Darren: Music fashion can be your best friend or your worst enemy depending on any given day. If tomorrow some big record executive at Sony decides he wants to push Heavy Metal, then by the Gods, you can bet that Heavy Metal will be "in." As musicians, you have to make a decision. Are you going to stick to your guns and play what you truly love, or are you going to spend your life chasing the latest "in" form of music to try to line your wallet with cash? As you can see with Avenger, ASKA falls in the first of those categories. We play and write the music that we love. I believe that’s the only way to write honest and powerful music.

To answer your question specifically, it has been a tough road we’ve chosen, but every time we play a show, I see packed houses. I see that Avenger is selling very well, and that with the increasing popularity of the Internet, the fans are beginning to have their own voice in choosing what is "in" or "out." Webzines like Krepuskulum are pouring their love of the music into these publications and truly doing a fantastic job of getting the word out there… HEAVY METAL IS ALIVE AND FUCKING KICKING! I, for one, appreciate your efforts!

Keith: …Me too! Also, metal in the States is making somewhat of a comeback. Bands like Dio, Iron Maiden, and Dream Theater rolled through Dallas recently, and all of those shows were sold out. Two years ago, that would have never happened.

Darren: Sure, man… You might be interested to know that our lead singer & guitarist, George Call, and I grew up just one country away from you in Brazil. We were born and raised in the former US territory, The Canal Zone, in the country of Panama. I really loved it there and I certainly miss all those weekends at the beach! On the other hand, I really dig Dallas, and we’ve got some really killer fans here. Now if we could just import the beach to Dallas, this place would be perfect!

Anyhow, George and I met in the 5^th grade and have been friends ever since. We started playing guitar at about the same time—I think around age 15—and we’ve been together in every band we’ve formed. In fact, we started the first incarnations of ASKA way back in 1987! In the early days, we were worried more about where the next meal was coming from than recording music, but we’ve really busted our asses and been able to progress slowly but surely all these years.

We met our bass player, Keith Knight, in 1990. Like us, he’d made a bold move from his home… he’s originally from Detroit, Michigan. He answered a musician’s referral ad and left home to join a band called Faux. Things didn’t work out with that band, and their singer saw the ad we’d placed in the newspaper looking for a bass player. The singer told Keith about the ad and asked him to talk us into hiring him on as singer as well.

We actually looked into it because, at the time, George wasn’t pulling any lead vocal duties back then. But, I was able to convince George that he had a really cool voice and that he should be the lead singer AND play guitars for ASKA. George didn’t like the idea back then. He was really content to play guitar. We’re all glad now that he listened and started singing—he sounds fucking awesome! Reviewers are comparing his voice to Dio, Geoff Tate, and Bruce Dickinson! 

 Keith: The first CD, "ASKA," was our proving grounds. It showed that we were a real band and not just some garage band. George did about 70 percent of the lead vocals and Darren and I did the other 30 percent of vocals. The first CD really got the ball rolling for the band. It landed in the hands of some promoters that put us on our first overseas tour.

Then came "Immortal" …our second release. That CD has a lot of diversity on it. Songs like "You Suck," "Jane’s Going Away," and " Feel Me Touch Me" were party rock style tunes. Also, we took a slightly heavier approach with some songs like "Immortal," "Vigilante," "Before You Came," and "Dream In Color." Those tunes were our first step towards our sound today. Immortal sold really well despite the fact that we released it at the time when Nirvana and Alice in Chains were leading the parade of the grunge movement. It was a tough time for ASKA. All the Metal Clubs started shutting down. We were playing anywhere we could. But through the tough times, our crowd stuck by us—proving that metal was still alive! Now, this CD and the first one are completely sold out. We have no plans to re-release them at this time, but you can here a couple of tunes of from each disk on our website: www.askaband.com.

"Nine Tongues" was the next step in the evolution of ASKA. We honed our sound on this CD but it still had a couple of the party rock tunes. We were also still going with a three-singer formula. Tunes like "The Stalker", "The Question", "Blood of the Wolf" and "Killashandra" are in the power metal vein. "Leprosy" has an AC/DC feel to it. "Little Sister" and "Liquid Courage" have a KISS feel to them. This CD got a lot of great reviews, but the general response was that people wanted to hear more of the Power Metal, and less of the Party Rock. Over all, it was positive response, and we got tons of play on Hard Radio (www.hardradio.com). "Immortal" had doubled the sales of the first ASKA CD. Then, "Nine Tongues" quadrupled sales of "Immortal" and put us on the map in the Metal Underground scene.

Darren: I think it’s also important to add that what sets Avenger apart from our previous releases is that Avenger feels like ONE solid work. It flows from start to finish very smoothly and naturally. On our previous albums, we’d say, "Hey… here’s a bunch of cool songs… Let’s record a CD!" We didn’t care that a party rock song was next to a ripping power metal tune. Not with Avenger! We spent many, many months scrutinizing and crafting this CD. We wrote and re-wrote the songs, and worked with the arrangements until everything fit into its proper place. We’re very pleased with the result! Avenger is the PURE METAL CD that I would want to buy if I found it in the store!  

