 Jimmy K here, Metal Voice. Look at this. The Metal Voice shirts are now on sale, just go to the video description to find out on how you can purchase one. Metal! Welcome to the Metal Voice and man we got two metal artists on the show today. Of course, Andy LaRocque, King Diamond fame and producer at Sonic Train Studios and of course my buddy Neil Turbin, former anthrax, Death Riders and all the other bands he's in. Andy, tell us about Sonic Train Studios. We've talked about this before, bands you may be producing or what do you do? Tell us about that quickly. What I do, you know, when I'm touring or working with King Diamond, you know, I've got this studio where I produce tons of other bands. I record, produce mix and master. So that's what I do. I can't even count in all the bands. I can produce in here for about 25 years now, 26 years. Hundreds and hundreds of different bands. And I just finished off working with a guy called Peter Lasar. He was like a A&R kind of type style music, great musicians and before that I worked with a US based band called Dialith. I don't know really where they will play it at, except for the US. And I've been working with an Austrian band called The Roche Gang. So, you know, I've been keeping distance for the last couple of months actually, you know, with a lot of different styles and a lot of different bands, you know, and also working with, I would say, working on writing some new material for King Diamond. Oh, that's a good second. I know it sounds, you know, for people like, oh, it takes forever. But yeah, it does. But we want to have the best material, you know, when we pick out, you know, the good songs. And before we start recording, of course, you know, so we're working on that. Yes. Is there any timeline? Can you give us any sort of timeline, like in the year, 12 months, next week, next week, tomorrow, today? That would be great. No, but I mean, our goal is to go out on the road again, you know, when all this COVID stuff is over with. And before that, we need to have an album out there, you know, so, you know, we got some pressure. Yes. King's got, you know, crazy, a lot of crazy ideas. Of course, you know, he's got, you know, the basic lines of the story already in his mind. And I have actually, you know, four or five songs that could be, you know, possible for the next album, you know, and I know he's got, you know, tons of riff and stuff going around in his head, too. So, you know, as soon as he, you know, sits down and get it down on tape, you know, we're going to, he's going to go fast. Did COVID sort of postpone things for you guys? Or did it make you more productive? Like this whole lockdown, was it difficult? Yeah, it was difficult because we had a few shows, you know, booked at the time it started with the COVID, you know, so I mean, that was, it came like a shock, you know, for all of us, I believe, you know, so you got kind of paralyzed in the beginning, you know, and then you just tried to do the best out of it, you know, and that is just to sit down and write riffs and trying to survive, you know, with other things, you know, like producing other bands in the studio. But talking about the studio again, you know, with the COVID, I couldn't really work with bands coming here from outside Sweden, because they were not even allowed to come in the country. So that kind of, you know, well, stopped everything, you know, for a while, you know, so I've been working a lot with online mixing and mastering, of course, you know, people sending me stuff, and also local bands and Swedish bands, you know, that's it, you know, but going back to Diamond, yeah, it kind of, you know, we got kind of a little paralyze when all this happened, you know, and we just tried to adapt to the new situation and new plans, you know, of course, for the future. So yeah, that's all I can say. Neil. Yeah, so I was going to ask the question, which you pretty much covered about, you know, the studio Sonic Sonic Train Studios, and what a beautiful studio you have there, which we could come and visit you right now, because it looks great. And I believe that, you know, because of the lockdown situation over time, you know, has that in Sweden, has that increased the volume of, I mean, are you seeing about the same number of bands and business, or is that increased because of, I mean, obviously, because people can't get to Sweden, or there's restrictions, that seems like it's been a roadblock of sorts, but I mean, sounds like you've been still pretty busy there. Yeah, you know, when the first broke out, you know, like March, whatever, when it was really big over here, you know, everyone got kind of paralyzed, and I got a lot of postpone bands, of course, and took a couple of months and then people started to realize, okay, we've got to do something, you know, but also, you know, since you can't really play live, a lot of bands would, you know, finance their own recordings and stuff, you know, they had no funds to go into the studio. So of course, it has been, you know, less bands the last year and a half than it was prior to the COVID situation, definitely. All right, so this is what we're going to do today, and we've never done this. All the times we've interviewed Andy, he graciously let us interview him. We've never really counted down or ranked the King Diamond albums according to Andy LaRocque, but we're not going to do all the albums because that, you know, beyond forever. We're going to rank six, not five, not 10, but six, because six, six, six, right, just King Diamond, you know, you know, the whole thing, right? All right, Andy, I wrote down your list that you gave me and you tell us, you know, in a few sentences why you picked that album and why it ranks there and maybe a cool story or two. Me