 Audilatory co-co-interviewer. I don't want to be the interviewer It's all good. It's all good. It's all good. Now you're gonna see from the other side Right, I see what it's like new album. Hold on. Let me just grab it here. It's all good. Let me just grab it Sorry, what do you want to say? Sorry make it. Oh, it's it's I think it's awesome to be a part of it and I'm honored to be here with these two guys and uh You know under the show, I do have uh, I've heard the record And it's we're gonna get into it, but it's it's fucking awesome I was just cranking it. That's an endorsement. That's an endorsement right there I I I listened to it all the way twice through today Took some mental notes. I think I wrote a few things down on a wordpad But just just listening to it get just vibing off of it, you know So, uh, yeah, it's it's it's heavy. It's fast. It's heavy. It's aggressive It's uh, you know Action packed you actually did homework for this thing You did your homework, you said you actually did your homework Flotsam and Jetsam The what is this the June 4th on AFM records blood in the water. This is the band's 14th Todd asked me how many how many records do they have about and I go nine And then I looked it up and I go wait a second. There's 14 albums. These guys have had What a history. Wow. Wow. Wow Todd Whatever you just said I double that this album I I was talking to Michael like before all of this and go Michael How are you gonna top before I heard the promos? How are you gonna top the last album? I I didn't believe it. I didn't believe it till I heard it and you actually did you topped it. It's just Proud of you guys. I'm really proud of you guys. You guys did a great job That's out of you It was it was crazy. We were weren't sure What the outcome was going to be when we started writing for it, you know and We had that lumen over us the uh Are we going to be able to top the chaos record, you know That was kind of a stress that we were having and when it all started coming together You know you listened to to 8k on this and this huge choruses and I think I'm really proud of it. You know, I think the rest of the guys are too We definitely If it's not Better it's definitely as good as chaos for sure Okay, have any opening comments Um, no, not really all right And that's that wrap it up this album was um It was a lot of fun to do but At the same time we were picking apart every two seconds of every song, you know, is this going to be right? Is this right? Is this good enough is, you know, shouldn't we put something here? Should we it was just on and on and on about Making sure that you know every last bit of it was cool and um After a while we were just like, you know what just leave it. It's fine. It's It is what it is and if people like it they like it if they don't I guess we'll stay home Yeah Todd, you know, well, that's that's one of the things is like You know, whenever you write a batch of songs and and they it goes through all of these refinements in this process to to become the record And then you you that record has been out and then it's time to go to the next one That's always the mindset is well, we need to at least equal this or exceed it, you know and And you can't always catch lightning in a bottle and you say, you know We're happy with this. This is what we came up with at this time in our life And you're always going to want to to to do something better, but that's such a subjective thing um And and you just say, you know what there's going to be another record and we're just going to keep writing music and putting things out So I think it's like It gets to the point where you say hey if people dig it. That's awesome We wrote this for us In the hopes that people will like it, but this is what we felt as artists And a band that's been around as long as as this band has I mean there's They're always going to get that support and people are always going to Give that record a try even if they let's say some people don't like something because you can't please everyone They're still going to be curious about the next one. So, you know I mean hats off to you guys for being around as long as you have I mean I was watching some old some really old footage from 85 I was 11 and And I'm and I'm watching this and I'm like This is so cool because they were so young And you know like you're wearing like the spandex and you know the whole it's like you're finding your way And there's and like you can hear this youthfulness in the in In the voice you can hear this, you know, they're they're coming into their own And then and sometimes people are like better when they're like in their 20s because it's like You know your fucking balls haven't dropped and you can sing sort of the moon and you know, you think These guys have just gotten more seasoned and better and better And it's like as a vocalist. I listen to what you're doing And I'm just like god damn. I would hate to have to sing this guy songs, you know, because it's just so but you know one of the things I love Just touching on the vocal really quick is There are a lot. There's a lot of singers, but there's not a lot of singers in my opinion that that really Deliver with passion. I mean you hear a lot of screamo stuff and it's like one emotion. It's like i'm angry, right? But that's it You still have some of those little crying inflections starting out a phrase but every word has You're caring about the delivery of every word and you just don't hear singers Doing that anymore. You know, I just can't stress it enough when you hear a word that's like rage or hate or fight or cut It better goddamn well sound like it and when you deliver those vocals You can hear that In that delivery and you're selling