Interview : Liv Jagrell – Sister Sin (2008)

Interview by Danny Robertson

Check out Sister Sin – the Swedish rock’n’ roll quartet hailing from Gothenburg, who recently supported their heroes Motorhead whilst on tour in the US. Here, singer Liv gives us an update.

How did the shows with Motorhead go? It must have been quite an experience to be supporting an act who’ve influenced you all for so long!

We had a blast!! It was a dream come true for all of us to support Motorhead. Both shows went very well and it was truly amazing to play in front of a full sold out show!

Did you win many new fans from the Motorhead crowd?

Absolutely! I think we got a good amount of new fans. People were standing in line waiting for photos and autographs after the show and we sold a lot of CD’s, I think we did a really good job and people seemed to really enjoy our show.

Got any tour stories you’d like to share? Any strange or unusual experiences?

Hmm no not really, everything went very smooth during the shows with Motorhead. But on the tour we did before with Faster Pussycat, we had a lot of trouble! Our van broke down like 3 times during the tour and we nearly missed a show waiting at a truckstop for 7 hours for a new ride to the show that evening. When we finally got to the gig, we were 45 minutes too late and only got to play 3 songs.

Let’s go back to the beginning – how did the band first get together?

Well, at the beginning we had another bass player and guitarist, and they and drummer Dave formed the band in 2002. I had put out an ad in a magazine looking for a rock band and one of them called me and told me they really wanted a male singer, but maybe I could try anyway. So I did and they didn’t audition any other after that, so I guess I did make a good impression, haha! Since then, me and Dave have been looking for the right members and now it feels like we found them! Both Jimmy and Benton suit the band perfectly.

You hail from Gothenburg, a place normally associated with melodic death metal, thanks to bands like At the Gates, In Flames, etc. Given that yours is a very different sound, was it difficult for you to get shows and build a local fanbase in the early days?

Yes a little actually and still in Gothenburg that sound is dominant but the more hard rock/old school sound is beginning to come back.

You’re described on your MySpace profile as being the new ambassadors of ‘Street Metal’ – who first came up with that term?

That is a good question, and I don’t remember who first came up with that, haha. But I think it suits us very well. We are just true hardworking rock, very down to earth – very street, nothing fancy. We don’t expect things to happen, we make them happen!

What would you say has been your biggest non-musical influence?

Just everyday life! From both close in our own lives and that very big, big unpredictable world.

The Motorhead shows aside, what do you feel have been the high points of your career thus far?

Well playing at Masters of Rock in the Czech Republic for 5000 people and with bands like Doro and Cradle of Filth was pretty amazing. And then playing at the Sweden Rock Festival last year was a dream come true too!

Who are your favourite current acts?

My personal favourites are Airbourne and Deathstars. We met the singer of Soilwork while in the US and they are working on a new album, and I am looking forward to that very much.

Are there any new bands back in Gothenburg that you’d recommend to people?

Maybe not Gothenburg, but I think people should check out Hysterica and Babylon Bombs, good Swedish bands!

What’s next for the band? Any tours or future releases in the pipeline?

Yes hopefully both hahha! It’s depending on if we are gonna do more tours this Autumn or not. We really want to tour as much as possible and we are right now working on finding new tours. But if we don’t, the plan is to record a new album early next year. We are working on new songs right now and we are looking forward to giving the world some more kickass heavy metal!

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site

Latest Multimedia

Interview : Doro Pesch (2012)

Interview by Gaia Stella Rotondi

Transcription by Alessandro Narcissus

Intro by Miriam C.

On a hot summer day (to be precise on the 12th September) we’ve met in a hotel in the centre of Milan during the promo day dedicated to “Raise Your Fist”, the German metal queen Doro. Let’s hear directly from her the latest news. Some words dedicated to the memoir of the late Mr Ronnie James Dio are present and we join with her to his memory publishing this interview.

Today Femme Metal is pleased to have the metal queen Doro Pesch as guest. Hi Doro, how are you?

Hi there, I’m very good! Thank you for the interview, it’s great to be here in Italy!

We know that your new album, “Raise Your Fist”, produced by Nuclear Blast Records, will be released on October 19. Could you tell us something about it?

