Sister Sin Prepare to Invade the US

Sweden and heavy metal are not always synonymous with each other. If you ask the average person what’s the first thing that comes to mind when they hear Sweden, they probably won’t mention metal. Sister Sin set out back in 2002 to change all of that. They were determined to rule the world with their old school style of 80s influenced metal and nothing would stop them, especially preconceived notions and stereotypes.

The band’s first album Switchblade Serenades created a minor buzz here in the states, but it caught on in a major way in their homeland of Sweden.  Their second album True Sound of the Underground saw the buzz grow here in the US as the band ventured out on the Hell Hath No Fury tour sponsored by Revolver that included other female fronted metal bands including In This Moment and Straight Line Stitch. The band later jumped onboard a tour with OTEP and One Eyed Doll that brought in many new fans.

I got to sit down with lead guitarist Jimmy Hiltula on the eve of the release of their anticipated third album with Victory Records Now and Forever to discuss their latest creation. “We’re very happy with how the album turned out. I think it’s kind of a different album in a way for us. I think it’s heavier and has a darker feeling to it than the others we have done. The songs are more diverse and more dynamic. We added different elements to them such as keyboard parts and even a piano. We wanted to create a different atmosphere on it and try to step out of our comfort zone.”

The album does have the feel that Jimmy mentioned, but it’s definitely plenty of what you would expect from the band. Such is the case with the first video released from the album entitled “End of Line”. “We chose that one because it had all the main ingredients of Sister Sin. The verses were pure Sister Sin, all the way. Then we threw in the thrashing guitar parts and the pounding drums. The tempo is fast and the chorus is melodic and dynamic, so the song was just a given for the first release.”

The album does have some surprises on it with a huge one being the band’s first ballad entitled “Morning After”. It’s a powerful song that will catch fans off guard as it begins with the delicate sound of a piano and Liv’s voice, with a string section also joining in. “We really wanted to do a ballad on this album, but we weren’t sure what to do. It’s not only our first ballad, but it’s actually a cover song too. We just kind of stumbled across the song on You Tube one day. It was originally done by Randy Piper’s Animal. We thought the melodies were really good and we felt that we could do something really special with it. I think Liv’s voice is very powerful in it and it really showcases her.”

The band has won fans over with their dynamic, high energy live show here in the US. Their first dates here in the states to support the new album will come in February of 2013 as they open for the iconic German rocker Doro. “We’re really excited to be hitting the road with her. We’ve done some previous things with her such as the cover of Motorhead’s “Rock N’ Roll”. We’ve also played a few times with her before, but this will be our first tour with her. She’s definitely one of our idols. The timing was perfect and it all just came together to be able to do the tour, so we can’t wait to hit the road with her.”

The touring cycle is a beast that’s tough to tame. The band travels from city to city in their home on wheels as they adapt to sleeping on a moving bed and being up all night and sleeping all day. Is touring the US any different than touring Sweden? “Well, the US packages that we have toured on seem to be really big. There are usually four or five national bands and maybe two local bands opening up. I would say that’s the biggest difference, unless it’s a big one day festival. The audiences are very similar, but the drives in the US from city to city can be very long. We sometimes have to travel thirty hours to the next show. The food is also a little different. When we first get to the US, we tend to eat a lot of burgers (laughs), but then we get tired of them. We love eating at Panera Bread and at Subway because we don’t have those in Sweden.”

It has to be a surreal kind of feeling to be a musician and go out on the road opening up for an artist who you have idolized or been influenced by such as Doro. It’s no secret that lead singer is a big fan of Doro as is the rest of the band, but Jimmy’s a guitar slinger. What influenced him to pick up that loaded six string years ago? “Metallica actually got me into playing the guitar. I didn’t necessarily think that Kirk (Hammett) and James (Hetfield) were guitar gods, but they did inspire me to learn to play. As far as my heroes go, first and foremost is Yngwie Malmsteen. I’d also have to say that Judas Priest is a big favorite of mine. Painkiller is one of my all-time favorite albums. You can’t get more metal than that! There are so many albums that influenced me too. The first WASP album, Motley Crue’s Shout at the Devil, the first Van Halen album, there are just too many to list here. The 80s was such a great period for metal.”

