WInter buzz 2009 new.qxp - BuzzNews.net

In Your
Face Metal
New and
Improved
By Ken Payne
With metal on the upswing once
again, Chicago-based Ion Vein is
aggressively marking their territory,
quickly becoming one of the
area’s most prolific bands in their
genre. Blazing guitars boosted by
a big Mesa Boogie sound, thumping
bass grooves and Chuck
White’s jackhammer-like drums
pave the metal highway for singer
Allen James to do his thing. His
“thing”? I guess that would be best
described as using his four-octave
range to precision while, at the
same time, implementing his own
blend of originality and showmanship,
truly making James a one-ofa-kind.
Currently working with Neil
Kernon (Queensryche, Hall &
Oates, Cannibal Corpse), Ion Vein
will go into the summer with their
newest release – an amalgamation
of the four members’ varied tastes
and musical contributions along
with cutting edge production.
Inventiveness bleeds from this
band and that’s why metal fans
should be lining up to hear the
band’s upcoming release. If asked
what band I think Ion Vein sounds
like, I’d probably respond by saying,
“No one”. And that would be
the best compliment I could lend
the band.
I talked to the band just before
they performed live at Chicago
City Limits in Schaumburg and
again while working with producer
Neil Kernon as I visited his studio
where I found bassist Brian
Gordon and guitarist Chris
Lotesto in the midst of laying
down some fat, tasty tracks.
Buzz – With your upcoming
album you brought in Neil
Kernon. He has worked with
Judas Priest, Queensryche, and
Cannibal Corpse to name a few.
How is it working with such a
successful producer?
Brian – He’s very supportive of
what we’re doing and he understands
what we’re doing.
Buzz – And with your sound and
his background, it’s just such a
terrific match.
Allen – Yeah, it’s an amalgamation
of crazy. It definitely works. I
am just grateful to be working
with people who are that great at
what they do. He’s really a phenomenal
guy to work with and so
is this band. It’s really just a
pleasure. It’s not just a band, it’s
friends.
Buzz – Tell me a little bit about
the songs on the new album.
Ion Vein Photo By Rock Goddezz Photography
Chuck – The songs are all pretty
much angry.
Brian - …frustration and pent up
emotions…
Allen – Early on in the project I
was trying to get a handle of what
we were trying to say. The reality
is that, even though I can be a
pretty angry person from time to
time (as everybody knows), I also
always try to find hope. In my life
I couldn’t find serenity if I was
always angry. Certainly it’s good
to be angry and protect yourself –
it’s a great defense mechanism –
but it’s not a way to go through
life. I’m hoping to get to people
who are fucking pissed and really
can’t stand what’s going on in the
world, as well as the people who
have a gentle soul – and everyone
in between.
Buzz - Do you guys collaborate
on the music writing?
Chris – We work really well
together. The chemistry is great.
It’s fun to get together and create.
We’ve talked about bringing in
another guitar player because
we’ve always been a five member
band, but things are going so great
with us, it’s hard to bring in someone
else.
Allen – Right now it’s not really
their ability to play, it’s about the
collective soul.
Buzz – Ion Vein recently added
you, Allen James, as lead singer so
this is your first real project together.
Chuck – The funny thing is when
Al auditioned and as soon as we
started playing, we were like,
“This is the guy”.
Brian – At first Allen declined but
he contacted us almost a year later
– and we still didn’t have a singer.
When he came back we didn’t
even ply, we just talked in a room
about where we wanted to go – and
that’s all it took for us to make a
decision to work together.
Chris - It’s one voice moving forward…it’s
the Ion Vein.
Find out more about Ion Vein by
going to IonVein.com or
myspace/ionvein. You can also
watch this entire interview at
BuzzNews.TV
BUZZ S&E www.buzznews.tv page 15