and Neil will give you some color commentary in the meantime, what we think of the album and we'll just sort of count it down to number one. You get ready? All right, sure. All right, so number six, you told me, give me your soul, please, which was the last King Diamond album. Why would you rank it as in the middle, right, of the catalog? Why would you put it there? I would say it's good songs, has a good sound and a pretty good atmosphere on the whole album, you know. It's got a cool mix of the emotion and, you know, heavy stuff and some aggressive stuff and spooky stuff, you know. So, yeah, I think it's a really good album, you know. For me, give me your soul, you're nominated, right, for a Grammy, right, for Never Ending Hill, correct? Yeah, correct. So you're a Grammy nominated composer, artist, right? Yes. To me, King was singing more in the lower tones on this album, less in the sort of highs, which made it a little more darker and creepier. Do you remember, what were the pros and cons when you're in the studio for this album? We recorded, you know, differently at that time because we recorded the drums in the studio in Texas, if I remember right. I mean, this is like 13 years ago, it's crazy. And then we recorded most of the stuff, you know, the guitars and such at King's Place, actually, in his home studio. So it was a little different from the earlier recordings, you know, when we all went into the studio at the same time doing stuff, you know, here we recorded the drums in a proper studio and put on the guitars and bass at King's home studio. So that was a little difference, you know. But I thought it turned out really good, you know, I mean, the overall thing turned out really good with that one. All right, number five. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Yeah, it has a difference feel if you compare that to the earlier albums, of course, you know. All right, you're ready for this, Neil? Number five. The eye. The eye was number, your pick, Andy, for number five, a little bit of commentary on that. New. You, you, sorry, sorry. Any commentary on the eye, Andy, or Neil, whatever, you guys, one or the other? I think that was the last album we did on River on the Records, was recorded summer of 1990. And also a great album, great songs. We entered a different studio with the same producer we had for the previous albums, Roberto Falcao, which is also, you know, a great producer, a great keyboard player, you know, and he picked us on a cool keyboard line from that album. And yeah, I really, really liked the album. And also, it was recorded a little different, because that was actually the first album when we used like a click track throughout the songs, you know, even though the tempo was shifting and stuff, you know, but that also makes it kind of different for us to play around the click track to make it sound organic and kind of live, you know. On the previous, the first four albums, click track was like, no, no, we never used that, you know. That was a total live feel in the studio, you know. So of course, this was a little different to us, you know, but I think it's a great album, you know. Songs and everything is really good. Songs are great. Neil, any commentary on the I? Well, is there, is there certain songs that surprised you that you weren't expecting to be like, hey, this is the best track to me on the album or the next, you know, after you started using the click for the whole band to record with, did that maybe change, I'm sure it changed some behaviors too. Yeah, it did, of course, you know, but I still think, you know, that I of the which is one of my favorite songs on the album, I think it's a really, really good song. And when we wrote music at that time, we used like a click track or BPM to just, you know, keep it steady and be able to put some keyboards down, you know, the right way, the way we wanted it, you know, so yeah. But I'm not sure if I can, you know, point out the song that turned out completely different from what we thought from the beginning, you know, I'm not sure I can do that, you know, I think it turned out good. Yeah, I think so too. All right, number four, you guys ready for number four? We're ready. Conspiracy, where's conspiracy? I have it here somewhere. Actually, this is my favorite album. There's King. This is a conspiracy them back. But you got that picture of conspiracy of King Diamond there. Tell us about why conspiracy is your fourth, I guess, most liked album. Well, I'm not going to say it's like ranked number four that way, you know, I mean, I think it's one of our best albums for sure. It was also a different situation because just like six months prior to the recording of the album, we moved to LA, the whole band moved to LA back in the summer of 88. And we did a short tour at that summer and just went into the rehearsal room and, you know, put together songs and we went into rumble recorders in the valley together with Roberto Falcao this time also, and also Chris Tangarides, you know, that helped us out with some really good stuff, you know, like he was kind of producing the solos, which I don't know, but, you know, he was helping us out with sounds and stuff, you know, which I think turned out really good. And I really, really liked the album, the sound of the album. And this was also actually a time when Mickey D wasn't any longer in the band. He was just hired to do the album actually. So it was a very strange situation, but it turned out great, I think. Yeah, I think it's a great album. And what do you think, you know, some of the dynamics that changed when Mickey D left the band? I mean, I know Matt Thompson's done a phenomenal job with, you know, picking up where Mickey D left off and certainly taking it to another level. I just