Darren: Mr. Royo’s art is nothing short of breathtaking. We all are fans of his work. George, in particular, is a bit of an art collector and he’s known of Luis’ work for some time. He brought tons of samples to the band and asked our opinions. When more than one person agreed on the quality of a piece, we put into the ‘maybe’ pile. When all the voting and debating was over, there was no question that the Royo piece was the perfect match for Avenger. Our lawyer, Paul "Spidey" Webb, contacted Mr. Royo’s attorney and they worked out the deal. We’re very pleased, and may well use another Royo in the future. 

Keith: My favorites at this time are… let’s see… Bruce Dickinson’s solo work, for one. He and Roy Z make a great team. In my opinion, their stuff is better than the new Iron Maiden disc. I also really liked Judas Priest’s "Jugulator" …It was great—I can’t wait to hear the new one. I’ve heard a couple of tunes from the new Rob Halford CD "Resurrection," and I believe that’s going to be a killer disk too. Dream Theater just put out the best CD since "Images and Words." Riot’s last two or three disks that totally rip your head off! Primal Fear’s first disk is great—didn’t care for the second release… looking forward to hearing their next one as well. I do a lot of searching to find new bands and have purchased some underground stuff from Cdbaby.com and Amazon.com. Finding good new bands is tough, but when you do find one, it makes it all worth while!

Darren: Hmmm… sometimes ‘important’ doesn’t mean that I like ‘em, but here goes… This would be a list of bands I feel have a great impact on the ‘Power Metal’ or the ‘NWOBHM’ scene today—and not necessarily in this order.

- Iron Maiden: This one is actually a bit of a disappointment, but regardless, they are still giants in the Metal world. Their ‘Reunion’ tour was simply excellent. All of ASKA was at the BRONCO BOWL to see that concert in Dallas, and we weren’t let down. They are really great live. Sadly, the new CD is on par with the stuff they were doing during their decline. There are a couple of excellent songs on the "BNW" disc, though.

- MANOWAR: I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a concert better than that of the mighty Manowar! I don’t think their new music is as glorious as that of several albums past, but I pledge my allegiance nonetheless. Hail Manowar!

- Saxon: Timeless heavy metal is what comes to mind when I think of these guys. They also are really excellent live—saw ‘em at THE GALAXY about a year and a half ago. I believe that their UNLEASH THE BEAST CD was their best EVER—BAR NONE! It was my number one favorite CD of 1999, and is still in my top 10 today! Metalhead, sadly, has not done the same for me. I’ve still got to give it a few more listens, though.

- Judas Priest: Please, dear GOD, let the Priest release another disc that crushes with the power of Jugulator! "Ripper" Owens has given this band a totally new breath of life—he is amazing.

- Blue Oyster Cult: I NEVER thought I’d say this, because I’ve always thought of them as such an ‘old’ band. I never was really sucked in by their stuff, but HEAVEN FORBID, though it’s nearly two years old, is nothing short of excellent. It really surprised me, and it’s been on my top 10 list for the last year.

- KISS: Though they don’t really fit into the genre the way they would have back in 1979, they are the undisputed heavy weight champions of Hard Rock and yes… even Metal. I can only hope that when I’m pushing 50 years of age that I’m in a band that can sell out arenas full of 16 to 40 year olds! I have all their CD’s, and yes… even their vinyl records! KISS rules!

- Ozzy Osbourne: Man, I don’t even care for him, and really wouldn’t classify him as Metal, but… With the Ozzfest tour and its high profile, there can be no denying that he and KISS are the top representatives of the Metal genre for the year 2000. I might even go to the concert just to see him perform a few of the older tunes that made him such a big name to begin with. I dig the Sabbath stuff.

- Iced Earth: I love the way they mix REALLY HEAVY stuff with melodic passages. The little bit I’ve listened to has my attention and I’ll be sure to add more to my collection.

- Rhapsody: I’ve heard that their live show sucks and that they can’t reproduce their sound live, but the orchestration and technical masterpieces they’ve written and recorded are mind-boggling. I find it very refreshing to listen to this approach to Metal.

-Jag Panzer, Kamelot, and Stratovarious: These bands are all sort of in there because I’ve recently started listening to their stuff. I’m not yet blown away, but there is plenty to like… Ask me again in a few months and I’ll pass my verdict.

Darren: Well, that certainly is a huge compliment and we appreciate it. Music is such a subjective thing, and to please everyone is simply impossible. What counts is that people like you share the passion we have for this music. Naturally, we love it, or we wouldn’t have spent the last year-and-a-half writing, recording, and producing Avenger.

As for technical details, the disc is pretty straight forward and doesn’t really have many ‘tricks.’ The drums were recorded live and are not triggered. The rhythm guitars are layered for thickness on most of the tracks. There are basic effects such as reverb, chorus, and delay on the instrumentation here and there for fullness. On the vocals, we didn’t have to do much other than to add some natural sounding effects. As I said before, George’s voice is killer, and it doesn’t take much work to make him sound amazing. We didn’t use any weird computer tricks to correct pitch as is so popular these days. What you hear is what we played and sang.

