EvilGOwner & Editor in Chief
Responsibilities
CD/DVD reviews, interviews, site layout and design, editing, and pretty much anything...
Current Top 5 Spins
1. Blind Guardian - AT THE EDGE OF TIME
2. Slayer - WORLD PAINTED BLOOD
3.
4. Gamma Ray - TO THE METAL
5. ReVamp - ReVamp
Last.fm Charts
(This is not 100% accurate since 1/2 of my listening is in car and home stereo)
Classic Pick
Black Sabbath - Their entire discography. After reading "I Am Ozzy" and moving onto "Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History" by Martin Popoff I've been obsessed, well more than usual, for Sabbath. Love them!!
Recommended Viewing:
Movies: Star Trek
TV: Fringe
Metal DVD: Edguy - Fucking With F**e
Recommended Reading:
The Traveler / The Dark River / The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks
The best book/trilogy I've read in a long time! If you like some of the concepts and ideas from The Matrix, Highlander, Orwell's 1984, etc. you'll love this!!
Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir by Dave Mustaine
I Am Ozzy, Ozzy Osbourne
Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History, by Martin Popoff
The Case For Israel, by Alan Dainershowitz
State of Fear, By Michael Crichton
Winter: A Berlin Family 1899-1945, By Len Deighton
Poland, By James Michener
The Haj, By Leon Uris
Exodus, By Leon Uris
etc.
Extended Profile
Metal Rules Nickname: EvilG
Real Name: EvilG…ha! It doesn’t matter anyway…
E-mail address: metalhead@metal-rules.com
Age: I’m an old goat! Late 30's.
Birthplace: Grand Falls, NL
Present location: St. John’s, NL
Tattoos/Piercings: Piercing (ear). One tattoo..maybe more to come?
Non-MR Job: I work at a software company but I’m not a programmer. They call me a Systems Engineer…hmmm.
Job(s) @ Metal Rules: Is “owner” a job? Things I work on: reviews, interviews, articles, news updates, site layout, content updating/editing for other staff writers, marketing and running the business side of things behind the scenes that takes more time each year.
Length of Time with MR: Since I started it in 1995. Where does the time go?
Best thing about working for MR: Helping bands get heard/seen, hearing from someone who got into metal thanks to metal rules, and getting to speak with a number of metal bands/musicians whose music I love.
Worst thing about working for MR: Time it takes to do the non-metal side of running things (i.e. site layout/upkeep/editing content), also having to pay from my own pocket every month is not the most fun.
How/when you first got into metal: This was the topic of an older “From Hell’s Heart” editorial. It’s here: http://www.metal-rules.com/hell/hell_Septl2000.htm To sum up, it began in 1983 with Judas Priest’s SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE and my metal destiny was sealed with SHOUT AT THE DEVIL by the Crue.
Favorite Metal Genre(s): REAL metal…as in straight up heavy metal. After that aggressive power metal, thrash metal, symphonic/hobbit metal, technical/prog death metal, etc……..
Least favorite Metal Genre(s): Under-produced monotonous 1 riff black metal. Doom bands that ALWAYS play slow and repetitive stuff…as in VERY slow….sleepy metal. I love Sabbath though, since they were never boring. Also, almost all bands who are any form of "core".
First Metal CD ever bought: SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE.
First Metal concert: Helix on their LONG WAY TO HEAVEN tour!
Band or other music experience: Been in bands since I was about 15….played live several times, recorded in studio on a number of demos/EPs. I keep this side of my life separate from MR since I am not a professional musician nor do I plan be one.
Favorite bands/artists:
In the beginning...(1983-84) it was Motley Crue. Then it was Metallica until about 1988-89…after that it was Slayer until about 93’. Since then I haven’t really had a favorite band. Different era’s of a band’s existence are my favorites. So depending on the album, era, or my mood on a certain day, some of my favs are: Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, 80’s Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Primal Fear, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Arch Enemy, HammerFall, Nevermore, Stratovarius, Rhapsody, W.A.S.P., Kreator, Savatage, Lost Horizon, Jag Panzer, Testament, Overkill, Saxon, Forbidden, Sacrifice, VoiVod, Yngwie Malmsteen, Annihilator, Iced Earth, Pantera, Anthrax, Death, Imagika, Dio, Ozzy, King Diamond, Death, Ratt, Persuader, and MANY more!
Least favorite bands/artists:
Well there are metal bands that I “like less” but calling them “least favorite” is not really fair to the band so I won’t list any. As for non-metal stuff I don’t like, well 99% of non-metal is pure shit. I can appreciate talent such as a good ripping blues lead player, or a classical virtuoso; however, I’m not into buying their albums and supporting it as I do with heavy metal.