it and to me as a vocalist That's so important because you just don't hear That kind of passion in the delivery of a lot of singers anymore. It's just they're singing the notes But they're not they're not it's not believable to me that they're really Invested in the in the lyrics. I think Todd you've just sold a hundred pre-order albums for the band just right at that moment But it's true You just sold a hundred albums right there. There's like a hundred clicks happening now. It's true everything you're saying spot on But there's more to it than that, right? Of course. I'm just touching. Yeah. That's one out of like so many, right? Blood in the water like we'll just take apart a few stuff, right and Todd throw, you know, your ideas in and guys Michael tell me about blood in the water Describe it for the people who haven't heard it music wise Oh, um, I I just heard it on uh A satellite radio today for the first time on the radio So I got to hear it in in like its context, you know, we're Where it's gonna reside. I hope for a while um, and to hear it up against um I think they played a Gojira song right before it and then uh, they play ours The beginning of it the huge intro uh I think it starts it off, you know uh with a bang and the Next three songs on the record are like that, you know, it's it's ferocious. It's uh, and I gotta agree with Todd, you know A.k. You can you can mute this I love I love Todd's passion I love Todd's passion. He just like nails every point A.k. Yeah, this his vocal performances And that's in the song Every song on this record is fucking amazing this the vocals on it and Um, I was I was just telling someone else a little while ago that I'd never listened to any of our records when we're done Like we've done it either But I've listened to this one like 15 times maybe I'm like man I'm proud that you're proud of it. And I you know, I think the rest I'm proud of my band I'm like they delivered And uh, I'm glad to be a part of it. A.k. What's the blood in the water like selling death? All right in a few minutes in a few seconds. Just tell us about the lyrical content You know, uh blood in the water is basically I get 55 Calls a day on my phone of you know, we need to Re-up your auto warranty or we want to sell you health insurance or You show any weakness in any way shape or form and in this case, it's just answering my phone um, the sharks come swimming and they circle and it uh It it goes with everything, you know the government you show them any weakness at all and they're gonna They're gonna smell the blood in the water and they're gonna come after you, you know, it's it's everything um, you got to really be careful about letting people know Anything about you really because the sharks are gonna circle they're smelling the blood in the water and they're coming right after you Yeah, it's like those vulnerabilities that You're not even volunteering for like I get constant calls about your car in your warranty by car warranty And i'm like god damn right so all of these little things Right are just chum. It's chum In the water and they're they're coming to get you and they're gonna keep biting And they're gonna keep doing this until they until they get you And so Yeah, it's interesting that that's what it's about. But yeah, they're they're sharks man. Everybody wants a piece of you Yep Yep, you can't show them any blood because they're after you Brace for impact which I guess it was one of the titles that you guys were working with and maybe we should call the album Brace for impact Michael Explain to the people. Okay. The first two songs were singles people pretty much understand the context of the thrash But brace for impact. Oh, I guess it's still a thrashy song. I mean Explain it, you know, yeah, that was gonna that was the original title track Uh, I love that. I love it brace for impact to me is a great It was a great title for uh, you know for the The follow-up to chaos, you know, it just sounded like they take hand in hand, you know, but blood in the water seemed to be the The opening song that we all really agreed on that was just in your face But brace for impact You know, it's it's gonna be the third single that's gonna drop I think right before the record comes out and See what people say about it a lot of a lot of people that have heard it right now say You know, it kind of goes back a little old-school flotsam You know goes back to the no place when I hear that song. It's to Todd's To toa Todd said it's it's it's the inflections, you know, it's just the anger It's like you're bracing for impact when you hear it. Okay. What does brace for impact mean to you? And you're in your lyrical approach you know Brace for impact is basically just you're about to listen to the new flotsam record hang on to something That's brace for impact for me. All right. Um, I I the the songs that I I love what is it walls? Yeah, the walls. Yeah, I love the groove on that And the vocal melodies, you know Um I like to stack I like to do a high vocal and a lower vocal Whether they're octaves apart or like a weird harmony, but I like how in the verses you've got Or just the vocal melodies you you you do some blending some really nice blending on lead Vocal lines not just like backing vocals for a chorus. Let's say but you do you kind of blend these These these higher ones and lower vocals like in too many lives. You've got these harmonies during the verse parts Where there's a high and a low Together, I think that adds a nice a nice texture. One of the things I wanted to ask you guys was about guitar tunings on the record Um, the tunings are I like a 440, you know that the guitar was built for a 440 You start going below that you can go Uh a whole step