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The Chicago area has a lot of bands that still wave the banner of old metal high. SKULLVIEW happens to be just one of them, but they're also one of the best. All of them are metal to the core.

So if you encountered an ancient battlefield, littered with the bodies of the dead, what secrets of the past could you learn? If you found decayed bodies with little or no meat on them, and just bleached bones, what knowledge could they impart? Say, for example, you picked up a skull and held it to the sky. Would it begin to speak of all things mystical? Or would it be devoid of all magic, just as its former owner is devoid of life? Perhaps if you looked into its empty eye sockets, you would see things you would rather not know, but would be forced to watch. Fortunately, such is not the case with the music of SKULLVIEW. They're a pleasure to listen to, not a condemnation. Guitarist Dean Tavernier is metal to the core!

The demo seems very different from the CD. It sounds more like old thrash, but the CD sounds more like old heavy metal. Do you hear this difference as well? Did you slow the songs down for the CD at all?

Well, the demo consisted of three tunes, "Watching Below from my Moonlight Throne," "Undesired Hateful Ways," and "Dreamworld Terror (In the Valley of Metal)," and all of these tunes are also on the CD Legends of Valor. The songs are all played the same, the only difference between them are the vocals. The songs didn't change as far as tempo or structure at all. I think the demo sounds a little bit thrashy, because the vocals are more thrash style, while Earthquake sings in a more traditional heavy metal style. But I can definitely say that my vocals did not compare to what Earthquake did on the CD.

Stan Koson [head of RIP Music] said he found your new singer. What's the story behind this? Were you looking for a singer? And how did you guys hit it off at first?

We were looking for a new singer to replace my vocals because I wanted to just concentrate on playing guitar. Stan happened to be at a club in Chicago when he saw Earthquake singing JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN covers. Stan knew of our plans to search for a singer, so he talked with Earthquake and told him about our plans. Earthquake was all for it, and told Stan to have us get in contact with him. As it turned out, he lived in the same area as the rest of us, so we contacted him and set up a rehearsal with him. When he showed up to our house, we were kind of shocked, because Joe and I had gone to school with this guy and we didn't know what to expect at that point. Well, we ended up jamming our entire set with him, and he improvised some lyrics. It sounded like we had been jamming together for years, so we knew he was the dude for the job.

You did the vocals on the demo though. Your voice sounds more like what the "retro-thrash" bands are doing. You sound a little like old DESTRUCTION, vocal-wise. Was this your intent at all?

Yes, I did the vocals on the demo... regretfully. It is just too bad for us that we didn't have Earthquake with us at that time. My vocal style was just a flat out screaming, raspy style. It was the only voice I could produce while playing guitar at the same time. I really didn't have to concentrate on tonality, pitch, etcetera, by singing that way... it was the only way I could sing. I play guitar, I'm not a vocalist. But I do appreciate the DESTRUCTION comparison.

Before forming SKULLVIEW, did you guys play other types of metal? And when did you decide that the style you're doing is where your hearts lie?

Well, we all come from different bands who played different styles. Everything from traditional metal to hardcore, death metal, thrash, and black metal. When we started SKULLVIEW, we didn't set out to sound a certain way, it just developed from all of our influences and backgrounds. SKULLVIEW, simply put, is just metal, or heavy metal, or hard rock, or whatever you want to classify it as. Our hearts lie in whatever music or style a song turns out to be in SKULLVIEW.

On the CD, there's a song called "Gleam of the Skull." What's this one about? I notice that it's a "part one". Is this going to be a continuing story?

"Gleam of the Skull" is a fictional horror type of theme. It is basically a fictional story with an underlying message of reality. The story is about an ancient, evil skull hidden away in an attic. The skull permeates an evil power or feeling through the house. It was actually influenced by that feeling you sometimes get when your in a dark, mysterious place by yourself. The feeling that someone or something is watching you, waiting, them somehow taking a piece of you with every motion, breath, or action you take. The idea is to make it a continuing story. Where it will go, we really don't know yet, but I can say this... it will ROCK!!

I've got to ask how you got the artwork for the album cover. Who got in touch with Kris Verwimp? Did he design the cover, or did you give him the concept?

Stan pretty much handled the contact with Kris. Kris pretty much used his own creativity in designing the art. We did mention that we wanted something hard and barbaric, but Kris took it from that point. He did a great job.

PDoes SKULLVIEW do a lot of shows? Tell me about some of your gigs.

We don't really do many shows. Maybe one every three to six months. The shows we have played have been pretty much metal, however, we did a Chicago show with LORDES WERRE and USURPER, which was pretty killer. We've played with LORDES WERRE several times, and some death metal bands from the area too. We are pretty selective about the shows we play. We could probably play every other weekend, but the metal scene here is gay, so it is not worth it.

Do you care if metal comes back?

Metal never left! I think if you talk to Steve Harris, Ronnie James Dio, Glenn Tipton, or Lemmy, they would agree with me. I just hope metal doesn't leave.

I did meet the LORDES WERRE guys at the Milwaukee Fest last year, and I found out about your band when they mentioned it to me. Since those guys are total alcoholics and you say you hang with them, I was wondering what your choice of beer is. Or do you prefer another type of booze?

Well, the LORDES WERRE guys are the coolest. Rob, Ben, and Jamie are about the hardest rockers I know. I hold the sign for the US thrash attack of LORDES WERRE! I think they are getting a bad... or good.. rap about being alcoholics [laughs]. Yeah, we like to drink a lot and we do it quite often together. As far as beer goes, I am a diehard "P.B.R. Me A.S.A.P." man. Blue Ribbon Beer is the best!! I also enjoy a little nip of whiskey, preferably Southern Comfort, to warm my bones. A thousand thanks to you Tom, for supporting us, and all those who hold the banner high!