Morgan Lander (KITTIE) On Performing With Former/Current Members “It Was One Of The Highlights Of My Life.”

It’s been twenty years since Morgan Lander helped start the Canadian metal band Kittie (with sister Mercedes and original bandmates Fallon Bowman and Tanya Candler) in London, Ontario. They brought one of the heaviest and most fierce acts we had seen to date, and this is for all bands not just girl bands. There was a thing or two the guys could have learned from the harsh anguish they brought to their music, and I’m sure plenty of their male counterparts took notes and learned from Kittie’s quick rise to stardom in the metal world. Their debut album ‘Spit’ was what got everything started in 2000. The album still to this day is highly regarded as one of the best metal albums of that era. ‘Spit’ was was certified gold by the RIAA and sold at least 600,000 copies in the United States. Keep in mind when ‘Spit’ was recorded the members of the band were only 15-18 years of age. Kittie went on to release their sophomore record ‘Oracle’ in 2001. It was also in 2001 that guitarist and backing vocalist Fallon Bowman left the band. Her infamous growls on the song “Brackish” instantly made her a fan favorite. They followed ‘Oracle’ with the release of ‘Until the End’ in 2004.

Kittie incorporated nu-metal influences as well as incorporating speed, groove and death metal vibes. The combined chemistry of Mercedes and her sister Morgan gave the band this flare that wasn’t seen or heard with other bands. Kittie went on to release ‘Funeral for Yesterday’ (2007), ‘In the Black’ (2009) and ‘I’ve Failed You’ (2011). One of the saddest things the band had to deal with more recently was the death of bassist Trish Doan who passed away in 2017. Vocalist Morgan stated after Trish’s passing “She with her boundless energy, 10,000 ideas and a fiery, vibrant light that could never be extinguished, even now.” In the time spent in the band Trish added an amazing creative element to the Kittie and we were all saddened by her passing. Though ‘I’ve Failed You’ was the bands last release as of now in 2011, they started filming a documentary about the band in 2014 that would include all the past and present members of the band as part of a 20 year anniversary for the band. On August 30, 2017, the band announced the reunion of the original lineup for a one night only concert. They performed on October 27, 2017 in their hometown of Ontario. The show also coincided with the launch of the documentary. Whoever was in the crowd that night witnessed something that most of us would give anything to see. Kittie not only formed in the late 90’s but they molded the whole metal scene and they worked hard to get to their rightful place at the top.

 

Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast host Joshua Toomey welcomes Kittie vocalist Morgan Lander on this week’s episode of the podcast. Morgan talks about everything that is currently going on with Kittie and the recent documentary showing their history titled ‘Origins’. Toomey and Morgan also talk about forming the band and sometimes coming down to just looking for anyone that played an instrument. Morgan even talks about touring in the earlier days with much heavier bands like Nile and it made them need to go out with a chip on their shoulder. Morgan also talks about trying to get all the former and current members of the band together and playing a couple shows maybe in L.A. and New York and do something similar to what they did on ‘Origins’ documentary. You can hear the entire interview below.

 

 

An Interview With RONZWORLD GUITARS [Audio]

 

If you were at a rock festival recently and saw a fan on stage or walking around with a striking hand-painted guitar with the festival’s logo blazoned on the body, you more than likely witnessed a RONZWORLD GUITARS axe in all its one-of-a-kind glory!

Although RONZWORLD GUITARS have been featured and awarded to fans at festivals across the country for years, RONZWORLD founder and artist Ron Williams is now pleased to announce his next venture. This summer – in partnership with The Music Experience, a traveling consumer exhibit present at live events – RONZWORLD has launched the Official Festival Guitars Experience for a rock, alternative, and country music portfolio of festivals produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, ASK4 Entertainment, AEG, Live Nation and Ledge Entertainment. Continue reading

Nashville Rock N Pod Expo Will Feature Vinnie Vincent, Brian “Head” Welch & More!

 

The 2nd annual Rock N Pod Expo will take place on August 25th in Nashville, Tennessee at The Nashville Palace. In this modern era of music local radio stations are routinely playing the same artists over and over or only spinning those well established bands that have been dominating the airwaves for years. That’s where the podcasts come in; the majority of these podcast hosts started their show simply because they were passionate about music. These podcasts also provide a platform to promote up and coming bands. The Nashville Rock n Pod Expo will feature over 25 participating podcasts that have combined downloads exceeding ten million. The Nashville Rock n Pod Expo is like the Comic Con of podcasts and it features much more than simply the hosts of these shows, there will be a variety of jaw dropping guests who will be appearing at the event as well. Now in its second year, the Nashville Rock n Pod Expo is a one-day event that celebrates all things rock, metal and podcasting. Continue reading

John Connolly (SEVENDUST) On James Hetfield, “He Was The Guy Who Kinda Set The Ball In Motion For Me”

