Reverence is an old school metal band that is true to what they set out to do, which is to rock! Featuring current and ex-members of Tokyo Blade, Riot V, and Savatage, their line-up consists of seasoned musicians among who vocalist Todd Michael Hall, stands out, as a pleasant character and a vocalist par excellence, one of the “new” favorites and a guy that was crucial to breathing life back into Riot, at a crucial time in their career, while managing to keep another two bands active, to work a dayjob and to have a normal life. He took a bit of time off to answer some questions about Reverence’s sophomore... so here’s what he had to say...
Hi Todd… it’s nice to have you again on Grande Rock. Reverence is back with a vengeance, only a couple of short years after your debut. In the meantime you’ve emerged and been widely accepted as the new singer for Riot (V) and done a couple of world tours... Were you expecting all this?
T: No, I really was not. Part of the reason I started the Reverence project was because my activities with Burning Starr did not require that much of my time. I was used to only playing out live about once per year. When the opportunity to join Riot V came along, I hoped that I would get more opportunities to play live, but I didn’t realize that it would keep me as busy as it has.
How has your membership in Riot affected, the rest of the stuff you’re involved with?
T: I have to balance my musical life with my work and family responsibilities, so when Riot is active, it is difficult to find time to work on other musical projects. It seems especially difficult to arrange live shows with my other bands.
“Gods of War” is your sophomore effort, how do you think it fares compared to the debut and how is it different?
T: After I finished working with Harlet in the early 90s, I did not have a good outlet for music for quite a few years. Starting in the later 90s, I had an intense desire to write, record, and release an old-school heavy metal album. Joining Burning Starr in 2004 and releasing two albums with them did not totally satisfy this urge for me, because Burning Starr is really Jack’s band. Reverence feels like my band. Bryan Holland and I had a very similar musical direction in mind and I got to write all of the lyrics and vocal melodies. When we released our first album, “When Darkness Calls”, I felt an incredible sense of accomplishment, so “When Darkness Calls” holds a special place in my heart for that reason. With our second album, “Gods of War”, I think we have matured as songwriters and solidified our sound a little more. It is difficult for me to say if “GoW” is better than “WDC”. I like them both. If I go by what people say, then I would say “GoW” is better, because the majority of people and reviewers have said so.
As far as I know, you’re still with Razar Ice Records? Has the album been licensed to any other labels? It’s usually a hard label to find at least locally...
T: Razar Ice Records is Bryan Holland’s record label, so in a sense I guess you could say that we are releasing the Reverence albums independently. Bryan and I have had a lot of conversations about whether or not we should pursue a bigger record label. I firmly believe that a bigger record label would help us with distribution and connections, but we also lose control and have very little chance of getting back the money we spent recording the album. For “GoW”, we did sign with Avalon/Marquee for distribution in Japan and Asia, but we decided to stick with Razar Ice Records for the rest of the world.
What does the title “Gods of War” declare? Does it have to do with today’s “war-like” situation?
T: When we write songs, we start with the music. Bryan and more so" on this second album, Bryan and Pete Rossi, record a demo and then hand it off to me for lyrics and vocal melodies. Bryan typically names the songs, but I do not always keep the title he suggests. “Gods of War” is a title that Bryan suggested and when I listened to the song, it seemed to sing that title to me, so I went with it. For me, “Gods of War” refers to the countries, companies, and/or leaders that are manipulating the circumstances that lead to war.
Give us a clue about the themes behind the songs?
T: “Gods of War”: The title refers to the countries, companies, and/or leaders that are manipulating the circumstances that lead to war.
“Heart of Gold”: Resisting the forces that try to pull us off the path of righteousness.
“Until My Dying Breath”: Not letting other people discourage you from accomplishing your dreams.
“Angel in Black”: Bryan had a dream that we have a guardian angel that protects us throughout our lives, but then turns into our personal angel of death when it is our time to go. I based the lyrics loosely on his dream.
“Tear Down the Mountain”: Great things can be accomplished if we persistently work hard.
“Blood of Heroes”: We owe a great debt to the people that have fought for us.
