Interview with Patrick Kennison Of Heaven Below.

When i first heard of the band Heaven Below, i wasn't expecting much to be honest. I said to myself: "Another drop-D kinda band who probably can't even play a decent guitar solo." Well, i was wrong and right at the same time: They sure use the drop-D, but these guys can play!!

I was pretty sure that the song "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar was a classic that couldn't and shouldn't be covered. Turns out that these guys have made an awesome version of this classic. I was on to good start! Then i've heard two more songs from the album and i was hooked. They have this modern sound but in the mean time you can hear the things of the past that made Metal so great: Good singer, vocal harmonies and kick-ass guitar solos.

Like i've said to Patrick Kennison, i believe this band is a bridge between the

old school hard rock and the new stuff. The young generation will like this band for sure and the old guard like myself will find enough substance in their sound to get on the band wagon.

Besides the music, i have found in Patrick Kennison a guy who is truly dedicated to his band, to his art and who is not a poseur and a wanker. In this day and age, its getting harder to find people like him. If you're looking for something fresh, something that has all the right components, i think that the new album by Heaven Below is for you!!

But don't take my word for it. Go to your music store or on i-tune and give them a try!

Take care guys!

Carl.

What a week....

What a week its been!! As you may know, purerock's website was down due to some technical glitchs from the server. Needless to say that Rich the owner has been working day and night (literally) to put things back on. Now the site is back at almost 100% of its capacity.

I'm not sure yet but i assume that this week episode of the show will be broadcast next week and so on so the season finale of Metal7080 might be around the last week of june.

Meanwhile, i'm still working on different things here and there. As a matter of fact, i have a cool interview for you guys that will be aired in a week or two. I had the pleasure to conduct an interview with Patrick Kennison, singer, guitar from the band "Heaven Below". Maybe you've heard his name before? He was in a band called "Union Underground" Anyway, that was pretty cool. As much as i hate the "Nu-Metal" and "Nu-rock" and all this crap, this band is really something. Powerful vocal, great riffs, guitar solos (YEAH!!) i mean they've got a pretty cool vibe and i think that you guys will agree with me. They have a new self title E.P right now that its worth checking out. You can get their music on i-tunes and amazon too.

Alright, so its back to working on the show. As usual your comments, questions are more than welcome. Send them t0: info@metal7080.com and don't forget to check out the show's official website at: http://www.metal7080.com/

Have a great week everybody!!

Metal on...

Carl/Metal7080

Just like having shoes....I guess.

You know how it goes: your girlfriend has over 20 pairs of shoes and still she feels like she has nothing to go along with that little blue dress that she just bought.

Well, sometimes i kinda feel like this when i'm choosing the music for the show. Right now i have 400 bands and a little over a thousand albums here in my system. Since the show is called "Metal7080" i obviously have to focus on the classic stuff so when it comes to put some new music, who will make the show? Who will not? I have to face that dilemma pretty much every week as i receive tons of cds. One of the clues is the special requests. When you request a song, not only you're asking me to play a song, but you are voting for a band as well. It tells me what you guys like and sometimes what you don't like.

Another clue is what i call the make it or break it song. You've heard me in the past playing a song from a new band and asked you to comment on the song. Believe me, if i get a hundred e-mails saying: "Man that sucked big time" or "Gee weez papa cheese this singer's voice is horrible" that would be the end of the road for that band on the show. Same thing goes the other way. If people are excited about a new band, then they will get into the playlist.

So you see, when it comes to decide what new stuff i should be playing, your opinion not only matters but help making the show. Its like choosing a pair of shoes with a good assistant...

Keep sending those requests and comments ;)

Carl / Metal7080

The Devil i knew...

I tought that the latest album by Heaven & Hell (The Devil you know) would be a good title for what i'm about to write. Since the passing of Ronnie James Dio, all the Heavy Metal family came together to pay respect to this amazing man that was Ronnie James Dio.

According to the Westboro church (wich is mainly composed of one family) Ronnie James Dio was a devil worshipper and a hater. Funny since this comes of a group of people who are specialized in hating others. That being said, if you ever met Ronnie, you know that he was nothing but a great man. We all know how much he cared about his fans. Like i've said on the show, he was not a religious man but he sure was a spiritual man. Instead of living his life based on a book, he lived his life based on simple principles: Be the best person you can be!

He has worked with many charities, gave his time and money and wasn't living the rock star ego trip!

I still remember back in 2002 when i met him, i was expecting to meet a man larger than life, some kind of god wich i was fully prepared to kneel in front of hahaha. No, Ronnie was just sitting there talking with people and having fun. Doug Aldrich was just beside him and so was Simon Wright. Jimmy Bain was M.I.A.....

I've spent a full hour with them talking about all sorts of things and Ronnie was listening. you could tell that he really cared and was enjoying our little chat. He explained The Devil Horns (wich i call now the Dio horns, see metal7080.com for more) Talked about Sabbath, Rainbow, Elf and everything in between. I remember somebody handed him an Elf record and Ronnie went on to explain where the picture was taken etc (The album was: trying to burn the sun..)
I could go for hours telling you how great he was (but you knew that already doesn't it ;) )
so for me to see these professional haters (the Westoboro Church) claiming all sorts of crazy things about a man they've never met in their pathetic life makes me want to puke!

Anyway, we know whats true and we know what is not.

Let's remember Ronnie and lets forget those who are not worth of our attention ;)

Carl / Metal7080

Welcome to Metal7080 official blog

Well, here i am doing my blog. I got to say, every week once the show is over, sometimes i feel like i didn't have enough time to talk to you about this and that so i guess i'll be doing it here.


First, i want to thank you guys for your continued support and all your cool e-mails you are sending me week after week.

Back in 2005, i was wondering if someday i would find a radio station that plays the music that I like? Well, after searching various FM stations, i came to realize that these people were so out of touch that even if the were asked by thousands of people to play some Iron Maiden, it just would not happen!

So, i decided that maybe i should do the show i've allways wanted to hear. Not a show with fart jokes and stuff. There's a lot of people doing it and they're good at it so i've decided that music should do most of the talking instead. I wanted to play the classics of course but also bands i got to know back in the 80s that didn't made it over here (North America) Boom, Metal7080 was born!

In august, i'll be on my fifth season of the show and i'm still having a great time doing it. Plus the response from the audience is really what makes me want to continue. Its allways cool to know that people love what you do.

So first there was the show. Then the myspace page (that i don't work much on anymore because of the official site) Metal7080.com came later on and now this blog where i'll share all the things i don't have the time for on the show: Critics, editorials, etc.

As usual, your comments are welcome ;) Send them in at: info@metal7080.com

Keep rocking people!

Carl / Metal7080