If you are a fan of 80s metal and haven’t checked out Sister Sin, then you don’t know what you are missing. The band’s influences run deep in the music of that era. The capture the feel and sound of the era and update it to make it sound current and not dated. Even if you are not a fan of 80s metal, Sister Sin has a lot to offer to rock any metal lovers speakers. Their new album is entitled Now and Forever and it is worthy of being cranked at least to 11, if not louder. 

The Rumbling Inside Of A Sound Of Thunder

A Sound of Thunder has really tapped into something on their new album Out of the Darkness. The reviews, including ours, have been screaming the praises of the band and garnering lots of attention for them. Their first video from the album, ”Murderous Horde”, exploded on YouTube and their newest video for the “tongue in cheek” song “Kill That Bitch” is doing the same. We decided to sit down with lead singer Nina Osegueda and guitarist Josh Schwartz to dig a little into what makes this band tick.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Hey guys! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions for us so that we can let people know a little bit more about the group. What are the origins of the band?

A Sound of Thunder: (Josh) In 2008, I had been working pretty heavily on original music at home, but had not played guitar with a band in a long time. My first “testing of the waters” as far as getting back into a band situation was joining a local bar band called Crimson Burnout.  Chris (Haren) was the drummer in that band. They did mostly covers, but Chris and I both had a drive to do original material and Chris really liked my home demos. Crimson Burnout fell apart after only a few months and Chris and I immediately decided to start our own band and do only original material.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Nina, you weren’t in the original lineup of the band. I read that you joined in 2009. Did you find them or did they come looking for you?

A Sound of Thunder: I joined late in the summer of 2009. Creatively, I was in a slump and unhappy. I saw Josh’s as on Craigslist for a vocalist and decided to check them out. They had a video of themselves playing with a male vocalist, and I thought I love this music. I could definitely see myself singing with this band. We started exchanging emails and eventually, I went in for an audition. It was all good from there!

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Let’s talk a bit about the reaction that you have been receiving to the new album. The reaction seems to be very positive, except for the occasional troll.

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) It has been very overwhelming, but definitely not in a bad way! I’m just so amazed that people actually want to buy and listen to music that we’ve created. That’s the most incredible feeling in the world and I can’t thank our fans and supporters enough. You know what? Those occasional trolls aren’t so bad! I think the worse we’ve had is a guy who wanted to do inappropriate sexual things to me! So hey, why not consider it a compliment?

(Josh) It’s been overwhelming and has given us more confidence. On some level, we knew we were making good music that people would probably like, but you can’t really be sure until it’s out there and you get the feedback. Now, I think you can see and hear that boost in our live performances and also hopefully on our next album.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: You released an album in 2011 entitled Metal Renaissance. How would you compare and/or contrast the new album with it?

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) Unlike our first album, this was recorded and produced digitally. The result is a smoother, cleaner sound which allowed us to add more layers without much difficulty. Our songwriting wasn’t too much different for this album, except that we felt freer, creatively, to add different sounds.

(Josh) Metal Renaissance was recorded mostly on analog tape, which we chose because we wanted a vintage, classic sound. In reality, it put a lot of extra time and performance pressure on us because it just takes longer to do everything on tape. You can’t whip out as many takes waiting to get the perfect one. Working in ProTools for Out of the Darkness allowed us the freedom to experiment and add more layers to the recordings.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: What can you tell me about the song “Calat Alhambra”? A song about Queen Isabella and Ferdinad may not be seen as “typical” metal material.

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) Well, my mom is Catalan. This is an area of Spain with its own cultural identity, but I still identify myself as Spanish. Spain and its royal family have a great history and I love studying it. Isabella of Castille in particular is one of my favorite historical figures. She did a lot for both Europe and the Americas. Usually in metal, you hear a lot about warriors, but Isabella was a warrior queen who actually lived! She was vicious, yet today she’s well loved by many and even considered a saint. That, to me, is so interesting that it can’t help but inspire me to write.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Speaking of history, is it true that the band’s name came from the Ray Bradbury short story of the same name?

A Sound of Thunder: (Josh) Yes, the band is named the short story and not the supposedly awful movie adaptation; which I have never seen. There’s not a lot of deep meaning there, it just happens to be one of my favorite stories by one of my favorite authors. The title implied something loud, which of course we are! That added some additional meaning. I guess I’d say that Chris is the real “sound of thunder” in the band because his drum kit is too big and he hits too damn hard!

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: I know you probably get this question a lot, but can you share your influences with our readers?

