Cage Interview

One of my greatest pleasures as a lifelong headbanger is to “discover” a metal band previously unknown to myself, be they new or old, that just blows me away and dive into their catalog headfirst. Cage has been around for quite some time, but their name is being seen more and more of lately, with good reason. Power metal, or so-called “true metal”, has long been a mostly European market, but this American band turns the genre on its head, combining the best of old Savatage and newer Iced Earth, while bringing power metal back to its NWOBHM roots, yet remaining fresh and modern sounding. Top that with a concept album about Revelations and it’s about time for a “What So and So Says” type interview with Cage’s singer Sean Peck.

Chris Gatto: Hey Sean, how's it going?
Sean Peck (pictured above): Good. You are ready, yes?

CG: First I have to congratulate you on the Hell Destroyer album. Somehow Cage must have slipped under my radar, but when I heard the album, it won me over immediately.
SP: Yes a lot of work went into making it as killer as it is. People that are fans of the genre and even people that prefer other subgenres of metal are really taking notice of it. We have definitely opened the eyes and ears of an entirely new group of people with Hell Destroyer.

CG: Who are your musical heroes?
SP: I came into metal late. I was listening to Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, the Go Gos, the Cars and Blondie until someone made me listen to the Diary of a madman cd from OZZY. The song "You cant kill Rock and Roll” really struck me and that was all it took. I started getting into old school metal- Judas Priest, Maiden, WASP, Stryper, Dokken, Ratt, Metal Church, Savatage and early Crimson Glory (2 of the best metal albums ever in my opinion). Cage has harnessed a little of each of those bands and infused some heavier elements from Testament and Bay area thrash to create our sound.

CG: Nice. I have not had the pleasure of hearing your previous works. Is Hell Destroyer new territory for Cage, or similar to the older albums?
SP: Our previous albums are in the same vein, but our trademark has been to progress from album to album. When our debut cd UNVEILED hit, it won best new band of the year in Europe's Rock Hard magazine contest which allowed us to play the Dynamo Fest in Holland with Metallica. Then when ASTROLOGY came out the critics were blown away because it was light years beyond UNVEILED. The same happened with DARKER THAN BLACK next as it got album of the year in at least 10 different places and was considered a masterpiece that we would never top. When HELL DESTROYER first got reviewed they couldn’t believe we topped ourselves again. So it is important for us to keep the quality high.

CG: How does the US fan base treat you? Do you feel more support for your music in Europe and abroad than Stateside?
SP: It is a great time for metal in the US. We sell more over all in Europe but the US is definitely catching up. The kids here are loving the CAGE experience. Mexico is really big for us and they probably have the best fans overall. But finally in America metal is strong again.

CG: I know you guys get to play some of the bigger metal festivals. Do you do a lot of touring otherwise?
SP: No, not really. We’re all business and family men. Family comes first and metal and business are probably tied for second, ha! 2008 is looking to be our busiest year ever as far as shows go. We just got confirmed for the cornerstone festival, which were are very honored and excited about. We will be playing Puerto Rico, Florida, Mexico at least 2 runs, Europe for a week, and maybe another Europe run in November for 2 weeks and we are trying to fit New York in there somewhere as the NY metal heads keep on the constant pressure. 2 weeks is the most we will go out for at any one time. My real estate empire might suffer otherwise!

CG: Hell Destroyer is based loosely upon the end times as written in the Bible, with some considerable literary license. What made you choose this theme for a concept album?
SP: Well before I embarked on this I made sure that I consulted with some of my pastors to get their blessing as my liberties that I took on the Revelations view were meant to entertain and educate in a way. I wanted to take the ultimate concept, the battle between Good and Evil, the forces of God vs. the devil, and really cover the story in explicit detail. The booklet contains extra text and extra images to help with the music, interlude pieces and songs to tell the story from the Last Supper to the apocalypse and beyond. that is one reason the album is so long. A lot of research went into it to make people listen and think how it just might come down on Judgement day. Our hero, The HELL DESTROYER is created as God's most fearsome battle angel who descends into Hell City to lay waste to it once and for all after Satan is killed in battle above on earth. With some conspiracy theory stuff thrown in, we have an epic tale that people have really gotten into. I wanted to open the eyes of non Christians and make them think as well as provide some imagery from God's perspective instead of the over used, ridiculous satanic imagery that is so prevalent in metal in general.

CG: You do a very convincing job of making me believe you are one of the disciples of Christ and then the Beast himself in the album. To which camp do you belong- or are you just telling a story?
SP: Are you kidding? On the side of the Lord, of course. I have not read the Bible all the way through to this point, but we studied it and found many parts fascinating as we tried to complete the tale. We take songs and make them sound wicked for the metal music sake but good always wins out in the end in our music. Even from the first album we wrote people noticed the "white metal" aspect to our music. We shroud it so that it can more effectively infiltrate and influence their lives. The scary songs were made to make people fear the Evil that we face all around us.

CG: What part does faith play in the songs you write, or how do you conduct yourself on stage or out and about?
SP: Well for HELL DESTROYER it really brought the Faith thing to the front and center as far as CAGE goes. It is a very Christian album and I liken it to the metal version of the Left Behind book series. My personal faith has become increasingly important part of my life over the last 6 years or so and as the leader of the band I have done my best to share that with the band, who are all Christians as well. On stage some times I will get heavy with the crowd and say " I need you all to draw a spiritual line in the sand right now!" Then we usually break into “Christhammer” and it goes off! That song has a double meaning as it refers to the artifact to help tell the story and also a verse I got from Jeremiah where Christ says "is my word not unlike a fire or a hammer that smashes the rock to pieces." Very powerful. I can commune with the Lord when I sing it. It gives me chills.

