Mandy Lion's Metal Trench
Interview conducted by Wayne Klinger ©2003 Quintessence Metal Webzine and Wretched Productions.

I have to admit that this next guy I interviewed isn't one I discovered right away until Lynch Mob came about and Badlands. Then years went by despite a release on his own with another project that I only found out about like 2 years ago--talk about being in the cave! I absolutely love this guy's vocals and his heavy-ass projects that come out and every damn one is consistently written and delivered. Here's some words with Mandy Lion and his brainchild.........

Quintessence: First off, reading your profile on the opinions and sexuality of your content, one would assume that maybe people like Blackie Lawless and Jim Morrison were childhood heroes or inspirations?
M. L.: "Even though I like both Jim and Blackie's work they were not an influence on me musically or otherwise. Sex has always been a very big part of my personality and therefore it will show in my work as well. I find performing highly erotic, sometimes more erotic than actual sex... I think that this is the reason why there is a strong response from women to my music as well as the usual male heavy metal audience. I feel that it makes for a better show when there is a large percentage of females in the audience. There are many heavy metal bands out there that have big audiences but it is basically a dickfest... This is not the case here... Thank God".

Quintessence: The old line-up of WWIII, what's up with those guys and why did you go with a different line-up for "When God Turned Away"? Regardless, the results are really stunning and as usual, the music has lead balls!
M. L.: "Well, Jimmy Bain is back in Dio and doing very well, I am not sure what Vinnie is up to lately but I am sure he is doing good. And Tracy is back in his parents garage where I originally found him. I would have loved to have Vinnie and Jimmy on the new WWIII but this CD came together very quickly and there was just not enough time to get everyone together. When you have three people with careers then you have to wait until everyone is available which just was not an option at the time... Maybe that will happen for the next CD...? I am not sure. I am glad that you like the new CD even though my two legendary brothers are not on it..."

Quintessence: Your vocals are so different than anyone I've ever heard; I mean they're harsh like an Udo or Jon Oliva/Chuck Billy sense but you belt out these long notes and just have a iron lung type of delivery......how did you develop a style like this over the years? I would assume you are a non-smoker or smoking gives it a better overall raspyness? (laughing)
M. L.: "I always felt that one can get as wild and vocally brutal as can be as long as it is still singing... What I mean by that is that if one pushes his or her voice to a point where all they can do is "bark" at people, they are missing the point in my book. Rob Zombie for example... I happen to like what he does but he is absolutely not able to sing with the intensity he is vocalizing anymore... He just does not have the strength to do it. This is not a put down but just a plain fact. The reason for that is because he is "singing" too hard for what he is capable of controlling. For me it has always been natural to sing on the very edge of what one could still call melodic. I actually feel comfortable singing as intense as that".

Quintessence: I was reading about imitators like Manson and Zombie; you got to be kidding? Those guys are nowhere in your league!
M. L.: "Thank you for the kind words... I feel that they have their place in music just as everyone else that has had some success in this business. You have to remember that if it were not for them, who would have kept the metal fire burning during the grunch years...? Of course there is the other side of the coin where the fact that there was not much competition when they rose to power helped them tremendously... When there is no competition one also does not have to be all that great to look good in the scheme of things... I feel that if you have a lot of great bands around trying to get to the same audiences everyone has to do their absolute best to succeed because the audience will get used to a certain level of quality and if you are below the standard, you are just not going to sell... That works the other way around as well. If there is no competition one can put out a mediocre CD and people are going to buy it just because there is nothing better to buy. In other words... If Tarzan would have never met Jane, I am sure he would have eventually fucked a monkey"!

Quintessence: Your old projects of Badlands and Lynch Mob alumni Lee and Lynch; do you still stay in touch with those guys? What's up with Traci G from the old WWIII days?
M. L.: "I am still in touch and working with Jake E. Lee on that Wicked Alliance release. I still see George every now and then and we are on great terms. Hopefully I will be able to do another project with George at some point. I have nothing but respect for the man. And the other guy you mentioned is not doing anything right now. But if anyone is looking for a guitarplayer I can recommend him highly... He is the best guitar player no money can buy".

