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Hi, first off all I want to congratulate you with your new album “Hammer & Fist”. Great album. Are you satisfied with it?
D.D.Danger - Thanks for your kind words. Yeah we love it. We think it’s a natural progression from the first album. Better songs, better production, better playing and the most important thing – more METAL! How has your new album been received by the media?
D.D.Danger - So far so good. It’s early days yet and we only have a few reviews in, but they have all been very positive. They are all saying that it’s a step up from the first album and that it’s great to have a real Heavy Metal band from the UK playing real, True Heavy Metal. As Metal Warriors this makes us feel very proud – we are achieving what we set out to achieve – which is to be the most Metal band on the scene and to produce straight up, no-nonsense Heavy Metal.
Where do you see the main difference between the “Conquest of Steel” album and “Hammer & Fist”?
D.D.Danger - The song writing has improved loads. Although we didn’t have too much time and were a little rushed at the end, we managed to spend enough time crafting the riffs we had into Pure Heavy Metal Anthems. We were then able to spend more time in the studio than we had before so that we could further perfect our vision of what a Heavy Metal album should sound like. We still love the first album and the songs are great – many of which we still play live, but the new one is basically more Metal than ever before. Each new album will see the Heavy Metal Quotient increased to ever-higher levels!
In what words would you describe the music and moods of Conquest of Steel for someone that has not heard you yet?
D.D.Danger - The music is pure 1980’s style Heavy Metal. Nothing more, nothing less. We are proud to be flying the flag of Heavy Metal. Our aim is to preach the ways of Heavy Metal to the masses and to indoctrinate them into loving old school Heavy Metal!
To what subjects do the lyrics of Conquest of Steel refer to, and who writes them?
Who writes to music?
D.D.Danger - Metal, Metal and more Metal. The lyrics are mainly written by Dan (Vocals) with some input from Vic (Bass). Although all the songs aren’t specifically about Metal, they are all analogous to Metal. For example many of the songs are about the glory of battle – old medieval battle. This is used as a way for us to describe how we feel that we are fighting for Metal. Fighting against what the mass populace sees as acceptable music – bland, vacuous, commercial culture is our enemy and Heavy Metal is our Sword by which we fight against it. We are out to raise the sword for Heavy Metal and let people know that Metal will never die as long as people are willing to fight its cause.
Who has produced and mixed the album? Are you pleased with the result?
D.D.Danger - The Drums were recorded with Greg Chandler at Priory Studios (Birmingham, UK) and the mix was completed with him. The rest of the instruments were recorded at Red Flag Studio’s under the watchful eye of Farrow Bros. Greg plays in Extreme Doom band Esoteric and is a big Metal fan. It is an absolute pleasure to record and mix with him and he makes recording a very easy and fun process – he also provides us with a floor to crash on and to drink copious amounts of beer and home made absinthe until the early hours of the morning! Similarly, recording at Red Flag was very easy. It’s close to our home so we can drop in and finish bits off regularly, and Farrow Bros are also great to work with. Using 2 studios has been great and we are really pleased with the final result. It represents the ultimate experience in Heavy Metal listening – until our next album!
What’s the song you consider most representative of the new album and why?
D.D.Danger - They all in some way represent what we are about. Musically ‘I am Legend’ mixes a great chorus with some fantastic lead and melody work and hammers home the Metal goods in a traditional ‘song’ based way. Lyrically ‘Million Strong’ is also representative of how we feel. It is about how metalers are outcasts in society, but yet there are millions of us around the world, and together we can be strong and continue to fight for Metal. It’s that feeling of Heavy Metal Community you get when you go to Wacken, or another Metal Festival – we are all brothers and sisters in Metal, and we will continue to fight the good fight. Do you feel that your sound will evolve in some different direction, in the future, or you will still follow the same path?
D.D.Danger - We will definitely evolve, although we shall always play True Heavy Metal. We have lots of different influences within Metal and will use them to progress the sound of the band. For example we have a few new ideas that we are gonna try out for our next recording (7” vinyl). But the core of the band will always remain the same. Metal ‘til Death.