CG: I enjoyed it very much- probably my favorite song on the album.
SP: Really? Very cool. That song went through many changes before the final version was complete.

CG: I appreciate your candor. I realize this interview is probably a little different then the norm. Are you familiar with Heaven's Metal at all?
SP: It is a fanzine right? My manager set everything up- I believe we ran some ads in it. I don’t think I have received a copy yet.

CG: We started in 1985 covering the Christian metal scene. When styles went upside down in the mid-90's , the decision was made to change the name to HM (for Your Hard Music Authority) covering a lot of newer styles. A few years back, our editor wisely decided to rebirth the metal side as a fanzine under the original name Heaven's Metal. You mentioned Stryper earlier, but there were and are a lot of other Christian bands out there waving the metal flag, as well as mainstream bands that incorporate faith in to their music, so Cage isn't alone.
SP: Love it. We plowed on through the 90s when Grunge tried to take over. It was a key to our early success as we opened for Maiden, Priest and many others early on because the local bands had abandoned metal while we stood fast and refused to chase the trends.

CG: As a metal fan, I salute you! It seems that the powers that be abandoned the headbangers, but the reports of metal's demise were premature!
SP: Yes. Metal’s underground is super solid now. The roots will never be dug up again.

CG: I've heard a lot of speculation that says that the popularity of metal is tied directly to who sits in the Oval Office, kind of like of backlash to conservatism. Any thoughts on that?
SP: First on the other Christian band thing. I have some cds from Barren Cross and others but did not pay much attention to them in the early days. My buddy back in the early 90s was a huge Christian metal fan and would always bring me flyers of these 10 band Christian metal parties in L.A. that looked killer. I had some tapes he gave me from some killer bands that we played all the time.

SP: It’s funny you say that. I don’t believe it is a backlash, rather the independent, free thinking, self empowerment, strong military- even ideals from conservatism somehow allow metal top rise up again. Reagan and W's era have been metal’s strongest time. Clinton got in and the blame everyone else for your problems, PC, even anti-Christian attitude brought metal to its knees for 8 years.

CG: That's certainly a different take on it. Can I ask what the backmasking on track 10 says?
SP: It would detract from the mystery of the album. It is another attempt to make people very wary of the true Evil that surrounds us. The part has the Antichrist trying to speak with Satan as they plan their final assault on the Earth. They are in the Bohemian Grove, which is a true place of wickedness.

CG: Very cool. I think with this interview, you'll have a whole new group of fans rooting for Cage. It's been great talking to you and metal blessings to you and the band.
SP: Thanks and please let everyone know that we are a band of the people and love to hear from the fans. Our music and gear is available directly from the band and we always answer everyone personally at.cageheavymetal.com and myspace.com/cageheavymetal all the best and God Bless!

CG: Thanks Sean for the time. Hope to hear from you guys again!

STORY BY CHRIS GATTO

©2008 HM Magazine - All Rights Reserved

Comments

By russell

i love this CD, and knowing they r christians help, but this song at the end leaves a sour note and limits my listening to it.
20. Metal Devil

Metal demon ! Metal devil ! Metal demon ! Metal devil !

Light from the darkness, a century since his demise
Up from the ashes the evil machine will arise
Titanium tendons and sinews of steel - This merciless master of metal
666 innocent souls will bring back the devil to life

We see them in the night : the legions are leaving the light
Forever and a day it's taken to make him awake

They kept evil alive, the devil never died, the dark lord will arise
Metal devil - They kept evil alive, the new world won't survive, a sacrilegious sight
Metal devil - Uncrucified (metal devil), the lord of lies (metal devil), extinguisher of light
Metal devil !

Deep in the dungeon, all preparations were set
Dark resurrection, years of imbalance reset
Infernal invention to siphon your souls : six hundreds spirits were taken
Sixty-six others were eaten alive, witness the dawn of damnation

We see them in the night : the legions are leaving the light
Forever and a day it's taken to make him awake

Rise master ! What is thy bidding dark lord ?

Blast through the doorway, into the light of the age
Legions of subjects horribly born to obey
The sound of his circuitry sizzles and cracks this towering titan of terror
He raises his arms to the people below and issues the final command

We see them in the night : the legions are leaving the light
Forever and a day it's taken to make him awake

Do you have an answer for me.

By Sean Peck

I appreciate your concern and of course several of the chapters in this story were tough to write lyricaly and not convey the wrong message. The intent of this song was to make the point that everyone has to constantly be vigilant to vanquish Evil. Evil is ever present and even when it has been completely eliminated it will try to reach out from the grave. In our son KILL THE DEVIL there is a sinister laugh at the end as a reminder of that as well. People should never be complacent in the fight and that was the message. There was also a desire just from a story telling standpoint to prepare an advesary for the HELL DESTROYER since he effortlessly conquered everything in Hell which now allows us to include the epic song HELL DESTROYER vs. METAL DEVIL on the next cd. I hope that explains it a bit. Just tackling Revelations and adding to it was a huge moral dilemma for us just starting the record. we will unveil www.heeldestroyer.com in a few months where a lot of this stuff is discussed. Thanks to all and God Bless

CAGE

By Norman

Great...
Cage rules!
Norman
Sin Killer webzine

Related Stories :

Comments

Post a comment