SCIENCE OF ANNIHILATION CAGE vocalist Sean Peck checks in with news about the band's latest album

Interview by Ville Krannila / August 2009

After releasing their brand new album entitled 'Science Of Annihilation' a while ago, Steel Mill was lucky to get Cage vocalist Sean Peck stop by and give us an update of the latest news of this no holds barred, red hot band, well known for their assault of traditional, furious heavy metal.

Ville: Congrats, the new album sounds very powerful, after impressive "Hell Destroyer" what approach did you take with this new one?

Sean: Well first off thanks for having us again! We wanted to push the limits of the genre even more with the new record. We had the addition of new drummer Norm “The Legend “ Leggio who really added a new dimension to what was possible. We knew we could turn up the speed and  implement some thrash and blast beats to scream and shred to. We had to make sure that with the new attack, the songs were still memorable and had the proper hooks designed for arena metal.  There was a lot of pressure internally to top what most people thought was our best release, HELL DESTROYER..

Where did the title "Science Of Annihilation" originate from?

Well we knew we wanted to annihilate with a no frills, straight ahead, head banging release. So I thought about the exact science behind annihilation and how it is done. The title kind of grew on us and has been very well received.  The cd has a cosmic vibe where as we destroyed the Earth with HELL DESTROYER, all existence is extinguished in this one.

Can you describe the creative process for the new album, did the lyrics come first or the music?

This was the first album that I did write some complete lyrics before the music came so that was a new experience.  There were 3 of us me and the 2 guitarists who primarily compose. Norm did a great job being spot on with writing his beat patterns as well as the bass player’s contributions. This was also the fastest we have ever written a cd so that was new and we have always gone through the long writing process and played the songs out live to test them. I used to think that was a real advantage, but now after this album I do not know. We did our European tour before the cd was released and people heard the new songs for the first time and they went over great. I have a strong level of confidence on what is a good heavy metal song being a fan of the genre. It is the only music I listen to, so I know a great song when I hear it!

How long did the recording sessions last and were all the songs written by the time you hit studio?

No, the Science trilogy at the end of the cd was written purely in the studio in like 2 sessions. It was cool how Dave Garcia and I put that together. Once it was done, Norm came up with some amazing patterns that were killer. That was the grand epic track on the disc and is a little more progressive than the other tracks but definitely has some screaming and shredding from Hell on it. It was recorded at 200 bpm which is fast for us ha! The 6 months or so recording it was done by Dave and myself mostly. Whenever we got into trouble we would call up Roy Z and say “Help!!!”

Regarding your vocals in studio, do record many vocal takes or try to nail the part straight away?

I go kind of line by line. I do not sing the whole song through and then comp it like a lot of the super stars do. I will come in and maybe do the chorus first and then hit a different part depending on how I am feeling or sounding. We are pretty smart about it so when I get coarse I will go do the low parts for example. My voice gets louder as we record, so sometimes I have to go back and redo some stuff because I am sounding stronger at that point. Generally though, I usually nail it within 3 takes or so. It is always fun creating sick metal screamer parts and trying to always find new voices to put on our records.

Your vocals on "Science Of Annihilation" sound amazing, how did you achieve this and how do you keep your voice in shape? 

Lots of practice and always trying to improve. I am a guy that has had no formal vocal training and just wanted to be a metal singer once I fell in love with the music. I had no musical knowledge (still do not ha!), and just was a class clown guy doing impersonations and joking around. It is kind of wild, how I was able to teach myself to do this and now hear all the amazing accolades that I get from the metal world. I try to keep in shape, but do not smoke or drink. We just did our first tour and was able to do 14 shows with only 2 days rest which was a real confidence builder for me.

Do you think there is still a demand for classic Priest-style heavy metal?

We have been playing a lot of all ages shows and the kids absolutely love what we are doing so I would say yes.  We play shows with death metal and scream bands and make them all look completely one dimensional. We need to have someone in the genre really begin to rise up in order to succeed the masters and I have seen no real evidence of that. We of course would love to be the ones to do it!

Will you plan on featuring a lot of "Science Of Annihilation" in your new live set?

Yes, half of our set is comprised of the new songs.  They have been going over great and now the set is just pure fury.  We have removed a lot of the mid tempo stuff and it is just a pure blaze fest. It is a tribute to just how good the new cd has been received and is sinking in quickly to our fan base.

What are your touring plans at the moment?

We are finally playing some shows on the East Coast which I am excited about including the Prog Power USA X Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. We have built up a great reputation as an impressive, not to be missed live act and finally the economic part of it is become good for us. It has taken 16 years to get to this point, but now it makes sense for promoters to pay enough cash for us to be good for us and make a good profit as our draw around the world has increased dramaticallyI spent many years promoting shows, so I know how it is and appreciate all the promoters that have us now. There are lots of things in the works but Mexico and at least 2 more sessions in Europe in the next 12 months are planned!

If you could put together a classic metal package for the road, which bands would you personally choose to go along with Cage?

Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, King Diamond and Cage, now that would be a show!! Make some calls and set it up ha!!

Thanks for the Cage update and all the best for the new tour!

Thanks for keeping an eye on us and great questions as usual, K.K. Downing is one of the nicest guys in metal and the lifeblood of Priest!

Remember to check out our previous interview with Sean Peck, with more in-depth look at Cage here