Imagine if Iron Maiden, Dio, and Judas Priest all got together and fused with fantasy characters from Clash Of The Titans and Lord Of The Rings..........the ending result would be New York's GODS OF FIRE. Drawing on musical influences from the aforementioned bands, GODS OF FIRE add a little metal twist to their identity: costume changes, stage names, and a live show which is unforgettable. Hearing their album isn't enough.....this band has to be seen live for the full experience. Once that happens, you simply cannot get enough. I caught a recent performance of theirs at The Knitting Factory in New York City, and had the pleasure of interviewing this band before their show. Read on, and learn all about the history of this band, their stage show, and what they have in store.........as their song lyric goes, "Metal!!.....We'll rule the world again!"
Interview by Anthony
I’m at The Knitting Factory in New York City with GODS OF FIRE.
[DJ] Is this a live broadcast?
This is not a live broadcast, so you can say shit, fuck, and tits if you want.
[Prometheus] Shit, fuck, and tits….if you want.
[DJ] This would be cool if it were a Pod-Cast
LOL….I don’t have that capability yet.
[DJ Blood Sacrifice] DJ Blood Sacrifice…….guitars
[Saucy Jack] Saucy Jack…..guitars
[Prometheus] Prometheus……vocals
[Evil Thunder] …..I think it is Evil Thunder on bass
[Helios] Helios……drums
Okay…..nice to meet you. I’d like to talk about the history of the band: When you were formed, how you were formed, and the first song you wrote as a band. Who wants to start with that?
[DJ]…..compelling journalism.
[Prometheus] These two (Saucy and DJ) were the nucleus of the band. They started off, and obviously they needed a vocalist. I was singing down in Arleen’s Grocery one night at Punk Metal Karaoke. I was doing a Priest song, and Saucy came up to me and said “Oh my god…..you have to be in the band”. I auditioned, so these were the three that started it off. We got a bass player…..it took us forever to get a drummer. The first song that we wrote was “Digital Neon”.
[DJ] I guess there’s really two songs that were written at the same time. I wrote “Digital Neon” while I was temping at a bank. I was temping for the corporate headquarters of HSBC, and I wrote “Digital Neon” in my head while sitting at the desk doing a power point presentation. I sat, and I knew where all the hits were going to be. I sat and I marked them over the lyrics. I was basically writing the music and the words in my head, then came home and figured it out. The other song that was written at the same time was “Nectar of the Gods”. Jason (Saucy Jack) wrote that with his brother in his basement. Those were the first two songs we had to work on when Prometheus joined up with us.
Just on a side note…….I work in a bank too, so I know all about your long hours of boredom and how much it sucks.
[DJ] I don’t do it anymore, thank god!!
Were you guys in any bands prior to Gods Of Fire?
[DJ] I played in a Prog Metal band called The Feud for about eight years…….put out two records. It wasn’t very metal, but we toured around a lot. It was good.
Why do you all use stage names: DJ Blood Sacrifice, Saucy Jack, Prometheus, Evil Thunder, and Helios. Do these names mean anything, pertaining to your individual characteristics as a person?
[Helios] We’re wanted by the law.
[DJ] As Helios said, we really cannot give our identities. …..No, it’s just more fun; it’s larger than life; it’s fucking KISS. It’s rock n’ roll….it’s cool. Is it better to be Seth Diamond or DJ Blood Sacrifice?
[Prometheus] Oh……you said your name!!!! You said your name!!!!
[Helios] Neil Diamond’s cousin……
[DJ] King Diamond’s nephew…..
How did the band find itself working with Wharton Tiers? For those who do not know, who is he, and what does he do?
I’ve got to say: the production is really good……great job!!
On the back credits of the album, a photo is mentioned called “Mt. Vesuvius”. Could you tell me a bit about this photo, and what exactly is Mt. Vesuvius?
[Prometheus] It’s a pal of mine who’s a visual artist. He takes photographs of basically graffiti on the street. He uses digital work with it. With this particular one, he basically takes…….he’s not doing anything with colors. It’s called “Mt. Vesuvius” because it looks a lot like a volcano exploding, which goes along with the Gods Of Fire theme. Brilliant guy……..he put stuff up in So Ho East Village galleries around there.
