Dave Hogg (Angel Witch)

Dave Hogg was the drummer of Angel Witch, in different times, during the eighties, he was part of their classic line-up with Kevin Heybourne and Kevin Riddles, having recorded their seminal self-titled, first album, and later Screamin' n' Bleedin'. We talked to him to know a little more about his time with the band.

Q. - When you first join the band in 78 with Kevin Riddles, they were known by the name of "Lucifer", and it was as a quartet, tell us a bit about those days.

Dave - I saw Angel Witch as a five piece at a pub in SE London. Their then Drummer was leaving to go into more commercial pop music. I offered myself as audition which was accepted later that month.

I never knew AW as Lucifer and Kevin Riddles was to join the band later after me.

Q. - Shortly after the name change, Bob Downing left, why did it happen?

Dave - I think Rob wanted more lead guitar breaks which caused rifts between Kevin H and manager Heybourne (Ken) Rob was given ultimatum in the bands strategy to move on, but being of stubborn nature… Rob said “Goodbye”.

I was shocked that this came to this. I had no say in the matter.

Q. - The single "Sweet Danger", was released by "EMI", so was the song "Baphomet" for "Metal For Muthas" compilation, but you released the album on "Bronze Records", weren't you happy with the work done by "EMI"?

Dave - EMI Offered a deal which i would've gladly accepted. Ken Heybourne thought he would get a better deal, from an Independent company.

The deal he got from Bronze was exactly the same. Personally i would've opt for the national industry of EMI. Consequently EMI's deal was offered to Iron Maiden!

Q. - The self-titled debut album, is considered one of the most notable from the NWOBHM, but instead of a sequence, the band fall apart, how do you explain that?

Dave - Firstly, I was totally fuming about The debut album and it mix downs.

I never considered this album to be a true copy of the band, or its live performances.
I believe the record company made AW terminate my contract, I have never known as to the reason of my sacking.

Angel Witch tried to continue with Dave Dufort, but DD would never have the same input which I had with the band…Consequently the Record company terminated the whole of Angel witch contract.

Q. - Why did you leave Angel Witch back in 81?

Dave – hahaha As above and so below…

I was sacked !

Q. - Weren't you satisfied with the production of the debut album?

Dave - The production of the album was doing ok, we were working hard touring at the same time. The mix down was done in our absence, there was no looking back.... (it couldn't be re mixed at this point), I was absolutely fuming that this sounds nothing like Angel witch were live.

It's polished up so much that the power has been lost.

Q. - What about the Music Machine gig on May 8, 1979, with Samson and Maiden? Did you see it like some kind of re-emergence of the heavy metal movement?

Dave - I cannot re-call that particular Music machine gig, We played there often through 1979-80, There definitely was something happening in the UK following the punk scene. We just liked what we played and most of the UK thought the same.

Q. - What memories do you keep from that particular show? Would you define it as one of Angel Witch's finest hour?

Dave - My memories cannot guide to one show, I have great memories to many, many shows.
It was amazing to explore the big cities in England, especially as we received enormous reactions from fans who had only read of us in the music press. It just proved we were as good as the press made out. I must stress that Angel witch's live shows, were far more exciting than any album produced. I'd love to re-record in the US of A.

Q. - Around 84, you return, but the band was using the name Blind Fury, with Lou Taylor on vocals, were you trying a new approach?

Dave – NO…Angel witch was only Kevin Heybourne at that time, he had a spell with Blind fury but that wasn’t working. Ken Heybourne turned up at my house and asked if I would re-join Angel witch with the exception of Kevin Riddles. I was fore the re-join but disappointed about leaving out Riddles. However Kevin H recruited Pete Gordelia who I got on well with, and recorded “Screamin” & Bleedin’.

Q. - By the time you recorded Screamin' n' Bleedin' in 85, the band return to the name Angel Witch, with Dave Tattum on vocals, how did that happened?