“Battle Cry”: Make some noise for metal.
“Choices Made”: The struggle to maintain a proper balance between pursuing your passions and selfishness.
“Splinter”: You spend time building a family, knowing full well that if you are successful, your kids will leave you and form their own families.
“Cleansed By Fire”: Keeping a positive attitude in the face of life’s challenges.
“Race to Obscene”: Pop stars that feel the need to be nearly naked and pretending to have sex just to sell their music.
“Kick the Dog”: Dealing with people that vent their frustrations on you.
You’ve already released twos videos, one for “Until My Dying Breath” and another for the self-titled track of the album. Are you going to release any other video in the near future, or this is it? Do you prefer the concept videos over the lyric ones?
T: We recorded a third video, but we have not edited it yet, so I do not know for sure if it will be released. I definitely prefer concept videos or at least videos that show the band performing over lyric videos. There is really no budget for smaller bands like us to create videos though, so it can be challenging to make concept videos look as professional as a lyric video.
With Riot being active and touring quite a bit, how are you planning to promote Reverence with regards to live performances / touring?
T: It is definitely a challenge. We ended up playing shows to help support the first Reverence album, but not until about 16 months after it was released. I might expect a similar delay for “GoW”. It is expensive to tour and since we all live fairly far away from each other, it is difficult and expensive to rehearse in preparation for a tour.
Where do you see Reverence in a few years from now? Where do you see TMH a few years from now?
T: I would like to keep building on what we have done with Reverence. It would be nice to do a third album and also get a chance to play more live shows. I am really proud of what I have done with Riot V also, so it would be nice to see that continue to grow as well.
Also do you feel more at ease doing Reverence – or Riot? In Riot you often have to channel the style of each vocalist, trying to match the performance/style a bit, when it’s previous singers’ material while in Reverence it’s all yours – do you give it much thought, or not at all and let it happen quite naturally?
T: I have a naturally clean voice, which lends itself well to a lot of the Riot material. After playing quite a few live shows with Riot V, I am a little surprised how well the songs fit with my voice. It seems like I was meant to be in the band. For Reverence, I am usually going for a rougher tone, because that seems more appropriate on the style of music. Perhaps other people do not really notice the difference, but I think there is a fairly big difference in how I sound in Reverence verses Riot V. I don’t put a lot of thought into it though. For the most part, things just flow naturally.
Do you still have a balance between bands and the dayjob?
T: Most of my life is work and family. Altogether, I think I was gone from home about six weeks playing live shows each of the last two years. When I am not traveling to play live shows, music is something I have to squeeze into the spare moments of my life. For example, it is tough for me to record during the week without feeling like I am taking too much time away from my family. Consequently, I tend to record mostly on the weekends and only if I don’t have something else I need or want to do.
What’s the next thing on the platter? Touring with Reverence? Recording the new Riot V? Something else?
T: I have done the initial vocal tracks on 14 Burning Starr songs and would really like to finalize all of my vocal parts before I start playing out with Riot V again around the end of March. In addition, I am working on new material with Riot V, as we hope to release another album during 2016.
So you are still actively participating in Jack Starr’s projects. What’s new from the JS camp?
T: My time commitments with Riot V are greater than I initially thought they would be. Consequently, I had to let Jack Starr know that it would be difficult for me to schedule live shows with Burning Starr. I suggested that they might want to consider a different singer for the new album if they were going to need a different singer to do live shows, but Jack said he wanted me to do the new album and that he would worry about what to do for live shows later.
Who were your influences growing up as a vocalist and what/who made you want to be in a band, was there a decisive moment that you though OK, I can do this... let’s try out... were you in the bands at school? I know you’re still not “fully” pro when it comes to being a musician – as a profession, despite being a “pro” level vocalist...