[Saucy Jack] Evil Ray was the first bass player. We loved him to death; he moved to California and became a lawyer, which is the most evil thing you can do anyway.........which you already well know.
[DJ] For the record......Evil Thunder will be taking the bar exam this summer.
Is this a Gods Of Fire thing, where the bassist has to be a lawyer?
[Saucy] We find that works best. The good bass players are the lawyers; the bad bass players are everything else.
[DJ] That's a good political answer: We asked Doctor Time to leave because he was not persuing a law degree.
Okay. The next one is for Evil Thunder. Welcome to the band.....how did you wind up joining Gods Of Fire, and are you now a permanate member?
[Evil Thunder] As long as I do the law degree, I'm in forever. I know DJ Blood Sacrifice from a long way back. That's how I joined up.
**** DJ Blood Sacrifice requested this space for comment. To quote, "Could you make a note in the artical of just how much he's (Evil Thunder) looking like Robert Smith right now??"
***SPECIAL NOTE: Evil Thunder REALLY DID look like Robert Smith. For a second, I felt like I was in England......well, sort of.
Tell me about Lucretia XXX and the Fire-ettes. What exactly was their role as part of the band? Why are they all gone now?
[Prometheus] We found that the level of professionalism with them is sometimes not up to snuff, AND it's juggling four other schedules. It makes it a lot more convoluted, and I think it detracts from the music as well……it really does.
[DJ] It was a good idea while we were doing it. We liked it, it was cool, and dudes love to come out and see the tits. Then, we became self-conscious about it………if we get rid of The Firee-ettes, are we going to get rid of everybody because they don’t want to look at our tits.
Plus, they were paying more attention to them than you, so…..
[Saucy] Well, that’s fine. Whatever……..my hairy chest verses nice, lush D-Cups.
[Saucy] Italian Power Metal…..80’s Italian Power Metal.
[Prometheus] They were from Rome, and they went to L.A. and played in the Sunset Strip in the late 80’s.
[DJ] Fra Diavolo is a man of mystery. Fra Diavolo always said that Astaroth was nothing, they were this nothing band, and nobody cared about them. As soon as our record came out, every Italian magazine was contacting him for interviews because the drummer from Asaroth had a new band. So we kept on asking him if he was being humble about the whole Asaroth thing. He said “No…..it’s nonsense. I don’t know why they remember me.”. So, obviously they were very good, and they were a very quality band that may have been ahead of their time.
[Saucy] Roman gladiators
[DJ] We have photos!!!
[Saucy] We have pictures of it.
[Prometheus] ….And, they would throw nets on their audience, like the whole trident and net & shit.
Really?!?!
[Saucy] Yeah….the singer had a net he would throw.
…..That way, the audience couldn’t leave…..LOL. Why did he leave Gods Of Fire?
[Saucy] He’s in Asia somewhere.
[DJ] He’s on a sabbatical……that’s what he calls it.
[Saucy] He quit his job, moved out of New York…..I don’t even know where he is, honestly. He just knew he waned to travel…….
[Evil] He’s searching for nirvana.
[DJ] Searching for nirvana…….he’s searching for something………
[Saucy] God bless him……..I love him to death, but who knows where he is, and when he’ll return…….if he’ll ever.
[Prometheus] Helios is punished as the replacement.
[Helios] You need a lawyer to be a bassist………you need an Italian guy to be a drummer. I met DJ Blood Sacrifice in a drum tank(?) one night…..
[to DJ] ……everyone knows you!!!
[Helios] Yeah…..I was drumming on the top bunk, and he asked me to come join. I actually play in another band called The Night Rats. I was looking to do something else, and this was awesome. Actually, my wife was a big fan of the band, and Heidie who’s really excited about me being in the band.
Cool…….congratulations.
[Helios] Thanks man!
From seeing the band live and from some photos on your website, I see you use costume changes and have different themes to your stage show. Please elaborate on this…. Which songs use costumes/effects, etc??
My first and last time seeing the band was back in October. I remember you did perform “Prometheus Unbound” for me. It was fucking awesome, so thank you for that.
