Interview with

MAGUS BEAST/AGRESSOR have been a staple of the New York heavy metal scene since their inception in 1985...and in the year 2003,they still play live...gaining new fans every time. So how come you have maybe NEVER heard of this band? Why hasn't their thrash metal assault brutalized you in the supposed sanctity of your own home? Get ready...because it is going to...read below and find out why MAGUS BEAST/AGRESSOR will,just like the music they play and heavy metal music itself,NEVER FUCKING DIE!

Interview by - Chris O'Brien (RUSH OF POWER WEBZINE)
*** USED WITH KIND PERMISSION ***

C.O.-When did AGRESSOR form? How long had you been playing guitar before the band formed? How did you find the original line-up of the band?

J.R.-Agressor formed back in 1985. Ron is actually the one True original member of the band. I was a roadie and guitar student for the original guitar player, Rommel Roy. After the band split up in 1886 or so, Ron and the original drummer, Dave Barckow, decided to keep moving forward with Agressor and I busted my ass to get them to give me a shot to try out for them. I think at first they were a bit weary of letting me try out, thinking that since I was a student of the guitar player they just split up with, they might get too much of the same thing. But as you can see things worked out quite well, or we wouldn’t be doing this interview. I had been playing guitar for about 4 yrs or so before I actually joined the band. We then went through a few bass players and stuff and Dave decided to leave, so then we found Steve, who was actually referred to us by Dave. After that, all we needed was a bass player, we searched high and low and somehow stumbled along a lifelong friend, Tim. And things just clicked from there

C.O.-What were some of the songs you guys wrote early on in the bands development? Do you still play any of those songs live today?

J.R.-Assault Attack and Born to Kill are actually from way back in the beginning, before me. Other than that there aren’t too many songs that we have from way back that we are playing, although there are 2 or 3 that we are re-working with the recording we are doing now.

C.O.-How did the bands sound progress through playing live? What were some of the clubs you guys played at the time? What bands did you guys open for back then?

J.R.-Obviously the band has matured a lot and gotten much better at what we do with all the live shows we have played. Shit the list of old clubs from way back, damn I will give it a shot, most of them are long gone by now……. Club Nu ( Jackson Heights, NY), Jammin ( 42nd Street NYC) February’s ( a long time rock staple on the Island). The Roxy ( Huntington, NY) Studio One (NJ), the list goes on and on….. L’amour before they changed it all over. We opened for anybody and anything that would give us a chance, some of the different bands we have opened for over the years are ( in no particular order) OVERKILL, FATES WARNING (2 different tours), SAVATAGE, VIRGIN STEELE, NUCLEAR ASSAULT ( 2 different tours), Blitzspeer, XYZ, D-Priest, ANVIL, CANDLEMASS, TT QUICK….. the list goes on and on.

C.O.-How long did it take the band to get enough material to record a demo? What songs were on "Screams From The Darkness"? Did any of those songs re-appear on the "Say Your Prayers" album? Was there any label intrest expressed in the band?

J.R.-We actually had enough songs for the Screams in the Darkness demo pretty quickly, I would say within about 6 months or so. Screams in the darkness had the following songs on it.

No More Pain/ Raw Deal/ Fatal Nightmares/ Enemy Mine/ Assault Attack

Obviously, Assault Attack somehow made it back on to the Say Your Prayers CD. We had a bunch of other tunes that we were working on but felt these 5 were the best at the time. There really wasn’t that much label interest in us at that point. I still have the masters and stuff but we now view it more of a learning experience with Screams in the Darness. .the Demo did help us get the name around and get to open for some of the different bands, but we were all only like 19 yrs old so we had a hell of a lot more to learn.

C.O.-How did you guys become a "project band" for New York University students? Were the students into your music? What went on at NYU?

J.R.-I actually attended NYU for Music. I went there for my Audio Engineering degree. I wanted to become an engineer. The professors asked if anybody knew of a band that was able to pullit off in the studio. We played the Screams in the darkness stuff for him and he decided that we would be a good candidate to work with. Some of the students were definitely into the music som of course were into different types of music, but they all liked working with us because we were so gung ho for recording our music. We would show up on different nights and pretty much do all the different elements of recording a song or what not with each class. From Basic tracks to overdubs to mixing and editing ( analog, the old fashioned way!!!!) One of the things I engineered there got the attention of one of the instructors and I was pushed ahead a semester because they felt I progressed a lot more than most of the others. This instructor also taught at the Center for Media Arts, which we also became a project band for, which was even better, that studio was HUGE and those people REALLY were into what we were doing…. Somehow in their class, I was able to wind up mixing the songs we recorded at CMA… plenty of free recording time…!!!

C.O.-Why did Tim Malone leave the band after the recording of the "Crucified" demo? Who replaced him? Did the time between Tim's departure and finding a new bassist cause any problems with the band as far as writing material went?

