Welcome to the DARKSIDE, here's your cookie!

            ADEPT!!!

Swedish metalcore band Adept has been in the game for some time now, since 2004 to be exact. Yet it wasn't until their latest album release, Another Year Of Disaster, that these guys hit the scene for real. Singer Robert Ljung, with his soaring vocals and bloodcurdling growls, takes these melodic tunes to another level. And with guitar riffs from another world, this is one band to check out. With an already solid fanbase streched around the world, their music is destinctly nordic, and straight forward. No shittin around. 

A well known fact, Sweden has produced great musicians for years. A band of fairly young men, bursting with energy, and the will to write supreme songs, such as recently released video for SHARK!SHARK!SHARK! As for the rest of the album, released February 4th 2009, the whole thing portrays a band with renewed power, and demonstrates why metal, and the swedish kind in particular, is so appealing. With much respect and recognition to their predecessors, they are still the band that spend massive effort and time to generate their own identity. Both soundwise and on the stage. Speaking of the latter, touring has played a large part in the last two years for the party-hardy fellas. With extencive song writing aswell, their live shows have been one after the other, and with characteristic in-your-face energy and the sence of merging with their audience. Interaction between the two, fans and artists, is magnificent. The enthusiasm with witch they perform is so vast, it easily spreads throughout the entire room, much like the funk that this mass of talented musicians and devoted fans creates.

But in the end, there is nothing more engaging than people who love what they do, and make no mistake about it, these guys love, LOVE, their shit. And they do it well.

After another crazy year on the road and a fantastic response from mainland Europe, BRING ME THE HORIZON head out in Oct and Nov 08 for their biggest Euro and UK headline tour yet, in support of their forthcoming sophomore album 'SUICIDE SEASON' released Sept/Oct 2008.

BMTH EUROPE 08
w/The Red Shore, Deez Nuts, Ignominious Incarceration

    01.10.2008 - France, Nantes Le Ferrailleur
    02.10.2008 - France, Paris Trabendo
    03.10.2008 - Germany, M?nster Sputnikhalle
    04.10.2008 - Germany, Karlsruhe Substage
    05.10.2008 - Belgium, Hasselt Muziek-o-droom
    06.10.2008 - Germany, Hamburg Logo/Uebel & Gef?hrlich
    07.10.2008 - Germany, Berlin Columbia Club
    08.10.2008 - Germany, Leipzig Conne Island
    09.10.2008 - Austria, Wien Arena
    10.10.2008 - Italy, Bologna Estragon
    11.10.2008 - Germany, M?nchen Feierwerk
    12.10.2008 - Switzerland, Z?rich Abart
    13.10.2008 - Germany, K?ln Underground
    14.10.2008 - Holland, Amsterdam Melkweg

BMTH UK 08
Oct 16-19 – BMTH, The Legacy, Deez Nuts, Dead Swans
Oct 19- Nov 3 – BMTH, The Secret Handshake, Deez Nuts, Dead Swans

    16/10/2008: Academy, Newcastle, UK
    17/10/2008: Fat Sam's, Dundee, UK
    18/10/2008: Garage, Glasgow, UK
    19/10/2008: Sugarmill, Stoke Newington, UK
    20/10/2008: Academy, Sheffield, UK
    21/10/2008: Academy, Oxford, UK
    22/10/2008: Rock City, Nottingham, UK
    23/10/2008: Waterfront, Norwich, UK
    24/10/2008: Academy, Liverpool, UK
    25/10/2008: Central Station, Wrexham, UK
    26/10/2008: Concorde 2, Brighton, UK
    27/10/2008: Cockpit, Leeds, UK
    28/10/2008: Ifwor Bach, Cardiff, UK
    29/10/2008: Orange Box, Yeovil, UK
    30/10/2008: Academy, Bristol, UK
    31/10/2008: University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
    01/11/2008: Astoria, London, UK
    02/11/2008: Academy, Manchester, UK
    03/11/2008: Academy, Birmingham, UK

Provisional release date for the album is now 29th Sept for Digital Download and 6th Oct 08 for Physical release. Some confirmed track titles are Chelsea Smile, The Comedown and Football Season Is Over.

The band have also started a blog, so head on over to www.bmthisdope.blogspot.com to get news and updates direct from the boys.

Enter now for your chance to win a 1GB Silver iPod Shuffle pre-loaded with ALL of DRIVE A's music!

TO ENTER:

1) Add DRIVE A as a Myspace friend.

2) Place DRIVE A in your "Top Friends" section -OR- grab any of the banners or widgets on DRIVE A's profile page and add them somewhere on your profile.*

3) Post a comment on www.myspace.com/DriveA letting us know that you have added the DRIVE A content to your profile and that you want the iPod (so we know to check out your page)!

THE WINNERS:

One grand prize winner, selected at random from qualified entries, will win a 1GB Silver iPod Shuffle pre-loaded with DRIVE A’s music. The grand prize winner will also receive a DRIVE A t-shirts and other DRIVE A promotional materials.

Two second-place winners will receive a DRIVE A t-shirts and other DRIVE A promotional materials.

The contest will end on May 15th, 2008 at 3pm est.

*DRIVE A's banners/top friend must be present on your profile until the end of the contest. May 15th, 2008 at 3pm est, for you to be eligible for the prize.

"Ghost Opera" reissue to include bonus features

Kamelot will reissue it's classic "Ghost Opera" album on March 28 (Germany), March 31 (rest of Europe) and April 8 (USA/Canada) under the title of Ghost Opera - The Second Coming, enhanced with lots of interesting features. The album will be released as a double CD limited edition slipcase design. This sophisticated and comprehensive package includes the CD featuring all the songs from the regular album, plus ten additional live tracks recorded live in Belgrade, Serbia during the band's 2007 World Tour, plus the bonus tracks Season's End, The Pendulous Fall, Epilogue and the remix of Rule the World. Additionally the two videos for The Human Stain and Memento Mori (live) and on top of that, the package features new artwork and a comprehensive booklet.

Ghost Opera - The Second Coming track listing:

CD 1: Ghost Opera
01. Solitaire
02. Rule the World
03. Ghost Opera
04. The Human Stain
05. Blücher
06. Love You to Death
07. Up Through the Ashes
08. Mourning Star
09. Silence of the Darkness
10. Anthem
11. EdenEcho
12. Memento Mori (enhanced video: Live in Belgrade, Serbia)
13. The Human Stain (enhanced video)

CD 2: Live in Belgrade
01. Solitaire
02. Ghost Opera
03. The Human Stain
04. Mourning Star
05. When the Lights Are Down
06. Abandoned
07. The Haunting (with Simone Simons/EPICA)
08. Memento Mori
09. Epilogue
10. March of Mephisto
Studio cuts:
11. Season's End
12. The Pendulous Fall
13. Epilogue
14. Rule the World (remix)

Hey Everyone,

Happy 2008!!

It's only January and the FCC and I have hit the ground running; We will be
on tour beginning February 11th through April 20th. Along the way we be
rejoining our good friends the Foo Fighters on a string of shows in through
the US. See below for all confirmed tour dates.