The “Welcome To Hell” song…….did you try to approach the people from the “Silent Hill” movie to have the song featured in the new film?
[Saucy & DJ] We did not…….
[Saucy] We didn’t even know it was coming out……
[DJ] It is a major motion picture…..I don’t know what kind of pull we would’ve had, but I’m very excited for the movie.
So, you guys are definitely gonna check that out, then?
[ALL] Absolutely!! ……..without a doubt.
Have you considered approaching the developers of the game to have the song featured in a future release of the game, like the next in the series?
[Prometheus] That’s food for thought……..without a doubt. We’ve done some movie stuff. We were in “The Roost”, which is a horror movie; a couple of our tunes were in that. Also, they were looking to put us in an Aireoke documentary CD. We gave them our CD, but the documentary was made before a decision was made on that. There are a lot of media/opportunities to get our music out there as well.
That’s part of my next question. The band was asked to work in a horror film. Could you tell me about that?
I’d like to interrupt for a minute. Is there someplace someone can go to watch the trailer or download it?
[DJ] TheRoostMovie.com
Okay……..beautiful. Continue.
[DJ] It will also be on the DVD release this year, which is coming out via Showtime. So, we’re on the trailer, and it went over really well. They authorized our use in a couple other scenes. They had this really cool surround sound effect……it was awesome. I was in the theatre, I was trashed, and I heard our music in surround sound on celluloid……..it was awesome!!!
That’s fucking cool……..hell yes!!! We were talking about this earlier. On your website ,there are some songs posted that are not on the Wrath of the Gods album, particularly: “Trick or Treat”, “Fire in the Pit”, “My Evil Arms”, “United by Fire”, “Ripped to Shreds”, and “The Real Deal”. Are these all demos, or……
[Saucy] [Laughs] A couple of them were ideas that never materialized; a couple of them were songs we haven’t played in a while. Even one of them was on our original demo……..”Evil Arms” is on our original demo. It was a big song when we had the girls and the Fire-ettes.
[Prometheus] There’s also a lot of other tunes that are not on that website with the lyrics. I don’t think “Hyperion” is on there, “Doom’s Dark Hour”, “The Phoenix”………
[DJ] To answer your question, our website needs an update.
The band did some kind of fashion show, I read on your website. What’s that all about?
[Saucy] They kept posing with the band……it was the funniest thing.
So, it was almost like having professional Fire-ettes, if you will.
[Prometheus] Yeah, basically……yeah. There were Fire-ettes in the show as well, but it was definitely fun because hot chicks were walking by me every five seconds.
[Saucy] It was hard to look metal…….
LOL…..concentrate…….concentrate!!!
[Saucy] Yeah……it’s like if you’ve ever seen a Manowar show, and Eric Adams just can’t keep a straight face the whole time. Joey DeMaio takes it totally serious, but you know Eric Adams is kinda laughing the whole time. That’s the way it was the whole show. I know for me, I was giggling the whole time. It was awesome…….it was a lot of fun.
[DJ] I can now say I walked down the catwalk of a fashion show swinging a battle axe.
[All laugh]
[Prometheus] The other thing is the audience didn’t know what to expect. It was a brainstorm between us and Block Magazine; it was a complete non sequitur. I think when it started off, people thought “What the fuck is going on?!”.
[Saucy] Insane!!!!
[Prometheus] By the end of the show, we had won them all over. There was crowd surfing. It was definitely something that worked out pretty well.
[Saucy] There were models looking at us backstage thinking “What the fuck is this?!?!”.
What are your plans for the next album, and do you plan to work with Wharton Tiers again?
[Prometheus] I’m not sure weather we plan on working with Wharton again.
[DJ] We’re gonna go the dark side and go all digital for the next record. With the material we’re writing, it’s going to be a heavier, more compressed modern sounding album.
Are we going to hear any new songs tonight?
[All] Yes…..
[Prometheus] You will hear “The Phoenix” tonight, which is a new Speed Metal tune.
[Saucy] It’s our fastest, shortest song……
[Prometheus] I don’t know……have you seen us play “Doom’s Dark Hour”?
