Zanister "Fear No Man"

by Rock Universe 4/20/01



Rock Universe ZANISTER Interview

First we'd like to say THANK YOU A LOT for your attention. And these are the questions from our Brazilian web magazine:

1- You're on the metal scene since the 80's, with your bands and your label, always making true heavy metal. Do you feel like like a lonely hero in the United States? After all, north american people use to follow fashion's trends.

David T. Chastain: I have always pretty much played whatever I desired. I really don't follow trends as that is usually a dead end in any case. The American music fans on the whole are like sheep being led to slaughter. However there are still many true heavy metal fans in the US but they hide underground for the most part.

2- You have several bands. Which one of them has success, I mean, sells best? And about your label bands?

David T. Chastain: Each of the projects have certain parts of the world where they are more popular than the others. On the whole my instrumental stuff is most popular in the US and Japan and my vocals band more popular in the rest of the world. Joe Stump is probably Leviathan Records biggest seller in the US in the 90s.

3- How do you distinguish your bands? Do you write the songs to each one separated or you write a lot of things and then you decide the band you might record?

David T. Chastain: Usually I just sit down to practice and whatever comes out comes out. I record everything I do so I have literally have 100s of cassettes tapes laying around full or material. I started a new company called Diginet Music which is found at http://www.diginetmusic.com where I am releasing some of my overflow materials. Whenever I need material I usually have tons of stuff to choose from but I still normally record whatever is freshest.

4- Do you believe the fact that having several bands may let your audience confuse or may disperse the quality of your work?

David T. Chastain: It may confuse people but I don't think the quality goes down. Actually it may be better because I get awfully bored doing just one thing. However if I only did one band 365 days a year that would probably make me more popular and that band would be very hot. However I seldom tour anymore and I have a nice home recording studio so I can record at anytime and whatever I want so it lends itself to numerous musical endeavors. It is kind of like if you could have sex with 4 different porno stars or one which would you rather do? Most people would say 4!!!

5- The sleeve from "Fear No Man" album was designed to "2050" from Vainglory. We heard about a problem with european labels, what was the matter? The guys from Vainglory agreed or they tried to kill you? (hehehehe)

David T. Chastain: What happened was that the European label we licensed Vainglory to (Last Episode in Germany) did not like the fist and wanted an illustration art cover. So we all said OK. So instead of letting the fist cover go down the drain we decided to use it for Zanister since it fit the title Fear No Man very well. Then the German company tried to screw Vainglory and the deal fell apart but Zanister had already used the fist cover. So we all decided to go with the band photo cover for Vainglory. That was shot at a really cool location in Cincinnati Ohio on a cold and rainy day. I know because I was there overseeing it!!

6- There are songs at Vainglory and Zanister CDs' which have the same theme (income distribution). Don't you think people may confuse one band with the other?

David T. Chastain: I wrote all of the lyrics on the Vainglory and most on Zanister. However only 1 song on Zanister is about greed and money. 2050 is really a science fiction type of thing placed 50 years in the future.

7- You're politically aware, what do you think about the mess they have done in the last election to president? Would you mind to reveal who you chose?

David T. Chastain: I would never vote for a republican which is what Bush is. The election was stolen from Al Gore. The US better never stick their noses in another country's election again. The US is always complaining about unfair elections in other places. Well the 2000 US Presidential election will go do as the darkest day in US political history.

8- Your albums were released here in Brazil. Have you ever thought about a brazilian tour? At least one show?

David T. Chastain: I would love to come down to Brazil and play numerous shows. I know Brazil is a cool place and if anyone has any connections with any promoters tell them to bring me down in any band I play. It would be a great pleasure.

9- Has any brazilian band looked for your label to distribute am album in the USA? If yes, can you tell us the name? If not, can they have a chance to contact you? What they must do?

David T. Chastain: Yes a few bands have contacted Leviathan Records over the years but we are not really looking for any new bands at this time. We have sold Angra Cds through our company in association with Century Media. It is so difficult to break bands in the US that it is not worth the energy and money spent for us at this time to invest in new bands. So now days Leviathan Records is almost a closed house for new acts. Occasionally some great guitarist will come along like Corbin King of Vainglory and I will put a band around him with people I already know.

10- Zanister sounds like the 80's with something new. Some songs reminds me Halford and Bruce Dickinson latest works and also Gamma Ray. Some songs reminds the 70's, like Alice Cooper. It means Zanister is a versatile band, do you agree?

David T. Chastain: Yes I believe we are a versatile band. I wanted to create a more traditional metal sounding band in Zanister. I guess similar to the "good old days" of the mid 80s or so when Maiden, Dio, Chastain & Priest were all putting out great stuff. To me that era is what real metal is all about. Since I pretty much write all of the musical structures of the songs it is my baby musically to this point. I actually wanted Michael to write a bunch of stuff for this Cd but he was too busy with his solo stuff so I went ahead and did it. I am not one to wait around if I can help it. Brian Sarvela, the vocalist, wrote the lyrics to a couple of songs and Ted Brasier, vocalist of Vainglory, wrote the lyrics to 3 others. The bottom line was I wanted a two guitar band that played metal with integrity.

11- Do you believe Zanister is one of the modern bands of power metal which sounds almost thrash metal but at the same time melodic like Nevermore and Iced Earth?

David T. Chastain: I really don't think that Zanister falls into the thrash category. I guess we are categorized as a power metal band. I just call it metal and let the experts sort it out.

12- How the americans received the bad news about Joey Ramone's death and Chuck Billy's cancer (Testament)?

David T. Chastain: Well let's hope Chuck can come back strong. Kate French, Chastain's vocalist, is a pretty good friend of Chuck's. Anytime anyone passes away it is sad. But life is life and death is a part of life.

13- Why did you choose the name Leviathan to name your label?

David T. Chastain: It is a strong name that means something large and formidable. It is surprising how many people still mispronounce that word.

14- How well has Zanister last album sold?

David T. Chastain: It sold good enough to continue recording new Cds. Symphonica Millennia was never released in the US. The new Cd Fear No Man is getting a US release and is doing very well so far.

15- Please leave a message to brazilian fans and Rock Universe readers.

David T. Chastain: Check out the new Zanister 'Fear No Man' if you are into true metal. For more info on Zanister and my other projects go to http://www.leviathanrecords.com http://www.zanister.com or
http://www.diginetmusic.com Spread the word and make some noise to get us down there!!

Well, that's the end. We wish you luck and success with Zanister. We would like to say THANK YOU A LOT!

David T. Chastain: My pleasure for sure. Take care!!

Rock Universe Web Magazine
http://www.rockuniverse.mus.br