below and it still sounds okay, but you know for me, I I play the guitar so hard If I tune down any more than that, I'll need like a Like like the high wire tension lines in order because the string is so floppy is right You know, um, but yeah, mostly the a 440 Yeah, and here's what's interesting, right is as you know, everybody nowadays Is uh is tuning so low You're not hearing tone in the guitar. It's just this it's all low. It's like you're you're kind of in like bass frequency Not quite but you're you're competing against these lower frequencies and everybody thinks that Tuning so low is so heavy while there is a heaviness by default to that sound. I think you lack guitar tone And it's so great to hear heaviness like this record That isn't dropped. Okay. Maybe you tune a lot of our tunings In my own personal stuff is I'll tune the low e to d and then tune everything off the d so it's not e drop d It's either e flat or I'll tune the whole guitar to d but the tunings of this record are so palatable That you're actually the guitar tones are cutting through Everything sits in its right place, right? The vocals are where they need to be Tonally and frequency wise then your guitars sit here and then the bass has its has its space So I like the fact that you're not tuning low And you know, it's this is a perfect testament that like old school metal was heavy as fuck in standard tuning It's a good point. Okay. You just proved Well, well, I think we should also tell everybody the guitars on this album. It's probably your best production I mean Hands down like this is a I listen to your first album and I go it's great. I love it But holy shit, I'm like suckered into now because it's a friggin wall of sound the guitar But it sounds organic jimmy. It doesn't yeah, it does it does no, no, but and I mean it in a good way I don't mean in a bad way the walls tell us about the lyrics on the walls aka Yeah, that song is basically an anti-suicide song Um, it pretty much says, you know, no matter what you're going through No matter how, um, horrible and ending you think everything is There's probably something else you're here for So, you know, don't go anywhere is basically what the song saying All right. I always like your lyrics. You always always get great lyrics. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and and is this a Is this a not a nod to iron maiden? I hear the guitar dual harmonies there mike Oh, that's that steve's uh, is i'm steve's iron maiden thingy. Yeah. Yeah, uh, he's addicted to iron maiden. Yeah, you know, On the guitars, you know, there's a lot of arpeggios So you can hear like more of that technical playing, but then you do have Some again not to say maiden, but there are those more simplified Uh melodic leads that are that are singable, right? You can totally sing these parts But then you do hear, you know, oh sweet picking you hear arpeggios happening um Yeah, it's all about the The build of it, you know, like you start the solo off and you just you do some you do some slow notes And then by the end of the solo, you know, that's when you get uh ferocious and you rip your face off You just build the tension up. Yeah All right building building the tension up cry for the dead for those of you Haven't heard this and of course most of you haven't heard this is the big song in the album Right. It's like smack in the middle. It's it's it's like a thrash ballad Right. Is that a thrash ballad? Is that what it's it's kind of like a third there there's chord changes there Todd There's there's chord changes. There's there's all kinds of stuff going on there Like you want to speak to that? Yeah, that song starts out as a ballad and then boom Mike you want to talk about the intricacies of the chord changes or on that song You know that ken came to me and it was like dude You got to write something. We had all these fast songs for the record, right? And you said you got to write something that sounds like it's from the no place for disgrace era And try to do it like a ballad Oh shoot. I don't know if I got it in me Whatever, but I tried it. I didn't think it sounded anything like that But all the interviews that we've done They all say man went back to the no place on this on this song. It sounds like it belongs on that record Uh as as far as like the song structure and the chord changes and stuff like that, but yeah, um I guess is it a ballad? I don't know. It's a thrash ballad. It's a new thing. It's a thrash ballad. Yeah A.k. What what are you talking about in cry for the dead? I hear a lot of Sinister stuff there. I don't know. I don't know what's going on. I don't have the lyric sheet. So I'm asking you it's uh Well Is that the pandemic we're talking about here? What are we talking about? It's not necessarily about the pandemic, but it's about the uh result of it You know people losing loved ones and not being able to say goodbye and um, so it wasn't I didn't sit down and go I'm gonna write something about the pandemic, but You know, it was in the middle of the or the beginning of the pandemic and there was a lot of scary stuff going on So I'm sure that the mood came straight from the pandemic even though that's not exactly what it's about Um, but yeah, it's it's it's basically about losing loved ones and uh being able to deal with that Yeah, I might be by the best track on the album. Yeah, it's I'd say it's a semi-ballad Yeah And it but that one that one also has you know, the record has definitely has Many fast songs But then you have some parts that are like very groove You know, there's a lot of diggig diggig diggig. There's a lot of gallopy Dig dig dig dig dig that kind of a vibe um You know like the nice palm muted like it's definitely