Metal Knights

When it comes to old school headbanging-The Crossing will
give you a headache! Bang your head, is something you do
when its right. Metal Knights casts a shadow at high noon.

Razor and his team of Warriors are like a low flying sledge hammer. When it comes to finding the groove-these guys are right in the pocket. Metal Knights and their new tracks
called THE CROSSING, deserve your ear. You will no - Bill Ganz

The Metal Knights


Based out of Los Angeles, California, The Metal Knights began their
career as a tribute band. Quickly, they had to realize that their
talent was meant for more, as they went on to start an original band
that holds to heart the true meaning of heavy metal. Their latest EP,
entitled The Crossing,
is an excellent example of why heavy metal will never die. From start
to finish, this album is a fist-pumping assault on the ears. From songs
such as "The Gates of Hell" and "Miracle In Disguise," it is no shock
that this band will be a force to reckon with very soon. This band
encompasses all that is heavy metal, with dynamic vocals, great guitar
solo's, pounding drums, and the majestic keyboard. The vocals are
classic to the trained metal ear. The vocals grab your attention and
don't let go, until you are screaming along every word. The guitarist
bring powerful riffs in each song, and the solos will leave you
mind-blown. The best attribute to this band, in my opinion, is the
keyboards. The music is already a monster, but the keyboards turn this
metal band into an epic powerhouse. The Metal Knights have reached a
certain amount of fame, through the radio airwaves and online
promotion, but the future seems very bright for this band. If they
stick to the true heavy metal, there will always be fans with their
fist raised for The Metal Knights! Horns up!
- TARGET AUDIENCE MAGAZINE

Venue: Martini Blues Location: Huntington Beach, Ca Date: 2007-07-28
From the opening cry of the HELLION straight into ELECTRIC EYE and METAL GODS, I knew the sold out audience was in for one hell of Rock show! METAL KNIGHTS takes the viewer and listener through a ride on a double decker bus through the NWOBHM of the 80's with stand outs like Running Free from Iron Maiden, Ace of Spades by Motorhead, which lead vocalist Razor does just as good if not better than Lemmy himself. The dual lead guitars are top notch, a thundering rocking bass and a drummer that could easily fill the shoes of any pro player on tour today if need be. They even take the audience across the pond to America once for some Metallica and totally kick ass with their version of SEEK and DESTROY. This band is IT when it comes to a group that covers a lot of range, do yourself a favor and keep your eyes and ears peeled for them when they play your area!

- Bill Ganz

Metal Knights
Headlines Benefit Show for the
Tawn Mastrey Transplant Fund

Metal Knights the hard rock band that brings back the thunder and greatness to the great British metal bands of the 80's will be headlining the benefit show for the Tawn Mastrey Transplant Fund at Martini Blues in Huntington Beach, Ca on Saturday July 28th. In preparation for the show; METAL KNIGHTS have been rehearsing Wednesdays and Thursdays, for the past couple of months in the auditorium here at hothouse rehearsal studios.

But last night they had a dress rehearsal and it was a blast. All the production guys were here conjuring up their magic. It's amazing to watch them work. Mitch from Mills Acoustics was here setting up the guitar and bass cabinets, Mills is supplying for the show. I got to meet Jeff the owner of Studio 949 in Irvine. Jeff is running the sound for the event. It was a real pleasure to meet John Borja, Installed Sound Sales Rep from Sennheiser. John was here setting up the wireless microphone system Sennheiser is supplying for the benefit. Those mics ARE astounding.

Once all the set up was completed the guest started showing up and around 9pm the Metal Knights took the stage and gave us an incredible show. It was flawless.
I recommend going to the show…it's a great cause you'll be supporting and the music will blow your lid.

All the Best
Richard Morales
Hothouse Rehearsal Studios
www.hothousestudios.com
Rehearsal TV
www.RehearsalTV.com
Rehearsal Video
www.RehearsalVIDEO.com
- Richard Morales - www.hothousestudios.com

http://www.magazine.lpmvoice.com/Pro-Php/Main.php?MagID=4&MagNo=21 - LPM VOICE MAGAZINE

Hello Razor, it's nice of you to take the time to answer my questions. First of all, I'd of course like to congratulate you on your EP " The Crossing ". I've really appreciated the "Will You Be There".

Well thank you! The whole EP overall is great we think, we are proud of it so it gives the fans a taste of what is to come on the full length CD. Will you Be There was a track that I did with Pamela Moore of Queensryche fame, who also has her CD out called STORIES FROM A BLUE ROOM. And she thought that song would be a good one for her and I to do together, and we are both very fond of how it turned out. It is a powerful song.

The production of the album is very powerful and it sounds very good, what can you tell us about?

Production was first and foremost what we wanted to make sure this EP had. We are incredibly lucky to work one on one with Craig Goldy of DIO through his DESTINY BRIDGE program which brought the world BENEDICTUM before us, now there is a great band! Working with Craig in the studio is great, he really knows his stuff. We go in and lay down the tracks and then do a rough mix, and then I get to go in and track my vocals. Then the magic happens when Craig starts to really mix and produce things, that is when it starts to really all come together and that is when you start to know if you have a song that the people will love.

How much important is your friendship with Craig Goldy in your musical career?