wondered, you know, working with different players, you know, you've been a longstanding member of King Diamond besides King, right? So what's your experience in terms of, you know, some of those dynamic changes that, you know, obviously King is such an artist, so are you, you know, and the combination, I think it's just, you know, after seeing you guys in the last tour, last few tours, just incredible growth, really. So I'm just wondering, you know, internally, what you would say that some would attribute to that? I mean, the drummer is so important in the band, you know, and I just loved playing with Mickey. I mean, he was and he's still a great drummer, of course, you know, and that was a pleasure working with him, you know, back then. And actually, Mickey was down here a few months ago, working on some stuff too, you know, so we're still keeping touching all that, you know, so we're good friends. Well, anyway, Matt Thompson is a phenomenal drummer, you know, and he really fits in the band real good, you know, he's, he's, I mean, he's just great to work with. He understands what, you know, we're talking about and the feel we're after, you know, so, yeah, I mean, what can I say? I just wanted to say that what I noticed about King Diamond Band as a whole, as a team, is the word team. I mean, you guys are such a team. And I mean, the way that it comes across in the performance, especially when you guys were doing the Abigail show, and when you're doing, you know, the last few tours, it's just, I mean, there's so much going on with the, with the theatrics and the performance and the play and the music. So I'm just wondering, you know, the challenges of that and, you know, that kind of taking a production like that on the road is quite a, you know, an accomplishment, I think, to make it go off really well. But and King sounded so phenomenal. And so did you, Andy, I mean, the whole band, but I just wondered how, you know, the pressures of that and pulling that all together. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, we, of course, you know, we practice a lot, you know, before we even meet, you know, on the first rehearsal day, we practice a lot from back home. So we know exactly what to do there. And then before tour, we usually, you know, rehearse really hard for about a week or 10 days or whatever it takes, you know, to get a good, you know, before we go out on the road. And, you know, since like maybe 10 years back, you know, we started to play a lot of festivals and stuff with bigger stages. And we just felt that at least most of it King is still kind of old school. So he's not using like in ears system, but all the other guys in the band does. And that also makes us hear all the details, even if the stage is really big. So and we even, you know, rehearse with that, of course, you know, to get a really good sound. And even if I'm on the other, you know, side of the stage, I can still hear mats, you know, play playing on the ride or the Hyatt really, really good, all the details, you know, in a totally different way. You would hear that and that makes you play good together also, you know, of course, when you've got a really good sound, you know, on stage. And that's also part of why I guess, you know, we play very good together. Number three here. Okay. Number three, you told me them little few words about them. For me, you know, grandma has been immortalized in our culture, right, because of the movie at the clerks. But tell us about them. And Mickey D, of course, was a drummer back then on them. Yeah. And back at that time with them, we played together for a few years, we've been on a few tours. And King was just going crazy with all the progressive stuff, you know, this is probably the most progressive album of all the albums we did, you know, it's just aggressive. And it's action, you know, from the beginning to the end, you know, of a lot of songs at least, you know, it's just mayhem of, you know, progressive crazy, you know, I mean, and also, this was a little different because we went into a new studio with the same producer, Roberto Falcao, but the studio environment was a little different, you know, and I guess that's also something that kind of made the album sound the way it does, you know, because it's it's a little different from the previous ones, you know, but the songs are just phenomenal, I think, you know, and feel is great and the playing, you know, and when you look back to it now, it's it's crazy and crazy good, you know. Yeah, I think live, that was just an incredible, you know, when some of those songs were played. And of course, one of my favorites, Welcome Home. And yeah, I just thought that in terms of, you know, the progression of incorporating some of the styles and, you know, just the different approaches to some of the different albums, what would you say is something that, you know, maybe you guys kind of went out of the expectation, the normal framework of what would be expected with King Diamond, in other words, where you maybe wrote some songs that kind of were out, you know, obviously, you want to write for your fans, but sometimes creativity takes you in different directions. So I just wondered if, you know, if that album was them, or if there was other albums that, you know, you felt were maybe in a non traditional King Diamond direction, to some extent, maybe in a few songs. Yeah, well, when you look back at it now, you know, I mean, you can say that them was like really standing out because of its progressiveness, and also the, you know, intensiveness on the album, you know. But that was nothing we really plan when we write songs, we just try songs and, you know, and then we back then, at least, you know, we rehearse together and go into the studio. And then when