T: I have always loved to sing, even from when I was a very little boy. I used to perform at school and got turned on to hard rock music by my older brother Jon, who played with me in Harlet. I was conscious of music starting in the mid to later 70s and was 10 to 20 years old during the 80s, so heavy metal was really popular during my formative years. It was a golden age for rock singers. Back then, having a big voice and a large vocal range was what everyone wanted, so learning how to sing high was important to me. I played out my first time with a rock band when I was 15 years old, but did not really learn how to tap into my higher, head voice range until I was 17 years old. Geoff Tate and Eric Adams were my two biggest heavy metal influences, but I also loved TNT, Iron Maiden, Dio, Malice, Warrior, Shy, Surgin’, and quite a few other bands that had great singers.
OK now it’s time for some “weird” questions!!! If you were Todd Almighty –God for a week, what would you do?
T: Peace and love throughout the world would be nice to make happen, but if I were being selfish, I would give myself the ability to fly. I have had a lot of dreams about being able to fly and I think it would have to be pretty cool.
If you could be anyone – man/woman/character (fictional)/ historical figure, who would you want to be and why?
T: I don’t really have a real life role model that I dream about being like, so I would probably go for someone with supernatural powers like Superman, because it would be nice to experience things no other human being had experienced.
Which one of the seven deadly sins do you identify with?
T: I have a fair amount of confidence in myself, so I guess pride is probably my most frequently exhibited of the seven deadly sins.
What is the weirdest/funniest thing that has happened to you as a musician?
T: I have forgotten lyrics, sung the wrong words, and had microphones not work and/or cables fall out before, but I think the funniest thing was when I had a pair of fake leather pants rip while I was performing. People could not see my skin below the pants or anything, but the outside leather-looking part ripped and became unbonded from the fabric below it, so it looked pretty strange.
Fill in the phrase… “Heavy metal wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
T: MTV and music videos, which put a lot more emphasis on the way people looked in addition to the way they sounded.
Which are the best 3 heavy metal albums of all time according to you?
T: This is an impossible question and I cannot really say these are the “best”, but three I would recommend are Queensryche – “Operation Mindcrime”, Iron Maiden – “Piece of Mind”, Dio – “Holy Diver”…
What’s the worst thing you can say right after sex?
T: What’s your name again?
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of all time?
T: I don’t think she is a “rock” star, but I always thought Sade was hot.
Which is that band that you’d like to be part of (any time & era)?
T: Iron Maiden – tons of fans, a really long, ongoing career, freedom to play what they want to play, a cool logo and an awesome mascot.
Thx very much for talking to Grande Rock Todd. Close this interview in your own way… take care dude!
T: Thank you for doing this interview and special thanks to all your readers that help keep heavy metal alive a kicking.
T: No, I really was not. Part of the reason I started the Reverence project was because my activities with Burning Starr did not require that much of my time. I was used to only playing out live about once per year. When the opportunity to join Riot V came along, I hoped that I would get more opportunities to play live, but I didn’t realize that it would keep me as busy as it has.
How has your membership in Riot affected, the rest of the stuff you’re involved with?
T: I have to balance my musical life with my work and family responsibilities, so when Riot is active, it is difficult to find time to work on other musical projects. It seems especially difficult to arrange live shows with my other bands.
“Gods of War” is your sophomore effort, how do you think it fares compared to the debut and how is it different?
T: After I finished working with Harlet in the early 90s, I did not have a good outlet for music for quite a few years. Starting in the later 90s, I had an intense desire to write, record, and release an old-school heavy metal album. Joining Burning Starr in 2004 and releasing two albums with them did not totally satisfy this urge for me, because Burning Starr is really Jack’s band. Reverence feels like my band. Bryan Holland and I had a very similar musical direction in mind and I got to write all of the lyrics and vocal melodies. When we released our first album, “When Darkness Calls”, I felt an incredible sense of accomplishment, so “When Darkness Calls” holds a special place in my heart for that reason. With our second album, “Gods of War”, I think we have matured as songwriters and solidified our sound a little more. It is difficult for me to say if “GoW” is better than “WDC”. I like them both. If I go by what people say, then I would say “GoW” is better, because the majority of people and reviewers have said so.
As far as I know, you’re still with Razar Ice Records? Has the album been licensed to any other labels? It’s usually a hard label to find at least locally...
