What a wild night, my child, it was while watching Widow perform their classic metal anthems on stage. Life can be so strange sometimes, when you peer through the widow of the soul. First born out of passion for the cult of nightlife and mettle; and at the end, inspired by love of tradition, here to stay; witnessing and meeting Widow was one of the high points of my summer; when they played the Alehorn II festival last month in Chicago. At the end, after befriending the band - a true family affair - I made personal arrangements to call and have a rather lengthy discussion with main man of sorrow, and musician of misstery: Cris Bennett, at his bequest.

Enjoy the pleasure of our schism - a trip through madness, as we decide which way Widow will walk when midnight strikes. We leave no stone unturned, forever on fire with our love for Metal! Lordi me!

MettleAngel: Hello again Cris, it is so great to speak with you once again. Wendy and I had so much fun at Alehorn II, last month. We attended that show primarily to see your band play. All you guys were so cool to us, once we arrived. Thank you, so much for giving me the new Nightlife CD. I'll be reviewing that really soon. So let's begin our interview. Is your name really Cristof, from what country does your family descend?

• Cris: Actually, my name is Cris - Cristof is totally made up. My friends used to joke with me when I played guitar, saying, "So you think you're Yngwie or something..."; then they started calling me Cristof. We as a band liked that gimmick and used it for our first two albums: Midnight Strikes and On Fire. If you notice, we never used our last names either.
  

MettleAngel: So is Johnny really John E?

• Cris: Oh yes he is John E. Wooten The IVth. He comes from a whole family of John E.'s. I expect his father wants him to have a Johnny the Vth.
  

MettleAngel: Well given Johnny's character, there may already be a Johnny 5th, out there, somewhere.

• Cris: Yeah, no doubt...

MettleAngel: I assumed Cristof was your real name. Bennett, your last name, has double consonnants - which is very European.

• Cris: We always want to do something different; but, this time on Nightlife, we just used our real names. I'm from the South, so my name is just simply Cris.
  

MettleAngel: Does Johnny descend from a long line of musicians?

• Cris: Not really, he and his brother play, but they are not from a musical background.

MettleAngel: So just like yourself, he is a sef-taught musician.

• Cris: Exactly, but he really struggled; it does not come as natural to him as it does me. He would tape his fingers together to maintain each chord he played. For me, I've always had an ear for the music I love. Drums came natural to me as well. I began to play drums when I was 12, then I picked up a guitar. Eventually I began to write stuff of my own.

MettleAngel: But, you can't read music, right?

• Cris: Not exactly, I could work with tablature, though. I really like guitarists like Andy LaRocque, Eddie Van Halen, John Sykes; even Ronnie Van Zant of Lyrnyrd Skynyrd.

MettleAngel: When I listen To the Widow titles; especially the new one: Nightlife; I'm amazed with the guitar intricacies; the solos are so fluid.

• Cris: Thanks man! It has taken many years to become this proficient. Before Widow, Johnny, Josh and I played in a death metal band called Sorrow Bequest. I would come up with riffs which I would form into my own ideas for songs. We were heavily influenced by bands like Dissection. We even were asked to record a King Diamond cover of Sleepless Nights for Necropolis Records. This was never released though. We were going to release it as a Japanese bonus track for Nightlife, but decided against it. You would really like this; we did it all professional in a studio. We had the drummer from a great death metal band at the time called Dreamscapes Of The Perverse assist us. They were really tight. There was interest in this band from labels even before the Gothenburg scene exploded. They were ahead of their time, as were we, but we were not from Sweden! They released an album on Tribunal in 2006 called: Gignesthai.

MettleAngel: So, Widow has it's origins in melodic death metal?

• Cris: Definitely, songs like We Will Meet Again and Family Affair are examples of this, with no clean vocals. The thing is we were, and still are into Classic & Hair Metal, so we chose to combine these elements with Death Metal to create the sound of Widow. We were not trying to be retro; but, sincere. We never even heard of 3 Inches Of Blood, at the time. We just wanted to tell horror stories from a guy's perspective. Then by the second album, we had a chick singing for us; imitating these characteristics.

MettleAngel: So, you went from the tongue-in-cheek misogynistic overtones, to actually having LiLi pesonifying these traits. Then, I guess, LiLi did not work out?

• Cris: Yeah, she wanted to go in a different direction, than we did. We are always wanting to try something different. When I wrote Re-Animate Her, I thought it was clever about this prudish chick who dies; then is re-animated and becomes a nympho whore who fucks and kills everyone

MettleAngel: I appreciate the humour in Widow's lyrics. There was a movie called Bride Of Re-Animator. Essentially, this chick becomes the black widow literally... right?

