Fischel's Beast feature interview with Barry Fischel and Eric Mauriello
(conducted June 2009)
(interview by James Edward Raggi IV)
Several months back I received Commencement, the first release by Fischel's Beast, in the mail. It's good stuff! As remarkable as the heavy metal contained on the disc is the story behind it. Commencement was material that was written for the second Sentinel Beast album... twenty years ago! As you'll read, Sentinel Beast was never a band I had much awareness of, and after finally hearing what it was all about (Barry was kind enough to send me a copy after I sent him the original batch of questions) it's definitely something I'm sorry to have missed out on. Anyway, it's a good CD, a good story behind it, and as it now happens, a not-too-shabby interview. Enjoy!
I hadn't paid much attention to Sentinel Beast before receiving Commencement. I didn't get into metal until 1992, Depths of Death has never been officially released on CD and I don't download so I haven't had the opportunity to listen to it, and really the band was just another Snakepit retrospective for me. Now suddenly there's you releasing would-have-been Sentinel Beast songs, there's the old singer with her new version of Sentinel Beast, and apparently the old album is finally going to be reissued soon. What is so special about Sentinel Beast that you feel the need to 'clear the vaults' so to speak and a near 50-year old woman feels the need to resurrect the whole thing more than 20 years after the sole album was released?
Fischel: That’s an easy one to answer. From my point of view, I’ve wanted to record these songs ever since I left Sentinel Beast. The week after I left I was listening to the tunes thinking… “Man, this stuff is good!”
I think part of what made Sentinel Beast ‘special’ was the chemistry that we had as a group. There were good times and bad times personally - but musically I think there was something ’special’ about what we did together.
Those 6 songs (the songs that make up our Commencement CD) were the most special to me because that’s when we were at our best and did what I feel was our best material.
The reason ‘I’ wanted to record these songs was two-fold. I wanted to do it for ME, and I was curious to see what the response would be. If good music is timeless it shouldn’t matter that they were written over 20 years ago.
I think the reason it took me so long to record them was that I never felt that I had the right line-up to do it with. I am MORE THAN PLEASED with the result and the response we’ve been getting has been favorable as well, so that pleases me also.
Why did you decide on a male singer for the Commencement material if they were originally written with a woman singer in mind? What is your opinion about the explosion of female involvement in metal music? Not that too many are singing this sort of metal though...
Fischel: When Eric and I first started putting the project together (over 5 years ago) we did plan on using a female singer, and we did find a GREAT singer, but at that time the other musicians we had weren’t the ‘right guys’ for the project and the Fischels’ Beast project fell by the wayside for a while.
Through working on other projects we found drummer Ed Klinger who we soon realized was one of the missing pieces that Fischel’s Beast needed. Sooo, we once again began the quest for a female singer.
Mauriello: We tried many females and found ourselves always comparing them to Debbie Gunn. While there were many great female singers, there were none that did what she did the way she did it. So we than placed an ad just for a ‘singer’ knowing that we also wanted to work on ‘new material’ as well. We went thru MANY prospects before finding Anthony Cross. Once we found him - and explained the concept of the Commencement CD and he was OK with it - we know we were ready.
Fischel: As for females in metal; I think if someone has a passion for a type of music, and can EXPRESS that passion well - then gender shouldn’t matter.
Your Myspace page says, "The group is now creating their OWN sound and are already working on new material." Is the new sound going to be appreciably different than what you played on Commencement? I assume it would still be heavily guitar-oriented, but why the name Fischel's Beast, with visual reference to the old Sentinel Beast logo, if you're going to move on to a new sound now that the old songs have finally been recorded?
Fischel: Starting with the name and logo… yes, the word BEAST and the logo is ‘inspired’ by the Sentinel Beast images. Seeing how this material basically WAS Sentinel Beast material, how could I deny it’s roots. If there are people that see the logo and it reminds them of Sentinel Beast, I hope they check out the group, find out what this CD is about and check out the music.
Mauriello: As for the NEW SOUND of the group. Yes, it will be heavy and riff oriented, but I think it will be ‘different’ than Sentinel Beast for the simple reason that we are not Sentinel Beast. We have already started working on some tunes and the direction they seem to be taking are what I would call ‘progressive speed metal’. Did I just create a new musical genre??
How did Chris Caffery get involved with the project?