We are finishing up the new music video for "Sky Is Over" which is going to be the next single off Elect The Dead. It was co-directed by Tony Petrossian (who directed my "Empty Walls" video) and Ara Jason Soudjian (who directed the indie music video for "Money"). Here is a little look at some behind the scenes footage from the video shoot.
Sky Is Over behind the scenes

Ultimate Guitar is exclusively premiering the indie music video for "Beethoven's Cunt". You can check out the video by clicking
Here

I will be doing an EXCLUSIVE interview with members of the SerjTankian.com message board. There are some guidelines, please check it out.
Ask Serj

Last but not least the first 20 people to purchase any merchandise item in
the Serj Tankian web store will receive a signed 17" X 11" Elect the Dead poster.
Serj Tankian Web Store


Serj Tankian Solo Headlining Dates:

Feb 11 Atlanta, GA @ Roxy Theatre
Buy Tix Here

Feb 12 Charlotte, NC @ Amos's South End
Buy Tix Here

Feb 13 Richmond, VA @ Toadπs Place
Buy Tix Here

Feb 15 Norfolk, VA @ Norva
Buy Tix Here

Feb 16 Baltimore, MD @ Ramπs Head Live!
Buy Tix Here


Foo Fighters Support Dates:

Feb 18 Worcester, MA @ The Centrum
Buy Tix Here

Feb 19 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Buy Tix Here

Feb 21 Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
Buy Tix Here

Feb 22 Binghamton, NY, @ SUNY Gym
Buy Tix Here

Feb 24 Detroit, MI, @ Joe Louis Arena
Buy Tix Here

Feb-25 Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
Buy Tix Here

Feb 27 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Buy Tix Here

Feb 28 Council Bluffs, IA, @ Mid-America Center
Buy Tix Here

Mar 02 Phoenix, AZ, @ Jobing.com Arena
Buy Tix Here

Mar 03 San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena
Buy Tix Here

Mar 05 Los Angeles, CA, @ The Forum
Buy Tix Here

Mar 06 Los Angeles, CA, @ The Forum
Buy Tix Here


Serj Tankian Solo Headlining Dates:

Mar 08 San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
Tix On Sale on Jan 27 @ 10am

Mar 10 Portland, OR, @ Roseland Theatre
TIX ON SALE FEB 2ND

Mar 11 Seattle, WA, @ Showbox SoDo
Tix On Sale on Jan 26 @ 10am

Mar 15 Calgary, AB, @ MacEwan Hall
TIX ON SALE ON FEB 1ST

Mar 16 Edmonton, AB, @ Edmonton Event Centre
TIX ON SALE FEB 1ST

Mar 19 Salt Lake City, UT, @ In The Venue
Tix
On Sale on Jan 26 @ 10am

Mar 21 Denver, CO, @ Ogden Theatre
TIX ON SALE ON FEB 1ST


Serj Tankian European Dates:

Apr 01 Glasgow, Scotland @ ABC
Buy Tix Here

Apr 02 Liverpool, UK @ Carling Academy Liverpool
Buy Tix Here

Apr 03 London, UK @ Forum
Buy Tix Here

Apr 06 Birmingham, UK @ Carling Academy - Birmingham
Buy Tix Here

Apr 08 Hamburg, Germany @ Docks
Buy Tix Here

Apr 09 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Amager Bio
Buy Tix Here

Apr 10 Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle
Buy Tix Here

Apr 11 Warsaw, Poland @ Stodola Club
Buy Tix Here

Apr 13 Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
Buy Tix Here

Apr 14 Filderstadt, Germany @ Filharmonie
Buy Tix Here

Apr 15 Zurich, Switzerland @ Volkshaus
Buy Tix Here

Apr 17 Milano, Italy @ Alcatraz
Buy Tix Here

Apr 18 Strasbourg, France @ Festival Artefacts
Buy Tix Here

Apr 19 Bourges, France @ Printemps de Bourges Festival, Palais dπOron
Buy Tix Here

Apr 20 Lille, France @ Festival Les Paradis Artificiels
Buy Tix Here

Peace,
Serj

And so Christmas time is just around the corner.

Many of us still haven’t figured out what to get all these people we care about for Christmas. But let’s not worry about all that just yet.

When the season that warms my heart the most, is lurking here and there, I like to watch the surroundings change. And the people too. Folks around are smiling, and exchanging kind words or phrases. They all seem to me more cheerful already.
Soon the first snow will fall, and all will be covered in white. A time of peace and serenity. Christmas shopping is far from mind as I sit down by the big window and think to myself, whilst watching the snow gracefully descend to the ground.

Sooner or later we’ll have to dress those trees.
         


 And wrap those gifts.

And last,but not least (my personal favourite) set the Chirstmas Table.
                      

But until then….. just take your mind off it. 
               

How a Pudgy TV Addict from Miami Became the Most Hated Man in Hollywood

Written by: Erik Hedegaard

As a child, Mario Lavandeira spent most of his time in bed, watching TV. He watched Friends, Melrose Place, She-Ra, He-Man, G.I. Joe, The Wuzzles, Snorks, Transformers, Thundercats, The Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, the talk shows, the soaps and all the MTV he could. He glued himself to the tube for hours on end, usually dressed in just a T-shirt and shorts. His parents allowed this. He didn't even have to get up for dinner. His dad, who hung wallpaper for a living, delivered Mario's meals to him on a tray. He may have been picked on at school, because he was chubby and effeminate, but in bed he was top dog. Nobody pinched the fat on his back there. He was in charge. It's part of what made his childhood so special, so delightful, so memorable, so fun.

In the future, though, what would become of a child such as Mario? In fact, what should become of a child such as Mario? His mom thought he'd make a good lawyer. The way it turned out, Mario came out of the closet, changed his name, dyed his hair, gussied himself up, glued himself not to a TV but to his laptop and became Perez Hilton, of perezhilton.com, which draws about 7 million visitors every day to see what the self-styled Queen of All Media, twenty-nine years old, is up to now.

What he does with his blog mainly is scrawl nasty, snarky comments on pictures of young Hollywood-type celebrities — Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie — and hand-doodle suspicious-looking little white dots around their noses, mouths and nether regions. It's lowest-common-denominator stuff, totally debasing, totally now, totally like he's getting even with those kids who pinched the fat on his back, and it's turned him into a sensation. He's got a book deal. His chubby cheeks, pointy teeth and obnoxious-gay mannerisms have enlivened shows like The View. When he reports that Fidel Castro is dead, legitimate news outlets take him seriously (for a second). He's being sued by DJ Samantha Ronson for $20 million, for calling her a "toxic," no-good friend to Lindsay Lohan — a true sign of arrival. Also, he's been banned from the Chateau Marmont for no reason other than on general principle. ("Hey, I love that kind of thing," he says. "It means I'm doing something right!") More recently, he got his own reality series on VH1, called What Perez Sez, about him hobnobbing with celebs. In fact, he's become one of them now — a star, influential and to be reckoned with. The first episode boosted ratings among eighteen- to forty-nine-year-olds by 112 percent and featured Hilton teaching sweetie-pie singer Mandy Moore how to grind on a stripper pole — and maybe she should run her tongue along the pole while she's at it.