A Sound of Thunder: (Josh) I’ve always been into music that was a bit before my time. In 1992 when I was 12, I got my first Ozzy tape and from there I worked my way backwards. I acquired literally every album by Black Sabbath, then Deep Purple, then Rainbow, Blue Oyster Cult, Iron Maiden, etc. I never really cared about what was popular at the time, which was Metallica and Megadeth, then Alice in Chains, Marilyn Manson, Fear Factory. None of that 90s metal influenced me because I refused to listen to it. I am kind of like an unfrozen caveman. I’m only 32, but I have the influences of a 50+ year old man!

(Nina) Personally, my metal influences aren’t always my influences when it comes to singing. I’ve heard people compare me to Halford and Dickinson, but the truth is I grew up singing gospel music and rhythm and blues. If I sound anything like them, it’s because we have some soul to our voice. Nowadays, I’ve developed a style that’s different from what I grew up with. I love classic metal, so more recently, Dickinson, Dio and Halford, plus a few oddballs like Udo and Doro have had their say in the style I’ve developed.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: So, how did shooting your video for “Murderous Horde” go? Why did you pick that for the first video?

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) We decided to “Murderous Horde” because it was one of those songs we felt a lot of people could get into. It’s dark, it’s doomy, but vocally I do several distinct changes. I like playing with what my voice can do, so “Murderous Horde” was a good chance to show that off. It’s also has those fast riffs and a fun solo that people love. The idea was born in Duy Tran’s brain, but I must admit that when Josh came to me with the idea of using a snake, my heart soared. Ever since Wayne’s World, I’ve wanted to be like Tia Carrere. Finally, my big chance!

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Nina, it’s become more common for women to front metal bands than it was years ago. In your experience, is there still a stereotype in the industry as it being seen as a novelty thing? Is there a double standard?

A Sound of Thunder: Oh yes, there’s a huge stereotype that we’re a novelty. I hear people say, “I don’t usually go for female fronted metal, but….” And I know exactly why they say that. We’re used as novelties. You can see it whenever there’s a band where the girl lead singer is ten feet away from the band and the guys are out of focus. Personally, what I’d like to do is be part of the band. I love my band. I love the fact that we’re equals and we can bounce ideas off of each other. Even we get on each other’s nerves or someone doesn’t want to take someone else’s advice because of pride (which I’m guilty of, sorry Chris!), but at the end of the day we know that listening to each other is the smart thing to do. So what I’m doing is changing the standard by not just being the lead singer chick; I am a member of the ban.

(Josh) I’m going to chime in on this one and probably sound like a bit of a jerk! It appears that there are a lot of bands out there that make the decision,, “ok, we’re going to be a female fronted band”, so they picked a good looking front-woman who can hold a tune, but isn’t a great vocalist. I don’t know that for a fact, but it sure looks and sounds like it to me and I think that’s why people are so surprised when they hear Nina’s voice. We chose her because she was the best singer, not because she is a female. It wasn’t a marketing ploy. Yes, I think there is a double standard and most of it is due to engrained sexism, but some of it is also due to the wave of bands that are making an effort to market themselves as “female-fronted metal”. They have put forward singers who don’t really acquit themselves well in the tradition of great metal vocalists. I mean, we’re talking the genre of music that gave us Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson…..the vocal bar is pretty high in metal!

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Now, let’s shift gears and lighten the questions up a bit for your fans. Do you both remember the first album you ever bought?

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) Disney’s Aladdin soundtrack. I was in Germany.

(Josh) Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhodes “Tribute”

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Most underrated metal band from any era?

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) I’d say Dream Evil, right now. People call them cheesy, which they are, but why can’t they be? They’re exceptional songwriters and their music is always catchy and fun, while still being very metal.

(Josh) Blue Oyster Cult. They’ve already got a lot of credit, but not as much as they deserve in my opinion. For me, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult are great metal triumvirate of the 70s….and Led Zepplin’s for girls!!

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Last question: You’re stranded on a desert island with only one store bought CD. What would you have to have with you?

A Sound of Thunder: (Nina) Accept “Blood of the Nations”. I will NEVER get tired of that!

(Josh) Man, that’s a really tough, maybe Iron maiden “The Final Frontier”. There’s so much amazing guitar work on that album and so many cool changes and textures on that disc that I don’t think I have fully absorbed it, even after two years and dozens of plays.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: That wraps up our talk with A Sound of Thunder.  I strongly encourage everyone to pick up their latest album Out of the Darkness. It’s an awesome display of metal that will rock your face off. Check out our write-up in our reviews section.

