Back in the late '80s, I was the metal disc jockey for my college radio station, and we used to get demo tapes from all the local bands. One of those bands was called Hammersmyth and it was obvious they were a leg up on all
MetalMike: I'm here with Marc Lopes, lead singer for Let Us Prey and Ross the Boss.
Marc: Right!
MetalMike: We go back a long way...
Marc: We do
MetalMike: You were in a band called Hammersmyth and I was playing your demos on my college radio station
Marc: Yes
MetalMike: How've you been these days?
Marc: Busy. Lot going on, recording the new Ross record, getting ready to finally release the Let Us Prey record. I have another project called Dark Day Sunday with Frank Aresti from Fates Warning and Jason Bittner from
MetalMike: Going back to the beginning, what got you started? I know you did "Queen of the Reich" with Hammersmyth, so was Geoff Tate the guy or was it someone before that?
Marc: Bruce. It was always Bruce. He's the all-time hero for me. But it was Bruce, then Tate, Halford, John Bush, you know, Warrel Dane, classics. And Manowar, of course, with Eric Adams. The funny part of that story is I remember listening to Manowar thinking, "This guy sounds like he's going into battle at every fucking turn, how does he balance that super beautiful tone with that banshee, berserker scream?" Never did I think I'd have to do it some day!
[*laughter*]
MetalMike: Speaking of that, how did this thing with Ross come about? You've been in this business for a long time, singing with Ross must be a huge deal for you.
Marc: It was actually pretty strange. I was hanging out with Death Angel on their tour bus at The Chance in New York. It met this guy named John who works with Mark from Death Angel and we hit it off and became friends. A couple weeks later, he calls me and asks if I can fill in for a couple of covers and a couple of original numbers with his band at a show opening for Ross. I thought it would be fun, get me into the New York market for my own stuff and I'd never seen Ross play. I never saw Manowar with Ross. Little did I know that would be my audition. So, I went up and did the show, no rehearsals, saw Ross play and got to meet him afterward, never thought anything about it afterward. A couple weeks later I get a call from my buddy John who is Ross' best friend asking if I can tour. I said, "yup". He asked, "do you have your passport?" I said yes, when I didn't, but I knew I could get it quick, just a little
MetalMike: It's not like you didn't know all those Manowar songs...
Marc: I did, but I didn't. It's different singing them in your room and having to perform them. Manowar fans are just as hard-core as Maiden fans, probably worse.
MetalMike: You've had the chance to tour all over the place, which must be awesome.
Marc: Oh, yes.
MetalMike: What the difference between over in Europe and here in the States?
Marc: Easiest answer in the world; culture. Metal and music are culture there. It's not something they do on the weekend, it's life. It's all ages, too, not just the old schoolers, it's the youngsters. They are passionate and when you get a fan in Europe, it's for life unless you fuck up and make a rap record.
MetalMike: Did Ross give you any indication of how he wanted you to sing the Manowar songs or has he let you put your stamp on them?
Marc: That's interesting because at first, I was trying to imitate (Eric Adams). It's natural but it's impossible. You're trying to imitate the un-imitable. That's fail number one. I almost wanted to quit because the backlash was terrible. I wondered how I was going to do this and if I was crazy. Ross said to me, "do what you do, the way you do it. We're not Manowar, we're not trying to imitate Manowar. Put your own spin to it." It has taken me a very long time to get to that point and it probably hasn't been that long since it finally sank in. I mean it when I
MetalMike: Moving on from Ross for a bit, you just released Let Us Prey's EP, The Saint of Killers...
Marc: Well, that was never actually released. We only had promos. The short of the long of that is we were shopping it around and had major interest from different labels but there weren't enough songs. We wrote four additional songs, but I've been gone for two years and we couldn't complete them until I got back. Now that I'm back and we've recorded them, we're releasing a full record. We haven't played, so there are no numbers and with labels today, you need numbers. And the offers we got weren't any better than what we could do on our own. We ended up hooking up with some investors and will be announcing a new company soon.
MetalMike: Maybe once it is out there, a label will pick it up for distribution...
Marc: Yeah, we'll work it that way and see what happens. We'll be on the road next March and May when I'm between tours (with Ross the Boss).
MetalMike: You had the opportunity to write a lot of lyrics for the third Ross the Boss album, By Blood Sworn, right? What was that experience like? You've obviously written lyrics for your own stuff...
Marc: The Blood Sworn album was pretty sporadic. You had "By Blood Sworn" which is Manowar-ish and other stuff that was more modern, lyrically. We were trying to find out footing. This new album is total old school Manowar; battle, blood and death. It's very anthemic. It has to be, that's what works.
MetalMike: Speaking of 2020, that's when we'll see the new record?
Marc: April
MetalMike: And you start touring in January?
Marc: Yes, the Hail to England tour
MetalMike: You'll be playing Hail to England in its entirety. Are you ready for "Bridge of Death" and...
Marc: We've already played them. The only song we haven't played from that album is "Army of the Immortals".
MetalMike: My favorite
Marc: We're going to play it for the first time next week. We'll see how that goes
[*laughter*]
That's my favorite record
MetalMike: Did you get to pick that one (to play front to back)?
Marc: [*whispers*] I picked it.
MetalMike: Nice.
Marc: Everyone wanted us to do Kings of Metal, but the problem is it has too much production.
MetalMike: Well, they were with Atlantic Records, had a lot more money and time in the studio...
Marc: Right.
MetalMike: The first four (Manowar) records are just them hashing it out.
Marc: Right, we don't have choirs and orchestras and shit. I like Hail to England because it's the most aggressive record and I like aggressive. We did an online poll and that record won out. It has all my favorite songs so if we have to do one album every night, let's do this one.
MetalMike: Is the rest of this year Let Us Prey and 2020 is Ross the Boss?
Marc: Right now, I'm scrambling to finish the Ross the Boss record, we go to Belgium and Germany next
MetalMike: So you guys will be everywhere for the Ross fans to see...
Marc: Yes
MetalMike: Well, thanks for taking some time to talk to me. Anything else you wanted to say that we didn't touch on?
Marc: Support the new bands. Check out the Let Us Prey album when it comes out. Financially and promotionally, it's a crazy business now. It is very hands-on, do it yourself and a lot of people are doing it. It works, because you have more control, but without the fans, there's nothing. So, if you like it, support it. Spotify it, go to a show, buy a CD, like a YouTube video. If you want to keep hearing it, you have to support it. That goes for any band.
MetalMike: Congratulations on everything, good luck. I'm glad to see someone I've known for a long time finally have success. Good luck on the show tonight.
Marc: Thanks, it's going to be a good one.