thrashy, but then again you have these These vocal melodies on top of very aggressive music That don't put it into like that thrash box It's just there's there's a lot of melody in there too um And then your drummer a lot of double bass on the record. Oh my god. Geez, you know, um It's insane. I I have I have a question. It's it's I mean it pertains to the to the record, but And it's a question we all get asked which Kind of annoys me sometimes, but but on this side of it. I am curious how many people live In close proximity to to you guys or how far apart are you guys scattered? um Band wise you mean you mean bad band band wise You know, uh bill lives, uh Where does he live in jersey or upstate new york and the rest of us live in the phoenix valley here So what were there any in-person get-togethers During any initial songwriting phases because for years We've always done the file thing but on on on the new queens rake stuff We're working on the guys actually flew in from seattle and we actually like were in person old school Like you like you did it in the old days as a band And like I know I know what you're getting at Todd. Yeah, I'm curious. There was any of that you you know, that's a that's a great question because um I feel like in doing so, uh Send them files back and forth you you lose that energy that you get when you're all in a rehearsal room and There's there's somebody said for it when you do recordings like that, too You don't you subconscious subconsciously you can hear it. Can I say that? No subconsciously You you can hear that You don't even know it, you know, but the aggressiveness and the anger is there So are you the main songwriters for all intents and purposes are you guys you too primarily like the main writers nothing against the others but um No, uh, it's if you get spawned each song gets spawned from either Steve or I most most of the time and that's uh It just builds on that and then we send it over to ak And then we start sending stuff back and forth and ak if he doesn't like some He'll tell me my stuff sounds like shit. So there's a recycle bin File delete Sometimes I tell him that just to mess with him too I'll be working on a song for like two weeks and then he's like it's crap I can't do it in my serbian voice. No, should we switch to serbian interview or what? Okay, um The wicked hour for those of you who haven't heard it, which is probably the majority of the people I would say this is the queens rake song of the album Am I right here michael? Is this a queens rake ish? type of song Yeah, I agree with that See Todd see what's going on there. You see the influences there You see that you see what's happening. I think you know what when I when I first This is for everybody that's watching that has no idea Exactly, and I mean that's how we're positioning it right the people don't know what they haven't heard I heard the the first four songs And I was like wow This is pretty relentless. This is like You know, this is in your face and it's like it's it kept my attention And I had a bunch of stuff to do later in the day And then I came back and I continued Through the songs And I was like, okay now. I'm gonna listen all the way through and I did that two more times I listened all the way through if they from the beginning and it really is I mean there's some mid tempo stuff, but Overall, it's it's a very high energy album, it's not a sleeper. I mean this thing is Is it's no fucking around? I mean you got to be on your game to play this stuff to have recorded this stuff People are going to be blown away when they hear the whole thing and especially like I mean You guys have your work cut out to play this live because this is not good luck with that I'm saying good luck with that. I'm saying this isn't This isn't simple. This isn't simple stuff. This is that's right It's technical, but um I think that yeah any I think everyone's gonna gonna love this and they're in for a surprise for sure I was exhausted after I listened to this album. It was like so high and intense. I told michael michael This is the best thing you've guys ever done. All right a k the wicked hour. Give us your thoughts on the lyrical ideas behind that Oh, that's a good one that that started off as so many different directions and it ended up in so many different Opposite directions You know at some point i'm not really even sure what that song's about anymore, but it's basically You know the you go through life and once in a while you get that You run into that evil that you just can't get away from and that's that's the wicked hour You know, that's when you really got to Knuckle down and decide what kind of person you are Yeah, michael you want to add to that? Uh The drumming was like like like intense the drumming was fucking intense on that. I'll add to that Yeah, uh, k dog might be his best drumming. I'm not a drummer. Todd is I mean he could probably yeah There's a lot of complex complex drumming on here. I mean the fills are You know, they're pretty intense and there's a lot of footwork You know, if you like double bass and like metal and stuff like that with a lot of double bass I think there's a lot of double bass on the record Uh, but there's also parts where you know, it's not there, but there's definitely Um a lot of double bass and you know a lot of intricate drum fills Um Yeah, this is this is this is this is like super technical. I mean wow. I was just blown away Too many lives I don't know what you said here ak. I mean 151 people die every day I was I was losing you were losing me on the math there. Can you explain that? Uh, yeah, I was reading this thing on google and it said 151,000 people die every day And 350,000 people are born every day So