• Cris: When On Fire came out, everyone ragged on us, claiming that we were a joke! I don't get it, I mean, lighten up! I just want to have a good time - I don't hate everybody. I'm into movies with a sense of humour. Take the song Sinderella - an ugly chick by day, who then transforms into a hot stripper - like the Cinderella story. We wanted to make a video, but it was too expensive to shoot in a strip bar.

MettleAngel: I love that song, and the way LiLi sang on it. I think it's clever. I love the lyrics to Family Affair, too. They reminded me of the most recent Pumpkinhead movie: inbreeding and horror.

• Cris: Too many bands are filled with hate. Not me, I mean I'm not Satanic...that's so fake... I'm not like that. Widow takes the piss out of those so-called bands who think they are so evil!

MettleAngel: I don't get it either! Please explain to me why does everyone have to be filled with such rage? Everyone wants it brutal. If you like a happy Power Metal band like Insania, Olympos Mons, or Freedom Call, then you are called gay. I know how much you love Lordi, but Americans don't appreciate their talent and style, either.

• Cris: Lordi rules! This is all I am listening to lately. I love Alice Cooper, Kiss, Twisted Sister, Lordi is the new Kiss!

MettleAngel: Wendy and I just watched the new Twisted Sister videos DVD. Man that is killer! She had never even seen the video for Be Crool to Your Skool, with Tom Savini doing the horror make-up, Bobcat Goldthwait acting crazy, and Alice Cooper singing!

• Cris: That was banned from MTV, I remember that! I bet watching those videos takes you back!

MettleAngel: Hell yeah, total headbanging mania! I actually remember the live MTV concert, which is included. I actually taped that over a Lionel Ritchie tape when it first aired. I still have the original dub,moved to a better qaulity tape. Now, on the first two CDs you had the Exorcist and American Werewolf In London intros, but on First Born - the opening track on Nightlife - there is no Rosemary's Baby dialogue...I assume this is the song's subject matter. Although, when I hear it, I call my son, "first born!"; which he is, but he defies me in utter disagreement.

• Cris: I love Rosemary's Baby, but we chose not to use any intros, we've done that enough. This time we wanted to leave the meaning of the songs open to a more personalistic interpretation. When I wrote that song, I thought about how frustrated I become when I'm in Wal-Mart and parents are paying no mind to their kids. Then the kids grow up and become criminals, and they question how this could've happened! For me Nightlife is more of a personal album. Sure, there is some humour, but the songs have more of an integral meaning to me.

MettleAngel: On Fire, seemed ludicrous in a good way with intentional mispelt song titles, horror elements, and what-not. I get a kick out of the incandescent and explosive cover artwork too. Nightlife, is just a picture of the skyline; hell, it looks like a travel brochure!

• Cris: Exactly, in life there is both a party and fun side; but there is also the dark side, too. We are not happy all the time. A lot of albums are one thing which is reflected in every song. You can't expect Behemoth to ever write a happy song.

MettleAngel: So are you saying, that there has to be some level and balance to the lyrical approach - a light side with some shading, perhaps?

• Cris: I deal with reality when I write. Take Van Halen's Fair Warning - that album is full of different emotions. Or like Lyrnyrd Skynyrd, on an album you hear love songs, fight songs, and fun songs all in the mix. With Midnight Strikes we all wanted to stay hard and true; but with Nightlife, we did not worry about anytning. We just wanted to keep it balanced. Life is full of ups and downs...

MettleAngel: And for Johnny... "ins and outs"...

• Cris: Yeah, no doubt! Too many bands get pigeon-holed in writing a certain way. Take a cut like Cult Of Life, off Nightlife, two years ago, that would be against our rules; now we are like, "Fuck it!" That song has both a personal meaning and also a far-reaching concept.

MettleAngel: I assume it deals with your Heaven's Gate, Jim Jones, David Koresh type characters?

• Cris: Yeah, I watched this documentary on these guys and how they sexually assaulted women, I mean, what power and control! Then they encouraged mass suicide...whoah!

MettleAngel: Death Angel wrote a song called Mindrape on their Frolic Through The Park album, dealing with Jim Jones and The Cult Of Guyana. Still a song like Teacher's Pet, has some humour to it. I assume you were thinking more of Van Halen's Hot For Teacher when you penned it?

