FOZZY Frontman: 'A Lot Of Bands Aren't Really Playing The Kind Of Music That We're Playing'

ARTISTdirect.com editor Rick Florino recently conducted an interview with FOZZY frontman and WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

ARTISTdirect.com: "Chasing the Grail" sounds like traditional metal, but it's still fresh. How do things typically come together for you?

Jericho: It's interesting. Since the record came out, a lot of people have pointed out that our music is very heavy, but it's also very melodic at the same time. It's got a real modern sound, and a lot of bands aren't really playing the kind of music that we're playing. That's enabled us to carve out our own little niche in the scene. A lot of it has to do with our influences. First and foremost, Rich Ward is the leader of STUCK MOJO and has been since their inception. STUCK MOJO was one of the pioneers of the modern rap-rock genre. Rich has that real heavy, SEVENDUST or SHINEDOWN vibe. We also love IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and OZZY OSBOURNE. We're also fans of bands from the '70s like JOURNEY, BAD COMPANY and STYX. We get a lot of vocal harmonies and melodies from that style of music as well. There really are a lot of different styles that go into this FOZZY blender to create the sound that we have. I've been playing in bands since I was 12-years-old, and when you start playing, you try to be the next IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, DIO or whatever. As you continue to play for 10 or 15 years, your own style shines through. That's what it takes to have some notoriety as a band and be successful. You have to have your own style and your own sound. A lot of people say I sound like Ozzy vocally, and I never intended that. I always wanted to be like Bruce Dickinson or Rob Halford, but there is an Ozzy style to my voice. I also bring a Jericho style to it as well. This is our fourth studio album and our tenth year as a band. We've played hundreds of gigs and spent countless hours in the studio, practicing and rehearsing. You just hone your craft and sculpt your style. You see what works and what doesn't. We've found our box in terms of what FOZZY does.

ARTISTdirect.com: What's the story behind "Wormwood"?

Jericho: When we first started talking about doing a new record two or three years ago, I had an idea to do an epic song. I always loved "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" and "Keeper of the Seven Keys". Plus, I'm a huge RUSH and DREAM THEATER fan. I knew that we had the players in the band to pull it off, and I had great subject matter. I've always thought that book of Revelations and the story of the End of the World would be a great epic. I sat down with a Bible and Google, and I just started writing. Three weeks later, I had ten pages of lyrics. I knew it was going to be a monster to handle. Our guitar player at the time, Martin, was really into that stuff. So we worked together to create "Wormwood". It's one of my favorite songs on the record, and it brings FOZZY to a different world. Not too many bands can pull off a 14-minute song and make it memorable. We've been able to do that, and it gives us a whole new dynamic within the band and shows our fan base, as well as people who've never heard us before, another dimension.

ARTISTdirect.com: It never gets boring either…

Jericho: Exactly, it's not the same riff or lyrics over and over again. I deliberately came up with this seven-part story based on exactly what was in the book of Revelations. Each part has a different vibe and sound. Mike really captured the sinister, foreboding vibe of the lyrics with the riffs and atmosphere he created. It was a great example of one musician taking another musician's idea and making it his own. It was a perfect songwriting collaboration. On this record, all of the lyrics were written before the riffs — that's the first time we've ever done that. Rich just kept creating these tremendous riffs that really fit the lyrics I was writing. I think that's why this record is our best. It's really cohesive, and it takes you on a journey. It was written classically with the songwriters working together from scratch and seeing it through to the end. We've never really done that before. This time, there were lyrics set before the music was even attempted.

Read the entire interview at ARTISTdirect.com.