globally globally. Yeah, so if we don't if we don't you know If we don't stop fucking we're gonna overcrowd ourselves You know I have the key my trigger and me pull the weeds out weeds for the flower and the trees That's kind of a tongue-in-cheek about uh I have some some redneck friends who are just like oh just kill all the stupid people and we'll be fine And it's like no you can't do that everybody Everybody has the right to live and enjoy life, you know And so that's kind of a tongue-in-cheek thing about people who think that way of just hey get rid of them, you know Florida there's a lot of dumb motherfuckers here Michael too many lives for you. Did you come up with it? Did Steve come up with it? Where did it come from? Yeah, that was one of one of my risks that I came up with and I actually didn't think ak was gonna run with it Because it's got these first it's a nightmare for a singer like I love that song it's got all the the diminished chords and those those crazy Like dissonance and it's got to be a nightmare to sing over but Again, I'm proud of what ak did on it. He absolutely knocks it out of the park All right. Yeah, that's that's one of my that's one of my favorites on here so far I kind of like A gray dragon and I mean I think the vocal the core I maybe was before the chorus When you're doing a little bit of the death growls there. Oh, yeah I'm not sure if it's uak or if it's somebody else in the band doing them No, it's all me All right, and I gotta say this I'm not you know, I'm not a vocalist like Todd and yourself But I kind of like I don't like death growls in general But the way you kind of integrated it in there It was just enough to make it Really a cool melody you want to tell us about drake dragon and and the lyrics behind it You know the weird thing about That song and a couple others is when I get stuck on words Um, I just come up with a melody and sing notes and say Well, I don't need words there screw it, you know And that's one of those that just happened to work out for me that way um That that's my uh rob halford So, I mean the um Too many lives is my rob halford song. I get to sound like rob halford at the beginning of that one I'm really excited about that A great dragon is it started off about a dragon a guy walking through the desert And he gets accosted by this dragon flying over his head And by the time me and ken got done recording the vocals and Changing some lyrics and all that and ended up being about Uh military Aircraft called the gray dragon No, and I know there's a lot of your buddy there Snake eyes is a snake eyes snake. Yeah snake eyes your buddy. What's this? scott Scott scott scott's a huge fan huge followers and he was just texting me Scott's a good dude, man Uh gray dragon mike describe it for those people who haven't heard it Oh It's tough. I know I know it all I don't know. You know, it's just a another killer track. It's not a filler track and It it keeps the momentum going on the record and I think it's put in a place where It It just it flow it makes the album flow Really well, I know we moved a lot of the songs around so so people who listen to it from front to back Will it would uh, you know, it keep their attention So I just think that's a a well-placed song and again the killer choruses Yeah, I think the song I think the song pulled the the arrangement the track listing You know people always front load like what they think is going to have the most appeal Every band does it you want to have their attention right out of the gate for the first three songs for sure um You know then then you get into like the the you know the cry for the dead um, that's your kind of Get a little breather for a moment on that intro Then it gets heavy again. Then it gets a little spacious on verse two again But as you go through the record, it doesn't like kind of fizzle out. It's like boom You know, it's like I say I think it's it's relentless that record As a solid playlist is like you could put it on shuffle And not that's a good way to say it and not be disappointed in that order Um, and I think that's when you know it's really Although you you put a lot of effort into the um the sequencing and in the order But at the end of the day a good song is a good song And I did that with mine. I remember putting it on shuffle and I was like, you know what there's not a bad There's not a bad song order. I can mix these shuffle them a hundred ways and deal And I love my record No matter how I fucking play it and I think this record as well All those songs are the so solid You can put it on shuffle and it doesn't devalue the playlist Would you agree? Yeah, I think so, you know, that's that's weird that you say that because my big fear is Uh at a party somewhere and our records on in the background And four or five songs go by and somebody goes, is this the same song? We were just listening to that is one of my biggest fears I want it really obvious when there's a different song on right Yeah, I'm looking at some texts here. I'm ignoring everybody first of all frank potvin who we all know says hi to both of you guys Toronto I love frank and 21 20 Rock says gilbert. Who are your influences? My influences, uh ace frilly. That's the one that started it all for me. Like I wanted I I wanted to be in kiss when And back in the night is going to date me way back. I'm not going to be saying And the same thing with like angus young, you know, it's like panis guy is awesome But those are probably my two biggest influences as when I was starting out, you know But now it's everything that everything that I hear i'm influenced by And uh, Steve will tell you that I steal a lot of shit from other players And uh, but you know, that's how you learn