you go into the studio, you kind of know how it's going to, you know, like a more finished picture of the sound, if you know what I mean, a picture of the song. And so when you start just with the riff, you know, you might have some ideas and some visions to, okay, this is going to be cool. And then you go into the studio, it turns out different, you know, from from what your original vision was, maybe, you know. So it's really hard to say, I mean, nothing we really plan, okay, now we're going to make a really progressive album, we don't care what people say and all that, you know, it's just we write songs, it turns out the way it does, you know, I mean. Now we're going to go to the last two, and you could interchange the last two here very easily. But you said Abigail. So tell us, you know, the monumental King Diamond, you know, the album everybody knows King Diamond for. Tell us about Abigail and were you from from the beginning of it to the finished product, was it everything you hoped it would be? I think it even turned out better than we hoped it to be, you know, because this was the second album with King Diamond, and we've been out on a few short tours, and playing a lot together, you know, wrote some great songs, got into the studio, we knew exactly what to do, and it just turned out great. You know, I mean, the atmosphere and everything on this recording and the album just was captured into the album and all the songs, you know, so I would still say this is my favorite one, and I still think it's an amazing album, you know, one of my favorites, definitely. You know, Abigail just, you know, struck a chord with me, you know, and that was certainly my favorite back then as well, and, you know, kind of hard to top that. So I guess with that in mind, you know, that's, you know, your piece de resistance to an extent, you know, when you're writing and when King Diamond, you know, is looking at composing, is that, is that, is there a certain standard that you're looking at as kind of the gold standard, the reference point of, like, hey, it's got to be on that level? I mean, we didn't really think about it that way back then, you know, but writing songs now, you know, when you get older, you get more picky too, you know, so looking back at the older albums, you know, which is like, you know, the classical King Diamond albums, that's a really good reference point, you know, when you look back at the older albums, when you write new songs now, like 35 years later. So yeah, I mean, we really try to have a high standard on all the songs, of course, you know, and I would say that, you know, the next album is going to be a little bit looking back to the previous, you know, the older albums, you know, to get that high standard of the songs, you know, that's probably why it takes so long, you know, to write the songs. Well, we're expecting something really big now, right? After all this time, we're expecting like the best of the best of the best. All right, let's move on to the next one. And this is like, and again, they're interchangeable, I'm sure, like one day, fatal portraits, your favorite one, the next day's Abigail, right? I mean, even for fans, we change right over time. We said fatal portrait, okay, as I guess one, but yeah, fatal portrait, recorded in the summer of 1985, Denmark. And that was also different for me, of course, you know, because I joined the band when they already been into the studio for about two weeks. So the drums and all the bass tracks and some of the rhythm guitars were done when I came down to Copenhagen. Mickey called me because they needed a guitarist in the band, you know, they had this guy that didn't really work out first. So Mickey called me and I quit my job the same day with my amp, my guitar, to train down from Sweden to Denmark, Copenhagen, and met the guys in the studio, talked a little with them, you know, and I just said to myself, okay, it's now or never, you know, I got it, I really got to do this. So I went into the studio and they asked me to do like audition for Dressing White, that song, you know, so I played it, you know, a few times, played it through, listened to it and recorded a few things. And later on that afternoon, they said, you got the job, you got the job, welcome Andy. You know, sign here. That was great, of course, you know, I was only 22 years old and, you know, crazy times, you know, I just felt that, you know, it's now or never, I really had to do this, you know, Neil has been working along pretty good. I mean, I mean here, 30, what is it, 36 years later, you guys are like the Lenin McCartney of heavy metal, you and King, I find, you know, it's a great writing team. You know, that's what I really like about King Diamond and Neil pointed out that before. There is a family aspect, yes, there's been turnover of musicians, but you and King have always been sort of like the key, right, the core will call it. And I think that's why you guys have been so successful, at least my opinion. Neil. Yeah, I think that's absolutely, you know, factors, having a family, having, you know, a tight knit team and people that, you know, really work well together and chemistry, of course, but I think, you know, over the years, Andy, what would you say is the, you know, the, the, the nominator that, you know, kind of holds it together for King Diamond? I mean, obviously, you know, he went, I mean, you guys, you guys kind of were pulled back for a while. I mean, health issues, other things that might have, you know, kind of been a factor, but it's like to, to come out there and just come out strong, like nothing, you know, like nothing happened, like, oh, King Diamond's back, you know, and it's, it's not just once, it's more than once. And you guys were back and back and