David T Chastain interview for Breakout Magazine

Interview for Break Out Magazine

Some months back I had asked Manilla Road bass player Phil Ross to check out all the old cassettes in Mark Shelton«s basement to find possible material for several reissues. I remember when he told me that he found something that has Mark«s vocals but obviously someone else is playing guitar. Mark remembered in a second what Phil found on that tape...and now the rest is history. What we have is demo records of project you and Mark had. I guess that happened after "Out Of The Abyss" was released on your label Leviathan Records back in 1988?

David T Chastain: I am not sure what came first. At the time there were numerous things going on... but I assume it was after they recorded "Out of the Abyss." I was always impressed with Mark's lyrics and melodies. I sent Mark the music to the song "The Edge of Sanity" and told him the parts of the songs to put the vocals and then he wrote those incredible lyrics and recorded his vocals in Kansas. After hearing it I loved it and sent him the music to the other songs. I am sure it took awhile as we both were very busy in those days. He really had no say in the music and I had no say in the vocals. We both respected the other's abilities and knew no guidance was necessary. It was a great way to write and record!

Was this the first and only demo with songs for that project or were there any unrecorded songs around?

David T Chastain: We only recorded the songs that are on the released demo for "The Edge of Sanity." There is a 16 minute version of "Orpheus Descending" but it doesn't have any different parts. Just a different arrangement. Not sure why we stopped the project when we did other than we were busy. It took a lot to record "Orpheus Descending." I could have easily edited that into 3 or 4 songs. OD part 1, OD part 2, etc.. but I decided to make it one long song. There is a completely different recording Mark and I played on together where he is the guitarist and I am the bassist. Around 2000ish one of my labels had an instrumental guitar series called "Guitar Masters" where each guitarist played their own original parts over the same drums and bass. None of the guitarists heard the other guitarists versions until everyone was finished. That series had quite a few known guitarists including Mark, Gus G, myself, Joe Stump and more. I was the "bassist" on all versions so we do have that recording together. Mark and I were discussing reissuing that also but we never really moved on it as we were preparing "The Edge of Sanity" for release. We never envisioned he had so little time left. Not sure it will be reissued or not. We will see....

If this would have lead to a proper album, what would have been the plans you had for this project? Was there already talk about a drummer and a bass player?

David T Chastain: We briefly discussed adding a real drummer and bassist at the time. I think he wanted his drummer, Randy Foxe and I was going to use my bassist, David Harbour. But we never went into the studio to make a professional recording so adding other members wasn't necessary. We were both very busy with Manilla Road and Chastain. I never considered it a band but just a project. However I am sure if we had recorded a real album and the demand was there we would have loved to have toured behind it.

Some parts of the songs are a little heavier than what I know from Chastain or CJSS. Was there a kind of "personal limit" regarding the heaviness for you?

David T Chastain: Guess it has more "Thrash" influences than a typical Chastain song. I don't really hear the big difference in the music, just the vocals. The melodies and lyrics are coming from Mark's mind so that is the huge difference. There were no limits on this project. We were doing it more for fun with no expectations other than our own personal listening pleasure. We certainly weren't worried about being commercial. For all we knew we were going to be the only people to ever hear it. I recorded the track "The Edge of Sanity" on one of my Zanister albums. Also a few years back on Facebook, each day for a month I posted an unreleased track from my vault and I posted "Orpheus Descending." I have always thought the song "The Edge of Sanity" was one of the best songs I was ever associated. Definitely top 10!

On the CD that was just released, did you change anything like playing overdubs or something like that? Was it hard to (re)master the material?

David T Chastain: Mark and I actually discussed earlier in the year putting real drums over the music. Stian Kristoffersen was committed to recording the drums and actually had begun working on one song. Unfortunately we would have had to start from scratch as originally this was recorded on 4 track cassette decks. There were no "clean" versions where the drums were solo and could be replaced. Many things were premixed in the process. So what you hear is what was recorded back in 88 or so. Nothing new was added. I would have loved to have replaced some of the lead guitars because at the time of recording I was really just jamming over the parts so Mark would know not to sing in that part! Of course I remastered the hell out of it to try to bring it up to today's audio levels. It is a little "dirty" sounding but it is what it is. We put the word "demo" in the title so that no one would expect studio quality. When we went to name the band Mark wanted to call it Chastain Shelton but I told him I already had numerous bands with Chastain as the first word. So we went with Shelton Chastain. However if your google "Shelton Chastain" you will find a wrestler with that name! The other day I was reading some of Mark's final messages to me about the release and his sending me his quotes, credits, etc. I am so glad I got those. I got those just a day or so before his final show. He was excited about this release as was I. We actually discussed earlier in the year just posting the music somewhere for people to hear. However word leaked out about it and a couple of labels wanted to release it. I am glad it is available in all formats... even cassette! First cassette release since 95. The response has been very, very favorable. Fans can get it on Cd and Vinyl which is amazing considering we were just recording it for fun so long ago. 30 years later it is out! I am sorry that Mark isn't here to enjoy the accolades he is receiving for this release.