Mauriello: I was a huge fan of TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and thru that became a fan of Savatage and Chris’ solo work. I worked as producer and co-host of a pod cast called ‘SCeNeDRiVeR’ and met Chris when we interviewed him for the show. With all the success he’s had with MANY different acts, it was great to see he was just a regular, really cool down to earth guy.
When we started recording the CD, I said to Barry “wouldn’t it be cool if we had Chris Caffery play on a couple of tunes?“ Barry figured he would never do it. I on the other hand have the philosophy of ’the worst thing someone can do is so no’ - so I asked. Based on the fact the he’s on 2 of the songs - I guess you can tell what his answer was.
Make sure you check out Chris’ new CD ‘House of Insanity’!
How was it working with Paul La Placa? I remember his old October Thorns band. Cool guy, as I recall.
Mauriello: Paul came about kind of as an extension of Chris. Do you know that Paul plays in Caffery’s live band? I had met Paul on a couple of occasions before the Fischel’s Beast recording project even started - and yes he was a cool guy. When we went to record Chris’ guitar tracks… he said, “Is La Placa coming?” So, I asked Paul if he wanted to come - and he said yes.
Fischel: As we continued working on the project I was having trouble getting a guitar sound I was really happy with… so Eric suggested bringing Paul on board as engineer and producer. I think it was one of the best decisions that was made for the project and the final result is definitely better because of his participation. As a guitar player and singer himself he offered a lot of valuable input.
Anthony Cross isn’t here for this interview but I know he’d want to offer words of praise For Paul too. He said Paul was great to work with and really helped get the best performances possible on the CD.
Mauriello: We may as well insert a plug for Paul here! You can check him out at Stentor Productions.com. Whadd’ya need?? Live sound? Recording? Production? He’s got you covered!
The songs on Commencement are all about six to seven minutes long. That's not so long compared to some, but for your general style I think that's longer than average, and for late 80’s songwriting I think that's really long. Why this kind of songwriting?
Fischel: Iron Maiden had their share of long songs! I had always written long songs - it wasn’t something I set out to do, it’s just what the songs were at the time. Many of the songs didn’t necessarily follow traditional ‘form’ (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus) either, but again - we weren’t trying to write to a formula, we were ‘telling a story’ and some stories are just longer than others. I like a song that can take me to ‘many places’!
You lived overseas for a few years. As an American who has been living in Europe for a little over three years now, I'm wondering how your own experiences were?
Fischel: I lived in Holland for three years and at the time I was ‘taking a break’ from music. The thing I was most impressed with was how liberal the society was there as whole. There was a ’live and let live’ mentality that I wish was more common here in the U.S. People were allowed to live their lives, even if their lifestyles may have been a little bit ’different‘. Prostitution and marijuana are both legal there, and the society hasn’t collapsed!
Tell us what the term "heavy metal" means to you.
Fischel: I actually define each word separately. METAL is the loud guitars, the driving rhythms, the ’epic’ lyrics; HEAVY to me defines the PASSION and emotion that the music conveys. I think ANYTHING you’re passionate about can be HEAVY (in fact it was a catch phrase here in the 1970’s - ‘hey man… that‘s HEAVY!)
Tell us about your favorite album of all time.
Mauriello: Just one?? While it’s not thought of as METAL - I’d have to say Rush 2112. I became a Rush fan from the very first time I heard them. The song 2112 ‘told a story’ and took you on quite a journey; and with Geddy Lee as the story teller… that’s all I needed. I’ve often had the thought of doing a STAGE PRODUCTION of 2112. Maybe, someday I will.
Fischel: That reminds me, when Mike was first jamming with Scott Awes and I that we DID 2112, in it’s entirety! I’m actually glad Eric chose to answer this question because I don’t think I’d be able to pick just ONE favorite album!
Tell us about your favorite album right now.
Fischel: OK - I guess I can’t dodge the question again! While I know there are ‘mixed opinions’ about it - I’d have to say I REALLY like the new Guns & Roses album. I tried my best to put all the ’stories’ and ’issues’ aside and the fact that it took 13 years to be released, and just listen to the MUSIC. When I did that, I heard a lot great songs and I felt there was a lot of passion that comes thru in the music.
Tell us about your favorite heavy metal album cover.
Mauriello: Nothing really jumps out at me. I think for a while a lot of the covers started to follow a formula and they started to have a similar LOOK to them, but hey - at least back in the day of actual ALBUMS the art work was big enough to be appreciated!