We’ve worked for over half a year on it. We recordet it all over the world, from New York and New Jersey to Hamburg, we’ve mixed it in Danmark with Jacob Hansen, who’se the producer and engeneer for all of it. I wanted to make sure that the sound is hard, powerful and really, really good. The first song, “Raise Your Fist in the Air”, I kind of had the feeling it might be the first single. So I sent it out to many people, everybody mixed it, and then it was hard to choose ’cause many were really good, but when I heard Jacob‘s work I said, “Okay, you’re the one!”. There are some special guests on the record: I sing a duet with Lemmy (Kilmister from Motörhead Ed.) on one of my favourite songs, “It Still Hurts”, which is a very touching and emotional ballad, and I love it so much, and I also love Lemmy for the longest time, he’s great! Then we have another guest, Gus G, the guitar player of Firewind, and he plays a solo on “Grab The Bull (Last Man Standing)”. A good friend of mine made contract with Alex Krull from Atrocity and Leaves’ Eyes, and he’s a guest on that song as well. Then there is “Hero”, which was the first song we wrote for the record, and it’s a tribute to Ronnie James Dio: so many fans were totally heartbroken when he died – including myself, I was totally devastated and after all this time I still am! – so I really wanted to say thank you and pay respect to him.

Could you tell us something about the importance that Ronnie had in your life?

Yeah! Beside being an amazing singer, I think definitely one of the best, he was a great friend and my biggest inspiration! I had the chance to meet him many times, we toured together – actually my second big tour, back in 1987, it was with Ronnie James Dio and it was great because it was the peak of heavy metal with big venues and fans, it was unbelievable and really unforgettable! Then we had the chance to tour again a couple of times and one of the greatest experiences was the American tour in 2000, because, as you probably remember, in the Nineties grunge was big and heavy metal had a really difficult time; and then, in 1999 I felt it was coming back somehow and I did a song for Ronnie James Dio‘s new album, then he held a release party in New York and I was there and I went to say hi, and he was like “Hey, I like the song so much, it’s magical!”. And a couple of weeks later we had our record done – I was “Calling The Wild”. We were in the middle of an interview with a radio station in Tennessee, and we were talking and they asked if we had any touring plans, I was like “Not yet, but of course we want either to open up for someone or do our own club tour”, and then the lady said she was like “What about Ronnie James Dio?”, and she was going to interview him in a hour so she suggested us to him! And a couple of weeks later we were on tour together and it was great! The last leg of the tour was in Florida and we always sang the encore together! He went to the monitor guy asking for a second microphone and came on stage. In 1987 I could not speak English that well, so we were just like “Hi, great show”, but in 2000 we really got much closer and became really good friends.

In “Raise Your Fist” you had the chance to work with many other musicians. As you said, you collaborated with Gus G from Firewind and Lemmy from Motörhead. How did it feel to work with legendary and new generation artists at the same time?

It’s great every time! It was a honour to work with somebody special like Lemmy. He’s my hero, I love Lemmy! We played together in the very early 80′s and now we were on tour together two years ago, and it’s great. He’s very soulful and a total gentleman, a great talker, a great musician. With younger generations, when people love music there’s always this common ground. With Alex Krull we always met in Wacken and he suggested that we do something together and his wife Liv Kristine, she was at my 25th Anniversary gig and performed on “Celebrate” along with all those great ladies that met on stage. And we all felt connected then. There is one song on the limited edition called “Strong And Proud” which I wrote to talk about this connection with all the female vocalists. I think it’s pretty cool because we’re all supporting each other and connected, there is a lot of unity.

An EP was released on August 3rd, to precede the upcoming album. The EP contains four songs and it includes also a French version of the single “Raise Your Fist in the Air”. Would you like to talk about the reasons of this choice and about the EP in general?

After I recorded the demo of the song, I played it to some people involved with Wacken. When they heard it they were very enthusiastic about it and wanted me to play it at the festival. It was not finished yet, but they really wanted it, so I was like, ok, I can try. Then I played it and I got a great response. Everybody’s fists were in the air. It was the first day and I played it in front of about 50,000 people, they all liked it, so I thought it could be a great single. Then I tried it out a couple of times when I played in Europe, in Moscow, and I also wanted to play it in Lyon, in France. I tried to say something in the native language, so I asked “How do you say ‘Raise your fist in the air’ in French?” and they told me “Lève Ton Poing Vers Le Ciel” and it was really cool! And then there is another story: one day I was introdued to a girl called Vanessa who really wanted to hear a song in her native language because she only speaks French. On my previous album I recorded several versions of “Herzblut”, like in Spanish and in Portuguese, so I also made one in French and I dedicated it to Vanessa. She was really happy! She has two sons and said “When I have a girl, I will call her Doro!”, which was really cool! I was very happy! So I decided to do another French version on this album.

