Bassist Victor Langen

Interview by Lord of The Wasteland/Transcription by Duke

**Images courtesy of Kickaxe.net & The Official Kick Axe Fan Site

Canada?s Kick Axe got a raw deal, plain and simple.  Plucked from bar band status and molded into an image that personified them as the hair band du jour by 80s uber-producer, Spencer Proffer, the Regina-based five-piece took the fast road to success with 1984?s VICES album (featuring ?Heavy Metal Shuffle? and ?On The Road To Rock?), its quickie follow-up, 1985?s WELCOME TO THE CLUB and finally 1986?s ROCK THE WORLD.  As quickly as they rose to success, the band went down in flames amongst a sea of lawsuits brought on by bad management in 1987.  Forced into hiatus until the numerous legalities were ironed out, Kick Axe returned in 2004 with the simply titled, IV.  Along the way, the ?classic? lineup lost vocalist George Criston, but was replaced with original vocalist/drummer, Gary Langen.  That album?s success was fueled not only by its mix of straight-ahead rockers and AOR-ready ballads but by the cult status that Kick Axe has achieved over the years.  Original copies of the ROCK THE WORLD CD fetch nearly $200 US on eBay, a Czech fan site has every imaginable detail about the band?s history and a devoted fanbase still exists for Kick Axe?s crunching riffs, soothing vocal melodies and fist-pumping anthems.

Being a long-time fan?Kick Axe/Helix in 1984 was one of my very first concerts?I spoke with bassist Victor Langen back in October 2004 just 11 days before the band was to play a CD release party for IV at a small, out-of-the-way Vancouver club.  The interview (which has undergone nearly as many trials and tribulations as the band itself!!) deals with the new lineup and CD but also the countless obstacles the band faced along the way during our 90-minute chat.  Most surprisingly, Langen speaks in detail of how Rob Halford of Judas Priest personally picked Kick Axe to open their DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH tour, how Criston was almost chosen as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, the band?s encounters with W.A.S.P., King Kobra and Quiet Riot, as well as numerous other eye-opening tales of life on the road with Kick Axe!!!

ALICE COOPER with Hanoi Rocks     06.08 2005 Ice Hall TAMPERE, FINLAND

After a couple of years break Alice Cooper once again brings his rock?n roll circus back to Finland. He recently released a new album called ?Dirty Diamonds? and he?s been on tour supporting that album since last June. When Alice Cooper last visited Finland it was 2001 and he was playing the Ice Hall in Helsinki. There was less than 3000 people in the audience the and the place was half empty so I was more than pleasantly surprised when I heard that this show was completely sold out and it means that there were almost 6000 people seeing this show.

Review and pictures by Marko Syrj?l?

The Central Park Of Kaisaniemi ? Helsinki ? Finland
15th ? 17th of July 2005

Pics and reviews by Metal-Rules.com team Finland

What happens in the middle of July in the central park of the summer city of Helsinki every year? Well, what a easy question, the annual Tuska Open Air Metal festival takes place every year at that time. It pulls in over 33.000 metal hearts of all ages and all kinds of persons to spend an unforgettable metallic feast in the heart of Helsinki. As it is said The Gods made heavy metal which has turned out be nothing but right in every aspect as the weather was extremely warm and hot during the whole weekend apart from a few darker clouds having gathered around the area when Dimmu Borgir stepped on the stage and in general the atmosphere was peaceful and bigger problems managed to be avoided, thanks to the common metal spirit of the Finnish die hard metal freaks.

The bill of 2005 didn?t offer any offer so-called any big selling names like Nightwish being one of the headlining acts at Tuska last year, but instead a variety of different metal genres were at present ranging from a hyper-blasting grindcore to a more melancholic Finnish mainstream rock. Having a large range of metal proves Tuska is not limited to one certain metal category as everyone had something to feel, taste and see during the three long days.

The Tuska Open Air festival has reached and gained a lot of positive attention amongst the metal people around the world. There were people having arrived from Russia, Estonia, Sweden, all around Europe and even from some Far East countries. Despite not having a big name, the metal festival was totally sold out and even a few hundred leftover tickets for Friday were sold after all.

As usual it has turned out to be an annual mandatory tradition for having an article of the Tuska festival in Metal-Rules.Com, therefore the Finnish Metal-Rules.Com pain squad spent the whole weekend testifying several acts in action and tried to feel the spirit of Heavy Metal and enjoy the pleasure of the flesh as well during the three insane long days in the beautiful central park of Kaisaniemi and in the heart of Helsinki with several friends as well as everlasting enemies. Enjoy?

Interview By Arto Lehtinen / Transcription by Blake Wolfe

Overkill is definitely and without any doubt one of the longest running and the most hard working touring thrash bands around today. The legendary New York thrash metal squad haven?t slowed down any inch. They just keeping on thrashing year after year. Even though our Canadian collegue Lord Of The WasteLand did a real massive in-depth interview with the frontman of Overkill Bobby Ellsworth, but I couldn?t turn down an opportunity of doing another interview with Ellsworth who politely answered a few questions.

Krokus ? Alive & Well

Interview with Vocalist Marc Storace

Interview by Keith MacDonald

Krokus was one of the few, if not only, Swiss hard rock band to have commercial success in the US. In 1995 the ride came to an abrupt end when the band elected to go their separate ways only to reunite in 2002. They released a new album of hard rock material and hit the road throughout Europe reacquainting themselves with their fans from the past and picking up some new ones along the way. I recently had an opportunity to speak with singer Marc Storace who gave me some insight on the band and their upcoming US tour. You can check out their website awww.krokusonline.com.