A chat with Richard Bateman

Richard Bateman interview 3/2002 for Snakepit magazine-So the first well known band you've been involved with was AGENT STEEL, before going deeper going into that story, when did you start playing an instrument (and was bass the first instrument you learned to play) and how/ when did you become a Metaller to start with? -I started playing Bass when I was about 15 and no I did not start playing the guitar first. But before that I played Brass instruments in school studying minor theory until I discovered the Jazz Band. I did contests and was even pulled on a wagon with generators on board for the Hillsborough High School Marching Band to play "Jump" by Van Halen and songs like that for halftime at the football games(until the school expelled me for being a bad influence). -What were the first bands you've played with in Florida before joining A. STEEL? What kind of music did those bands played and have you recorded something with those early outfits? -I first formed a band with my brother,Randy,on drums called Scimitar we played locally playing largely covers like 2112,Phantom of the Opera,YYZ,etc...pretty much songs that didn't require a whole lot of singing.Then I formed a band called Purgatory with Gene Adam, Bill Owen, Greg Seymore, and Jon Schaffer(later to become Iced Earth).That's when everything started getting really cool,chaos was in hand. Purgatory eventually cut a demo at Morrisound,it was really rough sounding-just ask Jon. -Were you following what was going on in the Florida Metal scene with on one hand the veterans like DEATH, SIREN, IRON CROSS, SAVATAGE, HELLWITCH, MASSACRE, MORBID ANGEL, NASTY SAVAGE, OBLIVION and on the other hand the newer underground acts such as EXECUTIONER, RAVAGE/ ATHEIST, SEAWEED (later CYNIC) etc... -Of course there is no way that I could have avoided it. Everyone knew everyone else, we all hung out at parties and shared the same sleazy women it was one big sick,and twisted family. Even when I was in Scimitar we played shows with every band you listed (R.I.P. Roger,Chuck,&Chris) not to mention all the shows that Purgatory played. As a matter of fact, Andy Adcock and Dave Silverstein from Hellwitch are jamming with me right now in Gardy-Loo!. -So you've joined A. STEEL around the Autumn 1986 (correct?yeah) as new bass player along with Jay Weslord and James Murphy as guitarists to join John Cyriis and Chuck Proffus who had moved from L.A. where they were originally based to Florida, so do you remember how you got offered the spot at the time? -Hell yeah I remember! Whenever they were down here recording "Unstoppable Force" John and Juan Garcia were hanging out with Ben Meyer, who was judging a battle of the bands where they happened to see me jam for the first time, it was at Side streets out in Brandon. My band Scimitar was one of the bands on the bill(We lost to Oblivion). I guess after they went back to California John and Chuck fired everyone else because John needed to be close to the Bermuda Triangle or something. It was almost a year before I ran into John and Chuck again. It was at a party that Purgatory was playing. That's when John asked me "Would you like to go to Europe?" I said "sure" then John and I killed a bottle of vodka. Oh Yeah, after I said sure and sobered up that's when John & Chuck informed me that I had to learn all the songs without help from any guitarists (I was under the impression that Juan and Bernie were coming down). -What about Weslord and Murphy? Did you know them before you A. STEEL and if so can you tell us what they were doing before they joined that band? -I didn't know them before Agent Steel,but Jay Weslord was in a POSER band called Sweet 16,and James was giving lessons in Mulberry,Fl. if that helps you any. -How did you feel at the time as you were very young to join that relatively big underground band and the fact that that you were part of a brand new line up? -I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. But I can tell you it was a very intoxicating feeling to be a part of such a great band. I wasn't worried about the change of the line up I just knew that we were going to play the Hammersmith Odeon and jam our asses off. -Did you feel comfortable to play all that material considering that you hadn't been involved in the making of it? -Hell Yeah! I was comfortable with the material it's unreal. I just played the songs the way I felt,after all I'm not Mike Zaputil so I did add some of my own style. James Murphy and I wrote the music for the "Unexpected" which was played on the tour. -Were you a fan of A. STEEL before you joined them and looking back how do you compare U.Force to S. Apocalypse? Do you think Cyriis did the good choice in opting for a much more accessible sound with the second effort? -Actually I never heard of them before I met them. I just knew that they sounded heavy,melodic and were onto something big. As for the change in sound just look at the lineup on the albums I think that says alot. -So once the 2nd album was out by early 1987, you embarked a few months later during mid June 1987 for a European tour with NUCLEAR ASSAULT and ATOMKRAFT as guests, was it the first time you were playing live with A. STEEL or did the band have played some local shows before? Tell us more if that's the case. -Oh Yeah Brother!!We went cold turkey-straight from my garage to the Hammersmith for our first gig.