EDGE II EDGE is a progressive, heavy metal band that brings together musicians from a variety of popular local Chicago tribute and original bands to deliver edgy, relevant songs focusing on political corruption, self-discovery and our destructive world. After their fourteen song CD, "We the People" was complete, the band suffered the tragic loss of their keyboard player. Metal Temple writer Fred Bonanno was able to sit down with lead singer Warren Halvarson and lead guitarist Rodney Steele to give us the low down on the creation of their debut CD, self-released on November 11, 2022. (See my review of "We the People" on our website).

Thank you for taking time to answer a few questions for Metal Temple and let our readers worldwide get to know EDGE II EDGE. First of all, how are you all doing? How's this chaotic world we live in treating you? How was life during the pandemic?

Warren: We are hanging in there, none of us really let the pandemic change our lives too much. We understood that there really wasn't much we could do to avoid getting it so we stuck to our normal routines. Of course, losing Brian to Covid was a terrible loss that we are still trying to process. That really put a dent in our very existences.

Rodney: It's been a bit rough, like riding the rapids, but I have managed to keep from capsizing. Different, strange, and weird. We had scheduled my first rehearsal just days before Illinois banned residents from driving outside of the town, they lived in. So, the first rehearsal got moved forward about a month.

I'm so sorry to hear that your friend and keyboard player Brian Buxbaum passed away last year, which had to be so very difficult, for so many reasons, how are you able to deal with that and how did you all get past it?

Warren: I don't know if you can ever recover from a blow like that. It's surreal to me since Brian & I initially had some conflict and tension between us but we eventually became great friends! I really developed a bond with him, and he was my primary writing partner in the band. He is SORELY missed, and I think about him every day!

You've recently released your debut CD "We the People" of fourteen original songs. The songs are all current and relevant to today's world, what is the thought process behind the creation of these songs?

Warren: Typically, the guys will come up with some musical ideas and I will write the melodies and lyrics for the songs. As far as the music is concerned, Rick, Brian, Rodney and Mike all had ideas they were working on for a while. When we finally got together for rehearsal, the music came together in a relatively short amount of time. I derive my lyrical ideas from current events, history and personal observations of the world around me. Rodney brought some of his lyrics & music into the band when he came aboard and those were pretty completed ideas.

Rodney: We wanted to do a couple of songs that reflected the strange times we were living through in America.

There sure is a lot of tension in the world today, your song "We The People" seems to address that fact, definitely looks like you were sending a message with that song.

Warren: We are just drawing attention to some of the egregious things that are happening against the citizenry of this country and the world. We don't like to preach politics to others, but we felt it was important to present our view of what was actually happening out there in this country. In general, we're concerned with forced mandates, limitations on freedom of peaceful assembly and the ability to redress grievances from our government. You know, the things that makes America unique amongst the rest of the world. Our politicians need to remember they work for US.

Any specific song have a "special" or personal meaning to any band members?

Warren: "After the fall" is special to me since it shows the effect of the pandemic on this country & the degradation of America as the land of the free and home of the brave. This song was actually one of Brian's songs. When I heard the melody of the song, I told him we could do something special with this song and I think we accomplished our goal.

"Hammers of the Gods" was a rehash of an incomplete song idea that Michael Posch (Radakka & Crystal Axe) & I came up with when I was in Crystal Axe. The original title was No Hope for Tomorrow, and it highlighted the plight of a conscripted Galley Slave in the heyday of the Hellenic/Roman era. The music is now totally different, but I essentially rewrote the story to that new music.

"Wicked World" is one of my personal favorites as it voices an internal view of ones place in the greater plane of existence. People often make the world a shitty place to live in but it's all about understanding that and dealing with it. I like to reinvent myself occasionally and conquer adversity, it's an homage to that perseverance and mental survival mindset.

The song "Angel Of Death". Brian came down to rehearsal with a song he had been working on. After listening to it we all agreed to work on it. After a few hours of picking, it apart and writing new parts to add to it, the song was no longer what he showed us. In fact, none of what he brought down was in the song. We always had a good laugh when we were working on it because whenever we wanted to work on the song or listen to it we aways said "play Brian's song "and he would just start bitching and saying, "that's not my song". Ironically the song was named Angel of Death before he passed away. Kind of creepy.

Rodney: "Edge of tomorrow" is special for me. I think the lyrics and music reflect the emotional journey of self-discovery and motivation to improve.

The members of your band all have a pretty impressive resume from local Chicago bands, can you give me a quick bio on the band members.

Warren: I've played with some incredible bands including the Black Sabbath, Dio and Rainbow tribute band, Heaven and Hell, with Michael Posch who has played with Pamela Moore, I also was a member of Damien Thorne, Rock Nation and Crystal Axe. Brian played with Crazy Diamond, Lights Out Chicago and Damien Thorne as well, the brothers Rick and Mike have been with Warning, Temper, Force It and The Mob Rules, as you can see, we all have quite a history with some pretty popular and successful bands. We're all proud of our work and the music we've help create..

Rodney: I started playing guitar around 11 playing acoustic folk music. I discovered jazz and became a quick learner and played many years as a solo jazz guitarists in dinner clubs. Then I discovered Rock/Metal. I was immediately hooked.

What brought you all together?

Warren: Well, most of the band members are/were members of Damien Thorne.At a time when maybe we lost interest or wanted to go in another direction musically or there may have been other reasons why, Brian, Rick, Mike and myself also need a change but wanted to a more progressive/melodic type of music. After about a year of searching for a guitarist, Brian found Rodney. What a perfect fit to what we were trying to achieve. Rodney is the "new" guy and brought a lot of cool elements into the band. I really enjoy bantering with Dr. Steele. (He has a PHD)

Rodney: I was doing a lot of studio and live session work and had not officially been in a band for many years. I missed the band experience and decided to create a profile in Band mix as a lead guitarist looking for a band. I soon got a call from Brian asking me to audition and I got the gig.

What band(s) or artists have influenced you the most?

Warren: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Dio, Blizzard of OZZ, Judas Priest, Dokken to name a few!

Rodney: Rush, Black Sabbath, Dio, John McLaughlin, Dream Theater, Animals as Leaders.

Any tours scheduled for Edge II Edge?

Warren: Nothing at this time, we are considering looking for a new keyboard player and seeing if can put some type of tour together.

Sorry, this question may sound like a job interview, but where do you see EDGE II EDGE in five years?

Warren: At this point our future is unclear. I just moved to southern Indiana, Mike is dealing with some medical issues and trying to find a keyboardist in Chicago who has the time, the dedication and can play like Brianis more difficult than you might think. We hope that in the near future that we can produce some new music and keep performing as long as we are able to do it proficiently.

Where can your CD "We The People" be purchased? Is the band on social media?

Warren: You can purchase a physical CD from Amazon Music and download individual tracks on all of the major online music services like, iTunes/Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, etc, and we can be checked out on our Facebook page, Edge2Edge.

Thank you very much for your time to answer my questions for Metal Temple, I wish you the absolute best moving forward and hope to see your band performing "live" in the very near future.

Warren: Thank you Fred, it was our pleasure and happy holidays,

Rodney: Rock on brother and a big thank you to Metal Temple as well!