Deadland Ritual features Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) on bass, Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses) on drums, Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) on guitar, and vocals from Franky Perez (Apocalyptica). Aiming to create “the biggest sonic rock madness that we could come up with,” the band ticks all the boxes for rock aficionados.
It’s been a whirlwind start for Deadland Ritual, who have already released their first track ‘Down in Flames’, have recently completed two more songs (‘Broken and Bruised’ and ‘Walking Into Walls’), and have reportedly locked in a stack of festival appearances and headline dates.
“I had to get used to the idea of starting from scratch again, which is good,” said Butler, who classifies himself as “semi-retired.” “It’s a challenge for me. But I really liked the music that I was hearing. It’s not your typical metal stuff or hard rock stuff or whatever.”
Stevens seconds the notion, and admits his shock at recording with Butler, given Black Sabbath was the first band he loved as a musician. “I remember the first time that I started tracking against his bass, and I went, ‘Oh my God.’ There’s a lot of times in the studio as a guitar player, you get a guitar sound and you’re trying to make it work, you’re tweaking it. There was none of that bullshit.
“It just fit against his bass sound and it was really exciting for me. It was like, ‘Wow, I get to hear my guitar against a bass guitarist that I’ve loved since I was 15 years old.”
Keep an eye out for more new music from Deadland Ritual. In the meantime, find out which Black Sabbath song took home the title of Greatest Metal Riff Ever.
Image via Jonas Akerlund.