Sevendust guitarist, John Connolly returns to join Joshua Toomey for this week’s episode of Talk Toomey – The Metal Nexus Podcast for an in-depth interview. Starting out his musical journey as a drummer who was largely influenced by bands like KISS and Rush, Connolly details how it was Eddie Van Halen, Dimebag Darrell – and most of all, James Hetfield – who inspired him to become a guitarist instead. He says “[Hetfield] was the guy who kinda set the ball in motion for me.” Continue reading

An Interview With Joshua Toomey (Talk Toomey Podcast / PRIMER 55)

 

Most of you are some time or another have heard something that Joshua Toomey has created, whether it be his music with the Nu-Metal legends Primer 55, or his Nashville based band 12 Volt Negative Earth, or his popular podcast Talk Toomey. The bass player turned podcaster was originally from the Nashville area, but moved to the Bluegrass state in order to join Primer 55. From 2002–2007 Toomey was the bands bassist and toured both near and far with the band. Prior to Primer 55 Toomey was a member of the band 12 Volt Negative Earth. I happened to see the band live and their sound was incredible and a band that should have went much further than they did. When Toomey left 12v to join Primer 55 he was replaced by another bassist you may know, Chris Kael now famously known as the bass player for Five Finger Death Punch. When Toomey left the stage and started a family (who are adorable by the way) he still had that creative itch, and was inspired by other podcasters like Jamey Jasta. He felt like he had something to say in a creative manner so Talk Toomey was born. His last name which I’m sure has been a headache at times was finally put to some good use and it didn’t take long before a vast amount of fans were familiar with the name. After speaking at the Louder Than Life festival in 2016 and 2017 Toomey and I (Fist – Editor & Founder of Metal Nexus) decided to join forces bringing together Talk Toomey’s incredible conversations, already established fan base, guests and insight with the hard working Metal Nexus staff and our fans. The partnership was instantly a hit and Metal Nexus is incredibly happy to have Talk Toomey as part of the Metal Nexus family. This interview was an opportunity to allow you – the fans to get to know the man behind the mic a little better, and also for two friends to just shoot the shit.

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METALLICA Mixer Steve Thompson on ‘…And Justice For All’, “They Have No Desire To Remix It!”

Remember Steve Thompson? Yeah, the guy who handled mixing duties on METALLICA‘s ‘…And Justice For All?‘ and also the one, who often takes a beating when it comes to the mixing bass on that very record. We recently had the opportunity to talk to this record producer about “Appetite For Destruction“, “…And Justice For All?“, “Ugly“, “Bring the Noize” and Korn‘s “Follow The Leader.”

Steve Thompson is an American producer who is a very familiar face when it comes to handling duties or just in studio exercises. He boasts about having worked with bands of excellent repertoire, such as that of METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES, ANTHRAX, LIFE OF AGONY, KORN and many others through the years. He is also a seven  times Grammy winner and has worked on a lot of platinum, diamond and gold records.

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Robb Flynn “How Nobody [Everybody] Missed This Gigantic Rap Influence On Our Band I’ll Never Understand”

The man really needs no introduction, Machine Head’s guitarist and vocalist Robb Flynn. Machine Head first came on the scene in 1991 and released their debut album ‘Burn My Eyes’ which has been a staple of American groove and thrash lovers catalog. The band has went on to release 9 studio albums their most recent of which is titled ‘Catharsis’ that comes out January 26th via Nuclear Blast Records. The album is the long awaited follow up to 2004’s ‘Bloodstone and Diamonds’. Machine Head has already released the title track and “Beyond The Pale” from ‘Catharsis’ and with a total of 15 tracks on the album we can’t wait to hear what each and every track has to offer. Make sure to pick up the album at any music retailer on January 26th.  Continue reading

Bobby Tongs (PANTERA Videographer) On Dimevision, “It’s Therapeutic”

I am sure you all have seen those crazy ass PANTERA home videos, where Dime and others in the band would do loads of silly stuff and make fun of each other, and it was hilarious and awesome for a normal fan to just be able to witness what actually happened in the PANTERA camp. Sometimes Dime would end up dead drunk in the videos pulling pranks on his band mates, Phil would join in on the fun and all that jazz. But you ever wondered who the man behind all these captured memories are? Sure, you’ve seen him a thousand times in interviews and on the internet. He is none other than the band’s official videographer and roadie Bobby Tongs. And yeah Bobby would not survive the Dime and Co.’s stupid pranks too!

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Jeff Waters of Annihilator On How Labels Rejected The Band “You’re Not Someone We Can Just Sign And Rip Off”

Annihilator is one of those bands you have heard about one way or another. Debuting with legendary thrash album ‘Alice In Hell’ and continuing the rage with albums such as ‘Set The World On Fire’, ‘Refresh The Demon’ and latest record ‘Triple Heat’ is something only they can say. A long list of former members, different line-ups and even record labels doesn’t slow Annihilator down, they have worked with what they had and make the absolute best of it and they will continue to do so. But enough of the past, Annihilator is already set to released a brand new album called ‘For The Demented’ which will release tomorrow on the 3th of November. So before you dive right into the details of the interview add the record to your collection here! Continue reading