(Now that'll wake you up in the morning!) -So on the third date of that tour, you played at the famous Hammersmith Odeon in London, U.K. with ONSLAUGHT as guests and the A. STEEL show was video taped and even broad-casted on radio, how did you feel playing that big show knowing that it would appear later on video? -No, the Hammersmith was our first show, we were doing press, practicing, and hanging out around London the entire week before. It was "The Longest Day Festival" and no one told me about the show being taped or broadcast until sometime afterward. Actually I'm glad no one did tell me. -What do you think of the result which came out a while later as the Mad Locust Rising video? Where you happy with it or do you think the band lacked some professionalism as a whole considering that 2/3 of the band didn't have much live experience and it was done early in the tour? -I am very happy with the video. Eagerness outweighs experience a lot of times on stage-as long as you hit your chops. -So by the end of the tour there was a war between A. STEEL- mostly with Cyriis- and N. ASSAULT/ ATOMKRAFT as I remember seeing an A. STEEL t-shirt being crucified in front of the tour bus with different musicians spitting on it, what happened exactly? Was it another case where Cyriis were losing his mind and thought he was the biggest star on the planet? -We were supposed to share the same tour bus, but John was a 'Rock Star' and had his Mom with him and didn't want anybody to know. So...Needless to say, Nuclear Assault and AtomKraft went over budget and got their own bus. I loved that war because John would take it so seriously,and they knew how to Piss him off. The feud was mainly John and Nuclear Assault. -Can you tell us a few killer stories from that tour? -Why Not? I remember one time we were parked and the guys from N.Assault took a centerfold picture from Metal Hammer and ripped his face out and John Connelly inserted his penis where John's face should be and he was banging on John's window just pissing him off, yelling "get off the bus you pussy",but John never did get off that bus. He just threatened to quit the tour as usual and stayed mad for quite a while. I still laugh about that one! I remember that John smashed all of our cameras-I guess it was because of his paranoid delusions. -Did you play any shows in the States after that tour? -No, that was it. After Europe, John started freaking out even more over the press from the tour. -So what happened exactly after that tour which ended late June 87 as nothing could be heard from the A. STEEL camp anymore until late 1987 when Cyriis was involved in some fight or abuse with some kid in the States and had been arrested in Phoenix,AZ? Tell us how it exactly how the whole A. STEEL story ended up and when. -Some say that genius borders on insanity-and John just crossed the line. I saw it coming that's why I split and I also encouraged the others to do the same. He was like Cyriis & Camps,if you know what I mean. He used to physically torture the roadie for fun. The Phoenix incident was after me and Murphy left the band. Everyone else left Florida (pissed I suppose) and were living in a hotel room in Arizona. According to the newspaper, John was duct taping fireworks and various other things to the roadies bare chest and exploding them, then he would pour alcohol on the burns making the kid scream and cause a disturbance-all the while John was video taping everything that he was doing to this kid. Then he turned the video over to the hotel manager to put in the safety box. But after the manager had heard the screaming, he decided to see what was on the video, freaked out and called the cops. -When that whole story ended up, had you started writing new songs for a 3rd record and if so how did they were sounding like comparing to the previous material? -Yes, Murphy and I pretty much had all the music ready to record for the third album- with such song titles as "The Unexpected"and"The man in the blue turban"etc....The music that we were working on was very technical and definitely heavier. -When Proffus and Cyriis decided to form their new outfit POINTIUS PROPHET with guitarist Michael Hill in 1988 in California again, did they ask you if you wanted to be involved with that? What about Murphy/Weslord? -Hell no they didn't ask me! They wanted to kick my ass!