• Cris: Actually, I was intrigued more by that Debra LaFave chick: a teacher who had sex with a 14 year old boy. She is an incredible, wickedly hot 24 year old woman. Johnny even got her voice sample from the internet to use as an intro for this song!

MettleAngel: Yeah, I saw a movie with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett called: Notes On A Scandal where Cate portrayed a teacher who seduced a school boy; and was blackmailed by her lesbian paramour, played by Judi. I can see your inspiration. This movie was a critic's favourite, but I found it a bit less consoling.

• Cris: When I heard her say, "Yeah, I gave it to him!" I was like, "That's a Widow song!" That's the excerpt we chose to use. It's something sexual, but also disturbing. On Fire was too sample heavy. This is the only area where we used an intro for Nightlife, and it works! This time, no intro for the first song, means you get right in to the music, and just let it rip!

MettleAngel: Your solos on Cult Of Life, Teacher's Pet, Beware The Night, and the title track, and so many more selections, are amazing! I hear the early Kirk Hammett style.

• Cris: That's it! Kirk is not the best player, but his leads are real catchy. Sometimes I prefer this over all the Shrapnel technical guitarists. This is why I love Andy LaRocque. He fused Randy Rhoads style with technical stuff like Yngwie. My sister got me the Metallica video compilation DVD for Christmas, and I was amazed how many songs I really did not know, but still I liked what I heard.

MettleAngel: I know, I recently have been trying to familiarize myself with Load and Reload and even some of the Black album. I dismissed those back in the day, but now I'm playing so much Beatallica, that I'm actually curious to hear these again. The good thing is that they are available at my local library for rental!

• Cris: Man, you find such great metal at your library!

MettleAngel: Yeah, I found new Shadows Fall, Paul Stanley, Ozzy, Maiden, Slayer, Type O Negative, and more. Our locale library is an excellent source for metal. Wendy just checked out the Bon Jovi Box Set, with four unreleased CDs of music and a bonus DVD. I got the E.L.O. Box set, and remastered B.O.C. too.

• Cris: Killer! As I was saying, when it comes to writing quality music, I'd rather take the simple approach; where the listener may derive his own meaning from the lyrics. With a lyric like, say, "I'll stab you in the heart!', the words and meaning are cut and dry. I really like the way James Hetfield leaves Metallica lyrics open for interpretation. For so long, I just wanted to hear thrash. I would not expand my horizons. I actually remember when I was in 8th Grade, I was like 13, and it was all about Metallica for me. Then an older friend suggested I check out Triumph. I was like, Fuck that!". Now I'm a huge Triumph fan!

MettleAngel: I guess the "Keep It Simple, Silly" method does work. I was speaking with Leif of Candlemass about this. He sees too many artists as being pretentious, which Widow really no loger is either. Man I'm a huge Triumph fan too. I just got all the remasters! I'm glad I learned about Triumph at an early age. Rick Emmett is an amazing vocalist and guitarist. He is one of the true early Power Metal vocalist, in my opinion! Everyone is all about Thin Lizzy, UFO, and Uriah Heep. I love these bands too, but I discovered them from Power Metal bands covering them; otherwise, I was only vaguely familiar. I did not follow them in their glory days, like I did Triumph in the 70's. Why has no major metal act covered a Triumph song? If I formed a band I'd for sure cover: Somebody's Out There (reciting the lyrics...).

• Cris: Triumph is awesome! I feel when you sit down to compose music, you really have an obligation to your audience. Widow writes music which is meant to be performed live. To me it's like doing "Customer Service". This becomes your job to make the fans happy: you have a certain degree of overall responsibility to those who buy your music, or attend your shows. I've noticed that some bands are so full of themselves. I can't understand why people choose to act like that! I feel really great when I inspire, even just one person. Hell, when you and Wendy, came to see us, and knew so much about the band; I was like, "Damn, they know all about us, that's so fuckin' cool! They drove all this distance just to see us!". Here at home, it's just not like this. It's like when I met Andy LaRocque, he was signing autographs, but chose to spend some time with me; because, he knew how much of a fan I am. Sadly, I just can't get into the new King Diamond, and I really want to. What do you think of it?

MettleAngel: I like it, but it has not really grabbed me like other albums. I was surprised when I heard King claim it to be much better than The Puppet Master. It is just not sticking with me, like I though it would. I still like it, as it's pure King Diamond. Maybe, all that back ache affected his songwriting capabilities. He had to cancel the European Tour on account of his herniated disc. I like the way you put it as being "Customer Service". That is an honest way to assess this music business. You have a real positive alacrity and noble bandleader approach.