So it's been a crazy, wondrous, topsy-turvy time for the former Mario Lavandeira, and he probably deserves a break right about now. But that's not how he operates. He's got his blog to maintain. Today, for instance, he's working inside his Los Angeles apartment, flopped in a low-slung chair, laptop balanced on his dimpled knees, searching for content. He does this nineteen hours a day. He checks his e-mail constantly and flits from one site to another, hoping against hope that the next sight he sees is a fresh picture of, say, Lindsay Lohan all coked up and slitty-eye wasted. Of course, sometimes he has to leave his place to attend an event or a party. But he'd rather not. He'd rather stay right where he is, wearing the same uniform he wore as a TV-loving kid, shorts and a T-shirt. As for his meals, since he has no dad around anymore, he has them delivered by a diet-food outfit.

"I just love what I do," he says during a break in the action. "I think it's so exciting. Celebrities are just so crazy. They live in these bubbles and surround themselves with enablers. I love it. They are just so much fun. And I'm all about the fun. That's one of my mottoes: Just have fun. And if it's not fun, make it fun. Follow the fun, create the fun, be all about having fun."

That noted, he goes back to work. Pretty soon, he's put a bunch of new stuff up on his site. There's a picture of The Hills' Lauren Conrad, known in Perezland as "Beef Curtains," with some white dots around her nose. Of Tara Reid, with the caption WHEN WE THINK OF TARA REID WE THINK OF VODKA AND YEAST INFECTIONS. Of Jessica Simpson, with a crudely drawn penis aimed at her face. She's sporting some of those dots too, looping out of her mouth.

Like Perez says, fun!

One sunny, warm southern California day, Hilton has no choice but to grunt a few times, struggle out of his chair, pack up his laptop, toss a few items into his shiny vinyl Hello Kitty tote and head off to the Burbank airport. Having attained celebrity status himself, he's been hired by a club at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas as its featured attraction. His hair is hot orchid-pink. He wears black jeans, black sneakers and a colorful hoodie. His voice ranges from pretty loud to incredibly loud. Six months ago, he was living in a crummy apartment, no TV, no Internet, and blogging out of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset Boulevard. His new pad is in a gated community. His old car died, so he now drives a 2007 Toyota Camry. He won't say how much he's making from his site, but $250,000 a year is probably a conservative estimate. In other words, he's getting plenty rich and famous off the misfortunes and travails of others.

Today, his take on Lindsay Lohan is, "She's a little crazy and on drugs. Maybe the drugs make her crazy. I don't know." His take on Avril Lavigne is, "She's a douche." His take on Rumer Willis is, "She's a douche too." His take on Jennifer Aniston is, "I hate her." His take on Paris Hilton is — well, he doesn't offer one, they're friends. His take on Sienna Miller is, "I call her Sluttienna." His take on Tara Reid is, "She's trying to be sober now. Fuck that shit!"

Of course, Hilton does have some nice things to say, such as, "Amy Winehouse is a dear, dear friend." He's also fond of Madonna, Oprah, Angelina and Brad.

But then it's back to business as usual. "I've written about Britney Spears more than about anyone else, by far," he says. "I used to be the biggest Britney fan. Unlike the Nicole Richies or whoever, she really is talented. In her prime, she could sell it like no other. Then to see everything that's happened, I feel lied to and cheated, like that girl I used to know and love wasn't the real deal. It was all an act. And this is the real Britney. And the real Britney is stupid. Like stupid stupid. A dumb, druggie, awful bitch."

Hilton's take on what he does is, "I'm entertaining and informing, satirizing yet celebrating. It's how I express myself. If I couldn't do it, it'd be like my tongue was ripped out. I think I'm making the world a better place. I think what I do is good. I think what I do is noble."

His take on himself is, "I'm not a celebrity. These days, a celebrity is someone who is famous just for being famous. It's got negative connotations. I'm an entertainer, I'm a worker, I'm a busy bee, dripping honey everywhere."

Much of what there is to know about how Hilton got here is already the stuff of legend. He moved to New York when he was eighteen, attended NYU's theater program on a full scholarship, embraced his homosexuality for the first time, moved to Los Angeles after graduation, got fired from two jobs, returned to New York, was hired to write crap at Star magazine, hated it, fell into a deep depression, thought about killing himself ("I was going to slit my wrist, or take pills, or shoot myself, or jump off a building. I thought about it every day"), was fired by Star and then began working full time on a hobby gossip blog that he'd started and named pagesixsixsix.com, after the famous New York Post gossip page. He was still Mario Lavandeira back then. In 2005, however, the Post sued him, and he chose a new name to go by: Perez Hilton, marrying his Latino heritage to the world's most famous do-nothing rich girl. He rechristened his blog perezhilton.com. Around that time, The Insider named his site "Hollywood's most hated Web site." The world being what it is, that's all it took. He was on the map and moving fast.

About Mario, however, not so much is known. The most that usually gets printed is that his parents are Cuban, he grew up in Miami, he attended an all-boys Jesuit high school and he left town as soon as he could. That's about it. And Hilton likes it that way. "I started living the life I chose when I left Miami," he says. "Anything before the age of eighteen doesn't matter. From eighteen on, that's when I started to be myself, to be out, be gay, go see plays, date and do things like that." And yet what kind of kid was Mario, besides being a TV-watching, bed-loving freak? Hilton is pretty tight-lipped about it, but over time a few details emerge. He didn't like to go outside. He never mowed the lawn. He would have liked to have gone fishing with his dad, but that never happened. He didn't have much in common with the other kids. His mother gossiped. By age seven, Mario already knew he was gay. He was scared of the ocean and what might be in it — sea monsters and sharks, especially. In his own house, he was afraid of the toilet, fearing that some hand could rise up from the bowl, get a grip on his porky butt and haul him away. In a similar vein, between the ages of four and eight, he pooped his pants three or four times, unexpectedly, unwillingly, unhappily and so traumatically that he remembers each instance to this day. His father, the man who had brought him his dinner so many times and had allowed him so many hours of uninterrupted Diff'rent Strokes-viewing pleasure, died when Mario was fifteen. It didn't faze him too much. "I just avoided the whole mourning process," he says. "It was summer, and I had an office-assistant job. So I went back to work. That's what I do. I just don't let things bother me. I had a happy childhood. I lived in my own little fantasy world. My childhood was fun."

On the plane to Las Vegas, Hilton falls asleep instantly, a copy of Us Weekly (his favorite) rising and falling on his chest, one of his fanglike teeth poking out from between dry red lips. He usually doesn't dream, so he probably isn't dreaming, but if he was, it'd probably be about Britney. Nobody is more central to Hilton's success than Britney. She provides him with endless fodder. In fact, it's safe to say, no Britney, no Perez.

He has a fantasy about her. In this fantasy, Britney has been paid lots of money to host a big club event. It's packed. The press is there. Britney is doing lots of drugs. She passes out. An ambulance takes her to the hospital. For the next two weeks, she's in a coma. Outside the hospital, there are "vigils, prayer circles and all that stuff." Finally, she comes out of her coma and vows to do better with her life. The point of the fantasy is, those two weeks with Britney in a coma are Hilton's idea of heaven: "Oh, my God, such a great story. I love it."

Chances are, if you're a celebrity like Britney, and Hilton doesn't like you, you don't like him either. Tara Reid and Nicole Richie have both had cross words with him. Desperate Housewives gardener Jesse Metcalfe went up to Hilton in a club and said, "Do you know how many times I've fantasized about killing you?" For the most part, he doesn't care: "If you don't like what I'm writing, don't read it. It's that simple." A good portion of the gay community also has it in for him, primarily because he tends to out anyone he thinks needs outing without a second thought. He did it to Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris. He's done it to others. Personally, he can't understand what the fuss is about. "Why is it OK for the mainstream media to talk about the secret relationship between Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, and not OK for me to talk about secret gay relationships? I don't get it."