It is everything, to me. Craig is just that first and foremost, we are close friends. The fact that he saw something in me and in METAL KNIGHTS was a blessing. He then said to me "Are you ready to take this to the next level? Because I think you have what it takes!" And that is what DESTINY BRIDGE is all about. Finding that untapped, unsigned talent and getting it polished up and ready for the big leagues.

When you write music what are your influences (movies, things, people, fantasy)?

Lately, well on THE CROSSING, those were all very personal songs that I wrote with Craig about almost dying 3 years ago from a fatal illness and overcoming it. I had a lot of things about that ordeal that I wanted to get out of me musically and I think we accomplished that with THE CROSSING. But I like to pull from what I personally know. The new stuff we are writing pulls from what I know of several things, movies, I am a huge history fan, I read all about the middle ages and those times all the time. I also watch a lot of Science Fiction like Star Trek and Stargate and Battlestar Gallactica. But my real love is reading about history, I prefer the Medieval Times myself and listening to music. I am also a fan of the Soundtracks that go on movies, for example the soundtrack for the movie DUNE is a great work. All of these things and of course the great masters of metal that came before us, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, DIO, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Megadeth. These are all bands that influenced me for many, many years.

Give me three reasons why the readers should run out and buy your album?

Well, first off it is PURE CLASSIC METAL. It has songs about FIGHTING DEATH AND WINNING, TAKING A WALK RIGHT UP TO HELLS DOOR STEP AND THEN TURNING AWAY. And ABOUT HOW PRECIOUS THIS LIFE IS AND HOW WE SHOULD NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.

And it has emotion in it, whether it be making you want to bang your head along as hard as you can, or shed a tear about the subject of almost dying and fighting and winning all thanks to the gift someone gave to you when they died so that you could live. I mean, IT IS HEAVY METAL in its most pure form, and there is a story that is being told.

What are your thoughts on the metal in America now? Do you feel that things are starting to improve enough to allow the band to have some success at home?

Yeah, it is coming around again…FINALLY! {Laughs}

I knew it always would, it never really died, and it just took a hiatus for a while here in the US while in places like Europe and Japan it has never stopped. We are starting to get some bigger metal festivals again, like this summer we have the METAL MASTERS TOUR with JUDAS PRIEST, HEAVEN & HELL, MOTORHEAD and TESTAMENT. We will be there, not opening, but as fans. We are, and I think every BIG NAMED person in Heavy Metal is first and foremost a FAN. It's a great thing when you are a FAN of your own style of music, because it makes it feel complete when you walk out on that stage and the crowd roars, you know the FANS are waiting for something special, and now it is time to deliver it. Just like when we go see the METAL MASTERS TOUR, we expect these bands to bring it! And I have no doubt they will.

What was the first record you listened to or bought?

KISS ALIVE! That double live album rocked my world! There was nothing like that ever back then and it turned me into a complete KISS freak as a kid!

In your opinion who is the band that wrote the most important music in the hard rock - heavy metal history?

Without a doubt, JUDAS PRIEST. They really started the CLASSIC METAL sound. I mean there was BLACK SABBATH, but JUDAS PRIEST as far back as SAD WINGS OF DESTINY had this whole CLASSICAL influence to it, and they just kept pushing themselves each album was different. Yet still had the PRIEST FEEL to it. When Rob Halford left in the early 90's, I kind of always knew he was going to come back one day. But then I think at that time, the break was good for them, I mean it let the world discover an immense talent in Ripper Owens who to this day is still putting out incredible stuff. No one else could have filled that position. I mean Rob is the METAL GOD for a reason, and trying to fill a GODS shoes is not an easy task, in fact I am surprised they pulled it off. But when Rob came back in 2003, and they released ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION in 2005, what a great reunion CD! But now with NOSTRADAMUS out, they have topped themselves again, but this time on a level that I think will for surely go down in history. The new stuff is just so good. It is an escape for people to listen to that double CD from start to finish without stopping. Again, when you listen to it you hear the CLASSICAL SOUND that is JUDAS PRIEST. There really has never been anything this big in metal, and if any band was to do something like this it would have to be PRIEST. They are a true inspiration to METAL KNIGHTS.

Got some opinion about today's music industry?

Well, yes I do. It has changed so much over the last few years hasn't it? I mean, here in the US it is hard to even find a record store anymore, they are mostly all gone. iTunes has surpassed Walmart as the largest music retailer, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. There is also Amazon and Napster and on and on. Bands don't HAVE TO HAVE a record company behind them to release material now. That was something that back in the 80's I don't think anyone would have ever dreamed was possible. And it has changed the way the industry works now. That is NOT to say that Record Companies are not important, because they are. If you want to tour and have full worldwide distribution then you need the backing of a label. And artists have to understand that the labels are in business to be IN BUSINESS! For a label to take on a new band, like METAL KNIGHTS for instance, they need to make their money first this year and pay their bills, and then they can go and look at new bands. That is just the way it goes, and we know that and understand it. We have had a few offers already, and we are in talks. When the right one comes, we will know it.

Compliment for new web-site! I have read your motto...... 'Go for it with everything you got, life is too precious to sit on your arse! '… Sounds great Razor!!

Well Thank you! We hope everyone enjoys the new site; a lot of hard work went into it. I set out to design it with a certain look. The guys in the band liked it, and with the help of our friends at GREENEHOUSE PRODUCTIONS down in Australia , they made it interactive and together we came up with a killer site! The motto you're referring to, yes, that is me! That is how I look at life now after facing death and overcoming it. Almost dying like I did and then getting a second chance changes you. I know it did me. I am VERY driven now, more than ever before in my life. So my new motto is perfect, and maybe someone will read or hear my story of what I went through and hear my motto and say "You know that guy makes sense!"

