Panic Cell Interview

Summer 2008 is looking up already for me... I just got the new Panic Cell CD and let me tell you what, this album is going to be playing in my I-pod for awhile. I'll definately be turning on my metal-head friends to this powerful new group down at the Texas coast this summer. It's as if you want to carry your new hot band around with you like they are your party friends, and you want to let everyone know about 'em. You know, wear your favorite band like a badge of honer.

I have never heard of this band before a month ago... I've listen to this CD about four times in two days and that's all I'm listening to now. The music seems to get deeper and deeper after every listen. If your a Metallica, Megadeth, Kerrang reading metal head, then not having this album in your collection would simply be a crying shame.

There is know doubt that this band is going places... They've been together since 2004 when they debuted their first album Bitter Part of Me released on Casket Records. They've toured with Bands like Disturbed, Children of Bodem, Primal Fear,Breed 77, Life of Agony, Drowning Pool, and have been featured in all the major music metal / guitar magazines like Rock Sound Mag, Guitarist Magazine and many many more. Lastly, all the guys have endorsements with many well known music manufactures such as Peavey Amps, ESP Guitars, Shine Drums, Framus/Warwick Amps and Sennheiser wireless too.

As for the powerful new songs you ask? I can tell you this much, there is really no pigeon holing these mates. With award-winning producers, new managment, booking, and label, the energy level and eagerness of this band to break through to the US Market is definately evident with listening to these new songs. Awesome songs like 'Stare Into Oblivian', 'Calm', and 'Dead to Me' really illustrates Panic Cell's hammering and riff-pounding writing style. Songs 'Human Tarmac', 'Fallen', and 'Hillbilly' are more in the hard rock vein. Whilst 'Force Down', Bleed To This and Walk Away' show a very melodic side of the band still keeping to their hard-hitting roots. And last but not least for sure, 'Soul Purge'... Now this song is the most orchestrated on the album. Every Metal album has to have their ballad, and I guess this would be it. Kind of like a Luv Hurts from Nazerath type song, etc.

So Please.... Check out this very kool interview with the Lead singer Luke Bell

Fallen - Panic Cell

Panic Cell Interview

Luke: Hey Scott,I hope all is good with you! The new cd and new website are both working out very well indeed thank you, we are all extremely pleased with both products!

Scott: Tell our readers a little about yourself and how you fit in the scheme of things being a member of Panic Cell...

Luke: I’m the singer in Panic Cell, generally being the front man in most of the bands respects - both on and off stage. I tend to handle a fair bit of the public interraction, face to face stuff. The band have a very all in attitude however, so any of the guys step in at certain points.

Scott: I've heard through the grapevine that y'all put on one hell of a great live show. Would you elaborate on that comment...

Luke: We certainly consider ourselves to be a great live band, and most importantly, we have fun and make sure the crowd does too...with us you get great tunes played well and loud, lots of interraction, Jagermeister and rocking out well and truly!!

Scott: How did Panic Cell come together?

Luke: Most us have been in bands together before, playing the local scenes, so we all knew each other from past experiences. In mid 2003 Bobby was introduced to us all and it seemed to really click like it never had before, so we started afresh and Panic Cell was born.

Scott: So who is the music wizard (guru) of the band? You know the one that knows all the music theory and understands melody, circle of fifths, scales and things of that nature?

Luke: hmmm, in terms of sheer technical musical theory knowledge, it would have to be Kelly, one of Panic Cells guitarists - you want a diminished 7th,he's your man....but to be honest the songs are written as much by the feel as they are constructed through the use of "correct" scales and melodies

Scott: The reason why I ask this is because there are more mature, melodic and powerful slices of hard rock/heavy metal writing and playing than your predecessor CD. Can you elaborate a little more on why this is for my readers?

Luke: I think that was as much down to the band developing our particular style as a whole to more where we wanted to be. From a personal point of view, whilst I really like our first album, and it has some great tracks like Save Me, Away From Here and Thousand Words - the new album defines us so much better. I feel with songs like Stare into Oblivion, Calm and Dead to Me, everything has come together much better. So in all its not so much a change from one to another, more as a definate defining of our sound. The third album should see another step forward, especially as there’s been a change in the ranks and we have a new drummer who will contribute his style to the new songs as well as the old. We’ve begun writing the new album and the material sounds killer!

Scott: Echoing the albums’ collective message (Stronger United) ‘What Doesn’t Kill Us’ was engineered and produced by Dan Turner (Bullet For My Valentine, Cradle of Filth) with Grammy award winning producer Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, Testament) taking on mixing duties along with mainstay from the first album Dave Chang (Orange Goblin, Earthtone 9, Stamping Ground).... Luke, what was it like meeting and working with the guys?