J.R.-Tim wound up leaving due to a lot of things going on in his life. Things we all understood and were aware of. Tim has been a life long friend to me and now of course to all the guys in the band. Even when he was out of the band, Tim was always hanging around and coming to shows and what not. Dave Zob actually replaced Tim and pretty quickly. Things seemed to click right away and we were already heavily into playing live again and writing more material for the Say Your Prayers cd. Sometimes when things change a bit, they actually give you a little bit of a kick in the ass. So maybe we were a bit more determined to work and it paid off with the material on SYP.

C.O.-How long did it take to write the album "Say Your Prayers"? Were any NYU students involved with the production of this album? How did the sales for the album do considering that it was an independent release?

J.R.-The SYP sessions went rather smoothly and quite well. We recorded at Rockaway Studios in Rockaway beach NY. We had worked with Mitch the owner. I helped him out when he was setting up his recording studio so it sort of paid off on this project. Mitch and I have a great relationship and he and I went for the livest and purest feel on this CD. We pretty much cranked things up and went for it with the natural sounds. That is why that CD I think sounds so full. We just went all out. Mitch and I engineered and produced it. I think we did a great job. IF time aloows it with everyone’s schedule, we will work with Mitch again. It woud be great, I would come in around lunch time and feed Mitch and then we would work for about 6-7 hours until his night sessions came in. There were NO NYU students involved in this recording. I had been out of NYU for about 4 yrs when we worked on SYP. Sales were pretty good for an independent release. I STILL get money in the mail to this day from all over the planet for the CD. We did not make ourselves rich in anyway , but the profit margin and the exposure we got from this one was great.

C.O.-Why did drummer Steve Williams leave the band after the release of the album? How hard was it to find his replacement? Did you guys ever find a permanent replacement for him? What happened with bassist Dave Zeb leaving after Steve left?

J.R.-Steve did not want to leave but he sort of had no choice. Steve was losing his job here in NY and he wound up going out to Arizona on vacation and took the Police test out there. Guess what, they took him!!!!!! It was rough losing somebody after working with them for so long. We had Dave, the original drummer fill in for some spots here and there while we worked on finding his replacement. Luckily we stumbled upon a replacement pretty easily. A good friend, Tony, from a band called Finster Baby ( also used to be in Stormtrooper back in the 80’s) was sort of doing nothing as Finster was not doing anything. Tony played a show with us and pretty much hung around and worked with for a year or so. See the thing is, if there was a show with a national or something like that, I would book the show and use my resources to have somebody play drums for us, no matter what. After a while, Tony’s schedule was a bit too hectic to commit to a band anymore, so he regretfully had to step aside. Although while Tony was playing with us, things did not seem to be working out with Dave. We decided to Ask Tim if he was interested in jamming with us and he jumped at the chance, and of course he has been with us since!!!

C.O.-How certain was the bands future at that point? How did you convince original bassist Tim Malone to re-join the band? Do you feel the addition of second guitarist Andy Zuppardi made the band stronger live?

J.R.-There wasn’t much that we had to say to Tim to get him back in, he jumped at the chance. We had decided to start looking for a 2nd guitarist to help thicken up the sound and work on some more complex harmonies and stuff like that. When we started jamming with Andy, we knew it was the perfect fit. It really helps the band sound more solid when we are playing live and gives us an even heavier sound as well. I think his sound and my sound really compliment each other nicely.

C.O.-How long did Steve's replacement stay before he evntually left? Was it hard to convince Steve to re-join the band?

J.R.-Tony was with us for maybe a year and half or maybe 2 years. We were dormant for a little bit until we found Bob Freese. Bob helped get us moving again. Getting Steve to come in was simple. His wife works for the Airlines so he flies for FREE. We called and asked him if he wanted to play a show at CASTLE HEIGHTS and he jumped at it. From there we just kept moving forward and kept playing with bigger and bigger bands….

C.O.-How the hell did Steve share time between the band in New York and everything he had going on in Arizona?

J.R.-Steve’s work schedule with the Police Dept in Arizona and his wife’s flight priveliges worked out PERFECTLY with our plans. He would fly in for 2 days and jam and fly out and come back in a week or maybe two weeks… and of course for any shows we had.

C.O.-How did you find drummer Bob Freese? What bands had Bob been in previous to joining AGRESSOR? Who plays the majority of the shows with the band,Steve or Bob?

J.R.-I think Bob found one of my ads on one of the online music sites and we jammed and it worked out quite well. Bob was out of the metal scene for a while but he used to play with a Long Island based band, KRONIN. Strangely enough, Bob used to be a part owner in the studio we recorded Screams in the Darkness in!! As far as the shows go, we pretty much worked it out between the two of them, both of them are very flexible. We would run it past the both of them and decide from there.

C.O.-Why did you guys decide,after playing around the New York tri-state area for over a decade,to change your name to MAGUS BEAST? Where did the new name come from? Does the name hold any signifigance to you,or would you have prefered to keep the name AGRESSOR?