Tell me a little about your career has spanned radio, TV, movies and your new recording studio?

Yes, I have been in the entertainment industry in one form or another my whole life really. At age 7 I was cast to play Oliver Twist in a production and then did musicals until, gosh, maybe 13. You know, when girls become the most important thing in life! {Laughs} I set out to be a singer from the start in my teenage years and in my early 20's during the 80's L.A. Metal scene I sang with a band called BATTLEAXXE, but we did not get signed, we had a revolving door of bass players, and I guess looking back now, I would say, it wasn't meant to be at that time. So I went into the next best thing, Radio. If I wasn't going to be onstage singing it, then I would at least be able to play it. And God gave me this radio voice that came natural so getting into radio was pretty easy for me. When the Grunge movement started around 93, I wasn't playing the music I loved anymore, so in 94, I left music and went into video editing. It was then that I saw what you could do with 3D and Animation and Compositing and everything that makes up really blockbuster Visual FX. I set out and learned as much as I could and taught myself. Before you knew it I was working for some pretty big Visual Effects companies in Hollywood , my favourite was working at FOUNDATION IMAGING, we had a great crew there, and everyone got along. That was the production company responsible for STAR TREK VOYAGER, BABYLON 5, ROUGHNECKS: STARSHIP TROOPER CHRONICLES, MAX STEEL. I was a Technical Director there, and just had a blast.

I have since 2005 had my own Boutique Visual FX studio called OCEAN VISUAL FX, but I just had the opportunity to do a merger and acquisition with the recording studio that METAL KNIGHTS has been recording at for like a year. The owner came to me, we have become close friends over that year, and he said, he wanted to move on, and would I be interested in buying him out. Well, the price was right, and I started to look at it on so many fronts how well it would work! It will still be a great recording studio, we also offer rehearsals for bands, and now we will be offering Music Videos and Visual Effects and editing all under one roof. Then when you throw in that METAL KNIGHTS now has its own home base, well it all kind of makes a lot of sense!

What are the future plans? What would you most like to do with Metal Knights in the future?

We're going big! That has been the plan all along since we hooked up with Craig Goldy. We know we can do this. That is really what it comes down too. The fans are out there, we hear from them all the time from all over the world! It seems ITALY is really special for us, and I find that great, I love Italy , everything about it, its food, its cities, and its women! It is hard for me to find a bad thing about Italy , and for METAL KNIGHTS, it is a METAL FRIENDLY country! It is good all around.

But our sites are set on getting signed to the right label and getting our music out there and playing around the world. That is the future plans of METAL KNIGHTS.

Who would you like to say THANKS to? And somebody who you would like to thank from the bottom of your heart, somebody who inspired you, or somebody who helped you in your career?

Well, there are several. First I would like to thank Craig Goldy for seeing the potential in the band and in me personally. Second I would like to thank the guys in the band for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel that I have dug for them! {Laughs} and I would like to thank someone who has been a huge inspiration to me since the first time I saw him, and now he is my true, real friend and that is Rudy Sarzo. Rudy met me right after I got out of having a transplant and I looked awful! But he sat down next to me at a convention and we hit it off and have since become very close personal friends, and partners on a new Television project. I'd like to thank Pamela Moore for being so inspired after reading my story about my near death that she wanted to sing and record a song with me; she is so special to me and my family. I love her to death. I'd like to thank Tawn Mastery who took a young up and coming Rock DJ in Radio under her wing and guided me to some major interviews that helped my career along then.

Tawn unfortunately died last year from the same thing that I had wrong with me, she needed a Liver transplant and a donor was not found in time, so I have to thank her for what she did for me all those years ago. I tried to help her in return by putting together a sold out concert that METAL KNIGHTS headlined to raise money for her because she did not have any medical insurance. But she did not make it, but it was at that concert that Craig Goldy saw us perform and that is really when METAL KNIGHTS took off. So I owe Tawn a lot, and I miss her a lot too. And last but not least, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the donor and her family that gave me back my life, without them I would be dead today. I want them to know that not a day goes by where I do not look up to the stars and say thank you to her.

When you go home and relax, what is a typical day for you?

I don't rest! Honest. I go all the time, I never did before the transplant, but now I do. I push and am very driven, I just feel like it is the right way to be. I do make time for my family, my wife and daughter, and I do occasionally take maybe a Sunday afternoon and do nothing but sleep! Or I will read some great history book. I probably should take a vacation sometime, but there is so much to do, I don't want to waste anytime.

To end this interview, I have my traditional last question: What is your favourite question about Metal Knights that you have never been asked yet, but would finally like to answer?