Fischel: I can think of one that I would rank near the top of the FUNNIEST list. It was a compilation album that Sentinel Beast was on - METAL MASSACRE VII. It had the ‘Grim Reaper’ on it… now that would have been cool, had the Grim Reaper not been SMILING!
Tell us about the worst song by your favorite heavy metal band.
Fischel: They’re not my favorite heavy metal band… but the song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ by Motley Crue comes to mind! But thinking about it further… without that song… what would strippers dance to??
Should a band be a concept in itself, with band members conforming to that concept, or should a band's sound change and be significantly influenced by any change in lineup according to the talents and preferences of new members?
Fischel: I immediately say NO, no formula should be followed. It’s just not ‘organic’ that way. I think band ‘chemistry’ is not something you can just create. It’s not just musicianship, but personalities of people that make up the whole picture. With Sentinel Beast there were several different members that came in and out of the group, but I can easily tell you what I feel the strongest line up was that the group had. Look at Van Halen for example. There are many people that will say that Sammy Hagar is a much better vocalist than David Lee Roth, but there was a ‘chemistry’ that the group had with Diamond Dave, and it’s not the same as it is with Sammy. I think that a band needs to have a ‘formula’ that pertains to their genre… for example if you’re a thrash band - you wouldn’t put a funk song on your CD.
Mauriello: I’d have to agree. With this CD project we just did Ed, Anthony and I knew we were coming in to create the music that would have been Sentinel Beasts second album. So while we had to stick to certain things to reproduce the music correctly, we each also had to try to ‘personalize’ our parts a bit too. I think we were able to do that. Now that we’re moving on to working on new material we can develop a chemistry that is truly FISCHEL’S BEAST.
When I talk about "music," I include all facets of a band's output: Instrumentation, lyrics, singing, production, and I even consider visual presentation to be important in relation to the actual sound. Which of these factors do you think is most and least important for your band, and why?
Fischel: For me - the MUSICIANSHIP must come first. Slick production can help things sound better (especially these days!) but there will come a time you need to play live. Visual presentation is important to - but as exciting as presentation may be - if the music isn’t good, it won’t hold my attention.
In your band, are the lyrics there to fit with the music, does the music support the lyrics, both, or is there some other relationship between concept and sound in your band?
Mauriello: In the direction we’re taking for our NEW material, Barry and I have been writing a lot of music. We’ll get together to rehearse, and we’ll bounce new ideas off of each other. As we add drums and ‘songs’ start to develop - we’ll let Anthony check them out. Some may instantly inspire him while other don’t hit him right away, or may not hit him at all. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad song, it could mean that it’s a good candidate for an instrumental track for the new CD.
Fischel: I feel we are being aware of the style of music we’re trying to write. We think that Anthony’s voice is not typical ’thrash’ so we’re not afraid to try stuff that will require a bit of melody vocally. I feel the style can be defined as ‘progressive speed metal, with a dash of thrash’.
When you buy a heavy metal album, are you more purchasing an entertainment product or are you being a patron of the arts? Explain your answer.
Fischel: If by ‘patron of the arts’ you mean would I buy a CD ’just’ to keep money flowing into the heavy metal (or any type of music) genre, then the answer is NO. If I’m going to spend money to buy a CD (or a download) then I’m buying it because I like it and want to be entertained by it.
Is it more important for your band to impact a young listener like no other band has ever done, or to satisfy a more seasoned and mature listener? Why?
Fischel: First of all, we’re trying to satisfy OURSELVES. As we become more seasoned and mature in our musicianship and writing, then I think it’s only natural that the people that we affect may be the more seasoned and mature listeners.
Mauriello: While a listener may be ‘young’ he may still be very seasoned, or have an open enough mind to try many styles of music and listen to things that may be out of the ‘flavor of the month’ culture that we’re in these days. The internet makes it quite possible for someone to come across our music. If a 12 year old kid in Australia says he wants to play guitar because he heard some of our tunes… that’s great. But, are we going to write songs that we hope make that happen? No.
Who should the "music journalist" be serving, first and foremost? Labels, bands, or fans?
Fischel: Isn’t a music journalist supposed to be writing for the fans???
Unfortunately, we know that labels may often have ’influence’ and many journalists may not be as honest as they should be in their thoughts and comments.
Mauriello: I think the internet again helps in this situation. There are many independent review sites, and many message boards where fans can talk to each other. No big business behind them, no advertising, just fans of music talking about music with other fans.