Was that the “ballad” you introduced back in October, but it wasn’t really a “ballad” at all?
[All] [Laughing] Yes
That was fucking cool. That was really cool.
[Prometheus] So, that will be on the new album when it gets put together. We’ve done a couple others that are being made right now and are getting close to done. There’s one about vampires; it’s called “Dawn’s Early Light”, ………..what else do we have??
[Saucy] There’s a few others. There’s another song about having nightmares and stuff like that.
[Prometheus] That’s called “The Land Beyond the Dark”, so we’re definitely making progress for the next album.
**The interview continues after the performance....**
Do you have any distro in Europe for the Wrath Of The Gods album?
[Saucy] I’m not sure. I know there’s a couple in Germany. We always joke that we should move to Germany because Germany is one of the most metal countries.
Yes it is!!!!!!!
[Prometheus] We’re talking with a new label from France that might be interested in picking up some, and helping us fund the next album so we’ll see where that goes.
As a personal recommendation, I would suggest Sentinel Steel for distribution.
[Saucy] Yeah…..we know that guy.
[Prometheus] We actually have been working with Denis from Sentinel Steel.
**After going off topic and speaking about different metalfests, the interview continues….***
[Prometheus] I think we have three or four distributors in Germany already. German reviews are all stellar; it’s funny, because the Netherlands……..I don’t think we got a good review from Holland at all.
[Saucy] I don’t know…….
[Prometheus] I think every review we’ve gotten from Holland has been negative, and every review from Germany has been great; Italy has been good.
[Saucy] Italy has always been good because Italy loves our sound.
[Prometheus] All the old eastern block countries love it. Argentina is into us; all the South Americans are into us. We get played on the radio station down in Argentina sometimes. We’ve been played in Greece as well.
[Saucy] Its weird. Through the power of the internet, people find you…….slowly, but surely.
If it wasn’t for the internet, you wouldn’t have found me, and I wouldn’t be at your shows.
How would you compare the band from when you first started out to the way you sound now? How has the song writing changed, and in what direction do you see the band headed in?
[Prometheus] I think from when we started, we were definitely a lot more technical. I think we’re working more with Thrash and Speed Metal, where before we were straight Power Metal. I think we’re starting to throw in even more progressive elements to some of the song writing. An example would be “The Phoenix”, which is pure fucking Speed Metal……..a three-minute song, balls to the wall, kick-ass tune. A couple of the new ones we’re working on have time signatures and different stuff like that going on. That’ where we’re going. It’s like DJ said, the next album we do I’m sure will be digital. We’re looking for a more produced sound. I like the fact that the Wrath Of The Gods is really raw; the vocals don’t have much…….if any reverb on them. It’s a real kind of raw and gritty sound. I would add a little more…….
[Saucy] ….More…..not computerized, but more like a modern metal CD………like a Halford CD. Something like that, which would be a little more electric sounding.
[Prometheus] I think we really sound almost like an early Deep Purple…….the production sounds like early Deep Purple or early Iron Maiden. I think we want to get further into production, in terms of mid to late 80'’ at least.
[Saucy] We definitely want to get heavier and more progressive, and still be really catchy. Maybe originally we were intended to stay in that Maiden/Priest zone, but we’re definitely moving out of that.
[Prometheus] I do think that the real strength of the band is the melody. It’s a very melodic band, and I don’t think we want to get away from that. There’ll always be a centering around melody.
[Saucy] Also, in regard to Evil Thunder and Helios, the rhythm section is bringing us to a slightly different place; I like where it’s going. It’s heavier and a little more slick, and that’s very cool.
Very nice. Who are some of the bands you’ve shared the stage with, and what would be the ultimate show for you to play?
[Saucy] Maiden, Priest, and Manowar would be the ultimate show to play…….and Van Halen too, but they don’t play anymore.
[Prometheus] The last band we opened up for was Death Angel. That was a fucking awesome show.
Here, in New York?
[Prometheus] Yeah, in New York. That was a great show.
[Saucy] Those guys were awesome!
[Prometheus] They were amazing! What were some of the other bands?