This is a tricky question, because we have been doing a lot of press lately. Let me see, Hmmm? How about our Mascot SIR GODFREY? How did we come up with him and what does he represent? Well SIR GODFREY is THEE METAL KNIGHT, he represents everything that we are about, he is the leader of the quest to find the HOLY GRAIL OF HEAVY METAL and return it to the fans! We set out with a mission in this band to reclaim what we felt was lost here in America, and that was the great BRITISH SOUND OF HEAVY METAL. So we created SIR GODFREY to be the leader of the CRUSADE to find the HOLY GRAIL OF HEAVY METAL. 4 of us in the band work in Visual Effects in one form or another so creating him was not hard, and I have a very talented young artist that works for me named Jeff Clifton that when I came up with the rough design and concept of SIR GODFREY, I turned Jeff's 3D modeling talents loose on it, and we came up with what you see as our band mascot. I wanted a REAL name for him, and as I told you I am a big reader of Medieval literature so I searched and searched for the RIGHT name for him and found GODFEY which translates to "GOD LIKE IN WAR" so to me, that was the perfect name for a guy who was going to lead a Crusade to recapture Heavy Metal. And, it tells you kind of how serious we really take this.

Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you for the interview and some great questions! I had a great time and look foreword to coming to Italy with the guys soon to rock Italy with the METAL KNIGHTS sound!



For more Information on Metal Knights, please visit:
www.myspace.com/metalknightsmusic or www.themetalknights.com



AngelDevil

- CATHOUSE ROCK N ROLL PROJECT ITALY

Medieval Metal Rockers METAL KNIGHTS cross over to success with DESTINY BRIDGE

METAL KNIGHTS are a Hard Rock/Classic Metal band whose sound hearkens back to the great British NWOBHM of the 80’s. METAL KNIGHTS puts a whole new original spin on it with a sound that will reach up and grab you by the throat with its driving metal force. METAL KNIGHTS are a DESTINY BRIDGE band, who have recently acquired major management and have already been offered a record deal, and have been in touch with Rock Producer extraordinaire Beau Hill about mixing the bands efforts and are proving once again, that DESTINY BRIDGE is the way to go for any band with real aspirations of making it in the music business.

The group joined DESTINY BRIDGE in July of 2007, and has taken off with their original sound and music being played on both internet and terrestrial radio all over the world in heavy rotation. In fact, 3 songs that were done directly in contact with Craig Goldy have hit the airwaves around the globe with all 3 going to #1 on stations with worldwide audiences. The Gates of Hell (Hope Springs Infernal) which features Craig on the lead solo is currently and has been for the past 2 months the #1 song on MYSTAGE METAL and MIRACLE IN DISGUISE going to #1 on an Internet Station with a worldwide audience and DEATH DEFIER made it to #1 for a MONTH STRAIGHT, which had never been done on that station before. Also, UNITED ROCK KINGDOM’S 2 Hour Special Interview with Razor from METAL KNIGHTS has been that shows highest rated interview ever. The band has also been garnering major press from Music Magazines and Websites. With articles in Italy’s CATHOUSE ROCK N ROLL PROJECT and ANGEL’S HOUSE OF METAL in the UK. While in the USA, MUEN Magazine has done an interview with the band and there is talk of a COVER for one of 2 new music magazines as well as a special in Orange Counties LIVE OC magazine, which is where the METAL KNIGHTS recording studio is located.

The group worked one on one with Craig with lead vocalist Razor co-writing with Craig 3 songs.

Front man and Lead Vocalist Razor says, “Craig’s program DESTINY BRIDGE is all that and more for sure! From the moment we joined and started working the program, things started to take off. It was as simple as just following step by step what he says to do in the book, and with his phenomenal guidance, things started to happen, and FAST! Radio picked up on us from the get go, with our first attempt, a song called MIRACLE IN DISGUISE going to the most requested song on a major internet radio station with a global audience the minute it was released. Then as we started to release the other originals, it just skyrocketed, and has not stopped. If any band out there is wondering why they are not succeeding, all I can say is you are doing yourself a huge disservice by not getting in on DESTINY BRIDGE. It is not expensive, you end up with Craig guiding you, and his connections to the labels and internet based distribution are so great, that it just really makes it a no brainer to join. I have to sometimes stop and pinch myself to make sure this is all real, because it is happening so fast! The guys in the band think it is me being really this driven individual, which it is to a point, but if it were not for DESTINY BRIDGE none of this would be happening, period.”

METAL KNIGHTS are now in negotiations for a record deal and the future is looking very bright for this talented band. The band has also just garnered the TOP RANKING on MYSTAGE METAL on MySpace as being one of top 1% of over 35,000 bands on there. More proof that DESTINY BRIDGE does work for those that work it and follow through. METAL KNIGHTS are also in pre production of their first Music Video to be produced by Super Gravity Films and directed by Tom Asakawa who has directed videos for such artists as Stephen Pearcy of RATT.

You can visit METAL KNIGHTS online at either, HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/metalknightsmusic" www.myspace.com/metalknightsmusic or HYPERLINK "http://www.themetalknights.com" www.themetalknights.com

METAL KNIGHTS are managed by Tammy Hunt, at HUNT TALENT MANAGEMENT located in Beverly Hills, Ca and can be reached by visiting HYPERLINK "http://www.hunttalentmanagement.com" www.hunttalentmanagement.com

(310) 990-9005
E-Mail: HYPERLINK "mailto:Tammyagnt@aol.com" Tammyagnt@aol.com - Craig Goldy

Metal Knights, working with Dio guitarist Craig Goldy and his Destiny Bridge program ready to take on the world and make Heavy Metal Medieval Again!