Dave – In the spell of 81-85 I was in a band (Black Jaque Shallaque) with Rob Downing, Andy King, Ian Barbour, and Dave Tattum.

Kevin was having trouble with he’s voice for a period and Dave Tattum used to tour with us. Just as a matter of fact. DT knew the songs and came on one night.

He then did several nights, so we decided to record Screamin and bleeding with Tattum on most vocals.

To this day, I think was a big mistake… don’t get me wrong, Dave Tattum is a brilliant vocalist but not for Angel Witch.

Q. - The band have split-up and reformed several times over the years, this may be the reason why they didn't achieve great success?

Dave – No…England is a very fashionable country both in clothing, music, and the arts.

NWOBHM began in 1978 around the fade of the Punk era, The metal fashion lasted till 1981…Those bands that were signed either had success or terminated contracts, Angel witch was one of the most successful in their own right, It was the business that collapsed the band.

Q. - After you leave for the second time you were in a project with Dave Tattum on vocals, wasn't it? Tell us a bit about it.

Dave – I was sacked for the second time, I had no faith in our new Agency.
It was that agency that didn’t like me either. AW was hanging on with what they had.
I personally knew it was a very long way back up that ladder, and I wasn’t going to do that again.

Q. - What do you think of Angel Witch actually?

Dave – I think Angel witch are/were a brilliant band, All that AW was about was doing live shows to their 1000s of fans as professionally as amateurs could round the uk at that time. We had a great team in Chris Rogers live sound and chief stage manager.
Kev Meagher Lighting and pyrotechnics and a few others I can’t remember right now.
AW were one of the first Amateur metal band to put on such shows.

Q. - Was there any song that you liked to play most?

Dave – Yes…… ALL OF THEM!! xx

Q. - So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any band? Tell us a bit about it.

Dave – Hahaha you’ve got to be kidding me 62??? I’m not starting now!!

I was only for Angel witch. Nothing else mattered

Q. - I think you talked to Jon Torres (R.I.P.) about forming a new band, before he passed away in 2013, was there something in concrete?

Dave - No… I talked to Jon, we were worlds apart, A Damn nice fella…If it were possible at that time I would’ve had a jam.

Q. - Did you stay in touch with former Angel Witch members over the years?

Dave – No, I lost contacts with everyone. The internet for me was about 2004 it’s only since then I’ve gradually been in touch.

Kevin Heybourne and I wasn’t seeing terms. We broke the ice when I turned up at a gig in London’s Camden town 3 years ago, but don’t communicate much, same as Kevin Riddles xx

Q. - Do you keep an eye to the metal scene of today? What do you think are the main differences between now and back in the day?

Dave – I don’t keep up with what’s happening, I just like what I hear sometimes.

There are some great bands about, but I don’t think it will be as it began.

Only the supergroups will live a legacy.

Q. - Do you miss those days of early Angel Witch? Would you like to tour with them at least one more time?

Dave – Yes I miss it all like mad but the enthusiasm has gone in the business.

Yes I’d love to tour again with those young masters.

Q. - Anything more you want to say, to end up this interview?

Dave – Yes… Thank you for inviting me to interview, I’m humbled.

And sorry it’s late getting back to you. I hope you receive it.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Dave - Thanks Paulo.

Heathen (Kragen Lum)

Kragen has been playing guitar with Heathen since 2007, and besides Heathen he's been very active playing with Exodus too, as guest, replacing Gary Holt when he's busy with Slayer. We had a chat with him, to know what he has been doing this days.

Q. – Hello Kragen, were you familiar with Heathen back in the day? A fan?

Kragen: Yes, absolutely! Heathen was always one of my favorite Bay Area Thrash bands.