• Cris: Well, if I came into your house and sold you a vacuum cleaner, you'd expect me to be a loyal salesman, and see to repairs, follow-up, etc. I represent the company I work for. You would not appreciate it if I did not regard you as an important client. If I just dismissed you, after I made my profit; what kind of integrity is that?

MettleAngel: Exactly, metal artists, as well as us journalists, have a key considerable responsibility to our listeners/readers. After all, we are all in this together, to honour and serve metal! Now I noticed in the band credits on Nightlife, that you played all the drums; but, Peter is given photo and name recognition as your drummer. Does inviting Peter Lemieux into the band, from Viper, finally put an end to the endless rotation of Spinal Tap drummers?

• Cris: Widow always borrows from Viper. We've even used Johnny Aune (currently the singer for Twisted Tower Dire) to play bass at certain shows, when Josh is too busy with work. As people get older, they just seem to grow tired of metal. The kids in Viper are really hungry to play metal, though. Once Peter joined, he breathed new life into this band. He does not mind driving 15 hours to play a show. In the past, we had to drag our drummer kicking and screaming. Tim Haisman who also played in False Prophet, Negative State, Leadfoot, was one of the best drummers I've ever known. We were pleased to have him play on Midnight Strikes. He can play such technical stuff like Cynic, and Jazz. He just did not have any enthusiasm, so we had to fire him; and he had never been fired before. He always wanted everyone to cover his costs. He just did not want to do it anymore. The Viper brothers, may just be kids, but they are thrilled to play. The guitarist is 17, and their bassis is only 16. He is a huge Cliff Burton fan. He was not even born when Cliff died! I just love to witness this level of enthusiasm. There is a real metal resurgence in our youth. Some may feel it's trendy, but I think it's great! The Viper kids want to make a life out of metal, like you and I have. Now when I wear my classic metal shirts, I get compliments; whereas, ten years ago, it was quite different.

MettleAngel: Now the kids are getting their metal shirts at Hot Topic & Spencers. Then again so are we. I just bought my son some Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy, & Slayer shirts there in his size! I love this excitement among our youth too. I've befriended several metalheads, old enough to be my sons!

• Cris: Joe Satriani said, "Figure out whatever is popular, and do exactly the opposite!".

MettleAngel: I do, and always have..always will! So does Wendy! This is why people think we are such cool parents. That is why my four year old son was headbanging and stage diving to Wretch & Eternal Legacy last Sunday.

• Cris: Take, for instance, my metal 'zine collection; I'm so nerdy, I have so many. I even have the Katherine Ludwig "Wild In The Streets" articles from Metal Mania, which evolved into Metal Maniacs.

MettleAngel: I have quite of collection of rare magazines too. I even have the first three Sentinel Steel issues, and some Snakepit and No Glam Fags.

• Cris: I met Liz Cavalera, we used to tape trade together when she had her Earsplit 'zine. She was stunned how much I knew. I keep these magazines and all my rare concert shirts in storage boxes. I guess I'm like a packrat. My parents just knew how important metal was, and is to me.

MettleAngel: It was the opposite for me. My mother made sure everything was always put away neat and tidy. Now in our house, everything is on display; it's "organized chaos:! So when you changed the name from Sorrow Bequest to Widow, how did you decide upon this name? Was it not already taken?

• Cris: We just wanted to use a simple name. Every new band has like 90 odd words in their title. We just wanted one word; surprisingly, Widow, was not taken.

MettleAngel: I can see what you mean, between bands with names like "Die, Death, Blood, Bleed, Metal, or Steel, in their title, it becomes too difficult to differentiate. Widow is basic, and the logo is just calligraphy. That is why I celebrate Eternal Leagacy's logo, it's simple cursive, not over the top indecipherable nonsense.

• Cris: Our original drummer came up with the idea. We just wanted something common and recognizable like Slayer, Maiden, Priest, Dio, etc. We decided to go with Widow's Lust, if it was taken, but it wasn't. Just look at Wolf, their second album Black Wings is pure 80's metal; not retro. With us, Widow is not a reaction to something; we just want to play music like the bands who left their indelible mark on us when we initially heard them. That's what a song like At The End is designed to do. I'm not stuck in the past, or nostalgic. I'm not jaded, I'll listen to everything, just to find that one gem like Lordi.

MettleAngel: Me too, I'm always looking for something different or unique. My voracity keeps me going. I don't dismiss anything; it's just I'm drawn to the more commercial oriented lately.