The plane enters a pocket of turbulence and starts banging around. The attendants are ordered to take their seats. A few people look pale. Hilton looks pale too, and pasty, but that's how he always looks. He's still asleep, untroubled by the commotion around him. If he were awake, though, he'd say it was fun. Even if the plane were going down, he'd probably say that. It's the way he is. That's the man he has become. In his mind, it's all fun, and if you don't like it, tough beans, go get on another plane. Oh, you can't? Well, that's your problem, not his.

At the Wynn, Hilton goes to his room and squirrels himself away there for the next twenty-five and a half hours. Once he changes back into his shorts and T-shirt, he doesn't change again until the next evening. He blogs for a while, then orders dinner: an Italian deli plate full of meat and cheese, a shrimp quesadilla, a tortellini meal, truffle mashed potatoes, a Coke and crème caramel for dessert. Digging in, he says, "I don't like being a fat cow, but it's OK, because I love to eat, and whatever I love, I like to do a lot. What I don't understand is why I don't take better care of myself. At some point, I've got to commit to me."

He gets up and ambles around the room. It's huge, with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out upon a wide expanse of romantic Las Vegas lights.

"I've got to go tinkle," he says.

Returning, he takes a seat on the couch and says, "I don't care that I don't have a boyfriend at the moment. I'm not one of those people that feels like you need one to be complete. At the same time, I do say negative things to myself, like, 'You're fat and unworthy of being loved.' One reason I don't want a relationship now is I don't want to get naked with someone, because I feel really fat and unsexy."

He sighs. The way he's talking, he seems to be Mario now, not Perez.

"I don't masturbate that much, either," he goes on. "I do it at least once a week. But I should do it more. It's not the worst thing. Whatever."

Then he gets back to being Perez and, as Perez, he says that he's not about to say what those white dots are that he so likes to doodle on his site. Some people think they're sperm, or snot, or pee. "They are whatever you want them to be," he says. "I call them love. Love is what I call them." He's silent for a moment, thinking. "You know what? So what if some people hate Perez. I don't care. I go to sleep at night really well. For one thing, I'm a character. Perez is the one to tear people down. For another, at first I thought it was really lame to go out and call myself Perez. Now, I embrace it. Perez has brought me opportunity," he says. "Perez has made my life better."

<BR><A href="http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16928530/perez_hilton_the_queen_of_mean">Click here to read in original form</A> <BR>
<BR>

We got stuck in traffic for far too long. I kept calling Matt (who was patiently waiting with the other press at the venue) and saying, "Dude. We're so close. Seriously. We'll be there soon." Over an hour later, we pulled up at the venue. Since the label was also setting up a merch booth I dove out of the car, asked a parking attendant where the loading dock was and directed my friend towards it as I ran straight at the press area. I charged in the room, sweating, out of breath, still half drunk. So, I sit down and watch Gerard and Frank from My Chemical Romance take hauls of their American cigarettes just outside the window. I am salivating at the sight, having craved a cigarette for the entire excruciatingly long drive here. They eventually begin making their way inside. I'm sweating and nervous. This is my first interview and I have been listening to their new record, "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" repeatedly for the last two weeks. (Partially because I am too lazy to change the CD in the morning, in my often hung-over stupor, and partially because I dig the songs.)

So, the boys walk in and they look like normal dudes. Little to no makeup, jeans, t-shirts, hoodies. I calm a little as we shake hands and introduce ourselves. I try to explain the thesis of truth.explosion as they nod in agreement.

Truth.Explosion: Hey guys. Thanks for sitting down with us. Now that you understand what truth.explosion is about, what experience do you want to share?

My Chemical Romance: Well, we did a CMJ show in New York for our old label, Eyeball Records. And it just so happens that Keith Morris, who used to sing in Black Flag and Circle Jerks, was there. So, he came to the show and he came up to... I think it was you...

TE: He just walked up to you, randomly?

MCR: Well, we had heard that he was there. So onstage I think I kinda called him out. I was like, "I heard somebody from Black Flag was here tonight, this one's for you!" and, you know, that was a really good show and I remember I hurt my neck real bad, it was destroyed. and, (later) he walks up and we all immediately stand up and (Keith's) all like, "No, no, sit down." and we're like, "No, no dude." and he's like, "I'm Keith" and we're all just like, "Holy shit!" so, that was our first meeting and we hung out a little bit that night...

TE: Were you weirded out at all? Like, sitting there with a man who had so much to do with the music you grew up listening to?

MCR: It was so bad, I couldn't even talk to him, I was just like, "Uhhhh..."

TE: So, then what happened? Did you see him again?

MCR: Well, then we went to LA to make our record and one night we're at a convenience store buying cigarettes and Keith happened to be there.

TE: Another encounter...

MCR: Yeah, I was actually there with my girlfriend at the time and we were getting gas. I go in to pay and there's this little dude with long dreads and he's buying like, peanuts or something and he's going out the door, and I corner him and I was just like, "oh... uhh.. Keith!" and he's like, "uhh... what?" I was just like, "Dude, I really hope you remember me. I'm Frank, I'm in this band, My Chemical Romance, we're out here recording." and the only thing I remember getting out of my mouth was, "Would you please sing on our record?" and he was like, "Sure, look me up in the phone book."

TE: The phone book? That's weird...

MCR: I know, I felt like a creepy band guy.

TE: Oh you're not?

MCR: At the time, I don't even think he remembered meeting us. He was kind of in diabetic shock or something...

TE: Haha. Diabetic shock? Are you serious?

MCR: He was like, " I gotta go eat... so... " and, I was like, "Whoa, well, can I get your number?" and he was like, "I'm in the phone book." and I told him, "I don't have a phone book, so just write it down." so, he writes it down, I basically forced him to do it. And I call him the next week, and I'm like, "We're recording at this studio on 57th, it's not that far from where you live, um, you should come out and do some stuff." and he's like, alright fine. We set it up, he showed up. And, I remember lunch was coming soon and I was like, "Yo, whatever you wanna eat..." So we're sitting there and he orders one of everything on the menu. Every kind of Chinese food. That's what he wanted. He just wanted Chinese food. And we're like, "Alright..."

So we sat down, I was in the vocal booth with him, and I wrote down some stuff we wanted him to do, and he would do it, and I would just be sitting there with my eyes wide open and he would be like, "Yeah? Or no? Do you want me to do it again?" and I would just be like, "Oh, yeah, that's fine." I didn't want to be like, oh, no, do that again or whatever. So, finally we get into the swim of things I started being like, "Oh, yeah, do that again, do this more like this." and I couldn't believe I was like, coaching Keith Morris...

TE: So who was actually in control?

MCR: Well, I was in the control room and, literally, they had me pressing the buttons, like the call-back button and stuff. And it was like this huge deal. I mean, I don't even think they knew who he was. And we're like, freaking out, and they couldn't understand why we were freaking out. I'm hitting callback, like, "Uh...you might want to try that again Keith... sir."

TE: That's insane. I can't even imagine what that must have felt like.

MCR: (Laughing) Then he starts telling jokes.

TE: Tell me you recorded them?

MCR: Yeah, we started recording, and it was just fucking incredible.

