The new TESTAMENT! My chat with Pomo Indian and heavy metal legend, Chuck Billy!

Testament is a band that truly needs no introduction. Since the mid-1980s, the Bay Area quintet has been the unyielding flag-bearer for highly-skilled, innovative and monstrously heavy thrash metal. With a catalogue featuring ten studio albums (including the 2001 collection of re-recordings, First Strike, Still Deadly), five live albums, a string of DVDs and a host of “best of” collections, it is impossible to deny the legacy of the band.

In early 2010, Testament is hitting the road with metal titans Megadeth and Slayer for what has been dubbed The American Carnage Tour. Before heading out, we managed to score some time with Testament’s imposing front man, the charismatic Chuck Billy. Read on, as we discuss the excitement of the tour, the importance of loyalty, and the value of family. [Feature can be found here!]

Discussing the ongoing relevance of PANTERA with Revolver Magazine's Jon Wiederhorn

It has been five years since the tragic passing of Pantera guitarist and chief songwriter Darrell Abbott AKA Dimebag Darrell. Every year since his death, metal and guitar-centric magazines pay tribute to his life and accomplishments with old interview clips, new interviews with surviving members of Pantera, and even anecdotes from fans.

This year, however, Revolver Magazine has taken things a step further and devoted an entire section of its latest issue to discussing the magical, perfect storm that went into the creation of Pantera’s 1992 breakthrough album, Vulgar Display of Power. Spearheaded by senior writer Jon Wiederhorn (whose additional credits include talent coordinator and panelist for AOL Noisecreep's "Creep Show' Podcast, Noisecreep writer, freelancer for Inked and Guitar World, former editor in chief of MTV's Headbanger's Ball Blog, and ex- associate editor at Rolling Stone), the magazine painstakingly compiled new interviews with everyone imaginable who had anything to do with the inception of the album to paint a living memorial to one of heavy metal’s iconic guitar personalities.

Read on as we sit down with Wiederhorn and discuss what it was that made Dimebag and Pantera such revolutionary entities. [Feature can be found here!]

Discussing vocals on soundtracks with AVATAR and IRON MAN 2 songstress Lisbeth Scott!

Although you may not know her by name, you surely have experienced the vocal talents of Lisbeth Scott. Called upon to be the featured vocalist by many of Hollywood’s most noteworthy film music composers, Scott’s mesmerizing voice has contributed to many Hollywood blockbusters, including both Chronicles of Narnia films, the first two Shrek movies, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Munich, King Kong, The Sixth Sense, and The Passion of the Christ. She has also been featured on high-rating television series, like CSI, ER, The Tudors, and True Blood.

Currently, Scott can be heard in two films in theaters – Guy Ritchie’s revamp of Sherlock Holmes, and James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar. She is also booked to lend her voice to 2010’s Iron Man 2, and has several other opportunities on the burner. Read on, as we get to know one of the “unsung” heroines of movie soundtrack canon. [Feature can be found here!]

Getting in the holiday spirit with A CHRISTMAS STORY soundtrack composer Carl Zittrer!

Christmas movie soundtracks are a rare commodity. Most are only in print for a very short span of time, to coincide with the movie’s original release or tied to a DVD release, and some have never even made the transition to a digital format. Even rarer are those iconic films that never, ever see an official soundtrack released. Until last month, a soundtrack for A Christmas Story simply did not exist in the retail industry.

However, thanks to the persistence of the film’s composers Carl Zittrer and Paul Zaza, in cooperation with Rhino Records and Turner Entertainment, a 20-song soundtrack to the late Bob Clark’s holiday hallmark is now finally available for movie fans to enjoy for years to come.

Read on, as composer and soundtrack producer Carl Zittrer illuminates us all about the extraordinary journey that was to become A Christmas Story! [The Story continues HERE]

My Encounter with an Academy Award Nominee: Discussing The Twilight Saga New Moon soundtrack with composer Alexandre Desplat!

It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to speak with an Academy Award nominee, let alone one who recently was the recipient of two World Soundtrack Awards. But for all his accolades, French film music composer Alexandre Desplat is a true artist, devoted wholly to his craft. If he is publicly acknowledged for his work, so be it. He accepts it humbly, and keeps his head buried in whatever project he undertakes.

With the release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, however, Desplat may find himself unintentionally metamorphosing from workhorse to rock star. Having delivered a score that ignites imagination and passion from its listeners, surely many more honors are in the cards.

He completed seven scores this year (Chéri, Coco avant Chanel, Un prophète, L'armée du crime, Julie & Julia, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the aforementioned New Moon) and he’s already got three in production for 2010…so far. How can someone possibly concentrate on such a work load when he is consistently offered awards?

It is here where our conversation begins…

It’s funny; I thought I would get better at it when I go up on stage to grab whatever award it is. But as I look out into the audience, I see people like Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Robert DeNiro, and Charlize Theron, I get so impressed and I ask myself, “What am I doing here???” I’m very humbled by it and very happy at the same time.

Do they affect you as a creative energy and the projects you take on?

The main thing there is to be inspired by film. That’s what drives me; that’s what I like; that’s my life. The rest is just an accident. You get an award or you don’t get an award, who cares? But if you make a great film, it’s fantastic, and it’s the best thing you could do if you find a great relationship with a director. Of course, the great thing about awards is that your name becomes more exposed. But I think the body of work that’s behind you is most important. Because if I did bad work and provided bad music for movies, I’m not sure I would get another call.


Read the full interview here!

Exclusive interview: Celebrating FRIDAY THE 13TH with soundtrack composer Harry Manfredini

Exclusive interview: Celebrating FRIDAY THE 13TH with soundtrack composer Harry Manfredini

Sexy Vampires, Homicidal Farm Children, and Ambient Prayers? Welcome to the world of composer Jonathan Elias!

Although you might not immediately recognize his name, you surely know his work. From the “Yahoooooooo!” jingle to the Columbia Pictures logo that precedes many movies, New York-born music composer Jonathan Elias is a staple of music in pop culture. One piece of his music even became an iconic standard in the homes of millions of people through the 1980s – the MTV “moon man” station ID clip! Since establishing his own company, Elias Arts in 1980, he has built a formidable empire of commercial and film trailer music.

He had also been nominated for a Grammy for his hybridized neo-classical / world / new age music project, American River. Elias spends whatever time allows to another passion, the creation of his Prayer Cycle music series, which culls notable musicians and celebrities from around the globe in a passionate musical and spoken word experience.

But there is another side to Elias…a darker side. In 1984, the man who had helped make MTV a household name struck fear into the hearts of moviegoers, when he created the musical landscape for the Stephen King thriller Children of the Corn. The combination of choirs, gentle synthesizers, and the unassuming visuals of a cornfield made pulses race, and caused people to think twice before stepping onto a farm, in much the same fashion that John Williams and Steven Spielberg gave people Thalassophobia (fear of the sea and oceans) a mere decade before.

Read my full interview with Jonathan Elias here!