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 23, 2008 -- Metal Knights, the Medieval Heavy Metal band based out of Los Angeles have recently signed with major management firm Hunt Talent Management out of Beverly Hills, Ca. The band has also just seen the worldwide release of its first effort, and ep entitled The Crossing, which features Craig Goldy of Dio on one of the songs on the recordings, The Gates of Hell (Hope Springs Infernal). The band is currently in the studio working with Goldy on more new material and is in talks with several labels. Goldy also produced The Crossing.


METAL KNIGHTS
Destiny Bridge:
Metal Knights came to the forefront of the resurgent heavy metal scene in 2007 when Craig Goldy saw them play to a sold out house and joined them onstage with Dio band mate Simon Wright. It was the next day that frontman and lead vocalist Razor was contacted By Craig Goldy asking if the band had aspirations to take it to the next level. Other Goldy standouts that have succeeded through his Destiny Bridge program are metal rockers Benedictum.
Metal Knights, now under the management firm Hunt Talent Management are being shopped for a record deal, and lead vocalist Razor just purchased a new recording studio, Studio-949 in Irvine, California so that the band will have their own facility to work from.

Their first effort, The Crossing is gaining worldwide recognition and being played worldwide on both Internet and Terrestrial based FM radio in countries from here in the USA, to the UK, Italy, Spain, Greece, The Netherlands, Sweden, South America and Japan.

The Medieval Rockers just launched their new website http://www.themetalknights.com to rave reviews and the fans are joining the Metal Knights Fan Club and signing up for the bands Tickettracker service which includes the fans into a special database that will alert them, no matter where they are in the world when Metal Knights comes to their town.

Metal Knights also just garnered the top slot on Mystage Metal as not only the featured artist, but also pulling in the most requested Metal song with The Gates of Hell, as well as a special two hour interview and broadcast on United Rock Kingdom being the most listened to interview in the history of that broadcast. Razor has been doing a press blitzkrieg on radio around the globe and magazine interviews from the US to the UK, Italy and Greece.

The other main standout on the EP, Death Defier is also in heavy rotation on stations around the globe.

Metal Knights consists of Razor on Lead Vocals, Paul Calder and Billy King on Lead Guitars, Danik Thomas on Bass, Adam Emmons ..boards and Dave Krause on Drums. Metal Knights are currently in pre production with SuperGravity Films and director Tom Asakawa (Stephen Pearcy-Drive with me) on a new High Definition Music Video for the radio standout Death Defier.

For more information on Metal Knights, you can contact their management at HUNT TALENT MANAGEMENT via TammyAgnt@aol.com or please visit http://www.themetalknights.com or visit their Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/metalknightsmusic



- PRWEB

ARTICLE TO COME SOON! - TARGET AUDIENCE MAGAZINE

Q Hi Razor, how did you meet the other members of Metal Knights and decide to form the band?
A Well, drummer Dave Krause knew of a couple real top flight musicians namely Paul Calder and Danik Thomas one of our guitar players and our bass player and suggested that they would be a perfect fit for the band, our other guitar player Billy King we found through a music trade ad that we had placed and keyboardist Adam Emmons came to us that way too. We had been on a really huge hunt for the right keyboard player, which is really hard to do, find someone who is as talented as Adam and trained in classical music yet a rocker. People were always telling me “You don’t need two guitar players and a keyboard player!”, but the sound is so big when done that way I knew it just felt right and there are not that many Heavy Metal bands that work that way, but I felt justified when the new Judas Priest “NOSTRADAMUS” came out and they had Don Airey on Keys, I mean there is a band that we all love and admire and are a huge influence to us and they went and brought in the keys along with the dual lead and if you have heard their new album you know they have taken things to a whole new level, so it made me personally feel like I had made the right decision from the get go.
Q Can you tell me a bit about the characters and personalities of the other members of Metal Knights and what they bring to the band.
A The band is just so solid now, each person brings something special. Billy and Paul work off of each other great, they have both been playing for years and when we recorded THE GATES OF HELL and Craig Goldy did the lead solo, I was a little worried about “how are one of these guys going to pull that amazing solo off live?” then Paul just said, “I learned Craig’s solo” before we played in live one day in rehearsal and I have to admit I was skeptical, but he did it! He played it note for note with the same vibe, and I remember looking around the room at each member while he was shredding it out and everyone was in amazement, I looked at Billy and his mouth was open and he was shaking his head “YES, YES!” Dave Krause is as Rock steady a drummer as you will find, he is a really fun guy, who likes to have a good time, but is very intelligent and understands more about things that you would never think he would, I met him a few years ago with Rudy Sarzo, he is a friend of Rudy’s too and he told me he was a drummer, and then right after this years NAMM show here in California I asked him to join, he really keeps the beat and can improvise things really fast which is great when we are trying to come up with an ending for the live set. Danik came in originally to help us out on some recordings, because we kept having a revolving door of Bass players, and he came in and played the songs in the recording so perfect with like a days notice, that we knew he was the guy for the job. Then Adam came to us, I was about to give up on finding the right keyboard player and then he came in. Adam is like a child prodigy, he has been playing keyboard since 18 months old and at 26, he is the youngest member, but musically he is ahead of a lot of us. All the members understand music theory and that is so important, there were times in the beginning when we would have guys in the band that just knew how to play by ear or were good players, but they didn’t get it when it came to writing original material, everyone in the band now does and that has made thing so much easier. 4 of us in the band work in the Film and Video world, so we all kind of have this feeling like, “Man I know what you mean” bond between us because we all basically do the same thing for a living. Me being the front man and lead vocalist I need to make sure that the guys playing the music are the best they can be, for me to be the best I can be. We now have that and it is a great feeling.

