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» Ross The Boss

Ross The Boss comments on each song on the album New Metal Leader (2008):

I.L.H - The letters stand for “Infinite Lost Horizons.” I often wonder what I could have accomplished during my career. It has not been bad, but it also has not been great. Maybe if I continued playing the same type of metal [after departing Manowar,] things would have turned out differently. Unfortunately, I was not in the right mindset. There was no way I could; not after how my time with Manowar came to an end.

Blood Of Knives - The song is a declaration of war. The lyrics are self-explanatory. I wrote most of the song and singer Patrick Fuchs contributed to it.

I Got The Right - It’s obvious what this song is about. It’s biographical. It’s about me leaving Manowar, but there is nothing negative. I think it includes one of my best guitar solos ever, which I played using the “slow-hand” style.

Death & Glory - It’s about the crew of a German U-Boat during World War II told from the German perspective. Everything sung, performed, written and filmed about WWII depicts the Germans getting their asses kicked. They are the bad guys; they are the criminals. But most of those soldiers were fighting for their country, just like the Americans were fighting for our country. The deeds of the Nazi hierarchy were another thing, but the German soldiers were brave and amazing fighters.

Plagues Of Lies - It’s a song I composed with [former Blue Öyster Cult drummer] Albert Bouchard, while I was a member of The Brain Surgeons NYC. It puts down the politicians, whose plagues of lies are never ending. It seems like as soon as you begin to like a politician, they become the center of a scandal; they get caught with their pants down.

God Of Dying - The album’s first epic, it was written in the tradition of Manowar’s “Gates of Valhalla.” It is a beautiful, epic song.

May The Gods Be With You - The title was inspired by the film classic “Ben Hur.” It is a rock ‘n’ roll anthem that’s dedicated to Kerim aka "Hell" from the Italian “Army of the Immortals” (the unofficial Manowar fanclub).

Constantines Sword - Another song I composed with Albert, it has a catchy chorus. I’ve been told that it sounds like something Marilyn Manson would record.

We Will Kill - The first song The Ross The Boss Band wrote, it is our party line; our mission statement. It also includes a few historical facts about me.

Matador - I love the song’s subject matter and that the bull doesn’t die. I am so proud of my guitar work on this song, both the electric parts and the song’s climax where I play nylon-string flamingo guitar. It is one of my shining moments on this record. I have always loved flamenco guitar. When I told the guys I wanted to do it, they were shocked. But the more we worked on the song, the better it got. I really think our Spanish fans are going to go berserk over it. It is a tribute to their culture.

Immortal Son - The official closing song, it’s dedicated to my son, Jesse. The first time he listened to the song, he said, “At first, I wanted to cry and now I want to kill.” It’s an epic song that the band composed together and it is meant to touch any man with a son.

Falling One By One and RosnRoll (the bonus tracks) - Just when I thought we had finished recording the album Patrick said, “Okay Ross, now we have to come up with two bonus tracks.” It was in our contract. Patrick and bassist Carsten Kettering both had songs ideas, so they headed into the Reichenbunker [the band’s rehearsal space], demoed them, and sent them to me. I thought the songs were great, so the guys headed went into Achim Köhler’s studio and record them. I recorded the guitar parts in New York. I wish I was in the studio with the band, but I can’t always make that happen. I wasn’t the one who came up with the title “RosnRoll,” it was Patrick.

Published courtesy of Vinny Cecolini and Metal Revelation

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