Quintessence: I read an article in "ESPN Magazine" about Mike Piazza (Mets catcher) being a real fan of Metal and often visits a radio station out of NY and played a trivia game on the air using one of your old songs off the WWIII debut...trying to stump people; which he did for approximately half an hour before someone got it right; Piazza is a huge fan of the band and I just wondered if you guys happen to know each other and how that all came about?
M. L.: "I did not know that the man was a fan but I am honored that he is".

Quintessence: A little background on the rest of the band..I'm familiar with Joe Floyd (Warrior) since he worked with my friends from Texas-based Byfist (2 members now in Reverend with ex-Metal Church piper, David Wayne); Sledge and Geezer hooked up with you when and
what's their backgrounds?
M. L.: "Sledge is actually David DuCey which is the guy I am also using on my solo project as well. He is a great drummer which did some work with Warrior as well. Geezer is basically a studio musician. Great bassplayer but he is not interested in the craziness of touring and such".

Quintessence: "When God Turned Away" is another astounding release from you; the songwriting is top-notch and just packs a wallop just like the debut; how do you stay so consistent?
M. L.: "Thank you again... I feel that being consistent has a lot to do with being real... If you are just being yourself at all times then everyone who likes what you do essentially likes YOU the person. And as long as you stay true to yourself it will always be on a certain level".

Quintessence: The song "Fighting For The Earth"..is this somewhat picked because it's
dealing with worldly issues and all this terrorism of lately?
M. L.: "The song does more than fit the current state of affairs but was chosen before 9 11 and all that came with it happened. I feel that this CD reflects the reality we are living right now but was written before all this evil shit came to pass".
( I apologize for my lack of comprehension since I did actually know this was the old Warrior song from yore! It's been such a long time since I heard that album! It slipped my mind at the time of the interview!)

Quintessence: A couple of the almost "balladic" songs are so freaking heavy.....you had me fooled; there's more riffs in these couple songs than delays at a major airport; Floyd really pulled out all the stops.

M. L.: "Joe Floyd is without a doubt one of the best metal guitarists/writers of our time. This is why I always felt he would have been perfect for the first WWIII release as well".

Quintessence: Do you play anything at all or are you strictly vocals? Your opinion on legendary singers like Morrison, Tate, Halford, Mercury, Scheepers or Siske (from your native country of Germany).
M. L.: "On my solo stuff I do all the instruments as long as it is still in the writing stages. Once the songs are established, I would rather use a great guitarist, drummer and bassist to give the song what it deserves in the final stage. I am good enough to write on several instruments but that is about it. Vocals is my area of expression and that won't change anytime soon. As far as singers go I always prefer a guy that is able to emote rather than have technique. The same goes for every other instrument. I will give you an example... Steve Vai is without a doubt a great player but I do not feel anything when I listen to him which is the complete opposite to what SRV does to me when I hear him play. Vai is a technician that can wow you with a million notes and SRV is a magician that can kill you with ONE note... To get back to your question about vocalists... I would prefer Morrison over Tate. Tate is the better technician no doubt but he cannot emote the way Jim was able to. Emotion is music. Music is emotion. Technique is a skill".

Quintessence: Will WWIII be touring the U.S. at all? What's in store for 2003? Will the fans see any sort of DVD release?
M. L.: "WWIII and the Mandy Lion band will be touring the US in 2003. I am actually working out the details on that as I a writing this. A DVD is also in the making. I feel that America needs an enema and nurse Lion is on the case"!!!

Quintessence: Final comments, websites, points of interest, merchandise and all other Mandy Lion releases we can get our hands on!
M. L.: "Until there is a release date for the new WWIII and the Mandy Lion band in the US one can order everything from CDs to T-shirts on the official Mandy Lion website. The address is www.Mandy-Lion.com. It is a huge site with soundbites, videos and everything else there is to know, find and have about and from Mandy Lion Wicked Alliance and WWIII".

Previous interviews can be read by clicking here.