How long do you need to practice to feel comfortable with your songs before you record them?
D.D.Danger - As long as we can! Unfortunately we are always on a tight time scale and more time would always be beneficial, however I feel that it is a good thing that we don’t have the luxury that big bands do of having months in the studio to write and record an album because it often saps the life out of it. We are able to keep our music fresh and dynamic and working to a time scale often brings out the best in us. The music scene really changed between the 70's, 80's and 90's. What would you say has been your strongest influence?
D.D.Danger - Musically the 80’s are our biggest influence – bands such as Maiden, Manowar, Priest, Dio, Wasp etc etc. Of course the 70’s is an influence as well – the bands listed above wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Sabbath, Purple, Budgie, etc etc. We also grew up with a lot of ‘90’s Metal and that has also heavily influenced us, whether it be Doom, Trad or Death Metal, our influences are all Metal.
Any plans to go on tour? If so, when and where?
D.D.Danger - We have just completed a 2-week European Tour in Germany, Holland, Belgium and the UK. We are constantly gigging, we play at least 50 gigs a year and aim to get abroad as much as possible. We are playing an Irish festival next month, have a German Festival lined up next year and loads more gigs in the pipeline. We are happiest when we are playing live onstage. This is where we believe Metal belongs and we shall continue to spread the word by playing as far and wide as possible. It would be great to come and play Denmark – if you or any of your readers know any contacts let us know!!
Who designs your CD artwork and who has the final word on what actually goes on the album cover?
D.D.Danger - Dee Myers has drawn all of our artwork so far. She is able to translate our ideas in to the embodiment of Metal in art. We send her concepts and let her get on with it. We have the final say. We are lucky to be signed to a label that lets us make all artistic and musical decisions. We will not be told to change our music or art to suit a labels request. It is our music and our vision, so we must have full control.
Let's speculate - you have been granted a free slot on a tour of your own choice - who would be your ideal touring partners?
D.D.Danger - Ha Ha – a dream question! Well it goes without saying that we would love to tour with the giants of Metal – Iron Maiden – but seeing as they are more bothered with taking shit bands and Steve Harris’ daughter on tour with them, I guess this will never happen! It would be great to play with Manowar – and to blow them off stage every night! As for smaller bands, Slough Feg would be ideal – great music and a great band. Any band that plays Metal straight from the heart and who can party, drink beer and have a good time on tour without being arrogant arseholes is welcome to join us on the road.
How do you see the future of the English metal scene and generally of the worldwide scene?
D.D.Danger - I have mixed feelings about the English scene, there are some great bands and the Thrash scene is developing well over here and producing some good young bands, but I also feel like it’s lost a little bit of the magic it once had – maybe I’m just getting old and feeling like ‘it wasn’t like it was when I was a lad’. Whatever, I guess the good thing is that Metal is probably more popular than it has been for a long time, which has got to be a good thing – more people listening to Metal is always a good thing, as long as these people are in to it for the right reasons – the music – and not for some image that they will ditch in a year or two. What are you doing besides Conquest of Steel, job wise as well as hobbies?
D.D.Danger - We refuse to speak of our lives outside of Conquest of Steel. For us the band and Heavy Metal is our life. What albums or bands do you believe have had the greatest impact on the history of metal?
D.D.Danger - Too many to mention. Of course Black Sabbath’s first album started the whole thing and from then on too many bands have impacted on the scene. It is important not to forget the smaller bands that never made it huge. These bands are still influencing countless Metal bands to start up and they keep the underground alive. Bands such as Cirith Ungol, Budgie, Blitzkrieg etc etc.
Thank you very much for participating in this interview and sharing this information and your thoughts with us - these last lines are entirely for you…
D.D.Danger - Cheers Jorgen. Thanks for your time. Hope your readers enjoy the interview, and more importantly continue to enjoy listening to Heavy Metal. All Conquest of Steel albums and t-shirts, patches etc can be purchased from www.nofacerecords.co.uk.
Hope to see you on tour sometime and keep it Metal!!
D.D.Danger (Guitar)
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