80s Metal Goddess Still Throwing Horns After 25 Years

The 80s saw metal explode into the mainstream and take over the radio airwaves and MTV. It was a period dominated heavily by androgynous men and very few women. The few women who did venture in this genre were seen more as eye candy or a novelty act. It was hard for a woman to be taken seriously as a musician during this time.
Germany brought us a heavy metal band by the name of Warlock and was fronted by a blonde warrior by the name of Doro Pesch. Although she was a beautiful woman, she also had a very strong and aggressive nature to her that has allowed her to endure for over 25 years.

Due to legal reasons, the band changed its name in 1989 and released its fifth album as Doro. She received a great deal of exposure on MTV and many of the metal magazines of that era including Metal Edge, Circus and Kerrang. Her album that was produced by Gene Simmons of KISS also garnered quite a bit of attention. Over the last two decades, Doro has continued to record and tour and has even ventured into acting.

This month sees the release of a special 2DVD/CD package entitled 25 Years in Rock. It’s a commemorative package of Doro’s 25th anniversary show from 2008 when she played the ISS Dome in her hometown of Dusseldorf, Germany. It was the 2500th show in her career and a very special day to all of those involved in her career. We recently caught up with Doro who told us all about the new release and reflected on her long career.

Doro, it’s awesome to be able to sit down and talk to you. Your must be very excited about your new album that’s about to come out. Can you give us some details?

Thank you for wanting to talk to me! I am so proud of this album that is coming out. The show is 3 ½ hours long and there are so many guests on there. Klaus and Rudolph from the Scorpions were there and Jean Beauvoir. We also have a lot of the great ladies of metal including Liv Jagrell, Jackie Chambers and more. The show is huge and it took 10 months just to build the stage. It is a visual treat; it’s the home of Warlock. You know how Iron Maiden had Eddie? Well, we had a huge warlock built that rose up behind the drum set. It had lights and smoke coming out of it and it actually scared some people.

I also read that you were going to be doing a few dates here in the states for the release?

Yes, there are two dates with one being 9/9 in New York City and one on 9/11 in Chicago. Those are two of our favorite places to play and we’ve always done really well there. Hopefully, we will be doing many more dates in the US after the new album comes out.

Your career is in its third decade. You have to have a lot of great memories along this crazy metal ride that you have been on?

Wow, there are so many of them. Where do I start? One would be playing with Megadeth in 1986 on the Monsters of Rock. Touring with (Judas) Priest in 86 is another and our 1987 tour with DIO. Then there was our first tour of the US with Megadeth. I loved recording my album in 1990 that Gene Simmons of KISS produced. He has been the best producer that I have ever had. He was a great motivator and he pushed me to achieve more. Did you know that Tommy Thayer, who is in the band now, was my co-producer on there? He also played a lot of the solos too. Gene brought me a demo of a song called “Unholy Love” that he was singing on and told me that he really wanted me to record it.

There weren’t too many women in metal when you started. The few who were seemed to be more eye candy or seen as a novelty act. Do you think you may have broken down a few doors for some of the women in the field today?

I really don’t know if I knocked down any doors, but I may have taught them how to always be a fighter. My fans have always said that my heart beats for metal. The people out there know I love doing this. The truth has always been in my music and it shows. Nowadays, there are so many more great women out there making music and it has brought more of a balance to the field.

You are and definitely always have been the real deal. How else would you still be doing this after over 25 years? How do you stay inspired? What keeps you motivated?

The fans always have and always will motivate me. I have a great fan base and I live for them. That’s one reason that I have never been married because of how important they are to me. I always have them in my heart and in the back of my mind.

Speaking of your fans, when can they expect some new material from you?

I am hoping, fingers crossed, to have my new studio album out next year. We already have been performing one song from it called “Raise Your Fists” which we opened Waken in Germany with it and the fans loved it. We have been writing for it and it’s going to have all the ingredients; heavy, hardcore, speed and lots of anthems. We will then be here in the states touring as much as we can and hitting as many markets as possible.

That sounds awesome and we can’t wait! Doro, thanks again for taking the time to chat with us. Here’s to 25 more years and a 50th anniversary DVD to come out in the future.