Originally published on Hard
Radio.
Roy Z: Man Behind The Masks
After a couple of delays, the new TRIBE
OF GYPSIES album, Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants is out in Japan on
JVC as we speak.The offical release date was actually January 1, so it's
very likely that 'Standing' is actually the very first release of the
21st century! Sound clips are available at www.tribeofgypsies.com.
Furthermore, the song 'Dreams' from SOTSOG is included on the Unerhort -
Best Of The Unsigned CD that comes free with the current issue of Rock
Hard, Germany's leading hard rock publication.
In other TRIBE related news, Roy Z has
just finished mixing the forthcoming ROB ROCK (IMPELLITTERI) solo album,
Rage Of Creation, which he produced, co-wrote and played guitar on. The
album also features appearances by drummer Reynold Carlson (ex-JAG
PANZER, DRIVER), bassist Ray Burke (LIFE AFTER DEATH), former
OZZY/BADLANDS guitarist, Jake E. Lee, as well as the TRIBE OF GYPSIES'
Gregg Analla who provided backing vocals. Moreover, Roy is one of the
guitarists featured on the GLENN HUGHES archives release, Incense &
Peaches, appearing on 'Let's Get Together', one of several tracks Roy
and Glenn co-wrote back in 1995. The CD can be ordered through Glenn's
official website at www.glennhughes.com/.
And currently, Roy Z. is in
"full-on HALFORD mode" as he toils away producing the new solo
album for the legendary JUDAS PRIEST singer. "We're just hammering
away. We're done with all the drums and now we're going to go and do
some overdubbing for awhile, and we'll start mixing in early February
and we should be done early March. The music we're coming up with for
the most part, sounds like classic Halford-era Priest. There's a little
bit of his newer stuff in there, a little bit from the Painkiller era,
and a very little bit of the FIGHT stuff. But that is the stuff I am
trying to avoid, myself. I'm just steering the whole thing towards the
killer classic stuff."
A total of 24 tracks have been demoed so
far. Previous to Roy Z taking the production helm, there was talk of
Neil Kernon taking the job, possibly Neil in conjunction with Tom Allom,
Bob Marlette handling it alone, and then Roy in conjunction with Allom.
It also looks like, due to Rob now being under the wing of Rod Smallwood
and Sanctuary (Maiden's management), that Halford will be touring as
support to Maiden.
Roy has also set BRUCE DICKINSON up in
the same studio complex, and has given him virtually "months"
of work to do for the next Bruce solo album, realistically not ready for
launch until 2001.
"Actually, Bruce flies in today
(ed. Jan. 6th). And I've already got a bunch of songs for him, and he's
going to be at the studio I'm going to be at. He's going to be in the
back room, singing his butt off. He's in town for a couple of weeks and
he's just itching to get back to doing his solo stuff. I'm not sure of
the exact dates, but he keeps telling me that we're going to record it
in August, because he's going to have a break from IRON MAIDEN. And in
the meantime we're looking for songs to put out for his compilation
album, Catacombs, of the stuff he's never used. So we've been going
through those songs, and talking about remixing a couple of
things."
Has Roy heard any of the new Maiden
material?
"Very little. I think people are
really going to like it. I've only heard Bruce singing it to me
(laughs). I go, 'how's it sound?' And he goes, 'like this', and then he
sings. Bruce won't play it for me, and to be honest, I don't want to
hear it. I try to stay away from it anything that I'm not supposed to
know or hear. Plus I don't want that to interfere with what I'm doing.
I've been listening to the 24 songs we'd demoed with Halford, and I've
been listing all the way back to Sad Wings up to Screaming For
Vengeance. That's all I've been listening to so my head is just way deep
into Halford land." Roy indicates that there is a very real
possibility of a Halford/Dickinson duet on one of Roy's songs called
"The One You Love To Hate'.
"At first it was going to be for a
soundtrack, and now we're talking about putting it on an album, because
it's a really strong song. It has elements of both Priest and Maiden,
and it also has that kind of Chemical Wedding sound."
Roy also indicated that two days before
our interview, he had just received word that he would be producing the
new HELLOWEEN record, which goes into production in March.