The Band: Toledo Steel
Country: UK
The Man: Matt Dobson (drums)
Traditional heavy metal: the staple ingredients of guitar
melodies, blistering solos, galloping bass lines... Toledo Steel’s twin-guitar
lead classic metal, combined with Rich Rutter’s unmistakable sky-high vocal
hooks make this “Zero Hour” a joy for any classic metal fan. And they are
coming for more...
Hello Matt, thank you
for your time. The first question is mandatory, taking in acount this is a Spanish Metal site… how did you come to
chose “Toledo Steel” as the name for your band?
A few years back I used to fence, so have always had a big
love for swords.
In that case what better name then 'Toledo Steel'? Spanish
made steel that's tougher than the rest ;)
Please summarize a
little the history of the band till present
We formed the band just over 3 years, just a few friends
meeting up to jam covers of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Grim Reaper etc A few
months later, we started writing our own material playing shows in our
hometown, then around the country and then now into Europe. The rest is all
history.....
You have released
your second Ep, the first one was in 2013, although you have doubled the number
of tracks in this second effort. Next one will be a full-length? Are you
composing new songs?
At the moment we are starting to write more songs for our
first full length debut. It's certainly a longer process as you feel that you
want everything that you write to be better then everything else you have
previously written.
What are we going to
find in “Zero Hour”?
Zero hour is a 6 track EP with razor sharp riffs, pounding
drums and singalong songs. Total old school heavy metal worship!
What are your main
influences?
I think as a band we all share a love for hard rock and
heavy metal, but we also have different influences that add a certain twist to
our sound. Myself I would say the good old nwobhm bands like Saxon, Grim Reaper
and Priest, but also bands from Europe as well, like Tyrant, Krokus and the
Scorpions.
My favorite track is
Fallen Empire, a good combination of speed and power metal with some epic
flavour too. What is your favorite song and which one works better in live?
My personal favourite is Escape from Alcatraz from the first
EP or Toledo Steel from Zero Hour. Both fast paced songs that really get the
adrenaline pumping when your sat behind the drum kit, also as they are both
great singalong songs.
I think you have
released your Ep by yourselves. The production is very good, but are you
seeking a contract with a label or that is secondary goal?
I think our aim is to carry on releasing our material
ourselves, until the right kind of deal comes up that will suit both us as a
band and any label wanting to sign us up.
It also gives us the chance to build up our fan base before
any label backed album etc is released.
How can the fan get
your works?
Fans can pick up physical copies of our ep's etc from our
merch store: http://toledosteelshop.bigcartel.com
Also we have had both ep's put onto sites like iTunes,
Spotify, Amazon and many more!
Is Toledo Steel a
band in evolution or you will play more or less the same style in every single
album?
As I said before, we've always wanted to expand and progress
on our music and to add elements to it that is refreshing and appealing whilst
still keeping our sound.
Have you been touring
around or supporting some bands?
Yeah we've been fortunate to play with some killer bands
from around the world on quite a few occasions now. Bands like Cauldron, Amulet
and Portrait to name a few.
Some of our first shows were actually on a couple of dates
of a tour that Cauldron were doing in England just over 2 years ago. It's
awesome travelling around, meeting cool people and playing with bands you love
to listen to.
Yeah, Cauldron, those
guys have many miles in their guitars. How do you see the Metal scene in your
country?
England has a thriving metal scene, but for the style of
metal we play, we find it much more loyal and dedicated in Europe. Having said
that, there are a lot more kick ass bands from England appearing which is great
to keep the flames of old school heavy
metal burning.
A wish for 2016?
A Ferrari would be nice haha
As for the band, we want to release an album, travel back to places and
countries we've had the pleasure to play in so far but also visit new places
and make a whole load of new friends in the process.
Hopefully we will
meet in some metal event! Thanks Matt for your attention and best wishes to
Toledo Steel!
Was great speaking to you guys. Cheers for the support and
we will do our best to play in Spain soon! ;)
very great interview vpower, toledo steel is a great band
ResponderEliminara classic sound for a promising band
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