I N T E R V I E W S

Interview with Marc Sasso - Graphic Artist, 12/20/03 by Nailer

Sasso Metal Covers
Cage - Darker Than Black
Dio - Killing the Dragon
Morbid Angel - Heretic
Rob Rock's Rage of Creation - Eyes of Eternity
Cryonic Temple - Blood, Guts & Glory

Links
Marc's Website
Marc Sasso

We thought we'd do some different types of interviews for our site, so for this week, instead of a musician, we're featuring one of the awesome artists out there doing covers for various metal CDs and also for some graphic novel covers. Marc Sasso has done covers for Dio, Morbid Angel, Cryonic Temple, Rob Rock and recently the new Cage CD Darker Than Black. We appreciate him giving us some of his valuable time. Marc is a true brother of steel.

Recently, we emailed about his artwork, his favorite metal bands, how you can get some of his work and the who he thinks is the True God of Heavy Metal.





So, Marc, we've found out that you don't just do covers for bands, you're also a big metalhead. When did you start listening to metal?

I started listening to heavy music really early on. I have an older brother that listened to hard rock when I was growing up so I was always exposed to it. He listened to the basics like Zeppelin, The Who and Hendrix. As I got older I started searching for my own identity and I got into bands like Rainbow, Kiss, Sabbath and Priest. I remember hearing Rainbow's Gates Of Babylon for the first time and my head almost exploded! The combination of Ritchie Blackmore's guitar work and Ronnie Dio's voice just blew me away ... and still does.

Marc CoverWho are your top bands?

The list keeps growing. I have cornerstones and then there are a bunch of new bands that I'm into as well.

THE CORNERSTONES:
THE MIGHTY JUDAS PRIEST - To this day they still remain one of the best metal bands ever and still have the ability to make me wanna wreck shit when I hear them!

BLACK SABBATH - I love old Ozzy era Sabbath (who doesn't) but I have to be honest, I reach for Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules more often. Dio's voice and lyrics on those two albums just spin my head like a top. I should also mention an overlooked, underrated Sabbath gem - Born Again with Ian Gillan on vocals. Listen to Ian belt out Disturbing The Priest - that's metal baby.

RAINBOW - I don't know what it is I still listen to those CD's constantly. Great melodies, great solo's (remember those?) and Ronnie Dio on vocals, nuff said. Also, am I fucked up? I always liked Joe Lynn Turner's voice. Why do so many people not like him? Is it because he sings about love too much? I wonder. I always thought of him as the Steve Perry of metal. Maybe I just answered my own question.

KISS - Love these guys but I must admit, I'm pretty burnt out on them.

MANOWAR - Totally dug these guys from the get go. I bought the first album the week it came out just cause I was curious and haven't stopped since. That's right, I'm 38, ugh.

IRON MAIDEN - We all love these guys, I just wish they would write some shorter songs that rip like Killers and Wrathchild again.

ACCEPT - These guys fucking ruled my life for years! Restless and Wild is a classic, not a bad song on it. Seeing them at L'Amour's in Brooklyn for the first time back in like '82 was a religious experience.

MERCYFULL FATE - Great music, great musicians and a voice from hell. I loved them in the early years. Not the best lyrics to be screaming out your car window when you're stopped at a light though.

ANGEL WITCH - if you don't know these guys check out their debut CD from way back -- it's great. They came up with Maiden but got lost in the shuffle.

This thing we call metal has the power to unite and sonically destroy all at the same time. Here's to us - We fuckin' rule!
VENOM - The creators of black metal, they even coined the phrase. If you black metalheads don't know these guys -- you're fucked up.

METALLICA - Not crazy about the new shit but back in the day? THEY KILLED!

ICED EARTH - And if you're not into new Metallica, here's the answer. How psyched am I to hear what Ripper does with these guys. As soon as I heard the news I thought, "Yeah, that's a perfect fit." (also if you like Metallica check out Perzonal War - they remind me a lot of them before they lost their minds)

VIRGIN STELE - Local, NY band. Also got into them on the first record as a whim. They lost some speed in the mid to late 80's but they're new stuff is great! And David DeFeis' voice is awesome.

MOTORHEAD - I met Lemmy a few months ago for the first time and he said "fuck" more times in ten minutes than I did in the whole day. Old school baby.

MICHAEL SCHENKER - In the old days he was untouchable. The early solo stuff was just great. I just saw him live the other night and was completely blown away yet again. He is just an amazing player, clean and precise and to top it off he did tons of old material. Seeing him play is so inspiring that it almost makes me wish I had picked up a guitar instead of a paintbrush.

Also - UFO, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, GUNS AND ROSES, DIO, (old)YNGWIE, HELLOWEEN, etc., etc.

THE CONTEMPORARY BANDS:
MASTERPLAN, CAGE, SONATA ARCTICA, LOST HORIZON, NIGHTWISH, HAMMERFALL, Tobias Samet's AVANTASIA, MARYLYN MANSON, GAMMA RAY, PRIMAL FEAR, AT VANCE.

Darker Than BlackDo you think the best metal is the underground stuff or the high profile stuff?

I think metalheads need to be listening to both. We all know how great the cornerstone metal bands are but for me, I'm on a never-ending quest for new metal so I can't just sit around and wait for the popular acts to put out product - there just isn't enough. You've got to search out the new bands and give them a chance. With the Internet it's easier than ever, most bands have sites with free downloadable samples.

There are newer groups like the ones I mentioned above who are putting out far superior music than alot of the mainstream bands. Take Cage for instance, Darker Than Black is an awesome metal record and deserves to be in everyone's collection but because they aren't as popular as the mainstreamers, a lot of people will miss out on them. Also, there is a ton of great stuff coming out of Europe, it kinda reminds me of the early eighties during the NWOBHM.

You have a chance to catch a decent amount of shows. Do you prefer the larger venues or the smaller club shows?

I like both for different reasons. The smaller venues will obviously always give you that more intimite, up close experience. Also, for me it will always remind me of the early days when I was a kid. Looking back it seems like every weekend was spent in one dive or another checking out metal acts. I'm dating myself but I remember seeing Metallica with about 20 - 30 other people in a bar upstate before they even had a record deal.

As for big venues, well here's what makes them cool. Back in July I saw Maiden, Dio and Motorhead here at Madison Square Garden, sold out. I was lucky enough to be right up in front of the stage and at the end of Maiden's set they turned on the house lights. I remember spinning around and looking at this sold out arena full of metal freaks and thinking to myself - this is so fucking cool, look at all these metalheads! For that moment in time we were all brothers.

Since your email is BLKMETAL1, have you been listening to a lot of the Black Metal style?

As we all know, when you sign up for e-mail they ask you to choose an address, I just happened to be listening to Venom's Black Metal CD at that moment so I chose that.

How exactly did you get involved with doing metal covers? Did you contact people in the industry or did they contact you first?

I was introduced to the then VP of Spitfire Records-Dennis Clapp through a mutual friend. He took a look at my art and recommended me to Ronnie and Wendy Dio who in turn hired me to create the cover of Killing The Dragon. Being a sick Dio fan I almost shit when Dennis called me and told me Ronnie would be phoning me at 3pm on Monday to talk about the cover. I spoke to him for 1 hour and 9 mins and I don't care what Vivian Campbell says about him, everytime I talked to Ronnie - he was awesome.

Sasso and LemmyCan you step us through the design of a cover from the beginning to the finished product:

Usually one musician from the band is the person in charge of the look of the cover or at least conveying it to me. I start by discussing ideas with him. Sometimes they have a clear cut vision and other times they ask me to come up with one or more myself. Next step is to do a tight black and white sketch/s to present to the band. I render this as close as I can to what the final will look like so they can get a clear idea of where it will go. From there they pick one and I either revise it if they need me to or proceed to final.

About how much time does it take for you to do the average cover?

Usually about 4 - 6 days depending on how much is going on in the piece. But since I am always busy that time period is usually spread out over a few weeks while I'm working on other jobs as well. So I usually need a couple of weeks. Does that make sense?

Do you ever draw the line at what imagery you'll do? Say, some band wants a religious icon defiled or they want something with blatantly racist or sexist images; of couse, you have to take into account the wants of the client and the context\meaning of the images, but your name is going with the artwork.

Yeah, that's a great question. Money isn't everything, so I'm not going to paint anything that's too off the wall or offensive. I recently saw ads in BW&BK for two metal bands with covers like that. One had a bunch of naked nuns maturbating in front of what looked like satan and the other was of a nude woman on an altar, spread eagle with a demon climbing out of her. Both covers made me chuckle at the outrageousness and I was glad someone did them but painting that type of art is not for me. I have no problem being dark, disturbing, sexy or edgy but sometimes less is more. Usually there is a way to do anything without actually showing it... but a bunch of nuns "jamming it" might be a tough one.

I read that you do your work on a computer through Adobe's software programs. Do most cover artists use this method instead of actual brush work?

Everybody works differently. Some guys prefer to work digitally and others still work traditionally. I like to combine them both. I was trained classically as a painter so I still enjoy picking up a brush or painting it in a program like Painter or Photoshop. A lot of time I also paint with a brush getting it to a point where I'll then scan it in and trick it out on the computer. Other times a band or client will want that darker disturbing digital look where you manipulate photos and add your own touches so I'll do that for them as well- I call it Photo-Surrealistic. I love it because when you have a bunch of jobs going it keeps them all interesting because you create them all differently. In the end though, its all metal.

Are you commissioned by the artists/companies or do they sometimes choose art that you've already completed?

Both. I try to create an original cover for a client but sometimes they see something they like on my website. Other times like in the case of the new Cryonic Temple cover Blood, Guts & Glory, there just wasn't enough time, in which case purchasing second rights is a great way to go.

Do you retain ownership of the cover designs and sell usage licences or are they bought outright?

Killing the DragonThat depends. I usually retain all the rights to the art and sell the bands the right to merchandise the image for T-shirts, etc., at an extra cost. This is standard practice in the music biz. Think about how much a band like DIO will make off an artists' image on a world tour. And yes of course, the fans are buying it because it is a Dio shirt but also because it has a cool dragon on the front. But the flip side is that I am also very protective of these images and what they represent for the bands so even though I retain the rights I've never resold a bands cover image to someone else. As a matter of fact I was just offered a ton of money to license Dio's dragon image to a gaming company for it's box cover. They even offered me more money than I was originally paid to do it and I said no. It wasn't easy giving up the cash but I just didn't feel right about it. They explained that it would be used in a massive advertising campaign on billboards and buses. Imagine Ronnie Dio stopped at a light in LA and looking up and seeing his image on a billboard, advertising a video game he has nothing to do with. That sucks. I just couldn't do that to him.

Do the bands generally offer input into what they want to see or do they just let you go wild?

Both. Sometimes they come to me with a strong idea and other times they look to me to give them something cool but in the end they always have their input so it's all collaborative no matter what. In the case of Rob Rock (who happens to be one of the nicest guys I ever talked to), he really didn't know what he wanted so I did a bunch of designs and he still wasn't feeling it. Then Roy Z suggested that we do something like the cover of Rainbow Rising. So I did a sketch of this guy standing on a cliffface overlooking the ocean with the eyes of God portrayed in the clouds. Rob loved it so it painted it up. Fucking Roy, he's even great at art direction!

If you're working on a record cover, do you ever have a chance to listen to any of the music it goes with, even in promo form?

All the time, that's one of the bonuses for me. I ALWAYS ask to hear the music so I can get a vibe for the whole record. Then I listen to it over and over as I start doing quick sketches. In the case of say CAGE as I was listening to it, the pounding riff's and Sean Peck's awesome vocals kept making me think of Hell unleashed so I did a quick sketch of just that and Sean loved it. Rob Rock was hesitant to send me the music at first but I persuaded him to and it was actually integral to the cover because the record has an epic feel to it that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I would never, EVER leak any bands' music out to the Internet! I have way too much respect for someone's creation not only as an artist but as a metalhead as well.

What's been the most difficult project you've worked on?

It would have to be the gamebox covers I do for Playstation and other gaming companies. There is a lot of money involved so the stakes are higher. The creative directors drive me fucking nuts with endless revisions. I can't pick one because they all pretty much leave me punch-drunk.

Do you think bands and record companies are cutting back on things like cover art and even production to combat the supposed loss of income from file trading?

I haven't felt a cut-back so to speek in the useage of artwork by record companies and bands but I think everyone on the whole including publishers have tightened their belt a bit.

Does it ever concern you that as we move to more MP3/file-based media that is simply downloaded, you'll get less music-related work?

To be honest, I think artwork and metal will forever be linked. I think it is the one form of music that really relies heavily on artist created imagery. Even if this MP3 movement dominates the music industry, at some point bands will still need artwork and graphics to promote their releases and convey their visions. It is my duty as an artist to look ahead to try and anticipate that kind of change to stay current and lucritive.

Are there any bands out there that you'd like to do some art for?"

Holy shit, that list is too huge BUT if I got the chance to do the new Priest reunion cover that would be the ultimate. I even have a few sketches I did for it hanging up right here next to my desk and they are very fucking cool. I'll make everyone a promise right now. If that happens I will do everything in my power to make it one of the coolest covers in metal history. They deserve nothing less.
 Now, we'd like to put you in the Hotseat a little. What 3 metal covers do you wish you had done?

KISS-Destroyer
IRON MAIDEN-Number of the Beast
JUDAS PRIEST-Screaming for Vengeance

If you were to become President what metal song would you change the National Anthem to?

How about MANOWAR'S - Metal Daze!?

What record cover would you put in a rocket ship headed to alien worlds to represent Heavy Metal?

ACCEPTS' Restless and Wild! The original cover of the two Flying V's burning on the front cover and "burnt" on the back cover. Also Schenker's Assault Attack cover is a good icon of Metal.

What metal songs could the world really do without?

Okay, here's my opportunity to say something about one of my major dissapoinments of the year. Metallica's-St Anger. Yes I listened to it and yes I was pissed. Maybe we are all to blame becasue we all hoped too much. We all hoped and prayed that it was going to be the skullcrusher that the first three or four albums were. As fans we're allowed to do that. But you know what? There was also a deeper reason than just hoping one of our faves was going to give us a great release. I think we all look to bands like Metallica to kick our genre in the ass and make a statement for metal in general. We have but a few major champions who go to battle for our cause so we really count on them to put the tired pop community in it's place and when they let us down, it sucks. And of course as an artist myself I understand the need to grow and change and even try new things... BUT St. Anger is just too damn annoying and non-cohesive. So in answer to your question, I would have to say that the world could live without all the songs from St. Anger. Let's try to forget it and move on. Or maybe James and the boys will put out a collection of disco covers next and really drive the final nail in the coffin. "Ooh, love to love ya baby!"

Your opinion of these other artists:

Derek Riggs: Ah, Derek. Let's face it, not only did his art adorn many a wall in it's day (including mine) but he single handily shaped Iron Maiden's visual image throughout the years. His artwork will live on as long as Iron Maiden does. Rock on Derek!

Alex Ross: The king of comic book painters! There is no denying Alex's talent, he is just awesome. He is one of the top talents in the business and extremely prolific too.

Doug Johnson: I know nothing about Doug other than his Priest covers so I'll rate him on those. Keep in mind my sick undying devotion to this band so I'm critical of anything less than perfection. Screaming for Vengeance is great, it's become an icon--a good use of pop, commercial style illustration to define a record and tour. Defenders of the Faith which is done in the same style, is not a favorite Priest cover of mine - I always thought that cat thing looked a bit goofy. Turbo - at the time it was my least favorite Priest album and the cover looked like it belonged in Playboy not on a metal record. Keep in mind, though whether you're into a cover or not that it's the band who has final say and approval.

Ken Kelly: For those who don't know who Ken is, he has created the covers of KISS' Destroyer and Love Gun albums as well as RAINBOW-Rising and ALL the MANOWAR records since Fighting the World. Not a bad resume'. Another artist who's work has graced my walls, I love alot of these covers. He's also a fellow New Yorker.

The new Maiden cover for "Dance of Death" caught quite a bit of flak for the very computerized look of the characters. What did you honestly think of the cover?

I didn't like it. It's a great concept that in my opinion just didn't deliver visually. Eddie as the reaper is a great image that any Maiden fan would like to see but I think the cover fell short by cluttering him up with weak 3D figures. But who knows, it may be exactly what Steve Harris wanted and the artist is getting alot of shit for just doing what he was told.

I've done my share of covers too that I felt weren't typical Marc Sasso covers. Take the new Morbid Angel cover - Heretic. People have come to me and said it doesn't look like my typical work. Trey Azagthoth, who is a really soft spoken, very nice guy gave me his concept and asked me to visualize it and it's EXACTLY what you see on the cover, I just conveyed it. Is it the way I would have went? It doesn't matter because in the end he was ecstatic to see his vision come to life and he is the client so I was happy to make him happy. He left me a message thanking me that took up my entire answering machine. He's a really nice guy.

Marc and SteveHow would you have done the Iron Maiden DoD cover?

In order to answer that accurately I would have to hear the direction that the artist was given originally. But just by judging what I've seen, I would have pushed to make Eddie the centerpiece of the cover, enlarging him and bringing him to the foreground, just make him look totally bad-ass and striking as a death angel/reaper. Then I would concentrate on getting whatever the vision is across to the viewer, i.e. dancers of death, etc.

I think in the last few studio album covers, Maiden have drifted away from really putting the spotlight on Eddie, I would love to see that come back. It's funny, I've seen posters recently to promote the Dance of Death tour and they look so much better. They got rid of all the dancers and just have Eddie standing alone, it's more powerfull that way. I met Steve Harris at a Maiden aftershow party at Madison Square Garden a few months ago and I was introduced to him as a cover artist. As we were bullshitting a bit I thought to myself, if he asks me what I think about the new Maiden cover I'm gonna be honest and tell him what I thought. Of course, he didn't.

What's your choice for best album cover this year?

God, that's a tough one since I obviously don't see every release. Here's what I liked from what I saw or bought this year: CAGE - Darker Than Black (the Massacre Records import with the 3d cover - Nice), MANOWAR - Warriors Of The World, AT VANCE - The Evil In You, FREEDOM CALL - Eternity, CRADLE OF FILTH - Damnation And A Day, The latest DIO - Anthology, NEVERMORE - Enemies Of Reality, MOTORHEAD - Stone Dead Forever

I'm curious, what's yours?

I really liked the one for Strapping Young Lad - SYL; the red and white is stark and it's open for artistic interpretation. Your Cage Darker Than Black just pops right out at you. Godiva's self-titled is just badass and Six Feet Under's Bringer of Blood commands you look at it.

Have you done covers for any bands and not liked their music?


Not yet, I've been lucky. All the music I've created art for has been really good, I've even been totally suprised by bands like Cage who sent me their demo and I was blown away. I just created a cover for a local metal band from San Diego, Ca. who are shopping for a deal and they're really good too. Their name is HARD ECHO and at this point they sound more like old Maiden then Maiden does.

Where's all the nude women paintings at on your site, man, c'mon?

Hard Echo Ah, fuck off! I'm not into all that cheesecake shit, come to me for death and destruction! Although, the cover for the band HARD ECHO I just did has a hot witch being burnt at the stake on it and she has plenty of cleavage for all you deviants. Check it out.

Who is the True God of Heavy Metal?

Easy question for me. He's adopted the moniker and rightly so... Rob Halford! I don't give a shit what anyone else says or thinks, as far as metal vocalists go this is a guy who has created a style and sound that other vocalists have been trying to replicate for years. I've seen him live more times than I can count and have been blown away every time. He stands as an icon for all Heavy Metal. Just that image of him in leather and spikes with mic held high says Heavy Metal to everyone, even non-metalers. For me, when he throws that voice into overdrive and starts screaming his balls off-that's metal. Fuckin' Halford man, ya gotta dig those screams.

What other vocalists are your favorites?
Here's my thing about vocalists. You always hear people saying that this vocalist is awesome he sounds like so and so. Right? But think about it, the singers that totally kick ass are the ones who sound like no one. Halford - sounds like no one. Dio sounds like no one. Dickinson - sounds like no one. And another awesome singer who is a great example is Chris Cornell. Totally unique, amazing voice that is all his own. These guys sound like themselves, alot of the others are left to immitate them. There's nothing wrong with being influenced by your favorite singer but the ones who set the standard, that's where the magic is.

Anyway, here's my favorites:
Halford and Dio are tied for my top spots. Totally different singers but each one is amazing in their own right. To Dio's credit, I've seen him live, maybe 14-15 times and he has never sounded bad. Not even a little off. He was put on earth for one reason - to sing.
Bruce Dickinson - Another great live singer. Strong voice and really good lyricist. Solo efforts, Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding are proof of that - just amazing.
Klaus Meine - What a voice. Great performer too.
Paul D'ianno - I miss the raw, punky edge his voice brought to Maiden, Killers still sounds great.
Chris Cornell - I know I already mentioned him but Christ, when this guy opens his mouth to sing it feels like every blade of grass is in the right place.
Eric Adams of Manowar-He can bring tears to your eyes then split your skull. Another great singer live.
Blackie Lawless - great gravely, metal voice. Listen to him belt out Thunderhead on Headless Children. Very hard to sing along with in the car.
Udo Dirkschnieder - Another killer gravely voice. There's no mistaking who it is when you hear him.
Bon Scott and Brian Johnson - No need to explain.
Daniel Heiman (Ethereal Magnanimus) of Lost Horizon - Holy shit! That's all I can say.
Jorn Lande of Masterplan - If you haven't heard this CD - GET IT!
Dave Meneketti of Y&T - Smokin' voice but also a great guitar player.
Joe Lynn Turner - Just really love the sound of his voice, soulfull and also screaming heavy when he needs to be. I still think Yngwie's Odyssey CD with him on vocals is one of the best.
Sean Peck - A favorite out of the new breed of metal singers. Great sounding voice and knows when to throw it into hyperdrive. Listen to the scream at the end of Final Solution, you'll see what I mean.
Rob Rock - How he isn't a household name to metalheads is a mystery, his voice is amazing.
David DeFeis - Great voice and another killer songwriter/lyricist.
King Diamond - I can't forget the King. You either hate him or love him. I totally get it. That voice makes me grin.
Others totally worth mentioning - Michael Kiske, Harry Conklin, Tony Kakko, Jeff Scott Soto, Graham Bonnet, Tobias Sammet.

Iron ManYou've also done a lot of graphic novel covers of comic characters. Are you a comic fanboy also?

I'd have to say that I am definitely, hands down a fan of the artwork, no doubt about it. There are a ton of great artists out there doing some really killer, stylized work. But I don't really read comics much anymore. I'm not too big on the superhero stuff, I like the darker reads. Right now I am doing seven covers for a really cool, dark comic book called CandyAppleBlack. The creator is a good friend of mine from LA and some of you die-hard metal heads may remember him. He's none other than Regent St. Claire - singer/songwriter for 80's metal band - Kastle Black. See, no matter what, it all goes back to metal.

So, have you hidden any little secrets on any covers?

Uh, no.

Do you follow all of the news about metal bands that's in magazines and on the Net or do you prefer to stay blissfully ignorant?

Every Monday I spend my lunch break scouring the Internet metal sites to read the news and reviews. I like to know what's going on not only from a fans point of view but also because part of my income comes from metal so I need to know who is getting ready to release a record. If my style fits them, I can contact them and see if they need artwork.

Do you ever feel like your drawing too much fantasy stuff?

Not at all. Firstly, becasue I love doing it and also because I do a ton of other stuff like editorial illustration that breaks it up so I love getting back to flashing swords, creatures, demons and cool armor.

How much would it cost me to buy a reprint of, say the Cage cover you did? How much for the original?

Well, there is no original actually since I painted most of it on the Mac so fans can purchase a print sans the logo from me through my site (www.marcsasso.com) for a pittance.

OK, just to be clear, if somebody wanted to purchase a print, what would they get--a high-res file download or a nice printout mailed in a picture tube?

A nice, signed print mailed in a tube.

What about the black and white sketch/s? Do you keep them, sell them...give them away?

They are all sitting here in the studio. Eventually you will be able to purchase them along with originals on www.marcsasso.com but until then people can drop me an e-mail if they're interested.

Cryonic TempleJust for shits, how much would it cost us for a custom Maximum Metal logo graphic?

Steal me Michael Schenker's flying V and I'll create anything you want.

Your vote for Band of the Year:

I judge it by which bands spent the most time in my CD player. It's a four way tie for me between Masterplan, Cage, At Vance and Lost Horizon.

Any last words for everybody?

Obviously from this interview you can see that metal is a huge part of my life. It has been there for me for many, many years. I think the common bond we all share is that it is like a brotherhood. We all revel in the fact that most common people can look at our CD collections and go "Who the fuck are all these bands? I've never heard of most of them." EXACTLY. OR when we are standing at a live show (just the fact that we STAND most times - get it?) and we hear that certain power chord or that one fucking note like when Dio belts out "We are coming ... HOME!!!!" and we all just look at one another with a big grin because we all get it.

It's ours, it's what makes us just a little different from the rest of the world who are programmed to think the way media and radio want them too. It is our ability to seek out our own style of music instead of being force fed what is given to us. It is the adoration for people that can actually play instruments and create music with them instead of relying solely on modern computerized gimmicks. This thing we call metal has the power to unite and sonically destroy all at the same time. Here's to us - We fuckin' rule!


Now, how was that for cool, readers?! Support your metal brother by going to his site and buying up all of his shit. Tell him Maximum Metal sent you.

Marc's Website

--Nailer 12/20/03





ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: MARC SASSO
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE
Marc SassoFrank Hill12/20/2003

ALL REVIEWS FOR: MARC SASSO


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