The guitar player on “Raise Your Fist” is Luca Princiotta, an italian musician. How did you meet him?

I met him a couple of years ago. I was in Italy doing a little appearance for Clairvoyance. There I met Luca and I knew he was a great musician. Then joined us for the keyboard when Oliver Palotai was busy touring with Kamelot. We really got along and played many gigs, so he joined in as guitarist for the new album.

You have released also a video for the single “Raise Your Fist in the Air”. We know that you love the city of New York, but the video was shooted in the Bronx area. Why did you choose this place and how would you describe this experience?

It was quite an adventure, quite dangerous too! In New York it’s very hard to fill in to get a permission and stuff. So we were like, okay, you know what? We just go there with our truck. We go everywhere we want and when the police comes we just get back on our truck and run away! We went all over and then elsewhere too. We went to all kinds of neibourghoods in the Bronx and in Harlem, and while I was singing, suddenly people were coming up to see what we were doing. At a certain point there was like a gang, and we were like, “Oh God, sorry, we were just shooting a little video!”, but they liked the song although I think they were more into rap or that kind of music, so we asked them to join us and it was really cool! Everybody came in, we shot under a bridge, there were also some homeless people who showed up as well, even a guy who said he liked jazz but stopped all the same, and my band was in the video too, so… gang members, homeless people of New York, all united by music, it made all of it immediate. It was much fun!

You often play at metal festivals, such as the Wacken Open Air. What do you think about festivals and how is your relation with the fans during these events?

I love playing festivals. My first time playing in Wacken was in 1993 and there were maybe 2000 people. It was very small, just the area where now the bands’ dressing rooms are. And since then every four or five years I came back, and a certain point there were 20,000 people and the whole thing was going bigger and bigger. What I love so much was that the organisers of the festival were two die-hard metal fans, because no one wanted to do metal festivals in the early 90′s, so it was a festival from fans to fans, you can still feel it today. And the village near it, everybody is very welcoming to all the metalheads, back then somebody even welcomed us to sleep, which is really great because, you know, all those guys with long hair and tattoos and stuff… So I specially love Wacken, but I also love Gods of Metal, Metalcamp… I love it all, every festival is special in its on way. People from everywhere come and enjoy so much music, you can see all your friends, all those bands, all the fans of other bands, everybody has stuff to do but you can reconnect with the fans.

In 2006 you made your cinematic debut in the film “Anuk”. You returned to the set for the second part of this film that will be released at the end of 2013, and it is called “Anuk – The Path of the Warrior”. Would you like to talk about this film and the shooting? Is it true that the soundtrack will contains music from the upcoming album?

Yes. The producer is called Luke Gasser. He asked me for the movie and then I did some more music for the film, very different in a way, for there is not only words. We were doing the music together and I just came back for shooting the movie. It was a little more difficult than usual because I also had to do the promotion then go on tour. This is the second part to end “The Path of the Warrior”, it’s an adventure, the good guys against the bad guys, it’s set in 2000 BC. The first movie was a lot of fun! It’s an independent movie, the budget is not big, it’s just not like a Hollywood budget, but everybody put so much energy in it. It’s very demanding, getting up every day in 5 o’clock in the morning, then working hard for 16-18 hours a day, there were 50 horses, many people who did the stunts, I was filming often in the water so I also hoped I would not get ill – but I didn’t! On the last record, “I Lay My Head Upon My Sword” was for the movie.

You’re on the metal scene since the early 80′s. Is it difficult to hold the crown of Metal Queen for such a long time? What is changed since the beginning of your career?

Well, it’s so nice when people have good things to say about you, it makes me so happy! But actually I’m just a normal metalhead. I still love metal, I still love the fans. I just try to make the fans happy, which is the most important thing to me, it’s my mission. For so many years it’s been great and I owe much to the fans, they always support me in good and in bad times, like when grunge was big in music. I love my fans more than anything and it’s my aim in life to make fans happy and to give them something they can believe in and enjoy, give them some positive power. Now, being called a “Metal Queen” is such a big word, I just work each day to make something nice, but it’s only me, I still feel like when I started it all, when I was 22. It feels like 6-7 years ago, not certainly like 26 or 27!