Q When did you meet Rudy Sarzo?
A I met Rudy in August 2005 when I had just gotten over a really deadly illness. I had to have a liver transplant to save my life, I had just gotten out of the hospital and went to the Visual Effects worlds major convention SIGGRAPH right after they released me from the hospital, against my wife’s wishes, but I knew I had to go, I had been sick for about 5 years where I could not work and now that I had a new chance at life I wanted to jump right back in, even though I looked like hell and was still in a wheelchair I made my wife take me, and it was at that convention that Rudy and I became friends, which led to one of my most coveted friendships I have ever had in my life, not because he is a huge Rock Legend, but because we share the same passions in life, music and visual effects. Rudy is a very talented 3D animator and compositor and the fact that he was always one of my personal rock heroes didn’t hurt either! I mean, if you would have told me in 1982 when I saw him with Ozzy up there with Randy Rhoads that one day I would be his close friend and partner in a project, I would have told you to get off the drugs you were taking! It was surreal at first, but Rudy is as down to earth as they come, in fact all the guys I know in DIO are that way, normal guys with immense talent. But all good human beings who care, each of them.
Q How do you start writing/composing songs?
A I work a lot with Craig Goldy of DIO. Craig came and saw us play a special show we did called a TRIBUTE FOR TAWN MASTREY who was this legendary Heavy Metal broadcaster in the US, and she ended up suffering from the same liver illness that I had gone through. What makes it more close to me is that when I worked on-air in radio in the 80’s and 90’s it was Tawn that helped me try to further my career, so after years of not hearing from her, she came back to me through this dreaded illness called HEP C, and since I had been through it, almost died and lived and was back, I wanted to help her and her family in anyway I could, so with the help of some really big industry people like Rudy, Craig Goldy, Lonn Friend, Simon Wright, Diana Deville and others I was able to get a show put together where all the money went to help Tawn because she did not have medical insurance. Craig called the next day after that concert and said he thought we had something and did we want to take it to the next level. So Craig and I started writing together and we just started pulling from the story of what I had been through almost dying. The first song came really easy, MIRACLE IN DISGUISE was something that I HAD to write to say thank you to the organ donor and the family of her. Then Craig one day said “You know, you are the DEATH DEFIER” and that just was such a heavy metal name, we knew it would be the title of a song. So I guess to just answer the question I would say, I pull from what I know!
Q Whilst I am not in a band, but focus on the media aspect of the music industry, I sent for Craig Goldy’s Destiny Bridge program as I figured it would give me a good insight into the music industry. How has working with Craig Goldy helped Metal Knights?
A Well, I know Craig will be happy you ordered the program! (Laughs) Craig is just another one of those really good souls in the Metal scene, like Rudy and Simon Wright with a heart of gold. Craig is so easy to work with and he and I just click when it comes to writing, not only that but over the past year we have become incredibly close friends, almost like brothers, in fact Craig joked one day, “Are you sure we weren’t separated at birth?” Working with Craig has totally turned around METAL KNIGHTS and the direction that we were going. He and his program DESTINY BRIDGE gave it focus and showed us that “Yes we can do this!” He showed us that if you follow his steps that he has worked out about how to write material that not only sounds good but that people are willing to reach into their pockets and buy, that you can achieve your goal of success. One only has to look at BENEDICTUM and listen to their new album SEASONS OF TRADGEDY to see what I mean. When V and Pete came to our studio one day with that new CD freshly mastered before it was released and I heard the song BEAST IN THE FIELD, I freaked! It gave me writers block for at least two weeks it was that good! Honest! That is what having Craig Goldy involved with your band can do. I have done a lot of radio interviews over the last few months and am asked this question a lot, and I like to say that if you are in a band or you know someone in a band that is good and they are not making the progress that they should, they need to get the DESTINY BRIDGE program and start working with Craig! Craig is now on the board of the Grammy’s, I mean they don’t just let any ‘ol schmuck on there you know, they recognize his talent and his wanting to help find the new talent out there and develop the best of it. I remember when we were mixing THE GATES OF HELL, Craig and I were at our studio and there was a band rehearsing in one of the rooms and we were in the control room so we had our headphones on mixing, but when we would take a break while Craig was producing, we would hear this band in there and we both would say, “Man those guys are good!” then go back to mixing. Then finally Craig couldn’t take it anymore, he stood up and started to walk down the hall and I said, “Where are you going?” his answer was “I can’t take it anymore, I got to tell these guys how freaking good they are!” That is how he is, he walked right into their rehearsal and they all had this look like, “Oh my fucking God! It’s Craig Goldy!” and then he began to tell them how great they sounded. Not so he could sell them on DESTINY BRIDGE, but to let them know they had what it took, the talent to make it. Sure he is willing to help bands like that through DESTINY BRIDGE, which is so cheap to get into it is ridiculous when you think what bands go through to get CD’s made and recording time and everything so that they can run into someone at the NAMM show once a year in HOPES that the person will listen to it, and 99.9% of the time, that CD gets tossed. So why not put a little money into something that is truly life changing for a musician and make it to your goals. One day, DESTINY BRIDGE will be this huge empire, I don’t say that because I am close with Craig, it is just I have seen first hand what he did with me personally, and with my band, and if he can do that with us, then there are so many more talented bands out there that deserve a break too, this is their chance! Because of working with Craig, we recently signed with Major Management with HUNT MANAGEMENT out of Beverly Hills, California and are now in talks with labels. This is all happened pretty fast, but that is what DESTINY BRIDGE can do for someone when they work it, and work it the right way. You have to be driven, have talent yes, I mean to paraphrase Craig, “You can’t polish a turd!”, but you can help bring out what is inside, the talent that hides within, which is what he did with me.