TE: Did any of the jokes end up anywhere?

MCR: During one song he just told a story about him and his dad at a truck stop and that's actually in the song; underlying.

TE: I will listen for that.

MCR: So, then we just sat down and the Chinese food came. And, honestly, there was a table like the size of this room just full of Chinese food. And he's a small guy, he just opens all the containers, and says, "Everybody dig in."

TE: Just a complete dude...

MCR: He was just a dude. Like, a little dude. And he's eating little bits and then told us about his movie he's writing and so many great stories and it felt like we just learned so much for probably an hour. And that, that probably was one of the best experiences the band had. For the band, like as far as vans blowing up and shit, that doesn't happen as often. We are very lucky like that.

TE: Are you still touring in a van? Haven't you moved up in the world yet?

MCR: The last van we had died finally so now we're on a bus. And that's great but we still don't have any fucking room for some reason.

TE: Is it one of those hot buses with bunks and shit?

MCR: It has bunks but we have so many people now with us, and it's a family. It's not like, crew, it's just family members.

TE: I know exactly what you mean. The label I work for is the same sort of deal. We prefer to think of it as a family, not just a business.

MCR: I know that any new crew we hire, if they don't fit into the family, then it just doesn't work out. But, everybody we got now feels like family.

TE: What is the truth behind My Chemical Romance?

MCR: There are many truths behind My Chemical Romance. I think truth is the biggest aspect of My Chemical Romance. The truth behind it is its five, very normal or simple individuals that want to change the world by what they say in the songs, off stage, during, between songs, by how they perform.

TE: Anything else?

MCR: Oh, flattery. The truth is we like flattery and chocolate cake.

Friday Oct. 5^th. 2007

Alright, so the weekend is finally here.

Time to stay up all night and sleep till late afternoon. Watch so many movies with your friends that you can’t even string your eyes open for one more minute. Or going to a party so rad, you can’t even tell if the pain in your back is from a brand new tattoo, or the bottle of vodka you’ve fallen asleep on.

Or you can do like me. Stay up all night long, just hangin’ out on buzznet and band’s MySpace’s. Looking for new information and the latest interviews/pictures. Or maybe check out the latest journals of your friends on buzznet.

But lucky me, I get to clean the entire apartment today. I’m talking vacuuming, dusting, washing the floors, and all the surfaces. And the worst part is cleaning out the gutter in the shower. But hey! anything to get my precious time to get on buzznet. I do love it there. Sure my weekend is gonna be filled with a lot of cigarette-smoking and listening to some tunes. And there will perhaps be time for some very vague socializing. But all things in moderation ;)

And now with the good weather we’ve been experiencing lately, I might just have to step outside for a while and enjoy these colorful yet vile days before my favorite season – the winter.

But that aside, you all enjoy the weekend, and I’ll be around.

And do try to steer away from any intimidating vodka-bottles ;)

7Carrie7

This interview is all in Norwegian, sorry.

Oslo 29.05.07
Kamelot – Forbedrer seg hele tiden

Amerikanske/norske Kamelot har etter hvert fått en diskografi av en såpass høy standard at en gjennomsnittlig metaller ikke kan styre unna. Og de som beveger seg over gjennomsnittet og faktisk velger å kjøpe albumet fremfor å laste det ned, vil ifølge en av metallens absolutt beste vokalister, Roy Khan, få en flott opplevelse av både musikk og produkt. Roy Khan møtte Roy Kristensen en formiddag ikke langt fra der de bor.

One Cold Winter’s Night

Etter The Black Halo slapp dere 'One Cold Winter’s Night' DVD'n. Denne er veldig bra, og jeg har sett at den har fått gode kritikker stort sett over alt. Det var med noe dokumentarisk stoff på den, men likevel vil lurer jeg på hva det var som gjorde at dere ville lage det såpass proft? Roy Khan sier, og bekrefter dermed inntrykket som mange har av Kamelot, at alt de gjør er proft.

"Det er ikke slik at vi bestemte oss for at vi nå skulle gjøre en proff greie, fordi det gjør vi hver gang. Vi har ikke jobbet med DVD tidligere, og vi fikk oss en del overraskelser underveis, helt fra planleggings- stadiet til den var helt ferdig. Det tok mye lengre tid enn vi hadde trodd. Det er utrolig mange aspekter som det skal jobbes med ut over det som utgjør selve konserten. Vi var en uke i Oslo før selve konserten, og leide et svært lokale på Stovner der vi fikk testet oss frem med lyd og lys. Vi hadde et par gigs helga før og så finpusset vi settet på Stovner.

Det ble nokså mye på meg siden jeg er norsk, samtidig er det en av grunnene til at vi la det til Norge. Vi kunne jo gjort den i USA, men ikke i Florida fordi vi er ikke store nok der til å få gjennomført en slik konsert på den måten vi ønsket. Det er ikke noe stor power-metal scene i Florida, og vi kunne nok spilt inn i en av de statene der vår musikkform er større. Dermed ble det på en måte hipp som happ om vi spilte inn i New York eller i Oslo, og da ble det mest naturlig for oss at vi spilte inn i Oslo. Vi ville jo bruke Patric Ullaeus denne gangen også, siden han har gjort videoer for oss og kjenner oss godt."

Joda, DVD'en er proff som bare det og kostet nok en god del penger. Regner dere med å få igjen pengene dere har brukt på den?

"Nei, det vil vi aldri gjøre. Thomas og jeg har tapt en god del penger på denne, men vi ser heller på denne som en investering i framtiden. Det er et visittkort og en sjanse for folk som ikke har sett oss live til å gjøre nettopp dét. Det fins jo mange land vi ikke har spilt i. Det er sikkert kulere for fansen å si til venner se på det bandet her fremfor hør på dette! Det har ofte en større effekt å oppleve et band visuelt, og vi er jo et visuelt band."

Ja, vi kan trygt si at Kamelot har utviklet seg til et fremdragende visuelt band, samtidig som musikken også har utviklet seg hele tiden. Bandet tar seg godt ut på scenen. Når det gjelder selve konserten, var det også veldig bra å være tilstede under innspillingen av DVD'en.

"Den dagen var en spesiell dag" bekrefter Roy og legger smilende til at responsen har vært fremdragende. "Den har vært overdådig, men det forventet vi også. Vi var jævlig fornøyd med den - og den kostet veldig mye, men vi føler at vi har fått igjen mye for pengene. Nå tenker vi ikke på den engang, og vi er midt oppe i den nye plata som blir utgitt i disse tider. Og det er jo ikke lenge til den er historie også."

Satyr fra Satyricon sa en gang at når et album ble gitt ut så var bandet som regel kommet noen måneder videre, mens fansen da er i startfasen. Slik vil det nesten alltid være.

Live

Blir det noen turne fremover, med tanke på det kommende albumet?

"Ja, til høsten setter vi i gang. Men først er det noen festivaler som skal gjennomføres. Disse føler vi er verdt å spille. Men generelt tar vi det rolig i sommer, kanskje mer enn vanlig. Det har jo vært et vannvittig kjør siden vi startet innspillingen av The Black Halo."

Men, nå som plata er på vei, hva er det som gjør at dere tar det roligere nå i sommer?