and how you evolve And uh, yeah, I'm definitely guilty of fevery Just got to flip it around so nobody knows Uh Reaggression is that reaggression? Was that what it was right there? Reaggression Uh, another thrash or about a nice little mid mid section You know, it's it kind of does what you just said before michael Sort of like builds up and builds up and it just you know tears everyone to pieces That's one of my favorite tracks on the record and and the reason why is the breakdown in the middle We have a new bass bass player bill bodily and I listen to that song and I just get the chills at what he's playing right there because it fits so perfectly with the breakdown It it's just a really cool part. He did a great job on the whole record, but That song right there And my next question, you know what it is ak. What's reaggression to you? you know when you uh When you're really angry you'll are almost seeing blood and you're shaking and then you get angrier That's right You know, it's it's funny jimmy hearing you ask them You know, what is that song? What is that song about? What is that song about? and while like I totally respect the question and understand it In the artist's defense, there's always a part of you that doesn't want to answer that question. Well, you should I get it. I get it. Of course. I get it right, but you know what you know what I find I find when the listener Yeah, gets understands a little more about the background of the song No, I understand. Yeah, they tend to pay attention a lot more and they enjoy it a lot more Right. No, I'm not I'm not dissing that you have you are you are but it's okay It's all right. It's okay. It's all right. I'm a big boy. But I'm a big boy. Well, what I'm saying is look this I get it. You want to keep it a little vague? I get it because all from gorgoroth once said music should be experience not explained But yeah, you want to you want to talk like hey, what's this song about? What does it mean blah blah blah? I totally get it and like there's a part of you as an artist that's conflicted It's like I'm gonna I'm gonna say something. I'm gonna tell a story And so I am kind of laying it out for you At the same time, it's like I don't want to explain why I said what I said Like if you want to take it literally, so you're like the his their defense attorney here You're like their defense attorney you want people to listen to it and come up with their own Absolutely, but if you can get a little taste of what it's about You know it makes it that much more enjoyable because keep in mind there are listeners who listen only to the drums There are listeners who listen to the melody And there's a lot of people who listen to the lyrics and they want to have a little glimpse into that world Because okay, you're a great lyricist. So people that listen to flotsam jimmy Are paying attention to the lyrics. It's a demographic. Yeah, isn't it's not like um Hip-hop where it's like now I feel terrible like I feel like I don't want to ask any more questions No, no, no listen Jimmy no, but we would all agree and hip-hop. It's like just you know, maybe there's something that's like, you know And it's a groove that people just want to dance to or vibe to they don't give a shit about the lyrics Have you guys ever had an interview like this? Where the two hosts? Are debating no no no No, but but what i'm saying is that this demographic that listens to this kind of music These are these are intellectuals. These are people that read. These are people that still absolutely absolutely that want to open the gatefold And read the liner notes of where it was recorded. What kind of gear do you use? Read eric's lyrics and try to decipher. What what is this guy's? Mind, what is he what's he saying? Absolutely. So I I love that you asked the question. Thank you In your defense. I love that you asked the question about what is this about because you're curious But there's always that that little Defensive protection as the lyricist that you kind of don't want to answer some of those. All right Thanks, Todd. So my answer now on about what's the song about? I You're gonna you're gonna throw i'll mail you some business cards Well, what do you think it's about? Yeah, well, what do you think it's about? Now let let me guess seven seconds till the end of the world, which is the last track It's about seven seconds till the end of the world Uh, the end is a great song. Yeah the end of the uh Record is the end of the world. There's nothing left after that. There's nothing left after that The record over again. I would have liked the album to be called seven seconds till the end of the world I I really like that that that phrase. I'm unplugging from ethernet. So if I go away, okay all good So I would I guess we're done. I can't ask any more questions. Here we go Oh Jimmy am I am I unfrozen first of all me and Todd are friends just we we can toss it around like that. It's all good. It's all good We're friends. We're friends I do have to say that that the your new uh solo record is Out of this world man. I really love it a lot. I've listened to it a few times now Thank you very much I appreciate it. Maybe we can and I told you know, I talked to you on the phone the other day And we were talking about some live shows, etc. And when things open back up What are you guys going to be doing yada yada and and jimmy I said to him Man, it would be great Maybe I could you know, I could play my own shows too, but I would love to jump on some shows With flotsam as an opener for them or you know, whatever I mean Just to get in front of that kind of an audience that's you know heavier and more thrashy and And that kind of thing to do some of my own solo stuff But I'm