(I guess I pissed them off.) In fact, they showed up on Halloween night at the Sunset Club and actually started a fight with me right after Nocturnus had finished our set. It was just me, Vince, & Mike in the band. I gave Jay a black eye, Rob Throckmorton smashed a pumpkin over Michael Hill's head, Vince didn't know what was going on or who to fight(He felt left out),Cyriis hid in his car across the street, and Chuck was afraid of Vince. James Murphy definitely was not a part of it, in fact he tipped me off about the sneak attack. That's pretty much the last time I saw John, Jay, Chuck, and Michael. -What were your relations with Cyriis during the whole time you've worked with him considering his twisted way of thinking etc..? Did you feel like you were considering like an entire member of the band or more like a musician to help out his majesty, Mr Cyriis? -It was a great working situation. He had a great talent,he was an ass, but when it came to music he really respected my judgment and ability. There were no limits. -Did you stay in touch with the other guys after that? Did you renew contact (if you had broken it after that) with Cyriss when he was involved in 1989 with the Florida based act LEMEGETON after the fiasco of POINTIUS PROPHET/ MALFEITOR in L.A.? -I talk to James from time to time that's it. I fulfilled my contract to the management, but I was never on a record,so there were no contracts to be renewed with the label. -So next thing I know is that you were involved in the new band that Mike Browning (ex- MORBID ANGEL, ex- INCUBUS) (drums/ vocals) had formed with Gino Marino (also ex- INCUBUS, ex- TERROR) and Vincent Crowley (guitars) called NOCTURNUS, so did you join that act right after A. STEEL disbanded or if not what did you do in between? -Actually, Nocturnus was formed by Mike and myself. After I quit A. Steel, James and I went to a King Diamond show at the Manatee Civic Center where I happened to bump into my old friend Browning. We started talking about jamming,then the next day we went and got his kit. We wound up coming up with the name and writing BC/AD just Bass,Drums,and vocals. -So how did you hook up with the other NOCTURNUS guys exactly especially considering that those people were coming from a different angle in the Metal field- INCUBUS being a Death Metal band when A. STEEL were more like a Speed/ Thrash act? -After a few days jamming, we needed a guitarist. So Mike introduced me to Vince, who was in the band "Entity". Vince is great and totally die hard and evil enough. We wrote some great songs together so it stuck and we were a three piece Satanic orgy of music. -So you rehearsed quite a lot with NOCTURNUS and some of those session soon ended up in the underground tape trading network as there was a bunch of hungry Metallers out there for anything new in that type of music -which wasn't oversatured yet at the time- do you remember those rehearsals? Was it easy to work with Mike and Gino considering that they had been involved into that music for a good number of years already? -Those were some fun days for sure! We would summon demons, burn bibles, get ripped, kill cats, you know the usual satanic cult worship. Oh yeah, and sometimes we would jam. I went to school with Gino Marino so I definitely know where he's coming from. That's actually how he came to be a part of Nocturnus later on. We all agreed that Vinces' leads weren't the greatest, so we called our buddy Gino. -Did you feel much happier with that Metal style than with the material you played in A. STEEL? Was it closer to what you were looking for at the time even if I for one always found Mike's drumming very kind and the definite low point for NOCTURNUS? -Of course I was happy. I was writing and playing what I felt. It's never been a secret that Mike's drumming is weak,but Vince made up for it. -If I remember correctly, a four song demo tape was recorded late 87 featuring an early version of BC/AD which later was used on the first album The Key with the new line up- and other songs, (can you tell us which were the others) and were you satisfied with that first effort? -Nocturnus, Unholy Fury, BC/AD The demo sounded better than the tapes they got signed with. -What were some of the others songs which had been written by that early NOCTURNUS line up? And did you play live with that line up? -We played tons of shows locally as a three piece(Gino joined right before we recorded the very first demo). We even opened up for Wendi O. Williams at the Sunset Club. Some of the songs were:BC/AD,Unholy Fury,Nocturnus,Brain Death,The Entity,Standing in Blood,Burned at the Stake...Hell the list goes on forever. -So if I'm correct the band somewhat break up early 1988 (correct???yeah) because you quit, followed soon after by Vincent who formed ACHERON, what happened exactly? Did you leave them in good terms? -Actually Mike and Gino(A.K.A. Backstabber's) fired Vince without telling me,and that's when I told them to go fuck themselves. -How did you feel when you heard that NOCTURNUS was reformed by mid 1988 with a brand new line up (Browning being the only original member) and that they didn't mention the early NOCTURNUS line up in their biography, just like if they didn't want the world would know about that? -I thought it was cool,(but even cooler when Browning got fired). It was about time Mike and Gino got their shit together-after all the music was incredible. They said they would give me and Vince songwriting credits on the albums,but as everybody knows that just did not happen. So what if they stole a bunch of my tunes, I'm always writing new ones. -What did you think of the new NOCTURNUS which sounded definitively more original as far as I'm concerned? What about