"Enten måtte vi ta det rolig nå i sommer, eller så måtte vi roe ned til høsten. Turneen i Canada og USA er i august/september, mens diverse festivaler foregår i juli stort sett. Men stille er det langt i fra. Vi gjør jo promotion både før og etter plateslippet, vi skal avvikle noe ferie og så må jeg over til USA i begynnelse av august for å øve inn det settet vi skal spille der borte. Vi kommer til å legge til noen flere låter fra det nye albumet, blant annet."

Jeg er veldig fornøyd med at dere spilte 'Memento Mori' i Oslo 19. mai, siden dere ikke spilte den på One Cold Winter’s Night DVDen. Men, dere spilte ikke 'The Black Halo'...Roy ler litt og sier at det vil alltid være noe å utsette på en setlist, og de fleste vil aldri bli 100 % fornøyd. Heldigvis har Kamelot stort sett bare bra låter å velge mellom, og da særlig på de siste 5 skivene. I så måte kan de godt spille i to og en halv time, om det hadde vært opp til meg.

"Joda, vi kunne dratt ut settet en del, siden vi vanligvis ender opp med ca. en og en halv time. To og en halv blir nok litt mye for stemmen min, men kanskje noen ganger to timer...

Når det gjelder gigen på lørdag, spilte vi jo tre nye låter og den introen (Solitaire). Det er jo få som ennu kjenner de nye låtene våre, men vi synes det fungerte bra uansett. Ghost Opera er jo vår første video, og den er på nettsiden vår og ligger ute på You Tube, så det er jo mange som kjenner den låten. Naturligvis ble det også den som funket best i Oslo. Men også de to andre ble tatt vel i mot, selv om publikum naturligvis ikke var like mye med men heller ble stående og lytte underveis."

Jeg synes 'The Human Stain', 'Mourning Star' og nevnte 'Ghost Opera' fungerte veldig godt i live-situasjonen. Nå kjente jeg låtene godt fra før fordi jeg har hatt promo-CDen noen dager. Jeg tror de nye låtene vil fungere godt live, siden jeg synes de er noe enklere oppbygd i forhold til Epica og The Black Halo låtene. Roy nøler litt og er vel ikke helt enig i at låtene er enklere.

"Ja...vel...jeg vil vel ikke si at låtene er enkle. Men skiva som sådan er nok enklere, den er ikke så grandios, og det er ikke så mange detaljer og mellomspill sammenlignet med de to foregående albumene. Men jeg er veldig fornøyd med denne her også" ler han fornøyd.

Ghost Opera

Og det er vel sånn det skal være tenker jeg, fordi den ville ikke blitt gitt ut om så ikke var tilfelle. Jeg synes vel om albumet, jeg også, men etter konseptet så forventer man jo lett at det skal komme noe enda mer grandiost og vi må derfor bruke noen runder før vi kan tilpasse hjernen til de nye låtene.

"Det er sånn det skal være med oss, og det er mange som føler det slik fra skive til skive. Dette er også noe av drivkraften for oss i bandet, det at vi stadig endrer oss. Men, det er nok mange som etter hvert har lært seg å forvente at de ikke får det de forventer. Jeg har sett mange kommentarer på dette, det at de sier/skriver at det var forventet at de fikk det de ikke forventet."

Jeg sier at jeg skjønner hva han mener, og legger til at rent musikkmessig sett ble jeg skuffet første gangen jeg hørte albumet. "Jasså, ble du det?", spør Roy og ler. Jeg forklarer at jeg synes låtene er enklere oppbygd, og det tar noe tid å bli vant med dem, men når første omgang er over kan vi begynne legge merke til detaljene og innholdet i den enkelte sang. Det er en skive som vokser. Roy skjønner.

"Det er skive som er sprekkfull av detaljer, og sånn har jo stilen vår vært siden The Fourth Legacy, og det har blitt mer og mer av dette. Det var muligens en topp med The Black Halo som var en svær greie som tok lang tid og skulle være svær. Personlig synes jeg uansett at 7-8 av låtene på det nye albumet er noe av det absolutt beste vi har gjort."

'Ghost Opera' er fantastisk, og særlig når vi ser den i sammenheng med videoen, som nok har kostet noen kroner. Roy ler og stemmer i.

"Ja, den har kostet en god del penger. Men alt vi gjør koster jo mye, så...Plateselskapet blar stort sett opp, siden de ser at det de får er bunnsolid kvalitet fra a-å. De vet at vi bruker pengene riktig, fremfor å bruke dem på fyll og fanteri."

På den promoen av videoen følger det med en making-of der dere spiller inn foran blue- og greenscreen. Roy blir overrasket og spør om jeg har sett den? Jeg forklarer at jeg har fått promo av den, der begge versjonene var med. Han trodde ikke at det var laget noe promoversjon av den. Uansett, det jeg lurer på er hvordan det er å spille inn en slik video der dere står og henvender dere til noe eller noen som ikke er der?

"Det blir en liten smak av det å være skuespiller i et format som du har øvd på i mange år. Det handler jo om å spille roller, og jeg er jo ikke den samme på scenen som den jeg er av, selv om begge karakterene farger hverandre. Som sagt, det blir å spille skuespill men det er egentlig ikke så forskjellige fra det vi vanligvis gjør på scenen. Det er jo mye en bandgreie, selv om det kanskje blir mer på meg etter hvert. Vi vil neppe gjøre alle videoene på samme måte.

Vi har jo spilt inn video til The Human Stain nå, som kommer ut i løpet av juni i forbindelse med plateslippet. Denne er spilt inn på samme måte, med bruk av bakgrunn som legges på etterpå. Når det gjelder Ghost Opera er ikke alt fake, men det som er rundt oss på scenen er lagt på."

Vel, med tanke på alle digitale løsninger som er i de fleste store Hollywoodproduksjoner, vil jeg ikke bruke ordet fake når det gjelder bruk av bluescreen. Historien i videoen følger teksten?

"Ja, sånn nogenlunde. Ideen er jo like, men vi sier ikke i teksten at hun blir voldtatt eller noe."

Tekst og Musikk

Det er jo forskjellige temaer som ligger til grunn for låtene på albumet. Jeg har fått med meg noe kritikk av religion, vi har 'Ghost Opera' og så har vi 'Blücher'. Hvordan tror du utlendingene vil takle den låten?

"Veldig mange synes det er rart siden det er et rart ord. Vi har den ü-en med, og det er ikke alle som skjønner noe av. Låten handler om Blücher på vei opp Oslofjorden, og vi vet jo hvordan det gikk. Selve historien i låten handler om en mann som er på brua og som skjønner hva som er i ferd med å skje. Han tenker da på forloveden som sitter igjen i Tyskland. Skipet var jo fylt med 14-15 hundre førstereisgutter, og skipet gikk jo ned med mann og mus. Det var jo bare et fåtall som overlevde. Det er jo en ganske tragisk historie som spesielt for nordmenn og tyskere er dette en kjent."

Hva var det som gjorde at dere ville ha med en låt om denne tragedien? Roy opplyser at det stort sett er han som skriver tekstene.

"De fleste av låtene har inspirert tekstene, i motsetning til de to foregående skivene der konseptet var klart på forhånd og der tekstene styrte mye av musikken. Et par unntak har det vært, men denne gangen har musikken skapt assosiasjoner som så har ført til tekstene. Det riffet og feelingen i Blücher er veldig stigende, og så la jeg på dype horn som kan sammenlignes med en skipsfløyte."