Thank you so much for being here and replying our questions. Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?

Yeah! The most important thing in this world to me, which will never ever change, is my love for them. I’m still there, I’m still giving 100%, and I want to say thank you to all of them! They give me all the energy and all the support, so… thank you so much, it’s very important to love each other!

Credit Photos

Exclusive Photos shot  by Anna Fortini

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site

Latest Multimedia

Doro – “Raise Your Fist” (2012)

Label : Nuclear Blast Records

Review by Tony Cannella

With her new album “Raise Your Fist”, Doro Pesch continues to release good to great albums that never betrays her loyal fan base or her love for metal music. The new album is a perfect example of this. You want anthems? They’re here. You want ballads? They’re here. You want straight forward metal songs? They’re here. You want… well, you get the point. “Raise Your Fist” has all the ingredients that Doro fans have come to expect and love. The songs on “Raise Your Fist” have a raw, live and energetic feel to them – beginning with the anthemic opener “Raise Your Fist in the Air”, I’m sure this one will go down great at her live shows for years to come. The next song “Coldhearted Lover” is a mid tempo song that is more rock than metal, but it definitely gets the job done. “Rock Till Death” has a rumbling guitar riff and is another powerhouse anthem. “It Still Hurts” is the first of the ballads on this disc and once again sees Doro collaborating with Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead. “Take No Prisoners” opens with – what sounds like – an air raid siren and definitely has an early Warlock (“Burning the Witches” / “Hellbound” era) feel to it. “Grab the Bull (Last Man Standing)” has another rock vibe and features a guest solo by Ozzy Osbourne / Firewind guitarist Gus G. It’s easy to see why Ozzy chose him to replace Zakk Wylde – the guy is an immense talent. “Revenge” is a classic metal sounding song with a hint of speed metal at certain points in the song. “Free My Heart” is the best of the ballads. The album is concluded with Doro’s tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio with “Hero”. This is a heart-felt tribute to a legendary singer and Doro’s good friend. The song does have a sort of Dio vibe and I can’t think of a better way to end “Raise Your Fist”. Doro Pesch is kind of an icon in the female metal scene, yet she doesn’t seem ready to rest on her laurels. “Raise Your Fist” may well be the best album that Doro has released in a number of years and that’s saying something when you consider the enormity of her catalog. It is obvious that Doro still puts her heart and soul into every song. You’ve got to respect that.

Rating – 90/100

Tracklist

1. Raise Your Fist in the Air
2. Coldhearted Lover
3. Rock Till Death
4. It Still Hurts (Featuring Lemmy)
5. Take No Prisoners
6. Grab the Bull (Last Man Standing) (Featuring Gus G.)
7. Engle
8. Freiheit (Human Rights)
9. Little Headbanger (Nackenbrecher)
10. Revenge
11. Free My Heart
12. Victory
13. Hero

Line Up

• Doro Pesch – Vocals
• Bas Maas – Guitar
• Luca Princiotta – Guitar & Keyboards
• Nick Douglas – Bass
• Johnny Dee – Drums

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site

Interview : Ida Evileye – Crucified Barbara

Interview by Si Smith 

Crucified Barbara will stomp across your skull and leave skidmarks, such is the impression they are having all over the world. Their style is balls-to-the-wall hard rock, no holds barred. Third album “The Midnight Chase” hits the streets soon so Femme Metal caught up with bass player Ida Evileye for a quick word.

First of all thank you for taking the time for this interview, and a warm welcome from all at Femme Metal Webzine. For those who are presently unfamiliar with the band, would you like to introduce the different members to us?

Yeah. We’re a four piece band and I (Ida) play the bass, Mia sings and plays lead guitar, Klara plays rhythm guitar and Nicki plays the drums.

Almost 15 years since your humble beginnings you are back with another powerful album. From the outset it is clear that you mean business, with opener “The Crucifier” giving it large 100%. For this listener it is a remarkable trip back into the early Motorhead days and punk-influenced heavy metal. Do you think the band in 2012 still reflects those kind of influences?

Absolutely, we love that type of music. We listen to a lot of different music (Mainly old school for me) and of course that shines through in our songwriting.

You certainly have a memorable band name – could you enlighten us as to where it originates from?

Actually “Barbara” in Sweden is the name for a blowup doll (a sextoy). We were at the Roskilde festival many years ago and we saw that somebody had pinned a barbara on a cross and it looked really evil and cool so that’s where it comes from.