Q. - How did you join the band? Was it like a dream come true?

Kragen: I met Dave back in 2003 when he came down to LA to record vocals on a demo for my band Prototype. A few years later, Heathen was looking for a guitar player and he asked me to audition. I worked on 4 songs over the course of 3 weeks and then flew up to the Bay Area to play with the band. They asked me if I wanted to join the band that day and I said yes. My first show with them was the Keep It True festival the following year in front of a sold out crowd. It was definitely a dream come true.

Q. - You’ve been the guitar player for Heathen since 2007, what’s the balance of these 11 years with the band? How has it been?

Kragen: Well, we were really active for the first few years, writing and rehearsing new material for the Evolution Of Chaos album. We recorded and released the album in 2010 and did several tours in the US, Europe and Japan. We signed with Nuclear Blast in 2012 and I started writing for the next album. Then in 2013 I was asked to do my first tour playing with Exodus, filling in for Gary. Since then both Lee and I have been very busy with Exodus and haven’t been able to find a large enough block of time to work on the new album.

Q. - Heathen has been changing the line-up constantly, who's actually in the band, it will be the line-up for future gigs?

Kragen: We don’t have a permanent drummer at this point. It’s David White, Lee Altus and me still working on new material right now. Obviously we will solidify the drummer position before recording and touring.

Q. - There's been some rumours that you're recording a new Heathen album these days, is that true?

Kragen: we’re not at the recording stage yet but we do have new material written with several songs already demoed. I have more songs to demo after this upcoming Exodus tour in Europe. We hope to find a chunk of time to start recording this year.

Q. - Will be there some guest players in the recordings like on Evolution of Chaos? Did you consider to invite Doug Piercy to play some solos?

Kragen: we may have some guest appearances on the album but we haven’t gotten quite that far yet. I’ve always liked Doug’s style of playing so that’s a cool idea.

Q. - Are you working with Juan Urteaga again?

Kragen: We haven’t figured out exactly where we’ll be recording. We may work in the Bay Area or we may go to a different studio location. I have my own studio for tracking guitars and vocals as well so there are options for us to choose from in terms of studios and producers.

Q. - There was talk of a live album a few years ago, recorded in Poland, why didn't it happen?

Kragen: We did record a full double live album in Greece a few years ago. It’s pretty much ready to be mixed at this point but we’re holding onto it until after the new album is released.

Q. - You've been working with Exodus too, as guest, how's that been so far?

Kragen: Working with Exodus has been awesome. I would never have imagined being able to play with not just one but two of my favourite bands!

Q. - Will Heathen be the priority after the recordings of the new album or will you keep busy with Exodus?

Kragen: I will be playing with Exodus whenever they need me until Slayer’s final tour is finished and Gary is back with Exodus full time. Once that happens I will be able to put more focus on Heathen. Ideally, I would like to time the release of the new Heathen album so that Lee and I can both focus on touring to support it.

Q. - Besides Heathen and Exodus, do you have two more bands: the thrashers Psychosis and the progressive band Prototype, Do you keep this projects active, or are they on hold?

Kragen: It has been hard to juggle all of the bands but both Prototype and Psychosis are still active. Psychosis is currently recording some songs from 1993 that we’re never recorded. These will be added to an upcoming 25th anniversary reissue of our first CD Lifeforce. As for Prototype, we are writing for the next album whenever time permits.

Q. - It's been a long time since the edition of "Catalyst", are you working on a new Prototype album?

Kragen: We do already have a few songs written for the next Prototype album already. Hopefully we can record the new album next year.

Q. - How did the idea of editing "Pray For Death" reuniting all the demo tapes, came up? And why only digital format? Do you intend to release it on cd in the future?

Kragen: The Pray For Death demo collection was my idea actually. I had most of it ready to go last year but needed to have some of the older tracks mastered. I finally got that done and it was an exclusive free release with the purchase of a Pray For Death t-shirt or hoodie from the Heathen online store (shop.heathenthrash.com). I hope to have a CD release available either later this year or early next year with liner notes, etc. It will be a 2 CD set when it is released.