[Prometheus] Bozo Porno Circus………that was a pretty good band, even though they’re not metal; they’re kind of industrial. They were good…..
[Saucy] Oh yeah……with The Wild Hearts.
[Prometheus] Is there anyone else?
[Saucy] Death Angel was our most impressive show.
For a while, the band was playing out with Punk Metal Karaoke. From my personal experience, I have seen the show, and I know what it’s all about. Please explain the experience for those who have not seen this show…….I noticed Gods Of Fire did a LOT of shows with Punk Metal Karaoke.
[Prometheus] It’s great…….I don’t know if they’re still continuing to do shit right now, but I think they’ll probably get back to it again. The band knows probably about one hundred fifty to two hundred Heavy Metal and Punk Rock songs. The people come in, they sign up for a song, there's a’ M.C. for the night, and you're basically on stage with a live band in front of……somewhere between one hundred to three hundred people. It’s definitely, for the average person, a great way to be a rock star for five minutes. It’s a lot of fun, and the band was very tight. Songs from The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag to Iron Maiden and Bon Jovie………it was cool.
I loved your version of “For Whom The Bell Tolls”.
[Prometheus] Thanks.
That was Gods Of Fire style…..it was really fucking cool.
[Prometheus] I added a little Rob Halford to it.
Is there a venue that the band frequents often, or do you get a gig wherever you get one?
[Prometheus] There are definitely places that we play on a regular basis…….
[DJ] We’d like to start frequenting The Knitting Factory. We’ve played here twice within the past two months, so it would be nice to play here regularly. It’s a great, great space.
[Prometheus] We used to play Don Hill’s pretty regularly, but we kind of burned out on that. The Continental we play pretty regularly…..
What do you do in your spare time, outside the band?
[Prometheus] I have other projects, in terms of singing. I sing classical as well. I am definitely a sports fanatic; I love baseball……..especially baseball and soccer. I’m a huge soccer fan.
I love soccer. What position do you play?
[Prometheus] I didn’t actually play. That one’s just one I like to watch. In baseball, I was second base. I also played a lot of American Football as well. I played up through high school. Then played rugby in college; my college didn’t have a football team, so I was playing rugby instead.
[DJ] I’ve got X-Box 360………..does that count?
Yes……..
[Prometheus] It totally counts……
Yes it does!
[Prometheus] DJ and I are total vidiots as well……..complete vidiots.
What are your thoughts on tonight’s show?
[Prometheus] It was pretty good.
[Prometheus] The crowd was pretty into it, I think. Sometimes, I get surprised, depending on where we play. It just seems we’re always able to win them over. Even if we’re in Williamsburg, or something like that……… We played a fashion show……we were talking about that…….and the people didn’t know what the fuck to make of us. By the end, like DJ said, there was crowd surfing and everything.
[DJ] Sometimes, I feel like we’re Metal Ambassadors. It’s like we hear all the time, “I hate metal, but I like your band”. We think that’s good, if we can be the gateway drug into metal…….If you like us, check out Maiden. If we could bring some more people into the fold to True Classic Metal because we’re a little bit goofy and do things with costumes & it makes people hear the music, then fuck man…….whatever it takes.
[Prometheus] Absolutely……….I definitely agree with that.
Okay……that’s it. Do you have any closing comments, or something you’d like to say? Also, thank you very much…..it was a pleasure. It’s ALWAYS worth the trip from New Jersey…….always.
[DJ] Thank you very much
[Prometheus] I just want to thank you for plugging us and helping us keep True Heavy Metal alive.
Cool……………oh, what are your REAL names?
*****AH HA!!!!!! Go to the next GODS OF FIRE show and speak with the band if you want to find THAT one out!!!!! …….And THAT is from ME, Anthony (yes, they DID tell me their names).
DISCOGRAPHY
GODS OF FIRE - EP (Independent 2003)
Wrath Of The Gods (Black 13 Records 2004)
LINKS
WEBSITE
MYSPACE
Let’s go around, say hello, who you are, and what you do.