really that'd be cool man flotsam, but you guys are going to be touring with accept Michael, how'd you pull that off? um I don't know our old bass player actually was uh working with The Hoffmans and yes ended up getting us Signed on uh continental for an agency and then seem like once we got on continental Boom, they hit us with the accept tour That's pretty good man. That's that's a pretty that's a that's a nice package I remember when you guys came to Montreal with hammerfall. That was a real um Power metal and thrash it was two different genres, but two great bands And there was two different audiences there and I think you'll get the same thing with accept, you know I think there's uh, that's a nice little package there We gained a lot of new uh a lot of new fans on that hammerfall tour. There's a lot of um power metal fans that Had never heard us before and they came to the show and they're going. Whoa. What's this, you know and We sold a lot of discs and merch from to those people. So we gained a lot of fans by uh by cross pollinating metal That's a way to put it. Yeah like that Um, I are there any other questions on here you That let's see sure we could talk. Oh in the chat. Yeah, okay Like what so what's what story with this tour now? Like what's going on here? Are we are we revving up another tour? South america people are asking Sure guys uh We have some more updates that we're working on uh For like just the southwest get all of us getting together and Kind of like dust in the rust off, you know and trying to get the machine working again It's been a while since we played live. So we're gonna have to build up a little to it to it and That's about it for right now other than the accept tour and the festivals in europe afterwards There's there is something coming down the pipe other than that That I can't talk about. Yeah, I gotta throw that out there But it's a good one and people are gonna like it a lot Okay, aka. Are you looking forward to going back on the road? Yeah, well, yes and no, um I missed the road and touring and playing so much it hurts, but At the same time I have not even sang happy birthday in over a year. So I'm scared to death Walter and start doing it again Like after they hear this album all eyes will be on you. How is it gonna? You know, he's got a you got to Own up to what you just sang Todd was telling me about that I go you got to pull this off now alive. This is like Yeah fourth fifth show into a tour. I'm I'm Pretty awake by then, you know, but it's always this first couple of shows that I I'm really scared about Okay, all right, michael Uh, I'm not I'm not scared. You're not scared of nothing What about what about the uh, the the artwork for the record? And can you talk about that? You know, we had uh, like I said, we were gonna call it brace for impact and we sent the record and that song to uh, Andy from very metal art does most of our Graphic design stuff and he came back with this This crazy flotzilla just barely coming out of the water thing And we already had the song blood in the water. We're like that fits the cover So well that you know, we might as well just change the title and call it that And uh, it was going to be the first song on the record anyway, so It kind of it kind of worked out Um, you know, Andy Andy Pinkal Pink Pinkerton Andy Pinkerton does an amazing job With uh album artwork and graphic design. He does all of our um lyric video stuff And um, we don't even really check what he's doing anymore. The guy is so good We just give him stuff give him a couple ideas and let him run with it And it's always perfect, you know, so we got we got pretty lucky there All right. Yeah, that's great when you can Have that kind of a rapport and that trust with the artist to say Here's the rough concept You do you and You'll be surprised right And then you make those refinements and those tweaks, but Instead of micromanaging every single facet. You're just like here. Here's a concept Let's see what you now. Do you ever give an artist Pieces of music so they can get the vibe of of what that needs to be. Have you ever done that? Oh, yeah, definitely. We give him music ahead of time almost every time Yeah, you know, not only that but he's a huge flotsam fan. So Everything he does is labor of love for him, you know, even though he's charging us It's It's it's really a labor of loving you got to pay him to listen to your album basically Yeah, yeah, what he would do anyway if we weren't paying him. So I don't get it but What the hell Do you find your fan base has been growing A lot more than you would have expected in the past few years We've worked hard at that. Well, yeah, absolutely I mean Where we are I mean bands seem to you know Become static at one point, but you guys just seems to be growing and growing and going. Maybe I'm wrong. Am I wrong? I think I'm right Michael and I think we're on a Upward trajectory for sure and we're gaining new fans. I hear that a lot As well like AK said, oh, I've never heard you guys before Well, they probably don't sound like that. They probably sound more like, hey, I've never heard you guys before Um, yeah, and then You know, is there anything else you guys want to talk about before we like shut down? Um, I want to talk about when Todd's gonna put us on a queen's rite tour. Oh That would be Hey, that would be that would be awesome. That would be that would be awesome and I'm glad that you mentioned that I will I'm gonna send the video link to I'll be speaking with management here in the next few days anyway and so And I'm talking with the guys, you know constantly because we're writing I will definitely bring that up And say hey, maybe the next ground tour You know, we can put something