J.R.-In all honesty, if we could have kept the name Agressor, we would have. Here is the scoop on that.

There is a Death Metal band from France that has the same name and the same spelling. It turns out both bands started out at about the same time. The kicker is, this was going to probably wind up in court and the thing that sucks is this: the band that released an album internationally FIRST was ultimately going to be able to keep the name. The sucky thing is that for them to release an album in another country is like us releasing an album in freakin New Jersey and that shit SUCKS!!!!!!! So we sat and thought about it long and hard and decided to go with a fresh start and fresh name. Magus Beast actually is a name that evolved from a song for us. There is a longer story that dates back with that name even further, but we can save that for another day.

C.O.-What does the future hold for MAGUS BEAST? Any plans to record some new material or play more shows around the area?

J.R.-We are actually in the midst of recording new material, although we had to take a 6 week break due to my super hectic work schedule. Things are finally getting back to normal this week so we will be getting back to business soon enough. Keep your ears open for material very soon. We actually have a show booked at the Red Zone in Queens on Sat April 19th. So we have some work to do but we will definitely be playing a lot this summer and beyond.

C.O.-Where do you see MAGUS BEAST in another five years? Where do you see the NY meatl scene in five years?

J.R.-Hopefully not Fat Lazy bastards like Al Bundy!!!!! Hopefully we will all be making music together for years to come. We all enjoy it and have nothing else better to do!!!!!! Hahahahaha As far as the metal scene goes, it is hard to say. There are plenty of Hot pockets in the scene out there and it slowly feels like there is a little resurgence going on, I hope it keeps growing and growing to what it used to be…..but we will keep pushing as we always have been.

C.O.-What possessed you guys to play a cover of HEART's song "Baracudda"when you opened for Virgin Steele at La'Mours? Just curious? Do you guys do any other covers that people might think are wierd?

J.R.-We actually like jamming that song and have fun with it. Ron likes it because it is a definite challenge for most to sing. Some of the other covers we do are Manowar ‘s Kill With Power and stuff like that, but you never know what we might pull out next time….. I have been toying with a few things… but of course they will be KICK ASS HEAVY versions of whatever it is we might do.

C.O.-Do you think the New York metal scene was better when you guys started or is it better now? Do you see much of a future for NY as far as metal is concerned?

J.R.-Back then the NY metal scene was a lot stronger than it is now, but it definitely has it strong point now as well. I honestly think ( and hope) that the scene will continue to grow.

C.O.-Who are your main influences as a songwriter/guitarist? Which bands do you enjoy listening to when your not playing music? Have your tastes changed since the formation of AGRESSOR/MAGUS BEAST?

J.R.-As far as influences go, I think EVERYONE has influenced me in one way or another. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, Yngwie, Eddie Van Halen, Ross the Boss… the list goes on. I also listen to other instruments and try to learn from them so I think my influences go a lot further than just guitar players and shit like that. I like listening to stuff like Queensryche, Fates Warning, Manowar, Maiden, Preist, pantera, Metallica, the usual heavy stuff….. I love music in general. While I was at NYU in also studied Jazz and Classical. I also attended a summer performance program at Berklee as well. So I have been exposed to all sorts and styles of music, and they have all helped me to grow as a musician. My tastes probably have gown but I would not say changed except for the fact that the older I got, the heavier I liked it.

C.O.-Why do you think AGRESSOR/MAGUS BEAST have survived so long while other bands that formed after you did have folded before you guys have?

J.R.-I think we have lasted because we truly love what we do. Whether it is for 10 million people or 10 people we will still do it, because we love it. Most bands try things and when it doesn’t hit immediately they get bored and move on. Either we are a bunch of jackasses or we realy love what we do….

C.O.-How did you like the blizzard a few weeks ago? Newark got 22 inches...how about you?

J.R.-We got about 20 inches or so in NY, what a freakin mess, but I enjoy the snow, so it is not a problem. I get to take out my rusty little Jeep CJ7 and kick some ass!!!!!

C.O.-John,thanks for your time with this interview. Any final words/announcements for those people reading?

J.R.-Just want to thank you for the interview and to thank everyone for taking the time out to read me babbling on and on. We want to thank everyone who has supported us over the years as well as all the newer fans we have been gathering. You guys rule!!!!! Keep your eyes and ears open, there will be PLENTY from MAGUS BEAST this year!!!!!!!

NEWS FLASH

In a conversation with John Rup today,he told me that MAGUS BEAST is playing Milwaukee Metalfest this year and that they are working on recording new material. I,for one,can't wait to hear the new material and I wish MAGUS BEAST much luck in Milwaukee. If you plan on attending Milwaukee Metalfest this year,you owe it to yourself to check this band out...you won't regret it.

DISCOGRAPHY

1993-CRUCIFIED (demo)

1996-SAY YOUR PRAYERS

LINKS