T: Razar Ice Records is Bryan Holland’s record label, so in a sense I guess you could say that we are releasing the Reverence albums independently. Bryan and I have had a lot of conversations about whether or not we should pursue a bigger record label. I firmly believe that a bigger record label would help us with distribution and connections, but we also lose control and have very little chance of getting back the money we spent recording the album. For “GoW”, we did sign with Avalon/Marquee for distribution in Japan and Asia, but we decided to stick with Razar Ice Records for the rest of the world.
What does the title “Gods of War” declare? Does it have to do with today’s “war-like” situation?
T: When we write songs, we start with the music. Bryan and more so" on this second album, Bryan and Pete Rossi, record a demo and then hand it off to me for lyrics and vocal melodies. Bryan typically names the songs, but I do not always keep the title he suggests. “Gods of War” is a title that Bryan suggested and when I listened to the song, it seemed to sing that title to me, so I went with it. For me, “Gods of War” refers to the countries, companies, and/or leaders that are manipulating the circumstances that lead to war.
Give us a clue about the themes behind the songs?
T: “Gods of War”: The title refers to the countries, companies, and/or leaders that are manipulating the circumstances that lead to war.
“Heart of Gold”: Resisting the forces that try to pull us off the path of righteousness.
“Until My Dying Breath”: Not letting other people discourage you from accomplishing your dreams.
“Angel in Black”: Bryan had a dream that we have a guardian angel that protects us throughout our lives, but then turns into our personal angel of death when it is our time to go. I based the lyrics loosely on his dream.
“Tear Down the Mountain”: Great things can be accomplished if we persistently work hard.
“Blood of Heroes”: We owe a great debt to the people that have fought for us.
“Battle Cry”: Make some noise for metal.
“Choices Made”: The struggle to maintain a proper balance between pursuing your passions and selfishness.
“Splinter”: You spend time building a family, knowing full well that if you are successful, your kids will leave you and form their own families.
“Cleansed By Fire”: Keeping a positive attitude in the face of life’s challenges.
“Race to Obscene”: Pop stars that feel the need to be nearly naked and pretending to have sex just to sell their music.
“Kick the Dog”: Dealing with people that vent their frustrations on you.
You’ve already released twos videos, one for “Until My Dying Breath” and another for the self-titled track of the album. Are you going to release any other video in the near future, or this is it? Do you prefer the concept videos over the lyric ones?
T: We recorded a third video, but we have not edited it yet, so I do not know for sure if it will be released. I definitely prefer concept videos or at least videos that show the band performing over lyric videos. There is really no budget for smaller bands like us to create videos though, so it can be challenging to make concept videos look as professional as a lyric video.
With Riot being active and touring quite a bit, how are you planning to promote Reverence with regards to live performances / touring?
T: It is definitely a challenge. We ended up playing shows to help support the first Reverence album, but not until about 16 months after it was released. I might expect a similar delay for “GoW”. It is expensive to tour and since we all live fairly far away from each other, it is difficult and expensive to rehearse in preparation for a tour.
Where do you see Reverence in a few years from now? Where do you see TMH a few years from now?
T: I would like to keep building on what we have done with Reverence. It would be nice to do a third album and also get a chance to play more live shows. I am really proud of what I have done with Riot V also, so it would be nice to see that continue to grow as well.
Also do you feel more at ease doing Reverence – or Riot? In Riot you often have to channel the style of each vocalist, trying to match the performance/style a bit, when it’s previous singers’ material while in Reverence it’s all yours – do you give it much thought, or not at all and let it happen quite naturally?
T: I have a naturally clean voice, which lends itself well to a lot of the Riot material. After playing quite a few live shows with Riot V, I am a little surprised how well the songs fit with my voice. It seems like I was meant to be in the band. For Reverence, I am usually going for a rougher tone, because that seems more appropriate on the style of music. Perhaps other people do not really notice the difference, but I think there is a fairly big difference in how I sound in Reverence verses Riot V. I don’t put a lot of thought into it though. For the most part, things just flow naturally.
Do you still have a balance between bands and the dayjob?