back stronger. I mean, that's the other thing. It's that when you came back, it's like, I mean, I heard King Diamond singing live and I'm like, oh my God, you know, how does he even, like the band is so phenomenal, but, you know, and his voice is unique, but how is he so strong? And how is the, you know, it's like, you guys are like wine, but a really good wine, you know, because it could go the other way with wine, right? Become vinegar. I mean, we've been working together for, you know, 36 years this summer and we know each other pretty good after all these years, I guess, you know, so, and we got the same vision with music most often, at least, and also got the same vision with, you know, the show and all the spooky stuff, you know, that's supposed to happen on station or that all has been really interested in, you know, horror movies and all that kind of stuff, you know, and presenting like a theatrical horror show on stage has always been my dream. And with good music to that, you know, it's just great, I think, you know, so that's one of the visions we share. Okay, so now, and you talked about this just a little bit before, now you have these six albums that we just talked about, you know, you're more favorite albums, we'll call it. There are these guys' blueprints for the vision you have, you must have a vision of some sort for the new album, right? And I'm not going to pry too much, but you said they're blueprints, right? What kind of vision would you at least like to have and it might not turn out like that for any new material, their new album for King Diamond? Do you have a vision? I should do. Melodies, of course, super important, you know, without melodies, there is no music. And I'm also visioning like a more organic sound of the album, you know, if you look back to the older albums, you know, when Mickey played, for example, you know, it's like a little bit up and down in tempos and stuff, you know, that makes it dynamic and also organic. So that's one thing that I would like to hear on the next album for sure, you know, with building up like a dynamic kind of organic feel, you know, the drummer is a really important thing here, of course, you know, and I know that Matt Thompson, you know, is the right guy to do this, you know, for sure. That's very cool. What would you say is your sort of the diamond, the Diamond in the Rough album that sort of people don't give enough credit to? Like, wow, people should listen to this album a lot more in the King Diamond catalog, like maybe overlooked a little bit? Yeah, I would say maybe Spider's Lullaby will be one of the albums because I think the songs are really good. But the production of the album could have been, you know, a little bit better. So, but, you know, people sometimes, you know, they don't really care about the production either, you know, they think, you know, a great song, you know, it's a good song. That's right. My own, you know, taste, you know, the production could have been a little better, you know, that's for sure. But still, you know, the songs are good. And on that note, thank you so much. So we got Sonic Train Studios, right? Do you take, like, intermediate bands, professional bands, what level of bands do you produce? Good bands. Okay, good. That's a qualification. They got it. They got to meet your standard, right? Yeah, well, you know, I always, you know, keep in touch with the bands, you know, before they send me stuff or before they even come here to make sure that, you know, everything is good and make them prepare for the recording and all that, you know, but usually bands who come here, you know, they know what it's all about, you know, and they know what to expect from here, too, you know, and usually have a good dialogue, you know, before we start working with each other. And Death Riders, I know, Andy, you've been working with Neil Turbin for a while now, and that album is slowly wrapping up. So looking forward to that. So for those of you who don't know, Neil Turbin's got an album going to be coming out hopefully soon. And Matt Thompson is on it, my King Diamond drummer, right? And some other great musicians, Neil, maybe you want to just throw out the names of the rest of the guys? Sure, thanks. Thanks for that, Jimmy. Yeah, Death Riders, you know, working with Jonas Hornqvist over there, and from Gothenburg, not too far from Andy and Richard, Richard Sward on bass. And we've got some, you know, surprises and so forth on the album. But working on it still, it's still in progress. And Matt Thompson from King Diamond on drums, which is amazing because, you know, phenomenal person and incredible drummer. So honored to have that opportunity and to have Andy LaRocque involved in producing and, you know, and mastering and all the things that he does, which, you know, I mean, we've taken it to people that didn't quite understand the frequencies and how to differentiate and how to work with that. So I mean, that's something noticeably about Andy that is a differentiator to say the least, you know, and it's only people at a certain level that can even approach it because, you know, when you have a lot of things in the mid range and a lot of frequencies that are competing for parking spots, you know, so to speak, in the sonic spectrum, sounds technical, but it's really quite straightforward. But when you understand the style of music and you understand, you know, how it lays out, I mean, that really is, you know, valuable to have someone of Andy's caliber involved. Right on that note, we're looking forward to you guys finishing up the King Diamond album, going out on tour, and hopefully things will get better. Thank you so much, Andy, for being on the show. Neil, always a pleasure. Thank you so much, everybody. Enjoy the interview.