• Cris: I'll dig through every album at a Record Store to find that one thing that makes a big difference. With Widow, we want our fans to feel the same.

MettleAngel: Now back to this drummer slot, please list all previous drummers, and how does Peter fit in to the mix? I noticed that on Nightlife and On Fire, you actually played all the drums on those albums.

• Cris: Our drummers, over the years include Mike Lancaster who played on the No Stone Unturned demo, Tim Haisman on Midnight Strikes, John Placko, who played in Eldritch Horror assisted as well, Marc Anthony joined after On Fire; and now Peter Lemieux joined after I worked on Nightlife.

MettleAngel: So you have really worked with a number of drummers....

• Cris: Peter is our first agreeable member. Our original drummer Mike, had the rockstar mentality. Marc Anthony chose his girlfriend over us. John from Eldricht Horror was phenomenal. This band had that dirty Unleashed/Entombed evil death sound. (check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eldritchhorror). He was too technical for Widow. He actually had trouble playing our easy songs. He could not even do the count to four - being too technical minded. Peter fits in so well. We wanted him to play drums on Nightlife, but time was a factor. I had already written the songs and our label - Cruz Del Sur wanted the completed product. Peter had not rehearsed enough. Marc Anthony did the demos, and he helped write some parts before he left.

MettleAngel: How did you get permission for covering both Van Halen and Kiss? Why both songs on the album? You would think one cover, then a bonus track, perhaps?

• Cris: We only needed permission if we used the actual recording. For a cover, we just had to give appropriate writing credit. We thought about holding off on one cover, but the label dug both versions. Rico, the boss, wanted to use them both. He gives us total creative control. He expressed interest in both of our covers. I think it's pretty cool, if you notice our versions are like the way they would sound if Widow had written them.

MettleAngel: I actually like your version of Van Halen: Ain't Talkin About Love, more than the original.

• Cris: Cool, when I figured, it out, I played it like a Widow riff. With the Kiss cover of I Stole Your Love, we cut out the big intro and all those cymbal crashes. We are not into superlong intros...I mean wake me when the song starts, or the singing begins. I want meat to the music. A band like Cryptopsy, c'mon, I need something to latch onto. Don't get me wrong, I love all that technicality as a metal fan, like that band Necrophagist; nevertheless, as a musician, I prefer more simple means.

MettleAngel: I know I can't tolerate all this technical stuff anymore. It was fine when Death did it, but...

• Cris: Our first live show ever was opening for Skid Row, we were not used to such a crowd of so many people, and like all these hot chicks in high heels. We knew we had to be more approachable like Skid Row or even Nashville Pussy. We actually covered Ozzy's Mr. Crowley. Blake Faucette filmed some of our live shows, and they turned out quite well. They were pro-shot. You can actually go to Hot Topic and buy this.

MettleAngel: I surprised to hear than Nashville Pussy will be opening for Obituary this fall. So, you can buy a Widow live DVD at Hot Topic?

• Cris: Well, it's from Series DVD Volume 1 with Widow and includes other bands. Widow is on Series DVD Vol. 1 and Vol. 4. We are also featured on the Tribunal Records DVD. The Series DVD collection features live footage and videos from artists like In Flames, KillWhitneyDead, and Exodus. I'm really proud of the songs we've written for Nightlife like Cult Of Life and At The End. What songs do you like from our new CD?

MettleAngel: Hmmm...I dig We Will Meet Again, First Born, and the title track...

• Cris: I assume that you like the aggression in We Will Meet Again? I feel that the new songs which I've written are more rockin', and more fun. The newer songs I'm workin on are even more relaxed. A song like Angel Sin is just too technical. We want to write 'live oriented' songs. They sound better live when you don't attempt to play beyond your ability, and just have a good time.

MettleAngel: This also helps, if you don't always have time to practice.

• Cris: Yeah, no doubt, we are comfortable doing songs and writing them with the live show in mind. Some bands are so "artsy-fartsy". With us it feels good playing Nightlife songs live . Midnight had too many arpeggios like Malmsteen; even On Fire was too much of those unnecessary guitar antics. When we are performing live, I know when I or Johnny are singing, we each do our part, then slip away from the microphone. These new songs actually get people going; even more so than the older ones, with which they are already familiar. We've finally found our nitch - the thing we do so well...

MettleAngel: Is that why you have never played Misstery or Family Affair live?