their latest album that they've released two years ago or something? -I think it's great that they can finally write their own music. And it sounds pretty damn good. -Then you were involved with NASTY SAVAGE, replacing the late Chris Moorhouse, so how did you get the opportunity to join this legendary band? Were you familiar with the other members before? Did they make it real easy for you to integrate their band? -The same night that Mike and Gino fired Vince, Ben called me from Poland and asked if I wanted to join Nasty Savage without having to audition(ironic,huh). So when Nasty Savage got back from Europe we jammed together, wrote the music for "Family Circus" on the first day, then played a show two weeks later at the Volley Club in Tampa. -Were you a big fan of their material? What was some of your favorite stuff from them? -Actually I stole their first LP from a buddy of mine,so yeah I was a fan. My favorite songs are Asmodeus, Hypnotic Trance, Incursion Dementia -After a few local shows performed during mid 1988, you went a long trip in the summer of 1988 as you were invited to play a couple of dates in Brazil which included some TV coverage, what do you remember of those South American dates? -It was crazy down there! Everything was cheap. The shows were packed! Hell you would have swore we were Rock Stars or something. One time we went to that big statue of Jesus to take some pictures and do some sightseeing and all of a sudden a bunch of fans came rushing up to us, screaming in Portuguese and wanting autograghs until they realized we were not Jethro Tull,who was playing the next night. We played in Rio,and Sao Paulo. We canceled the show in Bogota,Columbia-they couldn't guarantee that we would come back alive. Sepultura was at the Sao Paulo shows, they were big fans of Nasty Savage. We broke the language barrier by getting quite wasted and using gestures. That was before they were known outside of Brazil. -It seems you were very close to the ATHEIST members around that time as they did TV interview in your basement- which was where N.S. rehearsed in fact- what do you remember from those so talented guys and good old Roger particularly? -Yes we were great friends with Atheist. Roger and I used to get high and trade bass licks in my garage for hours on end, but shit happens(especially to bass players). -By early 1989, the sessions for "Penetration Point" started as you were signed on a new label, Rotten Records, what can you tell us about that recording, your first and last recording with N.S.? -It was an incredible recording experience I really learned a lot from the guys, hell even Fred Dregischan showed up. We had alot of fun and got it done. Nasty Ronnie was a real trip in the studio. Before he would sing his tracks He would turn out all the lights in the sound room, light candles around pictures of Elvis and Jim Morrison, and then get completely naked.(I'm just glad he turned out the lights) -Looking back are you satisfied with that album? I always considered that this is the kind of album which is great, no doubt, but I think some songs sounds like fillers or out of place like "Family Circus""Welcome Wagon" for example, those songs doesn't sound as off the wall as the other N.S. stuff. -Hell Yeah I'm satisfied. We were always trying new ideas-some ideas just work better than others. That's why you have to keep playing and recording. -Did you have a big hand in the songwriting process of that third effort or was it more like a band effort as a whole? -We all wrote, for instance I wrote the song "Irrational",and co-wrote "Family Circus" with Ben,"Horizertical" with Dave Austin. So in other words, we wrote killer together and without any ego trips. -If I'm correct, around mid 89 you did a California tour supporting D.R.I., how did that go considering that it was the first time N.S. was heading on the west coast and considering that the public interest towards traditional Heavy/ Power Metal was diminishing at a fast pace? -The tour pulled us away from the "Penetration Point" sessions, but other than that the shows were unreal(except for the Stone in San Fran.). Tom Araya and his brother even showed up in L.A. All the shows were sold out. I saw no diminishing of public interest toward traditional Heavy/Power Metal. -Was it at that time that problems arose between Curtis and the band following his father's decision to become the band manager? -Yes. -By the summer of 1989 Curtis was replaced by Robert Proctor, an unknown figure in the Metal scene, what can you tell us about the background of that guy? Were you totally satisfied with his playing which is my opinion was too mechanical and didn't have the hard edge Curtis had? -We knew him from the band "Assuck". I feel the same way,his drumming was as bland as his diet. He was a vegan strait-edger, and I never did care for him. -So 1989 ended up by plying more local shows in the entire Florida state-including some with the revamped NOCTURNUS- and 1990 started with a U.S. tour supporting D.R.I. again with SICK OF IT ALL as support also, the tour went on during two months covering most of the states, how did that go considering that it