together with you guys. That would be a shit load of fun and uh, you know, we're so different Really that each band stands on its own in its own special way But would still be a very cohesive package in my opinion. I think it would be a lot of fun to hang with you guys for four to six weeks or whatever and Yeah, I I would love to to do something like that. So I think cross pollination is the word You know, there's probably a lot of flots and fans weren't queens right fans yet and vice versa, right? I was just listening. I was listening one of my one of my all-time favorite songs Going, you know, many years back was secret square Yeah That is one of my all all-time favorites and I I sing it all the time while I try but um You know, you have such a you know Again, it's a testament to the way this band writes music Where you have these these very interesting Musical it's it's not like copy paste. It's not 101. There's like there's a lot of different stuff happening But you have this this lower register Which a lot of like metal singers, you know, everybody's like impressed with the high stuff But you have this warmth and this resonance in your lower register That is I very much appreciate appreciate as a fan of of your voice and everything That's just one of my all-time favorites And then you go into that as a last taste of us You know, and it's just like sores up there just to show you got it and um Yeah, that's one of my one of my favorite songs that you guys have done. So Um, there's a lot of endorsements happening here today a lot of endorsements You know that song's about taking acid, right? No, I didn't That's the secret square No kidding It's supposed to be an audio acid trip that whole song. So An endless playground intensity Yeah, okay now it makes sense As the what is that? So what do you say he says uh during the slow? Yeah, where you say the last the last taste of her slips away Okay The acid trip, okay, I'm glad you told me that Um, so you guys so you guys do have let me ask you this. Do you have any shows on the books for the rest of this year? What do you have on the calendar anything or not till next year? Nothing till next year Nothing till next year We're trying though. We're trying to put something on the books for maybe what about what about official videos to support the record Those uh, I mean excellence coming out the next one's coming out You've got another one coming out soon. Praise for impact would be the second one. Oh There we go Excellent the third one Yeah, that's it so June 4th AFM records brace for impact because there's only uh Seven seconds till the end of the world flotsam and jetsam It's a killer record right in the water. It's a killer record. Sharks are swimming. It's relentless It's got it's got some breathing room. It's melodic. It's heavy. It's intricate It's singable It's musicians music It's If you don't play an instrument You're gonna want to You know what I should actually this and ask you this last time. What about live album? Is anything going on mic in terms of a live album or a dvd release? We're trying to put together the rock and footage And Now that we have a little bit of downtime, uh, hopefully we can get that all put together And and get it out on dvd Yeah, it's been a while since you had a live album. I don't think it's been boy That's why like 10 years forever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right guys. That's pretty much it Todd. Thanks so much, buddy Yeah, thanks for having me. Thank you guys and uh We'll be in touch soon I'm gonna I'm gonna get that bug in management's ear and see if we can Maybe put something together because our our plan is Yeah, it takes a long time to write an album Or with this band It's just you know, they're up in seattle and we try to get together for sessions, but You know, if we could release something Early part of next year, you know, especially then when like everything's more dialed in and Uh, it's the venues and you know, but We're gonna try and do a couple ground tours next year But I have some shows coming up Todd, right? You guys are we have like 20 20 or 22 shows left We have our first show may 21st, so Where is it where is it where is it may 21st? Where is it? It's in Idaho. Oh, I know potato fest That's yeah That's better than a sausage fest, right? That's true So, yeah, I mean it You guys can comment how awesome you think it would be to to do a queen's rake flotsam and jetsam tour Yeah, I think that'd be great But congratulations guys Thanks like for letting me be a part of this and uh, you know I'm one of the the lucky few that have got to hurt it before it's released But that's because I do a lot of the stuff with the show now and I'm I'm really Happy for you guys. I think the fans are in for a big treat It's and it's something that you I mean, I've only listened to it two and a half times But I'm hearing new things each time And I like focusing on this guitar progression or something and then I'll I'll focus more on like the rhythm section and then You know in the vocal delivery. I'll notice something else. So something that you keep Discovering new things with as I'm playing it more times Which is fun Some some good uh, good feedback here today Just the fact that Todd's listening to my record wants is kind of exciting I heard it 10 times I'm a I'm a fan. I'm I'm I'm honored to To to know to call erica a friend of mine and uh, again I haven't had a chance to communicate as much with with mike But it's it's a pleasure to to talk with you on here and thanks for letting me chime in All right, guys. Thanks man. Okay. Bye. I appreciate that We'll talk soon everyone. Have yourself a wonderful day. Okay. Have a great day guys. Jimmy. Thank you