Q. - What's the main difficulties you've been facing all over these years in the music business?

Kragen: The hardest thing about being a musician is finding ways to make money when you’re not on tour. I like to stay busy so I try to get creative and come up with new ideas like the Exodus “Pleasures Of The Frets” Guitar Book. Sometimes it’s a struggle to keep everything going in this business but where there’s a will there’s a way.

Q. - This year are you going on tour with Heathen? Do you intend to play some festivals in the summer?

Kragen: Heathen won’t be doing and touring or festivals this Summer. We really need to have the new album out before we tour again. Hopefully that will be soon.

Q. - How would you like to end this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Kragen: Thanks for the great interview and thanks to all of the Heathen fans for your support and patience over the years. Please check out the official Heathen online store at shop.heathenthrash.com for all of the latest Heathen gear and also my SubLevel Records store at shop.sublevelrecords.com for my Exodus and Prototype guitar books, Prototype and Psychosis CDs, digital releases and shirts.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Random Black

Random Black was formed in 1979, in Essex, East England, at the high pitch of the n.w.o.b.h.m. With a few demo tapes and a compilation appearance, "Ophelia" on Metal Warriors (Ebony, 1983), Random Black never released an album. We had a chat with Mark Kirkman, their guitarist, to know a little bit about them.

Q. - Mark when did you join Random Black, was it around 1979/80? Tell us a bit about the beginning of the band.

Mark - I joined in 1980, I think. Black had sort of stopped, and was a one guitar band. I added colour and harmony to the songwriting, as my love of twin harmony guitars was developing. 

Q. - For how long have you been together?

Mark - Random Black lasted from 1979 to 1985/6.

Q. - What were you're main influences at the very beginning of the band?

Mark - Definitely a love of the heavy rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Scorpions, UFO, Black Sabbath, Magnum, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple. Latterly the NWOBHM bands such as Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Angel Witch.

Q. - Did you start writing your own songs since the beginning or were you most concentrated on covers?

Mark - The band had some songs when I joined, and I had a load of ideas / half-finished riffs, hooks and choruses. Stuff like Love Gone Stale, Taking the Easy Way Out, Time for Change were the band’s stage favourite songs. We worked on both, and the set soon became bigger and stronger. We used to jam cover stuff all the time, like Into the Arena by The Michael Schenker Group – but never really got on with covers. I’d done loads of that before joining, and used to like and play stuff like “Somebody get me a Doctor” by Van Halen.  We’d see bands doing “Paranoid” by Sabbath and think “Why not play your own stuff?”

Q. - I've read that the 1981 demo tape was engineered and mixed by Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum, how did that happen?

Mark - The management booked the studio time, and Matt to do the recording, engineering and mixing. He was great, controlled the songs and us too! We recorded a three song demo – Witch Daughter, Fool’s Paradise and Lost Child. That got us onto mainstream radio and interest from Ebony Records. Bloody Peely didn’t play it although I bombarded him with copies of it!

Q. - Did you try to approach a record deal at that time?

Mark - Yes. We had all the names and addresses of the A & R men at various record companies and went up to London to pester them! One day or notoriety saw us ending up drunk with the A & R guy in a Porno Cinema in Soho! Mad days…. There were rumours that Polydor showed an interest after we did Ebony and a biggish gig in Braintree, but that never materialised. And of course the NWOBHM was slowly running out of time. The New Romantics movement was taking hold, and the record companies went with that.

Q. - What about gigs, did you play around East England at that time, or in the rest of the UK or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked in the area at that time?

Mark - We gigged all over the UK, wherever they would have us – often for big losses. We just wanted to play and get the name out there. It was hard, trying to keep a job down and gigging in far flung places or wherever and having work at 8am the next day. Sometimes I wouldn’t even go home, just go straight to work and carry on through.

Q. - What happened at the end of the band? When did you split exactly and for what reasons? Were you working on new material before you broke up?