Q How soon can we expect an album?
A Well we just released out EP “THE CROSSING” which is available worldwide now through iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody and just about every digital download service on the planet. We are right now working on more new songs for a full album and are hard at work on that. So far there are some really great songs I think, we are going into this very medieval place with the new stuff and it is starting to sound great. One thing people should know is that to release something that is really good, you take your time and craft it to get it to its best, maybe not as long as Axl Rose did with Chinese Democracy, no offense Axl, but we just know that if we want to last in this business we need to do it right, and to do it right, every step has to be done that way. But the end result will be spectacular when you approach it that way, again look at Judas Priest and NOSTRADAMUS, that took like 3 years, but when you listen to it, you would have let them take 4 if they needed it, it is that mind blowing good. Great music is like Great wine, it takes time, but when you take that first sip, it is all worth it.
Q Did you have a musical background?
A Yes, I grew up in a musical family, my mother was a professional singer, had some albums out back in like the 50’s, she was a real swinging boogie woogie type singer. She had me onstage with her at like 5 years old singing with her at USO shows for the veterans of Vietnam. Then at age 7 I got cast as the lead in the musical OLIVER and sang my little heart out, I was pretty much hooked after that and did more theatre and it was all musical. Then when I hit my teens and heard Judas Priest’s HELL BENT FOR LEATHER, my life changed big time! That was it; I was just that, HELL BENT on making Metal my life one way or another. I was very inspired and still am by that band and other greats like DIO, Rainbow, Iron Maiden (even from as far back as their first efforts that I was able to get my hands on because I had a connection in London who would send me stuff), Motorhead, Saxon, I love Biff’s voice and that band, they are so good, I just wish they would come over to the states more often! When I turned 19, I knew if I was going to make it in Hard Rock and Metal, I had better get some training, so I went and found the best, Elizabeth Sabine. Mind you I thought she was bonkers the first lesson I had with her when she told me to “Cry like a baby”. I really thought she was Looney, but then I started to see who else she was training and they were some of the greats of the 80’s music scene in Hollywood, so I felt I was at the right place. It is funny because when I left music in 85 to go into radio, I thought I would never sing again, and I didn’t until after my transplant. For some reason I just had this drive again to do it, but it had been 20 years since I had done it. But guess what? It was Sabine and her CRY LIKE A BABY that brought it all back and that is how I get the sound with my voice now, especially on songs like DEATH DEFIER and THE GATES OF HELL, that is all Sabine coming through me God bless her!
Q Having worked in radio earlier on in your career, you have interviewed some major rock artists. Which interview stands out for you and why?
A I would have to say Rob Halford when he was with FIGHT. He was and is and always will be my vocal hero, so when I got a chance to interview him in like 1993, I was just in awe. He is a very polite nice guy, who always seems so kind, very much a British gentleman. I have had the opportunity to meet with him since that interview and he is always that way, just really nice.
Q What made you decide to go from radio to visual media?
A I was doing pretty good in the medium market in my time slot which was 7pm to Midnight, I had the highest ratings in my market in Rock Radio a couple of times, and I really loved playing the Harder rock that I was able to play, but in about 1994, the shift happened to grunge and I wasn’t playing the music I loved anymore. If I had to play Smells Like Teen Spirit one more time or Pearl Jam, not to say those were BAD bands, it just wasn’t my thing, I would have looked for an Uzi. That period of music there was so much over saturation that it took itself out in a few years. So I decided to move on, and I always new how to edit video, the old school way, so when Video Editing went digital, I knew it was going to explode so I just dove it head first and taught myself everything I could, opened up my own studio and started getting work hand over fist. Then people started wanting 3D logo’s on commercials and I felt to stay competitive I had to learn that too, which led to me learning all about 3D from really the master himself Ron Thornton who brought high end 3D and Visual FX to the television world with Babylon 5. He had this set of training videos that I got and my life changed again, because I understood it! It came easy for me, so after editing a few big things, I started to focus in on the 3D and Visual FX side of things, and finally landed at Ron Thornton’s studio FOUNDATION IMAGING which also was doing STAR TREK VOYAGER, and I am like the ultimate Star Trek fan, so when I made it in those doors it was like being in heaven. They had just signed a deal to produce a 3D animated version of STARSHIP TROOPERS called ROUGHNECKS: STARSHIP TROOPER CHRONICLES and I ended up as a Technical Director on that. I also did some work on the blockbuster BATMAN & ROBIN and a bunch of music videos, but it was the crew at FOUNDATION IMAGING that I have to say was almost like family. To this day I stay in touch with many of them and have watched some of them go onto just incredible success with studios like PIXAR, ILM and SONY IMAGEWORKS. That was without a doubt the single best group of people that I ever had the honor to work with, every person there was so talented at their craft and there were a lot of us, and it was while there that I got so sick from the HEP C that I had to leave production work all together. But I still talk to a lot of them, they know about METAL KNIGHTS, I think some of them are freaked out by it, because I am not the same person they worked with back then, but they all seem to be behind what I am doing now, like I said, it was like family. In fact there is talk of a reunion with METAL KNIGHTS playing it, which would just totally spin some heads if it happens because they remember me as this guy that sat at his workstation doing his job, they really didn’t have a clue that I was this uber Metal Head that could sing.