You are active with your band Chastain. Are there any other bands/projects you have right now?

David T Chastain: In 2018 I decided to start to "clean out my musical closet" so to speak. I reissued Shelton Chastain and some other Demos and lost recordings. Also some remasters. In 2019 there are more planned. I have an album of CJSS playing Chastain songs. Back in those formative years CJSS would demo all the songs and then Mike Varney and I would decide which tracks would be Chastain songs. We also have unreleased demos of CHASTAIN of songs never before released. Leather is OK with it being released. There is a demo of "Sick Society" with Kate French that is superior to the released version in my opinion. I have demos with other vocalists similar to "The Edge of Sanity" idea I might release. As far as new material I have numerous albums recorded that just need vocals to be recorded by someone. There are going to be some Vinyl reissues also in 2019. So a pretty busy 19 is planned.

Will there be a chance to see Chastain live in Germany or at least Europe one day?

David T Chastain: I am not into touring at this point in time. Leather tours around playing a lot of CHASTAIN songs so fans can hear the music live in that venue. I only play about 1 special event a year and those are more reunion shows for the fans of our musical home of Cincinnati, Ohio. I do receive offers for tours and special shows in Europe but there hasn't been one yet that would be worth the time and expense involved to do it. But never say never!

Thank you!

David T Chastain: My pleasure. Thanks for the audio questions. Visit www.leviathanrecords.com for further info. Also www.sheltonchastain.com for info on just SHELTON CHASTAIN.

The Edge of Sanity: 88 Demo Session

Metal Icons Mark Shelton (Manilla Road) and David T. Chastain (Chastain) joined forces back in the late 80s to record a collection of songs that they planned to release at some point. Little did they ever envision that it would be 30 years later!! While the audio quality may not be up to today's major label studio standards the musical quality of this demo is top notch. Mixing David's music and Mark's voice resulted in what can only be described as "Classic Metal for the Ages." Even at this late date they are proud to offer the recordings to Metal fans worldwide.

David states: "I have always been very impressed with Mark's intelligent lyrics, melodies and his unique and dynamic voice. Mark and myself really weren't worried about any sort of commercial success when we recorded this music and we were just having fun. I am not sure why we never went into a professional studio and recorded these songs other than maybe we didn't want the distraction from our main bands. We more or less just forgot about the music over time as we both write and record mountains of material. There are a few mistakes here and there that I would like to fix but we no longer have the multi-track tapes to do so. So it is what it is, warts and all!"

Mark adds: "David had contacted me after my band, Manilla Road, had released the 'Out of the Abyss' album with his label, Leviathan Records. He had these songs written musically but no vocal parts. He set me on the task of putting lyrics and melodies to the songs. I remember feeling very flattered and honored that he had thought of me for this endeavor."

"'Edge of Sanity' is a song that is about a curse on a Pharaohs tomb. 'Fields of Sorrow' is about the effects of nuclear holocaust. 'Orpheus Descending' is the huge epic of these songs that was quite the challenge to write. Primarily because of the topic I chose. It is a musical retelling of the Greek tale of Orpheus going to Hades and trying to bring back his love from death with his magikal music."

"I personally have always thought that, even though these songs were demo recordings, all of them were maybe the heaviest stuff David had ever written. And I still think that his guitar work on these songs is some of the best he ever did. So I'm very pleased to see this music finally find the light of day and find its way to the ears of the public. I have always had high regard for David and his musical capabilities and it was and still is an honor to call this great musician friend. I hope you all enjoy this material as much as I do. Hammer Up and Nails Down."



Neither David or Mark remember the exact completion date of the recordings. It may have been recorded over a couple years as this was a side project. Manilla Road and Chastain were their main focus. However it is agreed the project started in 1988.

David says: "I have always loved these songs and my band Zanister actually covered the track "The Edge of Sanity" back on our first album. All of these tracks are cool to me. There are 2 versions of 'Orpheus Descending'. One is around 12 minutes and we have a long version that is over 20! Definitely the longest songs I have ever released. It was cool to record such epically long tracks and try to make them cohesive. Especially with 2 different versions! The lyrics tell the same story it is just the music that is expanded on the Extended Version."

After all is said and done it seems SHELTON CHASTAIN was a collaboration blessed by the Metal Gods!

Credits
Track listing:
1. The Edge of Sanity
2. Orpheus Descending
3. Fields of Sorrow
4. Orpheus Descending (Extended)

All selections written by Mark Shelton & David T. Chastain
Leviathan Music (BMI)


Mark Shelton- All Vocals, Lyrics and Melodies
David T. Chastain- All Guitars, Bass, Drum Programming & Kurzweil

Vocals Recorded at Midgard Sound Labs in Wichita, KS
All other recording, mixing and mastering at Leviathan Records Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio and Atlanta, GA
Cover Artwork by Rainer Kalwitz
Logo by Piotr Szafraniec
Other artwork created by Steven Taylor
Produced by David T Chastain