was a mixed bill, traditional Heavy Metal on one side and on the other side Crossover/ Hardcore stuff? -I've never had a problem with Nocturnus. You would be surprised how well that tour went especially with us in the middle slot. The crowds seemed to dig what was going on. -Any particular memories of that tour? -Tons.......On the Super bowl Sunday we were in Ohio and it was cold as hell outside so Spike sprang for some great hotel rooms with a heated pool and everything because San Francisco was playing we got drunk aggravated the guests. David Austin was so plastered that he went in the pool during old lady aerobics cussing and flipping them off until the manager had us lock him up in the room for the night. I also remember that Nasty Savage, D.R.I., & Sick of it All would make bets on which of the bands would have the most and more serious injuries during their set, after all backstage looked like a triage center every night. We should have won the serious injury bet because in Philly at the Trocadaro some guy dove from the second story balcony and missed the crowd. He broke his neck. I don't know if he died, but it looked like a strong possibility. -Then after the aborted European tour in support of D.R.I. from mid 1990 which was canceled due to the L.A. earthquake, the band disintegrated not long after that as you weren't satisfied with Robert anymore and you brought back an early N.S. drummer Craig Huffman but suddenly Dave Austin quit so it was the end, what do you remember from those not so happy times? -It was great until Dave decided to sober up, and thought that playing led to drinking. So, therefore, he quit, moved to Tennessee and that was that. Craig, Ben, and I kept jamming and formed "Gardy-Loo!". Face it, without Dave another N.S. album would've been pointless. -Following that touring in the States and considering that N.S. had a loyal following also in Europe, do you think the band was close to become bigger at that point? -We were definitely close, but some of the members couldn't see eye to eye when it came to any issue other than music. -Then you started with Ben and Craig GARDY-LOO! who released like five records but the music was really different than usual Heavy/ Speed/ Thrash stuff, anything to say about that? -Yeah. That all started the day that Dave told us of his departure from music. We were sick of the soap operas going on in the music business so we decided to have some fun and do something with a lot of feeling. A lot of the music was laying around from the Nasty days, but since all the other bands were being super serious we decided to play it like it is. And life is humorous. Check it out at our website www.gardyloo.50megs.com -You were involved also in the N.S. reunion shows which took place in Tampa, Florida on September 5th 1992, on June 25th 1994 (with also a date two days later in Brandon, Florida) and on May 20th 1995 which featured different members each time but never the entire classic N.S. line up, anything to say about those classic reunion gigs? -During those shows we had Jim Coker(of BRUTALITY,now in CONTORTED) on drums and we were playing shuffle the guitarist because Dave was on and off the wagon. But we did manage to get the original lineup including Curtis to play one show here in Tampa at G.K.'s. -What about the most recent reunion gig which took place first in Tampa on September 12nd 1998 and seven days later in Germany t the Bang Your Head festival which featured almost all the original line up minus Curtis replaced by Jim Coker (BRUTALITY) but included Fred, were you part of the Florida gig as I think Fred only played the German gig? Tell us more about that. -Yeah, that sounds about right. I was jamming in "After Death" at the time with Browning,and Gino. -So what have you done during the last 6 or 7 years besides GARDY-LOO! and recently LOWBROW exactly? If I'm correct I think GARDY-LOO! are still around and you play from time to time? - "After Death",but Browning fired me after I wrote all the songs (sounds familiar,huh).Also I was in a band called "Swollen" with Richard Brunell, ex-Morbid Angel. It was a great band and Richard's playing is phenomenal but we just didn't gel. And of course Gardy-Loo! will never go away because Ben and I just love to jam, hell we even play old Nasty Savage tunes in the Loo's set. Gardy-Loo! plays constantly. It's also great being in Lowbrow with Allen West, Curtis Beeson,and Ben Meyer because we know each others playing from over the years and it just comes naturally-kind of like old times. I love that heavy sound! -You're close to Ben, so do you think there's chances to see NASTY SAVAGE performing more reunion gigs in the future and maybe record an album? -I seriously doubt it. Dave's in Tennessee and Ronnie has Inferno,and Born to Ride going on so it's kind of hard to get everyone together. The closest you'll probably get to a Nasty Savage gig is a Gardy-Loo! show or perhaps a Lowbrow show. -As a Metal fan, what do you think of the actual Metal scene? Do you enjoy the 90s Metal bands as much as the stuff you grew up with? -Honestly, there's a lot of great new bands, but I still love the old stuff. -Since