Q You are President/Visual FX Supervisor at your company Ocean Visual FX. Tell me a bit about your work in 3D animation. How did you get started, did you have any training and how has the industry changed?
A 3D like I said came easy to me, I guess I have to look back to me getting excellent grades in Geometry as the foundation for understanding it so easily. I started just with the real simple stuff, but when I saw how I could build and fly spaceships and blow them up and they looked so real, I was totally hooked. I was self taught, back then there was not all these schools that there are today, in fact I ended up teaching 3D modeling and Animation as well as Digital Compositing at Chapman University as an Associate Professor and at the American Film Institute, so I ended up training the people that are now in the industry. Some of my students really had it and I know some of them have gone onto work on great movies and series. When I met Rudy I was just putting Ocean Visual FX together after getting better after my surgery so, when Rudy and I became friends, and I saw his passion for 3D and FX I asked him if when he wasn’t doing anything with DIO or anything else if he wanted to team up with me on projects. That led to him coming up with a great idea for a new animated sit com that is now in the works, that we have co developed, Rudy created it, and hopefully soon we will be busy with that too.
Q Your life seems so full! How do you juggle family, day job, music career etc.?
A Honest answer? I HAVE NO CLUE! (Laughs) I think it has something to do with getting a second chance at life, once you go through what I have and you come out the other side OK, you look at life completely different. Each day you attack it like it could be your last, and that is what I do. I take nothing for granted anymore when it comes to life on this earth. Before I got ill, I thought like everyone else, “Ah, I got a lot of time left!”, but in reality we don’t. The fact that I am still here is a miracle! I know for a fact, I should be dead. But I am not. That changes you and I think for the better. The guys in the band look at me sometimes and say, “Dude, you are so freaking driven! Where does it come from?” Well, Starbucks has one part to do with it! (Laughs) but it is really making up for lost time and doing it with everything I have this time. I have a great loving wife who stood by my side everyday of my illness for years and basically became a nurse without going to school for it; she did it out of love. And then I have my daughter who I just adore, she is so funny, I mean she went through the first part of her life not knowing if her Daddy was going to live or die, and they were pretty much set up for me not being here. But they really never gave up, me being here today is proof of that. If my wife had not demanded twice that I be resuscitated, I would have died. To see my daughter now happy and the weight of my illness gone, to see her not worry anymore, to not come in and ask “Daddy are you going to live through the day?” it really makes everything I do today so much more important and worth every ounce of energy I put into whatever I do.
Q I have a neighbor who is thirteen years old, and was diagnosed just before Christmas 2007 with auto immune liver failure and received her transplant in December; so naturally I was interested to learn that you have also had a liver transplant. Have you been involved with organ transplant awareness and what advice would you give others facing similar difficulties in their lives?
A Yes I have, and I am glad that your friend had her transplant. I work with a great organization called DONATE LIFE AMERICA and their subsidiary ALEX BAND’S DONATE LIFE ROCKS! These organizations help spread awareness and get the word out about how important it is to be an organ donor, so I give back to them what I can in anyway they need me. Last year it was playing with METAL KNIGHTS at the DONATE LIFE ROCKS concert here in Los Angeles at Universal. Pamela Moore of Queensryche fame and I did a song, a duet called WILL YOU THE THERE which was to help spread awareness and we ended up doing a radio Public Service Announcement for DONATE LIFE, so they know whenever they need anything from me, they just need to ask. I will always be a huge proponent of that organization and do whatever when called upon.
Q To end on a lighter note, there definitely seems to be a resurgence of hard rock/classic metal. What do you remember about the 80s music scene, good and bad?
A I remember a lot because I lived it, I was there on the Sunset Strip in its hedonistic heyday. The good would have to be seeing bands like Motley Crue when they first started to own the strip, and bands like Warrior, I remember seeing them the first time open for Motley Crue and when Perry McCarty opened his mouth and started singing, I felt like LA was going to explode, and I was right, it did, just not for the band I was in! The bad part of it was having to dress like chicks! At least for me, I was much more influenced by what was going on in the UK, with Priest and Maiden and Saxon and Motorhead, that is why I remember the early days of METALLICA and they had this “Fuck that!” attitude about that whole glam scene, and I agreed! I mean one thing is safe to say, no matter how drunken Lemmy could get, you would never see him dress up like the Glam rockers of the 80’s Sunset Strip! And I will take any odds from anyone on that and go to Vegas and gladly take your money, and then meet Lemmy at the Rainbow and buy him a drink to celebrate my earnings!


To check out more about Razor and Metal Knights, visit
http://www.myspace.com/metalknightsmusic
and
http://www.myspace.com/rockdawg1



I would like to thank Razor for taking the time out to do this text interview. I hope I can meet him personally, if he ever gets an opportunity to come to England. His wealth of experience within the entertainment industry and mutual love of metal would, for me, be a meeting to remember. Failing that, I will just have to go to California!

Keep It Loud Razor!


- ANGEL OF METAL (UK)