[Saucy Jack] I was walking home one day and I had always wanted to be in a really good band; I had always wanted to be in a heavy metal band. I called this guy up (DJ Blood Sacrifice), who I’ve know….God knows how long, and I told him I wanted to start a heavy metal band. He said “Cool…..can I be your rhythm guitar player?”. I thought it was cool, because two is more than one. We started writing together…….
[Prometheus] I was in a band called Psycho Trout, but it was a college band that played around Philadelphia, back in the late 80’s/early 90’s.
[DJ] I was the one who hooked us up Wharton. He worked with my old band The Feud. We had seeked him out because he’s a legend to us. He did the first Sonic Youth record, he was friends with Sonic Youth, he was friends with Dinosaur Jr., and these were our favorite bands. He also had a lot of metal pedigree: he did the first White Zombie record, all the early Prong records, the Biohazard records, and Helmet records. I thought he had the right sound. For our first album, we wanted it to be pretty raw. We wanted it to be metal, but we wanted that organic, raw analog, old-school 80’s feel. He was the man in New York that could do it and he was cheap.
Very nice……“Doctor Time” is credited as the bassist of the band, yet I have read Evil Ray was a more recent bassist of the band. Tell me about Doctor Time and why he left the band, and tell me about Evil Ray and why he left the band.
[Saucy Jack] They come and go. The ideal thing we would have was that we'd have two that would do harmonies with each other and both look nice & help add to the show. The problem is that it's not so easy to find two girls to get up there, and they're not going to write songs; they're just side-parts of the band. When we get them, we take them. As long as they're good & don't detract from the music. A lot of times earlier on, they were.........
Your drummer, Fra Diavolo, recently left the band. I have a few questions about him. He was in a previous band, Asaroth. Could you tell me about that band?
[Prometheus] From what I heard, they used to dress up in gladiator outfits.
That goes to my next question. Helios, you are the replacement for Mr. Diavolo. How did you find yourself joining the band, and tell me a little about yourself?
[Prometheus] I think the element of theatrics is definitely a bonus with the band. We are definitely Epic Power Metal, and the more props you can have on stage the better. Costume changes………let’s see: “Doom’s Dark Hour” is one where I come out with the Viking Helmet and the axe……….we’re doing that one tonight. “Prometheus Unbound”, I come out with the old Roman Outfit and wings & stuff. We had definite other ones too: “Trick Or Treat” was an old song where I used to come out in all orange and black with a pumpkin; I would throw candied corn and circus peanuts at the audience and shit. There’s certainly an element of humor to what we do. We’re tongue-and-cheek but we take ourselves very seriously at the same time. I think that’s what goes over well. It’s fun……..metal is fun.
[DJ] My cousin, who also did the cover for Wrath of the Gods, was the sound designer for a film called “The Roost”, which came out in October of 2005. Some of our music had been used in some of the background areas, and they asked us if they could use it. It worked out really well. It was very fun to watch. We were also originally featured in the trailer, which is actually how it started…….I should back up a bit. And…..
[Prometheus] That was awesome. It was Brooklyn Fashion Show done by Block Magazine and sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka. There were probably about four or five hundred people in the audience. It was great; it was featuring local artists of Brooklyn, along with a fashion show that was going along stage playing to the Gods of Fire. Models were going across the stage while we were playing.
[Prometheus] Yeah…..we have a couple of guys in Germany that are distributing. We’ve got a guy in Greece as well. Nothing major…….do we have a guy in England too?
[Saucy] Faster Pussycat……..we played a Metal Sludge show with Faster Pussycat, Pretty Boy Floyd, Enuff Znuff……..needless to say, we don’t really fit in with those bands, but we had a really good show. It was good, and there was a really big crowd. It was the most 80’s zone I’ve ever been in. Our drummer at the time (Fra Diavolo) lived on the Sunset Strip in L.A. back in the day and told us that this is similar to how it was. It was cool. We’ve played with Gilby Clarke, the all female Iron Maiden Tribute band called The Iron Maidens…..which was a wonderful show. We’ve played with the singer from Kix the night of the blackout,…………who else…………
[DJ] It was good. It was a little looser than we normally play, but it was fun. We had the energy; we had the crowd……..it sounded like we had them.