• Cris: Peter has not mastered the catalogue. We need to play " Here To Stay" since we actually made a video for that; we have never played this live. It worked conceptually, though for a video. I just wanted to do that for Sinderella.

MettleAngel: Did you ever think about just filming the band doing metal acts while watching Striptease or HBO's Cathouse?

• Cris: Actually, we did this with Witch Way. We just filmed ourselves watching the DVD: Mark Of The Devil.

MettleAngel: I have that on DVD, it's like Pit And The Pendulum with Catholic priest enacting grisly torture.

• Cris: The song At The End is about the Marquis De Sade, sort of. I discovered this video called Dark Prince, in our old drummer Tim's basement. We used a sample originally on the demo from this movie for At The End, then chose to discard it. That would have given way the meaning and what the song may be about. I wanted to be more ambiguous, without the blatant Marquis De Sade reference. It could also be about domestic violence.

MettleAngel: Have you seen Quills? Geoffrey Rush plays the Marquis De Sade, it's really well done! We just watched Night Breed - Clive Barker's best - why has he not been asked to do Showtime's: Masters Of Horror Series?

• Cris: I've heard about Quills. My all time favourite horror flicks are The Exorcist, The Omen, and Rosemary's Baby. I can't wait to see what Rob Zombie does with Halloween. What would you pick?

MettleAngel: I'd chose Phantasm, Poltergeist, and The Shining...

• Cris: I'd also suggest the first Friday the 13th. Did you know they are remaking that?

MettleAngel: Yes, and I've heard they are planning to do Poltergeist again, I hope not! Lately, I'm impressed with the work of Eli Roth and Mike Mendez. Is this why you use such abysmal vocals with Widow, to re-instate the horror elements?

• Cris: Originally, yes, but not so much anymore...

MettleAngel: This is why Widow is commonly compared to 3 Inches Of Blood and Into Eternity. Do you think that by the next release, the gruff vocals will disappear altogether?

• Cris: That is really hard to say. Those vocals are a Widow trademark, but we really want to change it up for next time; we want it to be slightly different, better, but not outdo ourselves.

MettleAngel: Do you feel this raspy vocal approach could be a detriment to Widow's exposure in Europe? You mentioned in Chicago that Keep It True passed on you for this very reason.

• Cris: This has always been a bone of contention for us. Before we signed with Cruz Del Sure both Limb Music and Escapi expressed interest in us, if we did away with the harsh vocals. LMP was supposed to begin an aggressive sub-label with us spearheading; but, it did not pan out.

MettleAngel: LMP had Gothic Knights, so I could see why they were interested in you. Do you regret not signing with them?

• Cris: Not at all, we are happier with Cruz. On LMP it was all about Rhapsody! We would just have been power metal band Z. We would have been a tax write-off for them, with no support. We made the right decision. We looked for a label who would view us as individuals, not just Power Metal release number 13; with their cookie-cutter signing approach. The vision for Widow with Cruz is that we have the potential to go up, and gain better recognition.

MettleAngel: Signing with Cruz, shows jurisprudence. They are also distributed by The End Records, and Earsplit handles all their promotion. Besides, with one Black Metal band as the exception, everyone views the bands on Cruz as being Traditional Metal. Look at their roster: Widow, Pharoah, Crescent Shield, Slough Feg and now they just signed Icarus Witch.

• Cris: Exactly! The band discussed our frustration with LMP. Our idea from day one was to take this band - one bite at a time - to develop it slowly; that we might create more longevity.

MettleAngel: You have done just that, Metal Blade once had a roster of true classic Metal acts like Omen, Helstar, Lizzy Borden, Nasty Savage, Trouble, Candlemass, etc. All those bands still are around, relegated to other labels. It all began when Bill Metroyer signed Nevada Bitch. This was the end of the classic Metal Massacre years!

• Cris: With Widow we create albums you can enjoy. We get to the point. We want our fans to become our friends. Michael, I view you as my friend!

MettleAngel: Thank you so much man, the feeling is mutual. Thank you for doing this interview and talking about the band. I'll review the new CD soon. I love it, true 80's metal. Keep up the good work! As Deathrow says on the album we so treasure: Deception Ignored - "Never Lose Your Humour, Man...N.L.Y.H.!". I await our next rendezvous in just over a month with Twisted Tower Dire, Icarus Witch, and Viper. Wish Peter a happy birthday from us all!

• Cris: I will do this, and I'll send you those demos, Lord Bane, and the Crystal Age copies too!

Related links:

www.myspace.com/widow
www.burning-village.com
www.myspace.com/eldritchhorror