Introen med de flyene som kommer er også med på å sette stemningen. Jeg legger også til at 'Blücher' så langt er min favorittlåt. Roy sier at han er veldig, veldig fornøyd med den. Jeg legger også merke til at 'Love You To Death' er en låt som vokser.

"Ja, det er balladen denne gangen, og jeg er selvsagt også fornøyd med den."

Hva med de låtene der du har effekt på vokalen? Det kan være at folk hever øyenbrynene sine og lurer på hva dette er for noe...

"Vi har med noe på Morning Star og Anthem. Førstnevnte handler om en som er på slagmarken under første verdenskrig. Det kunne forsåvidt være andre, men...Han er ute på slagmarken og lurer på meningen med alt. Det hele er jo håpløst, fordi de som blir sendt ut i krig har jo ikke noe særlig valg. Når du befinner deg i en sånn helvetessituasjon, og ser på håpløsheten rundt deg...

Når det gjelder selve effekten i vokalen, kan man enten bruke distorsjon eller equalizer slik vi har brukt, og dermed få den formen for radiostemme som vi har fått til. Dette gir jo assosiasjoner til hvordan det vil låte på en feltradio slik vi kjenner det fra diverse dokumentarer og filmer."

Anthem er den andre låten med annerledes vokal, og den bryter jo med resten av albumet. Roy ler litt, og sier at det er den eneste låten som omhandler noe positivt.

"Jeg fikk en sønn for tre måneder siden og denne låten skrev jeg seks uker før han ble født. Låten handler om det jeg tenker omkring dette, og her er teksten veldig essensiell."

Foreløpig er det 'Anthem' jeg har mest problemer med underveis, og jeg er glad den er plassert på slutten av albumet, dog ikke som siste låt. 'Eden Echo' er jo en mer pompøs låt og passer i så måte bedre som avslutning på albumet.

"Ja, den er jo en mer typisk Kamelot låt med 5/4-dels groove i verset, 3/4-dels på bridgen og 4/4-dels i refrenget. Det har vi gjort et par ganger til, og blant annet Karma er bygd opp på samme måte, uten at vi tenkte at nå skal vi lage en låt som Karma. Vi har jo en viss stil som går igjen i noen låter."

Det er vel sånn at uansett hvilke låter dere lager, så blir det Kamelot til slutt?

"Det er vel sånn det har blitt. Men hvorfor? Jeg vet ikke helt, men regner vel med at det har med at Thomas og jeg har skrevet alt, vi begynner å kjenne hverandre godt og vet hva vi liker. Ideer som er helt grøtete forkaster vi svært raskt. Vi skjønner tidlig hva det er som funker og hva som ikke gjør det."

Albumet er jo blitt veldig bra, og nå som jeg har hørt det ca. 15 ganger, begynner det å sitte bedre. Roy trekker på smilebåndet.

"Det har alltid vært sånn at folk er skeptisk i begynnelsen, men hele tiden har vi fått høre at vi har tatt et steg videre. Selvsagt, fra Siege... til The Fourth... var det et kjempesprang og folk var helt wow... Det var en stor stor forbedring da og var nesten utenom det normale. Fra da har det vært mindre steg, for å si det sånn. For folk flest er det jo gjerne slik at den platen de oppdager oss på blir favoritten deres, så det er alltids noen som har klagd på den nye skiva og de nye elementene vi har lagt til. Sånn er det med Ghost Opera også, men vi lener oss bare tilbake og tenker at ting er som vanlig."

Roy ler og sier også at studioprosessen var kortere denne gangen i forhold til de 8 månedene de brukte på The Black Halo.

"Det var veldig mye lettere denne gangen, i og med at det ikke er en konseptskive. Kanskje er ikke lettere det riktige ordet, men det gjør det raskere.

La meg også få si at gigen i Oslo sist lørdag var en flott opplevelse, det var en god dag på jobb. Det var utrolig moro, og det er jo derfor vi driver med dette, nettopp fordi vi synes det er så moro. Nå er det sånn at det går bra økonomisk, og det begynner fan meg å bli på tiden. Det føles godt å bli belønnet for noe som vi har drevet med såpass lenge og som jeg har lagt hele hjertet mitt i - og som jeg og bandet har brukt utrolig mye tid på. Det er ikke bare lett å være samboer og familie til musikere som oss, siden vi er såpass mye borte. Nå har jo situasjonen endret seg også for meg, siden jeg nettopp er blitt far. Og får jeg en dag fri når vi er på turne, blir det lett til at jeg flyr en rask tur hjem igjen. Jeg prioriterer selvsagt familien høyt. Samtidig er det nå ting begynner å løsne for Kamelot, da er det bare å kjøre på."

Silenoz i fra Dimmu Borgir sa at det kunne være nå de hadde nådd toppen, så det var bare å kjøre på. Nå er jo metalfansen fremdeles såpass dedikerte, slik at en del band klarer å få ting til å gå rundt. Det er fremdeles den del som liker å holde i produktene, og ikke bare laste dem ned fra nettet.

"Kamelot har økt salget betydelig for hver skive, og vår kurve går sånn (Roy tegner en oppadstigende kurve foran meg, og jeg vil anslå den til å ha ca. 30 graders stigning). Det vil jo alltid være noen band som selger bedre, selv om markedet går ned. I metalscenen fins det heldigvis publikum som er dedikert, som liker musikken og som liker hele produktet. De dukker også opp når vi spiller live, og dette kan være en mangelvare i en del andre genrer. Jeg husker selv hvordan det var på slutten av 80-tallet og da jeg selv kjøpte LPer. Da det kom CD, og selv det var ille for meg."

Vinylen, så lenge du ikke knekker den, vil vel vare evig, mens CD-signaler forsvinner sakte men sikkert! Personlig kjøper jeg ennu vinyler, og Roy sier at han tror vinylen vil få en ny vår i fremtiden. Får du hakk i CD'en, er den i trøbbel, mens en vinyl kan ha et hakk men resten er like bra. Jeg legger til at jeg synes det er synd ikke Kamelots album kommer på vinyl, særlig siden covrene er fantastiske. Han gjør meg trist ved å opplyse om at blant annet 'Epica' og 'The Black Halo' ble gitt ut på to forskjellige selskap, og det vil rett og slett bli for dyrt å få til en felles vinylutgivelse her. Coveret på det nye albumet er utrolig vakkert, og det er rett og slett synd å ikke få sett den i riktig format.

"Nå blir limited-edition utgaven ganske bra også, og den vil inneholde videoen Ghost Opera og The Making Of Ghost Opera, noe multimediamateriale pluss en ekstra låt. Det er en jævla bra bonuslåt for øvrig."

Jeg kjenner at med tanke på at kvaliteten til 'Ghost Opera' uten bonuslåt er såpass høy som den er, skal det bli godt med albumet inkludert bonuslåt også. Roy og Roy er herved ferdig og vi takker hverandre for en fin samtale og kjører hver til vårt.

Lyn Z, also known by her birth name, Lindsey Ann Ballato, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and is the bassist for Mindless Self Indulgence. She is married to Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance (as of September 3rd 2007)^{.
Source: wikipedia}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyn_Z

 Info typed and posted by gerardwayishott1. Say: THANKS!!!