T: Most of my life is work and family. Altogether, I think I was gone from home about six weeks playing live shows each of the last two years. When I am not traveling to play live shows, music is something I have to squeeze into the spare moments of my life. For example, it is tough for me to record during the week without feeling like I am taking too much time away from my family. Consequently, I tend to record mostly on the weekends and only if I don’t have something else I need or want to do.
What’s the next thing on the platter? Touring with Reverence? Recording the new Riot V? Something else?
T: I have done the initial vocal tracks on 14 Burning Starr songs and would really like to finalize all of my vocal parts before I start playing out with Riot V again around the end of March. In addition, I am working on new material with Riot V, as we hope to release another album during 2016.
So you are still actively participating in Jack Starr’s projects. What’s new from the JS camp?
T: My time commitments with Riot V are greater than I initially thought they would be. Consequently, I had to let Jack Starr know that it would be difficult for me to schedule live shows with Burning Starr. I suggested that they might want to consider a different singer for the new album if they were going to need a different singer to do live shows, but Jack said he wanted me to do the new album and that he would worry about what to do for live shows later.
Who were your influences growing up as a vocalist and what/who made you want to be in a band, was there a decisive moment that you though OK, I can do this... let’s try out... were you in the bands at school? I know you’re still not “fully” pro when it comes to being a musician – as a profession, despite being a “pro” level vocalist...
T: I have always loved to sing, even from when I was a very little boy. I used to perform at school and got turned on to hard rock music by my older brother Jon, who played with me in Harlet. I was conscious of music starting in the mid to later 70s and was 10 to 20 years old during the 80s, so heavy metal was really popular during my formative years. It was a golden age for rock singers. Back then, having a big voice and a large vocal range was what everyone wanted, so learning how to sing high was important to me. I played out my first time with a rock band when I was 15 years old, but did not really learn how to tap into my higher, head voice range until I was 17 years old. Geoff Tate and Eric Adams were my two biggest heavy metal influences, but I also loved TNT, Iron Maiden, Dio, Malice, Warrior, Shy, Surgin’, and quite a few other bands that had great singers.
OK now it’s time for some “weird” questions!!! If you were Todd Almighty –God for a week, what would you do?
T: Peace and love throughout the world would be nice to make happen, but if I were being selfish, I would give myself the ability to fly. I have had a lot of dreams about being able to fly and I think it would have to be pretty cool.
If you could be anyone – man/woman/character (fictional)/ historical figure, who would you want to be and why?
T: I don’t really have a real life role model that I dream about being like, so I would probably go for someone with supernatural powers like Superman, because it would be nice to experience things no other human being had experienced.
Which one of the seven deadly sins do you identify with?
T: I have a fair amount of confidence in myself, so I guess pride is probably my most frequently exhibited of the seven deadly sins.
What is the weirdest/funniest thing that has happened to you as a musician?
T: I have forgotten lyrics, sung the wrong words, and had microphones not work and/or cables fall out before, but I think the funniest thing was when I had a pair of fake leather pants rip while I was performing. People could not see my skin below the pants or anything, but the outside leather-looking part ripped and became unbonded from the fabric below it, so it looked pretty strange.
Fill in the phrase… “Heavy metal wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
T: MTV and music videos, which put a lot more emphasis on the way people looked in addition to the way they sounded.
Which are the best 3 heavy metal albums of all time according to you?
T: This is an impossible question and I cannot really say these are the “best”, but three I would recommend are Queensryche – “Operation Mindcrime”, Iron Maiden – “Piece of Mind”, Dio – “Holy Diver”…
What’s the worst thing you can say right after sex?
T: What’s your name again?
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of all time?
T: I don’t think she is a “rock” star, but I always thought Sade was hot.
Which is that band that you’d like to be part of (any time & era)?
T: Iron Maiden – tons of fans, a really long, ongoing career, freedom to play what they want to play, a cool logo and an awesome mascot.
Thx very much for talking to Grande Rock Todd. Close this interview in your own way… take care dude!
T: Thank you for doing this interview and special thanks to all your readers that help keep heavy metal alive a kicking.