Do they best do this by promoting the music they are covering, or being critical and suspicious of it?
Fischel: Bottom line is that any review written by any reviewer, or even a review or comment, or blog post by a fan, is AN OPINION. And we know all what they say about opinions…
…they’re like assholes… EVERYBODY has one, and most of them are full of shit.
I may or may not like Britney Spears, but she has probably sold more albums than most metal bands all added together.
Mauriello: I do think that ‘metal’ reviewers as a whole are a little bit better than most. Most people that are involved in metal do seem to feel a ‘connection’ to the music and a desire to ‘Keep It True‘.
Tell us about the last revelation you had just thinking about (not playing or listening to) heavy metal.
Fischel: I’ve started to realize that heavy metal is not as ’evil’ as a lot of people want to make it out to be. I think that metal fans tend to have a strong ‘passion’ for the music and people need to feel passion for something. Sure you can try to find negative aspects to it, but if you really want to, you can find negative aspects in anything.
To finish up... what five albums, that you suspect readers wouldn't know about, would you recommend?
Mauriello: I grew up with a wide variety of influences, including progressive and fusion. My list would be:
Pavlov’s Dog Pampered Menial
Crack The Sky White Music
Frank Zappa Joe’s Garage
Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite
Michael Manring Thonk
Fischel: I’ve never been the guy to know a lot of underground or ‘up and coming bands’. Debbie Gunn in Sentinel Beast was like that and I think our drummer Ed Klinger is like that as well. So - I’m going to modify the question and list my ‘five desert island discs’.
(anything by rapper) Nas - but in particular, The Best Of
Megadeath - Star Profile (it’s an import compilation CD - and THEY spelled the band name wrong - not me!)
Exodus - Bonded By Blood (the original with the late, great Paul Baloff) I don’t know why they ever let Paul Baloff go. They were trying to take their music to that NEXT level, but Paul Baloff WAS that next level.
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (LIVE) In the song ‘The Song Remains The Same’ - Jimmy Page’s solo is the epitome of what Marshall Amplification and rock and roll is all about
Neil Young - Harvest Moon
Any final words?
Fischel: First of all - PLEASE check out the FISCHEL’S BEAST release Commencement on Stormspell Records. It’s an EP and while I may be a bit biased, I think you’ll find it well worth the $8!
Also check out our Myspace page to be kept up to date on the release of our ALL ORIGINAL, FULL LENGTH CD (which I also think you‘ll enjoy!).
Mauriello: I’d like to say THANK YOU to James and LotFP for giving us the opportunity to do this interview, for asking some great questions, and for being one of the small but growing army that is trying to keep metal alive and well!
Fischel: I want to add something. This has been bothering me. You asked who I am listening to right now. This list always is changing, but right now I am listening to these 5 new bands, new for me, and also I would add these 5 bands under bands that I would suggest others check out:
1) King Fowley, and his band Deceased. I just saw Deceased perform in Brooklyn New York, June 2009. It was a great show. King is a very personal guy on stage, running to folks he knows in the crowd and making them part of the moment. I have an assortment of his CDs, but I would recommend the bands latest release, As The Weird Travel On.
2) It just so happens that the next band I am digging most these days is a band discovered by King Fowley. Besides being the front man for his band Deceased, he also owns the metal label, Old Metal Records. One of the band members of this next band, gave me a copy of his band's CD at a show. He came up to me and said Sentinel Beast had been a huge influence on him and he wanted me to have his CD. Well, I have been digging this CD ever since. Great Metal/Punk, fast, great cathy tunes. I bet this band goes far. Meaning, I bet they put out plenty more music and play a ton of great shows. A Brooklyn band. Wet Nightmare is the name of their Old Metal Records Release. Can you say the bands name - Vermefüg.
3) For Ripping Metal, my attention these days is on this Cleveland Ohio band named, Soulless. The CD I recommend is Forever Defiant.
4) A Holland band, Nuestros Derechos. This is a Thrash/Harcore/Metal band from Utrecht, The Netherlands. I am not sure how I met these cats. They have sent me all their demos. Some good metal, I have been listening and liking them. Here their Myspace address.
5) I found this band most recently surfing Myspace, Lethian Dreams. Emotional, Atmospheric, Doom, Metal. Great to improvise leads over when I am rehearsing playing guitar solos. The band is from, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Here is their Myspace address.
I hope I turned some of you on to music you'll be glad to listen too.