You guys look great in all the promo shots we see and have a very distinct look that reflects your music style – how important is image to the band?

The music is of course the most important thing without a doubt but image is important too. I love to go to concerts and it’s always more fun when the band wants to entertain the audience. So that what we’re trying to do with clothes and makeup!

It has been a remarkable journey across three albums. What are the highlights of the journey for the band?

Oooohhh, there are soo many. The Motörhead tour, the Nuclear Blast deal, the Russian tour, playing at the Download festival, the Australian tour. Meeting Brian May, having a drink with Lemmy……the list goes on!

Throughout the band’s life your lyrics have touched on all the usual hard rock topics. Does this reflect your lifestyle? Who is the biggest party animal?

Hahaha, of course! I am the party animal. You can always count on me and Nicki!

Three years on from “‘Till Death…” , you seem to have a tradition of working a long time on your albums, what is it you are looking for in the final product?

We don’t want it to take so long time but we’ve toured a lot and there has also been business things that’s prolonging the releases. And of course that we don’t wanna release something that we aren’t 100 percent happy with!

“The Midnight Chase” has 11 well-crafted anthems. How does the song-writing process work for you as a band?

It’s different with every song. Some of the songs has been written by one person only and then we’ve worked on the arrangements together (“Kid for the Upperclass” in on example, Mia wrote that song). Other songs we’ve done based on a riff or a melody and we’re written it together (“The Crucifier”, “Shut Your Mouth”). So it’s different with every song really!

By the time this interview gets to you, the band will have just played the Sweden Rock Festival. How did it go?

Greaaaaat! It was fantastic, so many people and a really good crowd! We had a great time, I love that festival!

In July you are heading to Italy alongside Elvenking. That should be some good shows! How have you found the band’s reception in different countries? Have you a favourite?

Italy is really good for us and France is very good too. It’s been good from the beginning and it’s always so nice to come back, you feel like home!

You have also recently been booked for the Getaway Rock Festival in Sweden alongside bands such as Manowar, Saxon and Nightwish. What are your hopes for the festivals this year?

I really like that festival, it’s a bit smaller than Sweden Rock but a lot of cool bands are playing. So we’re gonna have a great show and then drink some beers and watch the other band, so it’ll be a fun night!!!

Finally, what is the next stage for the band? After all the touring this year is there a plan?

More touring, another album etc! This is what we love to do and we’ve just got started so you won’t get rid of us anytime soon!

Thanks for your time, we at Femme Metal wsih the band all the best for the rest of 2012.

Thank you! I wish you the same!!!!!!!

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Google Plus * Twitter * Site

Latest Multimedia

Hollywood Groupies – “Punched by Million, Hit by None” (2011)

Label : Nomadism Records

Review by Tony Cannella

Now for something just a little bit different. Hollywood Groupies is a Female Fronted glam metal band from Italy. On their debut album “Punched by Millions, Hit by None” fans can expect 30-minutes and 9-songs worth of hard driving, relentless music that boasts a mish-mash of different styles, from glam to punk to metal. Hanoi Rocks meets Motorhead is how I would describe them. With a playing time of only 30-minutes, there is simply no time to rest or catch your breath. From the opener “Babylon Hotel”, Hollywood Groupies comes out the starting gates all full of attitude and swagger, with vocalist Foxy Deville sounding almost like a female version of Vince Neil. Given the relatively short playing time on “Punched by Millions, Hit by None” don’t expect anything epic. Following the rip-roaring opening track the band follow that up with the, oh so subtle “Pretty Bitch”. Hollywood Groupies has definitely brought their brand of rock n’ roll back to basics, as can be heard on the songs “High Voltage Electric King”, “Crucified Love” and “Swallow This”. Whether you like this sort of thing or you don’t (and I’m guessing that reviews will be mixed), there is no denying the ferocity in which Hollywood Groupies plies their craft.

Rating – 70/100

Tracklist

1. Babylon Hotel
2. Pretty Bitch
3. High Voltage Electric King
4. Crucified Love
5. Thru the Fire
6. Good Girls Overload
7. Destroyer Commando
8. Swallow This
9. Carcrash 666 (Raw Version)

Line Up

• Foxy Deville – Vocals
• Kelly McCoy – Guitar
• Condor – Bass
• Ace – Drums

Links

MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter