Voices Of Metal: Nightrage

By Martina Fasano

Founded by Marios Illipoulos and Gus G, Nightrage is certainly band with plenty of shred-worthy guitar work. As the founder of the band, Illipolous has enlisted the help of some fantastic musicians in past lineups of the band. In July of 2016, Magnus Söderman (guitars) and Lawrence Dinamarca (drums) were added to the lineup and that created a creative synergy that Marios could have only dreamed of. The result? The absolutely awesome new album, The Venomous. Marios and Magnus had a lot to say about how their creative efforts resulted in what they claim to be an album worthy of a world tour, and after listening to what they had to say, we have to say, we’re pretty excited.

Martina: Thank you for taking the time out to talk with us. You’ve just released a new album! It sounds absolutely thunderous, which is what fans no doubt wanted to hear. Can you tell me a little bit about how the songs came together for the record and how the addition of Magnus on guitar impacted the band’s direction.


Marios:
I started composing songs a year ago, before we actually started recording in the studio and at that time I met Magnus, and actually me and Magnus wrote all of the music together so it was a collaboration. He’s a good guitar player in the band, but he’s got a lot of ideas and we’re on the same page musically, so it was really a cool and we never struggled to compose together. It was a very fruitful collaboration. So I’m very happy to meet someone like Magnus that is on the same page and we understand each other and the music and we exchange ideas with no problems.

Magnus: Yea, I would say it was very fun writing with Marios and having written with other people before, which was sometimes harder, with Marios it totally wasn’t that way because he’s the best of the best. I was surprised. I never thought it would be that smooth to write songs together with someone else. So it was nice.

Marios (to Magnus): That’s good to hear man! (Marios and Magnus laugh)
Martina: Greece has given the world quite a few heavy metal and rock bands over the years. How would you describe the local rock and metal scene in Greece and Sweden (where Magnus is from) compared to let’s say the United States or other parts of Europe?

Marios: Here in Greece from my side I can tell you that it’s growing. The internet has helped a lot and a lot of people can find stuff about how to write a song, how to be more professional, and of course having a guy like Gus (G) and bands like Eroding Christ helped a lot of younger bands become more aware of what kinds of professional skills you need to make it in the music business. So Greece is kind of a growing scene, unlike Sweden, which maybe Magnus can speak more about, because in Sweden they already have a great scene because they have a lot of help from the state because people begin to play instruments at an early age there.

Magnus: Yea, there are so many people playing rock and metal here (Sweden). The quality and the standard is so high – I don’t know if it’s because of the winter. (Laughs) Maybe because it’s too cold to get out so they play guitar for 5 or 6 hours every day whereas in Hawaii maybe they have other things to do in the sun. (Laughs)
Martina: I’m from Toronto, Canada, so I totally get what you mean by that. We get a lot of time indoors for sure, especially in the winter.

Magnus: I don’t know if kids nowadays do that anymore, maybe it’s the same everywhere. I don’t know if the young people now have the patience to sit there for 5 or 6 hours and rewind the song over and over again, like the old guys did. (Laughs)
Martina: More of the instant gratification generation generation so to speak.
Magnus: Yes for sure.Martina: We know you guys love Seymour Duncan pickups. What pickup models do you use and how do they help you achieve the menacing roar we hear on Nightrage records?

Marios: I’m using the Blackouts. I used to be an EMG endorser, but they became a little too one-dimensional for me, and I wanted the high output of the active pickup, but the Blackouts have more of a warm tone to them, almost like a passive pickup, to be honest, and it works great for solos and for riffs. It’s more of a unique tone I think. I’ve also used the Gus G Blackout system and it’s a combination of active and passive tones, and that’s amazing for when you need to do things like play riffs and then switch to solos and stuff like that.

Magnus: I play the JB pickup and I also use the new Blackouts that you’ve got, the Jeff Loomis set and they’re great.

In terms of gear and your live/studio rigs, what do your setups include in terms of amps, guitars, pedals, strings, picks?

Marios: We use Orange amplifiers, and I use ESP guitars, my Eclipse loaded with Blackouts of course, and for picks I use the Dunlop Jazz XL, which I find helps me play a little bit faster.

Magnus: Orange amps and ESP Guitars for me as well, and I use Dunlop Tortex picks in 1.14mm, the purple ones. And that’s pretty much it. I use a delay for solos sometimes, but other than that I plug straight into the amp.
Marios: Also can’t forget we both use Elixir strings, and they’re great. Because of the coating, they last a lot longer and that helps us out a lot.

Martina: Do either or you have any “dream guitars” that you’d still want to add to your collections? Or are you more about function vs just collecting instruments?

Marios: For me personally I’m not a collector. I don’t believe in that. I just want to play. I’m very confident having my ESP’s loaded with Seymour Duncan’s. It’s all about creativity for me. My guitar is a tool to be able to write songs. I don’t know what Magnus thinks but that’s what it is for me.

Magnus: Yea, I have some different guitars because I like to have them for different sounds and purposes. I’m totally uninterested in guitars and amps and how they work and all of that. I just want something that sounds good when I plug it in and play. I’m not that interested in technical things or stuff like that.

Martina: You just want to be able to plug in and play…hopefully loudly!
Magnus: Exactly! Sometimes I don’t even know the name of the guitar model I’m using, and I don’t care because it’s sounding great.

Marios: We’re not guitar geeks, we’re more jam players – we just like to jam and have fun with it. That’s it.
Martina: Which is super important because that’s often where the creativity comes in like you said. When you’re creating songs, how do you divide the guitar duties in the band right now? Do you go about it differently when you’re playing live versus in the studio? You said the songwriting was organic and it worked well, the vibes were great, but how do you decide who is going to play what?

Marios: It’s 50/50. Magnus has all of his leads and whatnot and whatever he wants to play it’s up to him. It’s not like I’m going to say “no I want you to play what I used to play for the older songs”, we always share and divide the parts equally. We’re like brothers – part of a team. We work with each other not against each other.

Magnus: It’s almost 50 percent but if you think of the songs, I mostly will play the rhythm and Marios will play the leads. Marios has a very unique vibrato and for me it sounds like Nightrage, and I don’t want to mess with that. I think it’s cool that MArios has that uniqueness.

Marios: See, I told you it’s always good to have a brother in the band. (Marios and Magnus both laugh)
Martina: We often hear about what people are listening to right now or what they’re doing right now, but we all started someplace. Some fans asked us if you’re self-taught or classically trained, and how did you first get inspired to play guitar?
Marios: For me I remember as a kid, when I was 13 or 14 years old, I remember watching a German TV show that featured a festival that had big bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, and I was really inspired, especially with Iron Maiden. I think it was the Piece of Mind tour that made me want to start playing guitar and writing my own songs. Back in the day. (Laughs)

Magnus: Yea for me it all started with KISS, and then Accept, then Metallica, Slayer, all those bands. I’m self-taught but I also studied music for three years in school here in Sweden.

Marios: I’m self-taught as well but I did go to school too, but I thought all of the teachers sucked there because they didn’t have anything interesting to show me that I liked and they thought I was weird playing these riffs. So it was mainly me listening, and not even realizing that I’d been training my ears all these years. Back in those days there were no TABS or videos, you just had to listen, and I recommend that, you know, to young players, to sometimes instead of using TABS or whatever to just try and figure things out because you can really train your ear like that.

Magnus: Now it’s totally fantastic with YouTube because if you need to get inspired you can just search for it on YouTube. With us you used to have to go down to the library if you couldn’t find a song or something like that, but now it’s totally different. The opportunity is amazing.

Marios: I think the best thing is to jam with other players or go to shows to see how other players play. This is a very good lesson for anyone, while still learning how to come up with your own style. Just make sure you jam with other players better than you of course, so that you can learn from them.

Martina: Where can fans see Nightrage next? Is there a tour planned in support of the new album?
Marios: Yea, we actually have a new booking agent who is excited to book us and is looking for shows and we really want to get out and play the songs from the album live. We think Venomous deserves the best attention. So we’re looking for tours in North America, Europe, South America, Japan, Australia. We have a very good fan base in Canada, and we have a lot of interest in the band there. Everytime we play there the shows we play are good, so we’re looking forward to getting back there if possible. We just want to play everywhere that is possible so we can share these songs with all of the people that are interested in them. We love Seymour Duncan and thank you for all the support you’ve given us and continue to give us.

Magnus: Yes, we’re truly blessed to be able to work with the best, so thank you!

Music & Sound Retailer Interviews Max Gutnik

The Music & Sound Retailer recently interviewed our SVP Of Products/CRO Max Gutnik. The interview covers a lot of ground including Max’s career history; new products such as Palladium, Saturday Night Special, Duality and PowerStage; the importance of working together with guitar shops; and Seymour Duncan’s role in shaping artist developing in a post-record-company world.

If anyone could be said to epitomize the best elements of the music business, Seymour Duncan’s Max Gutnik would have a strong case for the distinction. Not only does he have years of experience as a recording artist and an impressive industry résumé—it includes Guitar Center, Sweetwater, Apogee, Avid and Line 6—but he also has a passionate commitment to the brick-and-mortar dealer channel, as well as for cultivating the next generation of music makers. At Seymour Duncan, where he is Senior Vice President of Products and Chief Revenue Officer, he’s found the perfect setting to merge his technical expertise, passion for music, affinity for the guitar and knowledge of in-store music retailing, all while contributing to a brand whose legacy is among the music products industry’s truly elite.

Read the full interview here.

Wired Guitarist Reviews Alpha/Omega

The good folks over at Wired Guitarist have reviewed the Mark Holcomb Alpha/Omega pickup set. Connor Gilkinson declares “I’ll call it right now – these are some of the best pickups to come out in recent memory. I have never seen a set of pickups that can do it all, until now. Plenty of pickups can deliver versatility but there is always a trade-off, which in most cases is either clarity or clean tones. Somehow, these pickups not only meet those requirements, but they excel at them.”

Read the full review here.

Talking Tone With Glen Drover

By Martina Fasano

It’s easy to introduce Glen Drover as the former axe-slinger for influential bands such as King Diamond and Megadeth, but as a guitarist, Drover is more than just an encyclopedic entry listed under “past members.” When iconic metal band Testament needed a quick study to fill in for Alex Skolnick due to his commitment to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 2008, they called upon Glen Drover to step into his shoes and play the gigs that Alex could not. In fact, Drover has often gotten the call to play some shred-filled, intricate guitar leads that would make others sheepishly turn down the gig. This is in addition to Eidolon, the band he started with his brother Shawn Drover and released eight albums on Metal Blade Records with. All of that talent, and he’s one of the most down-to-earth people in the business too. We had a chance to talk with Glen about his upcoming projects and he graciously answered our questions. Continue reading “Talking Tone With Glen Drover”

Seymour Duncan Releases Mark Holcomb Alpha & Omega Signature Pickups

SANTA BARBARA, CA March 1, 2017 – Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of pickups and pedals, announces the over-the-counter release of Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb’s Alpha and Omega pickups in 6, 7 and 8-string versions.

“The Alpha/Omega set has been the heartbeat of my sound for the past several years,” Mark Holcomb says. “Since we developed and released the first 6-string set in the custom shop, I’ve had the same pickup set in every one of my 6, 7 and 8-string guitars, live and in the studio. It has remained one of the few components of my rig and setup that I haven’t even thought about tweaking.”

“The Omega bridge pickup came out super cool,” Holcomb continues. “It’s very, very aggressive and snarling, with that percussive quality that I like in the low mids. My style is based on really big chords with a lot of voicings, and I didn’t want to sacrifice any of that in the bridge pickup. And the Alpha neck pickup has lots of pick attack – probably the most pick attack of any neck pickup I’ve ever played. But it’s still very fat and glassy.”

“The 6-string Custom Shop release of this pickup was very popular and we heard a lot from Mark and Mark’s fans who said they wanted extended range versions of that same pickup and the ability to buy it over the counter,” says Seymour Duncan SVP of Products & CRO Max Gutnik. “We’re excited to make them available to more players, with more variety.”

• Available as a set, or individual neck or bridge pickups.
• 6, 7 or 8-string options.
• Trembucker option is available for 6-string.

Seymour Duncan Mark Holcomb Alpha/Omega pickups are made in the USA and will be available on March 1, 2017.

Video:

About Seymour Duncan

Seymour Duncan celebrates a rich history as the world’s leading pickup and pedal manufacturer. Since 1976, Seymour Duncan has helped the world’s artists develop their own unique, signature sounds. This is accomplished through a dedicated team of craftsman at their Santa Barbara, California office. For more information, please visit seymourduncan.com.

Introducing Duality

Whenever we make a new product at Seymour Duncan, it has to benefit players. It has to make life easier and tone better for those who it’s made for. Duality is made unlike any other active pickup, and it opens up a whole new exciting chapter for what’s possible.

We’ve made pickups that combine aspects of passive and active before: the Gus G Blackouts set, Blackouts Modular Preamp and Blackouts Coil Pack System all involve using passive pickups with a volume-pot-mounted active preamp. The result is a tone that’s about 2/3 Blackouts voicing and 1/3 the voicing of whatever pickup you plug into the BMP. Many players love this system.

Duality takes a different approach. Using a unique new architecture, Duality places more emphasis on the sound of the coils themselves. That means you get more of the ‘string detail’ and fretting-hand phrasing qualities of passive pickups, but you also get all the benefits of actives: extremely low noise, high headroom, and the signal remains strong over extremely long cable runs. And because we’re able to put more of the string into the sound of the pickup, Duality is the most interactive active pickup you’ll ever find.

“We’ve spent a lot of time reimagining what an active pickup could sound, feel and look like,” Seymour Duncan SVP of Products & CRO Max Gutnik says. “The voicing is very versatile. From super-modern metal with a lot of aggressive attack to legitimately authentic blues and country tones.” The lows are tight and percussive, the mids are strong and vibrant, and the highs are clear and airy. “You can really hear the tone coming through, as opposed to a lot of other actives where the preamp masks what’s going on with the guitar,” Max says. “Duality will accentuate what you’re getting from your instrument.”

Duality is also ‘plug-and-play’: if your guitar already has actives, you simply need to pop out your existing pickups and drop Duality right in. It’s available in individual neck, bridge and Trembucker versions or in a matched set, and you can get it with black uncovered bobbins or zebra uncovered bobbins.

Review: Seymour Duncan Killing Floor High Gain Boost

Seymour Duncan’s venture into the pedal market has been an impressively successful second act for a company that was known for decades exclusively as a pickup manufacturer.

 

Currently Seymour Duncan offers 11 different pedals, most of which have become permanent fixtures in the pedalboards of discriminating tone connoisseurs like Joe Bonamassa and Robben Ford.

 

The Killing Floor high gain boost pedal—one of Duncan’s latest offerings—delivers up to 34dB of boost that will push any amp into overdrive. But there’s more than a staggering amount of boost at play here. The pedal also sweetens the tone of your rig, providing natural, amp-like dynamics and responsiveness while enhancing the most musical frequencies and harmonics.

 

In addition to a single chicken head knob for dialing in the desired amount of gain, the pedal offers a three-way mini toggle for boosting treble at 10kHz (to add “air” and more upper-end chime), cutting upper mids at 4.8kHz (to tame harsh single coil overtones), or keeping the tone absolutely flat.

 

The Killing Floor significantly improves a guitar’s tone, which will inspire many players to keep it on continuously, but it’s also great for dazzling solo tones that cut through a mix and sound rich and full.

STREET PRICE: $159
MANUFACTURER: Seymour Duncan, seymourduncan.com

Joe Satriani talks Surfing With The Alien track-by-track

Still riding the wave

TESTAMENT’s ALEX SKOLNICK Says He Has Always Followed His Own Path

During a short interview in the Seymour Duncan booth at this past weekend’s NAMM show in Anaheim, California, TESTAMENT and METAL ALLEGIANCE guitarist Alex Skolnick was asked how he has managed to survive in the music industry thirty years after the release of TESTAMENT‘s classic debut album, “The Legacy”. He responded: “I think I’ve followed my own path. I like the music I like. Even though I started early with a band that’s very hard music, I’ve always listened [to] and played whatever music I like. And I spent a few years only playing instrumental music, and then I went back to TESTAMENT when nobody thought I would. And then when I went back, nobody thought I would still do instrumental music. So I’m gonna do whatever I want.”

 

He continued: “I think those of us that survive the music business, we follow our passion and we don’t try… ‘Cause if I tried really hard just to be what people expect me to be, I’d get covered in tattoos and I’d have some image that’s not really me. So I never did that. And I think those who, sort of, do what they feel are the ones that survive in this crazy music industry.”

A televised performance of the MILES DAVIS ELECTRIC BAND in the late ’90s led Skolnick to New York City, where he immersed himself in the jazz world. For the past decade, Skonick has led a double life as a member of TESTAMENT, the seminal thrash metal band he joined at the age of 16. In the summer of 2016, he’s both toured Europe with TESTAMENT and performed with Miles‘s keyboardist, Alan Holzman.

Skolnick‘s book, “Geek To Guitar Hero”, is available on paperback via Amazon.

TESTAMENT‘s latest album, “Brotherhood Of The Snake”, was released last October via Nuclear Blast.

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