanging music for heavy metal maniacs. If I
were to write the score for a movie, I'd like it to be for a new Cheech
and Chong movie.
13. IF YOU HAVEN'T RELEASED AN ALBUM
WHICH DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE MOST IDEAL SONG TO MAKE YOURSELVES
KNOWN IN PUBLIC?
Well, if we didn't have any albums,
I wouldn't concern myself with being known in public. We are not very known
at the moment as it is...so I guess we are still working on figuring out
what to do get our music out to the public.
14.WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE
POLITICAL SITUATION DEVELOPED NOW, AFTER THOSE TERRORIST ATTACKS
IN THE U.S.A.?
The day the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon was attacked was the saddest day in American History, in my
opinion. It showed that we are vulnerable and that we dropped our guard.
Americans became too concerned with civil liberties and liberal agendas
and as a result America suffered. Our military, defense, trade,
and national security suffered major cutbacks because our government spent
too much time and money satisfying every damned liberal group and special
interest organization that complained that their rights were being squandered.
When the country is focusing it's efforts on arguing gun control, and gay
rights, and envrionmental policy, we open the door for terrorists to have
their way with us, because it takes away attention from the task at hand....defending
our borders and protecting our citizens!!! America received a wake up call....I
just hope they remember that day the next time some faggot complains that
he should be able to have a same sex marriage so he can share company sponsored
insurance benefits with his gay spouse. It is nuisances such as that
which our government has to deal with and spend time and money addressing,
rather than worrying about securing this nation. I hope America wakes
up and lets the government and military do their job!!
15.THANK YOU FOR THE INTERVIEW! LEAVE
YOUR MESSAGE...
Thanks for an excellent interview.
We appreciate the support, especially from Greek fans. Greek fans
are some of the best fans in the world. You guys are crazy about heavy
metal, and it makes me proud to share our music with you all. Thanks.
Point The Sign Up High...Metal Till You Die!!!