Mark - We went through a load of “other” guitarists – Ron Scates, Steve Adams, Ray Frost, Keith King ec – who played the harmony sections with me. The material was not easy. The guitar melodies and harmonies were difficult to learn, using interesting scales like Phrygian / Harmonic Minor / Diminished etc. Timing changes too. As the principle guitarist and musician in the band it was down to me to teach the new guitarist the set. After Keith left, we auditioned other players, but nobody fitted the bill. I suppose I’d had enough of teaching someone else all the stuff I’d written, so I decided to call it a day. I had loads of ideas left that were unused, sadly. The band didn’t carry on, and we went back in the studio in 1987 and did a posthumous recording. I did all the guitar work on that. We ran out of time and it wasn’t mixed very well, to be honest. I still have the 2” tape.

Q. - With the great talent and potential you guys had, why do you think you failed to achieve a real success?

Mark - Our stuff was probably a bit pretentious, and longwinded. We were doing some instrumental songs of 6 and 7 minutes a la Maiden, but they were smarter and better managed then we were. Steve Harris always had a vision for his band, and coupled with Rod Smallwood’s management (and of course Sanctuary Records, which he owned) they were always going to succeed. Their material was pretty standard two guitar fare back then.

Q. - Did you remain in touch with the Random Black boys till this day?

Mark - Yes and No! I saw Don a few times in the 90’s, but he faded away. Had a back injury. I am friends with Ray Frost, and he’s living and still playing in Spain. I went out to see him a few years back. John is performing as the Bon Scott character in a variety of AC/DC tribute bands. I’ve not seen Steve Adams for 30 years, and bumped into George once at one of my covers band Beggar’s gigs about 10 years ago. Lives on a house boat, apparently. I’d not seen Ronnie for many years, and we (ReMark Duo) did my mate’s wedding and he was one of the guests! Keith has depped for me in Beggar when I’ve been away. Faithful roadie Mike Lightfoot is still around and does the blues night at The New Crawdaddy and a radio show too, so still involved in music. A good friend for 30-odd years.

Q. - Then you went to form Redline with Chris Mann, Pete Morgan and Gary Meill, was it around 1985? How long did Redline last?

Mark - We did Redline from 1985 to 1989, as I recall. I’d been mates with Chris and Pete (who played in Crucifixion, another NWOBHM Essex band signed to Neat) for ages, and we’d jammed together before. They had Garry Meille interested, so we got ourselves into a studio and tried it. We auditioned a few guitarists, but decided against it. I even thought about keys, but we stayed as a 4-piece.

Q. - Was it a cover band only or were you performing originals too?

Mark - No. Originals primarily. We recorded a two track demo – “Mirror Image” and “Out of the Black” - a lament to Random Black as I was still disappointed that we had not made more of Black. I loved my time with Redline, I might add. Garry left to play with The Tattooed Love Boys with CJ, and we got Stevie Newman in. Pete was my best man at my wedding, and I’m best mates with Chris to this day. We play in a covers band called Beggar together (have done for 20 years) and ride motorcycles around Europe. We did do some covers, such as “Runnin’ with the Devil” by Van Halen, and the ubiquitous “Rock and Roll” by Led Zep.

Q. - When you look back in time, don't you feel like there's unfinished business, related to Random Black or Redline?

Mark - Of course. I thought our material was good enough and (maybe arrogantly) thought we were all very competent musicians. The music industry is a volatile beast, and you need a slice of luck as well as good material, management and planning.

Q. - So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any other band besides ReMark? Tell us a bit about it.

Mark - I still play over 100 gigs a year - with Beggar, a 5 piece rock band (www.beggar.org.uk) and ReMark duo and ReMark band (www.remarkduo.co.uk) – I do Beggar with my old bandmates Chris Mann and Bob Harding, my childhood neighbour Richard Pattle and seasoned singer Matt Ralph. ReMark is with my missus Becky Newbrook. We do a duo, and also a band version with bass and drums. I’ve just done a festival which had a reputed 5,000 people there with Heaven 17, Big Minds (members of Big Country and Simple Minds in it) etc.

