Brat: Staff Writer
Email: | Location: Sydney, Australia
Responsibilities
Reviewer
Current Top 5
1. EDGUY – Moonglow
2. ANGRA – Omni
3. PINK CREAM 69 – Headstrong
4. MOB RULES – Beast Reborn
5. KISSIN’ DYNAMITE – Ecstacy
Classic Pick
Anything by Whitesnake
Recommended Viewing
Recommended Reading
The Harry Potter series
Ranger’s Apprentice series
Discovery of Witches
Currently reading:
‘Parades End’ by Ford Maddox Ford
‘War and Peace’ by Tolstoy
Profile
Real Name: Natasha
Age/Birthdate: 10 October 1967
Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
Present location: Sydney, Australia
Hair Color: Black and blue
Eye Color: blue/green/grey depending on the mood and amount of sleep
Tattoos/Piercings: multiple ear, monroe and navel
Non-MR Job: Publisher
Job(s) @ Metal Rules: Australian contact, reviewer, festival reporter
Length of time with MR: Since 2002
Brief description of how you came to MR: Lord Alvarez of Dark Order told me about MR
Best thing about working for MR: I’ve discovered a whole new metal world and forged great friendships with some of the metal-rules brothers
Worst thing about working for MR: While renovating these past 2 years-finding the time to write my material
How/when you first got into metal: Kiss in 1977, but my rebirth was during the late 80s/early 90s with bands like Skid Row, Whitesnake not to mention Yngwie Malmsteen and local bands which hit the scene, including Mortal Sin, Candy Harlots, De Mont, Roxus, Empire. After a slump during the grunge period I was introduced to “power metal” by Dungeon and the European metal scene via Edguy’s Theater of Salvation. I haven’t looked back since.
Favorite Metal Genre(s): as long as it’s fast and have melodic elements
Least favorite Metal Genre(s): cookie monster metal with absolutely no melody
First Metal CD ever bought: ok, when I started my collection, it was still tapes and vinyl. Kiss Alive I & II
First Metal concert: I guess the early 90s when all bands started touring Australia like Skid Row, Warrant, Motley Crue, Whitesnake
Band or other music industry experience: What haven’t I done? Singer — performing since I was 8
Publicist — metal and non-metal bands for over 15 years
Photographer — Dark Order CD, Dungeon CD plus millions of live and promo photos for local publicity
Promoter — tried to open an all-ages venue in Sydney but the christian powers shut me down 2 days before opening night *!%$#@%$ It was hailed “the best promoted gig that never happened!”
Writer — reviews and reports
Favorite bands/artists: How long have you got!?
METAL:
equal 1st. Edguy and Sonata Arctica
3. Nightwish
4. anything Finnish lol
5. anything with bagpipes
NON-METAL: early Live, Streisand and a lot of ’80s stuff — Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Damned, Geisha, Bell Jar
Least favorite bands/artists: I don’t waste energy or time thinking about things that don’t impress me
Most overrated bands/artists: see above comment
Most underrated bands/artists: I think every metal band is underrated in one way or another
Favorite album cover: Don’t understand how people get a happy when they see the artwork of a CD prior to release, I don’t really pay attention to artwork but do get frustrated then the sleeves are unreadable because of the artwork
10 favorite albums: (in no particular order) This is always so hard because I forget what I have most of the time.
Duran Duran – Seven and the Ragged Tiger
Edguy – Theater of Salvation
Sonata Arctica – Wintersheart Guild
The Damned – Phantasmagoria
Skid Row – Skid Row
Whitesnake – Greatest Hits
Poisonblack – Escapexstacy
Iced Earth – Something Wicked This Way Comes
Alice Cooper – Trash
Geisha – Geisha
CD you hate to admit is part of your collection: Jason Donovan – it’s there because of a person involved in its production
Spoken Languages: English, Russian and basic German
Hobbies: I’m consumed by endless renovations on a house that was neglected for 30 years
Pet peeves: Ignorance, liars and discourteous people
Favorite films: See Spot Run, Turner and Hooch (what can I say? I’m a woman of simple pleasures), Queen Margot (French), Not Everyone is Fortunate Enough to have Communist Parents (French), Peculiarities of the Russian Hunt/Fishing Trip (Russian), Wall-E, Horton Hears a Who, Up,
Favorite books: I keep re-reading the Harry Potter series and am hooked on the Anita Blake series
Favorite TV shows: Big Bang Theory, Kommisar Rex reruns; Supernatural; since becoming a regular traveller I like the customs/boarder control shows; NCIS; Tell Me Lies has just started her and first episode was good; Food Safari (SBS); Long Way Down (Across); I watch way too much tv at night-it’s how I relax
Favorite food: I love lots of flavours. Good celebrations are all about prawns, usually tiger have the sweetest meat. Mangoes, icecream (had a wicked espresso gelato in Rome last summer), hazelnuts in food: hazelnuts in chocolate, hazelnut icecream and there’s an awesome hazelnut muesli you can get in Austraia
Favorite drink: coffee, vodka, mead, dry or sour apple cider, Pimms, mojito is the cocktail of the summer
Which song should be played at your funeral: err a lot of Gregorian chanting
Person you’d most like to meet: I’ve met a lot of them already and I doubt it would be anyone profound unless it was someone from the past whom I would like the bitch slap and ask “What the hell were you thinking?”
Biggest thrill in life (so far): a first kiss (with anyone), international metal festivals
Five favorite links:
They’re so not metal at the moment
1. weather websites, I’m always interested in what’s happening in the places I love
2. a life-time’s supply of wishlists here shop.nuclearblast.de/
3.
4.
5.
Final comments about yourself: There’s only so much temptation a person can handle 😉
Last Modified: September 29, 2021