We did use some keys for texture and flavor in a few tunes. "Escape: Victorious" actually has lots of keyboards. We’re still trying to figure out a way to play it live… <laughs> … The rest of the stuff is great to play live because that’s how we recorded most of it.

Darren: George wrote the bulk of the lyrics and music for Avenger and truly deserves tons of credit for his vision of the final work. I can, however, speak directly to the stuff I had a hand in creating...

On "Valkyries," I remember just jamming on the guitar and coming up with the intro. rhythm and melody with a gut feeling as to where the music was taking me. I’ve always been a fan of Norse mythology and absolutely love everything Manowar has done in that vein. It immediately had that sort of feel to it and I just ran with it. I presented the first verse and the pre-chorus to the band and they saw a gem in the rough. George and I collaborated on the chorus, and Keith sparked a great idea with his bass line for the first part of the bridge. We often do that… One guy might play or sing something, then another one of us says, "Hey, do that again, and let’s add this." And, so it goes! The lyrics for the bridge just sort of came out during rehearsal, and I incorporated a song idea from 15 years ago into the second half of the bridge during the lead. I always knew I’d use that riff, but never had a song that it fit with until "Valkyries."

"Lethal Injection" came about in a way that’s never succeeded for me before. I was at rehearsal one night, but I wasn’t playing. I’d broken my collarbone in a Mountain Biking accident—that fucking hurt! Anyhow, that’s too long a story to get into now… So, let’s see… Oh, yeah… I was just sitting there watching the band, and listening to them go over some new song ideas. Then, in my head I just heard the music and vocal melody of what is now "Lethal Injection." The weird part was that it in no way sounded like what the band was jamming. Even weirder, it’s really hard to separate your thoughts like that… listening to one song and creating another while you’re listening to the first. Try it… it’s not easy!

As for the lyrics, it’s a subject I feel strongly about. There are many people in the world that would argue against me, but I believe that if you are convicted of a crime as brutal as murder or rape, you should die. It’s as simple as that! I don’t even think of it as a vendetta or ‘getting even.’ To me it’s more like getting rid of the trash. Someone who would do such a thing is truly not worthy of taking ANY place in our society… not even in prison. The only sound argument against capital punishment is that on more than a few occasions, the guilty party is later found "not guilty" during the appeals process. To that I say… let them have their appeals and their fair chance to prove their innocence in a court of law. If after that they are still "guilty," let’s ‘empty the trash.’ Get rid of these sick fucks so we don’t ever have to deal with them again. We often find that even the ones who are set free and found not guilty are still actually guilty of a multitude of other crimes in the past. Most of the time, these sick fuckers are let go on a technicality because someone didn’t ‘wear the right gloves’ while taking finger prints or something. So, if by some miracle you are actually found guilty and have exhausted your appeals efforts without success… get ready to for your "Lethal Injection!" Die you bastard! OK… time to get off the pulpit!

On "Against The Gods," I was inspired heavily by a story I read in the WRITERS OF THE FUTURE series by L. Ron Hubbard. It is a collection of short Science Fiction stories that features some of the brightest new talents in writing. Anyhow, one particular story spawned the idea for me—"A Prayer For The Insect Gods" by Morgan Burke. In a similar way to how "Valkyries" was crafted, I came to the band with my ideas and with some additions here and changes there we ended up with the present song. They lyrics concerning the ‘Insects’ in the story didn’t seem appropriate with the conceptual feel of Avenger, so it underwent several changes before we went to the studio. It even saw more changes in the studio while George was cutting the vocals. He’d read a story called "The Hunters" by Walt Sheldon that gave him some new ideas and direction for some of the lyrics. In the end, I think the song really benefited from lots of attention to detail. I don’t think that "Against The Gods" has the initial impact of some of the other tunes on the CD, but it really grows on you. I love the dark mood it conveys.

Keith: When we had our CD listening party before it’s release, the crowd couldn’t believe their ears! They were throwing down wads of cash for preorders. It was awesome to see the expressions on their faces. A few fans missed not having some of the "party-rock" tunes, but they were few and far between. And, with a couple of listens, they were also hooked. Our fans overseas love it just as, if not more, avidly. We get tons of email and letters from all over the world praising the new record. It’s a great feeling!

KREPUSKULUM - Could you talk about any plans for an Avenger tour?

Keith: During the summer we are going to push the CD in the southern states like; Louisiana, Oklahoma and all over here in Texas—maybe with a few short runs to different parts of the States as well. Then, in the fall, we are going overseas to Asia. We’ll probably starting with Korea and Japan, then work our way through the South Pacific and down to Australia. If our booking agents do their job right, we’ll hit Europe sometime shortly after that, then we’ll set our sights on South America. By the time that’s all said and done, I’m sure we’ll start work on the next disc!

Keith: Check out all the new metal bands you can. New metal bands mean a new metal scene! All of the 80’s bands are getting resigned to large labels, but those labels are just thinking of the quick cash and are not looking at the long-term picture. They are not trying to build anything, just shortly relive the old days of glory. So, show your support of old and new, and together, we’ll build the ‘New Metal Empire.’