Oli Sykes
Instrument: Vocals
Gear: Shaw SM58 Mic
Growling Hero: George Clooney
How long have you been singing for? Three Years
What sort of sound do you go for? Kust the basic sound to kick-start it
What made you want t be in a band? I thought it looked pretty cool
Whose sound would you most like to have? Lamb Of God sound pretty cool
How much of a tech geek are you? I know nothing about to do with that

Lee Malia
Instrument: Guitar
Gear: Gibson Les Paul Menace
Guitar Heros: Dimebag Darrel, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett
For how long have you been playing guitar? About four or five years
What sort of sound do you go for? Just big and heavy
What got you into playing guitar? My dad putting on classic rock CDs in my room; I used to listen to that all the time, and hearing Metallica I just wanted to play that
How does your equpment affect the sound of the band? It makes it sound big
Whose sound would you like to have? Dimebag Darrell's
How much of a tech geek are you? I wish i could be a tech geek but i cant affrord it

Curtis Ward
Insrument: Guitar
Gear: Gibson Les Paul
Guitar Heros: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett
For how long have you been playing? About four or five years, something like that
Do you prefer playing live or in studio? Live you feel like the worst musician recording because you have to do everything perfect
How much of a tech geek are you? Im a tech geek who cant afford to be a tech geek so ive got very little
Are you looking to update your sound with any new gear? If anyone wants to give me owt free ill wear the T-shirt, ill wear a hat, ill wear a coat just gimme it

Matt Kean
Instrument: Bass
Gear: IbanezEDB700 five string bass
Bass Heros: Cliff Burton, Jason Newstead
How long have you been playing for? Five years i think
What got you into playing bass? I've wanted to be in a band and bassiss were hard to come by so it was like, "lok, no one is plaig bass and I am, so I might as well get in a band."
Do you prefer playing live or recording in the studio? Live becase the studio is repetivite and boring and the pressure's on because you're under a spotlight and people are like "You've got to get this right." Live you can go crazy and get into it more."
How does your eqipment affect the sound of the band? It makes it sound heavier and bassier.
Whose sound would you like to have? Probably Cliff Burton's.
How much of a tech geek are you? I'm not really. I try to get away with doing as little as I can.

Matt Nicholls
Instrument: Drums
Gear: Pearl Export kit, Meinl cymbals, Roland triggers, Alesis DM5 dru module, Roland SPD-S sampler and PD-8 pad.
Drumming heroes: Chris Adler, Travis Barker
For how long have you been playing? Abut four or five years.
What got you into playing drums? My dad. I've got ADD so my dad thought I would be a good drummer and he got me a drum kit.
What sound do you go for? I dunno know really. I just beat the fuck out of my drums and hopes it sounds okay.
Do you prefer playing live or studio? I hate recording in the studio, so playing live
How does your equipment affect the sound of the band? well im amazing and i sound great
whose sound would you most like to have? Probably Lamb Of God 'cos it's tight as fuck he uses the smae cymbals as me and he just sounds amazing. Its so tight
How much of a tech geek are you? Im not really

DT (Interviewer) - Firstly, what are your names? How old are you? And what do you play in the band

Matt - I’m Matt, I’m 20 and I play drums.
Lee - I’m Lee, I’m 19 and I play guitar.
Oli - I’m Oli I’m 19 and I sing.
Matt - I’m Matt, I’m 21 and play bass.
Curtis - I’m Curtis, I’m 19 and I play guitar.

DT - How long have you been playing together for and how did you come together?

Matt - Well we’ve been playing together about 3 years, I met Curtis and Lee at college and asked me if I wanted to start a band. I said I knew a kid who sings, cus I’d been friends with Oli a few years before. We started Bring Me The Horizon, then we got together with another bassist who we kicked out, then we got Matt.

DT - So your new album comes out on Monday, you’ve been getting a lot of good press and from that a big fan base. Some people have written they wouldn’t be surprised if it was the heaviest album to recently enter the charts. How does it feel for a young band to hear press like that?

Matt - It’s really cool.
Curtis - I don’t think it will chart, be wicked if it did.
Matt - It’d be great.

DT - As you’re making music which is obviously different to the average chart listener, is it kind of a message to the UK audience that there is other music out there?

Curtis - Yeah, although I’d be surprised if people who like Brittany Spears started liking it!

(Laughs)
Oli - We are making metal more accessible to kids, but you know, obviously not everyone’s gunna get it, but for the kids who wanna find something more heavier, but also make it listenable, it’s for them.

DT - What is it about the album that you think people should go out and get it for?

Curtis - Booms!
Matt - It’s got some booms on it!
Oli - You get a free tenner in the case
(Laughs)
Oli - You get your money back

DT - After this tour you’re heading out with Lostprophets and From First to Last, but who is the best band you’ve ever shared the stage with?

Oli - Penknife Lovelife
Lee - You reckon?
Matt - Yeah hands down
Lee - Red Chord
Matt - Red Chord yeah
Curtis - Lordi
Matt - When?
Curtis - At Download!
Matt - If any stage at Download counts then Metallica.

DT - What was it like playing download festival? You guys packed out that third stage!

Oli - Mental
Matt - Wicked man, best experience ever! Was mental just walking out and seeing so many people come and watch our band.

DT - You won best British newcomer and the Kerrang! awards this year. Last year it was Bullet for my Valentine, do you think you will be propelled to the same heights as them?

Curtis - I doubt it, we haven’t got singing. That’s what killed it in NME for us, no singing.
Matt - Yeah NME reviewed our new CD and because it had no singing, it didn’t get a good review. They actually said if it had more singing it’d be better, or something like that. But I dunno, cus Bullet are more accessible than we are
Oli - But we’re better looking so?
(Laughs)

DT - After winning that award are there any others you’d really like to get your hands on?

Oli - Best Album
Matt - Best album ever made
Lee - A MOBO
Matt - Best international live band, or is it best British
(Laughs)

On Saturday night (April 7th), the band played a show at Nottingham's Rock City, and obviously full of bravado and excess afterwards, got talking to one or two local female followers.

Anyway, as described by an employee of the venue, the following incident allegedly took place:

"After the gig two girls tried to get on the tour bus. Later on, the singer, Oliver Sykes, tried it on with one of the girls. When she said no, he called her a dyke and first pissed on her before him and the rest of the band threw her and her friend off the bus. Once off the bus someone within the band through an empty bottle of Jagermeister at the girl's head resulting in this... (see picture).

"The singer was arrested and the band have been banned from Rock City. The police said they couldn't charge anybody because the girls couldn't say which of the band threw the bottle. Anyways, just thought people should know about this story as it made me feel pretty sick to hear about it."

"As many of you will already have heard there was an incident concerning the band on and around their tour bus in Nottingham in the early hours of Sunday Morning (8th April). As to be expected, in the age of the internet and web boards, numerous versions of the alleged incident have been posted online - Bring Me The Horizon and Visible Noise would like to clarify the situation. Oli Sykes was arrested and will appear in court on Friday charged with allegedly urinating on a female fan inside the tour bus, which he strongly denies. Oli has not been charged, nor has ever been questioned or been under any suspicion of attacking the aforementioned female fan. The alleged incident is being dealt with by the relevant authorities currently and a formal statement will be issued once Oli has attended his court appearance on Friday."

The band's MySpace blog on the incident, and the comments beneath it, can be seen here.