Q. - How do you see the heavy metal scene nowadays? Do you keep interest on new bands?

Mark - My son got me into the Nu Metal scene, and I love Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Sum 41, Linken Park etc etc. New bands like Shinedown, Black Stone Cherry, Stone Broken, Greta Van Fleet, King King etc interest me too.

Q - Anything more you want to say, to end up this interview?

Mark - I was really lucky to live in the era I did, taking influence from the early / mid ‘70’s rock bands and with punk and bands like Van Halen. Random Black was a great band, and I wish we had managed to take it further – but that’s life! We met so many great people, players, famous people, fanatical fans, mad as a hatter people etc and wouldn’t swap my time for anything. So many stories (some you couldn’t make up or print!!) and experiences. Magical….

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Firing Squad

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Firing Squad were active during the eighties, they recorded a demo tape in 86, and participate in the compilation At the Foot of Brutality, with two songs, we had a chat with Ron Kujawa and Dean Arndt, to know a bit more about them.

Q. - When did Firing Squad started? Who were the first members? Tell us a bit about the beginning of the band.

Dean - Firing Squad formed originally in 1985 with Mark D’Amico on lead vocals, Tony Brehmer on bass guitar, Steve “The Lid” Mueller on drums and me – Dean Arndt – on guitar. During a period while I was healing from a broken collar bone, both Tony and Mark received other offers to join other bands. Tony moved on to the band “Nitro” with Michael Angelo Batio and Jim Gillette and Mark joined the Milwaukee thrash band “Realm”.

Q. - How did the band name came up?

Dean - Steve Mueller and I had just left a local metal band called “Damien” and were trying to come up with a name for the band we were putting together. Steve had a US Metal compilation album with two guitarists from the band “Le Mans” – Derek Frigo and Josh Ramos – that had an instrumental song on it called the “Frigo / Ramos Firing Squad”. We thought that “Firing Squad” would be a cool name for a band and that was it.

Q. - What were your main influences at that time?

Dean - We were into everything from more popular metal bands like Queensryche, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and WASP to more obscure metal like Warrior, ICON, and Metal Church. We gravitated to power metal bands over glam metal bands but we still liked stuff like early Motley Crue, Dokken, Ratt and Van Halen.

Ron - I was very much into Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Dio, Judas Priest and more melodic leaning bands like Dokken, Whitesnake, Def Leppard.

Q. - Did you start writing your own songs since the beginning or were you concentrated more on covers?

Dean - We started with covers primarily but did write original material almost immediately. I believe our first original song was called “Desperate”. We never recorded it but it was one we all enjoyed playing.

Ron - I started mostly on covers, but I was writing very early on.

Q. - The six song demo tape was recorded around 1986, how do you see this recordings after all these years?

Dean - I like the songs still. I think they were definitely songs from the era but still different and ranged from commercial metal to more power metal. The sessions were done at a small studio in Milwaukee and the recording quality and mix aren’t great but I still like them.

Ron - I remember at the time that first six-song Firing Squad tape was one of the greatest things I’d ever heard. I loved the band waaaay before I had a chance to join. I thought it was amazing that a metal band from my city could put something together that sounded so professional. I was sure they’d get a record deal and I was a big fan.

