IGNITOR - PAT DOYLE

💿 Hi, it’s a pleasure for us to have on Hardrockheavymetal PAT DOYLE of HEAVY METAL band IGNITOR! Welcome!

Greetz!

💿 Can you tell us somethin’about your early days? When is this all begun? Which bands have influenced you?

I was working on a poster for a reunion with my old hardcore band The Offenders in 2002 when I ran into Stuart at the copy shop. We hadn’t talked in years but knew each other from the 1980s when he played in FDR and Agony Column, among other bands. A week or two later Stuart called and asked if I wanted to play in his band T.A.N.G., who was losing their drummer. He and Beverly Barrington played guitars and had a bundle of straight rock and roll songs featuring a cool female lead singer named Mel and bassist named Brendon Bigelow. T.A.N.G. went along for another year or so until our singer moved out of town. Upon searching for a new singer, we decided to re-boot the band and focus on a heavier sound and song list than T.A.N.G. When we found Erika Swinnich (now Tandy) in 2003, the new band called Ignitor was set in stone. Influences…well we already have some influential heavyweights playing with the band! Seriously though, the bands who probably influenced Ignitor more than any would be Judas Priest, Manowar, Warlock/Doro, and King Diamond.

💿 From Nov 24th is put your new full-length called “HAUNTED BY ROCK’N’ROLL ”.

Can you tell us somethin’about this platter and its composition process? We had the privilege to listening to this album and we were really very impressed!

Thank you, we’re very satisfied with the outcome! We began working on the album in late 2014. Production then stalled after the loss of Beverly (guitar) and Brendon (bass,) who both moved onto other life pursuits. We had actually recorded most of the tracks except for theirs in 2015, but decided to scrap and re-record them after we recruited Robert on guitar and Chainsaw Billy on bass. The transition and some label issues delayed the album’s release longer than we wanted. Stuart wrote all of the album’s original music except for “Nomad” written by Robert, and “Hatchet” written by Jason. Jason penned all the album’s lyrics. The album was recorded and mixed by Stuart in his home studio.

💿 The real “news” in music industry is the return of vinyl; What’s your feeling about this classic format and the current music business?

I’m over 50 so spinning vinyl is like going back to kindergarten or something for me. As a musician, I love the renewed interest in vinyl, but given the cost it looks more like a novelty niche than any kind of resurgence or lasting thing. I don’t think younger ears care as much about audio quality or fidelity as older fans do or did in the past. And a lot of vinyl reissues are simply digital reproductions so they could be played on a cardboard tube and you wouldn’t know the difference. The cost of producing vinyl doesn’t make a lot of business sense either, but metal fans seem to have unlimited disposable cash these days so maybe I’m wrong.

💿 The new album is out via EMP LABEL GROUP. Can you tell us somethin’about the relationships with them?

Jason has released some titles on EMP with his other band Broken Teeth, so he developed a relationship with them a few years ago. They agreed to release the Ignitor album after some brief discussions. It’s a licensing deal, so the label isn’t supporting the band financially in a traditional sense. That said, the label has a high profile and we’re glad to be partnering with them on this album.

💿 What do you think about the renewed interest for Classic/Traditional HM? Love for “vintage” or a new golden era? Anyway I believe that it’s magic this remade interest for this kind of music!

I think I can speak for most of the band when I say that modern metal is largely a disappointment. Classic or trad metal has more of a timeless quality to it. It’s devoid of all these genre-signifiers like blast-beats, drop-tuning, and cookie monster vocals. The classic blend of chunky, soaring guitars with pulsating rhythms played underneath is a tried and true technique for making you want to drive, run, or play faster in your everyday life. It’s also important to have a logo that people can read and lyrics that don’t make listeners want to beat their wives and kids. After dabbling in pretentious or factory-made music, people usually want to return to the real thing. That’s why I think bands like Priest and Maiden still pack all ages into stadiums all over the world, not to mention the popularity of the genre overall.

💿 Can you tell us somethin’about your next live projects?

Ignitor will be playing more in 2018, we don’t have a tour scheduled yet but we will be playing shows outside of Austin this year and next. Watch our website and Facebook page for that info.

💿 Lastly, Can you tell us somethin’about the cover of “HAUNTED BY ROCK’N’ROLL” Who made it? A really good job!

Stuart conceived it and did the layout and photos himself. He shot it in our rehearsal space. We wanted something timeless and thematic. I think it neatly encapsulates the old-school attitude we had while making the album. It’s the same stuff we see every time we get together for practice!

💿 Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal ! (Thanks Clawhammer PR)

#classichm #ignitor