Hanna Tsepesh: Hello Razor! Thanks so much for accepting this interview and Welcome to THE GATES OF METAL! For those who do not know Metal Knights could tell us a little how it all started?
Razor: Thanks Hanna! It is a pleasure to talk with you and all the readers of THE GATES OF METAL! METAL KNIGHTS started in late 2006 as an idea that I had for a truly unique band that had a total image of three things in life I love, Metal Music, Medieval History and 3D artwork and animation! It was a great idea I thought to meld these 3 loves into one thing, and I was very inspired by my good friend Rudy Sarzo of DIO, who also is a 3D animator as well as one of the world’s greatest musicians. Both of us kind of see eye to eye on Music meeting animation and I’d say we are very passionate about merging the two together. So that is how the idea for the band came about. We went through some changes in the beginning stages finding the right players, and eventually it was our drummer Dave Krause and me that reformed the band from scratch to the line up that we have today, which we feel is very solid.
Hanna Tsepesh: What are the inspirations to create the lyrics? The band writes the lyrics first or first the band creates the riffs and the melody to comply with the lyrics?
Razor: Usually we come up with a riff and then I usually come up with a name for a song, or an idea for a song title about something I’d like to write about, such as our new song THE ENFORCER, it is about a Dark Knight charged by God to come down to earth and basically take care of all the evil doers and send them to hell. It seemed to fit with the theme of the band and has a real visual set of lyrics, which I am really into. Then once we have the basic structure of the song in a demo form, I’ll start working on a melody or the guys will come up with one, we all contribute, but I write most of the lyrics which is what I as a singer feel I can contribute most to the talent pool that is the band.
Hanna Tsepesh: What are your favorite bands? You have any singer that you admire the most?
Razor: For me personally, it would be Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, and Saxon. Most of the early founders of British style Metal. As to vocalists that inspired me, I would say for sure Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio, they both have not only incredible voices but their lyric writing is so top notch! Combine the two and I’d have to say it is a tie.
Hanna Tsepesh: I would like to know if you had or have any singing lessons or any other preparation?
Razor: Yes, I was lucky to have a mother that was a professional singer, and so I grew up around singing all my life. At seven years old I did a play called OLIVER where I had the lead role. That really sparked an interest in me and a love of the stage. I saw that there was this connection with the audience, even at that early age, that I could use my voice to make people feel emotion. When I sang the song “Where is love” from that show, people would cry! I thought that was really magical that you could have that kind of control over an audience. Then after High School, when I headed up for Hollywood, I started seeing one of the best vocal coaches I think ever, that was Elizabeth Sabine. She had techniques for teaching Metal vocalists how to really get the most out of themselves, and I think it was there that the foundation for the way I sing now was laid.
Hanna Tsepesh: I make a little research about you and I read that you also work at Ocean Visual FX and RUDE DAWG PRODUCTIONS and you are the executive producer, right? Can you talk about your work for our readers know you a little bit more?
Razor: Yes, I started Ocean Visual FX in 2005 and then Rudy Sarzo and I started RUDE DAWG PRODUCTIONS a short time after. I have worked in the Visual FX and 3D Animation world since 1995. It is a fascinating field that is always growing and getting better. Very great way for a totally creative person like myself to do just that, be creative!
Hanna Tsepesh: Metal Knights have a new album call “World Of Forever”. For people who don’t listen yet can you talk about this new album and what is the band want to accomplish?
Razor: WORLD OF FOREVER is our new CD that is the follow up to our first release THE CROSSING. WORLD OF FOREVER is Produced by Craig Goldy of DIO and we’re very proud of what has taken shape with this new album. Craig was great to work with, he is very devoted to making sure that things sound as best they can, and he even makes a couple guest appearances on the album on the title track and on THE GATES OF HELL (Hope Springs Infernal). We wanted to really take our sound that had developed over the last couple years and take it to the next level, and I think we have accomplished that. We’re proud of what we have created and of course as any good musician will tell you, always trying to better ourselves and push ourselves to make things better and make our sound expand each time we sit down and write. The other thing that we are really looking for now is to get out and tour, tour, tour!
