Greetings Cale, I am glad to have you for this interview for Metal Temple online Magazine, what have you been up to lately?
Glad to be part of it! Lately me and the boys have been working on new tunes for album number 2!
Since your band Riot City, hailing from Calgary, Canada, came to a full swing recognition when press releases regarding your debut, "Burn The Night", you were a bit of an unknown, at least to the European scene. You have been with the band since the beginning, can you shed some light a bit on the band's key historical moments that led you forward?
Well there's definitely been a few! The first thing I would say is getting the first lineup together, the lineup that really started getting things going, because that took years to happen! Other memorable moments would be getting added to Ragnarok fest in Chicago a few years ago, also being included in Frost and Fire, those were pretty key moments in the band finally getting noticed!
I was introduced to Riot City two years ago with Divebomb Records' "Masters Of Metal: Vol.1" compilation, and of course to your approach to old school Heavy Metal, which is as the press says, Judas Priest driven, a sort of Ripper meets Halford in the vocals' end, yet much eager intensity and the spirit of youth. How do you perceive your music?
Well it's definitely priest driven, but I personally don't hear priest as much as most people, the album cover I think really pushes people in that way, and we are ok with that! I'd say I just perceive the music as heavy metal, we take influences all across the genre
Your debut album, "Burn The Night", was recently released via the Greek No Remorse Records. How did the connection between the label and you guys came to be? Was it just under the circumstance of a good offer or beyond that?
I think we had some good friends in Europe kinda push it together, No Remorse has been great and we are happy to be apart of the team!
How was the album received by the Metal public, both in North America and Europe?
The album has been doing better than we ever thought it would! Europe definitely seems the most excited about it, but North America has been great as well!
"Burn The Night" is generally an all-out war attack run, it leaves no room for mischiefs or tricks, plainly honest and to the point, as old school Heavy Metal should. However, unlike the 80s, there are a lot more different waves of Metal music, which some already set the tone. Do you think that your kind of Metal wave would end up being great again someday as it was in the past?
Absolutely, I think it always has been great, and everything comes full circle!
What can you share regarding the album's songwriting process? Was it massive band brainstorming or perhaps a single person writing and sharing ideas?
A bit of both for sure. Generally when we write songs someone will bring in an idea and then the whole band will work it out, very rarely does someone come in with a full song
Though I am sure it is a tough question to ask, yet, it is a must. Which of the album's songs do you find as major impacts, the reason why you play Heavy Metal, and particular the vintage kind? Please elaborate on your pick
I would say "In The Dark". It is very much a classic piece of heavy metal, starts slow and pretty, then builds up to a fast, aggressive verse, into an anthem like chorus and repeat!
Who produced that rich sound coming out of "Burn The Night"? It justly honors the 80s no doubt. Do you believe that you found your sound pattern with this record?
Our buddy Jan did the mix and master for burn! So we sat with him throughout the process to really achieve that sound, we don't think you need some super polished album to make it great, and Burn I think shows that
Looking forward, with hopes that you guys would remain consistent in your music, as the turnout so far has been explosive, how do you see Riot City becoming stronger in nowadays Metal scene?
Good question! We have made some changes in the lineup as I type this, I decided to step down from my role on vocals and focus on my guitar playing, as I am originally a guitar player, forced singer haha
We have added a friend Named Jordan Jacobs to take over the vocal responsibilities, which really opens us up moving forward, as having a singer who plays an instrument truly limits you in what you can do. Jordan's voice is super similar to mine as well so I think that will make the transition much smoother
A little while ago, you were announced for the first time in the respected Keep It True Festival. How does it feel to be recognized by one of the most influential old school Metal dedicated festivals in the world? How did that such important booking happened?
It's been absolutely amazing! Definitely a dream. It just shows our hard work paying off, since this is the kind of thing we really strived for. As far as the booking went, I was talking to Chris from No Remorse about something and he told me he had good news and the rest is history!
Promotion, especially in today's demanding Metal market, which is also very vast, is a basic need for a band to get its head out of the water and into public knowledge. What is your opinion regarding the methods used to promote a band or a release? Which of the platforms made it happen for you as far as the promotion of "Burn The Night" goes?
YouTube has definitely been the biggest promo tool for us, once the full album was released it started skyrocketing on that platform, which led to physical and digital sales from the album.
Which Metal artists are booming your stereo nowadays? Any band that would be soon one of the new Metal gods? Do you believe that there will be new Metal gods as the relics of the past are slowly fading?
I think so! But I don't think anyone is there yet, the original gods are still with us, and until they leave, I think they will remain
Other than banging people's heads at Keep It True Festival next year, do you have additional plans to tour Europe?
Right now we are in the stage of setting up extra European gigs around Up The Hammers, but nothing is set in stone yet!
Cale, I wish to thank you for the interview, "Burn The Night" really made my day after listening to it, simply a work of art, truly revamping the 80s with force and might. All the best ace, cheers.
Thanks for having me man!