Chuck Schuldiner was from Florida and he was along with SAVATAGE, and CRIMSON GLORY the leader of the most well known Metal band out of Florida, how did you feel when you heard he had died and recently with Paul Baloff who died following a massive stroke? -Everyone has to die sometime, but at least they got the chance to leave a legacy behind. Hell speaking of Savatage Chris Oliva is dead too. It's all METAL. -I was surprised to see you attending an autograph session did in September 1994 in Tampa prior to the release of Divine as it's rare to see musicians along with fans. -Yeah, It's not easy being a Rock Star, but someone has to do it(Ha,Ha) I love hanging out with fans! They're people too! -Are you still in touch with most of the musicians you've played with since 1987 or so? -A few are assholes,but over all, yeah we all keep in touch. -Well please end up this interview which I hope covered well your Metal career the way you want. -I always keep coming up with something new so watch out. Thanks all you DIE HARD MOTHER FUCKERS!!!!!! Hey man after reading your answers I came to the conclusion that there was some obscure points that had to be lightened so here's a couple more questions for you: - I remember that SCIMITAR was played on the second day of that two days fest which happened on the Tampa Beach on May 25 and 26th 1986 with M.ANGEL headlining both days, was it your most important show you've ever played and what do you remember from that special show which showcased the up and coming new Florida bands such as you, OBLIVION, EXECUTIONER etc...? -I remember that everyone got along great. At the time I didn't realize it was such a important show,but looking back I guess it was. It was a beautiful day until Morbid Angel hit the stage and the sky turned black until the end of their set(it set a pretty evil tone). The most memorable thing was all the blood on the stage from where the singer for HAVOC blew his hand off with some pyros. -Let's talk a bit more about PURGATORY, how long did you stay in that band? What can you tell us about that first demo which was recorded at Morrisound? -I was in the band for about a year I guess. The first demo was a real wake up call for everyone in the band. We all learned a lot about what sounds good and what doesn't. -Now that you've seen what PURGATORY became as ICED EARTH are on the verge to break it quite big in the USA, don't you regret to not have stayed in that band? -No not at all! After all, everything happens for a reason. -Do you still enjoy the actual ICED EARTH material which has not much in common with what they were doing on their second demo "Enter The Realm" for example? - I really like the way they sound now. Jon held on to his vision and has his shit together. That's what counts. -About A.S, would you say "The Unexpected" was a good representation of what the third album would have sounded like? -Yeah! Definitely with more technical riffing in the other songs as well. -Did you play bass on that last reunion show N. SAVAGE did in September '98 in Tampa before they went to Europe for the BYH festival? -No, but Fred Dregischan played and it was great to see the original slapping out some riffs with the guys again. -How did AFTER DEATH sound like? Was it closer to let's say NOCTURNUS or ACHERON which was the band Browning joined after he was fired from NOCTURNUS or was it totally different from both? Who was in that line up besides you guys? -When I was in the band it was closer to the old Nocturnus, but different in it's own way. The lineup at first was Me, Mike Browning, Gino Marino, and Mike Walkowski. -Do you have an idea what Mike and Gino are doing these days? -Gino's just chillin' jamming with some friends nothing serious though. And Mike is still doing After Death(which sounds completely different now). -Was SWOLLEN the band Richard did after EON'S DEAD broke up? Was it far removed from his earlier M. ANGEL material? Who was in that line up besides you and Rich? -Yes it was after Eon's Dead, and it was far removed from the Morbid Angel material. It was very melodic with a creepiness that sticks with you. The lineup at the time was Richard, Me, Bill(Vocals), Jay(Guitar), and Ox(Drums) -Did you record something with either SWOLLEN and AFTER DEATH? -I never recorded anything with Swollen, but I did do a recording with After Death(which was the worst recording that I've ever been a part of). Luckily it was never released. -Give us your top ten as far as albums and shows are concerned. - Piece of Mind Tour(Iron Maiden), Born Again(Black Sabbath), Farewell to Kings(Rush), Painkiller(J.Priest), Sirens(Savatage), Hell Awaits(Slayer), The Oath(Merciful Fate), Revolver(The Beatles), Elvis 68', Queensryche's first ep. Okay Rich, I think this time it'll cover everything.... Spread the Mayhem!!!! Metal! Laurent Since this interview Nasty Savage has gotten back together in November of 2002 and released "Wage of Mayhem", and are currently in the studio. The full length CD should be out by the end of 2003. Nasty Savage Lineup Is: Curtis Beeson, David Austin, Ben Meyer, Richard Bateman, And Nasty Ronnie. Check out the Mayhem at nastysavage.com