Q. - Did you sell this tape during the shows? Sent it to fanzines?

Dean - I think we gave more away than we sold but I don’t recall, honestly. We got some local airplay and people seemed to like it. I think we may have sent a few out to Kerrang and a few other magazines but I don’t remember. That was a long time ago!! J

Q. - Ron, when did you join the band? Was it around 1988, after you leave Aftershock?

Ron - It was ‘87 or ‘88. Aftershock wasn’t really a band I was in. It was a project a friend of mine did and he asked me to do vocals. We never played out or even got together as a band. I was in a metal band called Vex Tempter doing mostly covers at that time. After the original Firing Squad lineup parted ways, singer Marc D’Amico was putting a new band together. Members of Vex Temper, including me, did a rehearsal or two with Marc. I was super excited at the thought of being in a band with a guy I had looked up to. Shortly after, we found out Marc took the gig with Realm. Then I heard Firing Squad was looking for a new singer, so I reached out and got an audition.

Q. - Ron, did you adapt well to the songs that the band already had, before you joined?

Ron - No, not really. At the time I was so young and green and most of my style was derived from mimicking other singers, including Marc. Dean and Steve would encourage me to make the older songs my own, but those songs were ingrained in me and I was already a huge fan of them, so it was a struggle. It became way more natural to find my own style as we wrote new songs together.

Q. - You recorded two songs, "Here Comes the Law" and "Bring the Hammer Down" for the compilation "At the Foot of Brutality" back in 1989, did it got some air play on radios?

Dean - We actually recorded 8 songs for an EP cassette we put out called “Heads Held High”. The songs you mentioned were part of that 8 song EP. I think we got a bit of airplay on a couple local stations.

Ron - Those two songs on that compilation album actually came from an 8-song cassette we did called “Heads Held High”. We did get some airplay, but not a lot. The whole landscape was changing from the metal dominated 80’s to the grunge of the 90’s.

Q. - After this compilation did you try to approach a record deal to record an LP?

Dean - We were working with producer Eric “Griffy” Grief of Edge Productions with the hopes that he might be able to shop it and get some interest. He was part of the team that got Motley Crue originally signed and also got Realm and several other metal bands record deals.

Ron - We did, but in my opinion our effort was lacklustre. It seemed like there was conflict in the band. I know I felt I wanted more of a voice in things. As the tension started to build, we parted ways.

Q. - What do you think that lacked to Firing Squad to have a successful career?

Dean - We probably lacked a solid direction. We were doing some really great original songs in our live sets that we didn’t record. We may have put more emphasis on the songs that were more commercially accessible rather than staying with our more powerful or progressive material. Music in the world was evolving rapidly and we were all being influenced by it and probably distracted by it as well.

Ron - I think the talent and the songs were there. I think we lacked a focused effort on a single goal. The music business changing didn’t help either.

Q. - How about shows? Did you play regularly in the Milwaukee area back then or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked at that time?

Dean - Yes, we played quite a bit for a primarily original band. We had a good following in Milwaukee. The scene was pretty good and I think we did pretty well for a band that did a lot of original material and relatively obscure cover songs.

Ron - As I recall, we played a fair amount for an original metal band. It’s hard to play a ton as an original band unless you’re going to travel, and we didn’t do that much.

Q. – When did Firing Squad broke up exactly? What happened that lead to the break?

Dean - I think we broke up in early 1989 but I don’t remember exactly. I think we were a little frustrated by our lack of a record deal and we all had different ideas on what we wanted to do musically.

Ron - I think I covered that from my end above. Dean can elaborate.

Q. - So, then Dean Arndt went on to form High Treason with Morgan Thorne on vocals, what can you tell us about the demos recorded by High Treason, because there is not much information about it?

Dean - Initially, we were a five piece and we recorded a four song demo that we tried to shop a bit and generate interest before we actually began playing live. A short time into the life of the band the other guitarist quit and we became a 4 piece. We recorded another 4 song demo and then a year or so later recorded another 6 song demo/EP. The first two demos were done in our rehearsal house and the last was done at the same studio where we recorded the first Firing Squad demo although it was a different owner/engineer by that time.

Q. – For how long did High Treason last?

Dean - I think we formed near the end of 1989 and split up finally in the beginning of 1993.

Q. - How it was the Milwaukee metal scene back in the day? Was it a united scene? What were you relations with other local bands? Did you help each other?

