Okay folks... this is big!! Ex-Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow is back and with a vengeance!! His new band, Ashes Of Ares is made up of Barlow on vocals, guitarist/bassist Freddie Vidales (also ex-Iced Earth), and drummer Van William (ex-Nevermore)! Check out my pairing of Ashes Of Ares posted just last week: http://brewsandtunes.blogspot.com/2013/11/november-30th-2013-accumulation-of-ares.html. I recently had the great pleasure of nterviewing Mr. Barlow over e-mail and discussed his career as a musician, as a police officer, and his new band Ashes Of Ares! Check it out:
How did you originally get started in music? What album or
vocalist did you hear that made you say, “yup, that’s what I want to do”.
MB: I was a really big
Elvis fan, thanks to my dad's old 45 records. I did a lot of Elvis
impersonating when I was 5 or 6 years old.
What advice would you
give to young musicians out there trying to start a career in the music
industry?
MB: Be careful out
there! It is probably tougher now than
any other time for metal bands. There
are so many hurdles to “make it big”. On
the other hand, there are a lot of ways to record your own music in smaller
studios, and there is a lot of great stuff coming out.
Both your vocal range
and songwriting prowess is wonderfully and profoundly intense! What musicians
have influenced you most… both as a vocalist and as a songwriter?
MB: I will always give
credit to bands like Maiden, Priest, Metallica, Queensryche, Testament, Slayer,
Forbidden…etc. These are the bands I
listened to as I was figuring out my metal chops.
Do you follow other
power and progressive metal bands? If so, what musicians/bands are currently on
your radar? Who do you listen to in your down time?
MB: Besides the above
listed, I kinda spread it out. I listen
to Volbeat, Scorpion Child, and TSO (currently).
What is your opinion of
the current metal scene in American? Europe?
MB: I think there a lot
of great bands making music and a lot of great metal fans still carrying the
flame. It was really inspiring the last
time we were out. We got a chance to speak with a lot of folks who are really excited about what we are doing. It was awesome.
I’m sure you get tired
of answering this question, but I would love for you to tell my readers how you
decided to go from iconic Iced Earth vocalist, touring the world and recording
albums to joining the police force in your early 30s. What prompted that career
move? What challenges did you face? What did your former band mates think? What
do your fellow officers think of your “double” life as a police officer and a
famous metal singer?
MB: Well, before I left
IE, I had been looking at a career in law enforcement. My idea of things changed after 9/11 and I
started to rethink the direction of my life.
My wife and I wanted to start a family and I wanted to do something that
I felt would make a contribution to a community. I think that folks in the metal realm and in
law enforcement have been extremely cool about the duality of my life.
How did Ashes Of Ares
come about? What was the impetus of the members getting together originally and
becoming a band? What prompted the desire to record an album and start touring?
MB: Freddie and I
started talking about writing stuff together back when we were both in IE, but
it just never came to pass until we were both out of the band. When he finished touring with them, we got
together and started writing and recording demos. I told Freddie that I would like to approach
Van about playing and he was all about it.
We contacted Van and sent him the demos we had started. Van got on board and we started rolling.
What can you tell us
about the Ashes Of Ares album (which is absolutely brilliant by the way!)? What
is your favorite track on the album and/or the most meaningful to you?
MB: I really can’t pick
a favorite song. I feel like that would
be asking which of your kids you like best.
I love the whole record and we are really proud of it. We all put a lot of heart in creating this
debut, and look forward to making the next one.
I get goose bumps
hearing you perform “Burning Times” on Iced Earth’s “Festivals Of The Wicked”.
What is your favorite song to perform live and why?
MB: When we played at
Rock Hard Festival in the spring, we played “The Answer” for the first time
live. Folks there didn’t even know the lyrics, but I took some time and asked
if they would help us sing the chorus. I sang the lyrics to the chorus before
we started. When we began to play the
whole song, everybody was really into it, and by the time we got to the chorus,
the whole place was singing. For me,
that was a great, great moment!
Where can my readers
catch an Ashes of Ares show? What upcoming shows does the band have for the
remainder of 2013 and on into 2014? Will Ashes of Ares be performing at any
metal festivals this coming summer?
MB: We don’t have
anything in stone at this point, but we are working on something for the spring
of 2014. We will be writing, in the mean
time, and I am excited about that as well.
What’s next on the
agenda for Ashes of Ares?
MB: Writing, playing,
writing, recording…repeat!
Are there any other
music projects you are working on currently or hope to put together? Any other
musicians you would like to perform with in the coming years?
MB: There are a lot of
great musicians out there that I would be proud to record with, but Ashes of
Ares is my musical priority.
Brews and Tunes pairs
craft beer with all styles of metal, hard rock, and progressive rock. So Matt
Barlow comes home from a long day at the studio or from a show… what beer does
he grab and what album does he spin to help decompress?
MB: I will have a “16
Mile – Blue’s Golden” in an ice cold bottle and listen to the “black
album”…yeah, that one. Cheers!!!Learn more about Ashes Of Ares at http://ashesofares.com/Main.html and check out their video for the excellent "This Is My Hell" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lruVaOJcC0s!
Hails!!
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