Luke: It was great, a very interesting experience being so collective. The first album (Bitter Part of Me) we worked solely with Dave Chang, in a short space of time. Dan Turner allowed us to spend more time on tracking and actually producing the songs for the second album, we had way more time basically which was really good. We’d done pre production for the 2nd album with the legend who is Andy Sneap and he agreed to do the mixing. At that time he was mixing the last Megadeth album at the time so couldnt work on it all, but between himself and Dave Chang they managed to deal with it all superbly.

Scott: Tell us a little about the new MTV series 'Fur TV'...

Luke: hahaha, now that was a lot of fun. Basically the rudest,grossest,foulest couple of muppets you could ever meet. A show so rude I doubt it will ever actually hit the screens of regular American tv! One of the characters in the show, a large muppet called Fat ed is the singer in a metal band called Stinkhole. MTv asked Panic Cell to write some songs for the show and for some of us to appear in episodes of the programme as Fat Eds friends and bandmates. We got to do everything from being literally covered in sh*t to me having Ed hit me in the face with a guitar, and we got to write some fun songs for him too. If anyone gets the chance they should go onto You Tube and hunt for "Ed's guide to metal" on the internet or check out www.paniccell.com as we’ve links to the episodes we star in.

Scott: 'BITTER PART OF ME' SPECIAL EDITION CD/DVD - PRE ORDER BUNDLE OFFER - Tell us little about this project...

Luke: it has been a few years now since we released our first album, and a lot has happened both with the songs and the band in between times-it seemed like a great time for us to look at it again and see what we could do to make it a package that we would be happier with. Re mastering the album was always a must in our minds as we felt that the original volume level was too low. Remastering helped sort that out and Jaime Gomez at Orgone Mastering did a great job of re eq'ing it too, giving it a more vibrant sound than the original master. We also had so many live clips and promotional videos for the different songs, and it was a good way to put them all together so that people could see as well as hear us! Theres footage from our apprearances at Download Festival 2007 on there too, the uk's biggest metal festival. Also we recorded new versions of Save Me and an acoustic version of Thousand Words. With that and some great new artwork, we had a great product to put out there and wanted to make the intial release a bit special so we did a cd/dvd + t-shirt offer at a great price!!

Scott: Ok luke, tell our readers out here in guitar land what was your favorite spinal tap moment being in this awesome metal band... I'm sure you have a few... lol!!!

Luke: well theres certainly been a few... my most Spinal Tap like experience was probably when we supported Disturbed at the Astoria in London. I walked out on stage, bent down, straightened up, and the button flew off of my trousers. I spent the whole of the first song seemingly grabbing my crotch, just so my trousers didnt fall down, then at a gap in the singing I ran over to our guitar tech and started pointing at my crotch.....fortunately he didn’t take too long to realise the problem and gave me his belt.......

Scott: How important is for an artist and band to have instrument and gear endorsements? And, who are some of the bands endorsers and how they work in the mix of things...

Luke: For any band that tours, endorsements are essential. Equipment has the habit of breaking after a while! We have been extremely lucky to work with some great companies over the last few years, all of whom have given us excellent equipment and help. The guys all use ESP Guitars and Basses, and Jose Ferro/ESP have been incredible in thier support for the band, we cannot praise them enough. The same for Line 6 amps, Henry and the guys there have been superb with giving us gear and fixing stuff when it occasionally fails, which is not very often at all considering the use we have put it through. Both of these companies have donated equipment for prize comps that we have run with Scuzz and Kerrang TV, and for videos - such as our latest one Walk Away, where they simply gave us stuff we could set on fire!!

We have had tremendous support from Peavey, Shine Drums, Paiste, Framus/Warwick and Aquarian. The band also use Sennhieser wireless packs and I love my Sennhieser wireless mic.

Scott: Lastly, what kind of advice can you give someone who has aspirations of being in an admiral, highly sought after band like yours...

Luke: Be prepared to work hard and persevere….LOTS!!! Being in a band is the best thing in the world, and i am lucky that I am in one with 4 other extremely hard working guys who are passionate about the band and music. But the scene these days is just flooded with bands trying to do the same thing. Rising above will take time, so patience is required!

Scott: luke, thank you so much for this interview and I know my readers will be excited to check out all of your PANIC CELL Media on the Net.

www.paniccell.com

www.myspace.com/paniccell