I still think the best metal bands have a blues feel. The first Black Sabbath album is kind of a bludgeoning of blues. Deep Purple also started out as a blues band.
I listen to a lot of Pink Floyd, the Doors, Elton John, Sabbath, Metallica, GN'R, Megadeth - just classic rock, classic metal stuff.
When we went to Judas Priest backstage, Mr. Rob Halford told us that they were waiting to see us. We've met Mr. Kirk Hammett of Metallica several times, and he is extremely kind to us. No one gives us mean looks, and we are so happy that Babymetal is welcomed warmly.
Hard rock for me is AC/DC, Def Leppard, Tesla, Kiss. Metal tends to be louder, ruder, darker, like Judas Priest, Slayer, Iron Maiden.
I remember being inspired by this band Godflesh, actually. They were a really heavy metal band, really nihilistic.
Punk rock really influenced me, the basic metal bands, Zeppelin, Stones and Floyd, and Southern rock bands. I think I was pretty well-rounded.
When I was in high school, I listened to a lot of death metal bands.
Back in 1994 there was no Judas Priest.
L.A. has got to be the poser capital of the world. Around here Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, and Ratt are the heaviest in the world. So if that's heavy we must be molten steel.
The guitar influence that affected my songwriting came from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
On our first album, 'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet,' we were listening to more obscure heavy metal bands and hardcore bands.
It wasn't enough for Megadeth to do well; I wanted Metallica to fail.
I was mostly influenced by bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest - Metallica's 'Kill 'Em All' was also a hell of an inspiration.
Black-metal is my favourite. Mayhem are one of my favourite bands. But whenever Slayer comes to town, I am going to that show.
When I first got involved in the underground metal scene in '82, '83, there were only about five or six major Death or Black Metal bands around. There were so many other bands that were inspirational, that really helped.
When this genre of music started in America, Metallica was up north in California, we were in Southern California, Anthrax was on the East Coast. We each developed our own metal music, and after 30 years, we're still playing our metal music.
Megadeth doesn't sound anything like Metallica.
I've always liked the heavier stuff. I've always loved Tool and System of a Down, Korn and Nine Inch Nails.
I've banged my head quite a bit. I liked Iron Maiden, Ozzy, AC/DC. And of course, Ratt and Poison.
I've been requested by hundreds of metal bands to be part of their albums or side projects.
Even when metal was on the radio, it was always the watered down stuff. There were only a couple real metal bands - Metallica is one - that broke through.
We are one of the last heavy metal bands. Iron Maiden has always been unique.
The band that I always wanted to tour with was Pantera, and we got to tour with them twice.
I got into one Metallica record. That was about it. I never got into AC/DC or Black Sabbath or any of that. I was interested in the side of heavy metal that had interesting guitar ideas, but that was a very short-lived thing.
These new metal bands are going out, getting drunk and going to strip clubs, and they'll be doing the same in thirty years. There isn't even an interesting self-destructive quality to it . . . it's just dumb.