Hanna Tsepesh: Everything went well at recording studio? The band feels proud with the final result or you think that miss something?
Razor: No, I think we covered everything that we set out too! It was not an easy process; I don’t think any metal band would ever admit that the writing and recording process is a slam dunk! It takes time and patience to create what becomes really the bands child! The recording process went pretty smooth, the mixing took a while because Craig is such a perfectionist, and I think it shows. He was constantly coming up with ideas on how to better something as any great producer would or should do. And yes, we are proud of what we have created with WORLD OF FOREVER.
Hanna Tsepesh: How has the response been to the album by the media and fans?
Razor: Thankfully the first reviews have been great! We’re very happy that people seem to get the sound of and idea of what METAL KNIGHTS is all about! You know, you get to a point where you work and work and perfect your “Child” and then it is time to set it free and hope it flies! It seems to be spreading its wings, we have gotten requests for the new CD from the press from all over the world, and countries neither I nor the rest of the band thought would ever want it! Russia, Bulgaria, then of course we seem to have some great fans in places like Italy, Germany, England, Japan, South America, I mean you name it, we have had requests for the CD for the music press, which really has overwhelmed us but this is now a full time job on a lot of fronts, so its all worth it, and we are very happy the fans are getting it too! We constantly get hit to come to places like Italy and the UK and we are very much looking forward to that!
Hanna Tsepesh: If one of our readers wants to buy your album safely, what they can do?
Razor: Well, we are in talks right now, our management and a record label about a release date and deal, so until then people can just check out our MySpace to get a listen and feel for it. But soon, we’ll have a release date and we and I am sure the label, will make sure the world knows!
Hanna Tsepesh: what is your favorite music in this album and why?
Razor: I’d say some of my favorite songs on the new album are LAST GOODBYES which one of our lead guitar players Paul Calder wrote; it really has a great feel and gets the audience going live. I also really dig the title track WORLD OF FOREVER! Love the way the lyrics turned out, it really tells a mystical story I feel, and then The ENFORCER, which was a last minute addition to the song list, I and Paul had talked about writing something for the new album and he came up with this music for it really fast! I was blown away, when I heard it, I just went right into lyric writing mode and came up with the idea of THE ENFORCER being this Knight on a mission from God. It kind of fell into place pretty fast, and it tells a really cool story I think that Metal fans will all get.
Hanna Tsepesh: The band is thinking about a European tour? You guys have plans to include Portugal in your tour or something?
Razor: We would LOVE to play there! Anywhere in Europe that will have us, we would love to play! I know several of the guys in the band LOVE the women of Portugal! We getting there will be a matter of after the label signing and the promoters, but of course we would love to come!
Hanna Tsepesh: Do you want to send any message for the people who going to read this interview?
Razor: Absolutely! This band has come a long way in a short time in the relative nature of this business. And it is because of the fans around the world that keep requesting our music and asking about when we are coming to play in their town or city and we truly appreciate that! The people that listen to our music are the ones that really put the Medieval vibe back in Metal. We are just the translators of that! Thanks to everyone! And Thanks to our management Hunt Talent Management, and its head, our manager Tammy Hunt for really seeing the potential in this band and giving it her all. We would not be where we are right now without her!
Hanna Tsepesh: Thanks so much for your answers and time. THE GATES OF METAL wishes the entire band a great success with “World Of Forever”! We hope to see Metal Knights very soon in here…
Razor: Thanks so much Hanna and we really do look forward to coming over to not only Portugal one day but all of Europe and bringing the Crusade of Heavy Metal back!
Hanna Tsepesh: Thank you Razor and you are very welcome! We really hope that too! All the best...
By: Hanna Tsepesh
To listen to some METAL KNIGHTS songs and for future information’s go at:
www.myspace.com/metalknightsmusic
www.themetalknights.com/