Dean - It was pretty cool. There is always competition amongst bands as you’re trying to attract a lot of the same crowd depending on your genre but I think we got a long pretty well with other bands. There was a good comradery between most bands in the metal scene.

Ron - I was a great scene for a while. We were fans of each other, but speaking for myself, I was young and stupid and often had an attitude toward other bands thinking we were better than them. As I look back now, it’s pretty stupid.

Q. - Did you stay in touch with each other over the years?

Dean - Yes, for the most part. Life happens – marriages, kids, families, jobs, etc. - and leads people to different parts of the world. The various social media outlets like Facebook have allowed us to stay in touch to some degree. I keep in touch with everyone either via phone, email, or Facebook except for Jerry Richter (bassist in Firing Squad and High Treason) as he passed away about 10 years ago. Prior to his passing, I did visit him at his home in Arizona. I do keep in touch with his brother and widow though.

Ron - Dean and I have been in touch on a semi-regular basis. We live in different states now, so that can be tough.

Q. - Looking back in time, do you feel like there's some kind of unfinished business?

Dean - I don’t really as I try not to live in the past too much. I do wish we would have recorded some of the other music we wrote and couldn’t afford to record back then. We had some great stuff that was more representative of who we were as a band I think.

Ron - No, not really. Dean and I have talked several times about the last batch of songs we wrote together, which we agree were some of the best work we did as a band. We never got a chance to record them, although I have some live recordings from a gig. I think it’d be awesome to record and produce properly, even if no one else cared about them. It’s been discussed… the hard part would be drums. Steve isn’t physically able to play the parts, and they are so complex trying to program or get another drummer to do them wouldn’t be easy.

Q. - Do you think it would be possible to do a compilation with all the recordings that you have done in Firing Squad or even High Treason?

Dean - I think it could be possible but I’m not sure some members would want to mix the two together. The other issue is the quality of the recordings we have. The recordings were never professionally transferred from analog/tape to digital media. Most of what was put in a digital format was from cassette copies.

Ron - I think that’d be awesome!

Q. - Do you guys keep an eye to the metal scene of today? What do you think are the main differences between now and back in the day?

Dean - Yes, I’m still into metal and try to stay up on what is out there although I’m definitely old school and prefer the “classics”! J I think the thing that is great about the scene today is that it is much easier to get a good sounding recording done for a lot less money than it used to take. The bad thing is that people can now buy one song at a time and tend to buy less “full albums” from bands which makes it harder for bands to really get big or have staying power.

Ron - I’m definitely not “in the scene” anymore, but I still listen to a lot of heavy music because I like it. And when I’m working on my car, I usually have “classic metal” on Pandora. The music industry itself has changes so much that I don’t even know what the scene is anymore.

Q. – So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any band? Tell us a bit about it.

Dean - I play in a classic metal cover band called “METAL MEN”. We do a lot of the material we did back in the Firing Squad early days. We cover a variety of classic metal bands from band like Motley Crue, Skid Row, the Scorpions, Queensryche, Metallica, Metal Church, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Y&T, Loudness, Dio, etc. It isn’t nearly as fulfilling as playing original material but we have a blast playing songs we grew up on. We have a very strong following of diehard metal heads!!

Ron - Believe it or not, I’ve gotten involved paying in church bands a lot over the last decade. I also write and produce music for TV. It’s a part-time thing for now, but I’d love to grow it into my day job.

Q. - How do you want to end up this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Dean - I really appreciate your interest in Firing Squad and High Treason. Those were both really special bands in my life. If we decide to release all or some of it, we’ll definitely let you know! I loved making music and writing material with every member of those bands. Great times and memories I’ll cherish forever!

Ron - I think that about covers it for me! Thanks for being interested and reaching out! It’s kind of bizarre that a few decades later people are interested in this music and what we did.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Thank YOU!
-Dean