Most overrated bands/artists:
In terms of REAL metal bands, I don’t know. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Ozzy seems overrated since the silly Osbournes show, but I still love him for the enormous contribution he’s made to metal.
Most underrated bands/artists:
Again, there are MANY. It’s hard to just pick a few. Underrated can mean “under marketed” or not widely known. Imagika, (Morgana) Lefay, Jag Panzer, Viperine, and Persuader are just some from the top of my head that are examples of great bands that are underrated because not everyone has heard of them. Some bands that most everyone has heard but who still don’t seem to get the respect for their contribution to metal is another topic entirely.
Favorite album cover:
I only get to pick one? No way! Well just about every Maiden cover is killer except for DANCE OF DEATH. I also love Slayer’s artwork for REIGN IN BLOOD and HELL AWAITS. Yngwie’s TRILOGY cover also looks great. I tend to go for paintings rather than photos or overly computer generated art.
10 favorite albums:
This is NOT in order, just 10 ones I personally love:
Motley Crue – SHOUT AT THE DEVIL
Slayer – REIGN IN BLOOD
Kreator – EXTREME AGGRESSION
Metallica – MASTER OF PUPPETS
Judas Priest – PAINKILLER
Iron Maiden – POWERSLAVE
Black Sabbath – VOL IV
HammerFall – GLORY TO THE BRAVE
Death - SYMBOLIC
Rhapsody – SYMPHONY OF ENCHANTED LANDS
Damn, only 10…I might have to edit this list every month!
CD you hate to admit is part of your collection:
I’m not ashamed to admit any of it since it’s all hard rock up to death metal. I think I only own one non-hard rock/metal album and that’s REBEL YELL from Billy Idol. That album is borderline hard rock in places though…”Blue Highway” is hard rock to me.
Spoken Languages: English.
Hobbies:
Running Metal-Rules.com, reading WWII fiction, watching WWII movies and documentaries, sci-fi movies and TV, attempted home improvement (ha!).
Pet peeves:
So many to list…so in no order, with no explanations given, this is some of them:
• Traffic
• Line-ups
• Shopping
• Bills
• Reality TV
• Close-minded people
• Self-important pretentious people
• False metal
• Trend followers
• 2-faced people
• Drug users and abusers
• Lazy people
• Stupid people
• Obsessive political correctness
• Lack of live concerts where I live
• Etc.
Favorite films:
Star Trek II – The Wrath of Kahn
Star Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country
The Matrix
Band of Brothers
Lord of the Rings movies!
The Exorcist
Hellraiser I and II
Favorite books:
Not really any fav books, more like authors such as Leon Uris, Michael Crighton, Terry Brooks, Ken Follett, J.R.R. Tolkien (LotR and The Hobbit), Dean Koontz, Len Deighton, etc.
Favorite TV shows:
Stargate SG-1, Star Trek (all), WWII History documentaries, the weather network.
Favorite drink:
Weird teas, water…
Which song should be played at your funeral:
I’d rather be a robot like Data than face my own mortality!
Person you'd most like to meet:
Alive: Kai Hansen, “Spock”, Mark Briody, Jon Schaffer, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jeff Waters, Tobias Sammett (met him in 2007! Funny and friendly guy), George Carlin, Richard Dean Anderson, and just about any of the people in band’s that I admire and the whole Metal-Rules.com team.
Deceased: Cliff Burton, Randy Rhoads, “Dimebag” Darrell, Chris Oliva, and to trace back through time and meet some of my relatives who lived and died long before I was born...etc.
Biggest thrill in life (so far):
Lots of simple things like: getting a new album I love, getting my cat Lemmy, getting married, having a supportive family, seeing and meeting some of may fav bands (Primal Fear, Edguy, Into Eternity), seeing a new Star Trek movie or new Stargate episode, and lastly being alive and relatively healthy is a thrill people don’t always think about but we should since there is way to much pain, suffering, war, disease, etc in this world of SHIT…
Five favorite links:
www.metal-rules.com (surprise)
www.bravewords.com (Fellow Canucks - great print zine!)
www.scifi.com/scifiwire/ (For your inner geek)
www.gateworld.net (StarGate rules!)
Final comments about yourself:
I think I’ve said enough, just remember…
Never let the BASTARDS grind you down!
- R.I.P. "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott 1966-2004 -
« Back
Powered by AkoStaff V1.0 beta 6
